SALON

Saturday, Jul 23, 2011 12:01 PM UTC

Pop Torn: 10 pieces of pop culture we’re feeling iffy about

This week we're on the fence about Marilyn Monroe's sex tape, mice with superbrains, and another Ryan Gosling flick

By

Topics: Pop Torn, Television,

Pop Torn: 10 pieces of pop culture we're feeling iffy aboutCan you guess why these things are making us feel weird?

1. Octomom caught on tape saying she doesn’t like babies: Is this really a shocker? She has eight toddlers needing constant attention. I’d probably stress out and complain about hating them too, most days! So would you. So would every mother! I never thought I’d say this, but leave Nadya Suleman alone already.

2. British scientists decide they don’t want mice with human brains after all: “What? Oh, no reason. It’s not like anyone’s already done that experiment or anything. We just want to be extra careful. Speaking of which, though, if you come across your DVD remote lying on top of one of these things, you might want to give us a call.”

3. Jude Law enters the Rupert Murdoch fray: If the British actor really had his phone hacked by News of the World reporters while he was in New York, that could mean a trial for the News Corp. head here in the United States. On the other hand, he’s filing this from something that happened in 2003. When does the statute of limitations run out on this type of stuff?

4. Marilyn Monroe’s latest sex tape emerges … maybe: Call me old-fashioned, but is the “Borges Cultural Center” really the place where we want to auction off a video of a dead woman having sex? Especially since it might not even be the right dead woman? On second thought, Jorge Luis would probably find this whole thing very funny.

5. Fabio is the new Old Spice guy:

No, this just isn’t doing it for me. My mom is into Fabio, and mom doesn’t “get” ironic commercials, so I don’t know whom this is marketed to. Someone bring back Isiaiah Mustafa. Now, please.

6. Nicholas Cage’s son Weston arrested on domestic violence again: You know, I used to defend Nic Cage a lot, but when your newly married progeny can’t stop getting into physical fights with his wife, I start to wonder if the apple isn’t falling far from the crazy tree. Although I have to admit, challenging Kimbo Slice to a boxing match is sort of a genius idea to take the heat off the arrest. Weirdo.

7. Petitioning to let Neil Patrick Harris host the Oscars: Sounds good in theory, but we may have missed the NPH boat. Let’s try for Chris Colfer instead.

8. Oh good, a movie based on parts of “Gravity’s Rainbow”: Thanks to “Impolex,” thousands of grad lit students will still have no idea what the hell Thomas Pynchon’s book is about.

9. Trailer for “Drive” premieres at Comic-Con :

I’m not saying this movie doesn’t look good, I’m just starting to wonder if there’s such a thing as Ryan Gosling Fatigue Syndrome (RGFS). Oh wait, Bryan Cranston’s in this? Never mind, I’ll see it.

10. SlutWalk too slutty?: Debating how much clothing should be worn in a feminist march protesting clothing as an excuse for sexual harassment makes even less sense in this heat.

Drew Grant is a staff writer for Salon. Follow her on Twitter at @videodrew. More Drew Grant.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 4 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Journalists file suit against Manning's trial secrecy: Plaintiffs including Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange demand press, public access to trial and documents
168 points169 points | comment
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
161 points162 points | 89 comments
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
150 points151 points | 99 comments
vote
Report: Nearly a quarter of Americans struggle to afford food
142 points143 points | 13 comments
vote
Ted Cruz against the world - How the Junior Senator is igniting the GOP civil war
80 points81 points | 21 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations