Sunday, January 3, 2010

Barbara's Not So Fascinating List

I posted about Barbara Walter's Most Fascinating List last year and I wasn't going to this year- until I read the list and realized how much I completely disagree with the entire thing!

Here's the list:
Kate Gosselin
Adam Lambert
Lady Gaga
Sarah Palin
Brett Favre
Tyler Perry
Glenn Beck
Jenny Sanford
Michael Jackson’s children
And the most fascinating: Michelle Obama

SOOOOOOO many things wrong with this list!

Frist: Adam Lambert???? HE LOST AMERICAN IDOL!!!! What on earth has he done that is so special outside of being gay- which isn't special anymore!!!! If he had won, maybe I could understand (though last year's list didn't have the AI winner on it), but HE LOST!!!

Second: Sarah Palin- she is an ignorant twit who QUIT HER JOB SO SHE COULD WRITE A BOOK AND GET RICH- how does that make her any different then every other publicity-seeking-bimbo in America???? Dang, I hate her. (But PLEASE elect her as your Rep. presidential candidate in 2012 to ensure another Democratic sweep!)

Third: Lady Who???

Fourth: Kate Gosselin. Why is she on the list but not John? Is she more fascinating then him- or just seeking the publicity more?

Fifth: Tyler Perry- what has he done this year that is so much greater then every other year?

Sixth: Jenny Sanford- her husband cheated on her. That makes her fascinating? What politician hasn't cheated on his wife? I don't think that makes their wives fascinating. It makes me feel sorry for them. (to her credit, though, I will say that I was happy to hear that she left him- she deserves better)

And the worst thing:

Seventh: WHERE ON EARTH IS CAPTAIN SULLY ON THIS LIST???? HOW ON EARTH DID HE NOT MAKE THE LIST (and Adam Nobody did) AFTER LANDING AN AIRPLANE ON A RIVER AND SAVING OVER A HUNDRED LIVES?????

I never paid much attention to this list, and now I will pay even less attention to it. What a waste of paper to have made this list in the first place.

Obviously, these are my very opinionated thoughts. Anybody else's thoughts?

16 comments:

  1. 1) Jon Gosselin is NOT interesting. He's a loafer-guy who cheated on his albeit annoying wife and broke up a marriage with EIGHT children. Kate is mildly interesting because she's kind of a go-getter (albeit seriously annoying) who's like trying to make it out there in the world and hasn't sort of shriveled up in a corner as the scorned wife. I can kind of go with that one.
    2) Michelle Obama. Okay. Where to begin. I have no problem with the Obamas, they're cool, whatever BUT: she's got a freaking law degree from an ivy league school!!!! Why the heck is she appearing on sesame street and getting interviewed about her fashion sense???? I am happy that she wants to present a traditional front to the office of first-lady, but I don't think she's a great roll model to her children by sort of dumbing herself down for the american public. It just bugs me every time I see it. I think I feel patronized or something.
    3) I saw an interview with Captain Sully - he is a very humble, quiet guy who pretty much believes he did what he had to do and that's it. I am guessing if she asked him to be on her list he turned her down.
    4) I kinda wanna see Tiger on that list. I mean, he came off as the perfect guy for so long and now he's totally shamed and losing ad deal after ad deal. I wanna hear what his plans for the future are. No joke.

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  2. This is Curt...and I agree with your commentary on the list with the exception of Sarah Palin. I think she is one of the most fascinating people of 2009. She suffered a terrible defeat politically, professionally, and personally. She left politics because of all the attacks on her family and because she felt she could do more for her country in another capacity. A year ago democrats including yourself were criticizing her for being in politics since she had a special needs child and other kids still in the home. You either posted or commented on the political moms site about how she should not be a "working mother" or something to that effect. So I would think you would be happy with her quitting her job as Governor of Alaska and finding a more lucrative yet less time consuming method. But instead you blast her as an ignorant twit and publicity hungry "bimbo." I am always confused at liberals hate for Sarah Palin. What is the basis for it?

    I wonder why you didn't comment on Michelle Obama...when Barbara Walters asked her about her year she said something along these lines.."oh my gosh, I did so much I moved my family to a new city, I got my kids settled in a new school, we picked out a new dog, and I traveled around the world with my husband!" She basically said "I didn't do anything this year outside of being a normal mom who got to travel the world with my husband because I could leave my kids with the Secret Service."

    Anyway, I wouldn't vote for Sarah Palin as the republican candidate for president. But I think she's fascinating and an example to many women. After being knocked down severely she got back up, wrote a book about being knocked down, sticking to her principles, and getting back up to succeed. To me, that is fascinating regardless of politics and the only one that Barbara Walters got right. The rest of them, including Glenn Beck, were not that fascinating.

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  3. I love you Chris! I had a lot of fun reading your thoughts. Here are some of mine. Adam didn't win American idol but was by far the better performer. He has sold more albums and until he got all naughty on AMA awards he had a better future. Many shows dropped him as a performer because he went off script. Michelle was not very interesting to me. She was in 2008 though because I was just introduced to her. Having watched Jon and Kate for a few years I see both parents failing in many areas. Jon is a lot more fascinating to me then Kate is. He totally flipped out. Having a huge Las Vegas bikini party and all those affairs. Did he just regress into a frat boy? Kate is the biggest nagger I have ever seen. I would watch the show and vow not to treat my husband that way.It helped to remember to honestly praise my husband. Captain Sully totally should have been there. I am glad he was made grand Marshall of the Rose Bowl Festivities. Lady GaGa is just the new Madonna trying to shock the world. She is so grotesque.

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  4. I love how opinionated this is Christina! You go girl! I really have no coherent thoughts on the list, but your post put a smile on my face! :)

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  5. I think I should be on the most fascinating list:)

    Curt- here is why I hate Sarah Palin: Not that she works. Millions of women work- that doesn't bother me. It pisses me off that she pretends like family is the most important thing in the world to her and then puts them in front of America to be publically humiliated (Bristol). It pisses me off that she says she doesn't want to hurt her family, but runs for VP when she has a 6 month old special needs child at home who needs a MOM, not a VP. It pisses me off that she puts herself on this pedastal as a poster mom for how to have it all at the sacrifice of her entire family. It pisses me off that she says she is competent and then quits to be with her family- oops, I mean to write a book and go on a national book tour, either leaving her children at home or taking them out of school to live out of hotel rooms for months at a time. It pisses me off that people around the country think she is so great and wonderful when she is a hypocritical walking double standard. If she wants to work, fine- but don't try to tell me you can have it all- travel all over the counry doing multiple media interviews over and over again without it hurting your family, because you can't. Must I go on?

    Dani- I'm not sure what I think of Michelle Obama being on the list. I guess it is just kind-of boring, like the obvious choice. I like her persona and I think her likability has helped our country. I didn't watch the actual show, so I don't know what she said in her interview. I do see your point, but I wonder if she is worried about becoming like Hillary Clinton- she was so rediculed for having a brain and that seemed to really hurt Bill politically so maybe she has decided to lay off to help Pres. Obama. I don't know.

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  6. Christina, all I can say is that Barbara must have a different definition of "fascinating" than the rest of the population. I'm with you, that wouldn't have been my list. Most of them are more like the year's most attention-seeking.

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  7. how is Michelle Obama presenting a "traditional front to the office of first lady"?????? Has Hillary Clinton or Barbara Bush (old & young) been on the FRONT COVER of GLAMOUR magazine????? I think it's demeaning to the office of "first lady" . How does THAT make HER ANY DIFFERENT than every other "publicity-seeking-bimbo in America?" ie, Britney Spears?? Oh and she has been on the cover of her BFF's O's (Oprah) magazine too. Bothers me. But it's wrong for Sarah Palin to write a book about her life???? what??? double standard, hmmmm.....
    -Jen

    http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/lifestyle/hub_in_heels/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/michelle-obama-glamour-magazine-cover_290x396.jpg

    http://nrichards08.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/britney_spears_glamour_magazine_cover_0_0_0x0_400x543.jpg

    also, why is it so bad that Sarah Palin goes on a book tour traveling around, when Michelle Obama goes traveling around the WORLD with her hubs, Pres. Obama & they don't take the girls with them everywhere, right? So it's okay to leave them with secret service for four years at least while they travel around because they are in the white house, but SO WRONG for Sarah Palin to book tour. Do we know her kids are never with her on book tours? I don't have many political opinions but its bothered me that michelle obama was on the cover of glamour magazine, regardless of her interview and the good things she does. It's just not right for the first lady to appear on the cover of a GLAMOUR magazine, alongside celebrities. Ps. I don't think she needed the money. :)

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  8. okay, that makes sense...your hate for her is so deep because she's a hypocrite. Poses as a great mom, but doesn't live up to it because she travels the country trying to get rich off of a book. And you don't think it's possible to travel the country and still be a great mom (although Michelle Obama claims that as one of her successes last year, traveling the country and still being a good mom) I get that.

    While I don't think there's much substance to that answer, It's the best argument I've heard as to why we should all dislike Sarah Palin. Usually the answer looks something like this:

    "she is not smart, she's a redneck, she kills moose and polar bear for fun, she owns a gun, she's not eloquent, she doesn't read newspapers, she truly believes she can see Russia from her porch, she let her daughter get knocked up by a porn star, her husband is a loser who doesn't work and just rides snowmobiles all day..."

    Seriously, that's what I hear from virtually all liberals I ask that question to.

    Your answer at least makes sense. But I would argue that she can have it all. I think women sell themselves short by thinking they can only be successful in the home or in the world. Many liberal women sell themselves short because of this belief. Oprah chose the "world" over the "home." She won't even get married despite living w/ the dude for years! Yet we look up to her and celebrate her for her achievements. Think about how lucky her kids could have been? She could have blessed generations with her wealth, but she'll die a lonely woman with nobody to leave her wealth to. No way of carrying on her legacy. Sarah Palin is more impressive of a woman to me because she is DOING it all. She didn't parade her family around any more than the Obamas did. The media attacked her family and did not attack the Obamas. She couldn't control that. And even if she did keep her kids at home while she went on the campaign trail, they still would have attacked her family because the AP assigned more reporters to go dig dirt on her in Wasilla, AK than they did anywhere else.

    The truth that no liberal woman will admit about their hate for Sarah Palin is because she is a conservative woman doing it all. She is doing what liberal women are supposed to be doing. Empowering herself and those around her. And they despise that. They'll attack her up one side and down the other while continuing to celebrate other liberal career moms.

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  9. So Curt, you like her cuz she's hot right?

    And Jen you like her because she's the opposite of liberial elitism. Or at least she pretends to be. This is the problem with populists. They use the little people to get elected, and then they screw them when they're in office.

    Happens everytime. It would happen with her too. She claims to be just like us.
    Right.
    What a load of crap.
    That's what I don't like about her.


    So I agree Christina. Barbar wa-wa has lost her touch.

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  10. Chris - I still think Michelle Obama could appear intelligent and not be a Hillary Clinton-esque first lady. She could take a stand on education or something like that or fight for girls in poor neighborhoods to get educated. She could do more than plant a vegetable garden and wear pretty dresses.
    Also, I don't think it's quite fair to compare Michelle Obama with Sarah Palin. First of all, I doubt Michelle goes on EVERY trip with the president, and second, living in the white house IS different. I doubt the girls are ever just left with secret service agents - I mean, doesn't Grandma live with them?
    I think the Sarah Palin argument is pretty much a non-issue anyway since her political career is going nowhere and at best she'll end up being a far-less articulate version of Anne Coulter.
    As for 2012, I actually do hope the Republicans can come up with a contender - maybe then we can talk about legitimate issues and not be so blinded by gender-roles, etc.

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  11. Jen- good to have you commenting- I know that is out of your element a little bit:)

    Curt- you are entirely missing my point, which is why it gets so frustrating to even argue. Her daughter was nationally humiliated on every cover of every magazine and newspaper in this entire country because her mom decided to run for office, and somehow you defend that. How can any mother who claims to love her children do that to her own daughter? I refuse to make excuses for why that's OK- because it's not. As a mother, your #1 job is to look after and protect your children- not throw them under the bus.
    And why I say you can't have it all is because YOU CAN'T HAVE IT ALL. That is a lie the feminists have been telling us since the 60s-work 80 hours a week, your kids won't care if you miss all of their little league games and skip parent/teacher conferences. Or work won't mind if you call in sick every other day to attend school programs during the work day. One will always be sacrificed by the other- that is the curse of womanhood. Working moms struggle with this on a daily basis- always feeling torn between the two, and never feeling good enough because IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONCE- even for Palin. I admire and respect working women for what they do, because I know it must be unbelievably hard to go to work all day and then have to make dinner at night. What I do not admire is when somebody has FIVE children- one with special needs, but all of them with emotional needs- who SAYS family is everything, but then seeks after HER OWN ambition at the obvious expense of her children. I am not comparing her to Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton- I am comparing her to HER OWN standard that she throws aside for publicity's sake at the expense of her children. SHE SAYS family means everything to her- but then she broadcasts her own daughters "sin" on national television. That's what I can't stand about her.

    I taught high school for 5 years, and the saddest thing I heard was a 16 year old with severe medical problems who told me she actually looked forward to being sick because her mom (a multi-millionaire CEO) finally noticed her. How said that any child would ever say that!

    So tiring to get so worked up over something so trivial, but I am glad I brought a smile to your face, Jenny!!!

    And, Susie- I like what you said about Lady Gaga being the new Madonna- she does have that kind of personality. Just what this world needs, another Madonna!!!

    Just a thought- if Lambert and Lady Gaga made it, why not Taylor Swift? She was humiliated at the VMA Awards (a huge honor that she won as a country singer), but she was completely graceful in her response. I wonder if it's because she's not controversial- this post wouldn't be nearly as exciting if she was on the list.

    I wonder if all these people paid to be on the list? I don't know, but I could see that.

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  12. this is Curt: Lula lula lula...I am not being condescending and I am not "championing the cause of women." And I DO have a right to comment on anything I want to. Liberals would like to take that right away from me...I get that. But anyway. Condescending is what you did when you labeled me as a sexist in that I must only like Sarah Palin cause she's hot. I said I admire her ability to overcome. I admire that ability in all people, male or female, black or white or any other color. Stop the liberal name calling and personal attacks. Christina I though you didn't like that kind of stuff on your blog.

    Christina, like I said, your point is well taken. It's the only one that has made any sense to me and although I disagree on the case of Sarah Palin, I believe that the extreme situation you pose is accurate, although that is not a depiction of Sarah Palin's life. Her husband is at home and her kids travel with her when possible. Anyway, I stand by my statement that Sarah Palin is the ONLY one on Barbara's list that was fascinating. Adam Lambert has no talent. He's been in the business forever and hasn't been able to break thru because all he can do is scream into the microphone like an 80's big hair band.

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  13. Since we will never change each other's mind (like Oscar on The Office said: The problem with debating is that each side just becomes more entrenched in their own view- nobody changes their mind). And, Curt you are right- I hate it when things get ugly on a blog- that certainly was NOT my intent, and is the reason I haven't been posting on the Moms site!
    But, anyway I got to thinking about the people on the list. It seems like they are controversial people who are on for some seemingly strange reason. So, I thought, if I were to pick somebody who made an impact on pop culture this year (for good or bad reasons), and I wanted somebody who would generate a lot of talk, who would I choose?

    I came to my decision: Levi Johnston. As much as I dislike Palin, I think he is a disgusting excuse of a human being for what he is doing to Bristol and the Palin family.

    Anybody else who should be on the Most Fascinating Because They Are Horrible List?

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  14. yeah that is the basis for any of these lists. You want people to talk about it. In TV, they want the ratings. Ratings show higher gains when Sarah Palin is the topic than just about anybody else.

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  15. JOHN EDWARDS. I mean seriously...ew.

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