(no subject)

[cleolinda]

Nothing much to report today, as have been in class and working. Except that Vladimir is sick, woe.

Oh, and this: This is the new content that's supposed to keep people coming to Fametracker?

(PearDream72 at the Snarkfest boards: "Celebrity vs Thing is the fruit that has been born from all the free time Wing & Co. have because they no longer have to moderate the boards? I am beginning to have grave doubts about FT’s commitment to Sparkle Motion.")

Comments

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

Sheesh. Reminds me of the old Sailor Moon Battle Arena thing. By the end of that, they were pitting senshi against all comers, including jello and the Simpsons.

But yeah. Seems rather...crap.

[blackdiamants.livejournal.com]

Gotta love Sera Mun. *nodnod*

28: 06: 42: 12

[blackdiamants.livejournal.com]

DONNIE DARKO REFERENCE! WOO! Damn, I love that movie.

Re: 28: 06: 42: 12

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dude, my sister was making a new friend of hers watch it just this afternoon. She's, like, the Darko Evangelist or something.

Re: 28: 06: 42: 12

[laizeohbeets.livejournal.com]

I'm the Princess Bride evangelist. I'd be the Darko Evangelist, but ... everyone I'd rec it to has seen it! ;)

[shiningshadow26.livejournal.com]

Bagels. Bagels. Oh, for the sad.

(even though I think I would rather go without CZJ)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

As I said over at Snarkfest, it reads like the kind of thing you'd write if you were trying to parody a Fametracker article.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

What did they used to be like? I didn't know about FT's existence until after it went down. The CZJ vs. bagels article struck me as cute but nothing special.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

The Galaxy of Fame (http://www.fametracker.com/galaxy_of_fame/), when they get around to doing it, is pretty good. They're doing a Hey, It's That Guy! (http://www.fametracker.com/hey_its_that_guy/) book, but... eh. 2 Stars 1 Slot (http://www.fametracker.com/2_stars_1_slot/) never really did it for me, although it's funny to go back and read the old ones and see who they were really, really off the mark about. The Blue Moons (http://www.fametracker.com/blue_moons/) are wildly hit and miss... let's see, what else... the Fame Audit (http://www.fametracker.com/fame_audit/) is usually pretty good.

What makes "Celebrity vs. Thing" so depressing is that it's so derivative of everything else they've already done--it's like the logical extreme you'd reach if you wanted to write a FT parody article. I mean... seriously, are you kidding me? This is going to be a regular feature? They shut down the forums because they were losing shitloads of money to have more time to work on this?

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *runs off to Galaxy*

[adoresixtyfour.livejournal.com]

With, er, "quality" articles like that, Fametracker will be gone by the end of the year. Certainly doesn't give me incentive to return.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, I have to think that, between TWOP and writing for places like MSNBC, Wing doesn't want to shut down FT, precisely, but she doesn't really care about it that much, either. I mean, when they announced the closing of the forums, I was just like, "There's a site that won't be around much longer."

[adoresixtyfour.livejournal.com]

You may well be right, Cleo. Wing may not close the site down, but won't put too much more sweat into it. That's sort of what happened with Hissyfit.com. After Wing & Glark shut down the forums there, traffic slowed to a trickle and updates were few and far between. But Hissyfit is still there--technically, anyway.

[corianderstem.livejournal.com]

I could not give up bagels. Please do not ask me. It wasn't an easy decision, as I do like the CZJ.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I confess I don't understand the fixation on some (most) TWOP personalities. The point when a section would become unreadable for me was when the writer operated under the assumption that I at all cared about them. Not to say I didn't -- sometimes I really did -- but when they approached their material with this awareness of their own self-importance, it was just too much.

Even now when I still flit about the site, it's despite -- and not because of -- the personalities. Less is certainly more when it comes to TV reviews, I think.

Or it could be simply that the personalities in question were just too irritating -- as I could read the Cleo's reviews of every known variety of Ramen noodles and come out unscathed. I don't know if that's a matter of style, talent, focus or just a personal taste.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Aww, bless. And I will say--because we were discussing this on the TWOP Snarkfest thread, and people had good examples--there are some TWOP recappers who can gently incorporate real life and significant others and such and have it not bug. I think Keckler was mentioned as an example.

And then... God bless Pamie; I used to love her blog, and her "Young Americans" recaps made me *cry* with laughter. But right now, all people can talk about is how her "Gilmore Girls" recaps were about nothing but Stee and her wedding and her many blogs and random stories about her life or family. Oh, and how much she hates "Gilmore Girls." This is a bad sign, yo.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

God, I loved the "Young Americans" recaps. I used to think Pamie was really funny.

You know, I can't read Djb's recaps to save my LIFE.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I loved his "Push, Nevada" recaps, but... his style is so twisty and baroque and he'll go on and on to set up some tangential joke and you're like, "Wait, what were we talking about?" He and Jacob are, like, battling it out to see who's the Faulkner of TWOP, almost.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

When I try to read them, I get a paragraph or so in before I nearly pass out, and then I wonder if I want to hit MYSELF in the face with a brick, or HIM.

[maramala.livejournal.com]

Or it could be simply that the personalities in question were just too irritating -- as I could read the Cleo's reviews of every known variety of Ramen noodles and come out unscathed.
Where? :D

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

Yeah, definitely do not get that Celberity v. Thing...thing. Not really all that funny. I'll stay for the Judgemental Thumbs, Galaxy of Fame, and so on, but if their new stuff is anything like what they just put up? I'm not sticking around.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I love the Galaxy, but they hardly even do it anymore. My problem with most of the material now is that it feels so labored and hipper-than-thou.

[cran.livejournal.com]

Oh, come now; I think the new Fametracker style is brilliant! I can't wait for "Orlando Bloom vs. Caesar salad" and "Mel Gibson vs. hot dogs." The possibilities are absolutely endless!

On the TWoP front: Pamie's Wonderfalls recaps bugged me more than her Gilmore Girls ones. She only did a few (the show got canceled), but in every one all she did was whine about how much she hated the show, how she was only recapping it because no one else would, and how we should all be grateful that she was missing out on fun parties so she could sit at home rewatching such a terrible program. I don't care that she disliked the show -- I think it's excellent and I ran a campaign (http://www.savewonderfalls.com) to save it and everything, but I can respect that it's not everyone's cup of tea -- but I don't think anyone should be forced to recap something they detest. The recaps just end up bitter and unfunny.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

The possibilities are absolutely endless!

Shannon Elizabeth vs. apple pie? Oh wait, that's been done.

[gryphonmage.livejournal.com]

"I don't think anyone should be forced to recap something they detest. The recaps just end up bitter and unfunny."

see exhibit a) Charmed. They're not funny. They aren't even snarky. They're mean. And they're mean on a level that goes way beyond the show and is like a personal attack on the actors and actresses. It's just mean. I had to stop reading those.

see exhibit b) 7th Heaven. These still have some humor in them, but I don't think it can outlast the writer's violent hatred of the show.

I basically only read Miss Alli recaps now.

[adoresixtyfour.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why they bother to recap 7th Heaven. They hate the damn show. WE hate the damn show. And the recaps aren't teh funny. So it's a waste of bandwidth. Or something.

And I thought I was the only one tired of Pamie's recaps-that-aren't. Nice to know I'm paying attention. Sort of.

I agree on Miss Alli, though. She makes The Apprentice seem more entertaining than it really is.

[gryphonmage.livejournal.com]

She also does an awesome job on the Amazing Race. I also like Deborah, and think she does a good job of incorporating the little tidbits from her life without being invasive. Unfortunately I stopped watching Joan of Arcadia so I haven't paid as much attention to the recaps.

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

Well, that's an impressive waste of space.

[lezopez.livejournal.com]

Celeb vs. Thing.

Celeb vs. THING.

Catherine Zeta-Jones vs. BAGELS.

Is that one of those humor through randomness? Because uh.... I usually go for shit like that but... CZJ vs BAGELS?!


Oh shit. I give up. I just don't get it. Thank God I live in a world where I can have both Catherine and.. uh.. bagels.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

And the worst part is that the bagels don't even win.

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

The bagels were handicapped, man! I mean, a plain bagel didn't stand a chance, even with the lox and cream cheese! CZJ was allowed way more accessories...she's got lasers!

Now, you pit her against a blueberry or a chocolate chip bagel? She's goin' DOWN.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

And they are very yummy.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I DEMAND A REMATCH!

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

I second that! And third it! I would fourth it, but that'd just be silly. :o)

[shesnotallthere.livejournal.com]

They do, I have seen them. The Atlanta Bread Company here in T-Town used to have them...and they were GOOD.

[edda.livejournal.com]

It's like McSweeney's lite. Which McSweeney's is already pretty insubstantial to me, but whatever.

That said? I kinda liked it. OH GOD PLEASE DON'T HIT ME. I thought it mildly amusing, and liked the Zeta Jones, Space Pirate" thing, because I like pirates. I know I'm sad. Shut up.

This does not, however, make me like the (erstwhile) mods any better. It's doubly frustrating to me that people who could write genuinely hysterical critiques of celebrity culture at one point could turn out to be such uncool, pissy, trigger-happy me-monkeys when dealing with others. Sometimes I think they let so many losers on the boards for the same reason vain women choose ugly bridesmaids.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, apparently people were saying that a lot of their articles bore strong resemblances to things said a couple of days previous on the forums. I kept to a very small corner of the forums towards the end, so I don't know.

Although I still want to know what was up with the Brooke Smith HITG! last week. "Hey, we need to pimp Pamie's new blog! Anybody in Silence of the Lambs we can pass off as a character actor?"

[edda.livejournal.com]

Just checked it out and DUUUUUUUDE. Buy y'allselves some ladders and get OVER y'allselves, mkay?

(Deliberate bad grammar. Just in that kind of mood.)

[cellardoor28.livejournal.com]

GIP

[jesshelga.livejournal.com]

My paranoid conspiracy theory about the demise of the FT forums is that Wing just got sooooooooooo tired of closing the Jennifer Garner thread every other week that she simply gave up.

With that said...wow, that article was not particularly funny or clever. And you were right on the money about the Brooke Smith Hey... I mean, if you're going to do tribute to a Hey... SOTL cast member, where is the loving tribute to Diane Baker? "Take this monstah back to Baltimore!" Sigh. Awesome.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

And I love Brooke Smith, man (she's awesome in Vanya on 42nd Street). I just don't know that we see her around enough for her to really be a HITG! Although they did come up with some good movie-sighting examples. (Although what was with the thing about the two other actresses "hogging" Iron-Jawed Angels? Oh, you mean *the leads of the movie*?) So I guess what I'm saying is, even if she's a good choice, the opening lines make it obvious that she was chosen in order to pimp a blog. Written in the voice of a character who got killed in his one movie. That came out fourteen years ago. I'm just saying.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Girrrrl, the writers of Fametracker just aren't as funny as they'd like to be. Or inciteful. Sometimes I think their pop culture knowledge begins with that Say Anything movie, though they're clear on Really Famous Stuff (like bagels or George Lucas in the 70s).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I've actually been reading them for several years now, and I'm starting to think there was an actual drop in quality that is possibly related to the writers getting bigger jobs elsewhere. It's like, now that they write for MSNBC, they're so confident that they haven't bothered to find the funny.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

That wouldn't surprise me for a moment. I wonder how MSNBC feels about the fact that Fametracker is probably getting a fraction of the traffic it used to because it means less people will check out their features. I do like Sars at TWoP though, even if I've never really watched a show she recaps. In fact, the only show I watch that TWoP recaps are Lost and CSI. And your Lost recaps are a lot funnier than the ones that have been going up there.

BTW, you know that new "Lost" is supposed to happen next week, right? I'd hate for you to miss a show.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I know. : )