Sunday, October 14, 2007

SUNDAY GRAFS

Guilty eyeball pleasure No. 1: This Vanity Fair article about Lou Pearlman, the man who made 'NSync and Backstreet Boys into household names. VF has sources claiming Pearlman enjoyed more than music from pretty boys:
Some, especially the teenagers, shrugged and giggled when he showed them pornographic movies or jumped naked onto their beds in the morning to wrestle and play. Others, it appears, didn't get off so easily. These were the young singers seen emerging from his bedroom late at night, buttoning their pants, sheepish looks on their faces. Some deny anything improper ever happened. But the parents of at least one, a member of the Backstreet Boys, complained. And for any number of young men who sought to join the world's greatest boy bands, Big Poppa's attentions were an open secret, the price some paid for fame.

"Some guys joked about it; I remember [one singer] asking me, 'Have you let Lou blow you yet?'" says Steve Mooney, an aspiring singer who served as Pearlman's assistant and lived in his home for two years. "I would absolutely say the guy was a sexual predator. All the talent knew what Lou's game was. If they say no, they're lying to you."
Pearlman's denying the whole thing, of course, but he's also awaiting trial for allegedly milking investors out of $300 million in a Ponzi scheme.

Guilty eyeball pleasure No. 2: Tony Messenger's Sunday column in the News-Leader. It's about the hilarity that ensues when a radio personality is gulled into believing that the operator of a flophouse coulda woulda shoulda been in contention for a luxury hotel project next to the convention center. Best Messenger line to savor: They got part of the story almost right.

Guilty ear pleasure: Chamillionaire's Ultimate Victory. Check "The Evening News":
We still haven't found Pac's killer, still haven't found Biggie's either,
30 minutes into the case they got tired and took a breather,
Snoop Dogg just got arrested, everyday he get a new subpoena,
Innocent when murder was the case so the prosecution got a middle finger,
Hip-Hop is sweeping the nation, but the contents seem so degrading,
Most rappers got new albums that white kids are anticipating,
If you don't like it on the radio or the television then switch the station,
Flavor Flav get a lot of ratings, Bill O'Reilly somewhere is hating,
Kanye just said WHAT? the president ain't got time for that,
The White House is going to stay white even tho' we know Obama's black,
9/11 was a calculation, and some would say it was a timed attack,
He gave a speech on CNN, "They bombed us, now we're bombing back,"
Where the heck is Osama at?
Guilty dirty pirate hooker mouth pleasure: Caribou Coffee Snack Bars, the crack cocaine of granola bars. Or so sayeth the KB, and the man knows his granola bars.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Messenger did have a great column today. It will be interesting to see if there is a response to it other than his comment on the message board.

Anonymous said...

A sexual predator of teens and a degrader of pop culture. Pearlman is attempting to hit the scumbag trifecta.

Anonymous said...

Those Caribou Coffee granola bars are crack, smack and a cancer stick rolled into one. Mmmmmmmmmm... I'm getting all itchy just thinking about it. Thanks Ron.

Anonymous said...

If John Freakin' Q. had owned that "flophouse", the city would do their usual bending-over-forward routine and tell him to take his sweet time deciding what to do with it.

thinkingthings said...

If "John Freaking Q" had owned the Arbor, it wouldn't have been a flophouse. In case you hadn't noticed, JQH has done some pretty great stuff for this city. The man started life lower than dirt poor, saved the money he earned selling rabbits, and became the local legend that he is today.

As a very long time Springfield resident, I've seen Springfield grow from a dull, listless and stagnant town, to a legitimate city that is no longer boring, which actually attracts new residents, and one which kids aren't as likely to leave. JQH has a lot to do with that growth and the energy Springfield now has.

I don't typically besmirch the "come-here's" but in this case, I suggest that newcomers who distrust JQH or city staffers do a little deeper research into the Queen City and it's history. That includes the "come here's" who move here to join the media. There is much to learn that goes way beyond how to pronounce Kearney or Kimbrough. Until you've learned the history, you can't truly grasp the present.

Anonymous said...

I grew up here, sir. Thanks for assuming otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:54 (AM & PM), speaking of assumptions, thinkingthings is a "ma'am."

Anonymous said...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Anonymous said...

"Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

There you go, now that's the way to contribute to a discussion!

thinkingthings said...

Sorry anon 10:54--it just seems that most folks who've lived here for more than a few years realize that in the final analysis, old JQH has done so much for this burg, and frankly we've benefitted from his $ in many, many ways. No personal disrespect meant from this side.

And thanks, Strannix, for remembering my XX chromosomes!!! They're important to me!

Anonymous said...

Of all the people to rip into around here I would put thinkingthings around the very bottom of that list.

Anonymous said...

You'd think, but then again zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Anonymous said...

My bad. I was mistaken as to your gender, madame.

Anonymous said...

I also had no intention of "ripping into" thinkingthings, nor do I have any inclination to do so. In fact, I did no such thing; I was ripping into JQH and they way he is treated almost like royalty.

Sorry about the confusion.

Anonymous said...

And I just found the whole thing boring, especially the several paragraph long shout-out for Mr. Hammons. I agree, but still got bored. Brevity is a blessing.