Bill Clinton Strikes Again

It's deja vu all over again.

He endorses him. He doesn't. He equivocates. They do lunch. He hems and haws, confuses the meaning of a simple word like "is," then spits out the party line like he's doing everyone a favor. Somehow, I've seen this show before.

Less than forty-five days out from the election and Big Bill is too busy to hit the campaign trail for Barack Obama. Sour grapes and all, Billary needs to move on. But then, they never did put the country before personal ambition, great public servants that they are.

Public Reaction to Famous Infidelties Bodes Badly for John Edwards

John Edwards' admission of an affair with 42-year old campaign staffer Rielle Hunter finally confirmed persistent rumors dodging the blogosphere throughout the primary election. The questionable reputation of The National Enquirer, the lead source of this sordid story, bolstered Edwards' ability to deny initial infidelity reports and keep reputable news organizations off the investigative trail.

With the affair out in the open and Edwards offering to help prove paternity of Hunter's newborn, pundits now debate Edwards' political future. Some, like Clinton loyalist James Carville, claim "his political career is in shambles." Others, like former presidential candidate John Kerry "don't know what's possible and what's gone."

It's not so much his infidelity -- despicable as it may be to have cheated on a wife whose cancer was in remission -- but the vehement way in which Edwards and his campaign staff denied initial reports. This breach of public trust brands Edwards as a liar, a difficult character trait to erase. If history is any indication of the outcome, the public will not soon forget.

Take a look at public reaction to these famous infidelities.

In a recent television news poll, former President Bill Clinton was voted top political adulterer of all time. Some point to Clinton for wife Hillary's bitter loss in the 2008 primaries. Clinton's attempts to cover-up of his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky threatened to bring down his presidency. Today, there are people who blame his indiscretions for the events leading up to 9/11.

Actress Meg Ryan was America's sweetheart until she publicly cheated on husband Dennis Quaid with Australian new comer Russell Crowe. Their subsequent divorce lead Ryan into seclusion and questionable plastic surgery. In a recent interview with Parade magazine, Ryan revealed, "It's a very big surprise in life when you learn that not everyone is rooting for you." Since falling off the radar, none of Ryan's movies have achieved critical or box office success.

Stand-up comic and actor Eddie Murphy was voted the world's leading love rat for insensitively dumping Spice Girl Melanie Brown and refusing paternity testing for her daughter, Iris Angel. He finally admitted paternity after Brown filed suit. Before then, Murphy famously cheated on wife and mother of his five other children Nicole Mitchell with a transvestite prostitute, resulting in a messy divorce. He subsequently split with Tracey Edmonds reportedly because she refused to sign a prenuptial agreement. Murphy's movies have had mixed reactions at the box office. His Shrek animation franchise plays to large crowds, but his solo features are not as popular. Perhaps most telling of public reaction is Murphy's stunning loss of an Academy Award for his moving turn as James Early in the widely successful Dreamgirls, this after being called the odds on favorite.

The philandering of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is described as the height of hypocrisy for Gingrich had publicly rebuked the embattled Bill Clinton at the same time as his own indiscretions. Gingrich famously dumped first wife Jackie as she recuperated from cancer in the hospital. When his pastor criticized him for failing to support his two children, he left the church. Gingrich also dumped wife number two, Marianne, in a Mother's Day telephone conversation after cheating with Congressional aide, Callista Bisek. Although they subsequently married, the scandal likely kept Gingrich out of the 2008 election. Though the scandal was still under wraps when Gingrich famously resigned his position as Speaker of the House, some still blame his infidelity for costing the Republican Party.

Before there was Team Aniston and Team Jolie, crooner Eddie Fisher famously broke actress Debbie Reynolds' heart by running away with actress Elizabeth Taylor. Todd Fisher, the couple's son, called his father's infidelity the "scandal of all times." Fisher and Taylor quickly married and divorced. Still, fans sided with Reynolds against the evil Fisher and Liz. Fisher never had another top 40 hit after his marriage to Taylor. At best, his movie career is described as mediocre. And over time, Fisher has been relegated to performing in smaller and smaller venues.

[Source]

End of Tony Soprano Parallels Hillary Clinton Finale

Stop the presses. Talk about the unexpected death of Tim Russert throwing a nation into shock, this update from virtual Jersey has me reeling.

Tony Soprano got whacked in The Sopranos finale. So says a ridiculously long in depth scholarly analysis of the HBO mega hit. Why am I always the last to know? The author published this dissertation on May 11, 2008. May freak'n 11th!! Curses on all of you who've been nattering behind my back ever since.

With all the Sex and the City: The Move hype, I recently published my own secret longing for a Sopranos reunion movie. Boy, do I feel moronic now.

If you've got the time and the patience, slog through this stuff. It's logical, analytical, and well researched. Of course, those of us with short attention spans prefer the Cliff Notes:

Positioning of actors in Holsten's restaurant: Location, location, location. Even in a fictional TV show, location matters. If you don't believe me (or the tomb), re-watch the final scene of the final episode. Make a map of every character sitting in the restaurant. If you do it correctly, the analysis shows how third person camera shots and point of view (POV) camera shots conclusively establish Tony's murder. POV shots are seen through Tony's eyes. Tony sits in a restaurant booth facing the entrance, blocking his view of certain patrons. When the camera cuts to these patrons, Tony isn't seeing them, we are, making them third person shots. This blows the "Tony lives with paranoia" ending clear out of the water. Tony is not paranoid. The audience simply doesn't understand the underlying meaning of the camera angles.

POV sequence/blackout: Building on the POV camera shots theory, the author notes a telltale pattern. A cowbell attached to the restaurant entrance rings whenever a patron enters or exits. When Tony hears the cowbell ring, he looks up at the door. When he looks up, we see what he sees. To prove the point, the author notes a third person shot of two new customers, two black men, in the restaurant. We do not hear the cowbell or see them enter because Tony is distracted when they arrive. This shows the importance of the pattern established with static POV shots. In the scene's final minutes, we hear the cowbell. Going with the pattern, we should then see someone entering or exiting the restaurant. Instead, we see and hear nothing. The scene goes pitch black. There is no sound. This tells us that Tony's POV is pitch black with no sound, dead as a door nail. Never saw it coming. I say give Tony more cowbell! Where is more cowbell when you need it?

Man in the "Members Only" jacket: The only track shots in the final scene are when Tony enters the restaurant and when the Man in the Members Only jacket (don't ask me why, but the author abbreviates the reference to "MOG") goes to the bathroom. We get a view of MOG that Tony does not get which is him looking back at Tony. That's how we know it's a track shot. All other camera angles are either third person or POV. MOG is hazily framed in many of Tony's POV shots. He's in Tony's view, but Tony isn't seeing him. Also, MOG is the only patron shown behind the door before he enters. He doesn't register with Tony because AJ is directly behind him. Tony waves to AJ and ignores MOG. Clearly, MOG is the hit man. Tony should be paying more attention, but he is relaxed and happy to be with his family. We never see MOG leaving the bathroom because Tony never sees MOG leaving the bathroom. Carmela and AJ never see MOG leaving the bathroom because they are too interested in studying their menus. The hit happens suddenly behind Tony's back with a gunshot to the head. Makes perfect sense.

Never heard it coming/flashback: The author details several episodes where Tony discusses the life of a mob boss: death or jail. "You probably never hear it coming" and the like is often repeated in the last nine episodes. Significantly, Tony flashes back to a scene where the phrase is said. This foreshadows that when the end comes, Tony will never hear it coming. Don't Stop Believing will be playing on the jukebox and then everything will go completely dark. Sad, when you think about it. On a more positive note, I heard they recently found a new lead singer for Journey.

Dispelling the "nothing happened" theory: Antithetical to all of David Chase's work throughout the series, the author details many plot lines with satisfying build ups and endings. Having such a big build up to a nothing ending makes no sense, violates the show's basic structure, and therefore is not credible.

So, there you have it. The author further analyzes the meaning of Tony's death, Holsten's as symbolism, the parallels between the show and The Godfather, terrorism and the Iraqi War as keys to the finale, miscellaneous fun David Chase stuff, and the influences of The Public Enemy and Goodfellas on the show.

Exhausting. They'll have to study this work of art in classes about mythic television.

For my money, there is one interesting parallel the author either missed or chose to ignore: Hillary Clinton using the final scene as a parody ad for her presidential campaign. "Everybody wants to know how it's going to end," says Bill as they bond over carrot sticks. Hillary sits at the restaurant booth just a bit too relaxed, her perceived feelings of entitlement clouding her ability to run a top notch campaign, the lure of a stronger candidate fuzzily out of focus. In the end, she too took a symbolic bullet to the head. The parallels are glaringly obvious, but why polarize everyone before the convention?

Just want to sit and bask in David Chase's extraordinary brilliance.

Politicelebritopia Round-Up for October 29, 2007

The line separating politicians and celebrities so often becomes blurred. As they cross into each others' realms, mongrel spawn are born. Round-up from this past week includes:

1. Madame Tussauds opened another house of wax in Washington, D.C. This full sensory interactive museum is probably the only place in the world where both Katie Couric and J. Edgar Hoover can put visitors on the hot spot...[more]

2. Cate Blanchette's sons have problems differentiating the celebrity from the sovereign, but they’re only five and three years old. What’s everyone else’s excuse?...[more]

3. Whoever is running FEMA watches too much reality television. America’s civil servants turn their California wildfire response into a botched episode of Survivor...[more]

4. This Hillary screensaver is a riot. When maneuvered correctly, New York’s junior Senator looks quite happy to substitute bubbly balls for hubby Bill...[more]

5. Speaking of Bubba, at Hillary’s 60th birthday bash, good ol' Bill revealed aspirations to star in Billy Crystal’s next movie. You’ll never believe who tested for the part of Marilyn Monroe...[more]
6. The downside of socialized medicine is revealed as Keith Richards, Patricia Routledge, and Christopher Timothy march to protest the consolidation of hospitals in southern England...[more]

7. After toying with the idea of running for president, popular Comedy Central star, Steve Colbert, begins stumping in his home state of South Carolina. Guess he skipped the ending of that popular Robin Williams movie, Man of the Year...[more]

That concludes this week's edition of Bastard Child. Tune in again next week for more spawn from around the globe.

Bill Clinton and Bob Barker

Bill Clinton is stumping for Hillary in New Hampshire. Last week, I heard on the radio that some people in the Live Free or Die (Hard) state (sorry, Bruce & Co., but that is one lame movie title) are mistaking old Bubba for The Price is Right cheerleader emeritus, Bob Barker. Could this be fodder for another separated at birth?

I still can't believe I wasted the time it took to compose this video short, but I did. What I won't do to get noticed. How much sleep will I loose before throwing my hands up in disgust? What's next? Branded TV shorts?

For better or worse, take a gander at my initial foray into video broadcasting.