A reader writes:
Gotta check this out. You may be loathe to look, but I dare you to look away. (Pretty much the definition of hathos, no?) From the YouTube description:
kim kardashian's mom Kris made this song/music video on her 30th Birthday. What do you think? Is she the original Rebecca Black?
See if you can make it through the OJ cameo.
Too perfect it had to have been scripted:
"Tim Tebow's Fire" by John Parr, of "St Elmo's" fame.
Watch at your own risk:
The dancing elf takes this to a whole new level:
The definition of hathos for those who've forgotten:
The Hathos Alert is for moments when you want to look away but cannot. Hathos is the attraction to something you really can't stand; it's the compulsion of revulsion.
You can vote on the Hathos Alert of the year here.
Tis the season for forced displays of marital fidelity:
Herman Cain is back, this time with his wife Gloria. The former GOP presidential campaign has just cut a new holiday video featuring families around the nation wishing viewers a Merry Christmas as the couple sit in front of a glowing fireplace, the word "Peace" on the mantle, with Gloria's hand in her husband's. Cain his shown reading the Christmas story from a dog-eared Bible in a family living room. "Peace be with you," says Gloria Cain. "Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season from our family to yours," adds Cain as the two share flirty looks.
One abiding thing that Hitch and I shared was a passionate hatred of the Christmas season. He rightly saw it as a fascistic enterprise to insist that your mood be in sync with everyone else. And that your mood also be happy. Fuck that. I think one reason we got along so easily was our mutual passion about personal freedom, to live our lives as we fucking well choose. That kind of meddling – from right and left – was something up with which he would not put. Here's a classic moment when Hitch devastates the know-nothing Christianism of our time:
Of course, Hitch was not a Puritan in this. He just insisted on pleasure when he chose, not on when some cultural consensus or divine sadist (as he would put it) told him so. And for those who somehow see in his shortened life a salutary lesson about the long-term effects of prodigious functional alcoholism, may I offer Christopher's own retort:
I always knew there was a risk in the bohemian lifestyle… I decided to take it because it helped my concentration, it stopped me being bored — it stopped other people being boring. It would make me want to prolong the conversation and enhance the moment. If you ask: would I do it again? I would probably say yes. But I would have quit earlier hoping to get away with the whole thing. I decided all of life is a wager and I'm going to wager on this bit… In a strange way I don't regret it. It's just impossible for me to picture life without wine, and other things, fueling the company, keeping me reading, energising me. It worked for me. It really did.
And therefore it worked for all of us. God Bless Johnnie Walker Black.
A new conspiracy theory within a conspiracy theory springs from the talk-radio right:
Donald Trump has fallen so far that on Friday Rush Limbaugh discussed the idea, brought by a caller, that the reality star and momentary Republican kingmaker is actually President Obama's "Trojan horse."
Kevin from Houston — who implied he was a birther, no less — said, "I mean, if you look at how the birth certificate issue went and all that it just seemed like it was just too (sigh) orchestrated, the way it all came out. All of a sudden, it just disappeared. We get the phony birth certificate…" Limbaugh cut in to explain that several strangers have approached him to float the Trojan theory, saying, "there is a lot of suspicion about this. I've had the term Trojan horse used to me twice this week by people who are doubtful. The thing that set 'em both off was what Trump says, 'If I don't like the nominee, I'm running third party,' 'cause everybody knows third party guarantees Obama. Everybody."
From savior to traitor in mere months.
A pair of virgins share their first kiss:
Kelly at Videogum can't contain herself:
I almost feel foolish for thinking that this is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen because how can it even be real?! THE SECOND KISS? At least that second kiss has to be a prank. Like the time that couple pranked Jerry Springer on MTV’s Spring Break, I bet. Or maybe the producers showed them a video of "how to kiss" beforehand and then had them practice for hours on a really out of control robot and now it’s just muscle memory? Listen, we can debunk this clip for as long as we like, but the fact remains that it’s the best kiss any of us will see in our entire lives. Even better than this one.
Schwarzenegger treats audiences to a "DVD commentary" that's really just a play-by-play of every scene:
Gabe wonders:
How is Arnold Schwarzenegger not recording DVD commentary for all of the movies? Now that we know what a DVD commentary track can actually BE, who on Earth wants to hear what Wes Anderson has to say?
Brent Rose adds:
I've gotta say, this is something I really miss about DVDs. I'd say about 90% of the movies I watch at home these days are streamed. Streaming movies are fantastically convenient, but we lose something that was one of the first big advantages DVDs had over VHS tapes: extras. I love extras. In a streaming-only world, the commentary you hear in the video above would never exist, and that, my friends, would be a tragedy.
Michele Bachmann, the comic book. Sample after the jump (click to enlarge):
The Dish 