May 31, 2007

Yes, People Are Still Making 'Brokeback' Parodies

A group of Montgomery County College students won a county smoking-prevention contest; the ad the group made for the contest was slated to air on MTV.

Only, now it's not, because the state refused a grant for the ad because it's a parody of Brokeback Mountain. The state says it's not because of the content (or that Brokeback is almost two years old now) and actually because the "message was lost."

This is pretty tough to figure out:

The winning commercial shows a cowboy standing near a pickup truck, trying to sever ties with a cigarette. The commercial ends with the cowboy saying, "I wish I knew how to quit you. Why don't you let me? It's because of you I'm like this."

The cowboy shows his teeth, now brown from smoking.

Uh, yeah, this does seem like it could be a pro-smoking message. (Oh, the ad was also "hard to hear.") The ad, which wouldn't have stopped anybody from smoking anyway, might still air on TV if the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Montco can get private funds.

You don't want to know what the ad based on Showgirls was like.

'Smokeback' ad will not air on MTV [The Intelligencer]

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November 28, 2006

Leftovers: Best, Philadelphia Will Do

• Apparently, if you sign your email with the sign-off "Best" you are uh, being rude to the person. Me, I like to stick to my normal sign-off: "To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar." [NYT]

• While a third woman of the four found outside Atlantic City was identified, police are investigating if these homicides are connected to another attack on prostitutes earlier this year. Gee, it's good that prostitution is illegal and all, because it really works out for everyone involved, doesn't it? [Inquirer]

• More Western Pennsylvania news: In New Castle, a house explosion injured three. Damn, it's a mile a minute out there! [AP/Philly.com]

• Quakertown's council is flooded with complaints that kids are smoking on a street corner that's been dubbed the "cancer corner." Minors may be banned from smoking throughout the township. Huzzah. [Doylestown Intelligencer]

• Just in time -- well, okay, in advance -- of the Franklin Institute's King Tut exhibit, we learn that the boy king was not bludgeoned to death. Well. That clears that one up. [HealthDayNews/Yahoo!]

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January 03, 2006

I love it when you call me Big Hanukkah

There's a 47-year-old public defender in Camden profiled in the Inquirer today. Nothing too fancy, except she's also a rapper. Yawn. I've heard of assistant district attorneys who rap, and they might have a little tougher time winning fans in a rap battle, being ADAs and all. Tell me something interesting, Inky!

Ruth Ann Mandell isn't any ordinary rapper-on-the-side: she's a Jewish anti-smoking parody song rapper. Now that's a scoop! (Pictured at left: An unrelated Jewish rapper.)

The Inky profile tells of her performance at an anti-smoking rap at Rowam University, and how the kids clapped "enthusiastically" for "Blue Latitude," her antismoking rap based on Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude." Clearly, kids at Rowan are fairly easily amused.

Other songs by our rapping attorney? Why, none other than "Dear Dr. Kevorkian" and "Last Nite 'Cop Killa' Saved My Life."

I can't wait for her mixtape to hit the streets.

Rap of the gavel not the only rap she hears [Inky]

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