Posts tagged: top ten

When, in his first inaugural address, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated that, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” he wasn’t necessarily talking about the nature of horror in television and film. The main thrust of his speech was that, in wretched economic times, hope and a positive attitude were integral to pulling America out of the Depression. Nonetheless, that one expression has, in the general zeitgeist, outlasted the rest of his speech about how “Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits.” And it seems fair to say that the line about the only thing we have to fear certainly outlasted FDR’s exhortations that there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.”

Historically, comedy entertainment has flourished in times of economic strife and war and drama and horror have done better when the audience’s day-to-day lives have been more comfortable and free of fear. But we live in interesting times and horror is booming. NBC has an ambitious new television series starting today which showcases the works of thirteen top horror teams. In case this wasn’t obvious from my deconstruction of the origins of the expression about what we have to fear, the name of the series is Fear Itself.

I asked my unsavory pals and I asked the Blue Blood boards and I asked my sixty thousand close personal …

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So a lot of magazines and sites and television shows are doing top ten lists right now. I had planned to post a Blue Blood list of the top ten sexiest men and women of the past year. Unfortunately I ran out of gas after thinking of Anderson Cooper and Vladimir Putin. I didn’t even think of any women before writer’s block set in.

For those of you who do not get CNN in your cable TV lineup, Anderson Cooper is a crystal-eyed honey who helms a show called Anderson Cooper 360. He also had a New York Times bestseller come out this year titled “Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival.” He looks like that, he is intelligent, he is curious about the world, he gets involved, and his fashion sense makes it clear he is a Vanderbilt. I could justify why it is terribly goth to be attracted to Anderson Cooper, but, trust me, it would be tasteless, so I’m just going to say he makes the list with flying colors.

Next on my abbreviated countdown is Economist coverboy Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I know, I know, Putin arguably made some inroads against hard-won Russian democracy after the Beslan school tragedy and a bunch of war stuff in some country Americans don’t pay attention to. His gangster politics are thought by many to be bringing heinous and creative poisoning back in vogue and making it difficult for global corporations to reap the rewards of their investments in helping the Russian oil industry. But sometimes bad boys are hot. Sometimes you just want someone who is dangerously bad for you. Putin …

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