Mishmash Musings

Have you heard that Jason Alexander has a new show coming out? It’s currently in development at CBS, but the premise is supposedly about a down-on-his-luck TV star who joins his ex-wife’s detective agency and “reinvents” himself that way. I don’t know… that sounds like it could be a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? We’ll see if he can finally break the “Seinfeld” curse with that one. So far, the only ex-Seinfeld star who has had any success with a different show has been Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose “New Adventures of Old Christine” lasted for 4 seasons and earned her an Emmy. Can Jason top that?

Anyway, while I was looking for a photo to include with this post, I noticed this one that shows Alexander’s dramatic change after going on some weight loss diet or other. Wow, what a difference! He looks pretty good there, doesn’t he? I wonder if the weight is still off and if he’ll be as slim as he is in this photo when his series debuts.

Well, the news that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are divorcing after just two years of marriage doesn’t really come as a surprise to me. Here’s a post I wrote back when news of their engagement surfaced. At the time, I said I put the over/under on their marriage at 4 years, and here we are a mere two years later talking about their divorce. Oh, well… that’s the way most Hollywood marriages go, right?

I just saw that Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington injured his throwing shoulder again after tossing just two passes and had to leave his team’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Pennington has never been very durable, but he positively seems to be made of glass now that he’s getting older. I hope he has invested in some good disability insurance, because I have a feeling his golden years aren’t going to be all that comfortable, physically speaking.

But at least the NFL somewhat takes care of their players. There are a lot of regular people out there that have applied for disability insurance, but have been rejected for one reason or another. Sometimes the rejections are just due to incorrect paperwork or other technicalities rather than for legitimate reasons. That has happened to my uncle several times already, which is why I think he needs to talk to a company like Allsup that helps people file their claims properly.

Anyway, back to Pennington. His replacement Chad Henne has come in and been serviceable. Early in the third quarter, the game is tied 10-10 with Henne at 15-of-22 for 199 yards and a pick.

Update: Henne left with an injury as well, but the Dolphins’ 3rd string QB was able to get the job done. Now let’s hope the team is still in disarray next week when they play Chicago!

Man, I totally want to see this movie! I love, love, LOVE Aaron Sorkin and am not surprised at all that The Social Network has received rave reviews pretty much across the board. It’s just too bad that I’m so busy right now and don’t have time to sneak off to the theater for a couple of hours. Bummer!

Leonardo DiCaprio was supposed to work with Mel Gibson on a Viking film slated to begin production in the fall. But now he has pulled out of the project — presumably because of the recent brouhaha caused by Gibson’s (alleged) threats to girlfriend Oksana Whateverhernameis.

I think this is a good move by Leo, because Gibson has made too many missteps in his personal life for all this crap to be a fluke. The anti-Semitic/racist comments, demands for blowjobs, etc. It’s disgusting.

I couldn’t stand DiCaprio back during his Titanic heyday, but I have been warming to him ever since Blood Diamond. This just makes me like him even more.

Have you heard of this new television series called Huge? It’s about morbidly obese teens whose parents decide to send them to fat camp instead of putting them on apidexin or a similar supplement. At first glance, it seems like kind of a stupid concept for a TV show, but I’ve read a few surprisingly good reviews about it. What the reviewers particularly like is the fact that teen obesity is portrayed in a realistic way. The characters suffer like “real humans” instead of just being the “funny” best friend or whatever. Plus, on Huge, the weight loss is extremely slow, which is much closer to real life than what is seen on The Biggest Loser and other such shows.

I don’t have any reason to watch something like Huge, but I’m glad it’s getting good reviews. If a show like that can help troubled teens feel a bit better about their situation, then go for it.

I used to watch Cagney & Lacey back in the ’80s, and absolutely loved Sharon Gless’s character. I had no idea that she was already 40 back then, so imagine my surprise when I saw her turn up on Burn Notice a few years ago. She looked (and still looks) positively stunning for someone her age. Seriously, she must have a medicine cabinet full of the best rated wrinkle cream because her face looks amazing! It’s hard to believe that she’s 67!

Anyway, Burn Notice is a pretty cool show and Gless’s Madeline is a hoot. Check it out on USA Network next Thursday night if you’ve got nothing else to do!

I’m sure most of you have already seen photos of Jake Gyllenhaal’s beefed up body in his new film Prince of Persia, but I wanted to post one here anyway. I think his transformation was incredible! He has always appeared very skinny and lanky to me, so getting ready for his role as Dastan involved more than adding ephedra diet pills to his daily regimen. I mean, this wasn’t just about losing weight, it was about bulking up.

As good as Jake looks in this movie, I have no desire to see it. Really? Another movie based on a video game? As though Hitman and Max Payne weren’t warning enough about how wrong that concept can go? Ugh!