Houston, I Have A Problem...

Howdy Houstonians,

How y'all doing? I'm really sorry about that headline up there. I'm sure you're very sick of variations on that line, but I couldn't resist.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing is that apparently my post about Vince Vaughn's phallic thumb was mentioned on a morning radio show there (The Rod Ryan Show) on Monday, sending thousands of new readers to this site. If any of y'all know where I can find a recording of that mention, or can at least summarize what was said, I would be much obliged.

Thank you and bless your souls,
The Pop Culture Petri Dish


A scene from Steve Oedekerk's upcoming Thumbmation film, Brokethumb Mountain?

Previously, on The Dish: No Castration Without Representation, Two Thumbs Close-Up

Moms & Dads' Day

Well, June 10 came and went without incident, but June 12 is shaping up to be a magical day.

I was wondering why this site was suddenly getting hundreds of hits from people searching for information about Shane Klingensmith - that wonderous pre-boy bander who had it all: looks, dance moves, angelic voice. Turns out, Bravo's running a marathon of every episode of Showbiz Moms & Dads today from 1 to 7 pm! And since there's no DVD set in sight, I'll be recording every episode so that I can relive every uncomfortable moment.

But wait! There's more! Thanks to a heads up on the World of Wonder website (chock full of info about Showbiz Moms & Dads, Showdog Moms & Dads and Sports Kids Moms & Dads), I've learned that Oprah is re-running her sitdown with two of the Sports Kids Moms & Dads parents... TODAY! All hail June 12! (if only she were re-airing her chat with the Nutters!)

As for Shane (who readers of The Dish are obviously clammoring for information about), there's not too much news to report. When last we checked in with him, his website had been abandoned, but his loyal Street Team remained. Now, sadly, they too have gone missing:



And unlike other Moms & Dads alumni (and The Pop Culture Petri Dish), Shane has no MySpace profile. However, I did find two bits of old news to share with you.

First, in 2004, Shane was named Best Escort at the Miss Florida American Sweetheart Optional Pageant, for escorting his niece (and Top Semi-Finalist) Bethany Klingensmith.


Bethany Klingensmith and crown

Second, it appears Showbiz Moms & Dads executive producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato wanted to work with Shane again:

This year for our Christmas card we plan to dredge up an old Pop Tarts pop song, "Hot Christmas." Without boasting, it's a catchy ditty - in a completely toxic kind of way - with the chorus "I'm dreaming of a hot Christmas, c'mmon baby let's [beat] this christmas." It's suggestive in an innocent way. Mild double entendre, that kind of thing. So we think who better to sing this song than Shane Klingensmith who sang "Hot Hot Hot" in Showbiz Moms and Dads? Everything is going just fine until the manager intervenes:

I'm pretty sure it implies having sex, but I think instead of putting the single beat in there (where the word would be) it should be changed to something like "let's kiss this Christmas" or "let's light a fire this Christmas." Hopefully you understand what I'm saying

We reply:

We can't change the words of the song because that's the whole idea: KLet's blank this Christmas. Because it's just a beat, because no rude words are actually said, it's all up to people's imagination. And because no one is saying any rude words, it's really very innocent.

Doesn't make any difference. Everyone's afraid - even of innuendo.

Ah, what might've been...

Previously, on The Dish: Gotta Love The "Dunc Nut", Misses Mr. Klingensmith, After They Were "Stars", Retraction III

No Castration Without Representation!

Less than four days after creating a MySpace page and The Pop Culture Petri Dish has already been censored by Tom (or Rupert Murdoch or whoever the Powers That Be are). Without any warning at all they took down one of MyPics:


One, two, three, four. I declare a thumb war!

Now, if they had bothered to e-mail me regarding any concerns over nudity, or even followed the link below the photo, I could've told them that this is not a picture of a penis, but rather Vince Vaughn's thumb (which happens to look very much like a penis).

Granted, the image does technically violate MySpace's Photo Policy, since it features celebrities and is copyrighted, but then, so do ten of the eleven pics that were (so far) permitted to remain up on MyMySpace page. Including, strangely, this other photo of Vince Vaughn's penis-thumb:


This one gets the thumbs up from MySpace?

So does MySpace just decide, willy nilly, to remove pictures of famous people's deformed digits? Or maybe one of MyNewfriends reported the image (Et tu, Jon Favreau?). Either way, I demand MyRight to bare thumbs! Does anybody know how I can plead MyCase to Tom?

Until then, I can take comfort knowing that when you Google "vince vaughn's ugly thumb" (as one reader apparently did earlier today) this site is the third one listed!

Previously, on The Dish: Be MyFriend, Two Thumbs Close-Up

Be MyFriend

Hey kids! Now you can be The Pop Culture Petri Dish's friend!

As part of our continuing biennial celebration, we now have a MySpace profile (all the cool blogs are doing it). Check it out! Add The Dish as your friend! Don't be Shy! I swear, I won't bombard you with annoying bulletins about what the last thing I ate was or my favorite color.

And don't be fooled by my age. Apparently, MySpace won't let two-year-olds sign up so I had to pretend to be 26. I hope that doesn't scare away the online predators...

Happy (Belated) Second Blogoversary to Me

I'm still waiting on world peace. And that second season of Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

This past Sunday – Memorial Day – was a national day of commemoration, marking the one year anniversary of The Pop Culture Petri Dish’s first blogoversary, and, coincidentally, The Pop Culture Petri Dish’s second blogoversary.

Yes, it’s been two whole years since this blog was birthed in the middle of the night, and what a second year it has been. Having forged a one-sided truce in my one-sided blog war, I turned my sights on another one-sided feud – this time against Jamie Foxx (and his never-ending impression of Ray Charles).

Also this year, The Dish had perhaps its biggest scoop ever, thanks to links from such power-bloggers as reality blurred, Best Week Ever and TVgasm. It was certainly The Dish's most eyeball-catching post ever, though the very last post of our second year is putting up a good fight in that department, thanks again to a link from Best Week Ever.

For the most part, I’ve gotten away from the long, rambling, ranty, in-depth over-analysis of The Dish’s inaugural year (with a few notable relapses here and there), instead training my pop culture microscope on insignificant things that the naked eye might've missed.

And then there was Tom Cruise (and more Tom Cruise).

As a gift to you, my dear eyeballs, I’ve finally cleaned, updated and organized the links you see to your right (and added “THE DISH RECOMMENDS…”). And as we move forward into the future, we’ll be looking back at the past. From now on, new posts will include links at the bottom to relevant posts from the archives (when relevant).

Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you for linking and most of all, thank you for flying The Pop Culture Petri Dish.

Previously, on The Dish: Happy (Belated) Blogoversary to Me; I've Created Lutherans!

USA Yesterday

Nice piece comparing Brokeback Mountain and King Kong, USA Today. So timely and original.

Ray-traction V?

One of this blog's most visited (and most controversial) posts claimed that it was Ray Charles, and not Jamie Foxx, singing the hook on "Gold Digger". A concerned reader commented:

The song Kanye sampled for Gold Digger was from Ray Charles. Jamie resung the hook.

Don't be an idiot your entire life.

I conceded rather easily (and snidely), presuming that someone who founded a professional website dedicated to hip hop (which you can read more about here) would know more about this subject than a casual music fan like myself. And admittedly, as I admitted then, I hadn't done enough research. I'm an idiot, end of story.

Now, today, I look again at the comments section on that old post and see two new ones. The first:

you should at least edit the original post so you don't keep spreading fud

Loathe as I am to spread fud (But was I really spreading fud? Uncertainty and doubt (or "ud"), maybe, but are people really afraid that Jamie Foxx didn't sing the hook on "Gold Digger"? Unless Anonymous was using the word in the Scottish sense, in which case, that's just nasty), I feel the comments section on that post speaks for itself. However, I'm happy to bring this heated debate to a new post, especially after reading the next new comment:

I am a hip hop fan and it annoys and frustrates me that everyone thinks that it is Jamie Fox singing on this track. I live in NYC and even the two hip hop radio stations here seem to think he is singing on this track as well. He is out there taking credit for something the late, great Ray Charles did (Not specifically for this track, he was obviously sampled) did, not him...

Great. So maybe I was right the first time and retracted too quickly. But then again, what makes Freddy a more reputable source than Steven Samuel?

A simple Google search reveals that there is still no consensus. Wikipedia says:

Though he is given full credit as a featured artist on "Gold Digger," Jamie Foxx's only vocal contribution is the a cappella introduction to the song, an interpolation of Charles's "I Got a Woman" (Foxx opens the song with the line "She take my money/when I'm in need/Yeah she's a trifling/friend indeed," and it's repeated throughout the song).

Meanwhile, contactmusic.com offers this take:

Taking it’s framework from Ray Charles "I Got A Woman" and using the man who played him in the movie Jamie Foxx as the vocalist. Jamie’s voice is so uncannily like Ray’s that had ray not died last year I’m sure someone would have claimed that Jamie was Ray’s reincarnation.

Interestingly, when the track was nominated for two Grammys last week, Foxx's name was not included among the nominees, even though De La Soul were cited for their contribution to Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc.", also nominated for Record of the Year. In addition, "Gold Digger" was mentioned in the Best Rap Solo Performance category and not under the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration umbrella (where West was nominated with John Legend for "They Say").

So at this point, the only thing I feel safe saying with any certainty is that there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding Foxx's involvement in one of the hottest singles of the year. If anybody can point me to a definitive statement, preferably straight from the mouth of either West or Foxx, I would greatly appreciate it.