Musings from the Moon

In a press statement released today George and Cindy Anthony’s attorney, Mark Nejame, states that he can and will no longer represent the Anthonys, basically due to their belief that little Caylee is alive.

NeJame’s News Release:

One down.

I wonder who else is crazy (or desperate) enough to take this case.

The Anthony’s have also called off the much anticipated presser wherein they stated that they would release their hard core evidence that little Caylee is still alive.

Looks like NeJame called their “bluff”.

The latest from the National Enquirer which is a rag tabloid magazine unless, of course, it shows the Gosselins in a positive light. Then it seems to be A-OK.

Curious, isn’t it?

From the Rise and Whine (sounds like Kate, doesn’t it……rise and whine?) blog (http://high-five.net/?p=421)

Jon and Kate (minus their eight)

When my friends told me Jon and Kate Gosselin were coming to their church last weekend in Waynesburg, PA, I was PSYCHED at the chance to see them. The drive is about 4.5 hours, but totally worth it to see my friend AND hear the parents of sextuplets and twins tell their story in person.

What do I like about the show?

* the kids are adorable
* I grew up in a family of 8 kids and some of their interactions remind me of my childhood
* my fiance kinda reminds me of Jon

Visiting my friends and their 1-yr old daughter was great! We made the trek to PA early on Saturday with plans to hang out on Saturday, attend church on Sunday, go to lunch, and hang out a bit more before heading home.

Jon and Kate were part of two speaking events that day. One was an hour to tell their story to the church members (which is what I went to), and another a few hours later that required buying $7 tix. The latter sold out at 500 people. Although I chose the free event, I thought I’d support them by buying their new book and gave to the donation bucket that was passed around after they spoke. This made more sense for us since the later event would’ve left us driving home very late at night with work the next morning.

As church began, I looked around and noticed that the couple was nowhere to be found. This was pretty understandable since their presence could distract from the ceremony itself, which seemed to be about 70% weekly churchgoers and 30% guests. When it came time for the sermon, the pastor introduced Jon & Kate and an overhead projector flashed images of the Gosselins over the past 4 years. Finally it was time to see the couple I’ve loved watching for the past year!

They walked out and took their seats. Rather than doing what was initially expected, they opted to do something “different” and have a question and answer session for the entire hour. I was a bit thrown off when they didn’t at least spend 5 minutes to sum up their story. After all, several of the audience were simply church members who had never heard of “Jon & Kate plus 8?. Although most of their answers were short (Ex: Q- “Where are your kids right now?” A- “At home.”), there were a few answers that reminded me of the Jon and Kate I see on TV, joking back and forth on their “interview” couch.

When the hour was up, they made their exit and church ended. Clutching my book excitedly, I waited in the hallway with another 15 or so fans, hoping to say “hello” and possibly snag an autograph. 10-15 mins later the door opened and out they came, glancing indifferently our way before walking the other way, out the back door, and straight into their car.

A bit turned off, my mood lifted again when the (amazingly nice) youth pastor took my book and said he’d try to get me an autograph in the afternoon session. The next day I heard that after the paid event, the Gosselins sold pics of their family for $10-$20 along with signing them. The pastor asked them to sign my copy of their book, and Kate quickly autographed it (though Jon didn’t…I guess they figured one was good enough??) The youth pastor’s wife mentioned that when she thanked them for coming, they didn’t respond.

I know I shouldn’t expect anything, but I was a bit disappointed. They said they travel to various churches to “tell their story”, but while they were here they treated it as if it were just a job, and one they only do for the money. They did only what they had to, and I didn’t see much friendliness from either of them along the way. I know they don’t have to say hello to their fans, but without us they wouldn’t have the show. PLUS they received quite a bit of $$ from the donations, ticket sales, and pictures. Unfortunately for me I assumed they’d be much more friendly…maybe even thankful for the opportunity to earn money and “tell their story” as they claimed they wanted to do.

I can’t decide whether I want to watch the show anymore. The kids will always be cute, but I can’t say I have quite the admiration for Jon & Kate that I had a week ago.

Lesson of the day: Reality TV doesn’t equal reality

The following was submitted by my reader, Syl. It is interesting (to say the least) and hardly surprising if true. Par for the course, I say.

The decision as to its validity, Dear Readers, is entirely up to you.

(Thanks, Syl! It is appreciated :))

Taken from the GWOP website today. The ‘newspaper article’ blog.

“Anonymous said…

My husband and I were guests at Kate and Jon’s wedding that took place last summer. I know it was on the television recently and I just wanted to clear up a few things. Prior to this event we never met Kate or Jon or any of their children but being that they are family we felt a special kinship towards them. A couple of months before the event we received a mailed invitation which also included a separate print out of appropriate gifts to give. I personally did not feel that was a very loving thing to do but I understand that this is something brides sometimes to do ensure that they not receive duplicates. Please keep in mind that we like many native islanders are living on a fixed income and do not have the kind of funds necessary for such extravagances. There were many scenes from the wedding that were not televised on the special. Many of the women went up to Kate and we did try to embrace her and congratulate her. Instead of smiling and accepting our words she shunned us. We also tried to show Jon a native dance however we were told by a member of the staff that put their special together that it was not a good idea. We had hoped to keep in touch with Jon as well as his wife and children however we have not heard anything from them since they left the island. We do appreciate that they thought of us and invited us to the ceremony and we also thank the hotel staff who was kind to everyone. One of the banquet ladies actually came to my table and spoke to us many times just to make small talk which was sweet.

Regardless of the letter’s authenticity, Aunt Fifi from Etiquette Hell would like to remind the Gosselins that it is in very poor taste to solicit gifts for any occasion or love offerings for that matter. Oh, and not to mention pimping out your tiny flesh and blood to any and all corporations that are willing to pay for a pint or two.

Thanks for the reminder, Aunt Fifi!

Submitted by: I See Stupid People

For those of you who have already tossed your telly’s out with the trash due to the never ending silliness that is the Gosselin “Wedding Spectacular” commercial, then hold onto your cookies. I’m gonna get down and dirty with the Wedding Spectacle– I mean Wedding Spectacular–recap. But first things first. That damn commercial!

OK, so it’s not a wedding, is it? That happened nine years ago. This is a renewal of vows ceremony, or “Sure, I’d marry Kate again because if I divorced her, I’d be losing more than my already missing balls. They didn’t call our old street a “Culled Sac” for nothing!”

The extras (could they be Jon’s long lost Hawaiian third cousins twice removed?) are all seated in their folding chairs. I wonder if they have ever even met Kate or the children. I dare say it will be the last time, unless they own the Grand Wailea. Relatives are a dime a dozen (and Kon has gone through quite a few coins already, but its only money, eh Kon?). Once they have been used as fillers or used for whatever will benefit Kon, it’s “Buh bye!” or in this case, “Aloha!”

Why are they calling it a “Wedding Event”? Didn’t these two get married nine years ago in a lovely ceremony attended by family and friends? Oh, yeah, that was when they had family and friends that would actually attend such a thing. Now we have the sickening TLC commercial that I swear runs every 3 and a half minutes, on every channel. Or so it seems. Jon, with his silly man-child grin, looks across at, at—a whole lot of hair! Oh wait, the wind is blowing and I see a smile and an eye (an evil eye, but an eye nonetheless). Her face says it all. “You will marry me again, Jon, and this time there is soooooooo much more at stake than just your testicles. Can you imagine the child support you’d owe?” I’ve got news for you Kate. A judge would give Jon these kids over you any day. Who is the primary caregiver? Ok, assuming the crew isn’t going to adopt the kids, let’s say Jon is. And who has more earning potential? Ok, let’s leave the kids out of this for a minute. Katie Irene! You are the weakest link! You go get a job and support the children you manufactured with this dolt! Jon, by going through with this farce, is just stating for the millionth time that he agrees to be belittled and degraded by his wife on national television for as long as reruns and syndication lasts.

Yes, it’s a beautiful life now, isn’t it? With 8 little cash cows, how could you say no? There’s a big world waiting—and you’ve got lots more places to visit on someone else’s dime. Well, on your kids’ backs, actually.

So now they are buying a vowel, I mean, renewing their vows in Hawaii. The place, where, if you believe them, they had planned to wed in the first place but their families couldn’t afford to travel there. Ummm…sounds like Kon couldn’t afford it back then either. So, of course, now that the family can afford to go….hold up….who are those people in the folding chairs? Where are Kate’s parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, cousins, SISTER-IN-LAW, and Jon’s mother, brothers, etc. etc? Don’t make me mention friends. Unless Jenny the Nanny/ Helper is Kate’s new BFF. I know those older ladies adorning Kate with the necklace would love to strangle her with it. I know I would.

I somehow missed the episode of Say Yes to the Dress. So, I am quite surprised at her choice. I think I saw this on an episode of Project Runway when the contestants had to make a garment out of toilet paper. Or maybe, for old time’s sake, they used paper towel for that “something old” trend. I guess they must have prayed for it, and got Kleinfeld’s instead. Toss on a few sparkly things, and there you have a wedding dress. Damn. I said “wedding” again.

The kids look sweet, natch. But there’s Jon, a.k.a “Shamu” swimming through the commercial and ruining a perfectly good shot of a giggling Alexis. Yes, Alexis, your parents are really trying to convince the world they are so happy and totally in love. Well, that and the fact that you little ones will actually remember all of these freebies, er, vacations. You know the score, you smart girl. I’ll buy YOUR book in a heartbeat. You’ll need the money anyway.

Ack! There it is again! That song! Those yellow coats! Whoops, sorry, my mistake@ That’s actually Jon’s stripe down his back. KATE has the yellow coat on. So. Let’s get this show rolling. I. AM. SICK. OF. THE. HYPE. And those smiles are creeping me out!

Here we go, on with the show! (I’m writing as I watch. No VCR, DVR or TiVo for this cub reporter! )

As Kon gets the last minute details sorted, Jenny takes all of the kids on a walk around the resort. Brave Jenny. 8 kids. ALL BY HERSELF. The kids appear to be having fun, getting dirty, exploring, finding treasures. Then the low blood sugar hits, and OMG there isn’t enough cheese to go around. Leah (I think) throws her shared piece over Jenny’s head and stomps away. Niiice. They don’t respect Jenny. I’m sure Kon doesn’t respect her either, and it shows up in the kids behavior with her.

Jon meets up with a few of his relatives who haven’t seen him in over 20 years. Nice to be such a close knit clan. It is so apparent that they only know Jon from the show. His very elderly Aunt says something like “He is more handsome than the man on TV.” And what was with that other weird exchange with Jon and his relatives? Them: “Thanks for inviting us. You DID know we lived in Maui?” Jon: “Oh, yeah.” Jon’s thought bubble: “We just never needed you to fill in and look like you are a part of our lives so we wouldn’t look silly renewing our vowels all by ourselves.” Quick! Someone tell Kon that there are way too many chairs out on the lawn.

One of the more telling moments of the show: Mady is supposed to be Kate’s Maid of Honor. She says “I don’t want to.” Kate interrupts with something like “Mady was so excited-“ only to be interrupted by a melting down Mady saying, honestly, “No I wasn’t, Mommy.” Ah, out of the mouths of babes (unfortunately no one every listens to them).

Kate tries to explain the reason “why” they are doing this (!?!). They will never remember the vows, you dolts. It doesn’t mean anything to them! Renewing your vows does not mean you won’t break up. Getting married is no guarantee either! Helllooooo! The divorce rate in this country is 50%! Kate says something like “Now that we have 8 kids it is so important to show them that mommy and daddy will be together forever.” (“Forever” means as long as Jon doesn’t find his scrotum, put his balls back in, and start banging someone who doesn’t treat him like he is just another one of the little money makers). Please, Kate. Grow up. I still look back to the fairy tale Kate of just 9 years ago. It’s not difficult to find her still here, just hiding it better under that streaked blob of face hair.

Cut to the showing of the kids’ clothes. Plain. Simple. Probably free. As in The Grand Wailea INVITED us to have a spa day. Although no company is mentioned, so maybe they actually did have to pay for the little kids’ clothes and the twin’s dresses. Betcha Kon wasn’t too pleased about THAT. Thrifty Jon buys the boys shirts that can be worn again. Good boy, Jon. Now, go sit.

The girls get ready for their spa day. Riiighhht. How eager did those spa ladies seem to see those little girls? No tips from them! And I agree with the sextuplet who asked the obvious: “Why do I need this?” It’s a robe, sweetie. Get used to your nouveau riche lifestyle. Or at least learn what one looks like so you can tell when Mommy is being pampered. Many little hands excitedly pick at the pretty bottles of nail polish. Kate takes the bottles from the little hands and replaces them with her choice. Mady is adamant that she wants blue. Kate hands her a more suitable blue. So why do we hear Kate say that she didn’t care what color they chose? Why was she saying “No! That’s too bright. Choose this one”?

The girls get their hair done, some in curls. Mady refuses and is actually allowed to be herself! Kate’s meds must have kicked in. Kate is worried about her own hair and makeup. At least someone had the good sense to tame the beast on the back of her head. A full can of Porcupine Ass Be-Gone and she’s all set to go. Jon handles the boys dressing needs, and unfortunately the camera man can’t seem to contain some creepy need to once again film all three of the boys in their underwear, and the editor shows it for every pedophile that tunes in each Monday night, hoping for a glimpse of this very thing. Good job Jon!

Commercial break…..Whoa….WAIT! That song…but…it’s not KON! Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Kon. Methinks your days may be numbered (or at least outnumbered by a family with more multiples). Kate, would you like a little Clomid with that wedding cake? Your one set of twins behind! Hurry!

Back from the break.

The girls are walking from chapel to the lawn, following some fire holder girls (?). Dammit, camera man! Linger on the crowd a bit. I’ve almost counted all of the guests. 11. And Jenny. I keep trying to count when the camera pans: 5 on one side, 6 or 7 on the other. So, let’s be generous and say a baker’s dozen attended. But whoa! Lookie loos in the background, as well as hotel staff, I imagine. This is becoming very, very sad. The kids are as rowdy as I’ve ever seen them. They are having fun but certainly don’t understand the meaningfulness (right Kate?) of the occasion. Yup. Memories aplenty here. Jon and Kate interrupt the preacher/minister and yell at the kids to go sit down. The congregation swells to double its size.

They continue with the vows. Oh no he di’int! (wiggle head in that annoying preteen way). Jon just screwed himself by adding that I will always ask “how may I help you” crap. And he proves later on the couch that he wasn’t paying attention when Kate spoke: Loved the scripture, Kate. Kate: I didn’t have Scripture, Jon. He was so freaked out by the fact that Kate said they would be together for the next 90 years that he lost his mind for the rest of the ceremony.

Wow. It was a chaotic ceremony with the kids being out of control. Jon must have made certain that the lei’s around Kate’s neck emitted the smell of Prozac. She kept insisting that it was perfect, just the way she wanted and oh so meaningful, unlike their first wedding. Niiiice for the folks watching back home.

At the reception, both tables were filled. What can you say about a reception that was embarrassingly empty but for two tables? The wait staff and crew outnumbered the guests. All I keep thinking about is the amount of money spent on this spectacle. They could have done this at home with people who mean something to them helping to make it special. Oh, but PA is so yesterday, and family and friends are so over rated. Not to mention completely cut out of their lives. This is really sad. And for God’s sake can you make sure the little girl’s dresses fit? I do not want to see another strap falling off a four-year old, exposing her chest.

The cake cutting was just boring. Too much cake, not enough cake eaters. There was far too much meaning invested in the symbols: 2 flowers became 4, then 6 more then 10 total. Ugh. Cut the damn cake already. And that’s a wrap of the hyped up wedding/renewal/getting married again freebie vacation in Hawaii.

Or not quite.

Jon plays golf at 7am with a few relatives. They have to plug the amazing golf course. And now it’s time to plug the resort. I mean PLUG the resort. Because Kon wants to come back tomorrow. They keep plugging, hoping for another “invite”. Now we get a glimpse of the size of the suite. It was pretty huge, probably bigger than my house, square footage-wise.

Please wrap this show up now. That was embarrassing.

OMG! That song again. Now they have every TLC family involved!

I hate that song.

And I hate the Kon.

TUNE IN TONIGHT: ‘Jon & Kate,’ plus eight, renew their vows in the 50th state
By Kevin McDonough
United Feature Syndicate

Every reality show answers its own particular question. “The Real World” asked viewers to ponder how young people would react when they shared a house with strangers, a camera crew and Viacom’s publicity department.

“Jon & Kate Plus 8″ (9 p.m., TLC, TV-G) asks us: What if, by quirk of biology (or pharmacy), the dullest people on the planet became celebrities with their own reality show?

For the uninitiated, “Jon & Kate” follows the travails of former Berks County couple Jon and Kate Gosselin, who had twins and then decided to try for one more baby, only to end up with sextuplets and all that entails. On tonight’s very special episode, Jon and Kate travel to Hawaii to renew their marriage vows.

As wedding videos go, this is pretty mundane stuff. Kate takes her gaggle of girls to get pedicures. The boys are shown in various stages of being out of control.

Someday, these children may grow up to develop interesting and distinct personalities, but, by then, the camera crews will probably no longer find them marketable. Right now, they seem to be figures, or rather figurines, of pure adorableness, offering an instant rush to the craven cuteness junkies in the show’s large audience.

In the show, the children are reduced to the human equivalent of a trip to the Hummel factory, a lifetime supply of “Love Is” panels or an army of Precious Moments collectibles come to life.

But even these barely articulate preschoolers (”Uh oh, I’m in twubble now!”) are a million times more fascinating than their folks. As in most reality shows, the stars offer instant commentary on snippets of action we have just witnessed. Jon and Kate’s powers of observation seem limited to statements such as “That’s awesome.”

And it’s not just their way with words; it’s the delivery. Since I’m a charitable guy, I’ll attribute their monotonous deadpan more to parental exhaustion than sheer indifference.

It surely takes an amazing amount of energy to raise eight children. It also takes a monumental supply of gall to assume that anybody else is interested or that it makes for good television.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=114198

An interesting article from the Boston Globe today (thanks MET!).

Apparently I am not the only one who sees this farce as nothing more than a staged infomercial money machine that uses small innocent children as adorable props; the ultimate greasy wheel.

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?&articleid=1132786&format=&page=1&listingType=tvrev#articleFull

Wedding my ass.

I could have sworn Kon and Satan were already married. As such, I am baffled as to why TLC has been promoting this farce as the Greedslins “Wedding Event of the Year”, complete with a “Wedding Event Guide” and links so you too can plan your wedding in Hawaii just like “the normal, every day”
(yet glaringly cupidinous) couple, Jon and Kate.

This “event” is nothing more than a $40,000 (+) calculated staged mockery of sacred wedding vows that was paid for (well, at least 80% of it anyway) through the labor and lost childhood of 8 small children.

No more, no less - that’s all she wrote.

One thing IS for sure, however, the devil is in the details.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/jon-and-kate/wedding/wedding-guide.html

Feel free to dicuss slam.

My awe inspiring lesson of the day in love, strength and perseverance.

Thanks for the reiteration, Faith!

********The up to the minute internet rumor is that the George and Cindy Anthony have canceled their appearance on this evening’s Nancy Grace Show. I guess we will find if that is true on about 40 minutes or so…………………

In the meantime:

Meet and greet?

MEET AND GREET?!?

(Just throw one more ring into a circus that now rivals what Barnum & Bailey could have only have dreamed!)

Little Caylee Anthony has been missing for over 22 weeks and now grand (standing) parents, Cindy and George Anthony along with their new spokesperson Michelle Bart from the (relatively slimy and questionable) Kid Finder’s Network will be appearing on Nancy Grace and CNN this evening as well as holding their first ever “Meet and Greet” Saturday morning in Orlando where from 9:00 am until 12:00 noon persons can come meet George and Cindy Anthony, get familiar with them (?). Monday the festivities continue with a press conference to be held wherein Kid Finders and the Anthonys to disclose to the public some information they have not yet shared about why they believe Caylee is still alive. Apparently flying-under-the-radar-lately brother, Lee Anthony will be making an appearance as well.

Will there be (donated) donuts too?

(Or maybe just some Casey Koolaid?)

While the debate rages over the falling out of Leonard Padilla and Tim Miller (both media whores if you ask me, but at least Padilla is still actively looking for little Caylee), and who is the more “honorable” and altruistic in the verifiable mess the “largest recovery search in US history” has become, in slither the the Anthonys to distract once again and announce their new spokespeople that have, interestingly enough, histories that are anything but angel white.

Shall I introduce the founders of KidFinders Network (KFN), Dennis and Sherri Milstead? (It is long, but oh so worth the read, IMO) :

KidFinders Network Dennis and Sherri Milstead are founders of KidFinders Network, a 501c3 charitable organization. They received their advanced ruling 501c3 certification from the IRS in 2006. On September 12 Ms. Milstead was copied on an email that had been originally sent to Lee Anthony, and she was copied on his reply to the potential donor without the donor’s permission. Lee Anthony directed the prospective donor to the various ways of donating to the trust, but instructed prospective donor to consider donating to KFN, as they continued to be so supportive of the Anthony family. Ms. Milstead proceeded to email the prospective donor, unsolicited, the 3 ways she could donate, which included her direction that the prospective donor could use the KFN PayPal account located on their site for BOTH KFN, and HFCMT. Notably, this occurred after the trust had been closed by the bank. As the prospective donor is a former banking executive within Sun Trust, the prospective donor became concerned and our investigation into KFN ensued.

Finally, we would like to remind everyone reading this, that this endeavor was not undertaken as some “whistle blowing” initiative. Our group, consisting of Legal, Journalist, Executive, Banking, and entrepreneurial professionals felt called to action for one reason: Caylee. The very notion that there are people that are willing to profit from this tragedy is a travesty to the legacy of a beautiful child we have all fallen in love with, yet never met. We stand for Caylee.

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=4070.1740

And if that wasn’t enough, take a gander at THIS:

http://courtcon.co.palm-beach.fl.us/pls/jiwp/ck_public_qry_doct.cp_dktrpt_frames?backto=P&case_id=502002MM007101AXXXMB&begin_date=&end_date=

Can this case get any crazier?

Why yes, yes it could!

More to follow……………………