It’s also a deceptive point of comparison...Madonna has done just fine with her vocal ability (such as it is). Gaga fans don’t dare compare her talent to actual vocal greats because those comparisons would be unsupportable. If Lady Gaga’s vocals are so extraordinary, why not compare her to Whitney Houston?

...that was 20 years ago? Madonna is an artist, she’s pretty gamely tried and failed at a lot of things through her 20-year career. I’m sorry you’re still crusty about movies she made a very long time ago.

Conversely, comparisons between Lady Gaga and Madonna are unfair because Madonna thoroughly transformed the pop landscape and spawned one or two generations of performers whose careers are made primarily in her image.

Worth noting, Kara Brown shade-splains the media every single week when shade belongs to a community that has nothing to do with her. If you can’t connect the dots from Paris is Burning to Rupaul’s Drag Race to Nene Leakes and tell me “shade” belongs to Black women for any other reason, lemme know.

I’m a Madonna superfan and my heart soared when someone pointed out the “Papa Don’t Preach” similarity. I don’t even think it’s shady or meanspirited anymore—I love that Madonna originals and Lady Gaga’s supplemental, contemporary retreads can coexist in the same universe.

If the data set for NYFW is 75+ shows, two shows in the 80s and 90s respectively wouldn’t be enough to move the average percentage by one point. Maybe one. Not sure where you’re getting “much more skewed.”

You could also say “effecting social change” because that would be correct. Speaking of “semantic wars.”

lol you’re citing the section of Wikipedia that everyone’s consulted to point out that you were wrong to say “peace” was standard criteria, but that “idealism” is. You misspoke and I hope you feel deplorable about it.

Oh, you’re not that world-famous literary prize researcher, are you? Weren’t you on Conan last night?

You know so much about literary prizes I wouldn’t even believe!

I see it. Read my response again, if we’re playing this game. It’s nearly impossible to make a case for most recipients as diehard “idealists” more than Dylan is.

Are you confusing the Nobel Prize for Literature with the Nobel Peace Prize? Peace (as subject matter) has nothing to do with the selection process...there’s a wonky bit about “idealism” as criteria but that’s been disregarded in recent years. And I think there’s a case to make for Dylan’s idealism: He certainly…

Yeah, there’s no breaking Pierson. Conway seems exasperated and duplicitous but there’s no chance Pierson’s not a true believer.

This feels like the reverse of the Blake Lively “LA face and an Oakland booty” thing. The clueless Jezebel writer (in that case) didn’t get the Sir-Mix-A-Lot reference and declared her Lively’s post “racist.” Here, the context of the term “Oreo” to describe disconnected, upwardly mobile black Americans seems to be…

That does sound kind of outrageous. Sounds like they weren’t going to pay her for the extra seven episodes?

I recently tuned into CNN and heard a familiar voice. I thought, “Where do I recognize this voice from? Where does my affection for this human voice come from?”

“...probably a win, if she hadn’t won already.”

Also, I love the link to that bitchy Jezebel post about Portman “ruining” historical figures. She’s getting raves at all the festivals and will likely net an Oscar nomination for this—probably a win, if she hadn’t won already.

Wow, I’ve been following reviews for this and can’t wait. Based on what I’ve read, the trailer plays more epic (encapsulating bigger pieces of scenery, iconography, etc.) than the more “intimate” descriptions critics have written. And I’m here for it because the visuals look amazing.

It’d be great if Jez could really follow this lawsuit—I’m genuinely curious about how these disputes are usually settled, since it happens all the time.