Dorothy Barker

23 posts
Dorothy Barker remains shocked that she lives all the way on the left edge of the U.S. She somehow gets people to pay her for putting little black marks on a white screen, with funny spacing. She is very fond of fancy salt.

Reality TV: 1 Humanity: 0

And now someone’s dead.

Russell Armstrong, the flinty, irritating husband of Taylor Armstrong–of the perfectly toned arms and mile-wide smile from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills–apparently killed himself last night.  He was found hanging in a bedroom of their Mullholland Drive home.  By all reports, his life was a mess: his wife had filed for divorce, he was in massive debt, he was being sued to the tune of $1.5 million, he very well could have been just a high class grifter, not the “venture capitalist” he claimed.  He might even have been an abuser.  (There are reports he shoved Taylor and perhaps abused his first wife.)  Not a nice guy, clearly, as anyone who watched the show can attest.  He was socially awkward, cold—even downright mean–to his melancholic, grasping, pseudo-glamorous wife, testy and judgmental towards everyone around him.  But one quote in a Reuters article really struck me.  “This (TV) show has literally pushed us to the limit,” he told People Magazine. Continue reading →

Everyone Likes That Movie But Me

Most of them aren't laughing either.

Let’s start with Bridesmaids.  One of the biggest, most successful comedies of the summer, right?  Fawning articles everywhere about how Kristen Wiig is the Next Great Female Comic Voice.  A 90% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  All my friends post glowing status updates about it on Facebook.  It was the “must see” comedy of the summer.

Well.  I kind of hated it.  Let the sniping begin! Continue reading →

The Friend That I Hate

I love you. I hate you.

I had coffee the other day with a friend I kind of hate.

Yes, yes, it’s been pointed out to me: we may have to discuss my understanding of the word “friend”.  I still haven’t fully figured out why, and have often lamented this fact, but for some reason, for my entire life, I’ve always had one friend that I actually–truth be told–despise.   When I mention this to people, “You know how you always have that one friend you can’t stand?”, they stare, blankly.  Clearly, this isn’t a common phenomenon.  We do have to discuss my understanding of the word “friend”. Continue reading →