Clooney is everywhere

I mentioned George Clooney on Friday and since then I've realized he's pretty much everywhere these days. He's had three magazine covers recently, and he pretty much runs the gamut. Take a look:


That's the new edition of The New York Times fashion magazine, Time Magazine from a few weeks ago, and next month's Esquire. He's a real triple threat, I supposed.

He displays a very likable self-efficacy in the Esquire interview. Asked about a web site that calls him "gay, gay, gay," he says "No, I'm gay, gay. The third gay -– that was pushing it."

Casting call

For some reason, Mrs. N-B and I were discussing the other day whom we would want to play us in the movie version of our lives. The conversation went like this.

Me: I'm thinking Clooney.

Mrs. N-B: He is very handsome. But you look more like Matthew Broderick.

Me: Maybe Matt Damon. But under no circumstances should it be Ben Affleck. Under no circumstances.

Mrs. N-B: I think I'd want Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Me: Ok but no Michael Douglas for me. I'm serious. He's gross.

Time Magazine Totally Cops Out

You probably heard that Time Magazine has selected this year's person of the year and that person is me. Well, me and you. Or just you. And everybody else. The magazine selected "You" as the person of the year. Something about the way you control the information age, I guess.

So it appears Stephen Colbert got his wish, kind of anyway. He has as much a claim to the award as you.

I think it's pretty clear Time couldn't decide, so just figured they'd punt this year.

Of course it's easy to complain when you don't have to pick one yourself. I've narrowed my list to three. I proudly present the NaturalBlog Person of the Year finalists:

Suri Cruise. This year's most awaited arrival.

Lindsay Lohan. Rehab at 20. Fifteen days sober!

The Hoff. He's soared to great heights and sunk to great lows this year. How could he not be a finalist?

Hard to argue with those finalists, but somehow I feel shallow for not offering a more substantive choice. In fact, the more I think about it, the more clear it is who the winner should be.


I mean, think about it, in the last year George Clooney won an Oscar, was People's sexiest man, and even had some time to help out the U.N. in Darfur. Plus, he did all these things with great hair. I'm kind of disappointed Time didn't give him his due.

NaturalBlog News Roundup

Candy shop. Just a few weeks after winning back control of Congress, democrats in the house are already showing a stunning lack of self control. Charlie Rangel wants to bring back the draft, and Ed Markey wants to revisit Don't Ask-Don't Tell. These are not winning issues, nor are they winnable ones. Have democrats learned nothing from the Administration's Iraq policy: Don't get bogged down in fights you can't win. Show some discipline, people. Who's the majority whip? Barney Fife?

Damn straight. George Clooney is People Magazine's new sexiest man alive. I'd be lying if I said I wanted to look like Clooney when I'm 45 -- it's more accurate to say I want to look like Clooney now.

Stranger than fiction. The many corporate hands of News Corp. have given up on O.J. Simpson's hypothetical tell-all "If I did it." I answer this with my own hypothetical: If I cared.

Scraping the bottom of the advertising barrel

The NaturalBlog has already shown a keen eye for commercial actors. Now that I've revealed that compulsion, I'm happy to move on to the next level of madness: recognizing voice-over work.

In the category of "Yeah, I guess he hasn't worked in a while"... Gene Hackman for the Home Depot. Runner up: David Duchovny, who shills for Purina dog food. And don't forget Michael Douglas, who wants you to buy a Honda. (Mrs. Douglas must've told him to find work or find a new wife.)

And to show that commercial voice-overs aren't just for the out-of-work, I point to George Clooney doing Bud Light ads and Julia Roberts for AOL. What are they thinking? They can't possibly need the money. Do they really love beer and Internet service providers that much? Well, the beer I guess I could see. But doesn't Clooney strike you as a Heineken guy? Or Schlitz, if we're talking about the Facts of Life days.