Nope! No non-thin non-whites this year!

Vanity Fair tells us once again - it's a yearly habit, after all - which thin white pretty-young-things are the "New Hollywood" darlings.

Scott Brown, candidate for U.S. Senate, was a "Cosmo" centerfold

Let us suppose that a physically attractive 50-year-old woman had posed for a magazine when she was in her early 20's. A magazine that was geared towards men. For this particular picture, she does not appear to be wearing any type of clothing, but her hands are modestly covering her "female parts." And let us say that this woman is now running for the U.S. Senate. What kinds of things might be said about her? How often would that picture be shown? What kinds of questions might she be expected to answer? If she was directly questioned about it, would she have a "meltdown?"

And now let us suppose that a man... Oh, we don't have to suppose. We have a man like that. A man who's running for the U.S. Senate. Who reportedly had a "meltdown."

Katie Connolly thinks there's a double standard:

Jokes aside, that this racy pic has been circulating for years and hasn't hampered Brown's career perhaps isn't that surprising. "It's a pretty tame photo compared to what you might see at an NFL halftime show," says campaign spokesperson Eric Fehrnstrom. "The fact is, when Scott was 22 years old, he was footloose and carefree." That may be so, but how would he be treated if he were a woman?

Although a nude centerfold might not kill a female politician's career, it would most certainly prompt questions about her character. Was she unacceptably promiscuous? Did she have a wild, compromising youth? While we scoff at the exploits of young men─they're allowed to be "footloose and carefree"─women are rarely afforded that luxury. For Brown, who just turned 50, it's a case of "boys will be boys." We can giggle at Brown's treasure trail and not think twice about how the sight of it affects his political career. But when Sarah Palin's head was Photoshopped on the body of a gun-totin', bikini-clad babe, it served as evidence for many of her unsuitability for office. Even when the photo was proved to be fake, it continued to haunt her. Palin's sexuality was at once titillating and threatening─for as many fans as she gained for being attractive, there were as many who used it in building the case against her. If Barbara Boxer had posed nude in her youth and declared her love for "buff boys," I predict her voters would be collectively horrified, and she'd probably never shake the crass jokes that would follow. As a culture, we simply don't like our female representatives to be publicly sexual.

(Via Althouse)

Indy's empire

Empire magazine has some photos and info on one of 2008's most anticipated films, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The photo at right is of George Lucas, the film's producer. You'll note that he's standing by the Ark of the Covenant (a replica, NOT the real one), and there are rumours that it does figure in with the new film.

"Men's Health" 12/07

I'm perusing through the December 2007 issue of Men's Health, the one with John Krasinski of The Office on the cover. No, I don't subscribe - it's a copy I found at work. I found some interesting bits of information in it.

• 63 men lost 100 pounds in 10 months by replacing one meal with a protein shake made of the following ingredients: 1 cup skim milk, 2 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, and 1 scoop 100% whey powder. (p. 54) Presumably the other two meals didn't consist of Big Macs and deep-dish pizza slices.
• Those Italians seem to know something, because studies have shown garlic as a cancer fighter. (p. 50) Eat as many breadsticks at Olive Garden that you want!
• Starbucks' walnut bran muffin has 110 more calories than its black forest ham, egg, and cheddar breakfast sandwich. (p. 80)
• MH graded fast-food and sit-down restaurants using the following categories: total number of calories per entree, fruit and veggie side choices, and bread with 100% whole wheat. They also penalized for trans fats and multiple dessert options. The best? Chick-Fil-A and Bob Evans. The worst? Pizza Hut and Macaroni Grill. (p. 168)

Is "Christianity Today" shilling for "Evan Almighty"?

It certainly seems that way to The Parish:

I received the latest issue of Christianity Today this week. I admit to being a bit confused at first. Front and center under the normal CT banner was Steve Carrell dressed as Noah, surrounded by animals and backed by an ark. At first I thought, "Finally, CT is getting serious about popular culture and they're doing a cover on religious films." Then I opened the magazine and saw the real cover inside the advertisement. I finally noticed the word "advertisement" above and to the right of the CT banner on the cover. The entire cover, front and back, was an ad for Evan Almighty mocked up as a CT cover.

It's not unusual for magazines to wrap their product in an ad. Books & Culture does it pretty regularly, and they are CT's sister publication. Usually though, B&C is advertising for subscription renewals or gift subscriptions. The ad is obviously an ad; even the paper stock is different. The CT ad though is a different matter. Am I worried that someone will be fooled into believing this is the real cover? No. Am I quibbling? Possibly. Is this that big a deal? Maybe not. But blurring the line between advertising and content is an ongoing problem with magazines.

Somewhat related: doctored magazine covers