lizzy caplan

A Modern Love Affair: Television Title Cards

in: fatuation

Oh herro der, readers!

Before I get started on this super-fun new feature, I want to follow-up on a song I mentioned in my last Dunce Cap post (and featured prominently in this week’s mix). I’ve been listening to Ben Kweller’s excellently catchy “Hospital Bed” pretty much on repeat, and I keep getting caught up in the chorus:

(boy) “You be Betty!”
(girl) “I’ll be Betty!”
(boy) “I’ll play Joe!”
(girl) “You play Joe!”

Okay, innocuous enough, right? A bit about pretending to be someone else, or perhaps a cute li’l reference to Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” right? But that’s not what really strikes me.

Maybe I’ve been watching waaaay too much “Mad Men,” but every time I hear this song, all I hear is Kweller yelping,

(boy) “You be Betty!”
(girl) “I’ll be Betty!”
(boy) “I’ll play Joan!”
(girl) “You play Joan!”

and I love it. But, y’know, I don’t know which of the two to be on any given day. It’s like this: Betty gets to be married to Don Draper, the sexiest man with a false identity, well, ever, while Joan Holloway gets to be fucking Joan Holloway…and Roger Sterling and that (formerly Jewish) doctor with some fairly questionable jealous tendencies. Joan’s sultry and sharp in all the ways that Betty behaves as an immature dolt. So, yeah, you, the other in this song I’m belting out – you be Betty. I’ll definitely be Joan.

—

Okay, so, I’m debuting a new feature tonight called “A Modern Love Affair.” It’s a bit like the “No Brainer” series I did awhile back, which currently features a breezy piece on John Hodgman and an as-yet-unposted adoration column about Suri Cruise. It differs slightly in that it’s not about an individual. “No Brainer” pays tribute to a someone, while “Open Season” is an open letter to a person. “A Modern Love Affair” is about a something. And, boy, is it going to be fun.

more after the jump

Dunce Flash: Monday, August 2

in: the press

Lizzy Caplan/Julie Klausner

I don’t care about your band, but Lizzy Caplan, I care about your show!

The network that brought us the glorious gems Eastbound and Down (I’m Kenny Fucking Powers!) and Summer Heights High is supposedly in talks to develop Julie Klausner‘s hilarious memoir I Don’t Care About Your Band: What I Learned From Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Faux Sensitive Hipsters, Felons and Other Guys I’ve Dated. Klausner’s manifesto of dating debacles will be translated onto the small screen as a show, in which the 20-something lead character will encounter a bevy of total losers. Again and again.

So, as if the Gary Sanchez Productions tag (founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and the brains behind Funny or Die) weren’t enough to whet my appetite, Lizzy Caplan (Janis Ian!) will play the Klausner-esque vamp. Caplan, the adorably charming Casey of the canceled-all-too-soon delight Party Down, will be perfectly cast for the role, which will see her in bed with all sorts of loser letharios. Such win. [Paste via Deadline]

Dawgs of Party Town

Congratulations to the University of Georgia for topping the Princeton Review‘s list of U.S. party schools! The Bulldogs have done it – they’re the best party school in the nation. UGA was ranked No. 4 last year and has been on the top-20 list for 10 of the past 13 years – impressive! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for pushing me in the right direction.

This year’s list, released Monday, is below. The Princeton Review comprises lists annually for all sorts of categories, including drug use, political affiliation and town-gown relations at the nation’s best universities. [USA Today]

Princeton Review’s “Best Party Schools”:

1. University of Georgia
2. Ohio University, Athens
3. Pennsylvania State University
4. West Virginia University
5. University of Mississippi
6. The University of Texas, Austin
7. University of Florida
8. University of California, Santa Barbara
9. University of Iowa
10. DePauw University