Small Talk: Cup O' Joe

[Kemper]

If Meeka doesn't do well on fluffy shows, and we cannot stand her (me!) on MJ...what might her niche be?  Permanently blonde sidekick to alpha-males?  But I could actually see MSNBC giving her a shot at Megyn Kelly's timeslot.  She is very big on women knowing her value (I type with a straight face)...that is the niche she has found for herself.  I could see them giving her a go for a few months.  Think of the fun we could have with THAT.

[teddysmom]

Hoda Craig Melvin & Al Roker for now. Jenna Bush & Savannah will host in rotations til they find a host.

The only reason Mika is on MJ is her that Joe was hot for her.   If he hadn't grabbed her from the 3 AM news reading job, she'd be doing Crepe Erase commercials. 

[Jaded]

I saw Willie's hair today while flipping through the channels. I had seen it mentioned recently and it looks even worse then I imagined. I wonder if that monstrosity was his idea?  

[suomi]

IIRC long ago he mentioned his daughter painting his nails when he was asleep - she's older now, maybe she broke out the dye. Because what he's sporting is so harsh and unnatural that it doesn't seem like something an adult who appears on camera every day  would choose. 

[novhappy]

Harsh and unnatural and cheap looking. Shocking that the pro fessionals doing hair and makeup would allow that. 

[novhappy]

https://nypost.com/2012/10/10/today-names-willie-geist-as-co-host-of-9-a-m-hour/amp/

heres a pic of him from 2012. His natural color is hardly jet black.

(tried to insert pic, couldn’t make it work)

[stormy]

I hope MSNBC never cancels this show.

I don't tune in to get the news (that's what CNN) is for.

I watch to see what kind of crazy shit Joe and Mika and their barely interesting panel is going to say next.

[teddysmom]

2 hours ago, stormy said:

I hope MSNBC never cancels this show.

I bet anything if they leave MSNBC they'll do a podcast. These two love the limelight too much. 

[cased]

47 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

I bet anything if they leave MSNBC they'll do a podcast. These two love the limelight too much. 

That's what I'm thinking too. A podcast would allow them to still do what they do, but without the rigid schedule of a network show (the downside would be much less money).

[teddysmom]

They think it'll be great, but I bet they won't have 1/3 the audience they have now.

People turn the tv onto a certain channel out of habit, when they get up, get home from work, etc. That's what MSNBC is counting on.  I turn it on when I get home from work, remember that I hate Chuck Todd, and change the channel.  Same in the morning. I might turn it on for a minute, remember that I don't want to start the day pissed off, and switch. 

Podcast listening is much more judicious.  You have to go to iTunes, etc find it, subscribe, then remember to listen.  Also, half the fun (?) of Mika is watching her meltdown or make faces, hem and haw, etc.    And you make a decision to listen, it's not the tv on in the other room while you're getting ready for work, etc. 

Does anyone want to commit to Joe & Mika in that way?  They aren't funny, they aren't smart, and they can't just decide not to show up for the podcast and have Willie take over. 

Edited November 1, 2018 by teddysmom

[teddysmom]

Suomi re Jessica Savitch.  The book about her "Almost Golden" and her life in general was the basis for the screen play of Up Close & Personal, the movie with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Redford. 

It was supposed to be based on Savitch's life, but ended up being more A Star is Born for journalists. 

John Gregory Dunne & Joan Didion wrote this screenplay, but it ended up a romantic drama that bombed and he wrote a book about the nightmare of working on a movie script. and dealing with producers. 

[stormy]

3 hours ago, teddysmom said:

I bet anything if they leave MSNBC they'll do a podcast. These two love the limelight too much. 

LOL I'm picturing them in their bunker ala Stephanie Miller, (in her basement radio studio), trying to do a podcast.

Or most recently, Rachel Maddow.

Of course both those women have (in Rachel's case had) successful radio careers. MJ would be a hilarious mess.

Edited November 1, 2018 by stormy

[Jaded]

I remember seeing a TV movie about Jessica Savitch where Sela Ward portrayed her. I felt the worst for her dog by the end. I felt bad for her too and thought at least they died together so he wouldn't have to live missing her. I hadn't realized she was only 36 when she died because she looked older in some of the pictures that are out there. I wonder if that was due to the drugs and alcohol?  Mika kind of has that same tired and worn look most of the time. 

[Jordan Baker]

I saw this article about the way one group of people is dealing with the stress of the election:

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/political-climate-making-democrats-eat-their-feelings-here-s-how-ncna929826

and I have to say that it's true of me. If I keep this up, I'm going to look like Stuffy Podhoretz and slur my words like our favorite blonde.

[XOQueens]

6 hours ago, teddysmom said:

I bet anything if they leave MSNBC they'll do a podcast. These two love the limelight too much. 

There are rumors out there they won’t have a choice in the matter and MSNBC has been considering revamping the morning. 

[suomi]

Oh, man, I hope the revamp consists of cutting them back to one hour while letting them choose whether it's 6 or 7 or 8:00. You know, showing good faith and bending over backwards while easing their slide into oblivion. Because, truly, what else do they have going for them? Would they swallow their pride to stay on camera? Would they show up more often if one hour was all the national exposure they had? They would almost have to if he plans to run for office again. It would be less $$$ but they'd still be getting paid while setting roots in FL for a couple years. Gah! My guess is governor of FL. There are 435 reps (and he's already done that) and 100 senators but (aha!) only 50 governors. I see them going for the more exclusive office of governor because he'll be married to his Nantucket royalty nookie by then, and  we've already (sorta) elected a thrice-married president so the multiple marriage hurdle has been jumped. I think They Have A Plan and losing the show would put a kink in their delusions aspirations.

Edited November 2, 2018 by suomi

[Ladyrain]

On 10/29/2018 at 4:11 PM, teddysmom said:

 If he hadn't grabbed her from the 3 AM news reading job, she'd be doing Crepe Erase commercials. 

This made me laugh out loud!  Golden.

On 10/28/2018 at 12:03 PM, Kemper said:

Permanently blonde sidekick to alpha-males? 

Another laugh-out-louder!  And yes, that is her niche.  Truly and sadly.

[Ladyrain]

On 10/26/2018 at 6:18 AM, Eliot said:

Listening to Mika excoriate DHS Secretary Kirstin Nielsen today, (“Take off your Ray Bans and go back to Washington”), it struck me that she reserves an unhealthy amount of vitriol for female targets that she doesn’t heap on males in the same scornful way. I’m no fan of Ivanka, Nielsen, or Kellyanne, but the scorn Mika shows for them, when there are male officials who deserve just as much if not more, is truly weird.

Mika has obvious mommy issues.  (I don't think Mrs. Zbig was the warm and fuzzy nurturing type.)   Mika seems insecure around other (more obviously informed) female panel members and is more than willing to go after other women on air or on twitter when they're not sitting across the table to defend themselves.  I can't stand Ivanka or Kellyanne, but I'd love to see a face-to-face confrontation between them and Mika, especially KC.  Meeks would be reduced to her usual grimaces, sighs, and "but....but.....but...."

[Landsnark]

18 hours ago, cased said:

That's what I'm thinking too. A podcast would allow them to still do what they do, but without the rigid schedule of a network show (the downside would be much less money).

I don't think a podcast is in the offing for them.  It wouldn't satisfy Joe's ego.  "Podcasts are for the Cheetoh eaters," is what I'm certain he believes.  His audience would be too small and his notoriety and influence would be nil.   She won't do it because she's too dull to rely on her mind and whole minutes of time of her speaking contemporaneously.  She's a reader and a host.  On a podcast she's dead weight.  Also the Bond Girl hair and new boob job (I think) don't work on podcasts.
And finally, the pay would be a fraction of what they make now, and they'd have to do all the work without staffs and support.  I can't see them opting to leave big bucks and bright lights for the bunker audio set up they have to produce on their own.

[Kemper]

About Willie's hair...and some of the other coloring jobs on the men on these shows. For crying out loud, who are the colorists who work on these networks?  I will bet that almost any beautician or hair stylist could do a decent coloring job on a guy's hair.  For awhile (maybe a year or two ago), Lawrence O'Donnell was sporting a horrible dye job; and there are more that I can't think of at the moment.  Maybe the on-air male reporters and hosts should demand better; or use their own stylist.  Who knows, maybe they do and this is the result.  I am crabby this morning due to the awfulness of Joe and company and choose to go for the shallow.

[teddysmom]

19 minutes ago, Kemper said:

About Willie's hair...and some of the other coloring jobs on the men on these shows. 

I think it was darkened for the Today show Halloween segment.  He was Ferris Bueller. They probably put a dark brown rinse on it and it takes a while to wash out. 

[Chloesmom]

Moderators please don't be mad at me but this made me laugh out loud and I think others on this board would agree as this is prime time Joe:

[suomi]

For our newer MJ viewers who may not have seen it before: this is 4 years ago, shortly after Joey put a ring on it, in the good old days when the feckless wonder wore tight sheaths most of the time. Today she sports cleavage as well and starts out with "Joining us now ... he's a really big deal, I'm told this. I'm not very pop cultured, I'm sorry."

There's nothing like making a guest feel welcome, right?  Which makes it such a joy when, toward the end, he says "She's a shaft grasper!"

Quote

 

I would liken the hosts to a kitten pouncing on what it assumes is a dazed snake and discovering it has latched onto the tail end of a dragon. It’s cringe-inducing. “You’re talking about me as if I’m not here and as if I’m an extraterrestrial,” he observes. Never mock someone with a British accent.

“Thank you for your casual objectification,” Brand says, after one of the hosts starts talking about him and his accent in the third person. Another of the hosts, after Brand suggests more serious topics for discussion, goes back to riffing on the comic’s attire, and Brand cuts in, “That’s the problem with current affairs. You forget about what’s important and you allow the agenda to be decided by superficial information.”

“Russell Brand Takes Over, Dominating The MJ Set” the chyron beneath him reads.

This is like a morning-show equivalent of the time Jon Stewart showed up on Crossfire (and showed everyone else up too). “Stop,” Stewart said. “Stop, stop, stop hurting America.” He went on to comment, “You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.”

Sometimes it helps to have someone visit and point out what the Emperor is wearing.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/06/19/russell-brand-devastates-morning-joe-does-he-have-a-point/?utm_term=.79a835a89774

Scoop attempts a CYA response a couple days later:

[suomi]

9 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

Mika has obvious mommy issues.  (I don't think Mrs. Zbig was the warm and fuzzy nurturing type.)   Mika seems insecure around other (more obviously informed) female panel members and is more than willing to go after other women on air or on twitter when they're not sitting across the table to defend themselves.  I can't stand Ivanka or Kellyanne, but I'd love to see a face-to-face confrontation between them and Mika, especially KC.  Meeks would be reduced to her usual grimaces, sighs, and "but....but.....but...."

Like when she was on her way to pick up Mika from school, saw a still-warm dead deer in the road, loaded it into her vehicle, took it home, dressed it, butchered it, and served it at a dinner party for some DC types that night? (I think she shoulda hung it for at least a couple days before cooking it, but that's JMO). She also swears that her parents lost her in NYC when she was a little kid, they were hoofing it and she walked away or they did and it took quite a while for them to realize that she wasn't with them. 

[suomi]

Donny on The Match Game in 1980; he plays in the first round. The smile and the accent are the same.

(I found this because he posted a still photo on his FB page today).

Edited November 2, 2018 by suomi

[XOQueens]

2 hours ago, suomi said:

Like when she was on her way to pick up Mika from school, saw a still-warm dead deer in the road, loaded it into her vehicle, took it home, dressed it, butchered it, and served it at a dinner party for some DC types that night? (I think she shoulda hung it for at least a couple days before cooking it, but that's JMO). She also swears that her parents lost her in NYC when she was a little kid, they were hoofing it and she walked away or they did and it took quite a while for them to realize that she wasn't with them. 

Mika’s stories change a lot over time.

[novhappy]

Watching the Russel Brand clip and the later CYA clip I’m struck by how much better she was a reading the TelePrompTer then. 

Shes a different person now. 

[suomi]

Furries.

[suomi]

Ten delicious minutes, with Lesley Stahl.

Edited November 3, 2018 by suomi

[Jordan Baker]

23 hours ago, suomi said:

Ten delicious minutes, with Lesley Stahl.

This is great. Thanks for sharing. I know I've seen part of this before because I was reminded how much I loved seeing Richard Haass dancing to "Play That Funky Music, White Boy."

[Chloesmom]

On 11/3/2018 at 3:36 PM, suomi said:

Ten delicious minutes, with Lesley Stahl.

Oh my goodness thanks for posting this suomi as I had never seen it before.  I didn't believe it was possible but I guess Meek's hair at one time was even blonder than it is now.  For me, she just comes off very mean girl throughout the whole thing including hurling that stack of papers across the desks at Joe (see, they should have kept that desk configuration and maybe none of this would be happening now).  And what was she shrieking at him about at that KYV event, God she looked completely unhinged.

[XOQueens]

Whoa. Mika looks totally different in, like, the span of a year from then to now. Being engaged to Joe has not been a good look for her. 

[teddysmom]

19 hours ago, Chloesmom said:

Ten delicious minutes, with Lesley Stahl.

Smart political conversation?  Bogey & Bacall? 

Oh, Lesley. 

Edited November 5, 2018 by teddysmom

[Chloesmom]

Just now, teddysmom said:

Smart political conversation?  

Oh, Lesley. 

It was just fun to watch her chase them around for a couple of minutes about their relationship as clearly they both (especially Meeks) wanted that part of the conversation over after the first couple of syllables.  Between Joe's "what, there's nothing to see here and besides you can't fight truly lust er I mean love" and Meeks "you're lucky I left my death ray in the green room or you would be toast Stahl" glare I just enjoy seeing them get jerked around for a change.

[teddysmom]

It's SO obvious how guilty Mika is about it. 

She doesn't even seem that happy in the relationship TBH. 

Also, "you can't fight lust". 

Uh yeah you can. It's called being an adult, Joe.  And having a conscience. 

[stormy]

This morning it struck me that they act like an old married couple.   Unhappy at best.

[may flowers]

FYI - If anyone follows Kara Swisher, the tech reporter/icon, on Twitter, she posted a photo of Joe giving Mika a kiss on the cheek as well as a nice photo of them together, Apparently Kara was taping a piece with the devoted duo today that will run later this week (because I'm sure they will need a time off /to leave early after working so hard on the midterms).  I tried to bring them over, but couldn't because I am not as savvy technologically as I think.

[XOQueens]

1 hour ago, may flowers said:

FYI - If anyone follows Kara Swisher, the tech reporter/icon, on Twitter, she posted a photo of Joe giving Mika a kiss on the cheek as well as a nice photo of them together, Apparently Kara was taping a piece with the devoted duo today that will run later this week (because I'm sure they will need a time off /to leave early after working so hard on the midterms).  I tried to bring them over, but couldn't because I am not as savvy technologically as I think.

Here’s the link. Yikes. Mika’s face. I don’t know what’s going on, exactly, but it’s too much (of everything... work, make up, posing...)

[Landsnark]

1 hour ago, XOQueens said:

but it’s too much (of everything... work, make up, posing...)

What is it that makes you say there's too much makeup?

[cased]

3 hours ago, may flowers said:

FYI - If anyone follows Kara Swisher, the tech reporter/icon, on Twitter, she posted a photo of Joe giving Mika a kiss on the cheek as well as a nice photo of them together, Apparently Kara was taping a piece with the devoted duo today that will run later this week (because I'm sure they will need a time off /to leave early after working so hard on the midterms).  I tried to bring them over, but couldn't because I am not as savvy technologically as I think.

I'm not familiar with Kara Swisher. Where will this piece "run"? Is it on TV, or online?

5 hours ago, Chloesmom said:

  Between Joe's "what, there's nothing to see here and besides you can't fight truly lust er I mean love"

I missed this line when I watched this previously. I need to go back and watch again.

In Mika's book update, she mentioned that she was not happy with the Leslie Stahl interview, because it had been pitched as "not gossipy", and then Leslie Stahl spent a lot of time trying to extract information from Mika about her relationship with Joe. But, Mika did say that she was happy with the final edited piece.

[Chloesmom]

34 minutes ago, cased said:

I missed this line when I watched this previously. I need to go back and watch again.

In Mika's book update, she mentioned that she was not happy with the Leslie Stahl interview, because it had been pitched as "not gossipy", and then Leslie Stahl spent a lot of time trying to extract information from Mika about her relationship with Joe. But, Mika did say that she was happy with the final edited piece.

Cased I do apologize if I made this out to be a direct quote as it was not,  It was Joe doing his usually "nothing to see here, nothing to hang me on" gibberish.

[may flowers]

2 hours ago, cased said:

I'm not familiar with Kara Swisher. Where will this piece "run"? Is it on TV, or online?

Kara Swisher is a groundbreaking tech reporter (I remember her from the Wall Street Journal, but she’s also been at The Washington Post and now writes for the New York Times Opinion section on technology). She was a founder of Recode, which does events and podcasts focused on technology. She knows all the players in Silicon Valley and has earned their respect. They can’t BS or doubletalk her - she understands technology and the issues the industry faces. I think her podcast with Mark Zuckerberg is masterful. 

 

I believe the pre-recorded interview with Kara and the devoted duo will air on Morning Joe. No idea when. 

[XOQueens]

5 hours ago, Landsnark said:

What is it that makes you say there's too much makeup?

I’m convinced her make up artist hates her and is passive aggressively lashing out. I have no other explanation of what is going on. Lol

[Eliot]

You guys. I’m scared. The MSNBC “election night trumpet” music they keep playing is giving me 2016 PSTD.

[may flowers]

42 minutes ago, Eliot said:

You guys. I’m scared. The MSNBC “election night trumpet” music they keep playing is giving me 2016 PSTD.

I’m scared too. I think it’s breaking (bad) news when I hear that music. I have hope though, swamped often by anxiety. 

 

ETA: I just saw this and it might help: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/style/self-care/the-calm-place-on-the-internet.html

Edited November 6, 2018 by may flowers

[Eliot]

1 hour ago, WhineandCheez said:

8:07 AM EST:  I think we have our first "Women lined up in the rain to vote" reference from Joe. AT 6:40 Am today I was a woman lined up in the rain to vote!! I was #3 in line! (I did not take a selfie because I wasn't sure if that was illegal in PA) I spent my time in line waiting trying to decide if wearing a trucker hat automatically makes you a Trump voter.

Me too! Also in PA (Bucks County)!

[suomi]

9 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

He thinks he's the savior of the Republican Party. Sitting on the sidelines, doling out his sage advice like some kind of wise old seer. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. 

His need to be relevant oozes from every pore. He doesn't just want a public career, he desperately needs one. How fortunate for him that there are  elections every 2 years. We see playing the I-was-in-Congress-and-let-me-tell-you-about-it card as annoying elevator music but for him it's a very, very important reason for getting out of bed in the morning. During election season he doesn't even need to set an alarm. He eagerly leaps out of bed to tell the world about his wisdom, his experience, his skill, his foresight and Newt, Newt, Newt. Shana Alexander once wrote that, under the robes, the egos of federal judges swell and pulsate like oversized, hugely-veined egglants. Which is an apt description of this bozo as well. He is even more insufferable (which I hadn't thought possible) since publicly bagging Mika. They Have A Plan and they think it's coming together nicely (and SNL agrees. LOL). Except that his music career died on the vine and KYV is clearly not a rousing success. As their former friend would tweet: Sad.

Dying here, dying to know how contract negotiations are going. Because I love me some pretentious.

Didn't we at one time know that the show ferries them to and from work in a company car with a driver? Wondering, because yesterday he said the taxi driver who brought him to work was pumping him for political wisdom. Was that one of his "people come up to me" humble brags or is their MSNBC chauffeur a thing of the past? Inquiring minds ...

[MulletorHater]

3 hours ago, oakville said:

I tuned in to watch the show for a few minutes. I was surprised to see Mika & Joe together. The entire panel is too predictable. Mika starting moaning about the media giving Trump a free pas since 2015 7 a complant congress etc. Mika & Joe forget that they did this with Trump for ratings. Poor Nate Silver is now stuck with Mika & Joe. I don't take anything Joe says seriosly anymore. Joe complained about Trump Apprentice TV ratings. really?

It seems to me that the media loves covering every dumb thing Trump says because its good for ratings.

If this show was one of those biblical flicks of the 1950's and 1960's, Meek-a and her would-be husband would have been struck down by lightning for these particular blasphemies.  Evidently, they want us to forget that they were basically auditioning for what was to be Trump TV throughout the entire 2016 campaign.  They also want us to forget that after seeming to back away due to Trump dismal poll numbers, their auditions gained steam after their infamous September 2016 visit to Trump Tower.  Their behavior was so obvious that several media outlets, media watchdog groups and viewers commented on it in real time.

I won't even touch on the timing of their belated admission that Trump allegedly told them that he knew that birtherism was "bad, but it works." 

[Chloesmom]

1 hour ago, MulletorHater said:

their belated admission that Trump allegedly told them that he knew that birtherism was "bad, but it works." 

THIS.  If they had coughed this gem up earlier maybe they wouldn't be taking the flack they do now.  Talk about burying the lede . . . idiots.

[teddysmom]

I wonder if this is part of the rehabilitation tour as they look for another job when the contract expires. I just read NBC used the blackface scandal to boot Megyn Kelly, they wanted to get rid of her due to her general sucking and the ratings being in the toilet,  and were looking for an excuse and one dropped into their laps.

Joe & Mika and MSNBC have gotten grief for 3 years about how they kissed Trump's ass and gave him free air time while bashing Clinton every chance they got.  Besides the fact the show sucks.  Their panel this morning was pathetic. Biggest mid terms ever and this is who they corral? 

Mika's "OMG I'm going to be glued to the tv tonight!!" to Chris Mathews was so pathetic. Like she was begging for an invite to be on the panel.   Yeah try getting within 100 yards of Brian Williams and Rachel Maddow tonight, Mika. You'll be escorted out of the building. 

They're never asked to be on election coverage shows or cover any big breaking events. Too busy day drinking and writing anthems about their tainted love affair. 

MSNBC would be well rid of them.