Basket of Kisses

January versus Christina: Go!

UPDATE: Elisabeth Moss is also a “contender.”

You all may know I read Go Fug Yourself regularly; I’ve linked there several times. And of course, the reason I’ve linked there is because the Fug Girls have fugged our girls: January Jones and Christina Hendricks have each felt their wrath.

Anyway, GFY does an annual “March Madness” face-off to choose the fugliest, and, well, I’ll let them explain themselves:

Apparently the Internet Randomizer loves Mad Men, and harbors secret fantasies of Joan Holloway Harris and Betty Draper having a wicked smackdown, or at least a jumpy pillow fight. Perhaps this Round One clash will be the next best thing.

That’s right, the random drawings for their Round 1 brackets have ended up pitting our lovely Mad Men ladies against each other.

I hope you all remember to vote.

This one has been making the rounds: A Community reference to Mad Men featuring Alison Brie. How meta!

From Basketcase SmilerG:

In The Grown Ups, Peggy tells Don that her roommate invited others in their building over, to write condolence letters to Jackie Kennedy.

Turns out, lots of people really did write such letters and thousands of them wound up at the JFK Library. Now there’s a book containing many of them.

Smiler also sent us this link to an article that opens “It was Mad Men meets Flash Gordon.”

Our own jez didn’t care for Christina’s Oscar post-party dress, and neither did the Fug Girls.

Bryan Batt will be on Ugly Betty on April 7.

Parade interviews Jon Hamm. So does the New Jersey Star Ledger.

A bunch of Mad Men folks attended the Breaking Bad premiere party.

South by Southwest will honor title design. How can Mad Men’s stunning falling man fail to be mentioned? Of course it’s mentioned!

In this article on protecting cable television content, Matt Weiner’s decision not to send out screeners of the season 3 finale is mentioned.

Current Mad Men (and former Buffy) writer Marti Noxon is scripting a remake of Fright Night.

Shorty awards went to @bettydraper and Mad Men Muppets.

Author Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief) mentioned Don Draper in a talk about chickens. No, I’m not kidding.

In one of the strangest editorials I’ve seen, HuffPost columnist Adam Hanft complains that Mad Men’s research staff shouldn’t be using the New York Public Library.

Christina Hendricks as N’avi. And the Fug Girls adore Christina when she isn’t blue. The overdone story on Christina reaches ABC News:

Whether she wants to or not, she’s touched on a collective desire for a healthy conception of beauty. Give the girl more magazine covers — give her ad campaigns, give her more roles, give her more press. Considering the attention her latest one has gotten all over the Internet, it’s clear the people want it.

Mad Men/30 Rock slash fic. Prepare to be horrified.

Basketcase Greg H. sent us this clip of beardy Hamm predicting a US Olympic hockey win. Speaking of the Olympics; Jon Hamm and Johnny Weir at the same party. My brain exploded.

Speaking of the Olympics, Hamm is here photographed in what may very well be the scarf our own seagirl made for him!

Bryan Batt will be performing in Cabaret Gourmet 2010 in New York on March 8. Bryan also talks to New York Magazine about his future book projects.

The University of Illinois held a Mad Men symposium. Damn, that would’ve been fun!

Betty Draper is quoted in an article on the psychology and health impact of boredom.

Christina Hendricks and Alison Brie are Sports Illustrated’s “Lovely Lady of the Day” on consecutive days.

Alison Brie talks about Mad Men and Community with TV Squad. She’s also interviewed by the AV Club (h/t Basketcase not Bridget).

Charles Shaughnessy won Celebrity Jeopardy, defeating MSNBC’s Chris Matthews and Californication’s David Duchovny.

Backstage at the WGAs, Matt Weiner expresses anxiety about Season 4. Oh, Matt, those of us who know you know that you’ll come through just great!

Mad Men is credited with increasing the popularity of whiskey. (I’m a vodka girl, myself. –Deborah)

Lawyers suggest that Mad Men couldn’t air on broadcast television.

Matt Weiner gave pre-Globes interviews to the Fort Worth Telegram’s Pop Blog.  and the Dallas Morning News.  Matt also pops up in an L.A. Times piece on TV’s auteurs.

Basketcase SmilerG passes along a link to “The Century of the Self,” a four-part BBC documentary about Sigmund Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in advertising.

Matt Weiner says don’t imitate Don Draper. Duh.

Photographer Michael Williams passes along a preview of a Mad Men-themed shoot coming in April to Haute Doll magazine.

The Daily Mail has a fresh interview with January Jones that is a lot more open-feeling than most of these.

AMC is developing a miniseries about White House scandals of the past. They are also doing The Walking Dead, which is about zombies.

Mad Men is an example of the importance of the business lunch, and there’s a new book about that very thing.

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Go Fug Yourself doesn’t like January’s face on the cover of GQ. While acknowledging no one is looking at her face. They also refer to a hairstyle they love as “very Betty Draper Goes to Rome.” Ha!

GQ Director of Photography Dora Somosi blogged about the controversy over JJ’s GQ photos, (which also made Page 6) invoking Seinfeld.

Cityfile interviews Vincent Kartheiser. I have to say that VK may be the single most interesting interview subject in the Mad Men cast. You never know what he’ll say!

Rachel Shukert offers awesome unsolicited advice to Betty. AWE. SOME.

TV Guide interviews Bryan Batt. So does the Vulture. And here’s the House Beautiful photo that he mentions to the Vulture.

GQ interviews Janie Bryant. It’s much…tamer than their interview with January Jones, but very engaging.

Cathy, the comic strip, notices the Mad Men influence on fashion (thanks Basketcase Sheila). [fixed]

Here is an awesome interview of Scott Buckwald, Mad Men propmaster, in Collectors Weekly. There is juice on all sorts of prop items, including the whole Selectric thing, food, and more. There is one prop discussed that I don’t recognize as having ever been on the show, so it may be a slight spoiler for an ad campaign.

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The Fug Girls think Elisabeth Moss looks old in her gown. I agree that it isn’t gorgeous on Elisabeth; it’s wrinkly and staid. That said, I think she slams the neutral tone, and I like it better on her than the red she wore to the Golden Globes. I was watching Shoot the other night, and Janie Bryant, in her commentary, pointed out how bad Joan’s red dress looks on Peggy; “it’s a bad color for her,” Janie said. Elisabeth looked lovely at the Globes, but the red washed her out. Here, her delicate complexion doesn’t compete with the dress, but it’s not a good dress.

They did the “Fug or Fab” thing for January Jones, and their audience loved her look. It’s a great dress, which would have been better with a necklace or bolder earrings, or more of a hairstyle, and without the near-raccoon eye makeup. Just sayin’.

The Go Fug Yourself Liveblogging included this gem:

4:01 p.m. Jennifer Westfeldt is in gray, which is pretty on her, but I can’t see the entire thing. We never noticed before how much she looks like Lisa Kudrow from some angles. Hamm is charming — we feel sort of bad for Jennifer; it must be weird to have dated him for over a decade, and yet all of a sudden everyone in town wants to straddle her man and ride him like a bronco. Flattering, but weird.

I don’t think I’m going to find anyone criticizing Christina Hendricks, because, wow.

Christina Hendricks, Holy Wow

Added: Nathaniel at The Film Experience is doing a series based on the list I provided.

Meet Draper Daniels, a real life Mad Man and one of Matt Weiner’s inspirations.

Season 1 is being offered Free On Demand. Check your cable offerings. And thanks to Basketcase Stephanie for the head’s up.

Christina Hendricks got fugged again. But we love her.

Basketcase Frank Bullitt found us a vintage Pan-Am site. You can buy Glenn’s bag!

Someone has an 8 minute YouTube of arrivals at the Mad Men premiere, featuring our own hullaballoo hugging on Jon Hamm. Thanks Shelly!

The not-the-cover Vanity Fair spread. Whoa. Also, the making of the Vanity Fair photo shoot (video).

Esquire “endorses” January Jones. They also “appreciate” the supporting women of Mad Men.

AMC has a Mad Men drink guide, with recipes. Now I know how to make Don an Old Fashioned.

Mad Men style versus Woodstock. (more…)

The Hollywood Reporter collates critics picks for the Emmys. Robert Bianco of USA Today likes Mad Men for Drama and January Jones for Lead Actress in a Drama. Joanne Ostrow of the Denver Post wants Slattery for Supporting Actor. Matt Roush (TV Guide), sees Mad Men for Drama and either Jones or Elisabeth Moss for Actress. Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune supports Mad Men (as ever), January Jones, and Jon Hamm.

Eric Deggans reprints a meditation on Don Draper as distant father, in honor of Father’s Day, of course.

The Boston Globe asks us to “imagine how different Betty Draper’s life would have been if she only had a blog” for a piece on “bad parenting.”

The Boston Globe also explores pregnancy and teen pregnancy on television, briefly mentioning Mad Men.

More on AMC’s new marketing strategies.

An article on vintage geek chic mentions Don Draper’s sweater vest.
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Go Fug Yourself is letting you vote on Christina’s outfit today. Hurry on over and tell them our redheaded girl rocks the jumpsuit.