A few years ago the Kardashian name cropped up again (Robert had passed in 2003). However, this time, the spotlight was on one of his four children, Kim, an attractive, petite, Armenian looking woman, who was part of the Hilton sisters’ crowd. The next thing I know there is a show on E! about the whole clan which includes Kim, her sisters Khloe and Kourtney, her brother Robert Jr. and her half-sisters who are in their early teens, Kylie and Kendall. The parents, and I use the term loosely, are Kris Jenner, who divorced Robert Sr. in 1989, and Bruce Jenner, a gold medal Olympic winner and an integral part of American sports history. Does this sound even remotely interesting? Well, if you said “no,” you are probably in the majority. However, if you said “yes,” you are in luck because they are on their fourth show in two years.

To summarize the lives of these people, the older girls own a few clothing stores in LA and Miami, although other than holding up some tops and cooing over how cute they are, I have never seen them engage in an actual transaction, though they did reprimand an employee for coming in late once. They also get paid for appearances (they call this “work”), put their names on perfumes that they have professed to have mixed in the lab themselves like Madam Curie, and eat out a lot. Mother Kris is the manager of these girls and tries to farm them out like Lynne Spears and Dina Lohan combined. She refers to lunch at the Ivy as “meetings.” They all speak in monotone voices and often use the words “like,” “issue,” and “stuff”. What I do find admirable is that when they are faced with any romantic crisis, they stay in bed for one whole day, but lo and behold, by the next day they are all primped and ready to go declaring that they are “over it and have moved on.”  Now, that, needs to be bottled and sold to women across America.

One of the saddest parts of the show is Bruce Jenner. His post-athlete occupation is that of a motivational speaker and he has been seen coming home with a briefcase. In one perplexing episode he asks Kris for money, complaining that she doesn’t even give him enough of an allowance to buy his morning coffee. What was even stranger was that there was a shiny red Keurig coffee maker right in back of him as he was begging like a homeless person.

The way the older girls speak to their mother is a bit disturbing. I am sure when your mother is your manager there is a different dynamic to the relationship, but at times it seems a little over the line. Khloe likes to push her Mother’s buttons by talking to her using foul — and I mean foul – language. Or, if they’re annoyed with her, they ignore her phone calls when she has been trying to get in touch with them to book their next gig. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

As far as the two teenage girls Kyle and Kendall, it does not look like a great environment for these young ladies since there is no filter as to what they hear and see.  In another episode, Kris had been putting herbal Viagra into Bruce’s coffee (she made it in the Keurig) which could have easily have knocked off Bruce for good, but instead had them locked up in their bedroom every morning. The younger ones were clearly aware that their parents were not gathering their tax documentation and patiently waited for them to emerge so they could start their day. Time will tell on that one.

Then there are the personal lives of the older girls. Kim has been in an on-again/off-again relationship with Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints, which seems to be on-again just like her daily manicures and shipments of free Prada pocketbooks. Kourtney is known for having gotten pregnant with her ex-boyfriend Scott, they are trying to make a go of their relationship but I think they need to start by finding out what this guy; who wears his Ralph Lauren sweaters tied around his shoulders preppy-style, does for a living.  Khloe was on every magazine cover this past fall for her wedding to Lamar Odom of the L.A. Lakers, who she had known for five weeks prior to their wedding day.  I must say by all accounts, Lamar seems like a stand-up guy, but Khloe honey, please, stop saying you are going to spend the rest of your life with him–that’s the Hollywood kiss of death.

Overall this is not a show based on any kind of morality; it’s more about living in the moment and dealing with the consequences at another time. They say they are like any other family which is true, if you believe in reality shows and unicorns.

In this episode, “NewsBusted” covers: Health Care Bill, Senator Barbara Mikulski, Nancy Pelosi, Consumer Option, President Obama, George W. Bush, World Series, Gore Vidal, Justin Timberlake, and Bruce Jenner.

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Jenner was recognized by someone at the baggage claim. Conversation ensued. It was just a few months into the Obama presidency and Jenner started talking about how he wanted to give the president the benefit of the doubt but seemed especially struck by the stimulus at the time as a bad idea. There was criticism of Bush, too, on the bailout, but Obama was clearly trying his patience as he tried to wait and see.

So that Jenner’s come out and point-blank said “He’s done nothing” for the Nobel Peace prize doesn’t surprise me. But since it’s such a brief comment, as a CHiPs fan from back in the day, I know it’s not just bomb-throwing. Sounds like just another concerned citizen.

BTW: Can’t a guy pump his gas without a camera? If only the Washington press corps put half as much effort into their jobs as the Hollywood paparazzi does theirs…

Brody Jenner

I long for the days when being a man had to do with things like, my word is good, insult my wife and you get a busted nose, and my silence says more than any nonsense I could ever scream at you. But this is not the image of the masculine male Tinseltown now propagates.

The other day while surfing channels like a Troglodyte on speed waiting for the meat on the grill to ooze a little blood, I came across a show I’m convinced will be the downfall of the American male.

The show’s called “Bromance.” That’s right, “Bromance,” and it’s not on the LOGO channel. It’s on the channel where many first time voters get information on who to vote for and where to get a complimentary t-shirt emblazoned with the image of a hip, slick, cigarette smoking candidate. That’s right, MTV. Now you may be wondering just what a “Bromance” is. Here’s the explanation from the website. 

There’s friendship, there’s romance, and then there’s Bromance. What is Bromance? In most cases, it’s a bond between boys that is both manly and intimate. In this case, though, it’s a chance to buddy up with a privileged heartthrob from The Hills, Brody Jenner.

I made it through twenty-minutes and was able to observe the aforementioned Brody Jenner seated in a poolside lounge chair surrounded by candles having a “MAN-DATE” with one of the nine so-called men, hoping to become his new best friend. The candidate vying for Brody’s “heterosexual affections” shed tears while exposing his flaws and all the pressure on him. It ended with a candle-lit man-hug.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my buddies but I don’t want to date them. Good long episodes of crying should be reserved for private time in the bathroom with the shower running.

Brody Jenner is the type of man young women are being told is the ideal: soft, sensitive, vulnerable, not able to take a punch or be there when life gets tough. This isn’t to say women need men or can’t take care of themselves – hell, I need my wife and like it that way. But in the roles between men and women, I believe a woman wants to be with a man whose word is good and can be counted on when life takes a dump in their world.

 I don’t think women want men who come home crying after a long days work and say, “Hold me, I feel so vulnerable, my boss was mean today.” But this is what shows like “Bromance” are doing to men while at the same time altering how young women see them.

Oh, and if you’re wondering who Brody Jenner was spawn from, Google “Decathlon winner 1976 summer Olympics,” and there you’ll find a man in full,  a testosterone fueled super athlete who’s morphed himself from into Hollywood’s male ideal with the help of a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and Dr. Phil — who also can’t take a punch.

I’m not advocating misogyny or random acts of violence to express masculinity. I leave that to the lyrics of hip-hop. I’m all for peace, love and understating. I’m just not willing to give up my balls, break my word or shout at some dude, “You hurt my feelings.”