The pendulum of hate and adulation swings freely in Kanye West’s life, oscillating seemingly daily between the two camps. On Sunday, West walked the streets of Paris in black mid-calf, high-heeled boots on his way to the Givenchy fashion show. Today, the rest of the internet noticed, and comparisons to Mary J. Blige, Rick James, and Shrek‘s Lord Farquaad are flying.
West also managed to turn the roving eye of Anonymous, the secret internet group of hackers and activists, in his direction. In addition to naming West a target, Anonymous also declared (in a 7-minute long speech replete with insults) that West “pollute[s] the planet even more with [his]bickering, loud mouth, over-grown ego, annoying influence, and mission-less message.” But, luckily for West, the pendulum swings back to love just as quickly, as The Queen of Pop took his side in an unrelated effusion of admiration. “Kanye is the black Madonna,” declared Madonna in an interview with The NY Daily News.
I’d say “I’ll drink to that, Madge” but I’ll drink to just about
anything, and
come summertime, I might be able to make my own alcoholic beverages out of a powdery deliciousness called Palcohol, the first powdered alcohol to get the green light from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The good news is that it tastes like Kool Aid. The bad news is that if you live in Alaska, Delaware, Michigan, Louisiana, South Carolina, or Vermont, your state has already foreseen your enjoyment of this wonderous product and banned it preemptively.
Speaking of bans, Denver and more than 700 other cities across the country have already banned that lovable creature, the pit bull. But now, the Mississippi state legislature is taking it one step further by proposing House Bill 1261, which would allow the police to not only enter the homes of pit bull owners without warrants, but also would supposedly give the police license to kill the dog if it’s “not under proper restraint when on the premises of the owner.” I’ll give you a moment to consult your pocket guide to the Constitution for this one, as the War Against Pit Bulls bleeds into the War on Your Rights.
Elsewhere on the planet, David Bowie’s wife, supermodel Iman, may or may not have let slip to an Italian newspaper that the rocker is planning to tour for his new album, The Next Day. (As Rolling Stone points out, one of the last times he performed onstage was in his electrifying appearance with Arcade Fire at Radio City Music Hall in 2005). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it happens, and for Adam Carpenter to become the next internet sensation.