Film

The Library of Congress is now home to Bambi, Thumper, Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan. On Wednesday James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, selected Walt Disney’s Bambi, Forrest Gump and 23 other titles ”to be preserved as cultural, artistic and historical treasures,” according to a press release.

Americans nominated 2,228 titles this year to be included in the Library. Billington then consulted other film curators and the National Film Preservation Board before selecting the final 25.

You can nominate titles for next year’s consideration at at the NFPB’s hideous website here.

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

MSNBC contributor Meghan McCain is also, like, totally a blogger! When not dispensing overpriced dime-store insight into the space between her ear she calls the young Republican mindset, she muses about stuff ‘n’ stuff on her website, McCainblogette.

Tuesday, Meghan took to her blog to offer some advice on “How to avoid 140-character regret,” four pearls of wisdom on how she tries to avoid exposing herself as an idiot by making embarrassing mistakes on Twitter.

She describes it this way: “Here are some rules I’ve set for myself to avoid any Tweet-centric mishaps or regrets.”

Overlooking the opening graph that would earn a D- in a third grade writing class, her points are as follows.

“1. Never tweet directly after a breakup, trust me no good will come of this. You are too emotionally raw and you don’t want to take it out on your twitter family.”

OK, not the worst advice ever. But it’s a lot like telling a kid “Don’t stare at the sun.” It’s gonna happen. But still, not a horrible start. Though referring to strangers on Twitter as “family” is a bit odd.

“2. Never tweet when you are angry in response to a follower. Take a step back and breathe- it’s just some anonymous person on the internet.”

First, the word “Internet” should be capitalized. Second, didn’t she just say people on Twitter were her family? Now they’re “just some anonymous person”? Where’s the love, Meghan? Third, if Twitter isn’t for fighting and letting the world see pictures of what you’re eating for dinner, what’s it for?

“3. Make sure that whenever you post a picture, you have looked over numerous times to make sure it’s correct. Tori Spelling’s husband recently tweeted a topless picture of his wife accidentally without realizing it- yikes!”

OK, there’s just a lot of stupid happening here. A LOT! Take a second and read that again, then realize that she’s a Columbia University graduate and PAID to write for The Daily Beast. The first sentence has a missing “it” and “Tori Spelling’s husband recently tweeted a topless picture of his wife accidentally without realizing it…”? Who would Tori Spelling’s husband’s wife be? And could you “accidentally” tweet something while realizing it? If this is what you get with an Ivy League education, community college for everyone! Tina Brown, that sound you hear is your brand tarnishing.

“4. And finally, try not to tweet anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with your mother, grandmother or sister reading – that’s my rule of thumb.”

Um…Uh…Why did she feel the need to make three points about her “rules,” then, in the final point, say THIS ONE is her “rule of thumb”?  What are the other three? General guidelines she thinks people should just ignore as long as grandma, mom and sis are cool with what you’ve said? “Rules of pinky”?

You have to wonder sometimes if Meghan ever reads what she’s written. More than that, you have to wonder how hard it is for colleagues at MSNBC and The Daily Beast to not laugh at her when she’s around. As for the rest of us, it’s a good thing she’s not around.

 

While the rest of the world was watching the new Twilight movie this weekend, we decided to check out The Muppets. It was filled with nostalgia and there were cameos at every turn. (We won’t ruin all of them for you). The one that stuck out most was cameo-whore and Democratic pundit James Carville. It’s towards the end of the movie and he’s caught up in an avalanche of celebrities, so don’t blink. Not to mention, the man looks like a real life Bunsen Honeydew.

We reached out to Carville to see if he is a Muppet fan. “I’m a little too old to be a lifelong fan, but since they’ve been around, I’ve certainly been a fan,” he says. When we asked who his favorite Muppet is, Carville answered “I’d have to say Miss Piggy. I’m pretty comfortable following Kermit’s judgment. It’s not easy being green, or a Democrat sometimes. Miss Piggy is a classy woman. I can see what Kermit sees in her. I’ve got a pretty classy woman in Mary Matalin, myself.”   Um, did he just compare his wife to Miss Piggy?

Finally someone genuinely impressive is coming to the nation’s capital.

It’s Clint Eastwood.

On behalf of Warner Bros. Pictures and The National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum, Eastwood will be at the Washington premiere of his new film J. Edgar on Nov. 8 at the Newseum. There will be a screening and a reception.

ABC7 Reporter Stephen Tschida, our wild train rider, is in the thick of life after arm surgery.

Three days ago he wrote on Twitter that he was spending time with his Aunt Molly: “Off post-op pain killers and alone at a house in the country with an old lady. Feel like I’m living the ENDING of ‘Valley of the Dolls.’ Two days ago he reported, “If a surgeon says “you’re going to be uncomfortable” that means you will be in AGONY! My new goal for a return to normalcy is November 1.” On Monday he provided yet another update, saying, “Bottom line: I quit pain pills too soon. Just didn’t want to wind up like Matthew Perry. Although he really did get thin for a while.”

A & E Networks is inviting Washington journos to join Lifetime and Jennifer Aniston for a screening of Lifetime’s “FIVE” with opening remarks by Dr. Jill Biden. The October 3rd reception and screening at the Ronald Reagan Building is to “celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” This event is by invitation only. No crashers please.

This week TIME released the cover of its special commemorative “Beyond 9/11″ issue, marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York. The front cover image by Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda, co-creators of the original Tribute in Light memorial in New York City, shows a photo-illustration imagining the memorial as seen from space.  The cover also features a silver border—only the third cover in the mag’s 88-year history without the trademark red border. Ten years ago, in the days following the September 11 attacks, TIME changed its border for the first time in history, to black.

TIME’s Beyond 9/11 project also includes a photography and documentary components.  Portraits of Resilience, featuring portraits by Marco Grob coupled with oral histories of 40 men and women, including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Rudolph Giuliani, will go live on a special website September 7th.  And a one-hour documentary, “Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience,” will air on HBO and CNN and stream on TIME.com on Sept. 11th.

The Beyond 9/11 edition will hit newsstands on Thursday, September 8.

Congrats to the winners of our 2 pm trivia question:  “George W. Bush is said to have a special picture of himself and a popular rock and roll band from the 1970s.  Who is the band?”

The answer was ZZ Top.  Susan Sears and Nicole Holtz were the first two readers to answer correctly.  They’ll be joining us at Nat Geo’s August 23rd reception and premiere of  “George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview.”  If you missed out on the first round, you’ve got one more shot to win a set of tix.  The first two readers to send the correct answer for the below question to fishbowlmatt@gmail.com (include your name, employer and telephone number) will be given a set of tix to the Tuesday night event.

QUESTION # 2: What monumental thing did George W. Bush do on his 40th birthday?

 

*Hint: cold turkey.

Courtesy of our friends at National Geographic, FishbowlDC has two sets of two premiere tickets to give away on the 2pm hour.  The first two readers to send the correct answer to the below trivia question to fishbowlmatt@gmail.com will join Betsy and me at Nat Geo’s August 23rd reception and premiere of  “George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview.”

To win, please submit the correct answer along with your name, employer, title and telephone number.   Don’t worry if you miss out on the first round.  We’ll give away two more sets at 4pm this afternoon.

QUESTION: George W. Bush is said to have a special picture of himself and a popular rock and roll band from the 1970s.  Who is the band?

*Hint:  They were booked to play a one-hour show at his inauguration party in 2001.

Our pals at National Geographic were kind enough to offer our readers four sets of two tickets to join FishbowlDC at the premiere of “George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview” on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 in Washington DC.  To win your spot at the event, you’ll need to be among the first two readers to respond correctly to trivia questions we’ll post at 2pm and 4pm EST.  So be on the lookout and send your guesses to fishbowlmatt@gmail.com.

For more info on the documentary, click here.