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Dressing the Women in Blue

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Officer Pat Johnson with her child, in Los Angeles 1971. Cal Montney/Getty Images

“On a Friday afternoon in a small suburb of western Cleveland, Sergeant Tanya Sirl was finishing her shift when she spotted a burglary suspect on the run. Wearing her standard police uniform, she pursued the suspect on foot, leaping over a chain link fence in the process. She succeeded in detaining him, but not before ripping open the seam of her pants. “My pants got caught on the fence because the crotch was so low,” said Sgt. Sirl. “It ripped them from appetite to asshole. Everyone got to see my hot pink thong.” She made her way back to the station holding her pants together with one hand, and writing up her report with the other.”

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T.J. Miller Wants to Use Comedy to Soothe the Human Condition

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“T.J. Miller cuts to the core. Whether shooting from the hip on local morning talk shows or waxing philosophical in his standup, Miller is operating from a place of gut instinct. In his latest ventures, he’s appearing opposite Jennifer Aniston in a holiday comedy, Office Christmas Party, debuting December 9th, and starring as Greg the Genie in a second series of Slim Jim ads on Funny or Die. Between shooting the new season of Silicon Valley and appearing on Ellen, he made some time to talk to me about nihilism, mortality, and Goblesnarfs.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON VULTURE

Bobby Moynihan on Some Strange Days at ‘SNL’

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“Bobby Moynihan was part of one of the most heartbreaking episodes of Saturday Night Live last week. Before Kate McKinnon took the piano as Hillary Clinton for an emotional rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to start the show, the cast was working overtime to find the humor in America’s decision to elect the most inexperienced, openly racist, xenophobic, and misogynistic President in history. It wasn’t easy to be funny, but the show must go on. I talked with Bobby Moynihan about the election fallout, David Pumpkins, and the Secret Life of Pets.” 

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Roy Wood Jr.’s Full Circle: From Journalism to Comedy to ‘The Daily Show’

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“Roy Wood Jr. began his comedy career in 1998 at the age of 19 while studying journalism at Florida A&M University. He took off like a rocket, hosting a popular morning radio show in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, starring in the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son, performing on Conan and David Letterman, and making the rounds at comedy clubs nationwide. Now a huge hit as a correspondent on The Daily Show, the comic’s double-decade commitment to comedy is paying off in a big way. A few days after taping his first one-hour Comedy Central special in Atlanta, Wood Jr. took some time to talk to me from his “noisy-ass corner office” at TDS about politics, prank phone calls, and puzzles.”

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Wanda Sykes on Standup, Parenthood, and This Nightmare Election

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“In her dazzling new one-hour comedy special, What Happened…Ms. Sykes? airing tomorrow night on EPIX, comedian Wanda Sykes is quirky as ever. Though familiar in style, her new material on motherhood, aging, and breast cancer reflects how much life has changed since the days of The Chris Rock Show and Pootie Tang. Since quitting her job at the NSA in her thirties, she’s won Emmy awards, written a book, started a family, hosted the White House Correspondents dinner, advocated for the LGBT community, starred in her own late night talk show, and lifted millions of people up with her comedy. What a life! Ms. Sykes took some time to talk to me about her insights on work, love, politics, and parenthood.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON VULTURE

The Case for Buying School Lunches

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Cathy Walls-Thompson. Photo: Joshua Huston

“Since Michelle Obama’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act passed in 2010, the nutritional quality of school lunches has improved dramatically. The act established science-based nutrition standards for all food sold and marketed in schools, increased access to healthy food for children from low-income households and helped communities create local farm-to-school networks.

Lunchroom manager Cathy Walls-Thompson has witnessed the benefits of the act firsthand in the kids she serves at Hawthorne Elementary in Southeast Seattle’s Columbia City. The children have started choosing locally grown fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains instead of French fries or tater tots. 

“I encourage kids to just try it, and see what happens,” says Walls-Thompson. “Parents tell me all the time, ‘I’ll be doggone — my kids are eating salad now because of you!’” She adds that she’s lost 165 pounds by following the new guidelines.” 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN SEATTLE’S CHILD

A Tale of Two Lives: Chris Geere

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“The third season of the dark romantic comedy You’re the Worst premieres tomorrow on FXX much to the delight of the show’s devoted fanbase. Chris Geere, who plays self-involved writer Jimmy Shive-Overly, is definitely not like the wild and crazy character he plays — this fast-paced Hollywood life isn’t his usual bag. In an alternate reality, he’s back in Manchester, England cooking dinner for his wife and building a treehouse for his young son.

Geere’s British charm is palpable; it is obvious how thrilled he is to be living the dream. He took some time to talk with me about family life in the English countryside, channeling Jim Carrey, and season three of You’re the Worst.”

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON SPLITSIDER

Learn to Love Nature’s Slithery Beasts with the Seattle Reptile Guy

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Photo: Joshua Huston

“As a little boy growing up in Holland, Marc van Steenis loved to chase snakes and lizards around on family vacations. His fascination with animals evolved into a degree in zoology, and a collection of around 800 to 1,500 creatures, including reptiles, amphibians and large bugs. Luckily, his wife and two children don’t mind. 

“They grew up around these animals, so they are used to it now,” says van Steenis. “They love to pet the cute reptiles like baby geckos and tortoises, but they are less interested in the snakes. Snakes pretty much just eat, sleep and poop.”

When he’s not busy raising his kids, ages 8 and 10, he travels around the city as the Seattle Reptile Guy, presenting his menagerie in classrooms, at children’s birthday parties, and even for corporate team-building events. 

“In my experience,” says van Steenis, “when people see and touch animals at a young age, they are more likely to care about them for the rest of their lives.'”

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Ben Falcone on Being Partners in Comedy and Life with Melissa McCarthy

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“Before Ben Falcone became the writer/director/producer/actor/father/husband to Melissa McCarthy that he is today, he worked as a waiter at California Pizza Kitchen for seven years and performed with a comedy troupe at The Groundlings. Whether it was his abrupt firing from CPK or an inborn strength of character, Falcone seems to have maintained his humility and warmth amidst his family’s growing fame. Which is a great quality to have when your comedic success shows no signs of stopping. McCarthy and Falcone’s pilot Nobodies was just ordered to series, a new movie, Life of the Party starts shooting next month, and The Boss, a movie they co-wrote with Steve Mallory recently released on DVD with special features. I talked with Falcone about the couple’s favorite place to write, playing with dolls in volcanoes, and the joy of comedy in an uncertain world.”

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A Look at Flight Attendant Uniforms Through History

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Braniff International Airways hostesses in uniforms by Emilio Pucci, 1965. Photo credit: Braniff International Public Relations Archives, History of Aviation Collection, UT-Dallas

“Before you fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff at San Francisco International Airport, stop by International Terminal Level 3 for the new Fashion in Flight exhibit. Over 70 airline uniforms are on display, dating from the pre-war 1930s to present day. If you think you would rather spend your pre-flight time at the gate listening to the blood pound in your ears and staring into the abyss, think again. The SFO Museum Fashion in Flight exhibit is on display for your entertainment from now until January 8th, 2017. Aviation Museum and Library hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily and the Main Hall galleries are always open. Why waste your time at the gate feasting on an overpriced airport sandwich and reapplying deodorant when you could dress up your brain with knowledge of flight attendant fashion? Enjoy the following preview of this San Francisco treat.”

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