Name Nerd George Clooney on “weird-ass names” I am mad at Lainey. It’s kind of amazing how much I say that, here or on the podcast, on a site literally called LaineyGossip – maybe the only thing more amazing is that I do it because we both know that when we say it, it means we’re By Duana • Feb 01, 2021 03:47 pm
Amazingness Amanda Gorman Arrives, On Her Terms My favourite true but not-cool-to-say observation about the inauguration last week was that it was kind of boring, in the most blissfully relieving way – and the exception that proved the rule was the instantaneous and universal reaction to poet laureate Amanda Gorman; everyone fell in love with her at exactly By Duana • Jan 27, 2021 03:33 pm
Baby and Bump Obsession Duana Names: The Ks have it – per Gigi & Zayn …& Kamala? Look, it’s not that I *didn’t* like Gigi and Zayn before, I just didn’t think about them that much. But I guess now I am gonna have to officially add them to my ‘actively enjoyable’ column. I never said I wasn’t fickle, did I? I paid By Duana • Jan 22, 2021 12:57 pm
Show Your Work Podcast Show Your Work: Awkwafina vs. Nora? Lainey correctly pointed out (though I think I shot her down) that this is our first episode in 2021 – and I really like how things are going. We’ve talked a lot about the work we see, who’s doing it, who isn’t, and who should – but now, maybe By Duana • Jan 21, 2021 02:54 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: Blanket Statements Benefit Balkan Baby Hi Duana! We're trying to settle on a Slavic or international name for our baby girl, but struggling to find a name that feels "right." We want a name that isn't super popular, but also one that both our Balkan families and English-speakers can By Duana • Jan 13, 2021 04:02 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: What’s in a “Baby/Baybi” Name? …Are we okay?! Of course we’re not. Is anything we’re going to discuss going to affect anything, or is it just distraction? I mean, I would have gone with the latter, if not for you guys. This is what we do, we listen to each other, take care By Duana • Jan 08, 2021 02:27 pm
Child Stars We’re Missing the (Worst) Sia Story Sia has had an incredible amount of negative press lately – first about the trailer for her upcoming Music, which was (correctly) criticized for its ableist casting of neurotypical Maddie Ziegler as a teenager with autism, and for Sia’s clapback tantrums on Twitter where she said the role/production would By Duana • Jan 06, 2021 03:11 pm
Movie Reviews and Previews Whitney Houston Is… ! When I wrote back in April (April! It feels like three years ago, and even though that is desperately clichéd, it doesn’t make it any less true) that Stella Meghie had been tapped to direct the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, I also wrote, “ It’ll By Duana • Dec 16, 2020 04:06 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: A Few Friday Updates! Man, do I ever love a well-named baby. First of all, aunt-of-the-year from Name. Needed. Now keeps her title by providing this timely and super-sweet update: Hi Duana! Your article was so helpful! Truly...you have no idea. The two first names you mentioned- Atlas and Hugo- were on their By Duana • Dec 11, 2020 03:11 pm
Show Your Work Podcast Show Your Work: Mariah’s Meaning and The Bloody Truth At long last (and after many emails from you guys keeping us on it) we waited for December, and unofficially rang in the holiday season and finally had our book club about The Meaning Of Mariah Carey. Problem is, there may not be a whole lot of meaning… not that By Duana • Dec 10, 2020 01:19 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: Talk Us Into Something Hi Duana, I've gone back and forth on whether to email you, and the closer we get to the due date, the less sure we are of a name. Here's where we're at: we're a Caucasian/Indian family with one little boy By Duana • Dec 02, 2020 03:45 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: Name. Needed. NOW. Hi Duana! My sister and brother in law had twins two weeks ago and are still deciding on one of their names, which is causing a lot of post partum stress that they just don’t need (they’ve had plenty of other stress in their lives this year). Anyway. By Duana • Nov 27, 2020 03:30 pm
TV Updates On Pointe on Disney+ Knows What It’s Doing The other day I wrote about a show whose concept was so well-known I figured with help, eleven-year-olds could pitch it. In the trailer for Disney+’s new ballet documentary series, On Pointe, about the lives of dancers at the School of American Ballet in New York City, the ballet By Duana • Nov 25, 2020 03:43 pm
TV Updates Why Does Amazon’s The Wilds Hide Its Originality? I feel as though there’s an untapped market in the YouTube/TikTok community for making fun of trailers or network promos that have nothing to do with the actual series/films they’re supposed to be selling. I know that very occasionally, it’s justified because there’s a By Duana • Nov 23, 2020 03:27 pm
Gossip Nostalgia The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air still is, 30 years later A lot of casts of long-running shows say that they (and the crew) feel like a family. I believe it – I’ve been lucky enough to have that feeling on shows myself, and the intimacy and constant togetherness definitely feels familial… though the truth is in the years afterward, when By Duana • Nov 20, 2020 02:11 pm
Name Nerd Duana Names: Double Fluff Love When serendipity arrives in your inbox, you have to roll with it. Lord, do I understand the inclination towards a pandemic puppy, and, provided people are adopting from reputable places, I think it’s a pretty understandable, dare I say, healthy, way to channel the absurd emotions of 2020. I By Duana • Nov 18, 2020 04:08 pm
