Happy New Year!

Have a great one, everybody.

I've been tagged!

Fellow BARBARian colleague MrGumby2U tagged me with the following meme, and I am more than happy to oblige.

So it goes:

· Find the nearest book
· Name the book
· The author
· Turn to page 123
· Go to the fifth sentence on the page
· Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
· Tag three more folks.

It just so happens that I have a new copy of Vice magazine’s book “Do’s & Don’ts: 10 years of Vice magazine’s street fashion critiques” by Suroosh Alvi, Gavin McInnes and Shane Smith.

Yes, I am tragically hip. And Brion, the friend who gave this book to me, is even hipper than I. Fear us.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Vice, it’s a Montreal-based publication. And it’s free. I first saw it many years ago at some snobby shoe shop in SoHo but never gave it much thought until Brion brought it up a few months ago. Each issue has a theme that they explore, such as bizarre cults, poverty, immersionism, bullshit, and obsessions, just to name a few. And they have this recurring feature, called “Do’s & Don’ts” in which they take photographs of people off the street and provide commentary on the subject’s stylishness, dorkyness, hotness, or some combination of the above. And from there, the laughs ensue.

So now they’ve compiled these into a book, which is the book I’ve chosen for today’s meme-fest.

However, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say I’m taking a bit of artistic license with this one, because:

a) The book isn’t exactly arranged in paragraph form,
b) I didn’t really like the fifth sentence,
c) The photo attached to the caption I did choose is funnier, and
d) Work with me here, people.

Without further adieu, the “fifth sentence” (from page 124):

The only thing that dresses worse than a teenager is a middle-aged rich guy. He’s got the trophy wife and the Radiohead CD, but most importantly he’s got his trademark “hope I die ‘fore I get old” leather pants.

Now, this caption, in and of itself, is only mildly amusing, I will admit. But when you look at the accompanying picture:



You, the ever astute reader, may notice a slight resemblance (okay, maybe if you squint and shake your head a little) to our beloved John Aravosis of AMERICAblog...



... whom we love and visit daily (the blog, not John Aravosis), and whom we are sure has way better fashion sense than the gentleman in this picture, Jah bless him.

Anyhoo. There it is.

So, whom to tag next? I hereby anoint:
· Jonsey of Jones of the Nile
· Laurie at Defiance
· Kenneth at All Bleeding Stops Eventually




(Photo of John Aravosis courtesy of Bart Nagel Photography. Photo of man and trophy wife courtesy of Vice.)

Saddam Hussein is Dead

Executed last night by hanging.


I get it that Hussein was a dispicable human being. I get that his despotic rule resulted in the deaths of hundreds of his own people. I get it. But you know how I feel about the death penalty, and there's something about Hussein's trial and subsequent execution that just does not sit right with me. Nevermind the fact that several countries (England, France, the European Union, the Vatican, for chrissakes) are criticizing the move.

And what about Dubya? Of course not. This is just business as usual for him:

Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror.

Shortly after Hussein was executed, a bomb killed at leat 68 people in Iraq. See what I mean? More of the same. Will Hussein's execution help the situation in Iraq? I don't see it. What I do fear is retaliation and revenge.

Will 2007 be the Year of the Vendetta?


P.S. Tony Blair didn't offer an immediate comment to Hussein's execution because he's kickin' it in Miami visiting with one of the freakin' Bee Gees. One of the freakin' Bee Gees, bitches.



UPDATE: The Carpetbagger posts a thought-provoking reflection on Hussein's execution. Same with Joe at AMERICAblog. Windspike at Bring It On! doubts that Iraq is now better off. Good to know I'm not alone.

UPDATE #2: Juan Cole writes that we've succeeded in making Saddam a martyr.






(Photo credit: Iraqi television via Associated Press)

Ford vs. Brown

That Colored Fella asks the eternal question:

Who had a greater impact on American society:
Gerald Ford or James Brown?

If you ask me, I'd say Mr. Sex Machine.

XXXIV

Another year, another birthday. Another opportunity to reflect on months past.

In a nutshell: The first half? Pretty cool. The last half? Not so much. Here's hoping that Year 34 turns out to be fucking fabulous the whole way through.

I think I've earned it.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by my humble little corner of the Internets, and for sharing with me your varied points of view, either by leaving me comments, being on my blogroll and/or my daily blog feeds. Sure, I provide the content here, but being able to interact with you guys makes this project/hobby/obsession so interesting and worthwhile.

So yeah, happy birthday to me and all that, but really I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy holiday and a wonderful new year!

The gift of all gifts

This one made me nearly snort out my yogurt. Audio NSFW.

Featuring Justin Timberlake. Yes, Justin Timberlake.




Somewhere out there, the guys from Jodeci are high-fiving each other.

Props to Otto Man at Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Nachos for the heads up.

Go Elf Yourself

Happy Holidays, bitches. I even wore eyeshadow for this one. Enjoy.







(Props to Kenneth, who doth rule.)

And now ... a blogging tangent

So I'm thinking of switching to Haloscan to manage my comments.

You know. Because I get so many.

But I have questions, and unlike The Decider in Chief, I'm not afraid to ask them. And here's where I look to you, Dear Reader, for input.

Feel free to geek out on me as necessary. Here we go:

1. Why would I want to choose Haloscan for comments rather than Blogger's thingy?
2. Is it hard to install or whatever?
3. Am I going to lose the few remaining Blogger comments that I do have if I make the switch and stuff?
4. Is there anything else I need to know before committing to this?

Thanks ever so. Love ya, mean it.

Bend and snap THIS.

First, the world of theatre blasphemed against me and created High Fidelity: The Musical.

And now this:

After a pair of hit movies, beloved blonde Elle Woods is getting ready to step into the spotlight at Broadway's Palace Theatre. A new musical version of Legally Blonde begins performances in April 2007, and everyone's talking about how this overachieving fashionista will work her magic on the stage. After all, when you've been president of Delta Nu sorority and a Hawaiian Tropic girl, conquering Harvard Law—and the Great White Way—should be a cinch.

What's next? The musical version of Little Man?

A Cosby Sweater It Ain't

Instead, it looks like a $30 Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt:

They've gone and turned High Fidelity into a musical.

Top Five Reasons why this is a bad idea:

5. Like Otto Man says, "Why not write a musical about the Common Cat?"

4. The book, from what I remember, was angsty and cynical. The movie did a great job of conveying this. The New York Times review of the stage version says otherwise.

3. Nobody can top Jack Black's performance in the movie version.

2. I don't care how good an actor you are, you cannot convey the snark and air of superiority that Rob and his buddies embody while projecting and gesturing and working it on stage. See #1.

1. High Fidelity and Jazz Hands do not mix.



(Photo credit: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

This Charming Man

To all my fellow Project Runway aficionados:

Are you sitting down?

I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it.

Tim Gunn may not return for the next season.

His responsibilities as chair of the fashion design department at New York City's Parsons school, where Gunn, 53, has worked for 23 years, make him unavailable for filming during the academic year.

Lawd, help me please, I hope he finds a way to make it work, because the show would totally suck without him.

Heaven Knows They're Miserable Now

Certain members of the House are complaining about the newly proposed five-day work week.

I know. I'm as shocked as you are. But not as shocked as this guy:

"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

Right. This fool apparently only works three days a week.

Say something like that to people like my dad, who had to work three jobs to put me through college and see if you'll find a sympathetic ear.

Wolfgang's Vault

Dude. This is the coolest thing. Evar.

Concert Vault is a virtual shrine to legendary concert promoter Bill Graham and opens up the Bill Graham Presents archives to share with The Great Unwashed.

Go to Concert Vault, register, and listen to recordings from past BGP concerts, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Who, Steppenwolf, David Bowie, etc. Concert recordings, people. Each listing also gives you the play list, musicians that played that night, and puts the concert in context within the career/lifespan of the band.

Wolfgang's Vault also contains old poster art, laminates, backstage passes, and vintage t-shirts.

Freakin' awesome, I know.

Thank me later.



(Props to Brion for the tip. He's just a *little* cooler than I. Just slightly.)

Update your Buddy Lists!

Larry "LCOR102 or Palisade199" Corrigan, director of operations and budget for various Republican campaigns, has just been arrested for hitting up underage girls on the Internets:

"The suspect was communicating online with someone whom he believed was a 13 year old girl." said Debra Brown with the Seattle Police Department. "In fact, that person was a detective from our Internet Crimes Against Children unit."

Seattle police say Corrigan used the AOL screen name LCOR102 to chat with the fictitious 13-year-old girl. Court documents say he bragged he'd already "had sex with a 14-year-old girl from Kansas."

I bet you a carne asada burrito that some wingnut right-wing blogger will say something along the lines of, "eww, that's gross, but hey, at least he wasn't hitting up on underage boys."

(Link courtesy of Bring It On!)

Wednesday Morning Insomnia Blogging

I don't know why I can't sleep tonight. Maybe it's this leg cramp, or maybe I'm still hyped up from my dinner with some old colleagues.

Speaking of old colleagues, apparently BofA has merged with MBNA in order to strengthen their hold on the credit card industry. Guess they hadn't yet gotten over their mergerlust. I'm so outta the loop. Anyway.

As some of you know, I worked at BofA many years ago and was there during the "merger of equals" with NationsBank. And while I thought having a free checking account was a pretty cool benefit, I cannot say that, as an employee, I was as thoroughly (ahem) engaged as these guys are. Have you heard about this already? Watch it:



That's Jim Du Bois, consumer market executive, Manhattan and Ethan Chandler, a banking center manager in Manhattan.

Gag. Seriously. G-A-G. Now their brown-nosing is all up on the Internet, in all its stank-ass glory. Congratulations, guys. Y'all need to be beaten with your own shoes. For real.

I'm transcribing the lyrics here [with commentary, of course] for posterity, in case this video gets pulled off YouTube in the morning. I'm groaning as I type this, by the way. Such is my love for you, my pretties. Recognize.

It is even better now that we're the same
To great companies come together
Now MBNA is BofA
And it's one bank, one card, one name that's known all over the world
One spirit, we get to share it
Leading us all to higher standards

Do you like the Cowboys? Or your university?
Do you like the Yankees? Or is NASCAR more your speed?
Well it's your choice, your right
To pick a card that shows your heart and your pride
We're one with affinity
And we'll carry each other, carry each other

Have you come to meet Bruce Hammonds [who ????]
Have you come to meet Liam McGee? [He's still there????]
Have you heard about Michelle Shepard, she's leading the team in the Northeast [shout out!]
And we've got Bank One on the run
What's in your wallet? It's not Capital One
It's us, so which card are you?
Integration's never had us feeling so good

And we'll make lots of money forever I can sing
About trusting and teamwork and doing the right thing [gotta throw in those core values!!]
We'll live out our core values [see!!!] while the competition crawls
'Cause they want what we have got
But it's only here at Bank of America

Etc. Etc. You get the drift.

Apparently they got a standing O for this.

I'm not the only one who's not amused. Apparently Universal Music Group is getting their "cease and desist" on:

"It has come to Universal's attention that Bank of America, N.A. (“BA”) has created a derivative work of the Composition to promote BA’s business and, in connection therewith, BA has publicly performed, synchronized, reproduced and distributed the Composition during BA business meetings and in timed relation with a video that is available to the public on at least two (2) Internet Web Sites..."

I wonder if this musical trainwreck, if you will, can be considered a parody, and therefore protected speech under the First Amendment. Although, I can see Universal's point. Whatever.

Too bad you can't bust a "cease and desist" order on some corny ass mofos.

Sidebar: Somewhere out there, Bono's ego is getting stroked. Or flagellated. You decide.

They're bringing skankyback

I admit it. I'm a sucker for the celebrity gossip. I buy US Weekly, dammit.

And if you're anything like me, you're sitting there in profound and utter incredulousness that Paris Hilton is now being used as a PR device to reinvigorate sagging careers. Case in point: Britney Spears, who's been seen around town lately cavorting with America's favorite socialite. Like they're best friends all of a sudden.

I don't get it either. Britney apparently "looks up to" Paris Hilton. Um, WHAT?

A Socialite's Life sums it up beautifully:

I pray pray pray this is but the latest stage in some bored hoax that the Three Skanks of the Apocalypse have concocted to fight off ennui.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Britney. Honey. What the hell? Do you do everything your publicist tells you to?

For the record ...

... this just might be my favorite scene from High Fidelity.



That is all.

Everybody wants a record deal

Oh Jah, please make him stop [emphasis mine]:

A source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "Tom's got a great voice. And he loves that song ever since his Top Gun character Maverick sang it to woo his love interest Kelly McGillis. Katie proved how talented she is musically when she performed in The Singing Detective remake." Tom's vocal talents did not go unnoticed by several music producers who attended his wedding, and the couple have apparently been offered staggering sums to sign an exclusive record deal.

Tom Cruise is corny enough, but now it looks like I'm gonna have to bust out my list of actors/models/whatever-turned-singers-turned-actors in order to prove my point. Here's my "Don't-Quit-Your-Day-Job" list:

• J. Lo
• Jamie Foxx (although his album was OK)
• Eddie Murphy
• Lindsay Lohan
• Paris Hilton
• Joey "Whoah!" Lawrence
• Steven Segal
• David Hasslehoff
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Joe Pesci
• Jennifer Love Hugetits
• Corky
  

All I'm saying is that very few can pull this off, Tom and Kat(i)e. Very. Few. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Is there anyone I'm missing?

(With inspiration from A Socialite's Life.)

"Liberalism is a mental disorder."

That's what I saw on a super-sized bumper sticker this afternoon on my way to a Thanksgiving party in Santa Rosa.

I didn't get a good look at the guy driving the car (actually, it was a beat-up truck, but who am I to judge?), but please believe I would have given him my wrathful eye had we made eye contact.

Why the namecalling? Why the insults? I don't necessarily agree with right-wing politics, and I absolutely detest their successful attempts at perverting an innocent term to describe a political ideology --- an ideology that is rooted in individual freedom, oh by the way (as if this is a bad thing!) --- into something that connotes stupidity, naiivete, or insanity. Cannot. Stand. It.

Fucking irresponsible. Why not just agree to disagree, for fuck's sake? Now you've gone ahead and given stupid people who can't think for themselves something to latch on to. Brilliant.

Anyway. Whatever.

Let's all go to our happy place now, shall we?




(YouTube link courtesy of someone.)

Giving Thanks

Much of what I'm grateful for hasn't changed since my Thanksgiving post from last year. I'm still the same wacky, nerdy, thoughtful, sensitive, and loving person (to my detriment, sometimes) that I've always been. And I'm still grateful for my family, friends, happiness and health. Oh yeah, and for the fact that the Dems took control of Congress finally this year.

My only wish for all you 30-60 people, you loyal and ardent supporters of G-list blogs, who come to my blog each day (some of you are STILL searching for that Damien Marley song!) is that you let the people you care about know that you are thankful for their presence.

It's nice to know that every once in a while.

Be well, everyone, and have a great Thanksgiving.

Now, get your grub on. You know I will.

Unsportsmanlike conduct

I hate to keep bringing up O.J. but I couldn't let this one go [emphasis mine]:

O.J. Simpson told The Associated Press he participated in the ill-fated "If I Did It" book and interview project for one reason — personal profit, and he acknowledged that any financial gain was "blood money."

"This was an opportunity for my kids to get their financial legacy," Simpson said in interviews this week with the AP after the book deal was abandoned by its publisher. "My kids understand. I made it clear that it's blood money, but it's no different than any of the other writers who did books on this case."

O.J.'s like, "Hey, it's cool, everyone's doing it. Why can't I be in on the hustle?"

And O.J. lovers around the world show their support by saying, "Hey, at least he was honest about the blood money."

Whatevs.

Even Rupert Murdoch has limits

Apparently The Line has been found, and now News Corp. has decided not to air the O.J. special, nor order the proposed book. Rupert Murdoch is probably trying to avoid getting a lump of coal in his stocking this year:

"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

Or maybe he has a soul after all. Bottom line, it was a stupid-ass idea for sweeps.

Speaking of stupid-ass ideas, Fox News is going to come up with a right-wing alternative to The Daily Show. Courtesy of The Carpetbagger Report:

The half-hour show is executive produced by “24’s” Joel Surnow and Manny Cota and creator Ned Rice, who previously wrote for “Politically Incorrect” and “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” through This Just In Prods. It would take aim at what Surnow calls “the sacred cows of the left” that don’t get made as much fun of by other comedy shows.

“It’s a satirical news format that would play more to the Fox News audience than the Michael Moore channel,” Surnow said. “It would tip more right as ‘The Daily Show’ tips left…. The most exciting thing for us will be that it’s going to be fresh.”

Everything old is new again. To the folks at Fox News, this is a "cutting-edge" idea. Yawn.

Apparently, I need to get out more.

I guess you're supposed to highlight the stuff that you've done. Here's my list. Because I know you give a shit, you really do:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (Does Mt. Tam count?)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it (You mean, aside from my parents, right? Ahem.)
09. Hugged a tree (I lived in Berkeley for a spell, but never that.)
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (Once, camping out for New Kids on the Block tickets. Don't judge!)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (Oy, the hangover!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (Ash Wednesday, ask me about it sometime.)
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run (No, but I got to third base a few times, heh.)
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends (HAVE)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love (story of my life!)
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (Ugh. Yes. Against my will.)
59. Lounged around in bed all day (One of life's guilty, but necessary, pleasures.)
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain (Does fog count?)
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured an ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played Dungeons & Dragons for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date (Don't judge!)
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation (Those were the days ...)
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (I really need to do this)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat (I did have antelope jerky in Idaho, of all places)
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (I made all-league in Tennis senior year in high school. Jah bless the local papers.)
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read (I got to the "selected" part)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ (my dream!)
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
151. Finished a marathon

Your turn.




(Courtesy of Tamara, from Awkwardly Social, my favorite SoCal blogger, formerly of T&A, the best blog name in the whole wide world besides mine.)

Down with apathy

All those people wanting to sue Sasha Baron Cohen for making fools out of them in his new movie ("Borat") need to be beaten with their own shoe.

Baron Cohen breaks it down thusly (courtesy of Rising Hegemon re: percieved anti-Semitism in the movie) [emphasis mine]:

Baron Cohen said the concept of "indifference towards anti-Semitism" had been informed by his study of the Holocaust while at Cambridge University, where he read history. "I remember, when I was in university, and there was this one major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw. And his quote was, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.'

"I know it's not very funny being a comedian talking about the Holocaust, but I think it's an interesting idea that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite. They just had to be apathetic," he said.

Delicious irony is just freakin' wasted on the simple minded. Bloody fools.

What a class act, that O.J. Simpson guy.

Many years ago, when I was in college, a person of African-American background asked me if I thought O.J. was guilty. At the time, I wasn't sure (or maybe I just didn't want to get into it), and I told this person so.

That was before the "not guilty" verdict came out.

Eleven years later, O.J. still vehemently denies he killed his wife and her friend, and now he's getting ready to tell FOX TV how he would have killed her if he really, actually, did it.

Seriously, WHAT? Whatever happened to his dedicating-the-rest-of-his-life-trying-to-find-the-murderer promise? The thought that even went into constructing the hypothetical execution of a double murder is disturbing, to say the least. The murder of the mother of your children? Hel-LO? And have you seen the crime scene photos?

Is he going to use the proceeds from his book (who would buy this shit, anyway?) to finish paying the $33.5M he still owes the Brown and Goldman families as part of the civil suit (of which he was found guilty, by the way)? Or are the proceeds going to pay for his country club membership?

This latest in a series of questionable antics on O.J.'s part (this gem being the last one I recall) is seriously disgusting. I mean, I've encountered people who I've wanted to kill with my own bare hands, but I'd never actually DO IT. And you don't see me trying to write about how I'd go about it.

O.J.'s been tried (and acquitted) for a double murder, in a hyper-controversial case, and now he's writing a book about how he would have killed his wife and Ron Goldman? What the fuck is up with this guy?

So many things wrong with this. SO many. If you didn't believe O.J. was guilty before, you may want to re-think your position.

2006 Weblog Awards

Oh hey, look. It's nomination time for the 2006 Weblog Awards.

Wouldn't it be cool if a G-lister won something this year?

Ahem.

Like we're supposed to apologize or something

Courtesy of Think Progress:

Last night on Fox News, former President George H.W. Bush said the current political climate has “gotten so adversarial that it’s ugly.” Asked to offer an explanation for why there is this “incivility,” Bush pinned the blame on bloggers. “It’s probably a little worse now given electronic media and the bloggers and all these kinds of things,” he said.

Not that my blog sets the tone for political discourse in this country (I'm just a G-lister, after all), but it's SO obvious the Rovian machine is trying to revive Dubya's falling approval ratings by bringing in Big Bad Daddy Bush to fight Bush the Son's battles for him in the court of public opinion. How? By blaming someone else, natch.

Typical.

Aren't we tired of this already?

Think Progress has the video and transcript.

That's a lot of Frappuccinos.

2,400 in fiscal '07.

Seriously, I don't know how they continue to successfully operationalize this. I want in on their secret.

Freakmont A's

It's bad enought that the Niners are leaving San Francisco. But the East Bay A's of Fremont?

Um, no. Negatory. Try again.

And I'm sorry, I don't know why I do this, but I always think Freakmont is in the South Bay. My apologies to all you Freakmontians (if any) reading this.


(Props to SFist for the inspiration.)

K-Fed's bringing nasty back

Oh look. Another celebrity sex tape. Sorry, alleged. From The Sun:

The Britney Spears and Kevin Federline divorce has turned nasty after it was revealed he is touting a Paris Hilton-style video of the couple romping.

According to our sister paper The News Of The World, dumped husband K-Fed has already been offered £26million for the FOUR hour tape, shot in the early stages of the couple's relationship.

Britney fears the raunchy footage will destroy her wholesome image, unless she caves in to his demands for a £16million payoff and custody of their children Sean Preston, one, and Jayden James, eight weeks.

Oh Britney. Dahlink. Bubele. The toothpaste is already out of the tube on that one, my dear. Remember this? I'm not interested in seeing hillbilly sex ...



... or am I?

Four hours is nothing to sneeze at. There I go again, digressing.



(Photo lifted from here.)

Yum-O.

As much as she annoys me, I have to concede that Rachel Ray can cook. I've made two of her recipes so far, and have been pleasantly surprised.

Tonight's dinner: Papa al Pomodoro. Basically, it's a tomato-based soup thickened with stale bread. Perfect for a cold and rainy evening.

I would take a picture of my bowl of stew (it's too thick to call it a soup) to show you all the final product (as if you're interested), but the pictures I came up with didn't do it justice. I think my camera sucks. My pictures never come out as good as the Gluten-Free Girl's photos, who unfortunately, can't eat this, alas.

The recipe is here. I certainly hope this freezes well, because I made a ton.

Buon appetito!

P.S.: Yes, I drizzled with EVOO.


UPDATE: Okay, I managed to snag one decent photo of my dinner. Peep the brand-new Le Creuset, bitches.

Quack, quack, quack.

UPDATE 11/14: I totally misinterpreted that. Ignore this post. That's what I get for trying to post when tired.

*******************
Okay, this is starting to bug me.

Why is it that the media has immediately attached the lame duck" epithet when referring to the new democratic congress? Am I naive to think that maybe now some real changes surrounding Iraq, especially, can take place?

We're supposed to be grateful or something

From Bush's radio address yesterday (emphasis mine):

One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

What a dumbass.



(Courtesy of The Carpetbagger Report.)

Insert 'macaca' joke here

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As the canvassing continues in Virginia, Sen. George Allen, R-Virginia, is sequestered in his home, "shell shocked," and going through "a nightmare," during this period of limbo, a senior Allen staffer tells CNN.

In a conference call with his senate staff and regional representatives Wednesday afternoon, the Virginia senator "didn't concede but he was clearly not emboldened to fight this," according to the staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Oh, just do it already so we can move on with our lives.

UPDATE: Yay!

Finally.

Rumsfeld finally resigns. So what do we know about this Robert Gates guy?

UPDATE: Good to know I'm not alone in my apprehension.

Election 2006 Thoughts

To be updated as needed:

1. Dems take the House. Yay!
2. Why the hell is the Allen/Webb race so freakin' close? And I'm not alone in this thought.
   
3. A-listers got to hang out and blog at CNN. What about the G-listers, I say???
4. Britney sure picked a hell of a day to file for divorce. Attention hog!
5. Jim Webb's just given his victory speech, but I'm still skeptical. Even at 99% of precincts reporting (10:09 p.m.)
6. Yay Nancy Pelosi!
7. Santorum gets the boot. Jonsey must be so excited. I know I am!
8. Lieberman? WTF?
9. Prop 85 looks like it might not pass. Yay.
10. Even if we don't take the Senate, we still gained some seats. Time for Bush to get the hint already.
11. Prop 87 looks like it won't pass either. Boo.
12. I'm digging Arianna Huffington's accent.
13. What will be the tone of Dubya's press conference tomorrow?

CNN's breaking story

CNN must already be tired of covering Election Day.

Some people just don't get it

Coming to a state fair near you [emphasis mine]:

Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe -- a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top.
[...]
But Gonzales said the success of his fried Coke had inspired him. Next year's fair-goers can look forward to fried Sprite or -- for those watching their weight -- fried diet Coke.

Although I've never met a funnel cake I didn't like, I gotta say: These are the same damn people who think it's OKAY to fry Snickers bars, Twinkies, Oreos, etc. Stop the insanity!

Don't forget

Don't forget to vote today. We may have a chance to make some real change in the legislative branch this time around. Every vote counts.


Sidebar: What are your thoughts on Prop 87? Is it a step in the right direction, or is it an invitation to creating a mismanaged program? I received two conflicting endorsements, ostensibly both from Democrats. I'm leaning on a "yes" vote, but I'd like to hear what some of you think about it. How are you going to vote on it, and why? Something like this would usually be a slam-dunk vote for me, but that mailing threw me off.

La Calaca Loca

I am starting to love the Temescal neighborhood. Where else can you find world cuisine like Korean, Mexican, Ethiopian (and various others TBD), all on one street?

Okay, fine. There are lots of places. But the area on Telegraph Avenue (between 40th and 51st streets) just provides oodles and oodles of opportunities for culinary exploration.

La Calaca Loca (the crazy skeleton), is a new-ish taqueria on 51st and Telegraph in the mini-mall. Don't let its location fool you; this is fresh, wholesome, and modern Mexican taqueria food.

I have been going crazy for al pastor lately, thanks to the good folks at Tacubaya, whom I blame for exclusively feeding my Mexican food cravings this week. (Chile, do not even get me started on how much I love that place.)

So I'm driving home from flamenco class in El Cerrito, when the al pastor urge suddenly comes over me. Since I had already passed Berkeley, Tacubaya was out. I remembered La Calaca Loca and decided, why the hell not?

Unfortunately, La Calaca Loca doesn't have al pastor on the menu. Boo. So I ordered my old standby, a carne asada burrito ($4.75, ordered without rice) and some chips ($1.00) to munch on the ride back to my apartment.

The chips? Not your usual, bland, must-have-salsa-for-flavor fried corn tortillas. Oh, no. I don't think I've ever had tortilla chips this savory. Could it have been because I was starving? Maybe. But I would go back to LCL for the chips alone. I took this to be a good sign.

The burrito itself was on the small side (probably due to the absence of rice, no doubt), and I'm used to burritos you need to hold with both hands in order to eat them properly. But that's neither here nor there, since it's all about the flavor. And there was a lot of flavor going on with this carne asada. The chunks of beef (Niman Ranch, thankyouverymuch) were moist, chewy but not tough, and oh so flavorful. My only gripe was that they should have given a bit more meat. But then again, I'm a total carnivore.

I haven't seen any taqueria offer elote ($2.75) on the menu, which was a pleasant surprise. Elote is basically corn on the cob on a stick, slathered with mayo, mexican queso fresco, and chili powder. From what I hear, it's a popular snack sold by street vendors. In theory, it sounds pretty appetizing. I ordered one in tribute to Esqueleto in Nacho Libre. I managed to take three bites, but I couldn't get past the copious amounts of mayo. But, the corn was fresh and the kernels popped in my mouth. I think if they lightened up on the mayo a bit, it would improve the dish somewhat and appeal (mildly) to more heath-conscious, or mayo-averse, diners.

La Calaca Loca also serves breakfast on weekends, but I didn't see any menudo, the famous hangover cure, on the menu. However, they serve sopa de tortilla, which provides a healthier alternative.

I'm definitely going back to try their baja pescado tacos ($3.50), made with fried, beer-battered fresh fish with their baja sauce and the usual cilantro, cabbage, and onion. The tacos are generously sized and plentiful and look absolutely delicious.

And of course, I'll be getting a side of chips.

La Calaca Loca
5199 Telegraph Avenue (at 51st street), Oakland
510-601-TACO


(photo credit: SF Station. Cross-posted on the Beast Blog.)

Even the U.S. Military wants him out

According to this post on AMERICAblog, all four military publications (Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times, and Marine Corps Times) will publish an editorial which calls for Rumsfeld's resignation.

It's pretty sad and quite telling that it's gotten to this point. Let's see if Bush will finally listen and call on Rumsfeld to resign.

But, one question that lingers in my mind is, who's going to replace him? I just want to make sure that if Rumsfeld leaves, that he won't be replaced with a carbon copy of himself ...

Wise words from Keith Olbermann

You can get the full transcript at AMERICAblog, but I found this to be the most powerful point:

This President must apologize to the troops — for having suggested, six weeks ago, that the chaos in Iraq, the death and the carnage, the slaughtered Iraqi civilians and the dead American service personnel, will, to history, quote "look like just a comma."

This President must apologize to the troops — because the intelligence he claims led us into Iraq proved to be undeniably and irredeemably wrong.

This President must apologize to the troops — for having laughed about the failure of that intelligence, at a banquet, while our troops were in harm's way.

This President must apologize to the troops — because the streets of Iraq were not strewn with flowers and its residents did not greet them as liberators.

This President must apologize to the troops — because his administration ran out of "plan" after barely two months.

This President must apologize to the troops — for getting 2,815 of them killed.

This President must apologize to the troops — for getting this country into a war without a clue.

And Mr. Bush owes us an apology… for this destructive and omnivorous presidency.

Bush better apologize the fuck out of this, too.

Take some time to read all of Olbermann's diatribe, because it's real, it's heartfelt, it's provocative, and it explains, with laserlike precision, how destructive and dysfunctional the Bush administration has been up to this point. And will continue to be, if we "stay the course."

Here's hoping apologies (the right ones) begin shortly after next Tuesday. And I say they should not only from Bush, but from the numbnuts in Congress who neglected to act as a check on the out-of-control executive branch.

"Now you're getting personal ..."

The Rethuglicans must be damn proud of themselves to have "Senator" George Allen representing them. And they must certainly love the goons Allen has working for him.

The guy who got the smackdown just asked Allen a provocative question, which, last I checked, was protected speech.

George "Things Like This Happen" Allen and those of his ilk have no place in American politics.

And don't EVEN get me started on the idiocy of John Boehner's recent statements, or on his lame-ass hairstyle.



(Props to Think Progress and AMERICAblog.)

Let's move on to the real issues now, shall we?

So the Republicans got the apology they wanted out of Kerry. Whatever. What's more interesting is this snippett from CNN in which Andrew Sullivan and Christopher Hitchens essentially say that Bush and his band of fools should be held accountable for this disastrous war in Iraq.

This is me, cautiously optimistic.

List of things to remember on Election Day

Courtesy of my friend Scott:

Iraq
Abu Ghraib
Guantanamo
Unwarranted Phone Taps
Unprecedented Powers
Unmatched Incompetence
Unparalled Corruption
Govenor Bob Taft
Rep. Tom DeLay
Rep. Roy Blunt
Rep. Ken Calvert
Rep. John Dolittle
Rep. Tom Feeney
Rep. Katherine Harris
Rep. Jerry Lewis
Rep. Gary Miller
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave
Rep. Richard Pombo
Rep. Bob Ney
Rep. Curt Weldon
Rep. Don Sherwood
Rep. Duke Cunningham
Rep. Mark Foley
Rep. Dennis Hastert
Jeff Gannon
Sen. George Allen
Sen. Bill Frist
Sen. Rick Santorum
Sen. Conrad Burns
David Safavian
The Vice Presidential Energy Task Force
Three bucks a gallon
Record oil company profits
Anwar Pipeline
Anbar Province
Adelphia
Merck
Halliburton
Arthur Andersen
Qwest
Tyco
WorldCom
Global Crossing
Global Warming
Exxon
Enron
Abramoff
Ralph Reed
Katrina
FEMA
Condi
Harriet Miers
The Supreme Court
Diebold
John Bolton
Florida, 2000
Ohio, 2004
North Korea
Iran
Darfur
Stem Cell Research
Scooter Libby
Valerie Plame
Golden Parachutes
Shrunken Pensions
Social Security
Habeas Corpus
Ahmad Chalabi
The Baghdad Museum
Tora Bora
Taliban Resurgence
Iraqi Insurgents
General Eric Shinseki
General Anthony Zinni
Mission Accomplished
Intelligent Design
Kenneth Tomlinson
Ari Fleischer
Scot McClellan
Tony Snow
Ann Coulter
Expiration of Assault Weapons Ban
John Ashcroft
Alberto Gonzales
George Tenet
Paul Bremer
Paul Wolfowitz
Richard Perle
Dick Cheney ("Go f*@# yourself")
Donald Rumsfeld
Turd Blossom
And finally, the Uniter-Decider-Reader of Camus, Shakespeare and "My Pet Goat", who describes the party that successfully prosecuted two world wars as people who cut and run.

Feel free to add more to the list!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween marks the beginning of my favorite time of year. Halloween always cracks me up - especially if it falls on a weekday, because it's always so surreal seeing witches, clowns, ghouls, and various and sundry freaks walking the streets, riding the bus, going to the store. I love it.

Don't even get me started on how much I love Thanksgiving, either.

If you're partying tonight, have fun and be safe.

I'm not a prude or anything, but ...

... if I had a young daughter, my goal would be to keep her OFF the pole.

The marketing folks at Tesco [a retail chain in England] thought differently:

Tesco has been forced to remove a pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of its website after it was accused of "destroying children's innocence".

The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go!

"Soon you'll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars".

The £49.97 kit comprises a chrome pole extendible to 8ft 6ins, a 'sexy dance garter' and a DVD demonstrating suggestive dance moves.

As a solution, Tesco agreed to remove this from the "toys" section but keep it in the "fitness" section of their web site. Well, at least, I say.

At first, I thought this was an ad for "Pole Dancing Barbie" or something, which would have made this --- in some twisted way --- funnier than it really is, until I realized it was an actual pole (a cheap-looking one, at that, I'm all about quality) that you could install. In your house. To practice on. Right next to the ceiling swing, I'd assume. Hours of entertainment. Why Tesco classified this as a toy is beyond me.

Strippin' ain't easy, yo.

I totally agree that there's some kind of bizarre cultural shift going on right now that increasingly exposes young kids and teenagers to sexuality early on --- case in point: sexy Halloween costumes, for Jah's sake! --- why can't we just let kids be ... kids? What the hell happened here?

Twisty from I Blame the Patriarchy has a great post on this, which inspired me to write this post. But Twisty does a much better job. And her title is funnier than mine. So go check it out.

Next, he'll start talking about how he's water and you're glue

Donald Rumsfeld is now telling people who are criticizing the war or "demanding" timelines should just "back off."

"You ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it's complicated, it's difficult," Rumsfeld said regarding deadlines. "Honorable people are working on these things together. There isn't any daylight between them."

I see Rumsfeld's position as coming from a place of not only arrogance but, really, of desperation. Rumsfield tells us to just "back off" and "relax," and trust that people - nay, honorable people - are "working on these things."

Look. Establishing timelines is just good project management. It's not a sign of weakness. This war isn't about bringing democracy to the Middle East, or fighting terrorism, or whatever, but it's a desperate attempt for these American radicals to stay in power, plain and simple.

Timetables vs. Benchmarks

I only caught a few minutes of Bush's press conference this morning while getting ready for work. But what struck me was how he tried to differentiate between his plan surrounding the war in Iraq (more of the same) and the timetables (which are, apparently, unpatriotic, defeatist, and --- Jah forbid --- logical) that the Democrats have been clamoring for all along.

Bush said that we'd stay in Iraq until the job is done, and that while the overall strategery is the same, he says that he's been making little tweaks here and there with regard to tactics --- seemingly to address criticisms of his foolish steadfastness and "staying the course" (which I guess now he's saying he never said - whatever).

Oh, now he's going to try to flip the script? What convenient timing.

So now that the election is coming soon, the Rovian camp is trying to give people just enough of this somewhat "new" Bush to make people who are on the fence think, well, he looks like he's trying to be a little more flexible. While the Rovian machine is introducing new catch phrases ("we're changing tactics," "don't leave until the job is done," and now openly admitting that he's "unhappy" with how things are going, Bush still insists we're winning.

What?

So yeah, maybe Bush concedes that he's not exactly thrilled how things are going. Wonderful. And maybe he's using the phrase "change tactics" to make people think he's approaching Iraq more strategically. But he's also made it clear that he doesn't see troops withdrawing from there any time soon. Is Bush still trying to win this war on semantics?

Say it with me now (in your best zombie voice):

Benchmarks, good. Timetables, bad.

Anyway, Glenn Greenwald has some great commentary on this. Check it out.

I know famous people and stuff.

A girl I know from grad school is celebrating the byline she got for this People magazine article.

Congrats, Missy!

(Props to Jonesey at Jones of the Nile for the heads up.)

Project Runway Afterthought

I watched Bravo's rebroadcast of the final Project Runway episode again yesterday, and I take it all back: I think Uli should have won.

And a question in the back of my mind still lingers: Has Project Runway jumped the shark? I mean, think of all of the pointless drama, non-episodes, text-messaging crawl, ringtone downloads, and the now-borderline cliche catchprase, "Make it work". Hmm ... say it ain't so, Bravo.

Kerry Lauerman of Salon writes:

Is [Project Runway] a show designed to discover new talent, as it claims, or to simply elevate experienced designers who can't snag seed money from LVMH on their own?

Which is exactly what I have been asking all along. I mean, I'll still watch, but will all of my rooting for the underdog be in vain, as we know in the back of our minds that the prize may inevitably go toward the already-established, small-scale fashion house (e.g. Lot 8, Cosa Nostra)?

Project Runway After Party

Episode 14: The Finale, aka Better Living Through Fashion
Oh. Mah. Gah. Tonight’s the night of the final runway show, and finally we can put an end to all of this drama and get to see what all Project Runway fans come to see: The clothes!

Last episode (when I was so rudely interrupted by Real Life and Everything that Comes With It), we saw the clash between Laura and Jeffery, and the question surrounding Jeffery’s collection and whether or not he outsourced his garment construction. He’s freaked out that he won’t be able to show at Bryant Park, and rightly so.

This week’s episode brings us to a day and a half before the final runway show. Laura, Michael, and Uli are feverishly putting the finishing touches on their garments while Jeffery steps out onto the balcony. Jeffery thinks that Laura is questioning his integrity, and I have to agree – by questioning the integrity of his work, you do question his integrity as a designer. Duh.

Tim calls Jeffery and asks him to call Park Pleating to get a copy of the receipt for his daisy duke shorts. Jeffery is worried that he won’t be able to get it, because that shop is so unorganized:

“It’s like Sanford & Son over there.”

Ha! Call Jeffery what you want, but that man is funny as hell.

The next day, Jeffery is on pins and needles, thinking that he’ll be disqualified, so he starts making a skirt, just in case he can’t get a receipt for the shorts. Smart move. Prove Laura wrong.

Man, I’m starting to root for Jeffery here. WTF?

Tim comes in and asks the designers to gather around him. He’s got an announcement to make, and the furrow in his brow worries me. He tells the designers that after a thorough discussion with the producers, Tim says that he is convinced that Jeffery has done the work himself. Jeffery is relieved, and bursts into tears. The outsourcing he did was legal, but since he can’t find the receipt for the daisy dukes, he can’t show them. Tim tells him he is over budget by about $228, so he has to remove something from the collection. Tim also has to tell the judges that he is over budget. No biggie. Jeffery decides to get rid of those damn blonde wigs he has to bring him back under budget. And can I say, praise Jah for that. I saw enough wigs and weaves on this season of Flavor of Love!

But I digress.

Laura says that the solution was a great compromise and that she never meant to get him kicked off. Sure you didn’t, Mrs. Park Avenue. (Still love you though, girl!)

Tomorrow’s the runway show, and everybody is so pumped up. Tim calls the designers for one last “gather ‘round,” and Tim gives them a very emotional pep talk. He tells them they’re all winners and that tomorrow will be a great day. I love Tim Gunn.

The designers get up at 4:15 a.m. the day of the runway show, and Laura is killing me in her black cocktail dress so early in the morning. The woman never lets up. Michael tries to find his happy place. Uli says it’s the biggest day of her life.

Even just walking into the tent proves to be an overwhelming experience for them. Michael feels like he’s come full circle. Laura struts her stuff on the catwalk. Jeffery finds the invisible chip on his shoulder compelling him to “prove himself.” Honestly Jeffery, cut yourself some slack. Two words: Cosa Nostra. Hel-lo. I'd say your work is already done.

Then Bravo pans over to the Elle goodie bags, and I find myself totally wanting one. You know what kind of first-class swag you get in those things, right? I’m all about the freebies. I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a swag whore, but let’s just say I’m never one to turn away a gift. Ahem. Anyway.

On to the runway!

Chaos ensues backstage – last-minute hair decisions are made, models get spackled with makeup, designers start to get frazzled. Just another day in the life at Fashion Week!

Fern Mallis, the creator of OFW herself and vice president of ING fashion is the guest judge, along with regular judges Michael Kors and NINAGARCIA. Oh yeah, and Heidi.

Jeffery’s first. He’s still working the deconstructionist angle, but it looks a lit more polished and refined. I don’t know if it’s the music (which sounds a little like Barry Manilow on the trip-hop tip), but I look at Jeffery’s collection and I’m like, “eh.” There’s even what I perceive to be an Uli-inspired print dress (a flop, the judges tell us later). I do have to say, that striped dress with the funky zipper seams looks much better now that I see it on the model. And I totally am coveting the matching purse (the green striped one that he used with another outfit). During the final walk, Jeffery resists The Corny and decides not to carry Harrison with him down the runway. Thanks for not becoming a cliché.

Uli’s next. Seriously, who picks the music for these runway shows? Uli voiceovers that her clothing was inspired by the safari, but the music sounded more like Candyland (the game) on some cracked-out techno acid trip. As to be expected, Uli has designed a few recognizable pieces, but as a whole it was very light on prints. I’m liking her collection so far, but that’s probably because it appeals to my taste more than Jeffery’s collection did. And that’s not to say anything bad about Jeffery.

Wait, I think I just saw Brandy in the audience. Have you heard the rumor that she’s dating Michael? Say it with me: Oh HELL no.



HELLS NO.

Speaking of who’s in the audience, this season designers are all in the house, along with Chloe and Daniel V. from Season 2. Chloe’s got the digital camera in hand, getting some ideas for next year’s Lot 8 collection.

I kid!

We break for commercial, and Collier Strong is back, giving us one last smokey eye lesson. I swear, I’ll get it right some day! I’ll make Collier proud, by god.

Laura’s next and cracks a joke about her “making it big in the fashion world,” pointing to her prego belly. Silly girl. To the sounds of some crazy circus polka, her besparkled models traipse down the runway. Laura tells us that she's on a mission to remind American women to take better care of themselves and make their lives better through fashion. As to be expected, her collection is very elegant, refined, and so what I'd wear on a night out where you might run into the mayor or something. Or the opera. I don’t really have anything to say about this collection – it’s pretty formal, although we know that Laura would probably wear the dress with the feathers to Whole Foods, or maybe around the house, cleaning up turtle poop. There are a few plunging v-necklines, but thankfully kept to a minimum.

Clutch the pearls, they saved Michael for last. His collection is called “street safari,” for that woman who is "on the hunt to find out who she is." Brandy cracks that big grin of hers (ugh), and I’m already pissed. Michael has the best music, though, thank Jah. Ooh: There’s a kimono-sleeved wrap top that I am absolutely IN LOVE with. J’adore. Totally. Somebody buy me that for my birthday. There’s a lot of white in the collection, a color which we already know Michael loves. In looking at the Getty images from a few weeks ago, I wasn’t all that impressed with Michael’s collection. I change my mind now, seeing them brought to life on the runway His clothes are sexy hot. I don’t know how I feel about the bathing suits, but whatever.

Did I just see Danielle, Andrae’s model from last season walking down the runway?

Oh. And I totally am coveting Michael’s models’ earrings. Want. Them. Now.

So backstage and after the show, Project Runway gathers soundbites from former cast members, industry people, and that freakin’ Brandy, who says that she “loves” Michael’s collection. Of course you do.

And before you accuse me of being a Michael groupie (which I am, sorta), my disdain for Brandy precedes Project Runway, alright? I don’t want to hear comments.

Sidebar: I still think Santino wins the prize for the best runway music.

On to the judging! The judges thought each show was exciting and fantastic and loved how everyone had a different point of view. I agree. This season may have been the corniest in terms of dramatizing, but this season’s group of designers probably produced some of the more consistently solid and unique garments I’ve seen so far (of course, with a few exceptions from past seasons).

The judges say that based on the budget given, her collection looked much more expensive. Fern, thank Jah, says it’s fine to be as focused as Laura is in her design aesthetic. I agree. Focus is good.

Michael says that the competition gave him some clarity about who he was, and that inspired his collection. Fern says it was clear he was the crowd favorite but that the collection didn’t match that. Kors thinks he went over the top, NINAGARCIA says there’s a “fine line,” but Michael says he wanted to come on strong. The best thing though was that his collection showed range. And isn’t that important anymore?

Jeffery’s collection is based on Japanese ghosts and demons and nightmares or something. Kors says that he dressed his women at every juncture in their lives, and what he meant by that was “going to the movies” and “going to a party.” Here I am thinking he was talking about age. Heidi brings up the fact he went over budget by $200 or something. After chucking the wigs, now he’s $400 under budget. Those are some damn expensive wigs, yo.

Uli wanted to show she could do more than colors and prints. NINAGARCIA says that while the clothes are terrific and will sell (“they do!” Uli says), she says she can “to this too.” Heidi loved every dress. Kors felt the connective thread was disjointed, or a “story.” Screw that “telling a story” through clothes. Uli continues to represent Miami and, sort of mockingly, says that maybe she should move to New York to better understand the design aesthetic of Michael Kors. Thankfully, Fern tells her to stop that nonsense way of thinking!

NINAGARCIA shares with us that after the show, many people approached her, asking them, “how can we get in touch with Uli?”

As if we had any doubt any of these designers wouldn’t be working in the industry after this show.

It’s between Uli and Jeffery as far as who the winner’s going to be. Heidi says Jeffery’s collection was innovative, cohesive, and really showed his range. Then she says that Uli pushed herself and made a beautiful collection that every woman would want to wear.

Jeffery wins Project Runway! Marilinda gets the Elle spread.

And somewhere out there, Angela’s in the corner, curled up in the fetal position, bemoaning Jeffery’s victory.

(Photo lifted from Crunk & Disorderly.)

Perhaps they'll let them play video games instead

A Massachusetts school has banned "tag" and other chase games during recess.

No, I'm totally serious.

Why? Because school officials are afraid the kids will get hurt and sue, making the school vulnerable to litigation and possible financial ruin.

Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.

While there is no districtwide ban on contact sports during recess, local rules have been cropping up. Several school administrators around Attleboro, a city of about 45,000 residents, took aim at dodgeball a few years ago, saying it was exclusionary and dangerous.

Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Spokane, Washington, also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, South Carolina, school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.

"I think that it's unfortunate that kids' lives are micromanaged and there are social skills they'll never develop on their own," said Debbie Laferriere, who has two children at Willett, about 40 miles south of Boston. "Playing tag is just part of being a kid."

Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.

This is the most absurd, paranoid, and short-sighted thing I have ever heard. Has our society become so litigious that schools are now afraid of letting kids be ... kids? Not to mention the obesity epidemic. Let the kids run off that can of soda their parents packed in their lunch, or the chips they bought from the vending machine in the hallway.

Secondly, I hope I never become a paranoid mother, like Mrs. What's-her-face.

(Props to Cecilia for the link.)

What are you doing on Thursday?

If you're free, come join my fellow BARBARians at Ben & Nick's in Rockridge around 6ish and talk about liberal fucking bullshit over a few beers.

Or you can come sit by me and talk about anything but politics. Ha.

Click here for more info.

And I thought I had a big mouth

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia is getting parents all riled up because of her admitted boner for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

(AP) LA QUINTA, Calif. Teachers aides and parents are angry about Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia allegedly telling students at La Quinta High School that she wouldn't kick Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger out of her bed.

Garcia says she was joking, and that the question and answer period at La Quinta High School was light-hearted and casual.

Babylove, there are just some things you don't joke about in mixed company. Wanting to knock boots with The Terminator is one of them. Eww.


(Props to the folks at SFist for the heads up.)

Backgrounder on the North Korea situation

Need more background on North Korea and U.S. foreign policy that has led us up to this point? Namely, what did Bill Clinton's administration do or not do - and what did Dubya's administration do or not do - to cause North Korea to become such a mess?

Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings has a great analysis about the whole thing - namely Bush's inability to enforce his own ultimatums with regard to Kim Jong Il:

We allowed North Korea to take an irrevocable step that made any future attempts to control its nuclear weapons program vastly more difficult. Moreover, we laid down a line, we let it be crossed, and then we did nothing. In so doing, we forfeited our credibility. And that really is a foreign policy disaster. It ought to be completely unacceptable.

And yet, we looked the other way and pursued Iraq with the tenacity of a raging bull. Bush's inability to resolve even the internal conflicts within his own administration is symptomatic of his inability to foster smart foreign policies. Moreover:

While Bush has allowed disagreements within his administration to fester unresolved, and while the anti-negotiation camp has scuttled any number of diplomatic initiatives, North Korea has been reprocessing spent fuel into uranium and building nuclear weapons, and we have done nothing whatsoever to stop them. In so doing, we have completely destroyed our own credibility: after having said that we would not tolerate a North Korea with nuclear weapons, we barely responded when they went ahead and started to make them. North Korea called our bluff, and we folded.

Now we face the delightful prospect of one of the world's most loathsome and nutty dictators having nuclear weapons. Moreover, this particular dictator is known for his willingness to sell arms to anyone and everyone. Nothing whatsoever suggests that he would not sell nuclear weapons to Osama bin Laden.

Just read.

Today's U.N. approval of sanctions against North Korea are supposed to help the situation by punishing Kim Jong Il and his actions regarding nuclear testing, but will it be a case of "too little, too late"?


(Props to Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory for the heads up.)

What Madonna wants, Madonna gets. But at what price?

Madonna's recent adoption of a child from an orphanage in Malawi has drawn criticism from activists because it is illegal for foreign nationals to adopt a Malawi child. However, Madonna's been granted a special waiver to circumvent the law.

Don't get me wrong - I think it's great that Madonna wants to give a child from a third-world country a better life, but does the fact that she's a celebrity make her above the law? And what about the 14,000 or so children put up for adoption every year in this country alone? Wouldn't it make more sense to adopt a kid from here? To me, there's also something a bit unsettling about a celebrity "shopping around" at orphanages around the world to find a kid to adopt, like it's a puppy at the pound or something.

And since when did international adoptions become in vogue? (Pun intended.)

I guess we have Mia Farrow to thank, and most recently, Angelina Jolie. But somehow, their work at the U.N. makes their international adoptions make some kind of sense. But Madonna? What has she done that hasn't seemed ... trendy?

Because 2D is just as good as 3D, apparently

I thought this was a joke when I read it on esteemed BARBARian colleague King of Zembla's blog, but alas, it's not:

It is one of the hardest things about being a military family. How to cope when a husband and father, or wife and mother, is posted abroad, especially to combat zones such as Iraq or Afghanistan.

Now the United States army has come up with a bizarre solution: Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy.

Many military units can provide families with a life-size cardboard cutout of their overseas warrior. The family can then take that figure to parties, put it in the passenger seat of their car, take it to bed or do whatever it is that families want to with a replica of their loved one.

[...]

From there the idea took off and has been adopted by units across America. They can be found going on dates with their wives in Alaska and having dinner with their families in Colorado.

Experts believe the cutouts are a useful psychological device, especially for children, that helps cope with the stress of long absences. It allows the family to genuinely feel the missing person is still involved in day-to-day life.

I bet I could make a bundle making Flat Boyfriend/Flat Girlfriend. Or maybe I could create a cardboard cutout of myself. You know, for those days where I want to play hooky from work.

I bet Gavin thinks it's funny as hell, too.

Heh heh. Check this out. Apparently, I'm a retard.

I still think it sounds like a porn star name. And if I have to explain to you why this is funny, seek help.



(Props to fellow BARBARian Seamus at Rangelife for the laugh this morning.)

Project Runway After Party

Episode 13: Season Finale, Part One aka How Mags had to "Make It Work" this week
I've been super busy planning this three-day event for work, and its success made all the long hours I've been working worthwhile this week. This means that I wasn't able to be in a place where I could properly watch Project Runway (they didn't have Bravo in the hotel room - WTF?). Plus, I just couldn't see myself sitting and watching the TV typing away on my laptop, when all I wanted to do was sleep.

However, I did manage to persuade the manager of the hotel's bar to find the Bravo channel so I could at least watch the show. Not that I could hear anything that was being said, mind you, but I made a brave attempt to do so while sipping on a delicious sidecar with my boss and co-workers. One thing I did succeed in doing was mildly pissing off a few people who were mesmerized by CNN's coverage of that plane that crashed into an NYC building. But, I mean, there were two other TVs in that bar turned to the same station. Couldn't they have spared one for my weekly pop culture boost?

I have needs that must be fulfilled, you know.

In any case, our friends at BPR have collected this week's early recaps, as always. When Tiff's and Four Four's recaps come up, check them out. Aside from my own, their recaps are my favorites!

And tell 'em Mags sent cha.

Next Wednesday is part two of the season finale (Was the Jeffery-outsourcing-his-work rumor ever resolved? I couldn't hear the outcome.)

Anyway, I'll have my season finale up next week. Stay tuned!

North Korea, part 2

Hold the fuck up. I remember reading in one of the blogs yesterday that Doughbly Rove was talking about an "October Surprise."

Could North Korea be it? If so, here's another opportunity for Dems to take a play from the GOP playbook and flip it on Bush. It's because of his failed diplomacy that we're in this situation. Totally distracted (read: obsessed) with Iraq. Now look what happened.

Dud schmud, it's still nukular.

I'm in the midst of Hell Week at work, so I can't even begin to tell you how much the North Korea nuclear test (and the repercussions from it) freaks me out on so many angles.

So check these posts instead, from other bloggers, whom I lerv:

• Carpetbagger: The bomb may have been a dud, but it also highlights how much of a dud the Bush Administration has been since the beginning.
• Americablog: In case you forgot the mid-term elections were coming up. Good to know the GOP doesn't politicize everything. Oh yeah, and this administration is expert in diplomacy. NOT!
• FDL: You guessed it: More stupidity!
• Rising Hegemon: President Jughead!
• Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Nachos: Exactly.