The New Jackie O?

The last time we had a vibrant young couple in the White House was also the last time my state voted for the Democratic candidate. Yes, it was a long time ago.

Jackie O (still Jackie Kennedy then) was a style icon, and American women were delighted to have someone youthful and hip to set the trends. Although I haven't worn a skirt in a century or so, I can appreciate the classic cut. Here are Ma & Pa, (circa 1966?,) Ma in the hot look of the day: the Jackie K. suit and the "bubble" bouffant hairdo. I doubt that the bubble 'do will ever return – it involved some very time-consuming styling, not to mention poisoning the ozone with truckloads of hairspray – but I think the little suits are still chic.

I don't know if Michelle Obama will be as much of a trendsetter, if only because she's extremely thin and 6' tall. But it will be fun to see what kind of choices she'll make for herself, and for her daughters.

And hey, Mom, great gams!

Go See...

The Eyeballing Game - test your accuracy!
Treeshapers - not a hobby for the impatient
300 Million Americans - check out prices and stats below
Oopsy Pics - guaranteed to make you feel better about your day

Incident

by Countee Cullen

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, "Nigger."

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember.

========================================
I happened upon this poem not too long ago, and thought of it, of course, in respect to the President-Elect. This is one of the few poems that, although written in 1925, is still relevant and moving. As this epithet becomes less and less acceptable, its use makes it more shocking. The poem’s conclusion is heartbreaking, especially imagining the author as an eight-year old child. Ironically, Cullen did not want to be considered or referred to as “a Black poet” but this is his most well-known poem.
(Countee Cullen biography here)

Redefining "Chutzpah"

The old joke is that the definition of chutzpah (nerve or audacity) is the man who kills his parents, then begs the judge for mercy because he is an orphan. Dubya is already carving a similar path. Today, he admitted he regretted using the "Mission Accomplished" banner, because he now realizes it was misleading.

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said he regrets the display of the "Mission Accomplished" sign as backdrop for a speech he gave about a month after the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"To some, it said, well, `Bush thinks the war in Iraq is over,' when I didn't think that,'' he said in a CNN interview today. "It conveyed the wrong message.''

... "I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said,'' Bush said.

Umm... what was the message you were trying to convey? What mission did you think was accomplished? He never shares that, at least not in this interview.

She's got legs

"The world's smallest man, He Pingping, and the woman with the longest legs, Svetlana Pankratova, met at the 2009 Guiness World Records book launch."

Ms. Pankratova's legs are 52 inches long. Her LEGS! Since last year's spine crunch, I am 59 inches tall. I am 7 inches taller than her legs. And I'm not even the shortest woman in my family. The article doesn't say how tall Ms. Pankratova is, although if she held a record, I'm sure it would have been mentioned. I'm surprised her knees aren't black & blue. She must bang them into things constantly

Mr. Pingping actually holds two records: smallest man in the world, and cutest name in the world. And judging from this picture, he seems like a good sport. I'm seriously considering moving to China and marrying him, just so I could be La Cootina Pingping.

Brilliant-with-a-B?

I can't remember where I first heard this idea (Chemo Brain! Chemo Brain!),maybe the girls on The View? or maybe I just dreamed it, but I think it's brilliant: Instead of the $700 Billion-with-a-B Bailout for the fatcat Titans of Industry, let's try this: There are just about 300 million Americans, so let's give every American one million dollars. We'll figure out the logistics later.

Here's the reasoning: if you get that money in the hands of consumers, we will pay off our mortgages and car loans, and that should help out the banks. We will buy new cars and lots of consumer goods, and that will help out both retail and manufacturing. We will probably buy some new homes and second homes; that should rescue the housing market. We may even put some into savings! That might ease some of the burden on Social Security. And we won't be adding to the massive debt load our grandchildren will inherit.

All of this for less than 5% of the original figure.

Oh, sure, some people will spend it on drugs, and maybe kill themselves. That's just Darwinism in a compressed time frame, isn't it? Some people will still manage to burn through it in a month, maybe by gambling, or foolish ventures. Well, that'll just be too bad: there are no do-overs. (On the off chance that anyone's taking this seriously, we should at least make available some kind of 1-hour "How to Not be an Idiot with your Windfall" seminar.)

Copyright Chattanooga Times Free Press

We couldn't do any worse than the proposed bailout, which will allow CEOs and other executives to give themselves huge bonuses with this money. There are virtually no restrictions on their handout. I say give the American consumer the same shot. Write to President-Elect Obama and ask him what he thinks of the idea.

Other than cheating the Congresspigs and their lobbying whores out of another big party, I can't see what's wrong with the plan. If it fails, we can still try a $699.7-Billion-with-a-B Bailout, but I sure would rather try it first.

How's That Working Out For Ya?

Follicle Follies: I think I'm still in the falling-out phase so I'm not completely hysterical yet...but my hair seems to be growing in back, and a little bit on the sides. I'm completely bald on top, in front, and on the upper sides.

In other words, yes, put a moustache on and I'm a Dr. Phil Mini-Me.