close up of goddess eyes

goddess of clarity: a blog about politics, culture, and serenity

Archive: March 1 - March 15, 2006

March 15, 2006 — 20:50 EST

President Bush

Our president, the most powerful man in the world, was in our neck of the woods yesterday for the second time this year (we are doubly blessed). This time he was visiting Canandaigua to stump for the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Here is a direct quote from yesterday's "town hall meeting" (invitation only, of course):

The anticipated -- in Washington, you know, we spend a lot of time guessing what something is going to cost. And the anticipated cost to the taxpayers for this drug benefit is 20 percent lower in the first year than anticipated. In other words, it matters when people have choice. It matters not only for quality, but for price. The average senior on Medicare will get a -- will see their prescription drug bills cut in half. If you're a low-income senior, the government is going to pick up a significant portion of your tab. If you're an average senior -- income senior, you're going to see your drug bills cut in half. If you're a taxpayer, the anticipated costs are significantly lower than we thought. It's working. It makes a lot of sense.

Yep, tons of sense. Thanks for clearing that up, sir. (Honestly, it's like he maneuvers himself into a verbal cul de sac and can only work his way out of it by backing up to the nearest talking point and starting again.)

Next, the Idiot in Chief brought up one of his advisors to help explain the administration's program to help explain the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Again, I'll let the president speak for himself:

I called upon a fellow named Dr. Mark McClellan to join me in this effort. He's here. That's him right there. He is a -- (applause.) He's a PhD, see -- I'm a C student. (Laughter.) Look who's the President and who's the advisor. (Laughter and applause.) Dr. Mark is in charge of what's called CMS. He'll tell you what that means. We use a lot of initials in Washington. The way I like to describe it to you is he is in charge of making sure the Medicare reform plan is explained, rolled out, and administered properly. And so, Mark, thanks for coming. Welcome.
DR. McCLELLAN: Mr. President, it's great to be here.
THE PRESIDENT: PhD in what?
DR. McCLELLAN: In economics, and I'm a physician, as well.
THE PRESIDENT: See, he spent a lot of time in the classroom. (Laughter.)
DR. McCLELLAN: It's great to be part of the team, sir.

Yep, that's our leader, folks. C-student and proud of it. Meanwhile, the dual Ph.D. / M.D. is reduced to "Dr. Mark," like he was the president's monkey boy or the host of a kiddie show.

Sigh. I can't stand it.

—lori.

March 10, 2006 — 17:05 EST

I just added The Pirate Movie to my Netflix queue (we're going through a bit of a Gilbert & Sullivan phase at home and Mr. Goddess has never seen this 1982 cheesefest for which I have great nostalgia). Based on this selection, Netflix then presented me with a list of "Other Movies You Might Enjoy," and I had to laugh out loud. The list includes:

Oh, recommendations engine! How well you know me!

—lori.

March 9, 2006 — 09:52 EST

Daniel Vosovic garment

So it looks like Chloe is "America's next big fashion designer!" I did like her collection, but they all seemed to fall under the "shiny eveningwear" category, and I don't have much call for ballgowns in my day-to-day life. The only outfits I could actually imagine wearing were in Daniel V.'s collection (see right).

Honestly, though, I have a hard time explaining why this show has such an affect on me. I'm not exactly a fashionista; what clothing I don't purchase on eBay comes pretty much exclusively from Target or Old Navy. Yet every Wednesday night I would find myself yelling at the TV, loudly agreeing or disagreeing with this judge or that comment, and offering my critiques on a particular garment's "construction" or "silhouette" as if I had a clue what I was talking about.

And I did try to resist the pull of Top Chef. I immediately changed the channel over to the Daily Show once Runway was over so I wouldn't be taken in by the first few moments of Bravo's new offering and find myself hooked to another Wednesday night show for two more months. But during the commercial breaks, my remote control kept winging its way back to Bravo as I tried to piece together what the challenge was and how each chef was "plating" their entrees and I knew it was all over. I was hooked again.

Again, I have no idea why. I'm no foodie, either. You know what I had for dinner last night? Two bowls of Lucky Charms and a glass of white wine. (That's not a joke. It is too sad.) I guess it's not the clothes or the food that sucks me in. It's the television. I'm a sucker for well-crafted TV. I'm just hoping the upcoming Real Housewives of Orange County will not have a similar effect on me. Curse you, Bravo, you foul temptress!

—lori.

March 8, 2006 — 09:49 EST

OK, I am so excited for the finale of Project Runway tonight, that I am beginning to be concerned for myself. How can a television show inspire such pure glee? I'm rooting for Daniel, but if I'm honest with myself I think a small piece of me would be even more excited if Santino won. I know Bravo is going to try to suck me into their new reality show, Top Chef (it's like Runway, but with food!) but I will attempt to resist.

—lori.

March 6, 2006 — 12:22 EST

Happy Birthday, Mr. Goddess!


happiness

—lori.

March 6, 2006 — 09:36 EST

So this was a pretty weird year for Oscar, wasn't it? No one film really stood out as the overall winner, no one made any funny or memorable speeches (with the notable exception of The Three Six Mafia), no one wore anything outlandish, and my main squeeze Jon Stewart was not received all that warmly by the Hollywood crowd. All in all, a fairly forgettable evening, unfortunately.

I did invite some friends over to make the festivities a bit more, well, festive. To get in the spirit of the thing, I made Best Picture nominee-themed snack foods.

A friend brought a yummy seven-layer dip which was promptly chistened "Memoirs of a Bean Dip."

I did pretty good in my Oscar pool, with 18 out of 24 categories correct. I did miss the night's one upset, though. I said at the outset that I thought Ang Lee was a lock for Best Director, and that Brokeback Mountain would *probably* win Best Picture, but if it didn't, the Oscar would go to Crash. My reasoning was impeccable, but my execution was flawed.

So all in all, it's hard to know what to make of this year's Oscar crop. I saw all the Best Picture nominees, and I liked all of them (though I liked Crash the least; too gimmicky and predictable). There is one piece of trivia about this year's awards that sums it up better than anything else: March of the Penguins, a nominee for Best Documentary, earned more at the box office than all five Best Picture nominees combined. This kind of stat is used in some quarters as proof that Hollywood is "out of touch" with mainstream America. When I hear these protestations, I'm always reminded that I am not included in this "America" they so passionately defend. In my America, we go to see Good Night and Good Luck the Friday it opens, and we can't understand how, in a kind and just universe, a film like The Pink Panther could gross more than $20 million in its opening weekend.

That said, there were some great "mainstream" movies released this year that could have been Oscar fodder if the Academy would just look beyond its Movies-of-Profound-Social-Significance bias. The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire leap to mind, and how nice would it have been to see Serenity nominated for Visual Effects?

—lori.

March 2, 2006 — 18:32 EST

So yesterday was Ash Wednesday, and I have to say it passed pretty well unremarked in the Goddess household. I'm about as lapsed a Catholic as you can be. I even had grilled chicken and blue cheese for dinner last night; I'm going to Meat Hell.

Yesterday was however a day of religious significance for another reason: it was the first day of spring training. To quote one of my favorite movies, I believe in the Church of Baseball.

—lori.

March 1, 2006 — 20:01 EST

While I've been otherwise occupied marvelling at triple axels and fakey 360s with a McTwist, a shitload of people have apparenly been killed in Iraq. Man, you get distracted by the shiny spectacle for one second, and things just go from sucky to suckier before you know it.

—lori.

March 1, 2006 — 19:12 EST

I'm bummed because my comment counts are not updating. (Three people have commented on my "Hotties of the Olympics" post! The world must know!) So consider this post for blog-maintenance purposes only. If this doesn't work, I may need to get those Haloscan people on the phone.

—lori.