Reasons To Be Happy

Oh! There are so many reasons to be happy today.

1. Michigan State won a 1st round NCAA game and didn't even look half inept. Actually, I didn't get to watch the entire game, so I am not 100% sure about that, but they did hold Marquette scoreless for the first ten minutes of the first half. That's gotta mean something! I really hope they don't get Chapel Hill next, but a No. 1 seed has never been knocked off before.
2. So far the Big Ten is 2-0 in NCAA games with Michigan St. and Ohio St.'s wins. Take that all you haters!
3. Did you know Duke has not lost a first round game NCAA tournament game in like ten friggin' years? Talk about crazy. But this bizzaro win streak, finally ended today! I admit to being as much of a Duke hater as the next person. But that being said, I think Duke played pretty well, but VCU played better. And more than that VCU's game just wore them down. I have never seen a press quite like that before. Pitt better watch out!
4. I had almost forgotten about the Gin Blossoms, and then I turned on the TV. And there they were...

Finally, A Little Honesty

A lot of people aren't huge fans of Hillary, and neither am I. She never seems real. She's always a little too stiff and a little to rehearsed. After hearing her talk, I always wonder what she's really thinking. Well today, she finally told us. She actually outlined a fairly detailed position on Iraq, and while it is likely to be immensely unpopular, and I am not in complete agreement with it, I do respect her for it.

Prior to today, Hillary was shades of Kerry with her double negatives in explaining her Iraq vote. Like she would not have not voted for the Iraq war if she knew what she knew now. But Obama and Edwards have been equally tired with their call for a unilateral pull out of Iraq. Sure we were wrong to go in, but we are there now. It's a cesspool of violence, and in going in, we have allowed Al Qaeda, who didn't have much traction with Saddam, to get in. So while Iraq did not originally pose much of a threat to the us or the rest of the world, it is safe to say that they do now.

I like Hillary's idea of maintaining some small presence in Iraq for the foreseeable future. It allows the US to have some eyes and ears on the ground to actively monitor the situation. The scaled down presence will also force the Iraqi government to get it together and start doing their job. Finally, it will prevent Iran from having a free reign in the country.

While I think Hillary may have shot herself in the foot with her statements, I do have to give her some credit! If the rest of the candidates would get a little real instead of pandering to their base, all this pre-election campaigning might actually mean something!

The New York Times

After reading Kristof's Op-ed on Darfur, I decided to post something on his blog. A bunch of people beat me too it, and some of them were pretty far off topic, but still you can check out my comment. Although I think one of the later posters thought I was an ignorant American for highlighting that Darfur was a case of Muslims fighting against other Muslims.

It's That Time of Year Again

It's that time of year again... spring, flowers, and MARCH MADNESS!

So the brackets were announced the other day, and I breathed a sigh of relief when they announced MSU. After the initial euphoria though, it was back to sadness. Even if State gets past Marquette, they have to face off against Chapel Hill, and I have some bad memories of the last time that happened. I hate ACC teams from North Carolina, sigh...

All things considered the Big Ten did a decent job of placing teams in the tournament with a grand total of 5. Sure other conferences had more teams, and typically I don't mind... but the PAC-10? Come on! They (for the most part) play basketball worse than me, and while I play a mean game of HORSE, I am not sure that's saying all that much.

Not only did the PAC-10 get more teams into the tournament, they got them in at a higher average seeding. (See below.) Some of these teams came out of nowhere to earn these seedings. And while the guy who lead the selection committee may be a fellow Princetonian, I have a serious bone to pick with him!

Setting aside my PAC-10 hatred, the bracket does look interesting. I could jump on the bandwagon of those who think the mid-majors got screwed (I do think they did), but it would be rather hypocritical given that State might not have made it if Drexel and a few others had.

Here are some teams I like...

MidWest
Florida because despite Billy Donovan's used car salesman look, and the fact that OSU is rated No. 1 in the AP, Florida is still the team to beat.
Old Dominion because someone has to fight the fight for the mid-majors.
Wisconsin because they can slow down a game like no one else and make you fall asleep standing up.
Oregon because I was afraid of jinxing a team who shall not be named.

West
Kentucky because the Wildcats and Tubby have something to prove.
UCLA because they are bitter about not being a 1 seed, and because they are the only really deserving PAC-10 team.
Pitt because yeah, I don't know why. They are the 3 seed and shouldn't prove why?
S. Illinois because they are the Salukis and they got D.

East
Michigan St. because they are my boys!!
Texas because they got a big man, and I would love to see some USC ass-kicking!
Georgetown because they won the Big East, have little John Thompson, and Ewings' son.
George Washington because they have some legit wins and both Vandy and Wash St. are takeable.

South
Ohio State because Greg Oden is the man!
Memphis because they are huge, also perhaps seeded a little higher than they deserve, which should help early on.
Louisville because they can leverage the home court advantage
Long Beach St. Why not? They have a crazy winning streak, and a coach whose contract needs to be renewed.

The Dumbing Down of America

I was talking to some friends earlier in the week about the increasing sophistication of certain mainstream Hollywood movies. Movies like Babel, Little Miss. Sunshine etc. are a definite departure from the American Pie cliche. Part of this could be due to Americans growing appreciation of cinema as an art form, or as my more cynical, often international, friends suggest, the fact that Hollywood generates the majority of its revenues overseas where audiences crave a more substantive product. So imagine my surprise after a year of great movies, 300 has just broken the March box office records with its use of blood, gore, violence, CGI, and use of Muslims as the big bad.

In the Service of America

Halliburton, the Cheney corporate toy, that is always in the service of the American people (who are in fact their biggest source of revenue via the federal income tax), has decided to move it's headquarters from the lovely state of Texas to Dubai. Interesting, no doubt... the general claim is that by shifting headquarters, Halliburton will be able to better serve the Middle Eastern oil mega-entities. But what about us, the little people in America? By shifting headquarters, not only will Halliburton continue to be able to siphon off American tax dollars with the tacit approval of Bush, Cheney, & Co., but they will also be able to get huge tax breaks in tax-free Dubai. I sense a record year for Halliburton profits, a record year for the cheating of the American tax payer, and a record year for leaks of top secret US information by a shady government contractor. Rather than a strategic move, this appears to be a shifty move. I wonder if Cheney has some backdated options sitting next to the skeletons in his closet...

The Secret Lives of Republican Men

If Ann Coulter is to be believed, liberal women are ugly whereas Republican women are "pretty-girls". Now I personally think Ann Coulter should be taken with a large dose of salt, but if you are a Republican and believe her, can you explain why so many Republican men leave their pretty-girl wives?

Rudy Guiliani - Presidential nominee wannabe and thrice married. Rudy even had the nerve to dump his second wife during a press conference, before telling her... shades of Matt Damon on Oprah.

Newt Gingrich - I guess Republicans like to do things in three, because Newt (and who names their kid after an amphibian) is thrice married as well. In fact, he divorced his first wife when she was fighting cancer, and he divorced his second wife for an aide (read: someone half his age). Seems that despite their "prettiness", Republican women seem to have a hard time keeping their husbands occupied.

Bob Packwood - Not only did he sexually harass over 20 women, but he also documented all his exploits in a diary. This proves that not only are Republicans dirty, old, men, but they are also flat out dumb!

Clarence Thomas - Technically he has never run for office as a Republican, but I don't think he could be considered anything but by any stretch of the imagination. Thomas claimed he was 'lynched' by the Judiciary committee, but I doubt it. Women didn't come forward with sexual harassment claims back then without getting their reputations trashed. So I am firmly sticking with Anita Hill's side of the equation.

The FOX News "reporters" (and I use the word loosely) - While hating on Clinton and Democrats everywhere, O'Reilly apparently had enough time to try and solicit a colleague for phone sex. In further proof that Republicans are ugly SOBs, he got shot down and sued for sexual harassment. Rush Limbaugh (FOX news consultant?) is a serial dater and cheater. By my count he may be on wife No. 4. Looks like Republican women are pretty darn desperate if they are going for fat, balding men with addictions to oxycontin.

Got anyone else to add to the list?

On Sport: The Game of Lying, Cheating, and Name Calling

So apparently Ann Coulter thinks that John Edwards is a 'faggot', and she plans to endorse Mitt for President. I suppose Edwards should feel offended by this, but looking at the spectrum of those Coulter hates - liberals, Democrats, agnostics, Muslims, widows of 9/11, African-Americans, journalists, and those she likes -- Joe McCarthy (her personal hero), Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity... maybe he should be thankful. Coulter's disdain means that you are always on the right side of virtually every issue!

Imagine my surprise when in the middle of the Mich. - OSU game, I am subjected to a painful HOOTERS commercial featuring none other than Dick Vitale. Talk about your low budget commercials. Vitale looked like he was pasted into literally every scene. You would think HOOTERS has made enough money off of truck-driving middle America to pull off a better editing job than this. And you would think Vitale has enough self-respect to avoid such tasteless promotions...

So Mich St. loses a buzzer beater to Wisconsin in the Cheese State. I am certain Michigan State would have won the game had the refs been only slightly less biased. Never have I seen so many offensive fouls called in one game, and the vast majority of them went against State. The Big Ten is all about a physical, inside game. What were these refs hopped up on? Oh well, Wisconsin has history on it's side. The Badgers have only lost 5 games at home in the past six years. But next year baby! those Badgers are going to be nothing but road kill!

Who says Michigan players are not cheaters? I watched the Michigan - Ohio St. game and I can certainly attest to the fact that Sims poked his finger into Cook's eye. That seems like a not very sporting thing to do...

Apparently, Obama's maternal relatives owned slaves. Perhaps he can win the South after all? (just kidding... I think...)

Breaking News...

Well talk about shockers. John McCain finally, formally announced that he would run for President. Please like there were any doubts? I thought the Bush/Cheney ass-kissing done of late was all testament to his desire to win a Republican nomination. But personally I wouldn't want to listen to anything coming out of his lips... who knows where they have been.

According to my favorite news outlet, People, Posh Spice is all set to have her own new show. Allegedly, it is all set to focus on the life and times of Posh Spice. But there are numerous directions a show like this could go in.

(1) What do washed up Brits like Posh and Becks do when they hit the mean streets of LA?
(2) Is there such a thing as too much plastic surgery?
(3) Can white, British, ex-Spice girls really rap?


So everyone I know seems to adore Grey's Anatomy. But honestly, since the end of the first season I have just not been that into it. I was hoping against hope that Meredith would die at the end of the 3-part arc, but clearly the Fates are working against me. So here are some things I propose to the writers of the show to get me to start watching again.

1. Meredith dies. Yeah, I know it's not going to happen. They never kill the title character, except that one time on Dallas, but then they turned that whole season into a dream sequence. I will continue dreaming...
2. More McSteamy. 'Cuz I just think he's pretty hot. So he's an arrogant bastard, but I kind of wish I had gone to med school if the real world makes doctor's that look like him.
3. Christina having a Prestina baby and then getting a sex change. Let's face it, she totally wears the pants in any relationship. Did Christina even show up to last season's prom in a dress? Dude, the lady's a man.
4. George being gay. Every drama needs it's requisite gay character, even Desperate Housewives has one. If you compare George to Christina, he is definitely a girl. His brothers certainly seem to think so. Every woman on the show bullies him, especially Izzie. He's wife is larger than him. It all makes sense.
5. Izzie turning into a Dr. Kevorkian like character. I mean she already "killed" one patient. This could be like a serial killer plot line. All daytime soaps seem to have them, why not test it out in primetime.
6. Alex's sperm come back to haunt him. It turns out he has fathered like 20 children in the greater Seattle area. Hey. It fits his real life story. And it would likely also kill any chance of Addisex. How awesome would it be if Addison was the OB-GYN for all of Alex's illegitimates? Talk about buzz kill.

What do you think? Have better suggestions?

And history appears to be repeating itself... just like Bush Sr. failed the read my lips test on taxes, so to did Junior fail to find the oft cited uranium in Iraq. And now, in what amounts to be one of the administrations biggest take backs, it appears that the North Korean nuclear arms program is not nearly as far along as the administration has led us to believe. When are the guys in Washington going to realize that the semi-lucid, very insane despots who run these countries are prone to saying random and crazy things to further consolidate what limited power they have. I mean seriously...

Did You Know?

Mitt Romney's grandparents were polygamists. Hmm... that seems a tad off. Ok, so maybe it was like his great-great-grandparents. But I still this it is unnatural. Interestingly, that's how people define gay marriage... people like crazy, conservative, Republicans that Romney himself is desperately trying to woo.

So I did find a Sex & the City character poll... I must say I am quite puzzled. Apparently, I am Carrlotte. I could either be Charlotte or Carrie.

• Charlotte - Ummm... me an optimist?

  You're more than an optimist. To you, the glass is always half full...even when it's broken. Sure, you can be a little overzealous in the pursuit of perfection. But that dedication is also what makes you such a great friend to have. You're a winner because you never quit. You persevere even when the odds are stacked against you (which happens more than you'd like to admit).

• Carrie - A "fashion plate"? I like it!
  

  Is it possible to be an old-fashioned romantic and a fashionplate for the modern age, all at once? Somehow, you make it work. You're a living contradiction: intelligent and worldly, yet constantly surprised by what life throws at you; fiercely independent, yet desperately longing for lasting love. With all of that going on in your head, it's a wonder you even get up in the morning!

Football, Basketball, Oh My

Clearly, I am not as bright as I thought I was when it comes to sports...

I only just discovered that Andre Rison, of Left Eye fame, played for Michigan State. This is so weird to me, in large part because he made some clutch plays during the only Rose Bowl trip State made in my life time. I remember so much of that game, where I watched it, running around in circles when USC came back and it looked like State would lose, Lorenzo White, like the best running back MSU ever had. But how could I forget Andre Rison, especially since Plaxico could not break his career record, his name must have come up all the time with sport commentators. Clearly I am losing it...

I want to point out yet again how much I despise certain NBA players, who are seemingly only in the game for the money. Case in point Ben Wallace. Of all the teams to trade yourself to... the Bulls? The bloody, flippin' Bulls? It is ridiculous. Just like his hair and the new NBA cheerleader commercials airing on ABC.

Michigan State beat Indiana last night, but nearly gave me a case of heart palpitations in the process. I had not realized that IU has not beaten Michigan State at the Breslin since 1991. Wow! Talk about your droughts. I gotta say though, the fact that the sports commentators kept bringing it up really did scare me.

Apparently, Minnesota is desperately seeking a coach. Monson was given the boot a few months ago. Personally, I feel kind of bad for the guy, Clem Haskins did a number on the program. But now the Gophers want Flip Saunders to save their basketball program. I have mixed feelings about this. I was definitely not thrilled when the Pistons hired Saunders, I mean he couldn't get the Timberwolves a title with their very legitimately good players and Ben Wallace left (perhaps an unrelated event). But I like seeing some year-to-year consistency, I don't want the Pistons to be left in the lurch again.

Talk about craziness... Nick Saban, aka. the turncoat, is back to coaching college football... at 'Bama. I wonder how all those LSU fans feel about that... someone is going to be getting a lot of hate mail! Muhahahhaa!

Who thinks Tommy Ammaker is going to be fired this year? I think if Michigan does not make a serious run in the tournament this year, his job may well be "endangered".

Let The Games Begin

Fight in the lunchroom. The Democrats are at it. Again! So much for Hill - Obama ticket. Don't see that one happening in this lifetime. And does anyone honestly think, Hillary would consent to be anyone's Veep. I think not! Seriously though, David Geffen and the rest of the Dreamworks clan should just keep their mouths' shut. And poor move by Obama in not attending the Nevada forum. Who does he think he is, the Queen of Sheba?

Michigan State is back in business. Woohoo! Knocking off the boys from the Cheese State. Love it! I can't wait for some March Madness...

Brit-Brit has apparently finally realized that bald is not her best look. I am not sure that the blonde wig works for her either, but hell, hair on any sort is a step in the right direction for her.

The charade that is/was Anna Nicole Smith's life continues on. Imagine my surprise when I turned to watch Hardball on MSNBC this afternoon and found myself watching the Anna Nicole trial -- LIVE! God. She is more famous in death than in life, now this is true for many people, but in her case it is simply sad...

Nooooooo! Make Grey's stop please. No more talk of this Addison spin-off. But perhaps this does spell the demise of Addisex. One can only hope!

I wish there was a survey to figure out which Sex & the City girl are you. Lately, I find myself relating to Carrie, and it is freakin' me out.

FOX, Nice Try, But Not Good Enough

After Colbert's trouncing of O'Reilly the other day, I guess the honchos at FOXNews thought they needed their own comedy show. Hence the birth of The 1/2 Hour News Hour. The title itself proves how utterly foolish conservatives are. Besides which, they should honestly know better. I mean have some self-awareness. Can you even think of a conservative comedian? I certainly cannot. Conservatives are not funny, in fact, they are rather mean spirited. Take a look at the first clip, and if it doesn't make you cringe, well you must be a Hannity regular.

I mean Rush as President? That's quite possibly worse than the current administration, and I wasn't really sure that was even possible. Ann Coulter as Veep? Talk about nightmarish. I think I truly would be forced to move to France if a Rush - Coulter ticket won any sort of election - city council even, let alone a presidential election. But aside from the utterly unamusing scenario the sketch outlines, there is no comedy in the clip. It is just the usual vitriol spewed by FOXNews on a regular basis. Who on earth will watch this garbage? Well besides me for the purposes of blogging...

Bald Britney

Yeah, that's what I said... check it out. I guess the girl has some serious issues...

A Hollywood Travesty

I grew up reading Nancy Drew books. The old ones. The pages were slightly yellowed, dusty, and quite honestly a little musty, but they were authentic, you know? The real deal. It was great. Then Nancy got a little older and started dating Ned Nickerson. And then she got a little older still and started solving the occasional mystery with the Hardy Boys. I distinctly remember a little somethin' somethin' going on between Nancy and the older Hardy boy, who's name I cannot recall, yet strangely, his age I do remember. He couldn't have been out of college. So now tell me why. Why are Ben Still and Tom Cruise going to star in the movie version of The Hardy Boys?

So I get that Tom Cruise might still think he is Maverick. But the fact of the matter is he is pushing on 50, and these days he isn't looking that much younger than 40. And Ben Stiller? Yeah, no. This is the worst combination I have heard of since the movie version of Scooby Doo with the blond Freddie Prinze Jr. and a CGI canine. Why could they not have cast guys like Jake Gyllenhal? Toby Maguire? Tom Welling? Josh Harnett? Anything but this... sigh. God I hope they don't spoil Nancy Drew by turning her into a movie too!

In other Hollywood related randomness, what on earth is Beyonce doing on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition? The girl is quite attractive, but the airbrush was working hard on that cover... some wonderbra and thighs begone... she is curvy more than muscular. Not sure she is an SI girl, besides which she is everywhere I turn. I think she needs to go on the dl for a little while.

On My Last Nerve

Lately there are a lot of things that have been getting on my nerves. Quite frankly, I am at my wits end...

• Why are idiots sometimes right? It pains me to say this especially after all his nonsense about global warming, but Michael Crichton might actually be right about something. In his op-ed piece, Patenting Life, for the NYTimes, he very clearly lays out the problem with patenting human genes. Drug companies profit off of illness which seems somewhat distasteful, but those who have patents on genes have the ability to block the development of technology to detect and treat disease. That to me is beyond wrong. Kudos to Crichton for getting on the right side of this issue.
• Mitt Romney. How dare the flip-flopper come to my state, my state, not his state, to declare his candidacy. There are no words for my displeasure. If Romney cared so much about Michigan, instead of making speeches at the Ford Museum, he would have tried to fix Ford. Why not be the Governor of Michigan? Not man enough for the job??
• Princeton Basketball. In the cellar yet again. God. How I remember the days when we played Duke, UCLA, MSU, and now... now we suck. Big Time! It's enough to make a girl cry.
• Katie Couric. I too rejoiced when a woman finally got a seat at the anchor table, but honestly did it have to be her. I grew up on CBS News, and I never switched until her. Sure Dan's Ratherisms could be a bit much, but Katie is like a cheerleader, except way older. Somehow reporting on Iraq, which incidentally does not happen much on CBS anymore, and if it does it is with stupid Laura Logan who can't seem to decide if she is a reporter or a wannabe model, does not jive well with the perky, girl next door routine. Katie belongs to talk news, like Today. Why didn't they get Diane Sawyer or Christine Amanpour or Meredith Viera?
• Alex Karev is hot? Seriously, who are you kidding? McSteamy is the only hot one on Gray's. And honestly, if you really do think McDreamy is hot?? Certainly don't admit it. He looks like a complete fop. But I am simply astonished by the number of women who think Alex is hot. For those of you who do, please take some time out of your busy schedule to watch The Wedding Planner. Sadly, it is a JLo movie, but there are some drool worthy parts with Matthew McC. (Now he is hot!) Justin Chambers is in the movie. Yeah that guy who looks mentally deranged, is always on a moped, eats nothing but macaroni in cheese, and bears a startling resemblence to Alex Karev... How the boy modelled for Calvin Klein is beyond me.
• Bad bottled blondes. Why are we still talking about Anna Nicole? She's dead. It's sad, for so many reasons. But honestly, does she really warrant having her picture on the front page of the NYTimes or CNN (although it is rather like a rag these days).

Obamania

Surprise, surprise... guess who's running for president! Barack Obama. I swear, I never saw that one coming.

I know the Democratic base loves him. Heck according to most polls, America loves him. But I gotta say, I still am not loving him. I have yet to hear him clearly articulate a single policy stance. What does he stand for? Universal health care? Gay marriage? The end of farm subsidies? All I know is Barack wants our troops home starting in May, and he never would have voted for the Iraq War. Well... that is easy to say when you weren't there...

The thing that bothers me the most of Obama's Iraq position, and this holds other Democrats with similar positions on Iraq (e.g., Murtha, Edwards, et al.), is what happens when we do pull out of Iraq? Will Iraq magically fix itself? or will it turn into the next Iraq? Or better yet will it turn into some sort of Valley of Death, ala Afghanistan, where Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia all come in to secure their interests? I am not really sure, and I would rather not find out. The US needs to find a way to work with other governments in the region. All the countries in the region have some vested interest in seeing a stable Iraq. Let's get them to the table and talk about how to secure the country. Let's get some monetary and military commitments. Leaving cold turkey is no solution.

Personally, at the moment if push comes to shove, I'd vote Edwards. I don't feel solid about his Iraq position, but I am inclined to think he is pandering to the liberal base and knows it. Besides which, Hillary gives Republicans and Independents the heebejeebes. Voting for her in the primaries would be a waste come a general election. But Edwards has real positions, is a great public speaker, and I think his populist platform sits well with the general electorate. Most importantly, he is a Southern Democrat and there is a real possibility he could turn a few of those states Blue.

Also slamming Democrats really just does not sit well with me. I feel like there is plenty to chastise Republicans for. Especially those Republicans who ran on "moderate" platforms for most of their careers as public servants. McCain in my opinion was always a wolf in sheep's clothing. He is not really a moderate Republican. He is conservative to the core, he just managed to pull the wool over everyones' eyes. But Rudy and Mitt are a different story all together. Rudy has always been a pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights politician. Highly commendable stances in my opinion, and vital to survive in the City. Romney was also a moderate when he ran for governor. But it is a testament to the power of the crazy conservative Republican base that post politicians have been revisiting their social policy stances. Talk about flip-floppers. Karl Rove, cat got your tongue?

Why Grey's Anatomy is Still Annoying...

I remember when ER used to do their special events. Like the time they were redeeming George Clooney's character for like the thousandth time, Doug really was kind of an arse, and he saved those kids trapped in a sewer drain pipe thing. But this episode was just utterly ridiculous. Why? Let me tell you...

Meredith: Well generally, I believe her character was created with the specific purpose of annoying me. She's a doctor. She should help people. They are bleeding bodies all over the place, and all she is doing is trying to take a non-hurt little girl to triage. Please. I get the kid needs her mom, and some how this all relates to Meredith's mommy issues, and she is projected on the girl, blah blah blah... but honestly get it together already. People are dying! And that whole thing at the end where she falls into the harbor. Ok, she is skinny as a stick, but reflexes force you to tread water, well I guess they force everyone except Meredith Grey to tread water. And all the drama around her fall, please, god does not love me enough to kill her off the show.

Christina: I gotta say, I used to love the girl. Sure she was a type-A, uber-competitive freak, but hell, I can relate to that. I mean, I am Asian too. But her entitlement issues are really beginning to irk me. Ok, so you are engaged and formally Prestina, but you don't want to tell anyone really, but you do want to be reap all the benefits of being Burke's butt buddy. Honestly. I am glad Burke, the gayhatemongerer, told Christina she was not needed and that she better go suture up some patients. Christina needs someone to teach her her place.

Addison: Ok. I am still totally jealous of the red hair and the fact that she got to hook up with McSteamy, but I wish she would stop drooling (literally!) over Alex. Yes, he was a Calvin Klein model, but technically not on this show, and if you evaluate by those merits alone, I am not sure he qualifies for super hot status - yet! We need women who do not have relationship issues, and now that they have effectively turned Addison into the brainless, hospital whore (she is definitely giving Meredith a run for her money), the only respectable woman left is Bailey.

Izzy: The show was actually so friggin' bad, one of the only likable characters was Izzy. Shit!

Don't worry there is plenty more hate to go around. But apparently, there are two more weeks of this story arc to go, so I will save some of it for next week.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Random topic. Yes, I know. But every once in awhile, a girl just needs to be a girl. So I have decided to start a list of my favorite products...

Favorite Lotion: Last month, I would have said my favorite lotion was anything from the Henri Bendel product line. That was until I discovered that the lotion's scent decomposes over the course of a year to an utterly rancid smell. My new favorite lotion comes from the H2O product line. The lotions are light weight yet very moisturizing, not overly thick like the Bath & Body Works body creams, and they lack the oily residue of the Body Shop's body butters, a definite plus.

Favorite Perfume: This is always a hard one for me. But I am a big fan of CoCo Mademoiselle. It's got a kind of rose/jasmine thing going on, but is not quite as heavy as Michael Kors, though I also think his perfume is fabulous as well.

Favorite Mascara: My latest mascara purchase was Benefit's BADgal Lash Mascara, which is pretty good, though super hard to use. The wand it way too fat and thus hard to manipulate. I got suckered into buying it by an over zealous Macy's make-up counter representative. (Watch out for them. I think they might be on commission or something.) Still it is kind of fun to use a product called BADgal. However, in my opinion, the best product on the market is Prescriptives False Eyelashes. Forget the curling iron and other medieval torture devices, this stuff gives eyelashes major curl and oomph!

Favorite Lip Stuff: My favorite lip gloss has got to be DuWop Lip Venom in Snowberry. The color is fantastic and has a little sparkle. But I like it because it is tingly and has a lip plumper. Fabulous stuff. I must buy more.

Favorite All Around Product: Talk about practical make-up. benetint works wonders as a blush and a lip stain (makes it look like you just had a cherry flavored popsicle). Sadly the glass packaging can lead to mishaps when the bottle falls on a tiled bathroom floor...

Favorite Make-up Brand: Well, I gotta say, hands down it is Benefit. They have a great array of products with fun names and packaging. I have their powder, foundation, concealer (it really does conceal as it heals), mascara (though not so much by choice), and lip stain. Honestly, I can't even think of a runner up.

Obama "Yo Mama"

Ok. No idea why I wrote that. But Obama does in fact rhyme with Yo Mama.

As of late, I have not spent much time blogging about politics. But it is time to get back to it. Quite frankly besides the entire Republican party, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the I. Lewis Libby (do we know what the I stands for yet?) trial drama, nothing annoys me quite as much as the media's love affair with Barack Obama.

Why is the media so in love with the man? Honestly, they are pimping him out as some sort of liberal pin-up. It is disturbing that on the basis of one good speech (years ago at the DNC convention) and one state-wide win (a predictable win over Alan Keyes. Anyone, and I mean anyone could beat Keyes), liberals have united around him. Well, liberals minus me that is.

It is my personal belief that Obama lacks the experience needed to be president. His lack of foreign policy experience is most glaring, but he also, in my opinion, lacks national domestic policy experience. Not to mention the fact that Obama has never run a political body. He has no gubernatorial experience, nor does he chair any of the caucuses or committees on the Hill. Obama has little in the way of responsibility. The buck does not stop with him, not even for his Illinois constituents who may turn more frequently to their Governor or their Senior Senator.

George W, as much as I dislike him, was the Governor of Texas before becoming president. He beat a formidable opponent in Ann Richardson. He also ran a state (although arguably not really by himself). While I dislike most of what I hear him say, I do believe that George W theoretically has the training to be president. He has the experience of managing a budget, of dealing with foreign policy issues (well maybe just Mexico... and unsuccessfully with Canda when he applied the death penalty to one of their citizens), and of having the responsibility for final decisions. Obama has none of that.

The general consensus is that Senators cannot win presidential elections because their voting records are long and often contradictory and rife with skeletons. Obama, given his short tenure, does not yet have to face this issue, which may be the impetus behind his candidacy. But it is a trifle disingenuous for him to take advantage of his Democratic competitors' voting records, specifically with regards to the war in Iraq. In fact, on this point, I find Barack to be beyond irritating. Everyone and their mother who was not in the US Congress at the time would now (upon reflection) say, they never would have voted for the war in Iraq. It is an easy statement to make, and there is absolutely no way to test the validity of the statement. The question is now what would you do? And to my knowledge Obama has offered little in the way of ideas and more lip service to a disenchanted, seemingly disenfranchised Democratic base. Bush's surge is likely not the right way to go, but neither is Obama's proposed pull out. Once the US pulls out, Iran will pull in to the Shiite South, the Kurds will break away leading Turkey to join in the tussle, and the Saudis might feel compelled to step in and save their Sunni brethren. If Obama want to talk about how this is a war we should not be in, that's great. But the fact is we are there, so tell me please how do we get out?

I can be unbiased enough to realize that many of you may believe me to be over harsh on Obama. The fact is that most politician are guilty of playing the "Iraq game". However in the case of Obama, it is a particular irritant since he never had any skin in the game. My disillusionment with his candidacy would diminish significantly if the man would just give me some real ideas with some real detail.

And the ruckus the media are making now out of Biden's comments on Obama being a, and I paraphrase, "great African-American candidate" is ridiculous. The media, in paying obeisance to Obama, is indulging in the exact same behavior that in many ways led this country into Iraq. Talk about your blind spots.