This clip is making the rounds around the Internet. It's called "Worst Best Man Ever." It's only 44 seconds, and folks are debating its authenticity. Tell us what you think.
In his heyday, Mr. Blackwell cut a caustic swath through the pop culture landscape. He was an actual fashion designer but was far more known for his abrasive comments about celebrities who landed on his annual worst-dressed list. In fact, though his comments were acerbic and sharp, I suspect some starlets welcomed the attention because, in show biz, any attention is usually a good thing.
He occasionally applauded celebrities whom he thought dressed with taste and style and verve. But it was the juicy worst-dressed list that drew the most interest. He issued his 48th and final rundown in January for 2007. It included this jibe -- "Jessica Simpson: Forget the Cowboys. In prom queen screams, can it get any worse? She's a global fashion curse!"
We take a look back at some of his biting descriptions from the past, courtesy of the Associated Press:
What? The nation's economic woes have hit Playboy?
"W," Oliver Stone's bio-pic of the current president, premieres this weekend. I'm sure the producers want a better approval rating than the one George Bush has these days.
My rants against AIG continue: Those partyin' dudes logged anothertrip.
Many of you are too young to know the name Edie Adams, but the singer/actress passed away this week at the age of 81. I'd like to think she's reunited with her late husband Ernie Kovacs, a true comedic TV genius who was ahead of his time.
And, finally, our colleagues on the news and business blog have already noted the new, smaller look for Rolling Stone magazine. But I have to throw in my two-cents worth: I'm going to miss the bigger format. It set the magazine apart for so long. It's one of those pop culturally sad, "No, really?" moments.
On Sunday, you're just trying to get a straight answer from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during his stop in Holland, Ohio. By Wednesday, Republican candidate John McCain is using you, Joe Wurzelbacher, as an example of a regular guy who could be hurt by Obama's tax plans during the duo's final debate.
You suddenly became a public ping pong ball. Both candidates referenced you at least 23 times. That's way more than they mentioned Sarah Palin or Tina Fey.
Of course, with that kind of attention, the media is all over you. Who is this Joe the Plumber? Or is your real first name Samuel?
If this keeps up, no regular Joes (or Josephines) will want to ask candidates a question in front of cameras, for fear that the spotlight glare is turned full-on ... on them.
We all enjoy facts and figures, things like baseball statistics, Academy Award nominations and the number of marriages logged by people like Larry King, Pamela Anderson and Billy Bob Thornton.
Halloween costumes: Let's come up with our own ideas
Today's Life section in The Bee includes a story on how to get that creepy look of Heath Ledger's The Joker from "The Dark Knight." That one may be too intensely psycho for some folks. And maybe you want something beyond the obvious choices, all the Sarah Palin ideas or usual superhero getups. So here are some ideas to make your Halloween an eerily merry escapade.
My two-cents worth on the Palin costume: How about wearing large-framed eyeglasses, a matching jacket and skirt, hair pulled back in a high bun and be accompanied by 3 or 4 little pigs on leashes wearing lipstick?
Kim Kardashian: There's the obvious prop. But you can amplify her recent ouster from "Dancing with the Stars" by carrying a dance instruction book and two left dance shoes.
Lauren Conrad of "The Hills:" Start out with a posse of 4 or 5 "best" friends and then serially dump them as the night wears on because they won't bend to your will.
Michael Phelps: Wear eight faux gold Olympic medals that spell out "In Utter Desperate Search of a Winning Personality."
There's a pattern here. Last season, after the duo started dating, the Cowboys (again Super Bowl favorites) lost to the New York Giants in the playoffs. (There was also an earlier regular season game where Simpson showed up in a pink jersey -- and the Cowboys lost). The "curse" label, fair or unfair, cropped up in a lot of places like a bad case of turf toe.
All I know, as a casual football fan, is that the high-flying Cowboys started again as unstoppable ... until two embarrassing losses to the Washington Redskins and the Arizona Cardinals, not to mention off-the-field drama with Adam "Pacman" Jones and the always volatile Terrell Owens.
And now Romo's out. Can Simpson heal Romo's injury? Or do you agree with me that the girl is a curse?
The Culture Bucket: Sarah Palin, Tiny Fey and more
Here's what caught my eyes and ears in recent days:
The buzz is that the real Sarah Palin may show up on "Saturday Night Live" ... How are we going to tell her apart from the fabulous Tina Fey? Or maybe Palin is going to play Fey?
Speaking of "Saturday Night Live," NBC is giving the rejuvenated show (thanks to Fey's dead-on impersonation of Palin) some prime time love, starting tonight.
Does ABC News have no shame in its grab for ratings? Britney Spears gets to premiere her latest video on "20/20" Friday night.
I say "going to" because someone with a brain at AIG realized this was an utterly stupid and insulting idea. AIG has described these trips as "standard industry practice" to reward independent insurance agents ... I bet the rest of us could think of some rewards to give them.
____________________________________
ORIGINAL POST: Here's one for the "What the $@#%&*!" file.
Most of us didn't know what AIG was, or what it did, before the financial meltdown. All we knew was that the feds said we need to loan them $85 billion of taxpayers' money (yeah, that's you and me) and prop up these AIG guys ((American International Group) because, if they fail, the U.S. economy will start flowing down the drain.
How did these AIG guys start paying us back?
They spent $440,000 -- yeah, you read that right -- at the ritzy coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles. That tab included $23,380 just for spa treatments.
You can read about it in this Washington Post story that ran in today's Bee. But here's my take: See, pigs folks at AIG were so exhausted from all the stress and pressure (you know, sweating bullets over whether us angry taxpayers might stymie this loan) that they just had to unwind.
Anyone who has a copy of the Spectrum Art Gallery's mini-sized exhibition and auction catalog has a delightful treasure in their possession.
The 43-page soft-backed catalog, for this month's auction, includes some wonderful imagery in color and black-and-white photography. The works within the pages are currently on display at the gallery, 608 E. Olive Ave., with silent auction bidding underway. A reception and live auction are scheduled for 5 p.m. Oct. 25.
The compelling images include this piece by world-traveling photographer, Nevada Wier, whom Donald Munro wrote about in his blog when she was in Fresno in July. The archival digital print above is called "Porter Heading to Market Carrying Pots, Nepal, Outside Tumlingtar."
Wier's work is just one of many ravishing and beguiling photographs in the show.
It's been a lousy year for Amber Frey. Just last month, The Bee reported that the former girlfriend of convicted murderer Scott Peterson was close to losing her Clovis home (purchased for $539,000 three years ago) to foreclosure. Other outlets, including TMZ.com, picked up the story.
Today, TMZ is reporting in an exclusive that Frey has filed for divorce from her husband:
"Amber Frey, famous for her relationship with Scott Peterson back in the day, has filed for divorce from her husband of two years, Bobby Hernandez, a California Department of Corrections officer. She cites irreconcilable differences."
(By the way, is it just me, or does Frey look like she could be the older sister of the ever-annoying Heidi Montag of "The Hills"?)
I haven't heard how Frey's spa business in Clovis is doing.
Urban Dare: We dared, we hustled ... but how did we do?
We did not finish last.
Let me just get that out of the way. Fellow Fresno Bee reporter, Anne Dudley Ellis, and I did not suck at Urban Dare. We put our game faces on and became intense Urban Dare warriors, with a great assist from our "lifelines" via cell phones -- Bee reporters Cyndee Fontana and Paula Lloyd. We were determined to make a respectable showing.
Urban Dare is often described as akin to CBS' "Amazing Race," in which teams of two race around the world. Urban Dare, which is held in cities across the country, is like a single-city version held in a single afternoon. There are clues to be solved, physical dares to be completed and photos to be taken. President Kevin Keefe calls it "the race where smarts can beat speed." It's supposed to be fun and exhilarating and challenging. (Oh, and the first place team wins $300.)
Was it all those things? Yes ... but it was also hard, and I can tell you right now -- as I write after finishing the race today -- that my legs feel like lead and my back is slightly sore.
But am I proud of us? As Sarah Palin would say, "You betcha!"
And, finally, my favorite reality show, CBS' "Amazing Race," started its new season last Sunday. I was totally not surprised that the hippie, beekeeping couple got bounced. They were too nonchalant and lah-de-dah about it. Well, I'll be competing with fellow Bee reporter Anne Ellis this Saturday in Fresno's Urban Dare. It's something like "Amazing Race," so it should be fun and I'll blog after the race on how we did ... We just hope not to embarrass ourselves.
If you're from my generation, Chicago was one of the biggest bands around in the 1970s. "Colour My World," the piano-flute delicacy of a ballad, was a staple at high school dances. The band also distinguished their songs by combining rock with luminous, tight horn work on songs like "25 or 6 to 4," "Beginnings," and "Make Me Smile."
But years pass and interests diverge. You discover other sounds and not all old favorites stay in favor. So going to Chicago's packed-house concert at the Big Fresno Fair on Wednesday night was like seeing an old friend: You remember how much you enjoyed them and why. The band was superb.
Their solid two-hour show reminded me just how many hit songs the band has had since their first LP in 1969. When a group has that much history and that many years on the road -- through death and career departures and the melding with new members -- you appreciate the discipline and the wonderful musicianship. They don't phone it in. They rock out and engage the audience. Every night is a music love affair.
C-list celebrity Kim Kardashian was shoved off "Dancing With the Stars" Tuesday night. It was a bit of a surprise because that means Cloris Leachman is still on the show. This sounds mean, but I'm tired of Leachman's over-the-top antics and playing to the cameras. However, I'll leave it to my Hive colleague Rick Bentley to dissect Leachman. He'll be blogging about her later.
Back to Kardashian. According to People magazine, she was distraught at her dismissal so early in the series. Apparently, her status as a cable TV reality show starlet didn't haul in many voters. I'm not sure if her kind of fans don't watch a show like DWTS, or if all the blown-up hype about her far outpaces any real fan base.
Or maybe it's this: The girl cannot dance. She moved like an iceberg. You could have lit her costumes on fire, and she would still move like a tortoise. I know she says she's shy, but she agreed to go on a nationally televised show that draws millions of viewers. Did she take that into account? Bottom line: She wasn't going to get any better.
Robin Thicke: An enticing, updated twist in retro sounds
I've written that most new music doesn't excite me. So when I find two new releases in one year that get my juices flowing, that's stellar. My first much-welcomed discovery this year was Coldplay's "Viva La Vida."
And now I have Robin Thicke's silky sweet "Something Else," just released today. The Bee's Life section today ran a story on the young singer from J. Freedom du Lac of The Washington Post. Just last year, Thicke played the Save Mart Center (as the opening act for Beyonce), and my Hive colleague Mike Oz posted this blog that included an audio interview with Thicke.
On "Something Else," the Thicke swoon factor is firmly in place, but there's plenty of funk to brighten the pace.Thicke alternates between his lovely falsetto and his blue-eyed soul vocals through 12 songs. Though the music has a retro flavor that harkens to sounds the late 1960s and 1970s, the contemporary side of Thicke is never lost.
Attention Urban Dare teams: You need to sign up ASAP
UPDATE: Urban Dare is on, folks.
Mejorado tells me late this afternoon that the event organizers have given the bureau the green light. She doesn't know if any teams signed up today but believes more will do so next week. She says the organizers recognized the bureau reps' efforts: "We've worked really hard, and it's a good asset to Fresno."
---------------------------------------------
If you plan to compete in the first-ever Urban Dare adventure race in Fresno on Oct. 4, you need to sign up quickly. The race may be called off if enough teams don't register.
Terri Mejorado, tourism manager for the Fresno City and County Convention and Visitors Bureau, tells me today that seven teams have signed up so far, but the contests' organizers need at least three more before the day is out to ensure the event happens. (And, of course, the organizers and bureau folks would like more teams than 10 by the time the race kicks off next Saturday.)
Mejorado says a typical Urban Dare -- held in major cities such as San Francisco, Atlanta and New York -- averages 75 teams. What Fresno is trying to do is establish the event here, build up word of mouth and see it grow as an attraction for Fresno. My colleague Bill McEwen wrote about the idea last month.
"Everybody thinks it's a great idea and that it sounds like fun, and they want to do it," Mejorado says. "But they just need to go and register."
Here's what caught my eyes and ears in recent days:
As you can see, Borat Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. He's busy making a movie: "Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male." Naturally, his filmmaking style involves chaos, lots of chaos.
The comedy "Hari Puttar" premieres in India after Warner Bros. legally tried to block it. Just because the title sounds like a certain boy wizard who's a cash cow for Warner. Like people can't tell the difference.
And finally, I know top-notch chef and restauranteur Gordon Ramsey can be brash, rude and confrontational. But I find myself watching his shows on Fox ... and I can't cook. I just love watching him whip people into shape. Maybe we should have him fix this whole Wall Street mess.
Fresnan Kerry Yo Nakagawa's film project, "American Pastime" just keeps chugging along.
ESPN Classic will air the movie Friday (Sept. 26) at 6 p.m. The 2007 film takes place during World War II when Japanese Americans were interned in relocation camps. The movie, for which Nakagawa served as associate producer, interlaces the role of baseball in these families' lives during those traumatic years. (Nakagawa also is the founder of the Nisei Baseball Research Project.)
The broadcast on the sports cable channel is the latest attention for the film. In July, I blogged about how an international news radio network did a piece about Nisei baseball that included mention of the movie. Who knows where the film is headed next?
By now, you've heard the saga of Ed McMahon, the 85-year-old Johnny Carson wingman and television personality who faced foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.
Still having a sense of humor, McMahon will star in two online rap videos -- yes, rap videos -- on a financial Web site owned by a credit bureau company. I wish I could show the videos to you, but they won't appear until October.
As you can see, McMahon really got into his role, even dressing the part. Here's some sample lyrics:
"Got a bump from the media chumps, but that was temporary/ Wife with bad credit was scary, so I got wise/ I may have fallen, but I got back up/ Now I'm back on the attack, like a ninja swinging nunchucks/ I told the haters, 'Go on, take a hike'/ It's my show now, and I can do what I like."
To borrow a line from another credit company: Priceless.
I just don't understand David Blaine. Some people call him a magician or illusionist. I think he's more of an attention-needy masochist. He regularly puts his body through torture, under the guise of entertainment, and ABC broadcasts these stunts as TV specials.
As of Monday, he's been hanging for 60 hours. He's supposed to fall 44 feet to the ground at 11 p.m. EST today. According to experts, he could go blind or risk a stroke because all the gravity and pressure is pounding into his head.
This stunt is called the "Dive of Death." What would you call it?
Michael's little sister is back on tour. This is one of her costumes. Honest. I'm not sure if she's channeling one of the skaters in "Starlight Express" or showing her audition outfit for the next "Star Trek" flick. And what's with the hair?
ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" kicked off Monday night. I'll be upfront: I watched parts of it. I missed others to check the laundry, read the newspaper, chase the cat and ask my husband to explain again to me where exactly the U.S. government is getting $700 billion to bail out CEOs who thought Wall Street was the Las Vegas strip.
So I missed Kim Kardashian and her trunk and the apparent disaster of comedian Jeffrey Ross. I saw part of 82-year-old Cloris Leachman (as feisty and disruptive as ever) and caught Lance Bass' funky routine (that I don't think had anything to do with the assigned dance step). If you want a complete recap, read this LA Times story, or this People take. The show continues tonight and one celeb (or, in some cases, quasi-celeb) will be eliminated.
But I'm so glad that I caught the end. Who would have thought Warren Sapp, a former NFL defensive tackle, would be so fun and spirited as a dancer? Don't believe me? See for yourself.
The band America had a hit song called "A Horse with No Name" and, dag nab it, folks: We've got that situation right now in Fresno. The Big Fresno Fair on Monday announced their donation that helped the Fresno Police Department acquire another horse for its four-footed fleet. (You can see video of the event here from Bee photographer Craig Kohlruss.)
The male horse was formally introduced, all spruced up and resplendent in his saddle and other gear. He's six years old, a lovely shade of brown and still in training. For now, he's called "Judge," but he needs a new name. You know, one that speaks to his crime-fighting profession or maybe just the way his looks speak to you. Or maybe something that reflects his last home, Los Angeles.
A naming contest will be held at the fair, which runs Oct. 1-13.
Won't you please help? The best I can come up with is stuff like "Fresno Fred" or "Fleet Street." I'm not exactly flowing with originality.
For the most part, Hollywood stars and starlets struck the right fashion note for the Emmy Awards Sunday night. (My colleague Rick Bentley astutely graded the broadcast in today's Bee.)
Bare shoulders and one-shoulder creations dominated the red carpet. Colors were in abundance. Holly Hunter wore a chic, streamlined gown in lovely lavendar by Jenny Packham. Christina Applegate, who battled breast cancer this year, looked splendid in a one-shoulder blue and silver gown accented but not overwhelmed by a train. Kyra Sedgwick was the picture of sophistication in a white, diamonds-accented cocktail dress. Mariska Hargitay bested those who dared to wear yellow with a classic, one-shouldered dress (with a demure slit up the left leg)from Carolina Herrera. (Sorry Teri Hatcher, but your bright melon gown by Monique Lhuillier screamed: "Look at me! Look how sexy I am! LOOK AT ME!")
By the way, a huge shout out to the "mature" ladies of Hollywood, like Sedgwick and Hunter, for showing the younger crowd how it's done.
But not everyone looked stunning Sunday, starting with actor Alan Cumming (pictured here). Tell us who you thought tripped up fashionwise. Here are some other miscues we spotted:
The Culture Bucket: "Brisingr," Lauren Conrad and more
Here's what caught my eyes and ears in recent days:
"Brisingr" and its author Christopher Paolini (pictured here) gets the Harry Potter/Twilight series treatment tonight with a midnight release.
Speaking of books, from the "What the ...?" department: So many talented, struggling writers are out there, all hoping to pen the great American novel. And then The Hills' reality star Lauren Conrad gets a three-book deal for a series to be called "L.A. Candy." It's just a travesty.
Movie and TV fans will have another outlet to whet their viewing appetite.
And, finally, I keep seeing AIG commercials on TV. At first, I thought, "Are you kidding me?" And then I realized they need to start raking in more money -- You and I are on the hook for their survival.
Would you pay $18 million for a bull in formaldehyde?
In a week when financial disasters hovered over Wall Street and the nation's creaking economy, Brit artist Damien Hirst was pulling in a freakin' boat load of money at an auction of his work. In two days, 220 pieces sold for $200.8 million, exceeding expectations.
The serious attempts at haute couture in that Brit city are always overshadowed by zany, clunky, trippy, and outright insane creations. I don't know if the designers have a secret contest to see who can outdo the others in pulling our legs, or if they think this shows off their bloody brilliance, or if, actually, they think we would wear any of this. (To be fair, Spain's Fashion Week is floating some bizarre, strange clothing ideas.)
The spotlight is supposed to be on fashion for Spring 2009. But, so far, my eyes have been pulled toward butterfly on netting motifs hugging faces, incredibly uncomfortable looking shoes and headgear like the one pictured here. It's either a huge motorcycle helmet, or mobile silence chamber to isolate the wearer from the outside world.
Or maybe it's a Halloween costume ... of what, I have no idea.
Here's just a sample of what's on the swinging London runways:
How ironic. When MTV launched in 1981, the first video it played was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star."
Now, MTV is basically killing off videos. The cable network announced this week that it's pulling the plug on "TRL" (or "Total Request Live.") The show, which debuted in 1998 and helped ignite the careers of Britney Spears and different boy bands, airs its last episode in November.
So how can MTV still call itself Music Television? Videos will be practically non-existent on the reality-TV driven network. How can it possibly host its annual Music Video Awards so that Spears can keep making comebacks? Does this mean Lauren Conrad and her crew at "The Hills" will get even more face time? Will they try to talk Tila Tequila into more fake dating shows?
And where will Mariah Carey have her next meltdown? That was a class TRL moment. As The Washington Post's Monica Hesse wonderfully put it this week: "Flashback, summer of 2001: A glassy-eyed Carey unexpectedly wanders onto the set and begins to wriggle out of her T-shirt. 'All I know is, I want one day off when I can go swimming and look at rainbows and, like, eat ice cream,' she says dreamily, as host Carson Daly's chuckles grow increasingly panicked. 'And maybe, like, learn to ride a bicycle.'"
I don't know how many commercials Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld have coming, but here's their latest plug for Gates' company, Microsoft. I didn't think their first one -- shopping for cheap shoes in a mall -- was all that funny. This one shows a little more promise: The two humongously rich men are trying to reconnect with regular people by living with a real family.
This is the long version, at 4 1/2 minutes, and it's already gotten more than 1 million hits on YouTube. The deadpan production has some cute bits, like the dinner table scene when Gates asks, "Didn't we have this yesterday?" Seinfeld underneath his breath replies: "Put some cheese on it." Of course, there are other parts that fall flat, like the daughter catching Seinfeld clipping his toenails. I could have done without that visual.
The Culture Bucket: Mickey Rourke, promise rings and more
Here's what caught my eyes and ears in the last few days:
If you had told me a year ago that there would be Oscar buzz about washed-up actor Mickey Rourke, I would have scoffed, "Right, and the Tampa Bay Rays are going to win baseball's American League East Division" ... Oops.
This year's group of stellar Kennedy Center honorees is announced, and it's so rocker cool that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend of The Who are on the list.
And, finally, a news alert: The runway models at this week's Fashion Week in New York are up to -- wait for it -- sizes 2 to 4. We can only hope this is a trend toward models that look like they actually eat food.
One more thing about that collider: Have you heard the rap?
I no sooner posted my blog about the huge particle collider than a pal of mine told me about this atom-smasher musical video that's on YouTube. I'm not sure who put this together. (One of the scientists? A science writer? Just someone crazy about colliders?) Anyway, it's gotten more than 2 million views.
It's called the "Large Hadron Rap." That's right. It's a rap song explaining this collider project and it's safety. All I know is this thing just cracked me up (um, given the severity of what could happen if these Geneva scientists mess up big time). Take a look:
Those giddy scientists in Geneva finally launched that massive particle collider today, and we're all still here.
Why should you care? Well, this experiment is all about smashing atoms, to sort out their structure and solve the mysteries of how the universe was formed. The Geneva crew assures us it's safe. But some scientists -- who've made sure they're nowhere near Geneva -- say that if something goes horribly wrong, our world is doomed. Black holes will eventually swallow us up, something like that. (At least some people are having fun with it: Google's home page logo today has a collider motif.)
So people everywhere breathed a sigh of relief today when they fired that sucker up and, hey, we're all OK.
But don't be too relieved. This thing is months away from full power.
Oh, I think I want the red one ... No, the metal gray one ... No ...
Apple's unveiling today of the revamped iPod nano was more like a fashion tweak than any major surprise.
And that's just fine with me. (Yesterday, I blogged about how my original nano battery is on its last legs, which was why today's Apple event snagged my interest.) Other folks can detail and debate the technical finer points of these and other iPod/Apple gadgets. This is what I'm focused on: It's impossibly thinner. I now can get the 8-gigabyte model for $149. And I've got a spectrum of yummy colors to choose from. (And they're not just colors in Apple-speak, they're "nano-chromatic" colors.)
Yes, I hate to admit it. For me, it's all about the look and convenience to listen to music. I don't care about putting pics on there, or watching movies or playing games. Don't really care about that new feature that let's you shuffle a new song into play by shaking the nano. In fact, I'd rather that they hadn't introduced that feature. It might turn out to be annoying.
No, it's all about the tunes. I just have to decide which color to get this in ...
A sign of Sarah Palin fame: They make you into 3 dolls
It had to happen. Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin is in the midst of massive, unprecedented attention from the media and voters. No one knows if this wave will keep rolling or what will happen on Election Day (Nov. 4), but a dollmaker company in Connecticut is trying to cash in by making miniature replicas of the Alaska governor.
I'm not so sure she'll be flattered.
HeroBuilders.com apparently does this on a regular basis and isn't afraid to poke fun at anybody (whether it's in good taste or not is in the view of the beholder). If you take a look at their Web site, for example, there's a John Edwards doll wearing a black t-shirt that says "Rogue." (Come to think of it, they could have used a lot harsher word than rogue.)
Anyway, the company has three renditions of Palin, including the one pictured here. This one is supposed to be her as a super hero action figure.
Do you think the Democratic VP nominee Joe Biden will want equal time?
I'm especially interested because the nano I bought more than two years ago -- the original slender version with a tiny screen -- is on its last legs. The charge on my lithium battery is churning shorter and shorter, so I'm due for a new one. But I'm not enamored with the squatty version (as seen here) that came out last year. Maybe it's my age and nearsightedness, but I still don't plan to watch any videos, TV shows, etc. on a screen that's not much larger than three postage stamps. I'm also unwilling to go the iPhone route -- loading music, making phone calls and maneuvering all kinds of other tasks on a single contraption. I fear I'd lose it, and then what? Would I cease to exist?
Sorry, I digress. The point is I want my music in a cute, convenient, easy-to-understand small device. Tech fans have been trying get a jump on what it may, at least, look like. For a possible sneak preview, read this story from cnnmoney.com.
We all find out Tuesday if this is another brilliant move, or disappointing hype.
I now know why Microsoft magnate Bill Gates gave up his day gig commandeering his empire. Yes, he wants to devote more time to his philanthropic programs, which is an esteemable effort. But, that obviously wasn't the only reason.
Have you seen his new commercial for Microsoft? The one co-starring Jerry Seinfeld? Tell me Gates isn't bent on a new career in acting. And, it's too bad because the commercial is not that funny, he's stiff, and Seinfield delivers most of the lines. But when was the last time you saw a big-time billionaire adjust his shorts?
The Culture Bucket: Palin, eyeglasses, a lion and more
Here's what caught my eyes and ears in recent days:
I don't know who's going to win the presidential election, but it's heartening that millions of people tuned into the convention speeches of Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin and Democrats Barrack Obama and Joseph Beiden. Folks, we're talking "American Idol" finale type numbers here.
People are saying a lot of stuff about Palin, but fashion-setter?
You lose your job and then your successor alleges you stole his bags and underwear. OK, why would anyone want someone else's underwear?
When I drove past the historic Tower Theatre last Saturday night, bright lights were flooding the front of the grand art deco building, just like a Hollywood movie premiere. On a closer look, my friends and I could see that workers were doing some kind of renovation.
Now I know why. The Abbate Family, owners of the theater at Olive and Wishon avenues, are giving the building a makeover. The edifice is one of Fresno's most distinctive landmarks and was last painted in the late 1980s. This time around, the family used modern technology to hone their selection of colors.
The family anticipates that the makeover will be completed around Monday, just in time for the Fresno mayoral debate scheduled there on Sept. 23. I can't wait to see the new look.
Is this real or fake? You decide
-thumb-190x237.jpg)
-thumb-200x283.jpg)
