Kurt's Head

I took these photos at the Seattle Art Museum last Thursday. There are two exhibits at the SAM right now that are both pretty awesome--the first one, entitled "Kurt" is an exhibition of art "that asks viewers why and how Kurt Cobain came to mean so much to a generation."

What that basically amounted to was a lot of really crappy pencil drawings and other amateurish art that was either literally or very loosely "about" Kurt Cobain. It was pretty interesting to see it all. Even though most of it kind of sucked, it sort of worked anyway, since it seemed "grunge."

The stand-out piece was this one, the sculpture of Kurt's head. This sculpture was so far superior to the rest of the art that it almost made me wonder if the entire exhibit was just an excuse to display this head, with the rest of it pretty much being filler.

It looks like it's sculpted out of mud, but actually it is made of corrugated cardboard. The amazing thing is that the artist somehow totally captured Kurt's likeness, using only cardboard and nails. The hair is actually shredded pieces of cardboard, and the "stubble" is made of nails. So cool. I think Kurt would have loved it.

The other exhibit, called "love fear pleasure lust pain glamour death" is an assortment of Andy Warhol photographs and films. So, clearly, this is also awesome. From SAM's website:

"love fear pleasure lust pain glamour death includes works that compel us to consider the artist’s fascination with all things ephemeral, from beauty and youth to celebrity status. Including photographs and videos dating from the 1960s through the early 1980s—two decades in which the artist’s work had tremendous impact on contemporary art production and culture—the exhibition encourages readings of powerful themes such as fame, desire and identity construction, as well as anxiety and isolation, which often accompany stardom. In a series of self-portraits, with props or disguises such as wigs and women’s clothing, Warhol exposes his obsession with his own image and his desire to probe and push the boundaries of identity and self-invention.

"love fear pleasure lust pain glamour death — Andy Warhol Media Works is on view concurrently with the exhibition Kurt and resonates with many of the works on view, as well as the exploration of fleeting celebrity, the effects it has on the celebrated, and the ways in which even a brief career can deeply move a generation."

The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel

This was one of the most interesting, unique museums I've ever been to, and one of the coolest things we did on our trip. As a Martin Luther King admirer, I was initially worried that it might be too sad and depressing to see the place where he was shot. But I'm glad we went there. It was poignant, but somehow visiting it felt more inspiring and positive than sad. The pokey, shabby, totally ordinary quality of the motel really brought home the truth that, yes, Martin Luther King was a real person, and despite all the great things he accomplished, he was still just a man staying at a crummy hotel, just like any other regular person. In a weird way, this realization makes his achievements even more impressive. He wasn't a superhero, he wasn't magical...he was a human being who was called to greatness and who was brave enough to answer the call.

Here are some "fun facts" from their website:

Originally named the Windsor Hotel c. 1925.

Renamed Marquette Hotel in 1945 and offered for sale.

Purchased by Walter Bailey in 1945 and renamed the Lorraine, after his wife Loree and a song titled “Sweet Lorraine.” At the time of purchase the Lorraine included 16 rooms, a café, and living quarters for the Baileys.

The Lorraine became one of only a few hotels to which African American travelers could enjoy overnight accommodations while traveling during this segregated period leading up to the late 1960s in America.

Under the Bailey’s ownership there were at least two major additions to the hotel. The first addition added a second floor and 12 rooms to the hotel while the next addition created even more guest rooms and drive up access. This change converted the Lorraine Hotel into a motel.

Guests of the Lorraine, both black and white, returned time and again for its upscale atmosphere, home cooked meals, including bar-b-que, affordable prices, and its reputation as a clean and safe environment.

Song writers and musicians working with the Stax Records Company were frequent residents of the Lorraine. Recording stars Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Aretha Franklin, Ethel Waters, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers and Wilson Picket were among the many that stayed in the Lorraine during the heyday of the late 1950s- early 1960s.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed at the Lorraine Motel numerous times. He was a guest of the Lorraine when he came to Memphis in 1968 in support of striking sanitation workers.

The Lorraine Motel is designated an historic site by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
History of the National Civil Rights Museum

The National Civil Rights Museum was birthed out of the success of the civil rights movement and the tragic violence that occurred at the Lorraine Motel, taking the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The aftershock of the assassination on April 4, 1968 eventually plunged the Lorraine into a long and steep decline. The motel’s owner, Walter Lane Bailey maintained two rooms – Rooms 306 & 307 - as a shrine to Dr. King and in memory of his wife Loree who died days after the assassination.

Realizing the symbolic significance of the Lorraine, Mr. Bailey reached out for help to maintain the property as a civil rights shrine. He reached out to Mr. Chuck Scruggs, program director of local radio station WDIA radio and the Save The Lorraine campaign was born.

A group of prominent Memphians, concerned that this historical site would be destroyed through continued neglect and indifference, formed the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation and in 1984 changed its name to the Lorraine Civil Rights Museum Foundation.

Under the leadership of local attorney and activist, D’Army Bailey, the Foundation raised enough money to purchase the property on the courthouse steps at a public auction for $144,000.

Using a design report by former Smithsonian Institution curator, Benjamin Lawless, the Foundation moved forward to create the educational facility and memorial site that today is the National Civil Rights Museum.

The Museum was dedicated on July 4, 1991 and officially opened to the public on Sept. 28, 1991. Since opening the museum records more than 5 million to the site.

In 1999 the Museum acquired properties facing it, the former Canipe’s Amusement store and rooming house, which were an integral part of Dr. King’s assassination investigation. In 1968, James Earl Ray stayed in the rooming house.

The museum became custodian of the police and evidence files associated with the manhunt, indictment and confession of the assassin of Dr. King. This transfer affords the National Civil Right Museum the distinction of being the first museum of its kind to receive evidence materials and court documents connected with a criminal case into its collection holdings.

Opened to the public on Sept. 28, 2002, Exploring the Legacy, is a 12,800 sq. ft. expansion project aimed at addressing three key questions: 1) Did the Movement die with Dr. King? 2) Was James Earl Ray the assassin? and, 3) What is the legacy of the movement?

From: http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/home.htm

"Be as wise as serpents, and as tender as doves."

"A French philosopher said, 'No man is strong unless he bears within his character antitheses strongly marked.' The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites. Not ordinarily do men achieve this blend of opposites. The idealists are usually not realistic, and the realists are not usually idealistic. The militant are not generally known to be passive, nor the passive to be militant. Seldom are the humble self-assertive, or the self-assertive humble. But life at its best is a creative synthesis of opposites in fruitful harmony. The philosopher Hegel said that truth is found neither in the thesis or the antithesis, but in an emergent synthesis which reconciles the two...

"Let us consider, first, the need for a tough mind, characterized by incisive thinking, realistic appraisal, and decisive judgment. The tough mind is sharp and penetrating; breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false. The tough-minded individual is astute and discerning. He has a strong, austere quality that makes for firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment.

"Who doubts that this toughness of mind is one of man's greatest needs? Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think...

"This undue gullibility is also seen in the tendency of many readers to accept the printed word of the press as final truth. Few people realize that even our authentic channels of information--the press, the platform, and in many instances the pulpit--do not give us objective and unbiased truth. Few people have the toughness of mind to judge critically and to discern the true from the false, the fact from the fiction. Our minds are constantly being invaded by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and false facts. One of the great needs of mankind is to be lifted above the morass of false propaganda."

--Martin Luther King, Jr. from Strength to Love, chapter one: "A tough mind and a tender heart."

"Hi Mr. Snake Bird" painting found here: http://mfields.org/2009/08/10/born-from-chaos/

Secretaries We Admire

Peggy Fair is a fictional secretary par excellence. In addition to being a snappy dresser (a requirement for any secretary, real or imagined), Peggy is organized, efficient, resourceful, and 100% reliable. She needs very little instruction. Her boss, private detective Joe Mannix, has only to casually utter a few key words in her general direction; the next thing you know, Peggy is coolly presenting him with a neatly typed list of, say, every cab driver in the greater Los Angeles area whose name begins with 'M.' She's that good.

Peggy's full resume can be found at TV Acres:

"Born and raised in Los Angeles, Peggy is a widow, very efficient, and a former Department of Motor Vehicles employee. She now works as the full-time employee of Joe Mannix, an Armenian private eye who lives and works at 17 Paseo Verde Drive in West Los Angeles.

"Peggy married police officer Marcus Fair in January of 1961. They had a little boy named Toby later that year. Unfortunately, Marcus died in the line of duty on March 1968. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Peggy’s only relatives include her mother and some family that lives in Chicago.

"Peggy uses her contacts with the DMV when conducting background checks for Joe‘s clients and sometimes goes undercover as a maid, or hooker to help solve a case. She once even helped Joe battle foreign agents who set out to assassinate African Premier Obuko who was being treated incognito in a nearby hospital.

"Most of the time Peggy likes her job, but from time to time, Peggy quits the employ of “Mr. Mannix” when angered by Joe. But after an appropriate cooling off period she returns to work. When not mad at Joe, Peggy will offer him advice or sometimes even loan him money when he's short of cash. A loyal friend, Peggy was also on hand to nurse Joe through a stretch of temporary blindness when he was shot by a killer's bullet.

"In turn, Joe helped Peggy clear the name of her late husband Marcus Fair, when his name appeared on a list of policemen who were being paid off by a burglary ring. Joe also came to the rescue when Peggy and her son, Toby were held hostage by people who desperately needed a roll of incriminating film and when Peggy was held in the clutches of syndicate thugs who have mistaken her for a potential informer.
"When not helping out Joe Mannix, Peggy is helping her own friends, like the time her friends Brad Turner and Jimmy Whitewing were wrongly accused of murder and Peggy let them hide in her apartment; or the time Peggy's friend Glenn Gerard, a one-time juvenile delinquent (now reformed) was sought for the commission of a crime.

"Occasionally, Peggy finds time for a love life. Her romantic interests included dating a guy named Gabe Johnson who turned out to be a prison road-gang escapee falsely convicted by a sheriff of a small southern community; and boyfriend Floyd Brown whom Mannix accused of stealing of 45 cartons of morphine.

"When not being kidnapped or placed in other perilous situations, Peggy enjoys listening to music (jazz, blues, pop), eating soul food and watching old Humphrey Bogart movies. She also finds time to be a secretary for the local Boy Scout troop meetings. At work, Peggy likes to dress smart. She especially likes short skirts that show off her lovely legs. But, when her boss Joe Mannix fails to notice her new outfits, well, let's just say, it doesn't make Peggy's day."

Creation of the Humanoids

Guy's post about Creation of the Humanoids the other day got me thinking again about this movie and how much I liked it.

It's a low-budget, crappy-looking science fiction movie from 1962. One of my personal heroes, Andy Warhol, liked to say that Creation of the Humanoids was his favorite movie of all time. I guess, coming from him, I didn't take that statement too seriously at first. It seemed like the kind of smart-assed thing that Andy liked to say but not really mean (like when he wrote in his diary about feeling star-struck when he met "the Fonz" at a dinner party).

But once I saw the movie, I thought, "Wow! I think he actually meant it!" It's the kind of movie that creeps up on you. When you first start watching it, all you notice is the stiff, stylized acting and low-budget special effects. But as the movie builds, and explores some really interesting and complex philosophical ideas, it starts taking on a life of its own. By the end of the movie, I felt emotionally moved, and like I had experienced something of true substance.

Some movies are less than the sum of their parts. You know how you can watch a big-budget movie, where everything looks right, starring great actors, with a perfectly fine script...but somehow it doesn't add up to anything? Maybe it lacks some X factor that makes everything come to life.

Creation of the Humanoids is the opposite of that; somehow it adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Even though the costumes are cheap and the acting is weirdly self-conscious and the pacing is oddly theatrical and slow, it has that magical X factor that brings it all together.

If you're curious to check it out, Guy strangely posted the entire movie on his blog yesterday. Or you could probably rent it from Netflix or buy it cheap online.

Here is a summary of the plot of the film:

"The Earth is suffering the after-effects of nuclear war; the human birthrate has fallen so much that the population is declining. The "humanoids" of the title are advanced robots created to serve human beings. A human scientist, Dr. Raven (Doolittle), has developed a technique called the "Thalamic Transplant," which transfers the memories and personality of a recently-deceased human to a robotic replica of that person. The human-humanoid hybrids that result awake from the process unaware of their own transformation.

"A quasi-racist human organization called the "Order of Flesh and Blood" opposes the robots, whom the order disparagingly refers to as "clickers." One of the leaders of the Order, Capt. Kenneth Cragis (Megowan), discovers clues that lead him to fall in love, and discover the secret not only of the robot's human "replacement" program, but also of the future of himself, his new love, and the human race as a whole."

Martin Luther King Jr.

I can't believe I forgot to give a shout-out to Martin Luther King yesterday. Whenever I read his writing, I am amazed by how fresh, relevant, and radical it still is. I think he's one of the smartest people who ever lived, and he is one of my personal heroes (yeah, I know that that is not really original). Happy birthday.

A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.

I am aware that there are many who wince at a distinction between property and persons--who hold both sacrosanct. My views are not so rigid. A life is sacred. Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on; it is not man.

Success, recognition, and conformity are the bywords of the modern world where everyone seems to crave the anesthetizing security of being identified with the majority.

When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also declare that the white man does not abide by law in the ghettos. Day in and day out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions of civilservices. The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them, but they do not make them, any more than a prisoner makes a prison.

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.

Cyndi + Gaga + MAC = Perfection

Wow! Two girls I love in an ad for something else I love--cosmetics!!

What a great combination! It's like a caprese salad with that perfect blend of tomato + basil + mozzarella.

Obama Cake

This cake was originally posted on Cake Wrecks due to the slightly dubious placement of the ersatz Obama's hand...But I think it's a pretty amazing cake nevertheless!

Mmm, the delicious taste of national healthcare.

Amy Sedaris' Halloween Tips

From epicurious.com:

"For the last few years I've entertained people on Halloween," Sedaris says, "I've rented a scary movie and turned my apartment into a discount movie theater—vacuuming before the lights come up and all."

It's a simple idea that's easy to execute. Choose your film right off the, ahem, bat. That will serve as the basis for your drink and decor decisions. "The fun of the party to me is the movie I'm featuring," says Sedaris, whose favorites include the classic versions of Dracula and Frankenstein, Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Trilogy of Terror, The Bad Seed, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

The next step, she says, is creating an in-home theater. To be certain all your guests have a clear view of the movie, place your television or projection screen in a central location, with the seating arranged around it. Make sure, too, that your seating is cushy enough to keep your guests comfortable for a couple of hours—or more, if you're showing a double feature. Finally, give your guests dining trays or set out some small side tables to give them a place to put the dinner and drinks you're going to serve.

It's true that discount movie theaters aren't exactly known for their dinners, unless you count stale popcorn and dusty chocolate candies as a meal. However, no hostess worthy of her charm-school crown would ever be caught dead letting her guests go hungry.

For her discount-theater dinner parties, Sedaris usually serves meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. "I choose this menu because you don't have to see it to eat it," she says. "This is important, because the lights are out." Nor does the menu require a knife—the one-handed fork operation makes it easier for guests who prefer to hold their plates while eating rather than placing them on a table or tray. It also provides an extra measure of safety should there be psychotic murderers lurking about.

In homage to the season, Sedaris also makes a pumpkin pie decorated with bats and owls. She likes to use the recipe on the back of the canned pumpkin, cutting out shapes in the dough with Halloween cookie cutters to place on top. (Set these on the pie after it's been baking for 15 minutes, she instructs.) You can also make Sedaris's famous cupcakes, decorating them with orange and black sprinkles or frosting (use food coloring), or seasonally appropriate sugar shapes or plastic cupcake picks, available at baking sites such as sugarcraft.com or babykakes.com.

Sedaris also likes to have her guests help carve a jack-o'-lantern at the beginning of the party. "You have to bake the seeds from the pumpkin," she says. "People have an association with that smell." Place cleaned seeds (give them a good rinse, then dry) on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then bake them in a 350°F-oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Cool, then set out in a bowl for snacking.

When figuring out which beverages to serve at her party, Sedaris takes her cues from the movie she's featuring. "Last year we watched The Changeling. I served wine because there was a lot of whining going on in the movie." Bloody Marys, Sedaris says, are always good for Halloween, too. Either of these choices would be perfect with some of Sedaris's favorite movie picks, The Bad Seed, the original Dracula, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? For the latter, you could also serve the Blanche.

Beyond red wine and Bloodies, there are a variety of drinks that pair perfectly with classic screen screams. Here are some of our favorite macabre matches:

The Shining - Berry Rum Punch

Night of the Living Dead - Zombie

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Sangria

Frankenstein - Corpse Reviver

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Shangha

Any seasoned entertainer will tell you that one of the most important aspects of throwing a party is to set the tone with music and decorations. Not only does it get your guests in the proper spirit, it also gives them an idea of the type of evening they're in for.

First, send out invitations that look like a movie ticket or film reel, or copy the cover of the movie you're going to feature. To emphasize the discount-theater theme come party time, play some Muzak (who doesn't find that creepy?), drape red velvet over your walls and TV screen, roll out some mildewy carpet, and strew popcorn about. You could even ask a sullen, acne-faced teen to show your guests to their seats. And if you want yours to be a costume party, suggest that your guests come dressed as characters from the feature film.

Sedaris, however, prefers to go with more traditional Halloween-themed decorations. She pins a skeleton to her door, hangs tissue-paper ghosts, and suspends orange and black crepe paper from corner to corner of her ceiling. "That's what we used when we were little, and I still love it." Sedaris might also draw a body outline on her floor. "One year I sprayed cobwebs on an 800-year-old wheelchair I had in the apartment (long story) and placed one shoe on the footrest. I thought it would be scary to think where the other shoe was." She also likes to play an old sound effects tape as her guests enter the apartment. "One of the lines on the tape says, 'Didn't the other children tell you?'"

And because Halloween is a holiday intimately tied with fall and the harvest, Sedaris includes painted gourds and pumpkins, acorns, scarecrows, and leaves ironed between two sheets of waxed paper among her decorations. She also places the pumpkin pie, jack-o'-lantern, and other decorations on a display table for guests to see as they enter her apartment.

Another signature Sedaris touch, which she sets up whenever she entertains guests, is a sale table—a kind of concession stand, if you will. "I sell unwanted items. It can be anything from unwanted half bottles of lotion to a fancy bottle of wine, buckets, sponges, batteries—whatever you want to give away." She charges 25 cents (quarters only), no matter what the item, and caters her merchandise to her audience. "People like to pay for things and I like the transaction. It takes me back to a time when I was selling Girl Scout cookies door to door or collecting Coke bottles. I use these quarters to do my laundry." For your Halloween party, you could set up a sale table with candy or random parts of old costumes.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/entertaining/partiesevents/halloween_sedaris_look

Mr. Cool Does It Again

Coolest President ever! (Also: suck it, Dubya.)

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday that he was humbled by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled," Obama said at the White House.

"I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments. But rather as an affirmation of American leadership. ... I will accept this award as a call to action."

Obama said he did not feel he deserves "to be in the company" of past winners, but would continue to push a broad range of international objectives, including nuclear non-proliferation, a reversal of the global economic downturn, and a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He acknowledged the ongoing U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, noting that he is the "commander in chief of a country that is responsible for ending" one war and confronting a dangerous adversary in another.

"This award is not simply about my administration," he said. It "must be shared" with everyone who strives for "justice and dignity."

Also, while searching online for this photo of "cool Obama," I stumbled on the below claim by some English guy who is a "marketing communications professional." Who am I to argue? It sounds plausible enough to me:

New Slang
Each year ushers in a bevy of new words you might hear and may even want to use (though you may choose to do so sparingly). 2009 ushers in a vocabulary inspired by pop culture and technology, and here are a few of the favorites heard from the streets, our bloggers, and Gen Ys who know…

My top vote?

Obama/Not Obama
adj. London street reporters proclaim that our new President has become synonymous with “cool” as in “Yeah, that is so Obama!”

P.S. Oh, reading my own post more closely, I realize that this marketing guy got his information from some website called "Trend Central." The whole list is funny and worth reading: http://www.trendcentral.com/WebApps/App/SnapShots/Article.aspx?ArticleId=7528 (or just use the hyperlink above).

Cool Obama photo/text found at: http://francisanderson.wordpress.com/2009/01/page/2/

Amy Winehouse, Time Traveling Hero

If I ever get a hold of a time machine, I want Amy to terrorize the bullies from my childhood too! And afterwards sign a few autographs, natch. (I'll have to explain to the kids that she will be famous in the future):

The children at North London's Southgate school in Barnet Monday got a celebrity visitor: an infuriated Amy Winehouse, who was on the warpath, headed toward a girl she believed to be the bully of her 13-year-old goddaughter, Dionne Bromfield.

Winehouse, 26, showed she can put a middle school bully in her place, spitting on and insulting her goddaughter's supposed torturer.

A bystander eventually broke up the incident, at which point Amy signed a few autographs and took off.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/09/amy-winehouse-rants-school-bully

Gaga Puts Shock Jocks In Their Place Regarding Dumb Rumor

This is so funny. She is the best. Seriously, who do these "shock jocks" think they are? Gaga is the Queen of Shock. She eats those guys for breakfast. She's already out-shocked them 10 different ways before they've even gotten up in the morning. Bitch, please!

From ninemsn.com: Lady Gaga has broken her own PR protocol and told Brisbane radio shock jocks she is not offended by hermaphrodite rumours — but her vagina is "a little upset".

The pop diva — who has endured the bizarre rumours since recent footage of her dancing on stage showed a bump in her crotch — agreed to broach the topic during an interview with Brisbane's Nova breakfast radio team yesterday.

And she did so despite her minder telling Nova's Meshel, Ash and Tim that the interview must not stray from Lady Gaga's "fashion, her tour, her fans and her music".

"I'm going to ask how her fashion works around her penis ... and whether her fans notice it," the team is heard joking before the interview begins, after a full audio track was posted on the Nova website.

The interview begins with a question on Lady Gaga's tour to Australia, scheduled for next March, but the shock jocks soon ask the 23-year-old if she sets the parameters on what she is willing to talk about publicly.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," she responds over the phone from her recording studio in California.

"I'm just a girl from New York that wanted to be a star. Anything you wish to ask me is cool with me."

Meshel then asked: "Where are we at with the tiny penis issue right now, Lady Gaga?"

"My beautiful vagina is very offended," Gaga responds coolly. "I'm not offended — my vagina is offended.

"I've sold four million records in six months. I'm not embarrassed about anything."

Gaga instead said she blamed the she-male rumours on "society's reaction to a strong woman — the idea that we equate strength with man and a penis as a symbol of male strength."

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/858074/aussie-shock-jocks-grill-gaga-on-penis

Imaginary Flavors

The Hubby Hubby post (and comments) got me thinking about Ben & Jerry's flavors, both real and imaginary. Then I remembered this fake flavor from the Obama campaign, Yes, Pecan!. Sadly, it never actually existed, but someone at Slate magazine came up with this impressively realistic Photoshopped image of the flavor.

Slate had held a contest to come up with Barack Obama-themed flavors:

Plenty of you responded with riffs on Obama's name. Peanut Butter Barackle, Obamana Split, and Barackadamia Nut all raised a chuckle. But it was Aaron Nathan of Amherst, Mass., who really impressed. Eschewing Obama's name, he reached another level of ingenuity when he sent in his entry: "Yes, Pecan!"

It's Not Easy Being Gaga

This is what Lady Gaga wore for an interview on German television.

Wow. I'm totally going to wear this to my next job interview. They'll probably forget all their questions and hire me on the spot.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...Bill Clinton!

I imagine this would feel similar to being suddenly rescued by Superman:

BURBANK, Calif. – Two American journalists jubilantly reunited with family and friends early Wednesday upon returning to the United States with former President Bill Clinton, whose diplomatic trip to North Korea secured their release nearly five months after their arrests.

The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV, and Clinton arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with communist leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday to secure the women's release.

"The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching days of our lives," Ling said, her voice cracking.

Thirty hours ago, Ling said, "We feared that any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp."

Then, she said, they were taken to another location.

"When we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," she said to applause. "We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end, and now we stand here, home and free."

Clinton came down the stairs to applause. He hugged Gore, then chatted with family members.

Bill Clinton truly is the closest thing we have to Superman (in the real world).

Speaking of Superman, it occurs to me that Laura Ling meets the stringent criteron necessary to date him!

Here are some other people who could date Superman:

Lisa Ling

Lindsay Lohan

Lyle Lovett

Lucy Liu

Lourdes Leon

Leona Lewis

Lisa Loeb

Larry Linville

Birthday Cupcakes

Obama visits White House press room on birthday
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON –
On the day he turned 48, President Barack Obama decided to splash a little celebration on someone with whom he shares the birthday: legendary White House correspondent Helen Thomas, now a columnist with Hearst Newspapers. She turned 89 on Tuesday.

Obama emerged unannounced in the White House briefing room where Thomas sat in the front-row seat reserved in her name. He led the room full of reporters in singing "Happy Birthday to You," gave a plate full of cupcakes to Thomas, watched her blow out one lit candle and sat down next to her to share a smiling photo.

The president said Thomas wished for peace and no prejudice in the world and — working in a plug for his agenda — a health care reform bill.

And then he left without taking questions about his own birthday plans or anything else.

Obama had just spent lunch with almost the entire Democratic Senate caucus. Leaders emerged promising to deliver the health care bill Obama wants.

"We're ready to take on the world," Sen. Harry Reid said, offering a glowing assessment of Obama's pep talk.

The president was born in 1961 in Hawaii, a fact state officials have confirmed again and again to address claims of so-called "birthers" who say the president was actually born outside the United States.

The White House said Obama did much of his birthday celebrating over the weekend, hanging with friends and family at Camp David.

But that didn't stop some school kids on a tour of the White House from trying to get Obama's attention on the actual birthday itself.

From the steps of the North Portico, they broke out in their own version of "Happy Birthday to You" for the president, and were heard all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is one of my personal heroes. If I could go back in time and meet anyone, it might be him. I'd like to sit on the couch with him at a party at the Factory, watching the Velvet Underground play live, and gossiping about celebrities. Even though he knew all the famous people, he had a lot of non-famous friends too. I feel like he'd be friends with anyone that he found funny and interesting.

The following quotes are from his 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again. If you've never read it, I highly recommend it.


I suppose I have a really loose definition of "work," because I think that just being alive is so much work at something you don't always want to do. Being born is like being kidnapped. And then sold into slavery. People are working every minute. The machinery is always going. Even when you sleep.

When I look around today, the biggest anachronism I see is pregnancy. I just can't believe that people are still pregnant.

One mistake I make time after time is not following the Golden Rule: I hold elevators. Also, even though I try to throw things away and simplify my life, I palm things off on other people.

Cash. I just am not happy when I don't have it. The minute I have it I have to spend it. And I just buy STUPID THINGS.

Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, "So what." That's one of my favorite things to say. "So what."
"My mother didn't love me." So what.
"My husband won't ball me." So what.
"I'm a success but I'm still alone." So what.
I don't know how I made it through all the years before I learned how to do that trick. It took a long time for me to learn it, but once you do, you never forget.