Smokin' Stork
 

Probably a good idea in your case, given your obvious dislike of children evident in that statement. (No one sees themselves having "brats".)



I recall the "debate" a little differently -- I think (and sorry if I'm misattributing) that paigow expressed disdain for a pregnant woman who was standing in a bar where people were smoking and criticized this woman for drinking (although paigow didn't know for sure whether the pregnant woman was drinking an alcoholic beverage or not.)

I don't know who you think the "mommy brigade" is, but I do recall many people saying, "lay off, [paigow], what business is it of yours, and besides, one drink is really not a big deal."

And since when is CZJ a role model? I don't know what other people think, but it is my view that smoking during pregnancy is pretty stupid, given the mountains of medical studies that have associated smoking during pregnancy with low birth weight and other developmental maladies. [Unlike a drink or two a week -- which has not been associated with such maladies -- I'm not talking about heavy drinking, which, of course, is associated with fetal alcohol syndrome.] You will not find ANY doctor to tell you that smoking is a good idea (at all, and much less during pregnancy). CZJ is most likely addicted to nicotine, and can't go the 10 months without it -- so she doesn't. Whatever.

As long as she doesn't do it where I can smell it, it's her business. I can think her an idiot (which I do, but not only for smoking during pregnancy -- that's pretty much in line with what I would expect from her or any other self-absorbed celebrity), but it's certainly not my place to tell her what to do in her own home on her own time.

And yes, I dig the new Bloomberg anti-smoking rules. Going out to bars is something I would consider doing now, whereas before, I really had to have a good excuse, because the stench of smoke is so off-putting.

And you thought there was racism on AI
 

Williams also said he will never salute the flag because of racism in America. "It has no meaning for me," he said.

"The whites have always said that black people were robbers. My daughters are robbers. They're going to rob you of your best shot and make it our best shot. "My daughters are the best two robbers in the world," he said.


What an assclown. If his daughters get shunned at all after this he will claim it is racism but we will all know that it is because he is such a fucking tool.

Thrashers(Sheesh, and to think that when I was a kid I was a little bit embarrassed because my father would sometimes say something uncool in front of my friends -- sorry dad, love ya, glad you aren't a fucking tool like this guy)Fan

25 Sequels this year
 

I liked Indiana Jones. I haven't seen it since I saw it in the theater, though. And that was when I was just a kid. Short Round, monkey brains, kali maaaah. What's not to like? My best friend's mother lined up for us while we were at school so we could see it on opening day. We all came out of the theater kicking the hell out of each other trying to be Short Round. Hmmm. Maybe I like it because of the memories I have of seeing it.

I hated the third one. Sometimes Sean Connery makes me thoroughly sick.

TM

And you thought there was racism on AI
 

I found Williams' comments to be quite racist, assuming that all white people think that. Maybe I have overheard someoen saying that black people are naturally physically superior and that white people cannot compete with that (and maybe Martina Hingis has made such allusions), but that doesnt mean al white people think that. His girls have raised the bar, just as Martina Navratilova did with her fitness. And his girls are so gracious and so eloquent that even if there is racism, they are probably the people to change people's minds by their excellent examples. He is completely insane. I wonder how his relations with his daughters are. I note that he and his wife Oracene/Brandy divorced.

And why isnt anyone commenting on AI? I love to read the commentary.

Smokin' Stork
 

Well, if you are considering it, please do it and go early and often to support your local bar. Bar receipts are down over 20% in NYC since the ban, and closures are already ensuing.

BR(for me, the smoking ban upside is that the bars are all empty, so I can actually have a conversation now that I'm going deaf in my old age, but I'm a non-smoker who thinks the ban is a terrible idea and it hasn't stopped the Mr. from bumming smokes off of everybody whenever we go out)C

Sequel News
 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86178,00.html
(dirty dancing 2 is in the works)
sequel polls 5 years from now will definately include, like " Bad first movie, where you'd never have expected a sequel, but there was and it was worse"

Racism, AI, and Incontinence
 

I have not yet seen it. Wifelet taped it for me so that I could see it this evening.

K(She used the tape that Bilmore lent me, containing "The Trouble With Dribbles: Incontinence and the Older Sci-Fi Fan")E

Smokin' Stork
 

Banning smoking in NYC bars is like banning gambling in Vegas casinos. You go there to drink and smoke. Yeah it can be annoying and disgusting, but its part of the ambience and what did you expect anyway? This isnt california.

But the bars can take solace that an antismoking mother like DTB who I would guess probably does not have more than like two or maybe three cocktails at the most will start to hang out there. I was at one of the Ws recently and I was told I could not take my cocktail into the lobby to meet my friend. Since when is that a rule? I have stumbled into W lobbis with cocktails all over the country. Is this Bloomberg also?

AI
 

It was a horrible show and the music was warmed over Musak. (Wasn't this the 3rd night we've had disco music?)

I couldn't be motivated to call because none of the performances moved me at all. Several of thm couldn't distract me from my work. (During Josh's second round performance, I glanced up and thought, didn't I just hear this freakin song. I had. Clay sang it first.)

Ruben did well. I didn't really like his first performance. He was fine -- the musak was distracting, especially with the loud backing vocal. (Why they allow backing vocals is beyond me.)

I guess Josh was better, thought that is an awfully low bar. He's so dull as a singer, it's hard to pay attention to him on stage unless he does something freakishly bad. Like his monotone performance of "Celebration" or forgetting the words like last week.

Kim Locke wasn't any different than usual. She always starts flat and then hits her stride. She is always slightly off tempo until she hits the chorus, and sometimes even then. She can hit all the right notes, her singing just sounds slightly off to me.

Clay was off last night. Especially during Karoke Grease. Whose idea was that?! When do the judges pick for them? That is always more entertaining.

I agree with Clay and Kim L bottom two.

Kim L goes home.

(Smacked with a) POLL
 

You are full of shit. You will eat in silence while occassionally glaring at the kids and their parents. You might sigh audibly, to show your disdain and may even pump yourself up enough to complain to the hostess on the way out, but you won't be demanding anything from anybody.

TM

Miscellaneous musings: spring looks
 

So, have I missed something and dachsunds are the new "hipster" dog?

Anybody who buys opaque tights for spring is a fashion victim. Particularly white. V-I-C-T-I-M.

Has the "street" settled on whether the spring/summer colors are going to be "hot" bright colors, or easter egg colors? Because I'm seeing a lot of bright neon yellows oranges and magentas in the mags and a lot of pink, sky blue and leaf green on the street.

If easter-egg pink is back in, will pink-and-black come back in (meaning not just pink items worn with black ones, but pink items with black trim or vice versa)? Or is that just too, too late '80s? I have to admit I always liked that look - particularly peachy pink negligees with black lace.

Espadrilles - are espadrilles really coming in for urban wear this summer? I have to admit I've done it for shock value, but rope-soled sandals on hot asphalt in the city just looks wrong. Take it too the beach.

And you thought there was racism on AI
 

I suspect that Tiger is thoroughly enjoying his "Jordan" status, meaning that as far as most white people are concerned, he is such a huge star that he is no longer seen as a color. People who otherwise wouldn't associate with or would be a-feared of black people view Jordan and probably Tiger as a phenomenon. It's okay for their kids to idolize him, okay for their wives to lust after him, okay to want to be like him. He is on another level. And he has quite consciously followed in Jordan's image conscious footsteps, avoiding all controversial topics and basically having no opinion on anything to achieve this status, which I think we can agree, helps sell product.

In short, Tiger may have seen racism in the past, but he most likely doesn't see it (much) anymore.

TM

Nope. Looked like a normal downs guy trying to buy some stuff. I don't think he was too worried about the fact that people weren't coming up to him asking him stupid questions about the show.

TM

25 Sequels this year
 

My family made Temple of Doom opening night a family outing. After the movie was over, my sadistic father took us to eat Indian food. One of my sisters claims that she didn't eat Indian food for nearly 20 years because of the associations she had with the cuisine and the movie. I didn't HATE Temple of Doom, but it certainly isn't my favorite.

AI - My $.02
 

The song choices, in general, suck. That has been a constant. I agree about one thing, I too was not moved really by any of the performers or their performances.

Ruben - I think he was, as Randy, (or Simon) said, solid and consistent. The guy is just smooth. I did not sense that he was stepping up, like Randy claimed. After seeing the other performances, he didn't have to.

Yes. An incremental improvement on suck is still, well, suck. He was annoyingly bad. His cloying attempts to gain crowd support were just pathetic. I think he's bottom two, definitely, but since Kim L. did absolutely nothing to distinguish herself last night, she may go the way of Trenyce, and this assclown will surivive another week.

I think she was different. I agree that she has trouble sometimes with hitting the right notes and tempo. My first comment about her was that she seemed really off. mrs. fish thought that maybe she had something wrong, like a sore throat issue. I don't think that was it. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like her emoting was more shouting than singing. I told my wife it was like listening to a decent (read: okay, not great) singer singing to herself in the shower. She has been better. Netiher performance was that good. She certainly didn't redeem herself with the second performance.

Clay - Maybe I'm crazy, but I thought his first performance was really good -- maybe the best of the evening -- and I'm not a Clay fan. Good choice of song. Showed good range. Refrained from making *too many* goofy faces while singing. I really thought this was the best performance of the night. That said -- second song sucked. Clay slips back into showtune mode. In fairness, I didn't watch the whole performance. He was totally out of rhythm, did that disturbing off-beat finger-snapping thing and just didn't sound good. Period. Plus, his facial contortions were really distracting, especially the goofy droopy left-eye, half-wink thing. Ugh. One good performance is probably enough to keep him safe considering that Kim and Josh had two poor performances, but I have ceased to predict how "America" may vote after last week. I don't personally care enough to take the bait.

Last comment re: Clay -- bad wardrobe choice on second song. Michael Jackson called and wants his "Thriller" jacket back.

Bottom 2: Josh and Kim L. I'm afraid Kim L. goes home, though she shouldn't.