Did you get the subtle message there? Obama wears axe cologne; becomes irresistibly sexy to women; Hillary's womanly loins are so overcome that she abandons her own presidential bid to support him.
Btw, for further amusement, note how this ad uses an attractive picture of Hillary. Usually, of course, the assholes using images of Hillary as part of their sexist editorials against her deliberately choose the most unflattering photos they can find. But because this is an Axe ad, it can't feature an ugly chick—so Hillary gets finally gets to look good, only to be demeaned in another way. Awesome.
I know you hate Hillary Clinton and everything, but do you—mother to two daughters—really believe that the best way to undermine her candidacy is by giving Stephen "Mickey's Brother" Kaus space on your pages to unleash a misogynistic tirade against Hillary, that manages to simultaneously dismiss the concerns of women everywhere who have raised red flags over the sexist treatment of Hillary by the media?
See, lots of women had a problem with David Shuster accusing Hillary of "pimping out" Chelsea, so when Kaus accuses Hillary of being humorless, "prissy and censorious," and a self-appointed "language czar," he's saying the same thing about the rest of us—and, naturally, he's saying it without a trace of irony as he attempts to redefine our language by ripping "pimp" from its very roots, claiming Shuster used it "in a non-sexual connotation," despite the fact that the word is only understood based on its sexual connotations. But Hillary's the language czar. Right.
And lots of women also had a problem with Katie Couric bringing up the nasty moniker Hillary was given by high school bullies, Miss Frigidaire, in an obvious attempt to cast aspersions on her character 40+ years later, so when Kaus deems the boys who gave it to her "normal intelligent people who had a sense of humor and had spotted someone who did not"—again with the old "humorless" canard; these guys can't even be original—he's saying the same thing about the rest of us.
And when he goes on to say that Chelsea Clinton, by virtue of being a political actor, is "fair game, period" and that saying is being pimped out "is mild," he's saying that every woman who enters the public sphere with an opinion is fair game for being demeaned with misogynistic slurs.
Is that really the world into which you want to send your daughters? Do you really believe that letting Kaus disgorge a putrid heap of misogyny onto the pages of the Huffington Post is the best strategy for beating Hillary?
Get it together, Arianna. There's nothing more unattractive than a successful woman who uses sexism to try to subvert other women. You don't have to like Hillary, but fight her on the issues. Stop calling her a "little girl." Stop talking about her cleavage. And please, for the love of Maude, stop letting patriarchal brownshirts like Stephen Kaus do the dirty work of enforcing male privilege with tired old chestnuts like "hysterical and humorless" on the pages of what's supposed to be a vaguely enlightened space. If you don't care that it's sexist, at least do us all a favor of caring that it's a big bag of hack.
"Obviously hopped up on goofballs, a woman clad in Chuck Norris Action Jeans and a Morrissey t-shirt went on a rampage Monday..."—Shaker Joasakura, in the comments of this post.
If Obama wins Ohio and Texas — or even wins one — he’ll be in good shape. He should take Wyoming on March 8 and Mississippi on March 11. Then there’s over a month until the next contest, in Pennsylvania on April 22. That stretch of time could be key. It could be the moment for many of the uncommitted superdelegates to begin ratifying the choice of Democratic primary voters, and to start moving en masse to Obama.
Many of these superdelegates are elected officials. They tend to care about winning in November. The polls suggest Obama matches up better with John McCain. And the polls are merely echoing the judgment of almost every Democratic elected official from a competitive district or a swing state with whom I’ve spoken. They would virtually all prefer Obama at the top of the ticket.
All of this will move the superdelegates to Obama — perhaps as early as just after March 4, or perhaps not until April 22, or perhaps not even until the last match-up on June 7. But the superdelegates will want to avoid a situation in which they could be in the position of seeming to override the popular vote, or of resolving a bitter battle over whether and how to count votes from Florida and Michigan, at the convention.
And there are, as a final resort, two super-superdelegates (so to speak) who would have the clout to help Democrats achieve closure: Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi.
If they stepped forward at the right time, they would earn the gratitude of their party. And they might also enjoy contemplating a derivative effect of their good deed — the fall of the house of Clinton.
What must be particularly galling to folks like Mr. Kristol is that if Hillary Clinton is not the Democratic nominee, it will not be as a result of the millions of dollars he and his right-wing pals spent on trying to bring her down and it will have nothing to do with anything remotely related to the bales of paper and barrels of ink and hours of talk-radio blather that they've unloaded on America for the last seventeen years. It will be at the hands of the Democrats themselves, who may yet deliver a candidate and a platform that will exile the Republicans into the wilderness for a very long time.
Couric: What were you like in high school? Were you the girl in the front row, taking meticulous notes and always raising your hands? [Yes, she said "hands."]
Clinton: Not always raising my hand. Not always raising my hand!
Couric: Someone told me your nickname in school was Miss Frigidaire. Is that true?
Clinton: Only with some boys.
Couric: I don't know if I want to hear the back story on that!
Clinton: Yeah, well, you wouldn't want to know the boys, either. [laughs]
On the other hand, Couric did provide Hillary with yet another opportunity to show how deftly she handles shit like this: Couric tries to make being called "Miss Frigidaire" about some flaw in Hillary, and Hillary turns it around instantly, smooth as buttah, to point out it was about some flaw in the asshole boys who gave her the nasty moniker. And she laughs while doing it.
One day I hope to be that graceful under fire. Maude knows, I'm getting the practice.
It looks like American's Sweetheart, Corey Haim, has finally raised enough cash selling his teeth on eBay to purchase an ad in Variety. And what's he selling this time? Himself. No, not in that way. He's done with the drugs and drinking (I guess the fifteenth time is a charm, as far as rehab goes) and wants to get back to work as the Corey Who Didn't Have A Weird Relationship With Jacko.
As a longtime fan, I want to wish him the best of luck. I hope a kind and benevolent producer sees his ad, takes pity on the poor lad and finally greenlights that Prayer of the Rollerboys sequel we've all been waiting for.
Just this weekend, I was wondering what had become of that heeeeee-larious Fox News Channel comedy show, Red Eye. Turns out, it's still on—which I know because Shaker Betsy just sent me the heads-up on this delightful little exchange that took place on the show this weekend about the "Yes We Can" video:
Greg: …Personally, I was offended that it was in black and white. What about the Mexican vote? What about the Asian votes? Is this just for blacks and whites?
Banderas: That's why they didn't vote for him.
Host: That's true. Apparently that...do minorities hate other minorities? You're a minority .
Banderas: Latinos and Asians...well...I have something in common with Obama and I don't even know what the big deal is; he's a Halfrican anyway...So I'm not quite sure why the Asians and Hispanics have a problem with him.
The obvious mess here is Obama being called a "Halfrican," which Banderas is evidently meant to be able to say because she's a minority herself. The less obvious mess is that Banderas goes on to say that Latinos and Asians shouldn't have a problem with him because he's only half-black, thereby implying that all Latinos and Asians are rampant racists. Nice.
I also like how she can't be sure why any Asians and Hispanics might not like Obama. Gee, I dunno—but I'm going to go with: because they have brains capable of making decisions more complex than "Kinda matchy skin! I vote for that! Wheeeeee!"
Anglachel points to an article so absurd on this score it would beggar belief, if only it weren't so damnably indicative of far too much of the reporting on this election:
For example, read Steve Lopez's column Points West in the LA Times today, "In Latino neighborhood, Clinton's experience counts," where he talks to Latino men about why they voted for Hillary. The men interviewed said the same things most online Clinton supporters say - she's got more experience, they trust what she'll do. What about machismo? They scoff and say they are educated and civilized, they don't fall for that BS. What about her Iraq vote? Yes, that is a problem and they hold it against her, but they also put it into context. Bush lied, the economy is flagging, she'll stop the war. They have engaged in moral reasoning and have reached a balanced and defensible position.
Well, fancy that!
Anyway, back to Obama. It's not the first time that some rightwing media jerkoff has referred to him as a "Halfrican," and it certainly won't be the last. It's one of those terms which lots of people will regard as No Big Deal, as though "Halfrican" is the same as "biracial," just funnier! Not so.
That's the stuff that's most pernicious, the dog whistles and "jokes" and anything that is (wrongly) defended as "a matter of opinion"—the subtle (or not) references and images that reinforce stereotypes to those who hold them and are casually ignored by people who like the idea of a post-racial candidate and a post-racial nation, who think that's even remotely possible if we don't make a stink about precisely this kind of stuff.
Today officially kicks off Birthday Month! in our house, as the first one for February is today. Our oldest son is eight! Eight! I can't believe it.
Last year he requested tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for his birthday dinner. This year he requested: chicken-fried chicken, fried potatoes, maple-dilled carrots, and homemade french bread. Apparently eight is much more sophisticated than seven, LOL. So, in honor of his day, here is the main course for tonight:
Chicken-Fried-Chicken with Spicy Buttermilk Gravy
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts * 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup buttermilk * 1 tsp. tabasco or similar hot pepper sauce (or more to your liking) * 1 cup flour * 1/2 tsp salt * 1/4 tsp black pepper * 2/3 cup milk * 1/2 tsp chili powder * vegetable oil for frying
—Pound chicken breasts to a even thickness. In a pie plate, mix 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1 tsp tabasco (keep 1/3 cup buttermilk out at room temp.). In shallow dish or another pie plate mix flour, salt, and pepper. Dip each breast in buttermilk, then coat with flour mix and place on wire cake rack over a baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour to set coating. Reserve 1.5 tablespoons of seasoned flour.
—In large skillet, heat enough oil to come up 1/4 inch up the sides over med-high heat (until very hot but not smoking). Add chicken and cook, turning halfway through cooking until golden brown (12 – 15 minutes). Adjust heat as needed so the chicken doesn't brown too quickly. Return to wire rack to drain.
—Pour oil into bowl; return 1.5 tablespoons to skillet over low heat. Whisk in reserved flour and let bubble for appx 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and chili powder and bring to simmer (the gravy will be thick). Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 1/3 cup buttermilk. Season with salt & tabasco to taste. Serve over chicken!
Credit for this recipe goes to this book (which has several good recipes in it).
If you'd like to participate in Shaker Gourmet, email me at: shakergourmet (at) gmail.com
Bonus! French bread recipe below... I make this several times a week. Recipe yields one loaf:
French Bread
* 3/4 cup very warm water * 1-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast * 1 tablespoon white sugar * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 2 cups bread flour
* egg white + tsp water, beat together for egg wash
1. In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand about 10 minutes until foamy.
2. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 1.5 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a warm damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Deflate the dough, shape, return to bowl. Cover again with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
4. After rising and before baking, put on greased cookie sheet in loaf form. Brush liberally with egg wash.
5. Bake 20 - 22 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
I've been following the "Mr. Deity" series since the beginning, but the most recent episode is just too good not to share it with you all. If you haven't seen them all -- hop to it before Mr. D goes all wrath-of-god on your ass -----
(You may need to click through to Crackle to get smooth play - link under video)
My Londoner Andy sends me an email, which reads, ominously and in full: "Just saw you on YouTube." Following was a link. What on earth had he found? I dreaded to find out, and probably held my breath as I clicked through.
Well, it could have been worse! It was ancient footage of a meet-and-greet with Morrissey in Chicago, 1991—hosted by the Smithishly named erstwhile XRT DJ/institution Johnny Marrs—for which I'd won a spot by sending in a postcard to a contest being held by Chicago radio station XRT. I've blogged about it before, too; here you can see images of Todd (the contributor formerly known as Mr. Furious) and me getting autographs and chatting with the man himself. I was 17 at the time—holy Maude!
Todd and I are all the way on the right (looking at Mozza), in the first row:
Andy called me and laughed while I watched it, cringing and laughing and full of disbelief. "I can't believe you found this!" I exclaimed.
Andy: It's your fault. You got me back into Morrissey after making me listen to "The Queen is Dead" the other day, so I've been searching out Morrissey stuff on YouTube.
Me: You're a total freak for recognizing me in this grainy-ass old video. [laughing hugely now at this point]
Andy: I remembered your saying you'd met him in Chicago a few times, so I had that in mind when I saw this was in Chicago.
Me: Still. Omigod. I'm in for like two seconds. Hilarious that you found this.
Andy: Did you know the footage existed?
Me: Sure, it played on JBTV back in the day. I can't believe someone had it on tape, though—I don't even have this on tape! Wild.
Andy: You're going to blog about this, aren't you?
Me: Yes, and the theme will be that you're a freaking psycho for recognizing me.
Glenn Greenwald watched Chris Wallace interview George W. Bush so we didn't have to.
Chris Wallace interviewed George Bush [Sunday] on Fox News and, after asking Bush about his views on waterboarding, this was the "question" which Wallace -- sitting next to Bush in front of a cozy fireplace (after a borderline-romantic stroll with him down a picturesque, snow-covered Camp David trail) -- asked of him:
WALLACE: I want to follow up on that. Whether it is interrogation of terror prisoners or the intercepting of surveillance among al Qaeda members, are you ever puzzled by all of the concern in this country about protecting of rights of people who want to kill us?
Wallace's obsequious framing was too brazenly propagandistic even for Bush to accept:
BUSH: That is an interesting way to put it. I wouldn't necessarily define some of the critics of my policy that way. I would say that they want to be very careful that we don't overstep our bounds from protecting the civil liberties of Americans.
If the subject of a political interview finds the questions from the "journalist" too favorably slanted to embrace (basically: "I think you're being unfairly harsh to my political opponents"), isn't that a fairly compelling sign that there is something profoundly corrupt with the journalist?
[...]
Brezhnev-era Pravda would have been too ashamed to ask such blatantly subservient questions of political leaders. But Chris Wallace is a Very Serious Journalist and Fox is a real news network.
At least when Bill Clinton got his, it was behind closed doors, not on network television.
Dear Preposterously Stupid Wankers Masquerading as the American Media:
Remember the little talk we had about Obama's lapel pin? Please consider the same sentiment operative, only slightly more so, about Obama's drug use. Please also note that including an old picture of the Senator with an afro, accompanied by the ominous caption that he discussed "race, wealth, and class" with his classmates, does not activate any deep-seated suspicions within me that he might secretly be a radical revolutionary hopped up on goofballs who aims to fix the nation's healthcare crisis by proclaiming: "Weed for all free people, man!"
Incidentally, given that we now know even a former "reefer" smoker managed to emerge unscathed from the raging Occidental College "party scene," and, despite having—gasp!—gotten "high," possibly on more than one occasion, is now one his party's leading contenders to be their presidential nominee, I think we can safely put to bed the narrative that smoking pot DESTROYS LIVES ZOMG!!!eleventy-one!!!!!
Thanks for your kind attention to these issues. As ever, I'll be here if you've got any questions, dipshits.
Says the man born with a silver shovel in his mouth. Says the man who has never accomplished anything on his own in his entire privileged, coddled life. Says the man who has made millions suffer over the entire globe. Says the man who...
I can't go on, the rage prevents me from typing. Feel free to add your own in comments.
(Tip of the Energy Dome to Grendel for the picture)
Roy Scheider, best remembered for playing the police chief in Jaws but also had a wide-ranging career in other roles, has died.
Mr. Scheider’s rangy figure, gaunt face and emotional openness made him particularly appealing in everyman roles, most famously as the agonized police chief of “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s 1975 breakthrough hit, about a New England resort town haunted by the knowledge that a killer shark is preying on the local beaches.
Mr. Scheider conveyed an accelerated metabolism in movies like “Klute” (1971), his first major film role, in which he played a threatening pimp to Jane Fonda’s New York call girl; and in William Friedkin’s “French Connection” (also 1971), as Buddy Russo, the slightly more restrained partner to Gene Hackman’s marauding police detective, Popeye Doyle. That role earned Mr. Scheider the first of two Oscar nominations.
There's a really interesting profile of Michelle Obama in today's Wall Street Journal. I say "interesting," because it struck me as I was reading the article how some of the things that will not play well with the usual WSJ crowd are precisely the same things that play well with women like me, who tend to be rather fond of Mrs. Obama.
I can totally imagine how a buttoned-up stuffed shirt with skin as white as his collar would bristle at the portrait of a strong, unapologetically opinionated black woman who has the temerity to "emasculate" her husband by announcing to the world that he's "snore-y and stinky" in the morning, leaves out the butter, and isn't a perfect husband—because, of course, a business wife's primary role is to make sure the whole world knows her husband's shit doesn't stink.
Michelle Obama has other priorities.
And, had I not already been smiling just because Michelle Obama seems like a woman I'd like to know, the thought of Mr. Starch E. Fussybritches, Esq. grimacing at the thought of that woman being our First Lady would itself would have brought a huge grin to my face.
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It looks like American's Sweetheart, Corey Haim, has finally raised enough cash 
