True Prep

This one is mainly for my College friends.  The Washington and Lee, Sweet Briar, RMWC, Mary Baldwin, UVA and other Virginia Colleges  gang.

The rest of you, please bear with us…

If it’s any help…my partner says he would probably have hated me in College, but we’ve managed to reach a stylistic middle ground and last almost 14 years…

Lisa Birnbach was one of the authors of “The Official Preppy Handbook” back in the late 1970’s- early 1980’s.  I won’t say it was our handbook because that implies we didn’t know it all before hand.  It just happened to reflect our lives at the time.  Her new book, “True Prep”, comes out on September 7th.  It’s about Preps at Middle Age.  I’ve already pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.com.

I’m already scared….How many cliches can I be at one time?  I’m already seen as a middle aged Guppy and now I realize I’m still a middle aged Preppie.  From what I have read of this book so far, I’m totally still a prep.  Just because I have at least a half dozen pair of Cole Haan Loafers and my weekend wardrobe is totally J Crew.  Everything else is Brooks Brothers or Ralph Lauren.  It hurts to face the truth….

You can take the boy out of W&L, but you can’t take the W&L out of the boy…

Here is the video that defines our generation’s new place in Society:

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Mitchell Bard: Is the GOP Looking Out for You?

Great blog over at the Huffington Post:

With the midterms just over two months away, we are inundated with daily media reports on the election, most of them predicting doom for the Democrats. But what jumps out at me is how telling so many of the proposals and actions from Republican officeholders and candidates are, since they reveal that they are acting on behalf of a small group of right-wing extremists, not in the best interests of the American people.

To be clear, I’m all for political debate. I think for democracy to work, there has to be a free exchange of ideas, with the best solution to a problem winning the day. But in the current American political environment, we are missing two key elements necessary for our democracy to work. First, thanks to the dissolution of the mass media and the rise of a right-wing propaganda machine (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc.), there is no longer an accepted common set of facts on which to base a debate. Instead, the right wing has decided to use lies and fear-mongering (everything from inventing death panels to questioning the ideological and religious beliefs of the president, including where he was born, to stoking fear of Islam) as a strategic method to win elections. As a result, we have a situation where, according to a recent Newsweek poll, 52 percent of Republicans think President Obama “sympathizes with the goals of Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around the world,” and nearly a quarter think he is, in fact, a Muslim. Second, regarding the tea party-dominated Republican Party, in most cases, their proposals and tactics are not chosen with the best interests of the majority of Americans in mind, but are instead cynical attempts to win elections.

via Mitchell Bard: Is the GOP Looking Out for You?.

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Cable News Ratings August 2010: CNN Viewership Plummets, Fox News Still On Top

There have been several recent articles about the demographics of the Fox viewing audience.  Most of them are over 65.  I figure they are like my Mother, a woman with dementia, who just leaves the TV on all the time.  I think having Fox News playing all the time may be a cause of dementia….or at least a symptom.

I just can’t watch TV anymore and I suspect there are many more Progressives like me who get most of their news on line….

The dog days of summer took their toll on cable news in August, as ratings for all three of the main channels were down this month. Even so, there were some bright spots.

MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” had its best month ever, especially in the coveted A25-54 demo. The show, which was the second-fast growing in all of cable news in August, drew 625,000 total viewers and 176,000 in the demo.

Overall, MSNBC averaged 681,000 total viewers in prime time, and 232,000 in the demo.

If MNSBC had something to celebrate, CNN, which is in a period of extreme transition, had yet another month of bad ratings news. The channel had its lowest prime time viewership since 2000, averaging just 486,000 total viewers, with 144,000 in the A25-54 demo. The 10 PM repeat of “Countdown” even beat “Anderson Cooper 360” in both the demo (202,000 vs. 172,000 viewers) and in total viewers (560,000 vs. 559,000.)

Of course, while CNN and MSNBC were tussling over second place, Fox News towered over the competition as usual. The channel averaged 1,821,000 viewers in prime time and 441,000 in the A25-54 demo–nearly three times the ratings of second-place MSNBC.

Below, see the top 30 programs in cable news for August 2010:

via Cable News Ratings August 2010: CNN Viewership Plummets, Fox News Still On Top.

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September Song

A little Sarah Vaughan and Wynton Marsalis to start the month:

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Hollywood’s Best Actors For The Buck – Forbes.com

Interesting…

Earning $20 million upfront for a movie is so 2007. These days studios are squeezing every cent they can out of actors, and that means many stars only earn the big bucks after the studio gets back its money.

In these frugal times it’s useful to look at which actors earn studios the most for their money. Pay someone $10 million to star in your big summer blockbuster and what can you expect for your investment? If you hire Shia LaBeouf, expect a lot. For the second year in a row, he tops our list of Hollywood’s Best Actors for the Buck.

And:

Because women typically earn less than men in Hollywood, they make up a full half of our top 10 list. Anne Hathaway is the highest-ranking woman in the No. 2 spot. For every dollar she earns studios earn $64 off of her films.

More:  via Hollywood’s Best Actors For The Buck – Forbes.com.

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The Few, The Proud, The Loud and Uniformed with Bus Tickets: Part 3

Amazingly depressing video interviews with the attendees at Glenn Beck’s rally last Saturday….

I repeat one of my favorite quotes from Dr Martin Luther King:  “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

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Daily Kos: Koch conglomerate applying for funds it tried to kill

This is rich. Koch Industries, led by the “billionaire brothers” who “have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama Administration policies—from health-care reform to the economic-stimulus program—that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus.”

They spent millions in astro-turf efforts against health insurance reform, in the guise of Americans for Prosperity ginning up the teabagger August revolt. So guess who’s on the list of employers lining up for money from the Affordable Care Act? Yep.

More:  via Daily Kos: Koch conglomerate applying for funds it tried to kill.

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Keck’s Exclusives: Bryan Batt Back to Mad Men?

This is great news!  Sal, the gay character on “Mad Men” appears to be coming back to the show.   I’ve missed him and I know many other fans have also…

By now I’ve learned that getting the super secretive Mad Men cast to confirm anything is impossible. Even so, I’m feeling fairly confidant that before long we’ll be seeing Bryan Batt back in ’60s-era NYC as artistic director Salvatore Romano on the Emmy-winning AMC drama. Why am I feeling so positive? Well, in the past, every time I’d run in to Bryan and ask for an update on his status, he’d tell me quite sullenly that he’s heard nada from anyone. Basically, he was getting on with his life. But at the Emmy Awards, Bryan was back with his cast and just seemed tickled — as if he knew something we didn’t.

“A few months ago I got a call from the god of Mad Men [series creator Matthew Weiner],” Bryan told me. So what did Weiner say? “He told me Sal is not dead.” That’s all Bryan would say on the subject (which makes it sound as if the much-missed actor has been brought back under the cone of silence).

via Keck’s Exclusives: Bryan Batt Back to Mad Men?.

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The Fag Hag: How a Girl’s Misguided Friendship Choices Can Lead to a Lifetime of Loneliness | ChristWire

Another great post from one of my favorite satirical websites:

I received an impassioned letter the other day that I’d like to share with you. It reads, in part:

My daughter surprised me by moving into an apartment in the city this summer with 3 gay men. I certainly don’t hate homosexuals but when I paid a visit we spent the entire weekend with these people. We went to a restaurant where the boys were very catty and drunk. Then I slept on their living room couch and that was interesting to say the least… I guess they all think their bedroom doors are sound proof. Next day one of them even came clothes shopping with us! So I’m worried about her finding a real man. She has assured me many times over that she’s a heterosexual but how is she going to find a man to marry if she hangs around these types of people all the time?

This is an incredibly complex issue and to the letter writer and other worried parents out there I will say there is no easy answer. The psychological and physical relationship between heterosexual girls and homosexual males is many layered. It can begin at an early age but, tragically, the consequences can last a lifetime.

PRINCIPLES, PIMPLES & POPULARITY

It is common for young girls who have not socialized properly to seek solace in the company of outcasts. The problem begins in the teenage years when girls are intensely self-conscious about their looks. Not having the right clothes or failing to join a sports team can drive a young person inward and away from her popular peers. Pimples are also a big problem. A girl suffering from pimples feels ashamed and awkward, ugly and unloved. She will hide her face, sit at the back of the classroom and lose interest in meeting boys. Fortunately, pimples and acne are easily addressed by a good dermatologist and the right medications. If your child suffers from pimples, please get involved and monitor your girl’s facial care. It’s a simple thing to do and can really make a difference for her self-esteem and for her ability to meet your expectations. I should note, however, that pimples are also symptomatic of marijuana use so if your child is unwilling to talk to you about her pimples, you may have a far more serious issue on your hands.

Despite the fact that these young female outcasts are on the fringes of school social groups, they still yearn for male companionship. Teenage macho culture may scare them, so they look for a softer form of friendship, one that is initially non-threatening. Homosexuals of all ages and young women share many similar obsessions– clothes, gossip and melodramatic TV shows– and this is what draws them together. As they become young adults, alcohol consumption is often added to the list. They also begin to lust for men who are, by definition, beyond their reach. This is why we have a culture of young people who idolize the “zombies” and “vampires” played by handsome actors. Zombies and vampires may be asexualized fantasy characters, but much of their practices on TV and in the movies are nothing more than simulated fornication. Naturally, this form of entertainment appeals to those unsuccessful at mastering their own bodies.

The more time a girl spends with her homosexual friends, the more she will fall under the influence of their habits and mannerisms. She might pick up homosexual fashions and dress mannishly. Instead of cultivating a delicate, feminine look, many dress in black clothes and heavy shoes. Some keep their cheeks pale and wear not enough lipstick. Most mimic homosexual facial expressions, tending to frown and wince a great deal to evince a disdainful attitude towards the world. When this type of girl hears an off-color joke or some piece of gossip, she will shriek at absurdly high levels, levels that would be unacceptable in sober, polite society. She may also take up cigarette smoking to replace the heterosexual intercourse that her body so desperately craves, somehow equating a damp little instrument of cancer lodged between her lips with the act of copulation.

Click the Link for More…..via The Fag Hag: How a Girl’s Misguided Friendship Choices Can Lead to a Lifetime of Loneliness | ChristWire.

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12 Most Toxic Fish (For Humans and the Planet) | Mother Jones

Great info from Mother Jones.com:

Food & Water Watch just released its 2010 Smart Seafood Guide to the safety and sustainability of more than 100 kinds of fish and shellfish. Now I still love the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s pocket guides and searchable Seafood Watch site (the only place where you can geek out with a trawling fact card, as far as I know), but the Smart Seafood Guide has a few unique features worth pointing out.

For starters, while some guides only address human health issues (like mercury) and environmental problems (like overfishing), Food & Water Watch also considers seafood’s socioeconomic impact. “For example, lobster is a a key part of the economy up in Maine,” says Marianne Cufone, director of Food & Water Watch’s fish program. “Knowing that fact is really important to some consumers.”

Another handy thing: It’s organized by texture and taste, so you can figure out the safest and most sustainable options in categories such as “mild” and “steak-like.” This makes it easy to figure out substitutes for recipes.

Here’s Food & Water Watch’s “dirty dozen” list of seafood that failed to meet at least two of the group’s criteria. For more details, plus a list of alternatives for each verboten species, check out the guide. In no particular order:

1. King crab: Even though crab is abundant in some parts of the US, imports from Russia—which aren’t well regulated—are much cheaper and more common.

2. Caviar, especially from beluga and other wild-caught sturgeon: Overfishing and poaching of this coveted species is very common.

3. Atlantic bluefin tuna: Extreme overfishing, plus concerns about mercury and PCB contamination.

4. Orange roughy: May contain mercury and “is particularly vulnerable to overfishing due to its long lifespan and slow maturation.”

5. Atlantic flatfish (e.g. flounder, sole and halibut): Seriously overfished.

6. American eel: Concerns about mercury and PCBs.

7. Atlantic Cod: Overfished, and also has major bycatch problems.

8. Imported catfish: Much of it comes from Southeast Asia, “where use of chemicals and antibiotics is barely regulated.”

9. Chilean seabass: Concerns about mercury, plus illegal fishing in Chile damages marine life and seabirds.

10. Shark: May contain mercury, also overfished.

11. Atlantic and farmed salmon: Concerns about contamination with PCB, pesticides, and antibiotics. Also, waste and germs from salmon farms often leaches out of the cages and can harm the surrounding marine life.

12. Imported shrimp: About 90 percent of it comes from countries where the seafood industry (waste control, chemical use, and labor) isn’t well regulated.

via 12 Most Toxic Fish (For Humans and the Planet) | Mother Jones.

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