"TelePrompter vs. No TelePrompter"

Since the clownish right-wingers are having trouble coming up with serious criticism of Obama, they have seized on his use of a TelePrompter for the five-minute opening remarks at his press conference before he took questions. (Apparently, previous presidents never used a prompter, index cards or a sheet of paper for their prepared remarks? Who knew.)

Dave Letterman discusses.

"It wasn't the one"

How cool would it have been to have been in Apple studio when The Beatles were recording.

Again with my strange magnetic power

I have vented before (more than 2 years ago, so, you know, past the statute of limitations for venting) on Too Saucy about people, and I'm talking total strangers, who feel somehow, for some reason, compelled to talk to me or be next to me - they've walked past 30 empty seats at a bar to sit at the one right next to me. They comment on the coat I am wearing while waiting for an elevator.

But today may take the cake.

This is, I swear, absolutely true and as close to verbatim as I can recreate.

I was at the Rainbow store, which is being forced to move to make way for a subway station on the new 2nd Avenue Subway under construction. It will be a very convenient stop, but I love that place, the closest thing to an old-time general store you can find.

So I'm browsing around - everything is 60 percent off!!!! - and one of the kids who works there comes up to me and says, "Excuse me, can I ask you something?"

Now, I've never seen or talked to this guy before, he was about 16, 17, hard to tell. Not very educated, but, you know, people have to work.

Me: "Sure."

Kid: "When do women start to get their periods?"

Me (internally): "Oh Jeezus H. Christ!"

Me: "Hmm, maybe around 13." (Who the fuck knows if that's even true, but I winged it.)

So now I'm thinking, "Ok, his girlfriend has got her first period and they don't know what's happened," but, er, who goes up to a total stranger in a store and asks that? Older friends, parents, teachers, school nurse, Google, yes. Guy at the Rainbow store looking at coffee mugs, no.

Kid: "And when do they stop getting it?"

Me: (internally): "Ok, now this is really bizarre," and I start looking to make sure there's a quick exit out of there.

Me: (and not sure why I kept talking to him, but he did seem harmless and now I was just curious where this was coming from): "Well, I don't know, in their 60s I guess."

(Again, who knows if this is true, but I was dizzy from an hour on the treadmill.)

Kid: "I thought so, look at that old lady" - and now he gestures to an old woman, easily in her 80s, maybe 90s, at the cash register, on a walker no less, buying a box of Tampons.

Oy gevalt.

So now it's absolutely weird. Why is he noticing, and, more important, why does he feel compelled to point it out to me.

Me: "Who knows?" and, as I probably should have 30 seconds earlier, make a hasty retreat.

People of NYC, seriously, you have to stop talking to me unless I talk to you first, okay?

I always like to hear about true love

Jim Clark, 64, billionaire founder of Netscape, is marrying 28-year-old swimsuit model Kristy Hinze.

I need to invent a crappy browser pronto.

I'm skeptical

"Oprah Winfrey was near tears on her show Friday when discussing the trials she’s gone through with her sick cocker spaniel puppy, Sadie.

Winfrey adopted the pup two weeks ago from a local PAWS shelter along with her littermate, Ivan, but sadly Ivan only made it one day before dying of the Parvo virus.

Sadie was also infected with the deadly virus - which attacks the digestive tract and often leads to “sudden death” - and was immediately rushed to the Arboretum Animal Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill for care."
- Fancast

Hmm, didn't one of her dogs die last year from "choking on a rubber ball?"

Is there such a thing as Munchausen syndrome by proxy for pet owners?

Just wondering.

This could be handy

There's a nice new feature on Gmail - UNSEND - which allows you to, well unsend an email you have second thoughts about.

You have to work fast - it only gives you 5 seconds to recall it - but that might be all you need.

Actually, AOL had this feature years ago, back when AOL was the Internet for many people. As I recall, it only worked within the AOL universe (you couldn't unsend a message to another IP), and was only good if the mail hadn't been opened yet. But I'm glad to see Gmail has gotten around to this.

Grrrr

I started to watch "Lakeview Terrace" On Demand tonight and, about 30 seconds in, I realized I had inadvertently clicked on the Standard Def version, not the Hi Def, so I stopped it and went to the HD.

Well, I am pissed at the cable companies today, so I am praying they try to charge me for both because they are in for an anvil dropping on their head. I am VERY good at the shaming-big-companies thing, as Verizon Wireless will surely attest after a hapless employee in their 86th Street store fucked up big time last year.

Bleak and barren

TAMPA, Florida (AFP) – A Florida-based firm will soon close one of its North Dakota offices for a reason that seems unfathomable during the deepening US recession: it can't find enough employees to hire.

Sykes Enterprises, which specializes in creating and maintaining computer customer care services for corporations, opened a telephone call center in Minot, North Dakota in 1996. Last May, management wanted to increase the number of employees to 450.

Yet an unexpected thing happened: so few people applied for the Minot jobs that the Tampa-headquartered company will have to close the call center on May 10 -- a cutback by Sykes that will result in 200 people losing their jobs.

That's how depressing North Dakota is. Even in this disastrous Bush economy, people don't want to live there.

Jersey: The land that time forgot

TRENTON, NJ - Things could get hairy in New Jersey this summer for women who sport revealing bikinis or a little bit less.

The painful Brazilian wax and its intimate derivatives are in danger of being stripped from salon and spa menus if a recent proposal to ban genital waxing is passed by the state's Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling.

Cherry Hill salon owner Linda Orsuto said that women would "go ballistic" if the proposal passed. She said that some women would resort to waxing themselves, visiting unlicensed salons or traveling to other states, including Pennsylvania, in a quest to remain bare down there.

"The clients are going to freak," said Orsuto, who owns 800 West Salon & Spa, on Route 70. "It's a hot issue, and we're going to have to do something."

New Jersey statutes allow waxing of the face, neck, arms, legs and abdomen, but officials say that genital waxing has always been illegal, although not spelled out.
- Philly.com

They allow smoking in bars, and now there's this. Smoky bars and hairy girls. I may have to totally pass on the Jersey shore this year.

That's not fun

Friday Fun Fact: It is estimated that 4 million "junk" telephone calls - phone solicitations by humans or machines - are made every day in the United States.
- Cynopsis

And I get about two-thirds of them.

Hate isn't selling so well any more

"Ann Coulter's latest book, Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America, is something of a misfire by Coulterian standards...in its two months on sale, Guilty has sold 100,500 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan (a number that only reflects around 70 percent of actual sales)."
- Portfolio

That's a shame.

I should be a programmer

You know, I advocated this a while ago, but when Larry King retires, I hope CNN gives the job to Joy Behar. She's really good when she guest hosts that show.

I saw her hosting Tuesday night with Robin Givens as a guest - the subject was women abused by their scummy men. Good TV. And, yes, I'm sure Larry would have been fine, but Joy was good.

I've met Larry a few times over the years, through various clients, the last several years ago - can't say why or my secret Bat identity would be revealed - and he's a heck of a nice guy, but, you know, he has to retire sometime, so I just hope Rick Kaplan, or whoever the hell is running CNN these days, listens to me and gives that slot to Joy. (Larry is still the #1 show on CNN, so should be allowed to go out when he wants.)

Actually, I've also met Joy a few times and she is basically what you see on TV. I don't know if she even wants the job, of course, but if she does she should get it. Especially if they are thinking of giving it to Anderson Cooper or someone like that - mehh.

I'll take my consulting fee now. Thank you.

Sigh

Some people just stop with socks - me, I have somehow managed to lose a pillow case doing laundry last week.

And king-size sets ain't cheap, let me tell you.

Haha

"To make matters worse, certain individuals continue to perpetuate negative stereotypes about Republicans. Especially Republican women. Who do I feel is the biggest culprit? Ann Coulter. I straight up don’t understand this woman or her popularity. I find her offensive, radical, insulting, and confusing all at the same time."



Who said it - Bill Maher? Keith Olbermann? Rachel Maddow?

Meghan McCain, daughter of the Republican party's nominee for President.
Ouch.

Good for her though.

“I’m not happy. Look at me, I’m a big fat slob. I’ve got bigger titties than you do. I’ve got more chins than a Chinese phonebook. I’ve not seen my willie in two years, which is long enough to declare it legally dead."

Tres cool

Why is this news?

CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said on Thursday that he withdrew his name from consideration for U.S. surgeon general to focus more on his family and career as a surgeon.
- Reuters

Um, ok.