antimeria

How the other side lives note: Katy and I went to Bistro Français in DC’s Georgetown neighborhood last Friday (unsurprisingly, everything inside practically bellows“Allo, nous sommes Français!” ). The tables were close, which means that we could easily eavesdrop on the adjacent table. As it turns out, one gentleman puts “at least thirty thousand” on his AmEx every month. When the check came, his card was duly rejected–not because it was maxed out, but because he’d worn off the magnetic strip.

The rest of the restaurant was pretty lively, although a little gray early–apparently 7:30 is still early-bird o’clock in DC. And the food was pretty good. Their mussels were flavorful, although a few were sandy. I had roast squab, which was meaty, rich, and served with (homemade?) waffley potato chips. Very tasty.

Baltimore’s up, 17-6. Pennington’s arm looks rubbery as overcooked shrimp, and Flacco just threw his second NFL touchdown.
Second half update: Do Miami Dolphins games end up like Tampa Rays games, with about a third of the crowd cheering for the other team? I’m hearing a lot of “Heeeeaaap!” cheers on the broadcast.

I’m really mad at Wachovia. I know gambling’s illegal, but their stupid policy cost me the chance to bet heavy on the Titans.

The Rams are up 21-7 24-7. Brad Johnson, take a bow!

Minnesota-Chicago’s the highest-scoring 1pm game. Didn’t see that one coming.

Slate’s XX Factor blog defends Kenley, Project Runway’s bratty tugboat princess:

Michael Kors presented this as the “women’s final,” because this was the first time all three who made it to Bryant Park were women. So I will judge it on those terms. Throughout the season, and especially at the end, Kenley was treated as reality show fodder, the contestant you string along until the end because she is so entertaining, not because she is talented. She was bitchy, rude, disrespectful, even to the ever-gentle Tim Gunn. And then, although she presented the most spirited collection, she was pushed aside for the meek one.

In the last two seasons, the exact opposite happened. Christian, who won last season, was an arrogant snot, which only won him deference and respect from the judges. Jeffrey Sebelia, the ex-addict with the neck tattoos, was an asshole of Eminem caliber. In his case, too, arrogance was conflated with confidence was conflated with talent. But not so for Kenley. If she had been “sassy” or “vivacious” or full of ”moxie,” maybe. But no amount of talent can rescue a young woman who is an outright bitch.

Forget about the “women’s final” angle for a second. Kenley’s collection was just bad, with colors and silhouettes that were unimagininative, unflattering or completely inexplicable. Whether you believe Korto or Leanne should have won (I still say Leanne), everyone I watched the finale with agreed that Kenley had the weakest collection, as well as the least cohesive (after all her tugboat talk and her speech about rope, I was surprised that it only made one appearance, on a dress that looked like the bottom half of her Katamari Damacy look that the judges slammed earlier). You could make the argument that Kenley had the “most spirit,” especially if spirit can be measured in unflattering leaf antennae, but let’s be clear: compared to the other two, Kenley was “no amount of talent.” Being “arrogant” or “an asshole” didn’t make Christian and Jeffrey winners–construction and vision did. I don’t remember much “deference” from the judges, either; they ripped Christian and Jeffrey’s bad outfits as unmercifully as anyone else’s. Implying that The Man was keeping a spunky, irascible woman down while rewarding a meek little mouse demeans good work by Korto and Leanne, and gives Kenley something else she can affix blame to, instead of fixing her clothes.

Links:
We (Heart) Kenley? (XX Factor)
Kenley’s collection, along with Korto’s and Leanne’s

From TMZ:

Hustler Video is shooting a porn with a look-alike titled “Nailin’ Paylin.” The spelling is sic and so is Hustler. You betcha!

The faux Sarah is Lisa Ann, who “will be nailing the Russians who come knocking on her back-door.” In another scene — a flashback — “young Paylin’s creationist college professor will explain a ‘big bang’ theory even she can’t deny!”

There’s also a threeway with Hillary and Condoleezza look-alikes.

The video is in pre-production, but is being fast tracked for release before the election.

They also got a hold of the script.

The Huffington Post picked up the story and ran with it:

Lisa Ann’s MySpace page is private, but her mood is “ecstatic”.

HT: Cory

Links:
“Nailin’ Paylin” (TMZ)
“‘Nailin Paylin‘: Hustler’s Palin Porn Details” (HuffPo)

Fair warning: I’ve gone 6-8 the last two weeks, so I strongly advise you to do the opposite of what I suggest.

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