Never Mind Condi On The Piano, Here's Madeleine Albright On The Drums!

(Photo: Washington Post)

Who knew? OMG:

A longtime supporter of jazz who has worked with the Monk Institute for years, Albright received the annual Fisher Founder’s Award. After the customary speech of thanks, she went to a drum set and pounded away on tom-toms and cymbals — quite creditably — as trumpeter Chris Botti performed an instrumental version of “Nessun dorma,” the aria from the Puccini opera “Turandot.” 

My mind is blown. I'm not surprised that Albright is into music, however, because I once personally witnessed her thumbing intently through the racks at Tower Records (RIP) in Georgetown Foggy Bottom. Way to go, Maddie!

Photoblogging: Product Placement

Are they good? That is not a relevant question. It's enough that they exist. They do taste like wax and sugar, a reasonable approximation of candy corn, I suppose. They are neither as bad nor as good as you've heard elsewhere on the web.

Background: Rodin's Age of Bronze.

Quickie: The Little Trump

Update: I have to confess that the above image makes no sense whatsoever. I originally made it for another purpose, one which I abandoned, but then the picture made me laugh, so I posted it anyway.

Historic First For Condi

(Photo © yes-ukraine.org)

Condi was at some pointless diplo-confab in Yalta on Friday, so she decided to chastise her hosts for their imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko for, I think, being boring when her hairdo made her seem so exciting at first.

How disdainful was America's Princess Diplomat of the Ukrainian president? OMG, snub city:

Earlier in the day, Rice ignored a photo opportunity with Yanukovych, who delivered a speech at the same conference earlier in the day.

Condi ignored a photo opportunity. Let that sink in. Condoleezza Rice ignored a photo opportunity. That, Pony Pals™, has GOT to be a first.  Perhaps it was the Disneytronic Condibot, and its photo-op detect-o-lert was malfunctioning?

And if that was the Condibot, ew, they should fix its hands, or else it'll poke out one of Condi's invisible friend's eyes.

Cliché Watch: Talking Points Memo Is Just Taunting Us Now

Fashion Victim: Designer Watch Only Gives Correct Time Twice A Day

Click for bigger!

Purple/Black herringbone cotton sport coat: Boglioli.
Beaded and padded leather "wristwatch": Walter van Beirendonck.

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Quickie: "Double Down" No Longer Quite Enough For Washington Post

After all the goodwill generated by my exposé on the overuse of variations of the phrase double down by hacky political bloggers and journalists, Jason Horowitz at the Washington Post decided the phrase just didn't quite provide enough emphasis. "Romney and his advisers," he writes, "are tripling down on the clear contrasts offered by neoconservatism's trumpeting of values." Now that's some awesome writing!

OMG, Wow! Not Only An Ursula Plassnik Spotting, But An INCREDIBLE Ursula Plassnik Spotting!!!

(Foto © APA)

How long has it been? HOW LONG? It has been over a year, in fact, since we last enjoyed a sighting of our favorite affable giantess, the goddess Ursula! I must say, that incredible dress was worth the wait! Of all the nutty outfits and epic scarves I've seen draped over La Plassnik's formidable frame, this is her most exciting and bewildering ensemble EVER. Yay! On any other person in the entire universe, that dress/jacket combo would look ludicrous, but on Ursula, the fun-sized Auntie Mame of Austrian diplomacy? MAGIC.

I'm afraid I must politely refrain from saying anything about her taste in men. He looks like a very nice man.

The photo was taken at some... thing on September 1 which involved "Glanz und Glamour," so naturally Ursula was invited. Be sure to look at the slide show for the event, because there are many noteworthy fashion triumphs/catastrophes present!

Ahhhhhh. Was that good for you, too?

Language Virus: Double Down Syndrome (Now With Too Many Updates!)

(Getty Images)

I've had my eye on this one for a few years as it has bubbled up the cliché-o-meter. I hoped about a year ago that it had peaked, and that it would recede and remain safely contained within Talking Points Memo (the worst offender by far) and spread no further. No such luck: double down is the single most irritating, cutesy phrase to be mercilessly overused since the maddeningly-inaccurate and nonsensical drinking the Kool-Aid or the forbidden (I can't even bring myself to write this one out) ATEOTD.

How badly are lazy writers... uh... doubling down on double down? Take a look:

• Romney doubles down on Russia, according to The Hill.
• Barney Frank doubles down on calling the Log Cabin Republicans "Uncle Toms," according to Buzzfeed.
• Obama doubles down on Medicare defense, says the Orlando Sentinal.
• Jerry Brown doubles down on something about Chris Christie's fatness, claims the LA Times.
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz doubles down on a lie, the Washington Times exclaims.
• Steve King doubles down on comparing immigrants to dogs, Mediaite reports.
• Clint Eastwood doubles down on yelling at a chair, according to Think Progress.
• Democrats double down on the wicked, socialist auto industry bailout, spits Hot Air.
• Democrats also double down on lies, Steve Huntley breathlessly shrieks at the Chicago Sun-Times.

People: this is just a few days' worth! And the list above is far from complete.

Stop it! Stop using this vapid gambling jargon now!

UPDATE: Mere hours after posting this, defiant Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo, natch, called out Reince Priebus for doubling down on a Romney lie.

UPDATE: OK, I'm not going to update this post indefinitely, but here's Politico today:

And the Huffington Thing:

And, naturally, where Politico and Huffington tread, Mediaite is sure to follow:

The Washington Post:

Elsewhere, Andrew Sullivan talked about Bill Kristol doubling down on something, and Josh Marshall, unable to resist a clever turn of a phrase, approvingly linked to Mark Halperin talking about Mitt Romney... doubling down. And I'm tired of linking to all the myriad examples, but variations on the phrase were also used today by the New York Times, NBC News, Newsday, Towleroad, the Associated Press, Business Insider, The News Journal, and Time Magazine.

This phrase fad is officially completely out of control. Let's not speak of it ever again. Please?

Two Words Curiously Missing From NYT's Bombshell 9-11 Story: "Condoleezza" And "Rice"

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , left, hugs 4th District Congressional candidate Mia Love at Thanksgiving Point Friday September 7. Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune.

If you haven't read the New York Times' crazy new story about how the Bush administration was repeatedly, strenuously warned of a potential terror attack in the months leading up to 9-11, much more than even the "Bin Laden poised to strike the US" memo that we already knew about, then I'm going to sit here for a few minutes until you do. It's short and... sour. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Yes, Kurt Eichenwald's story is a doozy, portraying the Bush folks as totally unwilling to hear about any threats not coming from Iraq. The blame seems to be pointed especially at the neocons running the Pentagon at the time. Fair enough.

What blows my mind, however, is that once again Condi gets off scot-free.  She isn't even mentioned in the article. She was national security adviser at the time! If anybody deserves to be named 'n' shamed in this story, it's Dr. Ferragamo.

But no, it is apparently still considered to be churlish and unfair to point out Condi's disastrous failings at her penultimate Bush administration job. It simply doesn't fit into the "rise to the top" Condinarrative people find so appealing. I suppose a story about an unlikely person who rises step-by-step to the top of her field is just a much more heart-warming tale than the sad truth of one of the most dramatic victims of the Peter Principle in modern times, flopping her way ever upwards on a jet stream of incompetence.

And that's why Condoleezza Rice is still the GOP's favorite "foreign policy expert." It is amazing.

Art Collection: "Outdoor Sports" Drawing By "Tad" Dorgan, Ca. Early 1920s

(Click for bigger!)

Here's my latest Tad drawing acquisition (number 14!), and once again, some slob in the past just had to tear off the nice, dated engraving order on the back, leaving only a tantalizing stub. Curses!

Otherwise, this is another great, typical "Outdoor Sports" panel from the early 20s, poking fun at a senator for preaching fiscal responsibility from one side of his mouth while supporting a coterie of inept cronies out of the other side. Sound familiar?

Note that even though this scene takes place outdoors, Tad still manages to stick to his most typical compositional formula, which features a shallow, stagelike space on one side, and a deeper recession in space on the other side. You can see him doing the same thing here and here. What I love about this one is that he used every technique in his arsenal on it, from the widely brushed pattern on the senator's trousers to the more finely drawn pattern on the woman's skirt. His use of horizontal hatching to "push back" secondary characters is a unique Tad hallmark, as is the stuttered diagonal hatching at the top of the drawing.

And what a fantastic group of grotesque caricatures! I wonder if the senator is based on a real NY state senator from the period? This drawing could contain some literal truths as well as its more obvious metaphorical ones.

Is that an actual grammatical error in the caption? Did Tad really mean to phrase it as he goes to work of a morning instead of in the morning? If that's a mistake, and it really seems like one to me, it's the first I've seen in his work. I suppose it could just be archaic phrasing, but on the other hand, the cop is commenting that the senator is going home FROM work, while the caption says he's going TO work, so in any case, that caption isn't Tad's finest moment.

And, finally, there's a prohibition reference. Tad rarely missed an opportunity for one!

Who Invited Her?

Ugh, speaking of closet cases! For me, the presence of Charlie Crist was a sour note at the otherwise brilliant DNC. Seriously, did one of you order up a side of Charlie Crist? Is he a score? Ick. I read somebody refer to Ms. Crist as "no longer a Republican but not quite a Democrat." How about "no longer relevant but not quite extinct." I mean, what, are they going to let Ken Mehlman in next? Gross. We can do better. A reminder.

Gay Aaron Schock™ Roundup!

The good news for Gay Aaron Schock™ is that he's gotten plenty of attention since making several queeny and fussy appearances at the GOP convention, appearances in which he enthused over Paul Ryan's abs and... other gay stuff. I mean guy stuff! Sorry about that.

Remember when I told you about Gay Aaron Schock's™ Google problem, a problem which I'm a bit embarrassed to say I had no small part in creating? To paraphrase Dan Savage, it didn't get better. As of this writing, my ridiculous yet true "everyone knows he's def gay" post is by far the most visited page on this blog, and Wonkette's reblogging of it is the top referring page, sating the curiosity of Gaydar Schock sufferers nationwide. Basically, since the convention, this website has been more or less a constant Gay Aaron Schock™ Pride Parade. Elsewhere on the web recently... well, see for yourself:

• The Washington Times, of all things, just published a long, very critical piece on Schock, in which they invited the Club for Growth to comment on his supposed liberalness. What's hilarious is that they don't mention the Gay Aaron Schock™ gay rumors outright, but instead ever-so-slyly refer to his penchant for pink clothing, link to a Gawker lolgay piece, and, yes, show the infamous teal belt photo. Subtle! The whole thing is a glorious masterpiece of dog-whistle gay-baiting.
• Chicagoist just rehashes Gay Aaron Schock™ rumors, pointlessly, and keeps the dream alive!
• Queerty does the same thing, but with flair: "Normally we’d say it’s offensive to assume anything about a man’s sexuality by the color of his belt. But Schock supports DOMA and opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell—given how many anti-gay Republicans turn out to be closet cases, we’d have to say it’s a reasonable line of questioning." Most tantalizing is the following comment: "Aaron Schock IS gay. A friend of mine who used to be very active with the Boston Log Cabin Republicans told me he used to use the DC chapter of LCR as a personal dating pool, using various excuses such as “fundraisers” and “rallies” to get to know the guys. This was before all the gay rumors, when he was under the radar and hadn’t “come out” on the scene with his photo spreads and pink shirts." 
• The Austin Chronicle's hairdresser blog reminds us, because I guess somebody has to, that Schock denies that "he's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde-reading, Streisand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy." 
• Chicagonow.com, unforgivably, refers to Gay Aaron Schock™ as Hottie McHotterson. Oops, I vomited.

Annnnd it just goes on from there, over and over, world without end. It is fucking hilarious.

In Case You Were Wondering...

I'm going to do a Jennifer Rubin! No no, I'm not going to talk incessantly about Israel and Iran, don't worry. I'm going to do the thing where I start each point with the same phrase, like a hack, like Jen does with her morning link roundups! Here goes...

In case you were wondering where I've been, I celebrated a nice long Labor Day weekend by coming down with a terrible cold from which I'm still recovering. Fun!

In case you were wondering about what's at the top of the frame of the adorable White House photo above, showing Barrack 'n' kids enjoying Michelle's convention speech, I can help! It's Susan Rothenberg's great 1976 painting Butterfly, on loan to the Obamas by the National Gallery of Art. Here's a better look:

In case you were wondering: I thought Michelle's dress was superb! And the speech was good, too!