Are you serious? You can’t be serious!

There once was an awful point in American history, when people who loved each other could be prevented from marrying one another because they were of different races. This went on until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Loving v. Virginia that all race-based marriage laws were unconstitutional. But everything old is new again, right? We’ve got sports teams in throwback uniforms. Throwback sneakers. Pepsi Throwback. And now we’ve got throwback racist marriage policies.

I guess arguing over gay marriage got boring or something, so Tangipahoa Parish justice of the peace Keith Bardwell decided to do his part to prevent miscegenation by refusing to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple. I kind of feel like I know where old Keith falls on the gay marriage question, but is this just not a traditional enough kind of marriage for him? We’ve got one man and one woman. I thought that was the magic formula! I guess God just forgot to use the same crayons when he was coloring them in.

I find it interesting that Bardwell, who has held the elected position of Justice of the Peace since 1990, was a Democrat for his first three terms. Only in 2008 did he run as a Republican. Hmmm…what changed in 2008?

Random thoughts

1) I am definitely not going to Rhinebeck. Sad face.

2) Somebody took the space on the bus that I gave up, so I will be getting a refund. Happy face.

3) Brandi Carlile having the Twins is almost as awesome as Jason Mraz having a Toca.

Wow

There are no words for how awesome last night’s Brandi Carlile concert was. I had the time of my life! Brandi Carlile is such an energetic, dynamic, amazing performer. She is sex on a stage, people. She performed at Atlanta’s Tabernacle, a former church that makes for an awesome venue. Her opening act was Amy Ray, of Indigo Girls fame. If Ms. Ray’s music is anything to go by, she is not a happy camper.

Brandi Carlile with her opening act and friend, Amy Ray

Brandi Carlile got the concert started by performing an acoustic version of “Oh Dear.” She had been at the Tabernacle before as an opening act, and said that she’d always wanted to try something. Although 2500 women immediately prepared to take off their tops, what Carlile wanted was to perform a song completely acoustically. Awesomeness ensued.

What awesomeness looks like when it's ensuing.

If I’d had any idea how great it was going to be (which I should have, as that was definitely her third or fourth song of the show, and I’d already realized how gifted of a performer she is), I would have recorded the whole thing. As it was, I got the second half of the song with my phone, which I promise not to curse again ever, or until it once again stops ringing, giving me text messages, or showing my emails (whichever happens first). The sad thing that the sound on this is 1000000 better than the sound on the HD videos that my little camera takes.

Did Glenn Beck rape and murder a young girl in 1990?

Absolutely not! I’m certain of it. Plus, there is just no evidence that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990. I’d feel better if he would just come out and deny it, but obviously, these accusations are so outrageous that no rational person could believe them to be true. It’s odd that Mr. Beck has avoided making a statement, for the record, denying that he raped and murdered a young girl in 1990, but I don’t think we should base decisions about his guilt solely on whether he answers these allegations.

While never addressing the substance of these claims, Mr. Beck has petitioned the International Domain Name Arbitration Panel to shut down the web site that is examining the rumor and the responses it draws. His counsel’s argument is that people who are seeking Glenn Beck’s own web site might somehow be confused. I really hope not. Anyway, while the irony of Glenn Beck bypassing the American court system and appealing to an international body is rich enough to savor, the legal proceedings have yielded an unexpected bright spot: the legal writings of Marc Randazza, who represents the domain owner. Mr. Randazza’s response (pdf) to the original complaint (pdf), as well as a letter (pdf) to Mr. Beck’s counsel. I hope that we can soon get a conclusive statement from Mr. Beck regarding these allegations about him raping and murdering a young girl in 1990.

Ugh

I have too much tv to watch. I’ve gotten used to watching only two or three shows regularly, and now there are a bunch of new programs that I like enough to keep up with (Castle, FlashForward, Trauma, The Good Wife, etc) I’m finding the time drain a little hard to get used to. I am not used to watching this much tv, dammit! It’s messing with my reading/knitting/vegging time. I’m pretty sure that I’ve thrown over Gossip Girl, though, so at least I freed up a little time.

The Sky is the Limit

Every week, I watch Project Runway later and later. It used to be that on Thursdays, when it aired, I would give my Tivo a twenty minute head start and then start to watch. Then I began to watch on Fridays. Then it was Saturday, then Sunday. It’s now Monday, and I’m just now getting around to watching last week’s episode. Let’s face it: this season is not exciting. I’m not looking for manufactured drama, but these people are seriously killing my will to watch this show. I am so bored, that I am not even going to stop knitting while watching. So there, Project Runway!!!! This is going to be exactly like all of my other musings about Project Runway, except five hundred words shorter.

Observations: the guys are dropping like flies. Usually the women get picked off early and often, but that pattern hasn’t held up this season.

This week’s challenge, according to Heidi, is colorful. The designers meet Tim Gunn and Martine, some Macy’s shill, in the workroom, and are told that they’ll be working with the color blue. This is a one-day, team challenge. The winner gets to design a holiday dress that will be sold at Macy’s (but each team is presenting two designs, neither of which is said holiday dress). Also, teams??? What did I say before about manufactured drama? Anyway, each of the remaining 10 designers will sketch something, and Martine the Macy’s lady will choose the designers of her five favorites.

The  team leaders are Irina, Althea (a two-time team leader, and probably the only person in the history of this program who has ever enjoyed team challenges), Carol Hannah, Christopher, and Louise. Althea gets to pick her partner first, and she chooses Logan. I wonder how Carol Hannah feels about that. Christopher chooses Epperson, Louise chooses Nicolas (who has immunity), Irina lets the remaining two people choose who wants to work with her, and Gordana says she will first, so Carol Hannah and Shirin end up being a team. Shirin had such promise in the beginning, and seems to have faded; also, her maniacal chatter, which was highlighted in the last episode, can not have endeared her to the others.

The teams have 20 minutes and $100 to spend at Mood, and because of how huge it would be to have a dress at Macy’s, the winner will not get immunity. I loves those kinds of challenges! Nobody gets to coast next week. Haha! Louise almost loses the money while at Mood. She says that she loses her head when she’s in the thick of a challenge.

I can’t decide what is more entertaining: the teams that start to implode almost immediately (Louise and Nicolas, who starts talking smack about her soon after returning to the workroom), or those that experience slow meltdowns (Irina and Gordana). Notes: Nicolas really really really hates ruffles. Irina is such a good underminer. Do the other contestants know how evil she is? I can’t tell. Christopher feels that he and Epperson are the team to beat.

I love Gordana, but I kind of want to see somebody “as they say, throw [her] on the bus.” If only she knew how supportive that action would be.

Heidi greets the designers on the runway, looking as though she popped in on her way to bed. There’s nothing right about her outfit. I think her jeans are acid washed, but I want to keep respecting her, so I’m not going to look too closely. Sometimes I think the wardrobe people on this show are just messing with the contestants like, “See? When you’ve been in this industry for a while, you can make celebrities wear anything, no matter how awful.” If you think about it hard enough, it’s kind of inspiring.

The judges are Top American Designer, Michael Kors, who I’ve missed; Zanna Roberts, the adorable senior fashion editor of Marie Claire; and Martine. One of the designers will be named the winner, and one or more them will be out. Interesting. Evil Irina’s dress is lovely, but Gordana’s look is not as interesting to me. Althea and Logan’s first model comes out looking kind of h0-ish, especially because the slit at the back keeps growing as she walks along the runway. Awkward. The second look is okay, but nothing special. Louise’s looks are not remarkable, but Nicolas hates them. Carol Hannah’s two looks are super, although, like Tim Gunn, the less I say about leggings, the better. Christopher and Epperson’s shirt dress is okay, but their second look is slightly old-maidish. When the scores are tallied, Althea and Logan are told that their scores are high enough to send them into the next round. Really? I can’t believe that the traveling slit wasn’t even mentioned. How’d Kors let that one go without even a comment? Maybe he’s taken up meditation in all the spare time he has from not appearing in any previous episodes of this show this season. Heidi tells Louise and Nicolas and Christopher and Epperson that their two teams have the lowest scores. I am a horrible person for finding the latter twosome’s expressions of disbelief so hilarious.

The teams with the highest scores get to hang out onstage while the losers slink away. Shirin and Carol Hannah are all sweetness and light, and the judges love their looks’ necklines. Evil Irina and Gordana’s looks get raves, but Heidi, smelling blood, asks them how it was to work together. Gordana tries to be diplomatic, but The Evil One says that Gordana’s shyness was a bit obnoxious, and she could have taken a more active role.

Then the other two teams come back out on the runway. The Heidi keeps saying “one, or more of you, will be out,” makes me hope that she takes somebody from each team. If that’s the case, we can say goodbye right now to Louise and Epperson. Later, kids! Much like Nicolas, the judges are not enamored of Louise’s ruffles. I wonder if he would have tried harder to change her mind or insert more of himself in their outfits if he didn’t have immunity this week. Heidi is baffled by the neckline of Christopher and Epperson’s shirt, and talking about that for approximately five seconds makes Christopher cry. The judges are also not sure why anybody would make a shiny shirt dress. Cosigned. Christopher sobs some more. Awww. This is actually a little heartbreaking.

Irina is named the winner. Evil has triumphed once again. Completely surprising me, Epperson is the first of the bottom-dwellers to be retained. Seriously? That guy has like nine lives or something. Also, he should never again work with anybody, ever, on anything. For real. I am suddenly afraid for Christopher, because it’s just him and Louise left onstage. Heidi says that Louise’s looks resemble “bad, overworked bridesmaids dresses.” Ouch. And yes. She tells Christopher that the only thing his items have in common is how clueless they are. Damn, Heidi. I would hate to hear this woman discipline her children. Christopher starts to cry again when he’s told that he’s in. I’m happy that he lives to design another day. That means, of course, that Louise is out. Like Shirin, who seems to have found some of her focus again this episode (or maybe just borrowed some from Carol Hannah), Louise started off excellently and degenerated noticeably throughout the competition. The Tivo cut off before the previews came, and I’m too lazy too google, so we shall find out next week’s challege…next week.

Until then.

More eye-catching than the pink ribbon

This picture is hilariously inappropriate, but it’s pretty tame compared to the rest of the set that it comes from. Definitely NSFW. I imagine that this might be the kind of the anti-breast cancer sentiment that many of my guy friends can get behind.

Yay for Philadelphia!

As a followup to my previous post about the possible closing of the Free Library of Philadelphia, I am pleased to pass along that the library will remain open! The Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill that will allow the library to remain open, and keep 3,000 city employees from being laid off. I love it when people come together to do good like this!

There’s no substitute for good film-making

I saw The Surrogates yesterday, and I really wanted to like it. The premise is interesting: what would happen if everybody in the world could use an idealized representation of him or herself to interact with others? Also, the awesome Rosamund Pike (who will forever be for me Jane Bennett) somehow agreed to be in it, which I thought spoke highly of the film. I forgot, though, that even serious actors need to eat.

Anyway, It seemed like this could be a good movie. The rating at Rotten Tomatoes was 37%, but I don’t ALWAYS agree with the reviewers there. Elizabeth Banks and her husband, Max Handelman, who, based on nothing but their twitter feeds, seem like cool people, produced this movie, so I hoped it would be awesome.

It was not. Seriously. If I had a surrogate, I would have used it to see this movie, so that when I started to bang my head on the wall immediately upon exiting the theater, I would have suffered no lasting effects. The more you think about this movie, the less it makes sense. The intro laughingly suggests that such technology would cure communicable diseases and racism immediately. Riiiight. So because you don’t know whether the black surrogate you’re talking to is actually a black person, you suddenly begin to love black people, because they secretly might be white? Doubtful. How can EVERYBODY afford a surrogate? What happens to the poor people who can’t? If surrogates need to charge, what are the operators doing in that time. Does nobody go out at all? What happened to all the gyms? How can people have medication, if they don’t go out? The surrogates can’t be checked for conditions, so what gives? Are doctors now making house calls? And the big one – SPOILER – Why does one measly control station somewhere in the US have access to the surrogate network for the entire world? WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA????

A relevant review from Rotten Tomatoes:

The script is by the team that gave us “Catwoman” and the last two “Terminator” movies, which tells you all you need to know. The direction is by Jonathan Mostow, who did a couple of good genre movies early on, and then went off the rails with “Terminator 3.”

“Surrogates” continues the slide. — Stephen Whitty, Newark Star Ledger (full review)

Also, when I checked this morning, the movie was down to 35% fresh. Exactly.

Lights, Camera, Sew!

It took me a few days to get to this week’s Project Runway. Apologies!

This episode starts of with some of the male contestants talking, both amongst themselves and individually in the interview room. Ra’mon observes that the apartment is quieter with both Malvin and Johnny gone, and interviews that he feels that things are more competitive now that Johnny is has been sent packing. This is undoubtedly true. Johnny was dead weight. Then Nicolas speaks that reality tv show cliche about not being on Project Runway to make friends. No. Duh. I can’t even imagine how needy a designer would have to be to want to leave the competition not with an impeccable reputation or $100,000 to start an eponymous fashion line, but with a new BFF or two. Probably the only contestant to ever have had this goal is Elisa.

Poor, awesome Gordana has had her confidence shaken by being in the bottom three last week. I hope she ends up bouncing back in a big way. This week’s challenge involves designing for film. The designers get to take a field trip to a sound stage, where they find Tim Gunn and Collier Strong (L’oreal makeup dude). Tim tells them that they are going to be selecting a genre of film, creating a character in that genre, and making a costume for her. Yikes. The potential for disaster already has me sitting up straighter. The genres from which they get to choose are action/adventure, film noir, science fiction, period piece, and Western. The obvious American slant to this challenge worries Gordana.

Irina, having won last week, gets to choose first. She selects film noir. The remaining categories are chosen by the other designers, with each category having two entrants, and order being determined by Tim picking names out of his trusty black velvet bag. At the end of it Louise (of course) and Althea also choose film noir; Ra’Mon and Nicolas pick science fiction; Christopher and Gordana are designing for period pieces; the two action/adventure designers are Logan and Carol Hannah; nobody chooses Westerns, but there are two designers left, so Shirin and Epperson end up with that genre. They do not find this to be awesome.

At each workspace is a dossier that outlines the particulars of the designer’s selected (or assigned) genre. Lifetime stopped being so freaking cheap on this one, so the budget is $150. They must be big fans of the axiom “time is money,” though, because deadline is midnight. You can’t have everything, I guess. The designers are all ready to plotz. While sketching, Shirin and Epperson seem to be completely lost, although both are reaching for something that is both Western in aesthetic and not horrible.

Cutie pie Logan says that Carol Hannah is the only female designer with whom he has really connected. He likes to talk to her and the camera shows them palling around. CH is less than stoked by the fact that Logan’s table is right next to hers, because he’s hot, and hotness is totally distracting. I hear you, CH. Ra’Mon is worrying me with his excitement over this challenge. It always seems that the people who are happiest with the assignment and are the most certain that things are going to go well are the ones who end up in the bottom three. I have no idea how this episode ends, but am preemptively concerned for Ra’Mon.

The designers go to Mood, where they have 30 minutes to spend their money. A lot of them are looking at fabric that ends up being too expensive for them. I feel like we haven’t seen a lot of that, but maybe it’s just because my eyes sometimes glaze over during Mood scenes.

Louise seems convinced that somebody has taken her bobbin, while Gordana is looking for a pair of pink scissors. Both ask if anybody knows about the items that are missing, but nobody really answers either one of them. Nicolas explains the story behind his character. It is bizarre and incomprehensible. I am falling back in love with him. Ra’Mon, on the other hand, uses the words “jumpsuit” and “human-alien hybrid” in the same sentence. There is no way to avoid being concerned. With nothing more than that description to go on, I am placing Ra’Mon in the bottom two.

Louise again asks if anybody has seen or taken her bobbin. I think this is the third time. Is sabotage happening? If it is, nobody has owned up to it. Nicolas finds it worrisome that Louise has not developed a specific character to dress in her design. More workroom. Gordana is sewing some beaded thingamabob that I thought was a multi-legged animal the first time I saw it on the screen.

Tim comes to check in on everybody. He does not seem convinced by Gordana’s dress. Irina takes a moment to doubt whether Gordana belongs with the rest of them in the competition. If this goes like the last time, I guess that would mean that Gordana is going to win this challenge. Tim likes Christopher’s bustle, but says that the lack of long sleeves is all wrong for the period. Tim seems to like Epperson’s look, which makes me happy. He tells Ra’Mon that his outfit could be sublime, or it could be “a big hot mess.” We all know which camp I’m guessing this ends up in.

Tim next goes to Louise’s station. She explains her look, which sounds as lovely as her previous work, but he just lays it out there for her: her subtle details are lost on the runway, and don’t come across as well as more dramatic touches. Nicolas is designing for a villain, who he is putting in white. Tim finds this interesting, but thinks that overall outfit is too safe. Before he leaves the workroom, Tim encourages everybody to look around as determine where they stand, based on the looks that everybody else is designing. He might as well have added “RA’MON!!!” at the end of that, because you know that’s who he was talking to.

The models come in for fittings and makeup consultations. I don’t feel that I see a huge difference in the quality of the makeup when there is a separate consultation and when they just work it out on the day of the runway show. Ra’Mon puts his model in the jumpsuit and comes to the same conclusion that any sane person would have arrived at upon merely hearing about his idea: he is in big big trouble. He thinks his jumpsuit is looking a little Kermit the Frog, and that it won’t work. He has two hours to go before the end of the day. Big deal, right? He made a whole outfit in like 35 minutes that one time. Whatever you do, Ra’Mon, don’t pull a Johnny. Say no to the crossword.

Last minute running around. People are freaking out about the amped up competition, and Louise stabs herself in the finger nail with the sewing machine. Ick! The next day dawns, and a lot of people have a significant amount of work to do. Everybody’s in a tizzy, and then it’s off to the runway!

Heidi comes out looking all lovely and sparkly. The judges this week are American designer John Varvatos, Oscar-winning costume designer Arianne Phillips, and Zoe Glassner, who by this point is practically a series regular. Harrumph. Bring back Jen Rade, already. There is not enough bitchery in my life. Irina’s beautiful dress comes out first. It looks way better on the model than it did on the dress form. Carol Hannah’s action/adventure outfit is sexy and fun. Shirin’s saloon-girl look is cute, but I don’t love it. Christopher’s period piece is pretty, and looks like haute couture. He didn’t add sleeves, and I wonder if the judges will give him crap for that. Nicolas’s white sci-fi look is beautiful. Althea’s dress is just gorgeous, but there seems to be entirely too much cleavage to be a believable film noir look.

Ra’Mon’s dress looks like who did it and ran (TM my Very Southern Mother), but the costume designer smiles as it goes down the runway, so maybe he has a shot at coming back next week. Louise’s dress is cute, but it’s Epperson’s beautifully ruffled Western dress that steals the show. Gordana’s model rocks her 20s-era dress well. Logan’s black leather outfit ends up looking to me like a retread of Carol Hannah’s.

The judges are not in love with Gordana’s dress. Again, they do not fault her technique, but think the overall look is lacking. The designers love Nicolas’s dress, and compliment him on clearly conveying exactly what he intended to. Not so lucky is Louise, whose dress is called confused and not great. Poor Louise. Her previously excellent work didn’t get noticed, and now this gets her put in the bottom three. She sort of alludes to that when she thanks them (nicely, I think) for finally noticing her at all, and taking the time to provide her with feedback. The judges love love love Christopher’s dress. Ra’Mon’s mess is next. I have to pause here, because I know this is going to break my heart a little. He was so into this challenge and threw himself headlong into it, so seeing how he’s failed makes me sad. I know it’s the nature of this show, but still. They like his story, but not the execution. Between the three people in the bottom, I do not see how Ra’Mon could possibly avoid going home; nobody else bombed this week. The judges love Epperson’s design.

So I think that Epperson is going to win (long shot: Nicolas), and Ra’Mon is going to lose (no long shot, he’s definitely going home).

So Nicolas does win. Good for him. He has immunity for the next challenge. The amazing thing is that, if you look closely, you can actually see his ego grow as he preens in his interview. Fascinating. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, poor Ra’Mon is out. Sad face here! Louise sobs as she leaves the runway.  Everybody is much sadder this week and all manage not to slag off Ra’Mon while he’s cleaning his workspace.

Yay! I almost never watch previews, but I just saw that Michael Kors is going to be on next week’s episode. Yay!