January 28, 2005

      THE TEMPERATURE'S GONNA DROP LIKE A ROCK

1. . . . That's what Washington's ABC7 anchor Leon Harris said in a promo for the 11 o'clock news one night this week. He was right.
2. . . . Lester Holt of the Today show challenged weatherman Sean McLaughlin to a sled run down a hill in New York's Central Park last weekend when they had all the snow. Lester was on one of those new round inflatable sleds and finished first but at the end he fell over and had his method of transportation on top of him. "You can't steer those things," Holt said earlier.
3. . . . Bill Weir, Kate Snow and sitting-in news anchor David Muir of Good Morning America were outside freezing in Times Square and threw snowballs at each other. Ah, childhood.
4. Is CNN's Anderson Cooper really on the short list of those who might replace Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News?
5. A friend of mine was really irritated at the protesters at Bush's inaugural parade. She thought it was disrespectful and glowered at one of them. Stared a young girl down. The protester didn't retaliate.
6. Billboard mag's #1 Ring Tone is still Drop It Like It's Hot by Snoop Dogg Featuring Pharrell for the umpteenth week.
7. LaToya Jackson was on 20/20 last Friday night. She's still as much of a nut as she always was. But her mother and the mother of Michael Jackson and all the rest of the brood came off very well. We've seen her in much video on the news, walking along with her infamous son to and from courthouses but really have never heard her talk. In an interview defending LaToya and speaking about her daughter's abuse by her ex-husband, she came off well, spoke candidly and looked nice.
8. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte was on all five Sunday talk shows last week, speaking from Baghdad. Is that necessary? How much blanket coverage does the administration need, for crissakes.
9. A woman with a southern accent on a Jimmy Dean sausage TV commercial pronounces his name Jeemy Dean. That's really homespun.
10. It's been reported that 650,000 people used Washington's Metro on Inauguration Day. Let's see ... that comes out to $1,755,000, based on a minimum $1.35 fare x 2 for round trip. And they don't have enough money? Get Out!
11. JUST ASKING. President Bush was sworn in as 43rd president at about four minutes before noon last Thursday. I thought it was supposed to happen right at noon, high noon. How come he did it early? Does that mean he has to leave the office early?
12. That Oscar de la Renta gown that Laura Bush wore to the balls on inauguration night made her look like she had a pot belly. Maybe she forgot to put a girdle on. Too tight-fitting. She normally dresses better than that.
13. Arnold's (Schwarzenegger) hair's a bit too high. He should lower it a couple of stories. And the color. It looks auburn now.
14. Les Moonves, the chairman of the CBS Television Network, has had some critical things to say about the future of the CBS Evening News in light of the Dan Rather-helmed report about President Bush's National Guard service which has since been discredited He sounded disrespectful of the single network anchor concept and questioned whether the show, post-Rather, should again be one person acting as "the voice of God, single anchor." The big man is toying with the idea of a multi-anchor format like the network has on its Early Show. Well look how successful that one is.
15. A friend of mine had this to say about Condoleezza Rice's testimony on Capitol Hill last week: "No truth escapes through the gap in those teeth."
16. GONE NOW. Thelma White, 94, died Jan. 11, at a hospital in Los Angeles. She played Mae, the "hard-boiled addiction queen," in the cult movie classic, Reefer Madness (1936). White did over 40 movies in the ‘30s and ‘40s and said this about Madness after it became a late feature favorite: "I'm ashamed to say that it's the only one of my films that's become a classic. I hide my head when I think about it."
17. Upon first glance at Jenna Bush's outfit at the Black Tie and Boots Ball, Mr. Big Stuff thought she was wearing a sports bra because the dress up to that point looked flesh-colored to him. I think he needs new specs.
18. They're reissuing old Elvis Presley songs in England and they're hitting #1. A couple weeks ago Jailhouse Rock (1957) made it to the top and last week it was One Night/I Got Stung (1958). Not sure why this is happening but historically the British charts have always been pretty eclectic and appreciative of early American rock ‘n' roll and rhythm and blues music.
19. THE WOODSMAN. Serious movie/subject. Kevin Bacon plays Walter, just released from serving 12 years in prison for molesting young girls. He's trying to set his life straight now but is still tempted and Bacon does an excellent job of translating his torture to the screen. His wife in the movie and in real life, Kyra Sedgwick, is in it as a fellow worker at a lumber yard in Philadelphia. And rapper-turned-actor Mos Def is the cop who constantly checks his comings and goings. There are some major holes in the story but Bacon's acting overcomes them.
20. . . . KEY UNNERVING, CREEPY SCENE: Walter in the park with a young girl.
21. FAMILY STUNNED. "A Yorkie-pug lapping from a plate at the table while supposedly on duty as a service dog is a disgrace to the profession," wrote Miss Manners to a woman who complained about her healthy 73-year-old mother who insisted on taking her dog everywhere with her and ordered a service dog vest for the mutt so she could do it with no questions asked.
22. So it turns out that Survivor winner Richard Hatch ain't all that smart after all. Tax evasion. He didn't report his $1 million win to the IRS, plus some additional income. He's the one who went around naked all the time. Might he be doing that in prison? Not by choice.
23. OVERDONE SYMPATHETIC, MOTHERING DELIVERY. That's how NBC's Ann Curry acted as host of Dateline's special edition on the death of Johnny Carson last Sunday night. She did every segment intro and her interview with comedian Don Rickles with the face of a downcast, sad-faced puppy dog. Good God get her off.
24. Now I'm getting dirty messages on my IM (Instant Message) at work. One I got was trying to lure me into a chance to hook up with "very turned on housewives (Desperate? ) who are looking for a lot of hot extracurricular activity." I didn't dare click on the link.
25. Does Lance Armstrong wear anything other than his bike suit? Does he live the job?
26. IT GETS ON MY NERVES. American Idol Kelly Clarkson singing her hit song, A Moment Like This, in those Sandals resorts commercials. God, do they play them a lot.
27. Hanalie, dog in the neighborhood, loves the snow. She runs and frolics and rolls around in it and buries her snout in it. But she likes it when it's fresh and doesn't like it when it gets hard and unattractive-looking," says owner Sally.
28. Jim Caviezel didn't get nominated for an Oscar for his role as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. That's the biggest role of all time, isn't it? Will the Academy go to hell for it?
29. UH . . . The Biggest Man - Tommy Hunt, on Dynamo Records. True soul voice.