DOWN FOR THE COUNT

1. Joseph Lieberman was on all the Sunday morning talk shows today. Shades of Ginsberg/Monica. Hope his limo driver got a big tip.
2. That new NBC News theme--used incessantly on MSNBC--and on their Nightly Brokaw newscast is a bit much. Too swooping and too much of a dramatic statement. Probably done by John Williams again.
3. Nicorette comes in orange flavor now. Before that it was spearmint. Before that, no flavor. NOTE: Gwyneth Paltrow, smoking a cigarette, talks to Ben Affleck in their new movie Bounce about getting addicted to the gum, so she took up smoking again to kick the habit of the gum.
4. . . . People do say they get addicted to the gum.
5. Michael Douglas' son was the DJ in charge of the music at his father's and Catherine Zeta-Jones' wedding reception last night at The Plaza in New York. Couldn't they afford a band or at least a small jazz combo?
6. Kathie Lee acts like she drinks and smokes pot in a new movie. They're both fake. The director had to show her how to toke on the joint.
7. Don Imus said Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris looked like Morticia. (Halloween's over.)
8. PEOPLE ARE SAYING: "'k" now instead of "okay." Mostly in email.
9. DISCO HAIR: That's what North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il seemed to have when we saw him with Madeleine Albright. Curley permanent, sticking straight up.
10. Has Peter Pan ever been played by a guy? Why all the girls?
11. Who's Jakob Dylan's mother and what's she look like?
12. Somehow I got a return message from feminist Betty Friedan at my home. She even left her number. Anybody need to call her for something? I don't.
13. Have you ever seen more talking heads on the news before in your life? Everybody's an expert.
14. NEW WORD TO ME: Recuse It's been in print and Tim Russert used it today with Lieberman on Meet the Press. "Would you have to recuse yourself ...?" MEANS: "to reject or challenge (a judge or juror) as disqualified to act, esp. because of interest or bias."
15. "LOVE IS IN THE AIR . . ." Sick of hearing that Tom Jones sound-a-like sing it for Toyota Camry? The original was done by John Paul Young in 1978, on Scotti Bros. records.
16. SURFACING: Elian Gonzalez's mother's home movies of her and the kid. Who's gonna get that video?
17. Kathleen Matthews is getting as chatty and mouthy as her husband, Hardball's Chris Matthews. After a hard day's work talking about all the ins and outs of this election, do you think they sit in silence at the dinner table? Not a bad idea.
18. PAT O'BRIEN: Snake Oil Salesman. He sounds like he's hawking everything.
19. What exactly is a drive train?
20. Somebody says Danny Wahlberg has sex with a monkey in the upcoming new version of Planet of the Apes. Someone else said Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been a better choice for the role.
21. The Supremes box set has some really early stuff the group did as The Primettes. Real raw. You'd never know it was them. Recorded on the LuPine record label in 1960/61. Shared lead vocals. Interesting. Overall, the entire set is a great example of how the group's sound developed, got more sophisticated. They sound Marvelettes-ish on those early cuts.
22. Where's the "cent" sign on my computer? I need to use it. How many steps do I have to go through to get it?
23. IT TOOK THE CAKE. A man stood next to me at the urinals in the restroom talking on his cell phone. I guess he's pretty ambidextrous.
24. IF YOU ASK ME ... Ricky Martin's She Bangs is just like Livin' La Vida Loca. Not much seems different. They say the album is. Let's hope so.
25. CROSSING THE LINES: Paul Begala. Shares that show with Ollie North. Democratic Srategist is what he's called. One minute he's a co-host and the next he's an expert being interviewed about politics. Does anybody play just one role anymore?
26. Saran Wrap has Quick Covers now for leftovers. They look like colored shower caps.
27. GOING SOMEWHERE. NBC's Jodi Applegate is. She said this morning she was moving on and thanked everyone. (Her shared-anchored Later Today show was recently scrubbed.) Seems like the network doesn't know what to do with her. For a minute there, she was the real up-and-comer.
28. There's a song written by Steve Allen (good ole Steverino) and sung a young Ricky Vera, on a new Rhino Christmas collection, Mambo Santa Mambo: Christmas From The Latin Lounge. It's from 1953. Allen wrote about 5000 songs.
29. WHY DID THE CHICKEN ...? In August, when Clinton was walking with doctors in Ushafa, Nigeria, there were two chickens that crossed the road in front of them.
30. Those Supercuts ads never look like the people in them have had a recent haircut. Nobody looks like a razor or a pair of scissors has crossed their heads in months.
31. QUESTION: How much credibility does Fox News have now that we know that a Bush cousin was in charge of their election night coverage? Don't you think there ought to be some more distance? And look what happened.
32. I've got a friend named Chad. His name'll never be the same again.
33. Sidney Blumenthal looks like a silent movie character out of the 20s/30s.
34. Tucker Carlson looks like he should go back to highschool.
35. GONE ... From ABC Radio: Matt Drudge. Said he wasn't getting the ratings.
36. Was Andy Garcia any good playing Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in that TV movie last night? Doubt it.
37. ODD: Meet the Press had no guest listing in yesterday's Post for their Sunday show. Unusual. All the competition did.
38. UH . . . Count Me In-Gary Lewis & The Playboys on Liberty, from 1965.
39. UH #2 . . . Yesterday's Gone-Chad & Jeremy on World Artists, from 1964.

rocci@roccifisch.com

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