Super Bowl Saints and a Classy Colts Coach

AP - Jim Caldwell’s disappointment is evident in the Colts 31-17 loss against the Saints

Although I spent the majority of my day preparing for the epic gridiron battle that was Super Bowl XLIV, I am currently sitting in stunned silence and left emotionally hollow at watching my Colts bite it at the big show (let me clarify; my Colts, as Washington and I are in couples therapy, unable at present to reach relational middle ground, and Baltimore ran out of steam late in the season).

 While I’m disappointed that Peyton and the gang couldn’t pull off yet another exciting Super Bowl win, I am genuinely happy for the New Orleans Saints.  Their win is twofold in that Drew Brees and a slew of other former free agents turned Saints (who were let go by teams who didn’t want them only to be picked up by the Saints back in 2006) are now vindicated, and can poke their chests out proudly as an elite group of the best football players in the NFL.  The win also does so much for the pride and morale of New Orleans, a city that has suffered so greatly in recent years, yet has remained so resilient.

 But even though I am wishing the Who Dat Nation well as they celebrate this exceptional and well deserved win (and then will turn around and party equally as hearty during Mardi Gras next week), I think the highlight of the night for me was listening to Jim Caldwell’s interview after the Colts heartbreaking loss against their New Orleans opponents.  The rookie head coach displayed obvious disenchantment at coming up short on football’s greatest stage, but he was also very gracious and complementary toward the Saints.  I found it very refreshing that instead of begrudging the Saints their hard earned win, he was very humble while remaining supportive of his own team: 

“Only one team is [truly] happy at the end of the season…It’s like that line in Invictus, ‘our heads are bloodied but unbowed’.”

 If that doesn’t make you like the guy, there is a good chance that you just might be a hater. Period.  Caldwell my friends, is top shelf and a welcome change to the bird flipping Rex Ryans of the league, no?

 But even with my high praise of Jim Caldwell and his classiness to boot, tonight is all about the Saints and Saint Fans! Congrats to Coach Sean Peyton and the New Orleans Saints Team and staff. I dedicate this blog post to the rough and rugged “BLACK and GEAUXLD”!  Party hearty my friends, party hearty.

We Are The World

I love Michael Jackson.  I love the Grammys.  From now on however, I think that I will have to love them independent of one another.  Oh, don’t you feign surprise and ask me why! Sunday Night’s tribute to MJ on the Grammys was…I think the word I am looking for is “blasé.”  I enjoyed the singular artists who made up the Tribute Squad (well, except for Usher and his “drop to the floor” shenanigans as if he’d forgotten that he was paying homage to the King of Pop as opposed to headlining the “I’m Divorced Now and Looking For All The Single Ladies” Tour), but I just felt as though there wasn’t much thought that went into the production of the tribute.  I was so certain that Michael’s 3-D or Holographic image was going to side-kick, crotch grab and moonwalk across the stage, but alas, all the Grammy Producers gave me was birds, waterfalls and the forestry from Avatar.

 It’s a good thing that artists and producers like Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones understand the art of a tribute.  Not only have they gotten together to recreate one of MJ’s mega hits, but they are doing so in an effort to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  “We Are the World” redux has brought together famous faces and windpipes from far and wide to lend a voice to a great and worthy cause.

With the entire music world in town for the Grammys, producer extraordinaire Quincy Jones brought together an array of superstars for this special project.  Can’t you just picture it, Lil Wayne harmonizing with Barbara Streisand?  Snoop Dogg and Miley Cyrus in E flat?  Zac Brown wailing in tune with Jennifer Hudson?  I happen to like the idea of this diverse and eclectic cast; similar in many ways to the original “We Are the World” Dream Team of 1985.  Let’s just hope that the divas, egos and drama are left outside the studio door so that true genius can prevail.

 The remix will debut worldwide during the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremonies on Friday Febuary 12th and be available on iTunes thereafter.  The proceeds will benefit Haiti through the newly established We Are the World Foundation.

 With his heart for charity and love of music, I think Mike would be proud.

The Grammy Awards Killed My Blog Post!

It was the best of times…it was the worst of times!  The 2010 Grammy’s monopolized my entire night, leaving me common-sense-bereft.  At the time, I thought it would be a good idea to Live Tweet during the awards show, but there was so much buffoonery and tomfoolery that I do believe I am going to need to take the remainder of this night just to decompress and purge the idiocy from my brain.

I do solemnly promise to give you all a PACK worthy post tomorrow.

XO,

Tiff

Picture Walk Through A Snowy Saturday

Aside from the massive amounts of snow that fell last night and today, turning my neighborhood into a hand-me-down Vail ski and sledding destination, there wasn’t a whole lot to blog about today.

I did end up having to trek out in the elements (to my total chagrin) and because of the below freezing temperatures, the snow-turned-ice and the untreated interstate, my 12 mile round trip ended up taking an hour as opposed to my normal 15 minute excursion.

But I must admit that even though I didn’t get a nice clean picture of the pristine snow on my front lawn and driveway (because the neighbor’s kids had already run across my yard in pursuit of wayward balls and other outdoor toys before I could grab my camera), I did catch a few snowy day photos and for my troubles, my honey made me my first “Fireplace S’more.”

I guess snow days aren’t so bad after all (especially when you don’t have to do any of the shoveling! *GRIN*).

Full Moon Over Venus

As excited as I was in marking the big red X’s on my calendar and counting down the days until “The Season of Slams” was to commence, Venus Williams almost ruined tennis for me…forever.

 It is seldom that I have a gripe with Venus (other than her propensity to favor an injured knee or thigh during a tournament, giving her opponent a better strategy by which to throw her off kilter), as she is intelligent, witty, competitive and has turned her tennis success into several equally successful entrepreneurial ventures, but at this here Australian Open late last week….help her Jehovah!  What possessed Vee to wear skin-toned bloomies underneath her otherwise “total success” dandelion colored tennis dress was simply beyond comprehension.  It boggled the mind. It seared the eyes.

 During her match last week, Venus’ sizzling serves and vigorous volleys caused her already mini dress to dance, flare and expose, which gave fans a rather cheeky illusion.  At one point, I even yelped (yes, out loud) thinking that Venus had her bare assets on display.  And the various catcalls from the tournament audience said that I wasn’t the only one to think so.  After having won her match however, Miss Williams took to purging therapy (Twitter) to inform the world that she had in fact covered her um, behind:

 “I am wearing undershorts the same color as my skin, so it gives the slits in my dress the full effect.”

I blame Serena and Oracine!  I don’t care how excited she was about slits and pizzaz, how could they look at their sister/daughter with a straight face and not tell her that her athletic but still dimpled junk should have been stowed in an aesthetically approved trunk?  Oftentimes, I applaud both Serena and Venus’ risk taking style and desire to be creative and artistic in attire when they play the tourneys each year, but I could have SO done without the flesh colored bloomers this go ‘round.

 But with her quarterfinal round loss to China’s Li Na yesterday, perhaps this will give Venus ample opportunity to go back to the drawing board to draft another outfit where the earth toned under garments she plans to wear actually remain under her clothing. 

Baio Takes on Barack’s Boo…and is Baffled by the Backlash

I’m baaa-aaaaccckkk!  Well, I’m not quite 100%, but I certainly feel better than I did over the past 72 hours.  While I was enduring my sick and shut-in days though, I deliberately stayed unplugged from the news and net, knowing that if I got even an inkling of a noteworthy story I’d be blogging instead of trying to get better.  But as is always the case, thanks to the foolhardy people who take up residence in the universe, my return to The Pack was met with buffoonery galore; mine for the picking.  If it pleases the court, I’d like to present Exhibit A:

When are celebrities, even D-Listers going to learn that Twitter is designed specifically for their downfall?  Unless there is a publicist or some sort of personality consultant on hand to transcribe what they think and feel into coherent thoughts and socially acceptable tweets, then they’d probably be better off not having a Twitter Account at all (hey, don’t take my word for it, just ask Chris Brown).  Well, someone should have tried bestowing that bit of knowledge on Scott Baio.  While his stints on shows like “Happy Days” “Joanie loves Chachi” and “Charles in Charge” have undoubtedly made him heart-throbby material over the years, his recent exploits on Celeb-reality hot messes “Scott Baio Is 45…and Single” and “Scott Baio is 46…and Pregnant” have painted him in such an unattractive light (physically too), that it is a wonder that he’d be speaking ill of anyone.  But ill-speak he did, and by doing so, he basically threw down the gauntlet.

As reported in the New York Daily News, Baio alleged that he contacted the FBI after having received a multitude of angry comments and death threats related to his mocking photo and “tweet” of First Lady Michelle Obama last week.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Michelle Obama is all kinds of awesome and inspirational in my eyes, but er um…she looks like she is about to get her “True Blood” on in this photo.  Her fabulousness notwithstanding, and whether or not the picture was photo-shopped, Lady O is a public figure and bound to be the subject of some unflattering imagery at some point during Barry’s presidency.  I am sure however, that the Obama’s have long since grown that tough, protective layer of skin that keeps them insulated against buffoonish and unprovoked attacks such as this, while still being effective in their day to day endeavors.

Now what I found completely eye-roll worthy was that after Chachi’s ignorance began receiving more attention than he had intended (how he could not have anticipated such a fallout further speaks to his dense and clueless nature), he quickly backpedaled, proclaimed his desire for racial harmony and then whipped out the “my-wife’s-best-friend-is-black” card.

Just Why!?  I mean, I’m all for everyone exercising their first amendment right (I do it here daily, thank you founding fathers…well, despite that whole 3/5 human idiocy…whew, but I digress; clearly a blog post for another time), but either say what you mean and stick to your guns or shut-it-up.  Cowering in fear because people don’t like your platform says to me that you don’t really know what you believe and that you more than likely were just looking for an additional 15 minutes.

But back to my initial question, why do the morons have to use The Obamas to advance their political or social agendas?  It is almost as if these people are deliberately trying to see if Barack and Michelle ever live up to the ridiculously militant caricature that those equally ridiculous folks at The New Yorker tried penning on them last year.  What is it that they are hoping to get?  The First Lady interrupting the President during his “State of The Union” with full-on neck roll and finger wagging to curse out all of their detractors?  Well, don’t hold your breath status-pariahs.  I have one word for you:  CLASS.

And although Scott Baio is somehow convinced that his hate mail and malice-laced wishes are all a result of “people loving to hate,” if he is honest, isn’t that exactly why he posted the picture and comment about Michelle Obama in the first place?

 “Scott (Pot) Baio is 48…and Calling the Kettle Black.”

Better Than Soapnet: My Submission for the Book-Club Read of the Month

AP Photo

Although this week has been both heartbreaking and blind-siding (It’s a word because I say so), I sincerely hope that no one thought I was going to let the conversation die on Senator Reid and the comments that can only be described as the antithesis of what he should be thinking about his lowly colored constituency.  His regrettable comments were actually quoted in a book that I am just frothing at the mouth (literally) to read that answers the burning question of what could be worse than just a rouge (and that would be a rouge, a magic Light-Skinned Negro, a decrepit Maverick and Billary).

“Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin and The Race of a Lifetime,” written by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin takes an in-depth look at the good, the bad and the prejudiced during the 2008 Presidential Race.  Like Reid’s comments, which were disclosed in the book, I found alleged remarks by Bill and Hillary Clinton to be equally eye-roll worthy.  But before I go tagging and cattle prodding the racially insensitive, I have to point out that many of the allegations and assertions in the book have reportedly come from anonymous political insiders, so we should pretty much expect that Heilemann and Halperin will pull a Woodward and Bernstein on us.  And it stands to reason that since the book does not have a bibliography, many politicians that were named and second-hand quoted by sources within their respective camps, are dismissing the author’s depictions of them as inaccurate or simply untrue.  Still, with Reid having come out and apologized for comments that the book asserted he made, there seems to be some truth to “Game Change.”

Take for instance then Senator Obama’s rather stunning caucus win in Iowa.  The book claims that Senator Clinton, while meeting with advisors accused Obama of playing the race card and importing people to the state to improve his chances at the caucus.  It also quotes Clinton as saying that she hated the choice that the country was faced with and that she thought that it was a terrible choice for our nation.

Not to be outdone, the book also details an alleged affair that President Clinton was maintaining in 2006 and how Hillary’s camp worked on a strategy to deal with any public disclosure had the affair been exposed in the media during her campaign run.  Unfortunately, William Jefferson’s naughtiness didn’t end there.  “Game Change” also points out how Bill offended the late Senator Ted Kennedy by telling him that “A few years ago, this guy [Obama] would have been getting us coffee,” while trying to garner the senior senator’s endorsement for Hillary over Barack.

The book also highlights the scandalous affair between John Edwards and his then-campaign-videographer-turned-baby-mama-#2 Rielle Hunter while his wife Elizabeth battled breast cancer, the many incoherent musings of the inescapably dim Governor Sarah Palin, and Senator John McCain’s cluelessness as to the Vice Presidential Candidate vetting process.

Salacious? Indeed.  Thought-provoking? You betcha.  True?  Well, that remains to be seen, and why I really need someone to order a copy for my birthday (as the books should be released by early March) so that I can conduct a thorough investigation of these allegations for myself *snide.* I’d even contemplated purchasing a copy to send to President Obama, but it seems that he has long gotten the memo and is aspiring to the age old adage.  And what better way to keep his enemies closer than by appointing them to his cabinet and inner sanctum?

I’m Just Saying.

Weekend Recap: The High (and low) lights

Although this weekend was a blistery cold one, there were still plenty of hot shots and hot messes that traipsed all up and through my two mental health days off.

1) Lady Gaga and Her Hat Hair

There are those who find Lady Gaga to be creative and unique and eccentric and trendsetting.  While I won’t deny that the girl has pipes, I find her to be a biter. Period.  She appeared at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this weekend reportedly wearing her own hair, fashioned into a sun hat. Um, can somebody direct this imitator and her hairstylist to the nearest Bronner Brother’s Convention.  This is not shock and awe Mistress Gaga, this is simply an unoriginal attempt to replicate hot mess Hair Show hairdo’s from seasons past.  Man, where is Chris Rock when you need him? COLOSSAL FAIL!

2) The Baltimore Ravens

As sorry as they’ve been playing since…like FOREVER, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to talk about my Skins anymore.  ESPECIALLY after my very public rant and break-up with them on Facebook last year.  Well not to be outdone, my OTHER team, The Baltimore Ravens trekked up to Beantown this weekend and rained all over Pretty Boy Brady and company’s parade!  Sure, sure, New Englanders far and wide are already justifying the 33 to 14 loss as unavoidable due to Wes Welker’s season ending injury last week, but to me that is hogwash, plain and simple. A-win-is-a-win-is-a-win, and the Ravens ought to be congratulated for knocking off a Pats team at home, where they’d never lost a playoff game.

TOTAL SUCCESS!

3) Sir Charles…Keys?

Whenever Charles Barkley opens up his mouth when not in relation to basketball or his analysis of basketball, he sets brown people back like 50 years. There, I said it.  And although I know this about Charles’ outspokenness, I hang my head in shame in admitting that more often than not, I am amused by his buffoonish antics.

Well, Sir Biggums held the monopoly on Buffoonery this weekend on Saturday Night Live.  While I was too sleepy to stay up for the show, I did watch his opening monologue and some excerpts from the show on the net this afternoon.  I guess it is a good thing though that his Alicia Keys skit did not make the SNL cut, because if the pictures are any indication, he’d have had us back with the Babylonians constructing the tower of Babel!

As regressive to the cause as he can be though, Chuck’s FAIL is only MODERATE, namely because he has Ernie Johnson (whom I adore) to vouch for him as a decent human being each week on Inside the NBA on TNT.

 

 

Danke schön Germany But…Obama Musical May Be Overkill

Jimme Wilson as Barack Obama, singing a gospel rendition of "Yes We Can" in German Musical "HOPE"

Unless you live on a remote island or are a hater of the highest order, then you fondly remember the balmy night in November a little over a year ago that changed the face (literally) of politics in America.  As we sat around our televisions or clamored together in public venues to witness the historic election of The United States’ first African-American President, it was apparent that an atmosphere of excitement, optimism and change had descended upon the nation.

Since then, most of us have come down from the high that was the New Obama Age, and even though the president currently finds himself knee-deep in national security, fiscal policy and social issues that would buckle a lesser man, many Americans still hold fast to the optimism we embodied on that momentous night.

But with President Obama and his administration contending with a 10% national unemployment rate, yet another White House security evader, litigious Healthcare Reform, and an array of National Security concerns, the last thing he might need right now is more “Obama-can-do-no-wrong” groupie love from his global disciples.

While it is true that Barry’s meteoric rise from “community organizer” to the leader of the free world is a heart-warming and compelling story, I was a little surprised to read in “USA Today” that the nation of Germany had decided to embrace it as a musical production.  With a script based loosely on Obama’s political speeches and statements, the German musical called “HOPE” will premiere in Frankfurt on January 17th and will tour the rest of the country soon thereafter.

American writer and composer, Randall Hutchins admits that the atmosphere of change and the beautiful social time surrounding the election was his inspiration for “HOPE”.  He was so enthralled with this period in time that he even included a big musical number belted out by a big-haired, frameless glasses wearing character closing resembling my 106,712th favorite Alaskan, with a troop of scantily clad chorus girls in tow.

Now, I will admit that “HOPE” has piqued my interest and sounds like a mildly entertaining depiction of THE political event of 2008 that resonated around the world (although ticket prices ranging from $60 to $216 seem a bit steep), but with so much on President Obama’s plate right now, it is likely that this musical will only fan the flames of contempt and disdain amongst the anti-Obama (right) wing-nuts.  While he cannot help being admired and well received across the world, with so many people out of jobs and fearful of newly emboldened terrorists aboard our airliners (like the potential underwear bomber in Detroit), I almost wish that this celebration of “HOPE” wouldn’t have materialized until much later…like after Obama’s term in office was complete.

The Newest White House Baby-Daddy

I don’t know whether to be amused here (with just a smattering of annoyance), or to suggest that these reporters take a refresher course in “21st Century Modern & Blended Families” with a prerequisite in “Sometimes Life Throws Us a Curveball”. 

The New York Post and the Associated Press reported today that White House budget director Peter Orszag and his ex-girlfriend Claire Milonas recently welcomed a baby daughter into the world.  Oh yeah, and he got engaged to ABC reporter Bianna Golodryga over the holidays.

Now, while I don’t consider The Post intellectually stimulating reading, I did expect to read a “story” behind all the baby-mama drama innuendo.  I mean, I can certainly see how the smut mags would jump all over this for its major scandalous and tabloid-y implications, but if we are being honest, how is this news?  

While it would be ideal to have a clean break-up with an ex, find and fall in love with someone new, then have babies and live happily ever after, the reality is that it does not always work out that way, and millions of Americans can attest to that fact.  In reality, people sometimes make decisions that later lead to more difficult and complex situations than what they’d originally planned.  I am in no way attacking or defending however, because I am a solid proponent of people lying in the bed that they’ve made for themselves (no pun intended), but to broadcast this as news just seems a little lazy to me. 

I certainly hope Rupert’s underlings weren’t looking to somehow hold Orszag to a higher moral standard than anyone else just because he’s a member of the President’s administration, ‘cause last I checked, Obama’s head was not halo adored nor did he have supernatural powers (although he can induce Michael Steele to insert his own foot into his mouth occasionally).

Here’s a thought “journalists”: how about a newsworthy exposé on airport security breaches that regularly put American lives and National Security at risk, instead of worrying about who was playing house with whom.