Fashion Observations

Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Project Runway, but I recently noticed a weird fashion situation on an old Golden Girls. It was the one where Dorothy and Blanche bought the same dress and both refused to return it. It was a long flowing, drapey number in champagne. Dorothy looked great because she is so tall. On the other hand all those folds made the shorter Blanche look squat, heavy--and heaven forbid--matronly. The thing is Blanche would have known that and not picked a dress that concealed her best features.

Then to compound the mistake, Blanche bought another dress--the same one Sophia picked. It was fine for an 80-year-old, but Blanche never would have chosen a navy blue outfit with sequins and a giant bow on the neckline.

Also on the subway today I saw this Asian woman who had a perfect look--great black boots, black bag, and a neat white jacket. Her Lina Wertmuller glasses with thick gray frames set the whole thing off.

Then tonight I watched Fashion Police on E! and the stylist George with some Greek last name had a really cute outfit with a gray print shirt and a vest, and a nice tie. The new trend was nerdy glasses. Maybe next time I'll get those instead of my thin frames.

Fashion Tips for Dictators

Two world leaders in the news this week are in definite need of makeovers. Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad always looks like he's been loafing around the house on a Saturday and his wife has sent him out to pick up some enriched uranium. So he threw on his Members Only jacket and took the Subaru to the Tehran Home Depot. Note to Mahmoud: a business suit and tie once in a while would not be out of place as you are issuing ultimatums and ordering crackdowns on protests to your election. People might tend to take you more seriously if you didn't appear to be a suburban dad on his way to drop the kids off to little league and ballet practice. I'm just saying.

Meanwhile, Mummar Gaddafi of Libya made his speech to the UN wearing Beatrice Arthur's cast-offs from the first season of Golden Girls when she had that unflattering hair-do. In addition, he sported that weird hat which resembled something a church lady would wear to a Baptist service down south. Lose the flowing gowns Mummar, the military uniform you wore in younger days made a bolder statement.

Late Night Ramblings: From Politics to Continuity on the Golden Girls

I despair of civil discourse in this country. Corporate lobbyists and radical right wingers are encouraging people to riot at town hall meetings--filling their heads with lies about health care reform. ("It will kill your grandpa, and your daughter will be forced to have an abortion.") They are employing the tactics they deplored 40 years ago when kids protested the Vietnam war. Limbaugh compares Obama to Hitler every chance he gets. Olbermann and O'Reilly have broken their truce and are ratcheting up their attacks.

For every piece of good news--Sotomayor is confirmed, the two journalists are released from North Korea thanks to Bill Clinton--there's more bad: health care reform is in danger, crazies are getting into the mainstream media.

It's so much easier to watch Jonny Quest at midnight on Boomerang and the Golden Girls 24-7 on the Hallmark Channel or WE. Did you ever notice Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia never mention their children, grandchildren, siblings, etc. except on the episodes where said relatives appeared. It's as if they vanished from mind when they weren't present. Let's see, Blanche had a sister (played by Barbara Babcock and Sheree North on separate episodes) and a gay brother (Monte Markham). But her father Big Daddy (David Wayne and some other guy in another episode) never mentioned his other children when he would visit Blanche. Meanwhile Dorothy also had a sister played by two different actresses (Doris Bielack and Dena Dietrich, Mother Nature on those margarine commercials) and a brother Phil who was into cross-dressing. Yet when Blanche had a tough time dealing with her brother's sexuality, Dorothy never mentioned her experiences with her sibling's transvestitism. Neither did Sophia. Strange.

Jonny Quest is a different story. Jonny's mother is dead before the series starts and she's only mentioned briefly in the first episode. She never comes up again. I guess Dr. Benton Quest is having too much fun with Race Bannon.