Obama's Poland gaffe — you know, it was a Poland gaffe that lost the election in 1976 for Gerald Ford.

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What Obama said was "Polish death camps," a terrible misstatement, carelessly referring to the geographic location of the camps without noticing the implication that that the Polish people ran those camps.

What Gerald Ford said, in a crucial debate with Jimmy Carter, was: "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, an there never will be under a Ford administration." In a 1989 interview, Jim Lehrer asked "why did you say that?"

There's no question I did not adequately explain what I was thinking. I felt very strongly, and I, of course, do so today, that regardless of the number of Soviet armored divisions in Poland, the Russians would never dominate the Polish spirit. That's what I should have said. I simply left out the fact that at that time in 1976, the Russians had about 10 to 15 divisions in Poland. Well, of course the presence of those divisions indicates a domination physically of the Poles, but despite that military occupation of Poland by the Soviets, it never in any way ever destroyed the strong, nationalistic spirit of the Polish people. And I felt, and of course, I'm pleased now the Poles are going to throw the Russians out And the quicker they do it, the better. And I'm proud of what they're doing, and, of course, I get a little satisfaction that maybe I was right in 1976.

JIM LEHRER: Let's go back at the time you said that. I'm sure you've replayed this in your mind a million times. I don't have to remind you what happened. You gave that answer, and then there was a follow-up, and you repeated it, so my question is did you have any idea that you had said something wrong?

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: Not at the time. Not at the time, because as you may remember, I included Yugoslavia, and Hungary, I believe, and Poland in the initial answer, and I said the Soviet Union does not dominate these countries. They're autonomous, and of course, it related to an earlier comment I had made about the Helsinki accord, which had established the borderlines of all the Eastern and Western European countries. So at the time, I did not feel that I had made an error. In retrospect, obviously, the inclusion of a sentence or maybe a phrase would have made all the difference in the world.

JIM LEHRER: When did you realize that you had made a mistake, or at least or do you honestly believe you made a mistake, now, sitting here now?

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: Well, I can see that I made a mistake in not adequately explaining what I had in mind. I have never had any doubts, none whatsoever about the strength of the Policy people to throw the Soviet or the Russian forces out, and to reestablish an independent Poland. I felt after the debate was over that I had overall done well because we had pointed out that Mr. Carter had been calling for significant reductions in military expenditures, which, of course, was not the right policy, and I pointed out his lack o experience in foreign policy military decision making. So when I finished the debate, I felt very comfortable. But the press focused in on that one exchange, and I happen to think that most of the press distorted the facts, and overly emphasized something that was not the most substantive issue in the whole debate.

JIM LEHRER: Do you happen to remember that just as the debate was over, when you first talked to your aides, your family, or whatever, did anybody say to you, Mr. President you made a mistake, you did bad on this one statement.

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: The first comments by my staff were that we had done very, very well overall. But then when the press, in their own analysis --

JIM LEHRER: Immediately, you mean right after the debate.

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: The press that were making the post debate analysis focused in on that, and made very adverse comments about my comment. Well, when that press reaction became the dominant one, of course, the whole feeling that I had won this debate overall changed quite dramatically.

JIM LEHRER: How important do you think that was to the outcome of the election?

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: It was a factor. As you also know, we ended up losing by only a point and a half, or maybe two points. So any one of a number of problem in the campaign could have made the difference. The second debate might have made a difference. The pardon of President Nixon might have made a difference. The timing of certain economic news that came out in October that indicated we were not doing as well in coming out of the recession if the news we got in because through mid-November on the economy had come in mid-October, I think we would have won, because through November, economic news was good. The October news just before the election was not very good. So any one of a number of three or four problems, difficulties could have made a difference. We only had to change 6,500 votes in Ohio out of 4 million, and about 20,000, as I recall, in Hawaii and we would have won the election.

JIM LEHRER: When you lost the election, did you ever fly back some night by yourself thinking if I just had not said that in that debate about Poland and Eastern Europe, it might have come out differently? Did it haunt you?

PRESIDENT GERALD FORD: Not at all, Jim. I have always had the attitude, what's gone past you have to forget, and you have to look down the road and build for the future. Of course, Betty and I hated to lose. We did our best. But once the verdict was there by the voters we had no remorse. We didn't sit around and moan and groan. We had a new life to lead, and we started planning whatever our future would be.

By the way, I watched the debate at the time, and I understood what he meant as he said it. I heard how the spinners spun it immediately after the debate and saw how it played in the media and how much it hurt him. If only there had been bloggers back then to push back! 

"I must say this venture of mine into this Intrade market has been worthwhile."

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"I have never really interacted directly with you wingnuts before, and the expression, 'shit for brains,' now has a meaning I never quite appreciated as much before now. Thank you for making it real for me."

A comment, just now, on the Intrade market "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to win the 5 June 2012 recall election," which just hit 94.5%.

Hey, remember the new civility? The weird thing is: Tom Barrett (Walker's opponent) has made his main issue the prospect of restoring civility — ending what he repeatedly calls "the civil war." But I'm only seeing incivility from the anti-Walkerites. Walker fixed the budget, and (some) people flipped out, mainly over an issue that Tom Barrett doesn't even want to talk about anymore (because the clear majority of Wisconsinites agree with Walker).

Check out what happened over at the Isthmus forum (Isthmus is our local "alternative" newspaper) when Meade — responding to a guy who'd said "What do you know personally about the rest of Wisconsin? Little, I think." — said:

Tell you what, Mr. Henry. A week from tomorrow, June 6, if your guy Tom Barrett has more votes than Governor Walker - you name the place. Anywhere on Monroe Street. I will buy you a beer. And I'll listen to anything you feel like teaching me about Wisconsin.

Incivility ensues.

"Chicago distances Obama from Wisconsin recall."

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Chicago? Chicago = the Obama campaign. Isn't that weird?

Anyway, Chicago wants you to know that the Walker recall business has got nothing to do with Obama.

"This is a gubernatorial race with a guy who was recalled and a challenger trying to get him out of office," Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said on MSNBC Wednesday. "It has nothing to do with President Obama at the top of the ticket."

A guy... and a challenger... don't even say the names in the same breath as you say the name of The One.

Asked whether the recall showdown means anything for the November general election, Cutter told host Chuck Todd, "No, I don't think so."

Some Wisconsin Democrats and labor officials have privately groused that the Obama campaign has not sufficiently been involved in backing Walker's challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Neither Obama nor Vice President Biden have been dispatched to campaign on Barrett's behalf.

Not even Biden! What a gulf! What a vast, yawning chasm there is between Chicago and Wisconsin. Chicago, which sent busloads of Chicagoan union types up to inflate the crowds in the protests of yore.

"Walker leads Barrett 52% to 45% in new Marquette Law School poll."

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Likely voters. Margin of error +/-4. In early May, Walker led by 50% to 44% in this poll.

The same Marquette poll that showed GOP incumbent Walker leading in his recall fight also showed Democratic President Barack Obama leading in his re-election fight against Republican Mitt Romney, 51% to 43%. The two were tied in Marquette’s early May poll.   

That's a big advance for Obama. Not surprising Obama wants nothing to do with the Wisconsin recall election.

ADDED: More here:

Majorities supported increases in public employee contributions to health and retirement benefits, with 75 percent in favor and 22 percent opposed.... A smaller majority, 55 percent, said they favored limiting collective bargaining for most public employees, while 41 percent opposed such limits. A subsequent question found a closer division on collective bargaining, with 50 percent wanting to keep the current law on bargaining and 45 percent wishing for a return to the previous law prior to last year.

So on main issues that fired the protests last year, the people clearly support Walker.

"I can’t find it in me to remand him to state prison that houses people convicted of offenses such as murder, armed robbery and rape."

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"I don’t believe that that fits this case. I believe that he has to be punished, and he will be."

Says Judge Glenn Berman, show sentenced Dharun Ravi to 30 days in jail for spying on his roommate Tyler Clementi (who shortly thereafter killed himself).

[The judge] argued that the legislature intended prison terms to be attached to bias crimes that were “assaultive or violent in nature,” not invasion of privacy. 
“I also know his age,” Judge Berman added, calling it a mitigating factor. 
“I believe justice compels me to deviate from the guidelines,” he said.

Listen to a Clip of American Idol champ Kris Allen's New Single "Live Like We're Dying"

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I'm a big Kris Allen fan. Big. And I couldn't be more excited that the 23-second clip below of his rumored new single "Live Like We're Dying" sounds AWESOME. Like, One Republic meets Jason Mraz AWESOME. It's a cover of a song by a band called The Scripts, but since no one's ever heard of them, or the song, who the heck cares? The song is (have I mentioned?) AWESOME!

Listen below and let me know what you think.

Tonight's the Night

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17 contestants took on the challenge of using a fellow competitor's suitcased clothing. I was surprised by the one that lost. There were 3 others that looked dreadfully uninspired to me. Maybe things look differently in person or was it the "please give me another chance" pleas? Dunno.
Tomorrow I will pick up my supplies at St. Vinny's and give a try.

Oh and I loved the Austin/Sorrino show. It has a lot of heart ... and quirkiness!

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut: The Top Chef Texas recap

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Beverly oversells her "surprised" face

 
Since I no longer can indulge my favorite guessing game—Malibu Chris: Friend of Dorothy or just a really close acquaintance?—I can now turn to my second favorite guessing game: Beverly: Sweet as a basket of baby sloths or stealth assassin? Once again, I’m struck by the fact that Beverly, while clearly being an adorable, moptopped underdog who you just want to hug and feed chicken soup to, is also quite possibly. . .a deadly ninja.And last night may’ve been her best work yet. All the girls on Team Half Bushel kind of mowed her over (well, with the exception of Graysen, who, as usual, managed to rise above the fray). They bossed her around, they patronized her, they treated her like she was some sort of assistant to the assistant to the assistant sous chef, and she quietly took their crap, diligently perfecting her one dish and following Lindsay’s prep instructions to the letter.“I’m just doing what she told me to do” she shrugged of Lindsay’s increasingly moisture-free halibut.
And look what happened people. Look. What. Happened.
So yeah, in case you hadn’t figured it out, it’s Restaurant Wars, broken into a convenient battle of the sexes package.
Edward is not intimidated.“The girls are good, but the boys are more talented,” he says, adding, “Sarah knows flavor, but we know her weakness is barbecuing out in the sun.” Seriously, dude, let it go.

Instead of the usual practice—two concurrent services—there will be two separate services in the same space over the course of two nights.I wonder if this is because all the Imodium in the world can’t make judging 4 appetizers, 4 entrees, and 4 desserts in one night go down easy.
The cheftestants begin strategizing. Both teams come up with the exact same concept. If you guessed: Indian street food, you’d be wrong! It’s the incredibly original farm to table.
At this point, I’m convinced that every kitchen in every restaurant across the country is doing some variation on the farm-to-table, elegantly rustic, upscale comfort food theme.  (It’s just a matter of time before there will be an option of salt, pepper, or dirt in your condiment dispensers).
I mean, look, I like a pork belly or a free range chicken or an organic beet salad as much as the next hungry blogger, but there are other kinds of cuisine out there people. Food trends have become as insidious as fashion trends (jeggings for everyone!) and movie trends (that would look so much better in post-production 3D!). 
In keeping with this rustic theme, the boys have decided to call their restaurant Compost (just kidding, Canteen) and the girls have decided to call their restaurant Gristle (okay, Half Bushel).
The boys go first. They geniusly decide to put Edward out front, because nothing says “welcome!” quite like a shifty jaw, a bloody appendage, and a scowl.
He’s doing a pretty good job in his usual fueled-by-rage way, but he keeps inadvertently revealing his anxiety.“Wow, you’re on time!” he says nervously to the first group to arrive. “Wow, you’re all lining up!” he says a few minutes later, as customers just. keep. arriving. “We must be doing something right—heh, heh.” Ummm, no.
Meanwhile, the guys are so busy cooking they forgot a basic component of Restaurant 101: Expediting. Last I checked, a huge part of that farm-to-table thing is actually getting the food on the table.Quoth Rick Perry: Oops.
They try several things: First Edward is expediting. That doesn’t work. Then Umlaut is expediting. Uh, no. Then Paul, who has basically gone all Angelo on us and is cooking almost every dish, decides he’s also going to expedite.
Padma, who misses nothing (seriously, she probably knows that I forgot to floss this morning) notices all the shuffling in the kitchen.“Ty is in his apron outside the kitchen,” she informs the table.“They’re really in the trees right now,” Emeril says. (Is that like being in the weeds, but worse?)“And now Paul is outside the kitchen,” she says.“I think Edward may’ve just farted,” she notes a few minutes later. (Joke.)
As for the food: They’re not in love with anything. But mostly, they freak out because Edward’s Almond Joy bar has no coconut. Tom seems to take this personally.“It can’t be an Almond Joy without coconut,” he sputters. “If you’re not going to have coconut, just don’t call it an Almond Joy!”Later he adds, “The coconut is the best part!”Good lord, somebody get this man some coconut.
“The best that we can hope for now is that the girls all blow up at each other and screw up worse than we did,” sighs Edward.
Well, let’s just see about that. . .
Day Two: girls up to bat. They decide to put Lindsay up front. Again, slightly strange choice. Lindsay has a Tracy Flick-like quality about her—her perfectionism is sharp-edged. (It comes as ZERO surprise that she was the prom queen and graduated at the top of her class in college.)
Like Edward, she doesn’t exactly project warmth. (Where’s Graysen when you need her?)
But the funniest thing about Lindsay is that she Honey Badgers it: She really doesn’t give a damn. The judges—the judges!—have to stand around waiting for their table (cleverly, the girls have provided a little lemonade in a cooler for them to sip on) and she is unfazed by this.“I can’t be in three places at one time,” she says. Yeah, but if one of those three places contains the judges who are deciding your fate, it might behoove you to triage in favor of that place.
“I’d be walking a little faster if I had 12 people at my door,” says Padma.
The kitchen is, inevitably, a Beverly-bashing zone, but her little lip quivers and she just keeps perfecting her one dish. (Sorry I keep harping on that one dish thing: But how did she manage to pull that off? It’s no wonder her dish ruled, it’s pretty much all she had to worry about). (See? Ninja.)
The boys come in, too (forgot to mention that the teams are dining at each other’s restaurants) and service begins.
The judges note that there isn’t quite as happy a buzz in Half-Bushel as there was in Canteen. (That's because when Edward smiles, the world smiles back.)They also have to wait much longer for the food. But once it comes, they forget their troubles and get happy.They adore Grayson’s peach salad with pickled shallots and bacon vinaigrette (yes please) and also Sarah’s Arancino with Buffalo mozzarella. And they want to marry Beverly’s braised shortribs with Thai basil and kimchee.
Over at the boys table, Chris J. is happily munching on his shortrib.“This is the nicest dinner I’ve had since we got here,” he says innocently.Edward shoots daggers at him. (BTW, why do I find it strangely endearing that Chris J. is a Trekkie? I knew he was a food nerd, but now I know he comes by it honestly. Kobiyashi Maru for life!—whoever that is.)
The judges assess their two meals. Basically, the service was better at Canteen. The food was better at Half Bushel. Decisions. . . decisions.
Padma wants to see the ladies.  . .
They skulk into the judging room. She grills them about how long it took to get seated. They squirm. “Do you think you did better than the boys?”
“Yes,” says Beverly firmly, quickly, ninja-style. “Yes,” says Sarah tentatively (she has approximately twice the bravado but half the confidence of Beverly). “Well, congratulations ladies. You had our favorite restaurant!”There is squeeing and hugging and more squeeing, until Padma names the overall winner: Beverly. WTFs are exchanged among everyone not named Beverly, who has to pretend to look surprised. “Burn, burn, burn!” I write in my notes.Ha. The girls head back to the holding room, buoyed by triumph but puzzled by Beverly’s sneaky win. “We couldn’t have done it without Lindsay,” says Sarah. Surely, what she meant to say was “Congratulations Beverly, on a well-earned victory!”
Time to send the boys in front of the firing squad.
“The bottom line, the food just didn’t wow us,” says Tom. “All of you get an F here. Any one of you could go home for the mess that was Canteen.”  (Huh. So maybe “Mess Hall” would’ve been a more appropriate name?)
And all the umlauts in the world can’t save Ty-Lör from his fate. He’s göing höme.

Padma's Gotta Gun: The Top Chef Texas recap

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Pick me!

They’ve gone through over two months of grueling competition, they’ve cooked their asses off, prepared everything from pork ribs to foie gras, and, one by one, they’ve defeated their culinary foes. So what’s the best way to choose our Top Chef finalists? Cross country skiing and target shooting, of course!Shoot me now. (But not literally.)
Look, I’m not the first to say that this season of Top Chef has kind of lost its way. But here’s some unsolicited advice to Padma and friends going forward: Less forced product placement, less gimmicks, less challenges that have more to do with physical prowess than culinary skills, and get back to basics. There’s no shame in recycling some of the old Quickfires (I, for one, miss the blindfolded taste test), especially when the ones you come up with involve moving gondolas and blocks of ice.
So yeah, we’re in British Columbia now, for reasons not quite made clear. Some time has passed, all the contestants have grown their hair—as they do. Paul has packed on a few pounds, but still looks cute. And with his bratty school boy haircut, he looks a bit like the Asian Chuck Bass.(However, the less said about his neon orange pants and matching suspenders, the better.)
They all greet each other warmly, but Sarah and Lindsay are cool to Bev.
“Paul, Sarah, and I have a bond,” explains Lindsay. “We’ve been through this since day one. It’s a little weird seeing Beverly show up.”
Yes, because she missed two whole episodes.
As the cheftestants drive to their challenge destination, Paul asks Bev about Last Chance Kitchen. “Oh, it was pretty awesome!” gushes Bev, so glad that someone finally bothered to ask. “I.  .  .”“Look at that tree!” blurts out Sarah, in what is quite possibly the least artful sabotage of a conversation I’ve ever seen. Beverly rolls  her eyes and simmers quietly, Beverly-style.
(By the way, did anyone catch Bev get the honey badger treatment on Watch What Happens Live last night? So good.) (And snazzy jacket there, Bev.)
They go to the top of a mountain, where Padma and Tom are about to be blown out of the frame, like this guy from the Weather Channel. 

So apparently, this was the same mountain where the Winter Games took place and we’ve got a completely reasonable Olympic theme to tonight’s show. Because the Winter Games are coming . . . in February 2014.
“Welcome to the Culinary Games!” says Padma, living out her Suzy Chapstick fantasy.
There will be three events. Each event offers a prize of $10,000 and a trip to the finale.
For the first event, the cheftestants have to prepare a dish on a moving gondola.
Here are a few things that might stand in the way of them making an ideal dish:It’s cold as shit.Paul gets motion sickness.Food defrosts slower in the cold.Water boils faster at high altitudes.The gondola is moving.“It’s very nauseous in here”-Sarah.
But besides that, it’s all about the food.
Guest judge is noted foodie and Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler. (I wonder if her fans are called Beleilers, Justin Bieber style. . .)In the end, miraculously, the judges like all four dishes, but they are partial to Beverly’s clever salmon tartare and Lindsay’s salmon and chorizo. And Lindsay wins! She’s our first finalist.
After, Sarah assesses Beverly with a series of baffling animal metaphors: “She is that silent horse. She likes to be meek and timid and then she likes to attack like a tiger.”(Why does everyone feel compelled to compare Bev to a woodland creature? Discuss among yourselves.)
Round two, where food is packed into enormous ice blocks. So they have to get to their food, thaw it, and then prepare it. They are given ice picks, and all start hacking away like Jason in Friday the Thirteenth, if Jason had a culinary degree and an impudent way with a buerre blanc.The ice picking—and all the Olympic-style competition for that matter—brings out the crazed, Honey Badger side of Beverly. She looks positively demented. But of course, she’s not that strong. And neither is Sarah, who’s clearly not the jock of the bunch. They start whacking at their ice blocks with frying pans. It’s not a pretty sight. (It's like the Pine Barrens episode of The Sopranos, for those who get the reference.)Paul releases his ingredients first. And even he knows how idiotic and irrelevant to cooking this exercise is. So he helps Sarah and Bev break their ice blocks, too. (Love. Him.)
In the end, it all works out for the best. Paul wins this round with his King crab and mango chivalry (I mean, uh, chutney).
So, as it must be, I suppose, it’s down to Sarah vs. Beverly.
They meet Padma at the top of another mountain. “Oh my God, she has a gun,” Sarah says when she sees Padma. (I had a nightmare like this once—except it was both Heidi Klum and Padma with guns and for some reason I was dressed in bearskins).
“This is your last shot to move into the final three,” says Padma. (Anyone who reads my The Bachelor recaps knows that my intolerance for bad puns is at Defcon 1 at this point. So Padma is treading on thin ice.) (Ohmygod, it’s contagious.)
This final challenge is the culinary biathlon where you have to cross country ski and then shoot for your ingredients. (I’m pretty sure Chef Ripert also had to do this before he opened Le Bernardin.)

Bev has never cross country skied or used a gun in her life. Sarah, however, used to shoot tin cans in the woods with her pappy. (Is that a real thing? My hand to God, I thought it was just something fake rednecks did in movies.) #EastCoastgirl
Advantage Sarah?
You might think so, but then you’d be underestimating the Honey Badger. Beverly gets on those skis, and with a Bev look of Bev determination that only Bev can muster, Bevs her way around the course. There’s a moment where Sarah wipes out on Beverly’s skis—and of course, Sarah seethes at Beverly, as though she did it on purpose. (Beverly can barely ski in a straight line, but she has the diabolical know-how to use her skis as a weapon? I think not.)Eventually, they both make it to the end of course and start shooting for their ingredients. Bev proves to be a halfway decent shot, at least as good as Sarah.They both get the ingredients they want, so we are finally done with this nonsense.
The judges like Beverly’s arctic char with celery root, beets, and black truffles and are impressed that she got out of her Asian comfort zone to produce something earthy and rootsy.Quibble: Her fish is slightly overcooked and the whole dish was not quite seasoned enough.
They also like Sarah’s rabbit with black cherries and hazelnuts. It’s a very flavorful and well thought out dish.Quibble: Rabbit a little tough.

“You made two very good dishes,” says Tom. “You’re not making it easy on us. So thank you.”

Padma breaks the news: “Beverly, please pack your knives and go.”
What follows is a show of hypocrisy that “is very nauseous,” as Sarah might say.
All of a sudden, everyone is hugging Beverly and loving her spunk and telling her how awesome she is. It’s a freakin’ lovefest.“You kicked ass,” says Paul.“You kicked hardcore ass,” says Lindsay. “I’m so glad we got to cook together. You’re amazing,” says Sarah, hugging Bev. (Aaaaand I just threw up a little in my mouth.)
And then Bev pulls out her trusty ice pick and stabs them all repeatedly in the eye.
The End

Dude, that's cold! The Top Chef Texas recap

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I’m not saying that the final 3 are a little dull, I’m just saying that they showed them playing a word association game in the car ride to Vancouver. (And did anyone catch the rules to this game? Steven Seagal leads to Sammy Hagar which leads to Q-Tip which leads to Barbara Bush? Was it the “washed up celebrities of the 80s” name game? Or perhaps just the “blurt out any celebrity’s name you can think of” game?)
Anyway, they go to a kitchen in Chinatown and there are three master chefs—Takashi Yagihashi, Floyd Cardoz, and my girl Anita Lo (love her for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on—she has what can best be described as an endearing logyness.)
Sarah is tearing up because apparently whenever she is encountered with master chefs, she gets weepy (also, she and Takashi are bowling buddies, or somethin).
Paul is feeling what I like to call the “Reverse Lin”—namely, there’s an extra expectation that he'll do well in this challenge because he’s Asian.
They’ll be making a tag-team dish in 40 minutes, with no communication between partners.
They draw knives:
Anita is teamed with LindsayPaul is teamed with TakashiSarah is teamed with Floyd
And away they go.I actually love a challenge like this, precisely because of the lack of communication. The masters simply have to prep and leave some clues and hope for best. (Now if I was playing, my “clue” would be a napkin with the words “I’m making scallops 3 ways” written on it, but that’s just me.)
In the end, Sarah and Floyd achieve a perfect mind meld on their seared cod with coconut curry and win.
“I’ve won $30,000 in Canada alone,” says Sarah. “I won nothing in Texas.”

In sports we call this “peaking at the right time.” (Worked out pretty well for a little team I like to call the New York Football Giants!)
Padma now lays out the rules for the Elimination challenge: They will be serving at a Fire and Ice cocktail party, where they have to make one dish and one cocktail.
“Your dish must contain both a hot and cold element,” Padma says.
“That is so wide open to interpretation,” Lindsay reports. (Actually, Lindz, “a hot and a cold element” seems pretty narrowly open to interpretation to me.)
At Whole Foods, Paul orders 1,000 grams of King Crab and I’m thinking, get a hold of yourself man, you’re going to need some sort of giant truck to carry that much—but then I remember that 1,000 grams = about 2 pounds. #Metricsarehard
Paul and Sarah both have very high concepts, involving melting mousse and snow foam but Lindsay thinks they’re being too “gimmicky.” Hmmmm.
Meanwhile, she’s making halibut, because one of the burning questions of this season is: Can Lindsay make halibut or what? (Sadly, that’s not an exaggeration. That actually is one of the burning questions this season. Especially now that Malibu Chris and his magically shape-shifting sexuality is gone.)
Tom comes into the kitchen to check on their progress and proceeds to really mess with Paul’s head.
“What happened in the last Quickfire?” he asks. “Did the pressure get to you? Don’t you know that you’re Asian!” (Okay, he didn’t really ask that last part.)
But Paul, in classic Paul fashion, keeps his cool: “These two ladies are bad ass,” he says.
“So they just made better dishes than you?” Tom asks. (Dude, lay off.)
“Yeah,” says Paul. He is unflappable Tom. Stop trying to flap him.
It’s service time.“I wish I had another hour,” sighs Paul. But when the curtain rises, the curtain rises.
As the judges wait for their food, they bemoan the fact that someone is going to have to go home.
“There’s no Last Last Chance Kitchen,” says Tom.“Bev’s coming back!” cracks Padma.“She’s actually under the table right now,” says Emeril. Hey, an actual joke. By Emeril Lagasse. On purpose. Welcome to Season 9, Emeril!

Paul’s up first with his king crab with sunchoke chips and lobster broth, plus the “Pan Am” cocktail (kaffir lime, Thai chilies, rum—followed by a quickie in the airport bathroom).
Everyone likes the dish a lot, but they wish Paul’s Pan Am had more kick. (Ironic, since they were blasting his Quickfire dish for being too hot. Dude can’t win.)
Tom becomes enraged by Paul’s arugula, which he has basically used as a garnish. Tom is apparently a member of the lesser known PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Arugula.) He is not a happy camper.
Next up, Sarah’s five greens-filled pasta with garlic and chili spiced sformato (mousse) and “Agrumi” cocktail (gin, kumquat and mango).The pasta is delicioso, but the mousse got overly frozen on her fancy freezing plate and isn’t quite creating the melting sauce effect she was hoping for.Still, high marks for degree of difficulty and flavor.
Suddenly, Lindsay begins to second guess her second guessing. Maybe she should add a more gimmicky element to her dish. So, at the last minute, she adds a spoonful of tomato ice to her halibut with fiery celery root salad and roasted tomato with an ‘Encendido” (vodka, tomato, and horseradish).And it’s a good thing, too.
“I’ve never eaten a piece of ice so well seasoned,” says Gail, of Lindsay’s ice spoon.
Also, for the record, the halibut is perfectly cooked. Can we all just finally move on with our lives?!?

Then the judges deliberate.It gets a little contentious, especially this exchange about Lindsay, between Gail and Tom.“I didn’t think she made any mistakes,” says Gail. “The drink was a mistake,” says Tom.“But it definitely went with the food,” says Gail.(Okay, so not exactly contentious, but that qualifies as high drama on this particular episode.)
The cheftestants are called back in. “Sarah,” says Padma, pausing for effect and making a sad face. “You are moving on to the finale!” (Oh, the patented Padma fakeout. When. Will. I. Learn?)
Once Sarah retrieves her heart from her mouth, she’s able to celebrate in the holding room.
Sort of strange order for the show, huh?Arugula abuse notwithstanding, Paul was pretty much a foregone conclusion, so the suspense between Lindsay and Paul isn’t that extreme. (I guess they thought the original Sarah fakeout was more compelling than a Sarah v. Lindsay final two.)
Anyway, yeah, Lindsay is going home.A shame because her womance with Sarah was a lovely thing to behold.
But it seems fitting that in a season more defined by its constantly self-mythologizing homebase state than anything else, we’d have two Texans as the final two.
Saddle up. Giddy-up. Hook em horns. Etc. etc. etc. . .

Scarlett Johansson Hacker Pleads Guilty

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A Florida man accused of hacking into the email accounts of more than 50 celebrities, including Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Mila Kunis, has pleaded guilty. Christopher Chaney, 35, now faces up to 60 years in jail and $2.5million in fines and restitution after entering guilty pleas to unauthorized computer access, wiretapping and other felony charges. He was finally caught after an 11-month FBI investigation dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi", but pleaded not guilty in November 2011. He was remanded in custody at yesterday's (26.03.12) hearing in Los Angeles and will be sentenced on July 23.

Reese Witherspoon Hides Baby Bump With Giant Purse

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Reese Witherspoon, 37, who's currently expecting her first child with CAA agent hubby Jim Toth, 41, shielded her pregnancy curves from photographers while exiting the Byron and Tracey Salon in Beverly Hills Tuesday. It's no surprise, given that Witherspoon decided not to officially announce her baby news. She and ex Ryan Phillippe, 37, share custody of daughter Ava, 12, and son Deacon, 8. The actress, who is around 13 weeks, is planning to take a break from acting to focus on motherhood. "She wants to have this child and take time off," a source told Us.

Megan Fox Is Expecting?

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Megan Fox and her husband, Brian Austin Green, are expecting a child together, according to a new report. While this would be Fox's first baby, Green has a 10-year-old son with ex and fellow Beverly Hills 90210 alum Vanessa Marcil. The source added, "Megan has become a great stepmom, and Brian knows she'll be wonderful with the baby. She has really grown in the past couple of years. Megan used to only be concerned with her career, but now family comes first." Fox recently told Cosmopolitan magazine that she and Green would be ready for children soon. "I want at least two, probably three," she said. "I've always been maternal."

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Planning Big Summer Wedding

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The couple have kept a low profile about their engagement, but they are pulling out all the stops for their big day. According to a source close to the couple, they are planning a big summer wedding. They have decided they want to include all their friends in the celebration. Biel, 30, has yet to decide on her dress. As for Timberlake, 31, he promised her the best day ever, according to the source.

Cyndi Lauper to Release her Autobiography

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Cyndi Lauper, 58, swears her book will show her true colors. She has a memoir coming out this fall, Atria Books announced Monday. "Cyndi Lauper" will cover her story from her troubled childhood to superstardom in the 1980s to the "ups and downs" that followed. In a statement issued by Atria, she said: "Sometimes I come off good, sometimes not so good." Atria is an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Are Engaged

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are engaged, after several years - and children – as a couple. Pitt's manager confirmed the news to The Associated Press on Friday, after Jolie had been photographed wearing a large diamond ring on her engagement finger. Jolie was seen wearing the engagement ring at a private event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last week – shows off the stunning sparkler, which Brad Pitt designed for her in collaboration with jeweler Robert Procop.

Dancing With the Stars 2012-Four Left, Victor Anybody's Guess; Guest Writer Michelle's Difficult Choice

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So Dancing With the Stars 2012 is down to four celebrity dancers and they are pretty much equal in terms of talent and entertainment skills.

While I think Katherine Jenkins will win this, it does seem almost sinful that one person should have so much talent. Jenkins sings and is beautiful besides, where's the justice?

Donald Driver might have had a shot at the title in prior years but this year the talent was quite high.

Latin Hearthrob William Levy is certainly not to be counted out. And Maria Menounos did get the first perfect score this season though now Levy also has a 30.

If the final order were to be by the score to date, the order would be: fourth-Menounos, third-Driver, second-Levy and winner Jenkins.


However there's only a four point score difference between Levy and Jenkins and there is also only a four point score difference between Drive and Menounos. Like they say when I put on my political hat, the differences are within the statistical boundary of error.

DWS does have some magical formula that combines the judges' scores with the phone in votes of America. I'm not familiar with how this works. My gut is that the votes by America, especially with this intriguing final four, will be how the final order comes down.





America can be fickle. In this show, personality is almost as important as the dance talent. Donald Driver has a bit of sparkle about him that could endear him to more than Menounos, who is called, unkindly, on various forums about this show, a bit of a camera hog.

This past week, when two contenders were sent home, there was not only the normal one dance but something new to this series. They called it a "triple", the creation involving adding another dancer to the professional and celebrity duo. There was no restriction as to the sex of the third dancer. If the celebrity dancer were male, for example, his third dancer could be male or female. Same with female celebrity dancers, ie their third dancer could be male or female.

William Levy danced a Paso Doble with a second guy. This strategy could backfire if the other male dancer is sexier or flashier than Levy.

Below, a composite of the dances on the evening of 5/7/12.





Roshon and Melissa were eliminated this past elimination night. With Melissa Gilbert it was only a matter of time. Goodness this woman had so much physically going on that it's a wonder she could stand up. At one point I think she even had a broken foot!

America did love Little House on the Prarie and Melissa was kept around maybe longer than she deserved. But she was an enjoyable and very likeable addition to this reality series. Here's hoping Melissa goes on to renewed success because of her taking the chance and dancing for America.

Roshon too was a likeable young man. He was quite the good dancer as well but lookit, America's looking at either sexy Katherine or William. They are two perfect candidates to win this thing and sorry, it wasn't a year for a young Disney dancer. Still I liked him and wish him well.

Soon the DWS spring 2012 competition will be done but for now we can ruminate and speculate and enjoy the pretty dancing that so oddly entertains us across the fruited plains.

Below, links to posts written on this Blog about Dancing With the Stars 2012;


Dancing With the Stars Spring 2012-Celebrities Announced, Thoughts, Pics and Opinions

Dancing With the Stars Spring 2012 Begins-Some Early Observations. Some Tongue In Cheek

Dancing With Stars 2012-First Ousted Celeb Dancer No Surprise

Sob stories abound but celeb dancers ousted anyway. Foxtrots and Rumbas.

Top 9 Heading Toward Top 5 Heading to Winner on Dancing With the Stars 2012


Dancing With the Stars 2012-Latin Dances and an Old Pal Sent Home

Dancing With the Stars 2012-Tragedy-Motown Icon Sent Packing on Motown Night

Dancing With the Stars 2012-Dancing to the Classics




 



Drivel: Guia

I have a Drivel in my head, almost ready to be written, but this one was more insistent. After much soul-searching and conversation, we have decided to find Guia (pronounced with a hard g as in gift, gee-ah) another home.

She'll be two years old in twelve days, and we've had her since she was about five months old, but she has never been comfortable around Harry and it seems to be getting worse. If he moves, she jumps away from him and barks. If he makes noise in another room, she barks. If he twitches a finger, she prepares to bark.

It's not a "hi, come pet me" bark, either, it's the one for strangers . . . "MOM! There's a strange man in the kitchen!"

Guia

When it's just me, she's fine, and she's okay at my mom's house. Harry has never been horrible to
her - he treats both dogs the same and Hunter adores Harry. He even had surgery so he could stay home for a couple of weeks, but that didn't help, either. (Well, he didn't actually have the surgery for that reason, but you'd think that his being immobile for several days would help her understand he belongs in the house.)

We've tried quite a few "remedies." Having Harry do the feeding and the letting out. Having Harry give the dogs treats all the time, even carrying treats around with him. Having Harry try to give her extra attention, and even changing the way he talks to her. No luck. She's not having anything to do with that strange man.

Well, sort of. If he's lying down, she's fine. Early in the morning, if he sits in the Green Room and watches a movie, she'll sometimes be in there with him. But if he moves, or gets up, the honeymoon is over.

For me, it's disrupting my sleep. Harry gets up early and does his stuff. He's quiet about it, but he does make some noise. Whenever he does, Guia barks at him and Hunter joins in. (I think sometimes Hunter starts it, just because.) So my mornings are often wake up, sleep, wake up, sleep, wake up.

For Harry, it's disappointing. He wants to be friends, but she'll hear none of that.

Letting her go was a surprisingly hard decision.

Today I visited the local pet adoption center. It's connected with the Humane Society but it operates a bit differently. We sign our animal up, they take pictures and put her on the Web site. They screen the folks who might want to adopt her. We keep her until they find a place, so there's no small metal cages or a parade of strangers poking fingers at her. And, most importantly, no chance of her being put to sleep because she doesn't find a home.

When someone is found who might work out - and we're saying she needs a single mom or lone woman's household - a meeting is arranged. I don't know anything about that part yet. So far, I've just had Guia's picture taken and filled out the paperwork.

During pictures, the woman kept saying Guia was "breathtakingly beautiful." She does look pretty darn good. The people who saw her (about four of them) all seemed to think she'd be pretty easy to place.

I was okay with the whole process until I signed her away to them. Where I signed my name, it said "Guardian's Signature."

I don't feel much like her guardian at the moment. But I can't make Harry live through twelve more years (or so) of being barked at every time he moves. You know, I've had him for over twenty-eight years . . . and Guia for just short of two . . . there really isn't any other choice I can make.

Michelle
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise list

Fashion Star 2012-Buyer's Choice as Field Culled Down to Top Three

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May 15th, 2012, will mark the last episode of NBC's Fashion Star the first fashion show offering on the ABCNBCCBS group since Lifetime's Project Runway.

I've said it on every post I made on this show and let me say it again, this NBC offering is way better than the Runway series though there's room for both.

Fashion Star is set up and presented a bit different than Project Runway. I like Fashion Star's order of events way better than Runway.

First, Fashion Star gets right into the runway part of the show fairly early on. The runway is the highlight of any fashion show, it's why we suffered through the drama queens, the resulting dramatics and boring trips to the fabric store.

Imagine that, a fashion show that has something parading down a runway every ten minutes or so as opposed to, say, just the last fifteen minutes of the show.

The Fashion Show does have a kind of weird setup what with three "mentors" that guide the contenders with their decisions and three buyers who make bids on the fashion offerings of the contenders. Odder, certain of the big upon offerings are up for sale the very next day after the showing, well hell's bells, that's kinda cool.




There is a sort of theme for each episode but it's brief and not quite as overwhelming as the themes on Project Runway.

The most recent episode aired on 5/8/12 had the buyers giving the contenders challenges and assignments and the buyers are pretty important. Contenders who don't receive any offers from the buyers are up for elimination. The mentors can save one of the contenders from elimination after all those without offers are known. After that the buyers choose out of the contenders with no offers who will be sent home.

It's fast paced, dynamic, hip. The models prance down the runway, generally three models for each contender. There's always happening music in the background and the presentation is quick but long enough.

A viewer will not find "fashion forward" or any "avant garde" designs on the Fashion Star runway. The frocks and menswear presented by Fashion Star contenders have to be "hanger ready". For their appearance on the hanger is as important as the clothing image on the model. It's an intriguing but most common sense retail system.

This past episode a field of six contenders was culled down to three. Two of them I'd been predicting all along; one is a complete surprise.

The top three contenders include Kara, Ronnie and Nzimaro. Kara definitely was a sure top three out of the pack. Ronnie remained a bit in the background until he kept putting out fashionable clothing that eclipsed both Orly and Nikki, who both were neck in neck with Ronnie.

Nzmarao, seriously folks, I think they're being nice to him because he's from the Sudan or something. For sure his menswear is masculine, sturdy and assertive. But the designs are quite ordinary and nothing new under the sun.

Still and so, my prediction is that Kara will wiin, Ronnie second and Nzmarao third.

Fashion Show airs its finale tonight, Tues 5/15/12, on NBC at 10pm.  Look for Kara to win and check out this chick's hairstyle.  Cooler than all get out.

Below links to posts on this Blog about Fashion Show 2012

-NBC's Fashion Star-Finally the Big Networks Discover Fashion and Take on Lifetime

NBC's Fashion Star Surpasses Project Runway a Thousand Fold

Fashion Star Continues On To The Top Five-Some Predictions


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American Idol 2012-3 Left After California Dreaming & Lots of Growlin

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I've never seen an American Idol contender so carelessly thrown under the bus as has been Hollie, sweet Hollie, cute Hollie, unpretentious Hollie.

Those judges, folks, they loved Jessica and may I remind that Jessica did get voted off once by the American public. J-Lo, Steve and Randy scorned us greatly, smacking our collective hands and saving Jessica before she finished her swan song.

It was a bit disgraceful from my eye's line but so it was.




Jessica does have a tremendous set of vocal cords but goodness she's way too young for all of this.

Now I understand that at this point a child of 16 like Jessica, has been able since a very young age able to watch the TV and dream when their day would come.

Jessica Sanchez probably decided around age 7 or so that she would one day be the American Idol.

This does not mean it should be bestowed upon her at age 16. I do understand that American Idols, for as long as the series continues, will probably be very young, what with an entire generation now reaching puberty having known American Idol all of their lives.

American Idol will be where the best singers, those who were singing loudly at age 6, were performing before audiences at age 8, were winners of talent shows by age 12. For the less than the best there will be X Factor, The Voice, America's Got Talent...like that.

Jessica fits this mold and somehow she, and those silly judges, see the American Idol title as belonging to them and have seen it this way since age 6.

Still and so, if American votes Jessica to win this thing, no matter how browbeaten by a panel of really stupid judges, then I shall respect the vote of the people.

I'll not mention Jessica's total inability to even walk right in a high heel, her herky jerky dance moves, her lack of any great charisma….she's got a great voice and likes to make her voice growl. That's all that matters.

As for Phillip, Phillip and Phillip inc….he's cute, goodness he's cute. He's every pubescent adolescent girl's fantasy of the guy for them. But he sings about a range of five notes, they all sound the same yet still his curls glisten.

Joshua, well I dunno, Joshua. Sometimes Joshua sings a great tune, one he doesn't doctor up so much that nobody but the listeners notice that they call it screaming what he's doing, not singing. Yet sometimes Joshua sings with a deep throaty voice that is beautiful enough, he needs to stop there.

I'm supposing Jessica will win this thing. Phillip of the curly hair will be second. Joshua will come in third.

Other American Idol 2012 Posts Below
American Idol 2012 Top 24 Announced, Lists, Photos, Some Predictions

Can "American Idol" 2012 Outshine The "X Factor", "The Voice" and "America's Got Talent"? Some Gossip & Snark

American Idol 2012-Critiques and Already Some Predictions

American Idol 2012 Catch Up As Top Ten Begins Going Down

American Idol 2012 Continues With Eight Left; Top Five Predictions

Duets and Songs of the Eighties; More Randy Jackson Fashion

Songs from 2010 Till Current-Top 7 American Idol 2012 Singing Home Town Hearts Out

American Idol 2012 Contenders Sing Old & New; Thank God Jessica Is Saved

American Idol 2012-Queen Songs and It's Down to the Top Five

American Idol 2012-The Top Five Sing for the British

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Wrapping Up Celebrity Apprentice, The Voice, Survivor-2012. Some great, some so-so, some awful.

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I can't imagine three reality shows as different from each other as the three which have been covered in this Blog for the duration during 2012.

Donald Trump began with a very successful reality series called The Apprentice. Once the thrill of that wore out Trump introduced The Celebrity Apprentice and this has been very successful as well.

The celebrity contenders play for charities which they specify at the beginning of each challenge. In addition, shown at the beginning of each CA episode there is shown a short vignette of the prior week's winner delivering the winning to check to the charity of their choice.

Some of the charities picked by these celebrities are weird. I recall a contender who had a charity that existed to help the people of Palestine. Say what? The people of Palestine have been living just fine on the largesse of the United Nations and neighboring Israel. This season there was at least onoe charity designated that somehow helped lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered, dear Lord, just dear Lord, what sort of financial help do these people need beyond that of a heterosexual?

Still and so it's kind of a standard for this sort of thing. It would be in very bad form for "celebrities" to be winning for their own presumably already wealthy selves.

I thought by the time I wrote this article that Celebrity Apprentice would already have its winner. Not so but this will still be my final post on the matter. I think Arsenio is going to win.

The Voice uses celebrities too. Four "famous" singers are put in the position of blindly choosing teams for amateur unknown singers to pit against the others' teams and to have one contender go on to win the entire contest.

The Voice will forever be most notable by my experience for having the absolute longest, the most grueling, the horror of watched pots never boiling…..ENDING!

At one point, I'm not making this up, there was a longish segment involving CeeLo and his cat!

The judge-singers sang their tunes solo, they sang their tunes with their chosen contenders/team mates, they sang their songs as a group. Guest singers including the child Justin Bieber finally sang his song they'd been hyping the entire season, did I mention Ceelo's cat?

The contender I chose to win, for no other godforesaken reason that I like him the best, was current opera singer Chris Mann. Mann came in fourth out of the final four featured in that endless finale. Tony Lucca, former mousekateer who I despised everything about, came in third, thank God for small favors. Juliet, a Janis Joplin wannabe and nowhere even close, was second place.


The winner of The Voice 2012 wasn't half bad. Jermaine Paul is the father of four kids, he had a good voice if a little wobbly from time to time. I just saw Jermaine perform on the Ellen DeGeneris show. He sang well and he was all along one of my favorites on The Voice. If my guy Mann couldn't win, I'd have chosen Jermaine to win without hesitation.

On to Survivor One World. I've been complaining about this reality series on every post so I'll stop.

This particular season was a bit interesting in that the series started with two tribes, each composed of all one sex. As the season ended there was one tribe left and it was composed of ALL WOMEN!

For the most part I'll probably never be a big Survivor fan. I find the challenges boring and all too similar, the austere basis of how the contenders live is not made clear, the drama of the contender interaction is too busy to follow. That host fellow is right boring as well.

Survivor One World was won by Kim Spradlin. I checked my track of the immunity, elimination and reward challenges and Kim did pretty much nothing of any great note except in late april she won the immunity challenge.

These types of shows do have a "jury", a panel of former contenders that come back when the show is down to under five and they decide who will win the prize. I must suppose Kim did a great job of keeping a low profile, hiding any great challenge she might have presented and I guess she was a nice sort in that by culling my notes I find nothing bad about her.

However great my joy for these three shows, or not, they did entertain me in some form or fashion if for no other reason, by providing fodder for these Blog posts.

Click on the appropriate label tags on the right sidebar to access all this Blog's posts on these shows.

http://patfish.blogspot.com/">Clickhere to go to this Blog's main menu and see what other TV serieswe're covering.