PLEASE USE THE PIPERLIME.COM WALL THOUGHTFULLY

Oh, Project Runway!  You have sold your soul to the business world!  And you, Tim Gunn, should be ashamed of yourself.  The Project Runway opener tells the whole story: L'Oreal Paris, Piperlime.com, Marie Claire, HP and Intel are all mentioned in the little overview/lure at the beginning of the show, before the actual drama of the reality show is underway.  Nary a yard of fabric has been purchased nor a needle threaded and we viewers have already heard a roster of show sponsors the like of which hasn't been seen since the 1950's had shows with the sponsor's name right in the title, like The Texaco Star Theater.

Later in any given Project Runway episode, we learn the contestants live at the Atlas apartments; shop at Mood fabrics; do all their styling and sewing at Parsons, the New School for Design; and send their models down to the Garnier studio for hair and make up. Rolling Stone magazine was prominent in last week's episode, as well as a Canadian band, The Sheepdogs, who must have gotten some bad advice from their agent that appearing on Project Runway would be good for their careers.  The Sheepdogs looked ridiculously uncomfortable and out of place getting dressed like shaggy Ken dolls in (poorly) handmade dashikis, cowboy shirts with swan-patterned fabric, and saggy tan pants with brown pockets somewhere south of the butt region.  They then had to perform their particular brand of harmonizing rock-n-roll in these God-awful getups made mostly by designers who only design for women.  Man oh man!  There was Pleather and fringe and headbands! Finally a product placement that looks awfully sad to have signed up for the honor.

And don't get me started on our sports arenas with their ever-rotating corporate names.  Why can't we just have one name that stays put?  One that doesn't change with the new owner, a name that perhaps had something to do with the fans, the city, the teams. We don't need a Toyota Stadium that morphs into a Preparation H stadium or a Pabst Blue Ribbon stadium every time money changes hands.  It's tacky.  Can the corporations dial it down a notch and find a classier way to advertise?  And Project Runway, I liked you way better before your sponsors were approaching double digits.

Sorry!

Sorry all, my last post was somewhat offensive and I have removed it.  A new one will come soon.

Google, Obama and/or Hope, Beyonce's Baby, Lady Gaga + Meat, Rick Perry Might Win

Hello Readers!

Do you remember I told you I found the stats button on my blog toolbar?  I was amazed to see I have readers in Latvia, Egypt, Australia, South Africa, and other countries around the world. Well, now I'm obsessed with my stats. I check them daily.  My stats button finger is tired. And what better way to raise my stats (Hello new readers!) than to have very searchable blog post titles? Note to self: possible future blog titles; Biden Abducted by Aliens, Kirstie Allie's Weight Gain Heartbreak, Rico Rodriquez Promised Tonight Show in Twelve Years, if stats still not up consider Miracle Cure for Itch.*

But enough about those boring old stats.  Now I have a true story to tell you.

A very nice Lady was asked to a Tea Party.  The hostess showed her to her seat on the Far Right side of the Teak Table with Matching Chairs.  All the guests went Gaga over the Currant Scones made with a recipe from The Food Network, the Black Eyed Peas with cornbread, a bit of Meat, and the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Brownies. Everything was Yum-O!  The hostess had a lovely set of Vintage Fiesta Ware including Creamer and Sugar Bowl.  Later the ladies played Scrabble then watched CNN to follow the path of Hurricane Irene. One of the women, who was upset when an Adorable Lab Puppy was almost engulfed in the rising river, spilled some Merlot on her Dress but luckily someone knew the Simple Way to Remove Stains.  A good time was had by all.

I hope you have enjoyed this completely true story.

Cathy

*Content of blog post may vary.  The author of this blog does not promise nor imply that text of blog will adhere to subject nor tone set in title of blog post.  The author accepts no responsibility for expectations on the part of readers for content to follow from title.

NEW LOOK

Hello, hello.  "Is It Just Me" has a new design!  I hope you like it.  All positive comments welcome. The header was created by Cheap Girl Draws.  Please follow the Cheap Girl Draws link on the right hand side of the page, under Blogs and Sites I Like, to see some of her other sketches in her Jules-Feiffer-All-Over-Coffee- New-Yorker-but-of-course-her-very-own-unique style.  Isn't she great?

I'm hoping that the new header makes me seem more professional and you won't be reminded  that I'm typing while lying on the couch in my minty green bathrobe.  Excuse me while I push one of my kitties off the keyboard.  "Callie!  I said " 'No!' " "No!  I mean it!"

Professionally signing off,

Cathy Barber
Is It Just Me

Would You Rather?

My daughter and her friends, all about age 21, like to play a game they call "Would You Rather," in which they pose hypothetical questions along the lines of "Would you rather lose your sense of humor or never eat sweets again?"  Some of the hypotheticals are more intriguing than others and it's difficult to dissect what makes a good "Would You Rather."  There needs to be some tension between the two options; both unappealing but not to a totally different degree.  For example, "Would you rather get your toe bitten off by a rabid rat or be required to promptly send thank you notes for gifts from here on in?" does not have good balance.  If you've ever seen Eddie Izzard's Cake or Death bit, you get the idea.

Her most intriguing, most popular, and most discussed Would You Rather by far is the one about the goat. It goes like this:  "Would you rather (drum roll please) have to live for ten years in some Godforsaken place (which has changed over time) with the two people you hate most in the world, or have to live the rest of your life with a goat tied to you?"  Almost everyone picks the goat, much to my daughter's chagrin.  Not the goat!  Questions have been asked. How long is the rope?  If your goat dies, is there a replacement goat? Can it be deemed a service goat so you can take it with you to restaurants and movies? One friend, who evidently has some experience with goats, asked the very important question: is it a billy or a nanny goat?  For her, that was the only question worth asking.  Either it's a nanny or she takes the ten years with people she hates.

I've never heard anyone ask similar questions about option B.  Can you go to counseling together? Can you sleep in shifts so you never have to see one another?  If you actually start to warm to one of your archenemies, is a replacement sent from the Would You Rather Central Commission? What do these poor people think about suddenly showing up in your Would You Rather?

What would you choose?

I'd take the goat.