A little more Matt to get your weekend started....

My boyfriend is ever so dreamy....

It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice?

Elections have consequences. 

They lost, we won, bottom line

It is fantastic in a whole khum bah ya, sort of way that our new President is reaching out to the other side ( the dark side) and trying to include them in fixing the super-sized mess that THEY mostly made. But, if they keep this up, acting as thorns in the side of progress, I firmly hope he sends them to the backest of the back benches. A smack on the nose with a rolled  up Washington Times.

"Come along with us, brother, together we can get to the other side" 

ONLY to have his hand bitten by the  little yapping dogs that the Republicans in the house have become. They have nothing at all to fear by being obstructionist, the few house seats that they represent are safe, the tsunami has already been through. They are the most rabid of the red staters, and on their way out: There are only FIVE bright red states left. Some are calling them the Mormon Belt.

From Fivethirtyeight.com:

"That's right: just five states, collectively containing about 2 percent of the American population, have statistically significant pluralities of adults identifying themselves as Republicans. These are the "Mormon Belt" states of Utah, Idaho and Wyoming, plus Nebraska, plus Alaska. By contrast, 35 states are plurality Democratic, and 10 states are too close to call."

 The deep south is now purple, for the most part.  Just today , the head of this tiny band of blacksmiths, Rush-the-dope-fiend, came down from on high and appointed as Queen of these five states : Governor Palin of Alaska.

The failed polices of the last eight years are gone, a new wind has swept through the country. For the GOP in 2009 , it is time to Lead, ( failed) , follow ( failed) of just get out of the way. The grown ups have some real work to do here.

Mendon , New York.. Friday, January 30th, Noonish

Yes , we can!

Reach 100 inches of snow for the area next week when the next big storm hits us. It's nice out today, good thing , because I had to dig my way out.

Life is good.

The " NEW" Recession....

From this mornings Democrat and Chronicle:
Eastman Kodak Co. will cut an estimated 1,300 jobs locally as it eliminates 3,500 to 4,500 positions worldwide — as much as 18 percent of its total workforce — in response to plummeting sales.
The Rochester-based photo and imaging company, which has shrunk year after year since the early 1980s, announced this latest round of cuts this morning with the release of its fourth-quarter and year-overall 2008 financial results.
Kodak saw its revenues down 9 percent in 2008 overall, to $9.4 billion, and down 24 percent to $2.4 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to the comparable periods in 2007.

 Less than 20 years ago Kodak employed SIXTY THOUSAND people in the Rochester area, yesterday it was 9,200, and now down 1, 300. This was a MAJOR company town, one of those cities that a man ( here comes the sexism) could graduate from High School, and get a job with Kodak and support a family. Very Leave It to Beaver sort of thing. Generations depended on this. It made for a wonderful standard of living around here. You can just tell that Rochester used to have a lot of money ( like a mini Pittsburgh). Just think of the cuts in non profits that this has caused, Kodak was VERY generous...

So, as the rest of the country sort of wallows in this downturn, for the people  up here, it is old news.

Mendon, New York 9:00 am

Bright and Sunny this morning, stopped snowing last night. It's over Pookie's head out there.... ( pics to follow)

A COCKTAIL PARTY

Adults in the White House!

Non-Alcoholic Adults in the White house!

Tonight, President Obama, and I assume Michelle, hosted a intimate little COCKTAIL PARTY in the Red, Blue and Green Rooms of the Executive Mansion.

From the NYT :

One day after President Obama visited Capitol Hill, he is returning the favor by being host to about two dozen Democrats and Republicans on his turf. The event, scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., is the first-of-a-kind gathering in the new administration and the latest sign that Mr. Obama is attempting to build relationships with Congress.
The bipartisan affair is set to come shortly after the House considers the president’s economic stimulus bill. The roll call vote could make for some interesting conversation, particularly if the bulk of Republicans oppose the proposal as planned.

Well the bulk of them , ALL OF THEM opposed it! ... some awkward pauses as the pigs- in- a -blanket were being passed! President Obama is SUCH a better person than I am. I so would not lift a pinkey  to ANY GOP needs or wants. I might serve them cocktails though. It is a nice start. A couple of Singapore slings and Speaker Pelosi can at last ask John Boehner what tanning bed he uses there on Capital Hill!

Ted Haggard, Jesus, Oprah and the truth.

Reverend ( ex- Reverend ??) Ted Haggard was on the Oprah Show today to talk about an HBO special about him and his family that starts tomorrow night. What a self serving load of poop! Who cares if he is gay? Which he so is... the deal was he was lying to his church and cheating on his wife! I wish I could watch it again, I will check on line and see if it is there.

Cry me a river if the dumb ass crystal meth addict signed a ridiculous Draconian document that all but prevented him from earning a living. None of this has anything to do with him being gay, it has to do with him being a big ole nasty perv of a human being. Lying , cheating, doing crystal .... 

And, and, AND!.. post show , there was a voice over of Oprah saying that Mr Haggard had , in the last few days, been shown to been having sex with another man SINCE all of this happened. " I didn't mention that to you Oprah , out of privacy for the other guy. " This was just skimmed over....

I think it is wonderful that his wife stayed with him, I am all about family and all. BUT , they are both delusional. What they needed to talk about was  the HORRIBLE things that the closet does to gay and lesbians,( including Mr Haggard)  AND the part that he and his religious right cronies have played in this. Self loathing and living a lie are at the heart of this. NO one really cares about what ole Teddy does when his pants are down. People care about what men, in positions of authority - leaders- say and do. He needs a true come to Jesus, with himself!

I hope Ms Winfrey does a follow up to this show, with some feedback.

Thirty Two Hours

You know, I like Winter more than anyone as Southern as I am should!

It started snowing about 8:00 pm last night, still snowing, going to snow most of the night. We sort of needed it, things were getting a little grey and dingy! Not sure how much snow we will have by the time it is all done with.

Koda, and the frozen doggie M&M's

Lunch

At Thali of India.... so freaking good.

Neil is off to Denver !

Episcopahomounion stuf

man.....

(Good thing I had Matt Alber)

Matt Alber " End of the World"

You know, in a funny sort of way, I am happy that I still fall in love at the drop of a hat. Mad Men inspired love. Many thanks to Joe.my.god for telling us all about Mr. Alber... sigh.....

Happy New Year!

of the OX... have no idea what that mans, the year of the Ox, but... let's just all pretend it means wonderful things!

David ♥'s Rod

 Morning show airwaves and upper east side drawing rooms are still ALL abuzz over the horrible smack in the face that Mrs. Schlossberg received from St. David of New York. One would think she was dragged out of the post Christmas Barney's Cashmere sale by her hair. Looks like if you are rich and white and live below 125th street, you HATE Governor David Patterson ( not rich, gay and living in Mendon you LOVE him) . Things were not looking good for Gov. Patterson or his new muse, Kristen, UNTILL:

Rod " this is my real hair" Blagojevich goes on the tv and tells some talking head that he is Gandhi, Dr. King and Mandela, damn it! Ok, crazy is as crazy does and that would not have really taken all the heat off of Governor Patterson UNTIL, yet again, Blago goes on with that Diane Sawyer this morning and does what any man facing a little time in Joliette would do : INVOKE OPRAH! 

Yes, Indeed, Mr. Blagojevich goes to New York City today as his impeachment hearing starts in the Illinois Senate to be on GMA and .. The View! ( freaking GENIUS!) - and tells Diane that he was going to pick OPRAH to be the new Senator to replace President Obama because she can help him the most! Let's face it the man knows how to make a head line. 

So , post dropping the O-bomb on the GMA, no one is talking about the David and Carroline story. An Ace trumps a Queen , and in 2009, a Winfrey trumps a Kennedy ( and lets face it , almost anything else, its her world, we just live in it)

Everyday is like Sunday.

After it got a little bit above freezing our front stoop and most of everything else around is a big ole slippery hunk of solid ice! OH! Canada....

The Age of Obama. We went down town to help out in a homeless shelter. The very least we can do, give back a little bit. All the people were very nice and appreciative. Maybe rude to say, but they were all very well behaved. A sort of a " there but by the grace of God " moment. We are going to try and work down there more often.
And then ended up the day with dinner with our good pals Jack and Linda at their Rochester home. Always good to see them , and with their globe trotting ways, not always easy to do!

Now off to bed with two chubby boys and two warm puppies, life is very good.

How Bout Them Dawgs!

Those wacky Brits are temping fate and the wrath of the entire Bulldawg Nation by tweaking with the standards of their Bulldogs. "The British Kennel Club plans to change the look of the bulldog —- the University of Georgia’s iconic mascot —- for a newer, sleeker and healthier breed."

"Critics in England and in the United States say breeders have transformed bulldogs and some other dog breeds into genetic monstrosities prone to chronic disease and sometimes early death." It is pretty amazing to look at Uga One:
And now UGA VII

The difference is pretty amazing, but darn they are cute!

Two Signs of the Times

Posters of President Obama on sale at Wegmans. I don't think there were Geo. Bush OR Wm. Clinton posters. NOT judging, just stating the facts

and look what all was on sale. ( cold and flu season!)

Koda goes to see Toebie

Hooray for Hollywood!

For the first time in years, We have seen all the movies that are nominated for best picture . Saw Frost/Nixon yesterday, to round them all out . ( good, but not as good as the play)  My rankings of them:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hope it wins best picture. Really like this movie, it had its flaws ( Forrest Gump II ) but over all, really enjoyed it. AND, I never really understand people who say good movies are too long, I want them to last as long as possible. 
2. Milk. I know, I know, I should be rootin' for this one to get the gay points, but I just liked TCCOBB better. DO think Sean Penn should get the Oscar for actor
3. The Reader. You all know how the Hollywood loves this sort of film. But it is very good. Interesting story, Kate is a shoe in for best actress.
4. Frost/Nixon. Now here I would have stuck DOUBT , but the academy loves Opie/Richie. It is a very good story, we saw the play, and loved it. Not every one's tastes and you will need to know a little bit going in. A Tony winning play , a good movie, I thought it dumbed it down, just a little tiny bit.
5. Slumdog Millionaire. I am so not on the bandwagon for this movie, which, if things go the way they have been, will win best pic. India is so hot now, you know. I love Bollywood movies. Watch them all the time. Sing, dance, stilted acting, all the things I love! Slumdog just tried to be too many things for me. Sure , it's a good love story, BUT, it's just to dark ....

back to reality

So much for the HOT temps yesterday, bye-bye to that toasty warm 46 and hello to NINE. on its way to about zero again.... ( it's all about the love....)

Dick

we're having a heat wave

41 degrees.. on its way to being 2 degrees. First time we have been above freezing this year.

Caroline or change , (or Gillibrand)

Those who were reading the kyle+blog in the 80's back when it was  live action performance art, KNOW how much I love the Kennedys.  That said, I am not devastated that Caroline Kennedy is not going to be my next Senator, her roll out in upstate was ... not good. You just do not get off an airplane in December in Syracuse and NOT have on a winter coat, even this shivering southern boy , knows that.

Our Sainted Governor has chosen an up and coming 42 yo congresswoman from the Albany area,Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton. The five boroughs have had a complete canniption. The folks on my favorite TV show, MORNING JOE, are outraged, and once again SHOCKED that there is a New York, past 220th street ( hell, 125th.....) 

New York State is Georgia on steroids, or the Georgia / Atlanta relationship is a little mini New York. There are just as many votes in a 50 mile circle as there are in the rest of the state, so there is this odd balance. The thing is that, ALL the TV news in the country, and most of the opinion we hear comes out of that little circle.

Sad to see Hillary go.. but hopeful for new Senator Gillibrand.

Update: "Putting aside any doubts some may have had, Senator-to-be Kirsten Gillibrand just announced her support for marriage equality during a nationally televised press conference with NY Gov. David Paterson." Score one for out side.

Kyle as Dinosaur

 President Obama gets to keep his blackberry.

I am not a blackberry guy, unless they are in jam or pie. It is my proud flag waving luddite self, rearing its head. I don't even really like the phone, let alone constant connection with the world. BUT, do we really want our President that connected ?

Now lets face it, other than the Chinese peasant picking rice as I type, I am the other side of the color wheel from Barack Obama, so maybe I should not judge, BUT, I hate ( HATE ) chatting with someone as they punch their tiny buttons, and maybe Mr. Obama has not realized it yet, but he has people.

The coin of the realm in Washington DC is access to the Oval Office. Michelle has it, Joe Biden has it, Hillary, ( Hopefully) has it. Valerie Jarret and Reggie Love, a few of the other Chicago set. Rahm Emanuel holds the key to this, that is his job. BUT, can't people  who ever they are ,  now just by-pass the chief of staff and just text away to the President of the United States?

And, this is a much more petty gripe on my part, but , I don't want the POTUS, sitting there going back and forth with Oprah while on the phone with world leaders. Petty? maybe, could just be me being that out of touch with these kids today , and their freaking need to work their thumbs...

OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR

Here is a straight forward listing:

( the ones in bold are the ones I have seen, I'll try to see more before the awards, the ones in color are the ones I hope win, right now... could change)

1. Best Picture: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "Milk," "The Reader," "Slumdog Millionaire."

2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."

3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"; Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"; Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"; Meryl Streep, "Doubt"; Kate Winslet, "The Reader."

4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, "Milk"; Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"; Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"; Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road."

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "Doubt"; Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Viola Davis, "Doubt"; Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler."

6. Director: David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"; Gus Van Sant, "Milk"; Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"; Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."

We are off to see THE READER, we will jump into the fashion part of this later on

" It's full of stars"

Guess there is more than one rock star in Washington these days.

Church Day, two

Neil and Barack have their religion, I have mine.

( I was SO in love with Bill Berry)

Church Day!

It is a Wednesday, Sunbeams and R.A.'s tonight.
The President and First Lady attended the traditional ecumenical prayer service this morning that all Presidents have attend since Washington. It was held in the National Cathedral. Start the day off by asking the Lord to at least not work against us ( but its also ok to be a non believer with this crowd!, praise Jesus! ) My BFF Kate was the host of the whole deal , since it was her Church, and the man that married Micheal and John-Clinton was one of the speakers. ( since again, it was sort of his church) It was just a lovely AMERICAN service.
So many different people took part in it. Episcopal, Roman Catholic, a fantastic homily by the head of the Christan (Disciples of Christ) Church, which if I can find on line I will post, that was some damn fine preaching ! ( Tag, you are it!), a knock your socks off singin' ( that's what it was) of Amazing Grace by this African American baritone that almost brought folks down for an alter call! It was a totally inclusive ceremony ,but in an Episcopal setting, so they had prayers of the people. The prayer was led off by an Islamic lady with head scarf, she passed the mic to a rabbi, who passed it to a baptist , who passed it to a Hindu, who pasted it to the RC Bishop on and on and on. It is so nice when we as a country get things right. No Mr. Warren in site today, waaaay to many infidels for his narrow narrow tastes.
Michelle Watch, the Addendum:

I am very excited about the fashion of this lady, She is NOT going to ever wear what you want her to, no pastel Escada suits in her closet. A lovely print dress, a little casual for me, but you know I am old old school. One thing, she just must not get cold, at all. I have been in that Church a few times and its chilly in there in August. BUT! what a full blown hoot it would have been and a funny shock to the whole nation if Mrs. Obama has walked into that service this morning in FULL blown black church lady drag! BRIGHT ORANGE , pumps, suit and gloves. BIG CHURCH LADY HAT, and a few Kleenex stuffed up one sleeve! She would never do it , but come on, it would have been funny:


In keeping with our Church themed morning, watch Bishop Robinson on Daily Show last night. The man is funny, a rare thing in his line of work:

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bishop Gene Robinson

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Michelle Watch, the finale

This is not your grand dad's first lady!

The dress is an Ivory one shoulder, very romantic chiffon gown , flecked with organza flowers and crystals.  A beautiful almost train like hem, looks great dancing. The designer is JASON WU, a TWENTY SIX year old Taiwanese born New Yorker.

He just called into CNN, saying that he did not know she was going to wear his design. Like this morning, Mrs. Obama is being very fashion forward. She is not playing to the camera, which is unusual, both the outfits that she wore were complex, especially this morning. Mrs. Obama could have had her pick of ANY designer on the planet, DeLaRenta, Lauren, Ford,she picked young and starting out. 

Tim Gunn is on Larry King ( the only reason I would ever watch Larry King )  Mr. Wu and Ms. Toledo ( the woman who did the Inaugural coat dress) are both Parson's Graduates, so Mr. Gunn should be beaming! 

I will look for some close ups of the gown. It really is very pretty, very young, very " hopeful!" I am sure that Laura Bennett was the runner up for tonight's dress!

The word has come from on high about the dress!  TIM GUN WAS "ENRAPTURED"

12:40 : President Obama just asked his wife for one last dance of the night. What a freaking long day for them, They are still smiling. 

show stealers

"never work with children or animals"

Most everyone knows how the majority of the staff here at the kyle+blog feels about children. The tiny ones scare us, and the bigger ones annoy us. ( It does get better in their mid to late twenties) But even these Scrooge level hearts were melted a little today by these two little girls. They walked out , onto that stage this morning with neither parent ,in front of like two million people.Grandma was there, but they walked out, on their own, looking adorable in J. Crew. Perfect.

They were not little robots, they were VERY well behaved Children. It was lovely.

Second Best Picture of the Day.....

so long, it's been good to know you....

hello and good-bye

The whole day was just a little bit overwhelming, I mean, we have been waiting for so so long. The eight years of the Clinton Administration did not seem this long! The Inaugural Parade is still in full swing, its totally dark in DC now. It's a little bit like Christmas when you were seven or eight years old, it just seems to NEVER get here, then when it does its over in a flash! I thought his speech this morning was spot on. No real " ask what you can do " moments, BUT, he said all the needed to say. It actually moved me more when I read it , here on line post swearing in

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

It is six-thirty, and Barack and Michelle ( we are close, I can call them that) are still watching the parade which had the all Gay band (YEAH) and the University of Tennessee Rocky Tops ( boo!). The Obama's are still going strong, sort of last man standing out there, smiling big smiles, waving, high energy.Different people keep coming into the reviewing stand. The group following RIGHT behind the Marching Rainbows, was the Pride of Mobile , Alabama, the Azalea trail maids! I SO, hope that they were clearly identified as a new group, and no one thought they were just drag queens in hoop skirts!

NOT a good day for the out going President. #1, he was soundly booed as he came onto the stage this morning, and the President Obama all but took off a glove and smacked him across the face in his speech. Then a little bit of salt in the wound, the new White House web site now reads: 

“President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur." Enjoy Texas Mr. Bush.

Almost seven o'clock, they are still marching by Michelle all smiles and claps. I think she is going to be a fantastic First Lady!

HOPE

And a brand new Washington, at noon, with a key stroke from someone, somewhere, the offical White House .gov website changed over:

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."
-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

followed by a LONG list of examples of how this White House will work to advance and support LGBT families.

Michelle Watch, Day One ( of one )

OK, the important stuff:

At first I was a little confused by the dress, thinking it was a brocade, but it looks almost like it is crocheted. Very nice, very pretty color. It looks to be three pieces, dress, a cardigan with a ribbon belt and the  the matching coat. My favorite part is are the green shoes WITH A SLIGHT HEEL!!! with matching green leather gloves. VERY fashion forward. 

From the NYT:

Ms. Toledo, who has been making clothes in New York for 25 years, said the coat and dress were made of Swiss wool lace, backed with netting for warmth and lined in French silk. “I wanted to pick a very optimistic color, that had sunshine,” she said. “I wanted her to feel charmed, and in that way would charm everybody.” Ms. Toledo sounded overwhelmed. “This is so wonderful,” she said.
About thirteen people in her studio worked on the outfit over the Christmas holidays. “Chinese ladies, Polish ladies, Spanish ladies—I have a picture of everyone working on her clothes,” Ms. Toledo, who is 48, said. She added, “We’re all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!”

I think we could see Mrs Obama really pushing the envelope tonight.

Everyone is now at the Lincoln inspired lunchon in statuary hall, cspan showed a little bit of it. Rahm Emanuel is sitting beside Cindy McCain, Mrs Robinson, the first grandmother is sitting by Cheif Justice Roberts... wonder what the very first question she will ask him will be: " DID YOU NOT READ THE OATH BEFORE YOU WALKED UP THERE??"