FRIDAY FROTH...

GOOD BAYH WASHINGTON....Evan Bayh, the bi-partisan senator from Indiana, announced this week that he would not seek re-election citing his disillusionment with Washington.  Join the club.  The Tea Party ranks are growing every day, I've been working on my "Modern Voter Manifesto" around the clock, and the temperate David Brooks said recently that for the first time, he could imagine a third party in America.  I watched some of the coverage of the Conservative Political Action Conference (cpac) yesterday and was disappointed, but not surprised, to hear more about how "wrong" democrats are rather than what republicans are planning to do "right".  The democrats are no better--I admonished White House press secretary Robert Gibbs in this blog last Friday for his derisive treatment of Sarah Palin.  When are they going to get it?  We are tired of the puerile bickering that currently defines Washington.  We want honest, transparent dialogue based on facts--not finger pointing.  We want politicians to work together for the greater good of our country instead of politicians making "deals" that serve only a small segment of the population.  Mr. Bayh we will miss your congenial attempts to work across the aisle, but we can't say that we blame you for wanting to get the heck of out Dodge.

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Vancouver 2010--So far, the men's half pipe has been my favorite event.   The amount of air these guys get takes my breath away.  I love when Shaun White kisses his board after a run--he may be the coolest guy in the world right now.  The boarders' outfits do a great job reflecting the attitude of the sport--the distressed low-rider jeans, plaid jackets, and the requisite ear buds all say 'it may be the Olympics, but we are here to have FUN'.  Finland comes in second with their jackets sporting the Finnish flag on the back that looks like it's sliding off .

There are fights on couches all across America these days.  Men and women are arguing over whether to watch figure skating or speed skating.  No problems at my house; I am happy to watch Apolo and Shani race around the oval track in their skin-tight body suits and groovy sunglasses sliding passed the competition at the last minute to win a race.  I know I'm a girl (some might even say a girly-girl), but the figure skaters' sequins and glittery make-up leave me feeling like I'm watching an episode of The Jersey Shore.

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There was interesting medical information for women out this week.  As you probably know, aspirin therapy is used to prevent strokes and heart attacks.  This week the Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that aspirin taken two to five times a week could prevent the recurrence of breast cancer by fifty percent.  As with cardiovascular health, aspirin is thought to help control cancer by fighting inflammation.  There was also a recent study that suggested that aspirin was potentially beneficial in preventing colon cancer.  Could aspirin be used prophylactically to protect against original breast cancers  as well as other cancers and cardiovascular disease?  Maybe.  Aspirin has many benefits but also comes with risk, so talk to your doctor and check out this information from the Mayo Clinic before starting aspirin therapy.  Daily aspirin therapy: Understand the benefits and risks - MayoClinic.com

FRIDAY FROTH...

An Education is a little sleeper of a movie that is up for three Academy Awards including best picture. This movie may not have gotten a nomination for best picture from the Academy if there had only been five nominees this year instead of ten; I however, have it solidly in my top five. This coming-of-age story is set in 1960's London and stars Carey Mulligan (nominated for best actress) as Jenny. Jenny is every parent's dream child--straight A's and headed for Oxford, virginal, and plays the cello--until she meets older and oh-so-sophisticated David. Peter Sarsgaard as David is an interesting combination of smarmy and suave that keeps the viewer guessing as to his intentions. He gives Jenny the "romantic" version of life that she has daydreamed of and she starts wondering what Oxford has to offer her. The "educations" in An Education were what I found most interesting: Jenny doubts the one that she's worked hard for; in a role reversal, Jenny seems wiser than her parents and she gives them more of an education than they give her; and, she elucidates Danny, David's best friend, educating him on Danny's character flaws and the impact their schemes have on innocent people. This movie is well written (it's nominated for best adapted screenplay) and well acted, so don't play hooky!

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Valentines Day is this Sunday, have you gotten your sweetheart a little something yet? I've done an informal survey to help you out.

Girls still love to get flowers for V-day. But don't get them long-stemmed red roses! They'd prefer you pick out something more unique and representative of them. Butter cups or daises for the sweet and innocent ones, orchids for the exotic girls, garden roses for the traditional types, and a bouquet of different flowers for the girl who always keeps you guessing.

The second most-wanted gift was spa services. Get them a mani/pedi, facial, or massage, and they love it when you go with them, so treat yourself too.

Number three on the list is dinner out, or better yet home cooked by you--this should include clean-up and something gooey chocolate for dessert.

Lingerie came in fourth with the stipulation that is should be pretty/sexy and NOT trashy/sexy. Yes, there is a difference. If the saleswomen has two inch fingernails or five inch heels you are in trouble; if she looks slightly embarrassed for you then know you are in good hands.

And number five is no surprise--jewelry. About half of the women stipulated only if it's an engagement ring. The other half stipulated only if it's NOT an engagement ring.

And now for the guys. Funny, they all got this "look" on their face like someone had just offered them the most luscious piece of chocolate ever. And then, almost immediately, the look of rapture turned to this real embarrassed look and they started to stutter. It took me at least two seconds, but I finally figured it out, and I'll bet you have too. When I asked for their second, third, fourth, and fifth choices I just got blank stares!

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Dear Mr. Gibbs,

Tsk, tsk, tsk. As my almost sixteen year-old daughter would say: Really!

What were you thinking? Presiding over a press briefing with notes on your hand to deride Sarah Palin was a new low. The right was outraged, the left was embarrassed, and those of us in the middle are wondering why you are so concerned about Sarah Palin?

Let me lay it out for you:

A--you are the president's press secretary; you are supposed to be informative and dignified not funny, B--you AREN'T funny, and C--when you bring Sarah Palin up at a press briefing when Sarah Palin hasn't done anything of any national importance then (surprise), you make us think about Sarah Palin and not about what the White House is trying to do to get this country back on track.

Two words for you Mr. Gibbs: Tony Snow.

MICHELLE OBAMA DOES HEALTH-CARE THE RIGHT WAY

First Lady Michelle Obama introduces her healthy kids initiative today. Her campaign to fight childhood obesity, if successful, could drive down health-care costs in this country by billions of dollars a year.

Nearly one third of children in America are overweight or obese. In the Latino and African American communities this number jumps to almost half. As these children grow up, they stand an increased chance of developing diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems, plus increasing their risks of several cancers. The costs to our health-care system and to quality of life are devastating.

Ms. Obama's initiative focuses on healthy school lunches, promoting physical activity, and accessing affordable healthy foods. It may sound easy, but as anyone who's tried to lose a few pounds knows, it's not. It will take a combination of government action, parental fortitude, and a pop culture shift to turn around America's "fat" problem.

Government could start by directing farm subsidies away from corn (think high fructose corn syrup) and toward healthy foods grown locally that could be used for school lunches. Sugar-laden soft drinks could be taxed (see the October 20, 2009 Qmuse titled "Health-Care Part 2). I like the idea of the tax revenue going directly to health-care subsidies. Soft drink companies could make-up for lost revenues from sodas by selling more bottled waters--if it's possible to add vitamin D to water this would be a good start.

In a conversation I had with Michael Pollan, author of "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual", he suggested that one of the most important things parents could do for their children's nutrition is cook. I was a little stunned until I remembered a conversation that I had with one of my son's elementary school teachers: When I picked my son up from school, this teacher always asked me what I was making for dinner. One day he explained that I was one of the few mothers that actually "cooked" dinner. When I queried Mr. Pollan on "what" I should cook, he said that almost anything "home cooked" was better than what people were "picking up" to feed their kids. As parents our mantra should be: cook for them, read to them, take them for a walk--we would all benefit.

The First Lady is making every attempt to shift pop culture: She has been seen extolling the benefits of healthy eating on "The Food Network", "The Iron Chef" and "Sesame Street". She has planted a vegetable garden at the White House and has hula-hooped for the cameras. If she is successful with her healthy kids initiative, she will have done what her husband and congress have failed to do--improve health-care. Go Michelle!

FRIDAY FROTH...

My cup runneth over! What a busy couple of weeks for musing. Last week we had the President's State of the Union Speech which, I've dubbed the "purple speech", Apple introduced the iPad, and this week, Academy Award nominees were named.

THE OSCARS:

The good news is that one of my favorite movies of the year, The Hurt Locker, got nine nominations! I was worried about this movie because it came out so early in the year, which is usually a detriment come award season. Overcoming this hurdle speaks to just how good The Hurt Locker is. See it if you haven't, and see it again if you have--it's a complex character study worth a second look. I love that this action packed war movie was directed by a woman and that the star of the movie, Jeremy Renner, came out of nowhere to, pardon the pun, blow everyone away!

If you saw my last FRIDAY FROTH... you know what I think about Avatar so I will just note that the Academy voters declined to give writer/director James Cameron a nomination for original screenplay. Good; there was nothing original about Avatar's screenplay. Thank you Academy for not letting a zillion dollars completely cloud your judgment!

Other thoughts on Oscar:

I loved that Sandra Bullock got a Best Actress nomination because I just "plain ole like her" and, because my kids told me that she reminded them of me in Blindside. I'm am perfectly aware that this had more to do with her "strong" sense of herself (my kids might call it being bossy) and was probably not meant as a complement, but, she looked great in those tight skirts, so I'm going to take it as a compliment because delusion is so much easier than confrontation.

While I enjoyed Blindside, I'm a little miffed that it, and District 9, got a Best Picture nomination over The Hangover. Yes, The Hangover was a little crude but it was soooo funny, well crafted, clever, and the acting was great. Also, I liked Tom Ford's A Single Man more than the Coen brother's A Serious Man, because if you feel like killing yourself when you leave the theatre, you should at least know why! And, too bad Michelle Pfeiffer didn't get a nomination for Cheri--she was excellent as an aging courtesan. The same goes for Robert Downey, Jr.; his performance made Sherlock Holmes.

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THE SPEECH:

Last week's State of the Union Address was addressed in this blog on Tuesday in a quasi-serious fashion. And speaking of fashion....could you believe all of the purple in the house chamber? I had just bought a cute pair of purple pumps in St. Helena earlier in the day so imagine my delight when Nancy Pelosi showed up in a suit almost the exact color of my new shoes! Michelle Obama had on a dark purple-y dress looking very pretty. Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano and ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts both wore purple and the Messrs. Biden and Boehner both sported purple ties. As a friend pointed out, purple is a combination of blue and red; very non-partisan and we could use more of that. Neiman Marcus says blue is the "it" color for spring--Qmuse is betting on purple.

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THE iPAD:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

i am your biggest fan. i love everything i! i awoke last Wednesday heady with anticipation--you were unveiling a new iproduct. i went to my desk, i kissed my imac good morning and i logged on. i watched you unveil the iPad tablet.

"Oh," i said to myself as i watched. i was a little disappointed--i may have even cried a wee bit!

Mr. Jobs, i think we need to talk.

i have noticed two things: 1. The name iPad has received some criticism and even some laughs. it seems that the name makes some people think about feminine hygiene. Frankly, pads were my grandmother's generation and that generation still uses transistor radios, so i am afraid that the problem may be the lack of anything else to talk about regarding the iPad. 2. the iPad is being described as just a big iphone, and unless you are a big gamer, that's kinda what it is.

Here are some suggestions for the second generation iPad tablet from your humble igroupie: i want to be able to download books, magazines, newspapers and other reading materials and then not have to rely on any type of connection--i may be getting on a plane and you know how they feel about connections! i want to be able to highlight (via touch) passages from books, paragraphs from newspaper articles, or quotes from a blog, and then move them to a file so that I can refer to them at a later time. i also need to be able to make notes in the book or magazine. i would love for you to have a built-in dictionary so that i can point to a word, triple click and voila', the definition appears. i don't want to have to rely on the internet to look-up a word. i also need to be able to use the iPad as a word processor--i can use that great MobileMe to transfer what i write on my iPad to my computers.

i am sure that i will think of other things to make the iPad better and when i do, i will be sure to let you know.

Have a great iweekend Mr. Jobs

Warmly,

Qmuse

THE STATE OF THE UNION/PRESIDENCY

Last Wednesday's State of the Union Address told us more about the state of the presidency than it did about the state of our union. We know all too well the state of our union: 1. high unemployment 2. skyrocketing deficits 3. terrorist threats 4. two wars---not pretty.

I fell asleep watching Mr. Obama's speech---twice. It's not that I was particularly tired, instead, I found the president to be tiresome. He is always elegant and eloquent and maybe that's the problem--he's set the bar too high, even for himself. Elegant and eloquent weren't enough to keep me awake, I wanted to hear bold and concise statements on how America is going to move forward.

The speech seemed more practiced than passionate. He read off a laundry list of first-year achievements that was not unimpressive, but didn't ring true. The president boasted of the jobs that have been saved or created by the Stimulus/Recovery Act. Most of these jobs have been in the government sector or in the car and housing industries, both of which have been propped up by taxpayer money. We need private sector jobs that are sustainable. We needed someone to tell us that while it might take a little longer for a recovery, throwing our tax dollars toward a temporary fix was not a smart idea.

I was pleased with Mr. Obama's ideas on clean energy and his interest in leading the world in this industry. However, I don't like Cap & Trade--it's not good for our recovering economy and it doesn't do enough to reduce emissions. He acknowledged that he is aware of the doubt surrounding the evidence on climate change. He could have pointed out that the evidence is moot. Regardless of the climate getting warmer and whose fault it is, we still need a better energy policy, because what we do know for sure, is that we are all healthier breathing clean air. More importantly, the people that we are making rich by buying their oil don't like us and we may be funding our own demise. This would have been a great time to challenge every American to use less energy and to come up with new technologies that can free us from our dependency on foreign oil--a 2010 version of the race to the moon.

The president gave lip service to how unpopular the bank bailout was and compared it to having a "root canal". I agree that the bank bailout was probably a necessary evil; as bad as we hated it, it seems to have stabilized our financial world. Most banks have paid the government back with interest yet Mr. Obama proposes to charge them a fee to recoup some of the tarp funds and has threatened their bonuses. What about "main street"? Wall Street may not be completely innocent but there was complicity all across the country from people who took out loans they had little to no chance of paying back. For the president to single-out and scapegoat the banks smacks of populism. He should have told the banks that if they are not operating on taxpayer money they could do whatever they like with their bonuses. He could then invite them to work with him to set some regulations that would provide an atmosphere for growth and profit while minimizing excessive risk that could lead to cascading bank failures in the future. He should have then told the American public that owning a home is a privilege, not a right. And, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

The Afghanistan and Iraq wars were given short shrift no doubt because they are very unpopular and there is no easy out. We are fighting two wars that have cost billions of dollars and many lives, yet the only thing regarding our military that is being talked about post-speech is the "don't ask, don't tell" law. Mr. Obama should have looked right into the camera and let it be known to all nations that America will no longer be held hostage to war. It is reported that Al Qaeda operates in over sixty countries--we cannot send troops to sixty countries. We have to find a better way to fight the war on terror. And, while America will continue to be a champion for democracy, we will no longer referee, or fight the worlds battles only to later suffer insults and accusations of imperialism.

The president seemed to still be suffering the effects of the Scott Brown phenomenon--he threw a little something at everyone trying to make political points. We need a president that is not worried about getting re-elected or his legacy. We need the president to create an atmosphere for growth and success and to challenge and inspire us to make the most of our opportunities because while government will be there in a time of crisis, we, not the government, are ultimately responsible for our fates.