Zooey Deschanel Appreciation Day
Over the Mountain of Love's objections, I watched The Good Girl today. (Yes, I am perfectly aware that it is Jennifer Aniston's movie, not Ms. Deschanel's.) I thought it was very good, which is a huge step for me, since my habitual reaction to Ms. Aniston is to wretch and leave the room. She was exceptional. And Ms. Deschanel was a needed ray of sunshine; the truly great thing about working at Red Hot Lovers was that we were each and every one of us allowed to act exactly like the character of Cheryl. "This job would be great if it weren't for the blasted customers." So I have now seen four movies featuring Zooey Deschanel, three good (Big Trouble, Elf, and The Good Girl) and only one bad (The New Guy, which wasn't her fault).

Also, in my experience Mike White, both as a writer and an actor, is batting 1.000 (The Good Girl and School of Rock).

Vote For Kodos
I have to tell you, I'm already bored with the race for president. Not turned off by it, but bored. Just like 2000 got less exciting after my boy Senator McCain dropped out, without Deanie the fire has gone out of 2004. John Kerry is sort of like the American John Major (I'm sorry, Prime Minister, I know that's horribly unfair to you), a gray man with a gray speaking style. Gray on gray on gray. Deanie was at least exciting, even before the infamous Iowa speech. Now all we're left with are Denny the Vegan and Al the Hate-Monger, but they're too much of a sideshow to get enough attention to keep this race interesting. *sigh*

I will say this, though, Howard Dean made a profound and lasting impression on American politics. You can already see the impact he's had. For example, last summer Senator Kerry was generally seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. And today? Today he has... sewn up the Democratic nomination. Hmmm. Odd, that.

Babar, King of the Elephants
President George W. Bush of Texas

Donkey Punch
Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts
the gadflies
Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio
"The Reverend" Al Sharpton of New York
the quitters
Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
fmr. Governor Howard Dean of Vermont
fmr. General Wesley Clark of Arkansas
Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut
Representative Dick Gephardt of Missouri
fmr. Senator Carol Mosely Braun of Illinois
Senator Bob Graham of Florida

Bangs
I have noticed an alarming resurgence in bangs. This is a terrible mistake for most women. In 9 out of 10 cases, bangs make a girl look worse. In the tenth case? No change. The most positive effect bangs can have is to not detract from the beauty and attractiveness of a girl. That said, we should all now listen to the They Might Be Giants song "Bangs."