Will it be the (NY) Titans vs. the (TN) Titans this Sunday? And other things on my mind...

First, the Jets, and this Sunday's big matchup against the Tennessee Titans.

Think of the mayhem and witty repartee that matchup would elicit from the CBS crew covering the game, especially the color commentator, if the Jets decided to wear their New York Titans uniforms! (Laura S., cover your ears.) It would be the (New York) Titans vs. the (Tennessee) Titans, both of whom are first in their respective divisions (albeit the ones from Tennessee are undefeated)!

Btw, for those who did not read my previous post on this subject, where I asked "Yo Jets, what's the deal with the 'Titans' uniforms?, I get that the Jets (who play in New Jersey, though originally played in New York, at Shea Stadium) started life in 1960 as the New York Titans. And I get the whole nostalgia, yearning for the glory days, it's a great marketing opportunity/sell more stuff thing. But let us recall, dear Jets management and sports fans, it was not the New York Titans who won Super Bowl III. It was the New York Jets.

And this whole throwback uniform thing has got to stop. Well, after Sunday anyways, that is assuming the Jets do don their Titans regalia, which they probably won't. I mean, did you see the Pittsburgh Steelers throwback uniforms the other week? Pathetic.

More importantly, you do not see the Baltimore Ravens donning Colts uniforms (even though, technically, they were the Cleveland Browns). No. Nor do you see the Houston Texans donning Oilers uniforms (though technically the Oilers are now the Tennessee Titans, as opposed to the New York Titans, who are, as we know, now known as the New York Jets, even though they play in -- everybody now -- New Jersey). As for the current Cleveland Browns... I'll just leave that one alone.

Getting back to the Jets... As I was saying, I get the whole nostalgia + cool new uniforms = $$$ thing (though I doubt that New York Titans jerseys and paraphernalia are exactly flying off the shelves), but enough already. Or enough after this Sunday.

Please, Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum, grant me this one little wish and have the Jets wear their New York Titans uniforms one last time? Then, boys, it's back to business and to being Gang Green, not Gang Teal and Gold, OK?

Btw, I am not 100% sure about this, but I am pretty sure the Jets Flight Crew (aka the Jets cheerleaders, pictured above, obviously before winter came early) never donned Titans uniforms, though someone please correct me if I am wrong. And don't they look fine?

No matter which uniforms they wear this Sunday, though, I wish the Jets luck in their matchup with the (soon to be defeated?) Tennessee Titans, though the spouse and I have a soft spot for Titans QB Kerry Collins, who once played for the New York Giants. Still, if Brett Favre doesn't throw a pick (or three) and doesn't get sacked, and the Jets defense holds, I think the Jets could just clip the Titans.

Other Things on My Mind (in No Particular Order)...

* Dave S.'s theory of grocery bagging, which I don't have a problem with, as long as he's the one left holding the bag(s).

* Cupcakes! My friend, Cat, who lives in Paris, recently started a cupcake business and blog -- and the cupcake pictures alone (which she took) have me continually checking the site.

* When the will-she-or-won't-she drama over whether Hillary Clinton will be Obama's Secretary of State will end. (Please tell me this psychodrama will end BEFORE Thanksgiving. Please?)

* Why lawmakers (i.e., Congress) are holding the auto industry to higher standards (something they should have done YEARS ago) than the financial services industry, which has also done a good job of pissing away money, and taking consumers for a ride.

* Wondering if there is a new post up on my new favorite humor blog, I'm Not Feeling You.

* Anderson Cooper. (Blog post to come soon, Lizzy.)

* The Puppy Cam!

* People who walk behind moving cars (namely mine), i.e., see you moving but decide to walk or run behind you as you are backing out anyway and then get annoyed with YOU.

* And, should I be concerned that my spouse now has a Facebook page?

Have something on your mind that you want to share with the group? Go ahead and leave me a comment.

Alas, poor Yugo! (Last Yugo rolls of the assembly line today.)

Sure, the Yugo, the pride of the former Soviet Yugoslavia, had its problems -- engine problems, transmission problems, clutch problems, electrical problems, door problems... (Did I leave anything out?) But according to this Associated Press story, it was the Volkswagen Beetle (the original, popular one) of the former Yugoslav republics. A practical cult figure in car culture. And "over 100,000 Yugo GVs — standing for Great Value — were sold in the U.S. before Yugo America — the company that imported it — went bankrupt."

(Although Time magazine voted the Yugo one of The Fifty Worst Cars of All Time, you would hardly have guessed it from this commercial.)



But, sadly, as of today, even Eastern Europeans will no longer have the Yugo to kick (or push*) around anymore, at least not any new ones, because today, comrades, the last Yugo is rolling off the assembly line in Kragujevac, Serbia.

And as we bid a fond farewell (or good riddance) to the Yugo, which joins other once iconic vehicles (aka deathtraps) such as the Ford Pinto and the AMC Gremlin in that junkyard in the sky, I leave you with this quote from a proud Serbian Yugo owner: "This is driving in its most natural form. You feel every bump, squeak and jolt, and one can enjoy the sweet smell of gasoline and exhaust fumes.... No car can replace it."

(Or, as Hamlet might have said: "Alas, poor Yugo! I knew it, Horatio. A car of infinite jest, of most ill-conceived fancy. It hath bore me on its seats a thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.")

So goodbye Yugo. And goodbye Yugo jokes*. You will be missed. (Not.)

* Q: Why does a Yugo have a defroster on the rear window?

A: To keep your hands warm while you push it.

Happy Belated Birthday to Demi Moore

Who turned 46 (46!) on November 11. (Making her much older than I am. Ahem. ; ) While I am not personally a Demi Moore fan, I know at least one of my (male) readers is. So here is a little Demi Candy for you, honey.

For the record, though, I do not believe she was Mrs. Ashton Kutcher yet when this photo was taken (if you catch my drift). ; )

And speaking of Ashton Kutcher, 30, who is not-so-bad-looking himself, per today's Scoop column on MSNBC, Mr. Demi Moore threw his wifey an intimate dinner party for 20 or so friends near where Demi was shooting her latest film.

As Scoop columnist Courtney Hazlett reported:

“They were cuddling and kissing all night,” a witness told Us. And it’s no secret that Kutcher is completely smitten with his wife of three years. “He’s in such awe of her,” a source tells Us. “He’s always telling her how beautiful she is and telling his friends how lucky he is.”

All together now: Aaaaaaw.

Gentleman, please take notice. You want to know the way to a woman's heart, the real one? Remember to tell her how beautiful she is -- and tell your friends how lucky you are. Granted, we are not all Demi Moores. But then again, how many of you are Ashton Kutchers?

UPDATED 11:15 A.M.: Blog reader "Another David S." just sent me this pre-boob job picture of Demi, with the note, "How gorgeous was this woman?"

I think Demi was around 18 at the time. I am with the boys on this one: she was way better looking before all the work. But I may be a bit biased as a lifetime member of the IBTC.

Really, what is so hard about bagging a bunch of groceries?

Granted, I have a master's degree (albeit in International Relations, not in Bagging). But seriously, do you really need an advanced degree, or even a college diploma, to figure out how to put a shopping cart's worth of stuff into three canvas bags so that one bag does not weigh 20 pounds more than the others?

Oh, and before you politically correct types start pointing out that a lot of baggers are mentally challenged and don't know any better, let me state for the record that I am not referring to those particular baggers, who often do a better job than the seemingly non-mentally challenged.

Why do I even care (or care enough to blog about bagging)? Because I have a really bad upper back/neck/shoulder problem. (One doctor diagnosed me with early stage cervical arthritis years ago. The same doctor whose response to my months of agony was to tell me to take two Aleve and call him the next week.) And if or when I carry anything too heavy, the pressure on my upper back and neck triggers a migraine, which sidelines me for hours or sometimes days. That's why. So I am extremely careful about the bagging of groceries.

To prevent the dreaded bagging problem, my past strategy was to sweetly tell the baggers at my local Stop & Shop (and other grocery stores I frequent) to distribute the weight between bags (which I brought), because I had a bad back, and even made helpful suggestions. And I swear they would look me straight in the eye, say "sure ma'am!" and then completely ignore me. One time I was so frustrated, I rebagged several items right there at checkout.

More typically, though, I choose lanes without a bagger and tell the checkout person that I will bag my own stuff, which usually elicits a "thank you!" Or I do self checkout. But even self checkout is not so "self" anymore, as I experienced today (and on some other days).

There I was, doing the early morning grocery run, rushing so I could get back to my home office in time to put my purchases away before starting in on my latest project (i.e., work), flinging my stuff through the scanner when a middle-aged male store employee came over and started to bag my stuff. "Thank you!" I sweetly said, quickly tossing him my bags, so I could return to scanning my items. In the process, I failed to mention my equal distribution request. And when I looked up a few seconds later, I saw that he had crammed all the heavy items into one bag and was staring at my third bag, which was empty, until he quickly shoved the last few remaining light items into.

I sighed inwardly, signed the pad, and hurried out, thanking the man as I passed him (while inwardly cursing him). When I got back to my car, about half a block away from prying eyes, I rearranged some of the items in hopes of saving my back some strain, asking myself "Why? Why is it that in a town full of reasonably bright, at least somewhat educated, more or less logical people, NO ONE knows how to strategically bag a bunch of groceries?"

I think the Europeans absolutely have the right idea: bring your own (preferably non-plastic) bags and bag your stuff yourself.

UPDATED 11:25 A.M.: The bad news: My interviewee just bailed on me. AGAIN. Though is supposedly going to call me later. The good news: lots of action this morning on the Puppy Cam!

UPDATED 6:59 P.M.: No headache so far, despite lugging. And I finally managed to nail down all my interviews for my next article -- and wrote another article in between interviews. Yup, pretty darn proud of myself. And all this hard work has earned me another trip to... the Puppy Cam! Gosh, they are cute. Oh, and a big THANK YOU to all the folks who weighed in on bagging (both here and offline). Still plenty of time to leave more comments, folks! Step right up!

Do the dishes? Yes, he can!

But will Barack Obama have to do the dishes now that he's the President Elect? Maybe, at least until the Obamas move into their new digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Don't know if any of you caught last night's 60 Minutes, which featured a lengthy Steve Kroft interview with Barack and Michelle Obama. It was a hoot. The spouse and I especially enjoyed watching the husband-and-wife dynamics on display, particularly on the subject of household chores.

Taken from the transcript:

Kroft: You told me that when you went off to Washington and made the decision to live there and when you came back to Chicago you had certain chores that you had to perform. You had to wash the dishes and make your bed.

Mr. Obama: Yeah.

Kroft: Are you free now on that front?

Mr. Obama: Well, I…

Kroft: Certainly there’s gonna be somebody else to wash the dishes and make your bed.

Michelle Obama: Yes.

Mr. Obama: Though sometimes it’s soothing to wash the dishes.

Michelle Obama: You? Since when was it ever soothing for you to wash the dishes?

Mr. Obama: You know, when I had to do it. I’d make it into a soothing thing.

Yeah, I find doing the dishes very soothing, too. How about you, ladies? (Must be all that Palmolive.)

Btw, my sister-in-law used to have a sign in her kitchen that read "No man was ever shot while doing the dishes." Unfortunately, it broke. And my brother-in-law hasn't done the dishes since. (Just kidding!) But seriously, Michelle may want to invest in one of these little aprons for Barack.

Could YOU give up your BlackBerry? What about the Puppy Cam?

Some addictions are hard to break. This weekend (courtesy of NYTimes.com) we learned that President-Elect Barack Obama (as well as many, if not most, of his advisers) is a CrackBerry addict. We also learned (courtesy of The Today Show and MSNBC) about the newest Internet addiction, the Puppy Cam.

First to Barack Obama and his BlackBerry addiction. Like many men (and women) of a certain age, President Obama, over the years, has come to depend (heavily) on this combination email, smartphone, data, application, gaming, Internet tool, whose tagline is "It's got the power and performance to drive your desires." The power and performance to drive your desires?! Whoa. That's strong stuff. And no doubt why, per the Times article, "For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt...."

I see you nodding your heads. You know of what I speak fellow CrackBerry Heads. And you know what's coming.

Due to concerns about e-mail security and "the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas," Obama is going to have to quit his BlackBerry (and probably email, too) FOR FOUR WHOLE, LONG YEARS. No more typing "Sox!" to friends when the Chicago White Sox win a game. No more surreptitiously looking up box scores during dinner parties or shows (oh, sorry, that's my spouse). No more firing off memos to aides at 1 a.m.

Instead of going cold turkey, apparently the President Elect is slowly weaning himself off his BlackBerry, only reading messages. But it hasn't been easy, say friends. As you can imagine, his thumbs are already twitching.

Can the President Elect go cold turkey? Could you? I doubt my spouse could stay off his CrackBerry for four hours (ok, four minutes) let alone four years.

And speaking of addictions... This morning I was nearly distraught to learn that the Puppy Cam was OFF AIR. What do they mean by "Off Air"? I want my live view of those six adorable five-week-old Shiba Inu puppies out in San Francisco!

Sure, go ahead and lure me into the addictive cuteness of watching these adorable pups sleep, play, and wrestle 24/7. Then, when I (and millions of other likewise-addicted Americans, and Europeans, and Asians) go to get my morning fix, just pull the plug (literally). (I just checked again, still "Off Air," but they do have some cute pictures of the puppies and video clips taken with the Puppy Cam.)

Curse you, Ustream.tv! Now what am I supposed to do, watch the Guinea Pig Cam?

(Okay, technically, there is no Guinea Pig Cam, yet. It was just an idea a friend floated, after I sent her a link to the Puppy Cam. Though upon reflection she later wrote it was probably not a good idea as "the little bugger would probably figure out a way to climb up and eat it." Still, bereft of my Puppy Cam (for now), I begged her to hook up a Guinea Pig Cam anyway. But she dashed my hopes, yet again, by writing, "He's pretty boring, really. Just eats and [poops] all day long. His name is Pez because he dispenses little oblong pellets everywhere.")

So, like Barack Obama, I too must face down my addiction and learn to live without it, at least until Ustream gets the damn Puppy Cam back online (hopefully later today).

Hillary Clinton the Next Secretary of State?

As many of you probably know, the junior Senator from New York and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was at Transition HQ in Chicago yesterday, meeting with President-Elect Barack Obama. And I don't think it was to give him tips on how to raise children in the White House or to suggest China patterns, despite the Obama camp saying that the talks were strictly "personal" in nature. Whatever that means.

Odds are the President Elect met with Senator Clinton to discuss what role she would/will play in the Obama Administration -- and right now the oddsmakers and pundits and talking heads are saying Hillary could be the next Secretary of State.

Although several folks in the know have been pegging or touting Hillary for Secretary of State since (and even before) Obama passed her over for Vice President (which, I believe, was much more about Bill than Hill), I never really thought much about it. Until this morning. And I think it's an interesting, and a good, pick -- and a nice plum or reward for Senator Clinton, who has done more than any other defeated candidate for President to support her opponent (in terms of campaigning and fundraising) than anyone else in history.

I also happen to think Barry and Hillary look kinda cute together.

Don't you?

Oh, and if by some chance someone from Senator Clinton's staff or the Obama camp happens to come across this post, consider this blog part of my application to serve in a Hillary Clinton-led State Department. I even listed the State Department as one of the places I'd like to work in the Obama-Biden Administration on the Long Application for Employment I filled out earlier this week, before I knew Senator Clinton was in contention to be Secretary of State. (Oh, and did I mention, we both went to Wellesley? Where's that Old Girl Network when you need it?)

So Rahm (Emanuel) or Hillary, if you are reading this, please email or call me.

Thank you.

UPDATED 4:08 P.M.: Clearly, Hillary is THE BIG topic of the day (besides the stock market crashing again and the wildfire in Santa Barbara). I've been reading lots of articles and some blog posts on the topic, and I found this one in Slate particularly amusing.

UPDATED 7:31 P.M.: Heard a line this afternoon that the reason Barack Obama wanted Hillary for Secretary of State was so that she would be the one to answer the phone at 3 a.m. Made me chuckle. Oh, and Hillary, or Friends of Hillary (FOH), if you are reading this blog, please ignore or forgive any early entries that were less than favorable. Bygones? And did I mention, you looked absolutely stunning in that royal blue (or was it tourquoise?) pantsuit and in that number you wore to the Al Smith dinner?