NotBillable

"Some stars...were embarrassed that critics said it proves nobody cares about their Twitter presence"

2010-12-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Page Six: Alicia Keys, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Seacrest withdrew from "social media until they raised a $1 million for the charity.... But it took longer than expected, and insiders say the celebs became frustrated....the organization expected to raise the $1 million in a week. But by yesterday, after six days, it had taken in only about $450,000. Stars including Kim Kardashian, who can earn about $10,000 a tweet, started getting itchy fingers. One source blamed servers that crashed for 12 hours on the first night for the slow-paced donations. Others blamed lack of promotion and overestimating the participants' Twitter power."

Finally a donor stepped up with $500,000 to meet the goal and restore celebrity power to Twitter.

I cannot stop laughing.

"This simply doesn't happen"

2010-12-07T04:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, FX canceled Terriers and network president John Landgraf held a conference call to explain. Hitfix's Alan Sepinwall:

I've been covering TV a pretty long time now, and I honestly cannot remember anything like this happening before. Hell, most of the time it's a chore just to get a network to acknowledge that a show's been canceled at all. It's a testament to just how good "Terriers" was - and to how candid and self-reflective Landgraf is - that this thing happened.

Landgraf spent 30-plus minutes on the phone with reporters....Landgraf - who sounded as sad and defeated as many of the reporters on the call (yours truly included) - wanted to give the press, and by proxy, the show's small but passionate fanbase, a glimpse at how the sausage gets made

The numbers were never there -- never even close -- but Landgraf still agonized over the decision. Canceling good shows is evidently not part of culture there at FX. That's remarkable.

Fair Park Holiday was fun, pretty

2010-12-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

Upon reflection, though, there are many drawbacks to hosting both the White Rock Marathon races and the holiday celebration on the same weekend. I know, they're both sponsored by MetroPCS. The marathon brings money and attention. But all those metal barricades blocked walking paths. Plus the skinny health expo volunteers seemed unnerved by the deep-fried treats and sugary good concessions sold at the holiday event.

Still it's always great to see the Hall of State and the Fair Park fountain is a genuine treasure.

Hey! I know! Let's make it difficult for discounters to serve their customers!

2010-12-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

Cash-starved cities can, evidently, still afford to pursue lawsuits against discount travel sites in an effort to collect more taxes. The cities lost. But there's always legislative means!

I hope tomorrow night's Terriers finale is not the final finale

2010-11-30T04:40:00.000-08:00

It seems like me and about 487,996 of my closest friends are hooked on this show and everyone else thinks it's about dogs. Too bad. Donal Logue's performance as Hank -- the recovering alcoholic divorced ex-cop with a schizophrenic sister and an interesting knack for leading people right to their death -- is amazing. He does bad things! He's still likable! He looks strangely sexy in reading glasses! Like I said: amazing!

Coty's buying spree: first Philosophy skincare, now OPI nail products

2010-11-29T06:20:00.000-08:00

From Bloomberg: "Coty Inc., the seller of perfumes by Sarah Jessica Parker and Vera Wang, is close to buying nail-care company OPI Products Inc. for about $1 billion in cash." So Coty will own both Sally Hansen and OPI brands, while adding another product line that is not a fragrance.

Quick! What do you think of when someone mentions Coty? If you answered "the iconic Airspun Face Powder box which may or may not have been designed by Rene Lalique obviously," we can be friends!

I guess video of someone calmly looking at a monitor wouldn't make for compelling Black Friday news

2010-11-29T05:59:00.000-08:00

Confusing numbers. The "average shopper spent $365.34 -- up more than 6 percent from a year ago," but the increase seems to be overwhelmingly in online purchasing: "Online sales surged 9 percent to $648 million on Black Friday....At the malls, however, another survey by research firm ShopperTrak found that Black Friday sales rose a disappointing 0.3 percent to $10.69 billion." I don't know how that averages out to 6% but it's interesting that TV news cameras still camp out at stores for the fights and stampedes.

All the hype, all the loss-leaders, all those sleep-deprived clerks and no real uptick in business.

UPDATE: Every Black Friday detail you could ever wish for here. Two highlights: "the number of people who began their Black Friday shopping at midnight tripled this year from 3.3 percent last year to 9.5 percent in 2010. In fact, by 4 a.m. nearly one-fourth (24.0%) of Black Friday shoppers were already at the stores" and retailers drove "'traffic early in November and in doing so some might have thinned Black Friday spending a bit.'"

Maybe Budweiser's "Real Men of Genius" spots have finally run out of people to mock

2010-11-29T05:25:00.000-08:00

Once, they made lighthearted fun of wrestling costumes and toupees -- things we can all laugh at -- now, with "Mr rolling cooler cooler roller" and "Barbershop," they seem to belittle targets that aren't that deserving of ridicule. Does it all seem meaner to you? Less funny? Or maybe just tired?

LATER: I just heard "Overly loud car stereo player guy" and am now re-thinking this entire post.

Selling luxury vs selling status

2010-11-26T05:18:00.000-08:00

Profits at Tiffany's are up and it's not because of that shabby little counter they set aside for silver: "Demand has been strongest among Tiffany's wealthiest customers, who drove 'double-digit' percentage gains in sales of items priced above $500, the company said. Meanwhile, sales of lower-priced silver trinkets have been declining -- a signal of 'diverging' patterns of consumer spending." You say "diverging spending patterns," I say "the rich get richer." Tomato, tomahto.

Why won't anyone buy Tom Hicks' hockey team?

2010-11-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

It really can't improve prospects for a Dallas Stars sale when everyone's still in court re-hashing the bankruptcy of his baseball team: "As a condition of [Major League Baseball's] loaning the Rangers $15 million in June 2009 to meet payroll...Hicks agreed to finalize the sale of the team in order to ensure repayment. And when Hicks asked for another $25 million in November to address an 'additional cash flow shortage,' MLB insisted that Hicks select a winning bid by December 15 because there seemed to be no sense of urgency on his part....'Tom Hicks appeared to use the bidding process merely as an avenue to solicit members of the various bidding groups to provide funding to him so that he might retain control of the club.'"

Then there's the Liverpool soccer team, the sale of which Tom Hicks wrecked so completely that it left his business partner's NASCAR team facing bankruptcy too. Seriously. And fittingly, while team payments were delayed, haulers were stuck in Texas.

Good news, though! Mark Cuban is interested in the Stars. Wait! Didn't he try to bid on the Rangers? But in such a weird, half-assed way, everyone -- or just me? -- wondered afterwards just what the hell he was up to? Related?

Oh I don't know. It's all pretty messed up. Maybe, when everything's taken into account, we need to be very, very thankful for Jerry Jones.

"Being part of the festivities meant everything to Hamilton"

2010-10-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

Texas Rangers start their victory celebration with ginger ale instead of champagne so teammates Josh Hamilton and CJ Wilson can join in. Video here.

Wilson's tweet -- "#gingeralecelebration because josh and I are both polarized on avoiding alcohol but wanted to be in on the party. Straightedge/drug free fun" -- was touching. Good for them.

$1 reading glasses are back at Target! OMG!

2010-10-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

Not as many styles but still cute and now packaged in zip-lock pouches.

For younger shoppers: Although Mulberry bags fail to impress, Christmas lights are on the shelves and the Mickey Mouse Band-Aids box is even better than expected.

Last night's Project Runway was remarkable

2010-10-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

And Laura Bennett provides amazingly clear and intelligent commentary. I especially like this: "the work of these artists, despite the anguish, was never morbid. Pain was not romanticized."

Last night may have also been the first time Project Runway has ever aired footage of a gay man kissing his partner. That, along with Mondo's HIV confession followed by the relentlessly upbeat Austin and Santino show -- interesting that it took the allegedly dowdy Lifetime network to present all this. Is Bravo really so gay-friendly after all?

No one likes the fried beer

2010-09-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

They were spitting it out. Literally. Taking a bite and spitting it out and warning total strangers not to try it. I've never seen this happen with any food ever at the Texas State Fair. Maybe the Dallas Observer wasn't exaggerating.

Other fair notes: the Tom Landry exhibit at the Texas Hall of State is awesome. Lots of people filed through -- quiet, interested and respectful. It's been 10 years.

The Century In The Making Football Pavilion is also at the Hall of State. I've decided the Texas Hall of State is the perfect venue for any exhibit of military, ranching and football history and should stick exclusively with those themes. Serious about this.

$15 parking, a 50% increase from last year.

Where is the ShamWow booth?!!

Something someone wrote about TV that I think applies to advertising and other things

2010-09-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

From a Masked Scheduler post about the now-fired NBC Uni CEO Jeff Zucker:

You either respect the television audience; they work hard, love their friends and families, struggle to make ends meet and to put food on their table. They look to us to entertain them for a few hours....make them laugh, cry, escape, relate. They are smarter than all of us and know what they want far better than we do.

OR

You hold the audience in contempt, treat them like sheep, think you are smarter than they are, pander to them and believe that they will never hold you responsible for your actions.

Zucker seems to have had a low regard for both the audience and the creative community and the result speaks for itself. Maybe you can't do any effective entertaining, persuading, advising or story-telling if you don't respect the people you're talking to. And if you can't respect people who are very different than you -- who live, eat, think, vote, or work differently -- then your ratings or sphere of influence or sales will be Zuckeresque.

10 random things about Twitter

2010-09-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

1. Actually, I don't have 10. But I've realized that tweets that mention numbered lists and link to articles with numbered lists evidently garner a lot of attention.

2. And those articles usually suck. It's always "10 things your masseuse won't tell you," "8 secrets your waiter doesn't want you to know," or "5 people your sex partner thinks of while you're asleep" -- so it's provocative. But rarely informative or helpful.

3. I don't like Twitter the way you like Twitter. I prefer the self-contained tweet to the linky tweet. For one, I happen to care that your cat just rolled over. And two, see 2. Still Guy Kawasaki's techchat was one of the best, most helpful, most interesting things I've ever read about Twitter.

4. The Kaus Theory still intrigues me: "Twitter needs celebrities to promote its service. Celebrities need the publicity, but also they need protection. Deal!" Although it's interesting that Twitter cannot protect celebrities from themselves. Embarrassing, David Price.

5. Really? Can we all stop tweeting about the poor Segway guy? It seems like he was a good and smart man and after about the 58th mention, it seemed cruel.

6. There are a lot of positive, hard-working people to follow. It's genuinely inspiring.

If there's a Kennedy involved, there must be conspiracy theories

2010-09-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

From Vulture: Project Runway's Tim Gunn "has been posting episode postmortems to his Facebook page, sharing his unfiltered, uncensored thoughts in ten-minute videos.... His frustration came to a head while recapping last week's challenge, where the designers were challenged to make modern-day sportswear inspired by Jackie Kennedy. Could that be why shortly after the new video was posted to his Facebook page, it suddenly disappeared without a trace?"

Vulture wonders if Lifetime executives, upset at Gunn's criticism of the producers, pulled the video, which of course is still easy to find.

I can't help thinking that the real problem for Lifetime is Gunn's off-hand criticism of the Kennedy estate -- at the 6:00 mark, he complains about being "forbidden" from saying "Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis," and the crazy "revisionist history" that would have us forget the weird second marriage.

So the estate probably gave the show permission to use the former first lady's image and, evidently, the estate has its demands. They probably have good reasons. Maybe there's a noble cause at stake. Surely, the Kennedy estate is not clinging to the Camelot fantasy and dragging out heart-breaking photographs just to sell us QVC jewelry?

Please, though: don't tell Lifetime executives about Laura Bennett's blog. It's on their own site and it's always excellent but it's doubtful they've read it, especially the part about "Jackie O" being a "bulimic chain-smoker with a cheating husband who married a shipping tycoon for money and then lived with another married man until the end of her life."

House rates "much higher on the forgiveness scale than Lone Star hero’s cheating on 2 wives and swindling hard-working people"

2010-09-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

No one knows why Lone Star failed but I do think there's something to Nellie Andreeva's theory. Dr House spends a great deal of time in obvious physical pain, engendering some measure of sympathy. Lone Star's central character seems tormented by a goofy dad and a conscience -- things an adult can partially control. Important difference.

Maybe? Now that I've watched the latest episode Terriers, I can't be sure. "One of the central pieces of the FX formula that Shawn Ryan helped create with 'The Shield' was the idea of shows with anti-heroes at the center - good guys who are capable of being very, very bad guys." Why are Terriers' anti-heroes so much more appealing than Lone Star's? I think it has something to do with how much suffering an actor can convey without saying anything. A cane helps. A grizzled, weary expression does too.

I don't really want to hate Lone Star. It's just upsetting that, for a show hyped as "outside-the-box programming" and "more nuanced than a soap opera," those first 15 minutes -- look! a cute girl wearing nothin' but a towel! -- were as soapy and cliched as it gets.

Today Nate Berkus might want to make time to read his first design blog

2010-09-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

The national scandal that is NateGate: design bloggers "waited and waited and waited and waited, and finally, last week many of us got word that the day had finally come. The blogger show was scheduled for 9/21! We were only given one week's notice (which was kind of annoying), but many bloggers still managed to take time off, make travel arrangements and take time out of their very busy lives to be there....People spent a lot of friggin money to get their asses there, but it was all for Nate! So it was worth it! Only it wasn't! Like not even a little bit!"

About 6 weeks later and we still don't know what the hell was going on at the Rangers auction

2010-09-14T06:00:00.001-07:00

Even an explanation from the court-pappointed restructuring officer can't clear up Mark Cuban's role in the Texas Rangers bankruptcy auction: "Snyder said sports commentators got it wrong by asserting that Cuban connived with the banks to pump up the value of Rangers debt, which he had admitted buying some in late 2009."

Well then, what was it? Because Cuban -- rebuffed when he sought to buy the Chicago Cubs -- and his partner Jim Crane -- who had already alienated baseball owners when he backed out of a previous deal to buy the Astros -- were an odd and unlikely ownership duo. Was Cuban doing the banks a solid, not for his own immediate profit, but some future considerations? Is the man going through a rough patch? Also? What is Crane's deal?

By far, though, the most interesting aspect of the August 4th auction was guessing which media members were being played by Cuban. At various times throughout the day, bold claims were made that Cuban was going to blow up baseball's anti-trust standing, that Cuban was buying the team in order to build a new media empire and, about 3 hours before he folded in court, that people close to Cuban insisted he was very, very serious about buying. I now assume this is what Cuban was telling everyone off the record. It must have made them all feel very smart and cool. Until about 12:45am August 5. So it was funny when, after it was all over, Cuban called the media "the dumbest people in the room;" funnier still when he got beaten down while trying to defend himself in a venue less friendly than his own blog.

But does this make you feel a little less bitter about Tom Hicks: "The restructuring officer figured that Hicks took home $60 million of the $525 million when he refinanced in 2006, but had put all of that back into the Rangers plus plowed in another $40 million more by the time he defaulted on the debt in March 2009." No? I understand.

ADDED 9/22: The SEC -- who now enjoys exemption from FOIA requests and is therefore always suspicious -- successfully resuscitates their case against Cuban.

"Caesars Palace gets so many requests for a suite that doesn’t exist from people willing to pay $4,000 a night for the place"

2010-09-14T05:45:00.000-07:00

What one movie can do for Las Vegas tourism: "'The Hangover' suite, an amalgamation of three Caesars suites and a little Hollywood magic, existed only on a soundstage in Southern California. But that hasn’t stopped tourists from asking about it and wanting to get a look at some of the places they saw in the movie....Debbie Munch, Harrah’s Entertainment’s vice president of public relations in Las Vegas, said guests from Israel to Australia have made trips just to see the infamous 'Hangover' suite in Caesars Palace."

Turns out migration assistant cannot migrate or assist

2010-09-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am taking my old computer in to have everything transferred to my new computer so I'll be without any computer for a few days. I'm not nervous or sad or filled with dread or convinced something really unusual and bad will happen. Not at all. No. Why do you ask?

Chompies

2010-09-03T04:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Texas State Fair judges will choose this year's Big Tex Award winners. How can you not be excited? Of course the talk is all about the Fried Beer but I think an adults-only treat is somehow less fun. It would certainly be less revenue-generating, wouldn't it? It does succeed, though, in being simultaneously intriguing and scandalous so both gluttons and scolds will have something to talk about. Which is the whole point of fair food.

I for one would like to salute the person who is serving up Texas Fried Frito Pie. Fried Fritos -- I laugh every time I hear it.

Is this Project Runway's "meanest season ever"?

2010-09-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

Or is the new 90-minute format just showing us what's always been there -- the ridiculously petty interaction between ambitious, self-absorbed people? Either way, it's extremely satisfying to watch.

I wish I were smart so I could provide some sort of keen insight about people who can't take a fair critique or whose own outsized self-esteem and sense of entitlement can cloud their eyes and minds. There are life lessons in there somewhere. Maybe this: ideas can come from anywhere. And don't hate.

TV reporters seem visibly upset that Earl may not make landfall

2010-09-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Serves me right for watching morning news, which is always TV's dumbest timeslot.

"But the fact that Wal-Mart now sells organic food makes me proud. Organic has become mainstream."

2010-09-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I can't remember if we're supposed to love John Mackey because his Whole Food Stores are so awesome, or hate John Mackey because of his politics. Conflicts, huh? But hey! Look at this:

"A new animal welfare rating program will be in all stores by Jan. 1. Signs will tell customers exactly how meat animals were raised."

In a way: yay! In another way: yuck. Do I want to read the bio of something I'm going to eat?

This, though, is a nice bit of perspective: "Whole Foods has always been a synthesis of healthy foods and foods for pleasure. ... Over our history, it seems, in 10-year cycles, one of those waxes and the other wanes. When we began, we were healthy foods. Around 1991, we began to evolve to food as pleasure. Now, food as health is beginning to wax again. It's not that we'll stop selling pleasurable foods. But we'll put greater emphasis on food as a health product."

And another thing: comment moderation is a pain in the ass

2010-09-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

I turned it on for all the usual and uninteresting reasons. Sorry.

Look! I opted for a template even uglier than the one I had!

2010-09-01T04:44:00.001-07:00

It really is offensive, isn't it? I was hoping for a burnt orange look but something went horribly wrong. Well. I dunno. Maybe it's not final.

"What blue collar workers faced in the last thirty years is coming to the white collar workforce now"

2010-09-01T04:23:00.000-07:00

Walter Russell Mead's advice to students could benefit all of us. It's depressing but clear and empowering.

It occurred to me the other day that one thing you don't see anymore is the congratulatory retirement party. I've only gone to one in the last 10 years. I know of three others but those were for government employees. I think their world will change too.

So Mead seems to be right: "Your competition is in China and India – and your competition isn’t hanging out at frat parties or sitting around watching sitcoms with dorm-mates....Your competition isn’t taking courses on gender studies; it isn’t majoring in ethnic studies, or the history of film."

Mary Ellen Smith's digestive tract

2010-07-06T02:55:00.000-07:00

Why does Activia always make people talk about the potty? No one wants to talk about the potty! Stop it!

My iPhone update is into its 8th hour.

2010-07-06T01:48:00.000-07:00

That's not right, is it?

Also, the driver's side door on my truck won't open. I'm sleepy. And I can't think of headlines.

LATER: Even though I cancelled the syncing/backing up, the dang thing is all updated, with my photos and music and everything. Sweet miracle! Yet: the door on my truck seems to be truly broken. Feels so awkward to take it to the dealer, what with the 196,000 miles on it and all.

New template designs? What's wrong with the one I have?

2010-07-06T01:44:00.000-07:00

Really. I'm OK with it.

Paula Abdul is a great and ageless beauty

2010-05-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Because she's so dang loopy, she never really gets credit for how gorgeous she is. So I just wanted to say it. For 45ish, that's beyond amazing.

Also at the Idol finale: Janet Jackson who's gorgeous too but, honestly, reminded me just a tiny bit of Ruby Rhod.

I'm worried about A-Rod. (Not really, but in principle.)

2010-05-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone had a little giggle yesterday at the news that, with the Rangers filing for bankruptcy, Alex Rodriguez is their top unsecured creditor.

It's always fun to laugh at A-Rod. He's a true jerk. But I don't think this is funny because no one should lose out on their earnings. Lots of people work freelance. It's never funny when an invoice goes unpaid. So it's $24 million. So A-Rod's already made millions. We all make thousands but if someone stiffed us out of $2400, we'd be upset.

"Kilpatrick’s continued employment was contingent upon Kilpatrick staying out of further trouble"

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Former Detroit mayor and current Dallas-area resident Kwame Kilpatrick sentenced to 18 months, maybe more. "The judge’s order also raises questions about whether Kilpatrick will continue to have a job with a Compuware subsidiary in Texas. Compuware chief Peter Karmanos had given Kilpatrick a six-figure sales job with Covisint in an office just outside Dallas after the ex-mayor’s release from jail in February of last year."

According to Judge David Groner, Kilpatrick "lied under oath about his affair with his chief of staff, about the firing of a deputy chief, authorized a secret settlement with $8.4 million in taxpayer money and then violated his probation....Kilpatrick at every turn tried to thwart attempts to figure out how much money he had to pay restitution to the City of Detroit."

This is Kilpatrick's Southlake house. Here's another note from today's court proceedings: "Kilpatrick is shaking his head now as Groner talks about Kilpatrick's million-dollar home and his lavish lifestyle in Texas."

$613 million worth of paintings, just gone?

2010-05-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hmm: "A single masked intruder was caught on a video surveillance camera entering the museum by a window" and walking away with five paintings: a Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani and a Leger. How does one guy carry all that? Why aren't there guards at the Paris Museum of Modern Art?

Why can't everything be run as smoothly as Mack Brown's program?

2010-05-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

It's hard to square this story about University of Texas budget shortfalls -- there's talk of selling the Brackenridge Tract/Muny golf course and closing the Cactus Cafe -- with this Wall Street Journal profile of UT football mega-boosters.

The Good Guys: I am now a devoted viewer

2010-05-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Just because they kept their word about Stark living "in a trailer in the shadow of the Texas Star." Really. He lives in FairPark, beside the Merry-Go-Round, right where the midway ends.

It's funny how the show's creator Matt Nix talks about Dallas: "'This is a throwback to the classic cop shows, and Dallas has the look of those shows. I kept saying to people, "If we shoot this in the suburbs, it'll look wrong. We need power cables."'"

Funny, because so many Dallas city leaders feel just the opposite. They probably would prefer the Good Guys to be shot exclusively in front of shiny new places. Not brick storefronts. Not the 70-year-old State Fair site that's home to the Cotton Bowl but not the Cotton Bowl game. Maybe Nix can give us a new appreciation for the older, less sparkly parts of town.

Also funny: The Good Guys' Stark is a cop whose greatest career achievement happened in the 80s -- about the time the TV show Dallas was at its height. About the time Robocop made Dallas City Hall look so bold and futuristic.

Anyway, I liked the show well enough. I certainly hope it's not a failure.

"Aliases on Twitter are very common and anonymity makes it fun"

2010-05-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Oh honey. I couldn't agree more. Actually, there's a whole lot to like about this interview with DKNY PR Girl, who is considered to be anonymous on Twitter but whose identity really isn't much of a secret. I think. Is it?

Anyway: "Every day is an adventure and I love sharing it with people who care to hear." People who care to hear -- that's well said.

ADDED: What's interesting about DKNY PR Girl's anonymity is how everyone in the fashion media helps preserve it. Her comments make it clear that 1) the Donna Karan brands use Twitter as a marketing tool, 2) that anonymity was a strategic decision, and 3) "I know a lot of my followers. Many of course are editors or bloggers that we work with." It's fashion, which is its own world, but it's remarkable that everyone so eagerly helps a brand execute part of its marketing plan. Imagine so many bloggers and editors assisting, say, McDonalds or WalMart in such a way.

Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway "just does not understand or get the concept of the rule of law"

2010-05-14T05:25:00.000-07:00

A compelling takedown of both a politician and the Dallas Morning News from Jim Schutze. Of course.

It starts with "Dwaine Caraway pressuring the Dallas Police department to lay off a gambling house where Caraway and his father play poker" -- remember Caraway is the man who gave us the Pull Em Up billboards -- and ends the way all Dallas stories end, with funny legal maneuvers and odd public posturing "against a backdrop of land speculation in the area by the likes of Dallas Very Very Rich Person Mark Cuban." It's always a land deal.

Once upon a time, there was another guy with a big parcel of land. His name was H Ross Perot Jr and he called his pile of dirt Victory Park. Even though old Reunion Arena was a great venue for fans, it had to die so that Perot could get a new arena with a huge developer's deal and sell his newly more-valuable majority stake to Mark Cuban. That turned out so well for the city, huh? And for the men too!

O, our selfless, visionary civic leaders!

I don't believe anyone's actually going to pay to buy Newsweek

2010-05-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Because: "The legacy costs (pensions, health care, etc) are likely under-funded and much larger than one would imagine." Funny how no one talks about that.

Budweiser replaces Coors as NFL's official beer

2010-05-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

Which is good news if you're tired of those damn Coors-retired coaches-press conference spots. I mean, that campaign will have to stop now, won't it? Please say yes.

Of course, Coors remains the beer at Cowboys stadium. Jerry Jones seems solidly anti-Bud.

A Picasso sells for $106.5 million and I continue to believe we're all screwed

2010-05-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Another art auction record. I'm very afraid. But eager to find out who bought it.

Exciting ad/Texas connection: The painting belonged to the late Frances Brody, daughter of Albert Lasker, the man who grew up in Galveston and moved to Chicago where he headed the agency that would later become Foote, Cone & Belding.

Phil Collins' Alamo collection

2010-05-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Who knew: "The Genesis singer-drummer is a ginormous Alamo fetishist -- so much so that 'he is now believed to own the largest collection of Alamo artifacts in the world,' according to the Dallas Historical Society. He's coming to Texas to finish work on his book about the Alamo due in stores next year -- and so, on May 10 at 6:30 p.m., he'll be at Hall of State to talk about, well, the Alamo."

The Hall of State, y'all!

"Perhaps the four-hour Pilates sessions are not the secret to eternal youth"

2010-05-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

This. Wow.

Is Tom Hicks the worst owner in the history of professional sports?

2010-04-22T03:53:00.000-07:00

Harsh. But right now, it's hard to think of anyone worse. Am I right Liverpool?

"MLB is in charge [of the Texas Rangers sale] after finally tiring of Hicks' tactics and his failure to satisfy the 40 lenders who hold $525 million in Hicks Sports Group debt." Those tactics include, but are not limited to, announcing that "as it stands right now, the deal would not be approved" -- a peculiar thing for Tom Hicks to say until you realize that, while negotiating a sale to Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan, he has actually been at work on another deal with another ownership group.

Sounds like Tom Hicks never wanted to sell to the Nolan Ryan group in the first place. Is there animosity between Hicks and Ryan? Yes? Can it be resolved in the usual manner?

"Supermodel Paulina Porizkova calls Heidi Montag a 'cheap plastic pool float'"

2010-04-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

Genius. And her assessment of Madonna -- "what started as a sexy, well-shaped, and somewhat hairy Italian girl has ended as a cool Nordic blonde" -- is equally impressive.

"Viewers ages 18 to 49...have been watching 5.1 percent less TV in primetime since the start of March"

2010-04-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

Hmm.

I'm watching Al Roker talk about toilets

2010-04-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

The day is starting out wonderfully, isn't it? But as Roker's guest explains the water-saving benefits of Simple Flush, I'm thankful I live in an old house with, uh, outdated fixtures. Some things are worth wasting water on.

"'We're very careful about signing on role models for kids. It's harder to do'"

2010-04-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

Tween fashions: "Still influenced by mom, 8- to 14-year-olds can't drive to the mall but wield $43 billion in annual spending power." JCPenney has signed gold-medalist Nastia Liukin for their Supergirl line. Macy's? They went with Madonna.

Wait. Not all QVC shoppers love Isaac Mizrahi? Do tell!

2010-04-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

In the middle of a rather juicy and sad QVC story, there's this shopper comment: "I would think that QVC would want to attract as broad of an audience as possible and offer a broad variety of products to attract a spectrum of viewers/buyers. And, I don't understand this total fascination with Isaac Mizrahi. I'm sure that he has appeal to some customers, but it seems that QVC is staking their entire future on him. It does not seem wise to put all the QVC eggs in one basket."

Color me amused.

Jackie Robinson day

2010-04-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

I wish it didn't coincide with tax day but it is the actual anniversary of his debut.

On a sorta related note, here's uplifting news that Mobile's Double-A team helped turn Hank Aaron's childhood home into a museum.

It's 36 years this month that Hank Aaron broke the home run record. The Braves opened in Cincinnati that year and this is how Pete Rose, in his book Charlie Hustle, describes the day that Aaron tied Ruth: "Aaron had spoken by telephone to the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was in Memphis to eulogize the late Dr. Martin Luther King. Aaron figured it would be fitting, on the sixth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, to have a moment of silence before the game. His request came too late, though, and the Reds had to turn it down....Aaron didn't like that....It was too bad that had to come up and ruin Aaron's moment."

And look, here's Hank Aaron on Home Run Derby. Now that you know he grew up in a house his father built out of scrap wood, it's easy to understand his expression when the announcer explains that consecutive home runs can earn one thousand dollars. A final note: it's remarkable how handsome everyone was in 1959.

"'Elin was violently angry over this commercial and thought it was a cheesy thing to do'"

2010-04-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

It'd be pretty funny if -- after all the Ambien sex with waitresses, hostesses, porn stars and neighbors -- it's the Nike spot that finally destroys Tiger's marriage.

"'people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments....As the Internet is growing up, the trend is away from anonymity'"

2010-04-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Dang it.

What are the insomniacs watching?

2010-04-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing's really on at 3am so my preferences have always been Bloomberg News and GemsTV. I don't understand either one and it's hard to say who has the quirkier lineup of on-air talent but now GemsTV is shutting down and the way they're going dark is remarkable. It's a long, drawn-out clearance, with loads of air-time being devoted to viewer email and to the personal lives of hosts. It's fascinating. I don't think I can turn away.

ADDED: In court filings, GemsTV has cited the soaring price of gold as a factor in their bankruptcy. Which makes this interesting: "To hear some investors tell it, 'manipulation in the gold market' is a scandal on the scale of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, perhaps even greater....The hedge fund [manager] famous for making billions by betting against sub-prime mortgages, John Paulson, has reportedly put $250 million of his own money into a fund dedicated to investing in gold. Another prominent hedge fund manager, George Soros, reportedly recently increased his fund’s holdings of an exchange-traded fund that owns gold, to $663 million worth, while, somewhat confusingly, Mr. Soros was also saying publicly that 'the ultimate asset bubble is gold.'"

What are the old people watching?

2010-04-12T00:33:00.000-07:00

Are you surprised at how old late-night TV viewers are? "While Mr. Leno now has a median age of 56, with Mr. Letterman at 54, 'Nightline' at 55, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Kimmel both at 52, and even NBC’s younger act, Jimmy Fallon, at 50." Cable audiences are younger but really not by much.

Of course, Conan O'Brien was supposed to bring younger viewers to The Tonight Show but that never happened. The surprise: "Mr. Leno has drawn the biggest audiences in most age groups almost every night since returning March 1." If I were a Fox affiliate, I'd stick to re-runs too.

NASCAR's most awkward sponsor "honors" a heroic woman

2010-04-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

Let's read through this one together: "Phoenix Woman named 'ExtenZe Local Hero' and Honorary Crew Chief: The first woman to be named an 'ExtenZe Local Hero,' Abby Barker called upon her CPR training to save a person who had suffered a massive heart attack. For her decisive and life-saving effort, 27-year-old Barker will be the ExtenZe Racing Honorary Crew Chief at Phoenix International Raceway for the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup event that takes place the same weekend as her wedding -- thus creating perhaps the most unique bachelorette send-off of all time."

"a drawn-out malaise that will soon become something like a lost decade"

2010-04-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

The False Recovery: "households are using their savings to pay off the massive amounts of debt they accumulated even before their net worth declined a staggering $11 trillion over 2008 and 2009. The money is not going under mattresses or into bank accounts, from where it will emerge one day to jump-start the economy."

Also, "the real unemployment rate....is at 17.5%" and gas will probably hit $4 this summer.

It's Opening Day

2010-04-05T05:45:00.000-07:00

Let's go to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for his thoughts: "Goo luck to my guys for a great summer and all the venezuelan player even the ones I hate to death"

"The Census expects to employ more than 100,000 workers throughout Texas"

2010-04-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

That is, if they can find 100,000 workers who can speak a second language, add and subtract, and read a map. I wouldn't qualify.

Sometimes Gloria Allred is like a pimp, other times she's like a cockroach

2010-04-02T05:06:00.000-07:00

She makes a profit off of women who have sex with famous men. She skitters around corners and crannies in constant search of crumbs.

Ginger Rogers night on TCM

2010-03-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

Kitty Foyle just ended. Overall, it's depressing but about half-way through, she gets to wear a really lovely gown. Renie.

Now: Tom, Dick and Harry. This doesn't look all that interesting except for a very young and attractive, though small, Burgess Meredith. He was married to Paulette Goddard? Wow.

"urbanists and planners need to get beyond their nostalgic quest to recreate the highly centralized 19th-century city"

2010-03-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

"Instead they should hop a plane down to Dallas or Houston, where the outlines of the 21st-century American city are already being created." More Joel Kotkin!

And then there's this: "the most dynamic future for America urbanism--and I believe there is one--lies in Texas' growing urban centers. To reshape a city in a sustainable way, you need to have a growing population, a solid and expanding job base and a relatively efficient city administration." That last part could really sink us.

Is Opening Day the best day of the year?

2010-03-30T08:14:00.000-07:00

Of all the non-religious holidays, the first day of baseball feels more hopeful than even January 1, I think. It's less than a week away. And -- yay! look! -- non-flashy, hard-working guy Scott Feldman will be the starter.

And then she took the pastry tube and piped the whipped cream right into his mouth

2010-03-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

I can't be the only person obsessed with the Weather Channel's Abrams & Bettes, can I? I can't be the only one who thinks Stephanie Abrams is truly -- I'm being serious -- one of the most amazing women on TV.

"Day...appears to be angling for an outright sale of RadioShack so he can 'take the money and run'"

2010-03-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

RadioShack's CEO Julian Day gets the NYPost treatment. I don't believe you'd ever read this in the papers here: "The smooth-talking Brit known for his vise-like grip on RadioShack's operations and finances cuts an elegant figure at the retailer's headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, with a penchant for $5,000 suits. Nevertheless, he hasn't taken up permanent residence in Texas, with his family holed up in Montana since he took the helm at RadioShack in 2006. 'They've tried to get [Day] involved in the local community, but it isn't happening,' according to one source."

Julian Day's contract ends this summer and he'd make around $93 million in a sale. That leaves -- what? -- a month to make it happen.

No Pink Martini for Dallas

2010-03-27T07:12:00.001-07:00

Three dates in Fort Worth. Zero in Dallas. Problem! I will only go so far to be entertained.

Jamie Oliver's black like me

2010-03-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty fascinated by this look at Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (Produced by Ryan Seacrest! Have you heard?!) because someone takes the time to examine Oliver's track record, which is not impressive.

And because of this: "Oliver recently claimed—while discussing his newfound understanding of racism and the plight of immigrants—that he is 'sixth generation Sudanese,'....The Daily Mail, reporting the story, hinted politely 'some might see [this] as an attempt to improve his street credibility.'" Which is impressive. I wonder if Oliver was moved to action by the rude, racialist treatment of Ali G.

RadioShack is "a name that always intrigues people, but no one is very hot for it"

2010-03-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

Looking to sell. "Another possibility is a merger with big-box rival Best Buy, which lately has experimented with a smaller retail format to meet fast-growing demand for smartphones and other wireless gadgets. 'This is all about handheld devices,' said one banking source close to the situation. 'A whole new wave of these products are coming out and they're going to break the monopoly of the carriers,' whose market power has bruised RadioShack's profits in the past."

I just have this feeling that Julian Day really, really wants to get out of Fort Worth. Why is that?

Tiger's 13th step: make a new Nike spot

2010-03-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

So we'll have that.

Harlowe lying on a bearskin rug

2010-03-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

The phrase alone inspires such a vivid mental image that the actual photo turns out to be a little underwhelming. Or is it because of the bear's face?

ON SECOND THOUGHT: Hmm. Maybe underwhelming is the wrong word. Maybe it's just shocking that Jean Harlowe turns out to be the least remarkable aspect of the photo.

Of course I'll follow you on Twitter

2010-03-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a pattern I've noticed: Max Papis, Julius Caesar and Franca Sozzani often seem to tweet at the same time. This amuses me to no end. And they are all awesome.

Turns out people like having a lot of choices

2010-03-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

Walmart re-thinks their decision to reduce product selection. It hurt same-store sales because some "brands Walmart eliminated, like Arm & Hammer liquid laundry detergent, amped up promotions at other retailers, particularly supermarket chains [and] forced shoppers into the arms of Walmart's competition."

I hope Target follows suit. They usually do, don't they? And right now, Target is awash in their own Up & Up products.

Anyway, it's all a good excuse to go back and read this Virginia Postrel article. My favorite sentence? "Too much choice may cause regret, but no choice is worse."

Not that it matters

2010-03-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

But Tiger Woods is still as full of shit as he was back in November.

Horrible, divisive, a total waste of time and resources

2010-03-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Dancing With The Stars returns tonight.

News about famous people who are actually likable

2010-03-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin gets her own clothing line. It's for little girls. Who pretty much love her. And here's an interesting thing: JCPenney "ranks fourth in U.S. market share for girl's apparel, behind Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's, but it has the largest market share in the malls." Does it surprise you that Target and Kohl's rank that high?

I didn't realize this either: Liukin "has secured several partnerships including Covergirl, Visa, AT&T, Herbal Essences, Pure Sport, Secret, Sega and Wheaties."

All that as well as being the most amazing Max Azria model ever.

"Respect is a sexy quality, and the ability to give respect is even sexier."

2010-03-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

Naomi Campbell: "I actually connect with those that ooze inner beauty, you know when you can just see the light radiating as soon as the person walks into a room."

"Connect" is a hilarious choice of words there. Although maybe her driver, the police officers at Heathrow, her New York maid and that assistant in Toronto won't see the humor.

Maybe my favorite intro to a Dallas Morning News story, ever

2010-03-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Here: "Bill McNutt, the Southern Methodist University alumnus arrested last month on campus, has hosted small dinner parties for casual acquaintances where liquor is served and guests are offered private massages."

Shouldn't Joslyn James have waited until the week of the Masters?

2010-03-19T06:13:00.000-07:00

Seems like all the texts and email would be even more damaging then.

The shocking news contained within the shocking news about Ron Washington

2010-03-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine last season and if that's not weird enough (it's pretty weird, right? the guy's 57. This is baseball not the music industry), there's this:

The Rangers, as an organization, were being blackmailed because of it. Blackmailed! Seedy!

And there's this:

"According to MLB rules, disciplinary measures are only mandatory in cases of performance-enhancing drugs....Managers and coaches are not represented by the players' union, and are thus subject to testing for recreational drugs, such as cocaine. Major league players are not tested for cocaine and other recreational drugs."

Oh OK. Yeah: no tests, no unpleasantness, no blackmail. What could go wrong?

ADDED: The weirdest thing by far, though, is how the local sports media has to handle this news. First, because the story broke at SI.com, the coverage here has mostly been limited to opinion-oriented reaction pieces. The only additional news -- the blackmailing -- is exclusive to Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Although the Dallas and Fort Worth papers share baseball reporters, Galloway is a columnist and is not carried in the Dallas Morning News. So: sorry Dallas sports fans. Galloway also hosts an afternoon show on the local ESPN radio affiliate, and as I listen to the other sports stations now, they're only gingerly taking up the blackmail part of the story, never crediting Galloway by name because God forbid you should mention a competitor in any way except jest. Everyone's happy to talk and talk and talk about the reasons Ron Washington should be fired. So far, to my knowledge, no one here is addressing how yet another major story -- like Parcell's retirement, like ARod's positive test, hell, like the whole Canseco steroid era -- slipped right by the DFW sports media.

Bijou news

2010-03-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

A newly mined 6225-carat Zambian emerald. Oh go ahead and buy it! The elephants will thank you.

Meaningless news of the day

2010-03-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

Pepsi is removing their sodas from schools. I don't think this matters. They're still selling sugary Tropicana drinks, sweet Quaker-brand treats and all those Frito-Lay snacks, right?

"the most dynamic growth in America from 2010 to 2050 is going to happen here in Dallas"

2010-03-17T05:03:00.001-07:00

Candy Evans has got me all curious about Joel Kotkin. And about that William Faulkner quote.

Maybe The Next Hundred Million would be good companion reading to those two Voegeli articles and to this Michael Barone piece.

That was fun: Toyota's Sponsafy Your Ride contest

2010-03-17T02:17:00.000-07:00

The most interesting part of the promotion is already over. Still, I like the idea, I like the name, I like the spots. Yay!

Please advise

2010-03-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

If you blog under a fake name, are you required to count that name as an additional household member on your census form?

"I'm sort of watching it not work now"

2010-03-16T07:19:00.000-07:00

Nigel Lythgoe knows exactly what's wrong with American Idol: "The judges are part of the show. They are not the show."

Star power at the Pacquiao fight

2010-03-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

The final tally is in and here are the celebrities who turned out for last Saturday's big fight at Cowboys Stadium: Robert Duvall! Troy Aikman! Deion Sanders! And, uh, Miles Austin, Ken Hamlin, Drew Pearson and Marion Barber.

In fairness, stars weren't expected. I think the focus instead was on Jerry Jones. Didn't the storyline seem to be that, in taking what's usually a Las Vegas high-roller event and bringing it to Texas, Jones was single-handedly returning boxing to the masses? Here, look: "'Jerry Jones put on a show,' said Big Sugar Ray Phillips, a former pro fighter from Mineral Wells, Texas, who is now a trainer and actor. 'The good thing is that he didn't price out the fans. He made the prices reasonable for the working man to come to fights like this.'"

I mean, even Tim Smith expressed hope that if "Pacquiao and Clottey put on a good show and Jones is really committed to holding more boxing events at his stadium, it could jump-start a movement to push boxing back into the mainstream. But it is an uphill push."

By the way, here's my scorecard: Winners -- Jerry Jones, the city of Arlington, the Diamond Club, Grapevine's Gaylord Texan Resort. Losers -- Dallas city coffers.

"Fossil is about a culture devoted to design and the Fossil brand"

2010-03-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

The Star-Telegram's Mitchell Schnurman calls it "an expensive, labor-intensive proposition." Specifically: "a big in-house media operation, churning out hand-drawn graphics, posters, packaging and sexy images from a photo staff as large as this newspaper. Fossil even has its own architects to design its stores. The company has 150 designers, most based in the sprawling Richardson headquarters. Each product or service category has a distinct area -- watches on the ground floor, apparel on one side, a large photo studio in the center and graphics spread out in its own work zone. 'Creatives are seen as an asset; they make Fossil work,' says Tim Hale, senior vice president for marketing and design."

I wonder if you could say that, in putting so much art and meaning into their stores and packaging, they're successfully creating an emotional benefit -- one that can't be duplicated. But maybe I go too far.

Blockbuster's resigning board member is Senator Dodd's wife?

2010-03-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

After six and a half years, Jackie Clegg is leaving Blockbuster's Board of Directors. She's going to "'look at some public service opportunities' tied to international aid" and, frankly, I'm enjoying a little giggle about that. If someone needs aid, isn't it Blockbuster? Ah, but maybe she's done enough.

Also, if she's quitting and her husband isn't running for a sixth term, I wonder how they'll ever manage to get by.

Success has a thousand fathers; failure gets orphaned right there on the pages of AdAge

2010-03-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Won't anyone step forward and take responsibility for Budweiser's Drinkability campaign?

The consultant Mr Kash couldn't be more wrong-headed, though, when he says, "If all you have is an emotional benefit, it can be duplicated."

"you have to be careful not to write a show just for the superfans"

2010-03-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've plucked that sentence fragment out of an interview with Matt Nix -- of Burn Notice and the new Code 58/The Good Guys/that show being filmed in FairPark -- because I think it sums up a lot of what went wrong on Battlestar Galactica. [Pause. Heavy sigh.] Here's his complete thought: "I think it’s satisfying for people to feel that that relationship [with their favorite show] is reciprocal in some way. The truth is, you do have a relationship with your fans, and there is a feedback loop there. And while you have to be careful not to write a show just for the superfans, that kind of feedback is really valuable." So: cool.

But I do have to call BS on this exchange:

DH: Right. So let’s talk about your 2 shows. It seems as though, in both cases, these are about somebody who gets kicked out of an institution but wants desperately to get back in to prove they can still do it. Is that true?

MN: Wow, I never thought of that.

C'mon. Never? C'mon!

"You met me at a party six to eight weeks ago and you said I was a really good sport"

2010-03-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

What is the re-play value of comedy albums?

For adults in the 70s, by which I mean my parents, I think it was the equivalent of owning a Seinfeld DVD box set. They had favorite moments from each album and it was something to share and laugh at when friends came over. It was after all one of the few in-home on-demand entertainment options at the time. For me, though, the George Carlin routines were like nursery rhymes. They had fun words that I didn't completely understand but wanted to hear over and over. I can recite them to this day.

But maybe my experience is not typical.

Sotheby's is profitable again. This is terrible news.

2010-03-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

UnBeige wonders if it's a "sign that the high-end auction world is coming back up for some air after being stuck with every other company well below the surface due to the global financial meltdown." I think it would be more accurate to say it's a sign that rich people need some place safe to put their cash.

And, just as accurately, it's a sign that Lily Safra really did want that Giacometti.

I refuse to feel old

2010-03-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Even though the week started off with a Brat Pack reunion. Even though one of the Coreys passed. Even though the new Pantene model is Simon LeBon's daughter.

American Idol has become national open mic night

2010-03-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

That's the feeling I get every time I switch over to it. I must be missing the high-energy performances.

"the near-obsolescence of realistically aged actresses"

2010-03-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

How Botox is ushering in a new school of overacting: "On two cable dramas starring actresses of a certain age, the heroines are brassy and expansive, with a tendency to shout and act out, yet somehow their placid foreheads are never called into play. Usually, when a person reenacts a stabbing or smashes a car with a baseball bat, some part of the face is going to crease or bunch up. Not so with these women. As though to compensate for their facial inertia, both perform with stagy vigor, attempting broad looks of surprise or disappointment, gesticulating and bellowing."

Which, in turn, is ushering in new ideas about women. Or is it: "The actresses with their hard, frozen faces and their sinewy bodies encased in lavishly ruffled dresses showed that movies are no longer a source of fresh inspiration about beauty, femininity and womanhood."

I guess that Dove campaign can only do so much.

Your new boss says his favorite book is The Prince. Should you be scared?

2010-03-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

Let's meet Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda, OK?

Right away, he seems sensible: "Mr. Freda wants to woo customers who are still hesitant to splurge on upscale cosmetics. To make shopping less intimidating, some beauty counters now display prices....'It allowed the consumer to make up her mind without having to ask the price. This takes embarrassment away.'" For the salesperson too. It shouldn't have taken this long for someone to realize that.

He's from Procter & Gamble so he likes his research: "We don't want to just do the products that consumers want. We want to be inspired by consumer desires and surprise them with products and services that they don't expect."

And his leadership style is most influenced by The Prince: "'What we learn reading this book is the difficulty of change. Machiavelli explains [that] when you need to change something, you have as enemies all the people who were happy in the previous status. You look for supporters in the people who want to change but don't know how their life would be after change.'"

You could say that, as a rare non-Lauder in the family business and someone in the process of laying off 2000 people, he's being a little Machiavellian by merely mentioning the book. Or is his honesty refreshing?

I would like to thank the Academy

2010-03-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Of course Nikke Finke called it the "WORST OSCARS EVER!" That's what she does.

But I liked this observation instead: "Another thing worth noting: all the top winners--actors, writers, director, producers--won for what seemed to be a labor of love." I wouldn't have thought of that, but it's true. Doesn't that kind of make you feel good? A little?

Fun with Getty Images

2010-03-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's understandable that the caption writer for this shot would be distracted, but "Taylor has a bouffant hairstyle and wears a low-cut dress with a diamond necklace" is lacking crucial, even legendary, details. Namely: Elizabeth Taylor's hair was often styled by Alexandre; the dress is an Edith Head design and that's the 69.42-carat Taylor-Burton diamond her husband had just purchased for $1,100,000. I feel these things are important to note because that ain't just any rack we're staring at.

I am fascinated by these 1970 Oscar photos. Quite a culture clash, isn't there?

And to think there were no red carpet shows

2010-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Taylor at the 1970 Academy Awards. I really can't stop looking at this.

If that's not your speed: Oscar night, eight years later. It helps to see the full effect.

ADDED: I changed the link to the Elizabeth Taylor photo. Let's hope this one works. I don't want you to miss it!