State of the Fashion

I'll leave it to the pundits to dissect the serious issues covered during President Obama's first State of the Union address tonight. Instead, I will be dissecting tonight's fashion choices via a semi-live blog post.

1. POTUS: The President is wearing a bright red tie with several sets of narrow, white (pink?) parallel "stripes" running down the length of the tie. It reminds me of a candy cane -- not a peppermint one, but one of those delicious strawberry flavored candy canes that I always hunt down during the holidays. I like the tie -- it has an optimistic flair, and is set against a navy, presidential-looking suit. (Wait, did Harry Reid just yawn??? Wow, the Republicans are seriously mean-mugging right now.)

2. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: Speaker Pelosi is sporting a lavender skirt suit. (I think it's a skirt suit.) The shade is understated -- I like it, but I don't love it. What I do love is her necklace: a jumbo, multicolored pearl strand. And matching earrings! Very sharp, Madam Speaker.

3. VP Biden: The Vice President has also chosen a diagonally striped tie -- it's purple (with blue and white stripes?) and the color contrast is sharp. I'm really digging it. Wait -- did he and Speaker Pelost coordinate? Ohhh, the VP is wearing a navy blue pinstripe suit. I've always held a special place in my heart for a navy pinstripe suit. (Everyone is really stoked about the Jobs Bill -- let's hope this enthusiasm translates into action.)

4. First Lady Michelle Obama: Mrs. Obama's hair and makeup are flawless! But I'm not such a huge fan of the dress. (Oh my goodness, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just fell fast asleep. I hope she's okay.) The color (a deep burgundy) is quite nice, but the cut just doesn't seem to be exactly right. Then again, maybe I caught a bad angle -- I just saw the dress from another angle, and it looked rather lovely (love the pleating detail in the front).

5. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice: Ambassador Rice's blazer is intriguing to me. It appears to be a black, crocodile print, leather number. It's shiny and it's unconventional. And I'm kind of loving it. (I'm also loving this bit about reducing the costs of college and forgiving student loan debt. I'm totally on board with that plan.)

6. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME): The Senator has chosen a very safe black and white (tweed?) skirt suit that looks well made and expensive. As an aside, Google-ing her political accomplishments led me to some vintage photos of Senator Snowe that dated back to the early days of her political career -- she has made some excellent fashion choices in her time. (Wait -- yes! Health care reform made it to the speech! I was worried. We can't give up on it yet.)

Last but not least -- and this has nothing to do with fashion -- but Roland Burris looks so, so happy to be where he is right now. I had almost forgotten about him and his very special appointment to the United States Senate. Good for him. (Wooow -- I think Obama just urged Congress to pass a law that will essentially erase some of the impact of the Supreme Court's recent campaign finance decision. Fascinating.)

When Sports and Sensitive Subjects Collide. On TV. During the Super Bowl.

I like to keep this blog controversy-free. It's a little safe space where serious subjects take a back seat to sports and fashion and interior design. However, I'm taking a temporary step away from that safe space to comment (briefly) on this: Apparently, former (that sounds so weird) Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is set to star in an anti-abortion advertisement that will air during the Super Bowl. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

My gut tells me that this is not okay. Don't get me wrong (and excuse the cliche): I'm a big proponent of free speech, and an even bigger proponent of free thought. We are all entitled to our own beliefs, and more often than not we will disagree. But an anti-abortion ad during the Super Bowl? Starring Tim Tebow? It just doesn't make sense, and the tacit endorsement by CBS/the NFL/any other party viewers associate with the Super Bowl = bad news. I don't like this at all.

Read more about this recipe for disaster (mine is just one girl's opinion) here, here and here.

I'm Back (Again)

I've been gone. For a very long time. I blame my absence on the holidays (spent with family in Florida - fun!) and an unbelievably busy stretch at work (spent alone (well, occassionally with my similarly overworked colleagues) in front of a computer - not nearly as much fun). Enough! Reading up on last week's Altitude Design Summit (and the amazing bloggers who participated) inspired me to stop making excuses for not blogging. And so I have returned. A few things:

1. What I'm Watching: Mark Sanchez and the NY Jets are playing in the AFC Championship game as I type this post. It doesn't look good for them. But no matter what happens, the Jets had an amazing run this season. And Mark Sanchez exceeded almost everyone's expectations for his rookie season. Go Gang Green.

2. What I'm Reading: Game Change. Whatever you've heard about this book is probably true. I've only just started reading Chapter 3, and I've already had to pick my jaw up from the floor 7 times. I still don't understand how Heilemann and Halperin gained access to all of the juicy details that drip from every page of the book. It reads like a hyper-intellectualized (and exceptionally long) "cover story" article in People magazine. And I love it for that. (P.S. I spent an entire week attempting to purchase a copy of this book in Manhattan. It was impossible to do so. Thankfully, Amazon has what seems to be an endless supply of them in stock.)

3. What I'm Not Believing: The National Enquirer is throwing its name into the hat for Pulitzer Prizes -- for its coverage of the John Edwards affair and the child he has now admitted to having with his mistress, Rielle Hunter. No, I'm not kidding. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz explains here.