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Friday Watercooler

Angelina Jolie made me cry last night.

I was watching here interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN (sans mullet lady) and Jolie was talking about her work as the UN Ambassador for the Commission on Refugees. While always prefacing her statements with the comment that she is not political and that there are many more people out there who have greater expertise in the subject than she does, her first hand accounts of her experiences with displaced populations always strikes me as moving and informing.

The current crisis area is Pakistan on the border of the area where the Taliban has a strong hold in Afghanistan. It is the largest migration of refugees since Rwanda and no one is doing anything about it except the US and Angie and Brad. The US has given some $300 million in aid, and the Jolie/Pitts just gave a mil of their own but Europe and the Mid East  et al are disappointingly uninvolved in this cause making it hard for the aid to get to the refugees. When asked to go into detail with individual stories, she returns time and again to the resilience of the people who have lost everything, and are grateful for nothing more than to be alive. Juxtaposed to her own children, who have everything, and want for nothing, she wants to make sure they are exposed to these stories and that it instills a desire in them to advocate for those that are less fortunate.

A rather stark contrast to "He's Just Not That Into You" which I watched the other night starring Brad's ex, and you can almost think you understand him. Don't get me wrong, I am not judging as the world needs good rom coms. This is not one of them. It is a bad movie. Stay away! Wait for the new one coming out that is a re-teaming of Nia Vardalos and Aidan, AKA John Corbett, where they attempt to recapture some of their Big Fat Greek Wedding chemistry.

So my summer movies are so far two that are outstanding, as in Rachel Getting Married and Frost/Nixon, and two that are stinkers, as in the one above and Bride Wars. I have turned from chic flix to chic lit, where I am having better luck. Just finished Hedge Fund Wives, and an oldie but goodie from Madeline Wickham, aka Sophie Kinsella, Sleeping Arrangements.

A step above the chic lit genre into some good quality fiction I highly recommend American Wife but Curtis Sittenfeld. I am a fan of her two other books, Prep, and The Man of My Dreams. IMHO this is her best work yet. A very thinly veiled roman a clef of Laura Bush, the novel has its beginnings as an opinion piece Sittenfeld wrote in 2001 for slate.com claiming that while she deplored her husband and everything he represented to her, she had a crush on Laura Bush. Love 'em, hate 'em, or somewhere in between this book will suck you in to the rarefied world of a political dynasty and attempts to answer the question "what was she thinking?" in a way that will make you think you are reading an autobiography. It's out in paperback, and perfect for a summer read. A good piece of fiction writing that is meant to be savored.

Hope everyone had a great week!

Purse of the Day

$20 from amazon.com!

Purse of the Day

From Tory Burch

$250

Tuesday Watercooler

There is a fine line between vigilance (as Webster's defines it "the act or state of being constantly attentive and responsive to signs of opportunity, activity, or danger" ) and hysteria. I know from being on Facebook that there are a lot of swine flu doubters out there that think we have slipped into the latter. I had a few thoughts in that direction myself yesterday sitting in two airports for hours on end and having time on my hands to see the non-stop CNN feeds. Started looking at folks around me to see who looked tan and had maybe possibly been to Mexico on vacation. I did get some Airborne and already had hand sanitizer because here is the thing. Remember several years back when I was posting about being on the pandemic flu task force? And it is not IF with pandemics but rather, WHEN? What scares them with this is that it is has gone person to person (rather than animal to person) quickly so that means it is a fast mutating virus. If you think that about 30,000 people in the US die every year and that is from a flu that we do have a vaccine for, then you can maybe understand the need to be vigilant. And, I would myself rather the CDC et al be over prepared than under prepared. Meanwhile, thanks for coughing and sneezing into your sleeve.

Just to make us feel better comes news that Alicia Sylverstone is making a sequel to Clueless. How have we survived the last decade without it? Renee Zellweger just turned forty and was serenaded on her birthday by Harry Connick Jr. but is no longer dating Dan Abrams. Can you believe Mel Gibson is worth 900 mil? And have you heard that some anonymous donor has been out there making huge gifts to universities? These universities all have one thing in common - they are helmed by women. HAS to be Oprah? And how was your weekend?

Purse of the Day

From Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B line

$298

Friday Watercooler

Harem pants? Are you kidding me? That is what is reportedly hot on the fashion runways for fall. Remember the Rule: if you wore it the first time it came out no matter what it is you are too old to wear it the second time around! Are you scared? Do they look good on anybody? Well, maybe MC Hammer in that gold commercial.

Poor Lindsay Lohan. First she has to deal with the trauma/drama of her recent breakup and now she is being dissed by her all time idol, Stevie Nicks. Told that LiLo was in talks to play her in an upcoming biopic, Nicks reportedly said "over my dead body" as she claims that LiLo is too messed up on drugs and alchohol to do the job. Wow, that has to hurt as if I am not mistaken Stevie had to have her nose surgically repaired as the result of doing too much cocaine in her younger days.

Care to schedule a lunch meeting with Don Draper? Jon Hamm is making himself available to the winning bidder on eBay for an online auction that benefits the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, which supports female filmmak -ers with scholarships and grants. His significant other is Jennifer Westfeldt, her wrote, produced, and starred in Kissing Jessica Stein, a nice little film that while maybe is not on my top ten list, I always enjoy watching. And Jon Hamm has a bit part in the beginning as the preppy dinner guest who turns out to be "taken."

If you are headed out to Easter on Parade you will see Audrey Hepburn with us decked out in her Easter finery. Whatever it is you are doing this weekend I hope it is a good one for you!

Purse of the Day

From one of our faves

Isabella Fiore

$695

Thursday Watercooler

Yes, I am here to tell you that it only hurts for a minute. Turning fifty that is. Had lots of fun parties over the weekend with friends and family, great food, thoughful gifts, and a really good time. What is not to love about being the center of attention? I am truly blessed!

If you are just starting to tune into American Idol, that is OK because IMHO it only just got interesting. Finally the visually impaired guy is off and he just isn't a great singer, totally not in the league with the rest, and watching him doing the group routines complete with dance steps every week was producing some cringeworthy moments. And like last night Seacrest saying "let's watch" the you're going home video together. Maybe it is impowering, don't know. But I found it hard not to feel like he was somehow being exploited by the prodcuers - which is sort of how I feel about shows like the Biggest Loser. I know I know, can't exploit someone if they don't sign up for it but just glad that part is over. Ones left are all truly good.

Have you ever seen the movie Donnie Darko? If so, you will recognized the stripped down version of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World" as the film's haunting themesong. The Adam guy, who is growing on me, bested that version, IMHO, and got the only standing O Simon Cowell has ever given a contestant. So far, it is the only thing I have bought on ITunes this season. Click here to listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOpgcEOhC4 

In other news, not to be outdone by Valerie Bertinelli, have you seen pix of our girl Kathy Griffin running around town in the same blue bikini? She looks pretty good too considering she is 42. She's hosting the Bravo A list awards on April 15 and some of the promos look pretty funny! She even sings...OK, speaking of the 15th, am I the only one who will be doing my taxes this weekend?

Do we really need a biopic of the Three Stooges starring Sean Penn? From the Farelly brothers and also including Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Torro? I am not kidding. You will not catch me watching that one. I did watch Rachel Getting Married and wow, that is one intense film. Did you know that Neflix is now connected to FB? So that if you rate a movie you watched it will cross post? It won't go back to all the ones you have already rated, but it is a pretty good tool for those of us who like to share opinions about films. I digress.  I can see why Anne Hathaway was nominated for it but also was pleased to see that playing her sister Rachel is the actress who played Midge in the first several episodes of Mad Men - you know, the hippie chick Don Draper took to the beatnik place and wanted to take to Paris. She is equally awesome and I liked the film - though it is one of those you have to immediately go back and re-watch parts of after you know how it ends to see if Demme was really saying what you thought he was saying and if you actually get the darn thing. Oh, and Debra Winger too! I think I did get it but I am eager to talk to some one else who has seen it. I also bought the soundtrack on ITunes.

OK. That is it for today. Unless someone stops me I am on my way to the Target website to buy the Wii complete with the Wii Fit bundle for a really great price - I have been hoarding those Target gift cards since last Christmas and finally have enough. Have a good one everyone!

Purse of the Day

Marc by marc jacobs

$398

Thursday Watercooler

Life on the road. Here at the Beau Rivage where I can look out the window of my 18th story hotel room and see nothing but the Gulf. I try to imagine a thirty foot storm surge and water up through the third story of this place and marvel that it survived. Yesterday we drove from here towards New Orleans and got as far as Pass Christian. You may recall that is where ABC's Robin Roberts is from who did some telecasting from there in the early days of Katrina as well as Ellen Degenres. The devastation is stunning - the debris has been cleared but there is empty space, a few bricks here and there, maybe some steps or traces of a foundation. Remnants of a Waffle House sign but no Waffle House. We have a book that is a before/after pictorial guide they sell in the gift shop here (and everywhere) with proceeds going to the ongoing Katrina relief fund. The highway is close to the water here, kind of like the outer banks, and the contrast of the white sandy beaches and the stark nothingness of what used to be hotels, homes, restaurants, and casinos is eerie. And it has been nearly four years. What Katrina did not take, the recession might. Business is off about fifty percent over last year and though business has picked up a little since I have been here, it is hard to say that the 80,000 sq foot casino and 2,000 slot machines are "busy." The fine dining restaurants are not open nor are most of the shops in the hotel. Despite the challenges everyone is nice and the service is spectacular - we dined at Emerile's last night in one of the casino's and it was terriffic. BAM!

So when you are in a conference you are in a news blackout but I did manage to catch a few minutes of Denise Richards "elimination dance" from Dancing with the Stars. Bless her heart when you get eliminated BEFORE Steve Wozniak you know it is bad! And it was. Two high profile bike accidents this week - Matt Lauer hit a deer with his bike and had to have his arm surgically repaired and Lance Armstrong broke his collarbone in four places! Ouch! No decision yet if this derails his plans to give the Tour de France another go - I think great retired athletes should stay retired. Lance, think Michael Jordan! Hope everyone has a great day!