58 Days until Inauguration - Let the Galas Begin. You know, 'dressing up' is easy for guys.

Come on, Michelle, lead the way. Don't expect another 'fashionably correct' Jackie O or 'Dress on Loan' Nancy Reagan, but, inspiration to a modern day woman in touch with fashion as well as her 'daily schedule' would be refreshing and a huge distraction from the drugery of economic worries.


For Hillary it was the 'pant suit,' for Jackie the Pillbox Hat, what will it be for the Obama women? I can't wait. It is stated that during Depressions and Recessions the hemlines go up to save fabric. What will 'the status quo' look like and how will DC ladies 'dress for the occasion?'

Greer lets loose on Michelle Obama's 'butcher's apron' (click title to entry, thank you)
November 19, 2008 - 7:05PM
Feminist Germaine Greer says the dress Michelle Obama wore to her husband's US election declaration was a "butcher's apron" and looked like a "geometrical haemorrhage".
In her regular column for the Guardian, Greer calls the outfit "All black with an eye-burning red panel that splattered itself down the front like a geometrical haemorrhage".
It was "a poster in the most disturbing colours known to man, the colours of chaos. Coral snakes and venomous spiders signal their destructive potential by the display of similarly violent contrasts"....





Fit first couple: Obamas find time for daily workouts, leaving no excuses for the rest of us (click here)
By DEANNA BELLANDI Associated Press Writer
3:11 AM EST, November 19, 2008
CHICAGO (AP) _ Many women recoil at the thought of baring their arms in sleeveless dresses or blouses, but not Michelle Obama — half of the fabulously fit new first couple.
Both President-elect Barack Obama and the future first lady have exercise routines that would put most people to shame. Michelle Obama used to join a friend for 4:30 a.m. workouts, and Barack Obama usually starts his day in the gym.
Michelle Obama has hosted "The View," been interviewed on "60 Minutes," graced the cover of Newsweek and hit the campaign trail, all with her buff arms bared.
"One of the things I always talk about is got to exercise," the 44-year-old mother of two told an overwhelmingly female crowd at a campaign event last year in Chicago....




Obama gains 'GQ' honors, '60 Minutes' viewers (click here)
November 18, 2008
GQ has named Barack Obama one of its "Men of the Year" - along with Baltimore's Michael Phelps and actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jon Hamm - with a cover and article that went to press before Election Day, says the Huffington Post.
The article about Obama - also named "Game Changer of the Year" - was written by Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
Meanwhile, Obama's appearance on CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday night gave the venerable news show its highest overnight ratings in nearly a decade, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Steve Kroft spent almost the entire hour interviewing the president-elect and Michelle Obama, drawing 24.5 million viewers, according to the preliminary Nielsen estimate.
That is more viewers than for any other episode of a prime-time show seen this season and is the biggest audience for 60 Minutes since January 1999.

Dalai Lama says Tibetan community facing 'great danger'

One of the aspects of China that Americans have always valued is its diverse and benevolent cultures. The aspects of Eastern medicines and 'states of emotional' well being have always been a focus to the people of the USA. The variety of cultures throughout the East is more valuable than any aspect of Western culture when one realizes how deeply these 'methodologies' of living have contributed to modern era self-reliance.


The Eastern cultures are ancient compared to the juvenile nature of the USA. By valuing their way of life and their self reliance, we have learned a great deal to enhance our own cultures. The cultures of China have added to The West's quality of life, as has the cultures of the Japanese and all Eastern countries. Through their long existence, these cultures have matured in their ability to achieve higher forms of human condition than we could ever achieve.


In the USA we use mechanization and technology in our personal lives as an expression of 'status.' That isn't status and the larger the High Definition Digital Set the more status one can claim. Somehow, being able to lock elbows over a beer belly during the half time of Monday Night Football is actully supposed to mean something, when all it means is that one more day has gone by that Americans are contributing to their 'economy of entertainment.'


The 'mindful' cultures of the East have taught us more about our own state of mind, or lack thereof, then any other aspect of Earth's resources. They reach beyond the 'idea' of war and realize 'peace' is a choice that is valuable and attainable. The Eastern cultures have a powerful message, but, one that has brought them a modern day reality they seek to avoid, that they are the most vulnerable to terrorist networks that operate on 'hate' of those 'weaker' than the automatic weapons they covet.


China needs to value all its people as well as those that can enhance its economy. The economy of 'mindfulness' has been a great asset to the USA and you can ask many cancer survivors about their reality due to 'Alternative medicines.' I call on China to protect its Tibetan people and allow them 'freedom of expression' while they find a way to remain a valuable aspect of China's rich and thriving nation.


We are all grateful to the Dalai Lama for him and his work that have contributed to the spiritual awakenings of so many. We value the work of the people that are his followers and hope they continue to find contentment in their piety of life's richest resources and that is the human soul and human spirit. The Tibetan culture is one of the most valuable among us and we cannot thank them and China enough for its continued existence and freedom of developement and worship.



Dalai Lama shores up support for talks with China by warning of failure (click here)
The Dalai Lama has seen off a challenge to his moderate "Middle Way" diplomacy with China after warning that a confrontational approach would lead to the failure of the Tibetan cause within 20 years.


By Rahul Bedi in New Delhi
Last Updated: 4:11PM GMT 23 Nov 2008


Although the 73-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was unusually critical of the Chinese leadership, he attacked calls for fresh approach, centred around demands for independence.
"Total independence is not practicable" he told a conference following week-long deliberations by nearly 600 Tibetan exiles in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala. "In the next 20 years we must be careful in our actions and planning. Otherwise there is great danger to the Tibetan community."
"A majority of views have come up supporting the 'Middle Way' path to the Tibetan issue which is right," the Tibetan spiritual leader told the conclave at Dharamshala where he established a government-in-exile in 1959 after fleeing Lhasa following a failed uprising against Chinese occupation.
Tibetan exiles after the meeting said they could initiate more radical protests and demand independence if China did not respond to the leadership's overtures. But they did not indicate a deadline, saying that would be guided by the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan parliament-in-exile....