Barbie For President

It should say something that one of the bigger news stories surrounding GOP veep nominee, Sarah Palin concerns money spent on her campaign wardrobe. Well at least one group thinks it isn't unreasonable that the party threw down a hundred and fifty large on some fly new vestments: Fashion Consultants. Really? Huh.

Well they do say you need to dress for the job you want. And really, $150,000 is not that much when you consider the amount of money driving the campaign bus. Did you think they were going treat her to a shopping spree at TJ Maxx?

I have a slightly different frame of reference to justify the spending. Barbie For President is currently selling on Toys "R" Us' site for $16.99. Now if Barbie is your best shot at the presidency, are you gonna trot her out in the same two outfits for the entire campaign? Hells no you're not. Better believe you're gonna drop some coin on a few hot looks. You're gonna want Barbie Fashion Fever (Let's Shop), Glam Getaway (Blue, pink and grey outfits; The giant water bottle really says "Hockey Mom") and Girl's Night Casual Sport Doll Outfits (Perfect for stumping). Total up those 12 outfits and it's... $35.97!

So Barbie For President is $16.99 but to really have a shot at the office you'll have to drop over twice that to look the part. Given that Palin's salary as Alaska guv is $108,000 maybe $150k isn't so bad.

Strange Things Afoot in Detroit

Everybody has experienced a phenomenal coincidence: Maybe one day you hear a new word, learn a new concept or discover something that has been underneath your nose for so long that you can hardly believe it. Then, later in a conversation or on TV you improbably hear that word or concept again. Or maybe you pick up the phone to call a friend and without dialing, they are already on the other end of the line. Maybe you run into your next door neighbor on the other side of the country. We often accredit fate or some underlying cosmic thread for having brought these events together. My theory though is that there are so many events occurring around us all the time that the sheer infinity of combinations, permutations and variations are bound to sync up at least once in a while in a way that our brains are able to form a pattern out of. Still, when this thing happens we have to acknowledge it. Today this thing happened to the city of Detroit.


Earlier today, we learned that Lion's general manager, Matt Millen, was out. Finally. FI-nally! Whether he was fired or quit is unclear. Perhaps, Bill Ford Jr.'s comments were Millen's first clue that he sucked at his job. Perhaps they were Senior's first clue that Millen sucked at his job. Perhaps Millen finally closed the sale on his house and saw an opportunity to jump town. Or perhaps... with Joey Harrington being released (today) in New Orleans, the two are reuniting in Flint with Charles Rogers and setting out to ruin another franchise.


Then came the news that longtime Tigers closer, Todd Jones, was calling it a career. Jones was affectionately referred to as "The Roller Coaster" by manager Jim Leyland; and not so affectionately referred to as f@#%ing Todd Jones by the fans, often accompanied by groans and spitting. Now sure, Todd Jones does retire as the Tigers' all-time saves leader (edging out luminary Mike Henneman) and admittedly seems like a pretty likeable guy. The save though is basically a measure of how often a reliever didn't suck at his job. And fan sentiment was summed up in this interview with Jones and his very own son on Fathers Day:

• Interviewer: Is your dad your favorite player?
• Son: (laughing) No!
• Jones: I'm not even his Tiger.

So... in one day, the city of Detroit says goodbye to one guy who was hated for sucking at his job and goodbye to another guy who was hated for not sucking at his job. And all this a week after saying goodbye to a guy who was loved despite sucking at his job. Weird.