Tacos and Trump Thursday

I'm a couple of days late on this, but first thing's first, RIP Estelle Getty. My Golden Girls counterpart, Sophia. At this point, I can't say it better than everyone else has, so I'll just go with the now cliched "thank you for being a friend." I totally stole that from The Fug Girls and numerous other places, but whatever, it fits.

As I enjoy my taco dinner from La Cocina, I'm doing something a bit ridiculous. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to look up the blueprints of the penthouse apartments in the still-rising Trump Tower, which has now become one of the most prominent features of the Chicago skyline. The 89th floor residence (which Donnie has set aside for himself) is particularly ridiculous. Here: Check it out. Dude. And, after a nosy bit of digging, I discovered that the cost of that penthouse is $28 million. 14,260 sq. feet. 5 bedrooms, 6 baths. 16 foot ceilings. Holy crap, Donald Trump. Damn. The only thing that's missing there is an actual library, but seriously, what Billionaires, with a capital B, have time to read, anyway? Kind of puts my crappy little studio into perspective. Not that this penthouse should put anything into perspective, since approximately .0001% of the population can even afford to step foot in it. Even in my world of make believe, I'd never be able to imagine living in a condo like that.

Buffy Update: Not that many of you care, but I'm partway through the third season now. In retrospect, I genuinely believe that the third season was probably the best one of the series. None of the episodes, so far, have been misses; in fact, some of the episodes that I've remembered and cherished for years took place in the third season. Classic Buffy at its best. The vastly tonally different episodes Anne, Band Candy, The Wish, and Amends have all been pretty spectacular, and I'm not even halfway through the season. In fact, I'd say that some of these episodes top even some of the better Firefly episodes. At least for me. That's probably due to the fact that I clearly remember watching them as a teenage girl--the exact demographic that Joss Whedon was writing for. There's just something so satisfying about watching a flawed, emotionally vulnerable girl kick so much ass--kind of makes you feel like you can do anything. Which is kinda the whole point of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anyway. Not to mention-- VAMPIRES! SO MANY VAMPIRES! That is all.

If anything, this is helping wean me off of Bravo TV. I'll still watch Project Runway, but not as many reruns on weekends. I've got geekier things to do now.

Grr...Argh...

RIP, Rufus

George Carlin died yesterday. While I can't honestly say that I fervently followed his stand up career, I can truly appreciate the contribution that he made to comedy. This is the man who really exemplifies the foul-mouthed comic, and made a whole act around the seven dirty words you couldn't (and, for the most part, still can't) say on TV. He got arrested for disturbing the peace, when he performed his act in Wisconsin. Who takes their kids to a stand up show? Did we learn nothing from Lenny Bruce (one of George Carlin's greatest influences)? Due to his act, rules were set in place by the FCC for censorship on television. It was a big deal.

He was the first host ever on SNL. In the first episode. That's pretty awesome, and a great start to what used to be the most subversive and irreverant and (at one point) thoughtful program on TV. Of course audiences my age know him for his role as the very excellent Rufus in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Rad! Also, kids my age know him as Mr. Conductor (after Ringo Starr) in Shining Time Station. Sweet. I mean, how can you not love this guy? Seriously. He appeals to everyone!

Comedy lost a hero yesterday. So, for you and you alone, Mr Carlin:

SHIT
PISS
FUCK
CUNT
COCKSUCKER
MOTHERFUCKER
TITS

Hope you're still giving someone hell somewhere.