Today's Hodge Podge

I'm beginning to run out of titles for my 'random thoughts' posts. Maybe I should just come up with one title and use it over and over again. Now that's a thought!


USA Today ran a really interesting article titled 'The long goodbye.' It is a list of 25 things that have 'disappeared' in the last 25 years. The article mentions typewriters, rotary phones, phone booths, and carbon paper. It was a very enjoyable read and a fun walk down memory lane. While I don't completely agree that everything on the list has 'disappeared,' I will say that most, if not all, of the things are no longer in the mainstream. I was very surprised that Western Union telegrams didn't make the list, though.

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Lady Bird Johnson died last week at the age of 94. To me, she seemed like such a gentle, kind LADY. With what has been written about her husband, she must have been made of steel to put up with what she did. For the most part, I admire First Ladies. (There are exceptions that I won't go into here.) They are put in a position that is very hard and often have to put up with the difficult men who are their husbands--AND smile while doing it! Here is a nice tribute to her.

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My long-time readers know this about me and now I will share it with the 'newbies': I do not now, nor have I ever, liked Katie Couric. Frankly, perky, peppy, cheerleader-type, girl-next-door people piss me off to no end. As I have said to numerous people, "I don't do perky!" And frankly, I always thought Katie's attitude was all a great big act. Apparently, at least in a small way, it was.

New York magazine did a story on her for the current issue and she didn't come off as too perky and peppy. After reading the article, I thought there were more than a few spots of tarnish put on her reputation. One story that was related really got to me. As the National Ledger reported it:

(The typos in this story appeared in the linked-to article.)

CBS News anchor Katie Couric is being accused of slapping an editor after he injected a word she detested into a script. The one-time perky news reader (when she was at the NBC Today Show) is struggling as the CBS anchor but has vowed to fight on, however New York magazine reporter Joe Hagan will report in a story set for publication on Monday that "The stress has caused her to blow up at her staff for small infractions on the set."

A flash from matt Drudge gives a tease of the story: "During the tuberculosis story in June, Couric got angry with news editor Jerry Cipriano for using a word she detested— 'sputum' —and the staff grew tense when she began slapping him 'over and over and over again' on the arm, according to a source familiar with the scene. It had seemed like a joke at first, but it quickly became clear that she wasn’t kidding."

A top CBS executive tells the Drudge report that no formal complaint has been filed against Couric over the incident. "I sort of slapped him around,” Couric admits to the magazine. “I got mad at him and said, 'You can’t do this to me. You have to tell me when you’re going to use a word like that.' I was aggravated, there's no question about that.' But she says she has a good relationship with Cipriano. 'We did ban the word sputum from all future broadcasts. It became kind of a joke."

A CBS insider says Couric slapped the staffer in a playful manor. "Look, it wasn't serious, whatsoever."

What I want to know is this: would ANYONE have passed this off as 'not serious' if a MAN had been doing the slapping? I think not! Is it just because she makes more money than God that she is allowed to get away with this kind of sh*t? This story made me even LESS impressed by her--if that is even possible--and the article in the New York magazine did nothing to redeem her in one little bit in my eyes. For those interested, here is the link to the magazine article.