A First Lady's First First... But Not Her Last?

Well, I wouldn't necessarily want to be held responsible for what I was wearing my senior year in college, but really - were those trousers ever acceptable?

Housekeeping

Look at that; that little house, nestled in the city. The Executive Mansion; the White House.

I don't know about you, but I'm sentimental about houses, from the house I was raised in all those years ago, and far away from here, right up to now and our happy and pleasant Villa Muscato.

This, though, might be the house I'm most sentimental about, which has made the last eight years all the more trying. I like to think that I can respect and admire its inhabitants, and that's not always easy.

I'm not alone, of course; the White House is hardly short of admirers, either for itself or for its symbolic role in American life. The most beautiful thing I know about the White House, about the White House as metaphor, is a song. It's from a highly (and mostly, it must be said, deservedly) unsuccessful Broadway musical called 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If that show proved anything, it's that talent on its own is only a small part of artistic success, for it boasted as its creators Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein, and Patricia Routledge as its star.

Early in the show, the First Lady (Abigail Adams at that point; Miss Routledge) sings this song, "Take Care of this House". This is the lyric:

Here in this shell of a house,
This house that is struggling to be,
Filling the hall,
Coming straight through the wall
Is hope staring down at me.
But there's nothing there you can see,
Sadness will flow down a cheek,
Courage stand out like a tree--Joy. . .
Joy is as bright as a comet in flight,
But hope isn't easy to see.

Take care of this house.
Keep it from harm.
If bandits break in
Sound the alarm.

Care for this house.
Shine it by hand,
And keep it so clean
The glow can be seen
All over the land.

Be careful at night;
Check all the doors.
If someone makes off with the dream,
The dream will be yours.

Take care of this house.
Be always on call,
For this house is the hope of us all.

Be careful at night;
Check all the doors.
If someone makes off with the dream,
The dream will be yours.

Take care of this house;
Be always on call.
Care for this house;

It's the hope of us all.

My old friend YouTube has let me down, and there's no wonderful diva version, apparently, to be found. Even so, it's a lovely, lovely song, and I recommend you listen to this version, from, believe it or not, the Chancel Choir of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley.

And let's hope.

Herewith, by the bye, we retire a blog tag that's been in use here at the Café in recent months; from here on out, he's no longer Our Future President. The future, it could be said, is here.

Penny for your Thoughts

Shamelessly stolen from Gawker, just because it makes me giggle. And feel like anything's possible.

Finally Got a Piece of the Pie

I don't usually lift from other bloggers (or at least I don't admit it), but sometimes you just don't have a choice. Evil, cynical, filthy, fabulous J*O*E found this first, but I think it deserves all the play it can get.

Pure politico-popcult heaven, featuring the timeless song stylings of Miss Ja'net Du Bois. It's a rare clip than makes me want to scream with laughter and tear up all at once. Aren't they splendid?

So Proud. So Happy. So Tired.

More soon, my loves, but let's pause for just a moment and think how amazing it all is.

70 years ago, this great lady had to sing outside because theatre doors closed in her face.

Today a President Elect has to speak outside because tens (and tens, and tens) of thousands of Americans want to hear him speak. And my God, did he speak.

Hate to be a cliché, but right now, how else to close but: Yes We Can.

Electoral Boogie

You know, for her, this seems entirely plausible. Him, though? I think he's going to be booked for the next eight years or so.

Incomprehensible Headline of the Day

What? Is he a temperamental alcoholic perfectionist? Does he make Judy Garland cry? Does he help rationalize the stardom of Esther Williams?

No (although I would kill for a picture of Obama with Esther Williams, for no particular reason). It seems that, to the august London Daily Telegraph, Barack Obama may be a dangerous demagogue because...

He cheers people up.

Well, all I know is one thing.

If there's just the vaguest chance that his inauguration will look even the slightest like this, my vote is totally more sewn up this morning than it was up 'til now.

Tell It, Sister!

Oh, I know it's been around Internet-forever by now (that is, more than two days), but I just can't get enough of Betty White calling somebody - anybody - but especially Sarah Palin - a crazy bitch.

And I'm kind of with her on Obama.

Local Boy Makes Good

Never let it be said that the presidential election isn't exciting some interest overseas. In our part of the world, for example, one candidate has been warmly embraced as a long-lost native son, complete with full local costume.

The Sultanate, after all, has a very long history in East Africa, and while this Photoshop gem is clearly the product of too much free time, who knows?