Jewel colours or winter white? Perfectly simple or a theatrical flourish that show-cases the ingenuity of American design? Designer, with impeccable ethnic-minority credentials (that would be someone with Mayflower ancestors, then), or all-American waspy gods such as Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren (both of whom are, inevitably, Jewish - see how complicated this ethnic thing is)?
And the plot thickens. The inaugural gown, according to Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a historian who has written extensively about First Ladies, is a metaphor for the role. No wonder that speculation surrounding Michelle Obama's outfits threatens to rival the great Labradoodle versus Portuguese water dog debate and possibly even overtake theories about Madonna's new, new face. When Women's Wear Daily (WWD), the fashion industry gospel, recently ran 35 sketches of proposals from some of the world's leading, and lesser known, designers, its website received six million hits. Revenge of the fashion nerd or what? This is important, not just because in view of the Carla (Bruni) effect, America is crying out for a stylish First Lady after decades of what can most kindly be described as matronly chic in the White House, but because what Mrs O wears is likely to end up one day in the Smithsonian, one of America's most venerated museums.
And so the fever continues. Sheath or pouff? Satin or lace? Glittery or understated? Will she plump for a pillar of White House dressing, such as Oscar de la Renta, a slick designer of patrician South American extraction who understands every nuance of political protocol and who has successfully dressed Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush? Or will she remain loyal to Maria Pinto, an unknown name until about six minutes ago, but one who has so far served her very well? Or might she throw caution to the wind on the basis that you only live once and to hell with the patriots, and go for something French to show that she's backing her husband's new, Euro-friendly promises?
The blogosphere is phosphorescent with rumour and, for once, the blogosphere may have a point. For all the fireworks surrounding the clothes that women in the public eye wear today, a surprisingly small number of outfits become totemic. Diana's wildly romantic wedding meringue on an uncharacteristically hot July day in London, 1981; the demure, pink bouclée suit that Jackie Kennedy wore in Dallas the afternoon that JFK was assassinated in 1963; Dior's New Look suit, launched on an incredulous, glamour-starved public in 1947 - have become freighted with a social significance that elevates their aesthetics into eloquent parcels of visual history.
Ref:http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5511337.ece
President-Elect Barack Obama sets out on his final journey to the White House on Saturday with a train ride to Washington joined by "everyday Americans".
Barack Obama sets out on his final journey to the White House today with a train ride to Washington.
The journey from Philadelphia, with a stop in Delaware to collect Vice President-Elect Joe Biden, will emulate a pre-inauguration tour by civil war President Abraham Lincoln, Obama's political hero.
It will be the start of a programme of events leading up to his inauguration next Tuesday.
Mr Obama will open a star-studded concert at Washington's Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. Then on Monday he will attend an event honouring Martin Luther King Jr. before joining volunteers in the Washington area.
The train ride has been billed as part of Mr Obama's commitment to making the festivities as accessible as possible, though most of the members of the public joining him on board were involved in his campaign or have met him during his extraordinary rise to the presidency.
They include Randy Wehrman, a lifelong Republican who joined Obama's cause in Iowa and was comforted by the then candidate when his wife died of cancer.
Matt Kuntz, a former army officer who met Obama during a campaign stop last year, has worked to improve mental health screening for soldiers returning from Iraq. Kuntz's stepbrother, Chris Dana, committed suicide after returning from the Persian Gulf.
Lisa Hazirjian, a professor of history, recruited volunteers from the gay community in Ohio and Pennsylvania for the Obama campaign. She has said that while on the train she hopes to bend his ear about proposed legislation banning workplace discrimination against homosexuals.
Despite the publicity about the openness of this year's events, critics are pointing out that previous inaugurations entailed more free events.
Apart from the Sunday concert, there are no events that don't require a ticket or an invitation. The Neighbourhood Ball, which is the premiere official event where the Barack and Michelle Obama will hold their first dance of the night, gave away only 1,000 out of 5,000 tickets to Washington residents.
Others were sold cheaply at $25 (£17) but on a website that those in the know, Obama staffers and volunteers, were reportedly told about first.
Ron Kaufman, an organiser of the 1989 inauguration of George Bush snr, remembered holding a dozen events with considerable access to the general public. "The first thing he said to me was: 'I want to make this as open as possible.' He was fanatical about it," Mr Kaufman told the Washington Post.
The late Ronald Brown, who chaired Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural committee, said at the time: "This inaugural is going to be an open inaugural, an accessible inaugural and a dignified inaugural that very much reflects the kind of campaign that Bill Clinton and Al Gore ran."
Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 featured several all day concerts, not just one.
Obama transition aides have emphasised that Americans can "take part" in the Neighbourhood Ball and the Youth Ball – the other cheap event – on the internet.
Obama and his organisers have rejected the traditional fireworks show, the easiest way of providing mass entertainment and celebrating the new presidency, for fear of appearing too celebratory in such dark times for the nation.
The omission was regarded as strange by those involved in previous festivities. "The symbolism is all wrong not to do it," said Craig Shirley, who worked on Ronald Reagan's second inauguration. "There isn't anybody who doesn't like fireworks."
A new USA Today/Gallup poll showed that Mr Obama will start his presidency with immense goodwill and high expectations from the American public. A majority of those surveyed said he the Democrat would be able to meet his top ten campaign promises, while 70 per cent thought the nation would be better in four years at the end of his first term.
Mr Obama spent Friday in the struggling industrial state of Ohio, where he visited a factory manufacturing parts for wind turbines, a fitting backdrop to promote alternative energy.
He was promoting his plan for $825 billion (£565 billion) in new spending and tax cuts to spur the troubled economy, which has been drafted by Democrat leaders in Congress.
Debate will begin after his inauguration and the plan could run into strong objections from Republicans unconvinced at the purpose of much of the spending.
Mr Obama has already scored his first big victory in Congress, winning Senate approval on Thursday to spend the second half of the $700 billion fund to bail out the country's teetering financial system agreed in the autumn.
It will be the start of a programme of events leading up to his inauguration next Tuesday.
Mr Obama will open a star-studded concert at Washington's Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. Then on Monday he will attend an event honouring Martin Luther King Jr. before joining volunteers in the Washington area.
The train ride has been billed as part of Mr Obama's commitment to making the festivities as accessible as possible, though most of the members of the public joining him on board were involved in his campaign or have met him during his extraordinary rise to the presidency.
They include Randy Wehrman, a lifelong Republican who joined Obama's cause in Iowa and was comforted by the then candidate when his wife died of cancer.
Matt Kuntz, a former army officer who met Obama during a campaign stop last year, has worked to improve mental health screening for soldiers returning from Iraq. Kuntz's stepbrother, Chris Dana, committed suicide after returning from the Persian Gulf.
Lisa Hazirjian, a professor of history, recruited volunteers from the gay community in Ohio and Pennsylvania for the Obama campaign. She has said that while on the train she hopes to bend his ear about proposed legislation banning workplace discrimination against homosexuals.
Despite the publicity about the openness of this year's events, critics are pointing out that previous inaugurations entailed more free events.
Apart from the Sunday concert, there are no events that don't require a ticket or an invitation. The Neighbourhood Ball, which is the premiere official event where the Barack and Michelle Obama will hold their first dance of the night, gave away only 1,000 out of 5,000 tickets to Washington residents.
Others were sold cheaply at $25 (£17) but on a website that those in the know, Obama staffers and volunteers, were reportedly told about first.
Ron Kaufman, an organiser of the 1989 inauguration of George Bush snr, remembered holding a dozen events with considerable access to the general public. "The first thing he said to me was: 'I want to make this as open as possible.' He was fanatical about it," Mr Kaufman told the Washington Post.
The late Ronald Brown, who chaired Bill Clinton's 1993 inaugural committee, said at the time: "This inaugural is going to be an open inaugural, an accessible inaugural and a dignified inaugural that very much reflects the kind of campaign that Bill Clinton and Al Gore ran."
Reagan's second inauguration in 1985 featured several all day concerts, not just one.
Obama transition aides have emphasised that Americans can "take part" in the Neighbourhood Ball and the Youth Ball – the other cheap event – on the internet.
Obama and his organisers have rejected the traditional fireworks show, the easiest way of providing mass entertainment and celebrating the new presidency, for fear of appearing too celebratory in such dark times for the nation.
The omission was regarded as strange by those involved in previous festivities. "The symbolism is all wrong not to do it," said Craig Shirley, who worked on Ronald Reagan's second inauguration. "There isn't anybody who doesn't like fireworks."
A new USA Today/Gallup poll showed that Mr Obama will start his presidency with immense goodwill and high expectations from the American public. A majority of those surveyed said he the Democrat would be able to meet his top ten campaign promises, while 70 per cent thought the nation would be better in four years at the end of his first term.
Mr Obama spent Friday in the struggling industrial state of Ohio, where he visited a factory manufacturing parts for wind turbines, a fitting backdrop to promote alternative energy.
He was promoting his plan for $825 billion (£565 billion) in new spending and tax cuts to spur the troubled economy, which has been drafted by Democrat leaders in Congress.
Debate will begin after his inauguration and the plan could run into strong objections from Republicans unconvinced at the purpose of much of the spending.
Mr Obama has already scored his first big victory in Congress, winning Senate approval on Thursday to spend the second half of the $700 billion fund to bail out the country's teetering financial system agreed in the autumn.
Ref:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4272883/Barack-Obama-journey-to-White-House-begins-on-the-train.html
Marzipan-babies
Believe it or not, these babies were not made out of sperm and egg cell but through cake frosting! These are made with marzipan, an almond paste consisting primarily of sugar and ground almonds. Often with egg whites or yolks, used as a layer in cakes or molded into ornamental shapes.
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