Thursday, August 27, 2009

Project Runway 6 Episode 2: Poodle Bitch Misses the Handstand Woman

Poodle Bitch did not bother with discussing last week’s Project Runway “All Star” Edition- it seemed to merit little in the way of commentary. There was Santino, behaving like Santino, conducting himself in such as manner as to guarantee the most screen time while neglecting his clothes, which ended up being quite shoddy and sleazy looking. Although, Poodle Bitch does find his impressions of Tim Gunn to be funny. There was poor Chris, seeming to pass out every five minutes. There was Sweet P, whose designs have always confused Poodle Bitch and should not have been in the top four. There was Korto, who likely should have won, but for her sour attitude upon being announced the runner up. The winner, Daniel, seemed to win the prize based upon a single dress. As well made as it was, Poodle Bitch was appalled by his ridiculous extra challenge dress, which had the appearance of dynamite strapped to a suicide bomber’s stomach.

Poodle Bitch would have awarded the title to Chris, although she worries that the excitement of winning might have caused him to lose consciousness.



Much more interesting to Poodle Bitch, and surprisingly so, was “Models of the Runway.” Poodle Bitch waited until just two days ago to watch the first episode, as she falsely believed the models were little more than objects for the designers. Why not have a show about the fabrics the designers use, Poodle Bitch joked. Or, perhaps, their sewing machines? Instead, Poodle Bitch found herself intrigued by life in a model house, and with the concerns and fears of the women who have to strut down the runway in the sometimes silly things the designers concoct.

She was most especially made more sympathetic to the plight of Mitchell’s model. Poodle Bitch believes wholeheartedly that the nightgown man should have been eliminated last week, and getting the story of how his “design” was created from the model’s point of view only solidified her opinion. Poodle Bitch will continue to watch.



This week’s Project Runway opened with Mitchell, Poodle Bitch’s least favorite designer, joking about sending a naked woman down the runway. Nicolas added, “With a really beautiful collar,” but Poodle Bitch would have to disagree even with that. The collar was certainly not anything Poodle Bitch would wear, and if Poodle Bitch would not wear it, then it is not beautiful.

Poodle Bitch already misses the handstand woman.

For their challenge, the designers had to create a dress for the pregnant actress Rebecca Romijn. This fabulously wealthy and famous woman lamented the fact that she was having a difficult time finding fashionable clothing to fit a pregnant woman’s body. So the designers will give her something that is “pregnancy chic,” for any event.

Logan from Seattle endears himself to Poodle Bitch by admitting that “babies kind of scare me.” As they do Poodle Bitch.

But he is still standing in the shadows, as are all the designers, of poodle companion Irina. As she puts it, “there shouldn’t be such a gap between maternity clothes, and regular clothes.” Poodle Bitch finds it difficult to argue with this point. Irina is both tasteful and practical.

Poodle Bitch is happy to note that, now that the handstanding woman has left the show, it is the androgyne Malvin who has taken up her mantle of strangeness, endeavoring to design a dress inspired by eggs and bird nests. “Basically, this look is called ‘the Mother Hen.’”

Poodle Bitch is happy that he chose not to call it “the Mother Poodle.”

Mitchell verbalizes exactly why he should have been eliminated last week when, much to Poodle Bitch’s disgust, he interviews that he is “not looking to go out on a limb,” and is not looking to win the challenge, but to play it safe. Poodle Bitch now hopes that the Mother Hen stomps on him. He might look like the actor who plays "Dexter," but that does not excuse his attitude.

Tim’s advice to Louise the Vintage Girl during the walkthrough is some of Poodle Bitch’s favorite ever: “If your viscera says ‘uh-oh,’ it’s probably true.”

Yes, listen to your viscera. Poodle Bitch concurs. He could have said that to Malvin as well. Instead, he is too polite. “I’m not bored,” he says, when Malvin says he wants to create wide-hipped jodhpurs to give a feeling of “chicken thighs.”

This episode’s runway show is one of the strangest Poodle Bitch remembers. The “bellies” do not seem to fit any of the models properly. This is not only because all of the models seem far to thin and frail to actually carry human fetuses. Poodle Bitch is no expert on human pregnancy (nor is she much of an expert on dog pregnancy- she has been spayed) but she did not think that human bellies rode quite so low as they did on the models as they strutted down the runway.

Once again, it was Irina who provided what was, to Poodle Bitch’s eye, the most beautifully designed and well-made of the dresses. Her blue dress was “fun,” as she described it. But once again, the judges did not agree, and Irina was sent off the runway with neither one of the highest or lowest scores.



However, Poodle Bitch did appreciate Louise the Vintage Girl’s almost-lingerie dress Clearly, she is more than just a non-evil version of Kenley. Shirin’s dress and coat were also nice.

But they were not Irina.

The guest judge whose name Poodle Bitch did not catch says that she has friends who would wear Mitchell’s mess. Poodle Bitch believes this should disqualify her from judging, and looks forward to the return of Michael Kors.

Poodle Bitch does not feel it was too great an injustice that Shirin won the challenge.

The final two were not unexpected. Poodle Bitch is, however, disappointed that once again Mitchell was selected to remain, while the more “unusual” contestant is sent home. Poodle Bitch wonders first of all, who will be strange one nest week (the woodland sprite woman?), and will Mitchell once again not try to win the challenge, but just get by, and end up in the bottom two?

Moreover, Poodle Bitch has a message to producers: More Irina!



Models of the Runway picture source.
Mitchell picture source.
Louise picture source.
Irina design sketch source.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

But What do the Toys Have to do with the Breasts, Poodle Bitch Would Like to Know


Poodle Bitch was innocently searching the internet today when she came upon this website (which, Poodle Bitch hastens to warn the reader, is extremely unsafe for work), where she discovered the work of artist David Choe, who has given his carved wooden creatures the rather provocative title "Tater T*ts." Given said title, Poodle Bitch assumes it was an obvious choice to pose them between the pendulous mammary glands of human women.

But Poodle Bitch is left scratching her head as to the reason for this. She understands that "sex sells," but what exactly is being sold here? Poodle Bitch was unable to find any way to purchase the toys, and the message with the photos is inscrutable:

All three wood toys , that i made ,here on display for your viewing pleasure, nipples not included.
each one hand crafted, and hand painted, all toys have spinning changing faces.

Very well, Poodle Bitch says. You got her to your website. But now that she's there, what have you got for her? There seems to be nothing at your store that is anything like the dolls, or the breasts.

Still, Poodle Bitch has to say she likes this more than "LOLCats."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Poodle Bitch is Not Being Sold by Some Breeders in Cameroon or Nigeria

Nigerian spam scammers are selling nonexistent companion animals to unsuspecting, lonely humans. In Australia, anyway.

The scammers steal the pets' names and photos from legitimate Australian businesses to advertise non-existent animals on a fake website. They even mention the names of transport companies that will deliver the pets and say the pet will be killed if not sold quickly.

This is the unfortunate side of having an internet presence. Poodle Bitch shudders to think that her irresistible image might be used by some unscrupulous scammers to extort money from those who are looking for companionship from a dog of refined taste, perfect grooming, and charming good looks.

Naturally, Poodle Bitch was alarmed, for this was the first she'd heard of this unscrupulous behavior. However, after doing a google search, she discovered that such internet pet scams have been going on for years. Here, for instance, is an article from September 2007.

Internet scammers are luring online puppy buyers with cute pictures and false promises, taking would-be dog owners for an emotional and financial ride.
...
There are three main types of pet scams: an overpayment scheme, a Nigerian pet scam and a sale that provides you with an ill or dying puppy -- or no puppy at all.

So Poodle Bitch offers this piece of advice to anyone who receives a photo of an adorable puppy, asking for money or banking information in exchange for animal companionship:

Delete the email. And consider an online dating service. Poodle Bitch has heard that those sites are full of earnest people.

Poodle Bitch Has Always Been Immune to the "Charms" of LOLcats

Poodle Bitch often has trouble understanding humans. They do things that she finds simply mystifying.

The enduring popularity of "LOLcats" is particularly confusing. Images of cats- and other animals, apparently- engaged in some activity that humans find "adorable," to which are added deliberately misspelled comedy captions, do not appeal to her. Perhaps they are amusing, but they are a cheap laugh. Poodle Bitch believes that too much in the world is "cheap."

Poodle Bitch is interested in higher pursuits. Especially considering the fact that the animals in question have no say in the matter. Poodle Bitch notes that very often the animals are trapped in some humiliating enforced activity, such as having a bath, or with their head trapped in a box (at the bottom of which some kind of "treat" was placed, to entice the animal).

Poodle Bitch had hoped that this silly trend would have ended by now. But it has not. According to Slate:

More than two years after its launch, I Can Has Cheezburger is still having cheeseburgers. Not only hasn't it faded, the site is bigger than ever: People keep sending in new pictures, new people keep discovering the phenomenon, and every day traffic grows a bit more. In the last year, according to the traffic-monitoring firm Compete, visits to the site more than doubled. About 1 million unique users now land at I Can Has Cheezburger every month, and its growth shows no sign of ebbing.

And what do visitors to the "I Can Has Cheezburger" site get? Poodle Bitch could not get past the first photo before she began to feel the onset of diabetes.



A kitten passed out on some human's crotch does not warm Poodle Bitch's heart. Nor does it bring a smile to her lips. It is merely a reminder of the evolutionary process, and the cynical way that some animals- especially cats- manipulate their human companions. The addition of the "babytalk" caption further perturbs Poodle Bitch. Cats are disturbing and capable of causing great annoyance, but comparing them to human babies is reprehensible.

To that end, Poodle Bitch has created her own version. She has done this as a service not only to misguided humans, but to exploited animals everywhere.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Poodle Bitch is Made Uneasy by the Thought of Wearing a "Michael Vick" Jersey

Poodle Bitch does not follow professional football. She has little interest in watching large, probably drug-addled men throwing balls and patting each other on their bottoms. That said, she does know who Michael Vick is. He is a professional football player who ran a dogfighting ring.

He was sentenced to prison, served time, and was released. Recently, he was hired to play the quarterback for a team in Philadelphia. The National Football League, which makes millions of dollars every year, generates even more revenue from the sale of official merchandise, such as the jerseys of favorite players. Adult human sized jerseys will cost the avid fan $79.99.

As Poodle Bitch occasionally says when she is feeling whimsical, That's a lot of bones.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that those sports fans with companion animals can purchase jerseys with Michael Vick's name and number on them.

This is not ironic. This is disturbing.

"Like any other player, [customers] can obtain that name and that jersey if they wish," league spokesman Greg Aiello told the [New York] Daily News. "As far as putting it on the dog product, he's working with humane societies, working to educate others on this issue, so we don't see a problem."

(Poodle Bitch wonders why the Los Angeles Times is relying so heavily upon the work of the New York Daily News.)



The NFL is a business. Poodle Bitch understands this. It exists to make money. It does not care how this money is made. However, Poodle Bitch would like to chastise the "humane societies" that are helping Mr. Vick to "educate others on this issue" (whatever "this" issue is- that dog killing is bad? Poodle Bitch was unaware that humans needed educating on this issue.) for providing cover to the NFL in its quest to obtain even more money.

Of course, if there were no market for this, it would not be sold. To that end, Poodle Bitch would like to know just how many Michael Vick dog jerseys have been sold to people who aren't writing ironic articles for the New York Daily News.

RE: Heidi Montag's Lip-Sync Performance at the Miss Universe Pageant: Yaz Should Be Ashamed of Themselves

Somehow, Poodle Bitch missed the Miss Universe Pageant, a beauty contest engaged in by attractive human women in which they strut around a stage in the hopes of winning cash prizes and spreading a message of world peace. She did, however, catch a YouTube clip of one of the performers, reality show nonentity Heidi Montag - or, Heidi Pratt, Poodle Bitch is unsure and cares little- lip syncing her song, "Body Language."

Listening to the song, Poodle Bitch is confused. It sounds as if the same machine that processed Ms. Montag-Pratt somehow got stuck on the Yaz song "Situation." It sounds to Poodle Bitch's ear that someone merely took the Yaz tune and replaced its ironic and subtle lyrics with something more...

sinister. Not that Poodle Bitch intends to in any way be melodramatic. But consider. According to this website, the lyrics to Ms. Montag-Pratt's song include:

Baby, come on control me
Come over take on me
Take me
If you're in it for real
Go ahead put it on me
I know that you want me
So take me

Read my body language
I do what you like, like
So prove that you're right, right
(Control me)
Read my body language
I do what you like, like
Come into my spotlight
...
Boy, whatcha waiting for?
Come and take control over me, me
Show authority
'Cause I am looking for a boss type
Someone to fulfill all my needs, needs
So, give me a pices of your guidance

Poodle Bitch does not appreciate the word "doggerel," as it is an insult to dogs. However, one cannot deny that those lyrics fit the definition. Trivial and inferior verse.

But this is more than that. These lyrics, to Poodle Bitch's ear, represent the aural equivalent of a submissive dog rolling over on his or her back, exposing his or her belly. Poodle Bitch half expected Ms. Montag-Pratt to suddenly stop her dance and begin urinating uncontrollably, as submissive dogs sometimes do.

If you are a glutton, you can listen to the song and view the performance below. Of course, Poodle Bitch does not recommend it.



Poodle Bitch will let Yaz have the final word, from "Situation," the song so deeply and thoroughly wronged by Ms. Montag-Pratt:

Move out, you bring me down
Move out, how you get about
Don't make a sound just move out

Poodle Bitch Wonders About Katie Price and the British Tabloids

In his Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of Poodle Bitch's favorite authors, Oscar Wilde, wrote,

No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything.

This is a sentiment with which Poodle Bitch heartily concurs. Artists can, and should, explore all topics, no matter how distasteful.

What matters to Poodle Bitch is the manner in which such topics are explored. Those are matters of taste, and tastes vary. Poodle Bitch can only express her own, and has no wish to force her opinions on others (no matter how helpful she believes that might be).

That said, Poodle Bitch generally does not enjoy films that contain violent images, no matter how high their artistic merit. She makes an exception for the highly-entertaining television show "Dexter," but that is rare.

Despite the presence of the word "Bitch" in its title, Poodle Bitch suspects she will pass on viewing the currently-filming "Killer Bitch," starring the current boyfriend of British television personality Katie Price. Nonetheless, she was alarmed when she read this:

Katie Price was yesterday urged to dump her cagefighter lover after he filmed violent sex scenes in a new movie.

Shocked friends and aides fear Alex Reid is causing immense damage to her public image which will be impossible to repair.

Her estranged husband Peter Andre, who fathered two of her children, was also apparently outraged when he saw pictures of Reid writhing around semi-naked on the set of gangster film Killer Bitch.




This film certainly does not sound like the type of thing that Poodle Bitch would find entertaining. But she wonders if perhaps judgment should be reserved until after the film is completed?

She further wonders how the public image of Katie Price could be any more damaged than it already is. Poodle Bitch was under the impression that Ms. Price was what is known colloquially in England as "lewd."

Shameless Katie Price shocked family holidaymakers with a brazen X-rated public display with her new boyfriend Alex Reid.

The glamour model, 31, raunchily cavorted with the semi-naked, muscled cagefighter in the grounds of an exclusive golf resort in Spain as young children innocently looked on.

The obscene couple stunned neighbours in the upmarket compound by openly groping one another during a tacky display of affection.


The actor in question, Alex Reid, is described as a "cagefighter." In an attempt to learn more about him, Poodle Bitch happened upon another article about the "Killer Bitch" controversy. The article contained the following sentence that caused Poodle Bitch to chuckle:

The next scenes are too vile to describe in a family paper but end with him grabbing Yvette in a stranglehold and throttling her.

That sentence of course is surrounded by distasteful descriptions of violent actions. Now Poodle Bitch is very concerned about just what this film depicts.

If it's as bad as what British tabloids are willing to publish, Poodle Bitch believes it must be very bad indeed.

Katie Price pic source.