December 30, 2007

"Does he have sex appeal?... Can you smell the English leather on this guy?"

"Does he have sex appeal? . . . Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of, a little bit of cigar smoke?" "

So said Chris Matthews about Fred Thompson — from a list of quotes of the year assembled by Glenn Greenwald, who editorializes that Matthews is "fantasizing about the pleasing, manly body smells of Fred Thompson." Greenwald's unnumbered list is hit and miss, but I'm amused by the manifestations of male enthusiasm for manly males.
"What's appealing about Rudy Giuliani is not the generous side, what's appealing about him is the tough cop side.
Right. You just wait until daddy gets home.
Yes, that part...
That Daddy.
... of the daddy. It's the tough cop side, so...
Yes. Yes" --
Chris Matthews and Howard Fineman, breathlessly sharing their excitement over the firmness of their Daddy, Rudy Giuliani.

He has "chiseled-out-of-granite features, a full, dark head of hair going a distinguished gray at the temples, and a barrel chest . . . . and has shoulders you could land a 737 on" --
Roger Simon, The Politico's chief political columnist, enthusiastically admiring numerous parts of Mitt Romney's body.

IN THE COMMENTS: Palladian explains fragrances for men (and he really knows what he's talking about).

25 comments:

Peter V. Bella said...

Of course Chris Matthews does expect people to take him as a serious journalist. The guy is a buffoon with a captial B.

Peter V. Bella said...

"The press here does a fantastic job of adhering to journalistic standards and covering politics in general" --

Newsweek's Richard Wolffe, at the National Press Club, chatting with Tony Snow and Karl Rove's dancing partner, David Gregory, about how partisan and hateful bloggers are and how professional and "fantastic" our national press corps is.

*******************************
I sort of like this one. It demonstrates that the media has no ethical standards and are totally self absorbed and delusional. The only place to find professional journalistic standards is in some dusty text book.

rhhardin said...

They were all in the drama club, back when I was in high school.

EnigmatiCore said...

Which Roger Simon is that? The mystery writer/blogger involved with Pajamas Media, or the lying liar who lies and gets caught because what he is lying about is available on video?

Meade said...

rhhardin said...
"They were all in the drama club, back when I was in high school."

George M. Spencer said...

I like the smell of Fred Thompson's tax-cut plan, which has won the endorsement of the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Thompson wants to abolish the death tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax and cut the corporate income tax rate to 27% from 35%. But his really big idea is a voluntary flat tax that would give every American the option of ditching the current code in favor of filing a simple tax return with two tax rates of 10% and 25%.

Mr. Thompson is getting aboard what has become a global bandwagon, with more than 20 nations having adopted some form of flat tax. Most--especially in Eastern Europe--have seen their economies grow and revenues increase as they've adopted low tax rates of between 13% and 25% with few exemptions....

That's why the idea of a voluntary flat tax--introduced on these pages a dozen years ago--makes political sense. The Thompson plan would allow taxpayers to keep their mortgage and charitable deductions if they prefer, by adhering to the current tax code and rates. But it would also allow the option to abandon those credits and deductions except for a single allowance based on family size ($39,000 for a family of four). Most taxpayers would pay a 10% rate on income above that allowance, with a 25% rate kicking in at $100,000 for a couple. There would only be five lines on the tax form and most taxpayers could fill it out in minutes.

Troy said...

Chris Matthews is an idiot. Every real man wears High Karate.

Ron said...

What, we can't have the women wax on about other women candidates? That'd be more interesting than the Man Crushes of Greenwald!

Ron said...

Real men reek of Cohibas and Porterhouse steaks...

Troy said...

Ron -- I keep trying to convince my wife of that!

AllenS said...

In about 2 hours, my breath will smell like Leinenkugel's.

Peter V. Bella said...

Ron said...
Real men reek of Cohibas and Porterhouse steaks...

9:28 AM
Troy said...
Ron -- I keep trying to convince my wife of that!


I just gave up and got a divorce.

chuck b. said...

I am absolutely certain a commenter here--a appallingly right-wing character whose outrageousness entertains me greatly--waxed lovingly on the subject of Mitt Romney in just such a manner. The landing a jet on his shoulders thing could be a direct quote. I just spent an embarrassing amount of time looking for it, and came up with nothing. Sigh.

Trooper York said...

It just goes to show you how out of touch the elite media is in this country. Every real man knows that the only fragrance for a heterosexual male that is acceptable is Old Spice. I just got three bottles for Christmas. It's a manly scent, but woman love it too!

Ralph L said...

Troy, is it more, or less, manly to forget how to spell "Hai Karate?"

There must be a good quote of Matthews sniffing McCain's jock.

The Romney quote explanation doesn't make sense as is.

Trooper York said...

Wait a minute that was the slogan is for Irish Spring. The only acceptable soap for a straight man. I apologize; I haven’t had my first beer of the day.....Pop….gurgle, gurgle, gulp…. OK....….I feel better now. I will pay more attention.

Chip Ahoy said...

Not a bad list, after all.

Did leave off my favorite; the one Hillary made about wondering about being an altruistic misanthrope. Does that one count? It wasn't actually a quote made this year.

"We lost in Iraq." By Reid, was a good one too.

Ann Coulter had a good one about being sent to rehab if she were to say what she really thought about Edwards. Does that one count? She actually only inferred what she was accused of saying. But she was so soundly trounced it should count as an actual quote.

Kucinich said something about UFOs, and that's why I'll always love him.

Ahmadinejad

escuse me,

*has laughing fit*

said Iran doesn't have any gay people. Does this quote count? Was this list supposed to be about quotes by people presently running for office?

The "wide stance" quote was great. That one is historic.

My wife's a world-class genius was OK.

I don't do hand counts was pretty good.

I guess I could sit here and think up a bunch of quotes that are every bit as good as his and not necessarily man-odor related.

Speaking of man-odor. This story evoked a whole primal-odor type of thing with me. I completely forgot about this. When I was a tot, like five or six, my dad helped groom me. It involved combing my hair, if you can imagine that. He'd hold my head steady while he imparted a straight line, apparently arbitrary, to divide the hair combed in opposite directions. I wasn't allowed to move while he performed this or I'd get hit with the comb and that really hurt. Abuse, I know. Problem was, he did this after was already finished with himself. I have absolutely no idea what aftershave is for, but my dad loaded it onto both his hands. His hand was the hand of a giant and it formed an awning on my forehead containing an incredible bouquet of either Old Spice or Aqua Velva, Velvit?, two of the more disgusting fragrances ever foisted. I think all military men used this. It's what they sold at the BX. Smelling it now brings me close to passing out.

Palladian said...

Men's fragrance is currently in a dismal state. Most of the masculine fragrances on the market today are dreadful, cheap and nasty.. In a public service effort to help the men of America (and the world) smell better, here in no particular order are the best men's fragrances produced today. Throw away your "sports scent" (the worst offender in the parade of masculine mediocrity as far as I'm concerned) and try these:

Big, hairy-chested woody fougère ("Fougere is the French word for Fern. Although ferns have no noticeable scent, the name depicts a fresh, erotic, woodland scent. They generally have a herbal, lavender, mossy scent These perfumes are a mainly in the masculine family.") Azzaro Pour Homme (go easy on the dosage).

Beautifully subtle, peaceful Beyond Paradise Men.

Although I'm not overly fond of Cool Water, it's a brilliant piece of work and far better than it's million imitators.

One of my favorite fragrances, Eau De Guerlain, is the best citrus-dominant scent available (although it's slightly less good than it used to be, due to the difficulty obtaining Mysore Sandalwood oil). It's a modern reinterpretation of the 18th century "eau de Cologne".

Habit Rouge, a work of genius.

Chanel Pour Monsieur, another great citrus-based fragrance.

The "infrared" woodiness of L'Artisan Parfumeur's "Timbuktu" is unbeatable.

Parfums De Nicolaï's "New York", an amazing citrus/amber/vanilla fragrance, one of the best perfumes of all time. Hard to find except in Europe and at the preceding link.

Le Troisième Homme (The Third Man) from Caron, a wonderful, fairly unknown fragrance that's attractive, radiant, spiced and of high quality.

Forget "English Leather", which is currently a cheap-smelling dreadful thing. If you want a leather-based scent, there are none better than the sublimely bright Knize Ten.

And don't be afraid to wear a "women's" perfume. Some of them are terrific, masculine scents. The idea of separate scents for men and women was basically a marketing decision made in the 1930's. Before that, there were basically perfumes, some of which appealed to men, some to women but the choice was yours. Be adventurous and confident in your manhood and try wearing such great perfumes as Diorella, composed by Edmond Roudnitska around the same idea of the terrific Eau Sauvage, but even better. Or there's Arpège, a classical women's perfume from the 20's reformulated into a good but different perfume that's quite masculine. Or Jicky, the world's oldest continually produced proper perfume (in that it's an abstract composition of both natural and synthetic materials).

Many of the cheap men's classics like Brut and Old Spice were once great but are slightly (or heavily) altered due to the restriction or banning of several important constituents, mostly nitro musks which smell great but give health fundamentalists and European regulars hives. And Aramis, if carefully used by the right man, is great.

Trooper York said...

That was a great overview Palladian, since you know your scents. You are totally right about the changes in Old Spice, which is why I carefully ration my usage. I have to determine if an event is "Spice worthy." I am still working with my vintage stock as I am dipping into a decanter that dates from 1977. A little dab of witch hazel will do it for day to day purposes (with the continue overlay of cigar smoke and fried meat as previously noted).

ricpic said...

George -- No matter what Thompson proposes the MSM have one and only one comment: he's lazy.
Ironic, no?

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Palladian: Can you do the same survey for women's scents?

Trooper York said...

Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Whoo-ah
Palladian: That’s what you would smell like if you wear White Diamonds.
(Scent of a Woman, 1992)

Meade said...

Apparently, after such an excellent and exhaustive review, Palladian has retired for an evening of well-earned rest. I, however, unburdened by any real knowledge of fragrances and perfumes, would like to take a stab at beginning to fulfill Ruth Anne's request by recommending a popular though commonly misunderstood perfume for women.

This fragrance is a true work of world-class genius. It boasts an amazingly multi-layered allium-dominant blend cackling with intellectual seriousness, home baked cookies, and just the right notes of pushiness - subtle sublime pushiness, experienced pushiness - the type of pushiness that can push a woman's male coconspirator to perform acts he wouldn't in his deepest most felonious dreams dare dream.

Subtle and persistent with notes recalling the remontant blossoms of trousers, socks, and purloined classified documents, this perfume captures just the right balance of national security/insecurity with exquisitely subtle layers of anxiety, perspiration, and criminal intent.

But, alas, I have surely already given it away with my obvious hints - THE perfume for that extraordinary woman willing to patiently stand by her man while waiting her entitled turn at holding the radiant reins of high power - you guessed it: Eau De Rodham. (Note: While becoming harder and harder to find in states such as Iowa, this perfume has saturated markets in Florida like wildfire...walls.)

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Meade: LOL! Smells like...napalm in the morning.

Nichevo said...

Citing Guerlain you're not a n00b...but have you forgotten:

Royall Lyme

Egoiste (by Chanel)

Paco Rabanne (the one with the gravel in the big bottle, IIRC)?

Live a little ;>