Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 1 pm EDT

Vic Sussman By Reginald Pearman, Jr/ washingtonpost.com

What works?

What doesn't?

What stinks?

What zings?

Welcome to Love It, Hate It, Rate It! An hour or more of reader-generated rooting, ranting and raving about things, events and people--good, bad and indifferent. Whether you're a cynic or Little Mary Sunshine incarnate, this is your chance to ask questions, make rash statements, believe three impossible things before breakfast and tickle your keyboard as you pick at the social fabric.

Tell the world, such as it is, who's great or merely grating. Pin a label on it: Heaven or Hype? What's in, what's out, what's phat or just goes splat?

Your host is Live Online's executive snagglepuss, Vic Sussman, who emits an unearthly blue light from his forehead when annoyed.

Sussman has a long background in broadcasting and print journalism. The author of three nonfiction books, he was previously the Personal Tech columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, Book World's audio book reviewer, and a senior editor specializing in cyberspace at U.S.News & World Report. Sussman's interests veer wildly from the vagaries of computer-mediated communication to the skeptical subculture, weight lifting, and magic as a performance art. He is not a minion of Satan, but negotiations continue.

You may read past sessions of LIHIRI in Vic's archives.

Below is today's transcript.

Vic Sussman:
And a good EDT afternoon to all you Muggles, Morlocks, Mudbloods, and misbegotten miscreants chained to your bureaucratic desks on this beautiful day in Washington, D.C. Welcome, if this is your first time (I'll be gentle) visiting LIHIRI, the Web program that asks the question, if sushi is lunch then what is bait?

Amazingly, I have no major rants today. I think it's the relatively cool weather we've had for days and days. I'm sure I was meant to live somewhere in fog-shrouded Big Sur and not in this tightly-wrapped city built on a swamp. Ah well. We'll always have Paris, if not cyberspace.

So by-passing my own existential angst, of which I have an ample amount, weather or no weather, I will turn immediately to your raves and rants, always a joy to share with this half-crazed audience.

Let the games begin!

Herndon, VA: Mr. Muscles: HI - after reading the Newsweek cover story on Napster, the people who listen to someone's music for free and say, "it's ok because I don't have much money," or " it's ok because I can do it," or the equivalent. Reminds me of the "let's all share" types in the 60's - who were glad to share in someone else's property, expecially if they had nothing of their own to contribute. LI - someplace on cable-TV land, the Amazing Randi was showing up some idiot who claims Nostradamus predicted everything up to and including the Gulf War. Of course the idiot's book containing the "prophesies" is still selling pretty well. There is a sucker born every minute (or second)!

Vic Sussman: Thank you for the "muscles" compliment. It's amazing how much one can see in such a small picture. As for Napster and the philosophy you're paraphrasing, I agree. I had friends years ago who believed it was okay to shoplift from big stores because the System was evil. Or because the big stores could afford it. Or something equally stupid. It didn't make sense to me then and it doesn't now. Stealing is stealing. I say this as a writer whose work has been routinely plagiarized and otherwise "re-purposed" over the years. I can sympathize with musicians whose creations are seen as public property. On the other hand, I believe in the power of the Net and the Web and I love its decentralization and democratization of technology and information. But how we are going to fairly sort our the problems involving intellectual property escapes me, as it does so many others. I guess the watchword is "stay tuned."

Fairfax, VA: I know this might seem like a minor thing, but I get really annoyed when actors use a British accent in movies when there can be no rationale for their using it. For example, in Gladiator, a movie set in the Roman Empire during the second century, non-British actors such as Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe used British accents. I'm not suggesting that to preserve authenticity they should have been speaking Latin, but what on Earth does a British accent have to do with anything? And, of course, Gladiator isn't the only movie where this strange phenomenon can be observed; it happens all the time. Please explain to me why the British accent seems to be employed as the universal foreign accent.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Vic Sussman: Maybe a British accent struck the producers as more classical. Or at least classy. Hey, remember that godawful production of "Robin Hood" that starred Kevin Costner? He adopted a really bad British accent at the movie's start, only to abandon it as the film progressed. By the middle of the film, Robin Hood sounded like he'd been practicing his archery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Philly, PA: You insulting Kim O'Donnel with that hat quote today?

LI: Sunny days like today and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" on ABC

HI: "Survivor" and related shows. Can you say "total lack of creativity"?

RI: Weather up here: 10 Perfect temperatures and sunny day! Too bad I gotta sit here at my desk working (or at least appearing to work).

Vic Sussman: Don't be silly.

I don't think Kim regards herself as a strict gourmet, just a lover of food and cooking.

I thought it was a funny quote. For you Mac users, the Hat Quote today is "A gourmet is just a glutton with brains." The source is Philip W. Gaberman, Jr. (Vogue, 1961)

hmmm...: Hello, Vic.

Why is it that all the questions and responses in this week's "conversemos" discussion were in English? What kind of Spanish-language discussion is this?

Vic Sussman: The show is now in Spanish and English. Clara Frenk, herself a Latina, feels that many young Latinos don't necessarily have a good grasp of Spanish. Opening her program to both languages simply increases the audience appeal. I don't have a problem with this and bow to Clara's wisdom.

Interesting though, that when Conversemos was all-Spanish we got complaints. Now that it's multi-lingual, we are getting complaints.

You people need to get out more.

NOZONE, DC: Vic-

Thanks for posting my comment at the end of last week's session. Just wondered if you spent some quality time in your TransAm to formulate a response to the argument I posed. I'd also like to hear what other chatters have to say about the question I raised.

To refresh you and the others:

You once said that other people's right to smoke ends at the tip of your nose.

Although I think I disagree with that, I wondered if the same argument could be extended to the thousands of commuters in any large metropolitan area. In its new form the argument would be that suburban dwellers who commute endless miles to work have no right to pollute the air that I breathe.

I'm a walker, runner, user of public transportation, and I live in the District where the summer time air quality ratings tells me that merely breathing is hazardous to my health. I argue that the impact of commuting and sprawl has a MUCH GREATER impact on our health, environment, lifestyle than exposure to people that smoke.

I'm not trying to take a holier-than-thou stance here. I've been known to have a cigarette. I own a car but drive only on weekends to the grocery store to places otherwise inaccessible by public transport. When summer rolls around and I hear that it is dangerous to BREATHE, I can't help but get pissed off that I have to figure out whether it would be okay for me to go running. But I'm thankful that I'm not ASTHMATIC like my roommate or 1000s (?) of other asthmatic urban dwellers (many kiddies)whose lives endangered if the pollution levels are extremely high. What responsibility do commuters (hey, that rhymes with POLLUTERS!) have towards their fellow citizens?

Perhpas my overall point is that every action/choice we make in life can profoundly impact people around us in ways we may not realize. Thus, sanctimonious arguments about how second hand smoke violates other peoples RIGHTS really irritates me. In America, we are so protective of our RIGHTS, but arguments around our RIGHTS often only illuminates the narrow perspective that inform our hypocritical choices.

Okay, I'll stop here. Have a great commute home!!!

Vic Sussman:

I don't know how you can make an argument like this (which I find perfectly reasonable but not, alas, practical) and doubt that I have a right NOT to breathe in someone's cigarette smoke. The "end of one's nose" argument is quite sound, I believe, a corollary to "my right to extend my fist ends just short of your jaw."

Btw, I also find it odd that you call yourself a runner, but you also smoke from time to time. Weird. I also exercise outdoors, typically running hills while pumping hand-weights, a pursuit I'm apparently addicted to. When summer and ozone arrives, however, I am forced, quite unhappily, to use an elliptical trainer at my gym.

And yes, I would really give up my TransAm for public transpo, if that were at all practical. In fact, if I lived in NY, I would be overjoyed to own no car at all.

Small town, Md: Hi Vic,

LI--Your online "discussion" hour last week was so funny!! We all need regular doses of earthy humor in this dog eat dog world. Keep it up!

HI--That I might screw up an interview tomorrow for a job I really want. Wish me luck (2 PM).

RI--The only gourmets I know are really gourmuts in disguise!

Vic Sussman: So my humor is "earthy"? Hmm. I think that's a compliment.

Good luck with the job interview. Some advice:
1. Wear socks with your shoes (if you are male, otherwise disregard this.
2. If you regularly sleep in your clothes, change before the interview.
3. Cover your tattoos.
4. Remove your nose ring (unless you're applying at Tower Records, in which case you should have your eyebrows and lower lip pierced).
5. Do not use four-letter words as punctuation unless the interviewer does so first.
6. Do not make references to Satan as your personal savior, your ongoing correspondence with Charles Manson or your Jeffrey Dahmer autograph collection.
7. Do not giggle uncontrollably.
8. Do not wipe your nose on your sleeve.
9. Do not wear your underpants on your head.
10. Deny everything.

This is advice from a man who has never removed his skull ring during a job interview. And never will.

WDC - Dupont Circle: Vic, Saturday May 13th or 20th, there was a headline at Washingtonpost.com which read: "9 Wounded at Columbine Graduation."

I click the headline thinking that some type of violence broke out at the graduation only to discover that nine of those wounded last April were graduates at this year's ceremony.

Vic, was that sensationalism? My son considers me kinda naive and I just wanted to be sure I can recognize it when I see it.
Thanks.

Vic Sussman: I don't think it was sensationalism. I think it was a sloppy headline, one of those things an editor only notices when his or her colleagues make snorting noises.

Indianapolis, Indiana: Love It: Complete Stax/Volt Singles 1959-1968. Nothing better than Booker T and Otis Redding on an overcast day, or any day.

Hate It: Political Power in the hands of Ubiquitous Political Families. My god, the election is between the son of a Senator and the son of a President? This is the best we can do?

Rate It: 0 out of 10...still mad that ABC canned "Sports Night", and now it looks like HBO is balking at picking it up.

Vic Sussman: I recently heard Otis Redding and "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" played on a "smooth jazz" radio station. (Insert retching noises here.) But yes, Stax/Volt is Heaven on wax. Um, on CD. How much did that complete set cost ya?

On politics: Alas, we get the gummint we deserve. What time does the Shuttle leave for Mir? I have my ticket ready..

Somewhere: LI: Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman getting hit with a pie!

Vic Sussman: Ah, but were the ingredients organically grown? Irradiated? Passed by the USADA for quality and food safety?

I stay up all night thinking about these things.

Hi, it's Clara: To respond to the questioner who asked why all the Conversemos questions were in English today: I asked our colleague from the Post, Michael Fletcher, to come on and discuss his fascinating article on anti-Latino bias that appeared in the paper on Memorial Day. Although Michael doesn't speak Spanish, I thought the subject matter warranted having him on -- and conducting the discussion in English. "Conversemos" has evolved from a Spanish language show to one that caters to the Latino community, which doesn't necessarily mean Spanish speakers. Don't worry though -- there's more Spanish language programming to come.

Vic Sussman: Thanks for clearing this up, Clara.

The last colony: I'm glad someone (you) finally said it. In the DC metropolitan area, one NEEDS a car, unlike in NYC (used as an example only) where a car is superfluous. For all the metro-loving, public transportation gurus out there who constantly beseech and implore DC (and suburb) dwellers to use alternative means of transportation, wake up! This town is virtually impossible to navigate by public transportation, unless you have four hours a day to waste on travel. Between LONG lag times for buses, poorly planned routes and the very limited reach of metro, my guess is that a substantial amount of the DC area is inaccessible save by car. I am a car commuter because I don't have four hours a day to spend traveling (and I can't work on moving vehicles, for those who want to tell me to use the time constructively, some of us get motion sick), at least I have a fuel efficient car that emits the least possible pollutants (outside of electric vehicles!). Thanks for letting me rant.

Vic Sussman: Well, okay, but you can't imagine some of the flak I get because I'm so politically incorrect that I actually drive a TransAm with a rather assertive Flowmaster muffler you can hear three blocks away.

Hello, hello? I forgot I was supposed to be serious, a grown-up. Y'know, I wake up every single morning and say to myself, "Today I am going to be normal." But by midafternoon I've forgotten my vow.

Damn.

Re: Stax/Volt: The whole 9-CD set cost $99.00 at Border's.

244 tracks. What a bargain.

Vic Sussman: Thanks for turning me on to something else I can't live without.

Lexington Park, MD: Vic, here is a little question for the poster who is a smoker. Since when do I run my car inside a restaurant or bar? Also, cars are getting cleaner and cleaner and are now required to be inspected, which is more then I can say for cigarettes. Plus, by the time car exhaust gets to your nose it has been diluted by the air, unlike cigarette smoke which just seems to aim for my face.

Vic Sussman: I'm still working on the idea of a person who admits to being a regular runner who is also an occasional smoker. So let's see: You run for your health but also enjoy pumping carbon monoxide into your lungs. And then you rant about dirty air.

Excuse moi, but duh.

Warrrenton, VA: Hi Vic. What is your take on the Bobby Knight situation? Do you think he should have been given a second chance. Seems to me like he was ready to strangle someone while he was apologizing!

Vic Sussman: You must be new here.

I am not a sports fan.
I am not a sports fan.
I am not a sports fan.

I don't give a damn about teams, players, coaches, scores, bats, balls, pucks, courts and especially not about other males who talk about sports with a passion I personally reserve for sex alone.

I know who Bobby Knight is because I read the newspaper. (Guess which one.) I understand that he is a rather unpleasant fellow who loses his temper and shoves people around. In any other endeavor he would be known as either a bully or a nutcase.

But then, I am not a sports fan, so I have no opinion.

Have I insulted enough people by now? Otherwise, I still have another 30 minutes to make up for it.

Clinton, Md.: LI: The laugh I got from the hat note, you should take the hat on the road. The wonderful weather.

HI:If I hear one more reporter say that the 4 little girls that were killed in Birmingham in 1963 died in vain. Their deaths galvanized the movement and brought more good people into it then anything. It softened the hearts and opened the minds of millions. Their deaths had meaning.

RI: 0-dead fish in Rock Creek. The offending company should restock Rock Creek with every species lost.

Vic Sussman: I am sure the parents of the girls killed in the bombing were not quite as philosophical about their deaths as you are or as history dictates. But yes, their martyrdom did galvanize the civil rights movement. But speaking as a parent, so what? I'd rather have my child alive and well and not dead as a symbol.

But that's just me.

Annandale, VA: RE: the spanish language program, audience and etc. I'll just bet all those latinos and latinas are out there working for a living not playing around on the 'net!

Vic Sussman: Even people who work for a living can take some time to surf the Web.

Btw, what are YOU doing here?

Los Angeles: Vic, Don't be so surprised about running and smoking. One of my best friends (female) doesn't go a day without exercising and smokes daily. Her motivation? She's deathly afraid of gaining weight, which is her main reason for exercising. NOT for real health reasons. This is what irks me about those who keep in shape - particularly women (I am one, for the record). Losing weight at all costs. Doesn't smoking discourage hunger as well? There you have it.

Sick.

Vic Sussman: Aha.
Death is the ultimate weight loss program.

Not a smoker or a runner: But, I know the type of person whose goal is to be THIN. So, they (a) exercise, and (b) smoke, because both a and b contribute to weight loss. They seem to forget, or not realize, that b negates a big part of a, and being thin and dead is extremely unattractive. These people do exist, I've met them and they think they are totally rational.

Whatever.

Vic Sussman: Thin, unhealthy, coughing, breath like a damned ashtray, body odor to match.

How appealing.

Fairfax VA: LI: My Smith & Wesson 624 .44 Special revolver. This baby does cloverleafs at 25 yards.

HI: My Colt Anaconda .45 Colt revolver. You'd think a revolver weighing over 3 lbs and costing $515 would shoot better. I hear Colt stopped making these because of poor sales, so apparently I'm not the only complainer.

RI: The NRA range in Fairfax gets a 10!

Vic Sussman: Man, I know exactly what you mean. I just HATE it when my expensive pistols perform poorly. It just makes me so mad I could shoot somebody.

DC: RE: Needing a car. There are parts of the city where you can get by without a car, such as Dupont Circle and other areas with a Metro stop and grocery/takeout/drycleaning/video all clustered together. You can rent a car on the occasions when you need one. Of course it can crimp your work/social options, but there are always trade-offs.

Vic Sussman: This is an endless argument, one I have with Bob Levey from time to time.

I have to drive around a lot to think about this.

Bethesda, MD: Not a sports fan, but your run and lift weights. I am sure they are considered sports.

Vic Sussman: Okay, picky, picky.
Let me put it another way: I am not a SPECTATOR. By "sports fan" I don't mean that I am not a participant. I am either at the gym or working out in the woods six days a week. But the idea of fixating on sports teams, their players, their wins and losses, the strategy, the personalities, just strikes me as worthless.

I realize this places me outside the mainstream and believe me, I am just all broken up about this. I'll try to be a good Amurrican, really I will. Maybe next week.

Washington, DC: HI: Hollywood & Vine -- Sometimes I get the idea that Ms. Waxman really doesn't want to talk to her interested, if somewhat uninformed, readers.

LI: Hollywood & Vine -- Sometimes Ms. Waxman actually gets involved with the readers and then the discussion is dynamite.

RI: 7 out of 10 with upside potential.

Vic Sussman: Sharon is very, very edgy. I love it. More power to her.

Arlington, VA: HI: The NRA building just off of 66. Someone shoot the windows out of that thing!

Vic Sussman: Nice to know that my readers have such constructive ideas. Have you stopped taking that medication?

Columbia, Md: Oh no, Vic. You're one of those people with some ridiculous attachment on their muffler to make it REALLY loud? Why? I've never understood it - maybe you can help.

Is it just to be obnoxious? Do you really like the sound? Do you want to look cool? Seriously, I don't get it.

Does your right to have an excessively loud muffler end at my ear?

Vic Sussman: It's not an attachment. It's the actual muffler. And it's not excessively loud. It won't hurt your ears or any other part of your sensitive anatomy. And yes, I LOVE the sound! Always have since I was a teen.

When I had the stock muffler removed and the Flowmaster installed, the owner of the custom shop said "the sound will be assertive without being obnoxious."

I like to think of myself in the same light.

Btw, I have a sticker on my rear window that reads "LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES"

Most people don't get it...

Arlington, VA: HI: Three movie discussions a week but no TV. Just between Buffy, Angel, and X-Files I spend as much time watching TV in a week as I do at the movies in a month. Yet, I can come on here nearly every day and talk about movies, but never find a word about TV (except when your oft-repeated and astute "X-Files is like sex" quote, of course). We want Lisa! (We'll take Tom, if necessary, but we'd really rather have Lisa. Or maybe just a shrink to deal with this multiple-personality thing we have...)

Vic Sussman: I watched the last X-Files of the season (not bad, not great) and haven't watched any TV since. I don't miss it. As for discussions about TV, we'll try to get something going, maybe toward fall and the so-called "new" season, as if TV is that innovative that anything can honestly be called new.

Oooo. He's grumpy today.

Formerly from Va Beach: LI-- The Va and NC beaches-- 3+ Hours away

HI-- The DE/MD beaches (?) HA! Also, 3+ Hours away

Rate IT-- OC, Rehoboth, Bethany, Dewey... BLEH!

You guys ought to get AWAY more...! Take the TransAm for a real road trip!!!

Vic Sussman: I drove to upstate NY this past weekend. Six hours from DC. I went very, very fast on the NY Thruway. Let's just say I saw three numbers and the TransAm was hardly breathing.

Bad boy, bad boy, bad boy.

Washington, DC: I submitted a rant yesterday afternoon, which you are obviously ignoring. With respect to yesterday's chat with Gregory Craig, why did it end early, and why the whitewash about just pulling the plug with the cheerful, "That's it for today!" If GC was uncomfortable answering the questions that were submitted, maybe he shouldn't have agreed to the engagement in the first place. That was not one of wp.com's finest hours.

Vic Sussman: I'm not ignoring it, Dear Doofus, I just didn't get to it. Sheesh.

Craig agreed to do 30 minutes. The guy is a teensy bit busy these days. He stayed on, answering questions for 45 minutes. Yes, I would have loved it if he'd stayed on for more than an hour, but we accepted his time frame and were happy to have him at all.

Clara Frenk got Craig to appear on Live Online, for which I thank her. It was Gregory Craig's first appearance ever in an online discussion.

I'm happy for what we got. (You can read the transcript by going to http://www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline)

Dupont: Hey Vic,

I have a funny interview story. A friend of mind sat in on an interview for a CFO at a major non-profit in VT. This was the 2nd or 3rd round of interviews and the search had been narrowed down to 2 final candidates. The first candidate came in to meet with the President and some of the Directors on the Board. She was dressed very nicely (black suit, pumps, briefcase) shook hands with everyone and was making a very good impression. They asked her if she would like anything to drink and she said "yes" to a diet coke. Someone brought her a can just as she was beginning to answer the first question. She opened the can and a few drops of soda flew out and landed on the side of the can. So she stopped mid-sentence and proceeded to lick the entire outside of the can. The WHOLE can, from top to bottom, turning the can in her hands so she could lick not only the drops of soda, but all the condensation that has formed on the can as well.

I don't know if it was a deciding factor, but she didn't get the job.

Vic Sussman: Have her send me a resume.

We'll talk.

Dianetics, Californina: So, does the failure of Battlefield Earth prove that Scientologists don't go to the movies, or does the success of Mission Impossible 2 prove that they do?

Vic Sussman: Cool thinking. I love this. Let's mull it over.

McLean, VA: HI: drunk driving. I hate to pontificate, but I just visited my cousin in the ICU this weekend after a DD crash. The driver died at the scene. Please don't do this, people...it ruins too many lives.

Vic Sussman: I like my car and my life, such as it is, way too much to drive drunk or even tipsy. If this sounds self-righteous, so be it. Personally, I think all drunk drivers (first offenders!) should have their cars confiscated on the spot. We let these idiots get away with murder every day.

Burke, VA: LI: Took advantage of the gloomy weather on Monday and watched Saving Private Ryan. I highly recommend it for Memorial Day, 'stedda the usual BBQ, etc. Helped me remember the awful price my parents' generation paid for the world's freedom.
HI: People on the morning news shows complaining about the cold weather. Whiners.
RI: The person on my street with the FSBO house, priced $100K over market: uncontrollable laughter.

Vic Sussman: Why is a day without sunshine considered "gloomy?" Maybe I'm gothic at heart, but I love cloudy, misty, cool days. Bring it on! To hell with Ol' Sol.

I saw Private Ryan too and was moved by it. Never mind whether it's a great or good movie. It really did bring home the incredible sacrifice made by the men and women who fought in WWII. Hard to believe that the average age of a fighting man in that war was 19.

We owe our lives to them.

Reston, VA: Hey snagglepuss, Conversemos is obviously on the welfare line but you still didn't say what happened to Clara Frenk?

Vic Sussman: Nothing happened to Clara and Conversemos is alive and well. Clara is at her desk about 15 feet from my office. The woman is a goddess, so watch your mouth.

Planet Pluto: hi Vic! Love your chat every week...heeheehee...but now I must rant for a moment about Napster (feel free to snooze if I ramble too much)...

I totally agree that Metallica and Dr. Dre have the right to be upset with the copyright infringement thing --- but they should ALSO admit that they are doing this for the money! If they were really offended by Napster - why don't they just file a criminal suit? Why a civil suit? Because it's ALL FOR THE MONEY! These are the same people that charge $20 for a CD. PLUS, Metallica's last CD (pre-Napster), didn't sell all that well --- to me, this just SMACKS of a publicity stunt (amazing that soon after this, their concert sold out - when three years ago, they could barely sell half of the seats)...

It just GALLS me that they DARE to try to make this into an issue about "principle" and what is "right" --- when they are just doing it for the publicity and the $$$!!!

Vic Sussman: But the money IS the principle. Or the principal, in this case. Don't these guys have a right to protect their creations from robbery? And yes, when you steal something it's still larceny in my book.

But that's just me...

Re: Clara: Clara may be a goddess but Rita Kempley is the Queen.

Vic Sussman: I don't mind being surrounded by royalty and deities. It beats having a real job.

Frankenfood, DC: You know how to tell if your genetically engineered food has gone wrong?

When the SWAT team tells the Chalupa to drop YOU!

Vic Sussman: This audience is definitely ill.

WDC: Vic, I took a plumbing course at Edison Technical School near Wheaton HS, and I learned a Flowmaster is a toilet tank part - is it the same part used for your car?
LI - the weather
HI - Headhunters who tell you that you've got great skills, then refuse to send you on interviews because you aren't 30 years old and a size 6.
Rate it - Freshly cut green grass - 10!!!

Vic Sussman: BWaHAhahaa!

No, my Flowmaster muffler won't work on your toilet. But man, when you flush that baby, your neighbors will LISTEN!

Not too skinny, not too fat girl in VA: Good afternoon, Vic,
All this talk about people who smoke and exercise in an effort to be thin has provoked me to write. A really big HI for me would be the not-so-new super-thin standard in Hollywood. You see so many formerly beautiful actresses who are conforming to a sick, sick standard of appalling thinness. These women don't even look healthy - their arms and legs are spindly, their hair is straggly and thin (they often crimp or curl it in an effort to disguise the fact that it is falling out by the handful). Particularly heart-wrenching were some recent photos of Portia de Rossi (an actress on "Ally McBeal," a TV show where anorexia seems to be contagious), who used to look so beautiful and curvy, with her thick mane of blonde hair. Now she looks like a scarecrow, complete with straw for hair.

I was discussing this recently with some fellow girlfriends who also have healthy appetites to match their healthy bodies. The fashion industry seems in on this as well - 10 years ago, no one even made a size 0, but now, it is the ideal. Can you imagine? Size 0? Does that mean that you have disappeared? Disgusting! Even the larger sizes are "smaller" than they used to be. I have size 8 clothing from about 5 years ago that still fits me, yet if I walk into the same store today, I will need to buy a size 10 or larger.

Sorry for the long rant, but this has been on my mind lately.

Vic Sussman: Don't apologize for the rant. That's what we're here for. And you make some telling points. What scares me is that the camera actually ADDS ten pounds to a person's appearance. So these women are actually skinnier than they appear.

I thought so-called Heroin Chic was passe. Maybe we're now in the Tubercular Chic phase. I love this country.

Herndon, VA: Hey Napster persons, forget downloading, hear ARETHA LIVE at Wolf Trap this week!! If you can listen to her and sit still - you're dead!!

Vic Sussman: I gotta say this: "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" (thank you, Carole King) sung by Aretha is absolute perfection. I have listened to that song over and over and every time I get the same kick and hear something different.

Aretha: Another goddess.

Arlington, VA: Hollywood & Vine: So far, it strikes me that there's supposed to be some point to it, but neither Sharon nor her audience has quite figured out what it is. Yet, they know there's supposed to be one, so they're not comfortable just going on topicless like we do here. Sometimes, they stumble across something that works, in which case the discussion is really great, others everyone just stumbles around confusedly knowing they're supposed to be doing something, but not being sure quite what. I hope they figure it out because, when it works, Sharon's a great host.

NRA Building: Bulletproof glass.

Vic Sussman: Maybe the point is that you have to figure out the point. Or that figuring out the point is pointless.

Maybe Sharon is a Zen master and didn't tell us.

What is the sound of one Waxman?

Tyson's Corner: Re: Metallica v. Napster

I find it funny that the same guys suing so that people can't trade their music is the same band that came out several years ago and said that they would allow taping of concerts a la the Grateful Dead.

Vic Sussman: Welcome to Show Biz.

NOZONE: Well, I guess we can agree to call this a complicated issue.

Even though a car may not be idling in restaurant or a bar, the cumulative effect of 100s of cars idling at stop lights cannot be dismissed. The summer air quality reports don't say HAZARDOUS for nothing...

At least I can avoid second hand smoke in restaurants and bars if I want to.

As for all the comments stemming from my occasional indulgence in smoking...YIKES!

3-5 cigarettes a month does not a runner un-make. Just because beef, ice cream, cheese, Doritos, and alcohol (1-2 units a week) are parts of my diet doesn't mean that I'm not health conscious. It's all about proportion. In reality, 90% of my diet could be seen as vegan! Lentils, fresh veg and fruit, and other good whole fresh foods! Similarly, I know what smoking does to ones lungs but sometimes I choose to indulge. Like I said, we all make hypocritical choices that can impact those around us.

In the original argument, I was trying to say that many behaviors besides smoking are detrimental to air quality of everyone in our community. Is it fair to make pariahs out of one group of people when so many other people are violating the primary principle? In this case - clean air?

Vic Sussman: I think you're ALL pariahs and the hell with you.

I do wish you'd explain how you avoid second-hand smoke in restaurants. Unless the joint has a great ventilation system, the smoke goes where the smoke goes.

But as you said, this is an endless argument.

McLean, VA: Actually, the average age of an infantryman in WWII was 26. In Vietnam it was 19.
I know, Nitpicker.

Vic Sussman: No. You're wrong. You could look it up. Average age in WWII was in fact 18 to 19.

Arlington, VA: Love it: Still loving the weather.
Hate it: That the two dominant parties in this country can maintain control with a (combined!) minority of our votes. It's Coke versus Pepsi - no problem as long as you don't consider a homemade blended fruit drink. Wake up! Turn off the TV and learn about third parties.
Rate it: 3 Our acceptance of our choices. We do NOT have the right to unfettered travel in this area without paying the price in pollution and congestion. WE make the decision to live where life is defined by driving a car. WE give cars to high school kids, then shake our heads when they crash them. WE create the demand for builders to construct more sprawl. You see, it's all about US.
I still love this weather, though.

--Joe

Vic Sussman: And I love your conflation of nice weather and dead teenage drivers. I love my audience.

Washington, DC: LI - Nina Simone at Constitution Hall last night. This woman is the epitome of a Grande Dame. A powerful, cheeky and gifted songbird with a voice that erupts from the center of her soul, slides its way across the room to end bellowing, purring and grasping onto your ear ... all at once.

HI - That the young chickees sitting next to me at the show kept squealing out the tunes they wanted her to play. (As if Ms. Nina didn't already have her best already picked out for us ... how could these girls possibly think they could chose better?!)

HI2 - The same chickees audibly sharing their ignorance by loudly asking "Who are those people?" when Ms. Nina evoked the names of Marion Anderson and Paul Robeson.

RI - A sublime 10. What a precious gem this woman is... LONG LIVE NINA SIMONE!!!

Vic Sussman: I can't add anything to this except next time you have to invite me.

California, MD: LILILILILI: Vic, have you seen the movie "Dogma"? It's one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I will admit that I am a sophomoric college senior, but I really think that you would like it.

Vic Sussman: It's on my list, really. I saw "Stigmata," so I am obviously working my way through the genre.

Sports Fan: Vic,
I get the sense you're anti-sports, rather than indifferent to sports, probably because they're so mainstream.
But I bet you like to watch and can appreciate weightlifters better than yourself (like Marty) or writers better than yourself, for that matter. That's why a lot of us watch sports, because we're watching the best at a craft we engage in ourselves. It's informative, enjoyable and often impressive. Not all of us are Lazy-Boy sitting, Dorito chomping Americans who lack the inspiration to do anything themselves.

Vic Sussman: I am anti-sports TALK. Anti-sports fan. Anti-sports as a metaphor for life. Anti-football as a national passion.

The list goes on.

And yes, I do enjoy watching powerlifting contests, but it's not a regular thing with me. And no, Marty and I don't talk endlessly about contestants or records. I am much more interested in what I can do and how my training can improve than I am in what other people do.

Selfish brat, I know.

Sports City: Ah, sports...the toy department of life.

Talmudic disputes about whether Team X coulda done better with Player Y in Game Z.

I'm not a sports fan, either, Vic, and my other habits are good as well.

One of the few times I've agreed with George Will was when he said that football embodies two of the worst aspects of American life:

Violence, and committee meetings.

Vic Sussman: Right on, George.

DC: No, no, no. Dogma was written for some kind of naive audience. Negative twenty six.

Vic Sussman: I don't mind going into a movie theater as a naive person. I change my persona as often as I change my socks.

Cottage City MD: My rant - parents should get their kids into volunteering. Builds character, helps kids see that there are a lot of different people in the world. Kids with drivers licenses should be volunteering to ride with medics and to help in ERs. Just to bring a good jolt of reality to their tender minds.

Vic Sussman: Interesting idea. Let me know if this actually spreads as a social concept. It should, of course. My daughter, now 24, is an avid volunteer with a great social conscience. I admit that this comes entirely out of her psyche and was not from my tutelage. It should have been, perhaps, but I like the idea that she arrived at her philosophy on her own.

Delhi,NY: I'm crushed--it looks like neither of
my rantings are going to make it online
today. :-0

Vic Sussman: Well, this did. So be happy for little things. I'm swamped with rants and raves and comments today.

Don't you people have anything better to do today?

Been there: Hey Vic,

More advice for interviewees: Do not bust on your alma mater. Really. Especially if you know the person interviewing you is a fellow graduate.

You think I'm kidding? It happened with two separate candidates I interviewed. My favorite was the one who complained that the English program at our mutual alma mater didn't offer enough -remedial] grammar classes. Then, when I said I'd been in the writing program, she added that "the writing program wasn't that good, unless you were into sci-fi and all that junk. . . ."

Her chances of getting hired after that? <cue flushing sound>

She wasn't qualified anyway -- maybe she could have used those grammar classes after all.

Vic Sussman: More job advice. Thank you.

L.A.: For Vic, the sports nut:

GO LAKERS!

Vic Sussman: You know how to hurt a guy.

Vic Sussman: Folks, I have just changed the Hat Quote on the fly. Some misguided individuals actually thought the quote about gourmets was a shot at Kim "What's Cooking" O'Donnel.

Oh please.

As I stated at the top of the show, Kim isn't a gourmet precisely and has never claimed to be. Besides, why would I diss somebody who has one of the most popular Live Online shows we present?

Lighten up, dudes and dudettes: The quote came from the Guiness Book of Poisonous Quotes, one of my favorite bedside books for bile and literate humor. Most of the quotes are way too long to put in the hat, so I go for the short ones.

Amazing how people can see nefarious plots when there is nothing there. Too much time on their hands, no doubt.

Grow up.

Mt Pleasant, DC: Vic,
I feel I need to respond to your comments about sports fans because until recently I was much like you, finding the whole thing worthless. However recently I became a Washington Capitals hockey fan. I enjoy going to the games and watching some on television. I don't find watching it any more worthless than watching movies or doing any other passive activity. But as with everything, moderation is the key and I don't think anyone should let is consume their lives like some many Redskins fans out there (still hate that name) where they won't do anything else but watch the game. Unless I have tickets to go to a game I agree that its worthless to put off doing something social for it. Just my thoughts.

Vic Sussman: It ain't the game, it's the endless talk, talk, talk. It's guys who talk about a team as "us" and refer to themselves as part of the action. And it's the idea that guys like me are somehow abnormal because we won't play. Some of my best friends are sports fans, but I wouldn't want my sister to marry one.

washington dc: I hope you're not bragging about going over 100 mph on a public road. How arrogant, selfish and pathetic. I'm out there too, you know.

Vic Sussman: I hit a high speed only momentarily on a totally empty road. I admit it was reckless, feckless, stupid, worthless and great fun. I'll never do it again. No, really. I'll be good.

Boston: Man with the Hat,

I'll second the good comment on Dogma. Don't go see it if you're into the fundamentalist thing or don't like certain things being made fun of. Could've been a reel or two shorter but hey, it's got Red Bank NJ (sort of) and George Carlin as a bishop.

HI: People saying they're "from" DC. When I was in DC the first question anybody ever asked in a social context was "where are you from." Also Where'd you go to school & Whose staff are you on.

RI: A small state with lots of strip malls.

Vic Sussman: I like EVERYTHING made fun of, so this sounds like my kind of movie.

Laurel, MD: LI: "Dogma" is for a naive audience? I, for one, thought is quite entertaining and quite original. Sometimes you can find something good in a critically panned movie.

HI: As for runners for smoke, it doesn't matter to me what people do to their body, just as long as they don't preach health to me. I just hate it when people tell me I have to eat more healthily then drink gobs of beer.

LI: That I'm going white water tubing for the first time in my life this weekend. I hope it's good weather.

Vic Sussman: I've done white water in a kayak and in a "rubber ducky" (inflatable kayak) and gone surf kayaking off Assateague, which was the best adrenaline rush I've had in years. It's impossible to be depressed or distracted by life when you're at wave level, the water frothing around you.

May the water rise to meet you!

dc: hi vic -
is it just me, or are you grumpier than normal today?
and yes, i'm a fan.

Vic Sussman: I am not grumpier than normal. I am normally grumpy. But thanks for asking.

Mt. Rainier: Hey, Vic, if we grew up you wouldn't find us nearly so entertaining OR easy to pick on!

Vic Sussman: Me pick on you? I thought it was the other way around!

Another Precinct Heard From: To spread the pixie dust of tolerance further, this non-sports guy will point out that by not going to sports-watching events, not talking about sports-events, and so on, I:

(a) don't take up the time of sports-watching females, so the sports-watching guys have a better chance

and

(b) end up meeting women who like some of the things -I- like -- e.g., the sort who don't think of 90 minutes spent at the bookstore as "wasted," and the sort who understand instantly why it costs more to sit down on the terrace at a Paris cafe than do drink your coffee standing at the bar.

It's win-win!

Vic Sussman: Damn. Now I have to clean the pixie dust out of my keyboard.

NOZONE: Tips on avoiding second hand smoke:

If my mood dictates that an evening out in a restaurant/bar would be ruined by second hand smoke, then I choose to not go out or I select my venue very carefully.

But what good is it to forgo happy hour at a smoky bar/restaurant for an afternoon walk to the ice cream parlor when the air I breathe could be as hazardous?

Beating a horse to death. Call PETA!

Vic Sussman: Life is hazardous, right? They didn't tell me this in high school. Of course, you could try holding your breath for long periods of time. It would amuse some people and confuse the rest.

Annapolis, MD: To Napster Boy:

Would you expect a municipal bus driver to pick you up and drop you off wherever you wanted to go and NOT pay bus fare? I HATE it when people like you bust on artists for insisting on being paid for their efforts! It's a job, just like anything else, it just happens to be more creative than your typical 9-5 desk jockey stuff. Yes Metallica and Dr. Dre make money off of their artistic enterprises. How else do you think they pay their bills? And before you even bring up the point of how rich they already are think about this.... An IT guru can make millions and not one person peeps when he demands that his bill be paid, but put an artist in the same situation and suddenly he should be giving away his work just because he was successful in the past? Somebody pass me a barf bag please.

Yes I am an artist. A writer to be specific. Right now I have to work a boring 9-5 technical writing job to keep the bills paid and feed my cats. One day I will sell my novels and hopefully be very successful at it. And if I make millions don't you DARE tell me I should now be giving my work away for free because I now manage to make a living with my art.

Thanks for letting me vent, Vic.

Vic Sussman: More on situational ethics. Thanks for raising the moral tone of our program today. (This is not, repeat, not sarcasm. I know it's sometimes hard to tell.)

DC - Still not a state!: Vic-

A programming question:

I notice that there are a number of "family" hours on Live online. I note that Levey regularly takes huge chunks of time talking about children (apparently the center of his universe) (Witness last Thursday's column and discussion) Yet, I see no targeted programming for my demographic - families without children (Also known as the childfree) We come in all ages, races, sexual orientations, matrimonial states, and economic demographics. Yet, we are ignored.

Have you thought about a lifestyles discussion about ALL kinds of families, traditional and non-traditional? Or perhaps as a companion piece to the families discussion a adult-oriented (GET your mind OUT of the gutter) discussion of DC life?

Thanks.

Vic Sussman: A good idea that has in fact been tossed about here. I'm not sure when we'll be able to get this, however. We're growing rather fast and furious, so our wish-n'-want list grows ever larger.

Arlington VA: HI: Women's clothing sizes in general. The ridiculous size 0 stems from the ridiculous tradition of sizes 2, 4, 6, etc. which aren't standardized across the industry. Why can't we have measurement-based sizes similar to men's? Too obvious?

Vic Sussman: Yeah. I have never understood the sizing of women's clothing. Not that I lose sleep over this, but what does it mean if a woman is a 6 or a 4? My neck size is 17, which relates to inches. What does 4 relate to? One more mysterious thing about women I have to contend with...

Laurel, MD: For the guy who complained that Gregory Craig cut his discussion short: at least Craig showed up. Unlike that other guy who will remain nameless in order not to ruffle Vic's fur. (You know, the fisher-person who didn't show up.)

Vic Sussman: Yes, and Greg Craig bills out, Clara tells me, at around $850 an hour (just below what I make during this show), so I was REALLY happy to have him as our guest for free.

Fairfax, VA: A coupla comments:
- regarding the former hat quote: isn't someone who enjoys huge quantities of food a gourmand rather than a gourmet?

- The rampant heroine chic is yet another example of our nation's warped attitude toward food. It reminds me of something I heard in a Chris Rock show - you know you live in a country with too much food when people are allergic to food. Now we can add - you know you live in a country with too much food when starvation is hip.

On that note, think I'll go out for dessert...

Vic Sussman: Never mind. I removed the quote because some people saw something there that wasn't there. It's a bad day when a simple quote meant to be funny is misconstrued as an insult. Some people have too much free time.

Govt.-Beancounter,D.C.: LI: Diana Krall CD, Clean Jazz
HI: Kenny G's remake of Satchmo's great "Its a Wonderful World" This recor once knocked the Beatles from first place on the charts. Now it has been murdered by Kenny G.

RI:Trans Am any year-10

Vic Sussman: Was that a minus 10 for the TransAm?

I agree about anything Diana Krall does. And I agree that Kenny G murders music. But don't insult my car, please. Now I'm hurt, and we've only just met.

Alex : My hat quote says "New quote next week. Watch this space!" what, you have special quotes now for some privileged few?

Vic Sussman: No, I changed the quote on the fly because some people thought the previous quote was meant to insult Kim O'Donnel. To which I said, give me a break! When I find out who these people are I'm going to send a man out to their homes late one night to straighten them out. Or bend them up.

Laurel, MD: Re: DC still not a state above: How about discussion of people who are single? Notice that everything relates to families, people with children, etc. You should also have a discussion about the single life in DC. There's lots of singles in the DC area that would be interested!

Vic Sussman: Nah, nah. I think Carolyn Hax and Tell Me About It covers the lives of singles quite nicely. Read her transcripts and columns.

GBurger,MD: Vic:
don't you just detest people who talk loudly on trains, buses, airplanes, etc.? I'd rather have them shut up and light up.

Vic Sussman: They are at their worst when they are talking loudly into their cell phones. I no longer travel by train or plane without bringing along a pair of ear plugs. They can make life worth living at 35,000 feet.

Conn Ave: I think you're grumpy because of the LACK OF SUNSHINE ... heee he heeh ehhh

Vic Sussman: I can see the sun shining right outside my window. What more would you like? For me to actually go outside in the sunlight? I'm not supposed to go out until after sundown. Sunlight makes me decompose.

Sports Fan: Precisely my point, you can learn a lot more about what you can do and how you can improve by watching the best at the craft. Greg Maddux (he's a pitcher -which means he plays baseball]-which is a sport with a bat and ball-) has taught me more about pitching than any coach I ever had.

Vic Sussman: Okay. Good point. I won't pursue the debate at this late hour.

Motorhead: Comment: Ha ha - "loud pipes save lives" ha ha! I know what it means. But it ain't true. Check out the Hurt report. Visibility (or lack thereof) is the number one contributing factor to accidents involving other vehicles - not sound.

LI: Heading out on my YZF for the weekend (making it a long one - Blue Ridge Parkway, here I come).

HI: Obnoxiously loud pipes (probably not yours) that give all of us a bad name.

RI: Two-wheeled machines and muscle cars (have both) - 10+!!

Vic Sussman: Who cares if it's true. It's funny. I like it. It makes me smile. Just like the car.

roommate land: HI - That my roommates boyfriend spent the night last night and I found this out at 3:00 am when the toilet seat was up!

Vic Sussman: Don't you just love the process of discovery? I'll bet that porcelain was COLD!

Arlington, VA: LI: The story about the job interview and the Diet Coke can. I was crying because I was laughing so hard, and I had to call one of my co-workers to get her to read it, too.

HI: That I cannot work from home, where, on a day like today, I would take my laptop outside and breathe some fresh air.

RI: 10: the sushi at Sakana on P Street. It might be bait, but it's damn good bait at that.

Vic Sussman: I live to make you laugh until you cry. My day is complete now.

wdc: I hope that by grouping Stigmata and Dogma in the same genre, you mean that they deal with religious subjects, not that they're even remotely similar. Two very different flicks. I think you'd have to group Monty Python's Life of Brian in there with them, and it would be much more like Dogma than Stigmata. Didn't see the latter, but the former was definitely funny yet thought-provoking.

Vic Sussman: The first part of your first sentence is correct. I know the difference between the films. I was being ironic again. I'll have to stop that...

Bethesda, MD: I can't live without ear plugs either- not just for noisy talkers, for ear splitting sound effects in movie theaters and listening to loud bands in small bars.

Vic Sussman: Or Flowmaster mufflers. I can dig it.

Herndon, VA: Your transgressions with the Trans-Am reminded me of my way, way back bachelor days when I'd (briefly) get the 240Z up to three digits. But the best part was taking the "45mp" curves at 75 and being safer than the old farts in sedans who took it at 50. Of course, I hasten to add, I'm an "OF" now and drive much more responsibly. It's hell growing up - glad you've fought it.

Vic Sussman: No, no. I really am going to grow up, be mature, be normal, pay my taxes, drive responsibly, think small thoughts, take cleansing breaths, be passionate about men chasing balls around on artificial turf, pick my quotes really, really carefully, never insult anybody ever again even if I don't know that I might, just might be insulting them, give up irony for ironing, volunteer more, drive well below the speed limit, take public transportation, and end this program on time.

Yeah. Right.

More next week, if you dare.

Love you madly.