The New Boss

It was the best ESTROFEST ever, thanks to a great game, a great half-time show, great company, great chili, great commentary sassistas -- Chryso and babysis -- and most of all, a great hostess in Jerseysista! 

Kudsass all around!

Pictured above is "The New Boss" who "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- Drew Brees, the Super Bowl MVP who helped to pull his New Orleans Saints out of a 10-point, first-quarter deficit to defeat Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17.  You da man.

"The Old Boss" -- alive and still kicking is The Who, who performed one of the best half-time shows that Flannista has ever seen at the Super Bowl.  Carrie Underwood, if guys in their sixties can hit all the right notes, why can't you?

Morning on-line commentary is giving the nod for Best Commercial to the 15-second spot for David Letterman, which was, very clever and very funny.  Those of us at ESTROFEST loved the "Snickers Satisfies" commercial with Betty White. You da woman.

We were all stunned at the blatant misogyny on display in commercials from Dodge Charger and some line of Dove toiletries for men.  Toilet is precisely where these ads belong.

Following are our commentary winners:

• MOCK HEROIC: The entire pre-game show.

• PATRIOTIC: The entire pre-game show.

• BLATANTLY SEXUAL: "If it's gonna be one on one, they try to go deep."

• ACCIDENTALLY SEXUAL:  "Reggie Bush"

• OBAMA IS A SOCIALIST:  Those chickens -- were they representing Denny's?

• WWJS:  "We've got an injured Saint."

• JUST PLAIN STUPID:  Tie between the Bud Light commercials and Dove for Men

• THAT HURTS MY FEELINGS:  The "Man's Last Stand" Dodge Charger commercial

• A POET AMONG US:  "And so, the snapper got to him."

• YOU BETCHA!  (What would Sarah Palin Say?):  Focus on the Family commercial (though tackling a woman worked better with Betty White)

• I DREAMED A DREAM (What Would Susan Boyle Sing?):  The Who Halftime Show

Please share your thoughts and memories of Super Bowl 44!  And thanks again for joining the fun!

Comments

[Flannista]

The Federal government is closed today -- the entire area continues to dig out . . . and get this: another storm will hit us tomorrow, dumping anywhere from 4-8 inches of new stuff.

ESTROFEST was a great respite in the middle of all this snow which has knocked the power out of homes and the wind out of a lot of spirits. Jerseysista provided precisely what we needed: a fireplace, a huge flat screen, a full-bar, espresso machine (yep, really), three kinds of chili, bread, veggies, chips . . . oh, and beer, beer, beer. She set the whole thing up in her basement. Everything we needed right at our fingertips.

Thank you again, Jersey for providing the best venue ever for ESTROFEST!

[Flannista]

Did anyone think "iRag" when they saw "FloTV"? First there's the "iPad" and now "FloTV".

Any theories?

[Flannista]

The GRAND PRIZE winner for tying a Super Bowl comment into an appropriate ESTROFEST category is babysis for WWJS (What Would Jesus Say): "We've got an injured Saint."

[nowayasista]

Glad y'all had a good time. Great game. Have to disagree with assessment of the Who... old rockers should fade away and stay home. I am trading in the Mustang for a Dodge Charger. And per Punxsutawney Polamalu we have 6 more weeks of Football.

[Matissta]

It was a good game. Usually the Super Bowl is a blowout. The attendees of Estrofest needed this as much as the city of New Orleans needed this win. Really.

Did anyone miss Coca-Cola not having an ad? It was the first time in years.

Now back to the reality of still shoveling myself out of my parking lot with sore arms and more snow on the way. I wish one of the Estrofest prizes was a snow blower.

[Flannista]

I think it was Pepsi that didn't have an ad, Matissta. Coca-Cola had that Simpson's one (I don't watch "The Simpson's," so don't know) and also that one about the guy waking up in the middle of the Serengeti and walking blindly through all kinds of dangerous, wild beasts for his Coke. The tag was, "Open happiness." Eh.

noway: would you say the same of Johnny Cash or George Strait? And, of course, you need a Dodge Charger. GoDaddy.

[Chrysosistah]

The game was a good one, we enjoyed it, and we all were surprised how quickly it seemed to wrap up. Very happy for New Orleans, and imagine they will have one heck of a Mardi Gras this year!

The ads, overall, were a disappointment - they just didn't seem to rise to the level of past games, although there were some really cute ones (we loved the Doritos no-bark ad). Still surprised how many of the ads were for TV shows on CBS, seemed like a waste of valuable ad revenue.

Flannista, I know you liked The Who, but they seemed awful to us - even though they did have a really neat stage. I thought it looked like Roger needed oxygen several times. I certainly wouldn't pay to see them in concert. Still can't believe the organizers couldn't have found someone a bit more modern to entertain the crowd!

[nowayasista]

If Johnny Cash came back from the dead for a SuperBowl halftime show, I would have to make an exception. That would be way cool. George Strait does not open up his shirt to swing his belly around under his guitar. GoDaddy is right.

[babysis]

Thanks for the award - I'm thrilled!

Perhaps Matiss meant to say Coke didn't have a great ad like they usually do.

I really enjoyed the game, and thought the images of Drew Brees holding his little boy after the win were priceless.

Keep taking photos of the snow for those of us who rarely see it.

[PEACEsista]

I missed a chunk of the first quarter and consequently most of the best ads. I'll have to look for them today on-line. There was a huge crop of bad ones.

The Super Bowl half-time show would be such a huge venue for an up and coming star. I'd rather see them use it to launch a career and celebrate the new rather than venerate the old. No one here liked The Who's show much. I wondered why they were playing to my demographic instead of my kid's. He says it's because they are playing it safe after the Janet Jackson / Justin Timberlake debacle. Too bad.

Great game though. The teams weren't playing it safe ... especially the Saints with that on-side kick! Both teams left it all out there on the field.

[Matissta]

I meant that Pepsi didn't have an ad for the first time in years, but apparently no one noticed.

babysis, you had some gems last night. Glad you participated as much as you did.

As for the snow, they are now say we could get another 10 inches starting tomorrow night. We'll send more photos of the snow, if you send photos of the sun and beach.

[Jerseysista]

Way to go Saints! It was indeed a great game and great company. "Who" could ask for anything more?

[Sistasista]

I must disagree with the "one of the best halftime shows" comment. I thought they sounded awful. Made me want to say "Who dat?" I also didn't notice Carrie Underwood missing any notes. I did like the Betty White commercial and Drew Brees with his little boy. Glad you all had a good time!

[Sistasista]

Ok - I went back and listened to Carrie and maybe at the end she messed up a little but I didn't notice it last night.

[Jerseysista]

Yeah, Sistasista. Maybe it was the company we were keeping here and the beers we were drinking. We may have been looking through a nostalgic buzz.

[Flannista]

Have been at Matissta's most of the day, helping to dig her out. Will comment soon. And yes, now another winter warning of an additional 8-10 inches tomorrow and Wednesday.

[treesta]

DC & I just got back from a loooong walk to the post office to get some bills mailed. Stopped at a little diner for lunch. Heard that not only are we getting more snow Tues-Wed, they're now expecting snow AGAIN over the weekend. And on it goes....

[Justista]

I have to give a vote to the "Don't touch my Mama or my Doritos" commercial.

[Flannista]

I finally have steady power -- it comes and goes whenever the hell it feels like.

Here is a photo of our town center parking lot. There's a mail box in that pile somewhere:

http://www.sassistas.com/sassistas_our_dish_on_the/2010/08/parking_lot.jpg

Here's why I'm posting it. A pile similar to this one was blocking Matissta's garage door. The two of us dug her out.

I'm in a really foul mood right now. Don't say you weren't warned.

I have this to say to the media -- stop showing beautiful photos of the snow and waxing all poetic about it. This is a fucking disaster. I haven't talked to one happy person today, either in person or on the phone or via email (of course, power has been twitchy). Everyone who doesn't have to shovel this shit is so fascinated it. Well, here, shovel this: this area has neither the road equipment nor the budgets to deal with an epic snowfall. Another 8-10 inches is on the way. This is not Mother Nature at her best. This is a disaster. People are dying.

It's hard to be cheerful when you take your life into your hands walking the streets. I know, I know, there are senior citizens who can't walk, blah, blah, blah. Just so you know, I've helped to shovel them out. But I'm sick of of this. All of it.

So look at the pretty pictures. Enjoy. I'm tired.

I'll be back to comment on your comments on the Super Bowl. That is, if the fucking power holds out. Again, don't say you weren't warned.

[Flannista]

Before I pour myself a drink, I'd like to comment on noway's observation about Peter Townsend's belly. SHAME on Peter and shame on me. Here I was fascinated by his ability to strum that guitar much like he did 30 years earlier at Woodstock (Matissta and I watched the documentary in August). And he pretty much sounded the same, too. And you know . . . his stomach WAS SHOWING AT WOODSTOCK, TOO! Where are CBS censors when you need them? I thought we had stopped all this indecent exposure after the Janet Jackson debacle.

Why can't Peter Townsend be more like the new Republican Senator from Massachusetts and show some propriety when it comes to public displays of one's body?

Yeah, young talent -- that's what the Super Bowl half-time show really needed. How about Adam Lambert? I recently saw him perform live. He's new and I never ever saw his stomach once when he performed. Saw his tongue in another man's mouth. But not once did I see his stomach.

One other thing. I'll give this to The Who. They at least know that words like "who" only have ONE syllable, unlike Carrie Underwood who sings "brave" with six. But she's new! Kelly Clarkson should have performed. She should have sung her hit, "My Life Would Suck Without You." What poetry, particularly when compared to "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- what a stupid song The Who wrote . . . about fighting for your rights, etc. What HAS BEENS they are. All this time, I could have been listening to Kelly and Carrie. No wonder my life sucks.

[Chrysosistah]

The thing I found mystifying was that the governments up there don't handle these horrible snow storms the same way hurricanes are handled down here. That was the impetus for my shelter query a few days ago - when a horrible storm is coming, they go ahead and open a few shelters for people who require power or are in a floodprone area - people on oxygen, disabled folks, invalids, etc. Because one presumes power will be iffy, everyone's expected to make preparations to deal without power for at least several days or to evacuate to shelters.

I don't understand why snow storms wouldn't be treated the same way??

[Flannista]

I'm on the phone with Jerseysista who called to see if I was okay. She offered a glass of wine, a hot tub of water and to-and-from transportation.

Admittedly, my first instinct was to hurl a profanity, but then I realized that just hearing the offer made my heart melt. So now I must be nice. Thanks SO much, Jersey.

(Actually, thank you.)

[Sistasista]

Sorry you're having such a horrid time of it. I know how miserable weather related messes can be. We went 13 days without power in sub freezing weather three years ago January when an ice storm went through here.

I wasn't questioning the validity of the songs, just didn't think they still had the same umph that they used to have. I personally think that Carrie Underwood has one of the most naturally beautiful voices I've heard in a long time.

I think you need that drink!

[Flannista]

Sistasista, if you were here, I'd give you a big wet one.

I don't know what got into me. Jersey called my comments "vituperative" (not "draconian") and I knew (without looking it up) that that word meant "bitter." Then I looked up the word, and it also means "abusive," which shut me up immediately, being the abused kid that I am.

So here I am again, apologizing to the 'sphere for being such a poopyhead.

Sistasista -- your comment could not have been more kind. I'm sorry you were without power for 13 days in sub-freezing weather. I think I popped a cork.

Speaking of which, I did pour myself a drink.

Again, everyone: I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

[Chrysosistah]

Totally agree, Sistasista - The Who's songs are definitely rock classics, it just seemed to me that the guys are seriously past their vocal prime.

I went back and reviewed the list of half-time shows, it's very interesting, and I'd bet we'd all have different hits & misses from this list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Super_Bowl_halftime_shows

And I'm definitely sorry as well that y'all are having to deal with such a terrible storm, esp. knowing more's on the way. Wish I could send up some warmer weather for you...(along with a good stiff drink ;-)