I don’t know about my co-bloggers, but reality has intruded and there hasn’t been much time for blogging this week. Instead, here is a photo of Angelina Jolie, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton.
They were each speaking at a dinner for the Global Business Coalition on HIV-AIDS. If the Washington Post is to be believed, Hillary had the best line:
“It’s hard being a beautiful celebrity,” Clinton said. “I wouldn’t know, but I’ve got to imagine it has to be very difficult.”
Sean it is *terribly* difficult being a beautiful celebrity! Not that I would know either (hair flip), but I imagine it must be so.
I like this photo sooooooo much. I detest reading too much into snapshots of human beings, as you know, but Angelina is simply screaming “integrity” here. At first glance, arms held carefully behind her back. Clearly not wanting to have physical contact with the grinning Condi. Taking a deeper look, you’ll notice that her posture also suggests restraint, hands tied behind her back. She’s posing against her will, a possible reflection of the morality of her co-speakers. Eyes narrowed, mouth closed, again suggesting the presence of treacherous creatures (snakes perhaps?) in the vicinity. I love it, love it.
Also, a note for Clifford if he is reading, that I submitted a caption for the cartoon in the New Yorker, the one where the guy and his office furniture are all floating around in space? Here it is: “Shocked by the news, the gravity of the situation had yet to sink in.” Personally, I thought that was kind of darling, but it didn’t even make the semi-finals. Next time….
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/sean/ Sean
Jennifer, trust me. It is difficult.
http://jenniferhead.cfa.harvard.edu Jennifer
I know, I know…
Dissident
I wonder: when talking about the Clintons, why is it always “Hillary” but never “Bill”? Seems strangely un-PC…
The Pro-Clinton
Dissident: Huh?
Fyodor
Is there any truth to the rumor that the only place to read about physics on the web these days is at the website of Cosmopolitan Magazine?
Dissident
To restate what I thought was glaringly obvious, I’m asking why the whole US seems to be on a first-name basis with senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, while respectfully referring to the former president by his family name. Yes, the question is rhetoric. (See? I can play the PC game too!
http://impropaganda.blogspot.com Suz
As an aside, can I just pipe in how much I hate the power-suit look, especially suit pants, and especially in monochrome navy blue? (Angelina Jolie’s outfit is stylish though.) My roommate insists that the only thing acceptable to wear to any interview of any sort is a suit (“it shows you care.”) I think it shows you have no fashion sense.
http://impropaganda.blogspot.com Suz
I meant the “suit pants” etc for women…
Suits appear to be the only option for men anyway, and I think men’s suit styles generally look good.
Yes, I know I have a sexism problem here with my fashion sense.
http://motls.blogspot.com/ Luboš Motl
Did Ms. Rodham meant herself when she was speaking about a beautiful celebrity? That’s a pretty funny comment, indeed, because it sounds so.
serial catowner
Call me old fashioned, but I liked it better when the photo would have been of Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, and Patty Hearst. If this is progress, you can have it.
http://impropaganda.blogspot.com Suzanne
She meant Angelina… she continued by saying “I wouldn’t know myself, but…”
I’m with you serial catowner…
Moshe
At least Hillary is her real name, and not some diminutive girlish-sounding nickname (apparently she is not celebrity enough to earn one of those).
x34T92
Angelina is the only one in the picture not wearing a pearl necklace. She’s also the only one in the picture who’s done full frontal nudity in a motion picture, and the only one in the picture who has any kind of integrity. I’m not sure how all these facts are related.
Folks, Hillary Clinton is obviously the most babelicious beautiful of all of them. Intelligent, in possession of a social conscience, powerful, and apparently not a nut-job (definitely ruling out at least one of the other two)…. what’s not to like? …
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Cosmic Variance
Random samplings from a universe of ideas.
About Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Physics at the California Institute of Technology. His research interests include theoretical aspects of cosmology, field theory, and gravitation. His most recent book is The Particle at the End of the Universe, about the Large Hadron Collider and the search for the Higgs boson.
Here are some of his favorite blog posts, home page, and email: carroll [at] cosmicvariance.com .
