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1.22.2009
president yo-yo ma; aretha's awesome hat
Still talking about the inauguration... If you're an idiot, you took issue with Obama's "stumble" when he took the oath of office. Whatever. It was actually Chief Justice John Roberts who misspoke. He's the one who stumbled over the oath's opening words, and Obama repeated them back, incorrectly. But just to make sure everything's square, they did a do-over of the oath the next day.
But according to The Colbert Report, if Obama's oath was indeed invalid, the person who should really be President is whoever was on TV at the moment the clock struck noon.... and that guy is none other than Yo-Yo Ma. That's President Yo-Yo Ma. Like Colbert says, "It's still pretty darn historic to have the first Asian American president and the first vice president who is a cello."
If you're like me, you were wondering how the hell Yo-Yo, Itzhak Perlman and company didn't freeze their brilliant fingers off, or how their performance sounded so darn good despite the D.C. cold. Alas, what you heard was in fact a recording, made two days earlier by the quartet: Frigid Fingers Were Live but the Music Wasn't. I gotta say, it was some of the best fake cello-playing I've ever seen.
Oh yeah, did you noticed Aretha Franklin's hat? Heck, who didn't notice Aretha's hat? The Queen of Soul was rockin' one serious hat with one serious bow. Where do you get a hat like that? Detroit, baby: Aretha Franklin's hat, Detroit-made, wins global acclaim.
The inaugural Hat was custom designed by 36-year-old Luke Song for his family business, Mr. Song Millinery in Detroit A similar style has apparently been flying off the shelves since Ms. Franklin's performance: Requests flood in for 'Queen of Soul's' custom hat. That's a hat for the history books.