First a disclaimer - I am a watch junkie. It is an affliction which my wife tolerates with ill disguised disdain. There are birds which steal "bright and shiney objects" to hoard. Watch collectors have slightly less control.
As a result, I notice what watch others are wearing. The watch a person wears says a lot about them - mostly how much money they have. But it can also be a reverse icon. An enormous number of the very rich in power in Washington sport el-cheapo blue collar watches, as if wearing an timex IronMan shows that they are in touch with the common man.
Henry Paulson, late of Goldman Sachs, whose net worth is estimated to be about $700million wears a $39 plastic digital watch.
George Bush's cheap ass Timex "Easy Reader" (love the name) was famously stolen (and then returned ) by Albanians.
Bear in mind that this Timex was custom made for W and bears the Presidential seal, but heaven forfend that the man who brought us "Freedom Fries" would wear a watch which was not made in the good 'ol U S of A.
This wasn’t the first tempest over Bush’s Timex. In 2005, the Russian newspaper Pravda boasted that its country’s leader beats Bush in the watch race. Vladimir Putin wears a $60,000 Patek Philippe.
Bill Clinton also wore a Timex IronMan when he was Governor of Arkansas, mostly because Timex has an extensive production facility in Arkansas which is apparantly filled with registered voters.
He continued to wear the IM when he was in the White House, but after he got out his 'true' magpie emerged.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-felsenthal/it-takes-one-elitist-ie-b_b_96719.html
He is now a true high-end watch junkie - from HuffPo
Today Clinton wears "high-end mechanical watches," says Kobold, "...very exclusive" -- Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier, Audemars Piguet. At least one of his watches -- he has some 50 in his collection -- is said to be worth more than $100,000.
Clinton and Kobold clicked on another level. Kobold makes watches for Jim Gandolfini (aka Tony Soprano), who has become a close friend and is also a friend of the former president's. Clinton has three watches courtesy of Kobold, all on loan (i.e. he didn't have to pay for them but is supposed to return them) and one that was a gift from Gandolfini. For Michael Kobold, eating the cost is well worth it because Clinton gives his watches plenty of "wrist time." He sported one on the cover of Ladies Home Journal, and he also wore one that was worth close to $4,000 when he appeared on Larry King Live.
(Kobold watches, "their components made and assembled in factories in Switzerland and Germany," retail for between $3.200 and $25,000. They appeal to a certain kind of armchair adventurer -- George W. Bush owns one)
John McCain has people who tell him what time it is, apparantly, as he has never been seen wearing a watch of any sort. Such people scare me. It says "I cannot imagine a circumstance where I will not have an assistant" (sort of like how you envision life in a nursing home)
Joe Biden wears a nice Omega Seamaster ($2,500) which is one of the most solidly built workhorses and had the added benefit of being the watch worn by James Bond in the movies. I recently got one and traded it because I couldn't get the laser beam feature to work properly.
Remarkably, Biden is the only candidate I've seen who wears his watch on a steel bracelet...every other candidate uses a leather strap.
Romney was said to roll his sleeves up for no other reason than to show he wasn't wearing a platinum Rolex.
Condi Rice has an 18KT Baum and Mercier.
Obama wears a simply analog watch which I have not been able to identify - not high end - practical and functional.
Tony Blair wore a steel Rolex GMT which allows for telling time in 2 time zones - useful when you have troops fighting an illegal war. (and the Brits have yet to completely suscribe to the Jingoism and hatred of all things foreign which pervades US politics)
This morning I noticed that Tom Brokaw was wearing an Iiternational Watch Company "Big Pilot" which retails for $13,900 (damn that liberal elite media!)
Other celebrities?
1. Harrison Ford: Breitling Aerospace
2. Jerry Seinfeld: Every Breitling imaginable
3. Brad Pitt: Breitling
4. Orlando Bloom: IWC Big Pilot
5. Arnold Swarzenegge: Audemars Piguet (usually the T3)
6. Ben Affleck : Harry Winston
7. Mark Anthony: Roger Dubuis
8. Seal : Roger Dubuis Rose Gold Divers Watch :
9. Pierce Brosnan: Sponsored by Omega (wears a Panerai in his recent movie, After the Sunset)
10. John Mayer: IWC Big Pilot
11. Matt Lauer: Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona
12. Anthony Keidis: Anonimo
13. US Presidents: Almost all have a Corum $20 gold coin watch
14. Leonardo DeCaprio: Jaeger LeCoultre
15. Christian Bale: Jaeger (in the latest Batman movie)
16. Usher: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
17. Larry King: Ulysse Nardin GMT
Travolta is a spokesmodel for Breitling (because he is a pilot).
Tiger Woods has a Tudor named after him (a sub brand of Rolex which is not sold in the US) but dropped that endorsement and now schills for Tag Heuer with an ugly watch you can wear whilst playing golf.
Remarkably, though, Tiger doesn't wear a watch while playing. Phil Michelson does. A Rolex Celini. LOL
Me?
I currently own 2 "tool watches" - a limited edition Doxa Seaconquerer 5000T which is waterproof to 5000 feet underwater and weighs half a pound. and the ultimate "Tool" watch, a two tone gold Rolex GMT Master.
What makes the Rolex a tool watch?
Simple. There are very few problems in life which can't be 'fixed' with a gold Rolex. Mine is the replacement of one which I had to sell 12 years ago when we were in terrible financial distress. It raised enough cash to pay our bills for almost 6 months.
"A man with a watch like that doesn't necessarily have a passport problem.Senor." from the movie 'Traffic'.
I'm going there to learn about what life is like for young people in 2008 here in NC. There were no gay-straight alliances when I was in school, so I look forward to it. I will take video and pix (but of course have asked for parental releases to do so; some of the kids are in the GSA against their parents' wishes).
Here's a bit from the letter Alan Rissberger on the club:
I've been a club advisor/sponsor for the Chapel Hill High School Gay-Straight Alliance for several years now. CHHS was the first high school in the state of North Carolina to have a GSA. We have a dynamic group of kids involved this year. They join us for a number of reasons; mostly they stay for the supportive environment that we attempt to offer.He also mentioned that I am "the kind of positive community role model these kids need to know about." Don't worry, I won't get the swelled head about that one, but certainly sharing my personal experiences in life and on the blog are meant to help bring discussions about our issues out of the closet. That's the power of the internet, and there are plenty of role models out there -- including Blenders who choose to comment and share their stories as well. That said:My co-sponsor, Tom Greene, is a relatively new teacher who enjoys getting involved in local and national politics. He brings his own unique story to the group, and has been a great influence on the kids, who need to see dynamic, gay and lesbian people in the community living "normal" lives with own partners/spouses and kids.
What would you like to know from the students in the GSA? Leave questions in the comments.
Here's the CHHS GSA Facebook page.
On Friday morning, Joseph Prudente put on a pair of shorts and his "Grandpa Gone Wild" T-shirt. He took off his wedding band and put his heart medication in a plastic Wal-Mart bag. Then his daughter drove him to jail. Grandpa had time to do.His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.
And get this...NO BAIL! Yes, sorry Grandpa, we can't have you running around willy nilly in the streets while that brown lawn of yours exits. We have to protect our law abiding citizens, so it's indefinate jail time for you. Whew! Glad I can finally walk the streets in St. Pete's again.
What is happening to American values?? How can you jail this man with NO BAIL for a brown lawn? What a despicable thing to do. I realize the law is the law...but NO BAIL? NO BAIL??? Is it legal to put someone in jail without the opportunity to bail out? Rapists and murders receive more humane treatment than this. The American dream is becoming a nightmare.
Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray."He's in prison for God knows how long because we can't afford to sod the lawn," said his sobbing daughter, Jennifer Lehr.
In an interview at the jail Friday evening, Prudente said he thought he had made a good financial hardship case to the association: His adjustable rate mortgage went up an extra $600 a month. Wachovia repossessed his Toyota Scion. His daughter and her two young children, who had fallen on hard times, moved in with him and his wife, Pat.
I hope the family can organize a fund in his name and get some donations to help sod their brown lawn. I can't imagine going to jail for something like this, especially not being able to get bailed out. What kind of law keeps folks in jail as long as their lawn is brown? Is there a lawyer in the house that could explain the legalities?
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