Femme Fatale

What's the allure of a beautiful femme fatale? Well, if you're visually oriented, take one look at Ava Gardner as Kitty Collins. . . The long gloves are a nice touch, certainly. And does anyone really feel sorry for the Swede when he falls for her? What do you think? Actually, his previous girlfriend does, even though he (played by Burt Lancaster) is so stupefied by Kitty's persona that he drops said girlfriend on the spot, at a party, in front of dozens, gapingly. Take the Velvet Underground and Nico's homage and think of all tomorrow's parties.

If men tend to be visually oriented, what do women prefer? From my experience, there's no accounting for taste. Everyone has a unique set of hot buttons. But some buttons are more predictable than others.

The Pistons went down last night -- couldn't get it together in Miami. But then, sports teams are like pets -- great when they're doing well, but don't last for very long in the grand scheme of things. Then again, neither do any of the rest of us.

Here's to Kitty and the Swede. Arrivederci!