Tuesday Tidbits

This week has been a bit crazy, so I'm once again left with a few quick hits.

1. Howard Kurtz did not refer to CNBC anchor Erin Burnett as "Money Honey" and "Business Babe." The flipping title of his Media Notes column is "Looking Good at CNBC (Pretty, Too)." Almost did a spit take on this line:

Under the lights, in a smoky blue dress that matches her eyes as well as her shoes, her flowing dark hair perfectly teased, she is not exactly hard on the eyes.

And then there's this!!!

During an MSNBC interview this month, Matthews egged her on: "Could you get a little closer to the camera? . . . Really close." When Burnett expressed puzzlement, Matthews exclaimed: "You look great! . . . No, you're beautiful. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. You're a knockout." Burnett now calls it "a strange moment."

Jesus, Chris! Thing is, Howard's column is really about how smart and quick-witted Burnett is. Of course, he can't resist taking the sensational route to get you to that point.

2. Want to give a shout out to PunditMom, who commented here recently and proves (along with Jill) that the words Mom and politics are not oxymoronic.

3. What the heck was Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson talking about today on The Sound of Ideas? Props to Dan Moulthrop and callers for attempting to get at a meaningful conversation. Afraid is not very successful.

4. Teachers have such a powerful impact on our lives. This came back to me as I listened to Alec Klein, author of "A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America's Best High Schools," on Diane Rehm (with Steve Roberts) this morning. He shared this lovely tidbit: "I'm reminded of another teacher I had, Dr. Binman, who returned a creative writing assignment to me when I was about 15 years old and on it he said, 'Become a writer one day!' I actually still have that paper because it meant so much to me as a 15-year-old to be told that I was good at something. Sometimes that's all you need is some positive reinforcement."