most people believe the human race or at least the sample they encounter has a really large portion of idiots.

I'm not sure I would agree with that. If we're talking work performance, I think in the majority of workplaces, the majority of employees would believe that a (not necessarily the same) majority of employees possess basic competence.

Hmm... the more I think about that, the less sure I am....

Decorating meara:

If you can get the fabric swatches and a couple of large paint chips in potential future colors, I'd suggest that for helping narrow your choices.

That sounds very reasonable... if you're not me. The trouble is that of I start thinking about paint colors beyond "more blue-green than red-yellow" I'll end up making an Excel table with every possible combination of colors for everything, including trim, and nothing will ever actually get decided. So I'm figuring that if the chair & sofa lead me to an ottoman, then the chair+sofa+ottoman will help determine the paint choice.

Choose funkier bold colors for curtains or do a contrasty color on one of the walls closest to the sofa set.

I'm getting sliding bamboo blinds instead of curtains. (Not those icky vertical blinds; they're wider, more like panels.) Because one wall is basically sliding doors to the balcony. And the room is almost perfectly square so I think a contrasting wall color might make it seem narrower for the same reason it makes a rectangular room seem wider. From a decorating standpoint, the living room is problematic. Which is why it's still eggshell and feels like an atrium.

I think the ottoman you linked may be a little too traditional in form given the funky 60s look of your sofa and chair. If it's not too kitschy, what would you think about something more geometric with a bold contrasting pattern like this?

Hm, the yin-yang is cool, but I think that would be so bold it'd be the focal point of the room. Oh, but I'm fairly sure that the ottoman is also available with chrome feet rather than the wood ones in the picture -- the whole thing's kind of predicated on that, actually. Would that make it fit better? I find that chrome = instant retro.

(And thanks to all for the opinions. I need hand-holding for this stuff.)

That sounds very reasonable... if you're not me. The trouble is that of I start thinking about paint colors beyond "more blue-green than red-yellow" I'll end up making an Excel table with every possible combination of colors for everything, including trim, and nothing will ever actually get decided.

t hides hand-scribbled table of possible color choices for every room in the house.

Hey, I sometimes consult an old Pantone book for ideas. Though I decided five years ago that I'd use the same creamy off-white for all the trim, though, which cuts down on the color decision churn.

Would that make it fit better? I find that chrome = instant retro.

Yes. Chrome is good.

Jewel-encrusted Mr. Potato Head

You LA folks can go visit with JEMPH in person (He's in the Beverly Hills Neiman Marcus). Maybe the appropriate response is to bow down and worship him....

From the Snakes on a Plane replica sale on eBay:

Q: Are these Snakes, as Samuel L. Jackson so elequently put it, truly motherf--cking?

A: I can't really directly comment on the nature of these snakes because of an on-going legal battle between the 'Snakes' and myself. What I can say is this 'These REPTILES appear to be bad a-- MO FO's, and they're ON THE PLANE!'... But then again, I can't comment.

JZ, isn't it way too early for you to be up?

(Also, I've been writing for an Israeli tv site something about MSCL (and "thirtysomething") and it's making me think about you.)

Hi Nilly! You don't go into Bitches much, so I should tell you too; I'm in luv! I think. And there are other Bitches finding people too. Significant others are the new black!

Spring, when a young man's fancy turns to significant others...

Oh, billytea! So happy for you! Details, please!

there are other Bitches finding people too

Oh, who? I mean, if it's OK to post about it here.

Significant others are the new black!

So you're saying that my lack of presence in Bitches is why I'm still single? Hmm, that would be really difficult to explain to my mom.

[Edited to wave at DXM]

Oh, billytea! So happy for you! Details, please!

Later! For now I must go to bed. But she's very nice, and from Shanghai originally.

So you're saying that my lack of presence in Bitches is why I'm still single?

I fear so, he said, shaking his head sadly in that manner that suggests he always expected it would come to this.

G'night!