Friday on Today 8/3

Today's Consumer Smarts with Janice Lieberman started the third hour today with a segment called Going To The Mattresses. She showed Al Roker a vibrating mattress that cost 30 grand, a Sealy pillow top with foam for $799 and one that its makers say is like sleeping on a cloud. That one costs 60 grand, so for that price they ought to fly you into outer space and let you sleep on actual cloud. The whole point to this--I'm not exactly sure why they wasted their time having Al trying out a bunch of mattresses--is to save your money for college tuition, cars and other necessities. Al actually liked the cheaper mattress best anyway.

Today's Style featured a Fall Fashion Preview. The look is all about dressing up without getting dressed up--whatever that means. A 70's chic dress that looked like a brown top with a checkered skirt finished off with a wide waist belt was the first look, followed by metallics. Wear metallics with a neutral palette. This model had on a beige metallic, matching jacket with black leggings and leopard print shoes. It didn't look as awful as it sounds. The thing about leggings that most people don't like is their clinginess, but these were loose fitting and looked more comfortable. The next look was sophisticated - blacks and creams are always classic. Update the look with this season's blazer. Grey is the new black. A few weeks ago on Today's Style, white was the new black, now it's grey. It looks polished and professional. This model wore a long grey jacket over black slacks. Return of the shape: form-fitting shapes are back. The only looks I'd spend money on are the cream and black as well as the grey and black. They also suggested wearing colored tights with some of these skirts--especially the shorter ones.

Joan Allen stopped by for a visit outside on the plaza. The catchy titles they used for this were: Bourne In The USA - Allen's Ultimatum. In case you didn't know, she's in "The Bourne Ultimatum" as well as the other two movies in the series. She's a three time Oscar nominee and one of my favorite actresses. See her amazing performance in "The Contender" and you'll see why. "The Bourne Ultimatum" opens today--as if you didn't know that already.

Natalie Morales was still in Minneapolis covering the bridge collapse: Saluting The Rescue Workers. Brad Stencel is a paramedic and one of the first responders on the scene. Natalie asked him what kind of injuries he saw in the people he helped to rescue. He said mostly orthopedic injuries--broken bones, blunt trauma and lots of bleeding. This is his first big city tragedy and he says he's emotional but getting through and now helping the recovery workers. Not a pleasant job I'm sure.

Next they had a one-on-one from Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly, who answered some e-mails. More likely, he covered his ass and answered the questions about long waits and consumer complaints like a member of the Bush Administration would answer questions about the war in Iraq. Everything is great and Southwest is the best. Did anyone think he would give honest answers? He's a CEO.

Vince Gill and Amy Grant ended the show with a song that she sang and he played guitar to along with a big back-up band. It sounded pretty good out on the plaza.

That wraps up this week. Have a good weekend.