What I did on my Christmas break (so far):
1. Got my parents' tivo set up.
2. Watched movies (via tivo and Hastings).

Rankings from my movie spree
1. Rope (Jimmy Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock) - very good. I see now why my mom didn't like Murder By Numbers. It's a rip off of Rope with similar plot elements but none of the charm. The AMC guy pointed out it was filmed to look like a continuous shot (with two intentional exceptions). It's fun to watch for the tricks they used to allow edits without stopping the camera movement.
2. Beautiful (Minnie Driver, Joey Lauren Adams) - really funny. Thank goodness Miss Adams never went into psycho-crying mode like in Chasing Amy. That was so painful.
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - weird, good, but not that good.
4. Arsenic and Old Lace (Cary Grant, Teddy Roosevelt)- hilarious in that classic movie way. Source of a favorite quote of mine: "Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops."
5. Call Northside 777 (Jimmy Stewart again) - interesting to watch, not action packed or anything. I thought he'd get in trouble with the mob or something, but Jimmy never ran into anything worse than hostility and one gun.
6. Lemony Snicket's... - didn't like it, I'm sorry to say. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't charmed.
7. Bottle Rocket - not my favorite Wes Anderson by a long shot, but interesting.


I also rewatched some movies. I highly recommend them all:
Garden State - after my second viewing I bit the bullet and bought the overly popular soundtrack.
Harvey - hilarious Jimmy Stewart movie. Has great composition in parts, styled like a play being filmed rather than just a movie.
Rear Window - classic. Can you tell I've become a big Jimmy Stewart fan?
Royal Tenenbaums - My favorite Wes Anderson film (I haven't seen the new one yet).
Men in Black - I think that makes 400 times I've watched it.
Vertigo - This was my third viewing. You need to watch it at least this many times to figure out what actually happened. Supposedly, Hitchcock was hunting for a replacement for Grace Kelly at this point in time. Kim Novak didn't make the grade, in my opinion.

As if having "Welcome to Moe's!!" yelled at you in the restaurant wasn't horrible enough, Moe's is trying to get God in on the act. If God is merciful, he won't yell it at me more than once.

Turns out I'm not getting myself a Fairly Oddparents Fishbowl for xmas, I'm getting something a little more entertaining.

(remember, you have to love yourself first.)

I just caught another fun bridezilla-focused wedding show: Always a Bridesmaid. Such fun, and they played the funniest song--

yes, I am a bridesmaid so I know love is blind
cause what they pick for bridesmaids is a heinous fashion crime.

It appears to be by Diedre Flint, since the lyrics are similar to this song, but I can't find the exact lyrics. The best part was "I'm afraid the jumbo butt bow won't fit through the chapel door."

Canada is really gunning hard to attract the disillusioned liberals to their frozen utopia (or maybe they're just gunning for human rights, but yanks may be a consequence of their actions). I'm already concerned about the oncoming Midwestern winter, so I can't even entertain the idea of a run for the border.

That reminds me-- contrary to what I just said, I am superpsyched about going to the Winter Carnival in St Paul in January. They have ice palaces! They have cool winter activities! They have a King Boreas who gets crowned and then overthrown at the end of the festival! I can't wait!

Hoorah! Someone is standing up for the rights of non-parents. I've often said they should have "grownup showings" of kids movies. So I like SpongeBob, should I have to sit in a crowd of squiriming kids to enjoy my movie? I think a 7pm cutoff is a little extreme, but I've endured a woman bringing her baby to a 10pm showing of The Hours, so I think somebody needs to start setting limits.

I don't think the picture quite captures the fabulosity of my christmas craftiness, but I'm so proud of my glitter-kitty tree that it's on display for the world to see (just above here, yeah-- the header).

(note- just the tree is my creation, the kitties and sign are actually gift tags that I got from the greatest stationery store EVER-- RSVP. I told you Iowa City was the cutest.)

I finished the fourth Gregory Maguire book (not his fourth, my fourth in order of reading), Lost. It's similar in style to his other books, and still fanciful, but it's not another fairytale-redux. I'll quote what I told my mother about it:

The plot is really odd. A woman goes to London to work on her new book about a woman who's mildly obsessed with the Jack the Ripper mystery, but then the writer herself seems to be a little obsessed with Jack the Ripper AND with Scrooge, which her family believes Dickens based on their great-great-great-grandfather, AND with her cousin who disappeared from town just as she arrived. Totally weird. At different times, it's a mystery and a ghost story and a love story and a tragedy. Really odd. My main problem with him is his tendency to have everyone pissing themselves, and talking about people going to the bathroom (in the fairytale books-- why did he have to mention when people used the chamberpots??). He has a serious bodily-fluids obsession.

This concludes my campaign against Wicked. It may or may not be a good Broadway production, but it's not a very good book. If you want to sample the Gregory Maguire goodness, please start with Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister or Lost or even Mirror, Mirror. Just save Wicked for last. Maybe if I reread it, I would enjoy it more since I have a better feel for the style. The question I have for myself is-- why did I follow up a book I didn't like by reading the author's entire collection?

Researchers can say what they want about pedestrians being less safe in the south than in the midwest ("Regional differences in walking safety are stark. Twice as many walkers die in traffic accidents in New Orleans, San Diego and Phoenix than in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Boston.") But I have to contend that I have never been so paranoid about cars as I am here in Iowa City (see these articles for examples). With extremely high proportions of DUIs, and stupid young drivers, this is a scary-ass town to walk in. The worst thing (which happens every single time) is when a car actually stops for me (which I never assume they will and hope they won't because of this) they hit the gas when I'm about half-way across the path of their car. If I don't pick up speed, my ankles will get clipped. If they're in such a hurry, why don't they just zip past me so I can cross in safety? AAARGH!!! /rant

I am in fact, still alive (just writing a lot of term papers these days). And now I've found my christmas gift for myself: A Fairly Oddparents fishbowl!!! So cute.
I had a lot of success with a beta once (that bad boy lived over 2 years), but I think I'll downgrade to some fish I can keep in groups without them eating each other (but not goldfish, I can't keep going back for more).

If you didn't catch last night's Apprentice, but want a play by play of how ridiculous Maria was, this recap at tvgasm is hilarious. The highlight is the last picture with Maria looking like she might finally kill Wes in the cab.

(link courtesy of too much free time)

Why is it that any face that appears mysteriously must be the Virgin Mary? I saw CNN's picture of the infamous ebay cheese sandwich and thought, "that looks like some classic Hollywood star, like Marlene Dietrich." What's freaky is I can't say I've ever seen Marlene Dietrich before, but her name just came to mind. Then I found this picture of her, and the grilled cheese image is remarkably similar. Now that's mysterious.
There might be a better match in this Silverscreen Sirens gallery, if you care to look. All I'm saying is Our Lady of the Grilled Cheese may be a classic movie star, and the folks bidding on a half-eaten cheese sandwich may be crazy.

Personally, I can suspend disbelief and really enjoy a movie like The Day After Tomorrow, but if you're one of those poor souls who is tormented by the implausible-- the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics rating system is for you. In their system, The Day After Tomorrow was rated RP for "retch". Apparently it was saved from an XP rating ("Obviously physics from an unknown universe") for being guilty more of exaggeration than total nonsense.

Kick ass: An unlicensed teenager who's seen too many action movies tries to flee a hit-and-run scene, only to meet up with some concrete company employees who've seen too many action movies... and have big trucks. Awesome.

(courtesy of FARK)

I know I seem indiscriminate when it comes to movies (and I really am), but I just watched Mean Girls and really liked it. Tina Fey's screenplay totally caught the essence of high school life and the message was nice even though it strayed slightly into the cheese-zone. All of the SNL bit parts were so fab (the permissive boob job mom, the clueless parents, etc).
Maybe I was especially connected to the storyline because some of us can relate to having middle school lesbian rumors dog us through high school (and some of us can still feel the undying hatred for some of the perpetrators.) I'm not saying it was me, but... okay, we all know it was me.

I'm a big fan of compact, novel living spaces, but the snail shell system takes it a little too far.

"Fixed to this is a box which contains equipment for cooking, a container for drinking water, a torch, a sponge for removal of condensed water, and a tube which can be fixed to the bilge pump. When the box is emptied of these items, plastic bags can be fixed to the box, which then functions as a toilet seat."

When you say "just remove all the stuff from your equipment box and it can double as a toilet", I say "sir, you've gone too far." Give me a loft cube any day.

(link via j-walk)

Update: hold the phone, this guy has more. Apparently he went a little crazy in the plastic tubs department at lowe's and started an "inventing" hobby. He also has no problem with dual-functionality-- even if one of the functions is going potty. Personally, I'll use things for double duty, but a toilet is a toilet.

Bar Mobile--I guess the passenger-seat-toilet is only popular after many, many drinks have been distributed.

The space frame looks a little more habitable than the snail shell, but this one is for a family.... not my family.

Oooooh, no- the hygeine tubs take the cake (and look at the dude using it!!)
(scroll to the bottom, too-- hygeine discotheque!)

I was wondering where the double-duty toilet was for the space frame, but I think a hygeine tub will do.

A few opinions:

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is better than Wicked.

Raj being fired is better than Kevin being fired.

Regency House Party is better than other reality dating shows.

Happy, funny things:
quote:

"come dinosaur, we're not welcome in the house of no imagination." - Phoebe

museum: Mr Rogers museum- where you can actually change into a cardigan while you sing the song!

weird reality tv: Regency House Party

Avril speaks out against lip-synching
What's interesting about this article is I can aver that when I saw Avril live last year (as escort to my little sister, of course) she was most definitely live. So live she sang every song off key. She was flat the whole time. I would've paid good money for her to use a support track, or whatever Ashlee claims to have been using. This made me giggle:
"I got signed because of my voice... And I've never lip-synced once."

Oh, how I wish you would.

Just to amuse:
From an NYT article on the content of discarded grocery lists--

"People send messages to one another, too. Buried in one list is this statement: ''If you buy more rice, I'll punch you.'' And plenty of shoppers, like the one with both ice cream and diet pills on the list, reveal their vices."

This map from CNN proves what I'd heard about the presidential campaign ads- living in a swing state sucks. I'm so sick of the mudslinging ads. I voted already, leave me alone! No matter what happens on Tuesday, at least the ads will go away.

I'm filing this away for future use:
Chandler: Oh really? You think you’re stronger? Why don’t you prove it?
Ross: Oh, I’ll prove it, I’ll prove it like a theorem!!!

(the whole script)

Yay! Halloween fun-- carve a pumpkin.

(link courtesy of Metafilter)


Where you from?
I'm from Iowa.
I was in Atlanta once.
Iowa's not in the south. You know that, right?
No, I didn't.

As part of my week-without-cable/watching-DVDs-from-the-library extravanganza, I just enjoyed Sidewalks of New York. I'm still in love with Garden State, but I really enjoyed this movie. One, for Rosario Dawson and Heather Graham and a fun mish-mash of recognizable, b-list faces; two, for David Krumholtz singing a Pete Yorn song (I rediscovered his album recently); and three, for the reference (above) to Iowa (I feel like I'm in an exclusive "I know where Iowa is" club). Why do I have this obsession with anything that's exclusive? Maybe it's a middle child thing, to want to be unique. But this is about the movie, not my fixations. Good movie.

I almost posted a love note to Garden State last night, but I decided to wait and see how I felt today. I still love it and I finally understand what people mean when a song or movie 'changed their life' (it didn't really change my life, but it gave me that feeling). I know it's not cool to love a movie that everyone else loves and I try not to be seduced into thinking that these almost mainstream movies count as cool and independent, but I loved Lost in Translation, LOVED Secretary, and am head over heels for Garden State.

Now, I'm not saying you should go see it, because I like to feel that this movie now belongs to me, but if you like my kind of movies and can go and enjoy it without telling me about it, you might be better for it.

More halloween song fun, thanks to Laura:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late"
The second one said, "There are witches in the air"
The third one said,"But we don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run"
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
Wooooo, went the wind
And out went the light
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Personally, I think it's tragically sweet of Martha Stewart to pick crab apples and cook up jelly in prison. However, I'm confused by the story... what's not allowed? picking crab apples or cooking or cooking what you've gathered? How did she get to use the kitchen at all if it's not allowed? I say, let her make jam.

I'm not sure I've linked this before, but I have been regularly checking Tricks of the Trade for updates. There was an article in the Morning News that was very popular- so the author, Matthew (aka Defective Yeti) spun it out into this website, where he's collecting more tips so he can create a book. Each one is a little slice of genius. I just hope I can put one of these tricks to use some day.

The power of the internet-- I was just cruising the AHS Homecoming pictures posted on tufools.net, hoping on the outside chance to spot my sister in her supposedly very un-Rebecca dress. Lo and behold, there she is, twice. The world just got a little smaller. And that better be soda in those solo cups, or I've got blackmail material.

Standard procedure or freakishly friendly midwesterners?
I went to Buckle for the first time today (apparently, they're all over- including the ATL, but not at my malls). It was cool, and I got a neat jacket, but the sales people kind of freaked me out. The minute I walked in, one of the sales guys complimented my shirt -- because he had one too (a Walmart-bought Wonder Bread shirt-- go figure). Then I picked up the jacket, and another sales guy brought over a sweater which he thought I might like since I liked the jacket. Then a sales girl said that she had bought the same jacket, and paired it with pink and it was cute. Then when I got a fitting room, the sales guy got my name and proceeded to address me by name the whole time I was in the store, and suggest stuff and point out sales.
So, are they working on commission, really motivated sales people, or just freakishly, midwestern nice? The Iowans freak me out sometimes with the niceness, but I don't want to assume.

How lovely! I knew there was another Bridget Jones movie in the works, but IMDb says it's coming out next month. I don't recall seeing any trailers, but the movie site has a lot of charming pictures of Bridget and Mark Darcy. Sigh... I love Mark Darcy (technically I love Mr Darcy of P&P, but it generalizes). He displaced Howard Rourke years ago as the literary love of my life (the love of Rourke was just a teenage rebellion anyway).

I just pray they leave out the stuck-in-a-south-asian-jail lameness from the book.

It's October again, so I'm posting my favorite Halloween song again. (Laura, if you're allowed to talk about Halloween at school, maybe you can pass this classic on to another generation.)

H-A-double L -O-W- double E -N spells Halloween
H-A-double L -O-W- double E -N spells Halloween!

Halloween means ghosts and goblins, Skeletons, monsters and howling cats,
Spooky masks and jack-o-lanterns, Witches and devils and big black cats.

H-A-double L -O-W- double E -N spells Halloween (2x)

Trick or treat gets you candy and apples, Scaring the people who open the door.
Something here that they've omitted, then go to the next house and get some more!

I try to keep linkless comments to a minimum, but I have to brag that I completed my first complete NYT crossword puzzle today without resorting to google, imdb or oneacross.com even once (haha, there's a link).

(This is notable because I never thought I was good at crossword puzzles and only started really trying on them in the last three months or so. My self-efficacy for crosswords is at an all time high.) Woop.

Alas, I have a stats test scheduled for tonight, so I won't be catching the presidential debate. However, if you're going to watch them say the same damn things over and over again, you may want to spice it up with some Presidential Debate Bingo.
(I may catch the post-debate wrap up with Jon Stewart... I have a college degree; we do stuff like that. Haha)
(courtesy of FARK)

It's homecoming week here at UIowa which you might not realize except that they're blasting the fight song non-stop at the student union. High school was so much better with the spirit days and dress up. If we'd had nerd fantasy dress up day when I was at AHS, I would have gone all out (but probably in something relatively normal, like a Hogwarts uniform).
Maybe I'll have a homecoming dress up day tomorrow, all by myself... (<--idle threat)

Update to last night's post: Comedy Central compares O'Reilly's audience to The Daily Show's, and The Daily Show wins:
"Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research."
Word to your mama, Bill.

Update to the Update: No one is letting this slide. The Daily Show viewers scored better on a political knowledge quiz than Leno and Letterman viewers. So Stewart knocked out 3XK's other boy- Letterman. Note: If you take the "political punch" quiz on the CNN site, you'll see that Leno actually makes more jokes about Bush than Stewart does (percentage-wise). I have to say I'm surprised, because I noticed how right-leaning Leno can be for the first time last night.

I know I'm not alone, but I still have to express love for Jon Stewart. This transcript from his appearance on the O'Reilly Factor sums up once and for all that my boy Jon is much more awesome than 3XK's O'Reilly.

Highlights:
O'REILLY: ... "scum of the earth, O'Reilly," I think that's the way you put it.
STEWART: No, I wouldn't have put it that way. I think it would have been, why do you have such je ne sai qua?
...
STEWART: By the way, I couldn't agree with you more about the French thing. They are such an important country, and I think really deserve a boycott.
O'REILLY: Yeah, they do.
STEWART: Because of the influence they wield in the world.
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Well, you know, I know you don't agree with...
STEWART: They have a variety of cheeses, and...
O'REILLY: I was just going to say, you have to have your brie before you go on.
STEWART: Do you really believe France is, in any way, worthy of a boycott?
O'REILLY: I do. I think France has really hurt the USA, to be...
STEWART: Really?
O'REILLY: Yes, I do.
STEWART: More than like Saudi Arabia? You would advocate a boycott...
O'REILLY: No, I'm not going to say more than Saudi Arabia. But I'm saying we do a lot...
STEWART: So why not boycott them?
O'REILLY: France is supposed to be our friend. Saudi Arabia is...
STEWART: Since when?
(CROSSTALK)
STEWART: Since the revolution they haven't been our friend.
--------
O'REILLY: That's true. But what do you want the audience to get out of your discussion with Kerry? Just yucks, or anything else?
STEWART: First of all, I shall rarely refer to it as yucks, and I think you should reconsider.
O'REILLY: OK, I'm sorry about that arcane term.
STEWART: "Shnicks," we call it shnicks -- shnicks and giggles.
O'REILLY: Thank you.
---------
O'REILLY: What do you think Kerry wants to get out of coming on your show?
STEWART: He wants to get what any politician does: access to a new constituency. He wants to get...
O'REILLY: The stoned slackers.
STEWART: ... that's exactly right, because the stoned slackers, this election is going to rely on the undecided. Who is more undecided than...
O'REILLY: Than the stoned slacker, right.
STEWART: ... the people who are high. Right now, they're thinking to themselves, ice cream or pretzels, ice cream or pretzels.

(link courtesy of LYD, which means everyone has probably already seen this.)

NEAT!!! A hurricane tracker that lets you watch each hurricane's moves and overlay their tracks. I didn't realize how Jeanne was all 'oh, I'm gonna head out into the Atlantic, and then syke, I'm coming for you, Florida.'

(link courtesy of FARK)

As soon as I get my LoftCube (or start having supercres-levels of infatuation with Macs), I'm getting myself an eglu (closeups of the design, AND the chickens).


(link courtesy of metafilter)

Personally, the most heartbreaking part of this whole Ivan thing is that a lot of the pictures in the news of destroyed houses (like this) are from Cape San Blas, where my family goes every 4th of July. That's my beach that got destroyed! /pout

(My family and house survived, so I have to fall back on more superficial tragedies to connect to this story.)

PS: CNN had this to say about our old beach: "Cartographers will need to redraw maps of Gulf Shores, officials said, because waves swallowed as much as a half-mile to a mile of the coastline." Wow, that's one heck of a storm.

Oh. no. PlanetDan's Senior Photo Collection. The best of the worst of high school senior photos. (Reminiscent of UglyDress.com, but not quite as tragic.)

(link courtest of metafilter)

I feel kind of bad reading this article, because for some reason it just feels invasive to read excerpts from the CSU student's (the one who died in the frat house) web journal (or whatever it was). However, it's a lesson to us all about being careful about what you put online. You just might say something ironic. And sad.

(When Rachel got married in January, I think I purposefully did not mention it right before the big day. I had this horrible feeling that something would go wrong if I documented exactly where I was headed that day. I'm a little superstitious, I guess.)

This list of the most hated men in rock is certainly controversial, but it reminded me how much I adore Ryan Adams in spite of everything. In a little googling, he went way down in my esteem and then right back up.
The down: I always loved this quote from him: "Gold is meant as an open letter for me and this one other person in the entire world, who shall go unnamed; the record's for her, not that she cares." It's so deliciously cry-me-a-river. HOWEVER, he went down in my esteem when I read that he was possibly talking about Winona Ryder. Ew.
Right back up: He's dating Parker Posey, my favorite actress.


....wait- his real name is David Adams, but he goes by Ryan Adams and still whines like a baby because people confuse him with Bryan? LAME. He goes down a notch again.

(RFT link courtesy of web-goddess)

FYI - Twinkies can be part of a "swanky" wedding cake. Maybe Erin will take notice of this... The preservatives freak me out, but it's bad luck not eat cake at a wedding, so bring on the sugary goodness.

I have spent a long time, starting at birth and continuing until this very moment, evolving into the kind of person who could not possibly like a movie like this, and I like to think the effort was not in vain.
- Roger Ebert on the Princess Diaries 2

Naked man in carton is deemed too fresh

Man, a guy gets arrested in cardboard pants the ONE day this week that I didn't walk through the Ped Mall. Dangit.

BTW, this is a weird town.

I may have seen this list before, but it doesn't stop these Bad Analogies from being funny:

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.

Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

I LOVED the conclusion of The Assistant. Even to the end, Andy was hilarious and stupid. He chose my favorite, Melissa, and was as mean as possible to the idiot Mark (well, I guess they were all idiots to some degree, but he was also a jerk). I had guessed she won anyway, I swear I saw her doing an interview on MTV as lead up to the VMAs.

I'm about to get back to studying, really, but I have to ask... why did Puff Daddy (I don't acknowledge the new name) just show up to the MTV music awards with Bruce Willis? Randomness.

I love squirrels, so I usually discount stories of squirrel attacks, but this one is just down-right scary... and hilarious ("This was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even an ordinary pissed-off squirrel. This was an evil attack squirrel of death.")

Oh and speaking of scary, the pictures may not be original (though I don't recall the original internet store that sells these costumes), but the cast and stories of CAT TOWN are scary on a whole different level.

(both links courtest of FARK)

Good things to know-- Tricks of the Trade
A list of hints from a wide variety of trades, including...

Software Tester
Because developers don’t expect testers to read through their code, doing so is a quick and easy way to find possible bugs. Look for comments like “// HACK” or “// fix this crap later.”

Cartographer
Mapmakers will often use “copyright traps,” bits of information in their maps that are purposefully wrong. They might label a body of water “Lake Strongbad,” for instance, and then examine the next editions of competitors’ maps to see if the incorrect information makes an appearance.

Botanist
...And when doing botanical work in South America, steer clear of the monkeys: They will throw sticks at you with surprising accuracy.

(link courtesy of MetaFilter)

Erin uploaded her pics from Ali and Joey's wedding, so I thought I'd share a few select pictures. This one of Laura and me is a favorite:

That's how the good party was. I swear I showed up with both shoes.

A few more photos here.

I was already sold on Alien vs. Predator (in my only college English course, we watched the entire Alien series... for some purpose I can't remember, and I loved them), but now I know the uber-hunk from Under the Tuscan Sun, Raoul Bova, is in it (he's on the news right now). Woohoo. What's funny is that the moment I saw him on the tv, I thought 'he really disappointed me once'. I had to look him up on IMDb to figure out when/how. I was crushed when things didn't work out for them, especially since he was one of the only interesting things in that movie.

Oh, and speaking of movies... Has anyone seen the Garden State? I might try out the nearby sketchy movie theater to see it.

Hellooooo, Iowa and a stupid, slow modem.

What fun... I just discovered that the house across the street is the meeting place for the local Quakers. Are they like the Amish, or no? Will I ever see a horse-and-cart pull up?

I like parties, but I don't like pinatas. Pinatas promote the beating of flamboyant animals. Look, there's a donkey with pizazz. Let's kick its ass.
~Demetri Martin
(from Adam's away message)

Good news... Ali got married to Mr. Joey Fones today. The couple was just too cute, and I couldn't believe how lovely it was. Yes, seeing my college friend Rachel get hitched was crazy, but I only knew her when she was already Allan's girlfriend. Ali and I go way back. I'm talking the preschooler sunday school class at First Presbyterian.
Highlights- getting a corsage because I was a punch-server, the chocolate layer of the wedding cake, the awesome folding fans for the outdoor ceremony, the Keisel Park setting
Not-so-Highlights- the white layer of the wedding cake, decorating the get-away car (not the finest job I've ever seen)
I brought home a chunk of cake so I could participate in a favorite superstitious activity- supposedly, putting a piece of cake under your pillow (in a ziplock bag, of course) will cause you to dream about your future husband. My coworkers had never heard of such a tradition, but I like it anyway and now I have proof I didn't make it up (sixth paragraph down). Not that I'm dying to get married; I just don't like suspense. Also, I like to involve cake in as many aspects of my life as possible. I think Steph has my back on that one.

Sad News... Rick James has died. His second helping of fame with Chappelle came just in time. Cocaine really was a hell of a drug.

As we all know, "even Jesus hates Creed." Do you think he'll feel any better about Alter Bridge?? Sorry Laura if this ruins your day.

I'm at home now, getting ready for my big move to a state so in love with corn, they can't even put it down to drive.

An interesting article on why the average person should experience a miracle once a month. What are the chances that one article will mention both my favorite rule from statistics (the Law of Large Numbers) AND my favorite social psychology concept (confirmation bias)???? There's my miracle.

"A principle of probability called the Law of Large Numbers shows that an event with a low probability of occurrence in a small number of trials has a high probability of occurrence in a large number of trials. Events with million-to-one odds happen 295 times a day in America...
In the case of death premonitions, suppose that you know of 10 people a year who die and that you think about each of those people once a year. One year contains 105,120 five-minute intervals during which you might think about each of the 10 people, a probability of one out of 10,512--certainly an improbable event. Yet there are 295 million Americans. Assume, for the sake of our calculation, that they think like you. That makes 1/10,512 X 295,000,000 = 28,063 people a year, or 77 people a day for whom this improbable premonition becomes probable. With the well-known cognitive phenomenon of confirmation bias firmly in force (where we notice the hits and ignore the misses in support of our favorite beliefs), if just a couple of these people recount their miraculous tales in a public forum (next on Oprah!), the paranormal seems vindicated. In fact, they are merely demonstrating the laws of probability writ large."

(courtesy of FARK)

(Did you notice the reviewer gets snarky in the last two paragraphs? I love it.)

I know I love Spongebob more than a mid-20's college grad ought to, but even I think the new Church of Spongebob is not just a little bit weird. Are they going to consult the magic conch during ceremonies? I actually want a magic conch. It's like a magic 8 ball, but cooler. Oh, here's someone's attempt at a magic conch. You're welcome; glad I could help.

(link courtesy of FARK)

Addition - I found their website. No mention of the magic conch, whatsoever. Maybe I can join a conch-following sect.
Here are the highlights of the church's tenets:
- Running around naked was fun when you were a kid, and can be fun as an adult. [dubious implications, I think]
- You can surprise the hell out of someone by throwing a birthday party for them when it isn't their birthday.
- If you're going to do something, do it completely - but don't hurt yourself.
- Wearing lucky underpants or a good luck charm may not work - but how can it hurt?
- If you're going to do something, even if it's something you've failed at repeatedly, be confident in yourself and express that confidence.
- Bicycles seems to work as well as boats underwater.
- Tricks are always exposed.
- It's exciting to get new tools at work.
- Saa-laads suck. [damn straight]

We listen to a LOT of radio at work. The Real Men of Genius ads (for Bud Light) bring dead silence to the lab as we hope it's anything but Mr "Over-the-top Carb Counter". My favorite is Mr "Pro Sports Heckler Man". ANYWAY, here's an absolutely hilarious parody (or maybe a real one we just haven't heard) that actually applies to me (and probably you ,too):

“Real Men of Genius. Today I salute you Mr. Compulsive Away Message Checker. While most people are out actually having a life, you are at home, reading about it on your computer screen. Right mouse click, Get Buddy Info, or the little Info box at the bottom of the Buddy List [whichever is faster]. You have people on that list you haven’t talked to in years, but you still loyally read their away messages everyday to see what they are up to [borderline stalking]. So, crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Marauder of the Mousepad and don’t wander too far from your computer because you never know when someone’s away message may change.”

Hahahaha... Laura, don't even think about it-- this is MY away message tonight.

(BTW- did you know the guy who is singing in the back ground is also the front man from "Eye of the Tiger"???)

I FOUND THE ADS ONLINE: here. Here's Mr Pro Sports Heckler Guy. Also good- Mr Giant Taco Salad Inventor.

(Parody courtesy of my co-worker Stacey, who doesn't read my blog, as far as I know)

Whew, my faith in Kentuckians is revived.

"Kentucky's highly unpopular license plate featuring a smiling, rising sun has outshined the competition in a national contest...
'If you lined up all 50 United States and the District of Columbia and looked at their general-issue (plates), the one that pops the most is Kentucky,' said Tim Stentiford, director of the association's contest. 'The dramatic colors, the crisp, clear state legend in a distinctive font at the top, and the smiling sun _ love it or hate it _ it really does stand out in the crowd.'
Many Kentuckians don't like the smiley-face plate, and specialty plate sales increased significantly after it was introduced. It is not scheduled for replacement until 2008."

Here's the tag. 3XK and I hate that tag, which we saw a total of a million times while driving to Wisconsin in March and Iowa in May (all the while trying to play the license tag game). I thought maybe we were just cold-hearted- but no, most Kentuckians have our back.
3XK's commentary: "that would piss me off, if I lived in Kentucky. It won because it "stands out in the crowd". So does a fat girl in a swimsuit contest; that doesn't mean she should win." Touche.

I've only seen 12 of the World's Top 100 Wonders (which I think is pretty good for someone who is terrified of flying). My favorite was the Chambord Chateau, which was just fabulous. I want to see the Neuschwanstein Castle so bad, it hurts. I was going to make a trip out there by myself towards the end of my summer in France, but I chickened out. I have to get back over there to see that castle, as well as Pompeii, Venice, Scotland, and Mont St Michel... I just need a little more money and a lot more Xanax.

(link courtesy of web-goddess)

If you love weird, efficient housing, this Meta-filter post will interest you. They had a link for these tiny apartments, which started a flood of links to other housing not suitable for claustrophics. Fab Pre-Fab is a site dedicated to such housing... including the LoftCube, which I know we all saw on lotsofco a few months back.

I would love to live in one of these abodes, minus the white pressboard, but only if I continued to live alone, and someone sent the Clean Sweep crew out here to help me embrace minimalism more fully.

Atlanta then-and-now photos... If you're a fellow Atlantan or just like before-and-after pictures, this is a cool site. I wish there were some Tech campus photos, but I recognize a lot of these places.

(Link courtesy of j-walk)

Crazy Headlines- takes a little time to read them all, but it's worth it.

(Link courtesy of j-walk)

Why does Senator Zell Miller still call himself a Democrat? What real Democrat would not only endorse Bush, but even speak at the GOP convention? I guess Bushists would think it's a great triumph to have a Democrat endorse Bush, but Zell surely doesn't count anymore.

Zell is also interesting because while he was governor, he had Beethoven for Babies distributed to all newborns in Georgia because research showed that it could increase spatial abilities. Problem? The one piece of research that showed this effect used college students as participants, and the effect on reasoning abilities lasted 15 minutes. LAaaame.

Taylor says... Peace out.

Impossible Feats. Like a FARK photoshop contest, but with slightly better quality.

Ooh, AFI names the 100 Best Movie Songs. There are some classics on there, but the obvious oversight is "Damn is Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" from Office Space. The true classic...

Note: Woah, "Lose Yourself" from 8 Miles made the cut? The injustice for Office Space is tripled.

Yeah, he came off a little childish, but Dave Chappelle had a point. Plus, he's so dang funny, why would you want to relive the show and ignore what else he has to say?

"People can't distinguish between what's real and fake. This ain't a TV show. You're not watching Comedy Central. I'm real up here talking."

"Shouts continued to interrupt Chappelle's routine until he stopped to give a lecture on "how comedy usually works: I say something. You mull it over and decide whether you want to laugh or not, and then you do or not. Then I say something else, and you think about that."

Here's the best part:

"Stop listening to celebrities," he said. "They do what they do for money - that's all. I don't even know why you're listening to me. I've done commercials for both Coke and Pepsi. Truth is, I can't even taste the difference, but Pepsi paid me last, so there it is."

(courtesy of FARK)

I just passed another milestone... Rachel (my GT friend, for whom I was a bridesmaid) just had her baby last night! We're going to pretend this is Taylor. It's from the nursery pictures at her hospital (who knows how old the pic is), and I know she did a classic Pooh theme. Close enough for now.

I hate that I'm moving away so soon; she has repeatedly assured us that we have babysitting privileges, and that I could easily assume honorary-Aunt status with little Taylor. I guess I'll just have to be his crazy honorary aunt in Iowa.

This Iowa City police blotter is reassuring. If I can just dodge the drunk drivers, I'm good. Well, so long as I can also dodge the scary tornadoes.

AHS update - Erin and Ali both got engaged in the last two weeks (not to each other, which will surprise many c/o 99'ers). And no, you probably don't know the lucky guys. What's even better is Erin gave me an awesome new wedding website to surf - Indie Bride. TheKnot.com is so 2000. Weddings really are contagious, though I am, thankfully, immune.

Follow up: My Stupid Wedding is hilarious. Don't tell me if you know it's fake, it's so much funnier thinking it's for real.

I'm not sure this guy at the Chicago Sun-Times is an authority, but I still like his ranking of the top 20 sports rivalries because he acknowledges my most dearly held hatred of Bama:

"Alabama-Auburn: No rivalry comes close to the bitterness between these schools. The Iron Bowl divides the state, and that's why from 1948 to '89 it was played in neutral Birmingham. There was no meeting for almost 40 years because of a dispute between the schools over nearly everything, including how many players to suit up. When Fob James, a former All-American halfback at Auburn, ran for governor in 1978, Crimson Tide fans paid for advertisements asking the public if it wanted a former Auburn player in the governor's mansion? He won the election nonetheless."

I didn't realize Fob James was Auburn-affiliated. If I had known, maybe I wouldn't have helped so many of his campaign signs disappear.

From FARK: The most fun flash game I've seen in a long time.
(Like whack-a-mole, but with evil, tricky aliens)

Since some of you are fans of Spellbound, I figured I would pass along 3XK's update on the Spelling Bee Championships:
"I was just watching the Spelling Bee finals, and this Indian kid..He couldn't figure out how to spell "alopecoid"..and after like 3 minutes, he just passed out..fell on the floor..got right back up and immediately spelled the word correctly. Maybe now I get why this is on ESPN. I've seen boxers that didn't hit the canvas that hard!
Anyway, it's still going on, and he's still in. They brought him out a chair for the following rounds."

Funny stuff.

Here's the news story (with video!)

I've been looking everywhere for a Rio Cali 256MB mp3 player (my desire for one was rekindled by max's purchase). Is this mp3-player-purchasing season? Why are all the ones at a good price sold out? Why don't these people go buy the over-priced ones at Circuit City, and leave me with the deals?
If I keep running into people with MY mp3 player, I'm going to get mean.

Saw Spellbound tonight... still traumatized. It wasn't that great, plus it was disheartening. At least I picked the right kid to make it to the top. Suck it, 3XK. I also spelled chateaubriand, which stumped 3XK. Woop.

I finally saw Big Fish on the tech movie channel tonight. Proof that good things come to those who wait:
"The scenes at Auburn were originally supposed to be shot on location on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, but the school officials asked for script approval and the production didn't have time to wait so they filmed the scenes at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama instead."
It's disappointing to see shots from Huntingdon when you expect to see home. Good movie, nonetheless.

Crazy... Everytime my friend Steph goes to Paris to visit her (oh la la) French boyfriend, something scary happens. She went at Christmas, Air France cancelled flights to the US because of terrorist threats. There were "specific threats" when she flew at Spring Break. She's supposed to fly today, and of course, there's a Deadly Paris airport roof collapse. The poor girl hates flying as much as I do. But I give her props for courage, since I would never fly (not that I do) if it seemed fate was out to get me.

There's been a Mr Wizard marathon on the Science Channel (formerly the Discovery Channel) since last night. The episodes are obviously circa 1950, which made me wonder how long he'd been on the air. I wonder no more. What a fun show.

I don't know how he got to my second-story window ledge, but I had a little squirrel friend visit me this morning (sorry about the fuzziness, the stupid screen obscured him).
Sooooooooo cute.

The mayor of London is on my cool list today.

"Parents who use four-wheel drive vehicles to take their children to city schools were tonight branded “idiots” by London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
...
“When you see someone trying to manoeuvre it round the school gates, you have to think ‘You are a complete idiot’.
“These are not cars which people should be using in London. They’re bad for London and they’re totally unnecessary. They’re largely a status symbol. If you’ve got that much money to spend, you could spend it on a better holiday. I would.”"

I would, too.

Interesting site that gives a prediction of how you'd like a movie based on your ratings of movies you've seen. Pretty interesting, though I didn't test the results too, too much.

(geez, I'm really tired and I can't remember or find what site I found this on...)

This is exactly how Tech is. I don't think Tech girls deserve the bad rep for being ugly or for having TBS. But there really aren't many girls here, and I've seen a few dogs having their day...

(BTW, the costume in that second picture is so She-Ra, Princess of Power, not "Chiana" as they want to claim)

Robots protest in Madison. And to think, I could've ended up there for next year. UIowa better get stocked up on their crazy pills.

(link courtesy of boing-boing)

Student escapes the long arm of Darwin.

Weird story from FARK. I don't understand the logic of the redemption theory (if there is any), but it is interesting... I think the redemption theory is one of those "theories" that give Theories a bad rep.

I got an awesome purse for my birthday, from none other than Lisa, the coolest present buyer. The designer makes such cute stuff! Don't buy anything, I'm getting it all and you can't copy me.

(yes I'm a sucker for retro stuff and kitties, so I was a pushover at this site).

Sometimes I wish I had friends. If I did, I could do fun things like join a race-ists club or play pac-man-atlanta (a la Pac-Manhattan).

New reality TV low?? Announcing a new low in reality television is like announcing a new high for gas prices... in less than a week, the record is broken.

I do kinda want to watch... except that bad singing is the main reason I don't watch American Idol. I don't see what the commotion is about though, just a little purposeful deception.
(link courtesy of FARK)

The new image at the top of the page is Herky the Hawkeye (or just the hawk?) of Iowa. He's on parade in his various incarnations.

Iowa was fun, though their mascot could use some personality. I'll keep Aubie as my favorite.

I'm leaving tomorrow for Iowa with 3 X K. In case you're not familiar with that state, here's a map. Yeah, you're not the only who didn't know where it was.

"PacManhattan is a live-action version of PacMan, played around Washington Square Park, in which people in Pac Man and ghost suits chase each other through the streets, seeking out power-pellets."

Awesome. Go see the pictures.

(link courtesy of boing-boing)

I love vending machines. If I weren't so anti-flying, I'd go straight to Japan to see these machines for myself.

I figured out who the voices from "The End of the World" sound like... Group X. The white boys from an Atlanta suburb who perform as middle eastern rappers. Yeah, it's weird. They threw cheese sandwiches into the audience when I saw them on campus... anyway. You can hear their work in Mario Twins (I don't think they had anything to do with the animation).

"WTF, mate?" Funny flash illustration of the end of the world. Seems like I've heard that voice before, can anyone place it? Funny, funny.

(link courtesy of Margaret, who should have a blog)

I don't care if it rains or freezes, long as I've got my plastic Jesus riding on the dashboard of my car.

(link courtesy of metafilter)

By the way, Iron Chef America with Alton Brown was good. Alton didn't lose any respect from me, but I still probably won't watch Iron Chef unless there's nothing else on.

And while I'm reviewing entertainment items, let me just say that I loved 13 Going on 30. Jennifer Garner came off pretty lame in her MTV diary, so I was prepared to be annoyed by her, but I absolutely loved her character in the movie. And the love interest? He's got that nerdy-hot thing going that we all know I fall for every time.

But don't expect much from the movie, it's just a romantic comedy, after all. If you prepare yourself by thinking it's going to suck, you'll be fine.

If you're a Jump, Little Children fan, but not a big Jump, Little Children fan, you may not know that they have a new album out. Although Jump and I are estranged right now, I still might pick up a copy, as I like a few of the new songs.

I realize now that I should've gone to the last Atlanta concert. For old times sake. Oh well.

I was less than excited about Iron Chef America, and getting a bit annoyed with the constant ads and sudden removal of my Good Eats 11:30 bedtime episode, until I saw that Alton Brown, himself, would be the host. I hope he takes a big bite out of a pepper to start the show, or it just wouldn't be the same. Now I have to watch to cheer on my Georgia boy (even if he isn't competing).

PS - I just noticed this line of the article: "Runners also relay information, and Brown has a PowerPoint presentation on his laptop about some of the more exotic pantry ingredients the chefs employed." That's why I like him, he's a true nerd.

(link courtesy of FARK)

I think everyone from Auburn High School will join me in a collective "WTF?" Erica Hurwitz is marrying Rusty Jones, of all people. Were they even friends in high school? I'd be more convinced if I could find a photo of them together. Craziness.

PS - did they go to senior prom together? For some reason that rings a bell.....

(props to Laura for sending me the link)

Uh oh... Spring celebration sparks riot-- in Iowa, no less. Surely Iowa City is above this nonsense in Ames... right? I'm not going to live near the stadium, just to be safe.

Interesting - 100 Greatest Movie Characters. I can think of a few that deserve to be on there more than some of the nominees... The guys from Office Space leap to mind. You can cut to the chase and see the entire list, but I like that they picked out the defining moment for each character.

(link courtesy of j-walk)

For the two people who read this site more regularly than supercres.net- Patrick linked the most fun site I've seen in a long time (it's virtual bubblewrap, you have to see it).

Yay! Easter day means fun with Peeps. They're repulsive on the gustatory level, but oh so cute on the visual level. Here are some funny parodies linked by metafilter. There are a few more peep parodies here, as well as some facts on the nasty (but cute) little buggers.

Well, the grad school decision must be made by Thursday, the 15th. Since I'm pretty sure I'll go to Iowa and certain that I'll be cold, I've been trying to find a good site that will give me tips on what I need to know to live in the midwest. However, I can't find a darn thing... The best I've got is the AAA guide How to Go on Ice & Snow (catchy, eh?)
I'm not sure exactly what kind of info I'm looking for, but I do know that my coworkers laughed at me for not knowing what snow boots are. Is Iowa far enough into the plains to have dust storms? I know I'm headed into Tornado Alley. Will my apartment complex have a cellar (a la Wizard of Oz)?

The response to my query on facts about Iowa was about nil. So, I'm going to share this list of some of the notable University of Iowa alums:

Mildred Wirt Benson-Creator of the Nancy Drew mystery story collection. B.A., 1925; M.A. 1927, Journalism and Mass Communication

George Gallup-Founder of the Gallup Poll. B.A., 1923.

E.F. Linquist-Co-founder of American College Testing (ACT) Ph.D. Education, 1927

Richard W. Maibaum-Screenwriter and producer who wrote Broadway plays and thirteen James Bond scripts/films. B.A., 1931; M.A., 1932, Communication and Theatre Arts. Died 1991.

Tennessee Williams-Author of A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. B.A., 1938.

Gene Wilder-Comedic film and television actor whose credits include "Silver Streak," "Young Frankenstein," and "Stir Crazy." [and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!!!] B.A., 1955, Communication and Theatre Arts.

If I'm going to move to Iowa, I think I need to develop a stronger interest in corn. I'm sure I'd be one of the first lucky folks to buy corn clothes. I'll also have to figure out where Nebraska is, so I can go thank the scientist in the article for my lovely corn clothes.

Professor Snape is too sexy...
I hope this isn't a sarcastic creation, because it means I'm not alone in my infatuation with Alan Rickman. From Sense and Sensibility to Harry Potter to Galaxy Quest and Dogma... he is one of my favorite actors (though I cannot say why I find him attractive, who knows). Meow.

(link courtesy of web-goddess who got it from Moire)

Ahhhhh!!!! This page of scary faces in clothes reminds me of this time when I was 8 (or so) and I stayed up half the night because my Land Before Time pj set was laying on my dresser in such a way that it looked like an evil face. I couldn't close my eyes or it would get me! I still shudder thinking about it. Eek!

(Link courtesy of MetaFilter)

So this is what winners look like??

I'm not bitter.

Just another incident of my Mom may be paranoid, but she can also be right. She never let us go to any of those shady fairgrounds, because she thought the constant assembly and break down of the rides made the bolts wear out. She was so right in this case, it's scary:

"An amusement ride broke open and ejected several passengers at a county fair, injuring seven people including a teenage girl who was in critical condition.

A piece of paneling came off "The Gravitron" while it was running late Friday, Miami-Dade police spokesman Juan DelCastillo said Saturday. The ride spins at high speed to generate centrifugal force that pins seated passengers against its interior wall.

A bolt that held the panel in place sheared, said Liz Compton, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman."

After a couple of nail-biter showdowns - it's Tech vs UConn for the big game.

Go Tech!

Go Tech! Beat UConn or Dook!

There's some serious celebrating going down on campus. I just hope the firetrucks I hear are just passing by,

The uncomfortable hazards of being a research assistant:

Every once in a while, during our psych experiments, a participant tries to put the moves on one of the research assistants. It hasn't happened to me, but I'd rather count it as a blessing than try to understand why I don't have what it takes to get asked out by random weirdos.

Top Three weird-participant moments:
3. Sometimes they write their observations on their note paper. One such comment: "The researcher is hot, in a nerdy-girl sort of way." The RA in question erased the comment super-fast, but I still read it and laughed at her.

2. "So, what's your sign?" One participant used this line, followed by "Taurus? I'm a Leo, maybe we should hang out sometime." The RA was like "uhhhh, I'm not really allowed to" and hustled him out.

1. Preface: one of our ability tests is the diagramming relationships test. One of our RAs is a FASET (freshman orientation) leader who knew some of our participants through that program. One of those participants wrote her a little love note (with his phone number included):
Becky, when are you and I going to diagram OUR relationship?

UGA fools... I originally thought anyone could see this great UGA spoof. But apparently only on-campus techies can see it at uga.edu, so I grabbed a screen shot for you to enjoy. The academics link went to that basketball test that was all over the news last month, and other academic links went to a kindergarten's website. Of course. "how to give to UGA" went to a page that tells you how to give to Georgia Tech. Clever....

Here comes Peter Cottontail...
At work the other day, a coworker asked why the Easter Bunny exists. Being a know-it-all, I explained that it was a leftover of pagan rituals, adopted by Christians so they didn't have to give up their fun rituals just because they stopped being pagan (it reminds me a little of Jews for Jesus). Anyway, I found some support for my stance here, and some info about why exactly there is a Mr Easter Bunny (a la Santa) here (3rd paragraph). But I still like the theory my coworker had as a child: "I figured when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, the Easter Bunny was the one who told her that Jesus was gone."

I think the most important Easter question is will my mom remember to put a lot of chocolate in my Easter care package?!?

I would be the first to admit that I had a big crush on Josh in high school. My platonic admiration has grown because I would never have the nerve to do all the great world travelling he's done. However, his new blog tests even my devotion.

I'm just kidding... but I'm also a little freaked out by the chest hair. His interest in Austin powers (as exemplified by all of the references to Austin Powers in his old webpages) suddenly makes sense in terms of identifying with Agent Powers in certain ways.

For several months, I've been lamenting my upcoming (i.e., August) loss of GT cable (I have ten movie channels) since I probably can't afford the kind of cable I want as a grad student (I looooove my ten movie channels). But now, my personal knight in shining armor - Senator John McCain - is trying to get the cable system to offer a la carte programming. How much would that rock? I (heart) McCain. Just make sure it happens before August!

Pictures of Iowa City, IA where I potentially might live next year.

Would I be moving to Iowa or the 1950's?

(I'm referring to the store fronts... the van is straight out of the 80s.)

"If Condoleezza Rice can find time to do '60 Minutes' on television before the American people, she ought to find 60 minutes to speak to the commission under oath," Kerry said while campaigning Saturday.

Kerry chastises Rice for 9/11 commission absence
It's getting ugly, y'all.

"This is why my happiest times looking through the boxes are when things turn weird. "

Citizen Kubrick: Strangely fascinating article about a guy who got to go through Stanley Kubrick's massive archives.

(link courtesy of FARK)

Too bad you aren't one of my coworkers or you would have seen me do an impersonation of this SpongeBob moment. Bring it around town. Bring it aroooound town. 3XK says: "he doesn't do it half as passionately as you do." I'm just that good/weird.

Trivia Challenge: Without consulting any resource but your own knowledge, what do you know about Iowa?

I know that Ashton Kutcher is from Iowa.

What do you know?

(I got good news from U of Iowa about financial aid, which is why I thought of this. And yes, the fact about Ashton is the only thing I know about Iowa.)

The better-late-than-never Friday Five:
If you...

1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? Small portions of comfort food and huge portions of dessert. I hate that I never have room for dessert at restaurants.

2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell? Funky knicknacks and furniture (a la Terra in Auburn or Metropolitan Deluxe)

3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be? Something like Bridget Jones's Diary or The Nanny Diaries.

4. ...ran a school, what would you teach? Self-restraint. Schools don't (or aren't allowed) to teach that much anymore.

5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it? Punk cover songs (see New Found Glory's From the Screen to your Stereo)

Talk about bad luck: The Regular Guys on ATL's 96Rock were suspended because they are really unlucky (and/or careless). Here's what went down:

"They had planned a segment called "backward smut," in which they would bring in porn star Devinn Lane, talk to her on tape, then play the tape backward on air. "It's not actionable because nobody can understand it," Wachs said earlier this week.

While taping the segment during a commercial, the mikes stayed live. Over the sound of a Honda truck ad, Lane could be heard describing sexual acts in graphic terms.

Moments later, Wachs said on the air, "Our bold experiment will not go forward," blaming "technical difficulties."

Will they or won't they? Alabama legislators are trying to name an official state whiskey.

The maker of Conecuh Ridge Fine Alabama Whiskey says the whiskey is "a source of pride for Alabama."

I say.... who? what? You're wasting everyone's time bickering over a whiskey I've never heard of?
Get cracking on a state cookie, like Massachusetts

(link courtesy of FARK)

A wider 14th St bridge means a lot of construction, traffic and store closings in my area. A start date of 2005 means-- SUCKERS, I'm so out of here in August!!!! You can't screw me over anymore with your ridiculous urban planning.

Who is America's Funniest Senator??

Zug.com got several senators to send them their favorite joke by posing as a 10 year old boy with a social science project. It's nice to know there are some good natured folks in DC (most likely just interns). If you don't have time to read all of them (come on, only a handful of the 100 responded), here are my five favorites (you'll have to go to the site to read them):

1. Jon Corzine (I agree with the zug.com guy, this was the only one that made me laugh out loud)
2. Olympia Snowe
3. John McCain (love this guy....)
4. Chuck Hagel (who doesn't love a terrible pun?)
5. Kent Conrad (old joke, but still funny)

(link courtesy of FARK)

In case you wondered where I disappeared to for a week (and missed the prior warning), here's where I've been:

Tuesday- 9 hours to Lafayette, IN
Wednesday- 2 hours to Chicago, IL- visited UIC- 2 hours to Madison, WI
Thursday- Madison
Friday- Madison, 2 hours to Chicago
Saturday- Chicago
Sunday- 12 hellish hours back to Hotlanta

A quick rundown of how it went:
UIC was not pretty, the Ed Psyc Department has some great faculty but Chicago is too sketchy and it's just not happening.
Madison was cute as anything. Very Athens, lots of restaurants, great atmosphere. Cold as bullocks.
UWisc- cute, great faculty and students.
Chicago- gritty and urban, and this is coming from a girl who lives in downtown ATL. Maybe there are parts of Atlanta that look desolate like Chi-town, but we don't have an El to show it off.
Shedd Aquarium- pretty cool. The seals, beluga whales and penguins were fun.
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio- it's not in Prairie style, but it was the place where he developed that style. It was probably cooler than one of his houses, as he constantly renovated it and added cool touches.

BTW, we saw 37 state tags in our journeys. Apparently New England and the West have no business in Indiana. Since returning, we've seen five of the missing tags in GT parking lots. I'm playing the tag game at home sometime.

Update on the TV thing: Horrors-- I woke up last Tuesday (maybe it was Monday) to no Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV... etc. It sucked. Thank goodness when I arrived home from my trip, order had been restored. Can you imagine having to miss the new season of Southpark because of a price hike on a utility I have no control over? Horrors. I (heart) cable.

PS- I had at least 30 hits from people searching black bar and various losing-cable search terms. I wasn't the only one freaked out.

Conspiracy theorists-- I need your help.

I'm watching Dogma on Comedy Central, and every 20-30 minutes an alert goes across the screen that starts "Attention: dish network threatens to ban..." and then a black bar comes up and blocks out the rest of the message. Is it a legitimate alert and it's being blocked out because I don't really have their service (I have cable through the campus system)? Or is dish network doing something uncool (like... not allowing moveon.org ads) and they don't want the alerts to be seen by their customers??

Update: I got more of a sample this time: "attention something/Dish network subscribers: dish network has threatened to take away the following channels:..." and then it's cut off. This makes it more likely that it's just being blocked because it doesn't affect me, but... the wording is weird. Are they taking away Al Jazeera (sp?) or something? that's the only controversial channel I can think of.

Update2: They were a little slow with the black bar on MTV-- they're taking away BET and Nickelodeon. Awwww naw, no one denies me my morning SpongeBob!!

Remember the punk kittens?

I've been to the rathergood site many times, but I never saw the resemblance of their work to the Quizno commercials (the weird creature ones that people either love or have nightmares about). Well, guess what- the same folks who bring us Punk Kittens actually make the Quiznos ads (see their FAQs). So, if you like those ads, you can adore their other work. If you hate those ads, maybe they can redeem themselves. Try these on for size:

When biscuits go wrong

fearsome stomping Laibach kittens

And the inspiration for the Quiznos ads: We love the moon
(see? the ad is not so bad compared to the singing in that one)

(link courtesy of Black spots in the white noise)

Unwashed for 10 years, smelly Kenyan gets scrubdown

I think we need a similar scrubbing posse at Tech to take care of our local dorks who don't bathe. Of course, even clean, they can't exactly expect the ladies to throw themselves at any tech boy.

the friday five

What was...

1. ...your first grade teacher's name? Ms. Valenzuela (Mrs V)

2. ...your favorite Saturday morning cartoon? Everything on CBS

3. ...the name of your very first best friend? Sarah

4. ...your favorite breakfast cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch (still my favorite)

5. ...your favorite thing to do after school? Go to daycare (I didn't exactly get options)

You may have heard that some British school children found a three headed frog, but have you seen the pictures?? It's cool in a "gross!! ooh, let me see it up close" kind of way.

(As seen on fark.com, drudgereport.com and probably (in a few days) on CNN.com)

Crazy weather. Just a week ago, the snow was melting. Today, I am melting (it's 76 degrees!!)

I am so looking forward to my trip to Wisconsin next week. I'm going to blow a ton of money on souvenirs (yes, that's a UWisc Badger made of cheese).

Tirades like this are funniest when they say exactly what I'm thinking.
(link courtesy of web goddess

"If I dream of Tariana, they speak Tariana. Sometimes I dream of Estonia, and they speak Estonian. In my nightmares, people speak to me and I understand, but I can't answer..."

An interesting interview on dying languages with a woman who studies them.

(courtesy of metafilter)

Happy Sadie Hawkins day!

I was going to just use it as an excuse to take 3XK out to a meal, but it seems that I might actually be able to get new gloves (see paragraphs 3 and 4) if I play my hand right. I would like brown driver's gloves, please.

(link courtesy of web goddess)

IT SNOWED!!!!

I woke up this morning, glanced out the window just in case there was some snow and THERE WAS A LOT!! At least 2-3 inches. Unfortunately, Tech is probably the only campus in town (or in Georgia) that isn't closed or delayed in opening. So, I just hope I don't wipe out on the slush-covered sidewalks.
Happy snow day!!

(stock picture from snow in AU two years ago)

Good legislation

Bad legislation

Net change in my opinion of Georgia: zero.

I love this: Duck Brand duct tape has a scholarship contest called "Stuck@Prom" where couples go to prom dressed in duct tape attire. I love it. I just might have a new craft project (though sadly I am past my prom years.... maybe my sister will let me dress her for prom next year??)

(the link goes to previous winners, they're.... intricate).

I completely forgot that it was Fat Tuesday. That means tomorrow, we all have to give fun stuff up (I do it just to prove I can). I'm giving up cheese (because my doctor is making me do so anyway), and...(thinking about what I can live without).... white bread. I've been trying to cut down on processed foods, so the super-soft stuff has got to go. I retain my right to eat french bread (it's chewy, so it doesn't count).

(I'm sure you really care, but studies have shown that public declarations result in better resolution-keeping)

Web-goddess linked to a great metafilter thread of jokes. My favorites (that weren't too long):

A woman walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre, so the barman gives her one.

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Woo.
Woo who?
Calm down, it's just a joke.

Okay, two sausages are sitting in a frying pan. The first sausage says, "Is it getting hot in here to you?" The second sausage then replies, "Holy crap, a talking sausage!"

best one Halloween night. A kid comes to the door dressed as a pirate. The man who answers the door says "What are you supposed to be?" The kid says "A pirate". The man says "Yeah? Where are your buccaneers?" The kid says "Under my buccan' hat".

Anyone who knows me (or has ever seen my webpages) knows I have been a Jump, Little Children fan since August of 1999, yes mere weeks after coming to college. After years of growing ever closer, Jump (as they have now poser-ly started to go by) has become distant. New name, new music, but worst of all, no old music. This saddens me. We've grown apart. The magic has somehow died.
This has happened before, but this time I just don't have the energy to go all the way to Athens to be reinvigorated as a J,LC fan. So, I hate to say this, but Jump and I aren't seeing each other right now.
Maybe some day things will change, but after not making my pilgrimage to Charleston this year (after two great years) and missing the acoustic tour, I've decided we can live without each other. I'm sorry Jump.

BTW, if you're not a fan of Jump, Little Children, you still should be. They make great music and I love my albums still, but the concert-going frenzy is over for me.

Have I mentioned I'm a FARK addict now? Not only do I get heads up on news (a la the drudge report), but the posters make sure the headlines are darn funny:

U.S. National Debt goes over $7,000,000,000,000. Americans, you owe your government $23,976.15 (article)

Isolated for 20 years, family talks in grunts. Jodie Foster still tay inna weeun (article)
---this one's probably just funny because we used to mock that exact phrase circa 1996

Police on the lookout for woman who ran off without paying bill after receiving "biggest silicone implants available." If caught, authorities say it could be biggest bust ever (can't find article)

Intimate text message sent to wrong phone, nearly causes divorce

That'll put a damper on your Valentine's romance...

If I can't say anything interesting, I can at least say something useful:

Three things: Cool words from my current book Victoria's Daughters (Packard)

par·ve·nu
Function: noun
: one that has recently or suddenly risen to an unaccustomed position of wealth or power and has not yet gained the prestige, dignity, or manner associated with it
(my new favorite insult)

per·spi·ca·cious
Function: adjective
Of acute mental vision or discernment : KEEN
synonym see SHREWD

en·fi·lade
Function: noun
An interconnected group of rooms arranged usually in a row with each room opening into the next

The Feynman Problem Solving Algorithm:
1) Write down the problem.
2) Think very hard.
3) Write down the solution.

("So long, and thanks for the Ph.D.!" )

Wow, just when I complain, I start having things to talk about:

Amtrak president says Bush funding proposal would shut down railroad- doesn't Amtrak threaten to shut down every year in order to get more money? It's not a practical system anyway, I don't exactly see what we're saving... (seriously, try to book a trip from ATL to DC or New Orleans... it will take days and cost a ton).

Atkins-Blasting 'Physicians' Committee is a Front Group for PETA - okay, okay... so PETA might be crossing the line with their "physicians" group that recommends crazy, unsubstantiated medical advice... but it's no worse than Bush & Co. and it amuses me much, much more. Those crazy PETA folks and their over-the-top tactics!!!

I don't care if it's not cool to have fun with valentine's day-- I'm going to have a v-day picture and a cool link from LYD:
Funny, weird valentines - trust me, they're a riot. My favorite is probably the last one- the dog with a cone around his head. So random, I love it.

I haven't found much I want to talk about lately... I've been checking the Drudge Report and Fark religiously, but I need a page with more diversions... like MetaFilter... but cooler. Any suggestions?

The Friday Five on Sunday:

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
Participated in Government Club and went to the 3-day conference WITHOUT MY FRIENDS. At the time, that was a big step for me. I think that helped give me the confidence to go to Tech, which turned out great.

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?
I've often thought it would be fun to join the Peace Corps. My mom would be terrified for me (and I am definitely too worried for myself to actually do it).

3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it's a lifestyle)
2.5 - I'm a little ashamed, but also not willing to up the ante.

4. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?
Had a fabulous summer studying in France.

5. ... and what's the worst?
Hmmm, I guess if I took more chances, I'd have a good failure story... and probably a lot more success stories.

This game warms my little feminist heart: Throw Rocks at Boys

(link courtesy of metafilter)

CNN ranks the most lucrative college degrees to have... my degree is bottom rung, 3XK is number 5. Good thing I'm going to grad school!

I'm going back to Twist tonight (previous post). This time it's not for the yummy food, but to celebrate the 21st birthday of my fellow Francophile, Steph. I always looked over at the crowded bar area in horror... I'm not exactly thrilled, but I'm sure it will be fun.

Favorite Super Bowl ad: NFL:

"As of tomorrow, we'll all be undefeated again."

This whole 'replacing evolution with the phrase 'biological changes over time'' is too ridiculous to even comment on. However, I found this interesting:

"Nationwide ridicule of Georgia's public education system will be inevitable if this proposal is adopted," said Carter, a former Georgia governor. (from this AJC article)

This could bring about a wonderful change-- using Georgia as the touchstone "redneck, uneducated" state instead of Alabama. GA kids are already #50 on some measures of school success, now it's finally gaining some attention... I'm so mean, but dangit, we don't deserve the bad rep.

LAURA!!!!! and everyone else who likes funny rap - read this plain English translation of 50 Cents' and Lil Kim's "Magic Stick"

Excerpt:
Shorty don't believe me, then come with me tonight
And I'll show you maaagic
(What? What?) Maaagic
I got the magic stick
EQUALS
What? you don’t believe me? If you join me tonight in a social situation you will see for yourself that I am a phenomenal person.
What did you say? Did I studder?
My phallus is incredible.

(link courtesy of LYD)