I think there are too many Starbucks in the world. For instance, there is a corner in the East Village which has a Starbucks, and then there’s one located less than a full block away. Do we honestly need all that gourmet java anyway? I’ll cop to an occasionally frap, but I’m amazed how many folks go there daily for their daily caffeine jolt. And other example is that I went to a fairly new shopping center in the next town over and checked out the Kroger [grocery store chain] which happened to feature a Starbucks kiosk in the entry. Close by to this Kroger is a Target with a, you guessed it, Starbucks by the entrance. And you know what else? Still in this same shopping center is a freestanding Starbucks. Three Starbucks in the same shopping center is a bit overkill, no?

Ben and Jerry’s new Cinnamon Buns ice cream is rocking my world at the moment!

Tune listening to while typing this: "And I was a Boy from School" by Hot Chip

I'm liking this. Parker's writing about school, and I'm writing about entertainment. Hehe.

I snapped up a free copy of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones (or The Lovely Bores, as I think it should be retitled). It was no great shakes, and it baffles me why it was so popular. And it was surprising to learn that Peter Jackson bought the movie rights, and my boyfriend Ryan Gosling is starring as the father. Maybe they can turn this ship 'round, but I'm not holding my breath. Anyway, the novel is about Susie Salmon who is murdered by a creepy neighbor and how she's looking down on her family from Heaven. My problem is that you don't really care about the Salmon family and they're boring. Each character isn't particularly developed. You have the hellbent father, slutty mother, drink-swilling grandma, brainy sister, and garden gnome brother. Susie becomes super obsessed with this hot Indian boy she smooched once. I bet there are boatloads of studs to lock lips with in Heaven. Oh well, at least it's finished now so I can move onto a better read. I don't know why I insist on punishing myself like this.

Turf Wars on P.H.D.

I'm loving this series of the PHD cartoon because I have been part of turf wars on several occasions. A few years ago, my undergrad advisor told one of the grad students to keep changing out the newspaper on her rarely-used desk so that her officemate would think she was coming by regularly. Why did he think this was important? Because he had once stolen lab space by taking the head of the department to a colleague's room and pointing out a 3-year-old newspaper on the desk. I've learned from the best.

Currently listening to “The Internet is for Porn” from the Avenue Q original cast recording

While burning time in the airport bookstore, I came across one of the latest (I’m assuming, since I’m not in her cult) Oprah’s book club selections, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex which I read about two years ago. I felt pride in the fact that I had made an Oprah pick before Oprah picked. Seriously folks, it’s an epic read, sprawling through families and time, but it’s pretty rewarding. Pick it up sometime if you haven’t already.

On the subject of books, I’m sad that the Harry Potter series has come to a conclusion. I knew it was ending, but I can’t believe that it’s finally over, after roughly ten years. If only I could go back it time and reread Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows over again, but as if I had never read it before. One summer in college, I was subletting an apartment, and one evening I was going to watch When Harry Met Sally with a friend. One of the roommates told me that she wished she could be watching the Billy Crystal-Meg Ryan vehicle for the first time again. Harry Potter is kinda like that.

Your friendly librarian says toodles! Stay cool kids!

Baby Einsteins: Not so smart after all
I'm so glad to see a popular press article confront the ridiculous claims of Baby Einstein creators. The article was logical, cited relevant research, and didn't parrot any "conventional wisdom" as the gospel-- AMAZING! Now, if only people would pay attention and dump those stupid videos.