Unreal estate

I saw an ad for an apartment for $100,000. Wow, I thought to myself, maybe even I can afford that!

Then I looked closer and realized it was for a PARKING SPACE.

The hell?

Why am I not wealthy?

She made me a muxtape!

Someone encouraged me to make a Muxtape, so here it is!

http://inessa.muxtape.com

Nifty website. You upload your own mp3s of your choice, and your friends can stream them all online. Cool beans.

Poached eggs, poached friends

Having too much time on my hands is not good for me, but it is beneficial for you, dear reader[s].

I'm going to make a confession: I am a friend poacher. Okay, it's not like I'm a serial killer, and it's not even a secret, but I had to let it out. New York Magazine has a nice piece about the issues, but I prefer The Seattle Times's write-up better:

Couples poach other couples at dinner parties. A friend can poach a book club. Adults make friends with people they meet through close friends, neighbors and co-workers. Now, online social networks like MySpace and Facebook make it even easier to circumvent the friend who connected you in the first place and contact someone new on your own.

Poaching can be driven by competitiveness, a need to expand a social network, busy lives that make it hard to meet people and, of course, a real connection with a new person, Smith said.

Good friends already have vetted their network, and it is easy to go through someone you trust. And some people take it too far, relying completely on friends to establish networks. Smith calls them "serial" poachers.

Though it does make sense. You're friends with your friends, and they obviously have quality taste in companions, and you use it to your advantage. What better way to broaden your social circle? Most of the work has been done for you! It's just like that practically-defunct website Friendster; the principle is the same and is way sensible.

The friends aren't really poached honestly. Sharing is caring!

Fruit or flowers. One or the other.

Have you heard of Edible Arrangements? I first found out about them a few years ago when I was living in another state. Since then, I've noticed that they're everywhere. To me, it just seems like such a silly venture. If someone gave me a fruit bouquet, I would distance myself from him/her. The fruity flowers don't even look fancy; they look like something a seven-year-old could put together. And they're not even that inexpensive. So yeah, I don't understand this company.

Jellies rock my socks.

I was trying on garments at Target, and this girl was chatting on her cell phone, in the dressing room stall, on speakerphone. Freak. That's almost as worse as using the bathroom and talking on the phone (a pet peeve of mine).

Bought a pair of jellies today! They are not purple or blue alas (smoke), but I'll cope.

Why is Jenna Bush all over the news? No one gives a damn about her wedding. Anyone with Bush blood needs to move to Antarctica. Doesn't anyone else get the irony of her promoting some literacy book when her dad can barely read?

Do you know any of these people?

No, I don't.

The new Facebook feature doesn't do anything for me. Mostly because I don't know any of those people, or at least not on a level where I would be comfortable shooting a friend request over. But it has boosted my popularity slightly, where I think I got around three friend requests. Well, okay, something that helps boost my ego will have to get a thumbs up. The good outweighs the bad!

Rollin' the Muppets

So I'm sure that we're all familiar with this right? But then I saw this today, and it made me giggle!!! I'm not gonna lie (or give you up) I got up and danced with the muppets!!!

The dangerous world of room finding

I'm not a super expert of roommate finding/apartment finding, but here are some things I've picked up while immersing myself in this crazy business. My co-bloggers might be amused to read these thoughts. I've been using Craigslist which I love and have been told that is the best way to find a housing in my metropolis.

Interpreting lingo
"Up and coming neighborhood" equals ghetto
"Cozy" equals shoebox
"Garden" is first floor

I get irked when people misrepresent the neighborhood the place is in. It's not like we won't notice when we actually visit. Pretending the apartment is in the nicer adjacent neighborhood is trickery. And when commuting times are mentioned, keep in mind that they're probably exaggerated and on a good day.

All folks want a clean person. That would be funny to find an ad that wants a dirty slob roommate who is irresponsible and makes lots of noise and does illegal drugs and has different strangers over every night of the week.

Then there are weirdos who want girlfriends and other icky situations of that nature. One guy wanted a girl to walk around in her underwear. Losers. And I hate ads where the man claims he's "good looking." Can we say, "full of himself?" And ads which request a photo. There's no need and you just prove yourself vapid.

A good chunk of ads are posted by couples looking for a roommate for a spare room. Who wants to live with a couple? They'd just gang up on you with discrepancies, and there are other negatives that come to mind.

The bottom line is that you're going to pay more for good stuff. Make sure you vibe with the other roommate. Ask questions. Take a friend along to provide an honest opinion; he/she is looking out for your best interests. Go at night too to asses the safety situation. Respond to as many ads that catch your eye; a lot of posters won't even respond.

And that's that. Wish me luck.

Hugh and Keanu: together at last!

I can only keep up with the movie scene via Newsweek, public transportation ads, and Yahoo! ads. So when I saw posters for the new Keanu Reeves movie, I was almost actually excited (I don't get stoked about movies much) because it has guns, action, and House himself, Hugh Laurie though it looks like he's playing a Yank again. And the ageless Keanu of course. I'm grappling with myself on whether I should see Street Kings or not. Here's a link to the trailer if you're so inclined. The sound was off since I'm at work, but I do believe I got the gist.

Stuff White People Like

Someone told me about this blog, and it doesn't matter that I'm not white because it transcends race.

Happy April Fool's Day, yo.

I'm standing up

Unlike my co-bloggers, I'm not that into stand-up comedy, or at least less than they like it. But a friend at work told me to check out Russell Peters on YouTube, and I actually did and found myself laughing. Mr. Peters is an Anglo-Indian-Canadian comic and his routines tend to emphasize cultural differences. This bit was particularly gut-busting.

No need for a pole

Tonight while avoiding lesson plans I found stripped. Stripped is simply raw and real music, but in commercial form. You can click on certain artists and hear them sing without backup singers. Just the musician and their instrument of choice. So far I'm a fan...but I feel they will need to add some Ryan Adams before I add it to my favorites. Stripped is not as good as Pandora as far as variety, but then again Stripped is not radio either. Check it out... you might like it!

Mini-complaints, served hot

You know it's a bad day when you forget to reset your alarm and are almost late but aren't and then what you were almost late for began well after the appointed time anyway. Then it goes over and you are tired.

There's a guy who sits in front of me, and he needs to invest in a magical device called a belt. I don't want to see his hirsute lower backside (with crack!) all the time. Ew.

And my roommate, who has been not doing terribly much as of late, needs to take out the garbage. The stuff is 95% hers. I would, but it's the principle, ya know?

Client 9

Coworker 1: Did you hear about Spitzer and the prostitution ring?
Coworker 2: Yeah, is he a Republican?
1: No, he's a Democrat.
2: Darn!

Stop with the shootings

I'm not sure how national this story is, but it's freaky when violent crime hits close to home, literally. I only read about it on Yahoo when I skimmed a story about a similar shooting of a UNC student.

Through the magic of Facebook, I saw that the freaks known as Westboro Baptist Church were planning to protest at the memorial service. Looks like they didn't, but honestly, Jesus would probably not approve. Losers.

Crash landing for Airborne

Recently I saw on the Yahoo news ticker about Airborne being sued and having to pony up a wad of dough. Here's a link to a CNN story about it. I'm finding this intensely amusing because over the holidays, Parker and I were in a drugstore and I asked her about her thoughts on Airborne, and she declared it a piece of crap. She is so wise.

I'll stick to orange juice, thankyouverymuch.

Goodreads.com

A friend told me about this website and suggested I join. Are any of you on it? I'm not much of a prolific reader anymore, but I might give it a whirl. And I still do have a book review that I want to post if I'm ever motivated to. It seems like there is a website to keep track of everything, from books read to music heard to movies seen, and so forth.

Alacrity salutes Michael Cera

Agent99 and I adore Michael Cera. To me, he's like a sweet younger brother type. Luckily we aren't old enough to be his moms, whew. In under a year, I've seen him in Arrested Development, Superbad, and Juno, and I've enjoyed all of his performances, and yes, he does sorta play the same dopey dork in each project, but he does it with pizazz. And he gets to make out with chicks in all three, so go him! We are looking forward to Mr. Cera's upcoming projects with glee.

My gaydar needs a tune-up

I often tell people that my gaydar is terrible, and it really is. I thought this girl was a lesbian, and she has a boyfriend. At a party, a girl came in with a gay guy who turned out to be her boyfriend. Those are just two recent examples of my folly.

So how did I get 85% correct on OKCupid.com's Gaydar Test?
You personally got 17 of the 20 people correct and were better at recognizing girls than guys. Overall, you guessed better than 94% of all test takers.

Gay or Eurotrash? (I think this is a line from the Legally Blonde musical)

The point is, not all gay people can be stereotyped or easily discerned as gay. And that's it. Good night!

Luke good on the green

Parker, did you see this? Your favorite actor is joining forces with one of my beloved sneaker companies for the benefit of tee timers everywhere. Luke can always fall back on Puma in case his movie career stumbles. Making a movie with Jessica Simpson? Career suicide!

Two wrongs don't make a right, three lefts do

I spend too much time thinking about internet invitation protocol. I was invited to two parties by girls who I invited to my party, and neither had RSVPed. I've decided not to RSVP to one girl's party (she lives in the boonies anyway), but I put down a maybe for the other girl. Maybes are always safe. And I still prefer Evite over Facebook for invites. I'm just too thoughtful and polite!

And the Academy Award goes to...

I put my movie in the mail yesterday, a postal holiday, and Netflix got it today. Go postal workers in my city!

Anyway, Netflix has a section where you can vote for the Oscars. I haven't done it yet but will soon. Why I'm so secretly invested in the Oscars, I have no idea.

A little bit o' random

1. If you are hanging out with two couples and a single person of the opposite sex, are you both fifth wheels? Or a fifth wheel and a six wheel? It's just still slighly weird.

2. My roommate's sister needs to stop living here.

3. Dear man in a Ferrari with the top down in winter, you are a tool. Sincerely, Me

4. People who wear thin clothes when it's below freezing outside aren't fooling anyone.

5. The laundry room is a circle of hell.

Project Runway Preview and Predictions

The Project Runway photos from Fashion Week are up (scroll down for all three contestants' and two decoys' shows) and there's some tough competition. About half-way through the season I made a prediction (in a file I saved on my computer) that Romy, Jillian, and Christian would be our final three. Can I see what the producers want me to see or what?

But now I'm really conflicted. I love Chris and I want him to be in the top three, but Romy's show is really nice. I'm predicting Chris will make it as the real third place contestant, but I think Romy had the second best show. Jillian was third best, and Christian was a shocking mess as far as I can see. That feather thing is horrid. It's really too bad as I loved him second best (after Chris) this season. I'll be happy for any of them to win, though. It's not like I will ever wear any of their clothes anyway or care about them once the show is over...

The Other Boleyn Girl

I saw a trailer for The Other Boleyn Girl at the movies yesterday, and I thought it might be something up Parker's alley. I probably won't see it since I'm over Scarlett, and I never really liked Natalie Portman much. There was also a preview for some sappy movie starring the Little Miss Sunshine girl (she's the go to girl for precocious kiddie, nullifying Dakota Fanning's existence) and Ryan Reynolds who has a face for punching, at least to me. Some ripoff of How I Met Your Mother. He just grinds on my nerves. Yeah, either trailers stink or movies stink.

Miley makes me frowny.

Hey Agent99, what's the deal with this Miley Cyrus chick? I see her everywhere, and I don't know what the hell she does, pretend to be two people on a Disney show? And by everywhere, I mean my gossip blogs, Fandango, and Newsweek. Can she even sing? My contribution is that she looks better as a brunette than as a blonde.

Remember when Billy Ray Cyrus had a hit song? Yeah, I try to block that out too.

Booker It

I've actually started reading for fun again, magazines not counting. Inspired about a recent discussion at work about the Booker Prize (the UK's top fiction award for writers from The Commonwealth meaning no Americans), I've decided to try and read one book from each year of my life that has either won or made the shortlist. Already I'm on my way. It's funny because the book I was reading and put on hiatus and the one I'm knee deep in now are both Booker books. I need to catch up on my Newbery Medals too. Too many books!

Breakfast parties

Rarely have I been to a party where the number of guys seriously outnumbers the number of girls present. Usually it's the other way around. I know the term for the former is "sausage fest" but what's the phrase for the latter? I propose "egg fest" (get it?) but Urban Dictionary came to the rescue. Ugh, the term I found there isn't as clever as mine.

Vote today if you're in a Super Tuesday state! I'm not sure why Edwards and Kucinich are still on the ballot. I didn't get an I Voted! sticker. What's the point in voting if no one knows? Kidding. No matter, I blab enough about voting to everyone I know, sticker or no sticker.

Spell check is messed up. If there are any typos, please excuse.

Eyeing movies

A friend and I were talking about how The Eye starring Jessica Alba has a cool poster, but that's not enough to make us shell out cold hard cash to watch that sucky actress stink up a mediocre Hong Kong flick. Yes, I actually saw the original. There's something about trashing Jessica Talentless Alba that make me feel better in general. If you want intelligent thrills with fine acting, check out Spain's The Orphanage. And why is Will Ferrell in yet another sports-related movie? That's enough dude. Plus it's almost Valentine's Day which means a deluge of lukewarm romantic comedies. I'm over romcoms.

Oh yeah, and I am still confused about who to vote for. I guess I'll sort it out/toss a coin tomorrow.

Go donkeys

Presidential hopefuls have been dropping out of the race like flies, both Democrats and Republicans. With Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards out, who's a Dem girl to vote for? It's kinda helpful to have my options cut for me, but on the flip side, you feel like your choices are made by others already. I joked to my Canadian friend that he could buy my vote if he so desired. Hahahaha. I just want to be excited about someone, ya know? I guess I'll have this figured out by Super Tuesday, or at least I hope so. Or it'll be inny meeny miney moe, or however you spell that.

Advice to guys

The incident I'm about to describe hasn't happened to me, but I felt the need to write about it. How come when you are at a bar/restaurant and a guy approaches you who you aren't into, and you turn down his advances by saying you have a boyfriend, he still persists? Guys, "I have a boyfriend" translates to "Go away!" Learn it, live it, love it.

Oh yeah, if I can smell you before I see you, that's too much cologne. Less is more.

For some non-Heath news...

The Oscar noms came out Tuesday. The leads of Atonement were shut out. No nods for the British Tobey Maguire and scrawny Keira Knightley. Keira, stop your bus ads for Chanel Coco. You don't make me want to buy that. Isn't Cecelia supposed to be kind of plain? Why am I even posting about these things when I've barely seen any movies? I don't understand myself.

Best motion picture of the year
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year
"Persepolis" (Sony Pictures Classics): Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney): Brad Bird
"Surf's Up" (Sony Pictures Releasing): Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in directing
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Atonement" (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner" (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics): Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma" (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Adapted screenplay
"Atonement" (Focus Features), Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
"Away from Her" (Lionsgate), Written by Sarah Polley
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Diablo Cody
"Lars and the Real Girl" (MGM), Written by Nancy Oliver
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Written by Tony Gilroy
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Brad Bird; Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
"The Savages" (Fox Searchlight), Written by Tamara Jenkins

3XK's email to me:

"If I am ever unresponsive, please call 911 first and Mary-Kate Olsen second."

(I won't link to the latest news report on Ledger's death, I'm not supporting this gossip-page behavior of CNN anymore.)

R.I.P. Patrick Verona

When I first saw the news blurb on Yahoo about Heath Ledger being found dead, I first thought it was some mix up, some April Fool's joke in January. But it's true apparently. How strange. Only last week had I watched the trailer for The Dark Knight on YouTube and was really excited to see it. I thought Heath made an excellent Joker, at least from what I saw.

Agent99 and I saw 10 Things I Hate About You together and definitely took note of this Aussie's debut in the sharp teen comedy. If I didn't have to go to sleep now, I would pull out my copy of 10 Things... and watch it. "You're just to good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you." What Patrick Verona-related quotations can I recall from memory? I'm too lazy to check IMDb.

"I heard he sold his liver for a new set of speakers."
"Leave it to you to use big words when you're smashed."

I love that movie!

And Heath was good in Brokeback Mountain.

Oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow

SNOW!!!! We had snow down here in the deep south today! I think there was even more further south, but it was still pretty to see. My stupid neighbor was outside playing basketball in short sleeves...what? It is so pretty, but I'm very glad it is snowing on a Saturday so I don't have to waste a pretty weather day at school!

My first thought when I saw the snow? The song "Snow" from White Christmas. Enjoy!

I can play this meme

Gasperina

Lots of co tells us how to create our own Fake Band Debut CD. Here's one of mine.


I had to play too. Couldn't resist. Melville refers to Melville, New York, not the author. --Inessa

My more experimental project-- Light Tank MK VIII. Our debut album, a collection of electronic elevator music, "the possibility of a miracle"

The Preemie Project - my excuse to get crafty

The charity group I volunteer and craft for is the featured charity on the Lion's Brand site (link above). It's awesome that we're getting some props (especially for the founder who is very cool and not as much of a bleeding heart as you'd think). I'm working on a new design for our crafting contest right now. I'll use that as an excuse for my complete lack of posts.

Take me or leave me

For Agent99: Rent on Broadway is closing on June 1 after being on the Great White Way for over ten years. Not bad. I saw Rent back in the fall, and it was fine (attendance a bit low), but I wish I could have seen it when it first came out and had the original cast. When the time machine has been invented, I'll cross that off my wish list.

Golden spheres

Despite barely seeing any movies or TV shows this past year, I thought I would make some Golden Globe picks anyway. At least there's no boring ceremony to sit through. And I deleted some of the less interesting categories.

Best Motion Picture - Drama
American Gangster
Atonement
Eastern Promises
The Great Debaters
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men--I haven't seen any of these pictures. I have read Atonement, if that counts for anything. I have two friends who saw No Country for Old Men, so I will have to go with that movie.
There Will Be Blood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age--Haven't seen any of these movies, but I love Cate the best.
Julie Christie – Away From Her
Jodie Foster – The Brave One
Angelina Jolie – A Mighty Heart
Keira Knightley – Atonement

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy – Atonement
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
Denzel Washington – American Gangster

Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Across The Universe
Charlie Wilson's War
Hairspray--I've seen this twice, and it's so infectious.
Juno
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street--Saw it, and was lukewarm. But it'll probably win.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Amy Adams – Enchanted--She's awesome in Enchanted.
Nikki Blonsky – Hairspray--Nikki's a rare find, but I'm not sure she'll win.
Helena Bonham Carter – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street--OK, but her singing voice kind of brought the movie down a notch.
Marion Cotillard – La Vie En Rose
Ellen Page – Juno

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street--Johnny rocks in Sweeney Todd.
Ryan Gosling – Lars and the Real Girl--I haven't seen my Canadian boyfriend in this, but a friend of mine adored the movies.
Tom Hanks – Charlie Wilson's War
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Savages
John C. Reilly – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best Animated Feature Film
Bee Movie
Ratatouille--I was so crazy about this movie that I bought the DVD.
The Simpsons Movie

Best Foreign Language Film
4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days (Romania)
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly (France, United States)--I'll vote for this only because the name is neato.
The Kite Runner (United States)
Lust, Caution (Taiwan)
Persepolis (France)

Best Television Series - Drama
Big Love (HBO)
Damages (FX NETWORK)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)--Just don't get the appeal of this series.
House (FOX)--As the only show I watch regularly, I'll have to go with House.
Mad Men (AMC)
The Tudors (SHOWTIME)--I saw a few free episodes on Netflix, and they were fine.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama
Michael C. Hall – Dexter (SHOWTIME)--MC Hall was amazing in Six Feet Under, that's all I got.
Jon Hamm – Mad Men (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – House (FOX)--Hugh Laurie is just plain supercooooool.
Bill Paxton – Big Love (HBO)

So sad

My Yahoo Mail ticker brought up the story of the father who threw his children off a bridge. I am linking to CNN because I think that's Parker's favorite news source. Reading that story just makes me sick. There's a Vietnamese population in the southern AL area? Didn't know that. This website says there are about 2600 Vietnamese in Bayou La Batre, a place I only am familiar with because of Forrest Gump. And this article has some more stats. The shrimp industry was calling.

With the other story about the murdered pregnant Marine, it's disheartening to know how many sickos are out there.

bus and sidewalk etiquette

It was one of those days when all the buses and trains are going in the direction you're not going. If you ride a bus and it's crowded and you're in a two person seat, sit by the window. Don't be an ass! You're not special! Argh. And don't have obnoxious cell phone conversations if you have a loud irritating accent. On the bus, I saw a youngish Asian-American father and his daughter talk about eyebrow waxing. The daughter was around older elementary or middle school, I guess. I don't think my dad knows what eyebrow waxing is.

Oscar nominations come out January 22. I hope they don't screw them up.

the knitty gritty

Soundtrack for this post: the Six Feet Under soundtrack volume 2

Someone please comment to an entry! Please?

Down to business. Parker, you'll be happy to know that your knitting needle case has spurred me to pick up the sticks and start manipulating yarn again (despite a little warm spell here). Even added a new pair of needles to my collection today too, size 7s. I'm excited about my current project, and you'll see a pic up on my Flickr portfolio when it's done. But I was not excited about dropping a pretty penny on yarn. I totally need a Michael's in my neighborhood.

cooking with cats, not cooking cats

Aren't these the cutest things? I love Susie of boygirlparty's stuff so much, and Parker is well aware of this fact!

I heart Yoshi the cat

I was trying to find a rockin' printable calendar for the month of January, but I wasn't having much luck. Finally I resorted to the old standby of printing out a month from Microsoft Outlook. But I found this in a Google search, and seriously, it is one of the funniest things, maybe not ever, but at least of this year so far. My favorites are the Princess Leia and Jackie Kennedy ones.

Poor tannenbaums

I feel bad for discarded Christmas trees, just lying there on the cold dirty sidewalk. They only get their day in the sun for a few weeks, and then they're tossed out. Poor things.

Also, I am convinced that someday I will meet my maker via death by bicycle. No, I won't be riding the bicycle, but I will crash into a psycho delivery person on one. Those guys are nuts. Anyone who wants to ride a bicycle in the city, usually without a helmet, is out of his mind. Traffic light? What's that? Pedestrian? Eh, whatever. Yes, mark my words: death by delivery person on a bicycle.

Now that Christmas and New Year's are over, we have Valentine's Day to look forward to. Sarcasm. Shopping is annoying, especially at places like drug stores and Target/Wal-Marts because of all the holiday product pushes. Ugh.

The coat floats my boat

Is is possible to want to marry a coat? Well, the L.L. Bean Ultrawarm Long coat makes me want to propose; I'm so in love. It's lightweight, soft, and warm! It has all these thoughtful extras, like how you can zip off the fake fur, remove the hood, there are flannel cuffs at the end of the sleeves, and even a cell phone pocket inside. Those are just some of the fine features of this Arctic attire. Plus, a lady in the library said to me, "Cute coat!" today. How did I ever live without this thing before? Lord only knows.

Things I Want

First post of the year! Happy 2008! No one asked me about my new year's resolutions. Fine by me, I think they're not my bag. Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Can't believe another holiday season has come and gone. Yipes, where does the time go?

Agent 007 and I went to go see the play Things We Want Off-Broadway, just a little over a month ago. [Ed. note: the play recently closed, so you can't go see it.] The play stars indie darlings Peter Dinklage, Paul Dano, and Josh Hamilton, with up-and-comer Zoe Kazan as the only woman in the small cast. We had front row seats, extreme stage left. Not that the theater was that big, but it was still cool to sit in the front row. The actors are only steps away, and sometimes they look at you. Neato! The play itself was all right, not quite neato. The actors are all excellent and work the zingy dialog, with Peter Dinklage the standout. Not to give that much away, but the act I and act II dichotomies are just a bit too convenient to be that realistic. Not really a cheerer upper.

After the show, 007 and I tag teamed to stalk the actors and managed to snag pics and autographs on our programs. They were all nice folks, though in somewhat of a hurry, some to smoke, I think. Paul Dano seems a little shy-ish, but he is adorable and has beautiful hair. Our first actor stalking attempt went relatively well. Next one will be better.

Will there be blood?

I can't decide if I have any interest in the upcoming release There Will Be Blood. It's directed by Paul Thomas Anderson; I have never seen any of his films. That's a feat to be proud of, no? Two of my friends talked about this movie, not expressing explicit interest either. It's got that indie cutie Paul Dano as well as Daniel Day-Lewis. The music kicks all sorts of butt too, composed by Radiohead's instrumental wizard Jonny Greenwood, who appeared in a recent wizard movie by the name of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

I fear that this blog is turning into one where I post movie trailers and muse about the quality of the feature. I think I'm more interested in the tantalizingly creepy stringed score than the story. Parker, doesn't Dano's character remind you of that House episode with the teenage preacher?

Top Chefed at sassy Perilla

My delightful brunch companion Agent007 and I were lucky enough to have a meal at the West Village hotspot Perilla, best known as Top Chef Harold Dieterle's restaurant. Of course, being the TVphobe reality show disliker that I am, I did not know this until Agent007 informed me of this fact. The restaurant is tucked away on a calmer street of the West Village. The sweet hostess sat us right away even though we were early (it wasn't crowded yet). The restaurant is on the smaller side, with three different dining areas: tables by the bar (where we were seated), some U-shaped booths in the middle, and smaller table/booths in the back. I had the poached eggs, wonderful! 007 and I shared spiced fries and bacon, also the opposite of letdowns. Top Chef enthusiast 007 was bummed not to see the man himself bustling about the tables. But then her mood did a 180 when she happily informed me that she just spotted the chef, and Harold was at the bar. I didn't know what he looked like, so she had to tell me which guy he was. We weren't super close to Harold, but then Parker later told me that he is a hottie, and I can see that. Looks aside, the food is top notch, and we highly recommend Perilla!

Just for Parker, here's a picture link to HD's MySpace.

Mamma Mia!

The Golden Globe nominations were announced today. That movie I blogged about a long time ago, Atonement, got a heap of noms. Once there was a fluff interview with James McAvoy in my Newsweek, and it went on about how attractive he was, and I don't see his appeal. Then again, there are lots of heartthrobs and hot women who I think aren't beautiful at all. But I do have odd taste sometimes. I would post a photo, but I don't want to waste blog space with Britain's answer to Tobey Maguire.

Anyway, the first teaser for Mamma Mia! came out, and it looks cute enough. Agent99 will have to chime in here, since she's the only one to have seen the stage show. I haven't seen it [yet]. Parker, you should consider it. It has the dead Lilly from Veronica Mars (aka Karen from Mean Girls), thespian Meryl Streep, and Mr. Darcy. And lush Greek locales.
If the video below isn't showing up, click this link: http://www.cinematical.com/2007/12/13/first-look-mamma-mia-trailer/

Natalee Holloway

I don't even have to watch Law & Order: SVU when I can turn to the news for just as interesting mysteries.

One case that's been of interest due to some recent developments is the case of Natalee Holloway. Agent99 and Parker, does she still get a lot of buzz in the Ham? After two years, I think it's pretty safe to say that she's no longer alive. The Dutch kid seems to be on the taciturn side, not vehemently denying his innocence. Or perhaps the Dutch are less vocal? The whole thing is a little shady. Maybe Natalee drowned or something. Who knows.

Ultra Clutch Hairspray

I was a little worried before going to see Hairspray that it would be too much like the recently released movie but I was worried for nothing as certain aspects were dead same, but there were enough differences to keep me engaged. It's a color fiesta, song and dance buffet! It'll make you happy. The Tracy Turnblad, Shannon Durig, is golden, and most of the supporting cast is strong too.

Hey Agent 99, The Alien played Corny Collins and he was okay but his speaking voice didn't seem as loud as the other actors. James Marsden wins in that competition. And then Ashley Parker Angel from that lame MTV show we watched once at your house played Link Larkin. He's not much of an actor too. Link isn't supposed to be that deep, but I think he got beat by Zac Efron.

Has anyone noticed that James Marsden seems to play the blandly handsome cuckolded boyfriend in lots of movies? X-Men, Superman Returns, The Notebook, and I guess Enchanted. That must be his specialty.

Cat chat

This is such an adorable video. I hope my co-bloggers like it if they haven't seen it before. Sometimes I am a little behind the times. The family cat used to talk to herself but now she doesn't do that much. Funny. I wish I had a cat!

a real Hottie Hotpants

I am very mildly obsessed with the Broadway musical Xanadu. Hey, it's campy and very tongue-in-cheek and family friendly and funny and has the mark of Olivia Newton-John and has catchy tunes and gives out glowsticks. How come I am the only one who seems to know how to use a glowstick? Anyway, the first time I saw the show, an understudy (the cutie Curtis Holbrook) went on for the lead (the smokin' Cheyenne Jackson), Sonny Malone, the struggling dim artist. We were all disappointed that the lead was out, but the understudy was fabuloso. The second time I saw Xanadu, I introduced an old friend into the fold (Hi D!) and we were fortunate enough that Cheyenne was not out. At the end of the show, he wears some satin booty shorts and they are not long at all. And it hit me: Cheyenne Jackson is a true Hottie Hotpants! HH is Agent99's term for a super attractive fella. I just like saying Hottie Hotpants. And I got my picture taken with this handsome man. I am happy.

In case you're wondering, the infamously bad Xanadu movie is not as rotten as you would expect. Olivia is winsome but the guy who plays Sonny couldn't act his way out of a brown paper bag. The soundtrack is rad and is one of its saving graces. Poor Gene Kelly. I wonder how he got roped into doing Xanadu?

I might be motivated enough to post my other celebrity encounters from this weekend. Stay tuned.

The strike is outta here

The Broadway stagehand strike ended yesterday! Yay, just in the nick of time. I am a happy camper.

Hey Parker, did you see the latest episode of House? Sad, no new episodes until 2008. Maybe we can discuss it in a new post or something. Perhaps I will post the smokin' Hugh Laurie picture again. My HDTV friend and I think Dr. Thirteen is purdy.

Rammer Jammer

Just Watch!

Strike one, strike two

As many of you know, there are two entertainment-related strikes going on at the moment. One is the writer's strike affecting television shows and another is the stagehand's strike affecting Broadway shows. I don't know too much about the writer's strike seeing as I barely watch any television but maybe Parker cares enough to help me out here as I know this is a cause near and dear to her heart. I personally am closely watching the stagehand strike since I have tickets to Hairspray next week and am biting my nails practically, hoping the show will go on. Strikes are no fun for anyone. Let's think good thoughts that everything will be resolved favorably for all sides.

P.S. Both Hairspray movies are buckets o' fun. Watch one today!

Evite etiquette

As a recipient and also a distributor of Evite invitations, I've been thinking about proper protocol for responses. Yet, I'm not the only one, as evidenced by a quick Google search. Hey, if the blog from the all mighty Evite tells you to RVSP, RVSP! It only takes a second or two, honestly. Word to the wise: the host[ess] can see if you've looked at the invitation, so don't try and pull that "I never got it!" trick.

Happy Turducken Day!

Recently I've been hearing a lot about turduckens. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, a turducken is turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken. And this fowl mutant is thought to be of Cajun origin. Hmm, now I must try this someday, along with deep fried turkey (thanks, southern roots) but not tofurkey, which I've heard is gross. Ooh, there was a bird consisting of 17 birds! Read the turducken entry and look at bustergophechiduckneaealcockidgeoverwingailusharkolanbler.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Smells like a headache

I'm highly sensitive to strong smells, especially chemical ones. Department store perfume counters are mortal enemies. Friday was a painful day in that regard. I went shopping and in my travels, I keep ending up walking behind smokers puffing on their nicotine dispensers. Thus the smoke went up my nostrils and gave me that mild throbbing pre-headache feel. Then I wondered why it seemed like an excessive number of people were smoking? Does cold windy weather promote lighting up? Argh. Smoking should just be banned everywhere. For my health and sanity. And there'd be one less thing that I would complain about.

I don't know if you're familiar with this store, but Lush is a British import much in the vein of The Body Shop, but a lot more aggressive maybe? More in-your-face and modern perhaps. I've only stepped foot in one of these stores in San Francisco, and that was enough for life. The smells are so overpowering that I got the headache sensation again, plus the employees didn't seem too friendly (an accusation I've hurled at H&M before). Friday I merely walked by the store and its open door and got the painful head feelings. Darn store. That's why The Body Shop is tops in my book and Lush and the lame Bath and Body Works are lower tier.

Promises that I couldn't keep

Well, I said I'd tell you about the Ryan Adams concert so here goes. On October 15 (which doesn't seem like a month ago) I went to see Ryan Adams at the Alabama Theatre. The venue was cool, I had never been there. It reminds me of a smaller version of the Fox in Atlanta. The show was good! He played a great mix of songs and we got to hear 4 (maybe 5, I can't remember) of his songs from the new album, Easy Tiger. I could have gone home after he sang, "Please do not let me go" and been happy, but the show only got better after that! In typical form he had a mild temper tantrum. Most of the audience would yell at him to play particular songs when he finished singing. He finally got fed up and put his head on the piano while the lead guitarist explained they were going to stick with the set list. After playing, "What sin replaces love" he left the stage. My friend and I waited for a good 10-15 minutes, but alas there was no encore. Ryan's temper got the best of him I guess.

I'm glad I had the chance to go see him play live, but I wish he would like his fans more. Love the music not the man I guess...

Photos taken at exactly the right moment

Patrick linked to an awesome site with pictures taken at "exactly the right moment" (I'm correcting the OPs grammar to something I prefer). Hilarious and amazing.

I need drugs to deal with the drugstore.

CVS is grinding on my last nerve. Their pharmacy is staffed with brain dead morons. I was trying to fill a new dosage for a current medication but since I had gotten a refill from the old dosage too recently, it was denied. Why couldn't they tell me this when I dropped off the prescription? Now they won't even return that prescription to me. They said they don't have my phone number and couldn't call me and tell me about the situation. Big fat whatever. Then why was I getting missed calls from their pharmacy's number? I would have brought that up, but I was running late and needed to dash. Maybe I should switch to Walgreens. Yeah, I'll do that. Walgreens is closer to me anyway.

Then I went to my bank which was admirable customer service but the line was slow because it's payday Friday and of course, there are people trying to use my bank without bank accounts there. Argh.

While I'm on a roll, don't press those buttons for handicapped individuals to automatically open doors if you're not handicapped. You look like a lazy tool. Thank you. This happened a lot at college because the campus had a lot of those press button doors, but I don't see that as much where I am now.

Have a good weekend! I know I will. :)

Trick or treat

Happy Halloween! What did everyone dress up as? I didn't dress up this year, and I'm sad about it. Next year. Even though I said that last year.

Time Out

In the lobby this evening, a lady was trying to wrangle her two toddler sons. One was screaming and crying his eyes out. Unfortunately this group got on the elevator with me and two other guys. The screaming boy shrieked "Stupid Mommy!" and wouldn't shut up. The older boy agreed with his mom that the younger boy needed a time out. Man, if my kid called me stupid, in front of strangers.... Yes, I wish I lived in a family-free building.

30 days and 30 nights

Is there any interest in participating in NanBloPoMo? Basically you post a blog entry every day for the month of November. And since there are three of us, we only have to do 1/3 (or 0.3333333333) of the labor. And we can put a cute image on the blog.

Off to work now. Don't have a case of the Mondays!

Did I ask for your help? No!

Lately I've been annoyed by people trying to help me when I didn't need their help. Let me explain by using these case-in-points.

1. I left the ladies' room at a clothing store. My friend remarked that the handicapped sign on the door was messed up, so I decided to look at the men's room door to see if its handicapped sign was altered as well. A boy leaving the men's room looked at me, then looked at me again and stated, "This is the men's room." "I know," I replied snidely. Seriously. Do I look like that dumb? If I had a quicker wit, I'd shoot back, "I'm a man in drag."

2. Today in the library, I decided to leave the computer lab and head to the study carrels. I left part of my backpack unzipped since I wasn't moving very far. A man walking behind me said my backpack was unzipped. Duh. I used the "I know" line again. In this situation, I think the man was trying to be helpful, but I didn't want to hear it.

Maybe I'm anti-unsolicited help.

Dumbledore is a friend of Dorothy.

I never thought about Dumbledore's love life but JK dropped the bomb here. He just seemed like one of those fellows who never marries. What do you guys think?

Lars and the Real Girl

Wandering around the city, I noticed some posters up for Ryan Gosling's new flick, Lars and the Real Girl (you can watch the trailer on the site like I did).

Okay, first things first. Ryan and Rachel McAdams broke up which kind of bums me out because they were a cute couple, but on the upside, that means that he's free to date me now. Call me, Ryan!

Back to the movie. It has a weird premise (Lars pretends a life-sized doll is a real person), but I guess that can be expected from a writer who penned episodes of Six Feet Under, a show which I fancy. Why does Ryan have to have a freaky mustache in the movie? Not a good look for him. I suppose he might be able to pull it off. Lars... might be a rental for me at least.

ETA: Ryan dropped out of The Lovely Bones. Smooth move dude! Hooray!

Gonna be lots of days...

I was proud of the effort from the Tigers last night. In my mind we won the game we just didn't score as many points against LSU. I'm not sure my nerves or heart can take many more close calls like that though. This season has been so crazy. Anyway, I leave you with this video from former Coach Pat Dye. I feel as though his words of wisdom carry over into life as well, and don't just apply to football. Enjoy!

Testing...

I'm finally logged back in for posting...just checking to make sure things work. I'll post about the Ryan concert soon!

"This mask is killing me!"

In honor of the fact that I am going to see The Phantom of the Opera [the current longest running show] on Broadway this weekend, I am posting this video of Will Ferrell on Letterman that I found randomly. He would make a funny Phantom, though I have a soft spot for Gerard Butler. Mmm, Gerard Butler. That movie version was hot buttered crap though.

What's the buzz?/Tell me what's happening

(Title of this post is a shout out to Agent 99!)

The building shut off the AC for some reason. The heat isn't on either. Anyway, during the day, I decided to open my window for some refreshing natural air, and a bug must've chosen to pay me a visit, as I had a buzzing guest 'round my head last night while attempting to sleep. The critter showed me affection by biting me three times on my hands. Why? What have I done wrong in my past life to warrant this? It's fall and not summer too, so all biting insects need to die off. I don't know what the bug was, but I looked it up, and I think it's a midge? Entomology is not my strong suit. Maybe Parker can assist me insect identification. Black, bitty, biting, buzzing.

On an irrelevant note, I was typing up a homework assignment and misspelled a word. Microsoft Word suggested I meant to type "peen" which sounds rather vulgar. I looked it up at dictionary.com and found out it is the opposite end of the hammer from the end you use to get nails into things. I guess you learn something new every day.

Terrible ten rude behaviors

While on JHU's website (don't ask why!), I stumbled upon this list of Terrible Ten Rude Behaviors. My comments are in italics.
1. Discrimination in an employment situation.
2. Erratic/aggressive driving that endangers others.
All right, I'll fess up that I have been guilty of this one. But not much now, as I am vehicle-free, the way to be.
3. Taking credit for someone else's work.
I'm pretty sure that I don't do this.
4. Treating service providers as inferiors.
I know how much patience is involved in providing service. Manners are key on both ends.
5. Jokes or remarks that mock another's race/gender/age/disability/sexual preference or religion.
Is it bad if you mock your own race/gender/age/etc?
6. Children who behave aggressively or who bully others.
As a former meek child, I actively dislike aggressive children and aggressive adults for that matter. Gah.
7. Littering (including trash, spitting, pet waste).
That's what trash cans are for!
8. Misuse of handicapped privileges.
Terrible!
9. Smoking in non-smoking places or smoking in front of non-smokers without asking.
As a non-smoker, this bugs me to no end.
10. Using cell phones or text messaging in mid-conversation or during an appointment or meeting.
Oh gosh, how bothersome. I've done it a few times by accident. Can we add distracted drivers to this point?

In other news, I got a flu shot today, and you should too!

Talkin' to yo self

Earlier today, I was in the computer lab, sitting next to a middle-aged man who kept talking to himself. I tried to tune it out, but it was irritating. He kept mumbling things like "shit!" and "good." I'm too polite, otherwise I should have yelled at him in a whisper, because it was the library after all. Weirdo.

Talking to yourself is only okay when you're alone!

Don't stop believin'

Ever since Parker brought up the Awesome 80s Prom, I went to that website, listened to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and have had that stuck in my head all morning. Argh! That's not what I need when I'm trying to crunch numbers in my cubicle.

And I'm tired of passing construction workers who use coarse language. I hear enough of that from some of my friends, thanks much.

Jack Sparrow as a demon barber

I'm getting stoked about the new Sweeney Todd movie starring Johnny Depp. I hope it's good. It has to at least not suck since Johnny Depp is in it and it's a musical? I watched the trailer, and it has promise. Traditional gloomy Depp-Burton look, I'd say. Appropriate for me since I'm on a mini-Sondheim kick right now. Since I haven't seen any other stagings of Sweeney Todd, I'm doing into this blind, but I am still looking forward to this flick. And every time I type Todd, I type "toddy." Huh.

Last Week's Shots

I randomly came across this wonkette article. It's the most hilarious message board exchange ever:
A Very Special Last Week's Shots Update - Wonkette

Potty humor

I just saw this on Yahoo and thought it was amusing.
N.Y. human waste raises stink in Alabama

I fell in love with a girl

I found this list when perusing a Radiohead website. New album? Yay. Pick your price? Double yay.

Anyway, the list is from that crappy rag Rolling Stone, but it's the top 20 best live bands. Think it came out this summer.
1. The White Stripes
2. Radiohead
3. Pearl Jam
4. Rage Against the Machine
5. U2
6. Metallica
7. Flaming Lips
8. My Morning Jacket
9. The Hold Steady
10. Arcade Fire
11. The Raconteurs
12. Wilco
13. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
14. Red Hot Chili Peppers
15. Gogol Bordello
16. Kings of Leon
17. Muse
18. Dave Matthews Band
19. Tool
20. LCD Soundsystem

I've seen four of the bands listed above, and they are all quality live acts. One of the rare times I agree with Rolling Stone?

The doctor is back

Before it's Tuesday again, what did you think of House's season premiere? It was more of a fun episode, heavier on the levity and hijinks. Wilson talking into a kidnapper voice machine, the janitor suggesting lupus. I liked it when the janitor kept repeating the same question to the patient's mother. Except the patient storyline of course, that wasn't funny. Cuddy looks quite fetching. But yeah, I couldn't get 100% into the story because static is not my friend.

Is House really hallucinating? He just can't quit those underlings, can he?

Checked out any of the other fall shows?

My favorite ladies come together

I love Amy Sedaris. She's a riot on Letterman (search for those on YouTube, soooo funny), but she is killing me in clips from Martha Stewart's show. Check out both clips on fourfour. Anyone who could tell Martha that no one will like her cheese ball has nerves of steel.

Let them eat cupcakes

I feel like I'm blogging to a brick wall (Hello? Anyone out there?), but I'll post regardless. So yeah, I'm going to type about cupcakes. I don't get them. Yes, I know what they are and they can be yum, but I'm not going to wait in a line that is full of tourists and wraps around the block for a cuppy cake. They aren't that incredible. The baked goods in question seem to be popular in this here metropolis. I stumbled upon one such purveyor and bought three cupcakes: two for a pal and one for myself. It was sweet but not too sweet, moist and fresh. I enjoyed the confection but will not be dreaming about it tonight or planning my next trip to that establishment. No cupcake addiction for me. When you think about it, cupcakes are messy and make waste because of that wrapper that you have to toss away and sometimes you get frosting on your fingers from picking it off. Giant cupcakes seem to be trendy too. When transporting cakes in a cup, you have to be careful so the frosting doesn't get all mussed and your friends don't think you're a klutzy spaz. And that is my cupcake manifesto.

Happy Birthday!

A special birthday shoutout to one of Alacrity's favorite movie stars, Mr. Luke Wilson! 36 years young today!

Cameron, lay off the meth

Oh Parker, I forgot to tell you that I saw the episode of House with Cameron on meth. It was a shorter scene than I expected, but it was freaky, like you said. And for Agent 99, there was a Ryan Adams song used to open and close a different show. I looked it up; the song is "Desire."

Bible Beltin'

Today I walked by a man on the corner who was handing out tiny green Bibles. "Would you like a copy of the New Testament?"
I waved my hand. "No thanks."
For a second, I felt like I was in the south again.
And then I saw another man dispensing Bibles on the next corner. I'm not sure how much success they were having.

This reminds me of how when I stayed at a Hilton this past summer, there was a copy of Conrad Hilton's book about founding his hotels or whatnot. Obviously I had alternative reading material. At least it wasn't Paris's "writing."

Today's Etsy shop is Pulp Tart by Miss Anna Bronwyn. I love Anna's stuff because she uses such striking bold beads married to recycled metal (motorcycle parts) for her jewelry. Her paintings are worth a look too. When I accumulate more cash, I might need to increase my meager Pulp Tart collection.

Though I don't particularly read shopping blogs all that often, I felt the random urge to dabble in that area with this here post. Or I just wanted to waste more time since I don't want to do what I should be doing.

A lot of people know that I love to shop on Etsy.com and I was a bit wary about posting my favorites from that site so people would know where I've been buying my awesome stuff and awesome stuff for them. But some goods are way too marvelous not to hype.

Today I would like to spotlight Circular Accessories. I've gotten tops from this here shop twice and am pleased as punch with them all. Such gorgeous printed clothing! These are some of my current faves:

HybrID HyEGO HySUPEREGO

A Newsweek a couple of issues ago had a story called "A Case of Prius Envy" written by Keith Naughton. I would link to it, but I think only subscribers can read it online. For anyone who cares, it's the September 3, 2007 issue, page 40.

I once told someone that if you have to say you're classy, you're probably not. This was in reference to pop singers or pop tarts, I want to say J.Lo, but I don't remember.

Here's a quotation from the article:

Peter Kessner, a devout environmentalist, bought a Honda Civic hybrid four years ago to show everyone that he wants to save the planet. The only problem: no one noticed, since, other than the hybrid badge on the trunk, it looked like a regular Civic. So he traded it in for a Toyota Prius. Suddenly, strangers began stopping him on the street to ask about his hybrid, with its space-age styling and miserly mileage. "That's a big part of why I bought the Prius," says the Floral Park, N.Y., retiree. "It opens up conversations, and I push my theory that we've got to do our best to conserve." The Honda, on the other hand, didn't deliver what Kessner craved: green street cred. "If I'm driving a hybrid," he says, "I want people to know it."

If you buy a hybrid, you do it for yourself and the planet, right? Why do you have to blab it to the world? Yes, I'm all for promoting environmentalism but I'm not an attention seeker. That's fine, but that's not the point. I might be biased toward Civics, but why not slap on a pro-hybrid bumper sticker or get a hybrid license plate? It's probably secret vanity. You want people to notice and admire you. I've never had a stranger approach me about my non-hybrid car, but that's because my cars have never been remarkable. I don't know, something bugs me about this.

I have a solution! Paste a picture of Al Gore onto your non-Prius hybird. That'll do the trick.

Hipster Olympics

A friend showed me this video last night, and I think it's 'effin hilarious. I have a love-hate deal with true hipsters, probably because I know I could never be one of the cool kids. Anyway, watch and laugh.

Legally Non-Blonde

For Parker: Legally Blonde the Broadway musical will be filmed and shown on MTV. A friend passed along the Craigslist info about free tickets, but I'm not sure I want to deal with a bunch of shrill college chicks. Plus, I don't have a pink outfit. Tragic.

Love Queen, love this song

I've been realizing lately that I like Queen. A lot. I don't know why I didn't realize that the same band played all of my favorites, but anyway... I was intrigued by this Ask Metafilter question: "[Who plays the] alt-rock song... [that] sounds like I imagine Queen might sound if they were just starting out today?" One of the responders hit the nail on the head (the title of this post is a link to the YouTube video).

Inessa, have you ever heard of Mika? They seem quirky enough but maybe too perky for you. I haven't tried any of their other songs yet, but I love this.

Don't be an elevator hog.

If you need to take the elevator one floor down or up, use the stairs! People, they're called legs. Use them. Don't slow down travel for the rest of us who need to traverse multiple floors.

The Flaming Dells

I've seen this Dell laptop ad at the movie theater, before the previews, and I've fallen in love with the song. I Googled it only to realize that it's a Flaming Lips song, "The WAND." Ah ha. I didn't even think it could be them. Oh yeah, and the commercial isn't half-bad either. I might have to think about buying a colorful Inspiron for my new computer.

Tea time with Owen

I caught the blurb on Yahoo that Owen Wilson was doing better, according to Wes Anderson. Reviews for The Darjeeling Limited, which opens September 29 in limited release, aren't too promising. The two which have trickled onto Rotten Tomatoes are splats though. Never fret; we shall keep you posted.

Let's take the Lexus.

I saw a Lexus SUV taxi today. What's next, the Hummer taxi? The Porsche taxi? And for you people who've asked me about the Cash Cab, no, I haven't seen it yet.

Bourne again

I know it came out a month ago, but I saw The Bourne Ultimatum today and had fun. Terrific ass-kicking action scenes galore. I think there should be a Jason Bourne versus James Bond deathmatch.

For people who know me: http://www.observer.com/2007/truth-about-real-estate-bourne-ultimatum (slightly spoilery perhaps?)

Atone home

I read in my Newsweek (the fall preview) about the upcoming film version of Atonement which is directed by Joe Wright (of that blah recent Pride and Prejudice) and stars Keira Knightley (of that blah recent Pride and Prejudice). Atonement is a novel by Ian McEwen which I read a couple of years ago. It's draggy and difficult at times but moved me [to depression] at the end. My main gripe is that I considered the younger sister the main character while the movie will probably feature Keira mostly more than the sister. I used to be on the Keira train, but we're over. She can take her skinny self and Orlando Bloom doppelganger boyfriend and hide out for a couple of years. Bend It Like Beckham rules because Keira plays second fiddle and doesn't get the boy. I love Parminder Nagra.

60,000 Feet Over

Parker, the remix of the Six Feet Under theme was the squishing in your seat/getting the heck off the plane music on my Delta flight.

Interpol, Our Love to Admire

I must declare promptly my love for the first track and the last track on Interpol’s latest, Our Love to Admire. “Pioneer to the Falls” and “The Lighthouse” are massively beautiful gorgeous hymns, some of the best work this group has penned and performed. “The Lighthouse” particularly is sparse and atmospheric, recalling one of my favorite cuts, Radiohead’s “Like Spinning Plates” as well as “Song to the Siren” by This Mortal Coil. You can easily picture in your mind standing on a rocky shoreline at midnight, gazing out into the oily black sea and glancing as the stoic beaming lighthouse. I am not sure if the lyrics are anything about that since I usually don’t pay much attention to Paul Banks’s odd poetry, if I even can comprehend what he’s singing about, and the lyric book, true to Interpol’s spartan mod nature, contains no lyrics. My other choice cut is the first single, “The Heinrich Maneuver,” which is bouncy and jangly but the other tracks tend to warrant many listens before sticking into your memory. I came up with an analogy for this observation. When I graduated from high school, family friends gave me a set of brass bookends with my initial engraved onto them. In my dorm room in college, I used them to contain my textbooks which were mostly for unappealing subjects and classes (I disliked most of my classes). That is just like Our Love to Admire. The bookends are the opener and closer, and the dull textbooks are the tracks in the middle. There might be an occasional non-dud like the aforementioned “The Heinrich Maneuver” as well as “No I in Threesome” and “Pace is the Trick.” Some reviews have lamented the absence of Sam Fogarino’s militant drumming and Carlos D’s dope bass lines. As a consolation prize, new instruments join the fray, such as piano and double bass. Not quite the same. I want my jerky dance-y tunes like from Turn on the Bright Lights! I’ll keep listening though and be quiet.