'Twisted Applesauce' Recipe

On Sunday I went apple-picking at Sherwood Orchards, and with the extraordinary amount of apples what's a gal to do? Make applesauce, of course!

2-3 lbs apples (granny smiths, jonagolds, whatever you have in your fruit bowl)

1/4 cup orange juice

1 1/4 cups water (approx.)

1/4 of a lemon's juice

1 tsp cinnamon (or more, I eyeballed)

a dash of nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Peel, core, and quarter all the apples. Place in a large pot with water just enough to cover the bottom of the pot plus a little more, add the orange juice and bring to a boil. Once boiled let it simmer for 30-40 minutes until nice and soft. After 40 minutes the apples should be so soft you won't even need to put the mixture in a blender (although, I am also a fan of chunks of apple in my sauce). Add the lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla to taste. Add a dash of sugar if you like your sauce on the sweet side, but it really isn't necessary.

Pretty Little Jailbait

Decided to give Pretty Little Liars a shot.

What's up with all the cute male college grads going after all the 16 y/o girls? Seriously. That shit wasn't happening when I was 16 (blast!)

And can't the girls just call back the number that's texting them? Jeeez.

Explosions Abroad

Right now I'm just worried about Kampala.

23 dead and counting

*update*

She's OK.

Gamsol FAIL

Pathetic attempts lie in not being able to open up my bottle of Gamsol mineral spirits.

I'm not the only one! I'm not the only one! Sarika couldn't open up her bottle either. Faulty packaging! The edges of the tin are too close to the lid or some such hooey balooey.

Semi-Finals

NED v URU

This was an intense match. If I were in the habit of biting my fingernails the fingers in my mouth would have been devoid of them. I attempted to get into Tonic, packed as could be (my own fault for running laaaaate), ran across the street to the Playwright Restaurant (ALSO full), and was told I could make a left, then a right, and I'd find a place to watch. The name of this place was Hurley's Saloon, and while it lacked the packed crowds and atmosphere of the previous two joints it was one of the more social experiences I'd had going solo. A couple of Dutch kids sat between an older couple and myself, and while I didn't so much speak with them (I don't even think they were old enough to drink! Who drinks iced tea at a football match!) I did chat with the male part of an Australian couple who hated Uruguay. No skin off my nose, we were in battle against them anyway. After half time a Swiss man sat next to me and asked how the first half went, I regaled the tale of van Bronckhorst scoring a magnificent goal 18 mins in, and the unfortunate circumstance of Forlan scoring a goal to tie the match at half time. It seemed an easy shot to block, we all saw it coming a mile away, but there wasn't enough defense. The swiss gentleman bought me a beer (and it wasn't my first by that point). I got pretty drunk, too drunk for my liking at 4 in the afternoon. And then Sneijder saved us at the 70th minute, and then we got a terrific third goal from Robben not three minutes later, and thank goodness for that because Uruguay got ANOTHER goal when Pareira scored in the 90th bloody minute into overtime, and the ball was trapped near the Dutch goal and we all held our breath that they wouldn't get another shot in. And they didn't. And all is right with the world. And Holland is in the finals! And we are moments away from a battle between Germany and Spain to find out who will go up against Holland in the final match on Sunday. Either team, I feel, will be an interesting match to watch. Both are powerhouses of football, neither have won the cup before, and both have an extensive history with The Netherlands that the final game is sure to be excellent. Of course, I want Spain to kick Germany's butt, because I think Holland will stand a better chance against them, but in my heart of hearts I do like Germany...can't help it. Maybe it's cause centuries and centuries ago my ancestors were German. Wir sind alle Deutschen! But I'm not so invested in any particular team for this game, because whoever wins I'll be rooting against on Sunday anyway. Hup Holland Hup!

The Heavy & Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings @ The Crystal Ballroom

What a good show. Hot damn. Two weeks later and I still have these songs stuck in my head. Unfortunately, we were running late. Obligatory pre-concert-pre-partying (beers and fries at Ringler's a must!), and, since it's Portland, the shows actually start when they say they will (8 o'clock MEANS 8 freakin o'clock!). We finished our brewskies at 8:35ish or so, and stood out front a bit for some mandatory smokes (no re-entry! no smoking on the premises! what to doooo!). Some chap dressed in purple descended from the black-windowed tour bus parked out front, we figured he was staff, or a roadie, not in the band, cause the show had already started and all band members should be backstage, right? So we chat, he bums a cigarette ("I love menthol!") we chat some more, we find out we all went to rival private schools in the NYC area and he's only a couple years our senior. He asks if we like the band, I say yes, we like them, and that it was good Sharon Jones went on the Colbert Report cause it got her a lot of publicity (lots of "theys" and "hers" etc on my part of the conversation) and then he lifts up the ID tag hanging round his neck with the most recent Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings album cover on it, points to a figure, and says "that's me." Well, that was a surprise. Didn't act it though, I mean c'mon, what are we, teenage girls that are gonna jump up and down and squeal "ooh we met a musician! sign my cleavage!" no. We are classy New Yorkers who don't get their feathers ruffled so easily (nonchalance!). We wished him a good show instead. But hey, we met a Dap-King, so that was pretty neato.

So we made our way inside, and The Heavy were unfortunately on their last song (tragedy!) but it was my fav, and Mary Liz's fav, so we were happy. It's most recognizable from those kia sorento commercials. But I'll post the band's actual music video here:

I'm sure the rest of their set was great, and I'm so sorry I missed it :( Anyway. I'm not sorry we missed it for beer and fries. Those we NECESSARY. Plus, the line inside for beer was bananas. We stuck to the all ages side cause the 21+ area was completely packed, and it felt over 80˚ inside, full of people, lots of heat for sure.

A long intermission, then the Dap-Kings came on, and they started to get us going again for a few songs, (we recognized our buddy up there, post-wardrobe change) until one of the guys started really revving us up by introducing Ms. Sharon Jones for a few minutes until finally she came out, in a lovely black flapper-esque dress, all frills and dangles that picked up her every movement.

And hot damn does that woman know how to MOVE! (she sure can sing, too!) They played mostly songs off their new album, some of their older ones, but the show lasted for over two hours. Sharon Jones kept bringing male audience members up to the stage to sing to for a few songs, one of the guys was totes adorbz, she asked if he had a girlfriend, and her name, and then she sang about how to treat a woman.

Then towards the end she grabbed some gals from the front for a dancefest on stage, and then let them dance one at a time off the stage again. The girls seemed to love it, and the audience cheered.

The crowd was incredible, and when the band left the stage we all kept clapping and cheering and stamping our feet for more so that finally the Dap-Kings came back and played some tunes (including The Four Tops' "Reach Out I'll Be There," to which I could not help but sing along) and then FINALLY Sharon Jones came back out on stage to sing some of their other hits ("100 Days 100 Nights" and the like). Truly phenomenal show. I can't wait to see them again in August.

Concert Series ahoy!

OMG this shit is sick. Check it out: George Clinton & Parliament on July 12. Salt-N-Pepa on August 2. Aretha bloody Franklin on August 9. And then there's the Seaside Summer Concert Series, Neil Sedaka and Brenda Lee on July 15, Beach Boys July 22, George Thorogood & The Destroyers July 29, Aretha Franklin AGAIN on August 12, and the B-52s (and Belinda Carlisle!) on August 19. And the best part is? All these shows are FREE!

I think my summer's set.

Sherlock's Daughter & Warpaint @ The Mercury Lounge

Late post considering this show happened on June 14....meh.

Australian band Sherlock's Daughter was the first one up, and they were phenomenal. Adorable Aussie accents, the singer was cute as a button, both her fashion and her personality. I really liked their music, couldn't stop moving. At one point they asked the crowd if anyone was watching the soccer (Australia had unfortunately recently lost to Germany 4-0, much like this most recent Argentinian defeat) and I swear I was the only one in the crowd to shout out "yeah!" (what a bunch of stuck-ups!)

Sherlock's Daughter!

Then Warpaint came on, and they were all drop dead gorgeous, and some sleazy bastard told one of the band members to take her shirt off (totally out of context, made no sense, total sleazeball). Took no pics of them unfortunately, mostly cause I was pissed off at the quality of photos that were coming out of photographing Sherlock's Daughter I didn't even want to bother anymore. They covered all the songs from their album "Exquisite Corpse," "Elephants" came last of course. They were fantastic, even though one of them claimed to have lost her voice we couldn't tell. They even switched around their instruments, bassist became drummer, and vice versa. Really good show, very ethereal.

I was disappointed Sherlock's Daughter had no CDs to sell at the venue, but they are selling them online (direct from Australia!). Anyway. Incidentally, Sherlock's Daughter are playing a show tonight at The Cake Shop at 8. I highly recommend them.

Hup Holland Hup!

Way to go Netherlands!

I still can't believe we beat bloody Brazil! How did that happen! I watched the whole thing, glued to my seat, Tonic was so packed there was a large crowd outside watching on the street, and they stopped letting people in. We headed to Playwright Restaurant across the street instead, quickly filled with oranje fans inside.

Brilliant game. It looked hopeless, that the Dutch lambs had gone off to the Brazilian slaughterhouse, what with Brazil scoring a mere 10 minutes in after an offside first attempt. I was so anxious, I ordered a beer at 10:30 in the morning to soften the blows I was so sure would come. It just seemed that the Dutch were pussyfooting around, waiting for their team members to join only to have the Brazilians surround them instead like hornets. Why wouldn't they just kick the ball already! And then the second half started, and Sneijder kicked magnificently from across the field, and thanks to a little headbutt from Brazil's Melo (who would later get a red card from stepping on Robben), the Dutch tied 1-1 to cheers and thunderous applause. And then Sneijder headbutted in a second goal thanks to good corner kick from Robben. Holy shit! None of us could believe it! The sounds in the pub were deafening, the atmosphere electric. And we held it. We held our lead for the next 25 minutes, no matter how much Maicon and Kaká tried to get past.

And then it ended, and everyone was cheering whenever they saw another person dressed in orange, Dutch everywhere, it was wonderful. Outside of Tonic was insane and spectacular. Such a crowd of orange, a couple dressed in Brazilian colors passed and everyone booed in good fun (the couple smiled even), cars and trucks honked, some with people wearing orange inside, and everybody cheered. People would pour out of the bar still and everyone would hoot and holler again, an abrupt rendition of olé broke out, there were even vuvuzelas. So surreal. I still can't believe we beat Brazil. Who the hell beats BRAZIL?! (The Netherlands, THAT's who!)

Telekinesis(!) & Updates to come

Telekinesis (one my favorite Seattleite bands, players of excellent pacific-northwest-summery-indie-poppyness) have another show in NYC! Woot! September at The Bowery Ballroom. Northwest represent!

I still have to write up on two concerts I've seen in the last couple weeks. Those will be up over the weekend, or later today, maybe, and with some awfully dreadful quality phone photos.

Soon to blog:
Sherlock's Daughter / Warpaint @ The Mercury Lounge
The Heavy / Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings @ The Crystal Ballroom


FUTBAL
I've been too wrapped up in this world cuppery. But I'm allowed: it happens once every four years. And while I do not consider myself a fan of sports, I cave absolutely for The Cup. (Who painted her nails orange and was all decked out for the NED v CMR game yesterday?? This gal! Although I felt a little bad for Cameroon, as The Netherlands had it in the bag for moving on to the next round..).

Graphic Designy Goodness

NB: Brighten the Corners

More World Cuppery (quick rundown)

Alright. I'm going to make one big quick post about a few of this past weeks bout of games.

New Zealand - All White is All Right!
First off, NZL v SVK. Winston Reid of New Zealand made a spectacular play in the last 30 seconds of the game to tie with Slovakia. Absolutely brilliant. And then they tied again with Italy (Italy is just not doing so well this time round). It was a great game, the Italians completely bombed though, but the best player (aside Reid) was New Zealand's goalie, Mark Paston. He blocked every shot like a pro. The only one he missed was Italy's penalty kick (he unfortunately dived the opposite direction...but that ball was too quick to have been caught had he dove toward the ball anyway). Honestly though, if it weren't for that penalty kick New Zealand would have absolutely won that game. The Italians looked completely crestfallen, and the New Zealanders celebrated by taking their shirts off a la Winston Reid of the first game.

Switzerland
Spain was totally off this game as well. The online rumor mill says it's the goalie's fault, that he was "distracted" by his bombshell of a girlfriend who was reporting from the sidelines (yeah, blame the women folk! How ridiculous is it that these girlfriends and ex-girlfriends keep getting blamed for their boys' failure!) Anyway, Switzerland scored 1 against Spain, and who saw that coming! (Go Shweiz!) Unfortunately they lost today to Chile, and were playing a player short due to Valon Behrami getting an unnecessary red car.

France
France LOST to Mexico. WTF. The European teams are all off this year; England, France, Spain, Italy...they're just losing it left and right! Anyway. Big story about France of course is that Nicolas Anelka has been expelled from the French football team by the French Football Federation because he refused to publicly apologize after some heated words to coach Raymond Domenech, who nearly lost his job in 2008, and is lucky to be coaching at the cup. This was supposed to be a private conversation confined to the team members and their coach, but word leaked, newspapers exploded, and there you have it. And NOW, the entire French time is refusing to train in solidarity for Anelka wrongfully being banished from playing. And THIS has lead to their liaison officer, Jean-Louis Valentin, to storm off in a huff and resign. France implodes!

Germany
Then somehow Deutschland lost to Serbia, after their brilliant last game against Australia in which they lived up to the name of Arian by pummeling 4 goals into the Aussie net.

England
England is just disappointing. Tied 0-0 with Algeria, totally dull. They did have the decency to switch Green out of the game at least. Then some fan got past all the security and broke into the team's locker room only to be chastised by David Beckham (hah), and was later arrested by South African police (hahah). Props to the riled up fan.

USA
UGH. UGH UGHUGH. Good news is, Koman Coulibaly, the referee that made the awful disgusting calls in the game against Slovenia, won't be allowed to ref anymore except from the sidelines. Serves the schmuck right. There was no offside, USA had that third goal in the bag, if anything should have been called it should have been a penalty kick for the US seeing as how nearly every American player was being held by their shirts or in a bear grip by the Slovenians. Absolute outrage. They deserve to get to the round of 16 over England for sure (sorry Britain, no hard feelings, but there you have it).

NETHERLANDS
Ok. I love Japan, don't get me wrong, but I'm rooting for my nationality here all the way baby. (I'm sure my Dutch uncle got a kick out of this game, he HATES Japan). The Japanese definitely kept the Dutch on their toes, and we're damn lucky they kept missing all those goals. I ended up going to Kells Irish Pub for this one in downtown Portland, and while it was at 4:30 am west coast time I was thankfully still on east coast time, and actually got to wake up later than I had woken up for the NED v DEN game on Monday (yay not relying on the subway to get places!). I definitely picked the right pub to go to for this one, as all the fans inside were dressed in Oranje, and there were even some actual Dutchmen (who knew they lived out here!) And they had tea, and breakfast, and beer, and it was a lot less crowded than Tonic in New York, but that was to be expected. What I'm concerned about, is that the next game against Cameroon happens at the same exact time as the JPN v DEN game, I have to figure out what game they'll be broadcasting at each of the pubs, which I intend to do Wednesday when I go down for the GER v GHA game. Or I could wake up early again and head down for MEX v URU, which should be very interesting, and absolutely for the USA v ALG game, which is at the same time as the ENG v SVN game, which also totally sucks, because I want to watch them aaaaaalll and how can I if they're happening at the same tiiiiime. They should have just added three extra days to the cup instead of squeezing in all these games like this. So annoying.

Portugal
Hate. Still bitter from the last world cup. They got 7 goals in against North Korea. SEVEN FREAKIN' GOALS. They weren't even cheering anymore by the seventh it was so passé. I just hope the North Koreans aren't put to death for having lost so terribly. I can't wait for Portugal to be pummeled by Brazil. That's going to be spectacular.

Brazil
Some brilliant plays, but I was rooting for Côte d'Ivoire (sorry to say). And they're probably going to be battling the Dutch in the quarter finals, which freaks me out. Scary scary!

Nederland v Denmark

Well, going to the "Dutch Soccer House" was better than I expected. Three floors completely packed with Oranje fans (and a few Danish fans in the lions den decked in red), from the classy (business suit, orange tie) to the ridiculous (baby all in orange complete with an orange joker's hat). The game itself was slow in the first half, but it felt less so being surrounded by hundreds of Nederland fans cheering, and clapping, and at times breaking out in song. I managed to get one of the last seats in the place, real nosebleeder, had to crane my neck the entire time. And then some bloke joined me at my table, he had obviously been dragged by his (much) younger girlfriend there, as he didn't even watch the game, just sat there playing solitaire on his iPhone (why on earth you would go to watch a football game and then play solitaire the entire time is beyond me). OK. I may have been on my phone too, but it was for research purposes on the game, and to take pictures of the crowd. So totes legit.

And then at minute 46, right after half time, Poulson of Denmark head-butted the ball into his own goal. Point for Nederland! He did have a very good sense of humor about it, was laughing at himself right after it happened, unlike Britain's Green, who likes to take to fetal position (poor guy, apparently some hot model breaking his heart is the "reason" he fumbled. Riiiiiight. Blame the ladies!). And then at minute 85 Eljero Elia goes for the goal, and just as it registered that the ball bounced against the post Dirk Kuyt comes in out of nowhere between two Danes and slide kicks the ball right into the Danish goal. Beautiful shot.

Anyway. It was lovely being surrounded by so many Dutchmen, even though I'm not fluent and can only understand some of the language, it pulls at my heartstrings to hear it spoken.

Some really poor quality photos I took on my phone:

FIFA 2010 England v USA

And, in the words of Kevin, "England can eat a dick." That was one of the most beautiful goals I've seen. And more beautiful still because we could all poke fun at the Brit in the room (probably better I didn't go to that bar full o' Brits! I could NOT stop laughing!)

Such beauty is happenstance!

Of course, the real game that I'm looking forward to plays tomorrow at 7:30 am, Dutch v Danes. Dutch Soccer House (aka Tonic @ Times Square) is the place to be for any Oranje/Flying Dutchmen fan (also: they're serving breakfast!). But I don't know if I should start drinking that early...although the idea of having vodka & orange juice is rather tempting...(it's ORANGE! I'm being a patriot, here!) The two other matches (Nederland v Japan, Nederland v Cameroon) will take place while I'm out of the city, and I highly doubt there will be any sort of Dutch gathering out in Oregon (aside from me, my father, and a case of beer). And so, I have every intention of waking up bright and early tomorrow, putting on all the orange (Oranje) I've got, and heading out to Times Square to watch the game to my heart's content with fellow nationals. Hup, Holland, hup!

Frittata II (bacon-cheddar-gorgonzola-feta-spinach-potato-mushroom version)

I made another frittata. I think I'm in a frittata phase. It feels like the lazy man's omelette: you just have to let it sit there! Anyway. This time a lot more food went into it. The recipe for it is pretty much the same as the previous one, except I used four JUMBO eggs, not extra large, these were big eggs, kids.

Frittata part deux

Ingredients
1 large boiled potato (cubed)
4 strips of bacon
1/2 onion (diced)
1/2 a bushel of spinach (coarsely chopped)
1/2 a pack of mushrooms (sliced)
4 eggs
milk (approx. 1/3-1/4 cup)
salt & pepper
oregano (1/2 tsp)
feta (sizable chunk, crumbled)
cheddar (sizable chunk, shredded)
gorgonzola (crumbled)
garlic (1-2 cloves, minced)

I assume you know how to boil a potato. Do it. (I always have a ready supply in my fridge as a go-to snack.)

Broiler on!

Cook the bacon to whatever consistency you like in a large frying pan, large enough to use for the rest of the ingredients. When done, take out and let de-grease on a paper towel. DO NOT DISCARD THE BACON GREASE FROM THE PAN.

Cook the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in that heart stoppingly bad bacon grease. Add oregano, salt and pepper. Cook about 8 minutes on medium-low heat.

Add the spinach and potato. Cook 5 mins, or until the spinach is bright and green.

Beat your eggs, and stir the milk and shredded cheddar into the eggs.

Crumble the bacon onto the whole concoction in the pan, and then stir in the egg mixture so that it carries the vegetables evenly. Crumble the feta and gorgonzola on top. Cook for approximately 10 minutes at low-medium heat, or until the bottom has set so that the mixture isn't so wiggly when you shake the pan.

The oven should be ready by now, so put that pan in the oven and let the top bubble and brown for about 5 minutes.

Take out and transfer to plate, then eat it any way your heart desires.

fresh from the oven (bubbly!)

All I want is food

I've been getting really into cooking and eating food as of late. All I do is think about my next meal and what I'm going to be making for it, even when I'm not hungry I want to cook (and eat). This is quite a change from just a few months ago, with my awful takeout regimens (pizza, chinese, burgers, repeat). Ever since I started running I've been eating healthier, and in order to eat better this means cutting back on all the greasy takeout (not that I don't get a pizza every now and then, or Chinese if I'm in the mood, but no more pizza for breakfast!). And I feel healthier, stronger, more awake, etc. etc. etc. Good food is good for you!

So I made a frittata the other day. It was Deelish. And my first ever (which is somewhat sad considering my lengthy history with omelettes...) So I had all these ingredients left over in the fridge from other things, feta from a Greek Salad, spinach and mushrooms from a sauteed spinach mushroom garlic thing, tomatoes for my addiction, and a few eggs left over from the farmer's market (which I'm about to head back to now, to stock up on again). It was surprisingly easy, I'd heard rumors it was difficult, lies!

Here's my recipe:

Ingredients serves 2, or one of me
mostly I eyeballed the quantities, so whatever amount floats your boat
1 tomato (diced)
1 onion (diced)
1/2 a bushel of spinach (coarsely chopped)
1/2 a pack of mushrooms (sliced)
4 eggs (I used 3, cause that was all I had in the house, but 4 would have been better)
milk (approx. 1/3-1/4 cup)
salt (duh)
pepper (duh)
oregano (1/2 tsp)
feta (sizable chunk, crumbled)
garlic (as many cloves as you want! I used two, minced)

Put your broiler on!

Lube up a large oven-safe nonstick frying pan with olive oil, cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms for about 8 mins over medium-low heat. Add salt, pepper, & oregano

Add in half the chopped tomato and spinach, cook for 5 minutes or until liquid has evaporated

Meanwhile, beat your eggs! Add milk to it! Use a whisk, a fork, whatever

After all your filling is cooked, slowly stir in the eggs to mix the ingredients evenly, but not enough to scramble

Let sit over low-medium heat uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until eggs are slightly runny on top

Take off heat, sprinkle on crumbled feta and remaining tomato

Put that pan in the broiler! About 3-5 minutes, or until your eggs are how you like 'em

Take out that pan, slice it in wedges, and EAT it

I should have taken a picture. It looked really pretty. Next time, Gadget, next time!

No Coffee Day 104

New study: drinking coffee makes you anxious!

Just a couple more things to add to my list of Reasons Not to Drink Coffee Anymore. According to the article, the consumption of coffee, and caffeine, is just a means to stave off the effects of withdrawal. I could have told you that. But official studies of course have a bit more validity than one person's opinion on the matter. Also, one doesn't get more alert from drinking coffee. Oh, all those nights I drank coffee in the hopes of perking up only to have the opposite effect!

RIP Lala.com

Oh Lala, we hardly knew thee!



And so, lala.com is officially no more. With its passing goes all the scratched up music I had uploaded that lala magically played sans skipping, the random obscure songs I cannot find anywhere else (Lena Horne covering The Beatles, for example), and the cheap albums that could be purchased oh so cheaply. Sigh. Not to mention the fact that I could access my entire music collection from wherever I was as long as I had an internet connection (came in handy at parties! and when one wanted to play a random song for a friend!). Sigh. Of course I blame Apple for its demise, when did Apple become The Man? A little competition is healthy, surely! It's going to be tragic indeed if, after having purchased lala.com and all of its coding, Apple were not to even bother to utilise it in a way that could have our music from iTunes on the web for streaming purposes. Hopefully something will be announced shortly, one can only wait and see.

Until then, I'm going grooveshark. They don't have everything, but they have obscure enough stuff, including songs that I never even knew existed from bands I love, AND it's like it mated with Pandora and produced a pretty awesome radio option. Plus you can upload your stuff now. But not all of it. It's picky. And you have to pay $3 a month if you want some of the things that came for free with lala.com (following friends' activity, scrobbling to last.fm, etc.). It's not perfect, but if I need to access some of my music from elsewhere and I don't have my computer, it'll do.

Over A Decade Later, I Finally Get My Wish: A Japanese Restaurant on Cortelyou!

Ever since I was 12 I'd been pining for a sushi joint/Japanese restaurant to come to Cortelyou Road. Well, as of May 16 at 5 pm, that wish has come true. Months ago Mega Hardware, sandwiched between San Remo and New Neighboor, closed its doors. Not so long after construction began, men worked behind covered windows, and it was uncertain as to what would be there. And, to my incredible delight, a red on white banner went up within a couple months saying "Japanese Restaurant coming soon!" And of course, perfect timing, the parental units arrived from the airport around 4:30 and they took The Boys and I out for the restaurant's opening night dinner. Decent prices, a large menu, lots of udon to choose from, and even two (TWO) vegetarian sushi platters. I am happy, even if it is a chain (cheaper than the one in Manhattan though!). We sat out in the garden, which needs a bit of work yet, and they need to improve their beer selection (NO Japanese beers on the menu!), but it was their first night, hopefully those things will change with time. We got there at around 5 after, and it was a good thing we did too, for when we left (some two and a half hours later mind you) it was positively packed, with a line going out the door. It was like the whole neighborhood came out to eat there, Missie and her father were eating in the front as we walked out, and Adam was waiting on line. We didn't have time to have dessert, as The Boys had to catch their bus down to DC, but what with it half a block away of course I'll be going again soon.

Cortelyou's Castello (and other things)

Jacques Cortelyou, hailing from Utrecht (and French Huguenots) came to Nieuw Netherlands, was appointed Surveyor General of the colony, and subsequently drew the first map of Nieuw Amsterdam (now more commonly known as New York City) in 1660. It is after him that Cortelyou Road in Ditmas Park, part of Victorian Flatbush, is named. The name of this map, the Castello Plan, comes from the Villa di Castello in which it was found some two and a half centuries later in 1900 after having been sold to Cosimo III de’ Medici c. 1667.



On February 26th, the aptly named Castello Plan, a wine/tapas bar, and gourmet child of (the very Dutch named) owner Ben Heemskerk and chef Natasha Pogrebinsky, opened to the public. While I'd noticed it's opening in mid March, I had not yet had the chance to check it out. Well, I must say, I am in love with this little place after having had brunch there the other day. Quaint and cozy inside, with rustic wood paneling, wonderful heavy doors, and complete with terrace outside, this little place is an absolute win. And this is from the brunch alone. I cannot wait to try out their dinner and late night menus. They make their own bacon, their own fruit preserves, serve dangerously delicious bellinis and mimosas, and entire pots of tea. The food was out of this world, and the presentation was beautiful too. Regrettably I took no photos of our plates (The Boys and I having ordered the same thing), Allison took some of hers, but I'll be sure to take pictures the next time. We all sat around the table in silence for a good while just gobbling up every last morsel on our plates. And oh, the cheese selection! We had two rounds of the Blu di Bufala, a blue cheese made from the milk of Water Buffalo, and served with raspberry preserves, rustic bread, and walnuts. We are so lucky to have a place like this in the neighborhood, and luckier still that it's open late! Everything about this place is just adorable - the menus with an old map of the neighborhood on the backs, the bottle list especially with it's cork binding - the little terrace shaded by trees, and the service was impeccable to boot. Absolutely wonderful. The people who were waiting half an hour to brunch at The Farm on Adderley have NO idea what lies just across the street! Not to knock The Farm, I love their food, service not so much, waiting so long for brunch even less. But The Castello Plan is an absolute gem, and I can't believe it took me this long to eat there!

Me: 1 Leg Pain: None

HaHA, knee pain! I defeated you!

I took Thursday and Friday off, stairs still hurt on Friday but I took an easy walk and come Saturday I ran my farthest distance yet, with the least amount of stopping. Best part? Not sore at all. Not a bit. All that stretching I did before, during, and after surely helped. I'm also making a mental map of all the water fountains in the park, jotting down blue dots on a real map after I get home. Distances that used to seem so great before seem like nothing now. I'm going to push myself a little farther every time, run farther, run longer without stopping, just on running. I've already noticed my breathing is better, and it's only been a week! I haven't made the whole loop yet, I haven't wanted to risk killing my legs/knees before they're ready (especially after how they felt Thursday!), I also want to have a clearer map of the water fountains before I do so - hydration's important! But that is my personal goal, to do the loop. I'm gonna do baby loops till then, around the lake, the boat house, the Nethermead, etc. Funny part: the distance I run every time is roughly the same as doing the loop itself! I know I know, big deal, the loop, it's totally easy I'm sure, but it's important not to overextend yourself - this is how I hurt my knee to begin with, and I don't want any repeats.

It's a heady feeling, this running again. Also all the good food I've been eating. I was craving a bacon cheeseburger like mad on Saturday, but I opted for quinoa pasta, broccoli, and beets instead. I might have caved for bacon on Sunday morning though...naughty! But I want to be absolutely clear, I am not doing this to lose weight by any means. I am vehemently against my losing weight. I've always declared that if anything, I need to gain weight. This is just a means to be active again, to build muscle strength, and tone some body parts that could use some toning in the process... If I dip below a certain weight level, I'll eat a whole pizza to compensate. That sounds...really good right now. OK. Lunch time! And then to the park!

Operation: Healthy Hilary

My resolutions, it would appear, seem to come out for my birthday as opposed to new year's. I've decided to make some changes in my life, less takeout food (i.e. GREASE), more exercise (running), being outside more (running in the park, working outside more, etc.), and other things that I hope will make me a happier, healthier human being. I hadn't bought any chocolate in a week, I've replaced my traditional go-to snack with apples. I'm cooking a lot more, and not the fake cooking packaged things with pouches that miraculously turn into something edible. I've gotten Chinese once in the last two weeks. I haven't had pizza since April 14. I've been running every day since Sunday. My only exception is today, because I did something nasty to my knee and can't even walk up and down the stairs without grimacing. It's resting on top of Adam's giant bouncy ball, one of those Icy Hot bandages doin' it's thang on it. I guess I should have a) stretched more b) not sprinted so soon c) not pushed myself so hard so quickly? I don't know. If it still hurts in a few days I'm gonna get it checked out, but all my other aches and pains and sore body parts healed within a day or two, so I'm hoping this knee will follow suit.

Anyway. I'm frustrated with my knee and feel landlocked. I usually walk home on Thursdays from the Slope, but something told me I shouldn't when my legs cry from just sitting down and standing up. Sigh. I feel whiny. And antsy. And I really wanted to go running today. Stupid knee.

Werner Herzog Reads Children's Stories

Where's Waldo:

"Why all this travel? We search for Waldo, but what is Waldo searching for? Perhaps he is not searching at all, but running from something. Does this man even want to be found? Or, in searching for Waldo, did we really find ourselves? No. Probably not."
Brilliant.

Madeline:

"She has been wounded in the abdomen and therefore left the segregated world of girlhood. This is an obvious metaphor for menstruation and sexual maturity."

Curious George:

"In short order, a monkey has bested seven adult men, this should give you a dim view of human potential."

That's my alma mater!

Maybe went a weeee bit overboard on the LARPing?

Via Gawker:

Oberlin Kid Got Trashed and Thought He Was a Kidney-Eating Vampire

"Highly intoxicated" Oberlin student Andrew Whiteman tried to break into a drug store, and when the cops came to arrest him, he said he was a 100-year-old immortal vampire and threatened to eat one cop's kidney, and suck another's blood.

Welcome to When Twihards Attack: Crunchy Liberal Arts School Edition, because apparently those who froth at the mouth for vampire fantasies don't take breaks, not even in the lulls between films. Whiteman lives in Michigan but was on campus enrolling for fall classes when he apparently got trashed and tried to break into a drug store and harangued a newspaper deliveryman. The police were summoned and, according to the local news,

As they were transporting the suspect to the Lorain County Jail, Whiteman became verbally combative, threatening to kill one of the deputies and the deputy's family, including his children.

Whiteman told the deputy that he is a vampire who is more than 100 years old, and that he could smell the deputy's blood from the rear seat of the patrol car. He added that he desired to suck the aforementioned blood.

Once at the jail, Whiteman was forcibly removed from the vehicle and taken into the booking area. That's where he threatened a female adviser, saying that he wanted to eat her kidney. Due to his aggressive behavior, Whiteman was placed into a four-point restraint chair.

Whiteman has since appeared at the Oberlin Municipal Court, where he pleaded "not guilty," "still learning how to drink," and "college." [Fox8, TrueCrimeReport]

Wednesdays are for Drinking and Drawing Naked People!

Went to Drink-n-Draw at 3rd Ward tonight, it's exactly what I've been looking for: drawing from nude models, and free beer. The beer is a total bonus, I was just looking for a place to do figure drawing, but what a sweet bonus it is! The model had the best curves for drawing, and great contorted poses filled with delicious negative space. I'd never enjoyed drawing feet before, but I did tonight: she knew how to use 'em. The motown they played was DEFINITELY appreciated, The Supremes, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, marvelous! It was hard not to move around in my chair and sing along... I am absolutely going back, it felt so good, I completely lost track of time and was shocked at how fast the hours flew. As it should be! Best part though? Being able to talk about the gorgeous sliver of space between the model's arms and her breast during one of the poses without getting weird looks.

I may or may not have inhaled a biiiiit too much fixative, however. But my drawings are safe and unsmudged! Very very important, of course.

The Flaming Lips @ Wellmont Theatre

Holy shit. If I had only one band to choose to see in concert it would be The Flaming Lips. Best concert I've ever been to, no contest. Friendly people, which makes sense: Flaming Lips fans are some of the friendliest people I know.

Words cannot do this concert justice. The music, the atmosphere, the smoke, the GIANT balloons filled with confetti that would POP in an explosion of rectangular colored shreds of paper, the dense cloud of pot - so thick you couldn't even smell the person next to you sparking up. And oh, the visuals, the fantastical videos they had, drippy gooey egg yolks, and naked dancing ladies, and naked drum-hitting ladies, and naked ladies dancing on the beach, and laughter, and love, and everything all around. I'm still glowing from the show. Wayne Coyne is super duper sweet to boot, sang happy birthday to Gillian or whomever, their travelling t-shirt seller. Too bad Corina and I didn't have time to get t-shirts, they had some funny ones ("when I smoke pot, I don't want to kill myself", and the like). But we had to make a mad dash to the train, as the following wouldn't come till 5 in the morning (uh-ohs!). And we totally got away with not buying tickets on the return trip. Hey, it's not my fault if the ticket lady walked right by while I was on the phone...

All in all, I want to see them again, and again. Summer stage is sold out, of course, but that doesn't mean we can't go and picnic in the park while they're playing!

Setlist from the night (approximate):

The Fear
Worm Mountain
Silver Trembling Hands
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
The Sparrow Looks up at the Machine
In the Morning of the Magicians
Happy Birthday!
Watching the Planets
I Can Be a Frog
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1
See the Leaves
Powerless
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
Taps - Tribute to PEACE
She Don't Use Jelly
Convinced of the Hex
Encore 1:
Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs)
Eclipse (Pink Floyd cover with Stardeath and the White Dwarfs)
Encore 2:
Do You Realize??


AFTERGLOWING HAPPINESS PURE JOY AND LOVE YAY!

FANTASMATASTIC JOY

<3

Land of Stately Pine

I hear this song, and I get the chills:


Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 in D flat, Romantic, end of movement I, Adagio

Oh, memories! Sweet delicious nostalgia! To be in Corson, or Kresge, a sea of red and blue, socks twirling in the air in excitement on the first day, the supreme silence after the theme is played, the sweet breezes from the swimmer's itch infested lakes (ha! I never got it!), the monsoon-like downpours with everyone huddling in Stone. The hand holding and the concert dates, the mixers and their wonderful 90s beats!

Oh, sound the call to dear old Interlochen!
Land of the stately pine.
Where stalwart hands and loyal ever greet you,
Faithful for Auld Lang Syne.
Old friends you'll meet,
New ones you'll greet,
A welcome you'll ever find
So sound the call to dear old Interlochen!
Shrine of the muse divine.

Turns out there's ADULT programs now. HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!?!??!

Too bad they only last about 5 days, otherwise it would be absolutely worth it. Sigh. Maybe I'll get a job there instead, then I'll be PAID to be there! Ehehehhheheh. I want to get my knickers on! But I shouldn't go back to the past, as tempting as it is to return, I need to move forward, not backward. I've done enough of that already.

Bookbinding Supplies

Getting back into making things with paper and glue. I made a box. Teacher said it was the nicest one in aaall the class. Then again, I was the last to leave, so he could've said whatever he wanted. But I need to redo my top, the wrapper was one square too short on the inside folds...uch. At least the top isn't too small, he said the fit might be snug but I think it's perfect.

Shopping list:

• mat board
• blades
• paste
• good paper
• fabric
• T-square
• cutting board
• thread

Yeah...most if not all of these things I already have...in Oregon. Lameness is everything not fitting in my suitcases whenever I journey home. Although, some things just would not fit in my suitcase, so no helping that. Although, come to think of it, I was in limited supply there, it's mainly just that green cutting board and the T-square that seem like superfluous purchases. I don't even know what the hell that green thing is called, the rubbery board with a grid that you can slice and dice upon worry-free. What is that called?? Just a cutting board? Uch. I feel like it had some special name...

3/30/08

Happy Birthday, Mickey Mack, I miss you every day.

Glasses

I need new lenses. Maybe some new frames, even.

I'm thinkin' these:


Or going back to these:


Or doing the Scully/meganekko look:




Glasses girls: meganekko!

Happy Passover!

Here are some Jewish things, Jewmor and Jewcipes.



My kind of gefilte fish: vegetarian gefilte "fish"

I fully intend on making matzoh brei in the morning, and cooking from my little Jewish cookbook on Tuesday (charoset, latkes, matzoh ball soup, oh my!). I wish I had my cousin's recipe for matzoh, goodness gracious, I'd sit through five seders to eat that stuff. SO good. Maybe...maybe...I'll ASK him for it! There's an idea.

Oh. And what movie needs to be watched for the umpteenth time within the next week? The Hebrew Hammer. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Crooner

I frequently feel like I was born in the wrong time period, considering all the old fogie stuff I like. BUT, if I weren't born NOW, I wouldn't be able to enjoy it all quite so much. So THERE.


I have a crush on a crooner from bygone days. And oh, when he sings, I melt.


Dear me, I can't stop laughing at this one.


Or this one. The choreography! How fluidly he moves! /s

And here I WOULD post a video of Danny Kaye doing "Choreography" from White Christmas, but alas the video has been taken down from youtube. Blast! In any case, my point is, as good as Andy Russell sounds, he sure can't dance.

Although, now that I think of it, he reminds me of Michael Bublé...

And the world’s like a science and I’m like a secret

New She & Him album out today!

Same happy peppy 60sish poppy swoony beats. I already have the new songs lingering in my head.

A new Arctic Monkeys album is out too, that's next on the playlist.

Aaaaand tonight? Richard-centric episode! ohemgee.

Holy hotness!

John Barrowman on Desperate Housewives!

Article w/spoilers here.

Mmmm, good god that man is delicious. Playing a murderer or no.

I should open the box...

I don't want to cry anymore. Damn it all.

She & Him Volume Two

Eeep! New She & Him album to release 3/23 now streamable here!

Killer Condoms! (Not Safe For Men!)

Watching some ridiculous German B (C?) movie, Kondom des Grauens, mostly because the description was too hilarious not to:

"A professor blackmails a student of his into having sex with him. But when the professor puts on a condom, the carnivorous condom bites off his penis and disappears."

Oh, and it takes place in NYC. So far, this movie makes no sense, and is so bad, it's funny. The protagonist? A man by the name of Macaroni (Detective, Macaroni), who arrives riding on an elevator in a cloud of cigarette smoke standing directly beneath a no smoking sign. What a badass.

Relevant quote: "Even good girls from Oklahoma end up biting off some guy's dick."

*update 7:50ish pm*

Yeah...I only got 10 minutes in.. I'm watching a BBC miniseries instead.

Lazy Rainy Sunday

Having a lazy day, which started off right by watching football. The real kind. It isn't really raining right now, just a lot of residual wetness and broken tree limbs strewn about from yesterday's crazy storm (my poor umbrella!). There's a sad and sparse festival on Church Ave, five or more blocks barricaded by police, for a mere handful of booths. I wonder if it weren't for the weather if the turnout'd be better? Or if it's just always such a despondent event..

Other lazy things include:

Eating a Bacon Cheeseburger, om nom nom, what a terrible Jew I make...

Dipping into some hot steaming bubbles

Drinking tea leisurely

Grocery shopping

Cleaning my rooooom

Working on website

So not entirely lazy, no.

*update 3:01 pm*

Sadness is not having enough hot water to fill the bathtub. This makes no sense to me. We've always had enough hot water to fill the second floor tub, and at least enough for a shower after. I am the only one home today, there should be more than enough hot water, and yet, my bath is luke warm at best. I'm going old school. Two of our largest pots are boiling as I type.

*update 3:27 pm*

Of course, AFTER I've successfully boiled pots of water and step into my nice steamy bath the hot water comes back.

Muffin Man

I spent my night baking muffins. Because that seemed like the right thing to do. Distractions, etc. And now I have Frank Zappa stuck in my head.

Some people like cupcakes better, I for one care less for them.

...

Some people...some people like cupcakes exclusively, while myself, I say

there is naught, nor ought there be, nothing so exalted on the face of god's grey Earth as that prince of foods...the muffin!

Girl, you thought he was a man

But he was a muffin

He hung around till you found

That he didn't know nothin'

I went the savory route, made two batches of apple-cheddar muffins. Om nom nom. We'll see how they go over tomorrow. Next time: potato muffins.

Lovely and soothing is the sound of rain against the house. The only thing missing is the sound of a train in the distance, (the subways don't sound the same, they don't have that wonderful blow that trains do) and I'm transported west when I close my eyes.

Distracting myself

Out of context random quote:

"Your heart lives in your vagina."

-Meredith Grey

Crying at Petco Isn't Any Fun

RIP Mickey, 3/30/08-3/4/10

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan."

Irving Townsend

There will never be another cat like Mickey Mack.

Concert fail

No Akron/Family show tonight. In Oregon. Cannot make it to Williamsburg, obviously.

Uch, I wish I could see these chicks perform live:

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly jealous of Barry & Corina seeing Warpaint and Akron/Family tonight.

Feist on Sesame Street

How did I not know about this sooner??

a lot can happen in an hour

Waiting for Mickey's test results. Some today, more tomorrow. What song am I listening to? Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." A little perverse to be listening to it, but it's what I listened to on repeat when I heard about Mo when I was at Interlochen, when I got the news that is was nothing. But it's not nothing now, it's a matter of what something and how long he has left.

I'd listen to Mozart's "Requiem" but that's too depressing. I have to be careful what I listen to, I don't want to associate music I love with this.

Akihabara Majokko Princess - Kirsten Dunst 'I'm Turning Japanese'

These video makes me soooo happy, and crazy nostalgic for Tokyo.

Bad dreams that have a basis in reality ought not happen.

Song Evocations

Oh, that play, "Viral"! It was so good, so depressing, twisted, beautiful, etc. But they just HAD to play "I Feel It All" as the exit music.

But finally, FINALLY, after MONTHS, Feist's "I Feel It All" no longer makes me think of suicide (thank you very much, Viral!). Huzzah for things no longer making me think of other things!

Day Eight(?)

Do three sips count? I haven't had coffee for eight days now, except for a few quick sips last night...an attempt to make up for little sleep and other excuses. Back to no coffee today. Bucket loads of tea though. Earl Grey, Green, a small pot or two..

Buddy Guy

Aaaah! Buddy Guy has a show in May! Holy CRAP and OMG!

Some People Really Don't Like Cigarettes

"If you blow that fucking smoke into my fucking face I'll punch your face all night fucking long."

Some people are just so lovely as you pass them by on the street.

Coffee

I haven't had coffee in two days. No headache! Here's a little song I remember from childhood to celebrate:


C-O-F-F-E-E
Coffee is not for me
It's a drink some people wake up with
That it makes them nervous is no myth
Slave to a coffee cup
They can't give coffee up


FALSE. I can give it up. I ain't no caffeine slave.

Overheard

Person A: "I'm taking a break from alcohol."
Person B: "You want a beer then?"

Awkward Phone Conversation

So I called up the plumber this morning to come back and fix what they didn't fix, because the tank shouldn't be refilling itself every 10 mins...Anyway, after describing what the problem was and is, this is what went down:

Lady on the other end of the line, referring to the plumbers that had been here: "What did they look like?"
Me (trying to recall, because it was too early in the morning for me to remember): umm
Lady: "I'm sure they were negro."
Me (startled, looking at invoice): Oh, their names were ____ and ____.


That happened.

RE: sledding

I am black and blue and sore all over. Especially on my bum. Shoveling snow doesn't help, but a bubble bath might.

Snowtastical

Today was brilliant.

People gathered at Prospect Park in droves. Young and old assembled in the winter wonderland, on boots and snowshoes, skis, sleds, and snowboards. I lost track of how many times we went up and down the hills, of how many hours we spent racing upon white fluff, adrenaline pumping, snow flakes falling, cries of joy in the air.

Best way to spend a snow day.

I can still feel the rush of speed in my body as we took the sled down the hill. Much like when I feel the waves still bobbing around me long after I've been in the ocean. Lovely feelings.

Three Goats A-Leaping, FTW

Making myself business cards. Frustrating until inspiration hits. Goats! My family's crest is three goats, "dancing," "leaping," what have you. Idea? Draw the goats dancing around à la Matisse's La Danse I.

However, simplification is key. I sometimes [all the time] get too caught up in my ideas and then they snowball into one huge complicated endeavor.

The dancing goats are enough. I don't need to go and model them after Matisse, it's just too much. Cute idea though it is...it doesn't really connect to me as much as the goats on their own do. Yeah yeah, when I was 14 I was told I painted like Matisse, but that's the extent to any connection there. And I don't paint at all like him anymore, and it was only that one bloody painting that looked like it might be in his style. I mean, he's not even my favorite artist. And so, obviously, my conclusion (and my teacher's conclusion) is that Matissifying the goats is superfluous.


I'm so glad my class liked the goats card best, seeing as how it's my favorite, I spent the most time on it, and it has the best story (er, it's the only one with a story).

Now, I need to find my fracking pencils so I can re-draw my goats.

Palin: Tea Party Pundit

Tea Party Looks to Move From Fringe to Froce

This scares the crap out of me. Sarah Palin winning over a huge slice of potential voters, egging on a revolution, maybe even a third party.

Palin Responds to 'Run, Sarah, Run'


I thought we needed a revolution too. Back when W was in office. Where was OUR voice then? When we really needed one? Where is our voice now? Why isn't anyone calling these creeps out? WTF, wake up, America! We need to move FORWARD, not backward!

La Neige, or, Snow

Don't people know how to deal with snow anymore?

Ok, seriously people. This is not a "blizzard." If I can open my doors without snow falling inside, there ain't nothing keeping me in. In fact, generally speaking, it's hardly snowed at all up here in NYC. I've had to shovel snow twice, which is a hell of a lot less than last year (today will make thrice). This, on top of the fact that DC is consistently buried in snow, Florida's even seen flakes, and Oregon has snowed me in or out on numerous occasions, are very worrisome.

Now, I realize that I didn't live in Oregon long, just the last three years of high school and year and a half post-college, but there have been marked changes in the weather since then. Oregon's climate in the wintertime (when not on a mountain) is supposed to be a rainy, gray, 40˚. Schools were shut down for a centimeter of snow. A CENTIMETER. People put on their studded tires preemptively, and, in the end, unnecessarily. All that changed after my first year at college. Ever since winter 2003 my parents have consistently been snowed in, and I have been snowed out. The biggest blizzards Oregon witnessed were in the 5" range, but now it's averaging 1'-2'. That's how it's supposed to be here, not in the pacific northwest, and certainly NOT south of here. We should be getting the type of snow they've got in DC, and it certainly shouldn't be snowing in Florida.

Inequality in America: White Males, the New Minority

Sir Patrick Stewart on Technology

He's just adorable.

Highlights:

"I don't like talking on the telephone! And I don't like writing letters!"

"Now I can pull up the complete works of Shakespeare, I can't remember a line, I just go online and there it is in front of me."

"The only aspect of all of this that I have never taken to, partly because I do have an addictive temperament, and that is gaming. I have a stack of games, but I've never taken the covers off them, because I feel that if I do, I'm finished."

hil•a•ry

This makes me laugh.

From urbandictionary.com:

1. hilary
when you're obsessed with something very much and can't stop thinking about it.

holy shit, that girl is such a hilary..
she's obsessed with cheese.

2. hilary
is amazing

Oh Em Gee, that girl is hilary!

3. hilary
a girl who eats pizza and drinks beers with the guys whilst maintaining a sense of ladlylike decorum. she also always dresses to the nines, even when she's sleeping

You see that girl over there doing jello shots and wiping up after herself? Yeah, she's a total hilary.

That girl is such a hilary, she showed up to a pajama party in Jimmy Choo slippers and a Chanel bath robe!

4. Hilary
An extremely attractive Beer Pong table that resides in South Village, at UOIT (the University of Ontario Institute of Technology).

Hey guys, lets get Hilary wet tonight!

5. hilary
a girl who is pretty, hot, sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, skinny, fierce, compassionate, sympathetic, friendly, nice, kind, playful, adventurous, sizzling, steamy, amazing, super amazing, extraordinary, magnificent, stellar, wonderful, inspiring, and a whore.
she also tends to be an outright stoner.

She's perfect! Indeed, that must be a Hilary!

6. Hilary
A small red haired dwarf living in the amazon. Prone to epilpitic seizures.

Crickey! Look at that beautiful HILARY!

7. hilary
A man that constantly has a wank when in a bathtub with a fat duck called mildred.

"Fancy that, i just saw a hilary!"

8. Hilary
1. Used in the phrase 'Up the hilary' meaning pregnant. Taken from the name of singer/actress Hilary Duff adapted from use of duff

2. Something that is broken also adapted from duff

1. Shazza is up the hilary again... she is such a little slag

2. This vibrator is new and yet it does not function correctly... it must be hilary

LOST premiere

Quotes that incited the giggles:

"I've got a gun! And I know how to shoot it!"

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"Anything to declare?"
"Just a murderer."

"I don't like the way English tastes on my tongue."

The Velvet Fog

I don't know why I never knew of Michael Bublé until I watched him on SNL with Jon Hamm this past Saturday, but now I do, and omg, he sounds JUST like Mel Tormé! Bublé needs to cover "Moonlight in Vermont," like now.

This song's a fav of mine:

Mama T

I opened her boxes today. They've been sitting in the corner of the study since October 2008, untouched, taped shut, contents unknown to the extent that I did not know what to expect among the things I knew would be in there. It would have been more fitting to do it on her birthday, or mother's day, or some special day... But the sun is shining, and I was cleaning the kitchen, and rearranging the study to turn it into a semi-studio, and the boxes were just...sitting there, waiting oh so patiently. So I got my scissors and cut the tape. I actually did it. And instead of crying, like I expected, I find myself smiling. The boxes smell like her. I stuck my head inside them and just breathed in, taking her in, remembering her, loving her.

I only unpacked a few things. I don't know what to do with all the crocheted sweaters and tablecloths yet. Books and games no longer reside within the cardboard confinements, however. Things I took out: the Great Masters' Drawings book I bought Max for his birthday, Monopoly, Clue (oh, how many times we played!), Scrabble, Set, Uno, and the "Woman's Home Companion Cookbook." And Brutus. I brought him downstairs, to be put with her hutch and other things, as he always was.

Ticketmaster can bite me

She & Him sold out in two minutes. TWO MINUTES. Is that even POSSIBLE? Both shows? And now scalpers are selling tickets for $100+ which is ridiculous. Good news though is that they'll be coming out with another album in March (the songs of which, I'm sure, would be performed at their shows). Maybe I'll swing by the theater on that Monday night after class anyway, maybe someone will be selling tickets, or something. Maybe. SO lame Ticketmaster, you laggard.

Oh yeah. Other good news: I got my ticket for The Flaming Lips show in April (which was NOT available through Ticketmaster, and probably why I was able to get a bloody ticket), which is awesome, and they're sold out too (which DOES make sense). Still need to get a Spoon ticket, though...

*Update 1/31*
Aaaaaaaand there are no longer any two seats together for the Spoon concert. Oh well.

Salinger Post on the Go (+Zinn)

The world awaits with bated breath.

*Update, later*

I'm more upset about Howard Zinn's passing than I am Salinger's. I am morbidly intrigued with Salinger's, maybe now we'll finally find out what he's been up to these last 45 years...if he had a secret room full of unbound sheets of paper containing unpublished works that have yet to see the light of day. Thus the bated breath.

Back to Zinn. Zinn was the shit. The bomb diggity. It is thanks to him (well, and Mr. Barker, of course) that I developed the incredible appreciation I have now for history. "A People's History of the United States" has traveled with me everywhere, from New York, to Ohio and Oregon, to Florida, Holland, and Japan. The world truly lost a remarkable human being with his passing.

March is Music Month

OK. Of COURSE Joanna Newsom's sold out already. Pfft. Already got tix for Akron/Family, She & Him goes on sale the 29th, still need to get Spoon & Magnetic Fields. And in other musical news: Oh No Oh My is apparently coming out with a new album Mid March (!) Eeeeeep! March is going to be bananas, music will be coming out of my ears (and pouring into them).

*Update later same day*
And to ADD to the ever-growing list of concerts in March, there will now also be The Flaming Lips and Air. Oh my goodness, I just don't know what to do with myself!

Shows to See

Sooo many favorite bands are coming into town! Joanna Newsom, Josh Ritter, Spoon, and The Magnetic Fields, oh my!

I absolutely MUST see Spoon. I've been listening to them since high school, have not seen them live once. Same with The Magnetic Fields. Must must MUST see at least those two.

*Update 1/24*

Aaaah! She & Him! She & Him! (!!!!!) She & Him have a show now, too! OK. Absolute necessity to see She & Him. Are you kidding? The last time they toured was in North Carolina or somewhere not near me at all, and oh my goodness, there's no way I'm going to miss their show.

RIP Zeken

One of the first friends I ever made in Oregon has been robbed of his life. Old friends are gathering. I'll be joining them soon.

Zeken was one of the first people I met after my move across the country. He was part of the whole crew of kids I would hang with day in and day out. He left school after junior year, and while I never saw him again, his death is a tragic loss felt by all of us.

Victim named in Hwy 30 fatal collision

Haiti Devastated, Pat Robertson a Dick

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Conservative Heritage Foundation thinks Obama should bring W. in to help with the Haiti crisis in a bi-partisan effort. Yeah. Look at his track record with Katrina. He's just what we need. Meanwhile, Clinton has already addressed the United Nations.

Pat Robertson: Haiti 'Cursed' By 'Pact To The Devil'

The inconsiderate idiocy of this man. How does he have his own show. How does he not feel any guilt over saying such things. I thought Christ taught compassion.



I don't know if Berthil's family is there or not. Goodness gracious I hope not.

Puketacular

The Repubs need to get their act together, they're starting to forget things, flip-flop, and go back to stereotypically dirty tactics.


Rudy Giuliani: 'We Had No Domestic Attacks Under Bush; We've Had One Under Obama'


Role Reversal: Lieberman Defends Obama From McCain

Excerpt:

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) offered a rare defense of Barack Obama on Sunday -- and an even rarer rebuke of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) -- after the Arizona Republican accused the president of "leading an extreme left-wing crusade to bankrupt America."

In what was a reversal of the role he played during the presidential campaign -- when he stumped on McCain's behalf and spoke at the Republican convention -- Lieberman said he disagreed with the anti-Obama radio ads McCain is running in his home state.

"You know every now and then John McCain and I disagree sometimes, and that's one of the cases," Lieberman said on CNN's "State of the Union." "So I don't agree with that. I think the president understands the importance of bringing our government back into balance. Look he came in, in a most difficult economic time, inheriting a national debt that had doubled in the preceding eight years.

McCain: I'm 'Arizona's Last Line Of Defense'

AD NUMBER 1:

NARRATOR: He's lived through a battle or two, vanquished many a foe. But perhaps but no battle in our lifetime is more vital than the one John McCain fights now. A battle to save America, save our jobs. John McCain leads the charge to slash government spending, bloated bureaucracies, and ridiculously unaffordable ideas like government run health care.

MCCAIN: President Obama is leading an extreme left wing crusade to bankrupt America. I stand in his way every day. If I get a bruise or two knocking some sense into head in Washington, so be it. I'll keep fighting for jobs and economic growth for Arizona as long as I'm in the Senate.

NARRATOR: John McCain is Arizona's last line of defense. Character matters.

AD NUMBER 2:

NARRATOR: We know what he endured, turned down a chance to go home early. It was against the prisoner's code. John McCain has spent his life representing Arizona, fighting for the little guy, standing up to titans, afraid of no man, saying yes to jobs and small business, no to big government. John McCain is leading the fight against President Obama every day, standing tall and outspoken, helping Arizona families.

MCCAIN: My lot in life has been to wage war against wrong, like today's massive spending at the worst possible time. Send me back to the Senate. We will win that fight for Arizona.

NARRATOR: John McCain is Arizona's last line of defense. Character matters.

George Will Battles Liz Cheney On Racism And Terrorism (VIDEO)

So Obama played golf. At least he addressed the nation about what happened in between putts, Bush didn't even have the decency to do as much with the shoe bombing incident.

And Harry Reid isn't racist, he was acknowledging that Americans are racist, and that that is what Americans truly think. He was insulting Americans, not African Americans.

No Pants Subway Ride

This makes me laugh:

Sunday, January 10
* Ninth Annual No Pants Subway Ride, Manhattan
* Third Annual Pro Pants Rally, Manhattan


Guess not everyone likes it when people ride pants-less!

Avatar

Avatar is, aside from the incredible visuals and technology, nothing new plot-wise. It is essentially 'Ferngully' meets 'Dances with Wolves' meets 'Nausicaa,' 'Pocahontas,' and 'Gorillas in the Mist.' Beautiful, yes, and awesome, especially in IMAX 3D, all those glowing lights in your face and the depth of the distance below the trees and floating mountains, glorious. But entirely predictable, absolutely. I knew what would happen hours before it happened, not that I wasn't pleased to see I was right, or that I wasn't happy with what happened, but no surprises. This movie loves foreshadowing, like whoah.


And this isn't to say I didn't love it, obviously, I've seen it more than once already, and could see it again. But that's because I like where it takes me, and the aesthetic pleasure and feelings I derive from watching it. Also, I love nature kicking ass. My favorite LotR was the second for the longest time because the Ents kick so much ass (nature, yay!).


From Huffington Post: 'Avatar' = 'Pocahontas' in Space




Anyway. It's a damn good movie, and the anti-war (Giovanni Ribisi and the Colonel were deliciously diabolical) pro-nature (I want to 'plug-in' to nature and ride a giant bird!) themes are very much appreciated, but aside from the technology it ain't nothing new. But what movies nowadays don't pay homage to some plot of the past? Whether it's Jane Austen, Homer, Shakespeare, or apparently Disney, it's how it's used that matters. The bit of originality I will give it is the idea of the avatar itself, and being a big blue being that looks like a combination of a deer, an elf, and a monkey. I couldn't help but think of "little green men" when looking at the humans, that we are them, smaller than the indigenous peoples, with our scary futuristic technology, using their bodies to communicate, and just so darn cute and small.

Fabulous Muppets videos

Deliciously perverse Shel Silverstein song:



Human Sacrifice + The Beatles + Muppets = Spectacular



The Count Censored: