I’ve been told people skip right over these posts, the This Week in History posts. But I love them, and let me tell you why. During the week, when I’m reading other blogs or watching Letterman, there will be a post or a joke where somebody says, “hey, you know what happened this day in history? Blah blah blah.” And when it comes to what they are talking about, I did know. So it’s like research for the week ahead, as well as a good predictor of how things are going to shape up. For example, you know how last week I wrote about the anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death? I mentioned it was too hard to find any good in that day. And you know what happened to me that day? The “a” key on my work computer stopped working. It was dreadful. But I already knew it would be a dreadful day. OMENS, people.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 25
On this day in history, my work computer’s “a” key started working again. Hey, it’s worth a shot, right? Also, on this day in 1971, Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten were found guilty of the Tate/LaBianca murders. In college, I had to read the book “Helter Skelter” by the prosecutor in the case, Vincent Bugliosi, for a criminal justice class. My roommate was in the class also, and we both became kinda obsessed with the book. To the point that we downloaded Mp3’s of Charles Manson singing off Napster and went to several Blockbusters trying to find this Charles Manson documentary. We were convinced we were being monitored and were going to end up on some awful governmental list. But what can I say? It’s a really good book, one of my favorites.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 26
On this day in 1905, Maria Von Trapp was born! I admit I don’t know much about the real Maria Von Trapp; I know about the Julie Andrews Maria Von Trapp. I just spent some time on the Trapp Family Lodge Web site, for it seems that something not covered in the movie is how they moved to Vermont and opened a ski lodge. I was particularly interested in the dining menus as I am a little bit hungry as of this writing. It seems overpriced, but what are you going to do? There are real-life Von Trapps there!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 27
As a resident of the state of Georgia, I feel compelled to mention that the University of Georgia was founded in 1785. When I was in high school, I had my parents drive me to Athens, so we could take a look at it. It was way, way too big for me, so I really wasn’t considering it, as I may have implied at the time. I really just wanted to be in the place where R.E.M. formed. This past year, when I was shopping for furniture for my current apartment, I liked this red couch. But I couldn’t get it, because I felt it sent a message of support to the University of Georgia that I wasn’t quite ready to send. I felt a red couch would have certain UGA meanings in Atlanta.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 28
Elijah Wood was born this day in 1981! Now, Elijah Wood was a childhood crush of mine, due to his roles in 1992’s “Radio Flyer” and 1993’s “The Good Son.” Since he was only a year older than me, I figured we could grow up and get married, though I remember being slightly turned off when I read in some sort of teen magazine that Elijah Wood really liked girls who had followed his career and could have deep conversations about his films. Cause even then I knew that sounded pretentious and self-absorbed and I really didn’t know how long talking about “The Good Son” might last before I became terribly bored. But it really didn’t matter, because once he became a hobbit (both physically and on the silver screen), I really wasn’t interested anymore.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 29
Today is Oprah’s birthday! Earlier in the week it was Ellen DeGeneres’s birthday! I don’t really get to watch any daytime television, but I’m mentioning this in case I have any readers who are giving birth this week. Maybe if you groom your child just right, they too will grow up and become talk show hosts! It’s an auspicious week for that.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 30
You know how earlier I was talking about omens? This does not look like it’s going to be a good day. Today is the day in history where Dick Cheney was born and the Beatles gave their last public performance. Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany and Martin Luther King Jr’s home was bombed. It’s also Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s day of birth, but I just don’t know if he can overcome all of the negativity emanating from today.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 31
Oh man, do you love Scotch tape? If not, why? It’s so useful, particularly when you’re wrapping presents! Anyways, on this day in 1930, 3M started marketing the product. According to Wikipedia, it’s called Scotch tape because they only put a little bit of sticky stuff on it at the beginning, and someone said that the stingy Scotch bosses needed to put more on. And voila, a valuable office supply was born.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
i could have danced all night
Man oh man. What an Inauguration Day. We got to take a little pause from work and watch the swearing-in and the speeches. People in the office broke into applause after Obama took the oath of office and then you could have heard a pin drop while Obama gave his speech. What a moment.
But now I am home and on the couch and watching all the commentators re-live the day. And the Obamas are going to TEN balls! I would be happy just to go to one ball in a big poofy dress but they are going to TEN! So I decided to make a list ten balls that I would like to go to:
1. Pope Ball
This would be a ball held in Vatican City. The Pope sits in a chair and watches everyone dance. All the males have to come dressed as their favorite pope. Or they get assigned a pope, because we don't want everyone coming as just John Paul II or something. Maybe it would be creepy to dance with a man dressed as a pope; after all, they are supposed to be celibate. But I think I would get over it. Requested attire: Big poofy dress of the type wore in the Renaissance.
2. Southern Belle Ball
By this I mean a ball that takes place in the south. I know I live in Atlanta, so it's not inconceivable that I could go to such a ball one day. But I'd like the ball to take place in pre-Civil War times, ideally. I am pretty much modeling this idea on a few scenes in Gone with the Wind. Requested attire: Big poofy dress of the type worn in the pre-war south.
3. Underwater Ball
I keep hearing about these snazzy restaurants where you eat in enclosed glass while fish swim all around you. This would be a ball like that. Where you dance in glass surrounded by fish. But only pretty fish. No scary fish. Nothing like eels or anything. Requested attire: Whatever dress you want.
4. Art Museum Ball
I was thinking of some awesome art museums in Europe that would be fun to have a party in. So just a ball where people get to run around in an art museum. Particularly one with sculpture all around. And you can say things like, "Darling, go get me a class of wine and I will wait for you by the Monet." Requested attire: an outfit that has actually been in a painting.
5. Castle Ball
I guess this is sort of obvious. But what would really make this ideal is if we still lived in the kind of world where there was really a chance of meeting a prince and becoming princess and have it mean something. If there was still really that stress of producing male heirs to continue the monarchy. I can't decide what time period I'd want, or even what monarchy I want to marry into. But basically a big ol' royalty ball.
6. North Pole Ball
This would be an outside ball. It would be all snowy, but not uncomfortably cold. There are a ton of elves, both male and female, so that you always have someone to dance with. Santa dances with all the ladies. You get presents at this ball. You arrive at this ball in a sleigh. I know these aren't Christmas per se, but if some adorable creatures could scamper around during the dancing, that would be ideal.
7. Cheese Ball
Picture a huge cheese wheel. Like the hugest cheese wheel you've ever seen. Now picture it 29384093840293840 percent bigger…so big that we could carve out the middle of it and have a circular cheese wall big enough for people to dance in. At the ball they would serve the cheese that was carved out of the middle, but it would also be encouraged to just take pieces of cheese from the wall. Cause the ball is not over until all of the cheese walls are eaten. Requested attire: a big poofy dress that is loose enough to accommodate you eating a lot of cheese.
8. Roller skating ball
You know how fun it is to wear a huge poofy dress? And you know how fun it is to roller skate? Well, COMBINE THE TWO and you have a roller skating ball.
9. Amusement Park Ball
You can dance all over the amusement park. OR YOU CAN RIDE ALL THE RIDES. Also all the concession stands are free during the ball so you can eat lots of hot dogs and funnel cakes.
10. White House Ball
But this isn't an inaugural ball. Oh no. This is a ball where all the dead presidents appear and dance with the living. You can chat them up about what they think about the country now and they try to offer you snacks that were typical of their time. Lincoln would be a total playa at this ball and would always be trying to show the ladies the Lincoln Bedroom.
But now I am home and on the couch and watching all the commentators re-live the day. And the Obamas are going to TEN balls! I would be happy just to go to one ball in a big poofy dress but they are going to TEN! So I decided to make a list ten balls that I would like to go to:
1. Pope Ball
This would be a ball held in Vatican City. The Pope sits in a chair and watches everyone dance. All the males have to come dressed as their favorite pope. Or they get assigned a pope, because we don't want everyone coming as just John Paul II or something. Maybe it would be creepy to dance with a man dressed as a pope; after all, they are supposed to be celibate. But I think I would get over it. Requested attire: Big poofy dress of the type wore in the Renaissance.
2. Southern Belle Ball
By this I mean a ball that takes place in the south. I know I live in Atlanta, so it's not inconceivable that I could go to such a ball one day. But I'd like the ball to take place in pre-Civil War times, ideally. I am pretty much modeling this idea on a few scenes in Gone with the Wind. Requested attire: Big poofy dress of the type worn in the pre-war south.
3. Underwater Ball
I keep hearing about these snazzy restaurants where you eat in enclosed glass while fish swim all around you. This would be a ball like that. Where you dance in glass surrounded by fish. But only pretty fish. No scary fish. Nothing like eels or anything. Requested attire: Whatever dress you want.
4. Art Museum Ball
I was thinking of some awesome art museums in Europe that would be fun to have a party in. So just a ball where people get to run around in an art museum. Particularly one with sculpture all around. And you can say things like, "Darling, go get me a class of wine and I will wait for you by the Monet." Requested attire: an outfit that has actually been in a painting.
5. Castle Ball
I guess this is sort of obvious. But what would really make this ideal is if we still lived in the kind of world where there was really a chance of meeting a prince and becoming princess and have it mean something. If there was still really that stress of producing male heirs to continue the monarchy. I can't decide what time period I'd want, or even what monarchy I want to marry into. But basically a big ol' royalty ball.
6. North Pole Ball
This would be an outside ball. It would be all snowy, but not uncomfortably cold. There are a ton of elves, both male and female, so that you always have someone to dance with. Santa dances with all the ladies. You get presents at this ball. You arrive at this ball in a sleigh. I know these aren't Christmas per se, but if some adorable creatures could scamper around during the dancing, that would be ideal.
7. Cheese Ball
Picture a huge cheese wheel. Like the hugest cheese wheel you've ever seen. Now picture it 29384093840293840 percent bigger…so big that we could carve out the middle of it and have a circular cheese wall big enough for people to dance in. At the ball they would serve the cheese that was carved out of the middle, but it would also be encouraged to just take pieces of cheese from the wall. Cause the ball is not over until all of the cheese walls are eaten. Requested attire: a big poofy dress that is loose enough to accommodate you eating a lot of cheese.
8. Roller skating ball
You know how fun it is to wear a huge poofy dress? And you know how fun it is to roller skate? Well, COMBINE THE TWO and you have a roller skating ball.
9. Amusement Park Ball
You can dance all over the amusement park. OR YOU CAN RIDE ALL THE RIDES. Also all the concession stands are free during the ball so you can eat lots of hot dogs and funnel cakes.
10. White House Ball
But this isn't an inaugural ball. Oh no. This is a ball where all the dead presidents appear and dance with the living. You can chat them up about what they think about the country now and they try to offer you snacks that were typical of their time. Lincoln would be a total playa at this ball and would always be trying to show the ladies the Lincoln Bedroom.
Monday, January 19, 2009
frankie say relax
Today I had the day off from work. It was very relaxing. I was trying to think about a way to blog about my relaxation but I couldn't really think of anything that would be interesting. You probably don't want a list of television programs watched or foods eaten. Overall, people's relaxation can be boring when recounted to other people. Like dreams.
But I do have some pictures that really sum up relaxation. I took them at Kanuga at Mary Henry's wedding. For those of you that don't know, Kanuga is in Hendersonville, North Carolina. You should go there if these sorts of things look relaxing to you:
New photographic theory: it's impossible to take a picture of a rocking chair that doesn't create a feeling of relaxation. Well, maybe if it was something like this:
ROCKING CHAIRS ON FIRE!
Okay, it is not a very good drawing. But you certainly can't say that it's relaxing.
Here is the lake:
Here is a tree:
But I do have some pictures that really sum up relaxation. I took them at Kanuga at Mary Henry's wedding. For those of you that don't know, Kanuga is in Hendersonville, North Carolina. You should go there if these sorts of things look relaxing to you:
New photographic theory: it's impossible to take a picture of a rocking chair that doesn't create a feeling of relaxation. Well, maybe if it was something like this:
ROCKING CHAIRS ON FIRE!
Okay, it is not a very good drawing. But you certainly can't say that it's relaxing.
Here is the lake:
Here is a tree:
I will look at these pictures tomorrow, when I am back at non-relaxing work.
But I do want to say one thing, in case I don't do some sort of inauguration post tomorrow. Probably my favorite book of all time is "Woody Guthrie: A Life" by Joe Klein. The book deals with how once the song "This Land is Your Land" became something of a patriotic anthem, the last verses were dropped because they weren't as "hip hip hooray America" as the other verses. They were much more disparaging, because the song was an angry response to "God Bless America." Before Woody lost the ability to speak from Huntington's disease, he'd take his son Arlo out and make him memorize the lost verses so they wouldn't be forgotten.
Now, the fact that Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen performed "This Land is Your Land" yesterday at the big Obama inaugural concert yesterday would already be enough to make my little folk music loving heart skip a beat. But the fact that they did it with the extended verses was amazing. I don't know if I just don't look hard enough on YouTube, but prior to that performance I don't think I'd heard the extra verses sung. Here they are:
In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office, I saw my people
As they stood hungry, I stood whistling
This land was made for you and me
A great high wall there that tried to stop me
A great big sign there, said Private Property
But on the other side, it didn't say nothin'
That side was made for you and me
When Woody wrote that song he put a note at the bottom of the page that said, "All you can write is what you see."
That performance was probably my one non-relaxing moment of the weekend. That song gets me worked up.
But I do want to say one thing, in case I don't do some sort of inauguration post tomorrow. Probably my favorite book of all time is "Woody Guthrie: A Life" by Joe Klein. The book deals with how once the song "This Land is Your Land" became something of a patriotic anthem, the last verses were dropped because they weren't as "hip hip hooray America" as the other verses. They were much more disparaging, because the song was an angry response to "God Bless America." Before Woody lost the ability to speak from Huntington's disease, he'd take his son Arlo out and make him memorize the lost verses so they wouldn't be forgotten.
Now, the fact that Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen performed "This Land is Your Land" yesterday at the big Obama inaugural concert yesterday would already be enough to make my little folk music loving heart skip a beat. But the fact that they did it with the extended verses was amazing. I don't know if I just don't look hard enough on YouTube, but prior to that performance I don't think I'd heard the extra verses sung. Here they are:
In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief office, I saw my people
As they stood hungry, I stood whistling
This land was made for you and me
A great high wall there that tried to stop me
A great big sign there, said Private Property
But on the other side, it didn't say nothin'
That side was made for you and me
When Woody wrote that song he put a note at the bottom of the page that said, "All you can write is what you see."
That performance was probably my one non-relaxing moment of the weekend. That song gets me worked up.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Book #2: Persepolis
I don’t remember reading a whole lot of picture books when I was little. Once I knew how to read, I went straight to big, fat, no-picture books. I remember informing my first grade teacher that I had permission to look all sections of the library, whereas I believe kids at my school weren’t allowed out of the picture book section until like, the second or third grade.
I only bring this up because I feel like it makes my selection of a book with pictures, especially as an adult, much more significant. I just finished “The Complete Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi, which is told in graphic novel form. It’s a memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Now, if someone had handed me a big, fat, no-picture book on the same subject, it probably would have taken me a lot longer to get around to it than a picture book did. I guess that’s the point I’ve been trying to make for two paragraphs.
Anyways, once I started reading this book, I had to spend about an hour on Wikipedia figuring out exactly what was going on. I’m not the most knowledgeable person about the Middle East. Once I figured it out, I read the first 30 pages or so again, felt caught up, and then just let the story wash over me. Not having much experience reading picture books, sometimes I felt like I had to remind myself to look at the pictures. Then I got in the groove.
The first half deals with Satrapi’s childhood in Iran, and it ends with her going off to Vienna to pursue a western education and to leave the danger and repression behind. Vienna proves no easier though, and after finishing high school she returns to Iran. Despite how much she’s been through, you have to keep remembering that she’s only 18. But going back to Iran is a whole other can of worms because she can’t quite determine her identity. As she says at one point, “I was a Westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West.”
In the introduction, Satrapi says that writing “Persepolis” was important to her because after living in the West, she knew the kind of perspective some people had of Iranians, and she didn’t want the whole nation judged by the extreme fundamentalism and terrorism of a few. I think the book succeeds on that count. It’s a very relatable tale of growing up, except for all the war. And the pictures.
I only bring this up because I feel like it makes my selection of a book with pictures, especially as an adult, much more significant. I just finished “The Complete Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi, which is told in graphic novel form. It’s a memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Now, if someone had handed me a big, fat, no-picture book on the same subject, it probably would have taken me a lot longer to get around to it than a picture book did. I guess that’s the point I’ve been trying to make for two paragraphs.
Anyways, once I started reading this book, I had to spend about an hour on Wikipedia figuring out exactly what was going on. I’m not the most knowledgeable person about the Middle East. Once I figured it out, I read the first 30 pages or so again, felt caught up, and then just let the story wash over me. Not having much experience reading picture books, sometimes I felt like I had to remind myself to look at the pictures. Then I got in the groove.
The first half deals with Satrapi’s childhood in Iran, and it ends with her going off to Vienna to pursue a western education and to leave the danger and repression behind. Vienna proves no easier though, and after finishing high school she returns to Iran. Despite how much she’s been through, you have to keep remembering that she’s only 18. But going back to Iran is a whole other can of worms because she can’t quite determine her identity. As she says at one point, “I was a Westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West.”
In the introduction, Satrapi says that writing “Persepolis” was important to her because after living in the West, she knew the kind of perspective some people had of Iranians, and she didn’t want the whole nation judged by the extreme fundamentalism and terrorism of a few. I think the book succeeds on that count. It’s a very relatable tale of growing up, except for all the war. And the pictures.
last night i saw snowflakes!
It’s soooooooooo cold in Atlanta as I write this. Sure, we’ll be back in the 50’s and 60’s soon, and I have no right to complain. But imagine if you lived in a place where it was always warm, and then suddenly out of the blue it was cold? Isn’t that a little worse than living in a place where you’ve come to expect really cold weather? What will warm me up? Reviewing what happened this week in history, of course.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 18
On this day in 1861, Georgia seceded from the United States. Man, what if Georgia had never come back? What if the country had never been reunited? I would probably never even have been born. But let’s say that I had been born…where would I live? Who would I be? Maybe I have hypothermia but suddenly I find this very freaky to think about. Earlier this year I was reading the Mental Floss blog, and there was this entry that showed a hypothetical re-drawing of state lines: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17550. Isn’t that weird? I’d kind of rather live in a state called Piedmont; it sounds nicer. But I would be from Cumberland, not Carolina, which makes me slightly sad. Perhaps I would have moved to Superior merely for the humor factor. Hmm.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 19
Continuing on yesterday’s theme, I feel compelled to tell you that on this day in 1807, Robert E. Lee was born. Maybe if things had been different, that would be a holiday or something. Also on this day, Dolly Parton and Paula Deen were born. So a fairly good day for the south, until you consider that on this day in 1862, at the Battle of Mill Springs, the Confederacy suffered its first major defeat.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 20
I couldn’t find anything of interest to Southerners today. Unless you live below the Mason-Dixon and really like “The Office.” Then you might be interested in knowing that it’s Rainn Wilson’s birthday. Even if that show is all about Yankees.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 21
On this day in 1924, Vladimir Lenin died. When I was in Moscow, I got to go see the embalmed body. It was creepy. You walk around in a line, no talking at all, while soldiers stare at you with a look that will make you very nervous. I just read what they do to preserve the body, if they’re preserving an actual body, on Wikipedia, and it only furthered the creepiness/nervousness I feel about the subject.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 22
Man, I tried to find something to cheer me up after all those unpleasant thoughts about Lenin. Well, let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing pleasant to be found in all my scrolling. I was getting near the bottom and thinking I was going to have to scroll through again and try to find something at least mediocre to share as pleasant. And, then, do you know what I found at the bottom of the Wikipedia page? Today is the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death. Blurgh. The press will make this day so depressing. So why should I try to find any sort of pleasant value in it?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 23
Today was a pretty good day for women in the United States! We had the first female doctor (Elizabeth Blackwell) and the first female secretary of state (Madeleine Albright). And also, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was born??
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 24
On this day in 1947, one of my favorite singers, Warren Zevon was born. In celebration, I advise you to have a sandwich, and to enjoy it. The nice thing about YouTube is you can watch many clips of Warren and David Letterman, which is how I found out about Warren. But sadly I didn’t see any of the clips where Warren Zevon talks about being the comedy deputy, which is one of the reasons I’ll always like him. Cause I thought that was so funny when I was younger. Well, here is a song:
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 18
On this day in 1861, Georgia seceded from the United States. Man, what if Georgia had never come back? What if the country had never been reunited? I would probably never even have been born. But let’s say that I had been born…where would I live? Who would I be? Maybe I have hypothermia but suddenly I find this very freaky to think about. Earlier this year I was reading the Mental Floss blog, and there was this entry that showed a hypothetical re-drawing of state lines: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17550. Isn’t that weird? I’d kind of rather live in a state called Piedmont; it sounds nicer. But I would be from Cumberland, not Carolina, which makes me slightly sad. Perhaps I would have moved to Superior merely for the humor factor. Hmm.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 19
Continuing on yesterday’s theme, I feel compelled to tell you that on this day in 1807, Robert E. Lee was born. Maybe if things had been different, that would be a holiday or something. Also on this day, Dolly Parton and Paula Deen were born. So a fairly good day for the south, until you consider that on this day in 1862, at the Battle of Mill Springs, the Confederacy suffered its first major defeat.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 20
I couldn’t find anything of interest to Southerners today. Unless you live below the Mason-Dixon and really like “The Office.” Then you might be interested in knowing that it’s Rainn Wilson’s birthday. Even if that show is all about Yankees.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 21
On this day in 1924, Vladimir Lenin died. When I was in Moscow, I got to go see the embalmed body. It was creepy. You walk around in a line, no talking at all, while soldiers stare at you with a look that will make you very nervous. I just read what they do to preserve the body, if they’re preserving an actual body, on Wikipedia, and it only furthered the creepiness/nervousness I feel about the subject.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 22
Man, I tried to find something to cheer me up after all those unpleasant thoughts about Lenin. Well, let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing pleasant to be found in all my scrolling. I was getting near the bottom and thinking I was going to have to scroll through again and try to find something at least mediocre to share as pleasant. And, then, do you know what I found at the bottom of the Wikipedia page? Today is the one-year anniversary of Heath Ledger’s death. Blurgh. The press will make this day so depressing. So why should I try to find any sort of pleasant value in it?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 23
Today was a pretty good day for women in the United States! We had the first female doctor (Elizabeth Blackwell) and the first female secretary of state (Madeleine Albright). And also, Tiffani Amber Thiessen was born??
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 24
On this day in 1947, one of my favorite singers, Warren Zevon was born. In celebration, I advise you to have a sandwich, and to enjoy it. The nice thing about YouTube is you can watch many clips of Warren and David Letterman, which is how I found out about Warren. But sadly I didn’t see any of the clips where Warren Zevon talks about being the comedy deputy, which is one of the reasons I’ll always like him. Cause I thought that was so funny when I was younger. Well, here is a song:
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
a chicken and egg scenario
A sad fact of the universe is that the marketplace forces us to think about holidays far earlier than we are ready to think about them. Before all the Fourth of July fireworks have gone off, then the stores will be decorated for Halloween. Or they might go straight to Thanksgiving. Without a doubt, Christmas will last for several months, and as soon as that’s over, then it’s Valentine’s Day. I mean, I can’t even have a proper President’s Day party without having to think ahead to my Veteran’s Day party!
Well, most of the time I am a grumbling goose about how early the holidays are celebrated in certain retail stores. But I finally found something that is to my benefit…the Cadbury Creme Eggs are already out! Easter is not for three more months! I don’t remember them ever being out so early before. I guess I could have missed them in years past. But there is no missing them now. They are everywhere. The Cadbury Chicken has been pumping them out in overdrive.
Cadbury Creme Eggs are one of my very favorite candies. It probably helps that they are seasonal, and only come out at Easter, because if you think about it, it is fairly gross to eat something that is chocolate on the outside but that tries to mock an egg on the inside.
Here is how to properly eat a Cadbury egg: First, say a little Easter prayer that you will not get an egg with a sticky wrapper. Those are the worst. Hold the egg longways, like you do when you’re trying to get an egg to stand on end on the summer solstice. Then, unwrap just the top of the egg, much like how you should unwrap just the top of a burrito, and not the whole thing. Take a bite of the top of the egg. Then suck out all the egg-like frosting that you can. Then, another bite of chocolate. Then repeat. Now, sometimes when you eat a burrito, you try to get those perfect bites that have a little bit of everything—some cheese, some guac, some salsa and meat. Don’t try to do that here. Keep the bites of chocolate and cream separate.
There you go. Apparently eating a Cadbury egg is kind of like eating a burrito.
I feel like this should go without saying, but bring me no imitations of the original. No Cadbury Caramel egg or the like. You will just be insulting my intelligence if you do this. And Cadbury mini-eggs…I’m not quite convinced that those things are not just stale M&M’s.
Anyways, consider this blog a public service announcement: If you love Cadbury eggs and wait for their arrival every year, then they are in stores now! Perhaps it’s crass commercialism, or perhaps they’ve arrived early so that people who give up chocolate for Lent can enjoy a few. Because once Easter is over, those bad buys are gone. Risen like the Lord, I guess.
Well, most of the time I am a grumbling goose about how early the holidays are celebrated in certain retail stores. But I finally found something that is to my benefit…the Cadbury Creme Eggs are already out! Easter is not for three more months! I don’t remember them ever being out so early before. I guess I could have missed them in years past. But there is no missing them now. They are everywhere. The Cadbury Chicken has been pumping them out in overdrive.
Cadbury Creme Eggs are one of my very favorite candies. It probably helps that they are seasonal, and only come out at Easter, because if you think about it, it is fairly gross to eat something that is chocolate on the outside but that tries to mock an egg on the inside.
Here is how to properly eat a Cadbury egg: First, say a little Easter prayer that you will not get an egg with a sticky wrapper. Those are the worst. Hold the egg longways, like you do when you’re trying to get an egg to stand on end on the summer solstice. Then, unwrap just the top of the egg, much like how you should unwrap just the top of a burrito, and not the whole thing. Take a bite of the top of the egg. Then suck out all the egg-like frosting that you can. Then, another bite of chocolate. Then repeat. Now, sometimes when you eat a burrito, you try to get those perfect bites that have a little bit of everything—some cheese, some guac, some salsa and meat. Don’t try to do that here. Keep the bites of chocolate and cream separate.
There you go. Apparently eating a Cadbury egg is kind of like eating a burrito.
I feel like this should go without saying, but bring me no imitations of the original. No Cadbury Caramel egg or the like. You will just be insulting my intelligence if you do this. And Cadbury mini-eggs…I’m not quite convinced that those things are not just stale M&M’s.
Anyways, consider this blog a public service announcement: If you love Cadbury eggs and wait for their arrival every year, then they are in stores now! Perhaps it’s crass commercialism, or perhaps they’ve arrived early so that people who give up chocolate for Lent can enjoy a few. Because once Easter is over, those bad buys are gone. Risen like the Lord, I guess.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Book #1: The Road
Ah, the new year. A time to party. A time to think about life-improving resolutions. A time to get married, if you are my cousin. But for me, the new year was a time to think about the landscape of nuclear winter, for the first book I read in the new year was “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy.
McCarthy tells of a father and son who follow the titular road south, in hopes of better climates. They scavenge for food and fend off the “bad guys”, who commit such heinous acts that bad guys seems like kind of an understatement. They have to go on, claims the father to his son, because they are the good guys, and they are carrying the fire. Yet the father knows he is dying, and he wonders to himself several times whether he will have the strength to kill his son when the time comes, for that would be a death more merciful than any other kind the boy might face on the road.
I read this book for many reasons, primarily because Entertainment Weekly named it the best book of the past 25 years. (#2? “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) Also, it won a Pulitzer, but I’m more inclined to trust the Entertainment Weekly people than the Pulitzer people.
I think this book is a sort of litmus test for how a person will deal in a post-apocalyptic world. Granted, I don’t have any children, but I frequently found myself wanting the father to go ahead and kill the son because the son was just a huge fraidy-cat and there just didn’t seem to be that much to live for in this world of theirs. There didn’t seem to be one bit of hope left anywhere. This, of course, is all the evidence you need that I will be absolutely useless to anyone else in the nuclear winter. You shouldn’t root for the main characters of a book to die even though the world they live in sucks. You shouldn’t root for fathers to kill sons. That is what I learned from reading “The Road.” Rather, you should aim to be a good guy who is carrying fire. A lack of good guys carrying the fire is probably what got the world into the mess that the characters in “The Road” are dealing with.
And, as Whitney Houston once said, “children are the future.” So that is probably why the father felt compelled to go south with his son, even though the son just complained and was scared and wanted to give all their food away. The son is the future. The son is carrying the fire. This book will probably mean more to people who have children than it did to me. Though I did really enjoy the beautiful and evocative language.
McCarthy tells of a father and son who follow the titular road south, in hopes of better climates. They scavenge for food and fend off the “bad guys”, who commit such heinous acts that bad guys seems like kind of an understatement. They have to go on, claims the father to his son, because they are the good guys, and they are carrying the fire. Yet the father knows he is dying, and he wonders to himself several times whether he will have the strength to kill his son when the time comes, for that would be a death more merciful than any other kind the boy might face on the road.
I read this book for many reasons, primarily because Entertainment Weekly named it the best book of the past 25 years. (#2? “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) Also, it won a Pulitzer, but I’m more inclined to trust the Entertainment Weekly people than the Pulitzer people.
I think this book is a sort of litmus test for how a person will deal in a post-apocalyptic world. Granted, I don’t have any children, but I frequently found myself wanting the father to go ahead and kill the son because the son was just a huge fraidy-cat and there just didn’t seem to be that much to live for in this world of theirs. There didn’t seem to be one bit of hope left anywhere. This, of course, is all the evidence you need that I will be absolutely useless to anyone else in the nuclear winter. You shouldn’t root for the main characters of a book to die even though the world they live in sucks. You shouldn’t root for fathers to kill sons. That is what I learned from reading “The Road.” Rather, you should aim to be a good guy who is carrying fire. A lack of good guys carrying the fire is probably what got the world into the mess that the characters in “The Road” are dealing with.
And, as Whitney Houston once said, “children are the future.” So that is probably why the father felt compelled to go south with his son, even though the son just complained and was scared and wanted to give all their food away. The son is the future. The son is carrying the fire. This book will probably mean more to people who have children than it did to me. Though I did really enjoy the beautiful and evocative language.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Hour 3: dull as the other two
One time Steven Spielberg saw a movie and it changed his life blah blah blah. He talks about how he had mentors, and now he gets to be a mentor. Who are his mentees, I wonder. Shia LaBeouf? Drew Barrymore’s hair?
Now Wynonna Judd is endorsing Alli. Do you remember the made-for-tv movie “Love Can Build a Bridge”, based upon Naomi Judd’s autobiography of the same name? Yeah, I just remembered it too, and it’s going on the Netflix queue. Now I bet that would be an interesting live blog.
I just tried to make a list of five things I’d like to win an award for. First was blogging. Then I guess non-blog related writing, either work-related or otherwise. Then I was out of stuff. I should get good at other things. Hmm. This boring awards show is forcing me to face my own mediocrity.
Finally, something funny happens, when Sasha Baron Cohen gets up there. No one in the room laughs, though. Based on the background noise, it sounds like they don’t even stop talking for the show anymore. They just keep on meeting and greeting and making deals and celebrating, as the voiceover announcer reminds me every time we cut to commercial. The only way they could improve this award show at this point would be to televise the commercials. And put microphones on everyone. Secret microphones. AND they should fly Jennifer Aniston in for a last-minute surprise to Brangelina and she should present Angelina Jolie’s award and….the possibilities are too limitless from there.
Man, I liked Cameron Diaz’s dress, then she got on stage and was annoying. Now she’s dead to me. Kate Winslet wins twice! Hooray! This refuted the previous intelligence that Anne Hathaway would win because her name was already up on the Golden Globes web site. I like how Emma Thompson is there to help Kate Winslet on-stage. Then Kate Winslet forgot Angelina Jolie was even nominated! Mwa ha ha ha. I don’t want Angelina to get awards. I would prefer she focus on acquiring children.
Finally. Mad Men wins something. That’s the good thing. The bad thing is how long it might take them all to walk up to the stage.
I’m not even trying anymore. I guess I’ll go ahead and post this. I don’t think live blogging award shows is a very good idea anymore. Oh well.
Now Wynonna Judd is endorsing Alli. Do you remember the made-for-tv movie “Love Can Build a Bridge”, based upon Naomi Judd’s autobiography of the same name? Yeah, I just remembered it too, and it’s going on the Netflix queue. Now I bet that would be an interesting live blog.
I just tried to make a list of five things I’d like to win an award for. First was blogging. Then I guess non-blog related writing, either work-related or otherwise. Then I was out of stuff. I should get good at other things. Hmm. This boring awards show is forcing me to face my own mediocrity.
Finally, something funny happens, when Sasha Baron Cohen gets up there. No one in the room laughs, though. Based on the background noise, it sounds like they don’t even stop talking for the show anymore. They just keep on meeting and greeting and making deals and celebrating, as the voiceover announcer reminds me every time we cut to commercial. The only way they could improve this award show at this point would be to televise the commercials. And put microphones on everyone. Secret microphones. AND they should fly Jennifer Aniston in for a last-minute surprise to Brangelina and she should present Angelina Jolie’s award and….the possibilities are too limitless from there.
Man, I liked Cameron Diaz’s dress, then she got on stage and was annoying. Now she’s dead to me. Kate Winslet wins twice! Hooray! This refuted the previous intelligence that Anne Hathaway would win because her name was already up on the Golden Globes web site. I like how Emma Thompson is there to help Kate Winslet on-stage. Then Kate Winslet forgot Angelina Jolie was even nominated! Mwa ha ha ha. I don’t want Angelina to get awards. I would prefer she focus on acquiring children.
Finally. Mad Men wins something. That’s the good thing. The bad thing is how long it might take them all to walk up to the stage.
I’m not even trying anymore. I guess I’ll go ahead and post this. I don’t think live blogging award shows is a very good idea anymore. Oh well.
Only Hour 2, but it felt like Hour 20
Demi Moore tells her daughter, who is Miss Golden Globe, not to slouch. Do you constantly forget that Demi Moore is married to Ashton Kutcher now? I do. Heath Ledger wins an award and gets a standing ovation and they show a clip of his work. Would he have won if he hadn’t died? An awful question to ask, but still. Maybe he wouldn’t have even shown up. Philip Seymour Hoffman didn’t.
A commercial for The Celebrity Apprentice was just on. That looks more interesting than this show right now.
Colin Farrell has a cold too! He makes a joke about drug use. So appropriate, Colin!
Laura Linney’s dress: should it be another color? Usually these things don’t occupy me, but when things get this boring. SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE IN THE BATHROOM WHEN AN AWARD IS ANNOUNCED, STAT.
Should people really be described as “handsome” when they are introduced? I took a vote of all the voices in my head, and we say no. Sorry Gerard Butler.
Elizabeth Banks may be wearing my favorite dress of the night.
Here’s something I learned this week: sodium plays an important part in the taste of bread. I found that out when I bought some low-sodium bread. It tasted weird.
Here’s another thing: Amazon.com is getting kind of desperate, I think, and recommending me really bizarre things. Things that I am in no way interested in. Stop recommending me things with “Theban” in the title, Amazon. I’m just not that into Sophocles.
Renee Zellweger = worst-dressed! You read it here first. Unless you read other news sites first.
Paul Giamatti…I am trying to think of words that sum up how I feel about Paul Giamatti. He is zooming to the top of my favorite actor list. I even have “The Nanny Diaries” on my Netflix list because he is in it. I have heard that movie sucks but I’ll watch it anyways, for him.
Today I finally found some food coloring. I’d been having a hard time finding it. Turns out they keep it with the spices now, not with the cake decorating stuff.
I am trying to spy on my neighbors across the way. A couple lives there now. I think they are having dinner.
Tracy Morgan gives the acceptance speech for “30 Rock”, finally enlivening this boring show. Maybe he should give everyone’s acceptance speech. OMG Jay-Z is there with Beyonce!
We have nine awards left to go! And whatever lifetime achievement things they’re gonna do!
Even Tina Fey can’t keep me entertained at this point. TRY HARDER, CELEBRITIES.
A commercial for The Celebrity Apprentice was just on. That looks more interesting than this show right now.
Colin Farrell has a cold too! He makes a joke about drug use. So appropriate, Colin!
Laura Linney’s dress: should it be another color? Usually these things don’t occupy me, but when things get this boring. SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE IN THE BATHROOM WHEN AN AWARD IS ANNOUNCED, STAT.
Should people really be described as “handsome” when they are introduced? I took a vote of all the voices in my head, and we say no. Sorry Gerard Butler.
Elizabeth Banks may be wearing my favorite dress of the night.
Here’s something I learned this week: sodium plays an important part in the taste of bread. I found that out when I bought some low-sodium bread. It tasted weird.
Here’s another thing: Amazon.com is getting kind of desperate, I think, and recommending me really bizarre things. Things that I am in no way interested in. Stop recommending me things with “Theban” in the title, Amazon. I’m just not that into Sophocles.
Renee Zellweger = worst-dressed! You read it here first. Unless you read other news sites first.
Paul Giamatti…I am trying to think of words that sum up how I feel about Paul Giamatti. He is zooming to the top of my favorite actor list. I even have “The Nanny Diaries” on my Netflix list because he is in it. I have heard that movie sucks but I’ll watch it anyways, for him.
Today I finally found some food coloring. I’d been having a hard time finding it. Turns out they keep it with the spices now, not with the cake decorating stuff.
I am trying to spy on my neighbors across the way. A couple lives there now. I think they are having dinner.
Tracy Morgan gives the acceptance speech for “30 Rock”, finally enlivening this boring show. Maybe he should give everyone’s acceptance speech. OMG Jay-Z is there with Beyonce!
We have nine awards left to go! And whatever lifetime achievement things they’re gonna do!
Even Tina Fey can’t keep me entertained at this point. TRY HARDER, CELEBRITIES.
Golden Globes The Actual Show Hour One
Aww, man, when I switched over to NBC’s preshow, I found out I was missing red carpet coverage by Tiki Barber. What a loss. Anyways. Now the show is starting. Everyone is there, which they are demonstrating by showing all the celebrities arriving while a rap song plays.
Jennifer Lopez is going to start off the show. For a minute I thought they were going to say Jennifer Love Hewitt and I was going to get pissed. J-Lo goes, “Mama talkin’ Mama talkin’” when people keep talking. Oh, J-Lo, that is so annoying. And didn’t anyone tell you that the Golden Globes are ZANY?! Talking through presenters is, like, so Golden Globe.
Kate Winslet takes her sweet time getting up to the stage. Don’t you know I have a cold, Kate? We gotta keep this show on schedule. I’d be more upset, but I adore her, and she’s genuinely happy and moved. So okay. THIS TIME.
Oh, thank goodness. If Miley Cyrus had beat Bruce Springsteen in the Best Song category, I might have had to commit suicide or at least turn the show off. And then where would the blog be? And he said happy birthday to the Big Man Clarence Clemons! He must have seen that on Wikipedia, like I did.
Now the one thing I really dislike about the Golden Globes is that in the supporting categories, all the tv show actors are lumped together with all the miniseries and tv movie actors. That keeps the show moving faster than the Emmys, but it puts someone like Tom Wilkinson, who played Ben Franklin in “John Adams” up against Neil Patrick Harris. It seems unfair, but there’s no contest. I think Tom Wilkinson is drunk.
I’ve seen, like, nothing that is nominated for a Golden Globe, except for these things: Tropic Thunder, The Dark Knight, Mad Men, The Office, 30 Rock, Weeds, and John Adams. I have a lot of viewing to do, I guess.
Now I am looking at other things on the internet.
Oh, now they are showing my husband, Jon Hamm! I hope he wins! He does not. But Anna Paquin does? Over January Jones of Mad Men? This show is losing me very, very rapidly.
Man, even the celebrities are excited that Johnny Depp is there.
Guys, I worry that I’m not more excited by this award show. Is it really that boring, or have I lost my passion for award shows, and by extension, my passion for life? Is it the cold? I have drunk like half a carton of orange juice and it’s not doing ANYTHING. Beer doesn’t do anything either. I tried that a few nights ago. Ditto soda. I am running out of fluids.
It’s kind of hard to believe we haven’t passed the hour mark yet. Finally, we’re there. Tom Hanks is accepting the award for “John Adams” as I post this.
Jennifer Lopez is going to start off the show. For a minute I thought they were going to say Jennifer Love Hewitt and I was going to get pissed. J-Lo goes, “Mama talkin’ Mama talkin’” when people keep talking. Oh, J-Lo, that is so annoying. And didn’t anyone tell you that the Golden Globes are ZANY?! Talking through presenters is, like, so Golden Globe.
Kate Winslet takes her sweet time getting up to the stage. Don’t you know I have a cold, Kate? We gotta keep this show on schedule. I’d be more upset, but I adore her, and she’s genuinely happy and moved. So okay. THIS TIME.
Oh, thank goodness. If Miley Cyrus had beat Bruce Springsteen in the Best Song category, I might have had to commit suicide or at least turn the show off. And then where would the blog be? And he said happy birthday to the Big Man Clarence Clemons! He must have seen that on Wikipedia, like I did.
Now the one thing I really dislike about the Golden Globes is that in the supporting categories, all the tv show actors are lumped together with all the miniseries and tv movie actors. That keeps the show moving faster than the Emmys, but it puts someone like Tom Wilkinson, who played Ben Franklin in “John Adams” up against Neil Patrick Harris. It seems unfair, but there’s no contest. I think Tom Wilkinson is drunk.
I’ve seen, like, nothing that is nominated for a Golden Globe, except for these things: Tropic Thunder, The Dark Knight, Mad Men, The Office, 30 Rock, Weeds, and John Adams. I have a lot of viewing to do, I guess.
Now I am looking at other things on the internet.
Oh, now they are showing my husband, Jon Hamm! I hope he wins! He does not. But Anna Paquin does? Over January Jones of Mad Men? This show is losing me very, very rapidly.
Man, even the celebrities are excited that Johnny Depp is there.
Guys, I worry that I’m not more excited by this award show. Is it really that boring, or have I lost my passion for award shows, and by extension, my passion for life? Is it the cold? I have drunk like half a carton of orange juice and it’s not doing ANYTHING. Beer doesn’t do anything either. I tried that a few nights ago. Ditto soda. I am running out of fluids.
It’s kind of hard to believe we haven’t passed the hour mark yet. Finally, we’re there. Tom Hanks is accepting the award for “John Adams” as I post this.
Golden Globes Red Carpet Hour 2
Hour 2 of Red Carpet on E! starts off with an awkward interview with Kevin Nealon because no one who works at E! has a sense of humor. They cut it off when Kevin Nealon starts talking about how it doesn’t matter what people wear, because what people wear is E!’s bread and butter. Now they’re talking to Susan Sarandon. And now Amy Adams. We’re in the thick of it now, people! Celebrities right and left! And yet they just keep showing Miley Cyrus!
Oh yikes. I give Drew Barrymore’s hair a thumbs-down. But I just learned an important tv term. “Hot switch!” is when Ryan Seacrest switches the celebrities he’s talking to without taking a commercial break. Man, we are TV insiders now! Another hot switch! Do you think maybe it’s one word?
Oh my. The screen just went completely red while Giuliana Rancic while she was interviewing Jeff Garlin…a sign of the end of the world? Or maybe someone at E! just freaked out because Leo (as in DiCaprio) is on the red carpet now. They passed out and some buttons got pushed. Want more TV insider news? Giuliana Rancic eats collard greens at the airport!
A somewhat awesome thing just happened. Ryan Seacrest asked Maggie Gyllenhaal what tonight was like without Heath Ledger. And Maggie said, you know what, we did a whole press junket where we answered that question over and over. And I understand why you’re interested, but it’s kinda hard to talk about a friend who died while all this silliness of the Golden Globes is going on. But then she answered the question anyways. She should have just bitch-slapped him all the way to the floor.
“Do you realize you have it pretty good in this world?” Giuliana Rancic to David Duchovny, in the midst of a majorly awkward interview.
HOT SWITCH.
Billy Ray Cyrus is interviewing his daughter and his wife and I just vomited all over my couch. Just kidding about the vomit part. But then Miley starts bitching because she got a hand-me-down Porsche and not a new Porsche and then I think I will vomit. And then she makes a joke about spousal and child abuse! NO WONDER PEOPLE LOVE HER.
Now I have to eat some fried rice, far away from my computer so I don’t get food on it. So there may be a brief break in my comments.
Oh, man, while I was eating fried rice, Brangelina arrived. And Ryan Seacrest left his little perch to go down on the red carpet to try and interview them, but he got rejected. It was a glimpse of what life must have been like for Ryan Seacrest in high school.
Speaking of high school, there was this totally annoying moment while I was eating where High School Musical star Zac Efron talked about how long he had to wait in the limo to get there. And Ryan was all like, “Yeah, you people at home don’t know how long the stars have to wait in the limos before they can get out of the car!” Zac Efron looked vaguely uncomfortable, and I’d like to think that maybe he realized that that was a really stupid thing to be complaining about while the country is dealing with war and recession and whatnot.
The other ridiculous thing that happened while I was eating was that Giuliana Rancic worked the “fact” that she reads three books a month into an interview with John Krasinski. It’s her new year’s resolution to read more; John Krasinski replied that his new year’s resolution was to learn to read.
Aww, Jeremy Piven allegedly has mercury poisoning, but not so much that he couldn’t come to the Golden Globes! Suspicious! He can’t “get too much into it.”
I don’t know who Megan Fox is, but I hate her. She talks about how ugly she is but then works into the convo that she has a 22 inch waist. She is dating Brian Austin Green but he won’t come with her because he’s “a man with an ego.” I wish my cold upon her. Hopefully she won’t become more famous because then I’ll have to elevate her to arch-nemesis status.
On that negative note, I shall wrap up Hour 2 of my Red Carpet coverage and post this.
Oh yikes. I give Drew Barrymore’s hair a thumbs-down. But I just learned an important tv term. “Hot switch!” is when Ryan Seacrest switches the celebrities he’s talking to without taking a commercial break. Man, we are TV insiders now! Another hot switch! Do you think maybe it’s one word?
Oh my. The screen just went completely red while Giuliana Rancic while she was interviewing Jeff Garlin…a sign of the end of the world? Or maybe someone at E! just freaked out because Leo (as in DiCaprio) is on the red carpet now. They passed out and some buttons got pushed. Want more TV insider news? Giuliana Rancic eats collard greens at the airport!
A somewhat awesome thing just happened. Ryan Seacrest asked Maggie Gyllenhaal what tonight was like without Heath Ledger. And Maggie said, you know what, we did a whole press junket where we answered that question over and over. And I understand why you’re interested, but it’s kinda hard to talk about a friend who died while all this silliness of the Golden Globes is going on. But then she answered the question anyways. She should have just bitch-slapped him all the way to the floor.
“Do you realize you have it pretty good in this world?” Giuliana Rancic to David Duchovny, in the midst of a majorly awkward interview.
HOT SWITCH.
Billy Ray Cyrus is interviewing his daughter and his wife and I just vomited all over my couch. Just kidding about the vomit part. But then Miley starts bitching because she got a hand-me-down Porsche and not a new Porsche and then I think I will vomit. And then she makes a joke about spousal and child abuse! NO WONDER PEOPLE LOVE HER.
Now I have to eat some fried rice, far away from my computer so I don’t get food on it. So there may be a brief break in my comments.
Oh, man, while I was eating fried rice, Brangelina arrived. And Ryan Seacrest left his little perch to go down on the red carpet to try and interview them, but he got rejected. It was a glimpse of what life must have been like for Ryan Seacrest in high school.
Speaking of high school, there was this totally annoying moment while I was eating where High School Musical star Zac Efron talked about how long he had to wait in the limo to get there. And Ryan was all like, “Yeah, you people at home don’t know how long the stars have to wait in the limos before they can get out of the car!” Zac Efron looked vaguely uncomfortable, and I’d like to think that maybe he realized that that was a really stupid thing to be complaining about while the country is dealing with war and recession and whatnot.
The other ridiculous thing that happened while I was eating was that Giuliana Rancic worked the “fact” that she reads three books a month into an interview with John Krasinski. It’s her new year’s resolution to read more; John Krasinski replied that his new year’s resolution was to learn to read.
Aww, Jeremy Piven allegedly has mercury poisoning, but not so much that he couldn’t come to the Golden Globes! Suspicious! He can’t “get too much into it.”
I don’t know who Megan Fox is, but I hate her. She talks about how ugly she is but then works into the convo that she has a 22 inch waist. She is dating Brian Austin Green but he won’t come with her because he’s “a man with an ego.” I wish my cold upon her. Hopefully she won’t become more famous because then I’ll have to elevate her to arch-nemesis status.
On that negative note, I shall wrap up Hour 2 of my Red Carpet coverage and post this.
Golden Globes Red Carpet Hour 1
Well, I feel my blog needs a 2009 kickstart, and I think that kickstart is presenting itself tonight in the form of the Golden Globes. Live-blogging awards shows is a great way to get a ton of entries, particularly if you break your blogs down by hour as I will do. And I have never live-blogged the Golden Globes before!! The only thing that could stand in my way tonight is falling asleep at 8:15, and with my cold, that is entirely possible. But I am going to do my very best. I am taking shots of orange juice.
So it’s 6 p.m. EST now, which means it’s E! time. 6 p.m. is when red carpet coverage starts, though I can’t promise we’ll see any celebrities til 7 at the earliest. Though E! is starting out strong with Ricky Gervais.
While the minor celebrities are being interviewed, I’ll go ahead and tell you that the Golden Globes are my absolute favorite out of all awards shows, because this award show has movies AND television. Plus they have booze, which means that things get kinda crazy, or at least they did one year, and the Golden Globes has been showing footage of that zany night ever since.
Tonight the Golden Globes are extra-special, because it wasn’t on last year due to the writer’s strike. There was just a press conference where they announced the winners, but I had just moved into my current apartment, like, that day, and I didn’t have the television or internet hooked up, so I couldn’t even watch it. So this year it should be bigger and better ever to make up for that!!!
OK enough sentimentality. E! is trying to bring me some breaking television news. All the TV stars want out of their contracts. The E! anchor promises to try to talk them out of it tonight. Good luck, random E! anchor I’ve never seen before!
Kevin Nealon is there! He’s kinda wandering around while the woman who plays Brad Pitt’s mother in “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” talks about growing up in inner-city and her childhood dreams and studying electrical engineering. She talked fast, so they couldn’t cut her off and get another celebrity in there. I applaud her for that. She was pretty spunky.
Some starlet talks about how getting sick over the holidays kept her from eating too much and gaining weight before she had to get into her Golden Globes dress! I hear ya, sister, but I’m going to take your comments out of context and pretend you were talking about bulimia.
Guiliana Rancic is saying that there might be movie star reunions on the red carpet along the lines of Susan Sarandon and Brad Pitt (Thelma and Louise) and Steven Spielberg and Drew Barrymore (E.T.) tonight, and that is apparently a reason to stay tuned. That has gotta be the dumbest reason for staying tuned that I have ever heard.
E! keeps wanting me to text them things while we wait for people to arrive. And they keep referring to people as “hotties.”
Ryan Seacrest is asking Rumer Willis if Bruce Willis ever won a Golden Globe. Blurgh. She doesn’t know.
Guys, E! has so many satellites and cameras on this red carpet that it is really starting to freak me out. Don’t they know we’re in a recession? The fashion guy just said he was “gagging” over some TV star’s outfit. In like, a good way, as far as I can tell. I think. Creepy.
Eva Longoria Parker has a cold too! Now she’s stuck there awkwardly, like a third wheel, while Aaron Eckhart talks about Heath Ledger. Aaron Eckhart has no idea who she is.
There are interesting people to interview, in the form of Creed, Meredith and Stanley from the Office, but E! has put them in a tiny box to show that MILEY CYRUS IS HERE. I hope Miley Cyrus gets a cold. Now the Jonas Brothers are there. What are they doing there? I wish a cold upon all of them.
Evan Rachel Wood is talking about “The Wrestler,” and all I am thinking about is how she used to date Marilyn Manson. But then she says that Bruce Springsteen will be there tonight! She seems kind of excited about it! That makes me like her.
Time for more orange juice. So ends pre-show hour 1.
So it’s 6 p.m. EST now, which means it’s E! time. 6 p.m. is when red carpet coverage starts, though I can’t promise we’ll see any celebrities til 7 at the earliest. Though E! is starting out strong with Ricky Gervais.
While the minor celebrities are being interviewed, I’ll go ahead and tell you that the Golden Globes are my absolute favorite out of all awards shows, because this award show has movies AND television. Plus they have booze, which means that things get kinda crazy, or at least they did one year, and the Golden Globes has been showing footage of that zany night ever since.
Tonight the Golden Globes are extra-special, because it wasn’t on last year due to the writer’s strike. There was just a press conference where they announced the winners, but I had just moved into my current apartment, like, that day, and I didn’t have the television or internet hooked up, so I couldn’t even watch it. So this year it should be bigger and better ever to make up for that!!!
OK enough sentimentality. E! is trying to bring me some breaking television news. All the TV stars want out of their contracts. The E! anchor promises to try to talk them out of it tonight. Good luck, random E! anchor I’ve never seen before!
Kevin Nealon is there! He’s kinda wandering around while the woman who plays Brad Pitt’s mother in “Curious Case of Benjamin Button” talks about growing up in inner-city and her childhood dreams and studying electrical engineering. She talked fast, so they couldn’t cut her off and get another celebrity in there. I applaud her for that. She was pretty spunky.
Some starlet talks about how getting sick over the holidays kept her from eating too much and gaining weight before she had to get into her Golden Globes dress! I hear ya, sister, but I’m going to take your comments out of context and pretend you were talking about bulimia.
Guiliana Rancic is saying that there might be movie star reunions on the red carpet along the lines of Susan Sarandon and Brad Pitt (Thelma and Louise) and Steven Spielberg and Drew Barrymore (E.T.) tonight, and that is apparently a reason to stay tuned. That has gotta be the dumbest reason for staying tuned that I have ever heard.
E! keeps wanting me to text them things while we wait for people to arrive. And they keep referring to people as “hotties.”
Ryan Seacrest is asking Rumer Willis if Bruce Willis ever won a Golden Globe. Blurgh. She doesn’t know.
Guys, E! has so many satellites and cameras on this red carpet that it is really starting to freak me out. Don’t they know we’re in a recession? The fashion guy just said he was “gagging” over some TV star’s outfit. In like, a good way, as far as I can tell. I think. Creepy.
Eva Longoria Parker has a cold too! Now she’s stuck there awkwardly, like a third wheel, while Aaron Eckhart talks about Heath Ledger. Aaron Eckhart has no idea who she is.
There are interesting people to interview, in the form of Creed, Meredith and Stanley from the Office, but E! has put them in a tiny box to show that MILEY CYRUS IS HERE. I hope Miley Cyrus gets a cold. Now the Jonas Brothers are there. What are they doing there? I wish a cold upon all of them.
Evan Rachel Wood is talking about “The Wrestler,” and all I am thinking about is how she used to date Marilyn Manson. But then she says that Bruce Springsteen will be there tonight! She seems kind of excited about it! That makes me like her.
Time for more orange juice. So ends pre-show hour 1.
any time of year, you can find it here
It’s hard to believe another week is upon us. This past week I had a cold, so my sincerest hope for this week is that it’s cold-free. I slept an obscene amount yesterday, though, so hopefully I’m starting the week off with my immunity as strong as can be. But enough about the present. What about the past?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 11
Man, today was a crazy day with all sorts of weird historical events to write about. I’m feeling a little indecisive, so I tried to pick something fairly boring just so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. And so I tell you that on this day in 1779, Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur. Wait a tic, now that I write that out, it doesn’t seem boring at all. Wait, now I just did a little research on Ching-Thang Khomba and apparently he’s awesome. So Jan. 11 I guess is just an awesome day overall. They started delivering milk in bottles, y’all!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 12
Today is the date of birth for actress Texas Guinan. I’d never heard of her, but I liked the name, so I did a little extra research. Unfortunately, Texas is not her given name; Mary Louise Cecilia is. But she was a firecracker nevertheless. She walked around saying “hello suckers!” and starred in movies as a cowgirl and opened a speakeasy during Prohibition. Also born today: Tex Ritter. So Jan. 12 = great day to give someone a Lone Star State nickname.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 13
On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison, giving the movie “Walk the Line” a way to frame their story. As much as I like Reese Witherspoon, I want to say that I think Joaquin Phoenix should have won an Oscar instead (if only one of them could have won). I think it’s interesting to imagine an alternate universe where Joaquin Phoenix did win—would he have gone all crazy and retired from acting like he did last year? Or would something like that have happened even earlier? It’s fun to think about. Joaquin Phoenix’s birthday is October 28, so imagine more speculation on the subject around that date.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 14
I was scanning through the notable births of the day, which include writer Tillie Olson being born this day in 1912. But I guess I was reading too fast, and I thought it said Nellie Olson, as in the character from Little House on the Prairie. I did a little more research on the subject and the last name is actually spelled Oleson, something I don’t remember from the books. Plus Nellie Oleson is just an composite of several people, named Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert. So once I read all that, and realized that the day should really be all about Tillie Olson anyways, I felt fairly… disappointed.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 15
Wikipedia went online on this day in 2001! On the same day, Ted Mann died. Ted Mann was an American businessman who bought movie theaters; he changed the name of Grauman’s Chinese Theater to Mann’s Chinese Theater once he bought that theater chain. Did the spirit of the newlyTed Mann enter into the newly born Wikipedia? Impossible to prove, but I’m starting that rumor now. If I were less lazy, I’d try to add it to Ted Mann’s Wikipedia page.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 16
People with interesting names that were born on this date:
-Edmund Crouchback
-Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter
-Irving Rapper
-Dizzy Dean
-Stirling Silliphant
-Dalvanius Prime
People with interesting names that died on this date:
-Charles Annibal Fabrot
-Amilcare Ponchielli
-Ike Quebec
-Ballard Berkeley
-Bobo Olson
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 17
I have decided that this week in history should be Nevil Shute Week. He was born on January 17, 1899, and he died earlier this week, on January 12, 1960. One of the few books I had to read in high school was On the Beach. I say it in that passive-aggressive condescending way because I feel like I should have been made to read far more books in high school. I’m sure Nevil Shute would have agreed with me; after all, I named a whole week in history after him.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 11
Man, today was a crazy day with all sorts of weird historical events to write about. I’m feeling a little indecisive, so I tried to pick something fairly boring just so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. And so I tell you that on this day in 1779, Ching-Thang Khomba was crowned King of Manipur. Wait a tic, now that I write that out, it doesn’t seem boring at all. Wait, now I just did a little research on Ching-Thang Khomba and apparently he’s awesome. So Jan. 11 I guess is just an awesome day overall. They started delivering milk in bottles, y’all!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 12
Today is the date of birth for actress Texas Guinan. I’d never heard of her, but I liked the name, so I did a little extra research. Unfortunately, Texas is not her given name; Mary Louise Cecilia is. But she was a firecracker nevertheless. She walked around saying “hello suckers!” and starred in movies as a cowgirl and opened a speakeasy during Prohibition. Also born today: Tex Ritter. So Jan. 12 = great day to give someone a Lone Star State nickname.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 13
On this day in 1968, Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison, giving the movie “Walk the Line” a way to frame their story. As much as I like Reese Witherspoon, I want to say that I think Joaquin Phoenix should have won an Oscar instead (if only one of them could have won). I think it’s interesting to imagine an alternate universe where Joaquin Phoenix did win—would he have gone all crazy and retired from acting like he did last year? Or would something like that have happened even earlier? It’s fun to think about. Joaquin Phoenix’s birthday is October 28, so imagine more speculation on the subject around that date.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 14
I was scanning through the notable births of the day, which include writer Tillie Olson being born this day in 1912. But I guess I was reading too fast, and I thought it said Nellie Olson, as in the character from Little House on the Prairie. I did a little more research on the subject and the last name is actually spelled Oleson, something I don’t remember from the books. Plus Nellie Oleson is just an composite of several people, named Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert. So once I read all that, and realized that the day should really be all about Tillie Olson anyways, I felt fairly… disappointed.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 15
Wikipedia went online on this day in 2001! On the same day, Ted Mann died. Ted Mann was an American businessman who bought movie theaters; he changed the name of Grauman’s Chinese Theater to Mann’s Chinese Theater once he bought that theater chain. Did the spirit of the newlyTed Mann enter into the newly born Wikipedia? Impossible to prove, but I’m starting that rumor now. If I were less lazy, I’d try to add it to Ted Mann’s Wikipedia page.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 16
People with interesting names that were born on this date:
-Edmund Crouchback
-Dorthe Engelbrechtsdatter
-Irving Rapper
-Dizzy Dean
-Stirling Silliphant
-Dalvanius Prime
People with interesting names that died on this date:
-Charles Annibal Fabrot
-Amilcare Ponchielli
-Ike Quebec
-Ballard Berkeley
-Bobo Olson
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 17
I have decided that this week in history should be Nevil Shute Week. He was born on January 17, 1899, and he died earlier this week, on January 12, 1960. One of the few books I had to read in high school was On the Beach. I say it in that passive-aggressive condescending way because I feel like I should have been made to read far more books in high school. I’m sure Nevil Shute would have agreed with me; after all, I named a whole week in history after him.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
get me to the church on time (because it will be very crowded)
If it’s true that we eat our feelings, then I guess I ate lots and lots of joy last weekend. That is when my cousin Mary Henry married my new cousin-in-law Brad at Kanuga. I am pretty happy about this arrangement, to the point that if anyone had objected during the ceremony, even as a joke (something I often daydream of doing), I would have fought that person right then and there. Especially if that person was my arch-nemesis.
Yes, I managed to acquire a new arch-nemesis at the wedding, even though the whole festivities only lasted a weekend. Hey. What can I say. You get on my bad side and you are dead to me. But let’s not dwell on the negative. Let’s dwell on the positive. The most positive thing was that Mary Henry and Brad got married.
The second most postive thing was that there was a TON of food. For the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, there were specialities from Buffalo, NY, which is where Brad’s family is from, including hot dogs, roast beef and wings. As well as two kinds of cake! Then, on Saturday morning, my side of the family had sausage biscuits from Bojangle’s because we couldn’t wait til 10 am for brunch. Then we had the just mentioned brunch; I had french toast with strawberry topping, sausage and egg bites and bacon, among other things.
Then a few hours later was the reception, where I feasted on spinach and artichoke dip, meatballs, ham biscuits, cheese straws, cheese and cake. I had more than one piece of cake at the reception, for which my first cousin once-removed Sophie chastised me, but I pointed out that she didn’t have much of a case because she was eating sugar straight from the packet at the time. I guess that was just a snack to tide her over before dinner, which included roast beef, chicken, potatoes, green beans, and salad..and that’s just what I remember. And poundcake with fruit for dessert.
Then the next day we had a breakfast that included eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy and also sausage on the side. There was a lot of sausage. And that’s not even including all the food there was in the hospitality suite, which is where my family hung out between mealtimes. In the hospitaly suite there were goodies including cookies, pretzels, M&Ms, cheese straws and spinach dip. As I said before, I ate lots and lots of joy this weekend.
But the wedding weekend wasn’t all about food, of course. It was also about drinking. My brother William showed up with his custom beer pong table, and many a good game was had, including one monumental game that had three overtimes. At one point my cousins and I ran upstairs to Brad’s family’s hospitality suite and took them on in a game of flip cup, which we won, thanks to a little bit of cheating. I would like to take this opportunity to say that I was not aware that I was cheating at the time. I was just unsure what the game was.
This was a multi-keg wedding, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t wine and spirits as well. And the younger folks had lemonade and soda available, but what they really loved was water. That’s because they played water pong for most of the weekend. Stylistically, water pong is very similar to beer pong, but the scoring is much different, particularly if you play against a child. Children tend to give themselves half-points for a lot of things, such as being close and for cool throws. At one point I was down 7 ½ to nothing despite the fact that I had gotten several balls into cups and my opponent had gotten no balls into no cups. But such is life.
Other than eating and drinking, I guess there was the wedding itself. That was an extremely nice event that is too difficult to explain in blog format. But everyone looked wonderful and everyone in the whole chapel cried, but in a good way, and everyone was very happy to be there.
I’m trying to think if anything happened that didn’t involve eating or drinking or a wedding ceremony but I’m coming up with very few examples. I took a nap. My cousin Worth played music. I looked at the pictures my first cousin once removed Maggie drew. We all played with Baby Sarah. I conspired against my arch-nemesis. Mainly, though, I think I will remember the eating. And so will my waistline.
Yes, I managed to acquire a new arch-nemesis at the wedding, even though the whole festivities only lasted a weekend. Hey. What can I say. You get on my bad side and you are dead to me. But let’s not dwell on the negative. Let’s dwell on the positive. The most positive thing was that Mary Henry and Brad got married.
The second most postive thing was that there was a TON of food. For the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, there were specialities from Buffalo, NY, which is where Brad’s family is from, including hot dogs, roast beef and wings. As well as two kinds of cake! Then, on Saturday morning, my side of the family had sausage biscuits from Bojangle’s because we couldn’t wait til 10 am for brunch. Then we had the just mentioned brunch; I had french toast with strawberry topping, sausage and egg bites and bacon, among other things.
Then a few hours later was the reception, where I feasted on spinach and artichoke dip, meatballs, ham biscuits, cheese straws, cheese and cake. I had more than one piece of cake at the reception, for which my first cousin once-removed Sophie chastised me, but I pointed out that she didn’t have much of a case because she was eating sugar straight from the packet at the time. I guess that was just a snack to tide her over before dinner, which included roast beef, chicken, potatoes, green beans, and salad..and that’s just what I remember. And poundcake with fruit for dessert.
Then the next day we had a breakfast that included eggs, biscuits with sausage gravy and also sausage on the side. There was a lot of sausage. And that’s not even including all the food there was in the hospitality suite, which is where my family hung out between mealtimes. In the hospitaly suite there were goodies including cookies, pretzels, M&Ms, cheese straws and spinach dip. As I said before, I ate lots and lots of joy this weekend.
But the wedding weekend wasn’t all about food, of course. It was also about drinking. My brother William showed up with his custom beer pong table, and many a good game was had, including one monumental game that had three overtimes. At one point my cousins and I ran upstairs to Brad’s family’s hospitality suite and took them on in a game of flip cup, which we won, thanks to a little bit of cheating. I would like to take this opportunity to say that I was not aware that I was cheating at the time. I was just unsure what the game was.
This was a multi-keg wedding, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t wine and spirits as well. And the younger folks had lemonade and soda available, but what they really loved was water. That’s because they played water pong for most of the weekend. Stylistically, water pong is very similar to beer pong, but the scoring is much different, particularly if you play against a child. Children tend to give themselves half-points for a lot of things, such as being close and for cool throws. At one point I was down 7 ½ to nothing despite the fact that I had gotten several balls into cups and my opponent had gotten no balls into no cups. But such is life.
Other than eating and drinking, I guess there was the wedding itself. That was an extremely nice event that is too difficult to explain in blog format. But everyone looked wonderful and everyone in the whole chapel cried, but in a good way, and everyone was very happy to be there.
I’m trying to think if anything happened that didn’t involve eating or drinking or a wedding ceremony but I’m coming up with very few examples. I took a nap. My cousin Worth played music. I looked at the pictures my first cousin once removed Maggie drew. We all played with Baby Sarah. I conspired against my arch-nemesis. Mainly, though, I think I will remember the eating. And so will my waistline.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
stylin' and profilin'
Time for another post about Barnabas Bear. (If you need to catch up with who Barnabas the Bear is, you can check out these posts: #1, #2, #3) On the day that Barnabas entered my life, he was wearing a brown t-shirt and blue jeans, and that is what he has been wearing ever since. I don't dwell on it too much, because he seems to really like the outfit and he keeps it fairly clean. Occasionally he gets a little too lean, and I wish he would get a belt cause his pants are always falling off. Oh well.
But the bear's wardrobe, or lack thereof, has always bothered my mother. So on occasion, I have looked in craft stores for bear clothing, because there's usually an aisle where you can make your own bear and dress it up. But most of those clothes are for girl bears, so I've always been out of luck. Oh! You know what else I was out of luck on? When the pope visited America, Build-a-bear released a tiny little bear shirt that commemorated the occasion, but it was only sold in D.C. area stores. Oh well again.
Finally, though, my mother had some luck finding additional outfits for Barnabas. The last time I went home, I found a tiny bear sweater and some bear pajamas on my bed. Man oh man it was like Christmas all over again. Mom said to tell Barnabas that the clothes were from his grandmother, which was about as creepy and awesome all at the same time as you might expect.
So now Barnabas has three outfits, basically. I worry that soon I will have to clear out a shelf for him or something.
His new blue sweater says "Little Star" and has various sports depicted upon it. It's a good sweater to wear when Barnabas watches sports with his new little brother Chester, who came already attired in athletic gear:
Now, on to the pajamas. The creepiest thing about these pajamas, from my perspective, is that they have an opening at the crotch as if Barnabas were a real male bear that might need to go to the bathroom. Now, I know I treat my bear like he is a real person, but that is weird even to me. And it can't be for a teddy tail, which was my first thought, because they're in the front of the pants and not the back. Well, I'm going to try not to focus on that.
In addition to the weird opening, the pajamas concern me ever so slightly because Barnabas already does a lot of lounging around. Hopefully these pajamas will not completely turn him into a Howard Hughes-style recluse. So far, though, he is proving to take more of a Hugh Hefner tack, wearing his pajamas around and macking on the ladies. Here is how I found Barnabas just the other night:
But I raised Barnabas to be a gentleman, and he arose in the morning to make everyone coffee and poptarts:
But the bear's wardrobe, or lack thereof, has always bothered my mother. So on occasion, I have looked in craft stores for bear clothing, because there's usually an aisle where you can make your own bear and dress it up. But most of those clothes are for girl bears, so I've always been out of luck. Oh! You know what else I was out of luck on? When the pope visited America, Build-a-bear released a tiny little bear shirt that commemorated the occasion, but it was only sold in D.C. area stores. Oh well again.
Finally, though, my mother had some luck finding additional outfits for Barnabas. The last time I went home, I found a tiny bear sweater and some bear pajamas on my bed. Man oh man it was like Christmas all over again. Mom said to tell Barnabas that the clothes were from his grandmother, which was about as creepy and awesome all at the same time as you might expect.
So now Barnabas has three outfits, basically. I worry that soon I will have to clear out a shelf for him or something.
His new blue sweater says "Little Star" and has various sports depicted upon it. It's a good sweater to wear when Barnabas watches sports with his new little brother Chester, who came already attired in athletic gear:
Now, on to the pajamas. The creepiest thing about these pajamas, from my perspective, is that they have an opening at the crotch as if Barnabas were a real male bear that might need to go to the bathroom. Now, I know I treat my bear like he is a real person, but that is weird even to me. And it can't be for a teddy tail, which was my first thought, because they're in the front of the pants and not the back. Well, I'm going to try not to focus on that.
In addition to the weird opening, the pajamas concern me ever so slightly because Barnabas already does a lot of lounging around. Hopefully these pajamas will not completely turn him into a Howard Hughes-style recluse. So far, though, he is proving to take more of a Hugh Hefner tack, wearing his pajamas around and macking on the ladies. Here is how I found Barnabas just the other night:
But I raised Barnabas to be a gentleman, and he arose in the morning to make everyone coffee and poptarts:
Sunday, January 4, 2009
a fresh start
Happy New Year! Today starts off the first full week of 2009, and after a bit of a blogging break after my December sprint to the finish, I’m back to tell you interesting and useless factoids about what happened on these dates in history.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 4
Ok, as I write this, there are only about two hours left on this day. Eastern standard time of course. So I don't feel compelled to make a big production out of it. Suffice it to say that ELEVEN people who are described by Wikipedia as having something to do with football, be it in a coaching or playing position, either were born or died on this day in history. And I'm not going to get any more specific than that. Also, it is Michael Stipe's birthday.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 5
If your name is George Washington, there's a good chance that something monumental will happen to you today, for in 1759 on this date George Washington married Martha, and on this day in 1943, George Washington Carver died. HEY. If you have a baby today, name him/her George Washington, because we have a notable event and a notable death occurring on this date, but not a notable birth. YET.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 6
I found this day in history to be fairly dull.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 7
Oh man. The United States might be in trouble today if history provides any indication. Even before we were a country, we were having troubles on this day, such as back in 1608 when fire destroyed Jamestown. Then, in 1953 Harry Truman announced we had developed a hydrogen bomb. With eerie parallels to today's situation, on this date in 1980 Jimmy Carter authorized a bailout for Chrysler, and on this day in 1999, the impeachment of Bill Clinton began. And also, Dustin Diamond, a.k.a Saved by the Bell's Screech, was born. So watch your back, America!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 8
Though a fair amount of interesting historical things happened, I think I'd like to point out that Jenny Lewis was born this day in 1976. Her latest cd, Acid Tongue, was probably my favorite of 2008 though I don't know if that's saying much because I didn't hear a whole lot of new cd's in 2008 and some of the ones I heard weren't really that good. But that cd stays put in my car's cd player, even when I am tired of it and think I should switch it. Sometimes I don't and then I get right back into it.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 9
In other female singer news, Crystal Gayle was born this day in 1951. She was one of the first singers I was really aware of when I was little. She had all that hair. I think her greatest hits cd was one of the first, if not the first, cd that my dad bought when we started making the transition from cassette tape to compact disc.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 10
On this day in 681, Pope Agatho died. He was pope for about three years. So far he is the only pope with the name Agatho so keep that in mind when you're picking your pope name.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 4
Ok, as I write this, there are only about two hours left on this day. Eastern standard time of course. So I don't feel compelled to make a big production out of it. Suffice it to say that ELEVEN people who are described by Wikipedia as having something to do with football, be it in a coaching or playing position, either were born or died on this day in history. And I'm not going to get any more specific than that. Also, it is Michael Stipe's birthday.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 5
If your name is George Washington, there's a good chance that something monumental will happen to you today, for in 1759 on this date George Washington married Martha, and on this day in 1943, George Washington Carver died. HEY. If you have a baby today, name him/her George Washington, because we have a notable event and a notable death occurring on this date, but not a notable birth. YET.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 6
I found this day in history to be fairly dull.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 7
Oh man. The United States might be in trouble today if history provides any indication. Even before we were a country, we were having troubles on this day, such as back in 1608 when fire destroyed Jamestown. Then, in 1953 Harry Truman announced we had developed a hydrogen bomb. With eerie parallels to today's situation, on this date in 1980 Jimmy Carter authorized a bailout for Chrysler, and on this day in 1999, the impeachment of Bill Clinton began. And also, Dustin Diamond, a.k.a Saved by the Bell's Screech, was born. So watch your back, America!
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 8
Though a fair amount of interesting historical things happened, I think I'd like to point out that Jenny Lewis was born this day in 1976. Her latest cd, Acid Tongue, was probably my favorite of 2008 though I don't know if that's saying much because I didn't hear a whole lot of new cd's in 2008 and some of the ones I heard weren't really that good. But that cd stays put in my car's cd player, even when I am tired of it and think I should switch it. Sometimes I don't and then I get right back into it.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 9
In other female singer news, Crystal Gayle was born this day in 1951. She was one of the first singers I was really aware of when I was little. She had all that hair. I think her greatest hits cd was one of the first, if not the first, cd that my dad bought when we started making the transition from cassette tape to compact disc.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: JANUARY 10
On this day in 681, Pope Agatho died. He was pope for about three years. So far he is the only pope with the name Agatho so keep that in mind when you're picking your pope name.
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