Here are some of the things I have been enjoying lately.
A Century of Quilts is a dvd of a PBS broadcast that profiled quilts and quilt makers featured in a quilt show of the 100 best quilts of the century. It doesn't sound terribly exciting, but the work is absolutely incredible. If you enjoy art and aren't a snob about your definition of art it is well worth watching. You will be amazed by what was accomplished with cloth and thread.
Offbeat Brideis a blog that was started years ago to advertise a book by the same name. It has evolved into something much more than that though, creating a space for individuals who, for whatever reason, don't adhere to traditional expectations. It is such a positive site and Ariel, the woman who runs it, gives absolutely fabulous advice on so many things. I love, love, love Offbeat Bride. Certainly not everything featured on their site is up my alley, but the levels and varieties of creativity that are featured will blow you away. It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways people have come up with to celebrate their unions. Obviously it will be of greatest interest to those folks who are getting married and want to do something out of the ordinary, but it is a pleasant diversion for anyone who enjoys creative displays and love stories. And if shows like Platinum Weddings and Bridezillas turn your stomach like they do mine then Off Beat Bride will provide a much needed balm.
Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika. I had thought I had lost this CD and recently found it in a basket full of cards. Just really fun music.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
New Who!
As you can see there are two important details about this blog post. 1)I have modified my display name to be less sexually charged, and 2)this is the first post in over a year!!! Yes, I took slack blogging to a sloth inspired art form, but a lot happened last year and I chose to not be introspective at the time. (That and Facebook gobbled up a great deal of this sort of thing). I really did miss this, and now I have a much clearer focus for the direction I want this blog to go in.
One of my more ambitious projects for this year is to attempt to read 100 books. 10 books in 10 categories in 2010. I can't take credit for the idea as I read about it in a online article for Library Journal. I like the challenge aspect of it and it gives me a way to focus my obscenely large to be read pile. (It really is rather out of control; if I actually owned or had all of the books on the list an entire room in my house would be needed to store them. But I digress). At any rate, I am going to hone my book reviewing skills here. I'm also thinking that I will post roughly twice a week to begin with and see how that goes.
So there you have it. The blog won't be exclusively about books, but I intend that to be my main focus, at least for now.
One of my more ambitious projects for this year is to attempt to read 100 books. 10 books in 10 categories in 2010. I can't take credit for the idea as I read about it in a online article for Library Journal. I like the challenge aspect of it and it gives me a way to focus my obscenely large to be read pile. (It really is rather out of control; if I actually owned or had all of the books on the list an entire room in my house would be needed to store them. But I digress). At any rate, I am going to hone my book reviewing skills here. I'm also thinking that I will post roughly twice a week to begin with and see how that goes.
So there you have it. The blog won't be exclusively about books, but I intend that to be my main focus, at least for now.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
In defense of vanity
Let me begin by saying that I am not talking about narcissism or self-absorption here. I am talking about your garden variety vanity. Frankly, I think it gets a bum wrap. Many of the things we do that will help us to live healthier, longer lives are really outgrowths of vain behavior.
For instance, say a woman is concerned about sun spots and wrinkles. She therefore uses a moisturizer with sunscreen in it, tries not to tan, and regularly visits the dermatologist. These behaviors will help prevent skin cancer and/or catch it in an early, preventable stage.
Another example would be that a man who is concerned about getting paunchy, so he watches what he eats and goes to the gym. These behaviors help reduce, among other things, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
I think we all need a little vanity in our lives. After all, if you don't care about how you look, well, then frankly, no one else will care about you either. Harsh, I know, but true.
For instance, say a woman is concerned about sun spots and wrinkles. She therefore uses a moisturizer with sunscreen in it, tries not to tan, and regularly visits the dermatologist. These behaviors will help prevent skin cancer and/or catch it in an early, preventable stage.
Another example would be that a man who is concerned about getting paunchy, so he watches what he eats and goes to the gym. These behaviors help reduce, among other things, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
I think we all need a little vanity in our lives. After all, if you don't care about how you look, well, then frankly, no one else will care about you either. Harsh, I know, but true.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
And now for something (slightly) different.
As my friends continue to point out, I am indeed most slack about this blog. Therefore, I have worked to devise a plan of recourse. On the one hand, one of my new year's resolutions is to try new things, which should provide some excellent fodder for posts. On the other hand, I intend to focus on doing short recommendations of various forms of entertainment that I have enjoyed. I'm not quite sure how this will all work out, but do intend to try.
So to start the recommendations off on a great foot I am going to start with something very old school. Home Entertainment Center by Steven Banks. I sadly do not own this in it's original format. However, someone has very kindly put it up in it's entirety on YouTube. Years and years ago, my sister's high school boyfriend had taped this off of HBO and it stayed at our house for roughly a year, during which time I watched it repeatedly. It is hysterically funny. If you don't think so then 1)something is wrong with you and 2)what on earth are you reading my blog for? Click on the link only if you have time to watch the whole thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62EePXzshX8
So to start the recommendations off on a great foot I am going to start with something very old school. Home Entertainment Center by Steven Banks. I sadly do not own this in it's original format. However, someone has very kindly put it up in it's entirety on YouTube. Years and years ago, my sister's high school boyfriend had taped this off of HBO and it stayed at our house for roughly a year, during which time I watched it repeatedly. It is hysterically funny. If you don't think so then 1)something is wrong with you and 2)what on earth are you reading my blog for? Click on the link only if you have time to watch the whole thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62EePXzshX8
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Pithy observations
1. There is no dignified, let alone graceful, way to exit the back of a mini-van as an adult. Once you are too tall to stand upright in it and walk out you proceed into the realm of comedy.
2. Knee highs are the single most unattractive article of clothing that is regularly worn. Sure, sock garters are seriously dorky, but really, who actually wears those? And don't say panty hose because have you seen some of the styles in the Victoria's Secret catalog? Oh my! No, it is the knee high that wins the most unattractive award.
3. I wish there was a way to fast forward hair growth. I am currently trying to grow out the previously mentioned pixie cut and it is taking forever! And what is worse, there is the danger of developing a slight mullet. Alas and alack.
2. Knee highs are the single most unattractive article of clothing that is regularly worn. Sure, sock garters are seriously dorky, but really, who actually wears those? And don't say panty hose because have you seen some of the styles in the Victoria's Secret catalog? Oh my! No, it is the knee high that wins the most unattractive award.
3. I wish there was a way to fast forward hair growth. I am currently trying to grow out the previously mentioned pixie cut and it is taking forever! And what is worse, there is the danger of developing a slight mullet. Alas and alack.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
5 by 5
Five Things that I am really tired of:
1. Hot weather. It is almost Halloween, and the temperatures in the afternoons here are in the 80s. It's not like I live in Miami! Let it be fall good and proper, and not just in the mornings. Please!
2. Cooking for one. This is maddening. Even if you cut recipes in half it still makes too much. Fresh fruit and other produce tends to go bad before it can be eaten. So aggravating.
3. Mosquitoes. This goes along with the hot weather. They are a scourge. If I could keep a bat house I would, but they aren't allowed in the city limits. The Old Farmer's Almanac has promised a cold, severe winter. Bring it on and kill these nasty things.
4. Tooting your own horn. I know, I know, this isn't supposed to be a bad thing. But it always feels weird to me, and sadly it has become a necessity where I work.
5. Election campaigns. Why oh why isn't it November yet? I'm so sick of both sides getting up and talking crap. They are all dishonest and overly ambitious. That's why they are politicians. It goes with the territory. The trick is to find the one who is the least dishonest. We desperately need campaign reform that prevents them from a lot of what they do in ads. Makes me sick.
5 things I am enjoying right now.
1. Dillard's. I don't know if this is true at every Dillard's, but the last few times I have been shopping there it has been a wonderful experience. The staff in all of the departments I visited were very helpful and I found a lot of things that I really liked. They even have call buttons in the dressing rooms. It was a lot like the way I imagine shopping in the 50's was, when customer service actually existed.
2. The woman's magazine Lucky. Most magazines that focus on fashion and style are filled with things that normal people cannot possibly afford. Lucky is different. Sure, there are some high end items in each article, but there is a much wider ranges of prices. What's more, they feature clothing that you can actually wear. They also have a whole section in the back of the magazine with the Lucky deal's. These are products or companies that will give you a discount on select merchandise online if you put in the codes from the section. And every issue comes with a sheet of page tabs so that you can mark what you like. How fun!
3.Pushing Daisies. I will admit to having missed the first two episodes of this season because I was watching Bones which airs at the same time. However, thanks to baseball, I was able to watch last night and I was reminded of how much I enjoy that show and how adorable Lee Pace is. Must get my Tivo working!
4. Progressive Dinner. To be fair, it really isn't a "progressive" dinner since we don't advance from house to house. It's more of a communal dinner, but that sounds funny. Recently, a group of my friends started having dinner together once a month. We pick a theme and each party prepares part of the meal. It is a lot of fun, and hopefully we will be able to continue with it. Food prices get a little scary.
5. Pandora. For those of you who don't know Pandora is an online radio station that allows you to heavily tailor the type of music that is played. I absolutely love it and I have found a lot of really cool music through it. It has a few problems; occasionally a song will stop and skip to the next one, and you can't replay a song, and of course, not everything is in their music library. But it is free and totally worthwhile. So thanks Squirrel for telling me about it!
1. Hot weather. It is almost Halloween, and the temperatures in the afternoons here are in the 80s. It's not like I live in Miami! Let it be fall good and proper, and not just in the mornings. Please!
2. Cooking for one. This is maddening. Even if you cut recipes in half it still makes too much. Fresh fruit and other produce tends to go bad before it can be eaten. So aggravating.
3. Mosquitoes. This goes along with the hot weather. They are a scourge. If I could keep a bat house I would, but they aren't allowed in the city limits. The Old Farmer's Almanac has promised a cold, severe winter. Bring it on and kill these nasty things.
4. Tooting your own horn. I know, I know, this isn't supposed to be a bad thing. But it always feels weird to me, and sadly it has become a necessity where I work.
5. Election campaigns. Why oh why isn't it November yet? I'm so sick of both sides getting up and talking crap. They are all dishonest and overly ambitious. That's why they are politicians. It goes with the territory. The trick is to find the one who is the least dishonest. We desperately need campaign reform that prevents them from a lot of what they do in ads. Makes me sick.
5 things I am enjoying right now.
1. Dillard's. I don't know if this is true at every Dillard's, but the last few times I have been shopping there it has been a wonderful experience. The staff in all of the departments I visited were very helpful and I found a lot of things that I really liked. They even have call buttons in the dressing rooms. It was a lot like the way I imagine shopping in the 50's was, when customer service actually existed.
2. The woman's magazine Lucky. Most magazines that focus on fashion and style are filled with things that normal people cannot possibly afford. Lucky is different. Sure, there are some high end items in each article, but there is a much wider ranges of prices. What's more, they feature clothing that you can actually wear. They also have a whole section in the back of the magazine with the Lucky deal's. These are products or companies that will give you a discount on select merchandise online if you put in the codes from the section. And every issue comes with a sheet of page tabs so that you can mark what you like. How fun!
3.Pushing Daisies. I will admit to having missed the first two episodes of this season because I was watching Bones which airs at the same time. However, thanks to baseball, I was able to watch last night and I was reminded of how much I enjoy that show and how adorable Lee Pace is. Must get my Tivo working!
4. Progressive Dinner. To be fair, it really isn't a "progressive" dinner since we don't advance from house to house. It's more of a communal dinner, but that sounds funny. Recently, a group of my friends started having dinner together once a month. We pick a theme and each party prepares part of the meal. It is a lot of fun, and hopefully we will be able to continue with it. Food prices get a little scary.
5. Pandora. For those of you who don't know Pandora is an online radio station that allows you to heavily tailor the type of music that is played. I absolutely love it and I have found a lot of really cool music through it. It has a few problems; occasionally a song will stop and skip to the next one, and you can't replay a song, and of course, not everything is in their music library. But it is free and totally worthwhile. So thanks Squirrel for telling me about it!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Onward to London! (or rather Vancouver)
Yes, despite the fact that during the closing ceremonies of the Beijing games they passed the Olympics onto London, the next Olympic games will be the winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. I'm still not sure how I feel about having the winter Olympics moved to a different year. Yes, it is nice to spread it out, but were the 1994 games truly an Olympics when an Olympiad had not passed since the previous games? It's a puzzle.
For those who don't know, or couldn't guess, I thoroughly enjoy the Olympics. I like to see the sports that aren't televised when there isn't an Olympics going on, or that aren't shown much during the "off" years. Overall I found the Beijing Olympics to be very well done, and with the exception of the horrible murder that kicked them off, one of the least scandal filled Olympics in my life time.
There were many things to applaud about the Olympics this year. Very few doping incidents. Only one or two incidents of suspect scoring. Records set left and right. Great weather and beautiful scenery. But being me, I can't help but notice a few things that could stand some improvement.
The first thing is not so much the Olympics themselves, but rather how NBC shows them. The coverage this year was a mixture of taped and late night live action. But instead of showing us finals of events that had been taped they instead showed us round after round of qualifying of taped events, or the entire men's marathon because it was live. What? Qualifying heats should only be shown if something unusual happens: someone who is a predicted medal contender doesn't qualify, someone gets hurt, or a record is broken. That sort of thing. The first week of coverage was much better than the second. I don't know what needs to be done to get them to move out of their box like thinking. Ah well.
Age Limits. Much ado was made over the suspected age requirement violations of the Chinese women's gymnasts. I think both the FIG and the IOC handled that badly, but if a government is willing to cheat (and I'm not saying that China did, although it looks like) you can't really prove it. Age violations are nothing new. The Soviet block countries did it all the time in the 1980s. I'm not condoning it. I disagree with the age limit rule, but a rule is a rule and everyone should have to abide by it. I'm sure the Russians would have loved to have Alina Mustafina on their team this year. What I really have a problem with is the age limit is only in place for women's gymnastics. If it isn't safe for a 14 year old girl to do acrobatic tricks, it isn't safe for a 14 year old boy to launch himself head first off the equivalent of a three story building. Yet, that is okay. If there is going to be a minimum age for one sport then that should be the rule for all sports. Personally, I think if you are good enough to make it onto an Olympic team at the age of 14 more power to you. Fourteen seems old enough to me.
Tie Breakers. I can understand why the IOC implemented tie-breakers for judged sports. The medals aren't cheap to make and a host country shouldn't have to stock up on them in case the judges are wishy washy. I don't even mind breaking a tie based on execution score in gymnastics. The person who did their routine the cleanest should come out on top. However, if two, or more, people have the same difficulty score and execution score the tie should stand. You don't move on to an additional decimal point, or re-average their scores or any other stupidness. In 2000 during the men's 50 meter freestyle event there was a tie for the gold medal and it stood. They allow ties during round robin play in soccer and other sports. With the new scoring system in gymnastics it is very rare for two people to receive the same score when they have the same difficulty level and execution score. Let the tie stand.
Road racing. This is either a team sport or individual. A country with more depth shouldn't be allowed to have it's lesser athletes go out hard in order to tire out the competition and then drop out themselves so that their countryman can win. That's totally unfair.
Limiting qualifiers. Ages ago, in order the level the playing field in certain sports they restricted the number of athletes each country could send, or have advance to finals, so that the strongest countries couldn't dominate. Well, with the exception on China in diving and men's gymnastics, the field is darn close to level. Or as level as any playing field can be given the differences in population, coaching, and resources between countries. The Olympics should be about the best competing against the best. Shouldn't there be an footnote for someone who medals in a event when the person with the third fastest posted time can't compete because he or she has two teammates faster than him or her on Olympic trial day? Sure, I wanted someone to beat the Soviets or Romanians or East Germans but not because those teams were handicapped. This is a rule that needs to be scrapped ASAP.
Dropping Baseball and Softball. The premiere international competition for these sports was the Olympics. And they are dropped? What the? And tennis, whose entire season is international events, remains? Why? Oh yes, because the Cubans and the Americans were too good. They didn't get rid of men's gymnastics when Japan won five in a row. They didn't get rid of women's gymnastics when the Soviets won 10 of the 11 contested bewteen 1952 and 1992. (The only one they didn't win was 1984 when they boycotted) It's ridiculous.
For those who don't know, or couldn't guess, I thoroughly enjoy the Olympics. I like to see the sports that aren't televised when there isn't an Olympics going on, or that aren't shown much during the "off" years. Overall I found the Beijing Olympics to be very well done, and with the exception of the horrible murder that kicked them off, one of the least scandal filled Olympics in my life time.
There were many things to applaud about the Olympics this year. Very few doping incidents. Only one or two incidents of suspect scoring. Records set left and right. Great weather and beautiful scenery. But being me, I can't help but notice a few things that could stand some improvement.
The first thing is not so much the Olympics themselves, but rather how NBC shows them. The coverage this year was a mixture of taped and late night live action. But instead of showing us finals of events that had been taped they instead showed us round after round of qualifying of taped events, or the entire men's marathon because it was live. What? Qualifying heats should only be shown if something unusual happens: someone who is a predicted medal contender doesn't qualify, someone gets hurt, or a record is broken. That sort of thing. The first week of coverage was much better than the second. I don't know what needs to be done to get them to move out of their box like thinking. Ah well.
Age Limits. Much ado was made over the suspected age requirement violations of the Chinese women's gymnasts. I think both the FIG and the IOC handled that badly, but if a government is willing to cheat (and I'm not saying that China did, although it looks like) you can't really prove it. Age violations are nothing new. The Soviet block countries did it all the time in the 1980s. I'm not condoning it. I disagree with the age limit rule, but a rule is a rule and everyone should have to abide by it. I'm sure the Russians would have loved to have Alina Mustafina on their team this year. What I really have a problem with is the age limit is only in place for women's gymnastics. If it isn't safe for a 14 year old girl to do acrobatic tricks, it isn't safe for a 14 year old boy to launch himself head first off the equivalent of a three story building. Yet, that is okay. If there is going to be a minimum age for one sport then that should be the rule for all sports. Personally, I think if you are good enough to make it onto an Olympic team at the age of 14 more power to you. Fourteen seems old enough to me.
Tie Breakers. I can understand why the IOC implemented tie-breakers for judged sports. The medals aren't cheap to make and a host country shouldn't have to stock up on them in case the judges are wishy washy. I don't even mind breaking a tie based on execution score in gymnastics. The person who did their routine the cleanest should come out on top. However, if two, or more, people have the same difficulty score and execution score the tie should stand. You don't move on to an additional decimal point, or re-average their scores or any other stupidness. In 2000 during the men's 50 meter freestyle event there was a tie for the gold medal and it stood. They allow ties during round robin play in soccer and other sports. With the new scoring system in gymnastics it is very rare for two people to receive the same score when they have the same difficulty level and execution score. Let the tie stand.
Road racing. This is either a team sport or individual. A country with more depth shouldn't be allowed to have it's lesser athletes go out hard in order to tire out the competition and then drop out themselves so that their countryman can win. That's totally unfair.
Limiting qualifiers. Ages ago, in order the level the playing field in certain sports they restricted the number of athletes each country could send, or have advance to finals, so that the strongest countries couldn't dominate. Well, with the exception on China in diving and men's gymnastics, the field is darn close to level. Or as level as any playing field can be given the differences in population, coaching, and resources between countries. The Olympics should be about the best competing against the best. Shouldn't there be an footnote for someone who medals in a event when the person with the third fastest posted time can't compete because he or she has two teammates faster than him or her on Olympic trial day? Sure, I wanted someone to beat the Soviets or Romanians or East Germans but not because those teams were handicapped. This is a rule that needs to be scrapped ASAP.
Dropping Baseball and Softball. The premiere international competition for these sports was the Olympics. And they are dropped? What the? And tennis, whose entire season is international events, remains? Why? Oh yes, because the Cubans and the Americans were too good. They didn't get rid of men's gymnastics when Japan won five in a row. They didn't get rid of women's gymnastics when the Soviets won 10 of the 11 contested bewteen 1952 and 1992. (The only one they didn't win was 1984 when they boycotted) It's ridiculous.
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