New Year, New "Rules"

I have never been big on New Year's resolutions, they never stick, I don't even like the word "resolution" it sounds so dire, so serious, like a rule more than a hope for change. However, as 2008 winds down, I can't help but feel a need to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the coming one.  I had quite a lot of goals for myself last year, the most important of which I did not accomplish, so my hope is that this year will be different. 

I did start a blog this year, something I was initially against, but now can't imagine not doing. Every so often I like to read through old posts just to see what I was thinking and writing about and to see how my writing has progressed. This time next year, I will be looking back and reading this post and I hope that by then I will have accomplished three big goals: get healthy/in shape (I'm not talking about a major transformation here, I just want to feel healthier and better about myself), finish a novel (any novel), get pregnant.

This is sure to be a year of great change for the world at large, some bad and some good, but I have hope, for the first time in a long time, about the future of our country. Things look bleak now, but as they say, it is always the darkest before dawn. Wishing my readers (all two of you), friends, family and strangers a happy, healthy and hopeful New Year.

My favorite _________ of 2008.

A few of my favorite things from '08:

-New TV series: True Blood

-Sports moment: winning my office March Madness bracket

-New Food: Panera egg, bacon and cheese breakfast sandwich

-Album: this one is a threeway tie between Coldplay "Viva La Vida"; TV On The Radio "Dear Science" and Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"

-Family Guy episode: "Surfin Bird"... have you heard?

-Specialty coffee drink: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Twist

-Pop Culture Moment: the Election results

-Guilty pleasure: the Twilight Books series

- Read: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer (I realized this was published a few years back, but this is the year I read it and it's my list so I can do what I want)

-Concert: Coldplay at the Forum

-Movie: this one is tough because I actually haven't seen a lot of new films this year, but I am going to have to go with The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder is a close second

-New Gadget: another tie between my iPhone and Kindle

-Personal Moment: Bringing Charlie home from the shelter

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a warm and happy holiday!

Books, books, books

It’s been a weekend of books in Newton, Kansas where we are visiting the in-laws for an early Christmas celebration. We don’t have wi-fi here so I am typing all my blog posts in Word to be posted online when we get back home and I suddenly feel kind of like Doogie Howser. Polished off Twilight last night with a big sigh, wishing it didn’t have to end, but before I had a chance to start mourning I hopped on the Kindle Store and had New Moon downloaded onto the Kindle (man I frickin love this thing) faster than you can say “vampires and werewolves, oh my”. I am now half way through New Moon and anxiously awaiting what I hope is the inevitable return of Edward.

Yesterday we trekked out to Wallyworld, otherwise known as Walmart to the uninitiated, to do some last minute shopping. I was hoping to pick up a few paperbacks to stuff under the tree for my mother-in-law but was shocked and appalled to find that their book selection consisted of half of one aisle filled with Inspirational Religious fiction, Harlequin Romances and a handful of Nora Roberts titles. It’s no wonder Steve Jobs said no one reads in America anymore, how could they with a selection like that in a store that is nearly two football fields wide.

I was ready to give up on the literary future of the heartland when we stumbled onto Pages Books located on Main Street in Newton. A warm little shop tucked in between a close cousin of the former Wild Oats and a cute home furnishings store. There wasn’t an exact rhyme or reason to the book selection and it was small, only one copy of almost all the titles they carried, but oh the titles. It might as well have been a bookcase from my office, from Franz Kafka to Haruki Murakami and everything in between. I picked out two titles for my mother-in-law and felt reassured that there was hope yet.

House

We are usually subjected to about ten hours of various Food Network programming, peppered with the occasional Weather Channel report while visiting the in-laws, but tonight we broke away from Paula Deen’s drawl long enough to watch a rerun of "House" and I was surprised to find that it’s really not a bad show. I also get why it's so popular, its the perfect marriage of the procedural and emergency room dramas, two of the most successful genres on television. That combined with surprisingly decent acting, it's no wonder it's a hit. I may have to add it to my now almost barren DVR list.

Are You There God, It’s Me Sher and I’m Ready For Takeoff

I’m not a religious person. Period. I was baptized as a baby, but I haven’t set foot in a church, except as a tourist and on my wedding day, in at least ten years. I understand and appreciate that religion and God are an important part of a lot of people’s lives, but organized religion is not something I personally find any use for. I do believe in a higher being of sorts, although with each passing year I can’t help but question what that even means.

And yet there are occasions that, for whatever reason, I feel the need to pray to God. I was reminded of this as I sat on an airplane today, taxing towards the runway and was compelled to repeat a ritualized mantra asking God for safe passage through the skies. I have done this every time I’ve gotten on an airplane for as long as I can remember. My father is a pilot, I have grown up around airplanes and been flying probably since before I could even walk so I don’t fear planes or travel and yet every time I board one I go against everything I believe in and say a little prayer.

Why do I do this, when I otherwise find no place for religion in my life? What compels me to mumble incoherently under my breath as I watch the runway disappear and shrink beneath us? If not out of fear and not out of true belief, then what? Perhaps I just find comfort in the ritual, or maybe I'm more of a believer than I think.

W.

I watched W. yesterday (yay for screeners) and was shocked and appalled that the film left me kind of feeling sorry for old Junior. The film was a decent Oliver Stone version of a biopic, brilliant acting by Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Banks, a few questionable performances (the woman playing Condi was ridiculously charicatured) and some weird dream sequences. Of course it's hard to know how much that goes on in the film is imagined versus based in fact (considering it's Stone, more likely the former), and yet I couldn't help but sympathize with the character of GW just a little bit.

Then to add insult to injury, this morning I turned on the tube to find GW being pummeled by flying shoes and I just flat out felt sorry for the guy. I can't explain it, ordinarily I think I might have had some smug satisfaction in seeing him insulted and embarrassed, I mean I still hate him, but suddenly I find it hard not to pity him too.

Bail Out ...the Writers?

A witty piece in this weekend's NY Times arguing for a government bailout of writers.

Vampire Madness

After much curiosity and some pestering from friends that are avid fans I finally broke down and picked up a copy of Twilight (or rather I clicked a button and had it zapped to my Kindle, man I love this thing, but more on that later).

I am only one chapter in but already I'm hooked. It has every element that attracted me to this kind of book when I was of the age appropriate for reading it: lonely, new-to-town protagonist; small, coastal town location, mysterious hot boy. What more could a fourteen year old girl want out of a good read? Just as with Harry Potter, had this book been around when I was a wee lass, man would it have been good and dog-eared by now.

I can't help but wonder though, what it is about vampires that makes them so irresistibly fascinating even though this is the thousandth incarnation of the bloodsuckers to cross my path in my lifetime, let alone the second this year. I can't even begin to fully list all of the vampire lore I've obsessed over, most recently True Blood, then there was The Historian, (which if you haven't read and are even remotely a fan of vampires you should drop everything and pickup a copy right now) and of course who could forget Anne Rice's epic series. What is it about these night-walking, bloodsucking undead we find so fascinating that they continue to permeate every facet of media year after year?

My Kindle is beckoning me, but more on this when I finish.

Recession= Return of the Bush

No not that one. This one.

When is a drunken breast grope just a drunken breast grope?

Obama's speechwriter caught groping Hillary's cardboard "breast."

Yes maybe the guy should show a little better judgement now that he is under the scrutiny of such a public position, but isn't it ever okay to just file this under what it really is: a stupid drunken moment and not have to analyze each square inch of this photo-op for the sexist symbolism contained within.

Besides this is probably the most action Hillary --cardboard or otherwise-- has seen in years.

15 years without sex is 15 years too long.

Came across this piece on Salon by a woman who has not had sex in a decade and a half and found it quite sad. Not so much for the fact that she literally has not had sex in a decade and a half (which is just plain depressing) but more so because she seems to justify her choice with the comfort of such ridiculous cliches as  never having the toilet seat left up or remote relinquished. 

It would be one thing if she simply had no want of male companionship, some women don't, but clearly as her therapist points out, the yearning is there. She tries so hard to separate sex from intimacy but as Broadsheet points out in response to this piece, "sex isn't just the ends, it's also the means." I'm not saying single women should go out and sleep with every man with a penis in hopes feeling a semblance of intimacy, but to cut yourself off entirely from the possibility of sex simply for fear of feeling vulnerable is just plain sad.

Hello, my name is Sher and I am a cyberchondriac.

Cyberchondriac n. --Someone who needlessly fears the worst after using the Internet to self-diagnose an ailment.  usage: "Health information online is breeding a generation of cyberchondriacs."

It's bad and getting worse, my addiction to WebMD that is. Thinking about starting C.A.: cyberchondriacs anonymous. I used to think it was great to have so much information at the click of a button, but when I end up spending more time online "researching" than say, I dunno, working, then I've got a problem. At first it was just a useful tool to look to when I got the occasional cough or pain in my knee, but since my husband and I set off on the bumpy road called trying to conceive it's become a lot more than that.

The fact is, as a relatively educated person, I realize that online medical information must be taken with a HUGE grain of salt and that the majority of it is just plain wrong or better yet, too vague to actually tell me anything, but for some reason I can't stop myself from reading every message board in hopes of finding answers and explanations to every ridiculous question and symptom that crosses my mind. I guess regardless of whether or not the information is helpful, I find some level of comfort in knowing that the information is out there because I am not the only one going through this and while I may not be able to properly diagnose anything, I can at least self-medicate through the shared experience.

Blogging from the couch

We got a brand new MacBook Pro this week, but today is the first day I've had a chance to really mess with it and so far I love it. I use an older model MacBook at work but at home we have been a desktop family since my neon orange clam shell Mac crashed several years ago. I am loving the freedom of being able to surf the net from anywhere in the house, although now our office is seeming more and more like a storage space/dumping ground.

On a separate note, I watched Tropic Thunder last night which I thought was great. Although I can see why they had a hard time marketing it. I would basically categorize it as an intelligent spoof. The premise was great, but what really made it were the fantastic performances from all involved, the standouts being Robert Downey Jr. and of course Tom Cruise. Speaking of which, I just watched Risky Business for the first time last week, not what I expected but also a great film. Tom maybe a little nutty (okay a lot nutty) but between those two flicks the guy has got some sweet dance moves.

Stay the hell out of my womb W

Just when I was getting comfortable with the lame duck status of George W, his administration rolls out plans to enact a "right of conscience" rule which could significantly affect women's access not only to birth control and abortion but also to sperm donation and artificial insemination. Why the hell won't he just go quietly into the night like everybody wants?

What makes a book young adult?

After a lively debate at the office this morning about what makes a book fall into the category of Young Adult, I Googled the topic and found this interesting NY Times article which I had actually read before. The question posed in our debate, however, was, beyond the marketing choices of the publisher, what criteria specifically makes a book more suited towards kids than adults? My boss suggested that it was the simplicity of the prose that made a book Y.A., but there are many youth-geared books that are written in a more sophisticated style. I argued that it simply required a youth protagonist and to have been written specifically for a youth audience, style not being a criteria. However, there are a lot of titles that fall into a grey area of being universally read by both youth and adults. Harry Potter, for the most obvious example is marketed as Y.A. but more adults I know than kids have read and loved it. And then there is the even more undefinable coming-of-age fiction, which often times portrays youth but is geared towards adults (think Catcher in the Rye). So what really makes a book Y.A.? I'm not sure there is an answer beyond being shelved in the kids section at Barnes and Noble.

The Big Reunion

This past weekend was the big 10 year high school reunion. I'm not sure what I had expected really, but it wasn't quite as I imagined. I had been to my husband's a few years ago, in his small hometown in Kansas where they had taken polls on things like who had traveled the furthest to be there (us) who had the oldest kids (an 11-year old at a 10 year reunion), who had the most tattoos (the only two single girls attending). They played music of the era and everyone kind of mingled evenly throughout the evening. Mine on the other hand was a little more casual, no fun polls and nostalgic tunes and as the evening progressed I couldn't help but notice that the old high school cliques had reformed as if we had just graduated yesterday. It was stunning really to see that nothing much had changed in that sense. I made a point of saying hello to a girl who I knew in school, but had always seemed to dislike me for some reason, and was pretty much given the brush off. I guess I expected a little more maturity. Maybe in another 10 years.

There were some plusses however, I reconnected with one of my best friends that I hadn't seen in, well, 10 years, as we had grown apart towards the end, and am hoping we will now stay in closer contact. There were a handful of people it was nice to catch up with but, all in all, it was a surreal experience just being in a room full of so many familiar faces yet feeling as if I had nothing to say to them beyond "and what do you do?"

Nano Update

Once again Nanowrimo has come to a close and once again I have failed to reach the 50,000 word count. Not even close. And no I didn't manage my lesser goal of 30,000 either, I didn't even manage to beat last years best count, barely squeaking out 7,000 words. Sigh. I was really hoping this year would be the year, mostly because this means I will now have to attempt it again next year. I do, however, like what I started so I have made a new goal of finishing a first draft by the end of the year. Fingers are crossed.

Vampire Weekend

I'm not talking about the band, although they are awesome. And no I'm not talking about Twilight either, but rather the less-discussed vampire fare of the weekend: the season finale of True Blood. From the opening credits to the last scream (of which there were many) I thought it was a fantastic end to a so far great new series. HBO has finally got some fresh blood in their line up --pun intended. I loved the way the season's mystery was tied up and the loose ends that were left hanging have me excited for the new season, which much to my surprise is less than a year away, shocking considering how few and far between HBO's seasons tend to be. I am grappling with the thought of diving in and reading the first Sookie Stackhouse book while I wait, my only fear is that it will either be better than the series --or worse-- or that it may reveal things that have not yet happened  on the show. If you haven't checked out this great series I highly recommend catching up when the DVD is released, well-worth the watch.

What "type" of blog am I?

Interesting site that analyzes your personality based on inputing your blog address. The result is almost instantaneous so I'm not sure exactly how it works, but here was my result:

"The Performers:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don't like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions."

It then goes on to show a brain activity chart that indicates that I am a "Feeler" versus a "Thinker".

All in all I wouldn't say the analysis is very accurate, I mean the second paragraph is pretty on the nose but the first bit about living in the present moment couldn't be further from the truth. I wonder though if this means my blog does not reflect my true personality or if this blog analyzer is just a load crap. Most likely the latter, but I can't help but wonder what my blog says about the kind of person I am.

Being Realistic

So I'm officially done with the false hope that I will make it to 50,000 words on my Nano novel. Barring a miracle or at the very least the next two weeks off of work coupled with about 100 gallons of coffee I just don't see how it will be possible to make it from my puny word count (so small I am embarrassed to even admit it) to the finish line by the 30th. This damn cold I got back on Election Day has really been the bane of my existence all month and made it nearly impossible to focus on anything productive. I refuse to give up entirely, however, and instead have decided to go for a more attainable goal of 30,000 words by the 30th. I figure it will still be my personal best so far and I can always try again next year and it's better than giving up entirely which I am feeling pretty close to doing at this rate. Blogging will be at a minimum till the 30th as I must use every spare minute adding to the word tally.

No communion for you!

Procrastinating for a moment online and just saw this story:

"A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him 'constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil.'"

Really? REALLY?!

This is why religion scares the crap out of me.

Nano Update

Off to an incredibly slow start on my Nanowrimo novel, and I mean slooooow. I should be at about 20,000 on Saturday, but at this point I'm closer to 20,000 minus a zero. Started off the month on the wrong foot with a bad cold, which I still can't seem to entirely shake, and which really threw me off, pretty much didn't write a single word the entire first week. I have just about two weeks left to write about 47,000 words, but I'm not giving up hope yet. Last year I was off to a tremendous start the first week and then petered out, only managing 11,000 words for the month, so I am hoping this year will be the opposite, slow start, fast finish. We shall see. Before I waste my daily word ration on this blog I better get back to it.

I would prefer National Bacon and Sex Day

According to Broadsheet yesterday was National Men Make Dinner Day. Lucky for me, that's pretty much everyday in my house. I would've suggested taking the chef duties for the evening had I known, but we ordered takeout anyway so I figure that covers it.

A sad State of affairs

While I continue to feel overjoyed and proud over Obama's victory, I am saddened and quite frankly disgusted by what looks to be a victory on Prop 8 (although apparently Gloria Allred is getting ready to file suit citing the prop as unconstitutional, my fingers are crossed) not to mention the similar propositions in Arizona and Arkansas. 

To those of you intolerant, self-righteous assholes who voted yes on 8, all I can say is you should be ashamed of your completely unChristian actions. You claim the moral high road, yet I don't think you even know what true morals are. You act in the name of religion and yet your actions reflect a complete and total misunderstanding of the fundamentals your religions are based on. When you finally reach those pearly gates you seem to think you have won entry through, you'd better hope Peter doesn't ask you if you ever passed judgement on your fellow man. I wish you all bitter divorces.

Watching history unfold

I can't stop smiling.

I was glued to the TV starting around 6pm last night, listening to the soothing sounds of Brian Williams' voice (somebody give this guy an award, he really is the best anchor on TV) and watching anxiously as the gray states turned blue and red. Despite my cold, I was ready to stay up all night waiting for the results and things were looking good when around 8pm they cut away to the local news feed. A few minutes later they cut back to the national feed and there on the screen was Obama's picture next to the words Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States. I took me a whole minute to register what I was looking at, and once I understood I wholeheartedly believed the graphic was a mistake. In a panicked flashback to 2000 I thought they called it too early. What were they thinking?! But then they cut to the massive crowds in Chicago, zeroing in on the smiling, crying faces of so many proud Americans and as Brian Williams' comforting voice confirmed that it was in fact real, I knew it was okay to smile and I haven't stopped.

Now only one question remains, can he deliver? I think he can.

I Voted

I'm home sick today with a nasty cold so I was lucky enough to vote late this morning, avoiding the hour-long line my husband was in this morning for a less annoying twenty minute wait at 10am. I also avoided the working-world voter crowd and instead ended up in line with the much more entertaining unemployed/stay-at-home-mom/retiree/nutball crowd. Also couldn't help but be amused by the pollworkers scrambling around, yelling commands and wielding authority as if they were manning a naval tanker instead of volunteering at a preschool auditorium.

Now it's back to the couch for much needed rest and a catch-up session on All My Children until the election results start rolling in. If I could actually breathe, I'd be holding my breath in anticipation.

Happy Halloween!

And coming soon: sexy pedophile costume

Halloween is supposed to be scary, but this is just down right frightening. I get that some girls think Halloween is an excuse to dress like the dime-store hooker they secretly fantasize about being, but this is just getting ridiculous. What happened to good old fashioned witches and ghosts? 

Women loooove abortions

Was laughing in bed last night watching this bit on the Daily Show. I know I've said in the past that funny female comedians are few and far between, but between Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Samantha Bee, I really think female comedians are making a splash in this campaign season, let's hope it lasts.

Obamanomics

An undecided friend sent me an email with this NY Times article detailing Obama's economic policies. As someone who knows nothing beyond minor basics when it comes to the economy and economic policy I found it really interesting and informative.  It also shed light, for me, on why I feel the presidential decision is so black and white and why I have trouble wrapping my head around those who say they are undecided. After reading his email and the ensuing eight page article it really hit me: I am the equivalent of an economic dummy and by default social issue has always taken precedence over economic policy when it comes to choosing party lines. I vote with my heart first... although that doesn't mean my mind disagrees.

In my friend's email he writes: "I'm a die-hard fiscal conservative who is also socially liberal. For me, this makes elections a bit like choosing a punch in the gut or a slap in the face..." 

This is a statement that I could never make simply because social policy will always outweigh economics in my mind, that's just how I think. Don't get me wrong of course I understand that the two are not separate of one another, both policies come hand in hand, but for me the choice will always be based on one hand more than other. Maybe that's a simple, naive way of looking at the world, I don't know. What I do know is, in this instance, regardless of the basis, the choice is clear to me.

There's a movie in here somewhere

I can't decide if this is hilarious or just plain sad. I'm not even sure how to wrap my head around the mechanics of this story. How can a virtual crime be realistically punishable? What does it say about where society is headed when the lines between real and fake have become so blurred?  Technology gives me a migraine.

Just say no to put-out politics.

Putting out for politics.

My vote? Obnoxiously retro.

Manolo No-no

I'm pretty sure Joe Six Pack doesn't appreciate his hard-earned campaign contributions being spent on Manolo Blahniks.

The Lost Effect

I'm still having a hard time accounting for my waning interest in television. My tv love affair began at a very young age and has run full steam until just recently. I'm not sure if my loss of interest reflects on poor programming, me growing up or a little of both. What I do know is that I'm not the only one not tuning in. Of all returning series this fall, with a few exceptions, almost all have seen significant drops in their viewership since previous seasons. 

Over the last few weeks I have been hacking away at my DVR season pass list, eliminating shows I no longer find worthy and I thought I was done trimming down, but suddenly I find myself wondering if Heroes is another show on the bubble. And I can't help thinking that if more dramas in this vein would take after the example of Lost and set an end date for the series, I wouldn't be having this dilemma. 

When I first read about Lost's creators setting an end date for the series I was disappointed at the idea that the series was now limited to a certain timeframe, but in hindsight I think it's the best thing they could have possibly done for that show. Setting a time table creates structure and inevitably determines that every moment has a purpose in moving the overall story forward and when every moment counts then every moment better be good. The problem with Heroes is that they have nothing but time on their hands. Without a set ending, the story is left meandering and running wild. All I keep thinking is where is this going? Will all of this time traveling nonsense really be worth the payoff? At this rate, I may not stick around long enough to find out.

Nanowrimo '08

Sixteen days and counting until the official start of National Novel Writing Month. For those of you unfamiliar Nanowrimo, now in it's tenth year, challenges writers to compose a 50,000 word novel in just one month. This will be my fifth year attempting to make the 50,000 word count, never having come close in the four years past, last year being my best attempt and still weighing in at a mere 17,000 and change by the end of November, I am determined that this will finally be the year I succeed. 

That said I'm still not sure what I plan to write about. In the past I have basically come up with a vague idea a few days prior and plunged in head first with no real idea of where I was going. This year I am thinking I should change things up a little, hoping to have an idea by the end of the week and begin plotting out a rough outline to have ready on November 1st. At the moment I am toying with the idea of a coming-of-age piece about a teenage girl in the early 90s that I have had in the back of my mind for a few months, but I'm still not 100% sold on that idea. I welcome any thoughts and suggestions!

Americans love talking dogs

Interesting article in the LA Times today about the disastrous box office opening for Body Of Lies and what that says about the state of Hollywood. I have been spouting off for as long as I can remember, to anyone who will listen that the million dollar mega-star era needs to be put in check and perhaps flops like this one will finally shine studios on to that idea as well. 

Will the real John McCain please stand up

While cleaning out my stockpile of unread magazines this weekend, I stumbled upon this lengthy piece on McCain in Rolling Stone and ended up spending the better half of Saturday morning reading it, which says a lot that I stuck with it because I tend to not be a huge fan of long-form journalism. While I feel everything written about politics these days (wether it be from the right or left camp) needs to be taken with a grain of salt, I thought this was a really eye-opening piece about McCain. And, yes, Rolling Stone is a music magazine, but when everyone seems to be turning to Comedy Central for their nightly news these days, does that really make it a less-reliable source?

28

Things I am older than:

the space shuttle

E.T.

Trivial Pursuit

student protest at Tiananmen Square

Bart Simpson

laptop computers

Nintendo

Britney Spears

CDs

Where's Waldo

Pac Man

the World Wide Web

Prozac

MTV

disposable contact lenses

Cabbage Patch Kids

the war on drugs

Are you too old to superpoke?

Many factors, but most prominently the quickly impending day of my birth have got me wondering recently about outgrowing certain elements of our youth and how we know when that time has come. Not that twenty-eight is remotely "old" but it certainly is closer to the big three-zero than twenty-one. I have never considered myself an ahead of the curve hipster per say (hence the name of my blog, if you hadn't figured it out already), but I'd like to think I am fairly in touch with current pop culture, I blog, I have an iPhone and I watch the Daily Show. However, it seems lately that a lot of the things that once were a prominent part of my daily life I find I care less and less about and I have to wonder: is it because I am getting older?

Growing up in the MTV generation, it feels odd to outgrow my peer group's namesake, but MTV is just one of many things that I find no longer occupying the hemisphere of my general interests. In fact, television in general, something I literally grew up with, has recently become less relevant to my daily existence. I suppose it could be argued that, like our taste in food and drink, all our sensibilities in life are apt to change and "mature" over time, but for someone like myself, who has never really felt completely grown-up, knowing when that time to mature has come isn't always obvious. Facebook, for example like MTV, is certainly a youth oriented phenomenon and yet I don't feel out of place or compelled to shut down my account simply because I am one day closer to 30. How old is too old when it comes to social networking, is one of the questions raised in this Salon article.

All I know is if I hit 50 and I'm still super-poking, somebody please shoot me.

Satanic Chickens and Hitler

Just discovered this fantastic webcomic that I absolutely can't get enough of. More fun ways to procrastinate.

"You can register while pooping."

Am I the only one who finds this video relatively annoying (aside from a few hilarious lines from Sarah Silverman)? I guess celebrity activists just rub me the wrong way, but there is something nauseating about watching people, who essentially lie for a living, trying to be sincere about a serious cause. Yes, I get it, they're famous and people like celebrities, they look up to them and imitate them, so a celebrity endorsement of an issue, by definition, sheds light on that issue, but besides being a human spotlight why should I care about their opinions on the economy, the environment or politics. Just because you play the president on TV doesn't mean you know anything about running the country.

Best burger ever!

While "working" on my novel, I have been thinking a lot about lists lately, grocery lists, to-do lists, things-to-do-before-I-die lists and so after last nights hilarious "How I Met Your Mother" episode about the best burger ever, besides being ridiculously hungry I thought it would be fun to make a list of my top 10 meaty favs:

1. Braum's

2. In-N-Out

3. The Counter

4. Apple Pan

5. Rick's On Main

6. Hamburger Habit

7. Father's Office (Montana location and yes, there is a difference)

8. Sonic

9. Fatburger

10. Wendy's

Udderly ridiculous

I am a huge supporter of animal rights, but this is just downright silly and quite frankly disgusting. What's next, Big Macs made from human meat?

How many Sarah Palins does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Sarah Palin is really starting to make us look bad. And no I don't just mean women, but more specifically brunettes, who have long striven to uphold the "blonds may have more fun, but at least brunettes can tie their own shoes without directions" platform. Way to score one for the home team Couric.

Blonds: 1

Brunettes: 0

I call chicken.

I don't really like to get involved in the political fray because I am neither well-informed enough nor level-headed enough to debate the issues, but I couldn't help but comment over McCain declaring a suspension of his campaign in order to go back to Washington and "fix" the economic crisis. Does he really believe he is the key ingredient missing in setting the economy straight? Or is he just trying to avoid the inevitable smackdown in a face-off against Obama? 

"I left my wallet in my other diaper"

Checked out the new Brit import Worst Week last night and I can easily say I haven't laughed out loud that much in a while. The premise is basically Meet The Parents as a tv series, but the rapid pacing coupled with great dialogue and some physical comedy makes this show seem like a breath of fresh air compared to the half hour fare CBS usually spews out. If you like to laugh, it's definitely worth checking out.

Didn't they learn anything from nipple-gate?

Last night's Emmy show was in short: a debacle. My high school drama department put on better productions and while I'm not really surprised by the level of disorganization and down-right boring entertainment that was produced, I was slightly perturbed by the Heidi Klum/William Shatner striptease. And no, it's not because I am a woman and am offended that tearing a woman's clothes off on primetime television was considered by at least one moronic writer to be entertaining. It's because I am an avid television watcher and I am offended that tearing a woman's clothes off on primetime television was considered by at least one moronic writer to be entertaining. At least Janet had the sense to show a little nipple and make things interesting.

Feeling a little squirrelly

Typically I reserve my Charlie stories for my other all-about-dog blog, but this will inevitably be more of a rant than a story. Ever since we got the pup I have spent more time walking around my neighborhood then I ever have before, every morning we go for a 30 min trek around the neighborhood at about 7am when the only other people around are insane joggers and other apartment dwelling dog owners like ourselves. In the past week, however, I have observed one other group of early rising residents in our neighborhood: a gang of squirrels. And by gang, I don't mean a "grouping" of squirrels, I literally mean a territorial, finger-snapping, tight jeans-wearing, Sharks-hating, angry at the world kind of gang. 

These bushy-tailed rodents seem to be steadily growing in numbers, intent on taking over the entire south side of Santa Monica. They may seem like cute, harmless little creatures at first, but don't let their tiny twitching noses and big brown eyes fool you, they are anything but cute and harmless. Charlie of course being excited by anything that moves, spies them out climbing trees and zipping across streets and on the few occasions that he has gotten a closer view, not only have they not been afraid of him they have basically lunged at him, teeth-bared, fists at the ready. Not only are these furry fiends territorial scavengers, but like any organized crime ring worth its name in spit, they have apparently managed to strong arm some unsuspecting morons into leaving them breadcrumbs and peanuts on the corner of 6th and Ocean Park. My only advice if you happen to be unlucky enough to cross paths with the "squirrel squad": run. 

And for the love of Pete, don't frickin feed them.

The beat stops here

For those of you familiar with the Temple Bar in Santa Monica I've just learned they are shutting down later this month. If you have never been I highly recommend a visit before they close their doors for good. While the owners' other musical hotspots, Zanzibar and Little Temple shall remain open for business, Temple Bar was in my humble opinion their best location. Temple Bar was stage to many amazing, eclectic bands and was one of the first spots I hit upon reaching the ripe old age of 21.

"There was a time when a lady garden was as big as a slice of New York pizza"

There was also time when SNL was the funniest thing on TV, those days are clearly long gone, have been for some time, but there were always a few shinning beacons that kept me watching, one of them being the funny gal who's got a special place in my heart, Amy Poehler. I cannot say enough good things about Amy Poehler, everything she does cracks me up and I am the first to admit a funny woman is hard to find. She is also smart, sassy and the kind of feminist that makes me glad to be a woman instead of making me wanna hurl, all of which is why I was sad to read that she will be leaving SNL in the fall after giving birth to her baby. Nobody sticks around SNL forever, unless they have nowhere to go (i.e. Chris Parnell), so of course it was inevitable and I already plan to set my Tivo for her new NBC series whenever it debuts, but I can't help but feel teary-eyed at the thought of no more 9-year old-on-crack "Rick" sketches.

God bless Steve Jobs

After a year and a half of anxiously awaiting my Sprint "all-crap-network" contract to expire I have finally broken free of the oppressive bonds of dysfunctional cellular service and jumped head first into the warm loving arms of AT&T and iPhone. The husband and I went to Best Buy Saturday morning and were lucky enough to score the very last two 8G iPhone's. Contrary to everything I've read the process couldn't have been simpler, in fact the only snag we hit was having to call Sprint to get our account pin codes, which of course was a hair-tearing endeavor as always, proving once and for all what a useless, disorganized corporation they are indeed. 

Blessed devices in hand, we proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend glued to them, mesmerized by each enthralling function, blurting out the occasional, "That is so frickin awesome!" Just to give you an idea of how technologically, telephonically deprived I have been, I need only explain that beyond the various intricacies that make the iPhone so remarkable, I was equally giddy over being able to take pictures with my phone, (a function that the masses have had access to for years but I have sadly only just been made privy to now) as I was over the touch-technology. I still have yet to sift through the thousands of apps, but my favorite hands down, so far is: Shazam. With the aid of this nifty app, I will never have to rack my brain again wondering the name of a song title or artist, simply hold the iPhone to the music and within seconds it will tell you the artist and track name. Technology is truly remarkable.

Fringe disappointment

The most anticipated pilot of the season was good, not great. While I was intrigued by the concept and found the performances, especially that of John Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop surprisingly good, it was the overwrought dialogue and ridiculous amount of obvious set-up that held the pilot back from its potential. I expected better from the otherwise flawless (with the exception of Alias Season 4) Abrams, but quite frankly am not surprised given the track record of Orci and Kurtzman. It was certainly no X-Files as promised, nor was it even in the realm of the Lost or Alias pilots, but I am stilling holding out hope that it may build from here.

I am officially the psycho ranting tenant in the building

Amazing how we take for granted the little things in life until they are suddenly ripped away. Like hot running water for example. At 7am yesterday morning as I took Charlie out for a walk I was greeted by a hand scrawled letter posted on my douchebag building manager's door that read: "Hot water is off, will be fixed today when the plumber arrives." Fantastic. I quickly learned there is nothing like an ice cold shower to wake you up in the morning and so the tone was set for the rest of my day. 

At approximately 8pm last night as I was doing the dishes I discovered that the apparently repaired hot water was in fact running cold. My husband walked across the courtyard to inform the manager, who conveniently was at work, and instead had his girlfriend explain that the hot water was back out and wouldn't be repaired again until the next day. That was my breaking point. As I walked past them in the courtyard on my way to take Charlie out, weeks of no sleep and my morning's ice bath came to a head and I kicked into Sarah Palin mode, ranting across the courtyard to aforementioned douchebag's girlfriend and pretty much everyone else in the neighborhood who surely could hear my yelling. Meanwhile, my husband, being the levelheaded one, opted to help another tenant in repairing the hot water heater themselves, which as it turned out was simply a matter of getting the pilot lit and staying on.

Later that evening, delirious from exhaustion, minutes away from calling it a night, there was a knock at the door and who should it be? None other than douchebag himself, proclaiming in his obnoxious joking manner that my husband was now the official emergency plumbing repairman for the building. Had I been standing at the door and not in the living room making sure Charlie didn't make a beeline outside I most likely would have given a repeat performance of the courtyard spectacle followed by a swift doorslam to the face. Instead I was forced to shout irate tangents from the living room floor, much to the disdain of Charlie, until he left.

Did I feel better for having ranted my head off? Absolutely. Does my dog now think I am utterly insane? No doubt. Will I do it again? When faced with the prospect of another icy shower you can bet on it. 

The great virtual pigskin divide

It's that time of year again, where the best NFL players are pitted against one another to see who will come out on top by January. No I'm not talking about about the official start to the professional football season, but rather the kickoff of the fantasy football season, which is steadily becoming a national pastime in itself, causing a rift in many a fantasy football household as this amusing and slightly disturbing Sports Illustrated column explains. 

The first time my husband (then boyfriend) told me he needed to block off an entire day to stay glued to his computer, stepping away only briefly for bathroom breaks induced by the steady supply of beers I so lovingly served him, I thought he was out of his mind. When he offered an "I'm the league commissioner" to my questioning of this insane time commitment I only grew more leery of his sudden mental instability. Seven years, one league championship win and a football-for-dummies education later and fantasy football season and I have come to an understanding. While I can't say I don't still get a little annoyed when my husband suddenly disappears into the office to check his stats when we are in the middle of watching a movie, I can honestly say that fantasy football has significantly raised both my understanding and appreciation of professional football. As mentioned in Chris Ballard's SI piece, apparently there are significant others who feel otherwise, going so far as to organize a support group in the form of Women Against Fantasy Sports. While my husband's fantasy football hobby is just that, a hobby, some of these borderline OCD horror stories would understandably be enough to drive anyone into couples therapy.

As a native-born Los Angelino I was never privy to having a hometown team to root for and thus, among other reasons, never took interest in or understood the game of football. Even as a high school cheerleader I found it difficult to discern which cheers to do as I wasn't able to recognize at which points our team was on offense or defense. For me, learning the rules of the game was the first step towards enjoying it, the second step was about giving a damn, and thats where the sport of fantasy comes into play. While I don't play the game myself, the thrill off rooting on my husband's team in hopes of not only having a happy husband, but possibly a grab at the pot-at-the-end-of-that-fantasy-rainbow cash prize for league champion is enough to have me giving a damn whether the Jets win or lose and guiltily appreciating the fact that Tom Brady is out for the season. Fantasy football adds meaning to watching a bunch of grown men, dressed in spandex pants pile on top of each other and for that I am grateful.

Would Bin Laden support the McCain/Palin ticket?

As illustrated in this interesting Salon piece, Palin seems to have more in common with Muslim fundamentalists than moderate Christians and so I can't help but wonder just what those Muslim fundamentalists think of this self-proclaimed bulldog in heels. Palin may hold similar ideals, but would an islamic fundamentalist really want to put a woman-- basically a second-class citizen in their eyes--second in command of this powerful nation? 

Growing a tastier tomato

After reading this blog entry on kung fu grippe all I can think is Merlin Mann has finally put into words what I find so overwhelming about the blogging-social-networking-text-messaging-celebrity-obsessed-15-minute society we seem to be living in, but haven't been able to articulate quite clearly myself. I was weary of starting this very blog because of this empty nothingness that we seem to be filling our lives with, and while I certainly can't guarantee that every entry I type will have profound meaning (see not one but two postings on 90210) I do feel, as I do with all my writing, an overwhelming sense to make it better and to avoid commentary for the sake of commentary. This self-editing can sometimes come at the cost of a more off-the-cuff, free-flowing style of writing (and communicating on a whole) and while I don't believe every little word we write should be scrutinized and over-analyzed, I do believe we should put at least some amount of thought into what we are saying and why we are saying it.

Intriguing bloodsuckers and Mexican beach sex romps

As I had hoped Alan Ball did not disappoint with his new HBO series True Blood which premiered last night along with the new season of Entourage. While True Blood pulled me in and had me hooked right away, sadly I couldn't say the same about the life and times of Vinnie Chase and cohorts. 

I have to admit when I first read about the premise of True Blood I was unsure of the marriage of vampires and the creator of the best show on television: Six Feet Under. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it takes place in a sleepy Louisiana town two years after it has been made public knowledge that vampires live among us and have been accepted into normal society. While a genre piece about vampires seemed an odd choice for Ball, he managed to stay true to his signature style creating a series about angsty relationships, quirky families and intolerance of minorities with a sprinkle of creepy vampire sex for good measure. Check it out, it won't be disappointing.

What was disappointing, however, was the new season of Entourage. With the exception of scene stealing Johnny Drama, the show has become a bland cookie cutter version of itself, with obvious storylines and rattled off rants from Ari that don't even try to make sense. The icing on the cake was the beach blanket bingo sex romp of a fantasy vacation Vinnie was on, which was exactly that: a fantasy. I'm all for the red-blooded straight man's wetdream that is Vincent Chase's life, but come-on, let's at least keep it in the realm of relative possibility otherwise it just becomes laughable.

My Tivo needs an Ex-lax

Is too much access to TV just too much? I believe that's the real question at the heart of Mark Harris' Entertainment Weekly column on DVRs constipated with unwatched programming, which I can very much relate to. As I gear up for the fall TV season, I am feeling the itch to simply wipe the DVR slate clean. The ax already fell earlier this summer on "John Adams" and "In Treatment" and at the moment "Generation Kill", "Last Comic Standing" and "Reaper" seem to be next up on the chopping block. 

Just a few years ago I never would have had the daily conundrum of having too much tv to watch, sure there were a lot of great shows I wanted to check out, but if I wasn't at home for the original airing I simply didn't watch it. Sure I had a VCR, but the rare occasions that I got the recording timer to actually work were few and far between and so it went that I missed an entire season of Friends and Felicity my junior year  in college when I had class every Tuesday and Thursday night. These days with the latest and greatest addition of DVR to TV technology, there is almost nothing I can't watch and with two household DVRs that can each record two shows simultaneously  at my disposal I mean literally, nothing. As a self-described TV addict this should equate to something equivalent to TV ecstasy and for the most part it is, but I have to wonder if the fix is worth it when I inevitably find myself scrolling through the recorded shows list feeling guilt over the shows that remain unwatched and that are slowly filling up free hard drive space.  

Recycled pop culture- The Sequel

Columbia getting serious about new "Ghostbusters" installment.

Okay. Seriously. Enough already.

Recycled pop culture

While I am big fan and advocate of the green movement, what I can't seem to wrap my head around is why the recycling effort has extended into the realm of pop culture. Earlier this week the new 90210 premiered and this morning I tuned into the Today show only to be treated to the musical stylings of NKOTB. This 80's flashback is giving me a headache, the next thing you know they'll be remaking The Breakfast Club starring Zac Efron and Hannah Montana... crap I hope no studio executives are reading this.

9021-Over it

Checked out 90210 version 2.0 last night, I liked it better the first time when it was called Degrassi: The Next Generation. As I expected it was nothing more than a Gossip Girl clone dressed up with a nostalgic theme song and cameo appearances. It seems the obviously out-of-touch writers thought they could throw in a heap-load of on-the-nose texting and blogging references and that would be all that was necessary to update this series for today's audience. Even the appearance of one Ms. Brenda Walsh herself was shockingly uninteresting.

God bless the U.S- frickin-A

Best pizza on the westside

As a self-proclaimed pizza aficionado I am always on the hunt for a good pie, but after last years Italy trip and more recently my tasting of an actual New York slice, my standards have gotten a bit harder to reach when it comes to great pizza. Over the weekend I finally got around to trying Joe's Pizza, a new NY style pizzeria in Santa Monica and I was blown away. It is by far the best pizza in all of LA, especially since, as rumor has it, Albano's closed early this year. At one size fits all pies and per topping fees it is a little pricey but definitely worth every penny.

90210: Revisited

I hate to admit it, but after reading this Entertainment Weekly bit on the new 90210 I'm kind of excited to check it out... in a purely nostalgic sense of course. Although I am sure I won't make it past the first few episodes, as it is certain to focus mainly on the young Beverly West-ers and their Gossip Girl-ish dramas, I can't help but hanker for a trip down memory lane in the form of a Peach Pit stop or Kelly vs. Brenda catfight.

For purple mountain majesties

Watching the Democratic National Convention these last few days has left me feeling energized and excited and for the first time in my life I am beginning to understand what it means to feel patriotic. Having experienced nothing but disappointments since coming of the voting age, I have been cooly observing the '08 race until this point, holding myself back from excitement out fear that Obama might lose (first the primary and then the main event) and continue my tenure of political disappointment. However, as I watched first Michelle, then Hillary and finally Joe Biden take the podium and give their genuinely inspiring speeches I couldn't help but feel the stirrings of something deep inside me, something along the lines of a mixture of hope and pride. Don't get me wrong, it's not as if I had an overnight transformation into a bumper sticker-quoting, button-wearing political optimist. I still understand the balancing act nature of the political game and that regardless of how perfect Obama may be, he is still, at the end of the day, a politician. Still as I gear up to watch his speech this evening I can't help feeling like I will be watching history unfolding, a history that for once I can be proud of.

Aaron Sorkin add me as a friend and you can join my zombie facebook gang

Aaron Sorkin to pen a movie about the creation of Facebook. I don't get it. What is so filmic about some geeks building a website? 

Beyond the button

Now that's what I call creative campaigning. Who needs buttons when you've got these in circulation.

Searching for Maryjane

Just in case the dispensary on the corner is being raided, you can now locate the next closest one in the neighborhood at the click of a button. Maybe it's the temporarily self-imposed pot sobriety talking or Season 3 of Weeds that I am currently catching up on (more on that later), but it seems as though cannabis has become more of a pop culture icon as of late and references seem to appear everywhere I look. Not that I am complaining, but when did marijuana become the latest designer drug of choice? It seems that every decade has a mainstream popular drug and that the new improved designer pot has been helping weed make a neo-retro comeback. This great New Yorker piece gives insight into the inner workings of the business of selling medical marijuana and how it has changed the pot industry at large. 

What's a button for?

Moveon.org is giving away a free Obama buttons, so of course I signed up to have one sent to me as I am sure millions of others have as well. Who doesn't love a free button? But it got me to wondering who actually wears buttons anymore? With the exception of grandmas and Applebees' employees, I can't say I have seen many button wearers of late. I mean sure I wore my fair share of novelty buttons pinned to my stonewashed denim jacket in the mid-80s, but who didn't? These days buttons aren't exactly the most coveted fashion accessory and so I have to wonder if passing out free buttons is really the best way to make a statement. I would like to think once mine arrives in 4-6 weeks (where are they coming from exactly, Timbuktu by way of paper airplane?!) that I would pin it proudly to my wool, two-button, grey blazer, but my guess is it will just make it's statement collecting dust amongst the chaos of my desk till election day.

Switching it up...

Wasn't digging the old template, so thought I would switch it up. Enjoy.

What makes a blog good?

What makes for a good blog? Merlin Mann explains.

As I find myself becoming more obsessed with blogging, I find that I also become more self-conscious about it. Although I doubt anyone beyond one or two polite friends even reads this blog, I can't help but wonder how my words are perceived. While blogging serves as an outlet for my thoughts, as a writer I can't help but want everything I write to be good enough to read, regardless if anyone is or not. 

If anyone is out there, feel free to comment.

The movie-going "experience"

It has been a growing theory of mine for quite some time now that the way we watch movies is evolving. I am about to sound old and cliche but I remember the days when I could see a matinee for $5 and still have money left over to buy popcorn (which curiously used to taste like popcorn and not buttered cardboard as it does now, but that's a whole other topic). These days a movie ticket can cost upwards of $12 and yet we are still buying the same quality product, and in some cases arguably a worse one (i.e Indy 4), which is why, for the most part, my husband and I tend to steer clear of the theatre and watch movies from the comfort of our couch. I believe it was James Cameron who stated in an interview a few years back on the topic of ticket prices that he thought the steeply rising prices were fair and if anything should be higher because audiences are paying not just to watch a film but for an experience. Which leads me to ask what it is that an experience actually entails? Mr. Cameron may have believed his cinematic genius was experience enough, but I think now even he understands the trends toward true "experience cinema" is proof that when audiences pay more they start to expect more, hence his upcoming 3-D "Avatar". 

Whether it be 3-D, concert events on film, couches to sit on instead of seats, or dinner served while you watch I think the movie going experience is changing in order to catch up with both rising prices and the comfort and ease of the home theatre watching experience. Are these new additions just frivolous accents intended to fulfill a niche market, a possibility explained in this Machinist posting or is the business of movie going truly evolving? I suppose only time will tell.

Mad Men - Take Two

Finally got around to watching the first episode of Season 2 this weekend (much to catch up on with the Tivo after Olympics mania) and found it somewhat of a disappointment. While I was ecstatic that the Peggy/baby storyline was swept under the rug, hopefully never to appear again, I couldn't help but feel that overall the season premiere was very lackluster in comparison to the start of the previous season. It definitely accomplished setting the tone and possible sources of conflict for season 2, and establishing the time that has passed since the season finale, but if anything it seemed to focus too much on this setting up and very little on the here and now. I was hopping to jump right back into the fray of it but instead was just presented with a lot of dawdling. Hoping it will pick-up the pace as it moves forward and my fingers are crossed that this great series won't suffer the sophomore slump that so many others have.

"Fringe" benefits

I am not looking forward to the end of summer as it seems this one has come and gone so quickly, but the one thing I am excited about with the quickly arriving month of September is Fall television. There are a lot of returning series that I have been anticipating since the strike and some exciting new shows I can't wait to check out, the most anticipated of which is JJ Abrams' "Fringe". Just watching the trailer gave me chills even though it's 80 degrees outside. It's like Lost, Alias and X-Files all rolled into one, in other words, it's the perfect show.

The Dog days of summer

Haven't posted in a few days as I have been tied up with our new puppy and I have to say I missed it. As hesitant as I was about starting a blog, I find that it's something that I now look forward to as an outlet and as a regular part of my daily routine. Besides pee breaks, walks and rescuing my couch from biting, I have spent the last few days reading Cesar Milan's book "Cesar's Way" in hopes of gaining insight into the craziness that I have self-inflicted by bringing a dog into my life. For those of you familiar with Cesar's show "The Dog Whisperer" the book's main focus reiterates Cesar's mainstays of dog handling, being a calm-assertive leader for your dog and providing him with an outlet for his energy through the tried and true dog walk. He also describes in great detail about how we as humans create the behavioral "issues" that our dogs have by the way in which we interact with them, more specifically he points out the root of all problems for most American dog owners is that we humanize our pets. 

Reflecting back on my previous pets over the years I can now see easily where I went wrong and what behaviors I encouraged in my dog through humanization. I can't help but wonder what it is about dogs that make us behave in this manner. While it is true that in more recent years dogs have become a huge part of pop culture and in some cases even the latest designer accessories, historically we as Americans have always held our furry four-legged friends in high regard. Check out this Time magazine article for further proof, it seems that even the great leaders of our nation can't help but humanize man's best friend. Perhaps we simply need to start thinking of our canine companions less as friends and more as the animals that they instinctually crave to be, and if that seems impossible maybe we should consider what it is that compels us to bring a dog into our lives in the first place.

'Half-Blood Prince' moves to July

Thanks to the writer's strike we'll have to wait 8 more months to go back to Hogwarts. 

Poop

As a new puppy owner I have been introduced to a whole new realm of responsibilities in the last few days, probably the most important and basic of which is the walk (bathroom break), and so I am shocked to find how little other dog owners take this simple task seriously. Having lived in Santa Monica for the last six years I am still amazed by how much pride residents take in this city, sometimes even to the point of smugness. From no smoking laws to green parking structures, there are a bevy implementations and resources to keep this city as spectacular as it can be and so it baffles me, as I walk my dog down my quiet Santa Monica street, that there is a ridiculous amount of dog poo on almost every patch grass in sight. For a city of residents that spend more money on their environmentally pc Priuses and organic coffee than they do on their rent-controlled apartments it is hard to believe that the average dog owner can't a afford a 5 cent, biodegradable plastic baggie to pick up there dog's business.

Sweden relaxes rules on givings kids unusual names

Being a half-Swede I am slightly biased when it comes to all things Swedish-related, however, I can't help but wonder if they may have had it right the first time on this one. I absolutely believe there should be extreme limitations on what any government should be allowed to dictate when it comes to child-rearing, unless of course if the child's welfare comes into question. While a child's naming certainly cannot be compared to true abuse, I can't help but wonder about the long-term psychological effects of being named after a popular frat house libation.

Whatever happened to the customer is always right?

On first glance the huge amount of backlash pouring out against Stephenie Meyer for her latest book "Breaking Dawn" seems a little extreme and as Sara Nelson's Publishers Weekly blog puts it, Meyer's readership, composed mostly of teenagers is "not a group known for its measured, unemotional responses." Talk of returning already read books due to disappointment may seem excessive, but I think it begs an important question of the quality standards of the entertainment marketplace. While the best things in life may still be free, the cost of entertainment from books to films to cable television are soaring along with everything else in today's economy and if the price rises should the product not maintain or even exceed the previous standard of quality? If a $40 dollar NY strip is not cooked to your liking is it not considered acceptable to send it back to the kitchen? Why shouldn't the same hold true for a $12 movie that turns out to be subpar or a highly anticipated novel that disappoints not one, but many. Obviously the argument could be made that it is simply buyer beware and the consumer ought to do the research prior to purchase, not to mention that disliking a book or film is more a subjective matter of taste than an issue of low-quality craftsmanship, but in the grey area of entertainment, where the lines are often blurred between art and product, how do we really determine the difference? Authors and filmmakers certainly shouldn't have to cater their art to every individual's whim, but why shouldn't they at the very least hold their work to a certain standard of quality so that their audience/buyer doesn't end up feeling ripped off.

Heavy Boots

I can't help but feel sad as I read the final pages of Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close." I have been putting off the inevitable finishing of this book since I began reading it at the start of the summer, because it is a story more about the journey than the destination and  I couldn't stand the thought of this road coming to an end. While on face value it is a story about 9/11, at it's heart it is simply a beautiful, heartbreaking story about dealing with loss, both of loved ones and of innocence. If you haven't already read it I highly suggest you pick up a copy, you won't want to put it down but you'll never want it to end.

Wonderland Perfection

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly reports that Tim Burton is set to direct Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland in 3D for release in 2010. As if this match made in wonderland heaven weren't enough, the icing on the cake: Johnny Depp will star as the Mad Hatter. Alice is probably my first real novel infatuation, as a child I read  it so many times I have lost count. While I practically broke my VCR re-watching my copy of the the Disney-fied animated version, I can't imagine anyone more fitting to recreate this world than Burton. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

I refuse to become a virtual vampire.

Why is Facebook so addicting? Machinist seeks to find an answer. I hope I am not alone in embarrassingly admitting that I check my Facebook page at least ten times a day (pretty much anytime I need a break from not working). While I typically try to ignore most of the apps constantly being generated on Facebook, I do believe that the use of persuasive technology does work. I will admit that I do update my "status" nearly every time something clever pops into my head (which is quite often) and that I have sent the occasional happy hour "drink" or two. However, in an effort to avoid getting sucked in too deeply into the vast wasteland of so-called "triggers" I have made two internal rules for myself when it comes to navigating the social networking universe. 

Rule number one: I absolutely refuse to become a virtual vampire. No, I don't want to bite you or suck your blood or whatever the hell it means if I click on your invitation to join your blood-thirsty coven, nor do I want to "plant" a man-eating hydrangea in your virtual "garden." I do however, understand the impulse to do so when I find the requests waiting for me on my home page. I call it the "everybody's doing it" effect. For whatever reason, half my Facebook friends seem to find pleasure in taking compatibility quizzes to find out which Bon Jovi song best describes them and inviting everyone they know to do so too. So I have to wonder, as I click ignore on the fourth request to start a snowball fight, if perhaps I am simply missing out on the fun by doing so.

Rule number two: Never add friends you don't actually intend to communicate with. This I admit is a harder rule to follow, especially when Facebook has made it so easy to add those friends by presenting me with a constantly updating list of people I may know. I have definitely broken this rule on several occasions, succumbing to the call of the "add as a friend" link when I see a familiar face pop up, even though I can't help but wonder what the point is of having a "friend" I never once have even wall-to-walled with, let alone tagged in a photo or joined a pirate army with.

Woman riding a donkey fights off lion with machete

I don't really have anything to say about this, just enjoying the headline.

Carousels and Unplanned Pregnancies

Just watched the season 1 finale of Mad Men last night and I was thoroughly impressed and at the same time disappointed. (**SPOILER ALERT**):  There were so many great moments I could go on and on, but in short I loved the way things were resolved with the Donald Draper/ Dick Whitmore storyline, and I thought Betty Draper's discovery of her husband's true "infidelity" with her therapist and her cunning behavior in the session thereafter were genius (I still can't help but wonder if this sort of thing really went on then, what the hell happened to doctor patient confidentiality?!), but the piece de resistance had to be Don Draper's emotional presentation to the Kodak people, I was literally tearing up as Draper pitched the ad campaign for the "Carousel". I never knew advertising could be so moving. 

There was only one disappointment but unfortunately it was a big one and it left me grateful that I don't have to wait an entire year to find out what happens next as I am hoping the writers will clean up the mess they made of Peggy's unexpected pregnancy storyline. How on earth is it possible to believe that Peggy was completely unaware that she was pregnant but on top of that she didn't even look remotely pregnant. I mean if my face and rear end started ballooning but no belly appeared I might believe I was just getting fat too, but I use that might very lightly. Granted Peggy has been characterized as innocent and naive but we have also seen the glimmer of the intellect that lies beneath. All that aside, quite frankly it doesn't take a genius to realize when you are 8 or 9 months pregnant (which I assume she must have been that far along by the looks of the baby she delivered). I have to admit that for a few episodes when the fatness first appeared I suspected it would result in Peggy's inevitable pregnancy, with the passage of time, however, I knew it was no longer possible as she would have had that moment of discovery, but apparently the writers thought differently. What I did think was smart about the pregnancy storyline was the timing, the rug was pulled out from under her right at the moment she should have been celebrating her new promotion, however I think it would have been a lot smarter if she had still been early on so at the very least it would appear believable that she was unaware, then she could have grappled with it for a while, trying to hide it from her coworkers and the obvious father. 

All in all I was left with a slight sense of disappointment in a ridiculous premise, but for the most part it was outweighed by the rest of the otherwise fantastic episode. I can't wait to start season 2!

Dear Diary...

Dr. Gupta says keep a journal of what you eat so that you can guilt yourself into losing weight and always know who ate the last cookie. All joking aside this method does work... to a point. Both my husband and I have lost weight by using a food diary and keeping track of not only what we eat but more specifically how many calories. The first three weeks or so we managed to stay on track but inevitably like any diet you start cheating, a brownie here, some chips there and by the time the day comes to an end and you are recounting your food tally you decide to take the moral low road and simply leave those indiscretions off the entry. Who does it hurt? Only yourself.

For old time's sake I present my food diary for yesterday:

4 raspberries

1 Quaker instant oatmeal Maple Brown Sugar flavor

1 large cup coffee with half and half and 1 spoon Sugar in the Raw

1 Yoplait Light Whipped Yogurt Mixed Berry flavor

1 Turkey sandwich on wheat bread with cheddar cheese, salami, pickles, mayo and mustard

1 Perrier

1 snack-sized bag Baked Cheetos

2 slices salami

4 slices pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza

3 hot wings

ranch dressing

1 glass 1% milk

cantaloupe 

Mad about Mad Men

I am currently three episodes away from finishing the Mad Men first season dvd and I can't wait to get to the two season two episodes I already have waiting for me on my DVR. It is such a fantastic series that I can't help but mention this show to everyone I know (I already have one of my co-workers hooked). It has been a while (well at least since the start of summer) since I have watched a series that is so character based that I had almost forgotten how much fun it can be to watch the quirks and nuances of each character unfold and grow. What is so wonderful about Mad Men is that there are so many well-developed characters that each one is intriguing in their own right. While Jon Hamm's amazingly portrayed, Don Draper, and his office cohorts are the show's main focus, I can't help but think that it is the women of Mad Men's shockingly sexist world that are the most complex and intriguing of the show. 

Betty Draper is the Edie Falco to Jon Hamm's Tony Soprano if you want to make the comparison to the HBO series Mad Men's creator Matthew Weiner got his his chops from (and clearly continues to influence him, am I the only one who saw the parallels in Betty's pigeon hunting to Tony's ducks? and that's just the tip of the iceberg in parallels). Betty is just a ticking time bomb, one dinner party away from implosion and I can't wait for that moment. The show's other exceptional leading ladies include Elizabeth Moss, as the mousy Peggy, and Christina Hendricks, as the voluptuous Joan. Both characters could easily be pegged as one-dimensional representations of the opposing ends of the 60s single white working girl spectrum, but it quickly becomes apparent that they are so much more than that. As season one ties together it is obvious that both women are deeper than they let on, particularly Peggy, whom I still can't quite figure out, seemingly so naive yet the only female worker bee who seems to have aspirations beyond answering phones and filing her nails all day.

I highly recommend checking out this fantastic series if you haven't already, just make sure you have the bar fully stocked as the copious amounts of whiskey being ingested will leave you craving more than just the next episode. I mean seriously, how did anyone get any work done in the 60s? It's a wonder they were not all either belligerent or passed out by lunch time.

Kevlar Couture

I should be working on the novel, but instead I am doing anything but. Came across this Time magazine article and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell Steven Seagal needs with bulletproof clothes. 

There's Something About High School

Friday night I was at a bar celebrating the birthday of an old high school friend, which of course ended up being a quasi-reunion of sorts, reminding me that my real 10 year reunion is just a short couple of months away. Thinking about my impending class reunion illicits many emotions, curiosity, nervousness... fear. I wonder what people will look like, where they've been, what they are doing now. Are they married? Do they have kids? Did they get fat? But more than anything I wonder how the last ten years of my own life will measure up against everyone else's.

Yes of course we all attend our high school reunions in order to catch up and see what people have been up to, but don't we all secretly wonder how our own experiences and accomplishments will compare? Perhaps I am alone in suddenly wanting to impress people I haven't seen in ten years and probably won't see again for another ten, but you must admit that there is something about high school that makes it such a barometer for life's future accomplishments. At ten years time, we have all already spent twice the amount of time out of high school than we did in it, so why is it then that four short years become such a benchmark for the rest of our lives? I suppose it could be explained that the four years spent in high school are some of the most formative of our young, social lives and that because of this it becomes the template against which all our other social experiences are compared. High school is the time for coming of age, it is the formative years that will prepare us for the future and shape us into our adult selves. However, I can easily say that at the ripe young age of 27 I am almost nothing like my 16 year old self. In fact it is only recently, in the so-called quarter life phase that I have really figured out anything for certain about who I am and what I want, but I guess ultimately I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't first been my high school self.  

Every phase of life is a step forward from the last, but we certainly couldn't move forward without those stepping stones behind us and so perhaps the sudden urge to lose five pounds and finish the long-awaited novel is merely a way of justifying to ourselves that we have walked the best path we could.

Dark Knight

Finally saw The Dark Knight over the weekend, would have seen it earlier but I wanted to see it in Imax and the shows were sold out long in advance unless you were game for a 9am or midnight viewing. I have to say that after a summer of disappointments (don't even get me started on Indy 4) I had finally learned to prep myself for the possibility that it was not nearly as good as it looked, but for once I found my initial intuition correct. This film is truly and genuinely great. Clocking in at just over two and a half hours I thought for certain that it would feel too long, I smugly told my husband so in the car ride to the theatre,  but for probably the first time ever since the new era of ridiculously long, much-in-need-of-editing filmmaking, I felt that the length was just right. It is so rare these days that a "blockbuster" film is not only successful at the box office but also a great work of filmmaking across the board, the cinematography is beautiful, particularly the sweeping shots of the Gotham City skyline, and the talent is excellent, so much has been said about the performance of Heath Ledger it would be redundant to repeat it, but it is all well-deserved. Overall, I think what really brings a tentpole film of this magnitude to a higher level of filmmaking is the writing, it is so easy in big films like this for the dialogue to be, for lack of a better word "cheesy" and for plot points and action sequences to appear beyond ridiculous. With the small exception of the bullet-reconstruction sequence, Dark Knight is extremely well-written, with great dialogue and twists I didn't see coming. Ultimately, I really enjoyed the film and I am left wondering why the concept of a well-written blockbuster is so hard to come by? I mean sure you can slap together some silly catchphrases, rubber nippled suits and fancy digital explosions and call it a day, but why settle for that when you have the opportunity to entertain a massive broad audience and make good films at the same time? Dark Knight is truly a gleaming specimen of a studio summer movie, but at the same time it shines a light on exactly what is wrong the hollywood blockbuster mill.