Mike Doughty

Thanksgiving Eve I went to see Mike Doughty play at the Recher Theater in Towson with my husband and 4 friends. Traffic was a little hairy but other than that it was a pretty great night. I know most people are wondering "Who the hell is Mike Doughty?" Most of the people I know asked me the same question. In fact, we had two extra tickets and ended up eating one and giving the other away to someone we met at the door. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the guy but I swear he's good! He was the singer for a band called Soul Coughing in the 90's that is a little more recognizable.


The music was good and all, but people watching was the highlight. There were mountain man beards a plenty; which, as I've mentioned before, are a favorite of mine. Lots of really bad white-hippy-dancing (REALLY bad) and totally uncalled for white-hippy-dreadlocks. The most entertaining though was the tragic group of "friends" sitting in front of us. At first it was two 20-something girlfriends who showed up together and saved a seat for a third friend who would obviously joining them soon. That third friend ended up being a guy - and the awkwardness ensued. Mystery Man showed up for what he was clearly expecting to be a "date" with Girl #1 and looked just a bit disappointed to see Girl #2 there. But Girl #1 was clearly not into Mystery Man and in fact spent most of the evening pretending he wasn't there. This of course lead to much awkward small talk between Mystery Man and Girl #2 and an excess amount of obviously urgent business on his iphone. Once the music started they all at least had something to distract themselves. But a few songs in, he went for the hand-hold and Girl #1 wasn't having any of it. So sad. Poor Mystery Man. He clearly wasn't even a fan of Mike Doughty; the whole night he was preoccupied with this iphone and her hand until the encore when Doughty played one of his hits from Soul Coughing and suddenly Mystery Man was a singing - head-bobbing maniac. So tragic.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Team Taylor

I was torn when I went to see New Moon this weekend. There were some really great improvements in this movie as compared to Twilight but I can't help but come away with an overall disappointed feeling. To make it worse ... I wasn't even expecting it to be all that great. The first movie wasn't great and we all know the movie is never as good as the book but that shouldn't stop the producers from at least trying right?

I could go on and on about this and bore everyone to tears but instead I'm just going to list out what I saw as (to use one of my husband's favorite movies) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly parts of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. (And because he was such a trooper going to the movie with me and suffering through all the girlie squealing from the audience - I'm giving my husband's opinions as well)

The Good:

• Taylor Lautner: Not only is he super cute but also one of the better actors in the central cast.
• They FINALLY got The Meadow right! Making Bella and Edward's meadow dead and brown when Bella goes in search of a way to connect to Edward after he leaves was nicely done - a point that would have been even more appreciated by movie goers if they hadn't completely botched the meadow scene in the first movie.
• The Volturi: Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning were great and I can't wait to see more of them in the next two movies.
• Bella's school friends: Once again these kids were some scene-stealing bitches and I love them for it. They add a much needed sense of light and humor to the movies.
• The 360 shot of Bella: Something that I think Stephenie Meyer did great in this book was the blank pages she added in the middle of the book to portray the emptiness and depression that Bella goes through after Edward left her. I didn't expect this to be included in the movie but when I saw it - at the risk of sounding cheesy - it took my breath away.
• The Soundtrack!
• Jasper attacking Bella at the birthday party (my husband's opinion)
  

The Bad:

• Pretty much every scene with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson together: It's my humble opinion that Kristen Stewart could not act her way out of a paper bag and to make things worse she has dragged Robert Pattinson down with her. The two of them need to get over themselves. Every time either of them was on screen it was just awkward and painful to watch. Ms. Stewart seems to think that the key to good dramatic acting is biting her lip and shaking her head. What I wouldn't give to be able to get in a time machine and stab Catherine Hardwick in the neck before she made that casting decision.
• Not enough wolf-pack! These guys were great and - like the school friends - added some much needed fun. Can't wait to see more of them in the next movies.
• The death scene for Laurent (my husband's opinion)

The Ugly (and I do mean UGLY):

• Did I mention that Kristen's acting is ridiculous? because it is
• Pizza Toss / Wrench grab: During a montage of Bella and Jacob's budding relationship there is a moment where she throws a slice of pizza over her shoulder, seemingly to Jacob, then the camera switches to him and he throws his hand up, seemingly to catch the pizza, but instead he catches a wrench. I don't know how to properly describe this disaster but trust me it was L-A-M-E.
• Jacob taking off his shirt (my husband's opinion - major eye rolling included)

So what do you guys think? Did I miss anything? Do you agree that Kristen Stewart should be working in a Hot Topic somewhere instead of acting or am I being too harsh? Do you love Taylor Lautner as much as me or are you still hanging on to Team Rob. (btw - as far as the book is concerned I'm totally Team Edward - but as far as the actors go I am now fully on board with Team Taylor)

Also - since it truly was my favorite scene in the movie I have included a video here. It is just a fan-made video for the song used in the scene, Possibility by Lykke Li but if you jump to minute 1:43 you'll see a small piece of the 360 scene. Also, totally worth noting, the song choice was unbelievable. Check out the lyrics here too.

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Strawberried Peanut Butter

I wanted to offer you my thoughts on New Moon today but I need to get it straight in my head first. So I thought instead I would offer you my thoughts on the candy I ate while watching New Moon. We all know that concession stand prices are out of control; we all bitch about health care price gouging but this is were those of us on "Main Street" are really getting screwed. Seriously. The cost of popcorn alone at the movies is more than my last co-pay.



Since my husband and I are brilliant, and since we had to stop at the store anyway, we picked up some candy while we were there. I was scoping out the rack for some Reese's Sticks (because they are like little packages of gold) but couldn't find any so I decided to just settle for anything with peanut butter. I saw some peanut butter m&m's and grab them. It wasn't until we left the store that my husband made a disgusted face and asked how I could eat "those." I was taken a back at first but just thought it was because he is a weird foreigner.



NEWSFLASH: Dutch people (and possibly all europeans) think we are freaks for thinking that peanut butter is candy. Peanut butter and chocolate together is just totally strange to them. I made his mother try a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup last year when she was visiting us and she totally didn't understand it. Their candy of choice ... wait for it ... black licorice. I truly feel sorry for them.



He eventually pointed out to me that these were not peanut butter m&m's but rather "Strawberried Peanut Butter." I had never heard of such a thing! But decided it would probably taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a chocolatey morsel of candy coated goodness and I was all for it.



Let it be known that they were fabulous and I would not only buy them again if given the chance but highly recommend them to all I know.

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Letting My Geek Flag Fly

Today is the day people! New Moon hit theaters at midnight last night. Although I wasn't one of the people camping out in line to see the first showing I am one of the people that pre-ordered my tickets. I'm going to the first show Saturday morning to try and avoid some of the crazed crowds - wish me luck.



It must be said that this was my least favorite book of the series for obvious reasons. Lack of Edward! At one point while reading it I actually found myself flipping to the back of the book to see if and when the Cullens would be coming back into the story. This might not seem like a big deal to some people but I have never done that kind of thing in my life. I've never been one of those people that reads the last page first or skips to the end when the suspense gets to be too much. NEVER. But Stephenie Meyer got me. I had no control over it; I needed Edward back. And the book did not disappoint.


So yes, I am dragging my husband with me tomorrow to see it and I cannot wait. I'm totally jealous that there are thousands of people watching it today while I'm at work.


I know there are equally as many people that are tired of hearing about it but to them I say - BITE ME. So who else is excited?

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Wordless Wednesday

For your viewing AMAZEMENT, "Boy" by Ron Muek.

... and close up detail of the foot ...

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Smile .... with your NECK?

I realize that I am the only loser in the universe that watches America's Next Top Model but this season has been such a hot mess I had to share. This week during judging panel Tyra Banks got so freaking excited she LAID AN EGG.

Ok a little background for those of you that aren't hip to ANTM. Tyra and her groupies are mentally unstable. They like to wear lame costumes and make up new words in their own secret language. And when they are actually speaking in english it is usually done with a made up accent like Frenchanese. This nonsense is what makes up about 99.9% of the show. And what is Tyra's favorite made up word?

SMIZE (sm-iz) noun : to smile with one's eyes ... but only your eyes not the rest of your face because that would just be smiling and that is too easy. Everyone can smile but only Top Models can smize.

This week during judging panel, all of Tyra's groupies (aka judges) were giving the contestants their word vomit ... I mean "advice" on how to be a better model.

Tyra: You need to smize in this picture.

Nigel: You're not modeling *H to T* in this shot.

Mr. Jay: Your need more neck!

Ms. Jay: You need to ... [wait for it] ... Smeck.

Tyra: (shits her pants)

Tyra: OMG! Smeck! Yes! Yes! You need to SMECK ladies!! More SMECKING!

Okay maybe it wasn't exactly like that but it was close. Somehow Ms. Jay managed to merge two of Tyra's favorite words into a new super word and Tyra proceeded to have an excitement-seizure.


((meanwhile I secretly loved it))

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Wordless Wednesday

I know there are a bunch of these "spontaneous" mob dances are all the rage recently and by now most of you have at least seen the one from Oprah but this one is by far my favorite. Maybe it's because I watched The Sound of Music on a heavy rotation as a child (I literally know every word to the entire 3 hour epic) but this video totally gives me chills!

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"Thank You!"

In the car this week I noticed something strange, an odd behavior that I had no rational explaination for. It got me to wondering if I am the only person that has had this experience.

When changing lanes or merging onto the highway I found myself lifting my right hand in a wave. A bit of a "thank you" to the kind driver behind me for allowing a smooth transition.

The strange part ... I found myself not only waving but also saying the words "Thank you!" outloud. And not just saying them but saying them in a sweet sing-songy voice. WTF? That driver can't hear me. Why do I always do that? Am I alone here?

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Morale of The Story Is ...

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper:

'Please wake me at 5:00 AM '

He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wokened him, when he noticed a piece of paper bythe bed. The paper said:

'It is 5:00 AM. Wake up.'

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

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Words of Wisdom

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

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Yeah, He Stabbed Himself ... What? Like you Wouldn't?

Three skinheads or Hispanic males dressed in black tried to rob an innocent 29 year old male on his way to work at Blockbuster Video in the Denver area Monday night. According to the Denver Post the man had deep stab wounds to the lower leg requiring several stitches. Multiple police departments set up a perimeter to find the assailants. They even brought in a K-9 unit. But, no luck. After some suspicious camera footage from the local Target popped up, the young man eventually confessed.

Yes folks, he had stabbed himself in the leg because he didn't want to go to work.

Now clearly this was a terrible waste of the Police Department's time and tax payers money. But admit it - you've thought of doing the very same thing ... probably more than once. I know I have. In fact, if I was sure I would get away with it, I would do much, much, much, much uglier things to get out of work.

What makes it even more understandable - the guy worked at BLOCKBUSTER. Speaking from personal experience here, I'd take a day in the ER in a hot second over a day listening to people bitch about late fees. I haven't worked there for several years now, but I still have nightmares about the night Titanic was released and we stayed open until 2am for all the nut jobs that pre-ordered it. Seriously. And don't get me started on Y Tu Mama Tambien (I know half those assholes only rented it so I had to struggle through pronouncing the title when I told them the return date.) What makes me really sick at myself is the fact that in this picture of Adam Brody, I could tell instantly that he was in the Action section of the store b/c of the Clear and Present Danger cover box on the floor.

FML

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The Elusive Cat Shark

QUICK! Someone call National Georgraphic! I have finally procured a photo of the elusive Cat-Shark in it's natural habit. This shot will be worth millions!

Seriously though, my friend has the fatest and most patient cat ever born. Her name is Suki and this year she dressed up as a shark ... last year she was a chicken. I WISH I had a picture of that for you too.

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