Cheese= magic

When I flipped on the telly last night, I caught (on the Travel Channel, I believe it was) the tail end of a program about cheese. I was very disappointed with my inability to catch the program in its entirety as I am a big fan of the subject matter. One interesting thing I did learn was that scientists (FOOD SCIENTISTS) are working on ways to make cheese healthier (oh frabjous day!!). For instance, by altering the dairy cows' diet, they may be able to increase the levels of the "good fat" in the already fatty fatty fat cheese. Also, they are going to pimp out the cheese with that macrobiotic goodness that they enhance lotsa the yogurt with nowadays. Is "macrobiotic" the term I'm diggin' for here?? Hmmm...not sure. You get the gist anyhow.
They closed the program with several cheese experts discussing their feelings about cheese. One of these guys said "Cheese is MAGIC"--well, actually I'm condensing & paraphrasing his comments quite a bit....but that was essentially his viewpoint on the topic. . .and I SO agree with him!

I continued on with more food themed programming and tuned into this Food Network challenge where these cake artisans competed to bake the b-day cake for Miley Cyrus's Sweet 16 bash. OOOooh, mucho prestigio, no?? Not sure that artisans is precisely what they are-- perhaps artistes would be more accurate?? Well, whatever the preferred nomenclature, they are pros at making very HUGE , very ornate cakes. Fondant virtuosos. (I've never had fondant. Et vous?? I hear it's yucky...)
I've watched Food Network's cake challenges a few times before, and I'm always vexed by this one segment of the show, after the clock runs out and the cakes are complete, where they make this big deal ceremony out of transporting the finished product from the kitchens to the display table. Aside from being somewhat excruciating to watch, it irks me with its air of contrived suspense. I always think about how much niftier it would be to assemble the cake on a work table with locking casters-- locked during assembly, then unlock and wheel the cake forth for judging. Ahh well. I suppose it's important for these folks to show that they can craft relatively semi-portable creations. Still..it irks me nonetheless.

Oh, by the way, my fave cake won the challenge. There was this other team that had a promising cake--their biggest tier was covered with this terribly impressive hand-piped scrollwork. But then they unveiled their pièce de résistance and it was really atrocious. It was this sculpture-cum-cakestand that was supposed to look like the birthday girl but it was such a monstrosity it singlehandedly ruined their shot.

Later I tuned into TV Land's High School Reunion. I've been besieged by promos for it, which I succumbed to because I genuinely enjoyed the last season of HSR that TV Land put out. Seems like that was a while ago.. Did y'all watch that "cycle"?? It had the easygoing bi chick and Matt, the weepy jock-widower?? Well, I didn't think the current season's crop of alums looked quite as promising as the last but I am withholding my final verdict right now (I endeavor to be just). Overall, it was an enjoyable enough way to pass an hour. Some bulletpointed observations--

• The dude who was omni-present in all the promos --"The Player"? He has yet to make an appearance.
• They have a more racially diverse alumni class than last season
• During the opening credits, they show all the yearbook picks and rattle off the corresponding h.s. stereotype for each alum. So they've got "The Cheerleader", "The Cowboy", "The All-Star" etc. Well, I did a double take when they snuck in "THE PREGNANT GIRL". Really? Wow, edgy. The more I think about it, the more I take offense on Shalonda's behalf (Shalonda--that's "the pregnant girl" or, uhh, ex-pregnant girl, I guess)
• They are continuing a tradition of having 1 divorced couple amongst the crew of alums. This must be HSR's go-to recipe for draaaaa-maa! Although this round's divorcees--Tom&Kara--seem sane and rather likable, so I suspect their drama will not be half so dramatic as last season's Mike & Lana. Oooh...that Lana. She was a rabid mega-bitch, fer sure. Toootally!
• The most errr.. noticeable alum so far is Jessica. She is the proverbial ugly-duckling-turned-swan, except in her case it's an ugly-duckling-turned-bunny (Playboy bunny, that is). Y'know, I don't have a problem with her being a playmate, nor do I care much that her wardrobe takes "micro-mini" to a whole 'nuthah level. But what is grating is that..by all outer indications...she is chronically vapid. Just as vapid as her big fake hooters and puffy futon mattress lips would have you believe she might be. I thought being an ugly duckling was supposed to build character??

Oh, I almost forgot last night's most remarkable TV discovery-- Phil's Music Extravaganza. There's this dude on CATV 8 public access that usually does a show from his workshop. He goes through his collection of wooden creations he's made (mostly whirligig lawn decor) and does a little exposition on their features & what not. The guy (Phil) does nice work, but he's not exceedingly eloquent and has this WICKED Yankee accent. It makes for some kinda funny TV (I'd bet if I got stoned I would find it just inexpressibly amusing) and usually when I flip onto it by chance (since, offhand, I have no idea when his show airs) it usually captures my attention for about 5minutes. Well that's all I thought ol' Phil had to offer. . .until last night. Last night, I'm flipping around after HSR and I see Phil in a totally different setting than the workshop. And then I note that he's attired in a radically different fashion than I usually see(in his workshop he usually dons a flannel shirt...on this "music extravaganza" he's got on a Hawaiian shirt & straw fedora. Woooot woo!) He turns on a nearby boombox and commences to PLAY TAMBOURINE ALONG WITH HIS FAVORITE CDs. Add to that a little dancing. Throw in some really bad harmonica playing.... It was awesome. That will have to suffice, but really words cannot encapsulate the spectacle. That's why I'm so pissed with catv 8. Their website has 216 videos of their various shows and it seems like 214 of those offerings are vids of televised Town Meetings. Town meeting, schmown schmeeting!! If I wanted to get bored to tears by a flippin' town meeting then I'd go to one!! When I saw that catv was technologically sophisticated enough to have video clips online--you can get their podcast thru itunes, for fuck's sake!-- then I thought (fleetingly) that I had a good chance of sharing with yous the wonder that is Phil's Music Extravaganza ( I am an embedding fiend, y'know) But no dice, dammit. Let's pretend people read my blog, and I will make-believe entreat of all my legions of devotees to besiege catv with emails demanding that video footage of Phil's Music Extravaganza be posted online. Ahhh, would that it were so...

a new low in triviality

Today Eileen was singing the praises of the "ideal clamp" and how indispensible they are and how very dearly she loves 'em and I was heartily in disagreement with her vis a vis their worth. First off, let's have a look at this so-called "ideal clamp"-

I call them "ideal clamps" only because that's what Office Max has dubbed them online and on their packaging. Really, I take issue with the name. I actually think they're far from "ideal" but that aspect of the issue is subjective. Why wouldn't they be called "clips", though? Empirically, they are clearly more clip than clamp. You see what I mean??

I really don't see how the ideal clamp is an improvement over the tried& true original --the traditional paper clip.

I feel (quite strongly) that the BINDER CLIP is paper fastening technology par excellence. In the interests of succinctness, I proffer an analogy to prove my point...

The binder clip is to paper fastening doohickies as Glad Press 'n' Seal Wrap is to food-preserving plastic wrap.

In other news of nanomicroscopic pettiness, I was researching business card paper online. There was this Geographics brand business card cardstock that Office Max sells that's about $4 cheaper than the Avery 5371 that we've been buying. But , OF COURSE, there's no way to tell on the lame-o Office Max website whether or not this cardstock is a working substitute for the Avery 5371. It appears to be but...dammit, all they have to put on there is "Equivalent to Avery 5371" and I would be certain. But NO, I have to do extra research and go to that paper company's website and then when I get there I am distracted from my mission entirely. Emblazoned across this company's homepage is a banner ad for St Patty's Day stationary. This ad proclaims, "Your in luck!!" Now if y'all know me, you know this rather pissed me off. If I worked for that paper company, I would be EMBARRASSED. So I click the "Contact Us" link and politely (albeit a bit haughtily) informed them of the faux pas. I got this almost immediately--

Dear Sandra,
Thank you for alerting us. I have notified the programmer, who won't be in until tomorrow morning.
Sincerely,
Jim Jimmypants (*not his real name)

And then I get an email that's all "Ticket # somethinerother has been generated to correct your issue" and "please follow up with reference # somethinerother" all very involved and technical and really I was only a smidge irked and I don't truly, deeply give a rat's arse about it.

Also, I completely forgot to get the specs on the business card cardstock... Phooey.

I have a very interesting color palette of grey & yellow going on today. Specifically: a semi-sheer yellow shirt under a heather grey sweatshirt-cardigan with darker grey jeans, grey & yellow Sketcher sneaks (quick aside: I really detest the colloquialism of “tennis shoes”. Unless the footwear is expressly designed for the game of tennis…call the bastards “SNEAKERS” please & thanx!!) silver hair clippie , my silver watch and a black,blue& yellow friendship bracelet of my own crafting. (went minimal in the accessories dept…possibly a reaction from last week’s overaccessorized wardrobe. I wore a scarf everyday last week. The first scarf recurrence was coincidental and then I decided to continue it as like a sartorial theme for the week) I’ve been told I’ve a tendency to be too “matchy-matchy” in my outfits and I suppose today is a prime example of that tendency. I’m sorry! Matchy-matchy makes me happy & I rather enjoy a good motif.

HOWEVER--I almost had to go home today on account of a dreaded “ wardrobe malfunction”. As I was unpacking a crate of medium gloves in the storeroom, I hear a pinggk! noise. This is the sound of the button flying off the top of my jeans. Now these pants would, I’d wager, stay on sans button. But the zipper dropped down to midway and you could see open flaps of the top of my jeans protruding under my shirt. MOST displeasing.

Well, thank Heaven for “needless” Christmas gifts. Last Christmas one of my coworkers (I regret to say, I can’t even remember which one) gave out wee stockings with dollar store trinkets in ‘em—icky fimo clay ornaments, mini candy canes…also a small sewing kit. Now, the sewing kit I kind of liked (as it was a little houndstooth check case, and I happen to have this strange affinity for houndstooth check) but didn’t see that I’d have much use for it, so I just chucked it in the tchotchkes drawer of my desk and the kit was amongst the desk accoutrement that somehow migrated from my prior gig to this current one. So after spending a panicky ½ minute staring at the rivet in my hand, I remembered that houndstooth check sewing kit. I smuggled it to the bathroom in my cardigan pocket and my first idea was to snip a button off my cardigan to sew on to my pants (as the buttons included in the kit were too small to fit properly in this button hole) but I was reluctant to execute this plan as it involved partial dismantling of a cardigan I just bought yesterday. I then noticed that this handiest of handy kits had a smattering of safety pins in it. One of these is now SAFEguarding my pants, and keeping safe my precious scrap of dignity, also keeping innocent bystanders safe from an alarming exhibition. Safety pin , indeed. Never has so banal a term been imbued with such prolific meaning!!

Enough about my pantstastic calamities. Another dismal thing that happened today—the correction of last week’s payroll snafu. Now, for very good reasons I don’t work in the accounting/ finance depts.** (one of those very good reasons being I can’t quite ascertain the difference between finance and accounting…also I’m always getting “accounts receivable” & “accounts payable” confused) but I woulda thought they had some clever accounting trick for correcting overcompensations. The clever trick is. . .having me write them a check for the amount I was overpaid. Veddy, veddy shoddy of thems, I must say. I mean, first they are toying with my emotions by putting that fat amount on my paystub, and then letting me know in no uncertain terms that NO I cannot have all that moolah. But then, I have to pay them the money…that’s just cruel. It was a really difficult to write that check—it physically pained me (practically).

So on Heroes. . . is it really *so* verboten for the writers to duplicate powers?? Because it seems with this comic book store dude they are REALLY scraping the bottom of the paranormal abilities barrel (imagining, for the moment, that such things are kept in barrels) What they shoulda done is reuse those super-learnin’ powers they gave to that chick in LA (that annoying little Micah kid’s cousin, introduced for a season and then receded into oblivion) What, instead, do we have? Some schmendrick that can hold his breath underwater for prolonged periods of time. WOW-WHEE KAZOWIE! That’s like being a lame half-ass Aquaman, ( I do believe Aquaman can commandeer armies of manatees and battalions of seahorses & the like and this new “hero” can do neither.) I’m not even sure how this dude can apply his underwhelming scuba powers— he was on the swim team he mentioned, so perhaps he can swim long distances? That’s really terrific at a swim meet, but on epic save-the-world type missions, it’s a bit useless. I suppose the character’s purpose is to underscore the senselessness of Senator P’s project. Y’know how Easter Island is preaching what a horrific threat to national security these people are , meanwhile they’ve deployed their best men in the pointless mission of apprehending this harmless cut-rate Aquaman. If that’s the point, I get it. Point made & duly noted…I only hope this was this loser’s sole appearance on the show (if not, a powers makeover ASAP please!)

I am kind of amused with Sylar becoming some sort of big brother character. Am starting to wonder if that kid is even more warped than S.

I am no longer ambivalent about HRG. I am back to loving him again!! It was so sad when his dippy wife kicked him to the curb. It sure tugged at me ol’ heartstrings when he got weepy and all “I love you Clairbear”. Then his stupid unworthy daughter didn’t even say “I love you” back. That’s just good manners! Okay, okay-- so she did hug him. And though I don’t fault her for blowing the whistle to her mom, she been vexing me in like a zillion other ways for the past 2 seasons. I get that they’re trying to develop the character, y’know, grow her from an innocent & oblivious cheerleader to a woman-to-be-reckoned with. They’re trying to show her sprouting a backbone. But she’s been so dumb and petulant about it—grrr.

But back to the characters I don’t loathe… I’ve always felt kind of “mehh” about Hiro and for that reason I didn’t follow his storylines too intently (also that whole 17th century plot was a YAAWWNER) but now I am watching, because I find I am becoming more & more of an Ando fan. I thought he might get some curry booty this past episode. Ah well.. I sorta wish they’d given Ando a better power . How about invisibility? They haven’t used that too much. I honestly can’t think of a power that they’ve not used at all. Must be the writers are similarly stumped, hence the new characters with SCUBA powers. Would be entertaining though to give Ando the popular ol’ standby of super-strength and watch him kick some arse.

I think if I were to have powers I’d go with superstrength or invincibility (a la Claire) or maybe I’d take creepy puppetmaster powers like that icky Paul Giamatti-esque baddie who was in love with Claire’s mother. (And yes I’d do the “Whyyahittin’yerself? Whyyahittin’yerself?” routine at least once or twice) I think Parkman has—hands down—the coolest powers, but I wouldn’t take those just because the whole telepathy part of the package would prove burdensome, methinks.

**I would seriously would consider a career in accountancy if it were actually was the clerical swashbucklery depicted in Monty Python's Meaning of Life. But alas...

coffee table book du jour

The coffee table book I've had my schnozz in nowadays is The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Castles, Palaces, & Stately Houses of Britain & Ireland. Gorgeous, gorrrrrgeous stuff. Now, unquestionably I belong in a palace, but I could certainly content myself residing in one of these "stately homes". I mean, it's just incredible what the 19th ce. Brit aristocracy used to call a "cottage".

I was digging for more info on these places, and I came across this cool site. A lot of these manor homes have their own websites, and further, a lot of these places publicizing themselves here on the internets are pushing themselves as wedding venues. How fucking awesome would it be to be married at one of these places??

For instance...Chatsworth looks like an effing AMAZING venue. Also at Syon Park (just outside of London) you could utilize this fab pavillion--

Which really, is cooler looking from the inside--

and done up for a wedding reception--

Just lovely (though I'm not sure I'd do it up quite so pinkly)

I wonder if booking a manor for one's wedding is just for the disgustingly wealthy Brits OR if they're so mad overstocked with titled gentry over 'cross the pond that a booking a manor for your wedding is roughly equivalent to our booking the American Legion . Would that not be a dreamy setting for a wedding?? I know, with my impeccable taste I could stage just a magnificent fete... the only tricky bit is finding a groom that's up to snuff. Ohhh, BOTHER. . .

other incompetencies

In addition to being a mediocre gas pumper, I must confess I am utterly inept with a squeegee. On my last trip to Cumby's (this afternoon..3ish) I noticed that my windshield was thoroughly covered with a coating of sand and/or road dust and I went at it with a squeegee. The windshield is considerably less grimy now, but it's a streaky mess.

So much for my dreams of starting my own roadside biz...

I have been remiss...

...if I have not yet disclosed to you all that I thoroughly and intensely LOATHE the Free Credit Report Troubadour of those insipid FreeCreditReport.com commercials. UGGH. That dude is the worst.

dilemma resolved

Yeah, so I didn't wrestle with the moral dilemma of extra cake in my paycheck for all that long after all. Turns out I was not the only employee who was excessively compensated, and so the payroll snafu was discovered within a coupla hours. Shit.

dilemma

Just got my pay stub and I was overpayed by about $600. I am seriously considering telling someone about it. I am also seriously considering keeping mum about the snafu.

Really, the only reason I'm inclined to report it is because I suspect it would be eventually caught and the $$ would be yanked away from me anyways..

What I listened to on my ride home tonight...

I remember watching this vid back in high school and genuinely thinking that that Glenn Danzig was pretty hubba-hubba. Now...I'm too refined to go for that maybe? I'm a bit appalled at my circa 1993 self. That's just...ugh..too sweaty. And wearing a mesh tank top--for the love o' Pete's Dragon!!
Still, I just love this song (best line: "FATHER-DO YOU WANNA BANG HEADS WITH ME??") When I sing along with this live version, there's the part towards the end during the raging guitar solo where he makes this loud but indistinguishable exclamation, and I always opt to sing "BOWW WOOOOW!" at that juncture.

I have to also include the original 1988 video for "Mother" . I'd not seen it before tonight. I was thinking it was going to be the most basic, absolute dullest music video ever until near the end when they started doing the kooky-ass black mass stuff. Haa. Even more laughable is how Glenn is trying his damnedest to look fierce (and I mean fierce in its original meaning, not the bastardized Christian Siriano buzz word sense of the word) and glowering and sneering (his glower is better than his sneer, I feel. For a good sneer, go to Billy Idol. He makes it effortless and sexy) amidst the artfully arranged shadows. And then he totally undermines the whole effect with this gnarly Farrah Fawcett blow-out hair. Crazy!!




Is that a flaming wad of gum he's brandishing at 02:09 ?? And heeey--one of those Satanic hos looks quite a bit like Cameron Diaz, no?

This would be fun on Guitar Hero. It's on one of the versions of the game, though not the one my nephew has. I haven't played in a while, and find myself kinda jonesin' to. I'm no pro...it's definitely one of those things that I am crap at but enjoy nonetheless. My favorite song to do (my signature, if you will) is ZZ Top's La Grange. That song is the cat's jammies. Very good to bop around to. Yep.. everybody I've played against remains seated (and strangely, the best players seem to be the most thoroughly chillaxed--sunken into the couch, virtually napping) but I insist on playing on my feet. Thus far, I've resisted the urged to smash the guitaroller (that's a compound word there...you likey?) on the furniture.

palabra jot!!

I used to watch PBS all day when I stayed home sick from school as a wee Sanny. I had this Claymation-ish grasshopper and a mantra of "Palabra jot!!" resounding in my head from those sick days of yore, but the memories were so hazy, plus *no one* knew what I was referring to when ranting about the grasshopper & his "Palabra Jot" chanting so I was starting to doubt myself...suspect that I'd had fever-induced hallucinations.

But thank God for YouTube...

Now I just need someone to download clips of "ReadIt with John Robbins" and I'll be all set. I just remember an opening sequence of animated froggies croaking "RRrread It!" and brief glimpses of John Robbins with his way dark moustache and he would draw charcoal etchings of a story while he read it. OK, so, it doesn't sound monstrously exciting, but it would give me the nostalgic warm fuzzies to see it again.

I also used to watch Slim Goodbody , but I'd just as soon forget that whackadoo.

In my rooting around I found Rick's TVO Kids Shows page ..which specifically looks at TV Ontario children's programming, but come to find out, US PBS& Canadian PBS shared a few kiddie shows. Some of those screen caps from All About You with Louise McNamara looked vaguely familiar...

Yeeaah, I would guess this particular episode stuck with me because the plastic mutilated torso character there freaked me right the hell out...

Feel like I should post simply 'cause I haven't in a while but I don't really have much of anything to report...Hmmmmm..lemme see...lemme see...

I missed big chunks of Heroes on Monday night and I'm kinda miffed about that. The Mentalist was especially good last night--Simon Baker had the charm especially amped up.

Mi amiga Heather treated me to dinner at Salt Hill last night and the "Dublin Fries" were excellent (no relation--thank goodness--to "calf fries") In other vittles news I made omelettes & french fries for dinner tonight. Everything was tasty but the omelettes gave me the most vile gas. Sorry..TMI, right??

Our receptionist royally pissed me off today because she asked for invisible tape and all we had was transparent tape and she had a little fit over it. I came out with the horribly substandard transparent tape and was all "I'm sorry this is the only kind we have" (accompanied by the most apologetic of apologetic shrugs). And she gets ALL FUCKING HUFFY and sez "What--I have to buy my own tape now too? This is garbage. I can't use it. I had this on a list of product NOT TO BUY because it doesn't work, it won't stick. I can't use that. It's garbage" I grabbed the tape and just pivoted and retreated without another fucking word because I felt, in that moment, if I lingered a nanosecond longer I was either (best case scenario) gonna call her a raving bitch or bludgeon her with her empty tape dispenser. Now usually, I am very quick to offer to make a special order when someone has a particular preference (about 50% of the time I'll get shot down, but I will try. Even if the purse strings are cinching up, *I* have remained accomodating) But she went from zero-to-megabitch so quickly I didn't even get the chance to offer. And I'm sure as hell not going to now. She can buy her own f-ing tape, that nasty old hag.

I dyed my hair tonight. I think it's darker than I've ever had it. Not sure if I like it yet. I'm leanin' toward "YES" but I'm not quite decided. When I picked it up at Walmart last night, I deliberated for some time between Herbal Essence's"Foxy Brown" (a medium brown shade) and Revlon Dark Brown (#30) but Laura finally talked me into the former. Jinkies--I dunno how dark my hair woulda been if I'd gone with the darker shade. As it is...well,you need light shining on it to see that it is still brown & not black. I guess I dig it. There's no white hairs anymore and it feels really soft. I wanted a real noticeable change but was sick of red/reddish tones...

In other cosmetological news...I picked up a makeup eraser pen the other day (like this but Maybelline brand) and it is proving to be the niftiest tool in all my massive warpaint arsenal. Me mucho gusto...

The other night I was flipping through the offerings on Comcast OnDemand and in particular exploring their MUSIC section. I happened to be in the mood for something that didn't demand much of an attention span, and so I spent an hour and a half watching music videos. So novel to watch videos, since you rarely ever come across them on the "music channels" any more (unless you're channel surfing at 3 or 4 in the a.m.) Quick aside-- have you ever watched that show "Parental Control" on MTV?? That show always feels very blatantly staged. I seriously hope I'm right about that, because otherwise the youth of America has an APPALLING & SHOCKING lack of respect for their elders. It's disgusting. And from what I've seen of the show (I tend to catch it somewhere in the middle and find myself strangely compelled to know the outcome) the subject keeps their original girlfriend/boyfriend like 9 times outta 10.

Anyways, enough about that horrid program. Let me know share with you the two highlights of my music vid binge...

HEARTLESS [KANYE WEST]




Question: REALLY?? Who knew Kanye was so into the Jetsons?? Or was this the denoument some behind-the-scenes rights wrangling.?? Like, maybe K really wanted to use Fat Albert & co., but the Coz was SO peeved that K already copied the Huxtable sweater look and so he wouldn't sign off on it. I wonder...
But anyways, I like this song. Even more than Love Lockdown. Now, the fact that he allowed an animated Kanye to stand in for the real deal in this video...mayhap that's showing an uncharacteristic smidge of humility on his part? Don't get me wrong--I adore Kanye--even at full-tilt,unabated levels of egomania.

This one from a few years ago--



How fucking brilliant are these guys?? I find the Bigfoot running montage sort of exciting. And is that stuffed shells or lasagna he's serving up?? Well, either way I'm impressed with his culinary prowess...obviously. And props to MCA for one of the bestest Halloween costumes ever. If y'all see me as a devil egg for Halloween '09, please do me a solid and pretend like I came up with the idea myself, okay??

tunes & yogurt

Is it just me or is choosing yogurt at the grocery store a faaaaar more epic task than it ever used to be? I know there were a bevy of grammatical flaws in that sentence, (pardon me) but surely you get the gist, yes? Are there really so many more yogurt options or is this me exhibiting signs of old fogeyism...in particular that way the fogeys have of hyper-romanticizing the past so much so that their rosy retroview obscures to them how things actually factually were. Y'know, the rampant "In My Day..." syndrome the old farts get. Except where most people will wind up kvetching something like: "In my day..we didn't have rapes on the subways and mass murderers" (thereby lamenting modern societal ills) I, with my continuing focus on the trivial am grieved at how complex PURCHASING YOGURT has become. Silliness.


Well, anyways, if you are a doddering fool like me and need advice in the scarily addlepating realm of yogurt selection, then let me share with you a recommendation. Against all aforementioned odds, I have found the yogurt of my dreams (and my yogurt uncertainty is a thing of the past) I very much enjoy Cabot's Low Fat Greek Style Yogurt. Actually, I did once try Cabot's regular Greek Style Yogurt , and I very, VERY much enjoyed that (it was sinfully delicious...and at 14g of fat a cup, I DO mean sinful!!) But the Low Fat kind is almost as terrif. Specifically, I like the Vanilla Bean flavor & the Pomegranate Blueberry.
OK, now for a total topical 180 ...without a net...without a segue...heeere goes..


I have just recently discovered Last fm. I find it very helpful in musical exploration...for instance, I am beginning to delve into some new genres a bit-- bluegrass , folk, blues... and so, knowing that I kinda dig Doc Watson, I can look him up, and not only can I find about a thousand **full length**tracks of his work, but his page offers up lyrics to some of his songs, also similar artists, similar tracks...it's great. Speaking o' Doc... I've found 2 more songs of his I've gotta get. Also was listening to Puccini.


In summation, I'm LOVING this site. I just might hafta add it to my links sidebar...

TV

I did watch the Superbowl on Sunday, although I can't claim to have given a rat's arse about the outcome. Well, normally I don't. Last year was an anomaly--I really,genuinely gave a shit. The Pats had had such an amazing, unbelievable season, I was really pulling for them to win it (don't fret--I have since gotten over the defeat). Anyways this year I returned to form-- only concerning myself with the Superbowl Party grub and the commercials. I missed the one that was the viewer fave-- the Doritos "crystal ball" ad (although I caught it on hulu tonight--cute) I did like the Denny's commercial with the mob guys getting smiley pancakes. Also dug the one for monster with the poor schmoe whose desk is right under a moose ass. The one that really spoke to me was --




It's funny...BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. SO TRUE. Ok, so I don't scream like that when I pull into my parking spot in the a.m....but I'm apt to anyday now. And actually on of 4 out of 5 weekday mornings the first word I utter when I awake is "Fuuuuuuuuuck!" That there, is a fact. But back to the commercial--my favorite part is the koala punching bit. They couldn't have chosen a better animal to deck. Koalas seem to have this cute and snuggly wuggly rep that couldn't be more misleading. They really are insufferable bastards. I don't know if you knew that about koalas, but that also is factual.

Speaking of cute and snuggly wuggly, I watched SNL tonight (had it DVRed) and was struck with a new appreciation for what a total cutie patootie that Jason Mraz is. I usually skip over the music segments on SNL, but I kinda dig that first song he did ("I'm Yours" I think is its title) and it was fun to watch him play it. If he is hetero (I can't quite tell with any certainty) then I bet he does pretty well with the ladies. Look at what big bidness John Mayer inexplicably did (before he settled down with Granny Anniston, that is) Jason Mraz definitely deserves as much--nay, I say MORE--Jason Mraz deserves more tail than John Mayer got.

As for the "comedy"...MMmmeh. Steve Martin was lame, the digital short (which usually delivers) was muy STUPIDO. I liked Weekend Update, the Bernie Madoff skit (which they managed to not draw out too long, as they are apt to) the MacGruber skit (and those usually suck) where all M will say is "Pepsi Pepsi Pepsi.." And I really dug Kenan Thompson doing "Issues". I think Thompson is hysterical --and underrated...which is probably a good thing..I think if SNL appreciated his skills, they'd overuse & overextend the hell outta him..y'know like they do Kristen Wiig.




TV this week was Old Home Days for 80s moppets..so far anyways. Last night on Medium I saw none other than Vinnie Delpino and tonight's eppy of The Mentalist featured Chip from Kate & Allie. Both were murderers, as it happens. I kinda saw that potential for grisly mischief in Chip way back years ago when he laid down on the kitchen table with ketchup splashed 'cross his chest & a butter knife in his armpit trying to fool Allie into thinking he was dead. Remembah that episode? I do...hazily.

Not all that much to say about last night's Heroes. First off, I AM so thrilled it's back. I know it is kinda pathetic, but it makes my Mondays incrementally more tolerable to know that a new Heroes is rolling around at 9pm. Just a mere 14 hours to tough it out...really, it changes my waking expletive on Mondays from a "Fuuuuuuck!" to a "Fuuck." I think what this season of Heroes needs is for Ando to get some lovin' (not from some Tokyo hooker either, but still it's good he was making an effort) and for HRG to stop being such an unconscionable BASTARD. Well, it looks like Nate-Easter-Island-head-Petrelli is public enemy numero uno now. I don't really mind that as I never liked him too much anyways. But I did like HRG, I guess I still do, tenuously. It's hard to root for him when he keeps going so morally AWOL. As always, I LOVE sweet Pete Petrelli!! And I still adore Sylar even if he has gone back to noggin carving. I dug that scene where he vanquished all the silly army schmoes who were trying to bring him in.

Oh tonight's tube time was watching The Mentalist, which is just exactly the sort of crime procedural crap that I usually avoid (the backbone fare of CBS). But I can't deny myself a Simon Baker fix when there's one to be had. He's not only a fiiiine, foxyass specimen, but he's ever so charming and is the entire reason that show's been deemed worthy of an hour of my time. Well, tonight they had homocidal Chip on, but usually it's just the Simon Baker factor that gets me tuned in.

I have recently watched The Fall and I just LOVED it. The little girl who played Alexandria was very believable and very, very sweet. And Lee Pace was terrific. I was a smidge smitten with him to begin with, but watching him in this movie just cinched it: I heart Lee Pace. He's a handsome enough dude, but I feel like still-photos don't quite convey it. You have to see him in action, get the full audio-video to really perceive his merits. In addition to being rather foxy, the guy exudes a sort of ...I dunno...soulfulness. So you have a really dreamy dude befriending this adorable little girl and then add to that gorgeous vistas and cool costumes. How could I not dig this movie??

embarrassing admission..

I am somewhat inept at pumping my own gas. I mean, I comprehend the basic procedure (I'm not that mentally deficient) but I am totally reliant on the gas pump "trigger kickstand" and those seem to have inexplicably vanished from 98% of all gas pumps. So yeah,my problem is that I don't really know when my tank is full. I know it's supposed to click off when it's full, just like it does when you use the kickstand, but it will also click off just if you apply a skoach extra pressure. So, if I'm pumping gas (sans kickstand) and the thing clicks off, I'm never really sure if it's due to a full tank, or if my bored hand seized up. And lately, in these frigidyass January days, it's harder than usual to perceive my hand clenching as the bastard is numb and frozen. I can sometimes hear the gas reaching the top of the tank, but usually there's too much background noise for me to aurally hone in on such a faint sound.

Oh,and have I previously mentioned that my dashboard gas gauge is completely nonfunctional?? Has always been busted. My routine is to zero the tripometer every time I fill up and then I watch the miles (not the worthless P.O.S. gas gauge) and hasten to a gas station at around 300 miles. So obviously, I'd like to be totally certain that my tank is, in fact, FULL when I fill it, dig?

I feel like such a schmendrick, tellin' ya all that. Still love me??

Rock Me Amadeus!!

Happy 253rd Birthday Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!! Y'know, as much as I try to not be a cretin, (and I do in fact, enjoy a good deal of classical music) still the thing I love mostest about Mozart is that he inspired Falco to crank out "Rock Me Amadeus"

I was walking through the Finance Dept at work yesterday and I spied someone on Blogger...blogging. Shame, SHAME, I KNOW YOUR NAME!!

On principle, I don't really object. In my heart of hearts, I am definitely for a li'l slacking off on the job. I know that's a hard-to-defend position, especially in today's economy... Well, I probably couldn't defend it, but I feel it to be right...much like how I feel about the 10 minute grace period. I feel like, if your shift is say, 8am-5pm, you can get to work anywhere between 8-8:10 am and still be considered on time. Too bad that's not universally accepted by employers. Ohhh, if only I ran a bidness...(it would crash & burn in a month or two!!)

Anyways, back to the Finance Dept blogger. Now, while I wasn't opposed to her blogging, it did irk me. What the hell is Finance doing that their drones have all this down time?? I want in on that dept!! I mean, that used to be ME! I used to have time to sneak a post in during the day!! Now I'm busy all day and not accomplishing a damn thing. I feel like I finish little bits of things but I'm constantly getting sidetracked some way or another, and my "Pending" pile never quite manages to shrink.

I'm trying to keep in mind that Change-of-Status form I've got in with HR. They have got to approve that and gimme some more green. Surely all this uncharacteristic dilligence would be less of a pain in my arse if I was chasing a bigger carrot, y'know?

Muppet music

Last posting, I was saying how many terrif songs I've discovered from watching my Muppet Show DVDs. Here are two examples...








Even though I did find & buy these songs, iTunes didn't have these versions, unfortunately... (iTunes is abominably lacking in Muppet fare)