currently reading

Rules for Radicals

Pornified : How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families

Pretty Little Dirty

Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag

Vegan Freak

Vegan Planet

another gem from my daily show calendar

The Founding Mothers: Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams was the wife of President John Adams and was widely considered his intellectual equal. (He must have been pretty stupid!) In fact, she once wrote to her husband, "Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors", making her one of the countries first fenminists. My guess? She was a dyke.
-Rob Corddry

Ok, so I might as well make this post the ironically offensive post, so here's a way to really spice up your ipod. Go here and download some Jerry Blank quotes and put them on your ipod, and shuffle it around your playlists so they come up randomly.
My favorite: "You don't wanna beat me or screw me!? What kind of marriage is this? Bring a book."

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I'm still trekking on with Battlestar Galactica. I love how the Sci-Fi channel airs the new episodes Friday nights ar 10pm. They are not even trying to sugar coat it, it's like they are saying, "ok, we know you nerds are home Friday nights anyway, so why not give you something to enjoy?" I'm halfway through the first half of the second season. I absolutely have avoided any sort of websites or anything about it, first because I might see reference to something that will spoil the rest of the episodes for me. That, and of course it opens a whole new can of worms. I don't want to get suxked into those message boards or conspiracy theories or anything. Although, I am sure that there is some amusing fanfiction somewhere out there (and by that I mean I already wrote some). My theory so far is that if there is a guest star in the show, they will most likely be killed off or abandoned somewhere in one to two episodes. Pity, because they are usually the hot ones.

Here is one of those lame youtube fan-made videos with some action clips (and by lame I mean awesome) using the music from Requiem for a Dream.

music

Ok, if you haven't heard about The Streets, I'd be surprised. You know how bad I am at describing music in words, so I plagarize:

It's not what we consider hip-hop. It is a parallel universe, with unfamiliar beats and a different rhyming style (more sort-of spoken word), referred to as "British garage." It was born in the clubs over there around 1996, and combines elements of house music with bass lines. It is evolving into a British rap scene, but is not quite there yet. Skinner's lyrics are extremely detailed and quick flowing, but it takes getting used to. American's ears, so finely tuned over the years to our hip-hop, have yet to fully adjust to this overseas version.

I listen to it also to pick up his accent. Here is the newest album, The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, which is actually has more of a light tone than the earier two albums.

Matt Pond PA is rock/pop/indie singer sonwriter type stuff, but not that hippy-dippy crap you find in suburbian open mikes. Here's Several Arrows Later, which I find quite good.

gross

Ok, aside from the fact that the circus is stupid and trite, it is insanely unecessarily cruel to animals. The New York Times is all over it, citing it for nostalgia and crap. And they are pretty sexist about it, stating
The plot also reaches back to the mythology of circus life: a family that has always dreamed of being in the circus is selected from the audience. Dad becomes the Ringmaster (Chuck Wagner), Mom becomes a trapeze artist (Gisela Riquelme), their daughter, Jan (Lucilene Correa), turns dancer, and their son, Dan (played by both Ruirui Zhu and Dashan Hou), is seeking his special role. Essentially, the entire family runs away and joins the circus.

It's bad enough we had to endure the tired, scared elephants being dragged across the island of Manhattan only to be led to their new home, the cramped quarters of the bowels of Madison Square Garden.

Check out this video here.

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I got in trouble at work today. My job is not in danger or anything. Ok, not so much in trouble, but got a "talking to". About what is not important. However, this rarely happens, it really upsets me when it does happen. I pretty much am one who always followed rules, always did what was expected, etc. I don't know how to take it. I mean, I can take the criticism, I certainly didn't argue or protest, but I mut have some strong self-preservation instinct, because I have taken the criticism to modify my begavior, but my subconscious is still insisiting that I was in the right. It's funny, my job is to dole out constructive criticism all day, but when it happens to me I am all up in arms.

burn

I am pissed that I am actually emploed, because otherwise I would have been able to watch Star and Joy go at it on The View.

Watch it here!

for John

Prince Harry now has a wax figure at Madame Toussaud's. Schwing! I love how "Museum officials then engaged the two princes in a pretend make-out session"

boooooo

It looks like I will not be able to make it to DC for Ruth's bridal shower. It's too bad, because I wanted to be there when we all help Ruth calm her nerves about "her first time", which is what bridal showers are for, right? And how effing cool is this- when guests book their travel arrangements through this site, part of the cost gets donated to Lambda Legal or Planned Parenthood. Love it, love it!

gross

This is an advertsing campaign for a Viagra-like pill. Call me old-fashioned, but I find it rather vile.

my Daily Show desk calandar gem

Classroom Activities: Democracy Before America
Give your students a taste of Athenian life before democracy by implementing a "Draconian" measure, like forcing them to wear togas to calss every day for a month. Then celebrate democracy by being named the princicipal defendant in a class-action lawsuit against the school.

I effing love the Onion

Two Hipsters Angrily Call Each Other 'Hipster'
March 29, 2006 | Issue 42•13

AUSTIN, TX—An argument between local hipsters Dan Walters and Brian Guterman has devolved to the point where each is angrily calling the other "hipster," those close to the pair reported Monday. "Hey, hipster! Here's 12 bucks—why don't you go get yourself a bucket of PBRs at the Gold Mine?" Walters, 22, is said to have told Guterman, 22, invoking the name of a local bar known for its "poseur" clientele. "Whatever you say, scenester," Guterman allegedly replied. "Don't you have a Death Cab For Cutie show to be at right now?" Acquaintances of Guterman and Walters trace the long-running conflict back to high school, when they reportedly threw pencils at each other and argued about who was more "emo."

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is this me or is this me?

or at least it will be me in 5 years.

Up With Grups*
* Also known as yupster (yuppie + hipster), yindie (yuppie + indie), and alterna-yuppie. Our preferred term, grup, is taken from an episode of Star Trek (keep reading) in which Captain Kirk et al. land on a planet of children who rule the world, with no adults in sight. The kids call Kirk and the crew “grups,” which they eventually figure out is a contraction of “grown-ups.” It turns out that all the grown-ups had died from a virus that greatly slows the aging process and kills anybody who grows up.
—
If being a Grup means being 35, and having a job, and using a messenger bag instead of a briefcase, and staying out too late too often, and owning more pairs of sneakers (eleven) than suits (one), and downloading a Hot Hot Heat song from iTunes because it was on a playlist titled “Saturday Errands,” and generally being uneasy and slightly confused about just what it means to be an adult in these modern times—in short, if it means living your life in fundamentally the same way that you did when you were, say, 22—then, let’s face it, I’m a Grup.

If this is wrong, then I don’t want to be right

Pedophile Less Interested The More He Views 13-Year-Old's MySpace Profile (The Onion)
"I'm looking for a cell-phone number and a home address, not your life story," he said.

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So, you'd think after months of going to the gym, I would have had this experience before, but it kind of shicked me when it first happened tonight. I experienced that person, you know, the one that struts around the locker room completely nude. And not one, but two. Um, why is this necessary? I know I am all lefty-vegan-liberal whatever, but I'm kind of old fashioned when it comes to nudity. As in, do it in the privacy of your own home. And god help me, I looked. Now, before you judge, please know that I walked in minding my own business, just to throw my sweatshirt down, and out of the corner of my eye I see a wall of flesh. My initial reaction is to turn and look out of sheet knee-jerk reaction, so I do for a second, and then…make eye contact! Awkward! Awkward! It's called a bathrobe people. Look into it. WTF.

daaaaaamn

I was going to joke about it before, but apparently Craig Nichols DOES actually have Asperger's!

Please don't let this make autism be trendy.

shoot me if i ever become like this

This was one of the best laughs I had all day.
Grey's anatomy a fever in the ratings.
"Patrick Dempsey, when he nearly kisses Meredith, it's like nearly kissing me," said 37-year-old mother of two Jacki Moore of Burbank, Calif. "I've gone to a few of the fan sites and I look for pictures, and I Google his name pretty much every day to see if anything comes up. Oh, I'm telling you, I'm ready to put a poster up on my wall."
–
Moore, who replays episodes on her TiVo late into the night, says her husband thinks she's crazy. "But he's fine with it, because I told him, 'Honey, you're starting to look like Dr. McDreamy.' "

mmmm, tempeh

Here's another one to add to the "cool vegans" list- Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

What are some of your favorite places to get vegan food in New York City? And elsewhere?
NYC is the easiest place to be vegan—it’s truly awesome. My favorite is Zen Palate in Union Square. Pukk is a newish vegetarian/vegan Thai place on First Avenue and Fifth. Also, the vegan Sicilian frittata at Old Devil Moon on 12th between A and B is great, and the place used to be Lydia Lunch’s bedroom. Kate’s on Fourth and B is probably the best punk rock vegan/vegetarian greasy spoon.

daily insights from my Daily Show calendar

Famous presidential quotes: The economy

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"- President Frankin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1833
"Oh, and starvation. We might all starve."- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1833

sign me up!

I don't know much about this church, but I do like their ad campaign.

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Battlestar Galactica? More like Crazystar Galactica! So, as promised, I watched the whole first season this weekend. Holy crap, it's good. At first you think you are watching another Seaquest/Stargate crap show, then suddenly you watch four episodes in a row and can't stop. I usually don't get sucked into the suspense of anything, but it makes me really tense. Well, every episode there is some sort of attack and everyone's lives are in danger, but somehow seven minutes before the show ends they manage to slip by and survive. That's actually kind of lame and predictable. However, there are some suspense situations in movies/television that do make me squirm.

One is when somebody is telling the truth about something, or warning people, and no one believes them. This freaks the hell out of me. Remember that movie with Kurt Russell, Breakdown? Where no one believed him that his wife was kidnapped? The movie was not so great, but I just couldn't handle it. Anyway, BG has a lot of storylines like that.

Well, only 23 more episodes to go- that's at least 17 more hours. Plus, I Amazon just shipped my Andy Milonakis Show and Wondershowzen dvds, so I can be a happy hermit for a while.

it’s like aaa

So, I've been almost 2 weeks vegan. That's a lot, considering I usually don't stick to anything. Turns out I can't cook so well. Here are some of my accomplishments:
-falafel patties. I used a mix, but added some things to it. It was ok, until it turned rock hard on day 2.
-twice baked potatoes, with stramed tofu, rosemary, garlic whatever else I had laying around. Not too bad.
-I just made a chilli tonight, but I'm a little wary because it has cinnnamin in it. So far, not bad. But I'll have it for lunch tomorrow.
-I can always fall back on quinoa with tamari, which is what I end up having in a pinch.

So, I'll have to be more creative this week. My theory of cooking is that if I am not sure about something, I just keep adding more garlic. It's coming out of my pores.

happy birthday to me

I just got myself some (illegal, obvs) copies of the new albums from The Streets and from The Stills. Score!

Giant Drag

I saw Giant Drag open for Stellastarr* and thought they were the most obnoxious things ever. They actually were booed. However, their album does not even sound like I thought they did. Weird. The moral is, listen to the album, don't see them live. I think they sound like a cross between Mirah and Mazzy Star. It's good stuff. Get it here.

irrelevant news

The movie Flight 93 is coming out soon. Do we really need a 9/11 movie right now? Just watching the trailer made me cringe. I don't think anyone needs to see this, much less the families of the deceased.
Randy Quaid is suing the makers of Brokeback. I thought it would be because they made him play a homophobe, but I guess not.
In the so awful it's almost funny category, More Walgreens customers sue over insults on their prescription printouts.
It was recently the 95th anniversary of the Triange Shirtwaist Fire. Now the building is some NYU classrooms. The event was also used in Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days (which I highly recommend).
Arkansas teacher ordered not to even uttter the word "evolution" in class. He has to say that rocks are "very, very old." God bless America.
I usually don't enjoy this home-decor crap, but: the coolest small apartments.
A newer, special edition of Dazed and Confused is coming out. Actually, I have seen the documentary of the behind the scenes, and it is actually pretty cool. It has the cast being interviewed in present-day (Anthony Rapp, anyone?)

piccies

Lately I've come across some entertaining photos.

My Pussycat Dolls analysis has generated lots of good discussion. After I posted that, I coicidentally came across some concert photos. They were so grotesque you have to see them to believe it.

Well, it's official. I am definitely hetero. I think I can see her kidneys.

As a counterbalance, Jack White has been sporting kilts at recent shows. Schwing!

I am super-excited about the upcoming Marie Antoinette movie, directed by Sofia Coppolla. The bad news? It stars Kirsten Dunst. I didn't know Marie Antoinette had fangs and a constipated look.

R.I.P. fat Jared Leto. He's back to normal and touring with his shitty band. It was fun while it lasted.

Ah, nothing makes me laugh harder than the weekly Blue States Lose column. Seriously, it brings me order in a world of chaos. Making fun of uber-hipsters is my new pastime.

doppleganger

Heh, thanks for pointing out that the drummer from the crappy pop-punk band Panic!At the Disco is totally stealing John's look.

(Obviously not as hot and actually little bit…puffier).

Wait a minute, the whole band seems to be made of John wanna-bes.

Scary.

i believe this is the apocolypse

So, I heard something today that made me doubt the human race. It made me seriously doubt that women will achieve any sort of respect, nonviolence or normalcy. It made me give up hope for our children to grow into well-adjusted, confident adults. That something was the song "Beep" by the Pussycat Dolls. Observe:

I don't give a…
Keep looking at my…
'Cause it don't mean a thing if you're looking at my…
I'm a do my thing while you're playing with your…
Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha

Every boy's the same
Since up in the seventh grade
They been trying to get with me
Trying to (Ha, ha-ha, ha, ha-ha)
They always got a plan
To be my one and only man
Want to hold me with their hands
Want to (Ha, ha-ha, ha, ha-ha)
I keep turning them down
But, they always come around
Asking me to go around
That's not the way it's going down

'Cause they only want
Only want my ha, ha-ha
Ha, ha-ha
Only want what they want
But, na, ah-ah
Na, ah-ah

[Will.I.Am]
It's funny how a man only thinks about the…
You got a real big heart, but I'm looking your…
You got real big brains, but I'm looking at your…
Girl, there ain't no pain in me looking at your…

[PCD]
I don't give a…
Keep looking at my…
'Cause it don't mean a thing if you're looking at my…
I'm a do my thing while you're playing with your…
Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha

Do you know that no
Don't mean yes, it means no
So just hold up, wait a minute
Let me put my two cents in it
One, just be patient
Don't be rushing
Like you're anxious
And two, you're just too aggressive
So try to get your (Ahh)

Do you know that I know?
And I don't want to go there

Only want
Only want my ha, ha-ha
Ha, ha-ha
Only want what they want
But, na, ah-ah
Na, ah-ah

[Will.I.Am]
It's funny how a man only thinks about the…
You got a real big heart, but I'm looking your…
You got real big brains, but I'm looking at your…
Girl, there ain't no pain in me looking at your…

[PCD]
I don't give a…
Keep looking at my…
'Cause it don't mean a thing if you're looking at my…
I'm a do my thing while you're playing with your…
Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha, ha-ha

The sad thing is, I think the PCD think they are being some sort of feminists. Like they think they are saying that they are beng strong women by rejecting the man and telling him "you can't have this". However, Mr. Will-Am-I, a respected pop culture figure is flat out stating that he doesn't want her for her brains, just her "ha ha ha". I don't think they are being strong, independent women, and I think that Ariel Levy would agree with me. They are just perpetuating some sort of hypersexual, pseudo-girl power.

the next Nirvana??!?!?

Does anyone remember the band The Vines? In 2001, they were pegged as being "the next Nirvana". Well, their new album is so bad it is laughable. They have songs called "Fuck Yeh" and "Futuretarded". Exactly.

tgi thursday

Well I'm on call this weekend, but I really don't mind too much because I can sit around and watch episodes of Battlestar Galactica on dvd. My coworkers are all obsessed with it, and at first I started watching because I wanted to join in with the conversation at the lunchtable. but now I have to say I am pretty into it. Usually, the only sci-fi I would watch was Roswell. I think I always have this fear that I will not understand what is going on when I watch sci-fi. Here's a secret: I kinda sorta don't really fully understand the Star Wars series. I mean, I get it, but there are certain details that I can't follow. I think that this irrational fear started when my parents took me to see Tron when I was four and I was thoroughly confused.

rss glurge

How to speak blargon.

FOr those of you that have a crush on Russ Feingold, here's the clip from the Daily Show.

Mates of State gets a good review.

The cult of masculinity.

This makes me ill: someone is now breeding a puppykat.

The WB will air an edited version of The Bedford Diaries on the web. The show looks like it will be a hit. [sarcasm]

other life-shattering news

I am cleaning out all my old rss feeds, so I thought I would share some of the goods.

Pop-Star’s Pregnancy Idealized in Brooklyn ‘Monument to Pro-Life’

I thought I was the only one in the world who had even heard of the band Quasi.
Hot pictures of the Go! Team at Bowery Ballroom.

A review of the Raconteurs show (aka Jack White and Brendan Benson). And their bizarre video (but awesome song).

Some guides to the SXSW festival. Words cannot express my jealousy.
Death and Wal-Mart.
SOme over-enthusiastic fan’s account from a concert from the shittiest band ever, 30 Seconds to Mars.
The Editors at Bowery Ballroom.
It’s official- blogging is over. Even Gary Bauer has a blog.
What is a progressive?
What is feminism?
Consumating is a site that helps geeks, nerds, hipsters, and bloggers find dates (and more!)
Seriously, this is the creepiest thing ever- you can take a picture of yourself and transform it into another gender or race. It’s weird. And racist actually.
100 Best Opening Lines in Novels.

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Ok, now along with obscure bands, celebrities and kitty kats, you will have to start hearing about a lot of vegan stuff here as well. Deal with it.

First, my tenth favorite vegan (behind Joaquin, Rachel Leigh Cook, the members of Sum 41, Weird Al, among others) is Andy from Fall Out Boy. Who knew? Here he talks about his feelings on eating meat. First, that is not what I thought his voice would sound like. Second, he is about as an enaging a speaker as Bode Miller, for what it is worth. His reccomendation for non-leather products? Hot Topic. Psssshhhhaw.

Also, this is neat- how to make your ipod vegan!

eye candy

Wow, came across this stuff today. Eye candy guh-lore. Clive Owen at the premiere of his new movie called…oh who cares that the movie is.

Gael Garcia Bernal in some magazine called Another Man. I call it SCHWING!

I love it when The Onion makes fun of hispters

Franz Ferdinand Frontman Shot By Gavrilo Princip Bassist

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND—Lead singer and guitarist for pop band Franz Ferdinand, Alexander Kapranos, is in critical condition today after being shot by a man identified as the bassist for rock group Gavrilo Princip. "We ask fans to cooperate with Interpol to find the assailant, and call upon British Sea Power, Snow Patrol, and The Postal Service for help," drummer Paul Thompson told music magazine NME Monday. "The suspect had links to The Decemberists and The Libertines, and we are following up on all leads." It is unclear whether the shooting was linked to The Polyphonic Spree's invasion of Belgium earlier this week.

tunes

Stereo Total is a band I found by accident. How to describe it? French electro-pop, I guess. More like some synthesizers with the female vocalist speak-singing. It's really an acquired taste, although Europhiles will love it. "Orange Mecanique" is my favorite; it samples the Clockwork Orange theme.

Stereo Total- Do the Bambi

Elefant is kinda my new favorite band. Sort of.

Elefant- The Black Magic Show

Guided By Voices have been around for a while, and every trendy indie band is basically a copy of their stuff.

Guided by Voices – Universal Truths and Cycles

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Holy crap I just grapped myself a copy of the new Saves the Day album.

Douglas Coupland interviews Morrissey.

The South By Southwest festival is a liberal menace.
My beef with SXSW isn’t focused on emo hipsters, however. Scenester drones with nothing better to do than get haircuts and wear used clothing are so pathetically irrelevant that I’ve begun bumping into them on the street because I don’t even perceive their existence. My problem with this “music festival” that taints Austin every year is its subversive source – the liberal media.

my heart hurts.

I.must.get.this.book.

It’s too much….can’t handle it…

hung up

NEW YORK – First "Fake News," now "Truthiness." The publisher of Jon Stewart's million-selling "America (The Book)" is releasing a book by Stephen Colbert.

"This book will have the same noble goal as my television show: to change the world one factual error at a time," Colbert said Tuesday in a statement issued by Warner Books.

Colbert's book, currently untitled, is scheduled to come out in the fall of 2007. Colbert, a longtime fixture on Stewart's "Daily Show," now hosts "The Colbert Report," also aired on Comedy Central.

Colbert also has a background with words. He contributed to "America (The Book)," co-authored "Wigfield" with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello and is credited with coining "truthiness," named Word of the Year for 2005 by the American Dialect Society.

"Truthiness" is the quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

It's no secret that I want to have 1000 of Stephen Colbert's babies.

The trailer for Little Miss Sunshine. I hear that it is supposed to be unbelievably good.

i loved you before you were a myspace whore

What a weird day. I slept with earplugs un last night and apparently contractors came into my apartment and started working on the vents. When I woke up, I don't know who was more embrassed, me or them. Good thing I wore my XXXXXL mumuu to sleep.

I am really enjoying Brian's and John's accounts of some gay sci-fi convention they just got back from. I was hoping for a Battlestar Galactica and Serenity homoerotic fanfiction. I wish!

So, I've made the jump. I'm officially vegan now, I guess. Thanks to Erin and Brandon for their endless support and encouragement, as well as a brochure from PETA that I got at the metro station. Before you start calling me a dumb hippy, I am really excited about what this will do for my health. Although Brandon informed me that if I don't take B-12 suppliments I will end up with some massive neurological disorder. Thanks, Debbie Downer. I actually feel kind of free and excited about the fact that I can sustain myself on nothing to do with animals. I actually puchsed a rice cooker thing, so now I can start making quinoa and other organiz pretentious foods.

what else is there

So it's been a while since I've done this, so yay. If my life were a movie right now, it would be a minimialist flick directed by Alfonso Curan, with the following soundtrack (it's amazing I was able to obtain the rights to these so quickly!). My general deameanor has been moody, restless, on the verge of a breakthrough, inquisitive, nostalgic, introspective, bored, cocky, and annoyed, among other things.

I'll upload it again if needed.

Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time- The Darkness
Dead Horse- Guns N' Roses
It's a Shame- Elefant
I Can't Wait- Nu Shooz
Block Rockin' Beats- The Chemical Brothers
Helicopter- Bloc Party
Do nothing- Caesars
The Number- Pretty Girls Make Graves
Gone- Blood On The Wall
Initiate- calla
Your Brain Vs. My Tractorbeam – Say Hi to Your Mom
Ego- The Sounds
Kick- White Rose Movement
Soft Rock Star- Metric
International Dateline- Ladytron
Every Shitty Thing- Murder City Devils
Story of My Life- Social Distortion
Keep On Breathing- The Delgados
Meds- Placebo
Monkey Business- Skid Row
Notorious- Duran Duran
Like u Crazy Mates Of State
What Else Is There- Royksopp
Do The Hippogriff- The Weird Sisters
Spectacular Views- Rilo Kiley
Electricityscape- The Strokes
Standing in the Way of Control- The Gossip
Miseryland- Fisher
Circle Square Triangle- Test Icicles
Don't Shoot the Messenger – Action Action
The Way Things Are- Fiona Apple
Given The Time- Delays
We Are All Animals- The Rakes
Low- Cracker
The Happening- Pixies
My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down- The Ramones
Another Day- Statistics

and here we go again

Ok, the first day back to work after a while and after my major enlightenment. I have 24 voice messages. Someone left some food in the lounge outside my office before. Being here is enough to make me want to hurl myself off the office window (I live on the ground floor people). But, thank god for my Daily Show desk calendar. People could save hundreds on therapy just by having one of these. It is guaranteed at least one smile per day. Here are the highlights:

Meet Your Lobbyists!
Hollywood (the MPAA)
Respresents: Jewish homosexual limousine liberals who hate America
Stated agenda: Reminding politicians that consititutional guarantee of freedom of expression also protects Sharon Stone beaver shots
Hidden Agenda: a Baldwin in the White House by 2016

and

Landmark Supreme Court Cases:
Miranda v. Richardson (1966)
The Court rules suspects must be informed of their legal rights upon arrest. The resulting "Miranda Warning" safeguards defendants from abuse and self-incrimination. It also requires two police officers handling a suspect's interrogation to adopt diametrically opposed attitudes toward that suspect, with one taking a more benevolent appraoch while the other, perhaps a loose cannon with nothing left to live for, takes a more malevolent tack.

The Lost Boys

Hey, the new Fall Out Boy video for “A Little Less ‘Sixteen Candles’, a little more ‘Touch Me’” is pretty rad. And I am not just saying that because I am in lurve with them and I write fanfic about them all day.

Of course, Pete Wentz has to be the star of the show. It’s not like we haven’t already seen enough of him. The others are horrid actors. The idea and art direction is actually pretty good- like The Lost Boys meets The Warriors.

Speaking of videos, here are some more oldies but goodies.

Saves the Day, “Freakish”

And tonight I finally watched Serenity. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. Still, it was good. It is nice to see that Jewel Staite is still getting work these days. She used to be on that kick ass Disney Channel show Flash Forward with Ben “I played Russell on Six Feet Under and just got a part in X-Men 3″ Foster. Anyway, I look forward to watching the dvd of Firefly because I recently canceled my Netflix. Good times.

home

Well, I'm back home from an interesting time in DC. The flight was fine, except for the icident on the metro to the airport where I almost knocked over a gentleman in a wheelchair with my ginourmous suitcase. Then I took a big-ass tranquilizer for the flight and stared at the do's and don'ts page of Glamour all glassy-eyed.

Ok, this is getting out of hand. The Erin doll – expected to arrive in stores next month – will feature a likeness of Hammers’ head on the body of a pink pony with a blue and green tail. The doll’s accessories include a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of fabric refresher and a comb.

Ok, gimme a break:
Taking Sex and the City to Washington, HBO is currently working on a sitcom based on the sex-and-politicians novel The Washingtonienne, by Jessica Cutler. Inspired by Cutler’s weblog, which detailed her relationships and exploits with men in D.C., The Washingtonienne has sold 14,000 units, as tracked by Nielsen BookScan. The project is being developed by Pretty Matches, Sarah Jessica Parker’s production company, which recently signed on to develop shows for HBO, the Washington Post reported today. So far, the project has lined up up-and-comer Jason Blum as a co-executive producer and Vanessa Taylor, who worked on the short-lived (and Washington-based) WB series Jack & Bobby, as a screenwriter. Kirkus Reviews said The Washingtonienne is “about spoiled and lazy people who think they deserve acclaim for how spoiled and lazy they are. The result, ultimately, is a book best read for its depressing portrait of the scrounging, idea-free juveniles who staff Capitol Hill offices.”
I am pissed that that moron Jessica Cutler is getting more validation for being a shallow, troubled person.

The four stages of the Arctic Monkeys. Stage 5 is when I declare them over.
The Pogues are still together?
Anyone seen Thank You For Not Smoking?
The Smiths turned down a $5 million offer to reunite. That's integrity.

aborted fetuses are hot right now

Ah, today something happened that made me realize again how great DC is. I was walking through Dupont Circle, and the anti-choice zealots were setting up their huge display of aborted fetuses. On one billboard, it showed a picture of some corpses in a Holocaust death camp with UNGENTILE written underneat, a black man slain in a lynching with UNWHITE underneath, and then a picture of a supposed aborted fetus (and by hat I mean a plastic doll dipped in ketchup) with UNBORN underneath. Now, I will respect anyone with an opposing view with a reasonable argument, but it is unbelievable that anyone has the GALL to even bring the Holocaust into something like this. The words out of my mouth when I saw this ludicrous display was "you've got to be fucking kidding me." I stuck around for a while to see other people's reactions, and everyone that walked by muttered something outloud using the word fuck; "jesus fucking christ", "motherfuckers", "gimme a fucking break." It was quite entertaining. Nothing like this ever happens in COnnecticut!

Then, on the metro, I noticed several adds for the Second Look Project. It is kind of pathetic, it is a weak argument with no discussion of the rates of poverty among children or anything about options or assistance for women who have the children, not to mention the thousands of illegal abortions done each year. Some poor intern has gotten paid nothing to put together bullshit pamphlets.

Who wants to perv out over pictures of my cute friend Tim?

I forgot that some of my friends are at a gay sci-fi convention. I am totally jealous. I would love to hear some slash fiction about Battlestar Galactica.

Ok, I guess I was coy about what happened last night. I guess to solicit fun reactions from you all. Well, I went out to a show at the Velvet Lounge on U Street. My mood and general self-esteem have not been all that great this week, and of course, that has to be the night that I do meet someone (actually two someones). Also, explaining what I do for a living can be annoying (people rarely understand what I do or why I do it) I ended up lying (I made myself a publisher from New York, thankyouverymuch) and ended up consuming alcohol (yes, totally against my principles). He wanted me to come back to Maryland to snort some coke or something, and as tempting as that sounds, I declined. The moral of the story is I ended up getting a phone number of someone I can never again contact because I've already lied to him and I was up half the night with a massive stomache ache from the alcohol. Gee, my life is just like Carrie Bradshaw's!

the laws of physics

Wow. I guess it is true that when you least expect something to happen, or if you stop wanting something to happen, it DOES happen. What a night!

I leave tomorrow. I guess I am relieved? Or not? Of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without a Ruth and Matt lovefest. I don't know what that means.

oh come awwwwwn

I work with over-involved parents everyday, but this is getting out of hand.

Helicopter Parents Go to Work: Moms And Dads Are Now Hovering at the Office

In interviews with a job candidate last year, Deborah D'Attilio, a recruiting manager in San Francisco for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, was surprised when the young woman brought a companion: Her dad.

Saying "he was interested in learning about the work environment," the father sat in the lobby during the interview, Ms. D'Attilio says. Ms. D'Attilio didn't hold it against the candidate and wound up hiring the young woman.

Helicopter parents are going to work. From Vanguard Group and St. Paul Travelers to General Electric and Boeing, managers are getting phone calls from parents asking them to hire their 20-something kids. Candidates are stalling on job offers to consult with their parents. Parents are calling hiring managers to protest pay packages and try to renegotiate, employers say.

"It's unbelievable to me that a parent of a 22-year-old is calling on their behalf," says Allison Keeton, director of college relations for St. Paul Travelers. After taking many calls from parents "telling us how great their children are, how great they'd be for a specific job," she's started calling this generation "the kamikaze parents — the ones that already mowed down the guidance and admissions offices" and now are moving into the workplace.

Like most employers, Ms. Keeton handles such encounters diplomatically, keeping job negotiations confidential without offending parents. Some employers, however, are also adapting to the trend by altering some parts of the hiring process, sending parents copies of offer letters or including them in recruiting sessions.

Strong parent-child relationships can be a lifelong asset, of course. But there's evidence young adults don't always appreciate all the hovering. And parents who cross the line between mentoring and meddling risk hampering young adults' ability to develop self-reliance.

General Electric made an offer to one recruit last fall, only to get a call the next day from the recruit's mother trying to negotiate an increase in pay, says Steve Canale, manager of recruiting and staffing services. GE didn't rescind the offer, but "we didn't give in to Mom" either, Mr. Canale says. Rich Hartnett, director, global staffing, for Boeing, says one hiring manager was very surprised when a recruit brought his mom right into the interview. Enterprise's Ms. D'Attilio says the mother of another recruit joined a phone call between her and a candidate and began grilling Ms. D'Attilio about benefits.

At Pella Corp., Christine Headington-Hall, strategic staffing manager of the Pella, Iowa, maker of windows and doors, has begun hearing from job candidates' parents too, trying to renegotiate an offer or asking why their child didn't get one. "That's something I haven't faced in 15 years" in the recruiting field, she says. And upon getting an offer at Vanguard Group, seven out of 10 college recruits say, "'Let me talk to my parents. I'll get back to you,'" says Karen Fox, college relations and recruiting manager.

Figuring they can't beat the trend, some employers are joining it. Ferguson Enterprises, a Newport News, Va., building-supplies distributor, last year started offering to send a copy of recruits' offer letters to their parents, says Denise Francum, director of recruiting; "more than half of them say yes." And PNC Financial Services Group invites students' parents to some recruiting events, says Davie Huddleston, vice president, human resources.

In many ways, parents are continuing the intense oversight this generation has been known for all along: challenging poor grades, negotiating with coaches and helping kids register for college. Heavy cellphone and email contact with teens through college is fueling parent involvement beyond the normal breaking-away years; a study at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., set for release at an August meeting of the American Psychological Association, found college freshmen are in contact with their parents more than 10 times a week.

In other cases, parents may fear kids will never leave the nest and want to give them a push; 11% of adults ages 25 to 34 still live with their parents, the Census Bureau says, up from 8.7% in 1980. Alin Steele, Novi, Mich., says the first years out of college for her 23-year-old son and his friends have been so fraught with lousy jobs that don't pay enough to live on that she has seen a need for more parental support. A young adult's job troubles can mean "the parent will end up holding the bag," she says.

Some young adults will resent parental hovering. An online poll of 400 students and young adults last year, by Experience Inc., a Boston career-services firm, found 25% said their parents were "overly involved to the point that their involvement was either annoying or embarrassing."

Striking a balance can be especially difficult when adult children go jobless. When Tita Beal's son Paul Kruger graduated during the recession in 2002 with an advertising degree, she offered him all the contacts and support she could. But the New York mother drew the line after a summer of joblessness and pressed him to find other work. He trained as a bartender and worked at restaurants more than two years before landing a job in advertising.

"She absolutely stuck behind me through that," says Mr. Kruger, 25, now a junior art director at a New York ad agency. But "behind" is the key word; Mr. Kruger did all the calling, job-hunting, interviewing and decision making himself. Parents "should never, ever cross that line," he says. "You've got to push the kid — not the job."

letter from an occupant

Last night I had a dream that I was cast in the local commnunity theater’s production of Miss Saifon, alongside Hilary Duff. And that the New Pornographers were providing the music. Where do I come up with this stuff?

p.s. you can listen to a NP concert here.

Logan circle

Wow. Even since the four years that I moved away from here, DC is gentrifying like there is no tomorrow. My hotel is in the Shaw/Logan circle area, and I can count at least 10 or 15 new condominium complexes being built. It's sad that I did not spend any time over in this area when I was here. Logan circle is beautful. Too bad I will never afford anything there.

what did you do today?

During the work day today, I slept in, took a nap at Amy's with Erin, and then bummed around Whole Foods. Well, today, Ruth flew back and forth to Minnesota and testified against a bill that would hinder voter registration.

Ruth Martin works for the People for the America Way which focuses on civil rights and civil liberties. She argues that some people can't afford a passport and some don't have birth certificates.

"It's true that a lot of Americans don't have passports. I would say that it's also true that it's not that easy to get a birth certificate and it's not free and it would actually point to our friends in Louisiana who will never be able to get a birth certificate now since many of the county hospitals and buildings have been destroyed," she said.

I love the picture, because for one, the look on her face shows she means business, two, she looks like a kick-ass feminist, and three, I love the brooch.

over!

I'm checking out of the conference today. Thank jeebus. However, it wasn't all bad. The highlights were:

-a history of transgender issues, medical procedures, and programming ideas
-some brainstorming for a program inititiative to work with second-year students and transfer students
-a new perspective on the issues surrounding college athletes
-how to respond to large-scale student activism
- the knowledge that I need to try harder to be sensitive to male students' needs on campus (yes there was actually a session on this)

Ok, so it won't change my life, but it did give me some ideas for how to do my job better.

More importantly…

Stella is canceled. And rightfully so.
Youtube and CollegeHumor may be purchased for 600 million dollars. It gives me hope that ihatewheat@blogspot may pay my bills someday.
Angelina Jolie may be starring in Sin City 2. If that happens, my life will be over.
Pete Wentz talks about those nudie pics. No explanation needed, bro.
Dave Coulier likes the ladies. And the ladies like him.
Bill O'Reilly hates on the Three 6 Mafia.
Issac Hayes quite South Park over Scientology. Matt Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker “never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin.” Sing it.

Yea, smoking about 80,000 cigarettes does nothing for your throat in the morning. Ok, before you all judge, I really needed them. I don't know what it is about this city that makes me want to smoke.

Today I kind of feel like going to the Petagon City mall. I have no idea why, I usually hate going to malls. I do want to wander the streets of Arlington and reminisce about Alli and are crazy adventures in suburia.

it’s time for the opposites

Who am I? Back in Connecticut, I would be appauled if someone wanted to go out past 9pm, but here I just had a temper tantrum because at 9pm my coworkers wanted to come back and hang at the hotel and not go out.

Ok, so most of the people here at this conference are still walking around in suits and their nametags. Now it's the part of the night when they all get drunk at the hotel bar and drunkenly go home with someone who may be interviewing them for a job tomorrow.

Some other highlights of my time here I forgot to mention: I watched the Tony Danza show in the morning and his guests were the Nelson twins! And, newsflash: they are still hot.

Hotels are awesome. Thanks to the wonder that is the Starz channel, my insomnia was cured by viewings of A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice. I took the long way home to walk up 17th street. One word: ***apalooza 5000.

busboys and poets

I can't believe it's only Monday. What a weird last few days. I am not sure what parts of my trip you will find interesting or not.

Well, I flew down here on Friday afternoon. I had been so cocky lately that now I thought flying was no big deal but holy shit it was the most turbulent nauseating ride ever. I'm trying to tell myself that it was because it was especially windy.

Saturday, I slept late because despite being somewhat lacking in soul and hallways that make sense, the Marriott has the most comfs beds evs. I got up and did some interviews for my position, which is always weird. These wide-eyed eager grad students are exhausting me. It is also to be in this kind of positon. ALthough I am not the one making the final decision who to hire, it was a weird feeling to have these people trying to impress me.

By that time I was laready socially exhausted. There are over four thousand other college administrators here, and for the most part this conference is pretty conformist. Everyone walks around in black or grey suits. It is easy to tell who the out of towners are. They stampede into Chopotle like its made from God pebbles. I don't know what that means.

Saturday night I got to meet up with some fantastic fellow bloggers. I was supposed to mention on here how lovely and amazing they are. So I just did.

Not to be a downer, but I was so excited to be here for this conference but there is just something so exhausting about it. I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with my coworkers because we are all running all over the place. I am glad I have decided to stay a few days to see some people from DC because by the end of the day here I want to collapse.

Sunday was good, I had signed up to go to this seven hour training about trans issues on campus, and I was quite skeptical about sitting for seven hours, but it turned out to be quite dynamic and useful, co-led by an amazing person that I know from NYU.

So that's it. When I come to professional conferences, I am also so excited and hope that I can exchange ideas with other poeople and learn about all new things in my field. However, nothing is ever really that groundbreaking and doesn't really help me in my job….

It is also really weird being in DC right now, when I feel like a completely different person. Was it really four years since I have lived here? Everything is like a ghost town of what I used to know…Laila's old condo building…the Guatamala house…the Dorchester house…anyway, somethings remain the same, like sitting in Tryst and crying hysterically with Erin. (p.e. they now have a home page with a section called "I Saw You at Tryst". Vomit.).

Things I am looking forward to for the rest of my trip:

-going to Ben's Chilli Bowl with Dawn
-going to the Busboys and Poets cafe
-supposedly having a pfaw reunion
-getting to spend time with the lovebirds

sorry

I know I promised to be doing some liveblogging from DC, but I've failed you. I'll try to find some time a little later. All I have to say is? The Marriott Wardam Park is monstrous and scary. It creeps me out.

project blandway

I guess it’s surprising that I haven’t been talking much about Project Runway. I guess i was extremely anti-climactic. Again, I will use another author’s words to express how I feel.

Project Bummer
The most inventive, original reality show on television unravels in its eleventh hour by crowning a bland, conventional winner.

By Heather Havrilesky

March 9, 2006 | Wednesday night, the only reality show that awards real creative talent, inventiveness and originality crowned a skilled but conventional designer as its winner. For the finale of Bravo’s “Project Runway,” Chloe Dao, 33, descended on New York’s Fashion Week armed with a terrifying heap of dresses — a bunch of unremarkable flowery frocks and a few shiny, hot pink satin dresses with matching jackets that would look utterly at home on a Superstar Barbie doll. Competitor Santino Rice, 30, who previously said that Chloe was a “brilliant patternmaker” but just a so-so designer, sniped of Chloe’s collection, “It looked like a couch was coming at you.” Or a girls basketball team in terrible prom dresses. Or a herd of Ukrainian whores.

Chloe summed up her collection as simply “stuff that I really love!” because clearly she was hesitant to offer a more descriptive summary, such as, “What it might look like if someone planted a bomb in Joan Collins’ walk-in closet.”

Since that probably sounds a little extreme, let’s turn to Tim Gunn, the show’s resident design and fashion genius, for a different perspective. On his blog, after admitting that he was surprised by Chloe’s heavy fabrics and perplexed by her “poofy sleeves,” Gunn wrote, “My overall impression was that the customer for the collection would be an older, mature individual (can we all scream ‘Wendy Pepper’) and that Chloe’s home state of Texas would be an appropriate market.” What a gentle, sweet way of saying that the whole collection belonged in the local Chico’s chain at the mall.

Gunn did write that Chloe’s construction was “flawless” (see also: brilliant patternmaker, so-so designer). That fits, since Chloe’s designs have been capable but dull since the first challenge. While fellow finalists Santino and Daniel Vosovic, 24, took risks and created sometimes amazing, sometimes bizarre, always surprising designs, Chloe churned out the same simple sundresses and triangle shapes over and over again, which the judges for some reason greeted with appreciative cooing.

Sadly, Daniel and Santino made it easy on Chloe by keeping their odd and inventive urges under wraps. Daniel trotted out a very stylish and beautiful line including some stunning coats, lovely tops and a few rather bland separates that looked like they belonged on Banana Republic’s sales racks. Santino had a few really beautiful pieces — a flowing, ruffled dress made of a muted multicolored fabric and two sleek, memorable gowns — but his overall vision was far less clear than it had been on previous challenges. The wit and sense of play in Santino’s previous work were nowhere to be seen.

Where were the boldness and outsize daring of first-season winner Jay McCarroll? Why did all three finalists find it was necessary to scale back their visions and create pretty stuff instead of going for big, haughty, crazy designs that viewers and Fashion Week devotees would never forget? My suspicion (and this is totally unsubstantiated speculation, mind you) is that the contestants found out that the judges and producers were looking for a winner whose big ideas and wild notions would never stand in the way of their ability to make a buck in the business. And who better to bring home the bacon than a brilliant patternmaker who’s already running a clothing business? When you ask Chloe about her designs, she doesn’t talk about creating strange, cool stuff for “the ugly girls” like McCarroll does, she doesn’t talk about sweatshop workers and hemp and not wanting to create clothes for filthy-rich housewives, she doesn’t talk about refusing to sell out or compromise. She says that this is her baby, her dream, that she’s a “designer-slash-marketer” and that she has the business sense to make it a reality. If this is the new direction of “Project Runway,” arguably the most intelligent, clever, unique, talent-friendly reality show on TV, they might as well go ahead and change the name to “The Apprentice: Michael Kors” right now.

At least one person emerged from the second season of “Project Runway” happy and content — Chloe Dao. After her win, Chloe responded to Santino’s previous comments about her averageness as a designer: “I can only say that I guess you’re wrong! I can’t help it if I had skills, honey.” So there. Or as Blair on “The Facts of Life” more cleverly put it, “Turn blue!”

Chloe’s flaccid comeback to Santino’s cutting but accurate observation embodies the deflated spirit of the “Project Runway” finale. Here’s hoping that in the third season, the judges will go back to honoring originality and vision, and leave the really skilled patternmakers to appear on “Project Bridesmaid” where they belong.

grrrrr

Chances are, I probably hate you. Why am I so bitter and disenchanted with everyone? I had my next dog training class tonight. Seriously, it's not exactly the cool club, so I don't understand why everyone is so uptight. First, the instructor is irritating and not organized. So after about 40 minute of babbling on about the same thing (which was how to hold a leash) I was all "so let's go" meaning let's go practice on the actual animals. I guess I blurted this out loud, thus completely alienating myself. And we had to work with a partner. Mine got her panties all in a bunch, because we didn't use the "clicker" method of training. And she wouldn't shut up about it. Plus, she talked to all the dogs in this annoying voice, and I guess didn't realize it, because she started talking to me that way.

Oh, and I kind of yelled at the instructor. They really do not explain things, they expect us to know and get annoyed when we ask questions.

Ok, but I did work with the cutest dog ever. I think he was an Australian cattle dog, I don't know, but he was so flippin cute. I taught him how to have a piece of food in front of him but not eat it. Then he climbed on my lap and then I got in trouble because we are supposed to discourage that.

I am like the troublemaker of the class.

schwing!

Speaking of, Jake + Peter Sarsgaard = bff.

Fantastic.

happy perving

When did Brian's site become such a weiner depot? (John's words, not mine.)

nsfw, obvs.

still antsy at work…

Joaquin is cheating on me with Eva Mendes!!!!

Also, the perviewers of Grey's Anatomy.

er

What the frig is Rich Loom Fabrics?

I would give anything not to be at work right now.

rss goodness

'Gay' penguins book frozen out in Missouri libraries

SAVANNAH, Mo. — A children's book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones.

The illustrated book, And Tango Makes Three, is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.

The book, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children's section at two Rolling Hills' Consolidated Library's branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri.

Two parents had expressed concerns about the book last month.

Barbara Read, the Rolling Hills' director, said experts report that adoptions aren't unusual in the penguin world. However, moving the book to the nonfiction section would decrease the chance that it would "blindside" readers, she said.

I hate when bad things happen to good bands.
ACoop blogs like a moron, gushes about the spiritual relevance of throwing beads at Mardi Gras.
Keira Knightly and her annoying faces.
The gayest Crustacean ever.
So vegan it hurts.
Roger Ebert weighs in on the Oscar debacle.
What's wrong with a little objectification?
Profile of the woman who plays JT LeRoy.
Music reviews I agree with:
Dancehall with a different accent
Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
Neko Case

And the most important news:

A News-Paper Article Claims The Lovely Erin Q. Hammers Attacked Fellow Actors Joaquin Phoenix And Lisa Rinna

It seems very unlikely to me that this New York Times news-paper article about the lovely and polite Erin Q. Hammers star of American stage and screen is true. I am of the opinion that it is another in a long line of vicious fabrications about the fair and noble beauty.

BOLDFACE

‘Crash’-ing the Party

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Published: March 7, 2006

Tabloid queen ERIN Q. HAMMERS was thrown out of Vanity Fair’s Oscar party Sunday night – but not before she insulted former “B.R.A.T.S.” co-star LISA RINNA and got into a scuffle with Best Actor nominee JOAQUIN PHOENIX.

Hammers’ wild night began at about 8:50 p.m., Pacific Time, when she came skipping toward photographers staked outside Morton’s in Los Angeles, site of the Vanity Fair gala.

JENNIFER ANISTON, one of the first arrivals, was posing for the paparazzi when Ms. Hammers skipped over to the “Friends” beauty and began posing next to her. A frustrated Aniston flashed the shutterbugs a peace sign and huffed into the party, but Hammers dashed in alongside her, singing “la la la” nonchalantly.

That’s when pandemonium broke out. Security began barking into headphones and one of the event organizers ran up to the security detail at the entrance, warning them not to let anyone else inside.

Ms. Hammers, apparently, had not been invited.

The organizer told the guard to lean into his mouthpiece and describe what Ms. Hammers was wearing so she could be found inside the party. A little after 9, he could be heard announcing into his microphone: “Target has been apprehended. We got her. Repeat: We got her.” Ms. Hammers was then escorted onto the street.

But boy, did she make an impression during the 10 minutes she spent inside the swanky shindig.

Our sources tell us the notorious E-Ham splashed a drink into the face of Ms. Rinna, whose star has risen again thanks to ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

“You look like a duck with those lips! Quack, quack!” Ms. Hammers told a stunned Ms. Rinna after she doused her with gin and walked away, continuing to make mock quacking sounds.

Ms. Hammers then sashayed over to Mr. Phoenix, loudly declaring him “adores.” Sources say Mr. Phoenix politely tried to rebuff Ms. Hammers, but she followed him throughout the party, apparently trying to entice him by reciting lyrics from the theme song to her 2002 bomb, “Pretty Woman 2.”

Eventually, Ms. Hammers challenged Mr. Phoenix to a fight. Ever the gentleman, he resisted initially, but soon found himself scuffling on the floor of the restaurant with her.

That’s when the guards finally found Ms. Hammers and tossed her out.

Ah, Hollywood!

civil war fiction japanamation mission

So don't forget I arrive in DC this Friday afternoon. I know I won't be! I'll be attending the NASPA conference until Wednesday, but I leave on Saturday. Good times!I wish some of you could come to one of these conferences and experience "my world".

i’m gross

So I sent Hammers some (allegedly) naked photos of Fall Out Boy that I found on a British celebrity blog. Now I’ve totally alientated and disgusted her. Why am I gross?

of note

3.9% of married men have sex with men.
Lesbian crowned homecoming king.
Even the Brits think the Oscars were bullshit.
New gadget repels teenagers.
I am not obsessed with Jake.
Rhett Miller on tour.
New album from the Walkmen coming soon.
The Rise of the Granola Conservative.
Bode Miller gives the finger.
The Stills on tour.

a night out

Tonight I caught a showing of Transamerica (yay that my town was showing it). It was good, had some intense moments, but overall it wasn't life-changing. I think that the social implications of it may cause people to inflate the cinematic quality of the movie. I think the movie tried to do too many things and also had some way over the top characterizations of people. Also, did anyone else know that the kid from the Air Bud movies was in it? It seemed like an NYU film student's senior project.

Also, during the scene where her sone finds out that she is really transger (aka sees her penis) there was laughter in the audience. Is this just a nervous response? Do I need to kill more people?

However, I was quite disgusted with the previews that I saw. It basically cancelled out any social impact the movie would have. They showed the previews for Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector and Little Man (tagline: "Little is the new big.") I think the production of both movies actually reversed the outcome of Plessy v. Fergusen.

Oh, but also saw a preview for The Libertine, which looks so choice. It looks like Quills meets Restoration.

for shame

Well, I don't want to go too much more into the whole Academy Award fiasco, because it will be done to death everywhere else (but if I see pictures of Eric Bana or Joaquin, I will post like crazy). This writer really says it best, so I will just post it here. Well said.

I don't want to sound bitter or disrespectful, but Crash's Best Picture win last night didn't exactly brighten my faith in the leanings of the human spirit.

I'm not saying it wasn't a deserved triumph for some very good and talented people. Director and co-writer Paul Haggis and co-writer Bobby Moresco, principally, but also the fine ensemble cast, the below-the-liners (including dp's James Muro and Dana Gonzales), producer Cathy Schulman, and executive producer and check- writer Bob Yari (whom I congratulated at the Crash celebration at the Chateau Marmont).

And most especially the vigilant, never-say-die Lionsgate marketers and publicists (along with the Dart Group's Cynthia Swartz) who sold it like total pros.

But deep down, we all know why Crash won.

Kenneth Turan knows, Nikki Finke knows, the "Bagger" knows, and I suspect that even David Poland knows, despite his down-playing the reason in an otherwise fair- minded assessment posted last night.

Most of the pundits are going to try to sidestep or soft-pedal what happened, and if you're looking for that kind of thing you know where to find it. This wasn't a replay of Shakespeare in Love beating out Saving Private Ryan. It was worse…a whole lot worse.

Crash is a good film — an emotional, well-tooled, sometimes profound look at several racist and heavily bruised Los Angelenos who somehow manage to listen now and then to the better angels of their nature. They do this infrequently and haphazardly, but just enough at the end of the day (and the film) to earn our compassion.

Nice movie massage — now welcome to real life. The fact is that last night a lot of good-hearted people, bottom line, were essentially cheering the fact that a bunch of retro-graders and hang-backers in the Motion Picture Academy voted for Crash for the wrong reasons.

Is anyone besides me seeing the irony here…the irony that howled and flooded the skies above Los Angeles last night? The very thing that Crash laments — prejudice against people of different stripes and persuasions — is what tipped the vote and delivered the Big Prize.

Hell, this might have been more than a tipping factor. It may have been a friggin' landslide for all anyone knows.

So let's all keep it going and dig into our hearts this morning and extend some of that Crash compassion to the small minds and timid souls who voted against (and in many cases probably didn't even see) Brokeback Mountain.

I'm not talking about those who love and respect Crash for what it is — they're fine and approvable. I'm talking about the duck-and-hiders.

Squeamishness, old-fogeyism (not the kind you can measure in years but which can be found among people of all shapes, ages and nations) and puptent-phobia snuck into the room, and then slowed and stalled the Brokeback bandwagon and finally turned it down an alley.

I don't have a recording of any Academy members talking about the sacrosanct John Wayne macho-cowboy tradition, or confiding their concerns about how it might feel it they watched one of the briefest, most darkly lit, most discreet coupling scenes in movie history, and what the cultural ratification that an Oscar win would mean for Brokeback and gay people everywhere, so I guess there's no proving these views were a factor.

The anti-Brokeback banshee was swirling over and under Paul Haggis, Cathy Schulman and Jack Nicholson as they stood on the Kodak stage last night.

"If they want to be sour grapes about it, let 'em. We made a good film and people loved it and voted us in, and that's that."
And it wasn't pretty and it ain't pretty now. I live in tres gay West Hollywood and I was walking along Santa Monica Blvd. this morning and feeling the air, and I can tell you there's no joy in Mudville this morning.

Earlier today in Salt Lake City, Larry Miller was having a quiet little chuckle over his coffee.

I imagine he was also probably feeling a bit surprised to discover, as Nikki Finke put it last night, that Hollywood "is as homophobic as Red State country…in touch, not out of touch."

Ok, and speaking of, I know that I declared Brokeback jokes really overdone, but I can't resist this last one. Firstly, because it is really well done. Secondly, it is kind of sad because it is, well, actually TRUE. Come on, where are my Strangers With Candy fans at?

sugar we’re going down.

This is uninteresting to 99.9% of you. There seems to be a lot of news regarding Fall Out Boy lately. First, they performed on Saturday Night Live. Then, Pete jumps off the stage and no one catches him and hits concrete. Then one of them vomits. Ah, the life.

the liberry

Ok, so I was super stoked to get my hands on a copy of Dog Days. Well, I am three chapters in and not impressed. I had high hopes. Seriously, she shouldn't have quit her day job. So instead I picked up A Taxonomy of Barnacles, which is ok, but a bit pretentious. It is a total rip off of the Royal Tennenbaums.

oscar say what

HOLY MOITHRIHRIUQWHUQWEHQ(WR@&*$(*WU. How in the hell did Crash win? What a big fuck you to Brokeback Mountain. I don't know. I think they caved to the right wing conservatives. Everyone can absolve their guilt about racism by watching a movie about racism. And hands down, looking at quality of movie making, Brokeback is WAY superior. Although this is just the Oscars, I truly believe that our popular culture really says a lot about real culture. And what it says is that people are just cowards and afraid to back a movie with gay themes. Having it win would have sent a clear message, but they totally lost their chance. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sorry, I went out to watch it with the kids. They are so cute…they made a red carpet going into the lounge.

10:02
Jessica Alba and Eric Bana are presenting together. HOLY HOTNESS OVERLOAD!

I also wanted to mention that Rachel Weisz won earlier in the evening. The only joy I got out of it was they they showed her husband, Darren Aronofsky for a spil second.

10:00
"I can't wait til later in the show when we have a tribute to montages."

9:57
Jake is presenting something, I don't know what. I like how they cut to Heath for a reaction shot like it is his boyf or something.

9:45pm
Itzak Pearlman is performing a montage of the original scores. THat's pretty dope. Although he is amazing, it seems like some sort of lame high school assembly piece.

9:18pm
This is the funniest thing the Oscars have ever seen- the Best Actress nominee overview narrated by STEPEHN COLBERT! I hope that he here.

—-

So yea, I'm watching. Jon Stewart is cute. You can tell he HATES the jokes that Bruce Vilanch wrote for him.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman looks ador.

Eric Bana: do me!

The women have ugly dresses.

Nicole Kidman, brush your hair.

I, for one, am very anmoyed at the whole glib way they are taking the gay themes. A montage of sexual innuendos found in Westerns? Yes, let's mimimize Brokeback Mountain to the sexual content and forget that someone was brutally murdered because of who they are. Jebus.

Ok John, enough with the Jew jokes. Seven times was enough.

Memo to Joaquin: you are not Johnny Cash. And you look bloated. Lay off the tempeh strips.

How freaking adorable are the creaters of Wallace and Grommit? They were truly gracious.

oh how i’ve missed you

Fat Jared Leto sighting!

Word on the street is he's starving hemself to get back in shape for the tour with his shitty band, 30 Seconds to Mars.

Oh, I'll miss Fat Jared Leto.

114159410628234256

I know I've talked about it before, but seriously, Wondershowzen is the funniest thing I have ever seen. It's an "educational children's show". And now it's being released on dvd, so I've pulled myself off of the ledge of my roof in anticipation of the release. Here is a smaple of the wonders of the clips of the show. Yes, it is meant to offend.

Jewish adonis

It's a shame that I loathe the O.C. Seth Coen/Adam Brody is easy on the eyes. SCHWING!

more tunes

I am feelin extra generous with my music, but these are two albums people may want to check out.

The first is by the artist Matisyahu, who claims the title for the best Hasidic reggae/rap artist that I know. Everyone is talking about it. It's not my usual cup of tea, but it's worth a listen.

Matisyahu- Youth (2006)

The other is from The Knife, which Pithfork has branded with the honor of a high rating, so all the cool kids are liking it. It's electronica or someting. I haven't really formed an opinion yet.

The Knife- Silent Shout (2006)

hee haw

The new video from Jenny Lewis, "Rise Up With Fists!". It's pretty cute. I am in love with her dress (and her). Not so happy about the Sarah Silverman cameo.

gearing up for tomorrow

Well, tomorrow are the Academy Awards, the biggest celebration in frivolity. Who better to hear predictions from than my fave gal pal, Anne Coulter.

SPEAKING TRUTH TO DEAD HORSES: MY OSCAR PREDICTIONS
by Ann Coulter
March 1, 2006

This is my first annual Oscar predictions column, for which I am uniquely qualified by not having seen a single one of the movies nominated in any category. I've never even watched an Oscar ceremony, except once when a friend called me 35 minutes into Halle Berry's acceptance speech and I managed to catch only the last 20 minutes of it.

I shall grant my awards based on the same criteria Hollywood studio executives now use to green-light movies: political correctness. Also, judging by most of the nominees this year, the awards committee prefers movies that are wildly unpopular with audiences.

The box office numbers for this year's favorite, "Brokeback Mountain," are more jealously guarded than the nuclear codes in the president's black box. Hollywood liberals want the government to release everything we know about al-Zarqawi, but refuse to release the number of people who have seen "Brokeback Mountain."

I shall summarize the plots of the five movies nominated for best picture below:

— "Brokeback Mountain" (gay)

— "Capote" (death penalty with bonus gay lead)

— "Crash" (racism)

— "Good Night, and Good Luck" (McCarthyism)

— "Munich" (Jew athletes at Munich had it coming)

Everyone says it's going to be "Crash," but I think "Crash" is too popular with filmgoers. Moreover, Hollywood feels it has done enough for the blacks. Hollywood can never do enough for the gays. Gays in the military, gays in the Texas Rangers, gays on the range. It's like a brokeback record! As Pat Buchanan said, homosexuality has gone from "the love that dare not speak its name" to "the love that won't shut up."

Is the idea of gay cowboys really that new? Didn't the Village People do that a couple of decades ago? Am I the only person who saw John Travolta in "Urban Cowboy"?

Movies with the same groundbreaking theme to come:

— "Westward Homo!"

— "The Magnificent, Fabulous Seven"

— "Gunfight at the K-Y Corral"

— "How West Hollywood Was Won"

OK, back to predictions. The best director award will go to … Ang Lee, director of "Brokeback Mountain." (For analysis, see above.) Also, this is gays directed by an Asian, which should satisfy the gaysians. Hands down: Ang Lee.

The nominees for best actor in a leading role are:

— Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"

— Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"

— Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"

— Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"

— David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

The winner in this category will be … Philip Seymour Hoffman. The awards committee can't give everything to "Brokeback Mountain," and at least Truman Capote was gay (though not a cowboy). I personally would have chosen the lion in the Narnia movie, but he wasn't even nominated.

The nominees for best actress in a leading role are:

— Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"

— Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"

— Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"

— Charlize Theron, "North Country"

— Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"

I gather Reese Witherspoon is very good in "Walk the Line," but that's irrelevant — this is the Oscars! Felicity Huffman plays a pre-op transsexual in "Transamerica." That strikes a chord in Hollywood. It's not exactly gay, but close enough! I say Huffman wins.

For best actress in a supporting role, Rachel Weisz ought to win for "The Constant Gardener" because it's about how drug companies are evil, which to me is the essence of quality acting. Plus, English accent equals good acting. But Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain") is engaged to Heath Ledger, who played a gay guy in "Brokeback Mountain." So I pick Weisz, with Williams as the dark-horse favorite.

The best original screenplay will be "Good Night, and Good Luck" as Hollywood's final tribute to the old Stalinists (Hollywood's version of "The Greatest Generation"). George Clooney has been mau-mauing the awards committee by going around boasting that conservatives have called him a "traitor," although I believe the precise term was "airhead."

Finally, my favorite category: best foreign language film. The nominees are:

— "Don't Tell" (Italy)

— "Joyeux Noel" (France)

— "Paradise Now" (Palestine)

— "Sophie Scholl" (Germany)

— "Tsotsi" (South Africa)

After consulting with the Yale admissions committee, the awards committee will give the Oscar to … "Paradise Now," a heartwarming story about Palestinian suicide bombers. How good is it? Al-Jazeera gave it 4 1/2 pipe bombs. It's Air Syria's featured in-flight movie this month — go figure! I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but let's just say there won't be a sequel.

Normally, the smart money is on the Holocaust movie, so any other year, "Sophie Scholl" would have been the clear favorite. Unfortunately for the makers of "Sophie Scholl," their Holocaust movie came out the same year as a pro-terrorist movie, so they lose.

As a final prediction, for the second year, there will be no mention of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was brutally murdered by an angry Muslim a little over a year ago on the streets of Amsterdam. (Now that's blacklisted!) I also predict this will be the lowest-rated Oscars ever. Remember to turn off your cell phones, no talking … or sleeping.

Also, Jake needs to rehearse how to open an envelope. Damn he is cute. Damn him and his maintream popularity! p.s. Is that Bruce Vilanch?

holy fricking christ

ACLU Sues West Virginia Police Chief Who Blocked Life-Saving Measures for Gay Heart Attack Victim Assumed to Be HIV Positive (3/2/2006)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org

In an undated family photo, Claude Green holds his son Christopher, who is now 19.
CHARLESTON, WV – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members of a Welch man who died of a heart attack after the police chief physically prevented his friend from performing CPR. The police chief blocked the CPR because he falsely assumed that the man, who was gay, was HIV positive and therefore a health risk.

“I’m heartbroken that I have lost my son over such ignorance and bigotry,” said Helen Green, mother of Claude Green, Jr., who died at the age of 43. “I can’t understand how someone who is supposed to protect the people of Welch could physically block another human from saving my son’s life. It’s always difficult for a mother to lose a child, but to have lost my son so needlessly will be with me for the rest of my life.”

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of the surviving family members of Claude Green, Jr. against the City of Welch and Robert K. Bowman, Welch’s Chief of Police. The lawsuit charges that Bowman discriminated against Green by preventing others from providing life-saving medical care to Green because of his sexual orientation and/or perceived HIV status. The lawsuit also charges that Bowman violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by discriminating against someone he perceived to be HIV positive.

“Bowman’s actions were a frightening abuse of power,” said Rose Saxe, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s AIDS Project. “It’s hard to say what was more shameful: that Chief Bowman assumed Claude Green was HIV positive solely because he was gay, or that Bowman was so ignorant about HIV that he felt you couldn’t safely perform CPR on an HIV positive person.”

According to the ACLU lawsuit, Green suffered a heart attack while driving with a friend last summer. The friend, Billy Snead, was performing CPR by the side of the road when Bowman arrived and told Snead to stop because Green was HIV positive. When Snead didn’t stop the CPR, Bowman grabbed Snead by the shoulders and physically barred Snead from continuing CPR at a critical point in Green’s resuscitation. Snead, who had not realized at first that Bowman was a police officer, obeyed his commands.

While Green fought to stay alive, Bowman prevented anyone else from aiding Green until EMS workers arrived approximately 10 minutes later. While they were putting Green in the ambulance, Bowman informed EMS workers that Green was HIV positive. Although the EMS workers ignored Bowman’s warnings and performed CPR on Green, he passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. He did not have HIV.

“The job of the police is to protect and serve,” said Andrew Schneider, Executive Director of the ACLU of West Virginia. “This lawsuit sends a message to public officials that prejudice and ignorance about HIV are not only wrong, but can have tragic consequences. We are filing this lawsuit to prevent further tragedies.”

Green is survived by his mother, a 19-year-old son, three sisters, and a brother. All of the family members were present at a press conference in Charleston announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

“We have brought this lawsuit to stop Police Chief Bowman from hurting more people,” said Green’s sister Anita Tickle, a practicing nurse. “I have spent my life helping sick people, including people with HIV, and I cannot understand how Bowman could possibly justify his actions. We’ve known for two decades that HIV is not easily transmitted and that it is safe to perform CPR on someone with the disease. That’s something a police chief ought to know too.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there have been no documented instances of HIV transmission through CPR.

—-> Straight people also have the HIV virus, fyi.

of note

Some messed up things in the entertainment world.

Travolta and Latifah confirmed for movie version of Hairspray. Queen Latifah is so typecast it hurts.

Ewan MacGregor wants to record an album. Easy tiger. You just need to sit and look pretty.

This one kills me.
Hollywood actress NATALIE PORTMAN only took her role in GARDEN STATE because she had no other job offers. Portman, who experienced a slowdown in her career after starring in the STAR WARS films, found it extremely difficult to find challenging roles. The 24-year-old CLOSER star became so desperate to work that she agreed to the role of SAM in Garden State, which was written by SCRUBS star ZACH BRAFF. Portman says, “After I’d done all the Star Wars movies, a lot of people were thinking of giving me the dramatic challenges I was ready for. “I mean no offence at all to Zach, but I wanted to work so badly.”
Hate. Her. So. Bad.

more musical jibber jabber

I'd say right now in my music acquusitions, I average about two albums per day. Some of these I barely have time to listen, but that is okay because sometimes I just like to collect albums to complete some discographies. This is what I have addes within the last few days. Let mw know if you want me to upload anything.

ACTION ACTION An Army of Shapes Between Wars
BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds
BLACK BOX RECORDER Passionoia
BLACK HEART PROCESSIONS The Spell
BUILT TO SPILL You in Reverse
CALEXICO Garden Ruin
CAT POWER The Greatest
CHARLATANS UK Simpatico
EELS Elctro-shock Blues
FRANK BLACK AND THE CATHOLICS Black Letter Days
GOGOL BORDELLO Voi-La Intruder
THE GOSSIP Standing in the Way of Control
HALO BENDERS God Don't Make No Junk
ISLANDS Return to the Sea
MANIC STREET PREACHERS This is My Truth Tell Me YOurs
MEN

schnookums

Aww, Dilbert Wilbert is da cutest kitty ever.

Is it just me, or is he looking more and more like a dog?

rockbusters

I am sad to report that the new Ricky Gervais series is already not as good as the first. Firstly, one has to pay for it, and second, it seems really forced. During the first series, I truly believed that Karl was as dense as he came off, but it all seems so scripted now. And something else is just…missing.

snl

I have a dilemna. Natalie Portamn is hosting SNL tomorrow night, so I would normally avoid anything where I have to look at her, but Fall Out Boy is the music guest. What’s a girl to do?

i disgust myself

Perhaps publicly displaying the state if utter disarray my apartment is in will motivate me to clean up. Yep, that is my bedroom, and I have to literally stand at the doorway and leap onto my bed to avoid everything spread on the floor. When I get dressed in the morning, I literally have to crawl around my floor, fishing for something to wear among the mess.

As many of you know, I don't pay rent. I have a two-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen. The apartment was built in August, so everything is brand-spanking new. I am very privileged to have this. Do I appreciate it?

Apparently not. This has been a problem for most of my adult life. I cannot leave things clean and organized. Sometimes I will have a piece of paper lying in the middle of the room for weeks before I pick it up.

It is not a matter of changing my habits. I literally have a psychological block against keeping things neat. I hate this abou myself. I am nearing 30 and I can't even keep a nice home.

I have tried to analyze this. Am I unconsciously doing this so I can avoid being settled thus avoid feeling permanently trapped in one place? Do I not care for my own well being? Is it a statement for anarchy?

more tunes

Brand New – b sides and demos (for those who are already fans mostly)
Placebo – Meds (love it love it love it)

I talk about this band constantly, but it is essential. In fact, don't talk to me until you get this one:
The Sounds- Dying to Say This to YOu

Some modern punk. And by punk, I mean actually punk, not pop-punk. Although this stuff is what pop-punk tries to me.
The Living End- Hellbound/It's For Your Own Good
The Lillingtons – Death By Television

you got it dude

I really dress like a homeless clown when I am just knockin' about my house. Like right now I am wearing a floral long nightgown over polka dot pajama pants with a striped cardigan over that. Or I look like an Olsen.

Well, the weekend is here and I am glad (it was tough working a three day week) and I am looking forward to rarely being in the upright position and having a movie marathan. On the menu:

Palindromes
Underworld (Scott Speedman!)
Battlestar GaLactica Season 1
Firefly
Closer

Rhett Miller

Rhett Miller is such a dreamboat. His album is quite good too. I'll post it later.

Here's a good interview. For thoise of you now in the know, he is the lead singer for the Old 97s, also a rully good band. One of the best in the alt-country genre (i.e., Wilco, Grandaddy, Drive-by Truckers).

is it time to be scared?

ANGUS’ MOM TO E-HAM: STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!

The mother of adorable Two and a Half Men tyke Angus T. Jones has a message for Tinseltown vixen Erin Q. Hammers: Stay away from my son!

Miriam Jones has forbidden Angus, 12, from escorting Hammers to any more glamorous Hollywood parties. “There’s no way he will ever take Erin Q. Hammers on another date. As far as I’m concerned, their relationship is over!” Jones tells Star.

Hammers, 28, and Angus turned heads in January when he escorted her to the People’s Choice Awards. Later that month, they showed up together on the red carpet at the Golden Globes.

The BRATS actress has been known to date younger men before – she married pop singer Aaron Carter in 2002, when he was 14 – but until Angus, she has never been romantically linked to someone more than half her age.

“Erin’s always had a thing for younger men, but her romance with Angus was really scandalous!” says an insider.

Miriam Jones claims Angus agreed to escort Hammers to the awards show in exchange for exposing her breasts to him. Angus confirmed his mother’s account to the Star.

“Yeah, it’s true. She said she didn’t have an invitation to the People’s Choice show, so she said she’d show me her boobies if I took her. She’s got a great rack, so I was like, ‘Sure,’” Angus says.

When it came time for the Golden Globes, Angus upped the ante. This time, he agreed to take Hammers to the show if she allowed him to feel her breasts.

“I’m 12 years old. What would you do?” Angus says.

Miriam Jones says she has punished her son for his behavior, but she is even more upset with Hammers.

“I know her star has faded since BRATS went off the air, but to bribe a child actor to be your date just so you can go to a fancy Hollywood party? That’s pretty disgusting if you ask me,” Jones says.

Angus says he’ll miss Hammers. “She was pretty cool. She let me smoke her cigarettes, too,” the tyke says.

Miriam Jones’ account is inaccurate, according to Hammers’ Korean handmaiden.

“Miss Erin tell me to tell you this all a bunch of baloney. She not show her titties to anybody. She really like Angus. They going steady,” the handmaiden tells Star.
– MAGGIE HARBOUR

byte me

So I have bad comouter karma. My work computer is totally dead- hard drive gave out. I am trying not to think of all the work and documents that I had on it- essentially all I have accomplished at my past year and a half at my job. What a great validation.

step by step

Saw 2 was a freaking stinker compared to the original. I mean, it starred Donnie Wahlberg, which should have been the first indication. It felt so unfinished. What did the numbers actually mean? Also, did Lawrence Gordon ever escape the bathroom? If he did, the place would have been investigated. If he didn't, his body would have been found somewhere. Apparently a Saw 3 is in the works. Sigh.

i read it in Hogwarts, a History

I don't think that is butterbeer…

project danway

This was actually good. What, is Tim Gunn Dr. Phil?

Ok, so Santino was kind of likeable in the beginning. Shucks.

DANIEL V IS SO CUTE I CAN'T TAKE IT. Love his hair. Love the jacket. Love how he made porn music sounds when he was in bed. Love how he wondered why Tim wasn't "piddling his panties" over his collection. Sometimes when he gets around Santino he stoops to his level. Sometimes when I am curled in a ball in the corner of my dark bedroom I pretend Daniel and I are friends and I am resting up for the next day when Daniel and I will be hanging out the next day, shopping for blazers and running around Chelsea. Just kidding, I don't think that. Or maybe I do.

I have to say, I love all their collections in their own way. Not crazy about Chloe's, but I love the navy dress with the panels in the back. Tim was being an ass to Daniel.

I think one of the most awkward moments ever was when they brought the rest of the designers in and the finalists had to pick teams like in gym class. Kara's expressions were heartbreaking, like she really thought someone would pick her. But I got to see Raymundo! And Emmett! Chloe was excited to see Diana, but then quickly remembered what a moron she is.

Ah, the drama. Can't wait for season 3.

Tim also thinks so.

p.s. Tim has now introduced me to the world of "blogaction" and "blogsponce". Which one of those is this entry?

the psychology of eating meat

Food for Thought: Carnism and the Psychology of Eating Meat
Melanie Joy, Ph.D., Ed.M.
"…I mean, there are so many mortifying things in our culture and society. But that [killing animals for food] certainly is one of the worst and people ignore it the most because they think that animals don't matter…I feel a lot for these animals. Just the thought is really upsetting…I'm crying."

While many VegFamily readers likely identify with the above quote, what may come as a surprise is that this statement was made not by a vegetarian, but by a meat eater. Perhaps even more surprising is that the sentiment expressed in the statement appears to be more the rule than the exception. Research suggests that eating other animals brings about an inner discomfort, or inconsistency, that people are generally unaware of. The question, then, is how can the average American, who very likely considers her- or himself nonviolent toward other animals, eat their bodies and experience no apparent discomfort?

The answer to this question may be explained, at least in part, through an understanding of carnism. Carnism is the word I began using several years ago to denote the ideology of meat consumption. Ideologies are social belief systems that have enormous power to shape people's attitudes and behaviors. Ideologies are often so embedded in society that their influence is mostly unconscious-and therefore unquestioned. Typically, ideologies are only recognized when are an exception to the "normal" way of thinking (what we call the "dominant ideology"). This is why there is a name, vegetarianism, for the ideology that considers the consumption of other animals inappropriate or unethical. The dominant ideology in our society maintains that eating other animals is normal and even necessary. However, there is no name for this ideology. We therefore tend to view eating animals not as a choice, but as a given. This way of thinking makes society view the consumption of animals as normal, natural, and legitimate.

Ideologies can hide contradictions between people's behaviors and their values. They allow people to make exceptions to what they would normally consider ethical, without even realizing it. This is how we can understand carnism. If we consider carnism to be an ideology, then we can explain why it is possible to love some animals and eat others. We have been so socialized to believe in the legitimacy and necessity of carnism that most people do not even think of their meat as having once been an animal. Indeed, most people begin eating meat before they can even talk, and the process of maintaining the invisibility of the animals who become food continues for the rest of our lives.

In my own research, I found that certain ways of thinking support carnism. Interviewing carnists (meat eaters) and meat cutters, I learned that, in order to eat or process the bodies of other animals, individuals needed to use a degree of "psychic numbing"-the separation of thoughts from feelings and of beliefs from practices. This psychic numbing was expressed through a variety of defense mechanisms. Among the most notable are:
-denial ("animals don't really suffer when being raised and killed for meat")
-justification ("it's acceptable to eat certain animals because they're bred for that purpose")
-avoidance ("don't tell me that; you'll ruin my meal")
-dichotomization ("I think of some animals as companions and some as food")
-dissociation ("when I look at meat, I don't connect it with an animal-if I did, I would be disgusted and unable to eat it").
One might ask, then, if such defenses are necessary for the consumption of meat, why continue to eat meat? Why not just go vegetarian? The answer to this is complex. In a nutshell, though, carnists often continue as carnists due to a number of factors, perhaps the most prominent of them being fear. A comprehensive list can be found in Carol Adam's wonderful book, Living Among Meat Eaters (2003). Since ideologies tend to perpetuate themselves, it should be no wonder that the carnistic system works quite hard to ensure that its members remain loyal, using fear as an effective tool toward this end. For instance, many of us have been led to believe that if we stop eating meat, we will become unhealthy, seen as antisocial, weak or less "manly," flaky, and a host of other stereotypes. These notions are communicated through the mass media, in which vegetarians are often portrayed as strange or radical. They are also conveyed through carnistic "education" campaigns and marketing, where meat is associated with health, strength, community, and normalcy.

While an understanding of psychic numbing may help us better relate to carnists, it can also help us better appreciate and value our own choice to be vegetarians. Psychic numbing, when used to enable violent practices such as carnism, is, arguably, psychologically unhealthy. Unfortunately, though, the field of psychology has typically supported, rather than challenged, the status quo, and so the use of massive psychological defenses to enable participation in violent practices that are contrary to one's deeper value system is generally not considered psychologically questionable. Instead, those who resist the dominant ideology (i.e., vegetarians) tend to be either ignored or pathologized-for instance, a psychologist might assume that one's vegetarianism is simply a mask for an eating disorder.

Thus, what may be one of the most important points to remember as vegetarians is that mental health comes not from unquestioningly participating in what we have learned is normal (consider the average German in Nazi Germany), but from practicing we believe is right. It comes from living in accordance with our deepest values, values such as personal authenticity, integrity, empathy, and compassion for all beings. What better model for a peaceful planet? What better lesson to teach our children?

http://vegfamily.com/articles/carnism.htm

well fine then

Ok folks. First you go all crazy about how you miss my posts then I do some choice blogging, and what? Nothing! No comments! Come on! I NEED SOME VALIDATION!

Haha, just kidding. And by that I mean I'm not. Being back at work was not as bad as expected. I actually got a lot done and managed to be all caught up. It actually made me miss how much I enjoy being here and thinking that being here for another year may not be so bad after all….

this is out of hand

ENOUGH WITH THE BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN PARODIES.

And by that I mean please keep making them.

music

I've filled some requests as well as posted some stuff you NEED to hear.

New Skool:

THE DIRTBOMBS Dangerous Magical Noise
MOMMY AND DADDY Duel at Dawn
WHITE ROSE MOVEMENT Kick
ELEFANT The Black Magic Show

Old Skool:
BUILT TO SPILL Perfect From Now On
FUGAZI Red Medicine
THE DANDY WARHOLS COme Down