Sunday, July 08, 2007

Pop goes the culture bonanza

I've been long overdue with a linkspam about all my various pop culture devotions. So here ya go.

- I totally agree with Kelly Clarkson that for a song to really resonate, you have to believe the singer, whether or not their vocals are perfect. (Maybe that's why I heart that damn Mandy Moore album so much. This is one of my favorites.)

- Performance artist/writer/actress Miranda July has this crazy-cool website for her new book. It's inventive and interesting, like the kooky lady herself.

- Totally not obsessed with the Reel-Style.com blog. Oh, wait, yes I am. Most of it is trashy "starlets", but there are some classy dames in cute togs, and you can find out where to get them.

- Just...ew. This reminds me why I don't really eat fast food anymore. In fact, looking at it, I might not want to eat anymore, period.

- It makes me happy that I'm not the only one ascribing awkward thoughts and behavior to people in low-rent clothing advertisements.

- Maybe it's a bit extreme, but I like Bruce Willis' method of keeping his daughters' gentlemen callers in line.

- I'm not sure the Goog would ever go this far, but this is kind of an interesting idea. Maybe Dad ought to consider it for Appropedia.org?

- Their marriage on Veronica Mars was totally creepy, and separately I find them both sort of bizarre-looking and non-human, but Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna as a married pair are actually sort of cute. I guess I just dig it when married couples look like they like each other, even if they are somewhat plasticky and/or ho'ed out.

- Looks like I'm not the taken in by Shia LaBoeuf's charms, given his recent popularity in film projects. I'm hoping he has the talent and the class to stick around for a while and not take the typical child star f---up route. If this interview is any indication, he'll be fine. (Too bad he smokes.)

- I'm finally going to read Harry Potter 6. In fact, the plan is this: watch Harry Potter 5 when it comes out next week since I can't remember what in the Hades happened in it; read Harry Potter 6 during the week following so I can be caught up for when...Harry Potter 7 comes out on July 21. I've been spoiled for character deaths in the last two books, and I refuse to have the final book spoiled for me. That would simply suck.

- Want. Dorgi. Pleeeze?

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Don't be rash, darling!

So, I had a root canal last week, right? (It was actually a root canal re-do from one I had in high school that was still having issues.) My endodontist was Dr. Mehran Fotovatjah who did an awesome job and it was totally painless and not at all unpleasant, etc. (I encourage those of you who are crappy-toothed and in the area to look into him should you ever require such services.)

So I was taking antibiotics related to the root canal, and the morning after I stopped taking them I noticed a bit of tiny pink spots on my chest and upper arms. I assumed it was related to the pills, called up the doc and he said same. It would go away on its own once the drugs were out of my system. I could take some Benadryl if it got itchy.

Well, it didn't get itchy, but it did get ugly. Later that day my entire self was covered with angry red blotches. Stomach, back, arms, legs, neck, you name it, even my feet were covered with the offensive spots. De-freakin-lightful, but at least it didn't hurt at all. I felt fine, even if I looked heinous. Lucky for me, it was at its worst yesterday, when I had the day off work for the 4th of July. So I was spared public ridicule, shutting myself in the house to watch TV all day, feeling like that kid from Mask, only with no Cher around to comfort me. Alas.

The rash is on its way out now -- the spots are more diffuse but less bright -- to my extreme relief. It's been pretty weird looking down at my arms and legs and feeling that they belong to some spotted alien giraffe demon instead of a human, specifically, me.

Other things that are up with me:

- Thinking this dog is really cute. The one in the middle of the page where he's standing up? !!! (Incomprehensible high-pitched squeals)

- Loving the new Mandy Moore CD to pieces. It's a total post-breakup CD, so not exactly applicable to me in my current romantic situation, but the melodies are catchy, the lyrics honest and memorable, and her voice a better instrument than I'd expected from her previous work.

- A frozen yogurt shop opened directly behind our apartment. It is delicious, theoretically not that bad for us, and open late. This could become a problem.

- Josh has to go to Dublin for work for a week starting next Saturday. You know what that means...Party at my place!!! (Just kidding. That really means "Romantic comedy movie festival at my place." I am a loser.)

Ok, that's it for now. Maybe in the next few days I'll do a pop culture link bonanza post of things I've been saving up for a while. Look forward to it, unless I get too lazy. Which is likely. Sorry!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Je suis retournee!

So here I am, back at home. Got back a week ago and am happy to be back.

I'm feeling pretty lazy at the moment, so I'm not going to do a picture-laden post. I'm just going to link to my Picasa album where you can view all the pics from my trip.

Italy and France 2007


And I'll point out a few highlights and notable things:

- driving through the Tuscan countryside for the first time, when the song "Karma Chameleon" started playing on the radio. Very surreal.

- my first taste of pici, a "typical pasta" that's like, as Josh said, spaghettier spaghetti

- one interminable lunch at a rustic cafe in Radda, where the menu was set, the waiter old and toothless, and the dessert home-made

- peeking into the door of the community center in Sorrento on a Sunday to see old couples dancing to old songs at their social dance night

- the sublimely delicious four-flavor cup of gelato with chocolate mousse, banana, cappuccino and coconut. I wanted to mix it all up, pour it in a giant bathtub, and soak in it.

- Italian men hitting on me. I forgot how persistent they are, how constant their attentions despite brush-offs, how they seem to have radar for single ladies. It was definitely a relief to head to Paris and the blissful inattention of the Frenchmen.

- the view from my hotel in Sorrento. Ridonkulously pretty, any time of day.

- my seatmate on my flight from Napoli to Paris: British fashion designer Patrick who was very chatty, very nattily dressed, and very fond of his gin-and-tonics

- Le Relais D'Entrecote, a recommendation from my boss, was a great tasty laid-back steak-and-fries place on my first night in Paris

- pain au chocolat. Just...guh...can I eat it every morning?

- L'Eglise D'Auvers-sur-Oise, one of Van Gogh's paintings at the Musee D'Orsay, absolutely stunning in person. Full of energy and unsettling.

- the baby-poo-colored carpet and creepy vignette-covered wallpaper at our hotel in Paris

- visiting the Sacre Coeur for the first time when a service was going on, and the sounds of the nuns' song soared throughout the building, angelic, delicate, uplifting in such a beautiful setting

- the quaint adorableness of, oh, every single pastry shop in Paris. It just reminds me why I once told my family if I were ever to rob a place it would be a bakery.

Aaaaaand that's it! It was a good time. I didn't stress much, I saw a lot, and ate a lot, read a lot, walked a lot, and was even happy to be back home when I stepped foot in the door. What more can you ask from a vacation?