Saturday, March 28, 2009
Random offspring
I just learned that my new crush, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (of two posts ago), has learned that he has a four-year-old son! I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's rather... studly of him, to have had a kid he didn't even know about. And why is the mother just now letting him now? Mmmm.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Just Pick a Name and Stick with It Already
So, apparently, Freedom Tower is no longer the name of the building that will replace our former World Trade Center twin towers. Which is fine by me, because the word "Freedom" in any name, title, or brand will forever remind me of "Freedom Fries," as well as the whole patriotism backlash and paranoid overuse of the word freedom in general that happened after 9/11.
The new name? "One World Trade Center." Is this better? On the one hand, it's nice that they're going back to using "World Trade Center," as if to say, they were knocked down, but by God, we'll build back and call it the same thing. On the other hand, I can't help but think of the Count from Sesame Street and picture him going, "There were TWO towers! TWO! Ah hah hah hah! But now there is ONE Tower! ONE World Trade Center! Ah hah hah hah! TWO! ONE! AH HAH HAH HAH!" Wouldn't he have fun with that one?
The Count used to scare me as a kid.
The new name? "One World Trade Center." Is this better? On the one hand, it's nice that they're going back to using "World Trade Center," as if to say, they were knocked down, but by God, we'll build back and call it the same thing. On the other hand, I can't help but think of the Count from Sesame Street and picture him going, "There were TWO towers! TWO! Ah hah hah hah! But now there is ONE Tower! ONE World Trade Center! Ah hah hah hah! TWO! ONE! AH HAH HAH HAH!" Wouldn't he have fun with that one?
The Count used to scare me as a kid.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Germ Free, 485 days and counting
I haven't had a cold since November 1997. That's one year and 4 months of cough, sore throat, nasal congestion free days! Holy rhinitis! Do you know that colds used to be the bane of my existence, my greatest inconvenience, my most frequent sickness? And somehow, I have warded off even the slightest colds for a year and 4 months. I haven't taken or even bought cold medication for all that time.
The cold I caught in August 2007 was a real doozy, though. I took one trip to Britain, and by the time I returned home, I had laryngitis, impacted sinuses, and a wretched cough. With a recital planned that October, I sung through all the gunk, thinking some over-the-counter meds with a sprinkling of denial would make it go away. It didn't, and a week before my recital, I had to postpone. I could not shake my cough, and nothing worked. Finally, my mother in law, all the way from Poland, recommended I try marshmallow root, an herb (or root, rather) that has been used since, allegedly, Ancient Egypt for coughs and throat irritation. Folks, she was not joking about this stuff. I was completely cured within 10 days! You can buy marshmallow root at a health food store - possibly one more hardcore than Whole Foods - and you just boil it for tea. It works, like a Mo Fo. I don't know if taking this magical marshmallow is the reason I haven't been afflicted with colds since, but I do find it a rather interesting coincidence.
I don't really have a good reason for making this post, other than to thank my lucky, lucky stars for my good health. Of course, now that I've posted it, I'll probably come down with a cold. Better stock up on the marsh' and go get some sleep!
The cold I caught in August 2007 was a real doozy, though. I took one trip to Britain, and by the time I returned home, I had laryngitis, impacted sinuses, and a wretched cough. With a recital planned that October, I sung through all the gunk, thinking some over-the-counter meds with a sprinkling of denial would make it go away. It didn't, and a week before my recital, I had to postpone. I could not shake my cough, and nothing worked. Finally, my mother in law, all the way from Poland, recommended I try marshmallow root, an herb (or root, rather) that has been used since, allegedly, Ancient Egypt for coughs and throat irritation. Folks, she was not joking about this stuff. I was completely cured within 10 days! You can buy marshmallow root at a health food store - possibly one more hardcore than Whole Foods - and you just boil it for tea. It works, like a Mo Fo. I don't know if taking this magical marshmallow is the reason I haven't been afflicted with colds since, but I do find it a rather interesting coincidence.
I don't really have a good reason for making this post, other than to thank my lucky, lucky stars for my good health. Of course, now that I've posted it, I'll probably come down with a cold. Better stock up on the marsh' and go get some sleep!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Watchmen and Watching Men: An Update of my Celebrity Crushes
I was feeling a bit ho-hum about the Watchmen mania, until this week. Is it possible that the hype bored itself into my brain and made me want to see it, or am I just a huge sucker for eye candy? I know one thing: I am painfully not au courant on graphic novels, which is too bad, because I do enjoy them, I just kind of, you know, forget about them. So I'm going to have to ignore the mixed reviews Watchmen the Movie is getting and go see it because: A. it looks like an interesting story, B. I'm a fan of flawed super heroes, and C. hello: did I mention the eye candy?
Look, I'm a woman, and I have visual needs. I also have an ever-changing list of celebrity crushes, and only recently did I notice that the top spots are usually held by hunky super heroes. Wait, does Wolverine count as a superhero? Because Wolverine made me love Hugh Jackman, and he has been in my top three since the first X-Men came out. Christian Bale made a quick trajectory to my heart after his first Batman, but since the real Bale has lost his temper one too many times, he has dropped a few notches. Eric Bana brought more Aussie goodness to my short list, although not from the Hulk role. I think Munich did it for me. Then, others fall in line: Ioan Gruffuld, Liev Schreiber, Billy Crudup, Brian Williams... oh my, did I just say Brian Williams?! He isn't a super hero, but he certainly is a super news anchor, and apparently, I just became post-menopausal. At this rate, I may as well add Stephen Colbert, who, incidentally, has a super hero alter ego...
All this nattering on serves only to set up and introduce my newest celebrity crush: Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
I knew him from Supernatural, because I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but seeing him in photos and trailers for Watchmen has placed him firmly into my top ten, possibly in the top slot. I mean, it's about time I crushed on someone new. I realize that his character, the Comedian, is supposed to be a bad guy, even dangerous, and I'm not a fan of the mustache, either (in some photos), but I can imagine a 1940's-style panache that the mustache gives him, as long as he's wearing all that super hero garb and looking like he has some sexy and evil hidden agenda. You probably noticed Crudup, aka Dr. Manhattan, on my list, but no, not for Watchmen. Crudup looks like a guy in France I briefly dated, a handsome devil to be sure, and trouble, too, but I'm not so into overly buff, naked blue dudes without pupils.
No; for me, Morgan trumps even handsome Patrick Wilson, just as Batman trumps Superman, Ironman trumps Spiderman, and Wolverine trumps Cyclops. I guess I likes 'em a little rough around the edges. Welcome to the club, Jeffrey! Would you like to see my Catwoman costume?
Look, I'm a woman, and I have visual needs. I also have an ever-changing list of celebrity crushes, and only recently did I notice that the top spots are usually held by hunky super heroes. Wait, does Wolverine count as a superhero? Because Wolverine made me love Hugh Jackman, and he has been in my top three since the first X-Men came out. Christian Bale made a quick trajectory to my heart after his first Batman, but since the real Bale has lost his temper one too many times, he has dropped a few notches. Eric Bana brought more Aussie goodness to my short list, although not from the Hulk role. I think Munich did it for me. Then, others fall in line: Ioan Gruffuld, Liev Schreiber, Billy Crudup, Brian Williams... oh my, did I just say Brian Williams?! He isn't a super hero, but he certainly is a super news anchor, and apparently, I just became post-menopausal. At this rate, I may as well add Stephen Colbert, who, incidentally, has a super hero alter ego...
All this nattering on serves only to set up and introduce my newest celebrity crush: Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
I knew him from Supernatural, because I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but seeing him in photos and trailers for Watchmen has placed him firmly into my top ten, possibly in the top slot. I mean, it's about time I crushed on someone new. I realize that his character, the Comedian, is supposed to be a bad guy, even dangerous, and I'm not a fan of the mustache, either (in some photos), but I can imagine a 1940's-style panache that the mustache gives him, as long as he's wearing all that super hero garb and looking like he has some sexy and evil hidden agenda. You probably noticed Crudup, aka Dr. Manhattan, on my list, but no, not for Watchmen. Crudup looks like a guy in France I briefly dated, a handsome devil to be sure, and trouble, too, but I'm not so into overly buff, naked blue dudes without pupils.
No; for me, Morgan trumps even handsome Patrick Wilson, just as Batman trumps Superman, Ironman trumps Spiderman, and Wolverine trumps Cyclops. I guess I likes 'em a little rough around the edges. Welcome to the club, Jeffrey! Would you like to see my Catwoman costume?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
It's another installment of What's Annoying Me Lately!
I know, I know; someone on the web does this better than I, but she has her peeves, and I have mine.
Octo-Mom. You might be crazy if: your own parents go on Oprah to tell the world that you are crazy. Besides the hilarious moniker which sounds like a certain villain from a Spider Man comic, O.M. is no longer amusing. According to her dad, she would say at each of her pregnancies, "I promise, this is the last one!" Lady, they are not potato chips. I just wonder, if the doctors deem it acceptable to artificially knock her up time and time again, could they possibly bring her back to the hospital, drug her up, and close her uterus or something? Is that really so much worse than what has already been done?
Conservatives. They're planning a comeback, y'all! And there's nothing America loves more than a good comeback. Don't you love how they found the Republican version of Barak Obama in Gov. Jindal? Except, he looks like a tan Kenneth the Page and has absolutely nothing to say. He's like Bizarro Obama. (Again with the Superheroes...) And boy, they are really knocking it out of the park with the Governors. As long as Limbaugh and Romney (the Stormin' Mormon) are heading up this movement with slogans like "Conservatives Love People," then we could at least be in for a comedic comeback. Ah, but I do miss the days of rich comic material from Capitol Hill.
The ever swinging pendulum of inane food studies. I know this is not a recent trend, but just this last week on morning TV (I know), I heard about how moderate drinking can cause breast cancer in women, frozen vegetables are better for you than fresh vegetables, and calories are a more important factor in dieting than fat or carbs. I don't want to discount health studies, but they are not all created equal. I pine for a culture that is not so hyperactive about every item of food that goes into its mouth and can simply enjoy the normal, moderate pleasures of eating and drinking. It also doesn't help that on these morning shows they are yapping one minute about how organic peas can kill you, and then, after a commercial break, they're snarfing down Martha Stewart's chocolate cake or guacamole like there's no tomorrow.
Morning TV Shows. I'm still undecided about which major network has the least annoying morning news. Since I've cut the cable, I'm stuck with only a handful of channels, and while I don't really miss cable (maybe a little bit), I have a hard time stomaching Al Roker's mug mooning back at me every morning, or Ann Curry's self important journalist act, or even Diane Sawyer dressing like she's still 30. If I'm still puttering around by the time Regis and Kelly come on, I can tolerate them for a while. That is probably not a good sign.
Octo-Mom. You might be crazy if: your own parents go on Oprah to tell the world that you are crazy. Besides the hilarious moniker which sounds like a certain villain from a Spider Man comic, O.M. is no longer amusing. According to her dad, she would say at each of her pregnancies, "I promise, this is the last one!" Lady, they are not potato chips. I just wonder, if the doctors deem it acceptable to artificially knock her up time and time again, could they possibly bring her back to the hospital, drug her up, and close her uterus or something? Is that really so much worse than what has already been done?
Conservatives. They're planning a comeback, y'all! And there's nothing America loves more than a good comeback. Don't you love how they found the Republican version of Barak Obama in Gov. Jindal? Except, he looks like a tan Kenneth the Page and has absolutely nothing to say. He's like Bizarro Obama. (Again with the Superheroes...) And boy, they are really knocking it out of the park with the Governors. As long as Limbaugh and Romney (the Stormin' Mormon) are heading up this movement with slogans like "Conservatives Love People," then we could at least be in for a comedic comeback. Ah, but I do miss the days of rich comic material from Capitol Hill.
The ever swinging pendulum of inane food studies. I know this is not a recent trend, but just this last week on morning TV (I know), I heard about how moderate drinking can cause breast cancer in women, frozen vegetables are better for you than fresh vegetables, and calories are a more important factor in dieting than fat or carbs. I don't want to discount health studies, but they are not all created equal. I pine for a culture that is not so hyperactive about every item of food that goes into its mouth and can simply enjoy the normal, moderate pleasures of eating and drinking. It also doesn't help that on these morning shows they are yapping one minute about how organic peas can kill you, and then, after a commercial break, they're snarfing down Martha Stewart's chocolate cake or guacamole like there's no tomorrow.
Morning TV Shows. I'm still undecided about which major network has the least annoying morning news. Since I've cut the cable, I'm stuck with only a handful of channels, and while I don't really miss cable (maybe a little bit), I have a hard time stomaching Al Roker's mug mooning back at me every morning, or Ann Curry's self important journalist act, or even Diane Sawyer dressing like she's still 30. If I'm still puttering around by the time Regis and Kelly come on, I can tolerate them for a while. That is probably not a good sign.
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