There are really a lot of things about this Jesse McCartney feat. T-Pain video for Body Language that offend my sensibilities. Let me tell you about them!
First of all, repeated use of same lyric in two different songs by same artist. We already KNOW "that thing you got behind you is amazing," from Leavin'. The worst offender of this, by the way, might be The Police. How do we know it's a big enough umbrella, but it's always Sting who ends up getting weeeeeeet? Because he told us! In like twenty different songs.
Moving on... that hand gesture that young McCartney uses to describe the convexity of a posterior (0:43 in the video) strikes me as kind of tacky and lewd. I guess it's inaccurate for me to call him "young" when he is basically the same age as me, but I still think of him as this child, singing nasally about the beauty of someone's soul.
Seriously though... the fetishization of women for being "ethnic" is pretty gross. In this song, a woman is "so international" that Jesse McCartney sings to her in French and Japanese, while she may or may not be Mexican. Although, maybe he is trying to reach out to his mixed race/ethnicity fanbase by featuring a tri-ethnic woman... in which case, progressive.
Not progressive: repeated shots of a bikini-clad woman, with her face kept HIDDEN. Who cares what her face looks like, all you need to know is she's a foreign girl with fly booty!
05 October 2009
03 October 2009
Voicefail
In case you were wondering how accurate the transcriptions courtesy of Google Voice are, here is a "shopping list" I read to Chris' voicemail:
And what was written in the transcription he received:
Man! I would have received a breaded sailboat when I really wanted plain, the wrong kind of potatoes, just some random wafers, and absolutely no Beanie or Spigot.
Broccoli, rye bread, a sailboat, Yukon Gold potatoes, Nilla Wafers, Sammie, Beanie, Spigot, and some steaks.
And what was written in the transcription he received:
Broccoli, right. Bread the sailboat you calling gold potatoes. You know, wafers. Sammy the me take it and some steaks.
Man! I would have received a breaded sailboat when I really wanted plain, the wrong kind of potatoes, just some random wafers, and absolutely no Beanie or Spigot.
03 September 2009
Lego cookies
Chris got me this Lego cookie cutter, and we got ourselves all worked up with dreams of edible Legos. I tried it out last night with a batch of gingerbread. I was a little skeptical that the cutter would actually work, based on all the negative reviews...
I'm sorry, but the review that said "My son cried," made me laugh out loud. I do feel for the mom, though - I wouldn't want to have to post a review that simply read, "My boyfriend cried."
Anyway, I rolled out the dough and dusted it with flour, and also rolled the cutter in flour to keep everything from sticking, and here's what I got - cute wee Lego cookies!
There they are, waiting to go in the oven. But would they keep their shapes through baking?!
The answer is YES!
So this baking endeavor would have been a great success - EXCEPT for the fact that the gingerbread recipe I used turned out to be pretty bad. I'd never tried this one before, and I won't try it again. The dough turns out so sticky that neither chilling, freezing, nor extra flour could save it. The cookies pictured here had so much extra flour in them that the texture was really affected, but it was the only way I could get the dough remotely workable. Also, there was hardly any flavor - no sweetness, no gingeryness, no spice.
Still, the cookie cutter worked! I just need to find a better recipe... suggestions?
I'm sorry, but the review that said "My son cried," made me laugh out loud. I do feel for the mom, though - I wouldn't want to have to post a review that simply read, "My boyfriend cried."
Anyway, I rolled out the dough and dusted it with flour, and also rolled the cutter in flour to keep everything from sticking, and here's what I got - cute wee Lego cookies!
There they are, waiting to go in the oven. But would they keep their shapes through baking?!
The answer is YES!So this baking endeavor would have been a great success - EXCEPT for the fact that the gingerbread recipe I used turned out to be pretty bad. I'd never tried this one before, and I won't try it again. The dough turns out so sticky that neither chilling, freezing, nor extra flour could save it. The cookies pictured here had so much extra flour in them that the texture was really affected, but it was the only way I could get the dough remotely workable. Also, there was hardly any flavor - no sweetness, no gingeryness, no spice.
Still, the cookie cutter worked! I just need to find a better recipe... suggestions?
29 August 2009
Three simple tasties that I have enjoyed this weekend
Roasted Garlic Hummus
- 1 can chickpeas (without water, but save the water)
- 2 tablespoons roasted garlic, or more! Or less, to taste.
- 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
Mix all in a blender/food processor. Add chickpea water and/or more olive oil to adjust consistency. Enjoy with crusty bread, pitas, vegetables... (How to roast garlic. Individual, peeled garlic cloves can be roasted the same way, covered with foil in an oven-proof dish, with a little olive oil, water, and salt.)
-----------------------------------
Miso soup with rice and chicken
I made this with leftover rice and chopped poached chicken in miso soup. Nuke the rice and chicken just so it's not cold, then pour hot soup over it. You can make miso soup from scratch, or just use instant stuff (like these), which is still good!
-----------------------------------
Iced mocha
- Strong coffee
- Chocolate ice cream
- Crushed ice
I made a serving of coffee in a Moka pot, then poured it in a cup and mixed in ice cream to taste. So easy. I used Breyers Smooth & Dreamy, Chocolate Chocolate Chip flavor because that's what I happened to have. Add crushed ice if you'd enjoy that.
- 1 can chickpeas (without water, but save the water)
- 2 tablespoons roasted garlic, or more! Or less, to taste.
- 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
Mix all in a blender/food processor. Add chickpea water and/or more olive oil to adjust consistency. Enjoy with crusty bread, pitas, vegetables... (How to roast garlic. Individual, peeled garlic cloves can be roasted the same way, covered with foil in an oven-proof dish, with a little olive oil, water, and salt.)
-----------------------------------
Miso soup with rice and chicken
I made this with leftover rice and chopped poached chicken in miso soup. Nuke the rice and chicken just so it's not cold, then pour hot soup over it. You can make miso soup from scratch, or just use instant stuff (like these), which is still good!
-----------------------------------
Iced mocha
- Strong coffee
- Chocolate ice cream
- Crushed ice
I made a serving of coffee in a Moka pot, then poured it in a cup and mixed in ice cream to taste. So easy. I used Breyers Smooth & Dreamy, Chocolate Chocolate Chip flavor because that's what I happened to have. Add crushed ice if you'd enjoy that.
25 August 2009
Funspot
After having heard about it 'round the internets, I downloaded The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Chris and I watched it and were kind of blown away that competitively playing classic arcade video games can be people's whole lives. I guess I wasn't COMPLETELY surprised... but it watching a grown man videorecord himself playing a game as his child wails "Daddyyyyyy, stop playing Donkey Kong!" in the background was unexpectedly sobering.
I learned a lot from this documentary. I learned that classic video gaming is very high stakes, that there are heroes and villains among the well-known players... and that there are well-known players, period. These well-known players convene and compete in locations such as The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot, in magical Laconia, NH. Right after watching the documentary, we turned to the internet for more information about this Funspot, and discovered that the 11th annual International Classic Videogame Tournament was coming right up. These days we need only the slightest nudge to get us moving on a roadtrip, but this information practically shoved us off a cliff.
We gently landed in New Hampshire, the first day of the tournament... and were changed forever. Our first glance around the parking lot at Funspot revealed vanity license plates which read "MAPPY," "DKONG," and "CNTIPD."
This vehicle had much Mountain Dew and generic cheese puffs in the back seat, I am not even kidding.
I learned a lot from this documentary. I learned that classic video gaming is very high stakes, that there are heroes and villains among the well-known players... and that there are well-known players, period. These well-known players convene and compete in locations such as The American Classic Arcade Museum at Funspot, in magical Laconia, NH. Right after watching the documentary, we turned to the internet for more information about this Funspot, and discovered that the 11th annual International Classic Videogame Tournament was coming right up. These days we need only the slightest nudge to get us moving on a roadtrip, but this information practically shoved us off a cliff.
We gently landed in New Hampshire, the first day of the tournament... and were changed forever. Our first glance around the parking lot at Funspot revealed vanity license plates which read "MAPPY," "DKONG," and "CNTIPD."
This vehicle had much Mountain Dew and generic cheese puffs in the back seat, I am not even kidding.The arcade was not as busy as I'd expected, but still lively with challengers and onlookers. There were a lot of games, and a lot of people's hands all over the games... I yearned for Purell.
This fellow is filming himself playing Ms. Pac-Man, while wearing a special Pac-Man garment.
A game I don't know, being played by a guy wearing a "Power Glove" which is also something that exists I guess. That's me, bemused, in the background.
This fellow is filming himself playing Ms. Pac-Man, while wearing a special Pac-Man garment.
A game I don't know, being played by a guy wearing a "Power Glove" which is also something that exists I guess. That's me, bemused, in the background.But enough about these random gamers - we met CELEBRITIES! We got our picture taken with Walter Day, the video game referee who is in charge of Twin Galaxies. We got our picture taken with some other unknown guy who wasn't in The King of Kong but kind of forced us to get our picture taken with him. We got our picture taken with BRIAN KUH, a man who quit his real job to move to New Hampshire to play games at Funspot ALL THE TIME!
One time he broke 16 world records in one day. That's a lot! One of them was Paperboy, which I tried to play, and it's pretty challenging.
One time he broke 16 world records in one day. That's a lot! One of them was Paperboy, which I tried to play, and it's pretty challenging.Brian Kuh was actually kind of a toadie villain in The King of Kong. Without giving away any spoilers, I'll just say he basically committed a crime in order to make life harder for another gamer. I thought poorly of him for that, and had entertained fantasies of calling him out on poor sportsmanship if I were to meet him in real life. Then I did meet him, and he was so meek and modestly grateful that we had enjoyed the documentary... and for a moment I thought deeply on the fact that he quit his job and moved to New Hampshire to pursue gaming... and I decided it wasn't for me to judge.
We spent the rest of our time at Funspot collecting tickets on the kiddie games, like Skee-Ball and Wack-a-Mole. We were so rich with tickets by the end - our rewards were a Cookie Monster plushie, a little figurine of a dog taking a bath in a bucket, and a red Chinese finger trap. Funspot, I hope to be seeing you again soon.
We spent the rest of our time at Funspot collecting tickets on the kiddie games, like Skee-Ball and Wack-a-Mole. We were so rich with tickets by the end - our rewards were a Cookie Monster plushie, a little figurine of a dog taking a bath in a bucket, and a red Chinese finger trap. Funspot, I hope to be seeing you again soon.
19 July 2009
I knit a sweater!
It occurred to me recently that almost all of my knitting has been for other people, so I decided to work on a project for myself - I chose this Owl Sweater that I saw on One Pretty Thing. I started working on this wool, cabled project right away because I figured it would take me a while to complete, but no - two weeks of knitting flew by, and then I had a sweater! Just in time for the heat and humidity of summer...
Great pattern for a first-time-sweater knitter. I managed to make my way through it with only minimal fuss, even though I had to do a good deal of math to convert this pattern (intended for chunky weight yarn) into something that could work with worsted Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool. This was also my first time working cables.
Rather than put eyes on all my owls, I decided to just give one lucky hooter the gift of sight, in the form of vintage pearly yellow button eyes.
Really quite pleased! This may be the first time I have ever eagerly awaited the return of sweater weather.
Great pattern for a first-time-sweater knitter. I managed to make my way through it with only minimal fuss, even though I had to do a good deal of math to convert this pattern (intended for chunky weight yarn) into something that could work with worsted Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool. This was also my first time working cables.
Rather than put eyes on all my owls, I decided to just give one lucky hooter the gift of sight, in the form of vintage pearly yellow button eyes.
Really quite pleased! This may be the first time I have ever eagerly awaited the return of sweater weather.
20 June 2009
Virginia is for squatters
The situation right now is this: we are staying for a few days in the great state of Virginia (boo!)* in a tent (yay!) in a condo (what?). It is Chris' friend's uninhabited and unfurnished condo - as I look around the room right now, the only things in here are the two of us sitting on the floor with our respective Apple computers, my flip flops, and a promotional-sized box of cereal.
A little bit ago, I woke up and climbed out of the tent with no sense of what time it was. I heard some voices outside the door, and in a sleepy haze thought, "I hope that's not a realtor trying to show this place." Then the doorbell rang, because it was a realtor, trying to show this place. Chris and I scrambled to put clothes on and put most of our belongings out of sight, and then we let the realtor and an unsuspecting couple in. Pretty sure all three of them thought we were squatters, or maybe just weirdos - tent in the bedroom, no furniture, random assortment of things. They left in under three minutes. The day is ours!
*Just kidding, Virginia. We are having a really good time in the loving arms of Old Dominion.
A little bit ago, I woke up and climbed out of the tent with no sense of what time it was. I heard some voices outside the door, and in a sleepy haze thought, "I hope that's not a realtor trying to show this place." Then the doorbell rang, because it was a realtor, trying to show this place. Chris and I scrambled to put clothes on and put most of our belongings out of sight, and then we let the realtor and an unsuspecting couple in. Pretty sure all three of them thought we were squatters, or maybe just weirdos - tent in the bedroom, no furniture, random assortment of things. They left in under three minutes. The day is ours!
*Just kidding, Virginia. We are having a really good time in the loving arms of Old Dominion.
05 June 2009
Engage!
Chris and I have set out on a quest to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation in its entirety, which is five million episodes... or it FEELS like so many, since we are still on the first season and it hasn't quite picked up any steam yet. Cornwell tipped me off that I should stick with it and get through the first season "even though it is campy and unbearable," because it improves by the third season, "where they started getting a lot of money and all the actors took classes and shit." Hmm... At this point I'm mainly watching because I like the antics of Data, all trying to be a real boy. He's forever getting into crazy situations! And I like following up each episode with the recap by Wil Wheaton, who plays a kid who wore insane sweaters... in the Future!
Well, I've already run out of things to say about ST:TNG. To keep things interesting, we're going to be alternating seasons of that with seasons of Red Dwarf, which Chris had never seen or heard of. Hooray for summer and idle pursuits!
Well, I've already run out of things to say about ST:TNG. To keep things interesting, we're going to be alternating seasons of that with seasons of Red Dwarf, which Chris had never seen or heard of. Hooray for summer and idle pursuits!
28 May 2009
Bee time!
Hey, what better way to revive my blog than with fresh, current material, such as... commentary on the Scripps National Spelling Bee! (This weekend is going to be live, y'all - just wait until you see my posts about Star Trek: The Next Generation, and The International Classic Arcade Game Championship. I'm serious.)
I had the idea to liveblog this event, and maybe play along by trying to spell the words... but they're like, really hard. I couldn't keep up with these kids! While I'm still trying to wrap my mind around whatever jibberish Dr. Jacques Bailly is saying, the kids are all... "H-Y-D-R-A-R-G-Y-R-U-M!" and "G-Y-A-S-C-U-T-U-S!"
Ooh - one of the words is "blancmange." Much like these Bee kids, I have known, and known how to spell, this word since middle school, but not because of studying and cramming. I learned it the same way I learned a lot of things about life - from Monty Python. "They mean to win Wimbledon!" (Part 1, part 2.)
Hmm there are only seven spellers left now, and only one of them is a homeschooled kid! This surprises me... I guess I was hoping to see more Rebecca Sealfons. There aren't too many characters among the spellers this year: a class clown, a really laid-back little dude, a bunch of sharp but otherwise ordinary kids. I don't have a favorite this year...
Now the spellers are dropping like flies! Who's going to win the ridiculously huge silver cup!?
"Menhir," there's another one I know. Thanks Asterix... or rather Asterix's friend and menhir delivery man, Obelix. So far I have been able to best middle school-aged children in the spelling of TWO whole words! And only because I knew the terms as pop culture references... yesssss I feel like a champion.
Hey, someone won! This year's competition was pretty sedate, so I'm finding it hard to muster up a great deal of enthusiasm. To steal a joke from Chris/Adam Sandler: "Phoresy"? More like boresy.
I had the idea to liveblog this event, and maybe play along by trying to spell the words... but they're like, really hard. I couldn't keep up with these kids! While I'm still trying to wrap my mind around whatever jibberish Dr. Jacques Bailly is saying, the kids are all... "H-Y-D-R-A-R-G-Y-R-U-M!" and "G-Y-A-S-C-U-T-U-S!"
Ooh - one of the words is "blancmange." Much like these Bee kids, I have known, and known how to spell, this word since middle school, but not because of studying and cramming. I learned it the same way I learned a lot of things about life - from Monty Python. "They mean to win Wimbledon!" (Part 1, part 2.)
Hmm there are only seven spellers left now, and only one of them is a homeschooled kid! This surprises me... I guess I was hoping to see more Rebecca Sealfons. There aren't too many characters among the spellers this year: a class clown, a really laid-back little dude, a bunch of sharp but otherwise ordinary kids. I don't have a favorite this year...
Now the spellers are dropping like flies! Who's going to win the ridiculously huge silver cup!?
"Menhir," there's another one I know. Thanks Asterix... or rather Asterix's friend and menhir delivery man, Obelix. So far I have been able to best middle school-aged children in the spelling of TWO whole words! And only because I knew the terms as pop culture references... yesssss I feel like a champion.
Hey, someone won! This year's competition was pretty sedate, so I'm finding it hard to muster up a great deal of enthusiasm. To steal a joke from Chris/Adam Sandler: "Phoresy"? More like boresy.
Tick tick tick...
People don't really get ticks where I'm from, unless maybe you're out camping in the wilderness, way off the grid somewhere. I've never actually heard of someone I know getting a tick on them, so to me it was just some jokey affliction, kind of like scurvy - no doubt real, but not really something to worry about. This is the modern age, after all!
Note that I said it WAS a joke to me. This weekend, Chris and I walked along a nice, wide, maintained nature trail with some friends of ours, Matt and Miki. We went down a short side trail to the beach, and I probably brushed against some foliage ONCE... fast forward a few hours when I was washing up in our friends' bathroom. I looked in the mirror and had a train of thought something like this: "AHHH there's a spider on me - wait no it's just some bug, I'll brush it off - why won't it... come off... AHHHHHHH IT'S IN MY NECK!"
A tick was in my neck, feasting on my blood. I tried to telepathically communicate, "I NEED that blood, you jerk! I'm using it." The tick continued quietly sipping away.
First we tried unsuccessfully to drown it with rubbing alcohol. It wasn't working, so I lay on the couch feeling awkward while Chris and Matt rushed to - The Internet! - for advice. Matt and Miki were optimistic about pulling it out with tweezers, while Chris wanted to heat the bug up with a lighter. An open flame, next to my alcohol-soaked neck. Was I concerned my head would go up in flames? Yes.
But my neck had dried at that point, so I let Chris get to work with the lighter. Based on Matt's narration of the events, I think he was having some success, but then the tick burned up and died. Tweezers were employed, and then I was tick free - until I went back to the bathroom to finish washing up, and I found ANOTHER ONE in my hair. I squished it before it could tap into me. NOW I was tick free.
So now I'm just waiting... 3 to 32 days after being bitten, to see if I have Lyme disease. Fingers crossed! Sometimes I feel like the Northeastern United States is out to get me. I've transplanted here, but I'm not taking, and am being rejected...
Note that I said it WAS a joke to me. This weekend, Chris and I walked along a nice, wide, maintained nature trail with some friends of ours, Matt and Miki. We went down a short side trail to the beach, and I probably brushed against some foliage ONCE... fast forward a few hours when I was washing up in our friends' bathroom. I looked in the mirror and had a train of thought something like this: "AHHH there's a spider on me - wait no it's just some bug, I'll brush it off - why won't it... come off... AHHHHHHH IT'S IN MY NECK!"
A tick was in my neck, feasting on my blood. I tried to telepathically communicate, "I NEED that blood, you jerk! I'm using it." The tick continued quietly sipping away.
First we tried unsuccessfully to drown it with rubbing alcohol. It wasn't working, so I lay on the couch feeling awkward while Chris and Matt rushed to - The Internet! - for advice. Matt and Miki were optimistic about pulling it out with tweezers, while Chris wanted to heat the bug up with a lighter. An open flame, next to my alcohol-soaked neck. Was I concerned my head would go up in flames? Yes.
But my neck had dried at that point, so I let Chris get to work with the lighter. Based on Matt's narration of the events, I think he was having some success, but then the tick burned up and died. Tweezers were employed, and then I was tick free - until I went back to the bathroom to finish washing up, and I found ANOTHER ONE in my hair. I squished it before it could tap into me. NOW I was tick free.
So now I'm just waiting... 3 to 32 days after being bitten, to see if I have Lyme disease. Fingers crossed! Sometimes I feel like the Northeastern United States is out to get me. I've transplanted here, but I'm not taking, and am being rejected...
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