Raindrops on roses...

Much like Oprah and Julie Andrews, from time to time I like to take account of a few of my favorite things. Here's a little listy action for ya.


My Stinker Friendlies*Buffy*DVRs*Interpol*Harry Potter*"God Only Knows" and "Don't Worry Baby"*The Internet*Popsicles*Beech Tree Sheets*Indie Rock*Cold Beer*Kittens*Luna*Missy*UVA*Late Night Alt Rock Dance Parties*The Fourth of July*Walking around in mud*Soaps on CBS*THE REDSKINS*Brunch*Lunch with said stinker friendlies*Live Music*Writing*Laughing*Getting splotchy*Hyacinths*Sports Movies*Instant Messenger*Sigmarificness*Driveway Basketball*Picking Up Sticks*Flashlight Tag*Swimming*My Mom*Pseudo cousins and aunts/uncles*Baking Cookies*Sneezing*Countdown Shows*Stickers*Blowing Bubbles*Dinner Parties*My Dad*My Job*Caramel Machiatos*Pictures*Inside Jokes*Quoting TV & Movies*Apricoting Alarm Clocks*Happy Hours*Mash Ups*Wide Eyed Wonder*Tower Records*Stone Harbor*London*The British Museum*Reading*Giving Presents*My Birthday*Mitch Hedberg*Clothes!*Brownies*Asparagus*Steamed Clams*Chips & Dip*Coca Cola Classic*Eating Outside*Dog Naming Service*Vienna*Halloween*The Halloween Parade*My iPod*TV on DVD*Tuffness*Planting Flowers*Balloons*Clever People*Albert Einstein*Helen Keller Jokes*The OC*My Flowered Doc Martins*My junior prom dress*My VW*Kissing*MP3s*Blogs*BBQs*Picking Crabs*Cooking*John Donne*Yeats*Encapsulated Culture*Chocolate Chip Cookies*Prime Rib*Blue Blanky*My Betsy Johnson Cherry Dress*Accessories*SHOES*Corky*Fireflies*Corn on the Cob*......

OK, I'm all blissed out thinking of all these things. It's not an all encompassing list, but it's a start :) What are a few of YOUR favorite things?

Stellaaaaaaaaaaa!

This article was too good to resist. I mean, I feel for her and her personal tragedy, but, I mean.... Though we may have to call in a Groove Expert to find out the truth, Stella's future looks dim. Here are a few choice comments on the topic:

llbba43: i wonder who will get custody of the groove

Streak40: i makes my hatred of the movie SO valid
mads t r e t c h: i've never watched it, but, whatever, hilarious in general
Streak40: oh, i never saw the movie
Streak40: just angry that it exists
mads t r e t c h: mike, that's called ignorance.
Streak40: no its called foresight
Streak40: i can just tell it sucks by looking at it
Streak40: like a books cover
mads t r e t c h: i
mads t r e t c h: g
mads t r e t c h: n
mads t r e t c h: o
mads t r e t c h: r
mads t r e t c h: a
mads t r e t c h: n
mads t r e t c h: c
mads t r e t c h: e
Streak40: s
Streak40: aa
Streak40: r
Streak40: c
Streak40: a
Streak40: s
Streak40: m
mads t r e t c h: ha, is the extra a for emphasis?
Streak40: amphasis, indeed


How Stella Got Her Gay Back

I'd like to submit, however, that Taye Diggs is still dreamy.

Strong Joe Rogan

Me: Alyssa, where you at?! I need those pics like Tyrone Biggums needs the pipe!
Alyssa: Don't you worry, they're strong joe rogan.

So, A.Bell has released her pics from Friday night. The entire weekend was photo-tastic, but these...well, these are somethin else. I'll work on los otros soon as I can, but for now, watch the slideshow. And, if you don't have time, here are a few choice cuts.


Beer Pong: A true gentlemen's game.


Picture In Picture In Real Life


The Cute and The Creepy


Yes, that is indeed Sean Galdo at prom. In professional pictures. On their fridge.


I MUST DESTROY WHATEVER IS IN MY PATH!


I MUST TAKE OFF ONE SOCK AND CHANGE THE CD!

In Brief

I've got many a thing to blog about. In true A.Mattos fashion there's a list sitting on my desk. However, right now, my boyfriend is on, so I'll just have to share thoughts on one thing. I just had a most lovely discussion with Gavin, where (among several other ADD trails of thought) we discussed Passions, the most absurd of absurdities. I desperately tried to find video footage that I saw on Best Week Ever this weekend where Tabitha pretty much fended off a stuffed velveteen paw on a pole. The best I could find was the official Passions photo gallery. Please note the pictures of Tabitha - I really like how they used images from several different eras and shoots. OK screw it, let's look at some more Jon boy.




Aaaaand, good night!

partys t r e t c h

Well, so far this weekend has gotten high marks. It's been a while since I've just hung out houseparty style, and Thursday and Friday were both prime examples. Alyssa's pictures are going to be....wow....classic. And Sam took a few promising ones Thursday. But, until they make their way to my hot little hands, here are a few from the fancy new camera phone.


Though Reed passed out with it on his head later, here's Dan with the infamous fuzzy basketball bucket. TeeeeeeeJaaaaaaaay!


Reed & Stumpy arm wrestling....


The long tongue club, represent!


Mottram durring...


And Mottram after.

In a nutshell

On a day full of affirmations, I thought this a fitting example of Amanda&Liz-ocity, as I depart to celebrate the birth of The Sam and enjoy The Music:



mads t r e t c h: farewell doodlebug
LKE16: farewell stinker!

Stop the presses!!

Well, given that this meta-medium has no presses and is instant and digital, don't go to any great lengths.

But...

This just in!!

The one and only Mike Coleman, aka Big White Mike, aka, my illustrious roomate, has started a blog. Add the great white hope to your usual circuit of distraction.

Behold: The Chronicles of Coleman

Sorry for the convenience

As I'm not prepared to riff on it fully just now, I thought this was more of blog update status than full blog post status, but ch-check it out: MALE BIRTH CONTROL!

And, in case you guys haven't read it in a while, don't forget about Overheard in New York, for such lovely things as, Did anyone else notice my mother's leopard print panties?

And, some words of wisdom from our esteemed leader and president:

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

**************************************************************

I like to quote Mitch Hedberg, even when inappropriate. The escalators have been broken at the Hechts in Tysons for a few days, and I've uttered this to myself countless times (as I've been doing far too much shopping in light of the summer sales). Anyhow. Sorry for the lack of posts, I have many things to talk about, but no time to do it! For the time being.....

*Check out Boop Bloggy Blog for some hot Harry Potter gossip

*Check out yesterday's Hip Clicks for some movie quote fun and a link to a bizarre but fascinating site

*Check out Pink is the New Blog for pictures that make Christian Bale and Jake Gyllenhaal hotter than they already are

More musings to come when I've got some time, and less beef stew to make in my slow cooker.

Bestill my stinker heart

*Sniff.

*Double sniff.

Too stinky cute for words. This bright shining moment in your Monday morning brought to you courtesy of Stacy Helbing, and viewers like you.

A big



goes out to Mr. Drew whose appendix was taken from him suddenly this weekend. This was only after he threw one heck of a good party, at which I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The Bungalow BBQ was also good, for the several moments I was there. And to hear BWM tell the tales, it sounds as though it got quite a lot gooder as the night went on. (I'm applying such horrible grammar here because this was an evening in which 3 kegs of ice house were kicked by 11:00, and more than $150 was collected for a beer run. I thought it fitting.)

Also, a big announcement: I no longer am slave to the world's most derranged cell phone!!! I went this weekend and replaced the world's biggest POS with a sleek Motorolla:



For those of you who didn't know, my phone was completely derranged. The caller ID was completely warped; when people called, it would swap names - i.e., anytime Beth called, it said Lucas Edwards. Anytime Gavin called, it said Gramma & Grampa. Anytime most people called, it said No ID. It also erased all but about 15 of my stored numbers, called the wrong people, turned on and off at will, and was just plain insane. But now, I am a part of the new generation, and plan to send many, many picture messages. Ooooooooooh yeah!

Yesterday also saw the procurement of a slow cooker (who wants to come over tomorrow for a stew of some kind?), an iced tea maker and a new coffee maker (the french press doesn't always quite cut it) -- all things I've had my eye on for quite a while and were on sale at Linens 'n Things. Although, annoyingly, both my mom and I forgot our coupons -- of which we each have approximately a jillion. Oh well, next time! Did you know that you can use LNT coupons at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and vice versa? FUN FACT!

Later tater tots.

Well...

Surprised? No. Nautious? Kinda. Overall happy for those two crazy kids? Yeah, I guess.

I'm speaking, of course, of the engagement of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes.


Check out AOL or CBS news to see more.

Now, if you ask me, that's a bit too much -- ring wise. Actually, a lot too much. If anybody reading this is curious, something like this is much more my style:



or this:



or perhaps, this:



Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight :)

It's Friiiiiiiiiidaaaaaaaaaaay

First things first - take a gander at what my blog would look like "transliziled." (The result of "Gizoogle"ing it - thanks Lynnea).

Now - the Bloc Party show last night. Overall sentiment: Meh.

Not a bad show by any means. They played tight, his voice was strong (sidenote: that was the most impressive part of seeing the Killers last week - that boy's got some LUNGS! Didn't falter a bit), the drummer is fantastic. But, it didn't really grab me by the...anythings. Which, is the true mark of a great show. I wasn't infused with the need to dance and jump to save my soul. But, it was alright.

My experience was somewhat hindered by the fact that the four all time worst people to be surrounded by at a concert were magnetically drawn to us. Scanning the crowd, I didn't see a single other act of such extreme uncoolness going on. We were a lightning rod. Let me explain.

1) The bouncers. This couple, directly in front of Liz for the first half of the show, and me for the second, bounced in unison - no matter what the song's beat demanded. This bouncing knew no bounds - including jumping on Liz's feet. They seemed to be drawn to Vienna-native feet in general, because when she dropped something and they all started feeling around on the floor for it, she grabbed my foot several times. The urge to shout "THIS ISN'T YOUR CELL PHONE! RING RING RING" while kicking her was hard to put aside, but I managed.

2) Mr. "I'm unaware of my size" guy. This guy and his pissant little friend had no problem with pushing us out of our spots to stand directly in front of us, and go NUTS with the jumpy dancing. Liz's analogy was, "It's ok to do that if you're smaller. You just have to be aware of what's intrusive. Like Missy, she doesn't know her size. It's ok for Luna to wag her tail in between the couch and the coffee table. But if Missy does it, the table breaks." We pushed this guy out of the way and got in front of him cause, well, it was just rude of him in the first place. His friend would not budge though. Whatever, that dude was wearing earplugs.

3) 5'1 and 3 sheets girl. This was my personal favorite. This teeny tiny little girl had apparently imbibed an entire keg before coming to the show. And just couldn't hold herself steady. And, I apparently looked like an excellent target. Her frenetic offenses included, but were not limited to: pouring my entire beer all over me (sierra nevada and a white shirt. yes, that does stain); grabbing my earring and pulling as she fell down; falling down again and flailing, claws out, in the direction of my face. If I wasn't 100% positive that I had been "that girl" at some point in my life, and were the fightin kind, there would have been a whole lot of steppin goin on. Jenna and I began an elbowing campaign after all that, but the dumb chick didn't even notice. Note to boyfriends around the land: rather than trying to coral your girlfriend if she's in that state, take her out of the epicenter of the crowd. Thank you.

Anyhow, it wasn't a bad night at all, just not the best show I'd ever seen. If the show had been amazing, we may not have even been plagued by any of that. My personal favorite exchange of the night was as followws:

Jenna: Amanda, there are a lot of cute guys here.
Amanda: I know!
Jenna: Like that guy over there.
Amanda: Yeah, that's who I was just looking at!
Liz: Oh, I don't think he's cute. I don't like blondes.
Amanda: Liz, he's not blonde - he's wearing a yellow hat.

Happy Birthday Jess!

Today marks the birth of the beautiful miss Jessica Gunn.



(Hawaiian Barbie on the right)

Happy Birthday Miss Gunn! Your skin's like butta'!

Verdict's In

No, nothing about MJ. Soooooooooooo tired of that guy.

The verdict I'm referring to is my opinion on the new White Stripes album.

High marks.

Some of the reviews I've read have said it's too experimental, Jack White's pushed the envelope too far this time. But I just don't agree. I think it's fantastic. I'll wax more poetic when I don't have a stack of writing assignments in front of me.



Go buy it. It's great.

Also, this is hilarious. My favorite has got to be Evil Snuggle Bear. Thanks to the Gavin for the linkage. In his own words, he only saves the best for me. ;)

International Webloggers Day

So, apparently it's International Webloggers Day. Hoorah! I haven't got enough time to devote to a blog about why I blog, but I wanted to recognize the occasion.

Also, it's Flag Day. Thank you, Betsy Ross.



And, Amanda Anderson Rainie's birthday. Happy Birthday. Pulled that one from the 8th grade archives. Goooooooooo SuperMemory!

Completely random

1) I'm really in the mood to be at home watching Buffy DVDs today, not work.



2) Randomly perusing old pictures. Found this one - from the morning after going out on Halloween. Caption is as it originally was.



The morning after: this is what I found in my living room this morning. An empty cup with a straw and a half-eaten piece of bologna in it. Nuff said.

A red letter day. With sprouts and cucumbers.

The good folks over at DCeiver (hey, who knew DCeiver was a Wahoo?) tipped me off to the story of the decade - at least for anyone who's spent significant time in Charlottesville.

The Bodos on the Corner is opening.

It's true, seriously. Check it out.

My favorite part of the article:

Fox said the hours of the new location would likely be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. most nights, but “we’ll stay away from the drinking hours altogether. I don’t want to subject my staff to that abuse.”

Tyler, you're moving down there at a fortuitous time.

Despite the near absense of an effect on my life at this point, this news has brought me a sense of closure.

Anybody up for a day trip to Cville? Food tour - to include: Bel Air, Monterey Jack Enchiladas at Baja Bean, tamari steak at coupes, take it away, arches, christian's pizza, pita pit, fried oysters and amber ale at starr hill, and, now, BODOS ON THE CORNER!!!

"Ladies Night"

Well, ladies night turned into liberation and late night extravaganza at Liz & Jenna's. We had a great time. Click on the link above to see my pics (mostly captured by Nadine's "Wildlife Photography"). Here are a few faves:



This cracks me up because of its resemblance to this:





A lovely group shot at Anzou (?)



"Amanda needs the clips out of her hair IMMEDIATELY!"

Not feeling very re-capy, but it was a fun night!

*************************************************************

People have apparently been having problems with Snapfish, so I put the pics on Kodak too (Webshots uploading software for macs blows goats). Go here to see them.

(Liz, I didn't put them all up cause they weren't all winners. You can see them when you come swimming later. )

Unbuckled

The lovely folks over at DCist and DCeiver are professing the cultural positives of DC and beginning a series of concerts at the Black Cat (a regular haunt due to it's stumble-worthy proximity to Liz & Jenna's) called Unbuckled. A great little article on DCist about the series and its reasoning can be found here. The author - Catherine Andrews - I'm pretty sure went to Madison and UVA and is Betsy's friend Peter's sister. My encyclopedic knowledge stretches beyond band names. Anyhow, check out the article, and let me know if you want to go with me. I've heard some Cartel and they're pretty good! So, in summation: June 30, at the Black Cat, Cartel & The Bicycle Thieves. And, in all likelihood, some Manny & Olga's after.

"The" Challenge

After being teased by Drew for my encyclopedic knowledge of bands whose names start with the word "The," I decided to play a little game whilst battling the beltway on the way into ye old office this morning. The challenge: go through the alphabet and name a "The" band for every letter. U is still vexxing me, but here are the results:

1. The Arcade Fire
2. The Blue Van
3. The Cars/The Caesars
4. The Decemberists/The Dead 60s
5. The Eels
6. The Features
7. The Go Go's
   
8. The Hives
9. The Interpol.....psych - I know I had one this morning, must think on this one a bit.
10. The J......yar, can't remember my answer here either. But I just cheated and looked at MTV.com, and apparently there's a band called The Januaries. Amanda and the Augusts new album hits stores soon.....
11. The Kills/The Killers/The Kinks
12. The Living End
13. The Montgomery Burns Band
14. The New Pornographers
15. The Octopus
16. The Pixies
17. The Q.....I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess there's a band out there called The Quadrilaterals, or The Questions. Blowin' up a suburbian basement near you!
    
18. The Rapture
19. The Sounds
20. The Thes
21. The Used
22. The Vines
23. The Wrens
24. The Xies (ok, this is really spelled The Exies, but, I'm grasping at straws here)
25. The Youngbloods
26. The Zutons

And there you have it folks.

By Decree of the King's Contrivance

Jenna (the Jennaral), Liz (Lizeration Dance Party) and I (Amandolin Player) had a fantastic time at the Killers/Keane/Louis XIV/Maximo Park/Annoying Chick in a Sailor Hat show last night. It was hot and sweaty, but the three of us + good music = no room for anything but a great time. Maximo Park = Pee Wee Herman, my soul aches for the Broken Land, how old ARE they?, Indie Rock Is All I Need, nice fellows, Ruff Choice, margarita madness, bud select.....aaaaaand other various funnies. Sorry, I'm not feeling very verbose at the moment. I think it's the heat. And the humidity.

To that end I'll leave you with the words of William Carlos Williams (as suggested by Liz) ~ refreshing on a day like today:

This is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

More celeb look alikes

I figured if I just updated the post below, nobody would ever bother to look (though you may want to, as I continually edited it throughout yesterday). But I have a few I forgot to put in there.

Alyssa Bell as Katherine Heigel (Of "My Father The Hero" and "Grey's Anatomy" fame...and also Roswell)



(Which one's Alyssa? I can't tell!)

A.Bell says I look more like KH than she does, but I beg to differ. She says people mainly tell her Ashley Judd (which is also quite true), and even stranger looking at this picture of Katherine Heigel as a dead ringer for Ashley Judd

My roomate "Big White" Mike Coleman as Will Farrel, particularly W.F. as......Mugatu



I can't seem to find a picture of Mike online anywhere, but if you've met him...you're laughing really hard right now. And will laugh harder when you learn that people used to yell "Mugatu!" at him as he walked on the streets of cville.

Then there is of course my very own Kevin Dunlap as Seth Green

There's also one David Jarman and his striking resemblance to one Brian Austin Green (or, David Silver).



Can you find the Jarman?

Alyssa explaining why she sent the Jarmander picture she did:
v o x x y m i a: and i can't send out any other jarman ones just because i'm not that mean
v o x x y m i a: i don't want to be responsible for him ending up on college humor

In looking at the Jarman pics, I was reminded of how much Wadelove used to look like Dawson. Not sure these pictures do it justice, but it'll give you a hint: