Rachel Rallston

And now I forget if you have one L or two in your last name. But your name is Rachel McKenzie in my phone to this day. You left me a message a week ago and I haven't returned your call and now it's late and I'm affraid you're asleep. Keep chasing me down and I'll show you the goods, don't fret! I also still have the episode saved on my DVR, so if you want to come over and watch it that's super cool too!

Most... Personalized... Blog Post... EVER!

Word of the Day

Two quotes that made today:

Me: I'm grasping for a word... it means outdated, antiquated, unused because it's no longer necessary...
Paul: Democracy?

From my America: The Calendar:
Were You Aware?
Due to an early typo, America very nearly became a "Democrazy."

Facts About Connecticut

As compiled by Drew & Amanda, based entirely on vague memories & hearsay. Feel free to add your Facts About Connecticut in the comments.

• It's near New York
• It's where Gilmore Girls is set
• Hartford is the insurance capital of the USA
• The chicks there are not hot
• It's where the yankee in king arthur's court was from
• Some survival story Drew quite liked in elementary school was set in Connecticut
• It's abbreviation is CT
• Yale is there
• It's easy to confuse Connecticut with Chuck Norris
  

I have ADD

So when Santi prompted me to take online quizes, well, I took a the bait. While we both belong in London, Santi's seduction style is natural, where as I'm a charmer. Huh, who knew?

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Your Seduction Style: The Charmer

You're a master at intimate conversation and verbal enticement. You seduce with words, by getting people to open up to you. By establishing this deep connection quickly, people feel under your power. And then you've got them exactly where you want them!

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Pick Up That Chin

So, today's officially (not in the "I am officially in love with Chris Walla" kind of way, but with a scientificly proven kind of official goodness) the most depressing day of the year. This whiny cry baby apparently got a head start. What can you do to combat this palor? Here are a few suggestions.

• Heed Jamie's suggestion, and Elect Art Monk!
• Check out the website for the live action Transformers movie!
• Laugh at Tara Reid!
• Use your powers of comparisson, then shop on iTunes!
• Learn about a band whose entire purpose is to make music out of NES soundtracks. And react as you see fit to the Beatles::NES analogy.
  
• Ponder the UPN/WB merger!
• Help Mischa Barton bid her teenage years goodbye!
• Enjoy DCeiver's 24 recaps -- as funny as the Lost recaps, plus a nifty form meets function twist!
  

In other news, I knew it.

"Drink Coke, Live Olympic"

Coke's new olympic-inspired slogan. Now, I love coca cola classic as much as -- nay! -- more than the next guy. But never has it ever done anything to increase either my athleticism or patriotism.

24 Scam!

24 has, obviously, been moving farther and farther away from their real time conceit as the seasons have progressed. The events have become less and less fathomable as occuring within the confines of a single day, and the show incorporates fewer elements to convince the audience of said real time conceit. OK, whatever, I can deal. But in all previous seasons, the show has, at the very least, synched up the minutes of the "hour" of each episode with real time minutes, so that each show really was one hour. Not any more!! They've fudged 3 minutes, giving themselves more time for previews and fox news teasers at the end of each episode. Come on people! Most everyone in America has the actual hour and minute staring at them from their cable box, on top of or beneath their tv, as they're watching the 24 countdown clock LIE TO THEM. Is this bothering anyone else out there in tv land?

Is it just me

IMG_0847.JPG
Originally uploaded by AMattos.

(not to offend my multicultural readership in anyway, just being observant), or does Stinker look Asian in this picture?

By the way, he's chewing on the end of the wrist chord on my camera. That dangly little piece of plastic is the distraction that keeps him from ever maintaining the pose I intended on shooting when I dash for the camera in a haze of "omigod he's so cute!"

Football, Scientologists & Drew Barrymore

• The comprehensive guide to Clinton Portis' press conference costumes
• Drivel from the mindless heiress
• Elect Art Monk!
• I'm pretty sure I don't actually believe this.
• If you still haven't seen the Scientology episode of Southpark, you can watch the whole thing here.
• The mysterious Katie Holmes baby bump analyzed.
  
• Drew pokes fun at her own knockers. And has sex in public bathrooms.
• Heart warming news from the penguin world!
• "Stinky the pelican," huh? Let's not forget who the real Stinker is.
  
• Super creepy Craigs List missed connection, down on the farm.
  
• Super angry MC.
  
• Super pointless and feckless MC.
  

Hi guys!

Who's in the mood for a weekend recap? Is it you?! I think it is! First things first, the DCist happy hour was great. It's the first time I've gone to a DCist gathering sans-other friends, and it proved quite productive in my mingling abilities and socializing. Got to hang out with the people I email with ad nauseum, and meet lots of other interesting characters. And listen to good music courtesy of DJ Leafblower and DCeiver. And watch the Hoos stomp the Heels, as predicted (nay, guaranteed) by the afore mentioned DCeiver. So it was a good time. And I got home around 10, so I was able to watch The O.C. before slumberton. So productive.

Friday night I went out to dinner at Sette Bello, the new Italian place in Clarendon owned by the Cafe Milano folks. The food: outstanding. The service: baaaaaaaad. They are so clearly understaffed and over patroned that it made for a very long and at times frustrating meal. But I was in good company and enjoying delicious food and wine, so the woes were asuaged. For dessert, we headed to the Ballroom for a night of general drunkenness and merriment. Beth was in town (!), so she came out and met up. We had lots of fun, such as:

Happy Farking Birthday

Defining quote of the evening: "You know why you're gay?"

Saturday Beth and I and Mrs. T went for a delicious lunch of fajitas, and a delicious afternoon movie. We saw Glory Road, which I loved. I generally love sports movies. And basketball. And Josh Lucas. So this one really had a lot going for it. I definitely cried. And there was a lot of in-theater clapping, so I think it was an all around crowd pleaser. After that I took a crucial nap for most of the afternoon/early evening, and woke up refereshed and ready to celebrate life with Sam, Sars Eye Stacy, Tyler and Fresh From Richmond Paul. We also had lots of fun, such as:

Not pictured: The partially-naked hot tub extravaganza. Thank God.
Defining challenge of the evening: Keeping the goods below the water level.

Sunday, after more napping, mom came over and we shampood my carpet. Cause I'm a home owner and do things like shampoo my carpet. And depend on my mom more than I probably should at age 24. It's so fresh and so clean clean. Please observe the newly instated shoe-removal rule when you come a'callin.

Plans on the horizon that I'm stoked about: Sunday brunches with my friends (it will happen. Oh yes. And I'll use my multi-colored coffee mugs!), and the Summer of 2007 DC --> Mexico --> Alaska winnebego tour, also with my friends. We're all planning on being in between jobs that summer so that we can take a good 1 to 2 months for the trip. Yesssssssss!

More pictures here.

Happy Birthday Drew!

IMG_0468.JPG
Originally uploaded by AMattos.

I know you're not a huge fan of your birthday, but I'm a huge fan of the fact that you were born. Without Drew my life would lack many things, such as blogging (seriously! you have him to thank for all of this), someone to talk to on IM 80% of the day, a liberal cohort with whom to rant and espouse conspiracy theories, pretty much every technologically-forward thing in my life (I'd probably still not have wireless internet, for instance, without The Drew), and a supercalifragalisticexpialidocious friend. So, happy birthday ike! You're a superstar, yes that's what you are you know it. Come on! Vogue! From the halls of Louise Archer (she's in heaven up above! Louise Archer (clap) overcame hate with love!), to the caverns of the Hawk Talk work room, to the stools of many bars and the dance floor at DC9 and the tables of every lunchtime eatery in tysons corner, you're da best. Happy Birthday!

New Years Pics, Finally

I've been delinquent, I know. But I've been distancing myself a bit from ye old internet (using the computer as little as possible at home, etc). Don't worry, it's a phase, not a life change. Anyhow, here they are, enjoy! Also up, pics from the night after Christmas, featuring at least one famous bassist!

Be There, eFriends!

Come one, come all, to the greatest 1/19/06 blogger happy hour of them all!

Join my fellow DCists and I as we take over Cue Bar (on U St. btw. 11th & 12th). Drink specials! Bing pong! Pool! Me! DJs! The opportunity to compare people's heights to their headshots! It's truly a not-to-be-missed opportunity. See you there!

Ok, seriously

Why does every single tv show that's set in high school ALWAYS include the "here's your pretend baby, take care of it for a week with the following partner so you can think about parenthood and not have sex" episode? Did ANYONE actually do this in high school?

"He Was Injured Bad"

• Thank you, Tyler, for introducing me to the video that's been making me cry from laughing so hard all afternoon.
  
• This truly brave post is the kind of thing that makes things like this even more disgusting.
  
• Hilariousness, courtesy of dirty sugar. The Vince Vaughn parts are, not surprisingly, the funniest. Even in stills where the words aren't his own, he's the funniest guy at the party.
  
• Wai wai wait a minute. Britney Spears, mega ultra money having pop star (piece of trash) shops at Forever 21?
  
• Jake Gyllenhaal named his dog Atticus?!?! Great, now I love him even MORE!
  

Ya know what's weird?

Though I write for DCist, part of the Gothamist network, I never read Gothamist.

Also weird, is that I'm fairly certain that like 0.01% of my friends and family read DCist, though most all of you read this here blog. I'm basing that solely on a sample audience of Liz and Drew, but if they're not reading, what are the chances anyone else is? I know it's not the all-Mattos, all the time set up you've got workin for ya here, but I strongly encourage you to read it. We've got so many great writers covering so many different things, you should give it a whirl. Not trying to lay a guilt trip on anybody, this just crossed my mind a moment ago and I thought I'd share. Sort of anomalies, no?

Yick

Just having returned from Chili's for lunch, I'm now drenched in Restaurant Smell. I hate Restaurant Smell. It's the greasy-smokey-foody stench that clings to every available fiber after you spend any time whatsoever in some dining establishments, usually chains for some reason. Its heavy, onerous presence plagued me when I worked at Outback in high school, having to dry clean my pea coats every couple of weeks, and using so much febreeze that I'm now loathe to that smell too. There are few things I react to this adversely, but sweet merciful crap I really hate Restaurant Smell.

Annoy tiny blonde one, annoy like the wind!

Veronica, Veronica, Veronica. As I've mentioned aproximately one assload of times over the course of the past week, I am currently obsessed with Veronica Mars (Jenna, Liz -- click here to kind of answer your "so what's it about?" questions). I'm but three bit torrent downloads from catching up with this season and picking things up again when new episodes come back on 1/25. I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you why this show is so good. And why it is constantly being compared to my beloved most favoritest show of all time. On the surface (and don't get me wrong, I totally dig all of these surface elements), you've got your petite hot blonde crime fighting whip smart back talker, previously one of the gilded beautiful popular people, who has now (due to either destiny or situations beyond her control) been relegated to the world of the good hearted social outcasts. By the way, I can't write the word "outcast" without first spelling it "outkast." Thanks Andre. So there we have the surface -- our central character, jets, sharks, and a life determined by fate/circumstance. Got it. Though neither show is "realistic," the elements it brings to the table are a lot more like real life than a lot of other shows. Such as:

• A flawed hero. Veronica has done her fair share of wrong, makes the occasional bad decision, lies... She's human. Sydney Bristow, Clark Kent -- you can't ever even find a hair out of place, much less moral wrong doing. Buffy's bra straps were flying all over the place, and they even went so far as to show that Veronica had HOOKUP HAIR. Form and function, comprendes? It never ceases to amaze me that tv continues to perpetuate the waking up in the morning unmussed, or stepping out of the shower with a full face of makeup on crap. But that's a whole nother issue. These girls have pasts, desires and attitudes. If your lead character doesn't seem like a real person, you're off to a bad start. And Buffy, Veronica -- good start like whoa.
• The Scoobies. While our heroes certainly kick plenty of ass, with names duely recorded, on their own, they're nowhere without their peoples. And here's the kicker -- that cast of supporting characters, they're layered, flawed, intriguing characters too! If you will, a little SAT style comparisson: A is to B as Zander is to Wallace as Willow is to Mac as Spike is to Weevil as Giles is to Keith.
• The High Road. A hero wouldn't be a hero if they weren't driven by the desire to do the right thing. Despite being mistreated by peers and misnderstood at large, our heroines fight the good fight, ceaselessly trying to solve problems and keep people safe.
• The Indie Rock Soundtrack & The Keen Fashion Sense. This really has nothing to do with the depth of character or grace of plotline or wit of writing, but it puts the sweet in the tart.
• The Good & The Bad Boy. In Buffy, they were encompased in one person (Angel), with further dillineations down the road. In Veronica we have Duncan & Logan. Neither are cut and dry good and bad, but the division is clear. Duncan is the golden boy and Logan is the punk. Never overlook a punk! Hidden depths and secrets keep the lovers story lines going. You've gotta have a romance angle. You just have to. And in case I haven't expressed this explicitly enough, I am all encompasingly on Team Logan. Duncan is a douche, much like Dawson. Pick your Pacey, and jump back on the Logan train. You know you've got a good character when at the outset you think he's really unattractive, and grow to develop a ridiculous crush him, finding him hella hot.
  
• Charisma Carpenter, Allison Hannigan & Joss Whedon. Could Charisma's character on VM be any more of a skank? Me thinks not.

If I weren't focusing on several other things at the moment, I could probably add to that list and hone in more delicately on the existing population, but suffice it to say, smart tv rules, and it doesn't get much smarter than Buffy or VM. The end.

Of Tickets, TV and Tummies

1. I just bought 2 tickets to see Belle & Sebastion and The New Pornographers at 9:30 on 3/6/06. (----------------> Jerry Maguire reference ------------->) Who's comin' with me? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be on some far off military base that day, but as of right now, I'm really stoked and looking for somebody to take the other ticket off my hands.

2. I also got 2 tickets to see The Subways that Saturday (3/4). I'm not gonna do what you all think I'm gonna do and just at FREAK OUT.... so who's comin' with me?

3. I know I've preached the gospel of The Pompatus of Lost over at DCeiver many times. But he's been on a hiatus, so I think enough time has passed to beat it into your brains that you should be reading these things. To give you a few reasons why, here are my favorite excerpts from this week's recap:

• "Charlie decides to keep a heroin statue, you know, in case at some point he wants to get Cobain in the membrane. "
• "The little kid isn't bitter and malignous, but the death is well overdue. Just then another kid--the little guy's older brother--steps up, grabs the gun and shoots the man. Portrait of the Eko as a young man, obvs."
• "hey chit some chat about safecracking and silent movies, and then Locke gets his island grok on, sussing correctly that ol' Mike is itching to reach for some black steel in his hour of chaos."
• "The drugrunners are clearly depicted as Middle Eastern al Qaeda types, reminding us all that when we blaze up after work, we're supporting terrorists. In the next room, waiting to meet with Eko, are no doubt a trio of illegal music downloading Saddamists and, alone in the corner, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, clutching a dead fetus. Syriana, yo. It's all connected. Core-up-shun is how we weeeeeen, bitch!"
• "Their third companion he let's go, instructing him to tell his fellows that "Mr. Eko let him live." And that he would be there all week. And to try the veal."
• "Just when you think she's yours, she's flown to other shores. Shores where it looks like you're saving a relapse for a lazy Sunday. Because pretend-peanut butter and brown rhine is crazy delicious."
• ""I've done what I've done to survive. How is that a sin?" Huh. Paging George Bush!"
• "But back at the beach, something else is ending quite happily: the reign of terror wreaked by Sawyer's Danger Hair, now being tended to by the loving hands of Kate."
• "Well, they are lost now. Lost within Lost. Meta-lost. Postmodernly lost."

There's more where that came from, so go on, read it already! I mean, not until you're done reading what I have to say, of course.

4. When a skirt that was previously loose on you is now impeding your ability to breathe, it's time to lose the holiday weight.

5. I added a part here about Veronica Mars, but it turned out to be really long and warants its own post.

DCist Happy Hour!

Yikes! It'd be nice if spelled my headlines correctly! Stupid mystery letter-inserting computer problem! This post is no longer about the DCist Happcy Hour.

Come one come all! Come hang out with me and my fellow eJournalists at Cue Bar next Thursday. Play pool and darts and drink from the drink specials and enjoy the company of some generally cool people!

Happy Birthday!

Today marks the birth of the illustrious Miss Jill Torok. Happy Birthday! Where would I be without our in depth cosmetic, sex, Buffy and celebrity talks? Your effervescent energy is inescapable and you always know how to make any situation better than it was before you arrived. I hope you have a wonderful day, and I can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend!

(Pictured here with Bobby and I, after our declaration of friendship on at my bday party)

I also hear through the bloglines that today is Catherine's birthday. Happy Birthday to my DCist mentor and someone who exemplifies the prolific humor and observation that every blogger aspires to. Happy Birthday!


P.S.: Does anyone else find it hilarious that Blogger's spell checker doesn't recognize the word "blogger?"

Please Welcome Santi to the Blogosphere

I've been coughing up a storm lately, and I'm pretty sure that the coughs have actually been expelling thoughts from my head before I get the chance to act on them. Anyway, I forgot to mention that the lovely and wonderful Ms. Santi Duewel has begun blogging! Welcome to nerddomme, my friend! Go check out Peace Little Devil (also conveniently located on the sidebar).

And, in answer to your question, no, I haven't posted my new years pics yet. BUT, Drew bought me a Flickr pro account for Christmas (yay!), so I'll be tooling around there quite a bit and quite soon. Between obsessively watching Veronica Mars (and developing a school girl crush on Jason Dohring, who I was actually legitimately sad to learn was married -- get a grip on reality, s t r e t c h!) and judging submissions for the Six Points Music Festival, and generally recouperating from the holidays and a heaping spoonful of bronchitis, I've been a bit preoccupied. Pictures to come very soon though!

The Faint

So, I think I nearly fainted this morning. I've never fainted before, but the symtoms seem to align with what I hear it's like -- weird nausea, feeling like my legs were falling out from under me, vision going dark. I never went all the way out, but it was way weird. Perhaps a reaction to the bronchitis meds? I don't know. I'm still feeling a little light headed. This could be a very interesting day. If this were a soap opera, that would totally be the first sign that I was pregnant, just like Angelina.

"It's not that she's a compulsive liar when it comes to her drug use and eating disorders, it's just that she's a totally compulsive liar when it comes to her drug use and eating disorders." Lohan recants her Vanity Fair confessions, and The Superficial is there to mock her. Also, scroll down for the Paris Hilton too drunk to walk picture.

I'm actually pretty bummed about the breakup of Chad Lowe & Hilary Swank. They seemed really solid.

Mr. Coleman has begun blogging again, now with the tails of his travels in Germany. Listen here Mike, none of that half assed week long blogging experimentation, ya hear me? Be dilligent, or don't blog at all. Oh, and I hope you're having a great time!

Prolific blogger Jamie Mottram adds another site to his collection. I can definitely get on board with this one, as it's related to the REDSKINS!

Lazy Sunday bobbleheads! Warning: the hilarious video auto plays from this link.

OK, off to tray and stay conscious throughout a meeting. Any fainting related wisdom is welcome.

Bit Torrent Help (please!)

So, I figured out how to find the files, download (I've been using azureus)... but now when I open (the first episode from season 2 of Veronica Mars, which I 100% need to see, as my head might explode if I don't), NOTHING HAPPENS. Quicktime starts up, I hit play, the file appears to be playing (timer's going and whatnot), but there's no sound, no picture. Any tips? I'm about to start beating my iBook, jumping up and down and grunting like a monkey, repeating, "It's in the computer." So please, any tips you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: Drew Dillon is a god among men. Thanks to the DivX advice, the files are up and running. Unfortunately, about an hour before I read that advice, I caved and read an episode summary of the season premeire. It's all gravy though, now I can catch up before the next new episode! YEAH! Yes, I love technology. Always and forever.

Mars Madness!

Ah! So, I finished season 1. Now THAT is what I call a season finale! It ranks right up there with my other all time favorite season finales:

• Buffy Season 2: Buffy kills Angel
• Felicity Season 1: Noel or Ben?!?
• The O.C. Season 2: Gunfire to the tune of Imogen Heap
• One Tree Hill Season 1: Seriously, it was awesome, I swear
• Alias Season 1: Vaughn in a flood, Sydney strapped to a chair...
• Dawson's Creek Season 3: Joey and Pacey sail away
• Nip/Tuck Season 2: The Carver attacks Christian
  

There are probably others but I'm blanking. Anyway, moving on. I liked the show throughout all of season one (ya know, since Tuesday), but by the last 4 or 5 episodes, it really hit its stride and was freaking awesome. I NEED TO KNOW WHO WAS AT THE DOOR! DO NOT TELL ME WHO WAS AT THE DOOR! I'm working on learning how to download episodes, but should that not work out, anyone with sufficient knowledge regarding bit torrent downloading on a mac, please hollar at me. Anyway, my heart hopes it's Logan, but I won't be sad if it's Duncan either. But I hope it's Logan. He's this show's Pacey.

OK, now it's time to focus on much more important things: THE REDSKINS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS! Go watch game 1 as we hopefully beat the Bucs to a pulp. LET'S GO REDSKINS!

When In Falls Church, Do As The Alabamans Do

A few observations caught durring the lunch hour (spent at the delicious Old Hickory Grill in Falls Church, where I enjoyed some Alabaman cuisine).

• Whoever drives the truck out front would, while driving, rather be playing pool (according to their license plate frame).
  
• My new leather gloves were apparently made for someone with freakishly long fingers, as there's about a half inch of flappiness above each one of my digits.
  
• According to the ABC in Loehman's Plaza, vermouth is a type of gin.
  
• I saw a yellow Scion, one of the boxy SUV type ones, with the license plate, "LOL FUN." I think that mental image is funnier than any quip I could add here.
  

Because Warren, It Would Hurt A Lot

kinlein: I already love the Oscars. Now they're perfect.

Please come to DC... Please come to DC... Please come to DC...

"And there in that place my parents sought to shield me from the inauguration of a too oft revered, recently eclipsed, presidential doofus Ronald I-lost-what-was-left-of-my-brain-in-office-and-all-I-got-was-this-stupid-airport Reagan."

The Top 50 Music Videos of '05. They're actual really good videos, not MTV fodder. Enjoy!

That's all the linkage I've got for you right now, but, eat a sensible lunch and enjoy your Thursdays.

I'm Sold

OK Catherine, you were right. It's a wonder I didn't start watching Veronica Mars sooner, what with endorsements from my very favorite person in hollywood, and one of my most trusted bloggers, opinion-wise (who, coincidentally, recently interviewed the afore mentioned favorite hollywood person). I finally took the bait and bought season 1 on DVD yesterday. I'm on disc 4. It's Wednesday. (Which means all this binging has been post-work.) It doesn't quite give me that lovey feeling I get from Buffy or The O.C., but I'm hella hooked and it's a damn good show. Viva la Veronica! Waiting for season 2 on DVD is gonna be really grueling, but I can't just hop skip jump into the season at this stage of the game. Yar! Anyhow, watch Veronica Mars, it's, in an "x meets y" that I'm sure has been written 80 1/2 bajillion times, Buffy Summers meets Nancy Drew. Or Sydney Bristow meets Marissa Cooper. Cute, clever chick who saves the day a lot, to the sounds of indie rock. That's a surefire Mattos Trap.

This Just In

Pop on over to DCist and get the latest breaking news about DC radio stations. Apparently Z104 is no more, lots of other stations are hopping around, and there's now a WAPO station. Yikes, not confusing at all! I predict a very hazardous ride home: nobody will be able to find WTOP for their traffic reports, and everybody else will be swirving around trying to find their radio stations. Disaster! I'm not lamenting this one like I did the loss of HFS this time last year, but it's still noteworthy.

Happy New Year

There are so many things I'd like to discuss right now. The busy and sickly weekend left me no time for blogging, and now from the vantage point of my desk (with my friend, a cold) I may not have too terribly much time to do so either. But I'd just like to say one thing --

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!!!!!!!

In case you're wondering if I cried on Sunday, the answer is yes. Regardless of what happens on Saturday in Tampa (which, I predict will go well), making it to the playoffs is just joyous. So cheers to my beloved Redskins! 2006 is pretty great so far :)