Clearly, my friends share common interests

Here Comes the MOH

Wedding pictures! Finally up! It was... pretty much the nicest wedding reception I've ever been to. Truly beautiful. And the wine was most delicious. And the makeup lady used the airbrush thingy to do our faces, so we all looked like movie stars. Which was neat. Until I cried and cried when I saw Diana looking so lovely.

Also, pictures from Mitchell's bday party following the wedding, which lead to the great Personal Items Scavenger Hunt for the rest of the long weekend. When I woke up on Sunday morning in my condo, things that weren't with me included: my car, my cat(s), my purse, my wallet, my camera, and a single one of my wedding shoes. So uh, good party Mitch!

Also, this weekend: while hungover and camping out at my mom's, I discovered BBC America (which I don't have at my house). Am now obsessed. Particularly with Hex. Blonde heroine, male mentor at school, older fallen angel character, gay best girlfriend. Gee, wonder why I like it...

Read Me

Head over to DCist and check out the Three Stars piece (review/interview) I did with Le Loup, a local band that's got everybody they meet all a twitter.

Wahoowa

Normally articles like this are full of inaccuracies or generalizations, but yeah, this pretty much sums up my undergrad existence. Though, while Little Johns is great, I wouldn't dole out that best sandwich title so easily. Bel Air and Take It Away are still heady contenders.

Note to self

As tempting as it is, when you notice that "Becoming, Part Two" is on in the morning, DO NOT WATCH IT! It makes you cry, every time, and puts you in a weepy/16 year old mind set all day, every time.

Also, WHY???

Yar

I have many much photos from this weekend to share, but there are a lot of things wrong with my internet connection at home (i don't think verizon's actually providing me with any, all the ready-to-steal wireless connections in my neighborhood have dried up, my airport seems to be broken...) so you'll just have to wait. But, in summation: memorial day weekend kicked ass.

41

That's how many bobby pins i just pulled out of my hair. Diana's wedding was lovely. More on this later.

This is just fantastic

This news clip about the dangers of Emo is nearly flawless in it's clueless magnificence. The best part of it, I think, is how unaware they are that the things they're referencing are jokes (e.g., the "gunshot wound" haircut). The video's nearly perfect though, so no more commentary from me. Enjoy.

But really, that would have been a better word choice anyway

When I read the following, I read "postmortem" as "postmodern."

Question: You recently scooped that there were going to be five deaths on Lost, and so far there has only been one: Locke's dad.— Marissa
Ausiello: I suck at arithmetic, but I guess that means there'll be at least four more tonight. Someone should double-check my math just to be sure. By the way, head over to the Ausiello Report immediately following tonight's finale for an exclusive postmortem with exec producer Carlton Cuse.

Here's the thing I don't get about social networking sites

How many "friends" do you have on facebook and myspace that you actually talk to? Both have reconnected me to a couple people I'd lost touch with (cause they, say, moved to Scottland), and it's been useful for getting closer to new friends*, but mainly it's just this weird quantification of popularity game.

People add every person they've ever met to form some enormous address book they'll never use. What's the point of seeking someone out, adding them as a friend, then never making anything of it? Sure, I've done it myself. "Hey! Look! It's Billy Thatguyoverthere from high school! Wow, haven't seen him in ages. I wonder what he's up to?" >> Add as "friend" >> Read his profile instead of actually asking him what he's up to and forming any sort of actual connection.

Maybe I'm in a weird place to judge this phenomenon, because I live in the same area I grew up in and still keep in touch with about 90% of the people I'd want to keep in touch with. But it seems like a strange phenomenon, similar to getting everyone you know to sign your yearbook, "have a nice summer"s be damned. You got 'em, and that's what counts!


*Because apparently now it goes: meet person through friends at party >> Become their "friend" on myspace >> Hang out more >> leave funny references to things that happened at said gatherings on their page >> move on to exchanging phone numbers** and actually becoming friends (sans quotation marks).

**Or, let's be honest -- screen names and/or email addresses. And if you do get the phone #, it'll be used solely for texting for at least a month before any dialing occurs.

What is wrong with us?

OK, really

If you were in a bar, dudes of my readership, and saw this, would you think, "damn! that is the finest thing I have seen all year! must bed her immediately!"? Cause... well...

Why-nhouse?

What is it about Amy Winehouse that makes her some sort of mega celebrity? Why are the same gossip blogs that talk about La Lohan and Brit Brit wagging tongues about her recent wedding? When did this all happen? Stereogum barely got their claws in 'er before People took over reporting on her ventures. Has she even had a big hit in this country? What gives?

And in the best intro sentences of all time category...

"It's like if the cast of The OC, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars & Grey's Anatomy all got together for one big Christmas special hosted by Zach Braff."

And apparently...

I got so overwhlemed by the JAM story at the end of the episode, and was in such a hurry to make haste and get to DC9 for some NRCOF, that I left before the big surprise of who got the job in NY was revealed, according to the 8 million things I just read online. Huh.

I <3 TV

Finales this year have been pretty good stuff so far. I haven't worked all the way through my DVR reserves yet, but, the Gilmore Girls series finale and The Office season finale were two of the most well ballanced, un-cheesey yet completely satisfying things I've ever seen on television. Jenna Fischer and Lauren Graham should start a school for actresses that want to learn how to be wonderfully funny and yet OWN the heart strings of every person in their audience. Laurelai's face in the Rory sleeping scene and Pam's face at the end of The Office were unspeakably perfect. They're going to remain on my hard drive so I can rewatch both scenes whenever I need a good cry this summer. Oh, and get well soon, Jenna Fischer!

Oh, and Ugly Betty? I know it's a telenovela and all, but holy crap that ending was tragic! I was not expecting that at all.

McTeeny

This morning I took in a little Saved By The Bell while I ate my breakfast (Today was on a long Meredith segment, and wow do I dislike that woman). It was a Beach Club episode -- the classic volleyball tournament against the rival beach club (North Beach). The team has to pull together and find a way to win in order to (a) save their jobs and (b) so Zack can buy a super sweet ride he's been eyeing that happens to belong to Mr. Kerosi. As I was sipping coffee and eating a muffin, two of North Beach's ringers strolled up to razz the team -- Tad & Ted. I'm not sure which one was which, they never really bothered to clarify*, but the one who had a crush on Stacy and got to deliver lines like, "Hey babe, why don't you do yourself a favor and go out with me tonight?"** was played by none other than Eric Danes, aka McSteamy of Grey's Anatomy, in all of his 15 year old or so, hot pink tshirt, umbro-clad glory.

Side note: when you do a youtube search of "saved by the bell" and "beach," you get a LOT of home videos of people dancing/lip synching to "Baraba Ann."

*IMDB says he was Tad.

**Stacy's response: "I'd love to, but I'm relacing all of my tennis shoes tonight."

Congratulations!

A big congrats to my favorite Philly residents, Dave & Stephanie, on their recent nuptuals. As you can see, their wedding couldn't have been much more beautiful, and neither could the bride.

And a belated congratulations to Becky and Erik for getting engaged! Will any pugs or peeps be joining us in the wedding procession? That looks to be my first wedding of '08, following 2007's uber lineup of Diana & Clint (less than 2 weeks!), Susanne & Bill, Beth & Josh and Drew & Liz. YIPES! Stop being all mature, people! Who's gonna go out drinking with me on week days if all you people tie the knot and move away?

Hey, look what I did!

This weekend I finally got around to planting stuff on my porch. Things are growing nicely so far. The mint is already proliferating above and beyond the other herbs, so look forward to lots of iced tea and mojitos at my place this summer.

2 Things

1. So. This feature is supposed to give us a glimpse into the bigger world of actors we know from TV. And I'm guessing, wow us with their multi-talents. Note to TV Squad: the following bit just made me laugh out loud, gag, and completely change my opinion of someone I once thought to be a man's man:

According to Wikipedia, he co-founded a soft-rock band The Happy Birthdays with host Marc Summers.

2. All the blogs are saying that "Two" features Sheryl Crow. On what? Am I deaf? Does anyone hear female vocals on this track?

You know what's not nice?

8:30 p.m. on Mondays.

Post-HIMYM, pre-Heroes. Not enough time to really get anything else done, and total tv crap land.

But...

Doesn't this mean we're giving up on polution? What kind of message is this going to send to car drivers everwhere?

You know what's nice?

When you've built up a famous someone or other in your mind to be really interesting and intelligent and funny and warm, and then hang out with them and they totally are. Yeah, this guy might be the nicest person I've ever met in D.C. So even though my weekend didn't include a date with John Krasinsky, it's ok. Cause it did get me one step closer to becoming someone's Miss Washington D.C.

Indigo Landing

For mother's day, I took mom to dinner at Indigo Landing, which is right on the water at the marina in Alexandria. I haven't been so impressed with a restaurant in a long, long time. First of all, it's completely gorgeous. Every seat in the house has a water view -- whether you're facing docking sailboats, an expanse of river or planes landing at National, you've got something great to look at.

The service was a little slow, but hey, it was mother's day. That's gonna happen wherever you go. The entire wait staff was incredibly thoughtful, thorough and helpful, so I'm willing to bet things are speedier on any other day. I had a great glass of wine, and my mom got a really great cocktail -- essentially a mojito, but with bourbon instead of rum, and with the addition of raspberries to the mix. Delicious. We knew we were in for a special meal just based on the breadbasket alone. Salty rolls, corn muffins and ham sticks. I don't know how many southerners out there are familiar with cracklin breads, but it was kind of like that. Smokey and delicious, crunchy and crumbly.

We couldn't resist starting off with two of our favorite things -- a basket of fried okra and one of fried oysters. Both were done completely perfectly. As astounding as the entire meal was, the fried okra was probably the highlight. It wasn't overcooked -- you could actually still taste the okra, it wasn't overpowered by the batter. And it was the perfect texture -- crunchy and a little slimey. The fried oysters were letter perfect as well.

For the main course, mom got the rockfish -- served on truffle grits -- which was really great. My meal absolutely blew me away: porch chops (it was an incredible cut of pork) served over bluecheese grits, with some sort of apple/pear compote. No flavor overpowered any other, it was the perfect complementary plate.

Though stuffed to the gills, we knew the dessert menu would be something worth looking into, and we settled on the coconut cake doughnuts served with caramel sauce. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a heart attack sometime in the next couple hours. But wow, was it worth it.

In brief

YES!


NO!

By Jenna

This + This + This =

Have a listen, if you care to

Taking a page out of PopCandy's book, I went in and made a finetune playlist. And it was kind of exhausting. It's an awesome idea -- put together a playlist of whatever you want and give anyone access to it, for free! But, the site's really slow and really hard to use, and the selection of music is questionable at times too. It's not organized well, and the search functionality is bizarre. When I searched "shins" and "the shins," the one result returned was "Phantom Limb." But when I added one band, it said The Shins were a similar artist. When I clicked on them through that method, their whole catalog came up. And I can understand not having What Made Milwaukee Famous in your repetoir, but, no New Pornographers? Seven Swans the only Sufjan Stevens album you have? A bizarre spotty Spoon collection mainly comprised of things found on soundtracks? Very odd.

But anyway, without further complaint, here's the list. Part of it was put together yesterday when I was having a migraine and wanted to hear only soothing sounds. Part of it was made today when I was in a great mood. And the rest was me freaking out trying to think of that many songs (45) to fill up a list and basically putting my iPod on random and then searching for whatever songs it offered up.

Other things I don't get about finetune: why it alphabetizes the lists, and why you can't start listening at a random point or from, say, the beginning. Very strange.

Is It Just Me,

Or does Keira Knightly look just like Jude Law in this picture?

Random List of My Thoughts

You know what I really like? When I'm wondering something, say, "what was that awesome song they played in that angsty logan/veronica scene near the end of last season at the alterna prom?" then like two hours later my iPod up and plays it. (FWIW, "I Hear The Bells" by Mike Doughty.)

Also, baby parade? Jesus. I love this blog.

I dreamt last night about nuclear war, some sort of derby days-esque scenario where David Boreanaz (as his character on Bones) had to participate in some sort of FBI talent show, and finding another compartment on my jewelry box where all the earrings I'd ever lost or broken had magically reappeared.

I'm feeling great today, in the way that you can only feel right after you feel like crap (like say, feeling like your head is splitting open). Appreciation for days when nothing hurts is only possible after stuff hurts (similar to the wonder you feel about having open nasal passages after cold). This line of thought is going nowhere. But uh yeah, today, awesome! Time to stop babbling. So, how are you guys?

I don't put much stock in this kind of stuff

But, most awesome horoscope ever?

VIRGO: August 23rd - September 22nd
You are on fire today! People find you compelling, funny, and just downright extraordinary. Make the most of this charming phase.

Although, is that last bit a dig? Is it supposing that under normal circumstances, I'm low on charm? Anyhow, this brings us to the next issue: what should I sing at karaoke tonight?

UPDATE: And why don't I put much stock in this kind of stuff? Because when I went to compare that horoscope to one on another site to see if there were any similarities, I find this:

For Thursday, May 10 -Some unresolved relationship issues might be frustrating you right now, but you need to keep trying to gain clarity -- you two need to come to an agreement as soon as possible. You're learning important things about what you want for your future, and you're seeing this person more clearly -- that is what's most important. Without reality, there can be no future. Things will be moving a bit too slowly for you, but you must be patient.

OH MY GOD

OH MY GOD

OH MY GOD

NEEDLE IN THE EYE*

WORST NIGHTMARE

WORST NIGHTMARE EVER

I HAVE THIS NIGHTMARE SOMETIMES

OH MY GOD

*This all will make no sense if you didn't see tonight's House.

Also, speaking of dream like states: all I remember from my dream last night? "Tim Daily and The Prophets"

For anyone watching Gilmore Girls right now

-Laurelai's top: so hot. I want. Pronto.
-I like how they dressed Rory like an actual college student on her LAST DAY. Thanks for that.

Grammar Pet Peve

Misuses of this are right up there with this, "anyways," "I could care less,"(could you?) and the timeless trio of there/their/they're. I'm probably jinxing myself to accidentally commit one of those crimes or something else equally as heinous in the very near future and get called out on it relentlessly, but, whatever. I see "less" used where "fewer" should be all. the. time. It drives me batty.

This blog post brought to you by this one.

Hey

I like this song.

I feel a migraine coming on

I've been getting migraines since 8th grade. I only get them once a year or so, and while they put me out of commission for a day, they're not as bad as the ones that say, my mom or Liz's little sister get. I'm usually able to take some medicine and pass out for several hours until it's gone. I always kind of forget that I get them though -- which lead to instances like the time a few years ago I had my coworker drive me to the doctor because "why the hell are there spots in my vision? what is going on????" -- which I figured out over the course of the drive to the doctor's office. I usually get them in the springtime (allergy related?) and right before my period. Right now my body's giving me all the high signs that one's coming on -- minor headaches, muscle aches, sensitivity to light. So, yay! Looking forward to that. And according to this, that means that I could have strokes, heart attacks and preeclampsia when I'm pregnant! But, that I'll have a much better chance of remembering all that in my old age. Thanks a million, brain chemistry!

Well I'll Be

Add this to the things you never thought you'd see file.

Whoa

Very if-maybe-possibly story about Jay-Z possibly being in a plane crash?

Guys, I Did It

Though I go to Galaxy Hut's karaeoke night just about every Thursday, and I sing and dance along from my seat, I never, ever actually get up and grab the mic. Because, well, I'm not a good singer. Nope, sadly, though I spend half my time listening to, critiquing, obsessing and writing about music, I haven't got a lick of talent in that arena myself. Not one bit. But last night, it all changed.

I don't know if it was the wine or the beer or the encouraging presence of Jenna, but somehow I decided to just go for it. Who cares if I stank? It was time to stop being a cheerleader and start participating. So, with the dueting help of Alyssa, we treated the crowd to "Twist and Shout." Well, "treated" might be too strong a word. The patrons kindly sat there while we attempted not to crush the Beatles' song. Mitchell's critique was that I myself needed to do more twisting, and possibly more shouting. Next time.

I even got up for a second song later in the night. Lindsey came out just to do "Leader of the Pack" with Jenna (who, by the way, absofuckinglutely nailed a Patsy Cline song early on in the evening), but Jenna had to jet off and catch the last train to D.C., so I stepped up to the plate yet again.

So yes. I did it. It surely wasn't good, it was probably too cutesy and made the audience cringe, but I bit the bullet. And I'm not even embarassed.

Not Good

Finding a big chocolate stain on your work chair, not knowing when the last time you ate chocolate was, and therefore not knowing how many consecutive days you've been walking around looking like you pooped your pants.

And for that, I commend you

Wow, Judd Apatow really keeps it in the family.

Soft Focus

Vice TV started months ago. The press release sounded awesome, and several friends of mine have been singing its praises ever since. I finally -- finally! -- got around to watching some of it today, and god damn is it fantastic. Particularly Ian Svenonius' show, Soft Focus. He has aimless, fantastic conversation with musicans, mainly friends. I've watched the Henry Rollins and Ian Mackaye editions so far and I'm having the best time.

Update: Just got to IM asking IS what the concept behind Soft Focus was:

IS: Maybe the concept is that... I thinkw e live in an era, where maybe art has been reduced to vacuity. And maybe, by inviting some of hte most dynamic performers of this era -- and really any era -- we can help reinvigorate art's mission to transofrm the culture. What do you think?

IM: I dunno.

Yesterday's media intake

• I didn't not do this either. And it wasn't not awesome. And the entire, sold out theater didn't not break out into loud, raucous applause at the utterance of "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."
  
• Veronica Mars has returned!! I should have posted about this yesterday and reminded all you slackers out there to watch. But it was a highly enjoyable episode that featured everyone we love and haven't seen in months and lots of "ouch, my heart!" moments, and Sowaila's sister!
  
• Gilmore Girls, actually felt like an episode of Gilmore Girls. Not stellar, but I enjoyed lots. Lauren Graham is so freaking wonderful.
  
• And, did anybody watch House, and want to throw up during that bone marrow thing?
  

Save the Inn!

This is purely based on local scuttlebut, but the word around the TOV is that Maud Robinson, who was just reelected, has her mind set on tearing down the Vienna Inn and putting a parking garage in its place. The only thing I've found online to support that is this blippy little piece of conjecture, so who knows if it's true. But anyone that's spent any time in Vienna knows that the Vienna Inn is pretty much the best thing we've got going. Demolishing it would be a travesty.

Since 1925, the Inn's been slinging beer and chilli dogs to generations, with a focus on maintaining relationships with regulars. The food is greasy and delicious, the soda is do it yourself and the atmosphere is dingy and charming. I love the Vienna Inn. If and when the time comes, some sort of major uprising will have to take place to keep Robinson's grubby little hands off of one of Vienna's last remaining landmarks. I'll be forming an army, armed with trebuchets full of chilli and bellies full of Vienna Inn Ale. Who's comin with me?