blogs t r e t c h

2010-12-02T11:44:00.002-05:00

I'm tumbling up a storm over on my new blawg. Bookmark/RSS/follow that one. I love ya blogger, but you're less simple and full of easily re-blogable gifs than tumblr. So: get yr DUH SQUARED on.

And listen to the Pinna Storm November Playlist while you're at it!

pssssst

2010-11-11T15:40:00.002-05:00

I know that I haven't been the world's best blogger of late. Starting using Twitter a couple years ago sucked away the quick link/photo/thought posts. And Pinna Storm has demanded the majority of my spare time since I launched it in August. I don't want to neglect you, my pretties, but I think I need something lighter to actually encourage me to blog more. SO: I started a secret* Tumblr. I might still use this guy from time to time, but for your baseline Amanda Mattos fix, visit me over at duh squared from now on.

*I keep saying it's secret. But I'm posting it here, so clearly it's not. SHHHHHH DON'T TELL! Or ya know, whatever.

Pinna Storm Killing It This Week

2010-11-04T13:44:00.003-04:00

Go over to my music blog and read some of the amazing stuff from amazing people we've put up this week:

Eric Uhlir is cool hunting the best new videos for you, as usual.

Christy Baugh took some great pics at the Local Natives show.

Rebecca Armendariz is bringing you the best covers of "Teenage Dream" and announcing her love for Rustik's music selections.

Matthew Yglesias talks pop songwriting (again, in regards to "Teenage Dream").

Ryan Avent takes a cue from Matt and discusses the pop music division of labor.

Jessica Guilfoyle explains why you absolutely must get yourself to the Black Cat's backstage tonight for Future Islands.

Martin Silbiger is the funniest person ever and writes about a really geeky metal show he saw in Baltimore.

And ya know, a bunch of stuff by me. Go check it out! Week's not even over yet.

So I Rejoined Facebook

2010-11-02T12:47:00.003-04:00

My concerns of privacy and generally disliking it still stand. But I was tired of missing invitations to things and not seeing people's babies' pictures. And because it's so goddamn ubiquitous and you people don't just use Twitter and Flickr and email like normal human beings, I rejoined. Here are all the things I already hate about it all over again:

The newsfeed doesn't let you select what kinds of things you see. You have to either block everything a friend does, or receive notifications every time they like something or comment on somebody else's picture or what have you. This is terrible and should be changed.
I know 8 million trend pieces have been written about this, and it's a stupid and cliched thing to be bothered by, but it immediately suggested I add 2 exes and one dead friend. When Xing them out, I was tempted to select "offensive" as my reason, but went with "not relevant to me."
Why can't you just upload a picture? Why does everything have to be in an album? This is also terrible and should be changed.
And, hey, why not. This.

So uh, see you on Facebook, I guess.

Things I Recommend

2010-10-22T14:41:00.005-04:00

I've been devoting most of my spare blogging moments to Pinna Storm lately, which has left poor old stretchy over here a little neglected. I just cleaned out my purse and was reminded of a few awesome things I want to tell you about so you can bask in the warm rays of awesomeshine too.

Carmex Moisture Plus. I picked it up on a day walking around that I'd forgotten to grab one of the eleventy billion tubes of chapstick at my house before struttin' around U St. This stuff is the 'ish times a million. It's got that good tingly "I'm having an effect" carmexy feeling, but not quite as strong as the original yellow top stuff. PLUS some super awesome moisturizing balmy goodness. Love this.

Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes. Ever had something caked onto the inside of your microwave you couldn't get off? Or a corner of mildew in the shower you just couldn't scrub at? Or any sort of run of the mill thing that usually requires a lot of elbow grease and weird angle achievement? These bad boys are the answer. The scrubby side is SO SCRUBBY! And they smell pretty good, and I love them. Mine have purple packaging/are purple, so look for that at the store.

Mrs. Meyer's Basil Hand Soap. My friend Matthew told me recently that the mark of adulthood is when you start use Mrs. Meyer's hand soap in your home. I was so happy to learn that despite living in a group house and maintaining an active and lively drinking schedule, I am, and have for some time been, an adult! Everybody already knows about Mrs. Meyer's, but do you know about the the basil scent? Oh my god. It doesn't even smell like basil really. It just smells like happiness and good things and wonder and perfection.

Raising Hope. Sweet, funny and cute new comedy on Fox. I think people are hating Running Wilde, but I also have been enjoying it. Did you expect straight, non-oddball humor from the Arrested Development team? Anyway, Raising Hope has a ton of heart and Martha Plimpton is the best and you should watch it, k? Oh also, all you dummies that didn't listen to me to watch Vampire Diaries the 800 other times I told you to: you're such suckers. It's so good this year too.

Fresh Supernova + Firebird Mascara. I am not a fancy, expensive makeup kind of girl. If you can't buy it at CVS, it is generally not found on my face. But I got this little duo as a birthday bonus thing at Sephora, and holy shit guys. This is the greatest pretty-fying invention of all time. I would never seriously recommend you buy two separate tubes of mascara to use at once that each cost more than $20 if it didn't turn you into the PRETTIEST WOMAN ALIVE. I've had conversations with many girlfriends about how mascara is the single makeup item that takes you from looking plain to looking good. And this stuff... it's just great. It lengthens, volumizes, conditions, en-shinies... it's just great. If you've seen me lately and thought damn, Amanda looks good! It's cause of this stuff. Also cause my bangs finally grew out enough. If you're skeptical, buy that little duo pack I linked to up there. I bet you'll be sold.

Tom's Shoes. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for the jokes about these shoes I laughed at. Because sure, it does smack of pseudo-activism, to wear these shoes and think you're doing good. But hey, kids everywhere need shoes. Whatever. So, I am sorry because my favorite sales person, Ian, at the shoe department at Nordstrom in Tyson's Corner, brought me out a pair to try on while he was selling me the world's most beautiful Frye boots. And I thought, "psshhhhhh, yeah right." Then I put them on. Holy comfortable cute wear them anywhere and look a little better than sneakerses and even have arch support, Batman! I'm a total convert. I think a gray pair will be joining my navy ones soon. Sorry haters. These things are the jam.

Target Rain Boots. I had to buy a new pair of these because the various end of days snowstorms last year finally surpassed the limit of my original navy pair, bought years ago. But these things, and really just rain boots in general, are the best. They, as the name indicates, are great in rain. But more importantly, they allow you to get around in snow better than anything else, because they cover your leg. I'd actually prefer something a little tighter around the top, but for the price and the crazy wide array of colors and patterns available, Target can't be beat. Mine are red, and they're super cute. Gotta order them online, though.

The cocktails at Hank's. Everybody knows the food is great, and they keep the perfect wines and beers to match both the seasons and their menu. But I don't think Hank's Oyster Bar gets enough love for their cocktails. The menu is constantly refreshed, everything always sounds appealing, and everything I've ever gone ahead and ordered has been delicious.

2010-10-01T10:28:00.003-04:00

Danzig runs errands. Is your mind blown? My mind is blown.

Proof to support my constantly retold "my family used to own the Black Cat space" story. This collection of photos of DC from the 80s is amazing.

This drawing is my spirit animal.

I sold my condo. I'm no longer poor. And the thing that kept breaking on my car? Got recalled, so it's all fixed forever, AND I get reimbursed for all the times I fixed it. Things are good.

These are things I want printed and framed:

It's great when your friends really, really know you

2010-09-24T08:15:00.001-04:00

Like when they do things like send you an email with the subject, "a great way to wake up today." That link to this.

DC Resurection

2010-09-13T12:14:00.003-04:00

The Skins beat Dallas in the season opener. The Dismemberment Plan is reuniting. The District is a very happy place to be right now.

Also: I tried to tweet, D Plan tickets go on sale Friday at noon
and got an error: "plan does not follow you. you cannot direct message plan." If you use twitter, you'll find that hilarious. If you don't, the joke is probably lost on you. Anyway, today is full of BEST EVARNESS. I'm happys t r e t c h.

HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!

2010-09-09T14:09:00.002-04:00

I've watched enough football movies and tv shows to know that this quote from Clinton Portis (who I still love, madly and deeply), means we're going to turn this team around this year:

Teammates have noted that this year, there is a noticeable difference in the culture of the locker room. Portis’ take:

“It is. It’s like a family. In family years past, people left from here and went home and it was like, ‘I’ll see y’all tomorrow at work.’ Now, you can catch numerous groups, five and six guys hanging out or having dinner together, shooting pool, a team vibe all of a sudden. I think we just bought in and we’re tired of losing, so it’s like, ‘Let’s do something fun.’ Instead of someone suggest let’s do this, it’s not, ‘Naw, I’m not going over there.’ Now everyone’s buying in and we’ve got that family feeling.”

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't lose! I am so very ready for football season.

Lulz

2010-08-31T04:28:00.000-04:00

“Wes Anderson presents Pee-Wee's Big Adventure”

Is that supposed to be a bad thing?

2010-08-24T10:29:00.002-04:00

Because Stevie Nicks meets Out of Africa sounds like style perfection to me.

It was a nice birthday weekend, thanks for helping make it fun, friends. An old school DCist reunion, dancing at Dodge City, lunch at Black Salt, super mom stepping in to stage the shit out of my condo, tons of unbelievably nice help from Alyssa, football, market, shopping, oysters, a great birthday party with my birthday twin that we didn't have to clean up from (bars! how great are bars?), Scott Pilgrim and a Nats game with tons of upgrades made breaking into the final year of my 20s a super sweet experience. Looking forward to a year where I'm "set up for good shit," as Ficke and I decided will be what this upcoming year is all about.

UO: No No No

2010-08-11T11:46:00.002-04:00

These "inspired by the 90s" looks UO is pushing are inspiring me to scrub my eyeballs clean. Shouldn't the rule of thumb for pilfering looks from the past be you only pick up the ones that actually looked good on people!?!?

Add it to the stretchtionary

2010-08-04T17:11:00.001-04:00

When you put on your tight, high wasted, Mad Men inspired skirt in the morning, you think it's so fly and totally comfortable enough. But then come 5:00, deep breaths are trying and your rib cage feels like it's been the subject of some horrible form of torture. I will now call this syndrome: vintage boarding. Carry on.

These statements are true

2010-08-04T13:02:00.001-04:00

The first best part about making a big awesome steak for dinner? Eating a big awesome steak. The second best part? The steak sandwich for lunch the next day.

I made a blog! A new one! A music blog!

2010-08-03T14:13:00.002-04:00

I just launched a new project I've been working on, and I'm pretty pumped about it. It's a new music blog, Pinna Storm. The amazing Eric Uhlir designed the site for me and answered my 8,000 questions per minute, and I owe him the fanciest dinner ever. My goal with Pinna Storm is to have a more feature focused music blog; something that's less every-new-MP3-around, and more thoughtful posts from smart people talking about things they care about. Look for stuff from the contributors I love the most over the coming weeks.

Right now, I've got a ticket contest for this week's Arcade Fire/Spoon show, and an interview with Spoon's Britt Daniel. So head on over and check those out (and enter the contest!). Follow us on Twitter if you're so inclined, and please forgive the kinks. We're ironing them all out. I hope you like it!

2010-07-22T10:41:00.001-04:00

For that matter, you simply can't discuss Fox's role in Sherrod episode without their constant harping on the sham story about the Obama DOJ's allegedly going soft on freak show black radicals intimidating voters back in 2008 -- a story cooked up by one of the right-wing activist plants burrowed into the DOJ during the US Attorney firing era. Fox has become the primary purveyor of race-baiting attacks aimed at discrediting President Obama. That fact is apparently too substantive and ugly to be a fit topic for 'press criticism' or 'media reporting' which apparently must focus on journalists considered "controversial" despite not being able to point to any substantive wrongdoing on their part. Which amounts to saying that virtually all of what goes under the name of 'media reporting' these days is a crock.

The current controversy over the 'Journolist' listserve is actually instructive. Much of the story is much ado about nothing since most of what's discovered in these emails is self-proclaimed liberal opinion journalists displaying a liberal bias in their approach to politics and news. But what makes private expressions of bias relevant is the suspicion that it may lead to public dishonesty, deception or fraud -- the fundamental infraction behind all journalistic wrongdoing. In the Sherrod debacle, however, we have an open and shut case of the real thing -- outright journalistic fraud. But that's apparently not as big a 'media story'.

Read the whole thing.

Two things that are helping me wake up this morning

2010-07-22T08:38:00.001-04:00

"Let's Go Surfing" by The Drums

And these tracks from cute Frenchies The Bewitched Hands.

Eau de Office

2010-07-21T13:18:00.005-04:00

Every time I put on Crabtree & Evelyn's Summer Hill hand therapy lotion (which is what I currently have at my desk), my coworkers lose their mind. "It smells like a garden in here!" "This makes me happy!" Even the people who hate perfume and strong smells are gaga over this stuff for some reason. Personally, I'm partisan to their rose scented lotion. But, apparently, if you're looking to set the stage for a positive office interaction, I recommend pausing for the cause of moisturized skin beforehand.

On the other side of the coin, a note to smokers in office settings. Do what you wanna do, I don't begrudge you your vice. But please remember that post smoke-break, you reek. Seriously. You really do. This may come as a surprise, I know you can't really smell it yourself. But it's bad. You might as well stop using deodorant and showering and brushing your teeth and washing your clothes if you don't pause for the cause to air out and chew some gum or drink some water or eat a snack or SOMETHING before entering another coworker's space. You're not smelly people in general, but immediately post cigarette you bring a stink bomb into my office that hangs around and that sucks. I realize summer weather and sweatiness probably make this effect worse. And it's certainly more powerful on some people than others. But subconsciously, it makes me less open to whatever it is you're here to talk to me about. And that's no good for either of us! So do your coworkers and your professional success a favor and take a moment to freshen up after you smoke. I mean, come on! It smells like a garden in here! Let's enjoy that!

Shake it like Texas Pete, fallin on your collard greens

2010-07-16T14:52:00.002-04:00

Many, many pixels have been devoted already to Big Boi's new record, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, but let me add mine. This is an instant classic album. I cannot get enough of it. The smarts and style I've come to expect from Outkast, with a lot of new and exciting turns that I'm vastly impressed with. I love this. The only thing I don't love is the skit that defines "the David Blaine," because well, it's pretty rapey!

Tails from the Housing Market

2010-07-12T14:48:00.002-04:00

As you might know, I'm trying to sell my condo. It is the biggest ever loving pain in the ass, and broke-making venture I've ever lived through. (But hey! If you're in the market, ask me about the newly updated granite counter tops and ceramic tiles and brushed nickle handles in the kitchen! God.) My realtor held an open house yesterday and shared two stories with me about the kinds of folks that are looking to buy homes right now.

One couple came in and were clearly just not interested in the place, but specifically, said that they were very put off by the curtain covering the washer/dryer. A curtain. Hanging by a tension rod. That's something that, when removed, doesn't even make holes to spackle and paint. Right.

And then there was the woman who wondered if anybody would have a problem with her building a bridge. From my third floor condo to the ground floor. For her cat.

Best of luck your home buying process, crazy people!

This is the best internet of the day. And I read some really really good internet today.

2010-07-01T16:50:00.001-04:00

Lindy West on lady parts and music.

Things You Have Time to Do Before Work When You Wake up at 3:30 a.m.

2010-06-28T07:34:00.002-04:00

-Make breakfast
-Make coffee
-Watch all 4 of last week's Daily Show episodes
-Reply to some emails
-Feed the cats
-Water the plants
-Put away laundry
-Make delicious lunch (arugula/shallot/check pea salad, olive bread, heirloom tomatoes/fresh basil/fresh mozzerella, reid orchard peach)
-Catch up with some folks on IM
-Read DCeiver's Adult Supervision series
-Get yourself tired enough to want to sleep more just when it's time to go to the office

Yo, Just for the Record

2010-06-25T13:16:00.001-04:00

Feel free to use my artwork for yourselves.

Hello, how are you?

2010-06-25T10:45:00.003-04:00

Hey blawg! Today is the one year anniversary of MJ's death. That means it is also the one year anniversary of that wine cooler that Stu brought over to the MJ Memorial Stooping being in my fridge. So, respect.

Last weekend I went to the best most beautiful wedding of all time. I could write an entire book about how perfect it was. That's right -- not just half of a book, but a whole book! You can see photos (and videos!) here. It was so personal and fitting for the couple, and just FUN, and full of love and so many of my favorite people. Truly a weekend I'll never forget. Congratulations Tyler and Stephanie! You guys are my favorites.

Tonight I'm taking my dad for a belated father's day to see the NSO do Beatles songs. So that should be pretty awesome. And I'm getting my hair cut this weekend for the first time in almost a year. Everybody I hang out with should appreciate this, as I'll no longer look like a ragamuffin. In other news, I've been helping run the ship over at DCist this week, so for lots of poorly timed and hastily edited news, go check things out over there.

The A Team is the Perfect Summer Blockbuster

2010-06-14T10:39:00.005-04:00

Last night I left my incredibly hot and muggy house to be embraced by the air conditioned haven that is the movie theater. I was thrilled to be there in general, so pretty much terrible across the board reviews for The A Team didn't really bother me. But now they just confound me. This was the perfect summer blockbuster. The plot grew and became more complex and engaging by actually furthering the plot rather than throwing in random additional villains or screwball scenarios. The characters were fantastic and really well played (with the occasional exception of B.A., but I chose to view the actor's performance as a campy nod to the original series rather than a spoiler for the whole movie). Liam Neeson is quite the silver fox, Bradley Cooper needs to call me, and Sharlto Copley plays crazy like nobody else. It was full of clever one liners and hot make out scenes. The exposition was just enough to make the impossible things they're doing make sense within the movie. The explosions were crazy awesome and choreographed and beautiful. INSANE THINGS HAPPEN, like FLYING A TANK. If this is not what people want out of a summer action movie, then people are crazy. It was even on the correct side of things politically! Go see The A Team.

The Gay Oddball Katrina Comedy?

2010-06-10T15:32:00.003-04:00

This is very near the top of the list of Greatest Things in the World

2010-06-09T14:09:00.001-04:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Things I tweeted but are awesome enough to repeat here

2010-05-28T12:28:00.002-04:00

I love Karen O's outfit here so much it's making me cry a little.

And it is amazing how easily "Miracles" lends itself to twee indie treatment. First commenter wins any commentary with, "Fuckin' hipsters, how do they work?"

I hope you all have wonderful long weekends!

2010-05-28T12:25:00.003-04:00

I'm off to OBX for a week. While I'm gone, enjoy this youtube of Stevie Nicks singing an early version of "Wild Heart" in her dressing room. I've watched it about 15 times this week. Let me tell you all the reasons it is amazing.

1) when the makeup artist gives up like, "oh, this again"

2) that her voice is so amazing I thought she was lip synching at first, but she's just STEVIE FUCKING NICKS. seriously sounds like a mastered and finished recording. girl.

3) her dorky arm gestures

4) the laugh at the end

5) her dress. and her makeup artist's dress.

Enjoy!

[via]

Adding to the Things I Want list

2010-05-28T11:21:00.002-04:00

Top Shop Heart Print Bandeau Dress

Top Shop Cloud Silk Scarf

You will be mine. Oh yes. You will be mine.

2010-05-21T15:38:00.002-04:00

Found via Svpply

Don't you want to buy my house?

2010-05-21T11:17:00.002-04:00

Come on, look how nice! Tell your friends! Open house on Sunday!

UPDATE: Apparently Nathan Fillion comes out on the screen and talks to you really loud when you click on that link. This didn't happen to me but it's probably because I wrote this post from a computer with a mouse wheel inside of it. So: due warning. Message still stands though: buy my cute condo! Tell your friends! Speak mandarin there with space cowboys!

New Beach Week Goal

2010-05-20T10:02:00.000-04:00

[via]

What's in a name? A lot's in a name.

2010-05-19T18:26:00.004-04:00

A discussion today on Twitter amongst several feminists I know and respect has really stuck in my craw. Kicked off by the above tweet, the notion seems to be that if you are feminist, you absolutely will not take your husband's name if you get married. Lots of replies and discussion broke women into two categories: "changers" and keepers. And, maybe it makes me a bad feminist to say so, but I think they're wrong.

Yes, I understand the connotations of ownership and patriarchy behind the tradition of name changing. And, duh, I disagree with them! But isn't marriage itself an institution based in a lot of those same beliefs? Plenty of feminists still make the choice to get married. And I think that deciding whether or not to take your husband's name is another choice that a woman has to make for herself, without having her choice made for her by anybody else -- either her fiance, her family, or the feminists she aligns herself with.

And that name you're hanging on to? It's not like it's fresh and clean of any patriarchal influences either. At some point, probably just one generation ago, you got it from a man. I hate these arguments that make me sound like I agree more with established ideas than I do. Let me be clear: I 100% support anybody's decision to keep the name they were born with from cradle to grave. But for me, feminism is having the ability to make choices for yourself, and to take the same opportunities anyone else has. And the idea that Good Feminists would never make this particular, very personal, choice seems too prescriptive to me. So I 100% support people who decide to change their names, or to hyphenate, or to redefine the whole deal completely, too.

This argument is, naturally, rooted in the idea that names have power. That they connote identity. And I definitely agree with that! I have a pretty badass last name that I love, and that will happen to run out, as far as my family lines are concerned, after this generation if I do decide to change my name (if I do decide to get married). But just like I think that there are a lot of positive reasons to get married that are not associated with ownership or other misogynistic traditions, I think that it's nice for a family unit to be defined by something so simple and unifying as a name. Mostly for the sake of children.

And there are other reasons too! If you came from a family with a terrible last name that has been making you cringe for as long as you can remember, and you are lucky enough to fall in love with someone with a melodic and lovely, or even a delightfully simple, last name, why not seize the opportunity to rid yourself of that name-weight and trade up? If you hate your family and long ago distanced yourself from them of your own volition, and now have the opportunity to do it on paper, why not? What about any of these factors, or just for the sake of likeness, as they apply to same sex marriage? These are all choices women (and men!) should be free to make for themselves.

Will I change my name? I don't know! Depends on a lot of factors that I'm not in a position to weigh just yet. But it will never be because I'm sacrificing any part of myself for my husband. Because I will never marry someone who believes that marriage indicates any sort of ownership over your wife. Nor will I likely marry anyone that would be offended by my choice not to. If and when I meet Mr. Future Husband, he's going to be someone that supports my ability to make choices about myself and my identity.

Please let me know if I'm making an argument that is terribly archaic for reasons that I'm unaware of. But at the end of the day, I believe that these choices are mine to make and no one else's. Does that make me a bad feminist?

Gayngs

2010-05-18T10:49:00.002-04:00

I haven't given this song a ton of thought yet, but about 3 minutes ago I was ready to kick the shins of everyone in my immediate surroundings, then I played "Faded High" by Gayngs and my desire to inflict harm dropped significantly. And that's saying something. Get soothed by Gayngs!

My favorite music blogs right now

2010-05-12T14:29:00.000-04:00

Some Velvet Blog and Aquarium Drunkard.

I quit facebook!

2010-05-11T12:06:00.003-04:00

And I feel great about it! Laura's article on TAP about her reasons for quitting mirror mine exactly, and she did a great, researched, thought-out job of writing it up so I will point you that way rather than reiterating. Even in deleting your account though, they still move it simply to "deactivated" for 14 days (which means it still has all my photos, friends, groups, people can still tag me in things, etc.), and if I log in at any time (which for most people who choose to stay logged in to sites like that means that if I click on a link that points me to facebook) my account will be reactivated. Which is skeevy. At any rate, I'm out! I still actually have an account for work, which I might kill too. But I have about 50 friends and one photo and that is about all on that one, and it's solely for work-related uses, so I'm not that concerned with it. But my point is: read Laura's article. Also, use the better versions of the internet for the things you've been using facebook for. Blogs, twitter, flickr, EMAIL. I think we should all diversify our online presence. And Tom agreed with me about that on twitter, which makes me feel smart and like it is the absolute only way to go. Because Tom says so.

Things I've Been Thinking About Today

2010-05-10T12:22:00.002-04:00

I think this is how I'll spend my evening

2010-05-10T12:08:00.008-04:00

After this I'll go back to forgetting I have a blog for another month, probably

2010-04-22T13:11:00.002-04:00

Awesome. From Tofutti Break. Who also brings us this.

Awesome fossils of an awesome snake eating some awesome dinosaur eggs.

I want to own this couch I want it so bad. I also want these curtains. Probably not in the same room though. Octo-overkill.

The fact that this conversation makes 100% sense to me is why soaps are SO AWESOME

2010-04-22T12:53:00.003-04:00

me: I watched As the World Turns on Friday. It is CRAZY
Beth: stupid kim
get OVER it
me: BOB & KIM ARE NOT MARRIED!?!?!
that is bananas
Beth: they are married
it's their anniversary
25th
me: i know! but did you watch the whole ep?
Beth: umm
i guess maybe not
i was cleaning while watching
me: margot found out that the pastor that married them
was actually a con artist
currently in jail
for fake marrying lots of people
Beth: OF COURSE
me: so they are NOT MARRIED
Beth: WHAT THE FUCK
me: and kim is like, i don't want to be married to you anyway. and bob is like MARRY ME WOMAN! and she is like NO!
Beth: so really he didnt have an affair sith susan
since they weren't really married
ha
Beth: stupid kim
me: well bob's being a dick
Beth: "the new hospital wing blah blah blah"
that LUKE is paying for
with damian's money
who is now in jail
for faking his death to try and frame holden
me: whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?!??!
oh my god
hahaha
i didn't know any of that
and also, allison? why is she being played by someone so old and unattractive?
Beth: they're all old
me: and what happened with her and casey?
Beth: it's annoying
she slept with mick
who was played by the guy that played jonathan on GL:
but this mick guy was actually james stenbeck
it was so crazy
me: WHAT!?!?!
Beth: hahahahaha
yeah like
before james died
me: WHAT?!?!?!
Beth: he brainwashed this guy mick
into thinking he was james
and like
me: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Beth: gave him this mission
me: hahahahahahhahahahahaha
Beth: to go and destroy everyon ein oakdale's lives
me: bwahahahhahaha
Beth: then alison ended up sleeping with him
and during their wedding
mick/james
came into the church
me: ha
Beth: and started shooting things up with a gun
me: oh em gee
Beth: hahhaa
me: just like alan spaulding
or was it roger? no, alan shot somebody at alan michael's wedding? to elani?
yeah!
Beth: yeah
me: that took me a while to figure out
Beth: alan did that
me: oh my gosh, i love this conversation
Beth: i love that jack and carly are back together
me: they are!?!?!? THAT IS GREAT!
who is this person
that katie was married to?
that died?
she and henry mentioned her
Beth: jack's brother. and jack accidentally shot and killed him
me: whoa
also, henry is not gay? and he is doing it with BARBARA!?!?!!?
wtf!!
Beth: yeah but he really is in love with katie
me: well duh
i don't understand
any of the katie stuff
Beth: so
ok
me: haha
Beth: she was married to brad (jack's brother) who came back like maybe 2 years ago?
brad actually USED to be with janet
who jack was married to recently and just divorced to get back with carly
brad and janet had a kid--liberty who currently is battling luekemia
anyways
brad and katie were on a tv show together
one of barbara's shows at WOAK
they fell in love
blah blah blah
got married
katie got pregnant
brad got shot
died the same day katie had the baby
katie is all depressed. BUT THEN
brad's ghost comes back
and henry CAN SEE AND TALK TO HIM
me: WHOA
ok
ok
so
katie has a kid
ok
wasn't something going on with katie & jack for a while too?
Beth: yeah
and then katie and this new neurologist
me: what about simon?
Beth: oh yeah
simon came back
so after jack killed brad
he was all distraught
and he went around trying to find people
that could take care of katie and the baby
who else was katie in love with?
Beth: simon and?
me: there was somebody
like when simon was gone
Beth: yeah wtf is his name
me: wasn't it mark?
Beth: no
me: the brothers
cos... cos something
cassanov
mike casanov?
Beth: MIKE
yes mike
me: http://www.soapcentral.com/atwt/whoswho/mike.php
did jack kill brad on purpose?
Beth: no it was an accident they were trying to find this bad guy
ok so jack first went and found mike
but mike was married
to this lady
who had kids
and whatever
that was it
then he and carly went and found simon
me: HA
Beth: and simon came back
and lived with katie and the baby for ahwhile
and then katie was going to leave with simon
me: oh my god
hahahahaha
Beth: but then changed her mind at the last minute
also the whole damien thing was insane
he came back like maybe a year ago?
and holden went on this trip to KY to get some horses for the farm
Beth: and his truck went off the side of the road
and everyone thought he was dead
BUT HE WASNT
damien just made it look like he was
so that he could comfort lily
and then he and lily ended up getting together
and then getting married
me: oh my god
Beth: and then holden came back
so damien and lily were married again
but then meg figured out
what damien was doing
and so damien had her committed
made her look like she was crazy
but then molly came back
and she and holden got to the bottom of it
and got together
and then the whole damien faking his death thing happened.
me: jeezus.
Beth: yeah. good stuff.

Everything chillin under water? Please!

2010-04-22T12:42:00.003-04:00

I spent about a week not watching this YouTube, no matter how many times Kriston sent it to me. Because clowns are scary and ICP is scary by extension. But then he spent about 15 minutes explaining it to me as we judged a battle of the nu-metal bands last night, and I was convinced. You have probably all already seen this. If you have, you probably want to watch it again. If you haven't, you should. So this is a post for EVERYONE! After you watch the original, watch the SNL parody. Without further ado, I give you: MIRACLES!

Re-FB

2010-04-22T12:40:00.001-04:00

Gavin put this on BookFace not twitter, and I don't know how to re-bookface something, so here you go, world.

"I stabbed myself in the tonsil with my toothbrush this morning. You win again Monday Goblin."

WELCOME TO MY BLAWG

2010-04-22T12:30:00.003-04:00

I keep having gchat conversations with The G about things instead of blawging them. So, enjoy my recent blawg posts:

me: http://camplittlewolf.tumblr.com/post/521655662/weird-things

the g: i love camp little wolf

may i add the "poison mr yuck face" sticker to that

and also the emergency braodcast system beep

me: oh you know what else was scary? Larry, from three's company.

the g: YES

OMG YES

me: http://i.imgur.com/jkQnF.jpg
the g: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/imageviewer.asp?ean=9781891776144
we are both winners in god's eyes, amanda

me: a word fell out of my head
help me find it
status-y, honor-y, fancy, important
the g: vital?
uh
me: like, stature... um....
um....
the g: significant
unh
essential
central. key.
me: dammit
like
how would you describe a rhodes scholar?
the g: status-y
fucking snob
um
wait
me: HAHAHA
the g: smartypants
no wait wait
"prolific ass"
me: bwhahaha
me: PRESTIGIOUS!!!
the g: PRESTIGIOUS
sure
i like prolific assyness better

Greetings

2010-04-07T11:40:00.002-04:00

This week is all work and no play but here are a few things making me happy right now.

[via, of course]

This remix.

And the Onion AV Club Undercover project. This is really really great for a lot of reasons. The G and I kind of love how Cursive sucks at that song.

One more thing: Friday night, Velvet Lounge, Baby Alcatraz & Kid Congo Powers, Sock Hop, 10pm, FREE!

You're all reading AxeCop, right?

2010-04-05T07:47:00.003-04:00

It is the most wonderful thing possible. Comic written by a 5 year old, illustrated by his 29 year old brother. Just go. Read the series, read Ask AxeCop, watch the videos. It's all magical.

CSBFF: Almost Easter Edition

2010-04-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

Also: last night a BUNNY crossed my path. For real.

I want you. I want you so baaaaaad.

2010-03-26T15:53:00.002-04:00

The gulf between how much I want this and my willingness to pay $88 per piece of this two piece is pretty large. But holy cow. I sure do want it.

This Week In Awesome DCist Stuff

2010-03-25T11:11:00.003-04:00

Check out Val's SXSW wrap up and recommendations for hott hott bands she caught there that are playing DC soon.

Martin talked to a local musician whose songs have been featured on the Real World DC. Imagine that -- actual local impact!

Reminder: know your rights, bloggers. And, don't be a jerk, businesspeople.

Brandon comes through with another fantastic installment of Secret History. You guys have been reading these, right?

Oh and, I reviewed Spoon's Monday night show. Sommer let me keep this paragraph, which I'm pretty happy about:

I would be remiss if I didn't also note the thing that every single person in the audience was noticing during Deerhunter's set, and that is the unrelenting sex eyes bassist Josh Fauver was spraying all over the crowd. It was overpowering, and I'm pretty sure everyone in the first 10 rows got pregnant just by watching him perform. Men and women both. If that guy didn't get laid last night, I will eat my hat.

I also interviewed Black Lips, which includes the following story, among other gems:

Jared: Well, the first time we came here, no one came to see us but when we got into town we parked in front of the Capitol and we all drank cough syrup and I think we --

Cole: We smoked weed too, right in front of the Capitol in our van.

Jared: We were robotrippin' really hard and I think we walked the entire mall seven times or something like that and we literally ran through every Smithsonian. I like that we can come here cause we were so broke on that first tour and I was 17 I think and we had no money. And it was cool to come here cause we could occupy our whole day because everything's free and you can see a lot and cough syrup -- I think we stole it, so that was free.

Cole: The other thing, maybe we were just tripping or something, but we were walking through the park and there was this bench kind of like where Forrest Gump sits, and there was a guy who was like the invisible man. He had a hat on, and sheets covering up his whole face, and a brief case. And I was like, "guys look it's the invisible man!" And the guy freaked out and chucked the brief case at me and ran off.

Oh, and check out the video Nestor got of Britt Daniel doing "Me and the Bean" solo at Monday's show:

Still shocked/depressed/pissed

2010-03-15T16:44:00.003-04:00

I still love Skins overall, but jesus f**k was the twist at the end of last week's episode unnecessary... uncalled for... unreasonable... un-a lot of things. When Chris died it made sense. This was just fucking bananas. And GROSS. And rilly rilly sad.

GENIUS!

2010-03-11T10:35:00.003-05:00

Songs that make really awesome starter songs for Genius playlists on my iPod: "Cryin" (TVOTR), "Bad Romance"

Song that makes a surprisingly LAME playlist: "Wig Wam Bam"

I went to the Florida Keys this weekend to visit my Gramma. We took a day trip to Key West. I ate key lime pie and a sloppy joe and went to Hemingway's house. You know what are fucking awesome? Polydactyl cats.

I don't care what Capps says, Part II

2010-03-09T16:06:00.002-05:00

The Sevig does not look "hot" or "awesome" in this photo. She looks like Garth Algar.

(via)

I don't care what Capps says. I think this is hilarious.

2010-03-09T16:00:00.001-05:00

DCist Exposed is Tomorrow!

2010-03-05T10:02:00.002-05:00

I am going to FL to visit my gramma for a couple of days, but everyone here in D.C. should be sure and visit Long View Gallery tomorrow (Saturday, March 6) for the opening of (4th?) annual DCist Exposed photography show. It's always incredibly fun and packed, but this year will be better than ever, thanks to a huge new location and lots of booze sponsors! So check it out! I will be jealous of you!

Boom

2010-03-04T08:31:00.001-05:00

The first few minutes seem like run of the mill stuff, then JS drops the hammer.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Anchor Management

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

Couldn't be more proud to live in D.C. right now

2010-03-03T15:46:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to all of the people who worked so hard to bring equality in marriage to ALL of the people of my city. And to all of the families that can finally have the full legal rights they deserve. If you'll excuse me, I've got more happy tears to shed at my desk while looking at slide shows like this one.

(Lots of great coverage at The Sexist, DC Agenda, the Post and of course, DCist)

2010-03-01T11:45:00.002-05:00

dump

I am more than misty-eyed watching Bob Ryan's farewell from NBC4. He's like the sweetest favorite uncle for all of the D.C. metro area.

If that didn't make you tear up, this will: World's most heroic dogs.

Sing it with me: The cub is not my son

Go DC! Go DC! Go DC!

Nepalese cursing festival. Rad. You monkey face.

Hahahahhahahahahhaha

The gospel according to GaGa. And Kelly Cutrone.

Hope you all had lovely weekends. I napped, finished the 4th (and, as I discovered NOT the last novel in the terrible Blue Bloods series. My god, please just end and tell me how they defeat the Silver Bloods already. I want my life back.), satisfied my unyielding craving for red meat with a delicious St. Ex burger (those buns will change your life) and the company of Kate, checked out a couple photo shows and visited Cork with Phoebe, went to a Bloomingdale party (kimchi, collaging, set, MGD tall boys and Ethiopian jazz. duh.), went out to brunch with Lana, did some drug store make up shopping, got my nails did, chanted "USA! USA! USA!" with lots of very VERY (if fleetingly) patriotic people at Duffy's during the hockey game, and made a new best bartender friend at DC9.

Oh Marc, you're making my heart sing

2010-02-16T13:45:00.003-05:00

Marc Jacobs Fall 2010 collection. Je t'aime.

I knew the makers of GIF PARTY and I shared similar sensibilities

2010-02-16T07:56:00.003-05:00

I just didn't know HOW similar!

Today: I go into the office for the first time since February 4th. I am actually REALLY EXCITED about this. My house and I could use a little space.

Well, it's (sort of ) official

2010-02-10T14:15:00.002-05:00

Snowiest winter in D.C. history.

And yes, this IS the result of global warming.

It is still. Snowing.

2010-02-10T08:40:00.002-05:00

This is not the D.C. I know. This is not the D.C. of my youth. This is truly the end of days. I can't even remember how much snow came down last Saturday or Tuesday (4"? 6"?) but those were reasonable to large falls for this town. And so close together! How novel! And then. It began. 24 hours of snow leading to two feet of impenetrable precipitation that's shut this city down since last Friday. I cannot get my car out. I cannot drive on my street. I can only walk, in the somewhat plowed roads because god knows hardly anyone shovels their sidewalks. And now, possibly the worst of it all. Another foot or so of blowing, terrible snow that looks far scarrier than anything we've seen yet. I cannot even see out of my window anymore! It is just horrible. I mean, let's face it: this is not the natural order of things. I would truly, sincerely, like to be able to go to work at this point. But instead... another day... at home. And now, with even more likely power outages! Best of luck not losing your minds in all of this, my friends. I am pretty sure I've already crossed that threshold.

Years after everyone else in the world, I finally got a smart phone

2010-02-02T11:57:00.002-05:00

I stuck with Verizon and got the Droid 2.0. I am in love with it and it is awesome. I'm still sort of figuring out how to use some parts of it. But so far, here are the things I am curious about/want to see. Any thoughts, internet?

Google Voice. I set up an account. I got the ap. But it still isn't working. Any ideas? All I really want it to do is send me voicemail transcripts. Will that muck up my actual voicemail? And being able to listen to my voicemails regularly/use the Verizon visual voicemail?
Before I got my phone the coolest thing I'd heard about the Droid was the ability to set it up to know where you are, and make your settings react accordingly. Which it does! The app is called Locale and it is rad. It goes to silent when I'm at work, and there are many other more advanced functions I haven't mucked around with yet. But battery is an issue with the Droid and constant syncing of gmail takes up a lot of it. So I want it to stop syncing while I'm at work. Which according to the internets, it can't do (because of some security upgrade with the 2.0 phone). Any ideas?
I haven't put any of these to real work yet, but the restaurant finding app that people seem to recommend (Sherpa) doesn't appear to exist in the marketplace (the Droid app store). I downloaded Where, but it seems to get confused about my actual location. Anybody have another favorite?
Or how about an app that uses your GPS to let you know restaurants that deliver in your area (plus menus?)?

I have had it for less than 24 hours so I'm still (obviously) just getting to know how it works. If you have any recommendations for apps or ways to best use the Droid, let me know.

My, what incredibly unattractive baithing suits you have!

2010-02-01T10:45:00.003-05:00

Urban Outfitters, what are you thinking?

St John Tropical Awesome Vacation

2010-01-27T21:49:00.002-05:00

That's from the last day. Many more videos and photos up at flickr. Catherine is going to do a long detailed blog of our trip, but I'll just hit the high points:

St John is amazing and one of the best vacations I've ever taken and just breathtakingly beautiful. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Maho Bay was a really cool place to stay. I might look into other reasonably priced options if I go back, like places that maybe have hot showers and fewer spiders, but really it was great and I would absolutely go again. I sort of loved having a cabin full of lizards. Lizards are pretty awesome.
The island is 2/3 national park. Which means it's incredibly beautiful and, compared to some other caribbean destinations, relatively untouched.
It's expeeeeeeeeensive to each/drink. The food is thorougly mediocre. Not a foodie destination. Bring some snacks. Buy some peanut butter. Drink lots of light beer.
If you go, RENT A JEEP. It made the whole trip better. Driving was a SERIOUS ADVENTURE and SO MUCH FUN. Having our own mode of transport made us able to really make it our own personalized trip and explore places at our own pace. And our trusty ride from L&L Jeep drove like a dream.
I LOVE SNORKELING. It is my new favorite thing. I am fantasizing now about getting certified to scuba dive. It's a whole different world under there, and St John apparently has some of the most magnificent snorkeling there is. My mind was completely and thoroughly blown. Sea turtles! Sting rays! An octopus' arm! Barracudas! More amazingly cool, unbelievable fish than I can count! CORAL! Oh my GOD the coral! So many kinds!
This vacationw as so wonderful. I feel totally refreshed. We had beautiful perfect weather. It has washed away the memories of my ill-fated trip to Mexico. Catherine and I had a faaaaaaabulous time and I would (and plan to!) go back to St John, or some of the other Virgin Islands.
Sadly this trip caused us to miss Kriston & Lana's birthday party. Happy birthday guys!
Thanks for the airport shuttling, Josh!
Thanks for feeding Stinker, roomates!
I love vacation!

New Game!

2009-12-30T08:54:00.002-05:00

Play different songs while watching this:

Best so far:

"Web In Front"
"Eleanor Rigby"
"This Charming Man"
"Bang a Gong"
"The Way We Get By"
"Crank Dat"
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"

Try it! You'll like it!

Merry Christmas to me, and the Mandys of the world

2009-12-24T12:59:00.001-05:00

This week's must reads

2009-12-23T15:35:00.002-05:00

1) Dave Weigel, Why I Don't Write About Sarah Palin's Facebook Posts

2) Eric Wemple, WaPo Sits on Eyewitness Account on Snowball Gun Incident

3) Spencer Ackerman, The Guantanamo Gift Shop

Really. Read all of them. From start to finish.

These are a few of my favorite things, today

2009-12-23T12:24:00.003-05:00

[via]

[via]

[via]

[via]

Oh. And Avatar. F the haters, this movie is the coolest.

Guys, I have great news

2009-12-20T12:52:00.002-05:00

The entirety of Smoky Mountain Christmas is up on youtube. It's the best movie about country stars and orphans and witches and letchy sheriffs and families and Christmas you'll ever see. Merrrry Christmas! Embedding is disabled, but start here. It's worth watching to see Dolly's impeccably tailored clothing alone.

Well, surprise surprise

2009-12-17T14:41:00.005-05:00

Both Avatar and Nine look pretty terrible. I am saying this based on the impressi0n left on me by their trailers. But The Awl loves them both. And I love The Awl. So maybe I'll see them anyway. Man, what an enthralling post. It's like I took an observation and put it through a machine that sucked out all figurative language and excitement. Sorry guys, it's cold outside.

Also, I went to Komi. Here's what I thought about it.

UPDATE: Wow. Ian Buckwalter, DCist's extremely awesome and always right movie critic, also loved Avatar:

I was a skeptic. There was over a decade's worth of lingering bad taste in my mouth from my dislike of Titanic. There are the trailers and commercials that just look silly and visually flat. Blue-skinned aliens that were drawing comparisons to unholy unions of Jar Jar Binks and the smurfs. Heady proclamations from director James Cameron that he was going to change the face of movies. It all left me sitting in my seat prior to seeing Avatar expecting a big failure with an even bigger price tag. That's a lot of pessimism to overcome, but the fact is that Avatar really is a game changer. No, it's not perfect. Far from it. It's overlong, the script is hopelessly clunky, the characters aren't nearly as vivid as those in the director's strongest work in Aliens and the first two Terminators. But it delivers what, for many years, Cameron did better than nearly anyone else: thrilling sci-fi action with eye-popping, extraordinary visuals. Forget what the trailers look like — this isn't a movie where 3D is an enhancement to the moviegoing experience. It's as essential to the film as technicolor was to The Wizard of Oz. Dismissing this movie based on a 2D trailer is like writing off The Lord of the Rings based on a two minute clip viewed on an old, static-plagued 13-inch TV with broken vertical hold. The difference really is that great. Sitting in a theater with those glasses on, you'll see a movie like nothing else you've ever experienced.

Don't bother viewing the trailer. See it in a theater.

Alright then. Perhaps I'll venture out into the snow this weekend to see it.

Exactly.

2009-12-17T11:30:00.003-05:00

I've told you to watch Skins before, but let me quote PopCandy as to why (she puts it rather perfectly):

"I wish I could force everyone who talks about the greatness of Gossip Girl, 90210 and other high-school shows to watch one episode of Skins, which is hands-down The Teen Show To End All Teen Shows. (It is the Heathers of teen TV.) The characters make me simultaneously miss my youth and feel mighty relieved it's behind me."

Fire up those Netflix ques! It is truly a must-watch. And NOTHING like Gossip Girl or 90210.

More Stuff I Want

2009-12-10T16:16:00.004-05:00

After I completed the Christmas List, I found a bunch more stuff to lust after! (Largely thanks to Kriston introducing me to Svpply). So here: more crap I want.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

(Or any Le Crouset, really).

Here.

Here.

Here.

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

2009-12-10T11:18:00.001-05:00

Internet is the new Santa.

Remember when I asked for a youtube function that lets you build playlists? Well, LOOKY HERE. I haven't gotten to play with Vevo yet, but it sounds like just what the dr.s t r e t c h ordered. Awesome. (And yes. I'm a doctor now. Congratulations! To... me!)

Today in Cross-Species BFFeration

2009-12-10T07:51:00.002-05:00

This might be the crown jewel in CSBFF stories. (Longtime readers will know I've been archiving them for some time now.) After I recovered from initial exposure to BLT, I found out that Noah's Ark animal rescue has a flickr feed. And then, I began to want a bear more than anything in life. So, add that to my Christmas list: docile 1,000 bear rescued from drug barons, with an affinity for big cats and people.

(Side note: This place is officially the greatest, happiest, most wonderful in the world.

Because of this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.)

I want this as a poster. Without all the UO crap.

2009-12-08T13:57:00.002-05:00

And these. And this. And this (though that'd be a tricky thing to put on a poster).

HEY LOOK AT ME, WITH ALL THE BLOGGING!

My favorite concerts of 2009

2009-12-08T13:53:00.001-05:00

Thee Oh Sees, Black Cat backstage

Stereo Total, Black Cat backstage

Wilco, Wolf Trap

TV on the Radio/Dirty Projectors, 9:30 Club

Wale, 9:30 Club

Matthew Hammerlein (I might not be spelling that right), Big Bear Cafe

Wale, 9:30 Club

Mother Mother, Rock & Roll Hotel

Tyler should write travel guides

2009-12-08T13:46:00.001-05:00

"and then take the L to brooklyn (it'll say rockaway... lean back, lean back)"

me: and where do i get out?

Tyler: just start yelling "where brooklyn at! where brooklyn at!" people will help u.

Tyler: graham ave is third stop.

once you leave manhattan you'll know, cause your ears will pop.

and it goes Bedford (all the extremely hipster-hipsters will get off here)

Lorimer (moderately less hipster-hipsters)

Graham (normal people, some hipsters)

My Christmas List

2009-12-08T13:18:00.002-05:00

If you're out there, scratching your head wondering "what do I get for the blogger who has everything?", well, here are a few ideas!*

I don't have a turquoise/teal scarf. I'm often wanting one.

It would be swell if somebody could come over and help me hang my curtains.

And cocktail lessons from Derek Brown would be the coolest.

Well, not the coolest. That'd be access to this.

I need a pad lock and a head lamp and my weight in bug spray for my upcoming trip to Maho Bay.

I could use some cool new gloves/had/scarf to go with my cool new yellow coat.

I'd like to read these books.

*But really, I have everything I need. This is more of a "things to buy myself later" list. Please carry on and do not spend any money on me. Thanks!

Fantastic Mr Fox might be my favorite movie.

2009-12-06T21:30:00.002-05:00

Truly wonderful and awesome and smart and cool and FUNNY! and adorable and I love it so so much everyone should see it. Ok great, thanks, glad we had this talk.

This kid cracks me up

2009-12-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?

2009-12-01T11:05:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin Pi!

This and other made-for-Amanda jokes available at Dumb Jokes That Are Funny. The best website ever.

ha.

2009-11-30T14:21:00.001-05:00

(of course)

kthxgiving springbreak

2009-11-30T11:07:00.003-05:00

sticky rice
the passenger
dc9
grandmother's house
dreama's house
hook 'em
thankskilling
sleet
sweetwater w/meagan
footballs at flophouse
bahn mi
The Road
deep, deep depression
fado
more depression
the passenger
even more depression
nellie's for about a hundred hours
uva/v tech (ugh) with steg and hoy and kev and alyssa (yay)
beers and experimental chinese corner takeout
black cat
bike ride
national gallery
big bear patio party
redskins/eagles (ugh)
big bar/last shift End Of The Road party
italy pizza

FIN!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T11:14:00.003-05:00

I already used one of my favorite Thanksgiving clips up on DCist on Monday. Here are a few more. Hope you all have a great holiday. I know I'm looking forward to the nice long break.

I couldn't find clips of the Buffy thanksgiving where Xander accidentally lets slip that Angel had been in town, or the Different World orphan thanksgiving. But hey, member those? They were great! Any I forgot?

It's been a really funny afternoon on IM.

2009-11-24T15:32:00.002-05:00

Matthew: holy crap that fresh prince cover is awesome
me: YES ISN'T IT AMAZING!!!!
Matthew: I feel like this changes everything
now I can even believe in sparkly vampires

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

me: what are you doing this weekend?
Andrew: Going to try and catch [redacted] and [redacted] having sex.
I'll vlog it. Since [redacted] loves those.

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

the g: ask [nabob] what his very very very favorite thing
in the whole world is
what makes him happiest these days
what is his very faovirte thing to do
the answer is awesome

me: what is your very very favorite thing in the whole world right now to do?
nabob: to call someone a molatov cocktease to their face
and you?

the g: okay, that too, but no
ask him what he spent last night watching
frame by frame
his VERY favorite thing
ever
in the whole universe

me: ok, then, what did you do last night? that is your VERY favorite thing?
nabob: oh
that'd be to watch this 1000 times in a row
me: OHOHOHOHOH! I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS
EVERYTIME IT COMES ON I REWIND MY DVR

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

me: what time is the game?
Chris: no idea
usually its a middle of the day game
me: i have friday drunkening plans
so i hope it's at least a 4:00 game
me: let me get some order in my life first
Chris: aka, let me eat a burrito or something
me: you know me well

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

me: wait
wait wait wait wait wait
is A Cup Of Jo REALLY presenting BAKED POTATOES as something new and exciting?!?!?!?!

CEREAL! Have you ever had it? It's like crispy little bits of grain and cookie, and when you pour milk over it it becomes a cold breakfast food you eat with a spoon!! DELICIOUS!!!!!
Have any of you ever tried this before? Alex and I have started to put little frozen cubes of water into the water we drink. It keeps it really cold and refreshing!!
the g: HAHAHAHAH
me: We just started doing this thing -- I don't know if you've ever done this before -- but when we eat our salad, we've started to put a little bit of sauce on it. It really makes it more fun to eat!

NORDWANG

2009-11-20T14:38:00.001-05:00

me: can i give this a FUCK YES. and, sincerely, this might make me shop there more for the holidays? http://consumerist.com/5408447/nordstrom-continues-to-oppose-christmas-creep

the g: oh good job nordwang.
you are still my favorite dept store
even though your mini nord out at the Sterling Dulles mall is the CRAPS
but then again I just said mall in Sterling so there you go

*Beth: I know you'll object to moving away from "Nordstrom... Scrotum." But, come on. NORDWANG!

How To Impress Your Mom & Your Lady Friends

2009-11-16T10:51:00.002-05:00

First Course
Deep fried bacon-wrapped dates
Endive leaves stuffed with blue cheese/walnut/shallot puree
Pomegranates

Second Course
White bean, fennel, cauliflower salad
Sweet potato, miso, ginger soup
Rosemary seal salt rolls

Third Course
Roasted chicken

Give me things, interneters

2009-11-13T12:34:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things to do is make playlists in iTunes. I fancy myself quite good at it. I make myself happy as shit with my keen selections and progressions all the time. And this should translate to some sort of consumable music blogging, right? But here's the thing: after I put all that work into a Perfect Playlist, I'm sort of done. So here's what I want from you, smarty pantses: something that would just lift an iTunes playlist and make it into something blogable/playable. Everybody should be enjoying the delightful selection I put together this morning! (Though, perhaps nobody should be subjected to my playlist naming convention. Usually: whatever the first word or phrase is that pops into my head when I go to type into that field. for instance, today's is "rawr"; others in my collection include "thirty one" and "growing old." none of these have any relation to what's contained within the lists.) I don't want to invest in any other activities. But really it's a shame that my genius in this department can't be shared. It could even be something totally commercially driven that has a download link to every song there while you're streaming. I don't care! Just let me share. In full. Without any work.

I also want: a way to enable youtube DJing. Meaning, something that lets me stack a bunch of videos and have them play one after another without having to step in again. NPR's site has a similar function -- letting you choose what stories/shows you want to listen to and crafting your own channel. Gimme dat, YouTube/smarty pantses!

Excuse me while this briefly becomes a fashion blog about Things I Want

2009-11-12T14:11:00.011-05:00

Link.
Link.

Link.
Link.
Link.
Link.
Link.

Link.

Sexico.

2009-11-12T11:40:00.002-05:00

I'll have more on my ill-fated trip to Playa del Carmen later, but in short: Hurricane Ida, swingers, mosquitoes.

This might be my favorite GIF PARTY ever

2009-11-04T12:26:00.001-05:00

For Spencer, mostly.

2009 Halloween Costume #2

2009-11-01T21:10:00.002-05:00

<3, Korean Abdul-Jabbar

2009 Hallloween Costume #1

2009-10-30T15:11:00.001-04:00

Do you know what I am?

gifparty summarizes everything there is to know about Gossip Girl

2009-10-27T12:00:00.001-04:00

Riiiiiiiiiight here.

Well, almost everything. One thing remains mysterious: why didn't my DVR record it last night, hmm?

The Generationalists

2009-10-15T10:36:00.004-04:00

This band appears to have zero presence on the internet, which is a mystery to me, because they kinda rule. I was turned onto them and their fantastic album Con Law by Brant. Their song "When They Fight They Fight" is my official favorite song of the moment. I may not be able to point you towards a youtube or a mysapce or a hypem, but I know for a fact that the album is available on iTunes, and you should go give it a listen and probably buy it right away.

UPDATE: I should not blog/google before having coffee. I couldn't find them because their name is The Generationals. Here's the video for my favorite song:

In other music news, I saw one of the hands down best shows I've seen in ages on Monday night. Golden Triangle were sheer punk fun, with a mostly female lineup that kicked the Black Cat backstage's ass. Thee Oh Sees just completely floored everyone in attendance. I could not have loved their set more. Fuzzed out distortion mics and dirty garage rock with a sense of harmony and tight instrumentation that's usually foreign to that kind of rock. God, I loved this show so, so much.

I sort of hate my camera

2009-10-14T13:44:00.002-04:00

It's a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80. How do you feel about yours? A friend I went camping with this weekend had a Canon Elf (this one maybe?) that took great photos and seemed to have all the things mine is lacking (zoom that makes pictures actually appear closer, rather than farther than your naked eye, good low-light capabilities, being able to take a photo without flash that isn't hella blurry, etc.). I am in the market. I don't need anything professional -- just a good quality digital point and shoot. Most of my photos are taken of: food, my cat, night time activities like concerts and parties and when things are on fire. Give me suggestions, please.

TV!

2009-10-13T13:38:00.003-04:00

Shows I'm watching/loving/still loving these days:

Glee
How I Met Your Mother
Gossip Girl
Bones
Greek
The Vampire Diaries (YEAH I SAID IT, WHAT?!?!)
House
The Office
Castle

Shows that are clogging up my DVR that I haven't gotten around to watching any of this season yet:

Grey's Anatomy
Brothers & Sisters
Dollhouse
So You Think You Can Dance
One Tree Hill

Shows I've watched but am not sold on yet/have at least a couple weeks backed up on my DVR:

Mad Men (sorry internet, this season's just not terribly gripping)
Community

Today's Best Internets, and How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

2009-10-08T13:06:00.006-04:00

I continue to sweat The Awl. And things the Awl People do Elsewhere.

"Australians: too stupid to be racist?"

"Who will prevent these man-eaters of commerce from persuading me that my personal escape from Thunderdome must not be Pepsi-fueled?"

Un-alw-related: Patches the Human Horse

Unrelated to the internet but sort of to technology: I got a stupid speeding ticket from a stupid speeding ticket giving camera in stupid Maryland. Maryland!

And to wind down this completely threadless discussion, I am going to provide a public service, complete with visual aids. It's fruit fly season! Is your kitchen home to dozens of little floaty bastards? Mine sure was! Until I tried a method that Catherine read about on the internet (like this one that Emily describes, but with More Stuff!). I have killed tens and tens and tens of fruit flies. My fruit is safe, thanks to this fool proof method!

Step 1: Make a delicious cocktail of apple cider vinegar and a hint of dish soap. Fruit flies sure do like weird stuff!

Step 2: Cover this cocktail with some plastic wrap, lock it down with a rubber band, and poke a few holes in the top. Like when you were trying to keep fireflies alive as a kid. But the opposite of that.

Step 3: Strategically place the Stupid Fruit Fly Cocktail in a place they, like, already love hanging out.

Step 4: BASK IN THE CARNAGE!

Supporting the Andrews Theory

2009-10-01T16:43:00.001-04:00

This shies away from calling it a cure, but more pineapple/juice boosterism from The Kitchn.