Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Face Recognition

I saw links to a program that matches your face to a database of celebrities and tells you who you most resemble on Megr's and Max's sites. You can try it for yourself here and you don't have to register, just close the first window and your matches will pop up behind it.

So here are my top 5 matches:
1. Selma Blair. I wish!
2. Kim Cattrall. Samantha? Hott.
3. Jason Alexander. WHAT??? I LOOK LIKE GEORGE CASTANZA??? Oh my freakin' GOD! Seriously, you guys, do I really resemble a female George and no one's had the heart to tell me?
4. Tara Reid. Great, now I look like a short, balding man AND a complete skank.
5. Helen Hunt. That's better.

Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone! When I was a kid, I always had the hardest time deciding what to give up for Lent, so much so that I usually didn't give up anything because I couldn't come up with any good ideas. Similarly, when I had to go to confession, I would get stressed out and draw a complete blank when it came to listing my sins, so I'd resort to inventing some so I could at least have something to cop to, other than the usual "fighting with my sisters" and "not honoring my parents," which seemed so standard and boring. Anyways, I'm allergic to chocolate and I'm not much of a candy-eater, so giving those things up for Lent would be pointless. One year in college, I gave up the elevator in my dorm (hey, I lived on the 4th floor- it was a sacrifice!). I've also tried doing the reverse, instead of giving something up, doing something positive, like going running every day or volunteering twice a week, but I never managed to keep it going for all 40 days.

After years of being a Lenten slacker, I decided to go hardcore last year, and my roommate MJ and I gave up alcohol and did the South Beach diet. Limited carbs and no alcohol for 40 days? Not fun. AT ALL. I won't make that mistake again. This year, I'm going vegetarian. Well, I'm planning to eat fish and seafood but no poultry, red meat, or the other white meat. I plan to return to my omnivorous ways after Easter, but I figure this will be a good way to force me to add some healthy variety to my diet. If anyone has any recommendations for websites with vegetarian recipes, let me know.

Unseen. Unforgotten.


Dozens of unseen photos from the Civil Rights Era have been published for the first time after being discovered in an equipment closet at the Birmingham News. The photos were in a box marked "Keep. Do not sell." and likely stashed away instead of printed in an effort to downplay racial strife in the south during the 1950's and 60's. The Birmingham News printed them for the first time on Sunday in a special section entitled "Unseen. Unforgotten."


Caption: May 15, 1961: The Rev. Shuttlesworth and Freedom Riders discuss plans at Birmingham Greyhound Terminal after drivers refused to carry them farther. The day before, one of the buses was bombed in Anniston and passengers on a second bus were beaten.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Flavor of Love

Reality television hits a new high (or low, depending on your outlook). Check out this clip from Flavor of Love, in which women vie for the affection of Flavor Flav. Hell hath no fury like an aspiring actress spit upon.

Courtesy of Freakgirl

St. Patrick's Day Countdown


Here's a graphic MJ designed for our annual St. Patrick's Day Parade Party (we live right on the route). I sent out the Evite and now I'm obsessively checking it.

Beat LA

is exactly what the Celtics did last night, 112-111. At least one sportswriter still has faith in the C's.

addendum: I forgot to mention that Eri and Ryan were at the game in LA and Eri tripped Kobe. Okay, she didn't trip Kobe, but they did see Jack Nicholson on the Jumbotron.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Inappopropriate bus behavior

Some of you may be aware that people clipping their nails on the T is one of my pet peeves. Today I witnessed a new transportation faux pas: a girl on the bus TWEEZING HER EYEBROWS. She was using a little hand held mirror and plucking away with a pair of tweezers. What if the bus had stopped short and she poked her eye out? That would have ruined my entire weekend, considering I have a major eye injury phobia. Save it for the bathroom mirror, missy. Public transportation is no place for personal grooming, people!

Interspecies friendships are the new black


Here's the story about the puppy mastiff and the lion cub that Eri mentioned. The lion cub's twin died, so caretakers at the San Diego Wild Animal park decided to give him a canine friend because lions are social animals.

Lazy Muncie

Indiana's response to the East Coast Lazy Sunday and West Coast Lazy Monday video raps.

Courtesy of my second-favorite Hoosier

Thursday, February 23, 2006

More interspecies friendships


First a hampster and a snake, now Willy the hog and Nicole the antelope.

From the article:

Nicole wasn't interested in Willy at first, but the persistent pig eventually won her over. They now share breakfast, groom each other and take walks together. Nicole leads, and Willy trails closely behind.

"I think he definitely likes her more than she likes him," Holland said.

Catch phrase

I just used the phrase "explosive diarrhea" in a response to an AskMetafilter question on lactose intolerance.

Today must be a cold day in hell

After a several year stretch of successfully avoiding the Non-Shoe Sports (see list #22), I am going ice skaing tonight after work with my coworkers. This is a big step for me. My aversion to the Non-Shoe Sports runs deep and has a long history. Why do I hate them so much? Mostly because I'm terrible at them. Flimsy ankles and a poor sense of balance do not a graceful skiier/snowboarder/rollerblader make. When I was a kid, roller skating birthday parties were my own personal nightmare. I was always the only kid who couldn't skate, so I'd hide out in the corner, and someone would always insist that they could teach me and end up failing miserably. I couldn't even stay up long enough to hokey-pokey. Skiing is even worse, because it's cold and it's fucking expensive. Not only can I not stay on my own two feet, I have a tendency to cause tremendous crashes, whether careening into the popcorn stand at Roller Kingdom or knocking down an entire line of people waiting to board the ski lift. Not fun. Wish me, and more importantly, my coworkers luck tonight, because I told them if I severely injure myself or anyone else, I'll never forgive them for talking me into going.

Addendum: Due to inclement weather conditions, we abandoned the ice skating plans and went to Matt Murphy's instead. I was very happy with the decision.

List #22...Non-Shoe Sports

The following sports involve wearing something on your feet or standing on something that is not a shoe or a cleat, and have thereby been categorized by yours truly as Non-Shoe Sports. As a rule, I hate them and will avoid participating in Non-Shoe Sports at all costs.

1. Skiing
2. Snowboarding
3. Ice skating
4. Rollerskating
5. Rollerblading
6. Skateboarding
7. Surfing
8. Waterskiing

New blog

My friend Meghan just started up her own blog, A Wink and a Nudge and a Just Kidding
Yay! Another thing for me to look at instead of doing actual work!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Good news for public health

A new vaccine for rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea and dehydration in infants, has been recommended by the CDC. Although rotavirus is not a major problem in the United States, it kills an estimated 600,000 children a year in developing countries. A rotavirus vaccine manufactured by Wyeth in 1998 was pulled off the shelves because it was linked to an increased risk of intussusception, a flipping of the intestines that requires corrective surgery. The new vaccine, made by Merck, has no serious side effects.

Summers resigns as Harvard President

Harvard President Lawrence Summers has resigned before having to face a second no-confidence vote by the governing board. Summers has been at odds with several faculty groups and set off a storm of controversy last year when he suggested that innate differences between men and women could be the cause of the lack of women in academic sciences. Personally, I think his comments were blown out-of-proportion and that he honestly meant to stir up a dialogue and not imply that women can't do science. The lack of female faculty members in the sciences is a problem that does need to be addressed. Physics and engineering are still male-dominated fields, but in the life sciences, graduate students and post-docs are overwhelmingly female. Here at BU, over 80% of the graduate students in my department are female. However, higher level positions (faculty, Principal Investigators, etc) are still largely dominated by men, especially at Harvard. Why? Are more women going into biotech instead of staying in academia? Is it due to slow turnover (for the most part, faculty positions don't open up until someone dies or retires)? Or is there still a bit of good old boys club mentality among those doing the hiring? Probably a combination of these and other factors. Maybe Summers' comments upset people, but they did bring the issue to light, and I don't believe he deserved to be fired because of them.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

List #21...What I Eat and Drink When I'm Sick

1. Gatorade (lemon-lime flavor only)
2. Ginger ale
3. Saltines
4. Chicken noodle soup

What are your comfort foods?

Monday, February 20, 2006

Weekend Recap

Friday: Went out to dinner with friends at South Kitchen and Wine Bar, the new(ish) trendy restaurant in South Boston. It was fun, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been fighting off a cold. After dinner, we stopped pretending to be sophisticated and went to Tom English's Cottage (no relation to celebrity restaurantier Todd English, unless he has a sketchy little brother who runs the bar across the street from my apartment), where we drank pitchers of beer, played the jukebox, and watched the Olympics on TV. The highlight may have been watching the women's snowboard cross with The Final Countdown playing in the background. Not sure if anyone else caught the final, but American Lindsey Jacobellis had a strong lead and was on her way to winning the gold medal, when, on the very last jump, she tried to do a trick and totally biffed it, allowing Tanja Frieden of Switzerland to pass her for the gold. Serves Lindsey right for being a big show-off.

Saturday: Still fighting off a cold, I lounged around on the couch most of the day. I watched Fever Pitch and enjoyed it, even though the movie wasn't very good. Jimmy Fallon was terrible; the role would have been perfect for Adam Sandler, who was fabulous with Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer. There were too many unfunny gags, many of which involving physical comedy (girl falls off climbing wall, etc.), that were obviously scripted in to get a laugh and end up failing miserably. The only two believable characters in the movie were the two rowdy female fans who sit near Jimmy Fallon at Fenway. So, why did I like it? It was fun to see all of the Boston scenery- hey, I've been there!- like Bill's Bar and Sonsie, and of course, all of the Red Sox stuff. I was actually at the game where they filmed the scene in which Drew Barrymore runs across the field at Fenway (they asked everyone to stay after the game ended and cheer while they filmed the scene), so it was neat to see that, and, along with the rest of Boston, I was at the parade, footage of which is shown while the credits are rolling.
Despite my cold, I played soccer on Saturday night because it was the first game of the season, and I'm the captain, so I had to show up to meet with the leauge coordinator to sign the roster and pay. We didn't have any subs, so I ended up playing the whole game, but we played well and the other team stunk, so we won easily. After that, I went out, and ended up doing shots and playing Keno at a tiny little dive bar in my neighborhood. And I wonder why I'm still sick...

Sunday: I spent the day lounging and movie watching (Lucas...depressing how low Corey Haim has sunk), then cooked dinner for three friends.

My "Real" Blog

When I started writing this blog, I had to decide whether or not I wanted my parents to read it. I opted against it, because I knew much of the content would not be very parent-friendly, and I didn't want to have to be censoring myself all of the time. My mom knows that I have a blog because she's heard my cousins talking about it, but I don't think she really knows what a blog is, and she doesn't know the web address or how to find it. My brother-in-law Adam decided to create a blog for me that he could show my mom. Here it is. Seriously, check it out. My favorite post is "I am now an Episcopalian."

Friday, February 17, 2006

You'll never look at a hot air balloon the same way

My sister Eri was looking into hot air balloon rides in the San Diego area and stumbled across this company's "Special Rides"
Scroll down a bit until you get to Mile High:

For those who belong to or have ever wanted to join the "Mile High" club, we offer a flight in a private balloon at a mile high (5280 feet). This is the ultimate ecstasy. We offer comfort and discretion. This flight is honored with "mile high" pins for him and her. Call today to reserve because this flight take considerable scheduling considerations.

Um, ew! Comfort and discretion? What about the hot air balloon opeator? Does he just turn the other way? Or does he climb out of the basket on a rope ladder? And who would
A. actually do this?
B. and then wear their "mile high" commemorative pins?

I'm disturbed.

In Gob We Trust

In honor of the wounded-but-hopefully-not-dead Arrested Development, here's a video for you all. The Final Countdown.

Lovin' the luge



Matt Lauer and Al Roker from the Today show donned spandex suits and rode the double luge. Here are some more photos from Gawker.

"They got intimate with every wall," said U.S. Luge spokesman Jon Lundin, who said Lauer's left leg was heavily padded to absorb blows. "They cleaned it up in the second run. They had a blast."


Love the Lauer. Love the luge.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Love is blind


Here is a portrait of my roomate Maria, painted by her boyfriend. It looks just like her.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

V Day Recap

So, late yesterday afternoon was looking pretty bleak, seeing as I hadn't heard a peep from Bim and I hadn't made other plans because I'm an optimistic buffoon. I was headed home for a depressing evening alone with Jonny Weir and Camille. This VD was shaping up to be one of the worst: ranking somewhere in between the one I time actually had a boyfriend and I gave him a shirt and he gave me a big, fat nothing and the time I ended up making out with a guy I met at a bar who told me he was engaged, (I thought he was joking around, because what kind of engaged guy goes to a bar alone on Valentine's Day?) only to discover a couple of months later that he really was engaged when I ended up sitting behind him and his fiance at Easter Mass, and I had to sneak out to avoid an incredibly uncomfortable "Peace be with you." Luckily, right as I got on the bus, my friend Nikki called (cue Handel's Messiah), and we decided to go to Sidebar for $6 pitchers and 10 cent wings. We were joined by Nikki's roommate Theresa and her cousin Elise, the two loudest people in the universe (I say that with love, girls), and good times ensued. Several pitchers later, our boisterous table had joined forces with the other patrons to form the Sidebar Lonely Hearts Club (no band, though), led by a guy named "Next." Anyone named "Next" deserves to be mocked outright. I ended up having a blast, and Bim even called in to report that he had sprained his ankle playing basketball. The only bad part of the evening was the fact that I had to get up at 6AM this morning to teach dental students how to Gram stain. And now my head hurts and I have a ton of work to do.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Conan + Tarja


Here's my favorite VD story of the day: Conan O'Brien gave a Valentine's Day gift to Finnish president Tarja Halonen. Last year, Conan endorsed Halonen in Finland's presidential election because "she looks like him" and campaigned for her on his late-night show. She won, and American's favorite red head comic (take that, Carrot Top) has become a popular figure in Finland.

Which candy heart are you?

Your Candy Heart Says "Cutie Pie"




You always seem to have a hot date, even though you never try to meet anyone.
A total charmer, you have a natural appeal that keeps you in high demand.
Your ideal Valentine's Day date: multiple dates with multiple people
Your flirting style: 100% natural
What turns you off: serious relationship talks
Why you're hot: you're totally addicting



Link from Emily Dickinson's Attic. I thought I might need to throw in a little sweetness after Sid and Nancy.

Happy Valentine's Day

Monday, February 13, 2006

You might be a nerd if...

you buy a t-shirt that says "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." and wear it to work. Here I am:

and here's a close-up of the shirt.


Got it from Toothpaste For Dinner

But he did not shoot the deputy

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a 78 year old man while hunting quail in Texas. If I laughed when I heard about it, does that make me a bad person? Um, don't answer that.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Weekend Update

Friday- Went on a date, which I'm torn about writing about on the blog. I want to write about it, because hey, it's not like I'm ever discreet or private about anything, and it could provide entertainment for the rest of you, in a Dating Adventures of a Girl Who Never Goes On Dates (Except For That Time Her Older Sister Set Her Up With An Extremely Religious Nerd Who Kept Telling Anecdotes About The Family Priest and Needless To Say It Didn't Go Well) and Therefore Doesn't Know How To Act sort of way, but I'm paranoid that somehow the date (we'll call him Bim) will stumble across this blog and be weirded out by it. So if you're reading this, Bim, now you know that I have a blog and wrote about you, but it also means that you, along with William Hung, are stalking me over the internet, so let's just never mention it, mmmkay? Anyways, we went out and got pizza at Santarpio's, a well known traditional Italian place in East Boston where the only items on the menu are pizza and shish kebabs that they grill over hot coals behind the bar, and there's always a line outside the door, even in the winter, because the pizza is THAT good. After that, we went out to a bar in my neighborhood, and as we were leaving, I turned on my phone to check my messages (I figured that leaving it off was probably appropriate date protocol) and had three drunken voice mails from an old friend who was out at Murphy's Law, possibly the shadiest late-night bar in Southie. We went, and Bim was a good sport about it, even while being inappropriately grilled by my drunk loudmouth friend.

Saturday- Went in to work, went to the gym, shopped at Filene's (which is tragically going out of business), and nearly fainted in the Dowtown Crossing T stop. I should mention the fact that I am a frequent fainter, so nothing too unusual about that, and I managed to control it before I blacked out and hit the floor. I think it was a combination of the fact that I hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was 6PM (you know those people who say things like "Oh, I was so busy that I forgot to eat!" well, I am NOT one of those people. I get lightheaded and cranky if I go more than a few hours without food), and I was all bundled up in my winter gear and it was really warm and crowded on the platform and I felt hot and stuffy and claustrophobic, and I was reading a particular gory scene in Red Dragon, the first book in the Hannibal Lecter series. I started feeling nauseous and fainty, and my hearing was getting all muffled (the first sign of an upcoming fainting spell) and my vision was starting to blacken. I slumped against a pole and luckily a train pulled up and I managed to get on it and get a seat and put my head down until I felt better. I was very glad not to have collapsed because:
A. The thought of lying on the floor in Downtown Crossing T Station disgusts me, and
B. Considering I was dressed in gym clothes and a big puffy parka, people might have assumed I was a passed-out bum and not tried to help me.

I felt better later on and really was in the mood to go out for some reason, and I was starting to get depressed about the fact that a lot of my friends have moved to the suburbs or would prefer to stay in and do couple-y things rather than go get drunk at a bar with, say, me. Luckily, my friend Nikki called me up to say that she and her roommates were going out in Cambridge. I met them there, and we ended up at Redline and had a great time, drinking and dancing to some old-school classics like Poison and The Right Stuff. I even bumped into a cousin of mine who lives in London but was in town for a wedding, and it was almost like seeing a ghost, because I was staring at him, thinking that it couldn't be him because he lives in London, until he walked up to me and said "It's me, Matt!" and then I stuck my hand through him. Okay, that last part is a lie.


Sunday- Snow day! Here's a view of my street- I love the city during a big snowstorm. I slept in, and lounged around in my pajamas all day reading Red Dragon, only venturing out once to buy Diet Coke and Gatordae at the convenience store next door. I did walk a few blocks to have dinner at Maria's boyfriend's house.

Wow, this was a long post.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

The Prince Files

So...I'm at work right now, and instead of playing with bacteria, I'm looking at Prince video clips on the internet.

Guitar Prince. The Purple One rocks out on While My Guitar Gently Weeps at George Harrison's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had no idea he was such a talented guitarist. Check out the smiling teenager in the background- he's Harrison's son Dhani. I also like how Prince throws the guitar in the air at the end of the song and it vanishes, because Prince is magic.

Modern Prince. On SNL last weekend.

Teen Prince. Prince, at age 19, on American Bandstand. Dick Clark has no idea what to do.

Chapelle Prince. Here's a hilarious clip from the Chapelle show of Charlie Murphy reminiscing about a game of basketball against Prince and the Revolution. Game. Blouses.

Courtesy of MetaFilter and Sore Eyes

Friday, February 10, 2006

Sox billboard in the news


Every year, the Red Sox have a huge billboard on top on Fenway Park that is easily visible from the Mass Pike. This year's billboard shows three fans celebrating with Trot Nixon. The Red Sox organization selected the photo without any knowledge of the fans' identities, but it turns out that the one of the left in the red t-shirt, Dennis Thomson, was killed in a car accident last year by an alleged drunk driver. Obviously, his parents were shocked to see their dead son on a billboard, but they found it to be a worthy tribute to a devoted Sox fan. In an article in the Boston Herald, the mom says “Leave it to him to be the life of the party even now.”

via Bostonist

Friday Photo


Another repeat offender here, and no, this picture wasn't taken in the 1950's.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

The prettiest flower in the pond


Here's an article from the Washington Post about U.S. figure skating champion Johnny Weir, who said that after winning the Nationals in January, he felt like the "prettiest flower in the pond." I just so happened to be watching TV when he won the nationals, and although I mocked his choice of outfit, I was impressed by his skating and look forward to seeing him in the Olympics. Even in men's figure skating circles, Weir is considered a flamboyant eccentric. It's an interesting article, and I was impressed by the overt support Weir has received from his parents, a high school football player and a cheerleader from rural Pennsylvania. Here's how the article ends:

"My child's not weird," he (Weir's father) told a reporter when queried about Johnny's reputation. "Everyone else is."

via The Sports Guy daily links

Forget Kobe vs. Shaq

There's a new NBA feud brewing...Mavericks owner Mark Cuban posted an entry entitled I Own Phil Jackson on his blog. Yes, that's right, Mark Cuban has a blog. Even though he's a dork who doesn't believe in apostrophes, I secretly like Cubes. He's a crazed fan who became a multimillionaire and then bought his favorite team, and he does whatever he thinks it takes to make them better and fun to watch.

Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels


I am certainly not a reader of trashy romance novels, unless you count those preteen ones that always had a girl's name for the title, like Elizabeth or Katherine, and the story about the heroine was based on some sort of historical theme with a heavy side of romance, like the girl who wanted to go west in covered wagons so she cut her hair off and pretended to be a boy and it worked until she fell in love with her handsome wagonmate. I know I'm not the only one who read these things. Anyways, the website Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels reviews trashy harlequin romance novels, and best of all, critiques their cover art. It's sort of like Go Fug Yourself for soft-core fantasy novel covers.
For example:

Dammit, how do these cover artists know that my wildest dreams involve a corpse with testicular elephantitis wearing a scabies-infested robe and slinging his gear in an electric blue speedo?


via Sore Eyes

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

What's Goin On

Law and Order cop Jesse L. Martin will play Marvin Gaye in the upcoming movie biography "Sexual Healing." Holy crap, Marvin Gaye was killed by his own father? That's messed up. And how did I not know that?
Since Jesse L. Martin sang and danced in Rent, I'm assuming he will do his own singing in the movie, a la Jamie Foxx and Joaquin Phoenix. As an aside, do you think that if I ran into Joaquin Phoenix and called him Leaf he would become furious, thinking that I was mocking him, or would he recognize it as a term of endearment and then we'd start making out? Either way, I'll definitely go see the Marvin Gaye movie when it comes out.

The gym nemesis strikes again

Remember my gym nemesis? Well, he was at the gym again yesterday and committed his worst offense yet. He dripped sweat on me! I was minding my own business, doing crunches on a mat on the ground, and he got off one of the machines and walked by, obviously WAY TOO CLOSE because he was practically hovering over me, and the next thing I know, I felt nemesis sweat droplets hitting my skin. Yuck.

Good news for the lactose intolerant

1. Cheddar cheese is lactose free! Rejoice! Apparently, during the processing of cheddar and other hard cheeses, all lactose is broken down. Check the label to make sure- if it says 0g sugars, you are good to go.

2. Here's a link with a bunch of lactose free recipes. I haven't tried any yet, but the pumpkin bread one looks tasty.

3. I have discovered a soy yogurt that doesn't taste like ass. O'Soy, by Stonyfield Farm. I found it in my regular grocery store, so you don't even need to go to a specialty shop. I haven't eaten regular yogurt in about ten years, so I can't say it tastes exactly like it, but the O'soy is pretty yummy and I'm happy to add some variety to my lunches.

Cheddar and soy yogurt, paving the way for a future free from explosive diarrhea.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Poland

I have been reading the novel Poland, by James A. Michener, for the last month. Normally, I plow through books, so most books only last me a few days, but this one was so densely written that I only got through a few pages at a time. Poland the book is about, well, Poland the country, and traces the turbulent history of the nation across centuries by following three families: one a wealthy member of the nobility, one a member of the landed gentry, and one a peasant family in indebted servitude to the landowners. I knew relatively nothing about Polish history and culture before reading this book, and found my self completely drawn in by the story and I'm now on a big-time Poland kick. I discovered a Polish restaurant in my very own neighborhood and I'm planning to go sometime this week. Apparently, I'm not the only one who became obsessed with Poland after reading this book. My grandmother's name was written on the inside cover (I found the book at my parents' house) so I called her up to tell that I read it and really enjoyed it. She told me that after reading it, she became fascinated with Poland and even went there twice on vacation, and that she "no longer laughs at Polish jokes because the Poles have suffered greatly." Now I'm curious to read other books by Michener. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for the collection Tales of the South Pacific, which later was adapted for the musical South Pacific.

Best Oscar contest prize ever


Enter my former roomate and current Web-Goddess' Oscar contest and you could win your very own gay cowboy sock monkeys!

Super Sunday

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks to win Superbowl XL (that's 40, not Extra Large). The game itself wasn't that spectacular- the AFC championship when the Steelers beat the Colts was more exciting. I watched the game at Phil and Sue's house and indulged in a super feast that included chili, mini hot dogs, snickerdoodles, rice krispy treats, chips and dip, and a salad, my theory being that ending the night with a salad would counteract and erase all prior consumption of unhealthy foodstuffs. I won $10 after the first quarter but then lost a dollar on a bet I made for halftime. I wagered that the Stones would play Start Me Up, Satisfaction, and their cover of Ain't Too Proud To Beg as a tribute to Detroit motown, and I lost (hah- gambled and lost) despite having correctly identified two or three songs. We also had a discussion on if/when people would have slept with Mick Jagger. I put the over-under at 1985: I would definitely sleep with the pre-1985 Jagger but not post-1985 Jagger, and heaven forbid the current Jagger. I'd still do Keith Richards, though. Kidding. As for commercials, I liked the Bud ones (the magic fridge and the streaking shorn sheep were both hilarious) and Sprint had a couple of good ones (theft deterrent phone), but overall, there were too many TV promos and too much tackling. I like physical comedy as much as the next girl, but come on, come up with something new. At some level, any ad with tackling seems to be a pale imitation of the Terry Tate office linebacker bit.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Boston Biolab approved

The new Level 4 biolab at BU received federal approval yesterday. The facility will conduct biomedical research on agents of infectious disease such as anthrax and Ebola, and has been very controversial. Since my boss is the scientific director, I've seen a lot of the behind-the-scenes planning and protesting. I am fully supportive of the laboratory and I believe that it will provide scientists with a great opportunity to studies level 4 infectious diseases, many of which predominantly affect third-world populations. Hooray, science! I'm not looking forward to busting through lines of protesters on my way to work, though.

This video rendered me speechless

Watch and see. Warning: Contains audio and The Hoff
Happy Friday, everyone!

send to me via Phil, who doesn't get a link because he doesn't have a blog, but he does love The Hoff

P.S. my favorite part is when the Hoff is flying through the air with the geese

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Back to the funny stuff

Watch this parody of Brokeback Mountain- Brokeback to the Future. You'll never look at Back to the Future Part III in exactly the same way, if, for some strange reason, you decide to watch that movie again. I actually remember going to see it in the movie theater with my cousins and our moms, way back in 1990.
from Freakgirl

Oh yeah, and it just crossed my radar that the Pres is against "human-animal hybrids." There goes my new idea for a thesis project: creating a centaur.

Oh, the irony

Palestinian gunmen shut down an EU office in Gaza today, protesting the controversial political cartoon depicting Mohammad with a bomb as a turban that has been published in various newspapers throughout Europe.

From the article:
The gunmen left a notice on the EU office's door that the building would remain closed until Europeans apologize to Muslims, many of whom consider the cartoons offensive. Mask-wearing members of the militant group Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of former Palestinian ruling party Fatah, fired bullets into the air and a man read the group's demands. Palestinian officials said the gunmen were threatening to kidnap European workers if the European Union did not apologize.

Um, hello? This behavior (Using religion to justify death and violence) is exactly what the cartoon, offensive as it may be, was making fun of! Hey, we Christians have done it for centuries, I'm not solely picking on Muslims. I wonder if this sort of thing makes the average Muslim cringe the way I do when I hear about some religious right nutjob using the bible to justify killing gay people or whatever. Probably.

No word on whether or not suicide bombers are planning to protest the fact that they were depicted as Ted Kennedy and John Kerry in a recent Boston Herald cartoon.

Yes, these cartoons are incendiary and offensive, but so is the treatment of women in many Arab nations (zing!). I haven't actually seen the original cartoon, but I'm sure it is distasteful at best and racist at worst, but either way, I'm siding with freedom of speech on this issue. It's Salman Rushdie all over again.

I wish there was onomatopoeia for the din-dun Law & Order sound so I could make it the title of this post

Look...Law & Order: SVU valentines! I especially like the "We make a great team!" with Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni because I heart both of them.

via 6togo

In other notes of the day, one of my coworkers and I decided to hit Mike's City Diner in the South End for a 7AM greasy breakfast before work, only to have our boss show up and sit at the table right next to us. Needless to say, we didn't do any complaining about work...

And bad news, people. Six more weeks of winter.

List #20...Top 10 bands from Boston

10. tie: New Edition/NKOTB (Thank Boston for introducing the world to boy bands and Bobby Brown )
9. The Lemonheads (Evan Dando is like, sooo cute)
8. Mighty Mighty Bosstones (ska is so 1997 but these guys did it best)
7. The Breeders
6. Buffalo Tom
5. Boston (cheesy classic rock guitar riff goodness)
4. J. Geils Band (if only for the live version of Musta Got Lost)
3. Dresden Dolls (punk cabaret rocks so hard)
2. The Pixies
1. Aerosmith

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Oooh, look at these cute new stamps



Don't recognize some of your old friends? You can find their bios here.

And the Academy Award nomination goes to...

Oscar nominations are out. Although I've only seen a few of the movies (still hoping to catch Munich), here are my picks for the major categories:
Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix
Best Actress: Keira Knightley
Best Supporting Actor: Matt Dillon
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams

I have a couple of requests. Could everyone please stop referring to "Oscar" as if Oscar were an actual person? As in: "Oscar likes films that focus on the internal struggles of a comnplex character." Stop that! And could Rachel Weisz please not win? The Constant Gardener stunk and her character in that movie was FREAKIN ANNOYING. Also, I thought Matt Dillon did a great acting job in Crash, but I'm suprised that the movie was nominated for so much- it was way too preachy for me. I'll definitely enter the annual Web-Goddess Oscar contest, as well as an Oscar betting pool, which I just so happened to win last year, run by a non-blogging friend.

State of the Apartment

It has been an astounding year for the apartment. We began with domestic reform, starting with the living room and Eileen's bedroom, and extending to the replacement of the kitchen chairs. The apartment is working hard in hopes of one day attaining the goal of actually purchasing new furniture from a store. Over the past year, the apartment has faced the threat of terrorism, primarily of the murine persuasion. We overcame this threat with the help of a feline ally. However, like our predecessors, the apartment learned that the enemy of its enemy is not necessarily its friend, and after accusations of torture and acts of urinary sabotage, our former ally was deported. The apartment also managed to overcome evildoers who sought to sully its reputation for their own financial gain. New alliances were formed, and the apartment benefited from the free trade agreement with the Irish neighbors, which resulted in the acquisition of kitchen chairs, lamps, and assorted articles of clothing at the small cost of a donkey costume and occasional leftovers. The economy has struggled, but the apartment has taken steps to curtail the rising debt. The apartment continues to work towards a brighter future, a future devoid of debt, a future decorated by Pottery Barn or at least Crate and Barrel and Target, and a future that comforts residents and entertains guests. You ask what is the state of the apartment, and I will answer: The state of the apartment is that it is strong, and it will prevail!