Uh-oh, Alicia is getting antsy about our new book club. I guess we'd better get on that. Good thing I'm a ferocious reader (when I want to be anyway), cause I'm not giving up theme reading!

Wondering what my theme-reading topic is for May? Why it's Popular Culture and Philosophy. As someone who has never bothered with learning about philosophy, I thought this would be a good intro. And lucky for me there is a Popular Culture and Philosophy Series that includes some of my favorite tv shows of all time. So here's my book list:

Seinfeld and Philosophy: A Book about Everything and Nothing

The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale

Thank God, I found the Buffy book or I may have had to resort to The Matrix and Philosophy for my 3rd book. And that would have meant propping my eyes open with toothpicks to try and sit through that movie again. That's right people, there are actually a few movies that I can't stand and The Matrix is near the top of that list. In fact, I have never been able to stay awake to see it straight through in one sitting. And that's after 3 or 4 tries, including one where my friend Luke kept poking me in the eye with his finger to try and keep me awake. It was my own fault for buying him the DVD...

All this lover-ly weather is getting me excited about our Cedar Point "field trip" this summer... especially when I read about their new ride in Home & Away magazine. The Top Thrill Dragster looks like brain damage waiting to happen. I. can't. wait. There's is no fucking way we're getting Rocky on that.

Someday, when I have a yard of my own, I'm going to Plant A Couch on it. Or maybe a whole seating area...

Books

Finished: The Nanny Diaries
Started: The Motorcycle Diaries

I love this... Goldfish can swim again thanks to sling

:-)

Friday Night Fun is on at Rocky & Sage's house if anyone is interested...

Some feedback from the forgotten co-worker mystery...

Heather: "...did he start working there after Craig put the pool table in? was it after i quit working there? I remember one youngish guy, with curlyish brownish hair ... I think...is that who you're talking about? I wonder if Alyssia would remember."

My responses: He got "let go" around the same time you quit, Heather: pre-pool table fiasco. And I'm positive he was there the night of the previously mentioned "knife incident." But, yes! Curlyish brownish hair sounds familiar, with glasses, right? Alyssia might just remember, ask her please. The name Brett popped into my head last night, could that be it? Until we figure this out, let's just call him Billy-Bob.

It looks as though I'm not the only one who doesn't remember this person we worked with for 6 months of our still young lives... should I feel ashamed by this? should it make me as sad as it does? I say that, I guess, because I've always had the feeling that I'm as easily forgotten to people. I mean it isn't as if we worked in some huge restaurant... there were like 6 of us, 10 tops.

I can remember so many random people from that place: Creepy-stare Sean who I made out with one night, gorgeous-married-but-seperated-under-water-welder Luke who I made out with one night, coke-snorting lawyer from upstairs who once took a video camera into the men's bathroom, drunk Sandi, sweet pot-head Zack who I should have made out with when I had the chance, Mike the Pilot's nice pilot friend Tom and his not-so-nice pilot friend Brian from "the slap heard round the bar" incident of my 23 birthday party, creepy Carl... I could keep going but my head is starting to hurt from all this past regression stuff.

Friday Five time again...

1. What was the last TV show you watched? Gidget

2. What was the last thing you complained about and what was the problem? Complained mildly about my wrist hurting during typing class... the problem is that my wrist hurts. Thanks again Mike...

3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say? In my blog earlier today (yesterday) I complimented Heather on the kick ass attitude she gave our boss 4 years ago... that counts right?

4. What was the last thing you threw away? empty Diet Pepsi can and a flowers.com catalog

5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited? The Transporter...because I just finished watching the movie.

I had the strangest flashback this morning while eating breakfast. No, not that kind of flashback, everyone knows that Michelle only abuses legal substances! Anyway, don't ask me why this incident popped into my head...

Picture it: Jouster's Pub, 1999. It was the Saturday dinner rush. I believe I was filling in for Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. As usual, all hell is breaking loose in the kitchen. Our cooks and our "fearless leader" Craig are having some sort of power struggle back by the grill and punching things (like freezer doors) seems to be all that keeps them from punching each other. Suddenly, Heather needs a slice of cake and observing "dumb kitchen rule #31" she politely asks the 2 pre-qualified dessert slicers, Jeff and Craig, to perform their duty. Of course, this does not go over to well with them as they are both currently doing more important things (like punching freezer doors) and much snapping ensues between the 3 of them. Heather, finally fed up with the kitchen politics, grabs the largest knife in the entire kitchen, marches over to the cake (gripping the knife rather psychotically I might add), and slices a beautiful piece of cake while proclaiming, quite loudly, that "people who can't handle it shouldn't own restaurants."

I was never prouder of her at that moment. Well, actually at that particular moment we were all a little scared of her... let's just say nobody moved an inch until Heather put the knife down. (The extreme proudness came later, when Craig tried his usual "after dinner apology" on her and she didn't back down. I believe she told him that he "can't just turn into an asshole every time we get a little rush.") But that's not the point to my story...

As I remembered all this over my bowl of Cinnamon Life, I just suddenly remembered that when we all (Rocky,Sage,Heather,Alyssia,Me) worked at Jouster's there was a guy server who worked there, too. What's weird is that, until this morning, I seemed to have completely blocked out all memory of this guy. As I'm normally the one who remembers all the details that everyone else forgets, this is slightly troubling to me. The more I thought about it, I remembered that he was in college, had a girlfriend, and was really nice but never stayed and hung out/drank with us after the dining room closed. But I can't for the life of me remember what he looks like or what his name is.

Which one of my scooby gang will help me solve this mystery?

While your thinking about it, check out this retro review from our much missed hangout. Hmmm... "the pub seems to cater to a more sophisticated crowd," that's a good one!

It's a little goal/obsession of mine to see Mikhail Baryshnikov dance on stage in my lifetime. Considering that he's 55 years old, I'm betting that his solo tour this summer might be one of my last chances. He's only going to ten cities, of which Columbus or Ann Arbor, MI are both close enough to drive and see one of the greatest male dancers ever. I might try and go to both. Columbus is a bit tricky though, I even joined the Wexner Center for the Arts for my chance to get tickets. They're expecting to sell out during the member pre-sale. Wish me luck!

Madonna's new album is out today. Bought it this morning. Listened to it twice. Love it. Enough said.

Being a true child of the 80's (little child at the beginning, slightly bigger child at the end), I can't get enough of the VH1 Show I Love The 80's. Last night I got to see 1981, fuckin' hilarious! Especially when they're all singing the theme to The Greatest American Hero and you can't help but sing along. Eventually, I hope to get to see the entire series... but for some reason I can't fathom, VH1 seems to like 1989.

Finally! The Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle trailer is online!

I'm not sure how I feel about them switching out Bosley yet...

It turns out there really are white peacocks... hmm, learn something new everyday.

The Great Easter Peacock Escape!

What are peacocks doing on the loose in Wayne County? My mom and I were driving to Wooster this evening and there were (I kid you not) about 15-20 peacocks trying to cross Friendsville Rd. They had some white bird friends with them, too... there's no such thing as a white peacock is there? They looked just like peacocks with the plume and all, only white. I don't know. Anywho - they didn't seem to terribly smart about crossing the road, one nearly committed suicide in front of my mom's truck. I was sure we'd see at least one dead on the road on the way back. They must have got lucky, though... I wonder if whoever owned them noticed they were gone and re-captured them yet? Crazy, eh?

I wish I'd had my camera with me...

Even though living across the street from 4 bars doesn't help my insomnia during the week, I actually enjoy it on Saturday nights. Right now, there's actually someone howling out there. It's like my own little reality TV show through the window. It's about closing time now, time for all the drunk people to start pouring on to the street... that's usually the best part. There's almost always some girl screaming at the top of her lungs at a guy who I'm sure she declared her love to about 5 minutes before. Seroiusly enjoyable! At least, it keeps me from watching too much Dynasty. At the moment though, I'm being distracted from my window TV with real TV. Just thinking about how I used to date a guy who looked just like Prince Michael on Dynasty, only without the helmet hair. Wonder what ever happened to him...

Tonight is all about movies I own being on TV... Four Weddings and a Funeral, Center Stage, The Big Chill, and Ferris Buehler's Day Off have all been on in the last few hours. Guess those are all off the list for my Saturday night movie... Right now though, I'm catching up on General Hospital. If they bring on one more new teen character, I'm gonna scream. I remember in the old days (1995 or so) when they used to get 20-something actors to play the teenagers, now I think they get 12 year olds. Blah.

NBC is messing with it's Saturday night schedule and I'm not too happy about it! When you advertise that a show is on at 9:00pm, why would you put it on at 8:00? It's like they want all the shows I like to fail... yep, that must be it, the networks are out to annoy me.

Last night, we (Rocky,Sage,Me) went to the movies and saw Bend it Like Beckham. I thought it was very good, you'll have to ask the other 2 what they thought.

Sage seemed to have some problem with the obscure references in the title. But then, it's a little independent British film, it makes perfect sense to them. And it's not going for a Matrix/Spiderman kind of audience over here. I have the feeling (even though I asked liked 4 times) that he just wasn't really up for seeing a little independent movie he'd never heard of. And because I'm always afraid of another "Moulin Rouge reaction," I would have totally caved and saw Phone Booth. But it wasn't playing, so we saw this instead.

The title refers to soccer and the most popular player in England, David Beckham. True, he's not very well known here and soccer is not all that popular in America... which explains why you won't be seeing him on The Simpsons. But over there, he's extremely famous, not just for soccer, but also because he's married to Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. Think of them as a Brad & Jennifer or Ben & Jen of England, big with the tabloids and all. The first part of the title, Bend it Like, apparently refers to the way Beckham bends, or curves, a soccer ball when he kicks it.

Anywho - the movie's good, who the fuck cares what it's called.

Technically, it's Saturday but here's my Friday 5 anyway...

1. Who is your favorite celebrity? Drew Barrymore

2. Who is your least favorite? Anna Nicole Smith... she just creeps me out.

3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life? Joan Jett @ Bob Evans, Chris Isaac @ Santa Monica Pier

4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not? Yes on the following conditions:
1. I became famous because I actively seeked it out. (i.e. I didn't kill someone or get killed by someone)
2. I was also extremely wealthy and could own houses on at least 3 continents.
3. I could lead a balanced & happy life.
4. I didn't become a complete nutcase in my later years.

5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why? Jennifer Aniston. Why? Hmmm, let. me. think. Oh yeah! Because she's married to Brad Pitt!

I can't think of anything to blog about today...

I just had a surreal "I must be getting old" moment... since when is Bon Jovi considered classic rock? I mean, I know they've been around for a good 20 years since I remember wanting to marry Jon Bon Jovi circa 3rd grade but classic rock?? Puh-lease.

Billionaire Sir J. Paul Getty Dies at 70

If you ever want to feel better about your crazy family, read about the Getty family or try to catch their Biography on A&E... I think they were the inspiration for or at the very least a great example of "money can't buy happiness."

So, I know it's not Friday but I just found out about The Friday 5 and I didn't want to wait until Friday to do it.

1. What was the first band you saw in concert? Neil Diamond

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now? Madonna

3. What's your favorite song? Ever? Um... I can't be committing to that but a song I really love is: Love Her Madly - The Doors

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? My Snoopy Jaw Harp

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why? Frank Sinatra Do I really need to explain why? He was Frank, baby!

"I like intelligent women. When you go out, it shouldn't be a staring contest."

Frank Sinatra

After about a week of trying I finally picked the right time for the daily Jelly Belly Survey! Which means I will be getting a yummy free Jelly Belly sample in the mail in 3-4 weeks! I hope I don't get all the flavors I hate...

What is it about the sign that says "Private Parking Only: Violators will be Towed" that makes people want to park in my space?

U.S. Citizenship Test: Could You Pass?

I was just thinking last night about this very thing. I got 11/11 right... but I'm sure those 11% of Americans who (allegedly) can't find the U.S. on a world map wouldn't fair so well.

Today's example of Seinfeld's lasting impact on Pop Culture: The song 'Desperado' is on the radio here at the office... all I can think of is that episode where Elaine is dating that guy, Brett, who spaces out every time he hears that song. Ah, good times.

Even though I declared Hershey's Krackle as the best candy bar of the last 70 years in that Esquire poll... I think Newman's Own Organics Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups might be the next best thing. Of course, they are hard to find and about $1.19 a pop. But, because "Paul Newman donates all profits, after taxes, from the sale of this product for Educational & Charitable Purposes," I like to think that by eating them, my chocolate addiction might finally be making the world a better place.

:-)

Since I have no idea when our new book club is starting... I am declaring April "Diary month" in my personal reading world. I'm currently reading The Nanny Diaries (Very Funny), then I'm moving on to The Motorcycle Diaries: A Journey Around South America, and then I think I'll read The Basketball Diaries. I like to call it theme reading.

Apparently I'm not the only one with nothing to do on Saturday nights...

'Hunter' Makes NBC the Hunted

So the weekend is over and I really didn't do any of the things I said I was going do... typical me. You'll be glad to hear that the internet did in fact answer all my Dynasty questions (I know none of you actually care, but it's my blog, so there). Fallon is "dead" (i.e. being recast), Kirby just up and left, the redhead Jeff is married to is Nikki but I still don't understand why they live w/the Carringtons, the writers probably couldn't make Steven too gay because it was 80's America (i.e. Reaganland), Amanda apparently is just another kid Alexis didn't remember having and Blake didn't know he had, Rock Hudson is some old boyfriend of Krystal's sister who always loved Krystal, and well, as far as those outfits Alexis wore... once again I'll blame that on the 80's. Thank god for the useless knowledge database that is the internet...

And speaking of 80's TV... sometimes if I can't sleep on Saturday nights I'll watch reruns of Dynasty on Soapnet. Man, was that a cheesy show. I never watched it when it was on originally but I find it addictive (in a bad sort of heroin way) now. Since I apparently haven't been having trouble sleeping the last few Saturdays I'm completely confused by what's going on now. What happened to Fallon? Where is Kirby? Why does Jeff always live w/the Carrington's no matter who he's married to and who is this red head he's married to now? Why can't the writers just make Steven gay? Who's Amanda and why is she the only one of Blake & Alexis's kids who has a british accent? Why does everyone still hate Adam? Who's this character that Rock Hudson's playing and why does he call Krystal, Kristy? What is going on w/those outfits Alexis is wearing? I only watched 1 and 1/2 episodes before I fell asleep and I have that many questions about the storyline. And how sad was it that poor Rock Hudson looked like he aged 30 years in the 5 years since McMillan & Wife went off the air, although I guess it wasn't really aging as much as dying. McMillan and Wife, now there's a show I could stand to see some reruns of. Maybe the internet can help me out with my Dynasty questions...

Being the sort of person who doesn't go out much on Saturday nights, I was glad to see that Hunter, one of my favorite TV shows from when I was younger, is back on NBC. When I originally heard that NBC was thinking of bringing it back I admit I was a little skeptical. After all, it has been 12 years since when it was canceled (I remember being really pissed off when the original series ended) and around that time I was probably also still watching TV like Dallas on a regular basis. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that there have been more then a few TV shows and movies from back in the day that I'll catch on late night TV and think... man, that sucks! But after catching the TV movie that kicked off the new series last night I think I'll enjoy watching Hunter again. Which, of course, probably means it will only be on for 2 months before it's canceled again.

Yea Saturday! And it's actually going to be nice weather-wise this weekend. I think I'll go for a couple walks, maybe I'll check out those antique stores down the street from me... I think I'll finish cleaning my apartment and rearrange a couple rooms, too. And maybe I'll even go see a movie... Anger Management looks pretty funny. Next weekend is a 3 day weekend, even better!

Seriously. I'm just completely confounded by the fact that someone can walk away from the movie Frida and characterize it as "a movie about an artist's wife." The movie was called FRIDA for christ's sake! Whatever you did or didn't know about her before shouldn't have completely overshadowed the entire storyline of the movie. I don't doubt that Diego Rivera was probably a talented artist and more renowned at the time of their marriage or even in their lifetimes but... hello? Were we at the same movie?

Frida Kahlo: An Amazing Woman

Enough with being so serious. It's Friday! Which means it's time for Friday Night Fun!

After Sage told me about a speech Sherrod Brown made in which he said that if the Bill of Rights was put to a vote the people probably wouldn't pass it, I've been thinking a lot about democracy and liberty. After all, just because you have the right to vote doesn't mean you'll ever bother to or that you'll inform yourself with some facts before doing so and it doesn't mean that you'd want every person (based on religion, ethnicity, even sexual preference) to have the same rights & freedoms you may want for yourself. Fear, bigotry, instability, religion, complacency, etc. are often factored in when the people vote, if they vote at all. It would be a great thing if the Iraqi people would embrace not just democracy but also equal liberty for all it's people but as history has shown it's just not that simple. Just read a U.S. history book.

Anywho - I just read the following article and think I'm going to read the book it's about to further learn about this subject...

Here's Your Vote; Liberty Can Wait

I found this article about the downing of that Saddam statue yesterday pretty interesting. It's not quite the portrayal we saw in the U.S. media. Surprise!

Symbolic in more ways than one

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

Gandhi

So what were my answers to the greatest survey pt. 1 you ask?

The best U.S. president: John F. Kennedy - Why? because he was the hottest president w/the hottest wife and he fucked Marilyn Monroe. And in the end that's all that really matters, isn't it? Of course it's not, idiot.

The best movie: Gone with the Wind - Why? It's held up for nearly 65 years and I can watch it every time it's on TV even though I own the DVD.

The best board game: Trivial Pursuit Why? Because I have a wealth of useless knowledge and I almost always win.

The best candy bar: Hershey's Krackle Why? When you open a bag of Hershey's minatures, 9 times out of 10 people will go for the mini krackle first.

The best decade: 1960's Why? Because I wasn't alive so I can idealize it and it bothers people who were there.

The best video game: Dead or Alive 3 on Xbox Why? Even though I'm a PS2 girl, I have to admit that DOA3 on Xbox clearly rules. Until it comes out for PS2 that is.

The best sitcom: Seinfeld Why? Because I look forward to watching the reruns even though I've probably seen them all 5 times.

The best fast-food chain: Burger King Why? Come on... flame. broiled. whopper.

The best athlete: Pete Sampras Why? He's the best player in the history of tennis. Period. I don't even mind that he always seems to beat my favorite player, Andre Agassi.

The best man: Hugh Hefner Why? Because he's Hef, he created a $200,000,000 empire from a $600 investment and he still exudes sex appeal even though it's his 77th birthday.

The Greatest Survey Part 1

OK...

Speaking of Heinz ketchup... did you ever wonder what the claim of "57 Varieties" on the bottle was all about? Here's your answer.

Am I the only one who's troubled by the idea of blue ketchup? For the record, it's not just the blue kind that freaks me out... I'm also against green ketchup, purple ketchup, teal ketchup, pink ketchup and I'm definitely never trying anything called Mystery Color Ketchup. Orange ketchup though... I'll have to ponder that one.

Check out this cool Zen garden! How do you think they rake that thing so perfectly?

I suppose I should try to understand the Evangelical lunatics who participated in this survey but at this point they seem like a lost cause. I'll admit first off that I'm not a big fan of organized religion as a whole* but if you asked me what religions are the most dangerous to the world's well-being at this point, the ultra Evangelical Christians are right up there with the Islamic fundamentalists.

*I think everyone should seek out their own spiritual beliefs with much thought & preferably much research. Then they should keep those beliefs to themselves unless they are specifically asked about them or they are in a church, mosque, etc. where everyone agrees with everything they say or they know how to express those beliefs without sounding condescending or superior in anyway.

And that is Michelle's condescending & superior opinion on spiritualty :-)

While looking for more information about the massive threats to the Ape population of Africa, I happened on this great quote that could be applied in so many ways to the current state of the world:

Only if we understand can we care.
Only if we care will we help.
Only if we help shall all be saved.
– Dr. Jane Goodall

This morning a made myself breakfast (which I never do on weekdays). I had me some eggs and some of the yummiest sausage ever. It was Hans' All Natural spinach and feta chicken sausage. Damn good. Everyone should try it.

Got an idea? Pitch it to Ideas Happen and if people like it, you could win $25,000 to make it happen. You can enter your idea under one of three categories: community, entrepreneur, or self-expression. Hmmm, I have a few good ideas...

Tonight was "Friday night movie fun", which just basically means that the three of us each picked a movie and then we watch them all. Sage picked Red Dragon, Rocky picked 13 Conversations About One Thing, and I picked Secretary. They were all pretty good. I thought that Secretary was a lot like Fight Club the first time I saw it... a bit disturbing but fucking awesome non the less. 13 Conversations was a little darker than I thought it would be but still good. And Red Dragon, seemed a lot like Silence of the Lambs, but different enough to still be good. And you can't go wrong with Edward Norton, right? But as far as freaky disturbing movies go, Red Dragon was not anywhere near The Ring, I couldn't sleep for nearly the whole "7 days" after that one. It's because my TV is so close to the bed... and that girl... she was scary, admit it.

MSNBC has a great article about The mysteries of time and sleep. I especially enjoyed reading about why my eyes are always crusty when I wake up and everything about yawning. And dude, I'm ALWAYS gonna brush my teeth before I go to bed from now on. I promise!

My favorite comic strip (besides the much-miseed Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes) is Boondocks. Everyday, laughing. out. loud.

I'm thinking about invested some of my tax refund money in a mp3 player... the one I intially wanted was the Philips/Nike psa 128mb but it doesn't have the best reviews. So I did a little browsing and stumbled on the iAUDIO CW200 128MB which has lots of 5 star reviews. But I think I might really need to splurge on the 256MB... I don't know, I'll have to think about it.

Saturday I bought the cutest pair of sandals at Express which I wore for the first time yesterday. They promptly gave me the un-cutest blister on my left foot. Why must I suffer for fashion? Why can't they come up with a flip-flop that doesn't give you a blister where it's nearly impossible to get a band-aid to stay on?

Mmmm... just had a yummy and completely unhealthy sausage and cheese omelette at Dodie's. I'm declaring that place has the best breakfast in Akron and it's super cheap. I only spent $4 for this huge omelette which came w/tons of hash browns and toast. That would cost $7 at Bob Evans and it wouldn't be that good.

Me being a big Madonna fan, I was happy to see that Salon.com offered up The Madonna Video You Can't See, although I hear that the only reason that she pulled the video is because MTV in America & Europe were refusing to play it as it was. Anywho - here's a link to a link for American Life - The Video

Dude, Rocky & Sage rock! Today because they're going to let me keep "my precious"... my orbitrek, in their basement instead of my apartment where apparently it sounds like a train coming through to the apartment downstairs... still can't figure it out... I can hear birds chirping, people talking, trucks going by when I'm on it but maybe there are some serious vibrations going on???

Man, it is fuckin' gorgeous outside in Akron today! I hope everyone is having such good weather right now. Enjoy it while you can is my theme for today so I'm going to join Rocky and Sage & Rocco the Dog on the porch for a little Wednesday night fun! Yea for us!

I seem to be having a problem with some of my favorite websites suddenly becoming unfree. People.com, EW.com, RealSimple.com, and there's another one that I can't think of... you must either be a subscriber to these magazines or an AOL member. But you have to have AOL on that computer it would seem because there's no way for me to sign in w/my AOL name. This bites. How am I suppose to get my daily celebrity gossip now? And I'll really miss TV Watch on EW.com because they recapped Buffy & The Real World. None of the good stuff on People/EW's dumb sites are even in the magazines. Although I will admit that I did just read RealSimple.com instead of buying the magazine. :-) Well, they really put me in my place, didn't they?

I Should Not be Allowed to Say the Following Things About America


The Onion rocks!

I just found this great new quote that speaks to my liberal-idealist nature:

"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace"
-John Lennon

Here is where I found it

Alrighty - now that I have changed thee color a bit, I am ready to blog a bit more.