I never get tired of reading about a Beckham...

Beckham, the virus

But I must take issue with the author's "he's not that cute" statement. I think he's gorgeous!

Sad news: Katharine Hepburn has died... This, of course, is not unexpected, but still a very sad loss.

I highly recommend you run out and rent one of her wonderful films. My favorites: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, her final film with her great love, Spencer Tracy and The Philadelphia Story, the movie that made the people who dubbed her "box office poison" eat crow.

"My, she was yar..."

Here's something everyone in America should read:

AlterNet: 10 Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq

And the scary part of it is that there's probably a lot more than 10...

Friday Five has slightly redeemed itself this week:

1. How are you planning to spend the summer [winter]?
What? I have to PLAN my whole summer just to answer this question? I can't do that!!! The only thing I know for sure is that I'm going to Cedar Point on July 5th... other than that you'll have to wait for my "What I did this summer" report in October.

2. What was your first summer job?
You mean my first job? I'm not one of those spoiled little %@$# who only had to work in the summer... but to answer the question: I had an Akron Beacon Journal paper route in Westfield Ctr. (with a car not a bike), I worked less than two hours a day and brought home about $450 a month plus I cleared about $800 in tips at Xmas time. It was sweet, especially for a 16 year old... if only I could still live on $400/month!!!

3. If you could go anywhere this summer [winter], where would you go?
Now this is a question I can answer! If I could go anywhere this summer (which I can't because I'm poor... but I shouldn't have to plan my dream trip based on actual finances), I would go to Italy & Sicily for AT LEAST a month, take a few little 3-day trips while I was there to Paris, Lisbon, Madrid, Vienna, maybe London & St. Petersburg, Russia... but mostly I'd hang in Italy just soaking up the culture and language. And on my way home I'd stop in Iceland for a few days. And closer to home, I'd go to D.C. cause it's been years since I was last there and it's my favorite city in the U.S.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?
Pretty much any road or plane trip that I took a friend on. I think I'm a solo traveler-type.

5. What was your best vacation ever?
OK, that last answer was a bit harsh because I did thoroughly enjoy when Alyssia, Mike and I went to D.C. for a weekend. Maybe the key is taking more than one friend...

And pretty much any time I got to go to Disneyland was great (cause I love me some disneyland)... except that one time when I took a friend.

I love love love the new google toolbar!!! It even blocks pop-up ads!!!

Google Toolbar

"Anyone who followed the first half of Agassi's career would, likewise, have laid strong odds against the fact that out of that golden generation of American players, Sampras and Agassi, Chang and Courier, who turned professional when Ronald Reagan was still president, it would be him, the eldest and least dogged, who, a thousand and one matches later, is still playing."

Andre's love lingers

I knew I picked the right guy all those years ago... OK, OK, even I didn't expect him to be the last one standing, but I'm very pleased that I was wrong!

Friday Five is starting to get tedious... can't they think of better questions then this?

1. Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Long or short?

Naturally wavy... usually it's long but right now it's medium length.

2. How has your hair changed over your lifetime?

Well... it's grown, gotten cut, and grown again. yep that's about it.

3. How do your normally wear your hair?

pulled back because it bothers me down

4. If you could change your hair this minute, what would it look like?

it would be the exact same style but 2-3 inches longer with more volume so it didn't always look so flat!

5. Ever had a hair disaster? What happened?

Too many to list here. Let's just say there's a reason I have anxiety attacks even thinking about changing my hair.

I don't like concerts... therefore I don't go to a lot of concerts. Not the sit in a club and listen to some local group kinda deals and not outdoor music festivals where there's usually more to do than sit around but famous singer/band arena types. Why? They cost too much, they require me to stand or sit still in seriously crowded places, they rarely play the music you really want to hear, the music they do play rarely sounds as great as the album version, and they are extremely short, you get to hear like ten songs or something. Of course, I have exceptions to this rule.

For instance, Neil Diamond is always exempt. He's the first concert I ever went to (I was pretty young, probably 2nd or 3rd grade age) and the last concert I went to (in late 2001). And he still puts on a great show, although a little more subdued from the ones he gave in the 70's & 80's. And then there are those who I'd see, maybe once, if given the opportunity; Madonna, Sting and maybe one or two more that I can't think of right now.

Knowing all of this, Sage is always wondering who I'd make this exception for and I found a new one today...

Simon and Garfunkel eyeing reunion tour

Wouldn't that be cool! If it actually happens that is...

After reading this article...

Why some of us are early risers

...suddenly all my sleeping issues seem to make sense. Clearly, I must have the shorter form of this gene because it only makes sense that I'm an extreme evening person. All of my individual research seems to indicate that I sleep best during the hours of 3:00am and 8:00am. I'm almost never tired before 1:00am and usually have to force myself to go to bed any earlier than that. And let's not even start with the 5 separate alarms it takes to wake me up before 9:00am!

This is probably how I missed parts 2 & 3, Part 5 of The Greatest Survey is up already... unfortunately I don't have time right now to answer but I'll try to get to it this week.

Here's the NY Times review of the Baryshnikov solo tour that Rocky and I are going to see in Columbus next month...

Baryshnikov Focuses, Naturally, on Baryshnikov

Whoosh! Gonna get a haircut, gonna get new glasses and new contacts! Gonna be in debt forever!

Now that I've made the appointment, I better figure out what I want to do w/my hair...

books

finished: Seinfeld and Philosophy
started: The Simpsons and Philosophy & Sex, Art, and American Culture

Don't worry, those are 2 different books... although it would probably make one interesting book.

Friday Five time...

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
One thing??? All right I'll keep it to one (and I prefer to say that I haven't done this yet)... recycle an old or different building (such as the old bowling alley by Blockbuster down the street from me) into a unique living space...

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Hell no! Unless, of course, I don't like the person. Unfortunately, it's the politics of life that sometimes you have to lie in order to not crush the self esteem of others... one of life's rules I don't particularly agree with but try my hardest to follow.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Nothing I can think of.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
The Ewok Village (as long as I could have indoor plumbing in my tree hut) because it's in a big, beautiful forest high up in the trees. Who wouldn't want to live in a tree village?

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
Going to have to do 2 this time... to speak 5 languages fluently and drive stick shift.

The lottery gods have frowned upon me once again...
:-(

I decided to suspend my "theme reading" for summer, instead I'm just going to declare it the "summer of reading & learning as much as possible" and focus mostly on books that have been in my "I'll read that later" pile... here's my list so far:

The Simpson's and Philosophy - This is a holdover from "theme reading" that I just haven't got to yet.
Night - Elie Weisel
Seabiscuit - before I see the movie.
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - since I (accidentally) already found out how the next movie is going to end.
The Great Gatsby - This poor book has been in the pile for 2 years.
The 72 Names of God - This is part of my wanting to learn more about religions and spirituality. Don't worry, I don't plan on going all Kabbalah on you... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Those plus the June book club book - Breakfast of Champions: Kurt Vonnegut - are the definites so far. But I'd also like to delve deeper into a couple subjects that interest me - philosophy, democracy, non-profit organizations - and a couple of authors who I've enjoyed in the past - Truman Capote, Chuck Palahniuk, Joseph Campbell. Therefore I'll probably be adding to this list as summer goes on.

Also... I will, will, will put that expensive CD/book set I bought forever ago to use and learn some Italian this summer! If I'm going to reach my goal of learning (at least) 5 languages (italian, portuguese, spanish, french {which I'm hoping will come rushing back since I already took 4 years of it}, and one to be named later but most likely either russian, mandarin chinese or arabic) in my lifetime, I'd better get started. And since I can't afford my trip to Italy to study it yet, I'm gonna start here and now, even if I have to do it while washing the dishes!

I'm praying to the lottery gods that I win tonight so I can buy this sweet 1962 Porsche that's been catching my eye every time I pass Geller's in Medina. It's even cuter in person... :-)

You remember that game we all use play when we were kids, telephone, I think it was called... the one where you whisper something in someone's ear and they whisper it into the next person's ear and so on... at the end things have been added, deleted, or changed from what was first said? Well, I've long suspected that the internet is a lot like that game, it's probably due to the quickness of it all... they're all in a huge hurry to be the first to throw the news out there and then check the facts later and they end up rewriting it 15 times. As a result, 15 people may have read 15 different versions. (Of course, this is just one issue I have with the current state of the media but that's not what this entry is about.) Here is a (completely frivolous) example that I noticed last week...

June 4 - In Liz Smith's column I read this story: "BRITAIN'S BIG glamour couple, Victoria Beckham, the former Spice Girl and her hubby David Beckham, the hunky soccer star, have literally blown away all other celeb duets. Forget Madonna and Guy, Ben and Jen, etc. It's Ms. Spice and Mr. B. all the way. They will appear on the September cover of Vogue photographed by Mario Testino. Victoria has a new CD coming, produced by Damon Dash. She'll also model with Naomi Campbell in print ads for Dash's clothing line — Rocawear. Much fun was had recently when Victoria and David helped Naomi celebrate her birthday in St. Tropez. The Mrs. sang songs from her album. But the Mr. spilled red wine all over his white pants. (Miss Campbell requested all her guests wear white.) Rather than sit stained and damp, David removed his trousers. At first Victoria thought it was funny, but then decided that David, in his white skivvies, was getting too much attention from the ladies. Victoria cleared off a table and used the tablecloth as a modest sarong for her immodest spouse."

Later that day... I read The Fix on Salon which linked to the Liz Smith story but with different details: "Gotta love those other royals, David and (Posh Spice) Victoria Beckham, who are touring the United States in an attempt to be as hugely glam across the pond as they are in the U.K. They shot a Vogue cover with hot photogger Mario Testino and caused commotion at supermodel Naomi Campbell's recent wedding. Seems the bride asked her guests to wear white, which was probably lovely, but David spilled red wine on his trousers and decided to take them off and continue partying. Victoria took one look at the ladies looking at her hubby's lingerie and quickly made a sarong for him out of a tablecloth. And that's how new fashion trends begin, folks."

Flash forward a couple of days when I caught BeatBoxBetty's MTV Movie Awards gossip: "Apparently at P. Diddy's after-show party, Beyonce Knowles, Josh Hartnett and even Michael Jackson requested an introduction to meet the couple du jour, Posh Spice (now Victoria Beckham) and soccer great David Beckham. The two decided to go over the top in matching white-and-diamonds D&G get-ups, which proved to be not such a hot idea after all. While whooping it up at the post party, David was forced to remove his glittery pants after spilling red wine all over them. Thankfully his quick-thinking gal grabbed a tablecloth and whipped up a stylish sarong for him to wear. Pretty clever. Hey Posh, I hear Martha Stewart's job is available these days."

I'll just go with Liz Smith on this one. Of course, only a Beckham-phile like myself would even notice such a thing and I do realize that all gossip (as well as most news, which nearly indistinguishable from gossip these days) should be taken with a grain of salt but I just thought that it was a funny example of "internet telephone"...

Apparently, I can add to my useless knowledge anytime, anywhere... today I learned that James Dean had a sexy giggle. I'll buy that, there wasn't much about James Dean that wasn't sexy.

A Texas Town Holds Fast to Its Ties to a Classic
(free registration may be required)

Looks like I somehow missed Parts 2 & 3 of The Greatest Survey... oh, well... here's Part 4:

The best comedy (movie): Annie Hall Why? Woody Allen at his neurotic best. Proof:
Alvy: Oh stop it, you're having an affair with your college professor, that jerk that teaches that incredible crap course, Contemporary Crisis in Western Man...
Annie: Existential Motifs in Russian Literature. You're really close.
Alvy: What's the difference? It's all mental masturbation.
Annie (counter-accusing him): Oh, well, now we're finally getting to a subject you know something about.
Alvy (defending his lonely sin): Hey, don't knock masturbation. It's sex with someone I love.

The best drama (movie): The Godfather Why? "...Don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family... Ever."

The best peanut butter: Reese's (Creamy) Why? Well, have you ever heard of a Jif or Skippy peanut butter cup? Case closed.

The best sandwich: Hardee's Frisco Burger Why? It's got bacon, cheese that's so melty you can't tell it apart from the mayo AND it's on sourdough bread.

The best businessperson: Hugh Hefner Why? He ran his successful empire mainly from his home. In his bed. In his pajamas. Gotta love that.

The best game show: Jeopardy Why? For the same reasons I picked Trivial Pursuit as the best board game... useless knowledge galore.

The best TV drama: Law and Order Why? It's always on and it's always good.

The best TV show (overall): The Simpsons Why? Because it's so good it even managed to win over my Mom.
Homer: (Singing to the tune of the Flintstones) "Homer, Homer Simpson, he's the greatest guy in history. From the town of Springfield, he's about to hit a chestnut tree..."

The best cartoon character: Snoopy Why? If you have to ask than you just don't get it..

The best writer: Truman Capote Why? Because he created my all time favorite character, Holly Golightly.

The new season of The Osbournes premiers tomorrow at 10:30pm... right after the latest installment of The Real World: Paris.

Yeah, I still watch The Real World. Why? Because watching it always reinforces my "No Regrets" policy. It reminds me that every insane action/emotion/relationship I did or had in my late teens/early 20's was, in the grand scheme of things, no different than what most everyone else did or does. It's all just about running into a few dead ends while finding your way out of one maze (childhood) and into another (adulthood).

Although, these people seem eighty times more fucked up than me!

I'm having annoying archiving issues. I changed my archive frequency to monthly so that there wouldn't be 800 links on the side of my blog but it doesn't seem to be working and I don't have time to try and fix it...

I never did my Friday Five the week of May 30, so here it:

1. What do you most want to be remembered for?
Being a good mother. Of course, this is dependent on actually having a child, so if I don't then I'd like to be remembered as "the queen of all things hip and cool"

2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life?
"This world is not so kind
People trap your mind
It's so hard to find
Someone to admire

I sleep much better at night
I feel closer to the light
Now I'm gonna try
To improve my life

No ones telling you how to live your life
But it's a setup until you're fed up
It's no good when you're misunderstood
But why should I care?
What the world thinks of me"

Madonna - Nobody Knows Me

3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year?
Living on my own.

4. What about the past ten years?
Not (completely) losing my mind

5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say?
"Follow your bliss" -Joseph Campbell

books

started: The Power of Myth
finished: The Power of Myth

(plowed through it for the book club meeting :-)

The friday five is starting to annoy me, what's with all the thinking! It's Friday!

1. How many times have you truly been in love?
I think that true love is kinda relative. I like the theory that there are 19 levels of love. That said, I've probably been involved in one level or another of love a few times in my adult life, but I suspect not the truly heavy levels.

2. What was/is so great about the person you love(d) the most?
The ability to make me smile at any time and really. great. sex.

3. What qualities should a significant other have?
Preferably good ones.

4. Have you ever broken someone's heart?
I've tried really hard, couldn't really say if I succeeded, you'd have to ask them.

5. If there was one thing you could teach people about love, what would it be?
You can't teach love. Here's some advice though: I've heard that Jackie O said that you should marry the first time for love, the second time for money and the third time (if you even choose to marry, she didn't) for companionship. I say go for all three in one package!

After watching the MTV movie awards last night, I have to wonder if I'm getting old or everyone else is just getting stupid. Was any of that suppose to be funny? It all just seemed really lame to me. I mean in the 2 hour show there were like 2 good moments. And the terrible thing is that it's taped and than edited so those were (probably) all of the best parts. I realize they (MTV) are still trying to be "young and hip" but I wonder if they know that you're not suppose to look like your trying. None of the celebrities seemed very happy about the crappy-jokey intros they had to do for every award. Some of them looked down right angry! (and I don't blame them, who wrote that stuff?)

It all started with a preshow which was co-hosted by Jessica Simpson. Who the fuck is Jessica Simpson? She's constantly on MTV and VH1 talking about her virginity/boyfriend/husband/wedding/yada/yada/yada! But I've never seen her actually do anything. All clues point to her being some sort of b-list pop star who's married to another b-list pop star. Whoever she is she tends to make me cringe everytime she comes on my TV.

So it starts and it's being hosted by one of those "Dude, Where's my Car" guys (the one who's NOT banging Demi Moore) and Justin Timberlake (who I pray will never try to make the leap into acting) Of course first up is one of those movie spoofs (the ones that use to be funny when Ben Stiller and Co. did them), this time it's "The Matrix" and maybe it's just because I intensely dislike "The Matrix" but it just didn't seem at all funny. The whole theme of the show is superheros so we have to sit through 900 really awful Justin and Seann superhero cartoons. Justin Timberlake acted like he'd never been on a stage before, he looked really uncomfortable. And what is with the way he talks? Dude, you're from Tennessee not "da hood!" The other one (Seann) was just his usual ADD self, I'm always glad to see people making a hefty living from just acting stupid or being stupid.

On to the actual awards, there weren't any surprises (in part because MTV announces the winners before the show but mostly because you can usually guess how the youngins' will vote), Eminim, Yoda, Mike Myers, Kirsten Dunst (who seemed a bit like a snotty little rhymes-with-witch), Lord of the Rings, etc. I was glad to see the creepy girl from "The Ring" win best villian. That movie FREAKED me out big time, my TV is close to my bedroom and I could barely close my eyes for the next 7 days without seeing her crawl out of it. Anywho, MTV completely cut out a catagory for no apparent reason (at least from the broadcast), Transatlantic Breakthrough Performer, which was supposedly presented by my favorite transantlantic gossip couple, Posh & Becks. That was a bit annoying...

So as far as I could tell the only highlights of the show were when Gollum "accepted" his award for Best Virtual Performance, the "I got Male" taped speech Eminem gave when he won Best Male Performance,the P. Diddy and Ashton Kutcher intro was funny and the 50 Cent performance. And Elijah Wood, I'm glad he went from cute kid to cute adult. That was about all I enjoyed, although I mildly enjoyed the hideous fashion sense of Tara Reed, Paris Hilton and Pink. Eeek! Ladies, do you own mirrors? As for the t.a.t.u. school girl sex fantasy, I'm sure the male audience appreciated it, but they really should have had a weight limit for those girls. There were a couple in there that I didn't need to see in underwear. Just my opinion.

So that's my take on the MTV movie awards. Like I said maybe I'm just getting old but... no, I'm pretty sure everyone else is just getting stupid.

Which reminds me, here's my word of mouth for the week... go see The Italian Job. It's good and not only because there are 3 Mini Coopers in it.

:-)

As if I didn't want a Mini Cooper enough before I saw The Italian Job... here's Mini's Italian Job microsite.