Saturday, January 31, 2009

Ragey and Happy Political Shizz

The first thing I thought of when I saw this picture


was this one



I was in college when that "partial birth abortion" shit was passed and I could never get that fuckin image of Bush and his white dudes so gleefully fucking happy they can control women's bodies out of my head. That picture became a real symbol, at least to me, of the fuckeduppery going on in the White House. Thank you Obama for now letting me replace that awful image with the wonderful one of you signing the Lilly Ledbetter Act. And to give credit where it's due, Jill at Feministe actually put the two together on paper (or um, blog paper?) earlier this week. But really, what a beautiful image of our new president surrounded by a bunch of amazing, strong, and brilliant women (shout out to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton! You should watch that video, it's so awesomely hilars.)

And speaking of Republicans and their misogynist ways, after getting all pissy about the provision in the economic stimulus bill helping states fund contraception to women through medicaid, it was taken out. None of the douchebags voted for the stimulus bill anyway, but I hear the contraception provision will appear in another bill. Republicans shouldn't get their panties in a wad about birth control when their states have some of the highest rates of non-AIDS STDs. But as my friend mentioned earlier this week, maybe they'll make syphilis a new tax credit!

Anyway, here in Unicorn Rainbow land, we don't end on such dour ragey political notes. So to end this post, I'll leave you with some good sex news from our not so furry friends. Wonkette described it succinctly as "A gruesome, century-old cancer-ridden basilisk in New Zealand somehow impregnated another monster, and 11 baby Cockatrice hatched on Monday. Change is here!" I wouldn't go so far as gruesome or monstrous (they're related to dinosaurs!). It's just loooove. And he had cancer on his junk for like, 80 years.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

It's a Movie Saturday

Friday, I went out after work with a co-worker and some mutual friends of ours and somehow spent about 4 hours in a bar without realizing it. So Saturday was quite a lazy, lounge on the bed, lounge on the couch, 30-rock watching day. I also re-watched one of my favorite movies "Me and You and Everyone We Know" before heading off to a delightful dinner with the bestie and her mom who's in town visiting. We went to see Frost/Nixon after that and now I am contemplating putting on some Harold & Maude to close out my evening.

Me & You & Everyone We Know is such a beautifully touching and remarkably un-cheesy movie about people trying to connect with each other. The casting is perfect, the music is perfect, and Miranda July (who I have a major girl crush on) writes really amazing subtle scenes with just the right amount of awkwardness, emotion, and sometimes just plain weirdness. I can't say enough about it, but really you only need one reason to see this movie and it's this:

I would have a baby only if I knew he would be this kid. The scene with ))<>(( has me in tears laughing every time I see it.

Frost/Nixon I am less crazy about, though I do like it. I had no idea Kevin Bacon was in it and I kind of giggled every time he had a major boner for Nixon. But wow, Frank Langella playing Nixon? A.Mazing. I never thought I'd feel almost bad for the guy. I wonder if someday someone will be able to make a movie that makes George Bush seem at least a little sad or worthy of some level of empathy (he should hope as much). Buuut, Nixon was much much smarter than GWB will ever dream to be and actually did have some accomplishments during his tenure, so maybe Bush will always be looked at as a huge retardo failure.

Also, it makes me sad to think that history just fuckin repeats itself. Parts of the Frost/Nixon interviews sound like they're coming straight from GWB himself (though of course, Bush isn't half as eloquent as Nixon is. He'd fuck up all the lines and sound like a retard, but the ideas and excuses are the same). This is one reason why I'm a major proponent of a serious investigation (if not prosecution, but a girl can dream..) into Bush's presidency. People like to throw out the bullshit line of "it's no time to point fingers. We have to look ahead, not back!" But if we don't look at what happened in the past, we are so fucking cliche doomed to repeat it. And Frost/Nixon is a wonderful reminder of that.

Now I think I'll watch another of my top 5 favorite movies, "Harold & Maude." I cry everytime I see it but it's so worth it. One of my favorite love stories ever. Goes to show I'd love a love story about a 19 year old and 79 year old. That shit is hot.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

OMG

Wow guys, it's been like forever since I last posted! I've been way busy at work, I've been sleeping horribly this past week so I've felt like a cracked-out zombie, and then then went out to celebrate the inauguration last night.

Now it's late and I'm tired but I signed up for this volunteer thingie where we have a pen-pal in a high school that's full of disadvantaged youth and my letter is due by Friday. I'm trying to walk the line between not being condescending and trying not to sound like I'm trying to sound cool. I would just write something like "omg, that Barack Obama is totes the shit, right?" if this wasn't supposed to be a mentoring kind of thing where I'm supposed to be like, a role model, and not write like I spend too much time on the Internet. Aaah well.

Anyway, I don't have too much to share right now cause I'm a big lame-o this week, but for a great read, check out Tibbs on ICKH, especially if you're not a fan of children. Like most things in this world, it reminds me of a Simpsons episode. I would totes become a member of "Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples And Teens And Gays Against Parasitic Parents." (SSCCATAGAPP) Who's with me in starting a Portland branch!?


If you feel like hatin on some capybaras, then Fuck You, Penguin is the place to go. Much like lolcats, I can't imagine a day when I will stop thinking that site is funny.

Also, these 2 pics I found on my new fav site FFFFound.

If I had the energy to rant about something, this would totes be my theme picture for it.


And this last bit of awesome. A beautiful rendition of the whale and petunia falling from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (on my top 5 list of fav books ever).
"Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again. Many people have speculated that if we knew exactly why the bowl of petunias had thought that we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we do now."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Yay Helping Puppies and Kitties

One of my fav non-profits, Best Friends Animal Society, is having a neat fundraiser with Neko Case (who is amazing). BFAS will get a portion of proceeds everytime you download her song "People Got a Lotta Nerve" from her new album Middle Cyclone.



All you have to do is share this song download and Best Friends get some cashage. Great song + donating to help puppehs and kittehs (and other animals) = the height of unicorn rainbow magic! Learn more about it at anti-label.

Please to download here.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Joan Holloway Magic

I'm not a huge fan of award shows. They're all just long and boring and huge circle jerks where everyone wankers on for 3 or 4 hours and a few meaningless awards are given out. So yea, I didn't watch the Golden Globes. I much prefer the distilled roundups of pictures and short clips compiled by bloggers with much more interest and patience than I have. But I have to give a shout out to my fashion hero Joan Hollaway/Christina Hendricks.


Perfuckingfection.

I love everything about Mad Men: Don Draper, everyone's sickening ability to smoke and drink all day long, the subtle character interactions and dynamics, Peggy Olson being a total badass, how it makes me grateful that I don't live in the 60s (thank you cheesus!), Don Draper. And the style! The outfits are largely amazing. Now I'm not one to romanticize the past and I have no doubt that finagling my way into the undergarments alone would've put me off from looking professional and I would've just given up to become a dirty hippy. But it just looks so good and classy! I really really REALLY wish I had Joan's entire wardrobe. Like this

or this

Though Peggy's outfit is pretty awesome too. Joan wears bright bold colors and rocks the high-waisted skirt better than anyone ever.


Now all Joan has to do is dump that rapist asshole fiancee of hers and kick Harry Crane in the nuts for hiring someone else to the job clearly meant for her and she'll be all set. So excited that the 3rd season will be this summer!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Weekend and Stuff

I'm obvs feeling very clever with a title like that. But I did have a great weekend! I started it off with dinner at the bestie's, then drinks with friends at Rose & Thistle (which reminds me of my least favorite program on NPR, Thistle & Shamrock. I irrationally hate that show so much. I can't explain it), and Indian dance night at Pi-rem courtesy of my good friend Abhi. Saturday I headed down to Eugene to see my bff from my college days. We watched the only rom-com I've ever seen that I actually liked, called "Saving Face." It's a rom-com about Chinese-Americans and while it has some of the things I hate about that genre of movie (like the superficially simple characters and endings that tie up way too easily), but unlike most of them, there were some unexpected twists. We actually guessed the ending wrong. It's in both Chinese and English (it takes place mostly in Flushing, Queens) and I could actually understand a few Chinese words here and there, so that was exciting for me. Worth a watch if you want a fun, not particularly deep, movie that isn't annoying. It's really as far from "27 Dresses" or "Bride Wars" as you can get and still be considered a rom-com. I haven't seen "Bride Wars" but the previews alone make me want to hate Anne Hathaway for even considering starring in it.

Before I get filled with rage thinking about how I hate rom-coms so much and I just wish people would stop making them or watching them, I will stop. Instead, it's time for the fun part of the post. So I've just discovered this amazing site called "FFFFOUND!", which I bet has been around for awhile but I just never noticed it before. It's great for my google reader when I just want to browse and look at pretty things and want a break from reading the news (which I've been doing too much of. I had a random dream last night that included Angela Merkel and the Palestinian crisis...). So many amazing pictures.


This one is from Teddy Roosevelt's diary the day his wife died. Brief, subtle and so sad.
This picture is just stunning, right?


I also found the link to this amazing collection of pictures from 2008 on boston.com. I can't even pick a favorite but the nerd in me loves the hadron collider that will one day suck us all into a black hole. The drummers at the Beijing Summer Olympics are pretty spectacular too. (They're pretty big so I won't repost).

There are a lot of really amazing images on FFFFound in case you feel like spending hours looking at neat stuff. But my favorite thing I've seen recently has to be this post about handi-capable pets and amazing animals (thanks Clay!). Obvs this was the week of pets in wheelchairs since this is my 2nd post in a week that includes our furry/wheelie friends. But really, doesn't this picture just melt your heart in a totally unique way?

Or the story about the seeing eye cat for the blind and deaf labrador? And the seeing eye dog right below that one?! ::eyes getting misty::

Now I'm off to finish a book, finish some laundry, and kick some butt at trivia. Oh and also I need someone to talk me out of getting an ipod touch. I'm dangerously close to throwing $230 at Steve Jobs just to become one of those losers who spends all day on their iphone (but mine will not be a phone) trying to make themselves feel important by looking busy when really they are probably twittering or playing poker or facebook stalking someone. I need an intervention!



Thanks monkey. I think I can make it. For a little while.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Pathetic-off

I've had a hella long week. Looong work day Monday, date on Tuesday eve, book club Wednesday (love my BC ladies!), and today I was down in Salem all day cause one of our clients was getting interviewed by a very famous investigative reporter for the news, which meant another long day. Man I can't wait to sleep in this weekend! I have a few things in my queue I want to share but I'm feeling majorly re re this evening and can only bring you the following two videos, basically comment free, from bestweekever.


ICYMI - Wobbly Dog Needs A Wheelchair - video powered by Metacafe




I just...yea..wow.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Can You Handle The Hotness?


I didn't think so.
ZOMG! Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal back together again in a movie. Thank you Jebus.
I think both of them would be on my list of people that I would get a free pass to cheat on my boyfriend/husband with if I got the chance. Yay 2009! I didn't like Diego Luna in 'Milk' (loved the movie though) but he is so amazingly hot in 'Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights.' (And yes I realize I'm admitting I've seen it. But I'll go a step further and say I've seen it multiple times). But really. He was.

Oh how I love holidays. I spent new year's day reading and listening to episodes of "This American Life" that were on my podcast subscription but I hadn't listened to. Have I mentioned my nerdcrush on Ira Glass? I'm pretty sure I have.

I also watched a couple episodes of this crazy show I read about on Tokyomango about this guy who spent a year living in a room and could only live off things he won from mail-in contests. I'm not sure how he didn't starve that first month but watching him go nutty from lack of social interaction and do his victory dance every time the mailman came and delivered him stuff (like a live lobster, a TV, or a stuffed animal sea lion) is the kind of voyeuristic joy that can only be surpassed by the can-fessionals in MTV's newest fauxreality TV masterpiece, Bromance. I wonder when MTV will drop that completely misleading "music" from its network name and just dive head first into what it really does best. The True Lifes, the Mades, Paris Hilton's BFF-esque shows.. Just switch it to RTV or FRTV (which is just a step from FARTV! which would be the best network name ever. If you were an 8 year old boy..)

My weekend was relaxing. My bestie and I made baked macaroni & cheese, which I'll be eating for another day or so, and watched Serenity. I'm going to spend my Sunday finishing our book club book, doing some laundry, unpacking (I'm the slowest unpacker on the face of the planet), and heading to trivia tonight. Let's hope it doesn't snow again this week. But if it does, can it come with some pandas playing in my backyard?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Something Resembling a Year in Review

As I was commenting on E's post on New Year's Resolutions, I re-read my year-end roundup I wrote last year at around this time. I posted it on FB but I'll re-post part of it (I cut out some of the boring answers) here with commentary. I wish I wrote more cause it's amazing how many things you forget.

"1. The biggest change in your life this year?
Moving to China on a pretty short notice. Both scary and exciting.

The whole living in Beijing thing was a huge fuckin change (when I first wrote that last year, I had only been there about 3 weeks). It was amazing and I still miss it everyday. Having to come back was kind of devastating and depressing. But everything is for the best right? Right!?

Probably. The pollution probably takes a few years of your life. But still, the food, the city, cheap massages..


2. What did you do over the summer?
Studied for the Bar, took the Bar, tried to forget the Bar in Mexico, H'ville and New York, passed the Bar (woo), started freaking out about not having a job.

My summer was spent working, spending as much time as possible with my friends and boyfriend in Beijing (with a quick trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou), being depressed for awhile in Portland, and then beginning to feel better.

3. How were relationships with boyfriends/ girlfriends?
Boyfriends = generally bad. 2007 was not the year of the boyz for me. Girlfriends = amazing. Srsly, my betches are awesome. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Hmm, this is pretty much the same. 2008 was also not a year of the boyz, though my Chinese bf was cute and sweet, our relationship was a bit weird and I can't say it ended that well. But again, girlfriends = amazing.

4. What news story sticks in your mind the most from 2007?
All the fab Republican sex scandals. Thanks Larry Craig for Cocktober.

All things Obama. (BTW, I kind of want this tshirt. It combines 2 of my favorite things!) Also the Olympics and the earthquake in Sichuan were huge. Larry Craig and company set a high bar for sex scandals but I think Rick Warren is showing all the tell-tale signs of something scandalizingly awesome to come (the louder they are, the bigger the hypocrite). Spitzer's was ok but more just sad than entertaining. And I mean sad for his wife, not for him. I think Spitz is an asshole.

5. Favorite song from the year? Ack, too many good songs.

This one is a bit easier this year since I can count the number of new albums I got on 2 hands. Good new pop music is surprisingly not the easiest thing to get in Beijing (though they loooove Britney Spears). So good songs would have to be from Chairlift, Lupe Fiasco, or Hercules & Love Affair

6. Favorite artist this year? Probably The National or Jens Lekman.

One of the 3 mentioned in #5. Unless they mean artist as in 'art' art. Then I'd say whoever drew this picture, even though he's probably dead by now. Mei-mei and Ting Ting will cut a bitch just for looking at them funny!

I didn't bring back too many things from China (besides a 'Diesel' purse and 'Ferragamo' wallet) but I do have this poster up in my room and I kind of love Chinese propaganda art. It's so craze.


9. Who are you most proud of (can be a famous or non- famous person)? Heather, from ANTM.
Hahaha, I love this answer. I'm sticking to it.


12. Did you do anything you never thought you would do?
I moved to China. And started eating meat again. Mmmm lamb never tasted so good.

You may not know from my posts about my love of pig-based meats, but I was a vegetarian for 7, almost 8 years, when I moved to China and decided to start eating meat again. I don't know if I can ever go back. But for this year...hmm...working at a business law firm was definitely something I never thought I'd do. I always pictured myself a civil litigation or family law person.

19. Are you making any new years resolutions for 2008? Nope. I want a decent-paying job, a dog (english bulldog of course), and a boyfriend (or a number of cute guys to date) but whether or not any of those happen is really up in the air. I don't think I can 'resolve' to get those. Except the dog. I think my resolution will be to get a dog. It's the only one I have total control over.

Ha, so getting a dog is still on my list for 2009 (this is definitely the year for Sprinkles) but I'm not tied to my English bulldog anymore. They're not too common in shelters and the Humane Society. Any small, kind of lazy dog will do. I'm not too concerned about a bf and I have a job. I do need to add getting my own apartment to the list. I want to buy a condo but I'll be happy with a nice place to rent. Sorry roomies! Y'all are totes cool but I'm a loner when it comes to my living space. Also, I want to read more, write more, and be more proactive about getting out and having a life.

And that's about it. Am I forgetting something big from last year? Probably, but I drink too much wine to have a good memory."

So there's kind of a personal roundup. I probably am forgetting tons of stuff about 2008 but I still drink too much wine to have a good memory. I'm taking my day off today to scour through the internets for my fav pop culture and cute animal stories of 2008 that I will probably post up here soon. I'm feeling a bit re-re and lazy this morning.

Happy New Year's y'all!!