FITBF: tony, the scots, and why you're not likely to see me blush

play along at the little things we do

 

 1.   Something that makes me a great friend is, I'm always down for alcoholic beverages, junk food, incessant amounts of trash talk, and the encouragement of all your bad habits. Everyone needs a friend like me, haha.

2.  I am a wannabe female Anthony Bourdain. I spend strange amounts of time trying to conceive a gimmick that will land me my own Travel Channel show. I toy around with travel writing - also a la the fabulous Mr. Bourdain. (By the way, have you read A Cook's Tour? You need to.)

3.  I am not dainty. And I don't mean I look like an NFL linebacker or anything. I mean that it's hard to shock me. As some of you know, I have a foul mouth and indelicate sensibilities. So if I'm acting truly offended by a joke you just told, chances are I'm pulling your chain. 

4.  If I had to describe myself in 3 words, they would be brainy, capricious, tough.

5.  Something I'm really cheap about is purses. Really. I don't think I've ever spent more than 50 bucks on a purse. I have several inexpensive purses in neutral colors that have lasted me forever and go with everything I own. I suspect I've saved a lot of money over the years.

6.  Something I'm willing to splurge on is  food and booze. I fancy myself a gourmand and I only drink top-shelf stuff. Also, I am a sucker for perfume and sunglasses. 

7.  I would trade my entire summer vacation for just one or two more weeks in the Scottish highlands in a heartbeat. One summer I traveled to Edinburgh and Inverness. I was on cloud nine. The history, the greenery, the rain, the cold, the people, the food, the pubs...They all suit my temperament and interests perfectly. I have a lot of other places on my list, but I have to get back to Scotland no matter what.

Inverness - via Cathy Rodgers on Pinterest

power

The poem I'm loving this week deals mostly with my fledgling feminist views:

"Power" - Adrienne Rich 

Living in the earth-deposits of our history

Today a backhoe divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth
one bottle amber perfect a hundred-year-old
cure for fever or melancholy a tonic
for living on this earth in the winters of this climate.

Today I was reading about Marie Curie:
she must have known she suffered from radiation sickness
her body bombarded for years by the element
she had purified
It seems she denied to the end
the source of the cataracts on her eyes
the cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends
till she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil

She died a famous woman denying
her wounds
denying
her wounds came from the same source as her power.

FITBF: or, why I shall be a 28-year-old bibliophile forever

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via alisburda on etsy

My most prized possession is my book collection. I literally have an entire library in my house - many of which I haven't even read yet, so anytime I want to read something new I can just peruse my own shelves instead of going to the book store. (I still do, though, constantly - It's a compulsion; hence my massive collection. I like to think that it's healthier than a shoe or purse obsession.)

If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be...I haven't gotten there yet, but my guess would be 27 or 28. I like to think I'll be a lot more savvy, independent, and seasoned at that age than I am now, but still have plenty of youthful optimism and freedom. (There is no way in hell I would ever want to be younger than 21 ever again...for obvious reasons.)


The best way to spend a weekend is having one crazy night out, one peaceful night in, and lots and lots of sleep.

My outlook on life is ever-evolving, but right now it can be best summed up as:

via ThisCleverGirl on Pinterest

If you want to annoy me, just wear apathy and willful ignorance like a badge of honor. Like proudly tell me that you don't care about the news or politics (this become unacceptable once you get past the age of 17), or that you "hate reading." (Not enjoying reading is one thing - Saying that you hate it just really irritates me and kinda grosses me out.) Yep, that'll definitely do the trick.

I am completely defenseless when it comes to ASPCA ads. I'm pretty stoic about most things, but for whatever reason I can't watch these ads without wanting to cry. They shamelessly prey upon the viewer's emotions and - guess what - it works. It's a great cause, and I gladly donate money to the ASPCA monthly, but I just can't watch them. View at your own risk.

(And I fully realize how strange it is that I, and a lot of other people, get more tearful over this kind of stuff than they do over, say, the situation in the DRC. The good news is that most of us know how ridiculous that is. In my own defense, I will also throw out there that I've dealt with personal loss and intense physical pain in the past without shedding a tear, either. I cannot explain this incongruity. I'll leave that to the shrinks.)

eros

I've been in a funk the past few days (or in more a funk that usual). I stumbled across this poem and it kind of resounded with me. Shoot me a message if you know what I mean.

"Eros"

I had drawn my chair to the hotel window, to watch the rain.

I was in a kind of dream or trance--

in love, and yet

I wanted nothing.

It seemed unncecessary to touch you, to see you again.

I wanted only this:

the room, the chair, the sound of the rain falling,

hour after hour, in the warmth of the spring night.

I needed nothing more; I was utterly sated.

My heart had become small; it took very little to fill it.

I watched the rain falling in heavy sheets over the darkened

       city--

You were not concerned; I could let you

live as you needed to live.

At dawn the rain abated. I did the things

one does in daylight, I acquitted myself,

but I moved like a sleepwalker.

It was enough and it no longer involved you.

A few days in a strange city.

A conversation, the touch of a hand.

And afterward, I took off my wedding ring.

That was what I wanted: to be naked.

- Ellen Bryan Voigt

why my ears are smiling this week

Here's what my iPod's been playing pretty much non-stop this week. I've been rediscovering some bands I OD'ed on a few years back but never fell out of love with. We just needed a little time apart so we could learn to appreciate one another again.

17 - Kings of Leon

I haven't gotten over these guys or their Only by the Night album - and I hope I never do.




Skeletons - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Absolutely beautiful song, awesome creepy video. Karen O is my girl.



Misery - Maroon 5

Yes, I confess: I had completely forgotten about this song until I saw the Glee cover last week. How could I do such a thing? (By the way, this is a super sexy/funny video a la Crybaby).



What Goes Around...Comes Around & My Love - Justin Timberlake

This album (FutureSex/LoveSounds) marks the highlight of his career. I don't know if he can ever top it. I STILL love both of these songs and videos, and I'm generally not even into this kind of music. (Love you, JT, even if I get the feeling you probably are kind of a douche in real life.)

FITBF: March 17

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1. The best deal I've ever gotten is my clearance puppy. Seriously. I feel like I talk about my dog way too much on here. Never fear, I don't have some weird obsession and don't plan on stuffing him when he dies (*tear*). But he's the legitimate answer to this question: When I went to get my dog, I originally wanted his sister (who was all white), but the little old man selling them told me that he wanted to keep her for breeding purposes. He then sweetened the deal on Sammy by knocking off $50 from the original price. Couldn't say no to a deal like that, could I?


2. If I were hosting a dinner party and could invite people from my fantasy guest list it would include (I'm going to take this literally and only include people who are living today, although my inner history nerd is salivating at the idea of dinner with Winston Churchill): Ricky Gervais, Steve Carrell, Ellen DeGeneres, and Tina Fey (for obvious reasons); Angelina Jolie (because I want to be her - I'd probably make her really uncomfortable),  Prince Harry (because he'd obviously just fall immediately & madly in love with me), and George W. Bush (just cause). 

jolie, unhcr goodwill ambassador

michael scott + david brent = heaven

and what!

 

3. Something that inspires me is reading the biographies of tough broads: Eleanor of Aquitaine,  Josephine Bonaparte, and Joan Root are those I've read about most recently.

4. If I could only choose to eat one flavor of food for the rest of eternity (sweet, salty, spicy, bitter....) I would have to go with SALTY. I am a salt fiend - I dump it on everything I eat! (I will also die of heart disease.)

5. I dream about being late and/or running behind. It's very weird; I will wake up in a panic because I've been dreaming that I'm running late, only to discover that it's 2:45 am. It happens at least once a week.

6. My weekend will be spent writing a unit plan on Victorian literature. Hello, Dickens.

7. If I could only watch one movie or TV show for the rest of my life it would be The Office. I'm not as in love with it as I used to be, but it is still one of my very favorite television shows of all time. It always puts me in a good mood, and there are some parts that make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I see them. Case in point: Pretty much everything Dwight does.

 

why my ears are smiling this week

Here's what I've been listening to pretty much non-stop this week. (I warn you, it's been a strange one.)

1. "I'm Not In Love" - 10 CC

I'm not in love
So don't forget it
It's just a silly phase I'm going through
So just because I call you up
Don't get it wrong
Don't think you've got it made




2. "Gewinner" - Clueso

This song is in German, and I have no idea what it means...But I like the sound of it.



 3. "The Thrill Is Gone" - BB King feat. Eric Clapton

This is my favorite version of this classic, from the album 80.



4. "Read My Mind" - The Killers


Never really gave up on
Breakin' out of this two-star town
I've got the green light
I've got a little fight
I'm gonna turn this thing around
Can you read my mind?



5. "C'est si bon" - Eartha Kitt

This song will make you want to wrap yourself in mink and eat a baguette.