This (mostly) Just In...

Three things:

First, the Mad Men finale airs Sunday. This season has been pretty fantastic, focusing as much on the women as the agency. Will Peggy's haircut land her a man? Will Betty let Don come home? And will Joan leave her a-hole fiance? My bet is no to all three, but they'll all look fantastic, whatever they do. Speaking of things that look fantastic, check out these Mad Men illustrations. I'm totally obsessed with them. Which leads me to...

My new avatar. No, I did not cave to Mathdude's constant harassment. I just felt like a change, okay? I am almost 30, you know, and 30 is a time for big changes, or something. In fact, my birthday is at the end of next month. More on what you can do to celebrate in the weeks to come.

Finally, check this out because it is truly hilarious:



Thanks, as always, to Garney for the clip. Enjoy a lovely weekend (which I'm sure will not be as lovely as my weekend in sunny San Diego, but bless you for trying).

At the Movies: W. and Religulous

Last weekend, I saw 2 movies I'd recommend to others. First up was Religulous, Bill Maher's documentary on religion. Bill travels all over the world trying to understand why people believe in Christ and Allah and original sin and, well, faith of any kinda. He criticizes those who follow blindly and arrogantly, and proposes doubt as a necessary, humble component for a better humankind, but, like, he's funny about it. He never really criticizes God/Christ (admiring the latter's position of forgiveness and compassion), but rather the screamers who rail against others in his name (to psuedo-paraphrase John Irving). Whether you are religious or not, Religulous presents an interesting (and hilarious) look at what many people in the world believe (most fascinating, for me, was a comparison of the life of Christ to the Egyptian god Horus. Check it out).

Later, I saw Oliver Stone's W. While not up to his old JKF/Platoon greatness, Stone makes a very compassionate, funny and entertaining film about our current Commander-in-Chief. Following Bush from Yale to the Iraq invasion, Stone presents a man driven by passion, guts and daddy issues, who essentially allows his advisers to really run his presidency (Josh Brolin is terrific as W. Who knew Brand from The Goonies would grow up to be such a great actor?). I saw an interview with Oliver Stone where he said he honestly thinks the only mistake George Bush believes he ever made was trading Sammy Sosa to the Cubs while the owner of the Texas Rangers. And that's the man we see. It gave me a new perspective on Bush...a man I've never liked, but for whom I now maybe feel at least some compassion. And a man who really should probably see Religulous.

That's what you call bringing things full circle. Sometimes, I blow my own mind.

Guess who's coming to dinner

I've been bad about posting lately, and Red is run ragged picking up the slack. So to get back in the swing of things, I'm falling back on one of the most clichéd queries of all time: You're having a dinner party and can invite any living person. Who do you invite?

Ask me next week and it might be a totally different list, but right now, I feel like hanging out with these people:

Stephen Colbert – On the whole, The Daily Show is still funnier than The Colbert Report, but Stephen himself makes me laugh harder than Jon Stewart. I mean come on, who wouldn’t want this guy passing you the potatoes.

JK Rowling – I’m a total Harry Potter geek, but on top of that, in every interview I’ve read or seen with Rowling she seems like a really cool, down to earth, funny person. Her Harvard commencement speech was pretty good too, and on top of all that, she’d probably bring expensive wine to our little gathering. I definitely need more fabulously wealthy friends.

Quentin Tarantino – More for his record collection than anything else. I’d make him be DJ. And force him to drink decaf.

Michelle Obama – Barack is OK, but I think Michelle would be more fun to hang out with. She'd at least spend less time gazing pointedly into the future, and more time giving us with dirt from the campaign trail.

Matt Damon – He can talk about the Red Sox and I can look into his dreamy eyes. Everybody wins! On second thought, maybe I’ll only invite Matt Damon to this thing.

Jenny Lewis – Regular readers should have seen this coming 16 miles away. Love. Her.

Joss Whedon – Again, I’m a huge nerd. Joss Whedon created Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he speaks like his characters in interviews, so I figure having him over for dinner is the closest thing I'll ever get to visiting Sunnydale.

Angelina Jolie – It’s not so much that I’m a big fan. I just have … a lot of questions.

Jack White – I think he’s the most fascinating capital “RS” Rock Star in the world today. Thom York is cool too, but I’m afraid he'd berate me about free trade or some such B.S. all night. Jack White may be weird, but he's not that weird.

Madeleine Albright – She speaks 6 languages and had a guest appearance on the Gilmore Girls. What’s not to like? (Again, HUGE nerd).

OK, ya'lls turn. Who would you pick?

Meme Madness

Despite the rapidly plummeting quality of things around these parts, people are talking about us (and asking us to do things). The lovely Red over at What I Like About the Universe tagged me to complete this meme, and as a complete people pleaser, I just couldn't say no. It's called "One Wonders" and I'm meant to reply to the words provided with the first thing that pops into my head (I guess. The rules are not very clear). Here goes:

1. Clothes: I like 'em. They are fun. When purchasing and dressing, I usually ask myself, "What would Stacey and Clinton say?" This works about 95% of the time. The other 5%? I'm a hot tranny mess.

2. Furniture: Mostly Ikea. What would we do without Ikea?

3. Sweet: I make a terrific tiramisu.

4. City: US: Chicago; International: Frankfurt

5. Drink: Guinness. It's good for you!

6. Music: Anything I can sing along to.

7. TV Series: My So-Called Life

8. Film: Pulp Fiction

9. Workout: Walking Torrey Pines on my lunch break.

10. Pastries: I try to avoid them, but madelines can be a weakness.

11. Coffee: Yes please.

We were also presented with the award above from the fabulous Malcolm at Pop Culture Dish. The Brilliante Weblog award is so prestigious, I'd never heard of it before. We are supposed to award 7 other blogs with this award, who will then award 7 other blogs, and so on (read the actual "rules" here). I can't decide on 7 so I'm just gonna pick one lucky lady to complete both these memes (or not. Up to her, really). And the winner is...

Danielle over at Don't Stop Believin'! New to the blogger scene, Danielle and Liz are old friends. Danielle loves San Diego and named her blog after a Journey song...so, obviously, she is awesome. Go check her out and congratulate her on her big win.

And thanks to Malcolm and Red for providing me something to post about. You two are the best.

RIP: Mr Blackwell

Mr. Blackwell, the original judge of hot tranny messes, has passed away.

Not to disparage the dead, but he was a mean, old gay man and I have nothing to say about him. Your thoughts?

Congrats, Red

Congratulations to Red and her Rays for making it to the World Series. Somewhere, Cubs fans are crying bitterly .... even more than usual.

For those of you wondering (and I'm sure you are many), our friendship did manage to survive this series. Largely due to my epic class and grace in the face of defeat, of course.

New Music Friday

Here's some music worth checking out:

Newstories you'd think are from The Onion or something, but aren't (Vol. 3)

(I had to change up Liz's title a bit for this one).

Some guy in Nebraska tried to sue God. According to the BBC, "He sought a permanent injunction to prevent the 'death, destruction and terrorisation' caused by God." (The Brits apparently spell terrorization with a "s." Who knew?) He kinda has a case, I guess, but the judge threw it out...not for being completely ridiculous, but because God has no physical address to which legal papers can be served. Uh, right. That's the problem with this scenario.

People are effing insane.

God wanted me to post this affirmation for you. Isn't she thoughtful?

Quote of the Week

I should probably be embarrassed how often I've used this lazy post, but really, I'm not.

I'm like the Gaza strip. The one thing the Israelis and Palestinians can agree on is the fact that I'm incredibly good looking. That's the key to world peace right there.

- Red's Stepbrother

As you can see, being incredibly humble and gracious runs in the family.

At the Movies: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Dear Liz,

So, I have to tell you something. You know how you said you'd go see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist with me? Well, I went to see it without you yesterday (even after Garney said he'd cry for me and my pathetic little life for seeing a romcom all alone). I know. I'm a jerk, but I really wanted to see it and you had this pesky little think called "work" on the lamest of all holidays (god bless you, government work).

You'll be happy to know I really liked it. Michael Cera is adorable as, well, Michael Cera, but he is maturing. You can see he's a little more than the goofy meta-male he's been in everything else, ever. And Kat Dennings is my hero. Where was she when I was searching for a female role model while in Jr. High/High School? I had to settle for possible lesbian Jodie Foster (not that there's anything wrong with that). Anyway, the movie is basically what you'd expect: Boy is heartbroken over break-up with his skeezy (but hot) girlfriend and he makes her awesome indie rock mixes which fall into the hands of gorgeous, but doesn't know it, girl. Eventually, boy and girl meet and have an awkward time for awhile (just like real life!) and encounter many obstacles while searching for a secret rock show all over New York City. It's really charming and fun and the soundtrack is awesome.

I hope you'll forgive me for going without you, Liz. I'll even see it again with you, if you want...I liked it that much. To quote my favorite line from the movies, "I love you so much, it's retarded."

xoxo,

Red