Monthly Archives: June 2008

by | June 18, 2008 · 1:48 am

cyd, i wanted to be you.

Not to get too serious, but I wanted to take a break from politics to comment on the passing of Hollywood dancer Cyd Charisse today. Singin’ in the Rain is one of my all-time favorite movies, and she is one of my all-time favorite dancers. Old movie musicals are not everyone’s thing, (my roommate informed me of this quite frequently when she’d come home to find me sitting in the room alone, in pajamas and glasses, eating a tub of frosting and watching one) but talent is talent, and it must be recognized. She was known for her impeccable grace, elegant movements and top notch legs. I can remember watching her in movies and just wishing I could be that good. Come to think of it, she may have been my first girl crush.

And not to sound like my grandma reminiscing about the old days, but we don’t have the same appreciation for the arts as we used to. When Lil’ Mama (of America’s Best Dance Crew) is seen as a legitimate dancer and one deemed to judge other dancers, we might have a problem.

Cyd, thanks for the inspiration. I’ll close with a great quote from Fred Astaire:

“That Cyd — when you’ve danced with her, you stay danced with.”

Watch her elegance in this one:

Watch her legs (so jealous) in this one:

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 17, 2008 · 12:57 am

john mccain, you silly old man.

McCain

So that I actually feel informed on the seemingly overwhelming world of politics, I have a couple of daily briefings emailed to me. One of these is MSNBC’s First Read. In their afternoon email today, a particular issue caught my eye. McCain (who, according to the above photo, is also an irritating fist-pumper) had scheduled a fundraiser at the home of Texas oil man Clayton Williams, the man who in 1990 said about rape, “It’s like the weather, if it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” Um, yeah. Well even though this was a HUGE issue back in 1990, made national news, and essentially killed Williams’ campaign for governor of Texas, McCain claims that he and his staffers didn’t know about the controversial comment. (More on that here; I’m not the expert, these guys are.) Also, according to MSNBC, “the word ‘rape’ is in the title of the third link that comes up in a ‘Clayton Williams’ Google search.” In McCain’s defense, he’s like 300 years old and is probably still figuring out how to send an email.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 16, 2008 · 9:25 pm

hey al, it’s about friggin’ time.

To celebrate Al Gore’s official endorsement of Barack, I will use the internet (his invention) for the rest of my life.

This man is truly the superstar of the Democratic Party. Think about it, before the big O, he was the last solid candidate the Democrats put up. He could have disappeared after his loss…okay, so he put on some weight and grew a beard…but instead he went on to write books, save the world and win an Oscar and a Nobel. Snaps to you, Al!

PS- Al Gore inventing the internet jokes will never get old.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 16, 2008 · 9:08 pm

rocco, you’re a winner to me.

Rocco

Well, looks like the Fist Pumper got the best of my beloved Rocco. Did I cry? Yes. But did I shake off my sadness by watching YouTube clips of people falling? Yes. I think Rocco would have wanted it that way. Mr. Mediate, for making me like golf for two full days, you deserve the highest honors, and your name is carved on the winner’s trophy in my heart. (Too much?)

It was fun while it lasted, and I’ve got to agree with Barbara Barker in this Newsday article when she says that “your interest has to be piqued by a guy bold enough to wear a peace symbol on his belt buckle while playing in front of a conservative country club audience.” Cheers, Rocco. Go home to your three children (this, I believe, has been confirmed) and your beautiful wife (still not certain about that one, but it makes me feel better to imagine that he has a wife to go home to).

And for the record, PGA Tour website? When you include a “personal” section about your players, we lady fans might like to see something a little more personal than just where they went to college. Marital status? Callaway-sponsored boxers or briefs? Alcoholic beverage of choice? That sort of thing.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 16, 2008 · 5:12 pm

yo, want 2 swing dance 2nite?

Everyone loves a good “how we met” story. You know, the kind that makes movies like Must Love Dogs (uggh, it kills me to think that I’ll never get those two hours of my life back) seem normal. I love it when my parents tell theirs. If you have ever read wedding announcements/seen 27 Dresses or care about that sort of stuff at all, you know the “how we met” story is the icing on the wedding cake.

But with all of the chick flicks out there to let us know how it should be, you know when a “how we met” story is really bad.

Ex- “Well, I was at one end of the bar and he was at the other. After all of his friends had tried with me, I finally agreed when he asked to buy me a drink because he seemed like the nicest and I wanted to have enough money left over for a cab. We ended up making out at the bar and he Facebooked me later that night.”

Here is my favorite though-this one truly takes the, err, wedding cake. An old friend recently got engaged. Out of pure obligation and a touch of nosiness, one of my BFFLs (LYLAS) asked his fiancée how they met. To this the fiancée responded:

“We met on MySpace. You got a problem with that?”

YES, I DO. But that’s because I hate MySpace with the passion of 18 million angry Hillary voters.

Obviously this girl was on the defensive. She knew that her story was anything but cute. She knows how it is perceived, so she lied to her parents. She told her parents they met swing dancing. SWING DANCING. Yup. Just off the top of my head, I can name a few trillion things more believable and plausible than that. But this brings to mind the question: where do you go to meet someone swing dancing? Plus, I don’t know many single dudes that would go to a swing dancing event. But whatev. If that’s the fantasy she wants, let her have it.

When we spend most of our time online and plugged in, it’s no shock (sadly) that it becomes the dating arena. The biggest step you need to make is Facebooking them. From their Facebook you can get a phone number. And then, you can send a text: hey what r u doing tonight.

I don’t condemn it, but I don’t like it. I will condemn it, however, if it has anything to do with MySpace. Is your engagement photo going to be a longarm style black and white pouty face with added sparkles? If that happens to you, lie to me. Because deep down I still have faith that true “how we met” stories can be cute. I, of course, expect to meet the love of my life at a political rally, realize we love the same Disney movies and old movie musicals, talk about Barack, eat lots of ice cream and live happily ever after. But that’s just me.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 16, 2008 · 4:28 am

to peace, love, and rocco mediate.

Unlike my father, I am no great lover of golf. True, I did once play on my high school’s golf team, but that was a bit of a joke, and my main memories of that era involve eating a lot of candy and doing things on a golf course that would shame my father. Anyway, perhaps as a tribute to dear ol’ dad, I watched the end of the U.S. Open today. Now I’m the type of person who can very quickly get emotionally involved in a sporting event. I may not know much about Tiger Woods besides that he’s in a lot of commercials and is really, really good at golf, but when they showed dramatic clips from Saturday of him clutching his knee and making those impossible shots, with voiceovers of him talking about his father, I got a little teary. After that clip, however, my heart belonged to Rocco Mediate. With a name like that and a peace sign for a belt buckle, there was no way I could not be in love. And he was so jolly!

As I watched until the nerve-wracking end, I had visions of Rocco celebrating his win, weeping as he hugged and kissed his beautiful wife and children (which of course he has). And on Father’s Day! It would have been beautiful. Instead, Mr. Big Shot just haaaad to make his putt, forcing poor 45-year-old Rocco to play another 18 holes the next day. Although I didn’t know Rocco’s name until earlier today, I found myself borderline depressed when Tiger made that shot and did his irritating fist pump. For the sake of the underdog, peace, and really cool names, I hope Rocco can clinch it. Everyone loves a Cinderella story, especially yours truly.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 13, 2008 · 2:13 pm

i’ve got a crush on obama.

I am completely and utterly Barackupied. Those who know me know this. I received more phone calls and texts when Obama secured the Democratic nomination than I did on my birthday. And that is totally okay with me.

When you’re extremely involved in politics, you feel like you are on a first name basis with your candidate. It’s almost as if you are dating. But not, because that’s real creepy.

It still has many traits of a real relationship though:

Your friends begin to wonder where you are.
Ex-“Where is she? She said she was going to be here! Oh that’s right, she’s with HIM again.”

You are smitten. And when you are with your friends, you can find little else to talk about. You keep going until you see them roll their eyes. And even then, it’s hard to stop.
Ex-“Do you know what Barack did today? He gave hope to the entire world and then cured cancer! Isn’t he just so great?!”

You stalk him on Facebook and Google his name. When he loses, you feel like a loser. And when he wins, you feel like the wind beneath his wings. Cue the music.

You get mad at him when he messes up. It’s all you can think about and you’re embarrassed to tell your friends because you want them to like him. But word travels fast and they call you up to see how you’re doing. You scream at him via CNN, “WHY, OH WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT?”

But you stand by your man. Then he does something so wonderful (like this) that you forget all about the pettiness and minor slip ups, and remember why you fell in love with him in the first place-the right stance on the issues that matter to you and the ability to really make a difference and really change the world.

I was furious when this came out because this was TOTALLY my idea. But I’m okay with it now.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 12, 2008 · 3:15 am

cry face WILL change the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, pimps and players, allow me to introduce you to the Cry Face.
 
Cry Face is a little thing a friend of mine invented accidentally back in high school when she was so cold that she actually felt like crying. Until my sophomore year in college, the Cry Face lay dormant, waiting to be released to the world. For no reason in particular, one night my friend Katie challenged me to get everyone I met that night to do the Cry Face. When we realized a) how ridiculous all people look while doing a Cry Face and b) how willing even strangers are to make this strange face and then be photographed, we knew this thing had potential. For the next few years, it was my personal mission to get as many people as I could to do Cry Face.
 
Boys wearing oxfords love Cry Face:

 
 
Asians love Cry Face:

The Crnkovich family (at their annual reunion) loves Cry Face:

Huge groups of people visiting Italian tourist destinations love Cry Face:

And you know what? I think even God loves the Cry Face (yes, that is the Vatican. I swear my dad is a good enough Catholic that he’s still protected from eternal damnation):

Okay, I think you get the idea. But don’t think there won’t be more where that came from. There are dozens of other photos waiting to be shared with the world.
 
When Cry Face first started getting big (and strangers began emailing me photos of their friends doing Cry Face), I started to think, hey, I could make a book of Cry Faces! It’s the kind of book that would be sold at Urban Outfitters, that customers would read and enjoy while waiting in line, but would never actually shell out the $14.95 to bring it home to put on their coffee tables. Thanks to Al Gore’s invention of the Internet, it is much easier to share Cry Face with the masses. My long-term goal? That you, you eventual millions of readers, will share your Cry Faces with Kathleen and me through this blog. Send us your best photos of you, your friends, your favorite celebrity, or your co-worker’s great-grandmother rocking the Cry Face. Extra points always go to large groups or those doing Cry Face in an inappropriate place (see Vatican, above). I swear, this thing’s going to change the world.

[Posted by Mallory]

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by | June 12, 2008 · 1:09 am

youtube clip of today. oh baby!

This child makes me want to have babies. Dear God, I cannot believe I just wrote that. No, but really, this kid is great. Why are baby videos so addicting?

[Posted by Kathleen]

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by | June 11, 2008 · 3:43 pm

political jokes can be funny too!


Overheard on the Hill:

How is John McCain like the weather? They are both 105 and miserable.

HAHA.

[Posted by Kathleen]

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