Read this Kristof op-ed on mass rape in Liberia. Just…wow.
[Posted by Mallory]
Monthly Archives: May 2009
the guy next door’s the winner!
I have a tendency to get emotionally invested in a competition very, very quickly. I can ask my dad who to root for in a college football game, and by the end I’m crying when the quarterback runs over to hug his mother. I can be watching Dancing With the Stars in French and by the end I’m giddy (and also probably crying) because the cute girl I liked won. I can also not see a single episode of American Idol but still, inexplicably, watch and care about the finale.
I forced my poor friend Jill to watch the singing part of the finale with me two nights ago. (In my slight defense, she DVR-ed it so we fast-forwarded through the cheesy parts or any moment where Ryan Seacrest talked.) Now that Adam guy has a set of pipes, and I was totally impressed by him, despite the creeptastic trench coat and smoke. But Kris Allen won me over. It’s a well-publicized fact that my favorite genre of music is Boys Playing Guitars, and he fits the bill perfectly. He’s just so earnest! And he plays instruments! And he has a cute wife! And anyone else think he sounds a lot like Adam Levine when he’s singing? He also gets an adorable smashed and crooked face when he sings — like John Mayer, but more endearing.
The point is, I teared up any time they showed Kris’s adorable family, then I realized that I would actually buy his CD (as long as “No Boundaries” isn’t on it, good GOD), so I was compelled to vote for him. That’s right, I totally texted in my vote. And he won! HOORAH!
I didn’t watch the results part of the finale, but this picture, courtesy of the NYT, is perfect:
Here’s hoping he doesn’t get famous and starting banging random groupies.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, crushes, definitely not politics, music, pop culture, TV
here, read this quote i liked.
Just stumbled across this quote on the blog of a pretty freaking hilarious and wacky 13-year-old (no, really, check her out), and I liked it, so now you get to read it:
“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.” [Neil Gaiman]
Apparently it’s in a comic book series called The Sandman, and though it seems like a pretty unusual quote to come from a comic book, and though the cover of said comic book is a leetle terrifying, I’m intrigued.
[Posted by Mallory]
tuesday roundup of interesting nytimes articles.
Some days, the New York Times seems particularly stacked with good articles. It could just be that those are the days I actually focus and read the articles (rather than just skimming the headlines), but for whatever reason, today was a good day. In no particular order, and with quite a range of topics, enjoy:
- I haven’t been watching American Idol much this season, but according to Stephen Holden, we’ve got an interesting finale on our hands: sweet — if slightly boring — Southern dude versus androgynous L.A. dude. I might actually have to tune in tonight. Holden convinced me that along with being something of a godsend for Idol’s ratings, the matchup will make for some very watchable teevee. Better than the forgettable Davids of last year.
- Speaking of Davids, according to David Brooks and a study called “Which C.E.O. Characteristics and Abilities Matter?”, warm and fun and friendly people are less likely to be C.E.O.’s. Basically, “warm, flexible, team-oriented and empathetic people are less likely to thrive as C.E.O.’s. Organized, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive.” Of course, those sets of qualities can’t be mutually exclusive, but the study makes a point. Boring people of the world: aim high. Fun ones: go into politics.
- What do our college degrees and cell phones say about us? According to this John Tierney article, they can potentially say a lot — and most of us like to believe they say a lot, which is why we aim for Ivy Leagues and iPhones — but it only matters if other people are paying attention. In other words, “A Harvard diploma might get you a date or a job interview, but what you say during the date or the conversation will make the difference. An elegantly thin Skagen watch might send a signal to a stranger at a cocktail party or in an airport lounge, but even if it were noticed, anyone who talked to you for just a few minutes would get a much better gauge of your intelligence and personality.”
- I found this reflective piece by Dana Jennings to be quite thought-provoking. In it, he recounts three major hospital visits in his lifetime: one at the age of 12, one at the age of 27, and one just last year, at the age of 51. All of the visits were relatively serious and had the potential to be life-threatening, but the way he reacted to the hospital stays predictably changed a lot over the years. As he puts it, “When I was young and ill, all I cared about was the result, about scalpels and scars. But in this waltz with prostate cancer, I’ve cared about the process, too. All along, I’ve wanted to know what this cancer could teach me, and I’d like to think I gripped it just as hard as it has gripped me.”
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under celebrities, health, money, news, politics, pop culture, TV
go inside the fridges of strangers.
Just stumbled upon this delightfully voyueristic peek into the fridges and freezers of strangers. The photos are part of a series by photographer Mark Menjivar called You Are What You Eat. When you read his goals for the collection, you can see that it’s about a little bit more than voyeurism; Menjivar wanted to make a statement about consumerism and hunger in this country:
You Are What You Eat is a series of portraits made by examining the interiors of refrigerators in homes across the United States.
For three years I traveled around the country exploring the issue of hunger. The more time I spent speaking and listening to individual stories, the more I began to think about the foods we consume and the effects they have on us as individuals and communities. An intense curiosity and questions about stewardship led me to begin to make these unconventional portraits.
A refrigerator is both a private and a shared space. One person likened the question, “May I photograph the interior of your fridge?” to asking someone to pose nude for the camera. Each fridge is photographed “as is.” Nothing added, nothing taken away.
These are portraits of the rich and the poor. Vegetarians, Republicans, members of the NRA, those left out, the under appreciated, former soldiers in Hitler’s SS, dreamers, and so much more. We never know the full story of one’s life.
My hope is that we will think deeply about how we care. How we care for our bodies. How we care for others. And how we care for the land.
Here are a few photos from the collection:
I’m a little embarrassed to say that my roommate’s and my fridge looks most like the third photo, which (tellingly?) was taken of the fridge of a couple of college students. The only items consistently in our fridge are condiments, booze and assorted cocktail fixings, and eggs. The grocery store is just so far away when you don’t have a car! City living is hard! (Sorry, Mom.)
You can see the rest of the photos at the blog link above, but definitely check out Menjivar’s website to see more of his impressive work.
[Posted by Mallory]
youtube clip of today: t-mobile dance.
The geniuses at T-Mobile must be staring into my soul. They must know me, because I am obsessed with their viral video campaign and have dreamed each one of these scenarios. First, I posted the “Hey Jude” video, where thousands of people were singing together. Now, this one, with people dancing in a train station. Why doesn’t this happen where I live?!
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under adventures, crushes, dance, pop culture, random, thoughts, weird, YouTube
liveblogging real housewives of nj premiere.
Sarah and Ben and I have been watching the reunion of The Real Housewives of New York, and one glass of wine in, I’ve decided I’m going to have to liveblog the premiere of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. I’ve watched most of the iterations of this show a couple of times while eating Thai takeout and sipping on some red wine, and I’ve never been that into it. But I think the NJ ladies will be different, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the premiere of their show. So here goes:
10:58 — Jesus shit’s going down at the end of this NY reunion. Best observation of the night, courtesy of Miss Sarah: Alex looks like a baby horse alien.
11:00 p.m.– I’ve been on that turnpike!
11:00 p.m. — Thick as thieves. Is that a mafia reference?
11:00 p.m. — “Have you ever seen so much orange in one place?” -Miss Sarah
11:01 p.m. — America, meet Dina, Teresa, Caroline, Jacqueline, and Danielle.
11:01 p.m. — So these ones are actually friends? They’ve known each other for 13 years, interesting.
11:02 p.m. — Teresa’s husband Joe…jager bombs, jager bombs, fucking skanks.
11:04 p.m. — Teresa, I pay for everything in Benjamins too!!
11:06 p.m. — Hmmm Dina and Caroline are sisters. Interesting.
11:09 p.m. — Oh, these accents. My my my.
11:09 p.m. — This is not a very exciting liveblog, is it?
No, it’s not exciting, and 1.5 glasses of wine in I’m bored by this and I’m just going to be a quitter, OKAY? I’m a giant giant quitter and I’m okay with it. Liveblogging is better when Wonkette does it, I guess.
11:18 p.m. — BUT WAIT oh good lord can we talk about the crazy exercise one? Engaged 19 times? R U 4 REAL?
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under blogging, celebrities, humor, TV
the inexplicable appeal of rock band.
So, I haven’t been posting on account of the fact that I’ve been writing 1,000 pages of final papers instead. I know that I should be getting back into the meaty posts about celebrities and strange news stories, but for now, I need to make a very important statement/pose a very important question:
What on EARTH is the appeal of Rock Band? I get that you love it, and that your roommates love it, and that you sometimes play it for days at a time. But why, why, WHY is it fun to sit around playing fake instruments badly and listening to someone sing badly? I’ve never liked Rock Band, and I’ve never gotten the point, and tonight I brought this fact up in a house of four boys who were playing Rock Band. They were all “Ohmygod just wait we’ll convince you.” And then for ten minutes I’ll never get back, I listened to fake music and watched cartoon singers on a screen while four boys played fake instruments. Give me wine and a Pandora station any day.
[Posted by Mallory]
Filed under blogging, music, pop culture
tyler frost gets suspended for dancing.
Of all the ridiculous things I’ve read today, this trumps them all.
Poor Tyler Frost. All the senior in high school wanted to do was escort his lady love to her sinful, pagan public school prom and maybe move in sync to the musical stylings of Taylor Swift, and whatever Godless slow-jam-last-dance song those high school kids are listening to these days. And his school suspended him.
That’s because Tyler’s school, Heritage Christian School in Ohio, forbids dancing, rock music, and fun. IT’S JUST LIKE THE MOVIE FOOTLOOSE! It doesn’t specifically say fun, but whatev. Might as well. But you know, there are other reasons as well. Here is part of the statement from the school’s principal, Tim England:
In the Old Testament, Joseph was in a place of temptation and he fled. Unlike this situation, he didn’t put himself in that place. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” II Timothy 2:22 says, “Flee also youthful lusts but follow after righteousness faith charity and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” When the school committee, many years before I became the principal, set up the policy regarding dancing, I am confident that they had the principle of fleeing lustful situations in mind. The question as I see it is, should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low cut dresses and be dancing in them? Isn’t it contrary to the example of Joseph and the verses that I stated?
I did some research and came across Friendlyatheist.com, which fights Bible fire with Bible fire. Thanks for providing us with the verse, FriendlyAtheist!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 (King James Version)
1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
All sassiness aside, I think there’s something deeper here. Dance, whether Mr. England chooses to acknowledge it or not, is embedded in the history of humanity. As cliche as it is, people use dance to express themselves. People dance at weddings– Christian weddings– to celebrate and show joy. Little children dance (read= jump up and down and wave their arms) when they’re happy, and they just don’t know why. In fact, there’s a budding genre of dance called Liturgical dance. It’s a prayer in the form of dance. Some people find dance so beautiful and spiritual that they use it as a way to praise the Lord.
Taking away dance is denying an important act of humanity. Not that I, nor anyone else, should speak for the big guy upstairs, but I don’t think punishing someone for being human is what was intended.
Tyler and his stepfather, Stephan Johnson, went on CBS’ “The Early Show” this morning. Watch that. He said he doesn’t regret going to the prom. I sure hope not. I hope that he is allowed to walk at his graduation this year. And when he does, I hope he dances on stage.
And now, a song that I dedicate to dear Tyler. I hope you dance, dude.
[Posted by Kathleen]
things i should have posted earlier.
Yeah yeah yeah. I know. I could have posted it this weekend (or yesterday), but nerd statistics show that nobody reads the blog on the weekend anyway, proving that you all use this while you are being paid by your unsuspecting employers. I love it!
SNL had a really good weekend. Another JT/Andy Samberg song. Oh girl, I love me some JT. And Samberg. RAWR. If you like “Dick in a Box”, you’ll like this one too:
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So that’s what your coworker is singing that you had no idea about. A big SWTCTW you’re welcome! What a beautiful ode to Mother’s Day. Oddly enough though, I won’t be showing that to my mom.
That was funny, now let’s get political and funny. In case you didn’t know, we have the greatest most bestest president in the entire world! He is hilarious! Here is his speech at the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner:
The best joke in here is a little inside, I know! It’s the one he makes about John Boehner (pronounced like BAINER, not BONER) being a person of color. John Boehner, the House Minority leader, has skin that particular shade of orange that only comes from fake tanning. See?
He’s even oranger in person, if oranger is a word.
Wanda Sykes was also REALLY funny, but I can’t do all the work for you, so you need to look that up yourself.
I’m off to stalk the news and find funny stuff to post! You know you love me. XOXO, i forgot to blog this weekend girl.
[Posted by Kathleen]
Filed under blogging, celebrities, crushes, history, humor, music, news, politics, pop culture, post-college depression, random, sex, the arts, the hill, thoughts, TV, Uncategorized, YouTube
six words to change the world. 