I was doing work in the Starbucks on my campus earlier today, and they were playing all sorts of lovely songs. Said songs were being played WAY too loud for a coffee shop — they would have been better off in a bar setting — but that encouraged me to pay even more attention to them. My ears really perked up when a I heard a nice lady voice covering my favorite Beatles song, “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” (And, for full disclosure, I don’t really LOVE the Beatles — I know, sorry — but I tend to love covers of their songs. Which means I Am Sam and Across the Universe were awesome for me.) While I’m all for keeping to the integrity of the song in covers, this nice lady singer had changed the pronouns to the boy ones, which was fun, because hey, I like boys! Unfortunately, I’ve been searching for this particular cover on the Interwebs and can’t find it anywhere, so you’ll have to settle for my original favorite cover of the song, by Tyler Hilton. (I first heard this version on American Dreams, which was inexplicably cancelled mid-season right as Sam and Meg were starting to fall in love. Not that I’m still bitter.):
Interestingly, I haven’t the faintest idea who Nick and Daniele are, but I enjoyed that all the same.
A note left by Rep. Patrick Kennedy on his father’s grave (Ted Kennedy). Warning: if you have a bleeding liberal heart, this may make you weep. This picture comes from the White House’s Flickr stream.
President Obama’s health care bill, which will provide millions of uninsured Americans with medical coverage, was passed tonight by Congress after months and months of struggle.
Sandra Bullock is perfect. She is a fantastic actress, self-deprecating, hilarious and gorgeous. Although she seemed to be completely out of her husband’s league, they were so adorable together and seemed so in love, it didn’t matter.
You guys have heard of Chatroulette by now, right? I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been too scared/weirded out to try it, but it’s a fascinating concept. From what I understand, you just video chat with random strangers for as long as you want, and talk to, er, exhibitionists, about every other time. One day, I may be brave enough to try it and report back, but for now, enjoy this little number:
Guys, I’ve had so many thoughts in my head that I’ve wanted to tell you about, but instead of telling them to you, I watch Super Size Me (ten years after the rest of the country) and fall asleep. Sorry about that. The good news is that Google Holidays keep me on track. They taunt me, saying “YOU CAN’T IGNORE ME. YOU MUST BLOG ABOUT ME.” And I oblige, because I’m not one to mess with the Google.
Google Holiday: Happy St. Patrick’s Day. As you might have suspected, Google is honoring America’s favorite excuse to day drink and wear green hats that look like beer steins. (Hypothetically speaking, of course.) Since I celebrated my St. Patty’s Day approximately three years ago up in Hoboken — and since I have “school” and “a job” — I’m taking it easy today, just cold wearing green pants and going about my day as usual.
What I was Googling: tostitos salsa ingredients. I’ve surely mentioned here before that I love salsa. If DC legalizes marriage between a human and a condiment, I’m running down to the city court with a jumbo-sized jar of Tostitos Chunky Salsa Medium. Not that I’m picky. I love almost every salsa I’ve ever tasted, and though I eat it in frightening quanties (like, say, half a jar on a pair of scrambled eggs. Did I just admit that publicly?), I figure there are worst things I could be addicted to. Like heroin, or McDonald’s. (Am I right, Morgan Spurlock?!)
But then I read this article in the NYT, and it made me feel all inauthentic for loving mass-produced American brands just as much as I love the salsa from the amazing hole-in-the-wall taco place around the corner from work (where I’m eating lunch today, HUZZAH!). This opening section, in particular, bothered me:
“Everybody here thinks they know what Mexican food is,” said Nicholas Cox, the chef at La Esquina in NoLIta. “Especially if they’re from Texas or California.” (Ed. note: Ha! So true.)
Salsa, in particular, has emerged as Mexico’s most misunderstood culinary export. In Paris, Mexican restaurants make it with minced cornichon pickles and ketchup; in Japan, with green shishito peppers and Kewpie mayonnaise; in American factories, with corn syrup and red bell peppers.
In the spirit of all things Morgan Spurlock and Food, Inc., does my salsa have CORN SYRUP in it?! If it did, I’m not sure that I would really care and/or change anything about my salsa habits, but I became determined to find out the truth. And damn, Tostitos makes it a challenge to find out what’s in their salsa. I pored over their website, Googled like a mad woman, read a few blogs, and finally discovered that Tostitos Chunky Medium Salsa is nothing but tomato puree, diced tomatoes in tomato juice, jalapeno peppers, onions, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, and natural flavor. (Thanks to Off Her Cork for answering that one for me.) And while natural flavor might be a leetle sketchy, this makes me feel okay about the fact that I ate crackers dipped in salsa for dinner last night. Or, at least, as okay as I could be with that level of pathetic-ness.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY! Pound some Guinnesses and listen to this song on repeat, because it’s the best:
This is perhaps the greatest thing I have ever seen:
It combines about a million things I love, most notably two of the largest celebrity crushes of my life. Representing my awkward tween years, Mr. Josh Hartnett, and for my awkward borderline adult years, John Krasinski. As ex-guest blogger Madeline so wisely put it in her description of this video (in wise words stolen from Ms. Liz Lemon), I want to go to there.
Nothing sparks debate like watching the red carpet coverage at the Oscars. Ok, that might not be entirely true, but it does start some interesting conversations. This year? How ugly Sarah Jessica Parker is.
Girls love her for the obvious reasons, and apparently guys think she’s hideous. In fact, I was told that she gets a 3 on a 10 point scale and a 0 on a 1 point scale (1 I would sleep with her, 0 I wouldn’t).
Today’s Google Holiday: Anthony Vivaldi’s birthday. He would have been 332! You know our boy Vivaldi for The Four Seasons (WALSH!) and his striking good looks:
His Wikipedia page has this interesting opening paragraph about his childhood:
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the capital of the Republic of Venice in 1678. He was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, which led to the belief that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for certain, the immediate baptism was most likely due either to his poor health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the earthquake, Vivaldi’s mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood. Vivaldi’s official church baptism (the rites that remained other than the baptism itself) did not take place until two months later. Cool!!
Cool!! indeed. (Wikipedia’s editors clearly aren’t doing their job.)
What I was Googling: jcrew rose vines romper. And here’s why:
See now, that doesn’t count as clothes. J.Crew tells us to “think poolside parties and chic beach soirees” and to pair “this fashion-forward silhouette with an extra-long cardigan and loads of accessories.” Now, I’m all for wacky fashion, J.Crew, and even rompers, when done well. But this is just a swimsuit that you can’t swim in. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around it, because I can’t imagine a time when you’d be at a “chic beach soiree” (I already have like eight of those on my calendar for the summer) or a pool party and wouldn’t want to be wearing either a swimsuit or some form of clothes. I just had this conversation with my coworker, who happens to work at J.Crew, after I showed her this “romper”:
Her: Cute! That’s a swimsuit, right?
Me: NO! It’s a ROMPER.
Her: Oh god, nevermind. Did you see the other romper, with the pants? We got one in the store…and nuh-uh.
Here it is styled, which is even more mind-boggling:
Can someone please help me understand? Is it just a swimsuit? This website and this website seem to think so. But if it’s a swimsuit, why are they calling it a romper? I’m so confused. Hailp!
six words to change the world. 