Random Musings

Trying to keep up the blog in Roadtripper's absence but my life really isn't that interesting. I have been contemplating a Sarah Palin piece after watching the first part of her Charles Gibson interview and reading several insightful articles but I just get mad and have not been able to rationally or intelligently put my thoughts in order yet. And today is football today and my Colts managed to pull it out of their ass long enough to win, finally. But the one interesting thing I did do this weekend (other than getting the oil changed in my car and rationing my travelling due to unbelievable price gouging at the pumps) was go to the Cooper-Young Festival in Memphis. The C-Y area of Memphis is kind of like Bardstown Rd in Louisville, except with worse restaurants. It is cool and hip and they had plenty of music and crafts. I did find a few gems:

See Roadtripper wasn't lying when she said I was a Beatles fanatic. The best part is I do own a turntable to play the album on. The earrings are made from Guinness bottle caps! and an old key I will be making into a necklace. It was a nice waste of an afternoon. Did go to The Celtic Crossing, an Irish restaurant/pub there and was not impressed. Just because you serve Guinness on tap and play U2 on the sound system does not make you Irish. They had no Strongbow (which yes I realize is English not Irish but all good Irish pubs I have been to have it) and their fish and chips? Not that good.

One other good find from the weekend? The book: Other People's Love Letters edited by Bill Shapiro. Just happened across it at Barnes and Nobles (my second home) and got it on a whim. It is composed, as the title obviously implies, of real love letters written by other people. Some of the letters are funny, some are sweet, some are angry, and some are heartbreaking, as is the end which gives updates to some of the letters. An utter romantic with a pragmatic heart, it gave me hope and is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon. Hopefully Roadtripper will get her cable up soon, one of us has got to be the fun one on here.

Maybe You Can Go Back Home (For A Few Days... At Least)

I was a little worried about moving back in with my parents for the week that all my household belongings were in North Carolina but I had to finish my last week of work at Quantico and clean out the old apartment. My dad is a bit set in his routine and doesn't like any deviation from his norm. I figured that I would cause friction in the house. I am happy to report that the week has went by with few glitches (other than my mom wanting to throw my super loud Sonic Boom alarm clock out the window when it woke her up at 6 AM... what can i say?... I am a heavy sleeper!)

Things I have learned to love at my parents' house:

1. My mom is a kickass cook. I have been spoiled with pork tenderloin, crawfish quiche and other goodies all week long. She would even made a plate and warm it up for me on the nights when I came in late. Mom just had a Wegmans open up down the street from her house that awakened her inner gourmand so she is all about incorporating the latest sheep cheese or spinach focaccia she picked up in to her cooking. Quite a change from my usual dinner of Lean Cuisine and Cheez-Its.



2. The ultra-soft down comforter on the guest bed. Seriously... this thing is like sleeping enveloped in the clouds.



3. The companionship of the coolest dog in the world. Breed? A snorting, wiggling pug. Name? Ouiser Boudreaux, of course. Can you tell who named her? She was my dog for the first 5 months but my parents adopted her when my life got too busy. Ouiser is the quirkiest yet sweetest dog in the world and makes the best cuddle buddy you could ever find. Just look at this face...

Resistance is futile!

I am going to be off the grid for a few days. I am heading back down to North Carolina around 1 PM tomorrow. My cable hookup at the new place isn't until Wednesday, so unless I can find Wi-Fi access somewhere, you won't hear from me for awhile. No worries because Bad Wolf can hold it down in my absence. See y'all later!

A Book To Movie That Just Might Not Suck

I love, love, love Erica Jong's book* "Fear of Flying". The book came out in 1973 but is still relevant and a little titillating even now in 2008. Imagine my joy to read a news bit this morning that "Fear of Flying" is being made in to a movie. Even better, the lead character of Isadora Wing might be played by either Kate Winslet or Maggie Gyllenhaal. Yay! This had better not suck... or have Miley Cyrus as the lead.

*If you haven't read it... run to your local library this instant! Every woman needs to read about the zipless fuck.

Welcome to the Island: Elvis Presley

As per usual, I had an entirely different musician picked out to join the island. But I thought, why not go back to the beginning and why not celebrate my current Memphis status. Using the previously laid out rules, Elvis on the island (at least when I see him, Maggie may differ) will be in his young, Hound dog, yet to sell out to Hollywood stage. I mean come on, those lips, that hair, those eyes, the way he can move those hips!

Even a Beatles fanatic such as myself can appreciate such a fine specimen; it helped moving to Memphis of course. I will just have to keep him away from the peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I am sure I can think of something to keep him occupied. :)

A Little Warning Would Be Appreciated Here

I am not going to lie: I spend a sizable chunk of my work day surfing blogs. Now that I only have 2 days left at my current job, that amount of time has increased exponentially. One advertisement in particular has been popping up on every site I visit and it is driving me nuts.

Are they hawking socks or an orgy?

I am not a fan of American Apparel anyways. I think that it is a way-overpriced version of Hanes with "hipsters" as its target audience. The ads really kill me. Sure, sex sells but helloooooo.... some of us illegally surf the web for a living. How about a little NSFW warning? I was complaining about it to one of my friends who sent me this. Unlike American Apparel, I will warn my readers that you do not want your boss looking over your shoulder while reading this one.

Welcome To The Island: Henry Rollins

We need a little musical talent on The Island so I am going to bring in the punk rocker that has made me swoon for years. I have the biggest school girl crush on Henry Rollins. He would hate the gushing accolades that I am about to unleash. Very un-punk, I know. But sometimes a girl can't help it... I love this man! I loved him during his Black Flag and Rollins Band days. I went ape shit when the video for "Liar" came out. Something about that cop uniform... and don't get me started on the Superman costume.



Nowadays, I think I love him just a little more with his evolution in to spoken word performances and his show on IFC (seriously... check the show out sometime... you will thank me.) You would think that aging tattooed punk rockers would look silly and irrelevant after awhile but Henry Rollins rocks the tats, muscles, grey hair and razor sharp wit with aplomb. Welcome to The Island, you tattooed silver fox!

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (or at least Bad Wolf)

I realized today that it has been quite a while since I have posted, well okay a week, and our faithful readers (shout out to CKD!) may be wondering where the heck I have been. I mean, Roadtripper moved and drove through a tropical storm and still posted! I have been dealing with my own deluge... of pennies. My father gave me over $50 in pennies, unwrapped. And I know I could have taken them to one of those machines and got cash for it but I am stingy and refuse to pay a surcharge for that! And I am little, teensy bit OCD and couldn't stand them sitting there waiting to be wrapped so I have been wrapping them, slowly but surely, every single freaking day. See, I hadn't really disappeared (you'll have to wait a few more weeks into football season for that) but wrapping over 2500 pennies takes a wee bit of time:

But as you can see I am finally done (till I go home next and get more) and will be dropping them off at the bank soon, so you should be hearing more from me. Especially if the Colts don't start playing well! Ciao for now, until tomorrow's delicious island pick.

Best Onscreen Kiss

Every Myspace bulletin survey I fill out always has the question "Have you ever been kissed in the rain?" Uhhhh... no. I know the roots of this phenomenon can be traced to popular kissing in the rain scenes from Spiderman and The Notebook. I get it: you are so overwhelmed with passion that you want to lay a big wet one on him even in adverse weather conditions. But people have taken this to a new level. Kiss in the rain! Take a walk in the rain! Dance in the rain! Sing in the rain! Needlepoint in the rain! Make balloon animals in the rain! What the hell is up with peoples' obsession of doing things in the rain?




It is raining here today. It is chilly and traffic is bad. All I want to do is lock myself indoors and drink hot toddys until the sun comes out again. I definitely don't want to run outside to make out with someone. It is hard to feel romantic when you're cold and have eye makeup running down your face.

I am not a cold-hearted cynic; I am just practical. My favorite onscreen kiss takes place in a dry train station, and still manages to turn me in to a pile of mush with each viewing. It is the last scene of BBC's "North & South", starring Richard Armitage. Yes, my chosen king on the Island.


Harlequin romance novels cribbed all their material from Austen and Gaskell so this story will sound familiar: Girl from South meets boy from North. They hate each other. Boy starts liking girl. Girl snubs boy. Girl regrets her snub and starts liking boy. Misunderstandings keep them apart. Girl gets on a train to head North to profess her love but he isn't there. Boy is down South looking for girl. They meet at the train station as they are heading back to their respective homes. Boy gives girl a flower that he just picked from her favorite garden in the South while looking for her. Apologies are made and misunderstandings cleared while boy takes girl's hand.


Girl picks up boy's hand and kisses it. Very racy for the time! Next thing you know, she'll flash a little ankle.


Boy leans in for the big one. Does that whole cupping her face with his hand thing. I am such a sucker for that move.



Boy takes his sweet time. Lots of deep eye locks and trembling lips but he manages to seal the deal. The photos don't do it justice. It is a hot scene!


See! Who needs cold, sloppy kisses in the rain? This is how it's done.