Saturday, June 28, 2008

Dance like no one's watching...

So this afternoon, we met mom and dad for lunch at Which Wich – which (not to throw another “which” in there, but it’s appropriate) is my new favorite sandwich shop. I’m not usually much of a sandwich shop person – it seems they never offer enough in the way of vegetarian fare. And it’s not that I’m a vegetarian – I don’t mind meat now and then – but as I’ve mentioned many times, I’m an extremely PICKY meat eater. And sandwich shops usually use just about the lowest quality meat you can find – those strange, thinly-sliced, “loaf” meats. Meat is not supposed to come in a loaf. BREAD comes in a loaf. Not meat. It’s just so unnatural…

But Which Wich offers a plethora (yes, that’s right – an entire PLETHORA) of vegetarian sandwiches. So not only can I order something completely void of bizarre deli mystery meat, but I can order something DIFFERENT every time I go.

Of course, the advantages of the sandwich shop are neither here nor there… the point is, we met mom and dad for lunch today. And everyone except me ordered a BLT. While we were eating, Rick said something about “that place in New Jersey that had the good BLTs,” and the rest of us were trying to figure out what restaurant he was talking about. It was in Newton… it had an ice cream counter on one side… we used to go there pretty often… it was kind of an old building… Eventually, I realized which restaurant Rick was talking about, but I couldn’t think of the name of the place. “Wasn’t there something about a hat?” I mused, thinking it may have been named after a bowler or a fedora or a beret. My mom recalled that there’d been hats on the walls – they had hats on the walls like sconces. And when my mom mentioned the hats, my dad suddenly realized which restaurant we’d all been attempting to remember.

Memories.

Yes, the name of the restaurant was Memories. And we couldn’t remember it. Well THAT’S ironic… :)

On a completely different subject – for some reason, I LOVE this video. (I tried to figure out how to post it on the blog, but I kept getting error messages… so you’ll just have to click on the link…) I saw it yesterday, and watched it three times in a row. And why, exactly? It’s just a guy doing a nerdy sort of dance in various places around the world. But there’s something ridiculously engaging about it… Rick and I were talking yesterday about how depressing the news usually is – how you can barely turn on the news or check out CNN.com without feeling like the world is spiraling into a pit of despair. And then you watch something silly and innocuous like the “Dancing Matt” video, and it makes you realize – or it makes ME realize, at least – that there’s so much less “us” versus “them” in the world than we’re conditioned to believe. It’s not us versus them… more often than not, it’s just plain US. No matter what country we’re from, or which religion we cling to, or what kind of clothes we wear, or what language we speak – we can ALL dance like crazy people when a camera is rolling. Gosh, I love that video… :)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I'm not THAT old...

Every now and then, I happen to catch an episode of “Ten Years Younger” on TLC. On the show, they take tired, haggard-looking people, throw them in a soundproof glass box, and then ask passers-by how old the aforementioned tired, haggard-looking person looks. They then take the person out of the box, whisk them away for a makeover, bring them back to the glass box, and once again ask passers-by how old that person looks.

So really, it’s just another makeover show… with the “how old does this person look?” gimmick thrown in. And I AM convinced that it’s a gimmick… in fact, I’m convinced that the “random” passers-by are coached by someone before they venture a guess as to the Box Person’s age. Because more often than not, the “before” guesses are almost ridiculously old for whoever is in the box (ooooo… look at those ugly shoes… I think that person is 85…), and the “after” guesses are ridiculously young (ooooo… I love those shoes… um, I’d say 22?). In fact, I watched an episode today where a woman’s makeover resulted in a much OLDER look, thanks in part to the soccer-mom haircut she was given and a generous layering of flashy gold accessories. She looked a good ten years OLDER than her 37 years, and yet apparently the ever-complimentary passers-by guessed an average age of 35.

And all I could think was, “I have GOT to get into that glass box…” I mean, if people were guessing that this “new and improved” 37-year-old was only 35, I can only assume that people would guess that I am about seventeen. But then again, as I said, I’m pretty sure the entire show is much less spontaneous than its producers would have us believe. (After all, it wouldn’t make for good television if everyone was guessing that the post-makeover Box People were OLDER than their real ages…)

I remember how much I used to HATE the fact that people were always assuming I was younger than I was, back when I was a teenager. When I was a senior in high school, I wanted people to KNOW that I was a senior in high school – high school seniority is very important to the kids who are stuck in that place. Seniors are supposed to be the rulers of the high school kingdom – all others are mere serfs, existing to do the seniors’ bidding. But it’s rather difficult to feel you have any authority whatsoever when even the FRESHMEN assume you’re a freshman. And when you’re nineteen or twenty years old, and you head into Yankee Stadium on a “free stuff for kids 14 and under” day, and someone hands you a little wooden bat or a bobble head doll without even ASKING if you’re 14, well, that’s rather annoying, too... I guess it wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I really started to appreciate the realization that I might be able to remain forever young… or, rather, forever youngER than I actually am…

But nowadays I wonder how long it actually WILL last. On my thirtieth birthday – a day when I was already lamenting the fact that no one had offered me free “14 and under” stuff at Yankee Stadium in YEARS – I found a single gray hair on top of my head. ON my thirtieth birthday. It was as if Mother Nature decided to hammer home the reality that it doesn’t matter how young I look – I’m STILL getting older. Even my fake young age is getting older… I mean, I certainly can’t pass for 14 anymore.

But really, who’d want to be 14 again anyway??? I’ll just be happy with, uh, let’s say 25…

Friday, June 13, 2008

Friday random thoughts...

Is today Friday? I’m not even sure… well, yeah, it must be Friday, because The Happening opens today, and for a month now the ads have been saying that it opens on Friday the 13th. Oh yeah – so happy Friday the 13th! I’m not much of a superstitious person, so I figure today is a day just like any other day. Besides, I’m sure I’ve written before about the significances of various numbers, colors, etc, depending on cultural background. Perhaps the number thirteen is considered an extremely LUCKY number somewhere in the world… and so I choose to embrace this lucky thirteen culture and wish everyone a happy Friday the 13th…

So as usual, the critics have banded together to pan M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, The Happening. And I’ll admit I haven’t seen it yet – but judging from the fact that I’ve loved every movie he’s made (yeah, that’s right – I loved Lady in the Water, okay? If you want to read my thoughts on that, you can read them in this post), I have a hard time believing it’s as utterly horrible as the general consensus would have me believe. Yeah, I’m an M. Night groupie. So sue me…

My older brother Robert has been in town this week. He used to work as a chef until he finally got sick of civilization and moved out to the middle of nowhere in Montana to write a manifesto and stockpile toilet paper (kidding, just kidding… about the manifesto, anyway…). But of course he’s retained his love of good food and cooking – which has meant that I’ve been reminded this week of how bizarre my nonsensical food aversions are. He made strawberry shortcake one night, and after everyone explained how “Lisa doesn’t like strawberries because they have seeds” he offered to stick them in the blender and press them through a sieve – a strawberry coulis, if you will. (Which reminds me of this great chocolate cake he used to serve at one of his restaurants – it was served with a raspberry coulis, which, being completely seedless, was extremely yummy served alongside the chocolate cake…) And since Sunday is Father’s Day, dad has decided he wants Bob to serve fish for dinner. So once again, everyone had to explain that Lisa HATES fish so she won’t be eating any. Gosh, how I wish I liked fish and seeds…

I have decided that Starbuck’s new doubleshot on ice drink is awesome… and it’s not just because it’s cold (which is great for all the 95+ degree days we’ve had), and it’s not just because it’s only 90 calories for a grande (which is even less than a cappuccino). No, it’s because of something Rick and I discovered when we ordered a couple the other day. We were curious about the venti size – when you order a venti cappuccino, you get the same amount of coffee (two shots of espresso) but more milk. Seems like a THIRD shot would be logical, but if you want one, you have to actually request it. So we wondered if it was the same with the doubleshot on ice – Rick asked the girl behind the counter if a venti already HAD three shots, or if you had to request a third shot, and she said, “oh, it has FIVE – and the grande has three.” No WONDER that drink makes me feel so wired – it has THREE shots of espresso! Nice…

Well, that’s about all I can wrangle out of my mind for now (sad, huh? :)). But as soon as anything more interesting pops up, I’ll be sure to write about it…

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I'm more of an explorer, myself...

So I was reading my Shape magazine this afternoon – I subscribe to Shape and Fitness. And although most of the pages are devoted to workout tips and healthy recipes and “I used to weigh 500 pounds and now weigh 120!” success stories, there are always a few pages toward the back that showcase whatever is “trendy” in fashion. (Because once you’ve lost all that weight, you’ll obviously have to buy new clothes.) And I don’t normally pay much attention to those few pages, with their photos of vacant-eyed models in layers of designer clothing. But as I was flipping pages today, a skirt caught my eye and I stopped at the photo to read about it. It was a Pretentious Fashion Designer Somebody or Other skirt, with a price tag of $875.00.

WHAT???

Ah, yes… now I remember why I never bother looking at those fashion pages all that closely. When would I EVER waste 875 dollars on a single piece of clothing? And it’s a skirt – just a skirt. That’s not even an entire outfit. Is it some kind of SPECIAL skirt? Does it do tricks? Does it transform from a skirt into something else? Is it a Transformer skirt? I mean, a Transformer skirt might be kinda cool… MAYBE I’d spend 875 dollars on a Transformer skirt… you know, if it went from a skirt to, like, a Porsche or something…

Such a contrast, our world of 875 dollar skirts, to the world of that lost tribe in the Amazon jungle. I was thinking the other day about how strange that seems – how these people have lived in the middle of nowhere for generations, knowing nothing of technology or packaged frozen food or mass transportation or the need for money to buy ridiculously expensive skirts. Even the word “expensive” would have no meaning in their universe. And how weird that the world around them expanded and morphed and evolved and progressed – all unbeknownst to the simple tribe in the Amazon. They just went on with their daily lives, apparently never imagining anything beyond their sequestered borders. Did any of them ever TRY to go exploring? Why are some people imbued with an innate desire to discover, while others are quite content to remain stationary? If anyone from any of the “undiscovered” tribes around the world would get a little curious, it would only be a matter of time before they hit civilization.

Of course, I can only imagine what the people in that tribe were thinking when a helicopter appeared overhead their village – how terrifying would THAT be if you’d never seen anything even remotely industrial? It’s almost like a real-life example of time travel – it’s like a movie where someone from the future shows up in the past with a fascinating piece of future equipment. Would we ever be able to communicate and explain our “future” world to the tribe of the “past”?

I wouldn’t bother trying to explain those 875 dollar skirts, though. There’s really NO explanation for that…

Saturday, June 07, 2008

I'm a thief...

Yes, I stole this from someone else’s blog. Yeah, it’s pretty silly, but since it’s the weekend and my mind is full of… uh… well, nothing very interesting right now, I figured it was a good day to post it. :)

YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Sheba MDX

YOUR GANGSTA NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Chocolate Sandals (alternate names would include Chocolate Chip Sneakers and Cake Batter Slingbacks…)

YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Platypus (“Dances with Wolves, meet Purple Platypus…” Yeah, that works…)

YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Carol Buffalo (I’m not sure “Buffalo” makes a very good last name… good thing I’m not a soap opera star…)

YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Broli… or Winli, if I use my pre-marriage name… yeah, actually, I think Winli sounds more “Star Wars”…

SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Blue Water (okay, water isn’t really my “favorite” drink… it’s just what I drink the MOST…)

NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Charles Leon… or Leon Charles… (which one sounds more “Nascar”??)

STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Okay, I can’t even begin to pick a favorite perfume… I wear so many different ones because my tastes change pretty much on a daily basis… although right now I’m really addicted to the “juiced berry” scent from Victoria’s Secret. So I’ll say my stripper name is Juiced Berry Chocolate.

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Michalik Minneapolis

SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Christmas Rose

CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Cherry Jeans

HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Frosted Mini Wheats Redwood

And now I (Frosted Mini Wheats Redwood) need to go camp out in a tree to protest deforestation... hope everyone has a good weekend!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Nothing much to say...

My mind has been discombobulated for a few days, so how about some random thoughts? (“Yippee! Random thoughts!” That’s what I imagine everyone is thinking right now… :))

First off, I have to say – “discombobulated” is a funny word.

Okay, would somebody PLEASE fix the Yankees? And what’s the deal with Joba finally getting a start, only for Girardi to pull him out after a measly 62 pitches? I could’ve made it to 62 pitches. Although I’m sure he would’ve been out by the seventh inning anyway, no matter what – and that’s when most of the damage was done. Still, I think Joba should’ve gotten more of a chance. What’s the worst that could’ve happened? We would’ve lost 10 to 3 instead of 9 to 3?? (Eric, you are sooooooo slacking with the Yankee voodoo… how are those opposing-team-pitcher voodoo dolls coming along?)

My crazy fireplace-dwelling cat Piva has turned out to be quite the exterminator. I’ve discovered that she likes to chase, play with, and finally EAT any little bugs she finds in the house. I’m not sure whether to be disgusted, or just grateful that she finds them before I do…

I just read this ridiculous little blurb on Yahoo about how Sarah Jessica Parker was upset because the dress she wore to the Sex and the City premiere had already been worn by a couple OTHER celebrities to OTHER events. (OH MY GOSH!!! NOOOOOOO!!!) Seriously?? THIS is what celebrities get upset about? A dress that someone else has worn in another place at another time??? Sheesh, if I’m supposed to be getting upset about stuff like that, I’d better stop buying my jeans at Gap. I’m pretty sure other people are wearing the EXACT SAME JEANS that I’m wearing right now, at this EXACT MOMENT. I am mortified. (I mean, c’mon – if THIS is the kind of stuff celebrities actually worry about, well, it must be nice…)

It has been way too hot the last couple weeks. Before we’d even hit June we’d already had a couple 100 degree days. And that’s just stupid.

So I watched The Little Mermaid a few days ago. For research purposes. No, really – I’m writing some Disney movie-based stories… a project that Jen up in Chicago was kind enough to toss my way (thanks Jen!! :)). And something struck me as I watched the movie – which, I believe, came out back in 1989. Animated movies TODAY are so much different. And it’s not just the animation itself – because computer animation has pretty much taken over – but also the stories. It seems like every animated movie I’ve seen lately is deliberately created to be enjoyed not JUST by kids, but by adults, too. There are moments in every “kid’s” movie that kids aren’t going to “get.” Things that are obviously thrown in for the adults. Whether it’s a joke that goes right over the heads of little kids, or a reference to something “old” that kids haven’t heard about yet – all the animated movies seem to be like that. But The Little Mermaid was pretty exclusively kid-friendly.

The other day, I tried that new “double-shot on ice” drink at Starbucks. And I have to say – THAT is what you want to drink when you need to stay awake for a while. I’m pretty sure I was bouncing off the walls for a couple hours after I drank it. I think I want another one…

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today… Coherent thoughts will return shortly… :)