dissonance

I like my internet nuggets with hot mustard sauce

I love Metafilter.  But I don't think a lot of you readers out there do (who ARE you guys??? Seriously I don't have that many friends.). So let me share some internet nuggets they have just served to me and made me add to my bloglines.

Doing it wrong - Pictures that display wrongness on a variety of levels.  Unfortunately I don't think this one has an RSS feed.

Picture is Unrelated - This one sold it to me.

Photobomb - You know when you take a picture and then when you look at it you notice that some f*cker in the background totally messed it up? Like totally?  Yeah, they're all here.  Possibly NSFW.  Actually, make that probably.  And you'll probably pee your pants.

Cake Wrecks - This will probably give me wedding cake nightmares but for now I find it gut-bustingly funny.

Awkward Family Photos - I don't think I can add much more to that.

Welcome, President Obama

My friend Michelle asked me to participate in an article she is putting together for KoreAm Journal, which will piece together reactions of today's inauguration.  I was extremely chuffed to be asked to contribute, particularly to give my perspective as an American living abroad.

I was originally going to mark this historic occasion with a typically eloquent post that looked something like this:

WHOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOHOOOOOOO

But I think what I sent to Michelle is ok too:

1) Describe what it was like witnessing the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday. What was it like watching it while living in the UK?
 

I moved to the UK in the fall of 2006.  It was the middle of Bush's second term and America's reputation abroad was at an all time low.  When British people teased me about our president I could only sheepishly reply that I didn't vote for him.

This was also about the time when Obama's own presence was causing rumblings within political discussions.  Momentum began to build and I got caught up in his message of hope and tried to quell strands of cynicism that had built over the years of the previous administration.

I saw the inauguration in a very unlikely place, the work gym.  I positioned myself directly in front of the tv. It was on mute, so I had to follow the captions.  It didn't really matter.  When the camera panned to show the mass of people who had arrived to witness the ceremony I felt simultaneously quite alone, an ocean away, and yet also a part of this historic moment.  It was breathtaking, and not because I was on a treadmill.

Americans are characterized by a number of traits, both positive and negative.  We are viewed as loud-mouthed, confident, fond of long words, impulsive, and above all, enthusiastically optimistic, particularly when juxtaposed against the British approach of realistic caution.  While I usually try not to resemble a stereotype, when Senator Feinstein introduced our 44th president, Barack Hussein Obama, I couldn't help myself.  I made the smallest fist pump and murmured under my breath "YES!"

2) Obama's presidency is supposed to represent a time of change. What kind of change would you like to see our new president make?

I would like our government to set an example for transparency and accountability, two aspects that have been glaringly absent in the past and has caused more damage to our reputation than anything else.  The Obama administration has a daunting list of Things to Do, but it is *how* they execute their plans that must be different from the past.
*What* actually changes is not actually up to Obama, it's up to us.

3) What three words would you use to describe our future as a nation under this new president?

Recovery, Renewal, Responsibility

Knitamari

A while back my friend Alana told me how she was addicted to some game called Katamari and when I asked her why it was so fun the she said,

"Well, you play this prince… and you have this… thing… called a katamari. And you like… roll it around to pick up… stuff."
"Stuff? Like what kind of stuff?"
"Like… everything!  Paper, cats, umbrellas, cars, whales, trees… stuff! And when you pick up stuff you get bigger so you can pick up bigger stuff!!"
"Sounds… fun?"
"OMGTotally!!!!!"

And now a year later it has come by fortuitous chance that I've stumbled across a sequel to the game called We <3 Katamari.  And yup, it's about picking stuff up and OMGTotally fun.

And although the game's been out for a while, for some reason I keep stumbling (yeah totally by accident) across Katamari related things.  More specifically, Katamari related knitted things.

That's right. Knitting and Katamari do inhabit a shared Sphere of Awesomeness and dammit, I'm not ashamed to admit that this is now in my knitting queue.  And this could be a cute gift for the right person.

But this is just taking things too far even for my geek sensibilities.

TITP

Wowee T in the motherfuckin Park!

3+ days of the rock n roll lifestyle but instead of champagne we had lager and instead of stilettos we had galoshes. Sounds glamorous no? 

The weather wasn't so bad for most of the weekend but it poured down about 3 seconds before we got our tent up. Luckily, Craig got a Flash tent so it only took us about 3 seconds to get it pitched.  You guys have GOT to check out the video. It was totally worth every penny (of Craig's money).

The event itself was just nothing like I've ever experienced before.  I'm sure people who have gone to Coachella already know what I'm talking about, the amount of people everywhere! I have to admit, I did freak out a little bit one night on our way back to the tents.  But I read somewhere like 80,000 people attended and to see it all at once, that should send anyone's heart aflutter.

Of the bands we saw, my favorites have to be The Fratellis and Maximo Park.  I've seen them both in smaller concerts but they are still so great to see!  Paul Smith, the lead singer of Maximo Park, has such stage presence and command of the audience. And the Fratellis are from Scotland so they had incredible enthusiasm from everyone in attendance.  Honourable mentions to The View and Bloc Party.

It was exhilarating, new, liberating, exciting, friendly, boisterous, dancey, drunken, eye-opening, and memorable.

But thank fuck that's over for a year!

It was dirty, muddy, loud, overwhelming, crowded, expensive, batshitinsane, and exhausting.

Everyone should go at least once.

New album created with pics

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And before y'all think I've forgotten where I'm from, Happy belated Fourth of July!

The Americans, Cheryl, JD and me representin' at a pub called the Oatsheef.

Such a fangirl

Duuuudes, first celebrity encounter EVARRRRR!*  Woohooo!

Last night I went with Craig, his cousin Ross, and Chris to see The View in London (good show!)  Beforehand, we stopped by a pub for a few drinks and much to my delight and general OMGoodness, Soccer AM's Tim Lovejoy and Robbie Knox (aka The Tramp) were there (also for a few drinks before the going to the same concert) and ohhhhhhhhhhmygosh I got a picture with them!

Soccer AM has become something of a Saturday morning ritual for me and Craig.  It's this morning show that is loosely centered around soccer but surrounded by addictive randomness.  Firstly yes, it's called Soccer AM and it's in the UK so I don't know why it's not Football AM (actually that sounds stupid so I guess that answers that).

They also encourage a lot of viewer participation so people send in picture messages with totally random things like, "Hey check out this tub of butter that looks like it's angry!".  And they have this thing call the Soccerette where they bring in a random girl with long legs to walk up and down the stage with Tim to the tune of "Mr. Goodstuff".  Of course, since it is about soccer they have montages of all the week's highlights but even that's fun to watch 'cause they use really good music for background.  All this and much much more randomness.

By the time the ending comes around, and that week's football fan club kicks balls into the "b" of an inflatable "Wembley" balloon outside while "Que Cera Cera" is playing, any Friday night hangover has melted away and we're ready to face the day.

So my friends, I was utterly delighted to be able to take a picture with two of the guys from this awesome show.  Tim on the left being the main host, the tramp on the right has his own weekly segment called That Is Life where he asks a random question to people on the street.

They were both really nice!

Also, here is evidence of why Craig and I like each other so much.

We were both bobble heads in a previous life.

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* I'm not counting that time I smoked Leonardo Dicaprio's joint in that LA club because it wasn't really so much a celebrity encounter as smoking some guy's joint and the guy happened to be the guy in Titanic.

Food, tv, music: happimi indeed

Guess who didn't get the memo that it isn't her birthday anymore?
Hint: me

Cindy brought me Phil's BBQ.  Hot damn that was good stuff.  Nothing like some ribs, chicken, and beer (with a good sprinkling of macaroni salad and beans) to celebrate a birthday yet again!

And just when I think it can't get any better, tonight was the season finale of House. Wee!

Oooh and someone introduced me to West Indian Girl.  Pretty good stuff. I'm gonna try and catch them at the new SD House of Blues next Thurs (opening for unknown Fischerspooner).  <-- That's an edit.  Wed at the Casbah is actually Out Hud, who I'm also planning on checking out.

Doin a lil east coast swang

My adolescence is complete. When I was in middle school, I was very jealous of all my friends who got to go to concerts. I missed out on seeing NKOTB, Debbie Gibson, Janet Jackson, Madonna...etc. Well I am jealous no longer, because last night I got to see arguably the best R&B group evaaaarrrr.

How can you not love Boyz II Men? They taught us what harmony was. They made it ok to be completely sappy. They showed us the subtle yet crucial difference between “coordinating” and “matching”.

Granted, they’ve been out of the loop for a while now. Mabel and I were very excited, yet apprehensive because 1) there was only 3 of them and 2) they have a new album so we were freaked they might not sing anything we knew. So we took out some insurance to guarantee a good time: Sushi and sake bombs!

After a couple of bombs (ok 4… ok 4 each) and a ton of sushi, we headed to the venue which was a few of blocks away ("4^th & B is on 4^th… and B… right?" "I… I think  so…"). The crowd was fantastic. You could just tell it was a bunch of fans from our generation who had nuthin’ but love for the boyz. There were a couple of fans to note however.

First is $10 hooka 10 years too late:

You can see Mabel in the corner because I had to pretend I was taking a picture of her.

Then we got these guys (Mabel called them "Boyz 2 Men"):

I’m still deciding if they’re awesome or a bunch of choads.

We started out pretty far from the stage:

But we made our way up:

And up:

And holy crap look how close we got!

I am proud to say that I have shaken hands with 2/4 Boyz II Men. Girls were going crazy for them! It was so fun(ny)! We were all just having a great time. We even saw the bouncer/bodyguards singing along. I’ll let Mabel tell the story of the defining exchange she had with another woman when she stepped on her toes.

The show was over before we knew it, and Mabel snagged the playlist from the stage (Bouncer: "Get OFF the STAGE!")

On the way back to the car we saw a strange sight. Are drugs being sold via bananas nowadays? Because I saw this "deal" going down and I had to take a pic:

Anyhoos, a GREAT night all around!

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Thanks to everyone participating in the letter writing project. For those who haven’t submitted entries, it’s not too late.

Like the hamburgler

Doing nothing has never been more tiring.  My contacts are dry, my back aches, my head is pounding, and I think either Onion guy or Alternate 2 has gotten me sick cause I have a sore throat.  Deliberation is tomorrow so I should be free from jury duty soon.  But if those asses take more than a day to come to a decision I guarantee you will see me on the 6 o'clock news with the caption, "Frustrated knitter goes mental.  Not all needles accounted for yet."

I'm currently obsessed with the Grilled Feta Cheese sandwich.  I figure I should get it while I'm on jury duty since only one chain sells it and they're all downtown.  I went again today and when I got to the cashier he tells me, "Cash only" and of course, I have no cash.  So I'm standing there like a dolt apologizing and trying to figure out where the atm is or if I have enough time to go to another restaurant when I hear a woman say, "Is that a debit card?  I can pay for your sandwich if you want to get cash later to pay me back."

Wow!

That is the nicest gesture from a stranger that I can remember in a long long long time.  My faith in humanity has been restored.  Actually, my faith hasn't been challenged lately so I'll just give it a credit +1 for the next time it wrongs me.

I feel kinda bad for grabbing my sandwich and running away without paying the lady back.  Meh, free sandwich!

Oh Happy Day!

I've paid my dues driving a car with no air conditioning, vinyl seats and a broken side view mirror. I'm grateful for even having any form of transportation but having it breakdown on me on the 56 was a blessing in disguise.

So now...

I'm now the proud owner of a new car!

It's a 2005 Corolla S.
Not quite finished, I'm getting a moonroof installed next weekend. :)

Suggestions for names?

Garden State (spoilers maybe)

I'm not quite sure what to say besides I love this movie. Zach Braff is very talented (star, director, writer) and Natalie Portman is too cute for words.

The movie just illustrated a lot of the feelings that have been going through me lately. Case in point, if anyone watches it or have watched it recently, do any of my recent entries remind you of the movie (don't click if you haven't seen movie, it may spoil it)? When I saw it on screen I was just floored at how spot on it was. And I wrote that entry before I saw the movie. Amazing.

Anyway, good stuff. Must buy DVD. Must buy soundtrack (although I have 7 of the 13 songs already).