Tuesday, March 25, 2008  |  

- i can has cheezcake? -

I actually had a dream about Jenny's famous no-bake cheesecake the other night, so I emailed her for the recipe. Here it goes:

- graham cracker crumb crust (optional: toast it in the oven for 15 minutes at 300)
- one can of sweetened condensed milk
- one block of cream cheese (wrapped in cardboard, NOT the round tubs)
- let cream cheese come to room temperature (or nuke in microwave for 30 seconds)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (to taste)
- dash of vanilla
- mix ingredients with blender until smooth
- pour into pie crust and let settle for minimum 1 hour in fridge
- take out of fridge and cover with fruit/topping of your choice
- ta-dah!

Current music: Cibo Matto - Sugar Water

Monday, March 24, 2008  |  

- random -

Ran 6 miles on Thursday. After 4 beers. While listening to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. It was fucking awesome.

Ran 7 miles on Sunday. Totally sober. Not nearly as fun.

The Robson St. Pillow Fight on Saturday: pretty lame. Can you find me in this picture?

One word: Whitney. (As in Houston.)

Not a good week for the State of Indiana: First Amanda Overmyer, then IU, Notre Dame, Purdue and Butler. Ouch.

OMG, George Michael is coming to Vancouver on July 4th! OMG, I'm SO there!

My latest post re: ABDC is up on Schema now. JabbaWockeeZ FTW!

Current music: Melanie C. - Carolyna

Thursday, March 20, 2008  |  

- bitch is the new black -

Comedy queen Tina Fey says that while she makes people laugh, political pundit Jon Stewart only makes them uncomfortable. Fey tells Reader's Digest she prefers it when audience members laugh rather than applaud because, "You can prompt applause with a sign." She added, "My friend Seth Meyers coined the term 'clapter,' which is when you do a political joke and people go, 'Woo-hoo.' It means they sort of approve but didn't really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show."

- Page Six, New York Post

Wednesday, March 19, 2008  |  

- true affection -

I was out of your league
You were twenty thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections

You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
Down to the bottom

I wanted a junction and often there was one
You'd surface face first and we'd share thought bubbles
And I still believe in the phrases that we breathed
But I know the distance isn't fair to cross

Your depths made a pressure that punctured my works
And all your fluids couldn't tolerate the force of my thirst
I love the place where we shared our tiny grace
But just because it's real don't mean it's going to work

And true affection floats
True affection sinks like a stone
I never felt so close
I never felt so all alone

I was out of your league
You were twenty thousand underneath the sea
Waving affections

You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't want to see
Wanted you nearer

Current music: The Blow - True Affection

Monday, March 17, 2008  |  

- kiss me if you're irish -

To celebrate St. Patty's, here is one of my all-time favs from the video vault:



Now the tough part. Which is the best line from the video? I'm leaning towards #2.

1. "Who else seen the leprechaun say yeah!"
   
   
2. "Could be a crackhead! That got hold to the wrong stuff! And it told him to get up in the tree and play a leprechaun!"
   
   
3. "I wanna know where the gold at! I want the gold! Gimme the gold!"

Saturday, March 15, 2008  |  

- fat fighters -

Overheard in Vancouver:

Gay #1: Wow, you look good. Been working out?
Gay #2: No, purging.
Gay #1: Well, it's working.

Friday, March 14, 2008  |  

- disgrace -

I have re-added Grace to my iTunes library (part of a rushed attempt to replace my Jeff Buckley MP3 collection that had mysteriously gone AWOL) only to realize that, other than Last Goodbye, Hallelujah and maybe Lover, You Should've Come Over, I'm not overly crazy about this album. In fact, I find it a tad annoying. Is that sacrilege?

Current music: Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk

Wednesday, March 12, 2008  |  

- geeking out -

Yesterday, a co-worker showed me Dr. Hans Rosling's now-legendary TED 2006 presentation, and it completely blew me away. Perhaps the most compelling, passionate, charismatic and unexpectedly funny talk I've had the pleasure of experiencing since the last Damian Conway "lecture" I attended.

What made the talk even more fascinating was its use of data visualization (which is essentially what my employer does). The software Dr. Rosling uses is called Trendalyzer and was acquired by Google in 2007.



I found Dr. Rosling's follow-up in TED 2007 to be slightly less engrossing but it's still worthwhile, if only for the surprise finale. Warning: Refrain from viewing if you are easily offended by pasty white people and man-nipples.

Current music: Garbage - Only Happy When It Rains

Tuesday, March 11, 2008  |  

- chapter 27 -

You may have read about how Jared Leto gained 62 pounds for the role of Mark David Chapman in the upcoming movie, Chapter 27.

I didn't realize he also became Elton John in the process.



Current music: Grant Lee Buffalo - We've Only Just Begun

Tuesday, March 11, 2008  |  

- hop a plane -

I took the train back, back to where I came from
I took it all alone, it's been so long I know
Imagine me there my heart asleep with no air
Begging "Ocean please, help me drown these memories"

All I need to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine

I'm moving east, there's somewhere far away from
The sight of my hands, the sight of me not moving
You can't just hop a plane and come and visit me again
I claim it's in my head and I regret offering

All I need to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine
All I want to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine

You take a second, take a second, take a year, take a year
You took me out and took me in and told me all of this and then
You take a moment, take a moment, take a year, take a year
You help me out, I listen in, you taught me all of this and then

All I want to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine
All I want to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine
All I need to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine
All I want to hear is that you're not mine, you're not mine

Current music: Tegan & Sara - Hop A Plane

Monday, March 10, 2008  |  

- auf wiedersehen -

So, Valleywag has been a big guilty pleasure of mine for quite some time now (partly due to my mad crush on its editor, Owen Thomas), but I'm seriously contemplating removing it from my Google Reader. Being a self-serving publicity/pageview whore is one thing, but having an actual whore writing for your site? Do not want.

(For those of you not in the know, Valleywag is "Silicon Valley's tech gossip rag" from Gawker. Think Perez Hilton for the geek set.)

Current music: Simple Minds - See the Lights

Sunday, March 9, 2008  |  

- it's official -

Amy Poehler > Tina Fey. Would I drink her bathwater, too? Fuck and Yes.

Oh, and this is what finally did it. Fierce!


Current music: Amy Winehouse - Amy Amy Amy

Friday, March 7, 2008  |  

- so fresh and so clean clean -

One thing I have noticed about getting older: you get excited by the most trivial things.

Example: Dove's new grapefruit and lemongrass "soap." Have you seen the TV ad? It's very Aronofsky with its rapid-fire editing. And it totally worked because I got my ass down to the drug store within the hour. I am very happy with my purchase.

Oh, and I say "soap" with quotation marks because Dove is pH neutral and therefore, by definition, is not soap. Soap has to be basic. Look it up. Or if you are Wesley, you can call up Dove's 1-800 number and be mocked by their CSR.

Current music: Pixies - U-Mass

Thursday, March 6, 2008  |  

- i wanna asana -

A couple of months late, but this video is still pretty neat:



I can do like one of these poses. Maybe two. I did do a head-stand without help for the first time yesterday though. (That may not sound impressive, but anything that involves an inversion is a major deal for me ever since my spectacular gymnastics accident/fall back in Grade 8 Phys Ed.)

Current music: The Radio Dept. - Against the Tides

Wednesday, March 5, 2008  |  

- don't fuck with red sox nation -

Note to self: Next time in Boston, don't wear Yankees gear.

I've experienced more than my share of anti-Yankee sentiments over the years (mostly for proudly wearing my Yankees shirts/jerseys and using my Yankees credit card), but yipes, this is a little scary.

Current music: The Raveonettes - Dead Sound

Wednesday, March 5, 2008  |  

- lipsticks and guyliners -

Last night's celeb sighting: Nikki Sixx at the Royal Underground party at Holt Renfrew. I probably would've thought he was Alice Cooper had I not done my homework. The clothes weren't bad (mostly gothy graphic type stuff that Ryan Seacrest would wear) but $450 for a hoodie? Computer says no.

Going to the party meant missing American Idol for the first time this season (promise of free food is all it takes to get me away from the AI Death Grip, apparently), but I did manage to get all caught up, thanks to YouTube. Luke Menard is definitely going home tomorrow, but I'm not sure who the other one will be. Probably Chikezie although I wouldn't rule out Alexandréa Lushington-esque surprise exit for everyone's favorite gay boy, Danny Noriega. Let's hope not.

Also, I just discovered all my Jeff Buckley MP3s are missing. How did this happen?

Current music: Dolly Parton - Better Get to Livin'

Tuesday, March 4, 2008  |  

- o rly? -

Favre to retire? Like George W. once said: "Fool me once, shame on... Shame on you. Fool me... You can't get fooled again!" I mean, this is a guy who can't even make up his mind about a ham sandwich.

Below: Gratuitous picture of Bretty Bear on draft day in his jean shorts, stolen from Deadspin. (The picture, that is. Not the jean shorts.)



Current music: Nina Persson - Black Winged Bird