Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Another radio reference

Sorry for the second public radio reference in a row.  But this is what I listen to now, thanks to my hour-plus commutes with only a radio.  

Anyway, did anyone watch Ira Glass on the Colbert Report last week?  I just watched it, and Glass's lovable awkwardness made me cringe and warmed my heart at the same time.  Not many things do that.  

If you want to check out the interview, it's here.  

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I stole this from the All Songs Considered Blog.

I despise "Auto-Tuning."  But I am amused by this video.  

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Chocolate Fish*

My parents are back from Paris!  And they brought me...chocolate fish?


Actually, they are quite adorable chocolate fish.  Apparently one sees fish memorabilia everywhere in Paris during April, since a traditional French April Fool's trick is to put a fish on someone's back (not sure how they managed that).   Today it's more common just to put a picture of a fish on someone's back as a trick.
Those French really are cards.  


*I type "chocolate fish" and all I can think of is that inane Chocolate Rain song from YouTube.  

Sunday, April 19, 2009

So it gets your attention. Is that all?

This always frustrates me.

The new Allure issue is touting a spread where they got "5 Celebrities to Bare it All" for a photo shoot in the magazine. They briefly interview the women regarding how they feel being naked, what their insecurities are, etc.


My problem is: these women are celebrities; their bodies are PERFECT. Or if not perfect, then airbrushed to perfection. Why do women's magazines do these kinds of nudity spreads so frequently?
The magazine tries to play it like it's some kind of female empowerment, but do any of us real people even know anyone that looks that good?!

I was only happy with this kind of "love your body by looking at naked women" thing once, when (the now sadly defunct) Jane Magazine did a spread on nudity, but used non-celebrities to pose naked; they just asked readers to volunteer. Cool, huh?

This ain't no World Cup

Look how responsible, caring, and yes--pitiful--those Germans are.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Look!  I am officially a "lecturer" at Cal State Long Beach!



I mean, sure, I'm technically only "part time," and I only work at the extension; but the card looks cool!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Frohe Ostern!

I decided to wish you a happy Easter in German because for some reason, Easter makes me think of Germany.  Or at least, it reminds me of Germany more than the other holidays.  

Maybe this is because one of my most memorable Easters was during my time in Goettingen, when I went with some other Americans to an "Easter Pageant" at the local Catholic church, only to discover that it was a service meant only for children, and we were the only non-parents there. We got to learn all about Jesus's resurrection through brightly colored pictures and catchy tunes.  Good times.  

Anyway, this Easter was a good one.  I made Easter candies!  Look:





Anyone reading the L.A. Times probably saw the recipe for these pastel mints on the front page of the Food section a few days ago.  They were fairly easy to make, and I think they came out pretty well, although I have no idea how long it will take to eat all of them. 

I brought over the best mints to Cammy's dad's house for Easter (my parents are in Paris, so I needed a surrogate family).  We had a delicious feast of peanut noodles (made by Cammy), along with more traditional faire of scalloped potatoes, salad, and asparagus. 

And now, I will leave you with a link to Hannah's hilarious Easter-related video, and wish you all a good night!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Inspiring Teacher Movie of the Day


*Other than proving to me yet again what a great actor Sidney Poitier is, this film also made me realize that all those hipster kids you see dancing in bars in L.A. are just replicating the mod dances of the 60's.  I suppose it's obvious, but I'd never made the connection before!  

Cutie Pie Grossness

Zooey Deschanel irritates me.  Why?  Because she's too freakin' cute.  She looks cute (dark brown hair, big blue eyes), she has a cute voice, she always plays cute characters in her movies, even her name's freakin' adorable.  She's too precious.  Thus, I must resist her.  

Nevertheless, I found myself checking out Zooey's "band," She & Him, and it has a few catchy tracks.  I just caved and downloaded one called "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"  

I couldn't help myself, and now I feel like a hypocrite.  But that's it!  Only one song, and I'm done with this Deschanel!  Unless she makes another movie with Will Ferrell, then I might make an exception....

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

A post! A post!

I'm sure my many readers are thrilled beyond belief to see that I am posting!!

Honestly, I have been feeling inspired to blog lately; but then I come home and fall asleep.

I have good reason to fall asleep though (in my opinion), because I've been working 8-hour days teaching ESL in La Verne.  A new teaching session starts tomorrow, where I'll downgrade to a 2-hour morning class, and then I'll be driving down to Cal State Long Beach to teach another 2-hour afternoon class.  

I'm paying my teaching dues; all this work is pretty much just so I can hopefully get some good letters of rec and a little experience (NOT a lot of moolah).  Luckily I really enjoy it.  Thank goodness I didn't spend 4 years of undergrad getting a linguistics degree for nothing.  (I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go into teaching after college.)

Also, all this driving in a car with only a radio enables me get in my daily quota of NPR.  I used to feel guilty about not being up on all the current events; now I feel like I know TOO MUCH.  I mean really, do they have to talk for 30 minutes straight about home mortgage problems?  Or bailout plans?  Seemingly every hour?  All the financial stuff gets on my nerves after a while, and I've started to tune it out, even without meaning to.   But honestly, 
who wouldn't rather hear an interesting story about the sex lives of sea creatures?