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.  

I stole this from the All Songs Considered Blog.

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

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.  

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.

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!

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!

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....

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?  

Last night I got to experience one of the rare joys of living in LA: hanging out at Union Station for an hour on a Saturday night!

This experience was not planned,  which is probably the only way it could have happened.  I was meeting Cammy so that we could go to a vegan pizza place nearby, called Purgatory Pizza.  Little did Cammy and I know how infrequently the Metro runs.  Thus I was stuck there for a while waiting for her to show up.

But I'm glad it happened!  I sat in the famous waiting area, feeling as if I were waiting for a train or a flight somewhere in Europe.  (For some reason, it seems I never have to wait as long for transportation in the States.)  

Then a homeless man sat across from me and started up a conversation about traveling in Europe.  Go figure!  Lately, it seems like traveling (and being vegetarian) are the only two things I ever talk about with people I've just met.  It could be worse.  But anyway, it was a pretty interesting conversation; the guy, "Todd," told me all about his adventures getting foot surgery in Paris and stopping at the Becks Brewery in Bremen.  From what I could tell, his stories were too accurate not to be at least partly true.  

Then I got up to use the bathroom and got hit on by a small Black man named "Lil Larry," who gave me his business card and told me to call him when I'm single.

After that, happily, Cammy showed up.  And we got delicious pizza, in which I ordered a medium, real cheese pizza ALL FOR MYSELF and ate it ALL BY MYSELF.  In one sitting.  

A good Saturday night.  

I have picked up the guitar again (we'll see how long it lasts), and am already annoyed that I cannot play more than the chorus of Happiness is a Warm Gun.  

Lucky for me, there is a never-ending supply of Belle & Sebastian songs I can learn.  And I NEVER get tired of B & S.  

Me loves the Hello Kitty

I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Hello Kitty. I don't know why her disgustingly cute face continues to pull me in. Perhaps it's because she's Japanese. Perhaps it's because she has a sister, as do I. Although it's supposedly a twin sister. Their only difference is that Mimmy (the sister) has a yellow ear-bow.

OK, I have probably already told you way more than you wanted to know regarding the HK and her awesomeness.

Also, for the record, the pictured cupcake did not taste as good as it looks. Hard to believe, I know. The frosting was very artificially flavored. But I got a plastic Hello Kitty ring out of the deal!

Things to do while unemployed

Why not alphabetize your CDs? 

A break from cynicism

Sometimes

by Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,

from bad to worse.  Some years, muscadel

faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,

sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;

elect an honest man; decide they care

enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.

Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go 

amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.

The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow

that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.

Awesome weekend

Highlights of going to Davis this weekend (This is mainly for my own recollection):

-Making the 6-hr drive in the (rather small) car with Kaylan, her boyfriend, Toby (a dog) and Java (a cat).  

-Playing Cranium a total of three times in 2 1/2 days, Scene it twice, and Catchphrase 3 times.  YES!  My friends like games too!!

-Finally meeting Ashley and Michelle (I've heard so much about them).  Gathering together in the living room for Michelle's mini-concert.  

-Going to 80's night at the club, dressed in 80's clothing, and not caring that no one else at the club was thematically dressed.  Dancing the WHOLE NIGHT.  And being impressed by Alicia's lack of self-consciousness. 

-Kaylan making enchiladas for everyone.  

-Shopping at the Co-op with Alicia.  And spending $22 on a Hello Kitty water bottle.  (OK, perhaps that price isn't exactly a highlight.)

-Taking Toby for a walk out on the greenbelt.  

-Looking forward to doing it all again.  

I see nothing wrong with this.  In fact, sounds like a reason to visit Switzerland on the way to Iceland.  

And (ha ha!) it figures they'd be mainly be Germans.  

Another reason to visit Iceland

On January 31, Iceland is going to appoint the world's first openly gay head of government: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. She's a "former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career."

I've long heard that Iceland is a beautiful place to visit (not least because it's a perfect spot to see the Northern Lights, a life goal of mine).

Turns out politics are another reason to check out the country!

Lesson learned

Do NOT download Beyonce's single "If I Were a Boy" and then listen to it a single time, because it will be stuck in your head ALL DAY (all year?!).  

I don't even know the lyrics after she says "If I were a boy...."  So I don't even have anything to sing after that.  All I can do is hum.

Hot man:

Namely, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Yeah, I realize he's mostly famous for being on that overrated TV show, Grey's Anatomy.  

He definitely deserves better things.  At least, based on his looks (I'm not even worrying about talent).

But does he or does he not bear a striking resemblance to Javier Bardem?  

It's like JDM is America's lower-cost, more-attainable answer to the hot Spanish one.

OK, done drooling for tonight.