OMG PONIES! Have you seen the new Orbit gum commercial with Snoop Dogg? It's the best one currently on TV. He gets sent to a hell full of crazy old ladies, and the orbit girl saves him. And there's a uni-goat!
This goodcleanfeeling.com has more, but I don't have sound here at work. You can get a call from them, or something.
I don't know how you can make something from the best stuff on Earth, and have such a lousy oucome.
Snapple white tea is awful! The new commercials had me interested, even though they annoy the hell out of me. And they were sampling it at the store this weekend. So I tried a mini cup of Green Apple white tea. Thankfully it was a mini cup. You know when there’s like half an inch left of tea in the bottom of the glass, and a bunch of ice, and the ice melts, and you’re left with some tea colored water? That’s what it tastes like, plus it’s sweet. Basically, I’m saying don’t buy it, it’s not good.
Checking Snapple’s website, it seems they make a product called Just Plain Tea Unsweetened. I’ve never heard of it. Has anyone tried it? I’ll keep an eye out for it. It’s very hard to find single serving packages of regular tea (my guess is because regular tea isn’t really shelf stable)
More website reading shows that Snapple has discontinued the line of 100% juice in favor of flavored sugar water. This does not make me more confident about their plain tea.
Full disclosure: I like normal, regular, lipton black tea. I don’t like flavored tea. Sometimes I will add 1 bag of flavored tea to 3 bags of regular for my sun tea, this is adding flavor to regular tea, and is much different than bland weak flavored tea. I’ve never really liked the Snapple product, even though I secretly admired it’s alternative image.
I got a hold of the Ben and Jerry’s flavors I posted about last month and they’re a bit disappointing.
Black and Tan is pretty good, and granted I’ve never mixed beer with cream before, but it doesn’t taste much like beer. It’s a pretty solid flavor, but I doesn’t have any chunks or swirls, it’s just stout ice cream mixed with chocolate ice cream. Could use some cookie crunches or something. I’ll get on it.
But Vermonty Python is bad. I wonder if my carton is bad. The ice cream is very grainy, and not too flavorful. The chocolate cows are cute, but when you eat them, they’re just chocolate bits.
So, officially, my new favorite B&J flavor is Dublin Mudslide.
And I’m still waiting to find Haagen Dazs’s Mayan Chocolate. Results as I find them.
You are all bad friends!
I thought I was missing out on some kind of pop culture phenomenon. I thought that I was the lamest person on Earth, because I couldn’t be bothered to rent the DVD. I thought my life would be better once I was clued in. since it was on my list for class, it was enough impetus to finally watch. Now that I’m signed up for a 30 day free trial of blockbuster online, the barrier to entry is relatively non-existent for most DVDs. So, it came in the mail, and I popped it into the DVD player.
I almost fell asleep. What a horrible movie. How did that get popular? The only good thing about it was the opening credits, and even that could have been better. If there wasn’t a llama, I probably would have ended up slitting my wrists, just to make it be over. As it was, it took all my willpower not to down the half a bottle of vodka that gets in my way every time I try to get the soy sauce out of the cabinet.
None of the characters are likeable, none of the things that happen are believable, it's ugly to watch, and just generally horrible. Not since Slacker has such crap been said to define/influence a generation. Please, just kill me now.
It’s been 3 weeks since I started reading for the YA class, and a huge stack of books are due back at the library today. I haven’t found the energy to do legit reviews of most of these books (required for class) but I figure if I keep blogging about them, I’ll remember them when I’m doing my deadline crunch.
Chocolate War (book) Awfully similar to the movie, but with a different ending. Then movie ending kinds fucks with your head and good doesn’t win. The book, just has good not winning. The ending was apparently the reason the book had such a hard time getting published. No publisher wanted to be responsible for everyone NOT learning a valuable lesson and everything NOT working out okay in the end. I’d like to see this updated for kids today. It could be interesting. There hasn’t been a good teenage cyberbullying movie, I don’t’ think.
Rock star, Superstar is a totally cool book about a high school band/ jazz band geek who gets himself involved with some indie rock, adventures and reality ensue. He gets himself an overweight girlfriend before he’s famous, and she ends up breaking up with him, eventually. But not before some legit treatment of sex and high school relationships. No it’s not an earth shattering event, but it’s treated totally respectfully, unlike many books aimed at boys. I’m definitely interested in reading more of the author’s stuff
Goddesses #1 Heaven Sent. So, umm, there’s this series of books about ancient muses who are being punished by their dad, Zeus, and he banishes them to live on Earth as humans until they learn their lesson. But Hera interferes, and instead of sending them to ancient Athens, they end up in modern day Athens, Georgia. And bizarreness ensues. This book is so light and fluffy, there’s not much to be offended by. It’s a little too “oh boy, we don’t have stuff like this at Olympus” for my taste, and the narrative is a bit too teen girl. But it’s over so quick, I hardly notice. This book is written by Clea Hantman http://www.craftygal.com/archives/402/porch402.htm of teen crafting fame. And I can totally see she has the career of her dreams.
Dawn: Diary Two (California Diaries) it pains me to say anything bad about Ann M. Martin, but California Diaries are just not my thing. This is the sort of YA crap that I think of as a YA book, and therefore hate. Too much angst, and not being able to tell anyone your feelings, and just generally being juvenile while trying to deal with adult problems. Also, very little plot actually happens in this book, its mostly just crap about feelings. One thing good to know is that mostly Ms. Martin has gotten rid of the whole Californians are crazy healthy hippie freaks thing. They eat pizza in this book, and it’s not covered in broccoli or tofu. We see very little of the Dawn we all know and love from the BSC, unlike the one book where everyone goes to see a show and starts drinking, except goody-goody Dawn. You can take the girl out of Stoneybrook, but you can’t take the Stoneybrook out of the girl.
Lydia sent me Kamakazi Girls (book) and I think I’m going to try to catch the movie at AX, possibly while wearing a Lolita dress. This is a story about an unlikely friendship between a proper Gothic Lolita girl and a hard edged punk in a girl-biker gang. They learn the true value of individuality and friendship while dressing like crazies. The book started slowly with a lot of boring description. But, it really grew on me by the end. And the main character really reminded me of someone who lived in Stern with me.
The Chronicles of Narnia (DVD): I remember not liking the book much as a kid, so luckily I only had to watch the movie. And it was fantastic!! I hate children, and dislike the British, but I seem to like little British children. Also, I like unicorns, and animals. I wish the witch was a little cooler looking though. The only problem is, I can’t get that SNL video out of my head.
Because of Winn-Dixie (DVD) I realized something last night, you all probably knew it, but I’m finally willing to admit it. I’m a sucker for animal movies, animals in movies, cute animals in general. I don’t even like dogs, but I like them in movies. And this movie was full of them. They live in some tiny hick town, yet they have the best stocked pet store I’ve ever seen: tiny goats; chickens, ducks, bunnies, a talking parrot, etc, etc, etc. And then there’s weirdo dog Winn Dixie, who according to IMDB is a special Picardy Shepard from France, 2 of them actually. I swear they were saying Bacardi on the DVD, but I was probably just wishing to be put out of my misery after that awful Napoleon Dynamite. The movie doesn’t do the supporting characters as must justice as the book does. But, all the animals make up for it, totally. Also, Dave Matthews sings and is a character, it really suits him.
I think I’m up to date now, stay tuned to the next installment. I’m about to start a legit non-fiction book about the teenage brain. It should bring me firmly back to the land of grownups.
But I know I like a gimmick. And the Art-o-Mat is one. A guy restores vintage cigarette machines, and artists make art that can fit in cigarette boxes. At $5 each, it's about as much as a beer, and just as much fun. The one on the right is stuff found on the ground in various museums. I got a piece of grass from MOCA. It's numbered, labeled and dated, like a good museum piece. If you can't tell, the other two are earrings. Maybe Beth and Jana will post what they got, I don't remember. But I'm sure it was cool.
Next time you go on vacation, consider one of these cities. Lydia, the SF one isn't far from Jeremy's. Tom, I expect a full report from every place your company sends you to.
Yup, I have glasses now. They're for distance, mostly for reading street signs at night. Basically the only time I'd wear them for book or computer reading is when I'm trying to look like a librarian.
Rock Paper Scissors Championship hosted by Dave Attel, tonight on A&E
Upcoming Airings:
Monday, June 12 @ 10pm/9C
Tuesday, June 13 @ 2am/1C
Saturday, June 17 @ 12pm/11C
Tune in, set your tivo, whatever. This has to be a gajillion times better than dumb old soccer.
Umm, guys, why are they making tv shows out of everything that happened in the Squelch office? First, Animal Face Off. Now Rock Paper Scissors.
I have to read a lot of Young Adult books, for my YA class this summer. This is good, even if I don't like them, because it means I won't waste the entire summer sitting in front of a computer. And they go by quick. And they're super easy to have opinions about.
I was thinking on starting a new blog, dedicated to my reading, but I have my doubts about my commitment to keep it up. So, I'll just post here
I read and listened to a bunch of crap. Let me tell you, I didn't realize there was such a dividing line between what adults want kids to read, and what might actually interest them
First, I should probably start with my non-school book, the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novel. Thanks Tom for getting the autographed copy from the Alternative-Press Expo. I love it. I love that the BSC is getting a makeover to be relevant to today's girls. I really had my doubts, but it worked really well in graphic novel form. Granted, I'm likely to enjoy anything BSC related, even if I don't (read: BSC: Friends Forever), but really, it was good. And, Kristy's older brother Charlie is super cute! I have a crush on him now.
The best book I've read so far is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (anyone want to watch the movie with me?) It seems to be very similar to the movie trailer. There are 4 girls, each with different personalities, who do different things. It's easy to identify with at least one trait of each of them. And since the book is written in short snippets if a girl gets too angsty it's over quick and on to the next girl. And, like the Baby-Sitters Club, there are handwritten letters to break up some of the sections.
I haven't read the Chocolate War yet, and surprisingly, I've never read it. This, along with the Outsiders are the quintessential, original YA novels. I did borrow the Chocolate War video from the library though. My gosh, it was awful. Horrible, slow, boring, and all sorts of other adjectives with unpleasant connotations. But, being a movie of the 80's the soundtrack was fantastic. It opened with Yaz, and I practically jumped off the couch singing when Kate Bush ended that awful thing. If it was available on CD, I'd definitely buy it. The book damn well better be better than the movie.
Now, on to crappy Newbery books
For week one we read only Newbery award winning or Newbery honored authors. Books for late childhood, so we could move smoothly into YA the next week. Let me tell you. If this is true, I don’t want to read any other books published for the year.
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
From what I can tell, this award is given to books about poor minority children from the past who are miserable. And I have no patience for any of that nonsense.
Because of Winn-Dixie is an ok book. I can see how kids would like it. It’s about a girl, her dog, and the misfit friends they make. And learning valuable lessons about humanity. It’s kind of Wizard of Oz like, in that sense. I’m going to have to see the movie. And, I think the main character is neither poor nor ethnic, but her mom is gone though. It’s fine, but it’s not remarkable.
Kira-Kira means glittering in Japanese. And nothing in this book is. The main character is a Japanese girl from the 50’s who moves from Iowa to Georgia. she’s not a smart as her older sister, and she keeps using the word kira-kira incorrectly, making her a disgrace. There’s a small Japanese community in Georgia, and they all work in the chicken factory. They have low paying jobs, and no benefits. The union organizers are being squelched.The main characters sister is her idol. Of course, she dies of Leukemia. This books was pretty lame, but I could recognize a few traces of Japanese-American culture. And at least it’s not quite as depressing as other books, because the main character is young, and usually hopeful.
A Single Shard is set in 12th century Korea, The main character is a boy named Tree-Ear, he doesn’t have a proper name because he’s an orphan. He lives under a bridge with an old homeless man. One day Tree-Ear sees a potter, and eventually gets the courage to ask to apprentice. And the potter is grumpy! He makes Tree-Ear do all the grunt work, never letting him near the wheel. Boringness ensues. And one day Tree-Ear, a kid who has never traveled anywhere, is sent to take a vase to the palace. IT turns out ok, until right near the palace, he’s robbed, and the pot breaks. So all he has is a single good shard to take to the palace. But, it’s good enough to get an order from the palace. Of course, when he returns home, the old man has died. But magically, the Potter and his wife have softened, they take him in as their son, and teach him to make stuff. Seriously, it doesn’t get more boring that this. Plus, the characterizations of everyone are completely retarded.
Bad, but not quite as bad is Bud, Not Buddy Bud is 10, black, poor, and orphaned. Boringness ensues. I listened to this on tape, and I almost crashed my car to stop the torture. But it got a little interesting on the last (3rd) tape. The story is really too long and boring to deal with. We meet tons of people who come and go, never getting much character development. And in the end everything magically works out ok and he finds his long lost grandfather. I really had very little hope for a happy ending. It came out of nowhere, really.
But, worst of all is Out of the Dust. This book is only 2 tapes long, but I can’t bring myself to listen to the second tape. The main character is a girl who lives in the dust bowl, she’s poor, but at least this character is white. She loves to play piano. Her mom wants her to study more. One day there’s a freak accident involving gasoline by the stove. The mom is super burnt, and dies soon after, The girl just burns her hands, and can’t play piano anymore. The whole place is dusty, there’s no hope. And it makes me want to die, why do we inflict this nonsense on children? According to Amazon, it ends with hope, which seems unlikely. I’ll have to get the book and skim to the end.
Kids today, I'm telling you...
Nearly three quarters, or 73 percent, of 1,200 students surveyed said iPods were "in" — more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music.
In the year-ago study, only 59 percent of students named the iPod as "in," putting the gadget well below alcohol-related activities.
This year, drinking beer and Facebook.com, a social networking Web site, were tied for second most popular, with 71 percent of the students identifying them as "in."
or whatever...
Just vote tomorrow. There's a library bill in the works. And I need some job security.
Election info from Calvoter.org
I can't be bothered to care much about anything besides the 2 propositions, and since I couldn't be bothered to care a few weeks ago, I can't vote in the primary race because I'm not registered with a party. But, if anyone wants to tell how to vote for a non-party race, I'm all ears.
Did anyone else get a call from Newt Gingrich's recording last week?
