A Giant Step Backward for Woman-Kind

And her name is Ms. Dewey.

She is the new interactive search engine from Microsoft that is part of their new Windows Live online service that is trying to compete with Google. She looks like Jessica Alba and acts like Dwight Schrute. So basically she is hot and FUCKING ANNOYING!

When you type something into her search box (I'm brewing a really dirty joke about this right now), she makes comments about the thing you're searching about. Honestly, it is pretty interesting and amazing. For like 5 minutes. Then you start to wonder what else this sleek interface is supposed to do. When you stop searching for stuff she starts to get impatient and will either tap on your monitor screen or start acting like a whore trying to entice you into using her (once again, another dirty joke in the making).

She's the hot librarian you'll never, ever have. And if you did get her, you'd only like her for a day because eventually you'd realize how annoying she is.

The only step-forward this program is making is in its technology. The searching is basically the same, but the interface has got bells, whistles and a bitchy chick with a low cut top. Thank you again computer nerds for:

1) making all your dreams come true, and

2) giving Ms. Dewey the feature that men wish every woman came with and one that I'm just happy this one specifically comes with: a Mute button.

Something Old, Something New

Two wonderful things I just had to share.

1. The hilarious new t-shirt I got from Kelly for Christmas:

2. I have achieved one of my goals for the year just in the nick of time. I can finally fit back into my senior year May Days dress!! It took a little more effort to get the zipper up than before, but it got there. Now I just need somewhere to wear it.

Hello, Dolly

The FDA recently made the decision that food products which come from cloned animals do not need special labels at the supermarket. They say there is no difference at all between the original cow/sheep/pig than its clone, and there are no health risks associated with eating these animals. You can read the whole CNN article here.

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this. My first reaction is to be creeped out. It has been over 10 years since Dolly the sheep showed up in the news, and that is a lot of time for cloning technologies to evolve and become more widespread. However, to me it still sounds like
something from a sci-fi movie, and a horrible made-for-tv one by the Sci-Fi channel at that. I don't understand the science behind it and therefore I fear it and its possibilities.

I also wonder about the safety of eating so much food that comes from a science lab. And I'm not just talking clones here. Almost all of our meats are genetically altered in some way - to make the cows produce more milk, pigs be meatier and chickens create more and larger eggs. None of this food is labeled either. Your bacon does not have a warning on it that says - "From a genetically enhanced pig." and your milk doesn't say "Now with more bovine growth hormones!". So I guess if that is the standard they've set, why would they start with labeling cloned food?

Cloned. Food. Just let that sink in. If the idea of eating an exact genetic copy of another animal made by scientists in a test tube does not creep you out even a little bit and make you seriously consider being a vegetarian, then you should just sign up for Fear Factor right now, because you would win.

I have never tried to be a vegetarian before. I know those little piggies and moo moos are cute, and I have heard the many horror stories about how they are raised, but I have decided that 1) I am not selfish about much in my life, so I can have a clear conscious about being selfish about my place on the food chain (and anyone with a problem with it can choke on a big fat carrot stick); and 2) those animals are mighty tasty! Mmmm boy!

I am, however, getting increasingly concerned about the safety of many foods (even fruits and vegetables with all their pesticidal goodness), and see that even being a vegetarian may not even be the way to solve this problem. The only hope is that someday soon my financial situation will allow me to buy all organics, and that eventually they will be affordable for everyone.

Until then I guess it's going to be:

Hello, Dolly
Well hello, Dolly
It's so nice to have you back where you belong
You're lookin' swell, Dolly
We can tell, Dolly
You're still glowin', you'rs still crowin'
You're still goin' strong.


Picture of Dolly taken from Wikipedia, click on the image to see full credits.

U2 Makes the Ultimate Fanvid

Is it just a coincidence that YouTube and U2 are almost the same name?! Go wrap your brain around that over Christmas break conspiracy freaks.

Everyone else, enjoy this video:

"Window in the Skies"



*Addendum: Just thought I should let you know that I found this video (coincidentally) through a Guster post on MySpace. Thought they should get some credit.

I'm Special! (said in my best Ralph Wiggum voice)

I recently reached into the pocket of a coat I don't wear very often and found this old ticket stub from a concert held during my junior year of college.

It's funny, I don't remember being the Special Guest that night. Although, Guster and I were pretty tight back then and I am special. So I guess it's possible.

Word Around the Water Cooler

For once the word is around my own office, not Dunder Mifflin's. I know I've said I won't be stupid and blog about work, but this is just too good not to share (and it's not harmful or mean to anyone). Really, it's just funny and amusing.

About a month ago, all the department heads were called to a meeting by our Chief of Staff. After the meeting was over, there was that buzz that happens when one group gets some new information and must spread it to anyone they come into contact with, right. now. Sometimes that energy can be positive, like "yay Christmas bonus!" and sometimes the energy feels more like "no Christmas for you!" Around here, that day was like Christmas had been canceled (you knew I couldn't go the whole post without referencing it at least once).

However, since the Chief of Staff doesn't have the authority to cancel Christmas, the news (I later heard from my boss) was that they are bringing in "staffing consultants" to assess the office and see who is necessary and who is not. Or as my boss put it "They are bringing in the Bobs".

Ummmmm, yeaaaaa. I think I better get working on all those backed up TPS reports I have to put covers on.

Or maybe, I'll just do this:

Lyrics for My Life

Just for the record
The weather today
is slightly sarcastic with a good chance of:

A. Indifference or

B. Disinterest in what the critics say.

Is Xenu for You? Find Out With a Free Stress Test!

Thanks to Tom Cruise, almost everyone not living under a rock has heard of the Church of Scientology. I've heard it ridiculed, I've seen the "Free Stress Test" people, and I know a small amount about it (basically that it is based around the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard - a former sci-fi author, there are some strange ideas and practices surrounding it, they don't condone psychological practices, and celebrities like to hop on the Scientology-wagon and then jump on couches).

Really, it all seems a little crazy and cult-like. However, before I totally made up my mind about the group, I decided I had to at least become more informed about what they are really all about. That's when I realized that it is almost impossible to find something written on Scientology that is impartial. There are either sites sponsored by the Church of Scientology that are obviously not going to bring up any problems with the religion, and there are sites extremely opposed to the religion and only talk about the negatives.

The site that comes closest to impartiality is definitely Wikipedia. Whoever wrote the article, at least brought up the church's denial of their stranger practices. But just for the sake of showing you something really interesting, here is a segment from the Wikipedia article that talks about advanced teachings that have supposedly leaked out of the church (although the church claims they have been taken out of context and distorted by the media and dissenters in order to make the group look bad). However, I'm not aware of a way that this could ever be in context and not still sound crazy:

"Xenu (sometimes Xemu) is introduced as an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft resembling Douglas DC-8 airliners, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together and stuck to the bodies of the living."

Say what?!

I'm not exactly a true-believer of everything in the Bible either, but Xenu and Friends goes FAR beyond the realms of belief suspension I can accomplish. If I have trouble believing that two of every animal on the earth sat on a giant boat for 40 days and didn't tear each other apart, the step in Scientology where I have to accept the teachings of the Galactic Confederacy might be a little tough for me too.

My other strike against Scientology is that the list of celebrities who have left the church includes one Charles Manson. You've got to be a little weary of a religion that is even too much for that guy to handle.

I still recommend you research it on your own though, and come to your own conclusions. You never know, maybe Xenu is for you.

I'm the F to the U, R, K the E, Y

It's that time of year again!

No, I'm not talking about the crap with the big fat man and the mistletoe, although it is obviously that time too. What I'm talking about is list time. This is when EVERYONE and their mother comes out with a list of "The Best __________ of 2006!" Comedy Central already had their Last Laugh, MTV's probably gearing up for their TRL special of "The Top 50 Videos of 2006 You Would Have Seen on MTV if We Ever Played Videos" and I'm sure E! will be having a craptacular blow-out of "The Top 100 List of List Shows We Filled Our Dead Air With in 2006 Because We Can't Create Any Quality Programming Other than The Soup!!!" (note the extra punctuation to show just how excited they are about their jobs).

Joking aside, we all know that I love lists. So, apart from having to bear the ones that make me want to stick sharp objects in my eye (thank you E!), I am a fan of this time of year in all its listy-ness.

Today's list is brought to us by Rolling Stone (they like lists too, but not as much as those people at Billboard). It is "The 100 Best Songs of 2006" list. And I am sad to say that I must have sucked at life when it came to finding good music this year, because I missed a lot of these. I guess its time to catch up!

I also don't buy some of these tracks as being the best the music world had to offer this year. You can read more of my opinions below about some of the selections, but I just have to say -


Some observations I have after perusing the list are:

1. Is "Ridin" really the #3 best song of the whole entire 365 days of 2006? It must have been a slow year in music.

2. The song that I claimed as mine earlier in the year, The Dixie Chicks' "The Long Way Around" is in the top 20 yall! Holla!
Oh, god. I did not just say holla. Kill me.

3. "When the Sun Goes Down" by The Arctic Monkeys was a killer song that I listened to a lot this year. Yay for Monkeys!

4. If there's no possible way to avoid it entirely, the only way I can handle listening to the song "Promiscuous" is to stick sharp objects in my ears and then just dance to the bassline. Definitely not in my top 100.

5. On snap! "London (Fucking) Bridge"!! Are you kidding me?!?!!! (extra punctuation to show how much that song should NOT be on this list). I could handle "Fergalicious", maybe. But probably only because its easy to make into Furkalicious and my friends like to sing it to me at the bar.

6. Anyone who likes pop-punk/emo music and hasn't heard the whole Panic! at the Disco album, go get it right now. It's like a storming infectious-beat soap opera from beginning to end. I'm happy to see my favorite track "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage" at #84.


Lastly, where is "Cable Car", "Crooked Teeth", "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"? And what about stuff from Weezer? They were all over the radio this year.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm sure they missed some of your favorites too.

Big Ideas

If you're interested in marketing, viral messages, or just some random bits of information, then you should definitely check out this blog I found recently called Gaping Void. It's written by a guy named Hugh from the UK who does marketing for a South African Vineyard and also creates interesting drawings on the backs of business cards. Many have to do with working in the advertising/marketing/creative world, but there is something there for everyone. Check out his gallery.

I'm particularly fond of this new one:


Think I'll have it put on the back of my business cards.

I have also added the Gaping Void widget to my sidebar, so you can check out a bunch of them.

Which one would be yours?

Strange Phenomenon

Can anyone tell me why I had a huge influx of traffic on my blog yesterday? There were people coming in from all over the place and I'm wondering how they were getting here. Maybe you're one of those people and you came back. If so, how did you find me?

I'm interested in knowing what I might have done so maybe I can do it again. =)

Look What My Boss is Getting for Christmas!

Click on the picture to buy your boss one.

I did warn you about my Office obsession, yes?

My boss loves the show too and I'm sure he'll display this proudly on his desk.

I Think I'm Getting Addicted

If you haven't noticed, The Office is quickly becoming my favorite show, and while I start catching up on the episodes I've missed there may be a high concentration of Office themed posts.

This one is just a picture. The funniest picture I've seen in a while. Have I mentioned my love for Steve Carell? Maybe that will be the topic of my next post. For now, here is the picture (and just imagine your boss at work giving an anti-drug presentation named this):

THE OFFICE:
Better
than
drugs.

I Swear if I Had Work to Do Right Now I Would Be Doing It

Things I want to do before I die.
1. Go back to Australia
2. Live in a foreign country
3. Be in love
4. Get certified in scuba and dive all over the world
5. Change someone's life

Things I can do.
1. Dance/choreograph
2. Sing the words to almost every song
3. Take fairly decent pictures
4. Survive on my own
5. Talk intelligently and convincingly about almost every subject (even if I really have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Things I cannot do.
1. Wear a bikini
2. Make that popping noise that Donkey makes in Shrek 2 (just ask Kelly, it's not pretty)
3. Eat mushrooms
4. Flirt
5. Talk intelligently and convincingly about politics.

Things that attract me to the opposite sex.
1. Eyes - especially blue or green
2. Sense of humor - especially sarcasm
3. Scruffy hair
4. Cute dorkiness
5. Manners (I know that sounds old-fashioned, but who doesn't melt when a guy opens a door for you?)

Celebrity crushes.
1. David Duchovny (obviously)
2. John Krasinski (who, btw, is from Newton and I would die if I saw him out at a bar in Boston)
3. Zach Braff
4. Gavin DeGraw
5. Jimmy Fallon

(Think this list upholds what I said in the previous list?)

People I want to do this next.
1. Even if I say it, no one will do it anyway.

Link Update

I just updated the link to the free TV site below. I think between the day I did my post and yesterday, they moved the site. So it should be working now.

Here it is again if you don't want to look for it in the post: http://allfg.alluc.org/cms/cms/

The Best Things in Life Are Free, Part Deux

Just in case you missed the memo....THE INTERNET IS AWESOME!
(If you were hoping for better commentary from a Boston University College of Communication alum on the state of media and communication in 2006, please remember that I have two jobs and no desire to think any more than necessary apart from them.)

So, my latest, greatest find in the arena of fabulous internet content is this site - http://allfg.alluc.org/cms/cms/. On here you can watch FREE episodes of your favorite TV shows - LOST, Grey's, Seinfeld, The Office, etc. Of course, my own personal favorite is The X-Files! Only seasons 1, 2 and some of 5 are up, which is random, but I'm not complaining.

A few down-sides to the site are - you will need Quicktime installed on your computer (easily acquired) and a fast internet connection (we have cable and an hour long episode uploads quickly and runs fine). The video quality also isn't exactly HD TV, but how much does it really matter when you're probably watching the episode for at least the 6th time (or is that just me)?

Lastly, I do not promote piracy or illegal downloading (especially of moves and television). This site provides strictly streaming video content (non-downloadable) and I did look into the legality of the content posted on the site. Apparently, like the free music download site I had recommended in an earlier post, the site manager is just acquiring the links to the content and listing them in one handy place for people to browse. Most of the videos link to external sites where the people who have uploaded them have had to (hopefully) prove their legal right to share the content.

So my advice: get while the gettins good. This may be like Napster (circa 2000) where the content is given free reign until someone realizes the money they are potentially losing and finds a better way to cash in.

If you need to find me, I will be retracing the beginnings of Mulder and Scully. Please leave your jokes about my giant dork status below.


P.S. Speaking of....congratulations go out to Gillian Anderson (aka Scully) on the birth of her son.

P.P.S. Congratulations also go out to David Duchovny for being hot.

Photographic Scavenger Hunt

The fun people at Sh1ft have a really cool photography exercise to check out. Once every couple of months they post a list of 26 Things for people to try to capture and express through the pictures they take. Once you take the pictures, you can upload the best ones onto the 26 Things Flickr Group to share with everyone else. It's interesting to see what images people come up with to represent the word or phrase on the list.

I have yet to participate in this, so I have decided to work through November's 26 Things. The goal is to try to shoot at least one thing a day. On the right column of this blog I have posted the list of things I will be looking to shoot. Once I get a good shot of one I'll upload it here and also link it to my Flickr account.

SexyOffice

I am in love with this video someone did that merges "SexyBack" with clips from The Office. HI-arious, and way better than the Justin version. In fact, people should petition MTV to show this instead of the real one. Oh, wait. MTV doesn't play videos.

Thank you YouTube and person with lots of extra time on their hands for making this possible.

My Plans for the Future are Ruined!

All because of this.

Doogie Howser, I'll never love another child genius doctor like you again. And you'll always be every best answer to the questions in Girl Talk.

Blog Tag Topic #1 (To find out more about Blog Tag see previous entry)

Tag Topic #1: Take your favorite book and turn it into a movie - tell us who you would cast as the actors, director, etc. and why. (If your favorite book is already a movie, tell us how you would have done it differently.)

My favoritest book is The Odyssey, (yes please stamp "BIG DORK" on my forehead now), but there are far too many characters in that book to cast. So instead I will do my second favorite book, The Lovely Bones (I am also kind of cheating since I did a paper on this for my Careers in Hollywood class).

For those that haven't read it, The Lovely Bones is a novel by Alice Sebold about Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl from the suburbs who is attacked on her way home from school by a neighbor who then proceeds to rape and murder her. She narrates the whole story from heaven where she is able to look down upon the family, friends, and even the murderer she left behind. Through her eyes we see how each of them struggles through life as they carry the burden of her death with them.

Actors:
Susie Salmon - Jenna Boyd (The Missing, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
Why: She's not as overly exposed as someone like Dakota Fanning and she's proven herself in dramatic roles.

Detective Fisherman (investigates Susie's case) - Billy Crudup (Big Fish, Trust the Man)
Why: There's just something about him I really like. And I enjoy his work. I think he has the ability to play many different types of characters - from a cocky rock star in Almost Famous, to a clean cut, no nonsense son in Big Fish and a slacker boyfriend in Trust the Man.

Susie's Dad - Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rogue, The Island)
Why: I'd like to see him take on the role of a distraught father with a family coming apart and see his physical change as the years go on.

Susie's Mom - Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine)
Why: I guess I like her as the mother of bizarre families. She's done so well in the past.

Mr. Harvey (Susie's next door neighbor and killer) - John C. Reilly (Chicago, Talladega Nights)
Why: I think he is an amazing actor who could bring humanity to such a hated character.

Susie's Grandma - Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for Dream, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood)
Why: Like Reilly, I think she's a very talented actor and I'd love to see her take on this emotional role.

Director: Sam Mendes (American Beauty)
Why: I think he could capture the same creepy underbelly of white-bread, suburban America that he did for Beauty to put to use in this very different time and story.

So, there's my movie. If you haven't read the book, don't wait for the real movie to come out. No matter who is involved, most movies just don't measure up to their books. It'll be interesting to watch for the cast list to come out though and see if any of my picks make it (I had to do this exercise in another class for The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and when the movie came out at least one of my character picks matched up to the real one!).

Let me know what you think of my list and (if you've read the book) let me know what you might do different.

Then check out Sara's entry on the same topic. Tag Sara, you're it!

You're It!!

I am officially starting a game of blog tag. How to play:
1. I am going to write about a subject.
2. Then I am going to tag someone in the comments section on their blog - including a link back to my post for them to see.
3. They have to write about the same subject, then tag someone they know and on and on it goes.

When you tag someone you should:
- make sure you put a link to their blog on the bottom of your blog entry so that people can follow the links and see the chain of entries.
- remember to put a link back to your entry when you tag them in the comment section. The links should be carried over into every tag so that as the game progresses there is a longer and longer list of links of posts on the same subject by different people.

For example: I am going to write a post on a topic. Then I am going to tag Sara by commenting on her blog and posting a link to my post. When she goes to tag someone new in their comments section, she will copy and paste the link to my post and then add the link to her post above it:

Like a Poem Poorly Written
Invincible Summer

The next person who tags someone will copy both our links and then add the link to their post to the top.

Get it?
Got it?
Good.

Some Pre-Halloween Creepiness

Every Sunday, I like to go to the Post Secret blog to take a look at the new postcards that have been put up on the page. They are artistically and emotionally interesting, as well as shocking, sad and funny. If you've never been to the site it is worth a look.

Anyway, I went there today and at the end of this week's new card listings there is a postcard that I remembered from the week before that was just a brown piece of wrinkled paper with coordinates on it. Below it, the Post Secret webmaster has now posted an image he got through an email that seems to be a picture of what is at those coordinates (they must have been in the email as well). Posted above it are the coordinates and when you click on the link, it brings you to a Google Maps look up of that coordinate. It shows it to be somewhere near Germantown, Maryland. The closest things to it are farms and parkland. Frank from Post Secret said that he would post more as soon as he knew anything about the pictures.

So I don't know if he's thinking what my twisted brain is thinking, but my initial reaction was "Oh my god, someone buried a body there and sent in the coordinates as their secret!". Maybe being a criminal justice major and watching too much X-Files, CSI and Forensic Files has warped my mind and made me immediately jump to the worst possible conclusions, but did this cross anyone else's mind?

If what I'm thinking is right, we could have the new generation in creepy murderers on our hands. It would also be the most scandelous secret on that site to date. And maybe the worst part about my theory is that it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it were true. People are crazy and people do crazy things. If I've learned anything about life so far, it is not to underestimate the possible loonacy capable of the human race. I know. I've taken abnormal psychology and I ride public transportation every day, plus I've spent time in the south.

Happy (Belated) Blog-Day to Me!

That's right, on Monday, October 9, 2006, Invincible Summer officially turned one year old! Who actually thought I'd still be writing in here a whole year later? Certainly not me. In leiu of the extremely long and very witty post I was writing the other day that got lost when my web browser decided to freeze up (grrrrr!), I have made a list of some of my favorite posts from the past year for you to check out.

If you are a loyal reader (aka blog stalker) I invite you to tell me what your favorites have been or, if you rather, you can tell me that mostly this blog sucks. Either type of comments will be appreciated. =) This would also be a great time for those of you who just blindly stumbled here for the first time and those who read and never comment to say "hi!". Think of it as my blog-day present.

And if you are thinking to yourself - "Hey, I read this crappy blog all the time, what do I get?", here is a gift just for you.

And on to the favorites...

Procrastinating
October 9, 2005
The post that started it all and an explanation for the name.

The Happiest Town on Earth?
October 11, 2005
Post numero dos. A rant on how 5 major media outlets own everything we see and hear, and a little town named "Celebration". Plus there's a picture of the Hamburglar.

Here's an Equation for You
October 21, 2005
Short and (not so) sweet.

I'm a Fucking Genius
November 17, 2005
I still think this is a great idea.

Evil Allison
November 23, 2005
The holidays always bring out the best in me. I like this one mostly because I am a sarcastic bitch in it and also because it's the one post I have where Jess leaves a comment. Big ups to the Bear.

Who's a Ho?
December 6, 2005
Another sarcastic gem. I feel I have gotten soft in the past year and I'm going to have to step up the sarcasm again. Time to have a Lewis Blackathon.

CLR Tribute
January 3, 2006
Love to my girls.

Things I (Still) Miss
February 9, 2006
Life is sad when you don't have a job.

Why I (Still) Love Heather Gould
March 30, 2006
This just has to be reposted for anyone else who graduated in 2004.

The FCC Can Derelicte My Balls
April 1, 2006
I just realized I did this post on April Fool's day. Maybe that was Comedy Central's joke to us - bleeping out "balls". Hehe, yea Bevis, you said balls.

Summer
July 16, 2006
I chose this one because it goes with the blog theme and I actually still like what I wrote. Usually with poems, I go back a month later and hate it. Also, I realized I had 10 favorites listed and decided that a top 10 list is SO overdone. So that was my top 11 list.

Take that David Letterman!


Thanks for reading folks (all 5 of you).

I Need Your Help

For my second job (the old one) I have to make contests for this video/audio contest site called Bix.com and I get paid per the amount of people who view and/or enter the contests I make. I have two new contests up that have $50 first prize awards. So, if you could just click on these links to view the contests even that would be a big help to me. If you want to enter them go right ahead! That would be an even bigger help.

One is a stupid human tricks contest - I already entered myself. Check it out here: http://www.bix.com/contest/801.

The other is a rock star karaoke contest that I am not going to enter (no one wants that). But if you want to enter please do so here: http://www.bix.com/contest/800.

Thank you thank you thank you!

And Just When We Thought Global Warming Was Our Biggest Problem

Then this happens.

The George W. Bush Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good
(And Want to Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too)

I love the smell of irony in the morning.

I Love Lists (said in my best Brick impression)

There is nothing I like to do more than go down a list of somethings and check off the somethings on that list that I have accomplished in my life. I guess it makes me feel like I am not totally wasting my life away. I especially like my 2001 Things to do Before You Die book and I take great pride in putting check marks besides the tasks I've completed.

So, when I came across this pointless list task, I just had to bite. Basically, there is a list of 100 movies that someone makes or steals (the one I found uses AFI's 100 Top Movies). You go down the list and bold the movies you've seen, italisize the one's you want to see (I added this part), and add 3 more movies to the bottom that you think should be on the list. Then you post your list to your blog so others can see it, complete it and add it to their site too (linking back to your post, of course).

If you don't have a blog (or even if you do), I also invite you to post your 3 movie add-ons in the comment area of this post, or refute the ones already on the list if you think they suck.

Enjoy!

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) <---- I have this on Netflicks &still need to watch it
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) <--- I saw the new one 68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) <----- I worked in the office of the producer of this movie in L.A.
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
101. THE CAINE MUTINY (1954)
102. METROPOLIS (1927)
103. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959)

My total: 28. That's kind of sad.

My 3:
104. MARY POPPINS (1964)
105. THE MATRIX (1999)
106. THE EXORCIST (1973)

Your turn!

What the World Has Been Waiting For.....

It feels like only yesterday I was sitting at the bus stop around the corner from my house, rocking my leggings and She-ra backpack, and talking about important 2nd-grader things like Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers. There were quite a few boys in my neighborhood, and many a pre-grammar school morning was spent listening to them talk about their Mortal Kombat scores and sing lyrics from Weird Al Yankovich songs like Eat It and Like a Surgeon. Mostly, I thought the lyrics were pretty funny, but to uphold my position in the girl world, I had to come to the consensus with the other girls that the boys were sooooo stupid. But what I really wanted to do after school was hang out with the boys and listen to their Weird Al tapes too.

Maybe that just makes me White and Nerdy, but if being that way is wrong, I don't want to be right.


White and Nerdy

"They see me roll on my segue."
Priceless.

But I do have to say my favorite part is Donnie Osmond dancing in the background.

Welcome back Weird Al, it's been far too long.

The Best Things in Life are Free

Especially if one of those things is music.

Today a stumbled across a site called It's Free Downloads that is making a directory of ONLY the free downloads from iTunes. That way us cheapies don't have to search through the whole iTunes website to find those little treasures. It's not just for music either - there are links to free TV show episodes (special eps of LOST and Grey's Anatomy anyone?), video clips and audiobooks. Plus, there's this free song list for Facebook members. Check that out here.

So, it's not exactly Napster circa the year 2000 (sweet, sweet times), but it also won't land your ass in the middle of a ridiculous lawsuit where the plaintiff is an artist worth 100 times more money than you'll ever see in your life. Don't EVEN get me started.

At Least I'm Not Crying in the Bathroom this Time

New Job Post #1:

I've decided that starting a new job is a little like starting a new high school - with less teen angst and better clothing choices. There is meeting your new peers and your superiors, learning where everything is located, what your schedule is like and what your options are for lunch.

Today, my second day of work, I ventured down to the cafeteria at lunch time. It made me think about twelve(!) years ago when I started the 7th grade in a new school district with no friends. Back then, I dreaded lunch time because it always meant severe anxiety. Who was I going to sit with?! What if my lunch isn't cool?! Why doesn't anyone want to be my friend?! Honestly, this terror led me to spend more than a couple lunch hours hiding in the bathroom being miserable with life and wanting the security of my old school and friends back.

Even in college, most of us spent all of freshman year in large groups flocking to the dining hall at meal times. No one wanted to get left behind. If you somehow missed the big group trip, you would frantically IM everyone else on your buddy list to find out if they had already gone too. Then if they had - the horror! The only choice then was to go get something to go and bring it back to your room and your friends (those traitorous group meal thwarters).

It is on days like today when I look back at those memories and really see how (blessedly) far I have come. I still have a tendency to be shy and somewhat awkward around strangers, but I now have the ability to walk confidently into the cafeteria where I know absolutely no one, find myself a seat and eat my lunch with no anxiety whatsoever. Did I really ever care so much? It's hard to believe.

I still don't have any friends though.

I guess my next life lesson should be "Strangers and You: How to Approach Someone Else in the Cafeteria Without Friends and Make them Yours."

Question for My PC Using Friends

Is the right side bar actually situated next to the blog post box or does it not start until after the end of the blog blox? The sidebar should be next to it (hence "side" bar), but when I brought it up on a PC today in Internet Explorer, the side bar was all the way at the bottom of the page. It looks fine on my Mac so I just want to check and see if it is just this computer or all PCs.

Thanks for your help!

Confessions of a Grey's Anatomy Virgin

In the past 3 weeks, I have had a total of 5 people almost go into coronary arrest over my utterance of the simple statement: "I have never watched Grey's Anatomy." So, to ensure that I am not to blame for anyone's premature death, I have succumbed to the peer-pressure and watched last night's episode. It was the re-airing of last year's season finale and thus I was a little confused. However, TV is not rocket-science and this show isn't exactly 24 or LOST (no offense Grey-lovers, it just isn't as complicated as those), so I think I'll be able to pick it up.

Fast forward to tonight. I just watched what I am assuming was a show to catch up people like me on the last season, and I think it did the trick. And I'll admit, I'm intrigued. I do keep having to stomp down the little voice in me that says "But what is the NEED for another hospital-based drama?!", but if it's as good as you all say, I'm sure I'll get over it.

So, here I am. It is 9:00pm on Thursday, October 21, 2006, I am in my PJs, have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I am about to watch my first episode of Grey's Anatomy (ok, technically not the first, but the first that I'm going to understand). Come along and I'll tell you how it goes.

9:01
Well, we are off to a good start, they are using the Lullaby song I love from the Dixie Chicks' latest album. +1 (even though Medium used it last year)

9:08
The bubonic plague? Ok, ok, I'll give it a chance.

9:20
Realize I haven't been writing in here about the show. That's probably worth a +5.

9:22
Knocked-up catholic school girls throwing their baby into a dumpster and cheaters getting cheated on. +2 for piqued interest, -1 for soap-opera quality

9:25
There is a skunk outside my apartment. -10 for the skunk and another glass of wine for me.

9:32
There is a woman larger than a size 2 on the show and she seems like she actually has a part beyond the comic relief or the wise friend who can't get a date. +5!

9:36
Dr. McDreamy (that is his name right?) is going to die of the plague in the resident locker room after he eats every piece of food in there. +2, I want to see that

9:39
Someone save the plague guy who used to be on Boston Public!!! +1 for emotional involvement

9:48
Realizing this show is different than ER because no actual medical procedures are performed. No points won or lost because I haven't decided whether it's a good thing or not.

9:49
How long do you think Chris O'Donnell will be "Guest Star"ing on the show?

9:59
Finally! She put those damn panties on the bulletin board. I was waiting for that the whole time. Good move Mrs. McDreamy, even though you were the one that cheated first.
Ok, I'm obviously getting into this. +1

10:01
Told us what music was used in the episode. Good job ABC. +2
But why are your shows ending at 10:01?
At least it's not like LOST where you tell us it's an "extended episode" and it lasts until 10:02. -10 for ABC and their idiotic-ness when it comes to that show.

But, I digress.

I made it successfully through my first Grey's Anatomy episode and I enjoyed it! I hear the first two seasons are even better and Jen has decided that I'm going to watch those too. So I will admit I am excited for that.

But, back to tonight. The tally is......drumroooooooooooll........16! (for Grey's, but -8 for ABC and -10 for the skunk.)

That's a pretty good score. Of course, my points are like those on Whose Line is it Anyway?, they don't matter. However, they do mean that I will probably watch again next week.

Well, I may tape it while I watch CSI.
What can I say? Dr. McDreamy is pretty dreamy, but Nick Stokes is the hottest CSI around.

A New Look for a New Beginning

Welcome to my newly rennovated blog! It's barely shy of it's 1st birthday and I've decided it needs a facelift. I've heard cosmetic surgery is addicting, so maybe I'll be changing it all the time! Now that I use Blogger Beta (thanks to Sara), it is much easier to make changes than before. Not as much messy HTML code to fumble with.

So that is the new look. The new beginning is MY NEW JOB!!! Yes, I got a job! Actually, I got two, but who's counting? The one I accepted is working for the graphic communications department in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth (that means it's a state job). Pretty good pay, great benefits and an amazing view of downtown Boston from my office! It is all very exciting and I start Monday!

I owe a huge thank you to my friend Emily who is actually leaving the job and helped me slide into her place. She gave her boss my resume and kept promoting me to him. It really is who you know. I am greatful that this opportunity came up because it ends 8 months of job searching, something I don't wish on anyone. I am also thankful to those of you who kept my spirits up during those months. Your sympathy and words of encouragement were so helpful and greatly appreciated.

It may be hard at first to leave such a great schedule behind, and the comfort of working in my PJs, but I can't wait to get into the real work force, meet new people and learn more about graphic design. I think this is just the first step on my career path.

Definitely the start of something good.

something i took from someone who took it from someone else

since i have been harassed on MySpace by Sara for my infrequent blog postings, i have decided to top off a couple days worth of new posts with something i stole from a post on her blog. so there sara! (you better watch it, or i won't wear the horse skirt.)

she stole this from someone else's blog. you can only give one word answers. here goes:

Yourself: low-key
Your partner: nonexistent
Your hair: pretty
Your mother: strong
Your father: supportive
Your favorite item: powerbook
Your dream last night: bizarre
Your favorite drink: colada
Your dream home: comfortable
The room you are in: haphazard
Your fear: failure
Where you want to be in ten years: happy
Who you hung out with last night: StandUp
What you're not: skinny
Your best friend: thoughtful
One of your wish list items: job
Your gender: female
The last thing you did: read
What you are wearing: GAP
Your favorite weather: sunshine
Your favorite book?: Odyssey
Last thing you ate?: PBJ
Your life: stagnant
Your mood: indifferent
The last person you talked to on the phone: Chip
Who are you thinking about right now: Lucas

Did I Say That Reality Shows Are Stupid? Because What I Really Meant Was "Reality Shows Are Stupid Until a Family Member Wins Money On One"

Apparently, my second cousin (or something) just won 1/2 million dollars on Big Brother All Stars.


They say distant family members come out of the woodwork when you get rich.

Watch out Mike, cause i'm a-comin!

Just look at that family resemblance!

another reason to love Spain

Skinny models wearing thin in fashion shocker

gracias espana.

Bix.com

One of my newest assignments for my job is to promote this new contest site called Bix.com. It is basically like You Tube, MySpace and America's Got Talent combined. People make contests using video, audio or writing and anyone can enter. A lot of them are Karaoke, Lip-Syncing, Comedy, etc. Some even have cash prizes and eventually most of them will. My job is to make contests and get people to enter into them. My goal is to get as many people to sign up and participate in the site as possible. So I will keep you all updated on the latests contests and everyone can go to the site and register and start entering contests! Plus you can tell all your friends and your friends friends! =) Then I would love you forever. Also, if you want to start making your own contests, give me your username and the contests you make and the people who enter them will be added into my numbers and help me out even more.

The first contest I made is a song parody contest (except I made a typo and it's a Song Parady contest, and it's really bothering me). But anyway, I got inspired by Brad Akin's parody of "Sexyback", "Sweatyback". So if you want to enter, go here.

To inspire you, I wrote this little ditty and I'm going to have my roommate enter it:

Turn it Brown (aka, The Miseducation of Al Gore)
(sung to The Rolling Stones' Paint it Black)

I see some green grass and I want it to turn brown
No ice caps anymore, I want them melted down.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I love that it's December and it never snows.

I see a line of cars all waiting for some gas,
A Hummer, Escalade and Ford Escape S-Class.
I see a Hybrid car and quickly look away,
Tree-hugging hippie cars will ruin my whole day.

I look inside my lungs and see they are all black.
Like using corn power will help them to turn back.
Maybe then I'll understand why we should find a cleaner way,
It's not easy facin' up when I've got big oil to pay.

No more will our green sea go turn a deeper blue,
How could I forsee the damage oil spills would do?

If I lay on the beach out in the shining sun,
I'll burn my skin all off before the night time comes.

I see some green grass and I want it to turn brown
No ice caps anymore, I want them melted down.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I love that it's December and it never snows.

Hmmmm, hmmmmm.....

I wanna see the world turn, world turn brown,
Brown as dirt, brown as poo.
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky.
I wanna see it turning, turning, turning, turning brown.

someone IMed me this link today:

http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

it is one of those sites where you put in your birthdate and they give you a whole sheet about you and things that happened on your birthdate and birth year.

it also told me this about myself:

"Of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritable and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self-confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner."

crap that's accurate, except the first part (Oh, wait, there's my "lack of self-confidence"). actually, come to think of it, it does say "unusual" and not "immense" or "breathtaking," so i guess that could be right too.

i also found out that Rachel Bilson (The OC) and i have the exact same birthdate, same year and everything. guess that's really not that interesting to anyone but me. but i guess none of this is. haha. oh, well.

i know i should just get over it, but...

i am going to ask one request of everyone i know who reads this blog (most of who are just friends and family): if you call me up or see me somewhere, please refrain from asking me if i have a job yet. i don't and i am tired of discussing my lack of job. it's no one's fault that it is a hot topic of conversation, it's such a central point of life. believe me, i know.

also believe me when i say that when i get a job, EVERYONE will know. i will probably get a megaphone and drive through boston yelling it to the world. maybe i'll even call up delilah and dedicate some cheesy song to myself in congratulations.

so keep sending the job fairy vibes my way or whatever, and listen out for the song, the megaphone, a phone call, etc. i absolutely appreciate your interest in my life and of course your well wishes, but understand why i just don't want to talk about it.

thank you.

the (2nd) greatest idea EVER

if deciding to have alicia's bachelorette party be 80's themed was the BEST idea i've ever had, this has to be the second best*:

Adult Ding Dong Cart!

ok, for those of you who aren't from western mass. that probably just looks dirty, but it's not. the ding dong cart is the ice cream truck that drives around your neighborhood in the summer giving teenage mutant ninja turtle pops to kiddies. but why should they have all the fun?

the answer: they shouldn't.

so, the plan. if i don't get a real job that i like by next spring i'm going to buy one of those ding dong carts. instead of selling ice cream treats by playing "Turkey in the Straw," i'm going to sell jello shots, frozen margaritas, pina coladas and keg beer by tricking my truck out and playing "Sexyback." every friday from 8pm-3am would be a flippin goldmine! i can see the BU students running already.

then during mardi gras i could drive my sweet ride to new orleans. spring break time i'd go down to daytona beach and, of course, mexico for cinco de mayo! i'd be more popular than the Girls Gone Wild bus!

ok. no i wouldn't. BUT i'd still be pretty damn popular.


*i had help in developing this idea while talking with my roommate jen, so she should also get some of the credit.

sometimes 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 0

Because I have so much that I could possibly talk about, I don't feel like talking about anything.

Summer

In summer things seem different
They shimmer in the heat from a scorched road
And glow in the glare of the sun
An illumination of life,
Of aliveness.

Listen and you can hear the life expanding
Like my heart when i think of summer's past
An ache to feel as alive as the day again
To shimmer and glow,
And burn.

Summer is alive
And I want to be too.

because i'm not this witty on my own

who remembers the Advertising Slogan Generator from like junior year of college?!?! I do! I do! For some reason the memory of it just came to me today and of the countless (and let's be honest, pointless) hours I spent inserting my name, other people's names and, let's be honest again, dirty/bad words into the text box and hitting "Sloganize!". I think I even had a list on my computer of the more funny and innapropriate ones. then becky made magnets out of the ones with our names on them for our fridge at the cottage. she didn't use the dirty ones though (unfortunately).

so, let us all flash back to the days when we had countless hours to waste laughing at pointless but highly entertaining web pages. here are some examples of ones I did today, but if you haven't experience the Slogan Generator for yourself you have to check it out.


"A day without shitballs is like a day without sunshine."

"Pure Allison."

"Allison tested, mother approved."

"You like Allison, Allison likes you."

(uh oh, parental units, look away now) "Top breeders recommend Allison."

then there's this one that almost made me choke on my pineapple slice and die - "You're in good hands with George W. Bush."

And lastly, one that will bring dignity and maturity back to this blog.........




"I can't believe I ate the whole poop!"



yes, i have two degrees. and my parents are so proud.

a message to my favorite blog-stalker, aka Janet

i am still here, i swear. i have not formed a secret blog away from your stalker-eyes but have instead been busy packing up my apartment to move this friday. plus there hasn't been anything ridiculous enough going on for me to make fun of. it's quite unfortunate actually.

instead i will tell you about a dream i had last night that i found really amusing upon waking. i don't really remember most of the specifics, but what i do remember is sitting on an old rug with my roommate erin when it suddenly became a magic carpet and started to fly us into the sky. so we decided what better thing to do on a magic carpet than to sing ALL of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin in our best (aka worst) singing voices. i sang aladdin's part and she jasmine's. we even did cheesy arm motions. it surprises me that we make fun of ourselves even in my dream.

all around it was like a normal night at the apartment.

well, except erin usually sing's aladdin's part.




i hope you enjoyed janet. this post was all for you. sorry i didn't talk about Hanson. oh, there, i just did.

Taking the Long Way

i haven't really had time to post lately, but there's been lots of fun stuff going on, like wedding showers, Boston visits, gym time, realtor meetings, volunteering, secret projects and job searching. if you don't know, kelly is moving out to chicago for the summer to perform in the newest tap show, Imagine Tap, and erin and i are moving with our friend jen. hopefully we are going to end up somwhere close to where we are now, but we have to be out by July 1, so the rush is on. add to that the fact that i am gone away the next two weekends, so trying to schedule job interviews and apartment viewings has become pretty crazy.

however, i did want to take the time to share my new song and promote the new Dixie Chicks album that it is from (the CD is great. and that's coming from a non-country music girl). the CD is called "Taking the Long Way," and the title track (actually called "The Long Way Around") is my new theme song. you can listen to a clip here ( and while you're there, check out "Lullaby", i am in LOVE with that song too). i'm also going to type the lyrics out. those of you who also graduated in '04 will appreciate verse four. i think we're all finally getting there in our lives, or at least one stage of whatever "there" is. whether it's marriage, jobs, degrees, moving to a better place, etc, none of us are taking the easy way. where would be the fun in that?

good luck to those of you who are going to be settling down soon and godspeed to those of you, who, like me, need (or will have) some more years of wandering.

don't worry loves. we will all make it.


The Long Way Around by the Dixie Chicks

My friends from high school
Married their high school boyfriends
Moved into houses in the same ZIP codes
Where their parents live

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

I hit the highway in a pink RV with stars on the ceiling
Lived like a gypsy
Six strong hands on the steering wheel

I've been a long time gone now
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
But I've always found my way somehow

By taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

I met the queen of whatever
Drank with the Irish and smoked with the hippies
Moved with the shakers
Wouldn't kiss all the asses that they told me to

No I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

It's been two long years now
Since the top of the world came crashing down
And I'm getting it back on the road now

But I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
I'm taking the long way
Taking the long way around
The long
The long way around

Well, I fought with a stranger and I met myself
I opened my mouth and I heard myself
It can get pretty lonely when you show yourself
Guess I could have made it easier on myself

But I, I could never follow
No I, I could never follow

Well, I never seem to do it like anybody else
Maybe someday, someday I'm gonna settle down
If you ever want to find me I can still be found

Taking the long way
Taking the long way around
Taking the long way
Taking the long way around

call me stupid

it has been raining in boston for almost a week straight now. towns in the area are flooded about a foot higher than the "flood line," schools, businesses and roads are closed, people are losing everything in their houses. luckily, brighton has not been one of these areas and the most we have had to worry about is a little water in the basement and getting from the apartment to the car without looking like you just took a long shower with all your clothes on. yesterday the rain subsided by a lot and the only concern of anyone here was avoiding the puddles; something that i apparently did not do successfully enough.

my dumb-ass instead procedes to drop my cell phone in a giant puddle. yes, the same cell phone that has almost reached the 2 year point where I can get a new one. the operative word here is ALMOST. after dropping the phone in the puddle and drying it off, nothing was working. i tried to turn it on and all it was doing was turning on the red light and staying on, but no screen action. so i left it off for a little while and a few hours later i was happy to find that the whole phone turned on and looked like it was going to be okay! and then i tried to use the keypad. currently i can dial the numbers 1,4,7 and *. also the End button and the upper selection pad is working. so, for the next 2 months, if you happen to have the number 1-444-7747 you are my new friend. however, i still won't be able to actually call you because the Send button isn't working. sorry.

luckily my phone has voice activation and i can say things like "Call Caryn!" and the computer lady says:
"Did you say....Call Erin!'?"
"No"
"Did you say 'Call Carrie!'?"
"NO!"
"Did you say 'Call Becky!'?"
"NOOOOOOO!!!! 'Becky' doesn't even sound like 'Caryn'!!"
"Thank you. Calling 'Home'"
"AHHHHHHHH!"

so, if you don't hear from me in a while it's because the lady in my cell phone hates me.


oh, and don't even try to text me unless you want to get back words that only have ghi and pqrs in them. like "rig his ships high" or "rip high sprigs", or my favorite, "his pigs sip piss".

if you're reading this and it's friday, may 12th, it's already too late

kelly, jen and i went to the gym this morning as (somewhat) usual. we did the treadmill and then the bike before some crunches and pilates work. a pretty normal workout. then at some point we took a wrong turn and things went down hill. i won't get into specifics, but in the end we walked out of Bally's an hour and a half later with appointments for personal training sessions with a marine.

so this is my announcement to you all that i will be dead on friday may 12, 2006 at 11am due to complications of being out of shape. my epitaph will read: "here lies allison, all she wanted to do was lose 40 pounds, but instead she died."

if ya can't beat 'em...........eat 'em?

nothing better than an obscure holiday. especially one that Hallmark can capitalize on so easily.

April 21st, Alfred G. Packer Day - recognizes one of the few men to be convicted of cannibalism in the U.S. He ate his other prospector companions after they got lost in the Colorado Rockies. Packer claimed they died of natural causes before he ate them, but modern forensics has proved that at least some of them had been murdered.

In the Colorado Rockies
Where the snow is deep and cold
And a man afoot can starve to death
Unless he's brave and bold.

Oh, Alfred Packer
You'll surely go to hell
While all the others starved to death
You dined a bit too well.

---from The Ballad of Alfred Packer

gotta love the stuff i dig up in the Crime Library.

lent update #3: i suck at doing lent updates

so, lent is almost over and i've only posted twice about my goal of giving up junk food. some of you may think this is because i failed. you would be wrong. i think instead it's just become part of my life so i haven't really had anything interesting to say about it. now that easter is upon me, i have started thinking about eating junk food more. i just know that if i want to have it in a couple of days, i can. this thought also scares me. i am worried that once i start eating it again, things will get bad. it's hard, because i really haven't lost as much weight from doing it as i though i should have, and things like that fuck with my brain. the true test, however, will be getting on my mom's official electric weight watchers scale, because i bought a cheap manual one that i don't trust. i was home a few weekends ago and weighed myself then, so i will have something to compare it to when i go home again tomorrow.

also, i haven't worked out in a long time because the past two weeks i was too busy getting down with the sickness. i'm pretty sure Bally's doesn't really appreciate their members coughing and snotting all over their eliptical machines. when i get back from easter weekend, though, i've got to get my ass back in gear because there are weddings and graduations and shows and beach weather to think about. if that doesn't motivate me, nothing will. so i may have succeeded at my short term goal, but i now have to use it to help me achieve what i want for the long term.


"just take a breath, jump over the side"

a little Coldplay and a lotta cold

blaaaa. i have been sick all week and it sucks. BUT, luckily it didn't hit fully until AFTER Coldplay. not like it would have detered me from going. i would have gotten there with a wheelchair and an IV in my arm if i had to, and it would have been absolutely worth it. just an amazing concert. everything worked out perfect too. alicia and i met each other in the parking garage and had a great dinner and then got to the arena in time to watch some of Richard Ashcroft and actually hear "Bittersweet Symphony" in person, so cool.

before we got there i was so worried about the seats because they were "side view" which could have meant we were looking at speakers or something, but instead it just meant we were on the side but still really close. i definitely made the right choice between those and the other available seats - straight on view but in the nose-bleed section. i'll let you decide for yourself though, because here are some of my pics. enjoy! =)


opening song: Square One

encore songs: Swallowed in the Sea, In My Place, Fix You

best songs: Fix You, The Scientist and Yellow (they dropped huge yellow balloons from the ceiling that sprayed sparkly gold confetti when they popped and Chris Martin popped the last one on the stage by doing a belly flop on it, then he finished the song)

special song: Ring of Fire (played right after Kingdom Come)

best non-music parts: Chris Martin's interpretive dances, getting waved at by Chris Martin, and the whole band coming to the edge of the stage to take pictures of the audience.

alicia and i were so taken with how fan-friendly this band is. they didn't talk much in between the songs, which meant more music time, and when they did talk it was to thank us for being amazing, tell us how much they love New England and ask how everyone was doing (like that was even a question!).

beautiful music made by nice boys, what else could a girl want?