One of my current fave songs

This is such an awesome song... and the video is fab. It's called 'Love in a Trashcan', and it's performed by the Danish group The Raveonettes.

LOVE!

Home at last!

Ahh... there is nothing better than coming home to mom and dad. Home cooked food, fresh, clean sheets... and the smell of days gone past.

After a long and dreary trip, I finally landed at a winter wonderland at Vigra airport. And to pretend to be a tourist I filmed it, and for your viewing pleasure, I will upload it soon.

Right now I am tired, jet-lagged and delirious.

I will post more with pics later.

Shit happens

Prime time = mocking time

Come on, guys. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we take ourselves too seriously. That's why we need comedians, pundits, bloggers and talk-shows... to put things into perspective. How can we move forward if we can't look at things from a below-the-belt perspective?

Sarah Palin has openly slammed Fox's Family Guy for allegedly mocking her son Trig's Down Syndrome. This after the show aired an episode featureing a character, Ellen, who had Down Syndrome. Palin took personal offense of the skit, and said, "The world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people." Well, indeed.

The world IS full of cruel and cold-hearted people. But what I find more hurtful, is the fact that Palin uses her son as a political prop. She carries him around, and uses him to promote her religious views to fuel her political propaganda. And what baffles me, is why she took offense of this? The show is making fun of everyone, blacks, gays, religious people, conservatives, liberals, students, immigrants... you name it. Doesn't Palin realise that her party is behind mocking gays? To take away their freedom? The conservatives are all about "Legalizing freedom", but they're also denying fundamental rights for those who are not straight, white and Republican. How about taking offense on their behalf, Palin?

I am in no way saying it's OK to mock developmentally challenged people. I'm fortunate to know several people who have DS, and they can be functioning, smart and achieve great things. What ticks me off in this context, is Palin's choice to point them out as fragile and as people who need to be shielded from jokes. What I also don't get, is why when her buddy Rush Limbaugh used the word "retard", she tried to cover his sorry ass.

Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress who voiced Ellen, actually HAS DS.
She wrote Palin this response in an e-mail:

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in "Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".







What do you think?

Bump obsession

News flash!! Angelina Jolie is pregnant! Again! This time, the baby will save her relationship with Brad! Oh my, because that's what babies do.. they save marriages and relationships. That's why there are so many single parents out there.... Okay, okay. This is not about my anti-maternal instincts... but I have to ask.. What's up with the bump mania in America? Every time I go to the grocery store magazines yell out "JEN LOOKS PREGNANT", "KATIE GLOWS.... TOM IS HAPPY HE'S GIVING SURI A SIBLING", "IS ANGELINA EXPECTING?" There is even a website dedicated to this madness, Babyrazzi!

When did we start caring so much? One thing is the tabloids competing with each other for the audience, but why is pregnancy such a hot topic? Celebs popping out kids is nothing new. I don't give a damn, honestly. It's like a being pregnant makes you super human. I think this bump obsession is going too far. If you're famous, you better not eat a burger - you're pregnant. You can't wear big clothes - you're hiding a bump! And if your relationship is rocky - don't worry, that baby will save everything!

And who wants to read about Kourtney Kardashian or ex-playboy bunny Kendra Wilkinson? It's not like they have anything smart to say, but baring their belly and talking about morning sickness... That's revenue! I swear, if you type in these two names in google, the first word to appear next to them.... is BABIES!

But alas. It's not enough to get preggers and pop them out. You need to get back in to shape ASAP, preferably the day after birth.

I don't know who the target audience for these super mamas are... Educated career-pursuing women? Stay-at-home moms? The Octomoms of Small Town USA?

You tell me.

A perfect night

Nothing is perfect, right?

But my Valentine's Day was! I think sometimes the most spontaneous acts turn out better than perfectly planned ones.

Jamie and I had dinner reservations at 9:30 at an Italian restaurant downtown called Ambrosia. Parking was tough, so once we found a spot we kept it. But we were a little early, and there were no seats at the bar, so to kill time, we headed across the street to the Downtown Lounge.

What a pleasant surprise!! It's not my fave spot, but this evening I was delighted to enter an ambient atmosphere, complete with red blinking hearts, soft lights and live music. The musician, Jesse Meade, sang romantic folk/blues songs - his raspy, yet velvety voice whispering sweet little nothings in our ears. As we sat at the bar, sipping our drinks, I couldn't help but compare the scene to that of a quirky, Zooey Deschanel-starring indie flick. Gazing characters, buzzed narratives, blurry focus. Little did I know, though, that the movie script had something else on the next page.
Soon, our mellow evening turned into one of those insanely bizarre David Lynch sequences when brain-thirsty zombies entered the bar. This is Eugene, after all.

Two drinks, half a brain, and 18 dollars later we trotted over to the restaurant. I had a glass of crisp Pinot Grigio, and Jamie, being the beer-lover he is, ordered the local favorite - a Ninkasi IPA. For starters, we shared a big plate of calamari. We forgot about being civil for a while, and just dug in, tentacles, lemon juice and aioli all over the place. Funny how a few drinks can make you believe you are starving.

At one point I excused myself to go to the bathroom. Imagine that we're still in a movie. The female character, all made up for the evening - a new dress, high heels and that extra coat of lipstick, daintily puts her napkin on the table and walks slowly across the floor. Did I say slowly? She gazed about her, a little blurry-eyed from the wine...and a little clumsy, because, that's just her nature. All of a sudden.. boom. She falls, and the music stops. CUT!
She gets up, and tries to hide, but to no avail. A dining female at the table nearby asks her, "Oh my God, are you OK?" Yes she's fine, she just wants to disappear.

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. I broke my vegetarian rut, and had (gasp) New Zealand Lamb with rosemary bread and creamy mashed potatoes. It was heavenly.

Beauty bargains!

I don't skimp on skincare. That's why I avoid the sun, don't smoke and religiously apply moisturizer. When it comes to what you put directly on your skin, you'd better avoid the cheap stuff. But that's not to say it's impossible to look good while stretching that dollar. Listen up, I will share with you some of the BEST stuff available among cosmetics, that just happen to be a great steal.

1) Aquaphor

This is the only thing that has ever cured my dry, chappy skin. You can use it on anything anytime! Lips, nose, scars... you name it. You can use it as a base before long flights, to prevent your skin from getting dehydrated. Hands down, at only $ I consider this my number one ally in the fight against fine lines and chappy lips.

2) St. Ives Apricot Scrub

Forget everything you've ever learned about skincare. Let me tell you... it's enough to scrub your face once or twice weekly. It will get rid of a dull surface, and keep things smooth. You also don't need a pricey label, this will make your face and your entire body as soft as a baby's butt!

3) Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

A staple in my make-up bag. I always come bag to this one, no matter how many new inventions are tempting me on the market. This will always create long and lush lashes. And forget about the "Big Brush" edition. When it comes to Maybelline, only the original green and pink will do. With the SMALL brush!

4) Cucumbers

Oh la la! Forget about expensive eye creams and serum. A good ole cumber will do. Just slice, cool and cover your eye-lids. Bags? What bags? Cucumbers have always stepped to my rescue on days with literally zero sleep the night before. And yes, they will soothe red and swollen eyes too, either caused from crying or allergies.

5) Olay Total Effects Touch of Sun

The *best* moisturizer on the market. Believe me, I've tried most of them. This one gives a healthy glow to fair-skinned freckles like me. But don't put too much on it... it can get a tad too orange during winter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Three years ago, my hubby and I said our "I Do's" at the Lane County Courthouse. A short and pretty informal, but nonetheless romantic, ceremony. I even bought a wedding dress for the occasion. I've never been the kind of girl to dream about weddings, marriage or that perfect day. But with the perfect guy, it's romantic no matter what you do or where you do it.

After we were officially pronounced husband and wife, we went to a cafe and had breakfast with two friends. Yes, in my dress!

We had a blast.

I love you, hon.

Going flexitarian!

If you've been following my blog, you've probably read in a previous post that I am trying to slowly cut meat out of my diet. Flexitarian is the new way to go, baby! It's simply the grey area between being a carnivore...or a vegetarian.

Personally, I'm not *that* into beef. I mean, it's all about the seasoning and the extras, right? And pork... it kind of grosses me out thinking about all those cute little piggies. And chicken...don't get me start. So this week, I've been enjoying delicious non-sausage patties from Morning Star. They're awesome!! They are tasty and fill me up, and do good for body and planet.

I've been sticking to a veggie diet the past few days, and I've lost 2 pounds. Yay! It's all about being creative.

This was my lunch yesterday. A bowl of noodles, a packet of veggies, and three patties. It may look gross... but the taste was delicious.

The biggest threat to society

Ask a friend, a stranger, a politician. Ask them what they consider the biggest threat to society. Some will answer "terrorism". What is terrorism? A foreign threat to your country? Religious extremists that will not think twice before blowing themselves up? Others might say "global warming" is destroying our planet. Some are awaiting the apocalypse and Jesus' 2nd coming.

You want to know what my answer is? Ignorance.

Ignorance breeds ignorance, and I am still shocked by the high number of uneducated or simply plain dumb people that inhabit the earth.

I want to share an e-mail that I recently found in my inbox. Now, it could quite possibly be a sick joke. But I have no doubt in my mind that there are plenty of people out there who actually believe this to be the truth.

Dangerous, indeed.

EXCERPTS FROM E-MAIL:

"The following story is what I believe to be the
truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
about the Bible and Evolution. God created the
Heavens the earth and all the animals. Then he
created a Garden of Eden from which he created
man from the dust. God called this man Adam.
After a while God saw that Adam was lonely.
So God put Adam to sleep. Then God opened
Adam's side and took one of Adam's ribs and
created Eve. God only created Eve as someone
to keep Adam company. God created Adam and
Eve without the knowledge of evil.
God did not give Adam and Eve the knowledge
or the power to have sex and create. That's why
God created the Garden of Eden. That was Adam
and Eve's home for eternity.They would never
die.They would have eternal life in the Garden
of Eden. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
and the animals on the earth. "



"Lucifer also told Eve that he would make
them into Gods. So Eve fell for Lucifer's lies and
she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and
evil.Then Eve got Adam to eat from it. When they
did their eyes were opened and they saw that
they were naked. They covered themselves up
with figleaves and ran and hid from God.
That's when they gained the knowledge of evil
and the power to create. So it was Lucifer who
gave them the knowledge and the power to create.
It wasn't God. "


"God turned Lucifer into a snake to eat the dust
of the other animals. When Adam and Eve were
outside the Garden of Eden they still had a
choice they would have gone with the goodness
of God and not had sex and created they would
have grown old and died and we would not be
here. But instead they went with the evil and
the power that Lucifer gave them and they had
sex and created. "

"What ever they created would have been a
true son and a true daughter. Or a true brother
and a true sister. When the true brother and
sister had sex to keep the population going
that would have been just incest. "
"We are still the same because people still
create birth defects and deformaties. Here are just
a few examples. The blind, deaf, handicapped
mentally retarded, shemales, midgets, giants,
child molesters, serial murderers and many more.
We are all birthdefects because we all have the
knowledge of evil. When you marry someone
you are marrying someone that is 3 times closer
than a true brother and sister."

"Long before Jesus was born there were
thousands of slaves that ran off around the
world and started their own countries.
When these slaves ran off there was a large
group of men and boys of all different ages
and sizes that took off and ended up in Africa.
Some of these men and boys
went exploring to Borneo and caught female
Orangutans and took them to South America
and had sex with them and created the American
Indians. The men and boys that stayed in Africa
caught female Gorillas and had sex with them
and created the African Americans.
When scientists found the bones in Africa
they thought we evolved from a female
Chimpanzee. But it wasn't a natural evolution
it was a man made evolution.That's where all
the and Orangutan creatures come from.
They are half man and half Gorilla and half
man and half Orangutan."

Man is literally destroying the earth and
himself by over populating. Save your
generations from suffering a miserable and
horrible end. Stop creating and if you have
children tell them when they grow up not to
create. Please help spread this message to the
entire world."

Don't ya wonder what kind of drug this person is on??!