Linktastic!

Hi friends. I'm off to Baltimore today for a conference and am super excited to see some old friends! While I'm gone, however, I want to leave you with some truly excellent reading material. These are some of my favorite blogs that I visit daily (and let's be honest, sometimes multiple times a day). A few people have asked how to best follow blogs and how to know when they're updated. In my opinion the easiest way is to use an RSS feed, which is basically a site where you can collect all your blogs and it shows which ones are updated. I use Google Reader, which you can access through the google site. You just need a gmail account! Does anyone else have any tips about this?

Anyways, onto the links! Here are just a few of my faves.

Pajiba - greatest movie blog I've seen so far. Started as a blog between friends and has become something much bigger and thoroughly entertaining.  It also helps that I tend to agree with their opinions most of the time. If you like movies I highly recommend it.

Go Fug Yourself - as discussed earlier in my Fug Madness post, this is a hilarious fashion/celebrity blog. SO funny and one of my favorite quotes comes from one of their posts - "Everyone loves a disco ball. It's a wee sphere of glee!" They do some fun things with words.


forever88 - one of my bestest friends, Annahita, has a GREAT blog. She blogs about her life, her love, her amazing bulldog Ollie and just fun stuff like the great new shoes at Target and her and other's beautiful photography. In fact, today she's doing a book giveaway for Emily Giffin's new book, Heart of the Matter! Check out her blog and enter the contest! Besides, you should be following her anyways if you're following me. We're both incredibly entertaining and have an unabashed love for tween movies and Amanda Bynes. Love you Hita!


Hyperbole and a Half - I'm pretty sure I found this through Pajiba, but who knows.  This girl named Allie writes stories about her life/childhood and illustrates them with old school MS Paint. It is so random and weird, just like I like my comics. And it is FREAKING HILARIOUS. Trust me on this one.

Get Poetical - my friend and sorority sister (Alpha LOVE!) Lisa lives a very glamorous life out in LA and writes a blog focused around poetry, as she is an excellent writer herself. Each entry includes a poem, either by her or by another writer. I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of poetry, but I truly enjoy her blog because it brings in such a great variety and I've found several poems that I really connect with.

These are just a few of the blogs I follow. Enjoy and I'll share some more soon!

Why do they call it a carry-on if you can't carry it on?!

I love to travel. Luckily, I have friends all over the country, and world for that matter, who still enjoy my company and indulge my need to get the hell out of dodge every once in a while. I quite enjoy a good road trip, particularly when it involves a marathon sing-a-long in the car, but a lot of times my destination is just too far to drive. Enter the dreaded airlines and that great American tradition of complaining about them. The airlines have their faults, and many of them. I will be one of the first to bitch, moan, and raise a stink about the things they do wrong, but the reality is I can't get to where I'm going half the time without them. I recently took a trip where I was moved to make some observations about the joys of air travel and all that comes along with such a pleasure. Enjoy.

1. Middle-aged men inexplicably using a rolling backpacks, particularly one with the High School Musical 3 logo embroidered largely onto it.
2. Baggage handlers, who make you wish you had paid the $25 to check a bag, taking their sweet ass time getting your "carry on" from under the plane while you stand outside on the tarmac, tapping your foot, about to have a coniption because you have 30 minutes to sprint across the Charlotte airport in 4 inch wedges (what? they're too big to fit in the "carry on" and they're cute) to make your connection. 
3. Discovering that you have the same literary tastes as the 13 year old sitting next to you (I still contend that the Hunger Games is a great series. I don't care if it's YA).
4. Moving sidewalks that don't move is one of life's great ironies.
5. The questionable clothing choices some people make when traveling (notice I said clothing choices, not shoes, I don't want to hear it about my wedges). Is there a discoteque in Terminal C that I don't know about?
6. The gentle hum of a plane in flight that lulls me into the deepest of slumbers - and gives me the most fucked up dreams you can imagine. It's incredible the things my subconscious comes up with at 30,000 feet. 
7. Reading seriously awful, yet incredibly entertaining celebrity tabloids (USWeekly, Star, InTouch, OK!) and then leaving them at the gate for some other weary traveler to discover with glee.
8. Watching a really cute guy walk down the aisle, thinking maybe this time, maybe this time, only to have him pass by while Grandma, Chatty Cathy, Big Sweaty Guy or Screaming Three Year Old settles in next to you. (Or in my case last weekend - Still Drunk Guy. Swear to God he was sweating tequila)
9. Wearing multiple layers in preparation to either bundle up or strip down depending on the plane's tempestuous climate.
10. The adrenaline rush of running from one gate to another and the resulting triumphant joy of making the connection or the crushing blow of defeat upon missing it by mere seconds.
11. The disturbing, yet satisfyingly mischievous feeling of realizing you got tweezers/razor/matches/5+ oz of liquid through security.
12. People stopping in the middle of the terminal thoroughfare. Think of it like an interstate. Do you just stop in the middle of I-95 when everyone else around you is going 80? No. Don't do it in the middle of Terminal B either. As previously mentioned, frustrated travelers are literally propelling themselves toward their gate, in very tall and uncomfortable, but very cute shoes, dragging a "carry on," that they weren't actually allowed to carry on, smelling like second-hand tequila sweat, pissed that the moving sidewalk isn't moving and they will run you over. And by they, I mean me. Just test me.

Happy Flying!

You can tell a lot about a person from their iPod

I've been thinking a lot about the role of music in my life and how it's shaped who I am and how I interact with the world around me. I've always relied on music as a way to express how I feel, find the words that I can't come up with myself, and get those feelings out of myself and my head. There is nothing like hearing a song and thinking, "that is exactly how I feel, how did they know?" To connect with a song so deeply that it becomes a part of you. To play that song so many times and know it inside and out and whenever you hear it in the future it takes you right back to that place, that feeling, that moment in time and reminds you of how far you've come, how much you have left to do, or just how much fun you had. I've had this experience countless times and those songs tend to be my favorites, the ones that I can come back to and they feel like old friends, like coming home. These are just some of those songs for me:

Little Martha by the Allman Brothers

I went through a pretty major classic rock phase in middle school and LOVED the Allman Brothers. Amazing southern rock, first concert at Oak Mtn Amphitheater in Birmingham, and first time I was offered pot (don't worry Mom and Dad, I didn't take it :). I tend to lean towards songs with lyrics, but there's just something so sweet and simple about this melody that takes me back to my 13 year old self and contrasts with the complex and challenging changes I was dealing with at the time.

Full of Grace by Sarah McLachlan

This song captured all of my adolescent angst in a quick 3 minutes 18 seconds. This was one of the first songs that I really thought, oh she just gets it. I know exactly how that feels and it does not feel good.

Hometown Glory by Adele

One of my new favorite artists, this was the standout song for me from her first album 19. There's something about the way it builds that always gets to me. I like that she takes herself back to what it was like for her when she was younger, what her everyday was like in her hometown.

Not Ready To Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks

I don't listen to a lot of country, but I've been a fan of the Dixie Chicks since their first album with Natalie Maines taking the lead. I've loved watching them grow as a band and as musicians and seeing how their personal experiences have impacted their songwriting and depth of character. Without getting too political, I found it fascinating, devastating, and with a bit of dumbfounded shock to watch the majority of their fan base turn on the band after Natalie's comments about then-current President Bush at a London show. Their documentary "Shut Up and Sing" chronicles that difficult time for the band, but also shows the heart, soul, blood, and tears that went into the album Taking the Long Way. This song, the first single off the album, cuts straight to the point, revealing the catharsis that inhabits each lyric. I could probably write an entire post on this song, that situation, and the band itself (hey maybe one day I will!), but for now I'll just say how refreshing it was for me to see three strong women, from the South, saying whatever the hell they wanted, because they can.

Let's Stay Together by Al Green

This weekend I went to visit my mom's side of the family in Albany, GA. It was my Grandaddy's 88th birthday and we were there to celebrate him. It was a quick, but great trip and I know it meant a lot to him that we were all there. However, since my Grandma died almost 8 years ago, it's never been quite the same. This song is my ideal "relationship song" and theirs was the ideal relationship. Completely devoted, adoring, so in love, whether times were good or bad, happy or sad.
From my perspective at least, that's the goal.

Parting Gift by Fiona Apple

Extraordinary Machine overall is an amazing album and one that I continually come back to, but this song has always stood out to me for one set of lyrics:

I took off my glasses while you were yelling at me once, more than once.
So as not to see you see me react.
Shoulda put em, shoulda put em on again,
so I could see you see me sincerely yelling back.

I bet your fortressed face
Belied your fort of lace
It is by the grace of me
You never learned what I could see

The assumptions flying through these lyrics say a lot about the nature of this relationship and what each half expects of each other, sees in each other, and completely misconstrues about each other.

I could literally do this all day, but I'll stop for now and maybe continue this series in the future. What are some of your favorite songs? Artists? Albums? I'm always looking for something new, or old, for that matter.

Madness all around!

So there's this little tournament starting tomorrow that you may have heard about, something to do with it being March and involving some madness of some sort. Being a football kind of girl myself, I don't really pay much attention to it, but I know many of you are very very serious about it. I respect that, I just can't say I care so much. Another much more interesting tournament starts this week, one that I think you might get just as excited about.

FUG MADNESS

What is Fug Madness, you're asking yourself? Well, I'll tell you. The Fug Girls, of www.gofugyourself.com (one of the greatest blogs around, trust) creates a showdown of the most fugly fugtastic fuggers of the year and have them face of against each other to declare the 2011 Fug Madness Champion. It's an incredible competition and the celeb players take it very seriously all year, evidenced by their extreme fuggery. So fill out your silly March Madness brackets, but don't forget about the most important one and check back to see who prevails in the most exciting March tournament EVER!

For a larger, printable bracket visit Go Fug Yourself

Oscar Coverage 2011: I'd throw a double thumbs-up too if I were at the Oscars

This week has turned out to be busier than expected, but I wanted to give you my rundown of the Oscar ceremony itself. Here are my somewhat random, disjointed, yet always definitive thoughts on the ceremony:

• Anne Hathaway swung wildly between annoying the shit out of me and charming the pants off of me. Try not to combine those two images mentally, not a pretty picture.
• Much has been said of James Franco's "Performance". Namely, that it was a performance, that he used the opportunity to create performance art. In my opinion, it was neither art not a performance. He just came off like a stoned douche. That's right. I said it. Some lauded him for at least inciting people to care about the Oscars and actually talk about it and debate his intentions. I can see that, but have to wonder if Anne knew about it or was panic-stricken when she realized he was checked out from the start. 
• Overall I thought the entire ceremony lacked a focus and any kind of thematic thread. Pieces seemed random and out of left field. As you've clearly seen, I love the Oscars, but found them quite laborous this year.
• However, in an attempt to give the producers the benefit of the doubt and just a little bit of credit, here are some things I did enjoy. I thought the recorded opening with Hathaway and Franco was hilarious and wouldn't mind if Morgan Freeman narrated my dreams as well. I also loved the banter between Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr. Who doesn't love a good story about a hooker dressed as a superhero? And lastly, these kids were too cute, so excited to be there, and damn good singers to boot. 

Check me out! I'm on a stage! On TV! In front of hundreds of celebrities!

Thoughts about the winners:

• Melissa Leo. Where to begin. She has irked me since the beginning of awards season. Her acceptance speeches (and she's given many for awards that she has earned and deserved) come off as so humble, so surprised, and so overly appreciative that it seems disingenuous. Her acceptance at the Oscars was no difference. She was SO surprised and SO overwhelmed and I just don't buy it. She's won almost every award this season for Best Supporting Actress so why was this such a shock? Either she has very low self-esteem (highly unlikely due to her self-promoting Oscar campaign) or her insincerity has reached levels of self-flagellation. Oh, and dropping the F-bomb during the speech? I believe it was planned. She is a talented actor, but personally, not a fan.

• Enough bitching. Onto the exciting stuff! This guy was incredibly adorable, thanked his mom, gave a shoutout to the love of his life, not only acknowledged his other nominees, but encouraged us all to check out their films on iTunes, and was just self-deprecating enough to make us root for someone we only just met.

• This guy has won my heart forever and not just for his sparkly buttons. His was my favorite acceptance speech of the night. In every way that Melissa Leo went wrong, he went right.

• I'm happy to live in world where Trent Reznor has an Oscar. Plus, the score for the Social Network was pretty phenomenal.

Oscar Coverage 2011: All In the Name of a Good Cause

The time has to come to chastise those celebrities who thought they were bringing it, yet are sorely mistaken. Before we embark on this journey of fashion missteps I have to acknowledge the dramatic differences in people's opinions on this year's Oscar fashion - not only amongst the fashion bloggers and "experts", but amongst friends as well. My friend Grace writes an amazing blog (you should seriously check it out) and recently posted her best and worst dressed. We agree completely on some of the stars' looks and not so much on others. My friend Liz and I have the same 50/50 thing going on with our faves as well. It just goes to show that fashion is subjective and individual. I think that's what makes it fun. So as much as I will criticize and snark and almost combust about the following, just know that I recognize individual style is just that - individual.

On to the shit show!

 

I absolutely love Florence + the Machine. My friend Greg introduced me to them over a year ago and I felt very smug for knowing about them long before they broke through in 2010 with the song Dog Days Are Over. Florence Welch has an incredible voice, but the same cannot be said for her dishwater-hued dress. If only it had puff sleeves, Anne Shirley would be all over this biotch. And I'm just not sure you want to be basing your Oscar debut on the fashion sense of a fictional Canadian teenager from the early 1900's.

 

As promised, my take on the necklace of doom. UNNECESSARY, DISTRACTING, AND BUTT UGLY AND I DON'T CARE HOW BIG OF AN EMERALD IT IS. That's all.

I actually quite enjoyed Anne Hathaway's many wardrobe changes throughout the evening and shared my favorite yesterday. These, not so much. The red carpet look was a fab color on her, but no girl, I don't care how thin you are, wants to add volume to the butt/thigh area. It just doesn't do anything for her and I would argue that without the extraneous material this might actually be a winner (and I pretty much put my money where my mouth is by including Sandra Bullock's dress on the best list, which is essentially this dress without the poof). 

The black layered taffeta monstrosity was just that - a black layered taffeta monstrosity. I'm fairly certain a little gnome named Frederick could live under there.

Oh the blue dress. A lovely color on her, to be sure, but when you look like you wrapped a Slip N' Slide around your tiny self and secured it with industrial strength straight pins, no one is happy. Except maybe those lucky bastards who live in a climate warm enough to use a Slip N' Slide right now.

 

As discussed at length at my Oscar party, Halle Berry is unbelievably gorgeous, never ages, and may very likely have magical powers related to her youthful beauty. From the waist up - I love. From the waist down I am reminded of my bedside table that was recently covered in used tissues whilst I was recovering from a nasty head cold.

 

Oh Marisa, such a pretty girl in such a poofy, stomach-pooch creating, overly dramatic sweetheart necklining, wrinkly, wide-strapped, asymmetrical dress.  Also, as my mom would say, get your hair out of your face.

 

Another piece of commentary from the Oscar Party - Nicole looks like she spilled something on her dress at dinner and grabbed the table runner and wrapped it around herself to cover the stain. Excellent description Kara, couldn't have said it better myself. 

This is gold lame covered in a doily like fabric. Let me repeat. Gold. Lame. It is 2011. Gold lame has it's place these days - namely a 1970's Roller Disco party in which the gold lame is worn with a certain sense of nostalgic irony. I don't believe Melissa Leo here was trying to be nostalgic or ironic. 

 

ScarJo here can't act her way out of a paper bag these days, but I will admit that she is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood in my opinion and I like her even more now that she's retracted her claws from Ryan Reynolds so he can be my boyfriend. (Although if he is dating Sandra Bullock like the rags insist, I'm totally ok with that because I love her and love them together and love the Proposal and want that to be real life - sorry, tangent). However, I do not like the purple lace dress that does nothing for the cleave and the matchy-matchy eye shadow that manages to wash out her entire face. On the other hand, I do love her hair, SCANDALOUS, I KNOW. But I think it's fun and kind of flippy, casual. It just doesn't go with the look she's trying to pull off here, which really, she shouldn't be trying to pull off in the first place, you follow?

 

At least the Black Swan bit it for a good cause.