@@------ CrUSh AlErT ----@@

Northern Exposure is rocking my world lately. What a great show! (Almost) Makes me want to move to Alaska! There are so many great things about this show - especially the fashion. Early '90's wilderness style never looked so good! Shelley's earrings are always a bright spot in any episode.

I'm watching Season 2 and so far Chris Stevens has pulled into the lead for hottest guy on the show. Chris is played by John Corbett who will later go on to become Carrie Bradshaw's hottest and best boyfriend ever on Sex & the City. What was she thinking cheating and breaking up with him??? On Northern Exposure, Chris is the DJ for the only radio station in town. Everybody loves "Chris in the Morning".

It's a morning show that's a mix of town announcements, book readings and overall life discussions. Apparently he even warrants a book. He is the town's only clergyman so he's your go to guy for all religious functions. Chris is a chill soul who has the hottest girlfriends in Cicely - and it's not hard to see why!

Also, he kind of bears a resemblance to David Foster Wallace at times.

Box Office Prediction: Twilight

Edward Pattinson looks like his head is falling over. Twilight #3 should tilt a bit from its predecessor, but just barely.

Twilight: Eclipse: $295 million

Glory Daze

Kate Hudson you are no Courteney Cox! Is that a shirtless Charlie (Dominic Monaghan)?

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Kinda Like a Band

After resisting for so long, I admit that I like Paramore. Sorry, can't help it. Their songs are catchy. But you know the real reason:

Feisty!

Surprise, you're gorgeous!

Not a natural orangehead.

We saw Twilight last night!

I think I speak for Susan and Katie both when I say we were into it. Not as much as The Notebook (let's not get ahead of ourselves) but I am really surprising myself here by wanting to see New Moon pretty much ASAP.

CrUsH ALeRt

I like the Up series so much!! I just finished 21 Up, and Nick (aka Nicholas Hitchon, look him up) has completely surprised me by becoming a crush alert. He's by far the most down-to-earth, attractive--think Andy Samberg but less apey, more thoughtful--member of the group* and then I just read he's a professor at Wisconsin-Madison, which was my #3 choice for grad school--I could have been so close to maybe running into him one day!

PS: wtf is up with John in 21 Up?? He's acting high and it looks like he tweezed his unibrow halfway through. Plus he's always been shady and self-conscious, like he knows he's an a-hole but he thinks it's your problem

*FYI, the Up series are films about a group of British kids at ages 7, 14, 21, 28 --> 49 (most recently) and, I hope, for the rest of their lives. The focus is on class differences and belief systems, but the real fun is just watching them grow and change. Also some of the upper-crust kids are hilariously out of touch with the world. These are awesome documentaries and completely riveting.

*~*~*~* CrUsH @lert *~*~*~*

Well ladies and germs, my crush is none other than the fabulous Bill Pullman. Do I even have to talk about how great he is? We loved him as Kat's dad in Casper. And we loved him as the furniture-making, bad-with-words-yet-charming Jack in While You Were Sleeping.

The thing about Bill is that he could walk down the street and maybe not even be recognized, yet he's done a million movies. I also loved him in a League of Their Own, which holds a special place in my heart. It was really moving when I saw it in the theater, especially because I was eight!

Bill is classically handsome, always has great hair, and yet still looks approachable and friendly. And some how, deep in my heart, I just know he's a great guy! Here's a pic of him with his lovely wife, you go Bill!

*~*~*~* CRUSH @lert *~*~*~*

Too many crushes lately!! This one couldn't go undocumented when I found out that Neil Patrick Harris is going to be a guest judge on American Idol next year! As if I didn't love him enough already!! Confession: I watch How I Met Your Mother and I like it. It can be a little cheesy at times, but overall the show is fun to watch. More fun than Friends' reruns or any other sitcom on these days. The gimmick about who the mother will be keeps me interested, but it's Neil Patrick Harris' character of Barney that keeps me tuning in.

Pic via

He hosted the Tony Awards this year, which I didn't see but heard was hilarious. I'll bet! So I'm excited to see him host the Emmys. You need a good host at these things or else they really do feel like 4 hours. I don't want to brag, but Neil Patrick and I are practically related. We sat in the same room together. Yes, it's true! Senior year of college I was in New York and my friends and I were having brunch and in walked Neil Patrick Harris. HE SAT NEXT TO US. AND ORDERED A STRAWBERRY WAFFLE. I was caddy corner to his seat so I was trying not to make eye contact, but that's almost impossible. Especially since he was with what looked like his boyfriend at the time and he hadn't come out yet. Also, since it was 2006 I'm not sure if How I Met Your Mother was on, but I hadn't seen the show yet. I'll remember that brunch 4eva.

ps - Barney's blog.

Video from CBS. No copyright infringement intended.

* * * * CrUsH aLeRt * * * *

I guess people are still debating health care?? JK. They are. Lucky for us that means more articles about Rahm Emanuel. Obama's Chief of Staff has it all - good looks, a famous family (brother Ari Emanuel- the inspiration behind Ari Gold on Entourage), an artistic side (won a ballet scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet, attended Sarah Lawrence), and a "fiery" personality (rumor has it that he mailed a rotten fish to a former coworker after the two parted ways).

In response to the lack of a bipartisan approach the Democrats are considering a new strategy - relying on their numbers to get the final bill passed. Rahm said, "The Republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems that American face every day." It does seem that way when you see the town hall meetings and the craziness/crazies that surround Congressmen at open forums. With all of the specials and articles on the Obama administration, they paint the picture that Rahm is the real go-to guy to get legislation passed. Hott.

Discussion: What Was In Your Discman?

Last week, I was thinking about my state of mind in '99, specifically: What was I thinking, buying the LFO "Summer Girls" CD single? What was I thinking, buying any CD? I know I was thinking about trying to be cool, but I was also thinking about "relating" to a singer and feeling related-to. Meaning: I was a huge giant fan of Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos, and Fiona Apple. That part of my 14-year-old self makes sense to me now.

But what could explain this funny little mixtape I found while unpacking?

Side 1:

1. NOFX: Olive Me (Fat Wreck Chords compilation opened a lot of doors for me)
2. Beck: Hotwax
3. Beastie Boys: Intergalactic
4. Lipps, Inc.: Funkytown
5. The Cardigans: Lovefool
6. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh: Dúlamán (got a pretty sweet Celtic compilation)
7. Dave Matthews Band: One Sweet World
8. Ben Folds Five: Don't Change Your Plans
9. Smashing Pumpkins: Thirty-Three
10. Jars of Clay: Tea and Sympathy
11. Led Zeppelin: Battle of Evermore
12. Ani DiFranco: Gravel
13. Fiona Apple: Never is a Promise (made myself sad there toward the end)


Side 2:

1. Tahiti 80: Mr. Davies (put a high premium on things I didn't think anybody else had heard of)
2. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes: Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard (I was cool, so I wrote this like MAJDBTS for short. also, again with the Fat Wreck Chords compilation/striving for "obscurity")
3. Tom Petty: Crawling Back to You
4. James Taylor: Fire and Rain
5. Radiohead: Thinking About You (clearly ruminating on some imagined heartache at this point)
6. Simon and Garfunkel: Cecilia
7. Barenaked Ladies: Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank
8. Weezer: Tired of Sex (my edgy side)
9. The The: This is the Day (was i into Empire Records very much???)
10. Poe: Fingertips
11. Moby: Porcelain (#'s 10 and 11 both clearly influenced by the Saint Mary's modern dance ensemble)
12. Goldfinger: Mabel
13. They Might Be Giants: Istanbul
14. Steve Miller Band: Jungle Love
15. Tori Amos: Yes, Anastasia (saving the best for last)

So what about you? Don't pretend like you never went through a fratty-jam-band phase, especially if you grew up in Raleigh--I can think of only five people who can truthfully claim they were never tempted by DMB. What was your big jam: was it Destiny's Child? Usher? Cherry Poppin' Daddies?????

Update!

I just saw this article about small-town blog wars in Wisconsin, and clicked through to the star blog. The best, craziest blog, written by the stars of the best, craziest censorship controversy in Wisconsin library history! I mentioned it last week, but I'll say it again: Ginny Maziarka, (pictured at right) the author of a claim for damages seeking "the right to publicly burn or destroy by another means" Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop (and lots of other books, it turns out, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is a total nut. And her nutty blog is appalling. But guess what! I support her right to free speech. So here are some of her thoughts:

Introducing excerpts taken out of context from some young-adult books.

Gunning for Proposition 8.

Then all of a sudden, concerned about the gays!

Putting it in terms of rejecting parents.

And, honestly, it's sort of boring. I also hesitate to give them more pageviews/attention, but this is ridiculous and etc. For a group of people who hates the Taliban (and, by extension, can we assume militant theocracy?) so much--not to mention socialism->communism!--, they seem to have an awful lot in common with them.

*CrUsH aLeRt*: Chuck Bass

I wish I could quit you Gossip Girl.

Kim & Mickey

I really like this picture - I could stare at it for hours.

WDDD (Winnie Does Drugstore Diaries)

Meet my new favorite shampoo: Lush Squeaky Green Solid Shampoo. This shouldn't have turned out well: I was in the Lush store, where everything smelled so good but was so expensive that I lost my mind and was thinking hard about an impulse buy of $20 shower gel. Then I saw the shampoo bars, the first cheapest thing I saw, and bought two. Really, I lucked out with this one. Purchases made this way don't usually turn out well so I was pretty worried about this "solid shampoo" thing.

My hair is really fine and tends to go limp by the end of the day, so I rely heavily on volume-promoting shampoo and conditioner. AND I've been trying to shampoo less cuz I've been reading things to the effect that daily shampooing is unnatural, strips your hair, wastes money, takes time, etc. So a shampoo bar looked like a good fix.

WELL. This made my hair really shiny and fluffy (fluffy is a good thing where my hair is concerned) all day, smelled good, lathered well, and was fun to use. I can't wait to try number two! Lush solid shampoo gets an 8.9/10.0

Good Stuff

Came home to watch last night's American Idol.  Then watched Tony Kornheiser's predictions on PTI.  He's right, it is Go Time.  As in, Megan Joy has got to go.  She totally blew it all last night and I hope America will wise up and stop voting based on looks.  After her I think Anoop and Matt Giraud might be in trouble.  But I hope not for Matt's sake.  He's my fave! (this was the best quality video I could find - sorry about that!)

And I found a classic clip I used to make Lauren watch over and over again.  This clip is great on many levels.  For one - Bon Jovi week??  I think we all know what a classic songbook that is (yikes!).  Jon's Philly Soul tee is classic and his total hatred for Blake's version:  "This is a song that a lot of people don't want messed with".  What people is he talking about?  This is before the advent of Kara DioGuardi as a judge.  It was a good time.  

Thursday

25

Someone in this picture is turning 25 tomorrow and people can't stop celebrating!

CruSH LiTTLe BaBy

Aight, so I'll throw my hat into the crush ring. I've talked to a lot of my friends about this one, and they all think I'm crazy, but Tilda Swinton is my crush object.

Yes, that's right. Tilda, my bone structure is reminiscent of Panzer fucking Tank, Swinton.

Mmmmmm... those crisp lines in her face just spins my knobs. Facts about Tilda Swinton: When she goes to yoga, she wears a silvery full body unitard designed by NASA. She smokes DURING sex and eminates Pure Light. When she's done with you, the last sound you'll hear is her motorcycle pulling out of your driveway at 4 in the morning; she won't care where she's going.

Edit ( per winnie's request):

NeXt CrUsH: MiCkEy RoUrKe

From nottie...

To hottie (minus Evan Rachel Wood)!

I guess Mickey Rourke falls into the category of people who I know are unattractive. His skin, his hair, etc, etc= yuck! Maybe it's just that he played the best character in The Wrestler, or maybe the appeal lies in the whole "comeback" thing (can a comeback from 9 1/2 Weeks and a handful of tv appearances really be called a comeback?) and how I don't get it, but I don't know. There's an appeal there!

Other examples of this appeal--aka having fake-ish crushes on unattractive people--include Prince and the Kool-Aid man (when I was a toddler). There are some more, but I'll probably blog about them later so I don't want to spoil anything.

This appeal is brought down considerably, however, by what I just found out was a "lip-lock" with Evan Rachel Wood at an SAG "bash." Granted, a Fox News agency was doing the reporting, but I'm not all that surprised. It is creepy because she played his daughter, and it is nasty because she is annoying (sorry to dis on a Raleigh native but you know). But the fact remains the same: Mickey Rourke is in the ranks.

ADDENDUM: I really love mugshots like this. The "tee hee, you got me" face instead of a sour, dour, I'm-famous-I-don't-deserve-this face is so refreshing and makes me think Mickey's a cool guy in real life. Also the fact that he was busted for DUI on a scooter.

Top CrUsH

I got the idea for this segment yesterday when I saw this picture of Marc Jacobs:

The guy's got nice legs! And a killer smile with good fashion sense. But he's not a current crush for me. If this were 2 years ago, he would be it.

Instead I'm going to have to go with Fabio from Top Chef. Tonight is elimination night for 2 of the chefs. I hope Fabio remains safe! He has a great accent that serves to highlight his great one-liners! Last week was a bit of a close call with Fabio actually breaking his pinkie into 2 parts. And still managing to win the challenge. What a guy! As he said once the heat was off, "It's Top Chef. Not Top Pussy." Fabio speaks the truth. At first I thought it'd be hard to get into Top Chef since you can't actually taste the food. Not so! I feel like I would like Fabio's cooking and I like how true to his Italian roots he stays. While I was looking for pics of him I found out that he's also William Shatner's private chef. The man has it all.