Delusions of Grandeur

Born this Way Album Reviews!

2011-05-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can't possibly review all the songs in one day, so I'll post some reviews of my new favorites. :D

Government Hooker

Favorite Lyrics:

I'm gonna drink my tears tonight cause I know you love me baby.
Put your hands on me...John F. Kennedy.
I'll make you squeal baby; as long as you pay me.

I love how it sounds like the start of an Italian aria and then it breaks down into synth beats. I've been waiting for this song ever since she previewed it during Paris fashion week at the Mugler fashion show. Has anyone else ever written a song about Marilyn Monroe being JFK's mistress?! Hello, awesome.

Judas

I love stuff that takes bibilical or religious stories and art and twists it with something new, funny or intriguing. Gaga does this brilliantly...the song cannot exist without the video - I think the video explains it all. Gaga as Mary Magdelene - in love with Judas, forgiving him for his sins because without those occurences then the "prophesy of life" could not be fulfilled. She's basically saying that bad things happen for good reason and we have to move on and move forward.

Americano

This song make me want to put on a fucking mariachi hat and stomp my feet into the floor until it breaks out from under me. Enough said.

Schieβe

Favorite Lyrics (ALL!!!):
I wish that I could dance on a single prayer / I wish I could be strong without somebody there / I wish that I could dance on a single prayer / I wish I could be strong without the Schieβe, yeah.

I don't speak German, but I wish I could.

Another song I've been waiting oh so patiently to hear in it's entirety since the Mugler fashion show in Paris. This is one of my TOP favorites from the album.

A Few Words About Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

2010-09-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

When President Clinton signed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in 1993, it was not meant to be a discriminatory law. I mean it was sort of the way-of-Bill-Clinton to just keep our personal lives on the hush-hush (wink-wink), so back in ‘93 this was just his slick way of saying, just stay quiet and we’ll leave ya alone. Oh Slick Willy, you were so charming back then - you thought you had solved this problem of gays in the military once and for all.

Nearly two decades later, the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy no longer fits into the world we live in. Homosexuality is a more accepted way of life in America and many of these soldiers who serve our country have partners or spouses and families even that they have to hide from their fellow troops. Imagine having to hide a photo of you and your spouse sharing a kiss on a romantic vacation. What if you had to burn every letter your spouse sent to you in fear of being discharged from a job that you love to do. Those who are not accepting of the gay community use the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy against these people and who then are forced to be discharged because most will stand up for themselves and admit to being homosexual.

Today, a vote on a policy that would bring an end to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was filibustered by the Republican party in the U.S. Senate, effectively killing the current bill that would have brought an end to this outdated policy. It is upsetting to me that the leaders in our country would choose to ignore an important issue like this. In the end, this law will be repealed. But until then, let us ponder this question:

VMA Countdown: Collaboration Station

2010-08-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

We're about 3 weeks away from the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and I have to say that this has been a really big year for great music. I also think that because the age of YouTube is rising, artists are putting more effort into their music videos and are really creating some great artistic companions to their songs. I'll be posting my vote along with the videos in each category up until the VMAs on September 13.

Best Collaboration Nominees:

- "Airplanes" - B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams

- "Video Phone (Extended Remix)" - Beyonce featuring Lady Gaga

- "Telephone" - Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce

- "My First Kiss" - 3OH!3 featuring Ke$ha

- "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z and Alicia Key

My Vote Goes To:

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind"

Empire State of Mind is like a love song to the City of New York. Alicia Keys hits it out of the park with her powerhouse voice. The video is so great because it is like looking at a scrapbook of New York. I have personally never been to NYC, but this song just emphasizes the wonderment and feeling of home that New Yorkers have for their city. Awesome song, awesome collaboration.

Everyone Loves Noodles!

2010-08-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

So tonight I made a batch of Pancit noodles to bring along to a work potluck tomorrow. Pancit is a traditional Filipino noodle dish and is usually served at Filipino parties and celebrations. This is probably because it is fast and easy to make and can be cooked up in bulk quantities.

I've probably Americanized my versions of pancit when I make it, but it always gets eaten up bowl after delicious bowl. Tonight's batch was a strictly vegetarian dish since I'll be serving it to all my students at work and 2 of 9 are vegetarians. I hate to exclude people from the deliciousness.

Tonight's recipe included the following stir-fry of veggies:
6 cloves minced garlic
1 medium sized red onion, sliced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 medium zucchinis, sliced
1/2 head cabbage, thinly sliced

Here they are...everyone in the pool! I know - this is way more than what is traditionally used in pancit, but hey, I'm only half so I feel entitled to change things as needed. :)

I actually didn't throw them in all at once though. I started with the garlic in a bit of cooking oil and when the aromas started coming out I threw in the carrots and onions into the mix since they take a bit longer than the rest of the vegetables. Next were the zucchini and bell peppers followed by the mushrooms. At this point I seasoned the veggies with some soy sauce and a drizzle of store-bought teriyaki sauce (though I do prefer stir-fry sauce at this point). I added the cabbage last since it takes the least amount of time to cook and I like to keep it fairly crisp. I also poured in about a 1/2 cup of hot water to get some steam action going for the cabbage.

After the veggies were to the desired doneness, I drizzled on more teriyaki sauce, gave it a toss and them transferred the vegetables into a large bowl, which I set aside. I used the same pan to pour about 4 cups of hot water with a couple of vegetable bouillons in it. I used both Pancit Bihon noodles (the thin rice sticks, which had to be soaked in hot water about 15 mins prior to cooking) and Pancit Canton noodles which are flour noodles with a nice rich flavor to them. I like mixing the two types of noodles because it gives the dish more texture.

Once the vegetable stock was boiling, all the noodles went into the pan! Here we go:

The way my mom taught me to make the pancit noodles is to always use a flavored stock and only enough to absorb into the noodles. No draining necessary if you do it this way! It's better to start with a low amount of liquid add a little bit of hot water at time, if needed, to make sure you don't end up with sticky noodle soup. Once the water is absorbed and the noodles are soft, you can throw your veggies back in for one last toss before it is ready to serve. This batch was particularly big so I ended up splitting this process into two halves.

The end result is here:

I tried a little bit of the finished product and the noodles were really tasty and the veggies were fresh and crunchy. I did miss the bites of chicken that I usually include and I think next time I'm definitely making it with chicken. The vegetarians will just have to sit that one out.

Anne Rice Ditches Christianity

2010-07-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore Anne Rice's graceful departure from Christianity.

“For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian ... It's simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

As an ex-Mormon I can vouch for this type of spiritual confession. I spent over 20 years of my life trying to believe and wanting to belong. I don't belong because I believe our creator's greatest gift to us is free will and not the rules and control mechanisms that turn the cogs of organized religion. I'm a spiritual believer and I think we all take our own path. I applaud Ms. Rice for her decision to quit the church but not give up on faith.

Farewell Forever Lost

2010-05-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you have not watched the LOST series finale, then DO NOT PROCEED. I don't want you to be spoiled if you still want to watch it.

Naysayers and haters go back to your holes in the ground. The LOST finale is exactly how things should have ended. And actually I've been waiting for a show or a book or a movie to give us the sort of ending like this. It was sort of a Dark Toweresque / What Dreams May Come type of ending. What we've been calling the sideways world this whole season was not sideways at all, but a gathering place after their deaths (whenever it may have occurred) for the Losties to discover each other all once again and once that happened they were able to move on (to heaven? into the light of the island? it doesn't matter because it was beautiful and warm and wonderful!) When characters die in a story, I always wonder what happens to them after that. Do they reunite in heaven? Is heaven a real place or is it something we create for ourselves? I have an odd view of heaven that probably not many people share. I believe that the afterlife is a paradise that we create for ourselves - much like the heaven of What Dreams May Come. The "sideways" world was the place that the Losties created so that they could all find each other once again. In comparison to the ending of the Dark Tower (which please don't read on if you haven't read it or plan to read it or plan to watch the movie version when it comes out) it was like the people who had died were still living on and able to reunite in another place in the universe where they could be together.

I think that some LOST fans, especially the ones more interested in Island Mythology and the science fiction part of things, might be disappointed in the lack of answers that we got. But I think that the lack of answers is sort of what makes it all so fun to still think about. What was important was the characters - and really the characters were who I cared about the most. I've invested 6 years into getting to know Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, et al. and to see them together in the end was highly satisfying for me.

I also like how the producers gave us two endings. An ending to the "real" world and an ending in the "sideways" world. In the real world, some of the Losties make it off the island for good: Sawyer, Kate, Claire (to return to her son Aaron, finally!), Miles, Richard Alpert (who is finally aging now!) and Frank Lapidus (he is so Miami Vice! Lol). Left on the island alive and well are Rose and Bernard, Vincent, Hurley (now the island's protector) and Ben (#2 protector) and Desmond (who Ben says he can help Hurley find a way to get him home to his family). Jack finds himself mortally wounded and makes his way back to the bamboo field where he first found himself on the island. Vincent comes to keep him company and Jack sees the Ajira plane fly over, which gives him peace that his friends made it off the island. Jack's eye closes and that's the end of the real world. In sideways world, the end also comes full circle with Jack. He's the last to become "island enlightened" when he finally touches his father's coffin in the back of the church. Suddenly Christian Shepard appears alive and well and Jack realizes that all of this sideways world stuff has been purgatory all along and that the people who meant most to him in his life were gathered there to all move on together - into that light and warmth of forever.

I am satisfied with this finale - it exceeded my expectations of how it would all come to a close. There are still mysteries out there, but I think they will just serve as wonderful debate points about the series in the years to come. I'm not sure when I will watch the series all over again - it won't be soon, but I will someday. For now though, I can say goodbye and be happy with "The End".

Farewell to Lost: Jack

2010-05-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Jack. The hero, the leader, the doc, the man of science who may just turn out to be the man of faith. Over the course of the series I have hated, loved, and rooted for him. I loved him for all the lives he's saved (and those he understood he couldn't - RIP Boone). I hated him for being too stubborn to enjoy his life or the relationships he was in. And yet I've rooted for him all the way - from his heroic day on the beach when the plane crashed to his acceptance that he may soon become the island's protector.

I can't wait until we find out how Jack's story comes full circle. Here are some videos showing just how awesome Jack has been.

Farewell to Lost: Hurley

2010-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hurley is like the feel good character of the series. Every Hurley-centric episode was always lighthearted and fun to watch. His constant references to Star Wars and his constant use of the word "Dude" (Dude, I say dude all the time too) to his supposed bad luck because of the numbers makes Hurley just a ton of fun to watch.

I like that Hurley also served like the voice of the viewers. Questioning things that perhaps us Lost-theorizers would talk about. Like when they rediscovered "Adam and Eve" in the cave and wondered if maybe it was really him and Jack dead there because they had time traveled back to dinosaur times.

Here is one of my favorite Hurley scenes where he changes his attitude about his bad luck. Here he "makes his own luck" and casts the curse off of himself.

Book Recommendation: Under the Dome

2010-05-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Stephen King's most recent novel returns to some of his older styles with a massive cast of characters in this supernatural thriller.

When a mysterious dome suddenly shuts in the small town of Chester's Mill, good versus evil amongst the town people emerges quite suddenly. Tones of Salem's Lot were prevalent within this novel. It wasn't his best by far, however, King really sucks you in and makes you feel like you are under that dome and are part of the character's lives. His scenes of brutality, heartbreak and inner thoughts of the minds of the townspeople is mesmerizing, as always in his writing.

This addictive and entertaining tome is over 1000 pages, but a fun and satisfying read from start to finish.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Farewell to Lost: Desmond

2010-05-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Desmond is one of the great characters of LOST. While not entirely a main-main character, he is a key player in the series. From his emergence from his three year stay in the hatch to his attempted getaway on his sailboat and his mysterious survival of the blowing up of the hatch - his character was one that I both loved and was intrigued by. Desmond has only become more interesting as the series has progressed and it will be interesting to see how he ties it all up in the end. From the hatch explosion, he was able to see the future, he did some mental time traveling and now in season six he is sideways world enlightened and definitely has something up his sleeve that just may save on the Losties on the island.

Also, Desmond is a damn hot Scottie with a great accent! There is just something about him that makes him so likable. See you in another life, brotha! Compilation follows. :)

Farewell to Lost: Sawyer

2010-05-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

With just 3 1/2 hours left of Lost, I thought I'd do some farewell tributes to my favorite characters during the next week. On the top of the list: James "Sawyer" Ford.

Besides being a hot-as-fuck book nerd, Sawyer's character is my favorite because he is so complex and interesting. His journey from troubled conman on a revenge mission to his transformation over the course of island life to a man with friends and a loving relationship (RIP Juilet *sad face*), Sawyer is a man after my own heart!

Here are some great Sawyer compilations:

The nicknames he gives everyone are riddled with pop culture and literary references. I was sort of surprised in season 6, however, when Hurley mentioned Anakin (Skywalker) and Sawyer had no idea who he was. I guess Sawyer is more of a Trekkie.

I'm kind of hoping the last words spoken in the show are of Sawyer saying, "Son of a BITCH!"

your novel

2010-05-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

I think this is about me? :/

Ride in Style with a Couch Bike

2010-05-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

I seriously need one of these. If I rode one of these babies around my neighborhood people would be asking for rides and wondering where they could buy their own.

I should ask my mechanical engineering students to build me one.

More couch bikes here.

Muse(ic)

2010-05-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Tickets.

I love tickets. Tickets to movies. Tickets to broadway shows. Tickets to concerts. (We aren't talking the traffic/parking violation type here, people! I don't get those and I don't want them!).

My latest tickets are of the musical concert type. I decided to splurge a little on myself for my birthday and I bought tickets to see Muse in concert at Arco Arena on September 28. That is so, so far away. But it does give me the opportunity to go from a casual fan of Muse to a hardcore, educated, rabid Muse fangirl by the time summer ends.

I started off by picking up a copy of Black Holes and Revelations by Muse (I really actually went to the record store hoping to pick up a copy of The Resistance, but since Dimple is mostly used CDs, there were no copies on hand). I am extemely pleased that I started with this album, however, because it's so many wonderful things that I'm going to have to blog at least another couple paragraphs to explain it all to you!

First off, I'd like to just say that I'm mindblown that Muse is such a mainstream band. The best way I could describe their music is that it mashes classical, jazz, electronica, hard-fucking rock and a whole bunch of other stuff into the composition of their album. I could hear distinct influences from Pink Floyd, Queen and Radiohead. Muse is avant-garde. And I think that is why I'm really, really getting into loving them more than just as a casual fan.

While there are some amazing hit singles on this album (Supermassive Black Hole, Starlight, Knights of Cydonia) the album is really best enjoyed as a whole. That's the thing I love about some of these modern British bands - they really put a lot of effort into making an album cohesive. The opening song "Take a Bow" offers a super electronic space-rock type feel to set the tone of the album. Later though, the quieter and more Spanish influenced Hoodoo sets the album story up for the finale song Knights in Cydonia.

I also enjoy the quirkiness of the band as they don't take themselves too seriously and yet they are genius music makers. This is clearly evidenced in the music video for Knights in Cydonia. More mashing of genres here as they set their story in the wild west and bring in unicorns and laser guns at the end. It is funny as shit, but genius all at the same time. Enjoy:

Showtune of the Week: Bring on the Men

2010-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

From Jekyll and Hyde the Musical. This is Lucy singing a very entertaining song about how she handles the men in the bordello where she works. It's only audio - if I could have found video, it's really great. Lots of table dancing was involved.

Showtune of the Week: You Can't Stop the Beat

2010-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Since I love Broadway musicals, I'll be sharing a showtune each week!

This little gem is the Hairspray cast performing the finale number "You Can't Stop the Beat". I love that Matthew Morrison from Glee is in this - he's got some serious moves! Enjoy!

Meg Whitman: JUST SAY NO!

2010-03-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling politically biased today (moreso than usual!) and the more I hear about Meg Whitman and her grab for the governor's seat in California, the more I feel she is just another Arnold Schwarzenegger, except with lady parts (eww).

Before I even get into her campaign talking points, I'd like to mention the fact that as the former CEO of eBAY, Whitman is a ridiculously rich woman. Sort of like former blockbuster movie star Arnold. This automatically puts her out of touch with the regular California resident and her massive spending on her campaign (last reported at $4 per second) really ought to be turning them all off. It's like a repeat of the Schwarzenegger campaign - he who has the biggest pocketbook shall win! Just because you're rich and made a lot of money for yourself does not qualify you to be a governor.

Okay now that I've gotten my personal opinion out of the way about rich, power-hungry slimebags, I can move on to the real issue at hand - analyzing Meg's platform she's using in the race.

Whitman is running on the premise of three main points: create jobs, cut spending, fix education.

That sounds all warm and fuzzy at first glance, but when you look closer into her methods, it is clear that she really has no idea what the job of the governor really is about.

Create Jobs

It is NOT the governor's job to create jobs. So why she makes this her first priority is beyond me. Anyone with any knowledge of California state government should know that the Governor's job is to approve legislation, submit and approve the annual state budget and ensure that the laws of California are being upheld. Her promise to create jobs is basically a front to pushing her own agenda of cutting corporate taxes. If you read her website you will see that the only thing she talks about in the creation of jobs is cutting business taxes. Cutting taxes for businesses does not automatically ensure that people will get jobs. For all we know, the benefit from these tax cuts may go straight to the pockets of CEOs.

Cut Spending

I don't think Meg Whitman realizes that you cannot cut government spending without ignoring California laws. State agencies and departments have been created through legislation that has been passed and included into California law. This means that state workers are carrying out the laws of California and if you cut the spending on these programs, then the laws would not and could not be upheld. Many state agencies actually collect revenue and make money for the state, so cutting their budgets doesn't really seem like an effective way to rein in spending. A more effective way to control government spending is to ensure that new legislation has funding sources. Cutting government spending would be doing a disservice to the people of California.

What Meg does not understand is that public service employees are the real people who run the state of California. These are the people who teach our children, protect our neighborhoods and environment, administer services to the disabled, unemployed and endangered people in our communities. Public service positions are jobs that help hold up the economy and our society. We pay taxes for clean water, new roads, public schools, etc. It's a worthwhile investment to invest in upholding government laws.

Whitman further wants to defend the 2/3 majority vote required to pass the annual budget and make the legislature a part-time entity filled with "citizen legislators".

Nearly all other states in the United States pass their budgets on a simple majority vote. While it is true that democrats dominate the California political landscape and may have the power to pass budgets with their own agenda's in mind - a 2/3 majority vote consistently leads to gridlock each year that makes the budget passage late. When the budget is passed late - many IOUs are issued which digs the economy into deeper holes. A majority vote for budget passage does not mean taxes could be raised without a 2/3 vote - and I think she is implying that that is what will happen. It's absolutely not true.

Also, Meg's idea about citizen legislators is completely ridiculous. It takes years to learn about the ins-and-outs of government policy and to say that regular citizens should be legislators is like saying an actor is qualified to be a governor (ha). No but really, if you have a cop serving as a legislator and he votes to up his salary and then goes back to being a cop after his term is over - isn't that a conflict of interest? Furthermore, making the legislature part-time in a state where government policy is so complex would only lead to many special sessions being called and more staffers being hired to cover for time the legislators are not in Sacramento. The California legislature used to be part-time, but they were changed to full-time for the very reasons I just listed. And that was back in the 1960s - why should we move backwards 50 years?

Fix Education

Meg doesn't say much about HOW exactly she is going to fix education other than she wants more money directed into the classrooms. I think what she fails to realize is that the decline in public education in California has been overall impacted by Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program, which penalized schools that were under performing and rewarded schools that were performing best. Federal changes need to be made before state changes can really have an effect, but one way to make California schools better is to treat teachers to better pay. It's difficult to recruit the best and brightest to teach our children when teacher pay and job security are low. Teachers in California are required to get a post-graduate certificate (almost the equivalent to a master's degree) and are paid far less than those who go into other professions. I highly doubt it's on Meg's agenda to increase teacher salary, so I'm just going to assume she's just saying she'll fix education so that people who don't read into the substance of her campaign will think she is all about the children.

To me it is pretty clear that Meg Whitman knows very little about what the Governor's role is all about. I'm sure she's a brilliant business woman, but that doesn't mean she understands what is best for the people of California as a whole. We need a leader who will protect public services and who understands that being governor is not like being a CEO - your job isn't to make a buck, it is to adminster the law.

I'm not a writer unless I WRITE!

2010-03-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

I've been a bad, bad writer. Too much tv, too much blog reading, too much google reader...I'm a glutton here in the intellectual world. I consume and consume, but it's been far too long since I've "exercised" my writing rights. It's time to give back to the world. I'm just warming up again so excuse me if I'm a bit rusty and rambly.

Too much TV gluttony

Between the excitement of last fall's introduction of Glee to the ever increasing wonderfulness of Fringe and to the return of LOST and Big Love...I have to admit that I've been a bit TV obsessed of late.

It's probably no surprise to anyone that knows me that Glee quickly became my favorite TV show. Musicals are somewhat of an obsession to me, so put that on television covering my favorite power ballads and throw in some good looking people and I'm hooked. Sue Sylvester does not need health insurance; she cures all her illnesses with WILL POWER! (Will Schuester pun intended):

Fringe has a small cult following and for anyone not familiar with it, it's like X-files meets crime drama with an added bonus of sexy, snarky Joshua Jackson. My favorite thing about it is that it features an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. Anything that involves alt universes is awesome to me (think Donnie Darko, Stephen King's Dark Tower, the Matrix...hello!). Imagine somewhere in a dimension we can't get to - another you, another world that is almost the same but not exactly the same. Those people on the other side are trying to tamper with us and it's gonna get ugly. That's what I love so much about Fringe.

Onto LOST. I don't want to start talking about it too much because I'll end up going on and on and on forever about it. But I do want to mention they have an alt universe sort of thing going on here this season too. What the producers are touting as the "sideways" world. What if things had gone just slightly different in your lifetime? Would you still be connected to the same people and make the same choices, but just in a different context. I love that LOST is exploring that this season.

Finally, to end my rave on TV gluttony, I have to mention Big Love, for which the season ended last night. Bill has just been elected as a state senator and has outed himself and his three suburban polygamist wives. Meanwhile wife number 2 has married the fiance of ex-wife (number 4) in order to keep him in the country for a baby conceived with the ex-wife before they even got married! There was plenty of murders, arm chopping, gay sex and suicide to keep me highly entertained for the past 10 weeks. Now I just can't wait to see how the world in BIG LOVE reacts to these public polygamists next season.

Blogs and Google Reader

The great thing about Google Reader is that I can browse the internets at lightning speed and rarely ever have to deviate off the page in order to read blogs from all over. The bad thing about it is that it kills my productivity when I should be doing my own blogging and writing. So here's just a quick hit list of blogs I've been following and enjoying very much! (and is also where I find marvelous things like BACON CANDLES!)

WebUrbanist - This is by far my favorite website of late. Their tagline is "sensational, educational, inspirational art, design, photography and visual culture." Simply put, I think they just find cool stuff and put it together in a great way! Topics range from vintage advertising to scary roads around the world to staircases you can slide down!

io9 - This is like the mecca of all websites for geek culture. They run articles from sci-fi to real science to fantasy. They showcase artists, space porn, reviews on geek movies old and new. So many of the things I am interested in are featured here!

Serious Eats - I try to pretend like I'm a foodie, but really I'm just a foodie living vicariously through food porn sent to me from the far reaching corners of the internet. Serious Eats is one of my favorite food-blogs. They do recipes, cooking tips, restaurant reviews, hot dog of the week (this is a personal favorite) and just really cover a broad range of food topics. It always makes me hungry.

There are more, but we'll get to those another day. I think this was a good warm up bloggery session for me. If I get comments, I may just feel motivated to do more. :P Until then, long days and pleasant nights.

Holiday Countdown

2008-11-14T09:07:00.000-08:00

For some reason, the holiday season - no matter how much I look forward to it and want to be all cheery about it - brings me down. To me I suppose the holidays are much more about family and less about gifts (maybe because my family has never been affluent enough to really get me much on Christmas; or maybe it's because no one knows me well enough to know what $10 item I will go nuts for). This year though, I want to force myself into some Christmas cheer. I haven't decorated my own tree in at least 3 or 4 years, I don't have a single Christmas CD and it's been far too long since I've gone to see the Nutcracker ballet or any Christmas event for that matter.

So this year I am going to push myself to get into the Christmas spirit. It should be good for morale, since this has been a long year with many challenges and changes. So here are my holiday season goals:

Send out Christmas cards: I do this every year, but I want to be sure and do it again.
Buy a fresh-cut tree and decorate it with 100% new/color-coordinated decorations: This will be my first tree with my boyfriend (we didn't get one last year), so I want it to be OUR stuff that goes on it.
Listen to Christmas music: I like Trans-siberian Orchestra and some of the more classical Christmas music like Handel's Messiah. The Twelve Days of Christmas? Not so much...

I also have thrown myself into the volunteer ring to help with my work Christmas party. I am the talent coordinator and so I have to find an hours worth of acts, write a skit for the managers and likely MC the show. It ought to be fun since I like using my planning skills to put together events. My worst fear though is that people will be bored!

To finish out my holiday post, I'm going to do a short-list of my most coveted Christmas gifts (mostly so my boyfriend can get the hint-hint!).

Kodak EasyShare Camera - $89.99 at Best Buy
Apple® - iPod® nano 8GB MP3 Player - Black - $149.99 at Best Buy
Lion King the Musical Tickets - $25-80 per ticket
Gift cards for Borders, Barnes and Noble, Ikea, Target, or Macy's

Time to wash the election off and get back to my true love: NOVEL WRITING!

2008-11-05T13:09:00.000-08:00

I'm actually right on target with my Nanowrimo novel. As of this very moment, I have 8,225/50,000 words, which means I technically only need to write another 20 or so words today to stay on the pace of 1,667 words per day.

Everything is actually coming along smoothly and plot is appearing in all sorts of places. And since I am a little bit ahead with my word count, I'll take a little bit of leisure time to introduce some fun elements I am using in my story.

Aurora - Idina Menzel has the exact look for what I want Aurora to look like. True, Idina is a bit old to be playing a teenager, but you get the idea. There is a certain exotic, unique beauty to her and both a feminine and strong side to her.

Aurora's castle - This photo of Torrechiara castle in Parma, Italy is similar to what I envision in my story.

Enrian's Ring - This is how I envision her father's ring that is used at the beginning of my story for the fortune teller to use as she reveals to Aurora the truth about how her father died.

Box of divination treasures - It's pretty much a cigar box filled with cool divination stuff!

Scrying mirror - Kinda like a crystal ball, only a lot more portable. This was in the box.

In a state where we favor our chickens over our gays

2008-11-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

I am both woefully depressed and wildly ecstatic about the election results from last night. I hate those days when I'm so ambivalent that the very act of not being able to decide my mood is exhausting.

The call has been made and Proposition 8 has been passed. That means that once the election is certified, gay marriage will no longer be allowed in the State of California. Now, whether the gay marriages that were already performed will still be honored is a question yet to be answered (I hope yes). Ironically enough, Californians voted overwhelmingly in favor to give farm animals more room to roam around. More rights for chickens, less rights for homosexuals. The logic of it all is maddening!

I am deeply saddened that the choice of Californians was to ELIMINATE a civil right from a group of people. What troubles me further is that the majority of these backers are people from the Mormon church. I am ashamed that I once attended a church with such an ominous group of intolerant people. This, unfortunately, pushes me even further away from my family and friends who are still true believers in Mormonism. I guess I just can't believe that God would be in favor of oppressing those who are different from us or taking away someone's choice to make a decision for themselves.

At least there is a silver lining to this that should eclipse this woeful defeat of equal marriage...

THANK FUCKING GOD Barack Obama has won the presidency. He's going to be an amazing leader. Hope and change are on the way!

Must Focus on the Nanowrimo

2008-10-27T13:40:00.001-07:00

There are so many political issues to talk about (Larry King Live's comedy panel, Sarah Palin continuing to be an idiot, right-wing conservatives still trying to take away civil rights! oh my...), but I must turn my mental focus on Nanowrimo just for a bit.

I realized today, as I was browsing the Nanowrimo forums, that I have NO ONE in my supporting cast. So far all I know is that I have my characters (1) Aurora, a headstrong teen runaway who was heir to a grand empire, but decided to skip out when her incestual uncle who killed her father wanted to marry her and (2) Avery, a snarky but handsome captain of a pirate ship who is all about the money and the treasure (duh). My other characters will undoubtedly be the ship's crew and some inhabitants of the islands where the two main characters go searching for their treasure. But so far I don't have any ideas, so it may be off to the character generators for me.

Another thing I need to think about is the matter of when I will be able to find TIME to work on this project. This Friday night at midnight will probably not be when I start because A: it is Halloween and B: I will probably be too inebriated to remember to start the damn thing. But hey, we'll see. Anyway - my best chance for solid writing is going to be on Sundays since those are my "ME" days where I have the house to myself. I should also have sporadic time at work to work on it too - but I work in a cubicle with almost no privacy and for some reason I need privacy to write fiction. Tuesdays and Thursdays (except for Thanksgiving) should be good to me since my boyfriend has school those evenings, which means almost 2 hours of free time to work on the novel. Oh and I suppose November 10th and 11th will be good writing days as well since most everyone will be out of the office on the 10th and I have the 11th (Veteran's Day off). So, I think all those big chunks of time will help me immensely in getting this thing written!

I just hope when November 1st rolls around, I don't end up like teh kitteh seen here:

Mormons and Marriage: A little overzealous, no?

2008-10-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Seeing as how I grew up in the Mormon church, I still have contact with many of the people I knew there through Facebook and I'm seeing it pop up everywhere - people joining no on Prop 8 groups; plastering no on Prop 8 banners in place of their profile photos. Every house I pass by that has a Yes on Prop 8 banner in front of it is assumed to be under the influence of Mormon culture. These are the people I am writing this blog to: please - don't hate people because they aren't like you; don't vote on a discriminatory measure because you think you are doing something good for your church. It will hurt no one for same-sex marriage to be upheld in California (it's been legal for almost 6 months now - has the apocalypse come? NO!), but if this proposition is passed, then discrimination, hate, and oppression will prevail; and isn't that counter to what the Mormon church teaches about treating others kindly and God giving us all free agency to choose?

I went to my parents' house the other day and my mom had a stack of leaflets about why people should vote yes of Prop 8. When I inquired as to where they had picked up all this stuff (because I thought it was church policy to not tell people how they should vote on a political issue - especially on church property). My dad told me that they handed all the propoganda out on the street just outside of the church property. How dispicable of it was of whomever decided to hand these out to the ward members - pushing politics at church is just something that rubs me the wrong way. And so now, I think, the notion among Mormon people is that they are required to blindly vote yes on this proposition because it somehow will be detrimential to their own view on traditional family.I've browsed many of the websites, both for and against this proposition (especially the ones with LDS viewpoints) and I know without a doubt that even if I were still active in the church, I would still choose to vote against Proposition 8. This is not about protecting the institution of marriage - NOTHING about marriage will change if same-sex couples continue to marry in California. This proposition is only about excluding people to a civil right and I can't stand up for a cause like that. I believe, and always have believed, that all people should be afforded equal rights: first it was women, then it was blacks, and now it is time for the GLBT community.

I would encourage those who are planning to vote Yes on Prop 8 to read some of the reasons why others are voting no (including those LDS members of your own church). And then ask yourself if you want to be an oppressor of civil rights. I found these websites to be straight forward and respectful of the issues at hand:

http://mormonsformarriage.com/

http://www.lds4gaymarriage.org/

The Sticky Subject of Marriage (for all)

2008-10-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

The upcoming election has been, decidedly, on the forefront of my mind these past couple weeks. And aside from this historical presidential election, we have a hotly contested initiative here in California that is garnering quite a bit of attention with both support and opposition. Proposition 8, if passed, would eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry (currently it IS legal for same-sex couples to marry in California). The supporters of this proposition say that gay marriage is an attack on the traditional family and that they don't want their elementary school children being taught that marriage between heterosexual couples is the same as marriage between homosexual couples. Opponents of the proposition see it as an attack on civil rights and a block in the struggle towards equality for all people - no matter what their orientation may be. It's a polarizing issue that affects people on a deeply emotional level and the outcome on November 4th will be painful for either side that loses.

So anyway, I am voting against proposition 8 because I am all about giving equal rights to people. For those that support the ban on gay marriage - their lives and families will go on as normal if this proposition doesn't pass. They will still be able to choose to get married in churches and have traditional weddings - it changes nothing about the sanctity of marriage for them. On the other hand, for same-sex couples who want to get married, if this ban does pass, it will mean they will not have the privilege to "be married" to the person they love. Sure, domestic partnerships grant almost the same rights in California to heterosexual married couples - but it just isn't the same to say "I now pronounce you domestic partners" as it would be to pronounce them wife and wife or husband and husband.

Unrelated to the outcome of the proposition, the Federal government still would not recognize these same-sex marriages for purposes of immigration or tax-filing status - meaning that there is still quite a ways to go before same-sex marriage would be anywhere near the same as heterosexual marriage. So why not make this move forward? It's a small step and California is only the third state to grant this right to same-sex couples. Churches need not be afraid - ministers are not forced to marry those with same-sex marriage licenses. If this is separatation of church and state, then leave it up to the conservative churches to ban same-sex marriages within their walls and leave it up to the courts and the law to allow marriage for any loving couple who wants to live till death do us part.

November on the Horizon

2008-10-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Nanowrimo is quickly approaching, so I suppose it is time for my annual pep talk to myself via blog. This will be my third year of attempting Nanowrimo. Back in 2006 I won this thing with flying colors. I think I wrote something like 58,000 words in the first 21 days and finished my entire story early and then never really got around to editing it properly (like I wanted!). And then last year in 2007 I sputtered out after about 13,000 words and just plain gave up. For some reason killing off all the characters and then reincarnating them into a completely different universe didn't quite feel right to me.

So anyway, this year I am going back to my Nanowrimo roots. My character from my first nano novel is one that I just can't get out of my head and I most certainly have more of her story to tell, so I'm going to be doing a prequel of what happened to her leading up to the novel I wrote in 2006. She's kind of like a female version of Hamlet - except less of a weenie. Her uncle has murdered her father and she's decided to go AWOL on her country in favor of (no, not college), but a pirate/criminal lifestyle. She's the adrenaline rush kind of gal - not the sit and be a pampered princess type at all.

My novel should involve a good deal of piracy, sex, drugs, murder, conniving royals, soft hearted conmen, and bad mouthed women wearing too-tight corsets on ships in addition to all the fantasy and swashbuckling pirate elements I can conjure up in 30 days. I'm so excited to be going back to this world that I can barely stand to wait! I must control myself until November 1.

I don't have an outline yet, or any ideas for my opening scene. Heck, I don't even know the time frame in which I want to tell my story. I know so much about this character and her life but I just haven't put it all down on paper yet.

My Vote Goes to...

2008-10-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

This will be the third presidential election that I'll be participating in. I was first able to vote at the ripe age of 18--I was a freshman in college and still under the heavy influence of my religious background. The year was 2000 and I don't remember why I felt voting for Bush would be a good idea, but that is, indeed-while completely embarassing to admit, who I ended up voting for.

Oh how my political views have changed. I used to think that my "Republican" political views were the correct way to go. I was a good (err, relatively) church-going Mormon gal who believed that abortion was bad and that gays should not get married. But did I believe those things because I really took the time to ponder them and make the decision myself, or was I just going with what my parents thought was the best way to vote? I didn't think about those things back then, but looking back on that era, I wasn't yet the loose shaking, free-thinker I am today.

It's not that I wanted to feel like a rebel. In the time between that first virgin voter ballot and where I stand today are the things I've learned on the road along the way. I went to college, I shunned my religion (and all organized religion for that matter), I met gay people - discovered many of whom were already my friends, I saw homelessness and mental illness on the streets when I traveled to work, I divorced my return missionary Mormon husband, I contemplated abortion (thank goodness it was a false alarm), and then I realized: all this is happening to just me, so what about everyone else? Who is going to help them? Who exactly will understand my--OUR--side?
It was a slow transition actually, because my family had always shown such disdain for "left wing liberals" but when the elections would come around, I found myself frantically searching for the alternative to voting Republican. And it wasn't about the party system - it was about lining up my views and making decisions based on what MY opinions are - not any one political ideology. Gay marriages? YES. A woman's right to choose? YES YES YES. Taking care of the environment and coming up with alternative energy sources? ABSOLUTELY, YES. I don't think these views make me a democrat; however, they do make me proud to say, yes, I am a liberal, albeit one who votes fairly independently and sometimes against what you might think I would (that's for another post, another day).

So with that little bit of background on my political evolution, I'm happy to say I will be voting for Barack Obama for President. We need someone in office who will continue to protect civil rights, improve the battered economy and find ways to move the country FORWARD into the future. It's not reform we need, it's innovation and that's where I feel Barack Obama will come into play.