Showing posts with label roundup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roundup. Show all posts

08 June 2008

Weekly Roundup: Filthy Gorgeous

More cleaning out of the del.icio.us, two categories this time:

Kitcheny
Techie
And a reminder: for getting back into yourself, sweat and endorphins help. Filthy feels gorgeous. And I am definitely filthy.



Lastly and very, very importantly, a stunningly happy birthday to Sac. Filthy/gorgeous indeed. I know you had a wonderful day.

01 June 2008

Weekly Roundup: Milestone Week Edition

The first week of June brings me good things. High school graduation - 12 years ago Wednesday. The start of my blog - 6 years ago Saturday. My current job - 5 years ago tomorrow. And birthdays of five lovely people - Matt, Kristin, Sac, Derek and Melissa. How much goodness can you fit into one week, you ask?

All kinds of goodness, clearly. And already for this week I've got lovely stories to tell. Oh, and I've got Plans. With a capital P. So stay tuned.

In the meantime... some beautiful things.
And some useful SoMe stuff while I'm here.
(And lastly, a geek laugh. On the "oldest" page of bookmarks I found this. You think I can let go of it?)

18 May 2008

Ever-Increasing Possibilities

...for public humiliation.

I kid, I kid.

...well, sort of. I ran my first 5K.

...well, sort of. It's not my first, it's just the first time I ever tried to run one. And I didn't; I broke down and walked for a couple of minutes midway through. And my time was unspeakably dismal -

...well, sort of. It's speakable, it's just dismal -

Wow. And it's actually wrong on the official site, I just noticed. Two of our group had the same first name, we finished one after the other, and somehow they mixed up our times.

ANYWAY, my point is, because I DO have one, and it IS an optimistic one, and I'm NOT focusing on the bad stuff like it sounds like I am, my point is that I DID IT, and I truly AM happy about it. I don't have to be scared of it anymore, and I can cross it off my goals list, and I can just do it again and do it faster next time!

2500703090_77f8a9b5d4_o
Originally uploaded by Saranne03

And there were some perks, even besides all that. An unbelievably gorgeous morning with great people who were ridiculously proud of me, and who in two cases did their own record-ish things for themselves - made it all pretty nice.

And really, how often do you get the chance to get schooled by an eight-year-old in two different sports before brunch? It's got to be healthy to get your ego that firmly in check.

(Although that's usually accomplished pretty effectively just by having the ever-awesome Tracy around.)

11 May 2008

Weekly Roundup: Quo Vadimus?

Sports Night was truly a great show. But now I'm done with the series, meaning that I have to give the box set back to Karen. (And see if anyone but Casey finds my obsession attractive, or just another line item on my list of truly dorky tendencies.)

Anyway, back to Sunday's list of links to get you through the week. And it's a long one, because I've been reading a lot and not telling you about any of it. I'm secretive like that.

Not really. Mostly it's just a massively overdue and uncategorized brain dump. But it sounds better the other way. Far more serendipitous. And duplicitous. Serenduplicitous.

Yeah, I'm done here. Happy week.
And if you get through all this and you're looking for four minutes of total surrealism, go YouTube "you're not my father wtf". Trust me on this.

13 April 2008

Weekly Roundup: Wanna Be on Top?

I may possibly have watched just about all of Cycle 8 of America's Next Top Model.

I can't move without popping a hip, I'm smiling with my eyes, and am seriously considering a pixie cut.

I wonder if the damage is permanent.

So no links for you this Sunday, just some chitchat. Because my brain is mush. Partly because of Tyra - seriously, though, I love her so much - but also because I'm straightup sleepy. It's been a great weekend (ending with a morning with Kerrin today and my very first bacon-egg-and-cheese bagel).

For starters, I got to see a great big bunch of friends that I never get to see enough. It was, in a word - if an overused word - "delightful". A group of the coolest, most impressive people I know, just hysterical and chill and fun.

I hate that I'm on the wrong side of the state from Manhattan, but times like this weekend remind me how much the trip is worth it.

Saturday I got up early and got an awful lot done right away. When a day starts off like that, you know it's going to be good. The weather was gorgeous - finally spring. (Even if it's gone again today and I'm freezing. Sigh.) And my father and his fiancee have begun moving his stuff out of what will be (in six weeks OH MY GOD) my condo. Which realization makes me want to shriek and jump up and down in a very not at all mature enough to be a homeowner way.

And then I went out to get the mail and didn't make it back inside for the rest of the day, because I ended up laughing myself silly on the lawn with my neighbors. Delicious rum concoctions were involved. And two enthusiastic entrepreneurs made at ten dollars washing cars while making disapproving comments about how goofy the adults were being.

(So my car is clean, too. Mostly. They aren't tall enough yet to get the roof, but what do you want for $2?)

It's exciting to realize that the house might really be going to belong to me, and to be reminded how nice my little street is. I complain that it's far away from a lot of the things and people I love, and that's true, but there is a lot that's great too. I can't wait to start making it my own.

I'm terrified that I've written that whole paragraph, because I'm scared of jinxing something. Also, I'm afraid that I'm being horrifically girly in my nesting and gushing. So I'll stop. Tired and happy and just - looking forward to things.

30 March 2008

Weekly Roundup: Girl Stuff

  • A lovely few minutes on women's shoes in narrated photos from Paris fashion shows. What I mostly notice is how prevalent black opaque tights are. (via)
  • Star Wars as explained by a three-year-old girl. She's right: the shiny guy always worries. (via)
  • What is it about My Little Ponies lately? They're everywhere.

Hi from Chicago, where I'm here, had a hysterical night that ended up here, and am working from here. Yesterday I went for a run along the lake and am so glad I did, because today it's too foggy to even see the lake. Today? Work, catching up, History Channel documentary on the 1968 election, IM, and yoga.

16 March 2008

Weekly Roundup: Recaplet

Two weeks in, 30 is pretty fantastic. It's been just celebrating, so far, really... birthday, dinner party, Eddie Izzard (who has a great article in the Times - oooh and he's coming back. Any takers??), Cowboy Mouth, step-sister-to-be's birthday party, St. Patrick's Day parade... what's not to love?

And today? Today is Pajama Day. Life is good.

Next weekend is Easter. And the one after that, I'm disappointed that I won't be competing at states, but I do have a lot going on in Chicago where I'm going instead. And then it's April. When did THAT happen?

02 March 2008

Weekly Roundup: Monsters, Songsters, Actors, Flacks. and Tech Support

  • Public relations is mostly just about being real. A breakthrough, that.
  • Patrick Stewart as Macbeth? Ooooh, yes please.
  • In Japan, March 3 is Girls' Day, or Hina-matsuri - "hina" meaning girl or princess. March 3 is my birthday, and "Sarah" means princess. (No point. I just liked that.) Also, Ronan Keating and I share a birthday. In addition to our soulmate connection, of course. (I digress.)
  • Cookie Monster on NPR. Fabulous.
  • flickrvision and twittervision. Totally addictive mashups.
  • Sirens magazine. Biting, funny, true.
  • Running iTunes off an external hard drive is not working for me. I am afraid to investigate further tonight, but it appears the library is suddenly missing all kinds of random songs... again. If I have to copy the whole thing over from the backup external... again... I shall be displeased. It takes days to sort out the duplicates. Drop me a note if you can help/commiserate.

22 February 2008

Weekly Roundup: Like, Love, and Everything In Between

Some real links for you this week, because it's been a long time and I'm feeling some Catholic guilt over it all.

18 February 2008

Weekly Roundup: President's Day Edition

This has nothing to do with President's Day... apart from that being my excuse for posting Monday, not Sunday. Long weekend, you know.

Also, no fun links. Lazy long weekend, you know.

And it's hard to make it a recap, either, because this weekend was a whole lot of things. But altogether one of the best in a long time.

So instead: here's some random nonsense that I've been up to.

One: I'm officially in a state championship tournament. (Because I am (officially) out of my mind.) And as of four hours ago, I'll be doing something completely new at it. (I'm terrified.) It's exciting. (I want to throw up.) It'll be fun. (Maybe. But mostly terrifying.) I can't wait. (For it to be over.)

Two, and completely different: the 2008 season is out at the SToNJ:
  • Comedy of Errors starts April 30
  • Amadeus starts May 28
  • The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) starts at St. E's Greek amphitheatre June 18 (yes, the Reduced Shakespeare Company's play - and one of the coolest spaces ever)
  • King Lear starts July 2 (with Daniel Davis as Lear)
  • Private Lives starts Aug 6
  • Streetcar Named Desire starts Sep 10
  • Romeo & Juliet starts Oct 15
  • (and the Christmas show, TBD)
Same as last year... I subscribe, so if you'll be in the area, tell me. Tickets are roundabout $35 again. It's an amazing company.

Three, lastly, and still differenter yet: as Karen points out, watching the original "Casino Royale" was like being on six kinds of drugs at once. And then watching an awful nonsensical movie. From the inside of a Surrealist painting. Upside down.

Even the synopsis is completely incoherent. It was... there are no words. It was jaw-droppingly jaw-dropping.

If you can enlighten us, please do. If not, please don't ever watch it. Because I love you.

25 January 2008

Weekly Roundup: Because I Owe You One

  • Quite a few friends have lost phones recently and made me remember how important it is to have a contact backup. I use Verizon's Backup Assistant.
  • I got a Traveler IQ of 100 - that's through level 8 with 252965 points and a smug Naval aviator scoffing over my shoulder. How about you?
  • Check out Scott Wade's Dirty Car Art.
  • Most kids want to be a doctor or a teacher or a fireman when they grow up. I wanted to be a Thundercat. (I didn’t. As you may have noticed.) But I loved finding these outtakes ten years later. And re-finding them ten years after that.
  • My new favorite artist is Elliott Puckette. I'm not usually a big abstract fan, but I love her work.

12 January 2008

Weekly Roundup: Sweet Things


Baby bears are irresistable cute. (And if you speak German you can name the baby.)

- - -


Was Ashton Kutcher always hiding those triceps under his ironic t-shirts?

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I've loved "Elvis Ain't Dead" for a couple of months - and it finally occurred to me to see what else Scouting for Girls had. All their songs are adorable.

- - -

A melancholy little article about how we struggle to find someplace to call home, and to give that to others.

- - -

Looking for something extra sweet? Check out Two Smart Cookies. You know you want some.

02 December 2007

Weekly Roundup: Multiple Personality Edition

Idle Curiosity asks...
  • How much does it hurt after you get kneed in the quad by someone almost a foot bigger than you? Sub-question: is it weird to find it comforting that your leg hurt his knee, too?
  • How elderly are you when someone who was in kindergarten when you were in college now has a college boyfriend of her own?
  • For serious, do there need to be American Girl history dolls devoted to the far-off era of the 1970s?
Voice of Experience answers...
  • Even more than you'd have thought. Also, no it isn't.
  • Very. But that's okay.
  • No. But perhaps this is additional proof of the elderly-ness.
Music Snob notes that...
Serious Note points out...
  • That if you donate $3 to DarfurFast, you can protect a Darfuri civilian for a year. It's a guard for a mother to collect cooking firewood without being raped or killed by militia. On December 5, give up one of your little luxuries and send the money here.
Amateur Psychologist decides...
  • Sarah will now get back to decking her halls, and will try not to be too topsy-turvy and happy-sad because it's been a long weekend full of quite a lot of stuff.

11 November 2007

Weekly Roundup: Playlist Edition

I'm alone, which means I'm singing. Here's some of what's on my "songs of the week" playlist....

You maybe have noticed that I have a thing for pop (see also Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"). Really more of a shameless, flagrant, head-over-heels adoration. Therefore:
  • Ashley Tisdale, "He Said She Said." YouTube.
  • Colbie Caillat, "Bubbly." YouTube.
  • Rooney, "When Did Your Heart Go Missing." YouTube.
But I'm not usually a massive fan of covers or live versions. However, you maybe also have noticed that if I make a statement I am generally going to cross it at some point. Therefore:
  • Lemar and Jamelia, "Addicted to Love," from the 2005 Brits. Download.
  • Plain White T's, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." Download.
I have always, however, been a huge fan of the throwback. Therefore:
  • L.L. Cool J, "Around the Way Girl." YouTube.
  • Run DMC, "Run's House." YouTube.
If you're looking for longer distractions, I just added Mickey Factz "Heaven's Fallout" to "albums of the week". I mostly can't be bothered with the unsigned-artist thing, but it's growing on me enough to give it a chance.

And before that, the "Across the Universe" soundtrack. I didn't like it much till I saw the movie. Now... it's another of those flagrant head-over-heels things. I like those.

21 October 2007

Weekly Roundup: Would You Like a Little Whine With Your Videos?


I feel entirely out of touch with reality. For starters, I'm sunburned. Ridiculously, patchily, unattractively sunburned. At the end of October. And not from being on vacation. I spent Saturday with Rinnie at the Hunt and had a great time. But today I'm just off, I'm sleepy, I spent today doing errandy sorts of things which is good, but I have no idea what's going on in the world, I leave too early tomorrow morning for DC and then the rest of my week is kind of scrambled. And I'm writing run-on sentences.

But I have a weekend of financial glory and supreme relaxing and rock climbing and fabulous people to look forward to at the end of it. One in which I WILL wear sunblock.

Yawn. Off to pack.

03 October 2007

Bits and Pieces

So sometimes, I write something down fast and save it as a draft blog so I won't forget it. And then I'll pick it up again later and write something totally scintillating and hysterical and incisive.

Right? Well. Sometimes. Or, I'll realize I have rather a lot of those lying around and I should probably start fresh.

So, in a fit of housecleaning, here they all are. Some of them are probably years old. It's pretty embarrassing, and I come off looking like a complete schizophrenic. Whatever. Fresh start. Think of them as a peek into my curly little head. I offer no explanation, no elaboration, no elucidation. Go for it.

************

Best movie kisses
  • Kyra Sedgwick and John Travolta in the kitchen in Phenomenon even though I don't like him, or even that movie
  • Lucia Muniz and Colin Firth in the restaurant in Love Actually but really just the whole movie
  • Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan on the stairs in The Thomas Crown Affair but yeah, the whole movie too
  • Franka Potente and Matt Damon in the bathroom in The Bourne Identity, "
  • Angeline Jolie and Brad Pitt in the rain in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, "
  • Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfayden at the end of Pride & Prejudice

************

Passive Aggressive Notes

************
  • You know you're Catholic when you misread a sign for "Quilt Shop" as "Guilt Shop."
  • You can order cell phone wallpaper from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
  • How much is our emerging "Perez Hilton working out of a coffee shop" lifestyle just a return - or at least an attempt to fit our 21st century careers back - to our old-fashioned "cafe in the plaza" European lifestyles of centuries ago?
  • Best thing someone's said to me recently: "Good luck with your artistry" - when I didn't think I was being particularly artistic.
  • People who have achieved world domination, based on a recent unscientific sampling: Justin Timberlake, Chuck Taylor, Bob Marley, and whoever invented Crocs.
************

Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild
The Dark Is Rising series -
The Chronicles of Narnia series - C.S. Lewis
Five Children and It - E. Nesbit
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Secret Garden
The Little Princess
The Anne of Green Gables series and everything by L.M. Montgomery
The Four-Story Mistake
Bridge to Terabithia

************

It was a never-ending story... with no luck dragon.

************

The way you smile when you look at me
The way my hand feels in yours
The way your shoulders fill out your t-shirt
The way your jeans sit on your hips
The way you talk to a little kid
Whether you hold the door for me
If you can make me feel like I can dance

************

Truth number one: mornings come too early.
Truth number two: apart from once or twice a year, I don't drink anything caffeinated.

So how do I wake up? Really loud, really, really, really cheesy music.

Why - you ask - which songs? Because I must do this as well! Help me!

Certainly, I reply. And I'm not just doing this because I'm low on ideas for posts, either. Nope. It's just that the people catching me singing at the top of my lungs and bopping around? They're missing out. And they? They could be you. So yup. I'm all about the public service. Not at all about the desperate for content. Nope. Not here.

And fortunately, for you, I am also connoisseur of the cheesy music.

Buckcherry, Crazy Bitch. Especially good for when you still have hoarse sleepy voice.
Gia Farrell, Hit Me Up. For when you feel like a penguin. And who doesn't.
Dutch featuring Crystal Waters, My Time.
Avril Lavigne, Girlfriend.
Las Ketchup, Asereje. Only if you can do the hand jive.
Going Out of My Head, Fatboy Slim. The combination of the guitar riff and the Kaoss pad distortion is truly ideal for seeing how loud your speakers get.

************

I am one of Hallmark's best customers.

I'm a dork. You knew this. But I love the idea of somebody I like opening something that makes them happy.

In my defense, I do hate all that other Hallmark tchotchke crap. And I don't own a card organizer or anything, I promise. But yeah. I'm a soppy girly goofball. I know.

All of which to explain that I really loved these ideas on... alternative greeting cards.
  • Under-communicated sentiments from the fabulous finslippy, one of my favorite new places

************

I hate finding street parking, but I love parallel parking.
I'm more of a morning person than a night person, but I hate getting up.
I hate Pennsylvania, but a lot of people I love live all over that darn state.

Hope nothing you're served is anything like a Squirrel Melt.

http://www.jeremybroomfield.com/

Trading Spaces. Frank and Ty, after eating dog biscuits:
Frank: Do you have the urge to chase a cat now?
Ty: I always have the urge to chase the cat, if you know what I mean.
Justin and Britney duet

"The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash" - which I never read, just saw on "Reading Rainbow." I can hear Levar Burton reading it out loud in my head.

I can't find the Polaroid commercial where the kids (including Tobey Maguire, apparently) make a family-tree poster for their grandparents. YouTube failed me.

************

First concert

The very first Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden, December of I think 1995. Not sure - maybe 1994. Bon Jovi, Green Day, Melissa Etheridge, Indigo Girls, and a few other bands. And I met my first lesbians that night.

First album
The California Raisins, "I Heard it on the Grapevine." I got it for Christmas with a My First Sony Walkman. I was 10, so I remember being a little embarrassed because I felt that I was too old for a goofy red kid Walkman.


My first Sony
Originally uploaded by rogiro

I guess it was just underpaid singers doing Motown covers, but it's why I still love "Dancing in the Streets". I also got New Kids on the Block "Hangin' Tough" that year. O, the shame.

**********

30 September 2007

Weekly Roundup: Life Edition

Friday: Simplifying me.
My closet now has wind whistling through it, thanks to the Cheeses.

Saturday: Disarming me.
Playing model in Brooklyn for Bill. (Extra points if you know who the next day's model is.)


Sunday: Girlyfying me.
Tea and massages (I am so sore, it was perfect) and shopping with the Cheeses. Also a quick phone call with Matt, sounding more cheerful.

It was a wonderful weekend. Simply lovely old friends - disarmingly engaging new ones - girly splurges - splendid times altogether. I'm a lucky girl.

Weekly Roundup: Links Edition

Erin: do either of these work?

This makes me laugh every time. It's the kind of couple I love to be around. The kind I want to be.



One in four American adults didn't read a single book last year? Really? I completely agree with Jessica (of the Fug Girls): that is incredibly depressing.

Even if you can't get Converse as cool as mine (because I got mine in Prague 1) you can make your own, like Kristin did, which is also pretty cool.

If you geek out on maps, try Wayfaring.

Calypso Cards makes funny cards. Albertine Press makes beautiful cards.

I love me some Oscar Wilde. But I did not love his fairy tale.

If you have an old cell phone, drop it off or mail it for free (that's what I'm doing, since I'm incapable of remembering to drop them off)to Call to Protect to help a domestic violence agency.

Get yourself a shopping spree day at Macy's with up to 20% off on October 13 by making a $5 donation to Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New Jersey. Funds provide colposcopy equipment to help women prevent cervical cancer. I am a very big believer in this organization. (I used to volunteer at the Flemington center.) I am also a big believer in shopping, lately. So: good stuff, good cause. Go get your coupon at a center:
  • 575 Main Street, Hackensack
  • 40 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood
  • 349 Route 31 South in the Countryside Plaza Complex, Flemington
  • 196 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown
  • 30 North Morris Street, Dover
  • 203 South Main Street, Manville
  • 8 Moran Street, Newton
  • 123 Park Avenue, Plainfield
  • 1150 Dickinson Street, Elizabeth
  • 402 Coventry Place, Phillipsburg