not again...

Geraldo Rivera is launching a daily talk show today... and he claims it's different from his previous outing. i'm not a fan of his and take offense to the fact that he parlayed his "success" into a reporting career (granted, it was at fox, which discounts it as being real journalism anyways, but still). geraldo's new show "geraldo at large" is described as an "action-oriented half-hour" of news. what the hell does that mean, action-oriented? argh!

a weird ny smell...

so, evidently, there was an interesting smell on the island of manhattan last night. i didn't smell it, but everyone seemed to agree it was a nice change from the usual odors:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1258934

my take on it: someone achieved their life's dream yesterday, accomplished something they've wanted for a really long time. and the smell? why, the sweet smell of success, of course!

buh bye, ms. miers

so, supreme court nominee harriet miers withdrew her nomination today. as much as i wish i could celebrate this partial loss for the bush admin., i think the withdrawal will actually mean a more conservative pick. miers was definitely shady regarding her views and judicially inexperienced, but the gamble could have paid off for major cases involving privacy. i think the conservative backlack against miers was a major factor in her decision, and i think bush will be scared to pick someone who angers his base as much. his support in all realms of policy seems to be quickly deteriorating, and he's gonna look for someone who can be easily confirmed. whether that actually happens remains to be seen, because i think democrats are salivating at the chance to use some of this political momentum.

not miss piggy!

which one are you?

http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/muppets/

just took the test, and i'm gonzo... and i've got the nose to prove it!! though i totally love my muppet persona, i have to say, i always thought i was more the statler and waldorf type!! just in case you don't remember, they were the two guys who sat in the balcony heckling everything, sarcasm and wit at its best.

on pencils

had a random thought while trying to get to sleep last night. i bought some great notecards this weekend and was looking forward to writing some letters, and i just thought about how much i love pencils. i love the scratchy feeling of the lead against the paper, that you can feel yourself going against the grain. i love their erasibility, laying endless possibilities at your fingertips. when tom hanks said that he would send a "bouquet of freshly-sharpened pencils" to meg ryan in you've got mail, i thought it would be one of the best and most romantic gifts ever.

beautiful day

had a friend from my masters days visiting me in the city this weekend. it was great, hadn't seen each other for over a year, so it was wonderful to catch up. we, along with another friend from school, walked along central park this afternoon, it was gorgeous. it is still slightly chilly today, luckily the rain seems to have passed for now. though i wish we would have more fall days, rather than a straight transition to winter. anyways, the air was crisp, the conversation good, and the laughs plentiful. thanks for coming, j.!

"i would change..

my life to better suit your moods"... it's a line from a rob thomas song. a friend and i went to see him in concert last night and had a great time. yes, i'm admitting that i went (and paid for it). he's actually surprisingly versatile, and his voice sounds great. my favorite moment was his acoustic version of push, which is my absolutely fave matchbox 20 song. probably the most sketchy moment was his cover of madonna's borderline. just didn't seem right. also, p., just had to remind you - he kissed a man in plain sight of everyone, told you he swung both ways!! ;)

Legalize it, time you recognize it..

i'm absolutely OBSESSED with sean paul's new song "we be burnin." who knew that i wouldn't be able to get a song about pot out of my mind. i wonder if those groups out in california who are trying to legalize marijuana will use this as their new theme song!

elizabethtown

went to see elizabethtown this weekend, the latest offering from director cameron crowe. i'm a relatively big crowe fan, his say anything is one of my most fave movies EVER. i'm sad this movie doesn't come close to the grandeur, wistfulness, and oddity that it could have achieved. the main problem, to me, was that the movie lacked a real story - why do i care about these people and what happens to them? the best part of the movie? easy:


he is so wonderful to look at, you just sometimes forget that the character doesn't really suit his persona. however, the entire time i'm watching it, i'm thinking, topher grace, where are you? overall, mr. crowe, i say, take some advice from your own work and find "a dare-to-be-great" scenario once again.

it has got to stop...

seriously, this rain is out of control. it's been more than a week of this non-stop downpour. i know the city doesn't have it as bad as some places, but, since i can recognize that, i get to complain too!

baller turned superhero?

so i'm not a boston red sox fan, but it didn't stop me from admiring nomar garciaparra. now i see this story:

nomar saves the day

and i totally remember why. he just honestly seems like a decent guy. but all i could think when reading this story was: who can leap over buildings in a single bound... superman!!

happy dusshera!!

happy dusshera!! it's a big hindu holiday, celebrating basically the victory of good over evil. since i'm not at home, i'm gonna celebrate with my mom's homemade daal and some brown rice. yum!

congrats j & j

went to philly this weekend to attend the wedding of a college friend. i felt so privileged to see this wonderful couple (formally) start their life together. they started dating our freshman year and have been a fun and loving couple since then. the most wonderful moment of the weekend:



half way through the ceremony, the groom sang a beautiful song to the bride. i can honestly say everyone in the church was as moved as the bride. anyways, just wanted to say congrats to j. and j.

maybe i'm too cynical...

but i'm questioning today's nyc subway terror threat alert. i realize three suspects have been arrested (in Iraq, mind you) and that extra security is always a good thing... but with washington officials sort of downplaying the need for bloomberg's alert, i wonder just how necessary the city-wide alarm is.

homeland security officials have said the source of the info was a of "doubtful credibility" and initially hesitated to step in line with bloomie's call for heightened vigilance. it just seems too coincidental to me, mayoral elections are less than a month away, and though bloomberg has a comfortable lead, anything that screams 9/11-terror connection always leads people to be a little scared and fall back in line with the established regime. either way, if a real attack was thwarted by the nypd, thank you and keep up the amazing work. however, i'm sad to say, i just can't discount the fact that bloomberg might have gotten a little extra mileage out of his terror alert press conference and "come take a ride with me on the subway" photo-op this morning.

two things...

the thing that got me started today was the news item that post-katrina contracts were going to be re-bid on accd. to the head of fema. it turns out that several firms were awarded contracts without any sort of competitive bidding on the bill. it makes me mad to think these companies were so eager to make a quick buck off the misery of millions of people. honestly, i know "brownie" was totally ill-equipped to handle the aftermath, but c'mon, didn't you think this would be a problem later on.

secondly, was this crazy story:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/10/06/potter.gay.reut/index.html

i think it's absolutely hilarous and weird. hp gay?? not that there's anything wrong with that, but still, where do people think of these things? and why would you choose to out your theory to a bunch of little kids??

beantown!

have to admit, for a new york girl, boston was the wrong place to be this weekend. and even though the yanks were less than spectacular this weekend, i had an amazing time in beantown.

went to visit some friends and it was just a great weekend. great weather and the city was beautiful. boston is pretty manageable on foot, so i would recommend just walking around to get a true sense of the city. use the T, which is the subway system, it's a great way to get around. harvard was gorgeous, made me insanely nostalgic for college again, and the north end's little italy was very cute. we ate at a great restaurant, marcello's, on newbury street, that served both italian and persian food. my friend and i stuck the persian food and were totally amazed. we both thought it might taste a little like indian, but the flavors were totally new and fresh. went out on landsdowne street, a good place to go, the cover is for a whole row of clubs, so try them out till you find something you like. all in all, even though it's the home of the dreaded red sox, boston was the place to be this weekend!