rapper mc rove

at the annual radio-tv correspondents dinner wednesday, two comedians performed a skit where machiavellian karl rove pretended to be a rap star. it is hiliarious to see - seriously, search for a clip on youtube or something, you will die laughing - he tries to dance, tries to hip... and then hop, even throws a little "walk like an egyptian" in... so great! but, what is funnier to me is nbc's david gregory in the background laughing it up and trying to join in. and of course, the only person who has any real dance moves is the unidentified black man on stage. truly, i couldn't stop laughing.

but, to try to be serious about the issue - you have to wonder what sort of credibility these journalists have when the next day, they're supposed to be holding these politicians accountable for their transgressions. i mean, yukking it up with rove is fun, i'm sure, but the man is a political manipulator, who has undoubtedly crossed the line multiple times. the washington press corps is halfway in bed with people in power, which, in my opinion, means they aren't able to ask the questions they should ask, until it is way too late.

sneak peek: hp7

so, here's a first look at the cover art for the final harry potter book.... to me, it looks so much more hopeful than the last one, so maybe that's a good sign. all goldens and creams, no dark greens and blues. perhaps my hope of harry not biting the dust will come true. but i can't rejoice just yet, this is what the art director at scholastic said:

"The structures around Harry show evident destruction and in the shadows behind him, we see outlines of other people. For the first time, the cover is a wraparound. On the back cover spidery hands are outstretched toward Harry. Only when the book is opened does one see a powerful image of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, his glowing red eyes peering out from his hood."

but, against my usual nature, i will continue to dream the impossible dream that our beloved hero will live on to inspire generations of kids to come. they will read the series and believe that you won't always die if you decide to take the hard road, fight the good fight and go mano a mano with pure evil. oh, who am i kidding, she is going to squash him like a bug.

can't argue with that logic

went out to dinner with friends of friends today. we were having a discussion on california and of course, the boys talked about how pretty the women were. the girls, of course, immediately chimed in and said, they're fake pretty.... and who finds that attractive? a second later, one of the guys goes "well, fake pretty sure beats real ugly" absolutely hilarious!

politicized or not?

john and elizabeth edwards today announced that her breast cancer has returned, this time in her rib bone. this development means that, now, her cancer cannot be cured, though it can be treated. i watched the announcement live, and i have to say, i found their candor moving. i know they are used to it, what with all the hardships they've already dealt with in life. more importantly, i admired him for not mentioning his campaign until reporters asked him about it. now, i thought that was very classy, but then the very next minute, i thought, this has been carefully orchestrated by his people. that cynicism then made me sad, but it can't be helped. he is continuing with his campaign, which is also interesting. i do believe that he would drop out if the situation warranted. i'm sure at this point, since it seems that they caught it relatively early, the treatment wont be a minute to minute struggle. i hope so, at least. while edwards hasn't been the most straight politician, i think he's probably a pretty good guy in her personal life which, in the end, is probably the best thing you can say about somone. (but then again, he is a politician, so who knows what happens behind closed doors...)

let's hear it for the boy

uh oh, it's ohno!!

(wish i came up with that on my own) my new-ish love for apolo anton ohno stems from last night's dancing with the stars. the olympic gold medalist in short track speedskating was absolutely adorable. he definitely has room to grow, but he seems very laid back, earnest and obviously, fit (and who could ignore that smile). i think i would change the soul patch and the bandana, but from what i remember from the olympics, those are part of his trademark look. so, i've cast my lot with apolo, let's hope he does well and goes far, i have full faith in his ability to do it!

as for the others, joey fatone is okay, he'll do better than he perhaps deserves cuz of his nsync fanbase. heather mills - not bad, but more media hype than anything else, which is the only reason she did it in the first place. steve from melrose - okay, will do well cuz he's a guy and he's relatively fit. laila ali - she's good, but still comes across as really manly, maybe they need to cover her arms a little. most of the others aren't too bad, save billy ray cyrus, who is truly truly terrible.

inner child syndrome

the fanboy flick 300 has done ridiculously well at the theater, and though i haven't seen the movie, it seems interesting. but i was reading an article on the success of the movie, and the director said that he thinks part of the reason is that the generation of kids who grew up reading these comics are now in their 40s, but they still keep the little 15-year old inside of them alive and willing to spend money on this form of entertainment. it made me think about our whole generation actually - in that, it seems we all are prolonging the days of our youth now. we're all settling down later in life, in all areas - family, job, location, etc.. - and we're completely happy doing it. i guess i just started thinking about my parents' generation, many of them were responsible for major things at this point in their lives, and even some of my cousins, only a few years older than i am, are well into their adulthood, more so in india, but several here as well. is it a cultural thing? or financial? or some sort of generational/sociological trend? i don't know, but i do know that i remain happy (for the most part) in my existence as a girl who is still goofy most of the time.

will he or won't he?

i just read the most fun article in newsweek, which speculates on whether gore will run in '08. the best predictor as to whether the former veep will, once again, throw his hat in the ring:

"A leading indicator of his intentions could be Gore's waistline. The theory is that slimming down will be a signal he intends to run. "He has lost a few pounds, and Hillary can read into that what she wants," says a longtime adviser who declined to be identified discussing his boss's figure. Gore has always been a voracious eater, and at 58, the pounds don't come off so easily. He is trying to be healthier, working out daily when he can."

i love it! but, the funny thing is, is that everyone i talk with has mentioned his weight (and that horrendous woodsman beard a while back ) as a major sign that he may be ready to end the candidate phase of his life. when you think back, i guess all of our recent prez's have been, or at least looked, fit.... though clinton gained during his tenure. it's interesting to think if america would elect a fattie over a woman or a minority. i don't know - the prejudice against an overweight person's competence is a sociological fact.

slushity, slush, slush

yes, new york is pretty when it snows... but the city ain't so lovely a few hours after the storm stops. my goodness, it was nasty outside yesterday afternoon. i actually think the city did a better job cleaning up (well, at least fifth ave) because of the st. patrick's parade, but there were massive slush puddles everywhere, it was horrible trying to walk through. and then of course, the wonderful mass of drunk people who don't quite know where they're headed just makes it all the more, a special experience trying to get home. i did go to a pub for a short time, so was fortunate enough to see a sea of green (and inebriated) folks, a live (and inebriated) bagpiper, but much more importantly, rude (and inebriated) europeans, who couldn't get to their next drink fast enough... gotta love it! but to show that i bear no ill will toward that whole continent of people, here is a yummy peace offering:

cricket mania!

the 2007 cricket world cup is off! i got into cricket a few years back, but i'm still nowhere near the craziness of some others. still, i'm excited to see how things go for india - hopefully we don't completely suck. the matches are all over the caribbean over the next two months, i think my family may even try to go to some, yea! anyways, once again, google got into the celebration, and i love it:

salsa on2

so my friend n. and i just took our first salsa lessons earlier this evening... it was interesting, to say the least. we learned the basic foot movements today, but it was still something to get used to. i have been involved with indian-style dancing since i was a kid, and it is, for the most part, based on a four-beat count. this salsa is based on the 2nd and 5th beats, so it's going to take some time to adjust. but, learning a dance in which pairs are the given is another step toward moving away from my asexual existence. say it with me now, hallelujah!

happy holi!

i really wanted to be in india this year for holi, but plans didn't work out, unfortunately. well, here's to the hope that i will, one day, get to celebrate this colorful (and naughty) festival with the fam!