impending doom

so i ran into a bachelor party on saturday night. i was walking home and i saw this group of guys, with one dude in the middle.... with a ball and chain shackled to his leg. the boys - and i do mean boys - with him were clearly amused to no end by the gag. he was carrying the ball and they kept asking him to do stuff with it. i had never seen that before and i just found it hilarious/sad.

for shame

new details are out about pat tillman's death and the ensuing coverup. there is information on his actual wounds and the military's immediate and long-term efforts to hide the truth about his death. the report indicates doctors suspected something was wrong right away and when they tried to get more information, they were blocked. but the most annoying sentence in the story for me was this:

"Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments."

can you imagine this? sadly, yes. attorneys actually applauding that they kept investigators, and most importantly, tillman's family, in the dark about his death. i don't think any information that has come out has diminished tillman's sacrifice or service, but it has made me so sick about how the military has treated one of its own.

responsibility or realistic?

there's an article in the times today about the children's book series, junie b. basically it follows a kindergarten-aged girl, who is mischievous. it's a popular series, but some parents take issue because of some of what the kid does, but more importantly, because of how she speaks and spells. the author regularly uses incorrect grammar and spelling in the book. she says, that's how a real 5 or 6 year old would speak/spell. education specialists/parents say children should be taught proper spelling/grammar from the beginning. it's an interesting debate, i think. mark twain's huckleberry finn has been cited as an example of great writing, that is not completely in line with grammar rules. that's true, but at the same time, finn probably wasn't written primarily for children (was it?). the article caught my interest, especially in the wake of potter.

btw, the entire time i've been writing this post, i've worried about my grammar/spelling. i think i'm okay, but i wouldn't put any money on it... so sad.

all is well

so it's done. the decade-long saga of harry potter comes to an end. i finished reading the book yesterday, i just couldn't put it down. at first, i found myself rushing through it, just cuz i couldn't wait to see what happened. then, as i read each chapter, it dawned on me that this was it, no more would i wonder what happens to hp and company. the end of the this book was THE END. and that is a sobering realization. but, i have to say, without giving away any plot points, that i think she did justice to the series. there were some shocks, some sad points, some smiles, and some laughs. and though i'm sad beyond belief that it's finished, overall, i'm just glad that these books were written. hp and friends can serve as a real inspiration to generations of children and adults alike, regardless of their literary status. since this is such a vague "review" i wont say more, because i would hate to spoil the book for anyone. perhaps in a few days i'll write a little more, once everyone has had a fair chance to read the conclusion firsthand. but i'll just say, see you later, hp - it's no use saying goodbye, i know we'll be revisiting every so often in the future.

who am i?

ah, the eternal existential question... just kidding.

but, if you want some fun help with the above, check out this link: http://www.personaldna.com/

you have to complete a somewhat-involved set of questions, but it spits back your "DNA" - and it may be freakishly accurate (i think it was in my case). and, as an introductory, limited time offer, if you tell me yours, i'll tell you mine!

does he know cher and d?

yesterday, bush was speaking in nashville - this is a little excerpt:

AUDIENCE QUESTION: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has. Currently, every country in the world -- except China, Iran, North Korea, Rwanda and the United States -- pay a statutory royalty to the performing artists for radio and television air play. Would your administration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest of the world?

THE PRESIDENT: Help. Maybe you've never had a President say this -- I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about. Sounds like we're keeping interesting company, you know? Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you? I really don't -- I'm totally out of my lane. I like listening to country music, if that helps.

absolutely hilarious. completely honest, for once, but just too funny!

overheard at work

producer: "there's a new elian. we have a package, but i haven't been able to see it yet. so, we don't know if he's cute or not."

spoiling harry

why people why?

i'm normally a total sucker for spoilers, i LOVE knowing some of what's going to happen on my favorite tv shows. and now that information from hp7 is on the internet, i'm having a tough time not clicking on one of the links. the tough part is that there are still two days before the book is out and then... then, i have to fight the urge to not read the last page first. what to do, AUGH??

meet the simpsons me:

i'm not a huge simpsons fan, but my appreciation for the show's wit has increased over the years. still, i can't say that i watch it regularly, but doing this was just fun! you simpsons' fans, give me details on my character: name, occupation, annoying personality tic...

mea culpa

so, last post i compared her to a piece of furniture, perhaps a little mean of me. but, i watched the victoria beckham special on nbc last night, and i gotta say, what a smart move by her handlers. she hasn't won me over completely, but i've done a 140 on my opinion of her. posh was very funny, she actually smiled (though she didn't eat), and she seemed to be a real person. of course, much of it was staged for the "reality" show, so i'm sure she knew to be on her best behavior, but some of the things she said were absolutely hilarious. when confronted by crazy, denying-their-true-age-with-botox ladies, she goes - there's only one way to deal with this, get more drunk. so true. she questioned why young hollywood girls want to go underwearless - so true. and she made repeated fun of herself, self-deprecation, so true. she spoke often, and fondly, of "david and the boys" and overall, just seemed like she's much more confident, witty & self-aware than i had ever thought. she's still high-maintenance, but then again, i suppose when you get to that level of double celebrity, it's hard to avoid the trappings of fame. oh, and i totally want to adopt her catchphrase - everything is "MAY-JUH"

becks on the brain

ooh, sometimes i love my job - like when i'm required to watch the beckham galaxy presentation... yum. he is just so pretty. yes, the voice needs help, but who cares? not when the final product is this:

i just cant get enough of the accent. today, during his speech, he said that family came first, and then, the second most important thing was footb- before catching himself and saying soccer. he then apologized and said he'd get used to that at some point - adorable! of course posh was there, looking wooden & waxy - kinda like a coffee table i guess.

fancy new beesly

that is what my next custom-made t-shirt will say (it also makes an awesome band name or even a group name for vh1's world series of pop culture). or maybe - i love jim halpert.

i just rewatched the office episode where jim and pam talk over the phone for the first time after he leaves and have an awesome conversation about absolutely nothing. i seriously love the character they've created with jim, he's absolutely lovable and adorable. he really epitomizes what me and most of my girlfriends are looking for... which sucks for us, since he's not real. damn.

yippee-ki-yay!

happy 5th of july people - hope you all had a wonderful 4th. mine was great - a picnic (albeit, an indoor one in the end) with a sandwich with a mountain of mozz. and then, though this is somewhat embarrassing i saw die hard for the first time... the original one (thank you l. for bringing it over). it was great, the action was real, the clothes and baddies very 80's and bruce had hair! i loved that the story was set in one night, one location, and one villain - relatively simple compared to the blockbusters of today. and it was hilarious, i can see why people think john mcclane is such a memorable character. almost made me want to see the new one... almost.