Friday Night Video: Cherry, Cherry

So aside from the fact that Jason Biggs has my hair (circa 1994-96) in this movie, I am a huge fan of Saving Silverman.   Why can’t they make a kid-friendly version of this?  And – while they’re at it — kid-friendly versions of Caddyshack (mainly the gopher scenes), Meatballs, High Fidelity, and Sixteen Candles?  Yes, they’d each be only about 15 minutes long.  But still, they would be awesome.

And speaking of awesome, enjoy Diamonds in the Rough.

 

First-Hand

I was in downtown Atlanta yesterday and today for meetings, right in the thick of the storm damage, although the building where I was meeting was completely unharmed.  While I didn’t get to walk the ‘hood with my camera as I had hoped (because tromping through downtown in heels, carrying a big purse and a laptop bag, gawking at the tall buildings with boarded windows, and taking photos lends itself to many varieties of criminal activity), I did get a few shots from inside our building and from behind the wheel of the minivan while stuck in traffic.

The Westin Hotel:

CNN with boarded windows, taken from inside the building where I was meeting:

Georgia Pacific and the Equitable Building:

It was an eerie sight to see, to say the least.

 

Things That Make John Lennon Roll Over In His Grave, Part Two

Oh. My. Hell.

 

First of all, I don’t buy that Michael Johns is 29 years old.  If he is 29 years old, I am a size 2.  Secondly, nearly everything is wrong with this performance, right down to the length of his sleeves.

I don’t ALWAYS agree with Simon, but in this case, I do.  His assessment, and mine: “It was a mess.”  (And I KNOW that he dedicated the song to a friend of his who had recently died, and I KNOW he was wearing an ear monitor for the first time, and I KNOW that he’s got a fabulous Aussie accent, but sadly, none of that excuses his incredibly poor performance.)

But again, I must point out that not everyone blew it.  Carly Smithson is kind of becoming my favorite.

 

This Seems Vaguely Familiar

And bonus!  Some links!

Liz gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at a music video shoot with the Jimmies.

Rebecca’s son has entered his Morrissey phase.

Big news for Kermit fans: Jason Segel and Nick Stoller are bringing back the Muppets on the big screen.  Woot!

 

Rockabomma!

Both our sons have, at times, pointed out a person in line at the grocery store, at the park, or at the next table in a restaurant whom they mistook for someone familiar.  Heavyset men with white hair and a beard are excitedly labeled “Santa!”  Old men with humongous cars are called “Grandpa!”  And 30-ish bald men have been shouted out as our good friend ”Dale!”

But lately we’ve encountered a new visual stereotype.  Ralph now identifies handsome black men (especially those with big ears) as “ROCKABOMMA!”

That’s Barack Obama, for those of you not fluent in 3-year-old speak.  This has resulted in a number of awkward encounters for me lately.  Luckily, most of these men have been flattered to be mistaken for Obama.

I hope someday soon that we will meet the real Barack Obama, shake his hand, take his picture, applaud his campaign speech.  But by that time Ralph’s reaction will likely be “Ehhhhh….you?  Dude, I see you ALL THE TIME.”

 

Ha! You Found Me!

After all the domain issues I was having with my site, and the resulting feed issues, I decided last weekend to move this whole operation over to WordPress.  Welcome to my  new digs!  I’ve still got a little spiffing up to do, but most of my archives converted just fine, and I even have some new posts here already.  Make yourselves at home!  And now that you’re here, be sure to update your links and grab a feed.

 

American Idol as an Effective Model for Federal Elections

That (AI as an election model) was the topic of our dinner discussion last night.  But it devolved into new and sometimes violent ways to eliminate American Idol contestants who get the lowest vote count.  That was what I had planned to write about today.

But just before heading to bed, we turned on the TV and saw some of the early coverage of the tornado that hit downtown Atlanta last night.  The CNN Center and Olympic Park (two of my favorite tourist spots) are near the center of the damage.  It was eerie watching the scenes of buildings and streets that we know fairly well, and learning that such massive damage had occurred just 20 or so miles from our home without us even realizing it.

I was planning on being at a training/meeting in a building that overlooks Olympic Park on Tuesday and Wednesday, but right now I’m not entirely certain it will be happening.  I’ve gotten email and pictures from a few friends and co-workers who live near downtown, letting us know they’re okay and showing some of the damage (or lack thereof) in various areas.  So far, the messages have all been good news.  “Look!  Our home office is intact!  Yea!” and “The roof was blown off the store across the street from my apartment, but we’re perfectly fine.”  There have been pictures of trees down, cars crushed under them, debris caught on power lines and fences, and traffic lights dangling precariously over the empty streets.

It’s hard to see a city that I love so much in such a mess.

 

Friday Night Video: Food Fight

I’m hesitant to even comment on this video, because there are probably layers of meaning there that I don’t even comprehend, but I will say this much.  I liked it.  And I think a lot of you will like it.

The movie’s creator describes it as “An abridged history of American-centric warfare, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict.”

Knowing that many of you are parents and/or teachers, I’m curious if you would consider showing it to your children and/or students, and at what age.  I showed it to Walter, and he recognized two of the earlier battles that were depicted.  He found it funny up until the twin towers (high stacks of hamburgers) were hit.  At that point, he was disturbed, sad, and angry all at once.