I would normally request a men's small but in this instance I'd like a medium or large so I can pretend Tim is letting me wear it to school on game day. Before the big FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.
All Friday Night Lights seasons are on Netflix and you're a dang fool if you haven't jumped up on that.
Brigid and I will likely just only post about Friday Night Lights forever and ever amen until the End of Days because it is TRULY the PERFECT television show.
Is Bunheads merely a bad show or is it honestly one of the worst shows on television?
To put it mildly, two fans of SMASH dissed me for watching it. One called it the most obnoxious thing she'd ever seen. This woman, my mother, watched the entire first season of SMASH and only disliked that Debra Messing had an affair.
Created by the great Amy Sherman Palladino, creator of Gilmore Girls, Bunheads is unsurprisingly driven entirely by quippy dialogue and female relationships. Every character on the show can reference a full range of pop culture and high culture. In the first five episodes, characters have dropped mention of everyone from Joffrey Baratheon (or should I say Joffrey Lannister)and Carol Burnett to Martha Graham and Waiting for Godot. And Kristen Wiig and Sylvia Plath and... yeah.
And the star, Sutton Foster, is one of the strangest actors to put on television. The woman is a Tony winner and is most definitely meant for Broadway, not a sitcom. Her faces and gestures have not been downsized from their stage size, and oh boy, does that lead to some jarring moments for the viewers. The grandma from Gilmore Girls is a lead as well, thank God.
Guys, this show is too weird for words. The girls who play the ballet students the show are just absolutely awful, the plot line is super weird, and the sets are clearly sets. The whole set-up for the show is ludicrous, and the dancers fit into the most stereotypical roles possible. I LOVE IT.
There's a dance number to that songs that goes "Istanbul, not Constantinople," you know what I'm talking about, and also one about recycling. I can't put these into words. So here's a video.
Also, the most recent episode was titled "No One Takes Khaleesi's Dragons." If that doesn't get you to watch, I don't know what will!
Etsy is a super-rocking Internet marketplace for handcrafted and vintage items. It acts as a connection between buyers and individual sellers.
While Etsy is a great place to find adorable home decor and vintage items (ankle boots, yes.), it also plays host to some crazy stuff. Here's a small sampling of weird things I saw on Etsy today.
This magnet. Funny, no?
GOOMBA EARRINGS.
A wolf hair amulet. Necessary.
Oscar Wilde Prayer Candles, just in time for Lent!
A bobcat skull! YES.
If you prefer embalmed octopi in jars, you can find that, too.
An exception to this acoustic hellhole: Jeff Pianki.
Sugarplum Bear posted this video on the wall of Dutchess Dragonmane and I was immediately on board with this guy. I triple dog dare you not to giggle when you watch it.
His music, like Sugarplum says, "makes my heart smile." Sure, sometimes it does start sliding into the realm of guitar-boy stereotype-land, but there's something, I don't know what, but something that keeps it genuine.
Is it that he's Michigan-born and Midwest is best?
Or that he's a freckled redhead?
Or that his blog shows how he's just a normal, nice dude?
I don't know. What I do know is he's talented and my auditory nerves enjoy what he does.
Jazzy Jeff's Last FM has a gaggle of his songs available for free download. And his Youtube account features a bunch of originals, covers, and collaborations including another with his precious sister that may just be cuter than Say Hello.
Best instrument ever: the cello. Second best instrument ever: the lute. Instrument I like: the TAMBOURINE.
The tambourine may not be the coolest, most technical, or most unique instrument. Actually, as an instrument, it kind of sucks. But aesthetically, the tambourine is really fun.
It's rhythmic and fun and jangly and can be pretty and yes.
Tambourines are a lot like me. Kind of useless, mostly filler, but SUPER FUN. Seriously any band is better with a tambourine.
Jim and Pam's wedding? The writers are totally reading our blog because we are the only place that reported the choreographed "Forever" routine. You're welcome, America.
I am still upset about Jim's choice of Pam over Karen. Karen is an ambitious, witty, and independent woman. Pam is a mousy, annoying twit who dropped out of art school. Also, during the earlier seasons, she had really gross hair. Pam embodies the girl you settle for, Karen is the lady you dream of.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that my heart was a-goin' pitter-patter during the whole wedding episode. And, fair enough, I melted into a puddle of estrogen when Jim cut his tie, but let's be real here, it all would've been way better with Karen.
I saw the movie "Adam" recently (read: a while back when I wrote the first draft of this) and certain points were loaded with information about space that the protagonist spouted off with ease. All of the terms he used flew right over my head/went in one ear and out the other. This is when I again remembered how crazy wicked outer space is.
The universe once again entered my life after a morning of looking at pictures taken by the Hubble Telescope. After a few minutes of "Oohing" and "Ahwing" (that is how I decided to distinguish the painful/relaxing "Ahh" from the cutesy "Aww") over some spectacular new discoveries, Intensity and I stumbled upon a website for the University of Cape Town's Astrophysics and Space Science Programme which includes course information for their Masters program(me). Shit's crazy looking. Seriously.
We then realized that outer space is something that neither of us would really understand. I mean, there are a lot of topics that I'll never know much about like poultry science or financial studies (someone's gotta do it). But astronomy?! Cool stuff.
Keep up the good work,astronomers, physicists, and astronauts.
Not cosmonauts, though. Right everyone who saw David Cross?
Soon after our revelation, Intensity and I came across RateMyTurban.com and were quickly distracted.
(Don't read this: If the universe is constantly expanding, what is it expanding to? Mind fuuuck. Told you not to read this.
Now not even a turban-wearing baby will be able to erase it from your thoughts)
Oh Lordy. The Hunniez have been busy lately. But obviously not with this. Never fear, dear readers, never fear. We are so back.
Yeah so, I've been spending an inordinate amount of time listening to the "O Brother Where Art Thou" soundtrack. The relationship between a film and a soundtrack can be a complicated thing, especially when you're dealing with a reimagination of a Greek epic poem (in this case, The Odyssey, just in case you didn't know) and a powerful Americana musical setting.
With voices like Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris among a host of others rooting the film in the cultural traditions of Appalachia.
If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you haven't heard it, listen.
As August marches relentlessly on, the end of summer's freedom draws closer and closer. The Fly Hunniez will officially walk the hallowed halls of our university once again on September 2nd (the effervescent H. Boldt on crutches).
But some songs will carry a hint of sun and sand and warm breezes with them through the fall...
I am not a tech-savvy at risk youth and have no idea how to embed Facebook videos but this one comes to you straight from the dirty Pulaski featuring Honorary Fly Hunnie, Laurney Lou.
I used to frequent News and Hobby as a youngin' with my dad where he would buy my sister and me Paint-By-Numbers and engraving foils (I made one of a wolf a little while ago and you better believe that badass going to be proudly hanging in my room next year).
Now that's what I'm talking about.
I also remember an abundance of Warheads were purchased since a) they were all the rage at HC Elementary, b) they are fucking tasty, and c) News and Hobby has a quality candy selection where you can buy Warheads by the pound if you so please. And please do.
On a quest for canvas and a new paintbrush I headed back to my old stomping grounds in an effort to both support local business and bring back a flood of nostalgia. The store is exactly the same as it was ten years ago. Cluttured with airplane models and ink pots, News and Hobby is half a little boy's wet dream, half a recreational artist's wet dream.
Look at this display. There are two dogs, an unconvincing deer, and a zebra in a goddamn truck. And see that inflatable dinosaur hanging from the ceiling? Just try and tell me this place isn't worth your time or money.
I've had a pretty quiet social life this summer, which can only mean one thing:
I've been watching a LOT of "The West Wing."
This show is so. awesome. (So is Leo McGarry.)
Donna went to UW Madison for a while.
Ainsley Hayes and Sam Seaborn for sure both worked for the Santos administration and got together post-series. Such smart, cute, legal-eagle children!
I'm pretty sure that C.J. Cregg and Leo were really running the country the entire time. And C.J. looked really good and did an amazing lip sync to "The Jackal" while doing it.
Josh Lyman, you renegade, being all Deputy Chief of Staff and insolent and not getting together with Donna until the very end.
And hey, before going undercover as Gus on "Psych," Charlie Young was the BEST presidential aide ever.
Part of being a Fly Hunnie is recognizing when things are awesome.
Though we all have excellent taste and are able to discover good, new music without help, sometimes it takes a little push in the right direction to listen to something that may have otherwise been missed.
I can take no credit for knowing about this band, but they are excellent.
I think the immediate draw they have is the fact that they are able to embrace some of the most appealing aspects of current indie releases while not conforming to expected sound. They are lyrically solid, and the vocals are stellar and easy on the ear,
which seems to be a trait found less and less in "authentic" music.
(By the way, I hate when people say things are authentic. Really? Really?)
I might not be able to take credit for all kinds of being aware of the emerging music scene and knowing what's going to be getting big, but thanks to other people noticing that this great little band is opening for Deer Tick, Elf Power, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. and playing for Daytrotter, I'm going to agree that Englishman is going places.
And hello, they played at Transylvania University. That is awesome. And in Kentucky, but whatever.
So I made a discovery: red lipstick tasted just like Red Vines.
This leads me to suspect that Red Vines just taste like dye.
Why not just wear lipstick instead of eating Red Vines, then?
I used to be a huge lover of lipstick, but somewhere along the line, I decided to be like everyone else and wear sheer glosses that sparkle and shine and make hair stick to my mouth.
What sticky lipgloss deserves:
I don't like those glosses very much. So I went for Burt's Bees Pomegranate lip balm, which has a nice tint to it. But sometimes, I just need that little extra POP.
That's where lipstick comes in.
It helps that lipstick has recently seen a resurgence in popularity among Fly Hunniez everywhere.
I feel a little retro, a little modern, and a lot sexy when I wear lipstick.
