life of sloth

since Mitch left for hunting, I have watched the following:

Heroes season 2 (eps 6-11) - so much unfinished business, due to the Hollywood strikes this past season. looking forward to the new season (and hopefully some closure) alot...

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - I loved this one. definitely a chick flick, but a smart one.

Adaptation - weird. just...weird. but funny. I somehow missed this one when it came out a few years ago. the presence of Chris Cooper almost made up for the presence of Meryl Streep.

Step Up 2 the Streets - yeah, that one's painfully embarassing to admit. despite the fact that I don't dance at all, dancing movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I can't help it; so much fun dancing, despite horribly cliched storying.

The New World - another one that I missed when it came out a few years ago... not quite sure how I missed it, but so glad I finally watched it. how did I not know that this movie was directed by Terrence Mallick? The Thin Red Line is one of my favorite movies! I love the tone-poem quality to his films.

The Bucket List - watched this one with my parents. it was...meh. predictable.

...and tonight I'm going to watch Casino Royale. I'm not a huge Bond fan (thanks in large part to slimy Pierce Brosnan), but I want to be familiar with the Daniel Craig Bond before Quantum of Solace comes out in a few months. (Coolest title ever, btw)

ding-dong!

Dear whoever keeps stopping by my house,

I. Do. Not. Answer. The. Door. when I don't know who it is.

Just text me, k?


Sincerely,
Katie

the beautiful people

So, last night I was at Fred Meyer and I was watching this family doing their 'back to school' shopping. it was very Albany.

they were kind of a white-trash/goth-y looking family (one of those where the mom might actually believe she is a vampire), and they didn't have a cart but were instead carrying their items. I enjoyed watching them alot...

>the dad was (of course) carrying a case of beer.

>the mom was balancing an amazing PILE of notebooks, pencils, scissors, etc. in her arms

>the 2 teenage boys were carrying nothing but their utter disdain for the whole process

>the 2 grade school girls were each picking out hair dye (bright red and blue-black, respectively)

awesome. they are rea.dy to learn!

fall into it

GAP says that the 'bell jean' is back.

Katie says, "Hell, yes!"

Mitch says nothing and rolls his eyes.

interesting article (cynicism: it's the new optimism)

On inauguration day, a new U.S. president is a demigod, the embodiment of aspirations as vast as they are varied. Over the course of the years that follow, the president inevitably fails to fulfill those lofty hopes. So the cycle begins anew, and Americans look to the next occupant of the Oval Office to undo his predecessor's mistakes and usher in an era of lasting peace and sustained prosperity.

This time around, expectations are, if anything, loftier than usual. The youthful and charismatic Sen. Barack Obama casts himself as the standard-bearer of those keenest to fix Washington, redeem America and save the world. "Yes, we can," Obama's anthem proclaims, inviting supporters to complete the thought by inserting their own fondest desire. Yes, we can: bring peace to the Middle East; reverse global warming; win the global war on terrorism.


Yet Sen. John McCain's campaign has been hardly shy about fostering grandiose expectations. Speaking earlier this month, while most Americans were fretting about the cost of oil, McCain uncorked one of his patented straight-talking promises: "I'm going to lead our nation to energy independence." As far as McCain would have us believe, you can take that to the bank.

Will the next president actually bring about Big Change? Don't get your hopes up.

Regardless of who wins Nov. 4, we should temper our expectations of what George W. Bush's successor will accomplish, especially on foreign policy.


In reality, presidents don't make policy; administrations do. To judge by the cadre of advisors they've recruited, neither candidate holds much affinity for outside-the-box thinkers. Obama's "national security working group," for example, consists chiefly of Democratic war horses, including former secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher and former national security advisor Anthony Lake -- a group that is not young, not charismatic and not known for innovative thinking.

McCain's national security team features a strong neoconservative presence, including pundits such as Max Boot and Robert Kagan, along with hawkish Washington insiders such as Randy Scheunemann and James Woolsey. All figured prominently among advocates of invading Iraq; none has yet to repent. Agents of change? Not likely, unless having a go at Iran qualifies as creative thinking.

The very structure of American politics imposes its own constraints. For all the clout that presidents have accrued since World War II, their prerogatives remain limited. A President McCain will almost certainly face a Congress controlled by a Democratic and therefore obstreperous majority. A President Obama, even if his own party runs the Senate and House, won't enjoy all that much more latitude, especially when it comes to three areas in which the dead hand of the past weighs most heavily: defense policy, energy policy and the Arab-Israeli peace process. The military-industrial complex will inhibit efforts to curb the Pentagon's penchant for waste. Detroit and Big Oil will conspire to prolong the age of gas guzzling. And the Israel lobby will oppose attempts to chart a new course in the Middle East. If the past provides any indication, advocates of the status quo will mount a tenacious defense.

Then there is the growing gap between American power and the demands of exercising global leadership.

The limits of American power are most obviously apparent in the realm of military affairs. For McCain, Iraq remains the central front in the war on terrorism, and he'll stay as long as it takes to win. Obama's central front is Afghanistan, and he wants to bolster the U.S. commitment there. Their disagreement masks a more fundamental problem: The next commander in chief will inherit an intractable troop shortage. The United States today finds itself with too much war and too few warriors. That alone will constrain a president conducting two ongoing conflicts.

A looming crisis of debt and dependency will similarly tie the president's hands. Bluntly, the United States has for too long lived beyond its means. With Americans importing more than 60% of the oil they consume, the negative trade balance now about $800 billion annually, the federal deficit at record levels and the national debt approaching $10 trillion, the United States faces an urgent requirement to curb its profligate tendencies. Spending less (and saving more) implies settling for less. Yet among the campaign themes promoted by McCain and Obama alike, calls for national belt-tightening are muted.

Above all, there is this: The rest of the world doesn't take its marching orders from Washington and won't, no matter who happens to be president next year. Governments will respond to American advice, threats or blandishments precisely to the extent that doing so serves their interests, and no further. This alone sharply restricts what Bush's successor will be able to accomplish, whether dealing with allies such as Israel and Pakistan or with adversaries such as Iran and North Korea.

Will the tone and tenor of American diplomacy under either a President Obama or a President McCain differ from what we have seen over the last seven years? Yes, and probably in ways that most nations -- and many Americans -- will welcome. But no matter how much charisma or straight talk emanates from the White House, the world will remain stubbornly intractable.

In matters of substance, Big Change will remain elusive. The next president will leave his own imprint on U.S. policy. It just won't be nearly as distinctive or dramatic as the most enthusiastic Obama and McCain supporters have talked themselves into expecting.

By Andrew J. Bacevich, LA Times

dumb Bobby

why, Robert Downey Jr, why do you want me to hate you? I want to love you! I love your acting. You are GENIUS on screen. Are you really so self-destructive that every interview has to be mind-bogglingly verging on the cusp of insanity? Here's the latest in RDJ dumb-speak:

"My whole thing is that I saw 'The Dark Knight'. I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.' I loved 'The Prestige' but didn't understand 'The Dark Knight'. Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I'm like, 'I get it. This is so high brow and so [expletive] smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.' You know what? [Expletive] DC comics. That's all I have to say and that's where I'm really coming from."

punk is not ded

I just bought 'Persepolis'; I have been highly curious about it ever since I saw the preview online.



Although it is set in such an unfamiliar backdrop (1970's-1990's Iran, spanning regime changes, revolutions, and wars), it's a typical coming-of-age story about a young girl.

A nice reminder that all people in all cultures yearn above all for freedom and love.

oh, and the animation is creative and stunning in its simplicity.

Janet Jackson designing lingerie line

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahaha
haha
hee.

sick baby

my dog is sick. wah. we think she either has arthritis (she IS 8), a pulled muscle, or maybe even an ear infection. its ridiculously difficult to troubleshoot symptoms when all the patient can do is howl.

so, it's off to the vet tonight instead of a movie. fingers crossed that everything is ok...

the fall

this one's playing at The Darkside, and I'm totally curious. anyone for a movie?

um, no.

so, I'm short. short torso, in particular. not really a model, and so the loose tops that clothing designers are churning out these days doesn't look the best on me... however. I was NOT prepared for someone to ask me the question that EVERYONE KNOWS NEVER TO ASK!

And, just in case someone ELSE missed this classic lesson of ettiquette, let me do my part to spread the word: Never, ever, ever, ever under any circumstances EVER ask someone if they are pregnant, unless they are waddling around with their hand on their belly, absolutely ready to pop, 10 months along, no doubt.

Other than that...really don't.

and if you do happen to open mouth, insert foot...then just stop talking. Don't try to backpedal all, "Oh, you don't LOOK pregnant..." because then WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU ASK, THEN?!?!! $*%&#!!


...I personally think I deserve a raise for my calm reply of "Nooo.", rather than kicking her in the face.

ugh.

there IS such a thing as a tesseract

sorry about the random title. I was sure there was a Wrinkle in Time quote about IT just dying to be used, but my memory failed me and for some reason I decided to keep the title in the L'Engle family.

anyways, I've been tagged 'it' again by Shannon - here's the rules for this particular variation of the game: share 7 facts about yourself on your own blog, weird or random-tag 7 people at the end of your post

1. I am left-handed. yes, I write weird. get over yourself and your righthandedness, world!

funny thing...Shannon's #2-4 are absolutely true of myself as well, so I'm going to steal them so I don't have to think as much. Just another reason why she was my favorite person to share an office with - we are oddly alike in random ways such as:

2. I am really bad at small talk. Like, really, awkwardly bad. I'm not really quite sure what to say beyond, "so where did you graduate? what do you do now?"

3. I have super powers when it comes to my sense of smell. which makes #5 a problem sometimes...

4. I LOVE making to-do lists and crossing off items when they are complete.

5. I have remarkably smelly feet for a girl.

6. I want a tattoo, but have yet to work up the nerve to go under the needle.

7. I have a twin brother. No we don't look alike. Yes, I love being a twin. No I can't read his mind.

---

I considered not tagging anyone, since we already kind of played this game, but I'll go ahead and do it, just so that we all have blog updates to read! You are 'it' if you are:

Beka
Danae
Jess Drake
Apple
Kiefer
Crystal
Heather

HA!

incommunicado presto!

The power button on my phone is broken, so I can't turn it on. Stupid green phone...


oh, wait. strike that sad tone and reverse it - no one can reach me: it's like my dream come true! HAHA!

due to the magical powers of "waiting overnight", it's working again!

inclusive community/reclusive immunity

there were about 250 kids running around the periphery of my office all week. if there's one thing JBC organizes well, it's VBS - but it's still quite a shock to the system of those of us who crave a quiet work environment.

after the 1st birthday party at our house tomorrow (for Ari)... my recuparation plan includes a quiet space, a Radiohead album, and a good book...

yess. reclusive activities, here I come!

the brothas

aw, man! NEITHER of the Hamm brothers are competing in Bejing?!? they're so cute and teddy-bearish; and in fact were the sole (dual?) reason I watched any gymnastics competition 4 years ago. and now they're injured and retiring.

oh fine. I'll just watch swimming and diving then. (go Michael Phelps!)

on the fence

We decided to stain our fence this weekend. it looks awesome. it's still not done, though. Here's a little formula I came up with for all of you who plan to do this in the future: decide how long you think it will take, add an hour, and then multiply it by 4.

Just a little bit of wisdom I thought I would pass along...