Flashback to 1994

I swear everywhere I look I am reminded of my childhood. It started yesterday with the boys beating on the desk with the baseball bat. Today it was witnessing a Chinese Fire drill on my way home from work. For those of you not in the know, a Chinese Fire drill is conducted at a stoplight. Everyone exits the car and runs around the car one time and gets back to their original spot in the car before the light changes. My cousin Kevin taught me about these when I was a young teen. My friends and I attempted it on several occasions, but never really pulled it off. I had to laugh when I saw it today. It is dangerous, but funny at the same time. The teens were doing it at a super long light, too. I know it's not very adult of me to find these things funny, but I just do. I remember what it's like to be 16 with an active imagination and crazy friends. And I am always impressed with kids having good, clean fun. Hooray!

When Summer Is Just Too Long...

I was just washing dishes when I heard this loud banging sound outside. I looked out the window and two boys (probably around 12) are taking turns hitting a metal desk with baseball bats. I just had to laugh. It made me think of summers from my childhood, I could've been found engaging in a similar activity. Except in my version of banging on a desk, my mom would've put an end to it and I would've spent the rest of the day in my room thinking about my behavior. I spent a good portion of the 80's thinking about my behavior. I think that's one of the reasons I love my neighborhood--there's always kids outside playing and actually being kids.

Double Feature

Last night I was able to catch a Woody Allen double feature of "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall" at the Oak Street Cinema. It was great. I am a huge Woody Allen fan and "Annie Hall" is one of my favorite movies of all time, so it was cool to see old school Woody Allen on the big screen.

I hadn't see "Manhattan" in it's entirety before. It is wonderful. I really enjoyed how Allen makes Manhattan into a character in the movie. The cinematography is great. Great witty dialogue. Wonderful cast.

I never get tired of "Annie Hall." I think it is one of the few movies that I could watch on a daily basis. I love it that much. It's such a great story and I love Diane Keaton's outfits in the movie. And you can catch a young Christopher Walken playing the creepy guy. That is always a bonus. He does creepy so well.

I was thinking about why I enjoy Woody Allen movies so much. Here's the short list: his female roles are always good, meaty roles. For the most part, the women are smart. The dialogue is smart and witty. Plus, his endings always seem to be very realistic and true to life. There isn't a pretty little Hollywood ending. I always feel inspired after watching one of his movies to go work on my screenplay.

If you get a chance the movies are playing there until June 28th. It is definitely worth it.

The Worst Live Performance EVER

I would like to give that award to Adam Levine from Maroon 5. I saw them on "SNL" last night and I was in shock with how awful Adam is live. At times it was often inaudible. "Makes Me Wonder" what they do to his voice in the studio. They must have some great engineers. Seriously, he missed half of the words and the words he did sing were waaaaay off key. It was hands down the worst live performance ever. I was in shock. Even if I don't like Adam's voice, I can normally see the pop appeal. Last night it looked like some local bands night at a dive bar. I was shocked. I don't think this is a one time isolated event. When I saw them on "Idol" it was a similar situation. Although, it was far worse last night. Perhaps, Adam should look into lip syncing his way through performances.

Music I Can't Get Enough Of

Part of me will always be totally teen obsessing over songs for days and listening to them on repeat 24/7. There are two songs right now that I cannot get enough of--even after repeated listenings. Here they are:

"I'm Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. I love this song! It's perfect mix of take- that girl power with this odd touch of sadness thrown in. I can relate. I'm never ready to make nice. The Dixie Chicks always stand up for what they believe in.

Anything by Peter, Bjorn, and John. I saw them a couple of months ago on Conan and they are awesome! So fun. A little bit of a throw back to the 60's. Plus, they're from Sweden and have a great sense of style.

The King

You know what really creeps me out? The Burger King commericals featuring the King. The King is a grown man dressed up like a king and has this big plastic head with a super cheesy grin on his face. This series has been going on for at least a couple of years and features the King doing a lot of creepy things. In the latest installment he's doing this bizzare solo square dance in front of a background of the country. The ad is effective from the standpoint that I remember it's for the new BK Western Whopper. It's just so odd and bizarre. The creepiest of them all was one of the first King ads where he's standing outside of a couple's bedroom and living room windows. They just laugh it off and take the breakfast sandwiches and french toast sticks that the King offers them. If someone was outside my window dressed up as the King, I'd call the cops and he'd get a breakfast sandwich in the face. Yuck. The only one I thought was remotely non creepy was the one where the King (thanks to the magic of computers) jumps into the middle of football game in the 70's/80's. He makes an interception, scores a touchdown and does a silly touchdown dance. That was funny. The other ads leave me feeling like the King is this big creep and I don't feel like going to Burger King. Well, I normally don't go to Burger King, but the ads really make me want to avoid BK at all costs. I will give the ad agency credit, cause I always remember the ads and they are creative in a really bizarre sort of way. I don't see too many other fast food restaurants having an ad that's as remotely creative. The King just scares me.

Wooden Teeth

Sometimes I think it would just be easier if I replaced my teeth with wooden ones. This week I had my sixth month check-up and I have three new cavities. Yes, three. Don't ask me how they magically appeared. I'm clueless. I have excellent oral hygiene skills. I brush my teeth a minimum of twice a day and I actually floss several times a day. I don't drink a lot of soda and I don't eat a lot of candy. I actually make an effort. It's not like I'm just pouring sugar and Mountain Dew into my mouth. I am blaming it on my parents and their crappy teeth. Oh, and my English ancestors. My mom always claimed that she put the dentist's children through college. She also referred the dentist as "Crocodile Dentist." I don't know how else this is possible. Yeah, I was sort of lax in dental visits in my early 20's, but I corrected that. It makes me angry. I told my Dad about this and he wanted to know what I was doing. What am I doing? Taking care of my teeth. I don't brush my teeth with sugar covered fun sticks and floss my teeth with gummy worms. Sheesh. I told him it was his fault since he has bad teeth. That didn't help the situation. Might I add that he had his 10th crown put in this week. Who's got the bad teeth now?

The Quarter Life Crisis Queen

I think I am starting my third Quarter Life Crisis. Or I am just really, really tired. One of the two.

My Dying Dresser

I am in dire need of a new dresser. The one I have right now is on it's last leg. The bottom of one drawer is about to fall out and another is so badly deformed that I can't do much more than open it. This was bound to happen sooner or later. My dresser is 15 years old and wasn't the best quality to start. I have way too many clothes crammed into it, which doesn't help. Plus, it's a kids dresser that was designed for smaller clothes. Because I can't use one drawer and I can't over stuff another, I have piles of clothes all over my room. It looks like early dorm room. Ugh. I think I'll be making a trip to IKEA in the near future.

Getting My Coffee Fix for Free

Wow...I was just sitting here watching television when I saw a n ad for Mc Donald's. Normally, Mc Donald's ad do not excite me, but this one did. Apparently, you can get a FREE small coffee weekdays from 5-7 am. Who knew? I am all about the free stuff. Now, that it is really early, but totally worth it if I have to work at 7 am. I'll have to check it out-- when it's not 100 degrees out and I work at 7 am. A free cup of coffee would make my day. The marketingside of my brain wonders why Mc Donald's is doing this. Are breakfast sales down? Do they think the free coffee will get people in and they'll buy other food? Whatever it is, free coffee= yum.

Nancy Drew

Is it wrong that I'm really excited that the "Nancy Drew" movie comes out this Friday? I loved reading Nancy Drew books as a child. I am curious how they translate the books to the big screen. From the previews, it looks like this Nancy is a little truer to the original incarnation of Nancy. I recall this Nancy Drew/ Hardy Boys shows on the Disney Channel in the late 80's where Nancy was a bit of a hooch. She's too smart to be like that.

As a kid, I was all about being a spy myself. I secretly wished that there would be a big mystery in my neighborhood for me to solve. Alas, the suburbs are boring and that never happened. I tried to make up my own drama by creating stories about the neighbors involving UFO's and witches. Ahhh.... my poor, poor parents. I kept them on their toes. To this day, I love a good mystery a la Nancy Drew.

RIP Mr. Wizard

I just read that Mr. Wizard or Don Herbert, has passed away. He died of Bone Cancer. That really makes me sad. Growing up, I loved Mr. Wizard's World. I always wanted to recreate his experiments, which caused my mother added stress. I was the kind of kid who needed to be supervised at all times. Asking for odd things like a bike tire, a hammer and baking soda would send my mom into panic mode.

Mr. Wizard did a great job at engaging non-science loving students, like myself in cool science experiments. He had this way of making you learn without really knowing that you were. That I think is one of the great traits of a good teacher. He will be missed. As a side note, I didn't know that he was from Waconia, MN.

I Hate Summer

I know, I know. It is so wrong to hate summer, but I still do. I don't like the heat and I really don't like the fashion options of summer. I am much more of a fall or spring sort of girl. I love wearing sweaters and little jackets. Not to mention, I love to layer (hence, the above picture). A long sleeve tee with a short sleeve tee over it. Throw on a scarf and I am good to go. Summer is not conducive to layering. At all. Believe me, I've tried. About all I can do is pair a tee with a tank over it and maybe a cotton scarf. That is only an option when it is below 80. Anything above that, and I can't do it. You can't wear scarves, boots, tights, leggings, leg warmers or lots of necklaces when it's 90 degrees out. I don't like to wear tank tops without a layer (either over or under it) because I sweat--- a lot---a tee shirt gives me that extra layer of protection. Also, I have the wonderful gift from my mother of broad shoulders. That adds to the fun of wearing tank tops. I look like a linebacker. Wearing a tank top means having more exposed skin to put sun screen on. As for bottoms, that's not quite as bad, I guess. I like capris and skirts. I do not like to wear shorts. I am 5'2" and shorts just make me look, well, shorter. Plus, I have yet to find shorts that aren't hoochie or come complete with room for my mom pouch.

I know I am coming off as an uber crabby summer hater, I do like the nice weather. I love to go barefoot. It's fun to spend time at the beach or playing tennis outside. Running through a sprinkler or going to the pool. Outdoor dining when it's not 90 degrees out. Beer outside. I just don't like how limited I am with my fashion choices.

Beer

Last night I really, really, really wanted a beer. Alas, I had no cerveza at home. Sad, I know. Since it was Sunday night, my only option would've been to walk over to one of the bars by me. That seemed like too much work. That is one of the things I miss about WI: you can buy beer on a Sunday from your local grocery store. Seriously, who can predict when you'll want a beer. I certainly can't, as evident by last night. I was too tired to walk the couple of blocks to the bar, so I went without beer. There's something about beer in the summer that I love.

Maroon 5

This post is in honor of Maroon 5's show tonight at the Fine Line...

I really, really, really, cannot stand Maroon 5. Ugh. Their new song, "Makes Me Wonder" drives me up the wall. It's so adult contemporary wannabe Bee Gees lite. Not to mention that when they perform it, they're not having fun, it's like a funeral dirge. They look like they are all too cool to have fun. It's a song that's meant to not be taken seriously.

Their last album, "Songs About Jane" has got to be one of the most over played albums ever. I admit when it first came out (four years ago) I thought they were OK. I could tolerate them. I wouldn't go out of my way to see them play, but they were tolerable. That was before I heard "This Love" played over and over and over. There's something about Adam Levine's voice that makes me want to rip on my eardrums. It's too nasally and the falsetto thing is awful. Plus, he's a man whore. He has a wannabe Morrissey haircut, too. Now, if Blake Lewis wanted to record an album of nothing but Maroon 5 covers, I would be all over that. I thought that when "Makes Me Wonder" landed, it would be so much better if Blake sang it. It all comes down to Adam Levine's horrible voice. That's what makes me abhor Maroon 5 so much. Their songwriting is pretty decent, it's just that Adam's voice is so annoying. It's not like Nickelback where everything is just horrible.

I think it's just me, though. Everyone else seems to really like Maroon 5. I guess I am just a music snob.