Let's see, what to write about this morning? I have to be more careful about snide asides and poking my stick into hornet's nests - if I pick on the teachers' unions, Michael will swat my knuckles with a ruler; if I insult Women's Studies programs any more, Ms. Frizzle will slap me into next week; if I make even one small typo, Chun the Unavoidable will insult my intelligence.
By the way, this is how my week at work has gone, too.
I figure it's time for another Friday Favorites post; pure opinion means there's less likelihood of me screwing something up.
This week's favorites are:
1. Monica Belluci. Obviously, I don't love her for the same reasons as 98% of the straight male population of the planet (I figure blind men are immune to her charms). I love her because she appeared in a major motion picture as a sex symbol with an unaerobicized, un-liposuctioned belly, and because she has fine lines around her eyes. In fact, I love her because she's willing to look her age (which happens to be the same as my age). I remember seeing photos of her ten years ago when she was a struggling actress and model in Italy. She actually looks better now, seemingly without having made major changes to her appearance. I love late bloomers.
2. Halloween candy. No, not just the mini-sized versions of regular candy, but the good candy in scary shapes. Peppermint Batties, Snickers Pumpkins, and Peeps Cocoa Bats are my favorites right now. I swear, they taste better in these altered designs....(and do not miss X-Entertainment's Halloween Countdown, which includes a hilarious segment on the Cocoa Bats).
Who am I kidding? I love EVERYTHING about Halloween; Snickers Pumpkins are just the icing on the cake (and the reason that I probably won't be able to fit into my witch costume next Friday night). The goth subculture has become so much a part of the culture that I needn't wait for Halloween each year to stock up on skull candleholders, black lipstick, and giant pink sequined bats, but I still love seeing all that stuff in the front rows of stores during October.
3. Tomato Nation. Freelance writer Sars Bunting writes giggle-icious articles about various topics including (but most definitely not limited to) her baseball mania, The Ministry of Silly Cat Walks, entering a spelling bee with her parents, the worst hangover ever recorded, and the terrors of driving in snow.Her advice column is pretty good, too.
4. Finding Nemo. Out on DVD November 4th. WaHOO. The DVD includes a feature that turns your TV screen into an animated aquarium.
5. The Pyramid Collection. I don't care if it is "Magick for the Masses" or "The Occult Department Store," I absolutely love their stuff. I try to limit what I buy (see #7, below), but I'm entranced every time I open the catalogue. I already have two of those handpainted cat collectibles, by the way, but mine have flames and camo patterns (and I bought them elsewhere for 5 dollars less).
6. Simple pleasures, like tickling my sensitive boyfriend while someone is trying to take our photo, or getting my spare bedroom in order so that my cat can snuggle in a lump under the new blanket.
7. And speaking of simple pleasures, I'm also into the simplicity movement, aka "Voluntary Simplicity". I don't like that second phrase; it seems both more pretentious and more desperate, as though the practitioners want to make damn sure that everyone knows they chose not to spend money on nice cars and cable TV. I'm not interested in the movement because I think it makes me a superior person, or because it helps save the planet, or any of that sanctimonious blah blah blah.
I just want to go back to being satisfied with less, with being more careful with my spending, and to be able to save more money so that the big things that really matter - like my house, or my health - don't get compromised because I nickle-and-dimed all my money away on little, meaningless thing. Sure, it's not going to be easy, especially for a workaholic spendaholic like me, but Simple Living is my bible of the moment. We'll see how far I get with it.
Posted by kswygert at October 24, 2003 09:51 AM
