Monday, March 31, 2008

This Lady and Her Shamrock Scarf Are Crazy

So, you know how Hillary was practically shot down in Bosnia during her amazing "this shows my foreign policy experience" trip as First Lady back in the early 90s? And everybody (and when I say everybody I mean even Sinbad, yes, that Sinbad) called bull on her story of sniper fire and peril?

Well people, apparently she was telling the truth. Behold:

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Not Enough Time in A Day!


For me to actually, you know, WORK at work, and for me to do all of the requisite analyzation and comparison required to vote for FUG MADNESS 2008!

Bai Ling v. Kelly Clarkson!

Sienna Miller v. Kate Moss!

Posh Beckham v. Joss Stone!

Juliette Lewis v. Juliette Lewis!


Damn, she's hot.

Fug Madness is totally addictive. I now know what it's like for my male co-workers during their stupid March Madness BS. However, Fug Madness is even BETTER than March Madness b because you can vote for who advances! Check out some of these contenders:

The bodysuits! The gloves!


The hats!


The. . .diapers?

Honestly I think I'd be happy if any of those lovely ladies shown above win, but my heart belongs to Juliette.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Food in Japan

Food in Japan is, first and foremost, GOOD. I thoroughly enjoyed each meal I had there, from beef to duck to seafood, from raw to cooked.

As Japanese department stores as just as cool as you imagine them to be, apparently most of them have grocery stores/markets on the bottom floor. Generally one half was a grocery store where you could buy produce, meat, and fish as well as boxed and canned goods like rice or cereal. So, I went about basically acting like what we in America would call a "Japanese Tourist," and took photos all over their grocery store.

Behold: Wasabi in its natural form:


Behold: a "musk melon" (which I must confess I thought was a cantaloupe) for approximately $150! That better be one hell of a melon!


The market in the department store may not be where most Japanese shop on a regular basis, but it sure was a feast for the eyes. The other half of the market consisted of vendors selling prepared foods from small kiosks. You can find anything including chocolate, yakitori, katsu, sushi, sandwiches, dumplings, ice cream, salads and even Italian paninis. We bought a little from many different shops to take with us on the bullet train to Nagoya. Interesting note: Japanese do not eat while walking.

Probably the most extravagant meal we had on the trip was Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner. We all assembled in a private dining room in our hotel in our fashionable Japanese robes, called yukatas, for dinner. Yes, we all matched--photos will be posted.

The set dinner menu was written down on the small menu you can see in the bottom left corner of the picture. The dinner included a hot pot (the metal bowl on the left--it is atop a small grill with charcoal underneath), tempura, sushi, and a bunch of stuff that I have no idea what it was, but it sure was good. Check out that spread!


Another aspect of Japanese cuisine, which to some extent holds for much of Asian cuisine, is that Asians like to cook the food themselves. I think it has something to do with the fact that they appreciate food that is so burning hot that it will remove tastebuds from a typical Whitey's tongue.


One night near Lake Biwa (the name of the town currently excapes me) we feasted on duck hot pots, which were basically big hot pots of broth, with vegetables, in which we boiled big fatty pieces of duck for our eating delight.

Another example is to the right, where we had Mitsusaka beef (forgive me for the probable misspelling of Mitsusaka). Rosie is flipping meat on the grill and Truman is telling her she's doing it wrong. :)

The beef is special, the equivalent of Kobe beef. It was magically tender. It melted in my mouth. It was such good beef that we were actually served with beef sashimi which is--you guessed it--raw slices of beef. The owners of the restaurant owned the farm where the cows were raised, and also owned the brewery of the beer which we had with dinner and which the cows enjoyed before they were slaughtered. No, really. If you don't believe me, look up why Japanese beef is so good and so expensive.


Go to Japan. Eat the food. Eat all of it. Don't ask what it is. You will be happy.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Oh Crap, NOW's Revoking My Feminist Card











So in case you guys haven't heard, we've got a black guy and a woman running for President. And that's a bigger deal than any actual issue in the election--you're not supposed to make your decision based upon the candidates' records, demeanor, ability to preside, or, God forbid, the actual issues.

I admit I haven't been through too many elections--my first presidential election memory was visiting my democratic Grandma Violet in, I would estimate, 1984, during the Democratic National Convention. She had it on TV the entire visit, much to my dismay, and kept referring to Reagan as "my Father's buddy," which did not understand at the time.

My second memory of a presidential election is from 1996, when my friend Mandy and I ran a mock presidential election in our high school and studied the results for a social studies class. That was an awesome project. Ahhh, the memories.

I digress. The point is, maybe every election is like this to an extent--but never has the media had the fodder of both a WOMAN and a MINORITY as real contenders against EACH OTHER. The utter garbage that I have read as a result of this contest sickens me.

Apparently, you're not a real woman if you don't support Hillary. We, as women, will never know success and our own ability as females until we see Hillary being sworn in as President. Somehow, electing Hillary will break barriers, finally make women and men "equal," and will obliterate the glass ceiling.

I say that's a load of horsesh*t. I personally have no faith in the woman. What if she does a terrible job? Will women never have another shot at the big seat? What if she gets us into ANOTHER war? (No matter how much she tries to ignore it, she DID vote for going into Iraq--great judgment, lady). What about the fact that she's just more of the same crap that we've had for the last twenty years? Don't forget, people, if we elect her we will have had only two families running this country for TWENTY FOUR YEARS!

I'm supposed to vote for her just because she's a woman? Isn't that just as bad as a white man voting for a candidate just because he's a white man? Nay, isn't it worse, because we as women actually know what it's like for people to assume you do or do not have abilities based upon what type of reproductive system you've got? It MAKES NO SENSE.

I would absolutely love to have a woman as president. And although my senior high school year book does reflect that I would like to have been the first one, I really don't mind if someone else takes the reigns. Women make up 50% of this country--we're not minorities. But thrusting the first viable candidate into the post only because she's a woman misses the point.

I hate that people think women are not capable of things simply because they are women. Just ask Truman, he'll tell you I really really really really hate it. I believe that women are capable of anything, including going into combat, managing, leading, legislating, and ruling, but not every woman is capable of everything.

To be honest, one thing that really irks me about Hillary is that she is relying too much on being a woman. By being First Lady, she already has political experience. In fact, she has had at least one Freudian slip where she said "when I'm President again." I really think this lady thought that when Bill was elected, so was she. I'm sorry, but am I the only woman left with a bad taste in my mouth by a woman with little political experience using her husband's experience as a basis for elect ability?

Lets stick to the ISSUES, people! You know, like what color Hillary's suit was at the last debate, and did it make her look old? Or the fact that Obama is fun to say--I like to talk about Obamarama all the time. It makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.