cute overdose

get ready to smile!

can you spot the fake black-and-white dog?

transcanada

i bring you great tidings of -- er, nothing, actually, but here i am, nonetheless.

on my plane down from san francisco to palm springs yesterday (a continuing flight from seattle), i solved the age-old question, "how long can you talk about the weather before those nearby suffer a grand mal seizure as a result?" i had the great misfortune of sitting in front of two canucks and a wealthy seattle-ite (clad in -- what else -- tommy bahama, de rigeur desert nouveau riche attire which offers the wearer not only satorial resplendence but also an entire implied lifestyle projected for all the world to see!), who were not only loud, but blessed with an unending capacity for talking about the weather. not only did they discuss their own northwestern weather and the palm springs weather, but chicago weather, and philadelphia weather, and bahamian weather (this is where richie rich's kid is getting married, and also the locale to which he has purchased tickets for all of the wedding party, which occurred when his son approached him about it on a saturday afternoon on which he was feeling particularly agreeable and mellow).

lest i convey the sense that my trip north was a bust, let me assure you it was not and that i was hosted by the ever-gracious and talented nagwells. in fact, the only thing that saved me from murder at 32,000 feet was my reading material, an article by mrs. nagwell on a women-run butcher shop in bernal heights (one of my favorite sf hoods), with photos by mr. nagwell. i'm calling them 'the talent family' from now on.

some other tidbits:

*if you've ever wondered what the appeal of palm springs is, grab yourself a copy of julius shulman: palm springs. not only does he capture the essential wow-ness of palm springs' unparalled embarrassing architectural riches, but the scenery will blow your ever-loving mind as well.

*i'll never understand why country singers (alt- and otherwise) can't help theyselves from producing the shit out of everything. for instance, dolly parton's return to 'mainstream country' with her new album is a step in the entirely wrong direction, as far as i'm concerned. give me fiddles and banjoes any day. which brings me to tift merritt, who has a new album out called 'another country.' i listened to it this morning and it is just ok. way too slick, and her voice gets lost in the production. pull your hands away from the mixing panel already!

*after a particularly challenging day yesterday, i came home and curled up with my trusty dogs and the lesbians-do-the-craziest-things antics of the 'l-word' ladies. my oh my, that jennifer beals must be tired of feigning orgasm by now.

*aforementioned nagwells introduced me to david sedaris singing the oscar meyer weiner jingle in the style of billie holiday, and believe me, you haven't lived until you've heard this. unfortunately, i can't readily find it on the interweb, but trust me, it's worth your googling time.

things that go bump in the night

i love a good creepy story, so let me share this one with you, courtesy of mark morford, sf chronicle columnist:

creepsville

in other news, i am traveling and will return soon to blog hard.

there will be confusion

it has been a whirlwind of late here in lyrical robot land, so a quick list:

* make sure you run out and catch 'there will be blood' before it's no longer in theaters. it is not to be missed on the big screen and is as good as anything robert altman ever did, if i say so misself.

* 'the wire': can't say it enough -- genius! i can't believe it's ending, and i'm only a few episodes into season 4. i'm already in withdrawal.

* we found a house in palm springs and find out today whether it's going to be ours. for those who visit us in palm springs, i think you will like, though it's current state is quite curious (indoor pool with chandeliers? check.)

* l.a. place is finally done. whew.

* this sure feels like a recession, don't it?

* is this hillary's last hurrah?

* long time readers may remember my semi-obsession with the movie 'zodiac,' and i still don't know why i found it so arresting, but i just got the 2-disc director's cut dvd and can't wait to check out 'this is the zodiac speaking,' a feature-length documentary on the zodiac investigation. so if you were similarly intrigued, check it out.

* my pick for best picture is 'there will be blood,' but i think 'no country for old men' will win and that's fine with me, too. i don't get why josh brolin wasn't nominated.

* my iphone reception totally sucks and it is bumming me out. i had a call drop six times in six minutes yesterday and was on hold with apple customer service to find out what's up (at&t passed me along to them immediately). after 40 minutes with no answer, i had to hang up. not happy.

* madonna's face is frozen and it looks fabulous:

what a catch

it's not every bloke on the block who's lucky enough to receive this valentine's card from their beloved. happy v day, mister, and to all ye olde blogge readers.

ipod madness, part deux

saw this meme today and couldn't resist:

how many songs total: 4702 (my desktop itunes library is 1/10th of overall tunes -- not enough GBs, doncha know)
most recently played: "this is it (cardinals version)" - ryan adams
most played: "gold lion" - yeah yeah yeahs
most recently added "election roundup - kcrw's 'left, right & center' podcast
first song sorted by song title: "a-hunting we will go" - hem
last song sorted by song title: "!@*$%#" - fischerspooner
shortest song, by time: smokey the bear psa from the '70s at six seconds
longest song: "antistar" - massive attack
first album: "abba - a tribute"
last album: "1000 kisses" - patty griffin

how many of the following words come up and how often:
doom: zero
death: 27
vomit: zero
fuck: 3
kill: 23
cake: 13

the mysteries of ipod

isn't it weird how sometime your ipod will shuffle its way right along with your consciousness at a given moment? it's like it has a mind of its own, kind of like this movie (god only knows how this craptastic moldy oldy popped into my head).

anyhoo, i had to drive to palm springs yesterday afternoon for a client event, only to return last night to l.a., arriving back around 12:30 ayem, and i have to say there is nothing like a fairly empty freeway and some loud tunes blaring to clear your head.

i thought i'd share a few of the night-friendly tunes that seemed just right as i zoomed quietly west in the somewhat wee hours:

The Battle - Caitlin Cary and Ryan Adams

That Song About the Midway - Bonnie Raitt

Daydreaming - Aretha Franklin

...and to think they say that gays are a threat to marriage.

man hid wife's body in drum for 23 years

celine dion is effing amazing

goodbye, courtney jean

as my nearest and dearest know, i have loved courtney love from the get-go. i remember seeing the video for 'miss world' in '94 and bolting upright on the thrift store couch i was sitting on (and bolting upright was no mean feat given the state i was in) as i took in the fabulous mess of it all.

i remember watching her jump off the stage at lollapalooza in '95 to beat the shit out of some reporter who wrote something bad about her in the wake of kurt cobain's death and i remember seeing her during her post-rehab ballooning weight stage on halloween 2004 or 2005 at the wiltern and her tearing it up.

i loved her versace print ad phase and her oscar-nominated actress phase and her brunette phase, even. i even liked more than one track on 'america's sweetheart.' and i still think 'live through this' is one of the best albums ever, and 'celebrity skin' is also pretty rad.

but, just now, she finally lost me:

when zach met maria

vote, baby, vote

i'm a winner, baby

with the mister now sick, the weekend was spent amongst the comforts of home (or rented condo, anyway). after having read the latest issue of saveur and being reminded of the deliciousness of cincinnati skyline chili, i endeavored to make a batch of mine own, using a receipe i found on the internets (there are a bunch, so i tried to guess which one was closest to what i'd eaten before). as we settled in with houseguest, dogs, glasses of pinot noir and heaping plates of chili (skyline chili is served on a plate because it's served on a bed of spaghetti, then topped with mounds of shredded cheddar cheese), we availed ourselves of the night's entertainment: the 1975 diana ross star vehicle, mahogany.

i don't even know where to begin. there are no words to describe, but let me share with you my favorite bit of dialogue:

"the men love me. the women love me. MAHOGANY!"

not "I'm Mahogany," mind you. just "MAHOGANY!"

also, the title of this post comes from the film. as do the images above, which speak largely for themselves. i don't know how i made it 37 years without exposure to the joys of "MAHOGANY!", but i sense that a dvd purchase is in my immediate future.

ps -- the best part may be the moment immediately after the film ends and the credits begins when the words "COSTUMES DESIGNED BY DIANA ROSS" appear, in type 400 times larger than any other credit that appears subsequently.

and here's the skyline chili recipe:

CINCINNATI SKYLINE CHILI
2 lb. hamburger, browned
2 med. onions, chopped fine
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cinnamon, scant
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. allspice, ground
1 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tbsp. chili powder
4-5 whole bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste, approximately 1 tsp. each
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 qt. water
Bring to a boil, then simmer 3 hours. Mash with potato masher until fine. Serve spaghetti, chopped onions, and grated longhorn cheese on the side if desired.

friday funny