let's savor August for 30 more minutes.

Blog about going to the State Fair every day
How does one afford that, anyway? I will go this year though, I promise. Maybe.

Libelous Claims About Large Corporations
So. Awesome. I love you paint.

i suck at life

Aww, the MN State Fair made the NY Times
Except they're probably using this as some cultural study to prove, "God, the midwest is weird."

Cats in Sinks!
hehe!

I've been doing Encarta quizzes all day. After I aced the 8th grade math test, I tried the SAT sample math test. Aced it! Then I thought I'd try the writing section. Whoa, that sucked. THEN I tried some grammar test and did horribly on it. And thus we have proof as to why my original career path [math teacher] was actually a better choice than my current one [ESL teacher with no job].

let's pig out and go running so we don't feel fat.

Cupcake photo pool on Flickr
Oh. My. God. That's over 500 pictures of cupcakes, and counting. I like this one so far.

In other news, I think my friends and I are going to do this 5k beer run!!! With costumes! I don't know what yet. I need to get in better shape.

triple word score.

The winning board from the Scrabble Tournament
Conclusion: the Scrabble Dictionary is bullshit.

i love ira glass

Interview with Ira Glass

IG: I'm sorry, I don't talk about that.

(Glass hangs up. Thirty seconds later, he calls back.)

BM: I can't believe you actually hung up.

IG: See, that felt good. I want to do that every interview, now.

After reading that I wanted to marry him. But then I finished up the piece and found out he's engaged. Shucks.

i'm almost on empty

Dear Friend,
Do you drive a car? Take the bus? Maybe you only bike or walk anywhere, which obviously makes you better than most other Americans. Congrats to you. Have you noticed that gas is expensive? And it just seems to be getting more expensive? Sucks, huh? And even though we keep saying, "Man, gas is expensive!" the price never really seems to go down.

Sometimes I like to watch the news when I am making dinner and the reruns of Seinfeld aren't on yet. Every single goddamn day the news has to remind us that gas is expensive. New all-time high! Now show some stock-footage of people filling up their suburbans.

But today the news reached its lowest point. CBS has decided to, ahem, drive around the country exploring the rising costs of gas and how it affects people. Um, hello. People pay more for gas, have less money for other stuff, consider other options, complain a lot, take less road trips, complain some more, but mostly just keep on driving and paying for gas like everyone else. Fascinating stuff. I expect many heart-breaking stories about the man with the giant truck who paid $100 to fill his tank. I will be tuning in all week. So should you.

Hearts,
Erica

in case you miss me.

Minnesota Historical Society's list of everyone who has played at First Ave. or 7th Street Entry, ever
I don't have time to study this thoroughly, so I thought I'd check out my day of birth: no one played on the exact, but U2 played 4 days later [Feb 21, 1982]. That makes me feel really young somehow.


To anyone who cares: my absence is due to my busy week - I've been putting in long hours nannying for an energetic 4-year-old. We've been doing the usual: catching ants for hours, mistaking logs for crocodiles, and spending way too much time at the mall on the climbing apparatus since it was crappy out today. I need a massage.

Only a real man can be a lover*

An overview of the book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America
I don't know what I was expecting when I clicked this, but when George Bush wasn't at the top that was a pretty clear sign.

Birth Control for men could, uh, change things

Posters recruiting subjects for male contraception trials showed the “First Man on the Pill” dressed as an astronaut, striking a confident pose, boldly looking to the future.

haha, that is SO awesome.

Sufjan Stevens declared not Christian enough by the Christian Music Trade Association
Man, why do they always have to be so holier-than-thou?

Related: Illinois is declared to be superbly wonderful by many including me. Thank you B-Side in Madison for actually having it in stock. Yum.

*That subject is strangely related to everything in this post even though it wasn't intended to be.

apple, you win.

I have managed to fend off the ipod crazies who have been invading the universe for a while now. I've read the countless articles about how someone's ipod changed their life without feeling too left out. I've maintained the idea that yeah, ipods might be okay if I could afford one, but I'd rather spend my money on other, more important things. Even after I had explored other people's ipods and marveled at how freakishly small they are, I still managed to hold on to my ambivalence about the damn things. That's until last week, when I decided to borrow my brother's mini to go on a run alongside some farmlands up north. And it was quite convenient to have ALL THAT MUSIC literally in the palm of my hand. Of course, it was my bro's music so I had to filter through a lot of crap. Which is why if I had my own it would be even better! Sigh.

So anyway. That means my current wishlist is:
1. Apple ibook
2. Apple ipod
3. A job to pay for all of these things.

See, it's like I'm already one of those Apple fanatics even though I'm typing this on a Dell computer that is too old to even support itunes.

143

I saw Me and You and Everyone We Know a week ago, and I cannot stop thinking about it. I want to tell my friends about every scene that I liked (which is much of the movie), but I stop because I don't want to ruin anything for them in case they want to see it. After I saw it I knew I liked it, but the feeling has grown since. It's like a visual earworm, if that makes sense at all. So anyway, in the absence of being able to watch it again right now or even being able to gush about it with someone who's seen it, I've been reading the movie's blog again. I started exploring it when I wanted to see the movie initially, but it's much more relevant now. I like the way Miranda deals with her success (such as talking about paying off debts and buying new shoes). I like the way she is proud of her movie and yet nervous as she sees people in line to see it. But most of all, I adore Brandon's blogs (the adorable 6 year old actor). They're so honest and heart-warming. I hope he can read those when he's 16. So, yeah. Go see this right now please.

/gushing

have a nice WEEKEND?

I was up at the family cabin last week for a few days, and my sister brought the premiere issue of Weekend Magazine (which apparently has no website I can find). It's pretty much the exact same thing as Real Simple, except more based around things one might do on the weekend, like have clambakes, visit expensive spas or redecorate the already spotless and neat laundry room. Yeah...there was one hilarious article where the laundry room was in "disarray" because...well, we never really understood why. But after some fresh paint, an expensive laundromat style hamper and turning the ironing board around it really did look better! Anyway, you get the idea. An emphasis on organizing and relaxation skills for people with time and money. They had a survey and since I was bored I decided to fill it out.

If you were to visit the Weekend website, what would you like to see?
Pictures of men wearing J. Crew clothing in various stages of undress.

What do you like best about Weekend?
The upper-middle class idealism that we all strive to achieve.


If additional editorial content was added, what would you like to see?
More articles about cluttered laundry room that show me how bad mine is - I am so embarassed. Shocked and appalled, even.

If you decided not to subscribe to Weekend, why would you not subscribe?
Because it would increase the clutter in my life, causing me stress, nausea, and malaise.*

*also: ennui.

gah! typos!

Bottled Water = Bad News
This makes me feel better about drinking (GASP) tap water. I knew a girl who wouldn't even give her CAT water that hadn't been through her Brita. Also, I don't remember where I got this link anymore but at the end it says "YOUR REG SYSTEM IS EVIL". Interesting!

Interview with MarkDefamer
Interesting stuff, especially the love/hate relationship with celebrities.

Flickr "Interestingness"
Fun. I wish I took nice pictures.

Warning! Adorable/future hipster Finnish baby photo link
Lots of other stylish people there, depending on your definition of stylish.


I'm out of town for a bit. Northwestern MN, and then Madison. I get to spend something like 8 hours in a car Friday NOT listening to This American Life. Whee!

get rich now! ask me how.

WOW! Not buying lunch actually saves money
I love it when rich people are like, "I have this new way to save money that includes not buying something!!" Duh. Meanwhile, there's the people like me who have been brown-bagging it for years because, um, $7 for lunch everyday is way more than we can afford. How am I not a millionaire yet?

Fake Jennifer Aniston love letters on ebay
hehe, I actually don't mind at all that he's making some cash from this.

Snopes "urgent" unanswerable questions
There's just so much goodness in here. My faves:

If someone was too eat a huge clump of wasabi paste..Could they choke to death from being unable to breath?

If you sneeze and get into an accident, are you still at fault? Are there any laws?

Is Ciara a MAN????? PLEASE ANSWER ME BACK!!!!!