My Oscars haiku

Relevance is gone
But dresses still so pretty
Oscar night again.

The reality of a resolution

I didn't really specifically make a New Year's resolution this year. I had a sort of whisper of a concept I was working with, and over the last 6 weeks it's sort of taken more shape and form. So it started with reducing/eliminating negativity and pursuing joy. It sort of evolved, or maybe, got more specific and became an attempt to become less judgemental and more open. So, while I am still philosophically opposed to red and green Goldfish crackers, and while it's important to maintain passion about the things you believe in, there's no sense in wasting energy on negativity. So being open to others being okay with Goldfish crackers.

I was given an opportunity to put this resolution into practice about a week ago. I had been hearing a dance song on the radio that I thought was really catchy and I was singing along with... "all eyes on me in the centre of the ring just like a circus". And then I learned it's Britney. And I almost started down the "Britney?! Not Britney! I can't like a Britney song!" and then stopped myself. And accepted the fact I like a Britney song. And I'm saying it out loud. I like a Britney song. And I'm not going to apologize for it.

So there.


(Of course, I also just saw a description for a Jamie Oliver Escape show and it says "Jamie Oliver is impressed with the food at a Sicilian street market" and rolled my eyes. Jamie Oliver has nothing on traditional Italian cooking. He's "impressed"?! No kidding. Then I realize I still have a ways to go on the resolution thing. And that he probably had nothing to do with the writing of the description. ;) )

Here's to shunning the jaded judgements and just being!

Who moved my cheese?

I'm watching the first episode of The Amazing Race 14 and I have to say, this cheese challenge is the most hilarious challenge ever on The Amazing Race. Whoever came up with this one is brilliant. Runaway cheese! And the old man inching down on his butt holding the cheese. But the best was when Luke lost his rhythm, started losing control running down the hill and then fell. Mostly, though, I love the huge cowbells.

I'm a toureller. Or a travist.

I like this article. And I like people who understand that seeing new places and having new experiences is an innately personal matter and the only thing that is important about how people travel is that, when they're spending their precious time and hard-earned money fulfilling dreams or just finding a way to add adventure or relax, the only thing that matters with respect to how they do it, is that they're doing it in a way that they enjoy. I am so over the pretentiousness associated with travel. Do what you love. And don't expect others to love the things you do.

http://travel.sympatico.msn.ca/RobinEsrock/Articles/are_you_a_traveller_or_tourist

This is why I can't stop watching Giada DeLaurentiis

I'm watching "Giada at Home" right now. She and her aunt are cooking a rice dish that her grandmother used to make. Her aunt was talking about how the grandmother always worked on perfecting cooking rice but never gave her the recipes so on the night she (the grandmother) was dying, the only thing the aunt could think to do was cook rice for the family who was all there. So she started trying to deconstruct/reverse engineer the recipe. Now they're cooking it on Giada's show. So they're discussing the recipe and some of the choices (why hot sauce and not red pepper flakes) and trying to figure it out. And it is such a feeling of home and a depiction of the truth of so many families - so much love and joy in the food but no recipes. So next generations try to watch and learn and recreate.

That feeling of home is why I continue to watch Giada despite the overexpressive hand gestures.

It's so hard to say goodbye

I've been watching Young & the Restless off and on since I was 12. While the writing seems to have gotten worse, the last couple of months I've been catching moments here and there since it's on in those few moments between the time I arrive home from work and need to leave for school. So I've been getting back into the storylines. And yet, obviously not enough. Because it was only a couple of days ago that I learned that Don Diamant, who plays Brad, was leaving the show. WTF?!?! Not Brad! In the Victor/Jack/Brad triangle, Brad has always been my favourite. He's the best looking, the least egotistical. He would be the one I would go for if I was one of the crazy ladies on the show. Not these constant obsessions with Victor or Jack. And so it is with great sadness I've been watching the last couple of days. Y&R won't be the same.

The underlying current

I don't really have time to go into the whole existential examination since I'm supposed to be working on a case study, but the last several months I've been wondering if I should make a change. However, rather than just allow myself the time to peacefully come to my decision, I have this undercurrent of angst that is starting to permeate all aspects of my life. Instead of just focussing on daily life, enjoying its pleasures and slowly moving forward on/completing some other objectives, I worry that I will wake up and 5 years will be gone having focussed on the day's agenda. In short, rather than making decisions based on my heart and head, or even when I think I've made a decision based on my heart and head, I have become focussed solely on whether I will regret the decision (whatever it is) 5 years from now. Which is leaving me with this undercurrent of anxiety. I need to get past this and just let myself be.

But first, I need to let myself be doing my case study.

I don't get the Jessica Alba obsession

I should preface this with saying that I never watched her tv show nor have seen the Fantastic Four movies - more out of lack of interest in the subject matter than anything related to Jessica Alba.

So today I flipped on E! and they were showing "Sexiest Latin Celebs" or something along that vein. I came in at #5 which was Enrique Inglesias. Fair enough. #4 was J. Lo. This surprised me because I was wondering what 3 they would put above J. Lo, who, despite all the "diva" stories, I have no issues with and rather like. She's stunningly gorgeous, can sing, dance, act, runs her own line of perfume. While the quality of her talents and each of her endeavours in them could always be debated, she appears to be a woman focussed on creating a name/career/brand for herself and not letting anything get in the way of that (like P. Diddy's issues). I liken my admiration for her to the admiration I have for Madonna. May be wacko, may be off the wall, but knows what she wants and works hard for it. And as I was pondering her role at #4, I was thinking I could develop a little girl crush on her. She is beautiful.

#3 was Ricky Martin. No issues there. As cheesy as the music may be, the man is hot. (Digressing a bit - how did I miss that Enrique's body was so hot? Man alive!)
So then I'm on the phone and sort of missing the show. I look up and realize that #2 is Jessica Alba and #1 is Selma Hayek. WTF?!?! As I mentioned, I don't get why all the Jessica Alba hype. Yes, she's very pretty. But so are thousands of women and hundreds of celebrities. And I'm sure she's a nice enough person. But, I don't get why I'm supposed to care about her. To me, she and Sienna Miller fall in the same category. Celebrities because they're pretty and alive. ?!?!?!?
And don't even get me started on Selma Hayek. Actually I can't really get started on Selma Hayek. I don't like her. And I don't know why. But I never have. There's something annoying about her. She goes in the Penelope Cruz category - something I can't quite put my finger on that annoys me but all I know is that I never want to have to see her.

All of which leads me to my question. What the heck is E! thinking?! How do you even *think* about putting together a Luscious Latin list and not have J. Lo at the top?! I'd love to see the criteria used because I don't see the logic. So E!, consider this my strongly worded letter. There's no way Selma or Jessica top Jennifer. You need to re-examine this.