Thursday, September 30, 2010

Musical Influences

I'm always kind of jealous when someone talks about the music they heard around the house growing up. When I discovered Fleetwood Mac's Rumours a couple years ago, I couldn't believe I had never heard the whole album before and my friend Steve told me that his parents used to listen to it constantly when he was a kid.


The only thing I really remember hearing in my parents' house was Christmas music and kids music. I only recall my parents owning three records, but they were all stellar: one was a live Johnny Cash (either Folsom Prison or San Quentin ), then Sesame Street Fever, and then this great Christian kids record called The Music Machine. Old Herbert the Snail taught me a lesson I never forgot when he sang "have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. When you get impatient, you only start worry." He's right, you know.


Speaking of the Music Machine, I totally want one if this is really how it works:

♫Music machine, music machine
Like no other gadget that you've ever seen
Whatever you want to sing about,
Put something in it and a song comes out!♫


I wish they still had those albums, but when they moved to a different house when I was in college, the records ended up in the attic and got all melty.

In retrospect, it would have been cool if my parents had really been into the Beatles or something, but neither my mom or my dad has ever really been into music at all. My early musical education came from my older brothers. When I got my first radio for Christmas in fifth grade one of my older brothers made me a list of what stations I should listen to, advising me to avoid 102.5 KEZK because it was "mushy Mom music." As I got older, he schooled me in the music he liked, particularly the Go-Go's and the Who.

Another older brother really liked U2 and the Pixies. My oldest brother went from liking country (when country was cool -- Devil Went Down to Georgia era), to strangely enough, rap. He had this tape called Rap's Greatest Hits that my little brothers and I thought was just about the best thing ever. Oh my gosh, what an amazing tape!


It wasn't until I was in college and had a boyfriend that was into cool music that I started to understand the scope and breadth of music. Ever since then, I've been a bit of a music nut. I can't actually have intelligent conversations with Music Snobs because my opinions tend to be gushy but non-descript like "Oh my gosh, what an amazing band/song/album! I love those guys!" Plus I don't understand why there have to be a million different genres and 90% of them have to be '"something"-core'. You'll never hear me describe a band as "If Band A and Band B Got Drunk in an Alley and Had A Three-Way With Band C." That's just not me.

Anyway, yeah, musical influences. I turned out just fine even though my parents weren't/aren't huge music fans. They may not have taught me anything about music, but they did teach me countless priceless life lessons. Seems like a pretty good trade-off.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Genius of Genius

Do you ever use the Genius feature on your iPod/iPhone/iPad?
If you give Genius just one song, it uses magic and mind reading to create a 25-song playlist custom-made just for you! It's generally pretty right on and it always come through in a pinch when I'm busy at work and don't want to hear an whole album or just listen to one artist but don't have the time to make my own playlist.

This mix was pretty good, though there are a hundred better Pixies songs than La La Love You. I wouldn't have chosen so many Wilco songs, and I definitely wouldn't have picked any songs by The National (I know people like them, but that guy's voice puts me to sleep). How did Genius know that Lost Coastlines is my favorite Okkervil River song?! I'm pretty sure some kind of sorcery is involved. Perhaps a spell with wormwood? Maybe Apple secretly implanted a chip in my brain? Who knows.

Something To Look Forward To - Spoon
I'm The Man Who Loves You (live) - Wilco
Come on Home - Franz Ferdinand
Say Yes - Elliott Smith
Summer Baby (Winter Version) - Pavement
Strange Apparition - Beck
One By One All Day - The Shins
Mistaken for Strangers - The National
Everything Hits At Once - Spoon
Kamera - Wilco
Cold Hands - Black Lips
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism - New Pornographers
Waltz #1 - Elliott Smith
Ecstasy - PJ Harvey
La La Love You - Pixies
Dancing Choose - TV on the Radio
Gimmie Some Salt - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Small Stakes - Spoon
Lost Coastlines - Okkervil River
Squalor Victoria - The National
Pot Kettle Black - Wilco
Girl On the Wing - The Shins
Twin Cinema - New Pornographers
It's a Hit - Rilo Kiley
Baby Britain - Elliott Smith

This one's better, though again, I never would have picked three Eagles of Death Metal songs, plus the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club song doesn't really fit in with the general mood. I'll forgive Genius for these small errors considering it picked my favorite Simian song and reminded me of how much I love Supergrass.

You're Speaking My Language - Juliette & The Licks
Love is a Deserter - The Kills
LA Breeze - Simian
Love In A Trashcan - The Raveonettes
I Only Want You - Eagles of Death Metal
New Radio - Bikini Kill
Born To Be A Dancer - Kaiser Chiefs
Picture Book - The Kinks
Shelter Your Needs - Juliette & The Licks
Alright Alright (Here's My Fist Where's the Fight?) - Saraha Hotnights
Decent Days and Nights - The Futureheads
Heart + Soul - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Jet Boy - New York Dolls
Chain Gang of Love - The Raveonettes
I Want You So Hard - Eagles of Death Metal
No Wow - The Kills
Got Love to Kill - Juliette & The Licks
Rid of Me - PJ Harvey
Blood On Our Hands - Death From Above 1979
No Regrets - The Von Bondies
Demirep - Bikini Kill
Bad Blood - Supergrass
In This Home On Ice - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Speaking In Tongues - Eagles of Death Metal
My Boyfriend's Back - The Raveonettes

I love you Genius! Thanks for the fun mixes!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tube Sock Weather!

Even though it's still only September, I'm going to go ahead and proclaim today the first day of the Tube Sock season.
Yaaaaaaaaaaay!


May this season bring you much warmth and comfort.


My name is Laura, and I'm a Tube Sock Addict.



If you say tube socks a bunch of times it starts to sound weird.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Hands and Knees, Mad Men Season 4 Episode 10



OK, last night's Mad Men:

I don't think Joan had the abortion. Can't say for sure, but I have a feeling. We'll see.

Lane's "Chocolate Bunny"!

Lane's dad whacking him upside the head with his old man cane, then standing on Lane's hand until he promised to do as he was told, "sir". As an added bonus, Lane's dad was played by the same guy who was Mr. Reindeer in Wild at Heart! Weirdo!!

The relief I felt when those Beatles tickets finally came through. Whew! I was nervous about it the whole episode, picturing Sally totally going off the deep end if Don had to cancel those plans.

That smarmy Lee Garner Jr guy cancelling all future business between Lucky Strike and SCDP. He's been on thin ice with me ever since he got Sal fired, and this did not return him to my good graces. He's just a creep.

Don's identity scare!! This is the first time in a long time that I've seen Betty show some kindness towards Don, or towards anyone. Good for her. I'm interested to see how this whole scare plays out in the next couple episodes.

Pete Campbell, who I cannot stand -- he and his blue suits make me sick, taking the heat for "losing" North American Aviation (really having to let them go to protect Don). I'd say this is the first time in a long time that he has shown kindness towards anyone, but he'll just lord it over Don from now until the end of time so it hardly counts. Kind of like he helped that au pair neighbor replace a dress, but then he forced her into having sex with him as 'thanks'. He's his own brand of smarmy.

What is the future of SCDP without Lucky Strike and NAA?!

During one of the commercial breaks, I saw the above really cool Converse commercial that uses (to perfection) Hello Operator by the White Stripes. I'd be irritated that Jack White sold one of his songs, but this commercial was so cool I don't care in the least. I also loved the European/Australian Coke commercial from a few years ago that he literally specifically wrote a song for, because the song and the commercial are so fantastic. Jack White can do no wrong in my book.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

River Phoenix



Recently I watched A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, a terrible River Phoenix movie that I love in a way that only a girl who was a teenager during River's short movie career can. It reminded me of being fifteen and being sooooooo in love with River. The scene in Stand By Me where he breaks down crying while telling Gordy the whole story about getting busted for stealing the milk money? It's almost too much raw emotion to handle.

I've always been completely fascinated by the whole Phoenix family, but particularly smitten with River. He was my first big Celebrity Crush (not counting this thing I had for Howard Cosell when I was really little - don't ask). When he died in 1993, I was truly saddened even though he was an actor and not someone I knew personally. We'll never get to see him create a brilliant new character in another movie (like Devo in I Love You to Death) and that's a shame.

Speaking of Stand By Me, I take comfort in the words of Chris Chambers (River) when Gordie (Wil Wheaton) asks him if he's weird: "Yeah, but so what? Everybody's weird."

Saturday, September 25, 2010

This is an Outrage!!


I'm disappointed to report that the St. James Carnival did not have funnel cakes. No funnel cakes, no meat on a stick. What kind of operation are they running over there?


Now, I realize that I can pick up some delicious (assumably, I haven't actually tried them) Funnel Cake Sticks from Burger King, or I could go straight to the contrived source and have a full-on carnival-style lunch at a new restaurant in Ballwin called Mr. Harry's Carnival Foods but that's not the point.



When I go to a carnival, I expect funnel cake. I shouldn't even have to be talking about this, carnivals should just know better. St. James the Greater, I'm talking to you. For shame. For shame.



It's sad to think that this year will not be a repeat of two years ago when I ended up sitting a mere table away from Francis Slay, the Mayor of St. Louis, at the carnival while he enjoyed some tasty meat on a stick. My brother Jonny, who was sitting next to me sharing some funnel cake (you know, because we were at a carnival), refers to it as "the time we ate lunch with the mayor."



I had to settle for a snow cone, and even that was a disappointment. I asked for blue, but was immediately jealous when I saw my friend's red one, and a tear came to my eye when I was hit with the regret of not asking for a blue/red mix. When will I learn?



I'm sure people enjoyed the carnival in general, what with the rides, games, live music and Wacky Shack. But all the Wacky Shacks in the world can't overcome a lack of proper carny food. St. James the Greater? You're not so great. Your carnival didn't even smell right.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Funnel Cake, Here I Come!

The St. James Carnival is this weekend!

I'm gonna eat funnel cake till I puke!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Who's the Big Winner?!

A few years ago I won a bunch of money at Ameristar Casino, and it was one of the most exciting afternoons of my life. For some reason I had a day off in the middle of the week so my dad and I used that as an excuse to go gamble in the middle of the day. (It doesn't take a lot of arm-twisting to talk my dad into going to a casino)

He was shooting craps and I was playing a quarter slot machine when all of a sudden it seemed like my machine froze up. Just as I was about to walk away because I thought it was broken, I realized that it wasn't letting me continue playing because I had just won a big jackpot. The display showed that I had just won 9000 credits. 9000 credits!! I was so flustered/excited plus I'm so awful at math that my first thought was 'Is that a hundred dollars? A million dollars? I don't know!' I called my mom and asked her to do the math and she explained that I had just won over $2000!

By that time, a casino employee had come over to read the machine and had gone to get me my money. Right then my dad, who had crapped out, happened to walk right by and I grabbed him and explained what was going on. He was so excited for me that he started shaking and I thought he might fall down. A few minutes later, the casino lady came back and counted out $2,250 in cash directly into my hand. Literally as I was putting the money into my wallet, my dad asked "Honey, can I have $200?" I was so high from the win I didn't think twice about it and handed him $200.

When I got back home and told my mom the whole story, including how I gave Dad the money he asked for, she said "Oh Sweetie, you'll never see that money again." Spoken like the wife of a gambler! But guess what? My dad turned that $200 into $1500 at Ameristar, came home and paid me back and left the bulk of the rest with my mom, then turned around and went to Harrah's and won another $1500!

The money I won that day allowed me to pay off the remainder of my student loans, and the whole experience gave me a fun memory and a good story to tell.


I've got a picture of me holding all the money in my hands, but I can't seem to find it right now. As soon as I find it, I'll add it in here.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

My Laundry Song



For the past ten years, every time I've done a load of laundry I've sung the Rolling Stones song Angie in my head, only instead of "Angie", it's "Laundry."



Monday, September 20, 2010

Fast Forward Nine Months

Joan and Roger: I can't wait for Joan to give birth to a little white-haired baby holding a highball glass! Even though Joan is married and probably shouldn't be having dinner at a secluded geriatric diner with her former lover, I'm not judging her. I know right after I'm the victim of a mugging in a bad neighborhood, the only thing that calms me down is to walk about ten feet away, then frantically have sex standing up, pushed against a residential building that someone just walked into. It's comforting.

Megan the Receptionist: I just love her. She seems like such a sweet, nice young lady. I think I want her and Don to end up together. Did you know she is played by the same actress that had sex in the bathtub with Darryl from The Office in Hot Tub Time Machine?

Miss Blankenship: We hardly knew ye. I'm dying to get the full story about her relationship(s) with Bert Cooper (and Roger) back in the day!

Betty: She keeps getting worse. I wouldn't mind seeing her character killed off.

Sally: What a wreck this poor little girl has become. I feel bad for her but at the same time I feel like a firm backhand from Don would straighten her up a bit.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Wanna play a quick game of Soppy?

You know how a lot of times on tv shows they don't have clearance (or whatever the reason is) to use brand name products so the logos on soda cans or cereal boxes or whatever are amended to be just a little bit different?

OK, now do you remember the show Grounded for Life? In their living room set, there are some board games stacked on a shelf underneath the window. One day I noticed that the game SORRY! was SOPPY!, and that made me laugh. And now, years later, every once in a while SOPPY! will pop into my head out of nowhere and it still makes me laugh.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Swatch Dogs and Diet Coke Heads


It's Winona Ryder Weekend around here!



Last night I watched Heathers and I'll probably watch Beetlejuice later tonight.



Something interesting I learned from the special features for Heathers: there was an alternate ending that involved Veronica (Ryder) blowing up instead of J.D. (Christian Slater), followed by a prom in heaven. Sounds intriguing.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Skittles and Snot: A Lesson in Anatomy


Quick Skittles story: Freshman year in high school I always got a can of Coke and a bag of Skittles right before volleyball practice. One day I was running late and inadvertently learned about how our sinuses operate. I shook some Skittles into my hand (happened to be 3 purple ones), chewed them while simultaneously bending down to start stretching out. The next thing I knew I had purple snot running out of my nose.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

My Brother Ben, "they all think he's a righteous dude"


Have you ever known someone who has 100 close friends? Someone who can't leave the house without running into ten people he knows? Someone who seems to know everyone? That person in my life is my brother Ben. Not only does he know a million people, but each and every one of those people, myself definitely included, have nothing but good things to say about him.

Though he's been out of high school for a few years, he still exudes a certain Ferris Bueller quality. It's hard to fathom that he and I were born of the same parents, grew up in the same house, had basically the same upbringing because I've known like 30 people my entire life. If he's Ferris, I'm definitely Jeannie (♫ Shawna ♫).

Let me explain the Ben/Ferris Bueller connection by sharing a story that may be hard to believe but is 100% true. When Ben was a freshman, the Rockwood School District was getting ready to open a new high school and students were able to submit nominations for the new school's name. My mom received a call from Rockwood's office to ask if we had a Ben Lamb in our family that was some kind of war hero or something because the name Ben Lamb was in the top three nominations. That's right, Marquette High School could have been named Ben Lamb Memorial High School.

He is not only super-nice, but also super-cool and super-funny. He's just a lot of fun to be around. I stayed with him during my recent vacation, and I looked forward to the time he would get home every day because I knew within ten minutes of walking in the door he would say something hilarious. He makes up funny songs (like the instant classic Laser Comb!, sung to the tune of the Runaway's Cherry Bomb), he makes deadpan witty observations off-the-cuff, and his humor is all the more welcomed because it is never mean-spirited.

I love and admire his positivity, his happiness, his openness, his kind heart, his sense of humor, his story-telling ability, his wit, his strong faith and character, his very spirit.

Plus he works for the Grammys! How cool can you get?!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Cardinals Guy

A sweet little old man who loves the St. Louis Cardinals has the front of his house and his front yard decked out with Cardinals signs year-round.


He might be crotchety actually; I've only ever seen him working in his little garden, but anyone who loves the Cards this much is probably a real sweetheart!




His house is officially on Kehrs Mill Road near Strecker, but unofficially, it's on Albert Pujols Drive.


Look at the gorgeous Autumn colors going on in his backyard.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

New Music / New Shoes

MUSIC

I need some new music. Everything in my iPod seems stale. I picked up 1500+ new songs earlier in the year and figured that would hold me for a while, but I'm ready for more!

In an effort to keep my car safe and not-broken-into, I removed the two visor cd holder thingies a few months ago. Now my car is fine, but my ears are bored.

I've been saying for the longest time that I'm going take a bunch of old cds into Vintage Vinyl and try to sell them back so I can get some new ones, but it's probably time to go ahead and really do it.

You know when you get a new album and you love it and can't get enough of it and you listen to it every time you're in the car for months in a row? I want that again. Last time I had that experience was with Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. I still love that album but we need some time apart at this point.


SHOES


So I've worn the same two pair of shoes to work every day for several years: Black Doc Marten boots in the winter, and blue Doc Marten Mary Janes the rest of the year. I try not to think about the fact that people at work who don't know me possibly refer to me as the Blue Shoe Lady. There was a Red Shoe Lady around here a few years ago, and it kills me that I'm her now, just a different color. This year I've thrown in a third pair, a cute black and white checkered flat. The boots are perfect for the winter because I can wear white tube socks with dress pants and no one is the wiser.

Anyway, it's time for new shoes. For some reason I have a mental block when it comes to making any kind of shoe purchase. I am not one of those girls who doesn't have room for all her shoes in her closet. Here's literally all the shoes I own (plus 3 pairs of flip-flops and some sweet fuzzy slippers).


Still plenty of room, if I can just bring myself to pick out and buy a pair!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Don Draper IS the Elephant in the Room

How hilarious is it that Don walked into Baby Gene's birthday party, where his presence was not expected and certainly not welcome, with a huge stuffed elephant in his arms? Did he do that on purpose in an attempt to bring some levity to the fact that he was the elephant in the room? Probably not, but I liked the imagery anyway. FYI, I don't care how old that kid gets, I'm always going to refer to him as Baby Gene.

How about what a jerk Henry Francis was when he called Don to come get the boxes marked "Draper" out of the garage? He took that opportunity to inform Don that he should stay away from his own son's birthday party. Henry would have more of a leg to stand on with this box issue if those boxes weren't in the garage of the house that Don owns! Also jerky was Henry ramming the boxes with his car, and the fact that he had the boxes out on the sidewalk when Don got there. Don couldn't have been any cooler when he drove straight to a dumpster and pitched the boxes without so much as a look inside.

I'm once again bursting with pride over how Don is growing as a person. He's seeing all the drinking that goes on at the office with new eyes, he's swimming to clear his head, he's making mature decisions in regards to women and his family and his own drinking. I just want him to be happy. Since he's a character on a television show and I am a real person, it's hard for me to reach out to him and give advice or offer support, but I would if I could. For now I'll cheer him and his small but steady personal victories on through the tv screen from my couch.

I wish Joan wouldn't have cattily snapped at Peggy for firing that turd Joey. While I realize that Joan's got her own stuff going on with her husband headed to Vietnam (just Basic Training for right now), she could have warmed up for a change and enjoyed a rare camaraderie with another female, especially since Peggy had just stood up for her. Her ice-cold, tough persona wore on me this episode.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Dear Vacation

Dear Vacation,

Well Buddy, it's been an amazing 18 days. Thank you for all the good times. I knew our time spent together would be fun, but I couldn't have imagined how much I would enjoy every minute of every day. I'm sad that our time is drawing to an end, but I'll keep our wonderful shared memories close to my heart and fresh in my mind until we meet again.
I love you. I will miss you. Thanks again for all the fun, the laughter, the great food, the precious time spent with family, and the rest and relaxation.

Love,
Laura

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Culture overload in these precious final days of vacation

Hey St. Louis - spread out the good times! The St. Louis Art Fair in Clayton, Schlafly's Art Outside (AKA Maplewood Art Fair), and the first annual Dogtown Street Musicians Festival are all this weekend. The Clayton one is a little too highbrow for me, so I'm skipping it entirely.





Last night, after checking out Art Outside, a friend and I discovered a fun little bar in Maplewood. We hung out inside with a really nice couple and the very entertaining bartender Joyce, but out back there were a bunch of tables and chairs and a couple of pool tables too. It was super-fun, a great find. I feel bad that I can't remember the name. It's directly across Manchester from Cusumano's. Joyce told us the building used to be a church, a funeral home, and a couple other things.






I love whoever came up with the idea for the Street Musicians Festival. What a cool idea! I'm heading back up there again in a little bit, plus I'd like to cruise by the Maplewood Art Fair one more time too.






Friday, September 10, 2010

Friday Night Lights on ABC Family


I'm pretty sure everyone that reads this is related to me, hence all of you are already familiar with the greatness that is Friday Night Lights. But just in case a random stranger drops by, I'm going to recommend that you watch Friday Night Lights every weekday at 5 pm (CST) on ABC Family. Don't miss out on this chance to catch this stellar show from the beginning. Actually, it started airing daily this Monday, so you've already missed the first five episodes.


Run, don't walk to your tv and set a seasons pass recording, then watch the few episodes you missed on Netflix ** or something. Or ask nicely and I'll loan you the first season so you can get caught up.


However you go about it, make sure that you watch this show. It will make you want to be a better person. And it will make you fall in love with a certain Tim Riggins. Male or female, you will develop strong feelings for Tim. That's just what happens. Don't fight it.




** If you go the Netflix route, please check your internet capabilities before doing something crazy like watching 50 episodes in 5 days to make sure you're not massively exceeding your monthly download limit. I'd hate to see you suddenly shocked by a $350 wireless bill. Not that that happened to me or anything.

Goodbye to the Countess of Sandwich

Jill can whip up an attractive and delicious sandwich even when she's not in her own kitchen!

Speaking of good cooks, everyone who ate this batch of baked beans says they are the best my mom has ever made. Her secret is the recent discovery of Wright bacon. I'm not a baked bean fan, or even a bacon fan (though I love BLTs), but this bacon is so tasty that I actually ate an entire piece of it by itself. Savory goodness to the last bite.

Anyway, Jilly is taking the baby back to Santa Monica soon. We'll miss you two. Get along, little dishy!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Vacation Photos

A bunch of pics from the Santa Monica vacation are up on Flickr.

I've been so accomplishey lately! Yay for me!

Repercussions!


My spray-painting hand is killing me.

Lesson learned -- spray painting seems easy at the time, but is actually pretty hard on the old pointy finger.

I realized this morning while trying to make a grocery list that I can barely even write.

My hope is that I'm all better soon.

For some reason the frozen peas I keep in the freezer for ice-pack purposes reek of scallions.
Why?

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Accomplishments!

Today was a super-productive day. I got my teeth cleaned (the dentist says I'll be the only 100 year old in the nursing home still able to eat real food with all my real teeth), had lunch with my dad, got coffee with a friend, then went to town on these chairs.
And later I'm going to see a five dollar movie at the Hi-Pointe!
I can't be stopped!
My goal for tomorrow is to edit a bunch of pictures I took in Santa Monica and put them on my Flickr.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Goals!

In an effort to make the most of every day for the rest of my vacation, tomorrow I'm not only going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, but I'm also going to paint these chairs red.
Two things!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Peggy Olson, I wish I were you

Reason #263 why vacation is simply the best thing in the whole entire world? I can post about Mad Men right after it's over instead of hurrying off to sleep because it's past my bedtime.
So let's get straight into tonight's episode. Don Draper, how you are changing! You drank so much you threw up? Unheard of. You used to be able to take so many pills and drink so much alcohol that grifters had to hit you over the head just to make you finally pass out. Now a long night of drinking with a girl ends with vomit on your shirt. Wow.
And you CRIED! In front of someone! In front of Pegs! Your vulnerability almost makes me cry just contemplating it.
Are Don and Peggy going to sleep together, maybe even end up together at some point? I'm dying to know.
I love Peggy's character. Recently I was discussing this with a friend of mine who also loves this show (as part of our unofficial Mad Men Fan Club), and we both admitted that we expect a lot of Peggy. We want good things to happen to her, but we expect her to go above and beyond to get them. I see something of myself in Peggy, I think. I want her to achieve in a way, on a level that I maybe haven't ever. I believe she can have whatever she wants if she just plugs away and works for it. I quit working like that a long time ago, but if I were to channel my inner Peggy, maybe I could get there.
I don't know.
Anyway, wouldn't it be crazy if Peggy and Don ended up together?
Other obviously mentionable moments in tonight's episode: Drunk Duck attempting to take a dump in what he thought was Don's (actually Roger's) office, poor sweet Anna dying and Don's reaction (what will happen when he goes to California?!), Peggy asking Don "how long are you going to go on like this?" when he asked for another drink not long after throwing up from drinking too much, not to mention how incredibly realistic Don's throwing up sounded. I'm not entirely unconvinced that Jon Hamm wasn't actually vomiting into that toilet.

Go Cards!

Listen to this amazing ticket deal we had for today's Cardinals game: the ticket was only $20, plus that ridiculously reasonably-priced ticket was worth $10 in concessions. That means I paid a mere $0.25 out of pocket for a hot dog and a souvenir cup filled with icy cold Coke. Isn't that incredible? And the seats were in the shade the whole time, and we won the game! What a fantastic day.




Check out these cool cats, and sweet baby.

And this yummy dog.

I knew it was going to be a great day when I saw this beautiful Town & Country in all its wood-paneled glory first thing this morning.


Saturday, September 4, 2010

Did you know . . . ?

Last night People magazine enlightened me on something very interesting -- Don Draper's new secretary Miss Blankenship

is played by the the same actress (Randee Heller) that played Daniel-San's mom in Karate Kid.

Who knew?

Friday, September 3, 2010

You didn't order the uh, Metallic Pea?

I'm back in St. Louis, and I still have 10 more days of vacation.


10 MORE DAYS!!


This morning I found out that my car was dead after sitting all week. After a quick jump (thanks a million Mike and Tracy!), it started up like a champ, so I'm hoping I don't actually need a new battery. If I do though, that's just part of owning a car, I guess. At least I didn't have to pay $500 for four bald tires and a tow like poor Clark had to do with the Family Truckster.



Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Main Street, Enhanced by Kodak EasyShare

Last night while I was trying to figure out how to crop some photos, I realized that I've had a program called Kodak EasyShare for months and I've never used it. Well, believe me when I tell you that I am using it now! I can crop, enhance, add effects, retouch, and much, much more!

It's like a miracle.


Here's an unedited picture of Rich.

Here's a picture of Rich with some changes.


And lastly, here is Cartoon Rich.


Look at all this swell editing! Thanks Kodak EasyShare! Good times!