I Live At Lowes

I just "bought" a condo (i.e., the bank really owns most of it for the next, oh, 20 or so years) and now I'm either, cleaning something; unpacking something; wandering the aisles of random hardware superstores; or slapping paint chips on walls with frenzied enthusiasm. I have all weekend to PAINT, and I need to be prepared, because Mom is coming to town next weekend, and then I work the next few weekends. So the time is NOW.

So, I live at Lowe's, with ocassional dalliances with Home Depot. Lowes for hardwood flooring, Home Depot for paint, Lowes for clean aisles and Home Depot for surly clerks. Thank God, I work on a home improvement show. I actually know the difference between flat, semi-gloss, and faux finish. I also know when I'm getting ripped off on carpeting, and what tile should cost.

I have to confess, I'm obsessed with home improvement. I'm insisting on tiling my bathroom myself. Luckily, the bathroom is about the size of a shoebox, so this is good.

I'm Not Gay! I Swear! Hey, Bitch...

From Craigslist, persons (Platonic Only):

Hey, I'm lookin for people to hang out with. Go out drinking with, play video games with. Gender doesn't matter. I'm not gay. Not looking to be gay. Just lookin for cool people to hang out with. Nothin more than that. You know...the people you call after work and say "Hey bitch? What are we doin tonight?

Alias is Super-Cool

I know Alias has hit some turgid moments--new, vaguely bland characters, super-serious, complicated missions--but lately, the writers have been having a hell of a lot of fun. First of all, Marshall, the computer geek that constantly gets our spy soldiers out of many a pickle, had to go by himself to locate and dig Sidney out of a grave. Yipes! Then he had to pluck a bad guy's eye out with a spork! Yes, a plastic spork!

Marshall's sober co-workers play well against his spastic technobabble; the chemistry is both comic and edgy. So now that Marshall's had a chance to bloom, we get to see Nadia (Syd's half-sister) actually become interesting. Apparently, she was a mean street kid-turned assassin in Argentina, and we see a potential love triangle turn deadly in fascinating flashbacks.

Finally, now there's a second bad guy. The first is Ron Rifkin's debonair, wraith-like, perfectly coiffed evil-turned-remorseful (yeah right) Arvin Sloane, now head of his own team of CIA super-spies. At the end of last week's episode, turns out there's ANOTHER A. Sloan wreaking havoc, in Chile, and looking creepily similar to Rifkin's Sloan--except even more wraithlike.

Whew--it's been done. The writers of Alias have recouped from a dip in momentum and have brought a sharp crack of mayhem back to things. I can't wait to see what happens tonight.

PS Please bring back Sark! He's cute.

Juice Fast!

Yes! I am on a juice fast!

I have a rip-roaring headache and the energy level of an armadillo!

Yes!

I'm going to sleep now...

Just in Time for 4/20...

Craigslist ad:

Cat nip

Reply to: anon-69151..0@craigslist.org
Date: 2005-04-19, 9:46AM PDT


I have a cat nip bag.
My cat is simply indifferent to it.
If you want it, you have it!

I'm mostly avaiable in the morning or late evening.

Celebrity Sighting 1.0

Le Pain Quotidien on Melrose Ave., Saturday afternoon. Chris Kattan nattering on a cell phone and telling my hot Australian friend, "Excuse me, Ma'am."

"Ma'am"??

Renee Watches...Do You?

Apparently, Renee Zellweger is a huge fan of HGTV, including the show I help produce. It's free basic cable therapy.

Unfortunately one couple on the show were awful, telling our staff they "claim" to be interior designers. Apparently, after receiving mucho offers for their home (which said "interior designers" on our show remodeled), in a fit of guilt, they bought us all Starbucks cards.

Several half-caf lattes make all the abuse worth it. No, really!

Score Another Point for Old Men

tedturneramangrycap
Originally uploaded by violetta.

Courtesy New York Times
A prominent Israeli rabbi has reversed an earlier ban and ruled that the anti-impotence drug Viagra can be made kosher for Passover, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

The rabbi, Mordechai Eliahu, a former Sephardic chief rabbi in Israel, said Viagra could be consumed provided the pill was placed in special gelatin capsules before the weeklong observance begins April 23, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Passover imposes strict dietary laws, with many everyday kosher items banned, and a number of men had contacted Viagra's Israeli manufacturer to ask whether it could be taken during the holiday, the newspaper said.

Rabbis have in the past several years ruled against taking the drug during Passover, citing the coating on the pill.

No, Bradley. Not You.

Apparently Bradley Whitford, who plays the lovably neurotic and sweet Josh Lyman on The West Wing, has some problems with group gym classes. Taking a stretching class at an L.A. gym recently, he was overheard complaining, putting up a fuss, and name dropping like heck. Not exactly what his fans expect from him, but I guess being on the same show for years with no sign of a light at the end of the tunnel can make even Pilates class a test of one's endurance. Or maybe he's just a creep.

Not something his adoring fans, who hook onto Josh Lyman's adorable demeanor like an innertube in the rapids, want to ever hear.

In other workout news, Edward Norton was seen at a local gym looking a little chubby. He was lifting one weight at a time, taking long breaks in between reps by chatting with his trainer. I'm hoping he's simply bulking up for a role.

Bradley Whitford mean and Ed Norton fat? What's next, Britney Spears pregnant? Oh God, wait a minute...

Short Term Memory Loss

I totally had a nice piece of harmless gossip and dang it if I can't remember it. Oh, well--I blame it on growing up watching MTV. This is also the reason why I switch the radio when an already good song (which almost never happens here!) comes on, or why I start yawning when a movie's inciting incident doesn't come immediately at minute 5. I berate myself for not being able to just. Slow. Down.

But I don't say I have ADD. Because I don't. How many of us actually do?

The friend for whom I travelled to New York is a grad student in psychology and firmly believes ADD is a made-up syndrome. Mind you, he believes some people do truly have problems, most of which are evidenced in learning disabilities, sharp, bright people who just have some issues putting ideas together straightforwardly. But today my supervisor spoke about babysitting a two year old ON RITALIN. What??? A two year old? Aren't kids just hyper? And the most severely troublesome, just have a few issues that extra tutoring and therapy can help? What's good about having toddlers walking around hopped up like Judy Garland?

There is one gal on the addictive reality show Starting Over who truly just couldn't stop--talking, walking, doing different things--she couldn't slow down (http://www.startingover.tv/wherearethey/Denise.html). There's people like her. But I'm thinking less than are actually on drugs.

I can't think of a snappy remark to finish this posting because I just got distracted my work email. Bye!

Escape From L.A.

I just spent 3 whirlwind days in NYC--what a blast. It was for my dear friend's 30th birthday and was so much fun, my heart sank as I left.

I'm not in love with NYC, but I have a huge crush on it. It's the place I want to live in for 6 months, not six years--and visit often. I love the subway, I love the people, I love the spectacle of Times Square and the classy grittiness of Fifth Ave. And I LOVE the medium-strength, hot deli coffee that the vendors fix with cream and sugar for you. It's the little things.

And I have to add that JetBlue is the best airline ever (for those of us on economy-class budgets). I watched three hours of MSNBC yesterday and read some chick lit during the commercials--it was just like at home! There's plenty of leg room and the flight attendants are perky and nice. AND...non-stop, round trip, Long Beach to NYC cost me less than $300. You can't miss.

Especially since service from Burbank starts next month............I'm closer than ever to my latest crush.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Streets

There are several streets in Los Angeles that I love. Since I moved here way back 7 years ago (I think that makes me a native now), I've learned every shortcut, alternate route, and detour known to man. Seriously. Friends of mine who are natives even scratch their heads as I wind them around the messier parts of traffic.

Thus, the best streets are the ones that are not main thoroughfares. Maybe they don't have any entrances to freeways; no malls or big attractions. What they do have: LIGHTS.

Ah yes. Traffic lights!

There's Whitsett, which you can take south, south of Ventura and hook around on Laurelgrove to spill out on Laurel Cyn, bypassing the nonsense on the Studio City strip of Ventura Blvd.

Crescent Heights, of course, which is not quite at mass capacity but getting close--you can take it all the way from Venice in West LA to over the hill to Studio City, up the curves of Laurel Canyon.

Washington Blvd, a street that, despite some confusing switchy-changy in Culver City, can take you all the way from the ocean to downtown. A true beauty of a street when you're stuck on the ten and must.get.off.

I also quite like Burbank, it takes you all the way to Encino without a break, and rarely backs up.

If you don't like talking about traffic, you must not live in Los Angeles. As far as I'm concerned, LA taught me how to read maps and maintain a huge ability to navigate. Lost no more. And yet, it would be nice to have a subway system. That works.

Signs Rocks

I love Itunes. My latest discovery is a collaboration between The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake, and Snoop Dogg called "Signs." Rip it right now--it freakin' rocks.

I am a little bummed, however, that Itunes doesn't have a lot of 2Pac's first work (you know, the output from when...he was a live). I wanted to get a feel for his stuff since my immersion into 2Pac ephemera and Itunes only has the posthumous work, and his Greatest Hits is only a partial downloand. I have no idea what's going on with that but I hope for a greater selection in the future.

The number 10 Hip Hop/Rap album on Itunes, by the way? A remaster of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ready to Die." Some things never change.

Aw, Pope.

I was raised a Catholic and still, despite not actually attending church for one year, still consider myself a Catholic (except for the whole abortion/birth control/priest abstinence stuff) just by default. It sticks with you.

So I'm sad about the Pope being sick, but you know, when it's your time, it's your time. The guy is obviously suffering. The Catholic church condemed the court's actions for disconnecting Terry Schiavo's feeding tube, even though *she* was suffering and a shell of herself. Now they'll do whatever they can to keep the pope alive and unwell, though he is indeed on the last legs of a long, fulfilling life.

Ah, the irony. Catholicism is full of it.