Work Cyclone!

I'm stuck in one - you ever been there? Of course you have.

It's really eating into my bloggy time, but I'll power through for you all and get back to it really soon! Swearzies!

In the meantime, I'm working on my sister's over-due birthday present. A scarf for a certain University in Indiana... I'm trying to make it REVERSIBLE and making MY OWN COLOR CHART, so the first draft wasn't 100% what I was going for:

So, the "U" is more like YOOOOOU in that it is too wide, dontcha think? Also, the sides were hella fug, so I fixed my technique on that front. Still, it's a start and the second incarnation is working out for me. Updates on that soon, promise!

Scrub-a-dub

Well, I missed the deadline to turn in my washcloth for charity. I feel like a real rapscallion, but work has to come first. (Cue Sad Trombone)

It actually turned out for the best, because while the cloth turned out fine to the average eye:

All I see is:

So I figured "What the heck?", turned it up to 11 on the Bad Person Amplifier and decided to test the quality of the washcloth on myself. And you know what? I freaking LOVED IT! The wave pattern, though positively riddled with errors is so soft and great for washing your face. The other side has these nice seedstitch nubs that exfoliate like a dream. Sorry children at a Haitian hospital, but I think I'm going to be using my cotton scraps to keep me in washcloths and soft skin. I promise to increase my giving to PSI and the Red Cross next year, ok? Friends?

Submitted without comment

Thanks" (I guess?) to M.S-S

Terrifying

You've been warned.




Although I must say that I second his enthusiasm. I, too, love 30 Rock.

I know I'm only making it worse...

But Glenn Beck's insanity knows no bounds, people.





Please keep in mind that this man has millions - I say again MILLIONS - of listeners and viewers.




Hey, but at least he backed off the FEMA prison thing... until he can't not prove it again.

Ain't Nothin' but a Tweet Thang, Baby

I am on Twitter. There's no denying it. I like it a lot, but it took me along time to figure out the functionality of it. If you think of it more as an RSS feed rather than a constant facebook status update (which would be totally useless as far as I'm concerned), it can really bring you in touch with a great deal of information.

That being said, today I saw Twitter jump the proverbial shark. I witnessed an interview between George Stephanopoulos and John McCain done entirely via Tweet (Twinterview?). Not only was this exercise pointless, but my reaction was two fold:

1. This is what happens when old people try to 'harness new technology'. I'm not spring chicken, but let's just admit that we're talking about old guys who are learning about the internets from interns and/or lowly staffers. Talk about the digital divide.

2. As if interviews weren't convoluted enough, now they're 140 characters with tons of lag-time between questions to better generate a canned answer through your staff!

Please, internet God, let this be the last time I see this go down...

Today in Failure

Walking by a certain douche-haven bar on my way to the bus this morning, I noticed the windows have been all painted up in anticipation of Mardi Gras.

Aside from the usual Fat Tuesday drink advertisements, they listed different food specials to promote the sacred day of gluttony. The one that caught my eye?

Hurricane Gumbo!

I'm sorry, but does anyone else find this extremely tacky that we're going to be partying up with some New Orleans-style Hurricane Gumbo as we fall down drunk draped in plastic beads? Is our country's worst disaster response effort in history really something that makes one want to Laissez les Bontemps Roulez? Not to rip off SNL, but REALLY!??!

I will try to acquire pictorial evidence of this bullshit for your review tomorrow.

Aaaand I'm Done

I'm finished. I'm not even going to try to be gracious any more. Everyone in the Bush family, and I mean everyone, is an a-hole.



And for the record, please continue to recoil at the thought of interfering with a woman's womb.

FAIL

... Ok. I'm really sorry.


I have failed my two readers by a) not finishing my Project Runway post and b) not blogging for like a week. I suck at writing down my inane thoughts!

I'm back, though and do hope you'll forgive me!

GUESS WHAT?!

Project Runway has been blocked from moving to Lifetime! Something tells me that this will get overturned, as the Weinstein Co. is super dooper rich, but let a girl dream!

Also, my thanks to M. S-S for passing on this article about how we should stop feeling sorry for Sarah Palin. It's like a get out of guilt free card!

What do we think will happen tomorrow?

Dear Joe: THIS IS YOURS TO LOSE. PLEASE BE AWESOME
xoxo,
Inner City Pressure

Update: 12:30 p.m.

Terrifying news from Huffington Post. Palin is a good debater. And since this format is in her favor, we might be in trubs.

My hope is that by typing my deepest, darkest fear will mean that it will not happen.
EEK!

Feeling Bear-ish

So, I'll admit it. I have little to no understanding of economics and finance. I am the girl that can't bring herself to open her statements from her deceased father and great-grandmother's assets because I don't understand what I'm looking at and it makes me feel like a five-year old lost at the mall. How can someone with a degree actually be this stupid?

So, there's no time like a terrifying economic collapse to try to educate one's self about what the hell is happening and what might happen as we trudge forward. I'm starting with NPR's Planet Money, which was an offshoot of a This American Life episode about the credit crisis. It deals very plainly with up to date interesting info about the current craziness and finance in general.
HIGHLY Recommended.

I came across this highly interesting article from Harvard economist Jeff Frankel dealing with the fuzziest of statistics that try to reconfigure that fact that the economy does better under Democratic presidents that it does under Republican presidents. It's called: What Does it Take to Define Away the Statistics Showing Economic Performance Under Democratic Presidents Superior to That Under Republicans?

Click the money shirt to read it!

As I am an independent (you might find that surprising, since I'm so Obamaed up), I'm not like YES! DEMZ RULE!!1!!. I just find it interesting that the most successful presidents and the least successful in terms of the economy have acted against the basic platform of their party. Very, very interesting stuff and I like his argument.

Not that I'm better than you...

But I just made a donation to the American Red Cross of Greater Chicagoland - and you should, too!

From Chicagoist:

For once, Gov. Blagojevich seems to be doing his part. While visiting a Des Plaines shelter for flood victims, he declared seven counties disaster areas: Cook, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle and Will. Blagojevich also took to the air to survey the damage. His declaration "allows the state to supply assets and emergency workers to areas affected by the flooding, and also opens up the opportunity for the state to ask for federal disaster assistance."


I'm sure you'll get to it when you and Richard Daley stop bickering like schoolboys, but the Red Cross has been there from the start providing shelter and supplies - so help 'em out today.

Donate Now, yo! (Barack Obama would approve this message)

Dear City of Chicago Planned Property Management,

SCREW YOU, TOO!

Yesterday was a nice late summer day and I had my windows open. No harm in that, right? Oh, no... unless the City of Chicago is lining the sewers management company has some guy sawing into the brick of the building. Even though I'm 8 stories up, I came home to this:

Out of context, this may look fine, but this TV stand... WAS BROWN WHEN I LEFT! Seriously - my house looks like a haunted house sans cobwebs. And the worst part is - it's not just dust, it's sand! And when you walk by it, it's thrown up in the air. And when you turn on the AC, it's thrown directly in your face. And when you get the sand sucked up, it's all over you and there is still dust everywhere.

Thank god it's only my kitchen and sitting room, but what a total pain in the butt. One super-fun weekend, coming up!

Coming to a White House Near You

Thanks Best Week Ever.

Also, I need to come clean and let everyone know. I'm f*cking Matt Damon:
Sorry, alex. Can we still be friends?

Dark Days

Maybe it's the desire for cupcakes, or maybe I woke up and heard that the world was going to end this morning but I'm getting a really bad feeling about the election. Adam McKay has written a scary-but-true piece for Huffington Post "We're Going to Frickin' Lose This Thing" .

And I have no response! It's my worst nightmare, but it's definitely coming true with the seemingly-bullet proof Palin as the REAL Presidential nominee for the Repubs. I feel the darkness surrounding me. I honestly don't know how I'll be able to function in such a shamed and broken country that I forsee under a McCain administration.

I can try to console myself with the coverage that Palin doesn't understand basic economics - in particular that deregulation her party claims to love so much... but it's no use. Four more years of hell - here we come.



UPDATE:

I'm still bummed, but here are pictures of Edward Norton being awesome and attractive at a photo shoot for Breil - for whom he will be a spokesman for something like three years!

I am Jack's suave je nais se quoi.

I am Jack's huge watch.

Even alex has to give it up!

Sarah Palin on Women in Politics

Sarah Palin on Hillary Clinton's candidacy:


"Coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine or, you know, maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think "Man, that doesn't do us any good!" Women in politics or women in general, wanting to progress this country... Fair or unfair, I think [criticism] is there. I think thats reality and I think its a given. I think people should just accept that she is going to be under that sharper microscope - so be it! I mean, work harder. Prove yourself to an even greater degree."

Alright, Sarah. Then can we ask you a few questions? Oh, only to one reporter at this time? Way to work harder!

Watch the video here.

South Beach Diet: Day 1

So, it's a diet. And it's been a full day. I'm full but not of the stuff I really wanted to taste - any surprise?

It's hard to be enthusiastic about discipline/ not eating junk food and therefore, my blogging is really suffering. Blame the South Beach!

Because I'm depressed about the Colts AND because I love me some carbs, below is a photo montage of food I missed today:

Dreams!

I have been having alot of dreams lately. They are increadibly real but when I wake up, I can't remember what happened in them. The other night, I woke up because alex was laughing hysterically and he was fast asleep - which was weird. He, too, had no recollection of what was going on in his head.

Once again, Sara Schaefer totally wins, as she can remember what she dreams... and it's about total embarrassment! Just try to get through this without laughing. Click on Phelps for the link:

Headliner

I was on NBC 5 this morning - or more importantly, the organization that I work for was featured on NBC 5. Hey, if my sister gets a video on my blog, so does my non-profit!


You should all come to Summer Soiree - Anchors Away: www.jlchicago.org.

Heck ya, I'm going for the gold!

Ok, I'm without Monrovia... and frankly, I'm have very little to say about last night's episode. So, I just have a few open letters.

Dear Blane:

You are TRYING to be ridiculous and therefore you come off as desperate. You have to be older than I am, and even I know Sgt. Pepper. At least you look older than me... it could be the tanning. Have I mentioned that I'm over you? ARG!

Dear Daniel:

It's the Olympics. I don't care how artistic sullen you had to be to protect yourself as a poor effeminate child at boarding school. You know what the Olympics are. Even if you haven't seen the opening ceremony... TAKE A FREAKING GUESS.
Athletes. At a major event centered around sports. You are not fooling anyone with your shiz.
This is what he made:
(P.S. Kenley, you dress well. I'm over hating the flower)

Dear Jerell:

You are a silly, silly snake in a fanciful army hat. SILLY!
THIS is what he made:

Dear Joe:

You used the term "Queens" in a straight-guy exasperated tone, which has probably been interpreted as bigoted. You should sleep with one eye open and a cup (ostensibly left over from your football days). At least I actually remembered what you made this time.

Dear Terri:

Hang in there, lady. Don't let the hot gay that stole your fabric get you down. You are the only voice of reason in this bunch and I need to you stick around. P.S. the closed caption when you said "Oh no he didn't!" actually was spelled "O, no he di''nt!"
And you really rocked this challenge:

Korto won and it was...fine. But highwaisted white paints plus 12 year old gymnisists?! No. And Holly Gosadsack went home, which should have happened last week. She's back to Italy to continue her "surreal" life. And Apollo Anton Ono finally shaved that flavor savor and looks really foine.

And that's all I can manage. Once again, boring ass challange and poor, poor design.

Bravo, I know you're bitter... but you're killing me, Smalls!

I'm so... scared!

Dear Zach Morris--- er, I mean...

Dear Mark-Paul Gosselaar,

I understand you have a new television series coming out. But please, for the love of God:

Cut. Your. Hair.

Sincerely,
Every woman of my generation