Monday, October 31, 2011

Music Monday - Hot Chip "Over and Over"



They are English.
They are Electric.
They are HOT CHIP!

From the 2006 album, The Warning, here's a fun little diddy to start off your week.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

The New Top Five



You know the list. The Top Five list.

Hubster's is Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayak, Amanda Seyfried and Gwyneth Paltrow (as Pepper Potts and only as Pepper Potts) ... and that's not exactly in order, though close.
I look at the list and see a common theme; can you guess what it is? Not-so-secretly, I am delighted with his choices. I concur on a sapphic front.

This evening, I revised my top five to the Hubster's delight.

1) Jason Statham
No change at number one; you can blame the topless oil scene in Transporter or his dashing ways in The Italian Job. "If it's on the menu." You can be an appetizer, main course or dessert for all I care. Yummy. Congrats Jason, you held first position.

2) Bradley Cooper
New to the list. A ridiculous pretty boy that I normally would scoff at... his role in The A-Team squashed my once hoitty-toity prerequisites to garner an add at number two. (Replacing Sidney Poitier circa To Sir, With Love. Sorry Mister Poitier, a wonderful excursion in your Bahamian homeland was wonderful, but I crave something new. Hubster is sad Poitier got bumped. Frowny face and all.)

3) Daniel Craig
Adding to the list of white Brits, much to my chagrin as an equal opportunity salivator, is the current James Bond. Three words. Blue + trunks + beach. Please sir, can I have another? Daniel Craig bumps Josh Holloway (LOST's Sawyer) as we have not seen his awesome sauceness in a while. Make a movie Josh and you might get a second chance.

4) John Malkovich
Whether toying with your emotions in Dangerous Liaisons or commanding the table in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, he's a pretty safe bet in the bedroom. Strong. Resolute. Wicked. Would that I could, I'd add Martin Freeman to the line-up for a damn good show. Unsure of his kissing abilities, I imagine that the awkwardness and goofiness would add to the evenings entertainment. Or, Mos Def. That would be lovely. Mmm. Maybe Mos Def will find his way back on the Top 5. That said, Malkovich remains unchanged at number four.

5) Robbie Williams
Oh RW my RW. How wonderful that we shared two stolen seconds in San Diego. I know you are married now, as I am also in wedded bliss; but as the longest remaining member on the Top Five, I simply cannot remove you. The mooning at the camera in the Millennium video has a Beezlebub signed and sealed contract. I don't know how to quit you.

Which sadly removes Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brian White and Naveen Andrews. Should I run into any of the three of you, I unfortunately cannot flirt to the prescribed level of awesomeness. You've missed the G List, I am exceptionally sad to report.

Too bad, so sad.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

When watching BET...

... and the host says,
"I wanna give a big birthday shout out to my dawg Shawn"
and you ask the person sitting next to you,
"He named his dog Shawn? Isn't that a little weird?"
He doesn't mean his actual canine companion. He means his buddy/friend Shawn.

That's what I learned today.
I'm white.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Music Monday - 9 great picks and I use the word "heard" a bunch

Time to make up for some missed Music Mondays... here's what I'm listening to.

After Midnight – Blink 182
I remember back in the day when it was just Blink; guys taking over my living room, coke cans everywhere, blowing out a speaker, someone making a run to Round Table for pizza, and the chapstick incident.



TV Girl – Baby You Were There
Fun video for a fun song. Wait for the dancing chicken.



Atlas Genius – Trojans
“Change it all but can’t change what we’ve been”



Givers – Up Up Up
I dare you to listen to this song and think depressing thoughts. Go ahead. Try it. You can’t. It’s bouncy and infectious. And boy, does that girl have a powerful voice! She kind of looks like Lindsay Lohan or Emma Stone? Not that it matters, I just noticed since I had only heard on XM.



Taking Back Sunday – A Decade Under the Influence
I hear that you need to see this band live. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”



Houses – Soak It Up
I had never heard of the term “chillwave”; now that I have, it is definitely appropriate to apply to Houses. When I first heard this song, I thought it reminded me a little of Radiohead and something from The L Word… a weird combo, I know. But it works.



Bravery – Slow Poison
I got turned on to Bravery quite a few years ago, about the same time as Ra Ra Riot and She Wants Revenge. Again, since I listen to XM and don’t watch MTV, I haven’t seen what they look like. And being a girl (and it’s my bloggity blog blog) I’m going to tell you… Damn, the bassist is HOT! Shout out to Mike Hindert, you have some fine genes my musical friend.



Electric Touch – Don’t Stop
I haven’t seen a lot out about this band, but have a feeling they are going to make it on mainstream. I mean, if I like it, then it’s going to go pop. Tooting my own horn; way back in the day I called Coldplay when they were still in small venues in Amsterdam, introduced Green Day to a bunch of Kiwi 7th Formers, and most recently Young the Giant (who kicked ass at the MTV Awards show.) So, I have a feeling Electric Touch is going to be on full rotation on KISS FM soon. And here’s some synergy: they are from Austin and have played with The Bravery. So there.



Amos Lee – Windows Are Rolled Down
I’m late on the bandwagon, but glad to finally be onboard the Amos Lee train. When I hear this, I want to grab the Hubster and go for a wandering drive in the Nova, just headed west into the Texas sunset.

It's been a long time

So my three readers, I understand you have been awaiting bloggy blogs and I have failed to produce. While I type these lines I am recovering from a knee injury suffered from wet steps in the Bahamas, numerous work trips, jets and vodka, and return of drunk Billy. I have a lot to post but feel that it will come out in a deluge later. Will post soonish.
Reeves peaces
G

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tie Tuesday




Bound and determined to make today less stressful and "tie" up loose ends (horribly bad pun intended.) Here's a snapshot of today's participants.

Hello Bruce* (far left) is rocking the skinny, black tie; very retro and uber cool of him (as always!)

Next, we have Utah "busily working" in a yellow Jones of New York number. His color palette choices are quite springy and floopy. I'm digging it and glad that the white number did not appear again today. Good job Utah!

Adame, Tie Tuesday Godfather, has a very busy Gap piece featuring hundreds of little life preservers. There's a joke there about life preservers and work, but it's not coming to me.

And then me, looking rather portly to be honest, in my signature Brioni tie. It's sticky in thiis office today. Like humid sticky. No one knows why.



*Hello Bruce. You have to say it with the same inflection/tone/style as seen in the Pixar hit, "Finding Nemo". "Helloooooo Bruce"

Monday, October 10, 2011

Whilst the bougeoius are napping...


Had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I'm leaving for a vacation that has been six years in the making, booked back in April, and off to celebrate love and friendship with the Hubster and The Smiths.

So years later, we are finally going on ridiculously awesome vacation to Nassau, Bahamas. We even have personal butlers. This vacay is EPIC! I've been daydreaming about this for months. Wife Smith is actually going to make it out of the country for the first time. Hub Smith is going to have six days of quiet time with the wife (no little child to entertain.) My Hubs and I have... well, our own plans. :D

I've finally got bags packed, full of Bahamaian wear (swimsuits, sundresses and sunblock) and am so freaking excited that I don't think I'll sleep tonight.

So here's the rub. I had NO IDEA that October would be such a busy month for work. Maybe I should have known, paid much better attention last year on my first few months. I feel like leaving on this amazing experience is putting my colleagues in the lurch. I'm doing my best to get everything buttoned up; but as Murphy's Law would have it, every sh*t that could possibly hit the fan, has in fact, hit the fan. I have no idea what to do. Messy. Ewwwee.

Invariably, I will put undo work on my colleagues. I will be stressed about upcoming items and worry while I am away. I will freak out whether the Boopins are okay and happy. I will FREAK THE FREAK FLAG OUT!

Bueno reminded me that no one will die from our work, we are not brain surgeons, nothing TRULY bad will happen by being away. I'm not a Doctor. There is no REAL emergency. But as I sit here at 10pm wondering how I can make sure that no one is b*tch talking about me and cursing me while I am away (though that will happen anyway, am sure) I just don't want to be the burden. The one who leaves things hanging. That's not me. I'm too Type A for that.



Sunday, October 9, 2011

Music Monday - Dirt Bag Dan


This is Billy's boy. Let's give a shout out to some San Jose love.

Tackett, the cat and the Jehovah's Witnesses

2001, 5th Avenue apartment in the gayborhood. Hillcrest, San Diego. 7am. Saturday morning.

We're hungover. Navy guys passed out all over the living room.
Knock knock knock at the door.
Hubster walks to answer the door; as he passes through the front room, he sees Tackett (a real piece of work, BTW) swallow the worm from a left over bottle of tequila, holding a conversation with our cat.
Hubster answers the door.
It's the Jevovah's Wintesses.

Witnesses: "Do you have a moment to talk about God?"
Hubster: "I've got a guy for you to talk to."

Hubs closes the door and walks back into the room and tells Tackett, "It's for you."
Tackett gets up from the floor, unsteadily, and weaves his way towards the front door.
Hubster wanders back to the bedroom and passes out, face first, into the mattress.
I'm reading a book, glance up to see what's going on, and listen in to the conversation at the door.

Witnesses to Tackett: "Do you have a moment to talk about God?"
Tackett: "I was just talking to the cat about that very same thing! Do you have a moment to come in?"
Witnesses, slowly backing away down the stairs: "Umm, no, that's okay. We can come back some other time."
Tackett follows them down the stairs: "Wait a minute! This cat knows SOMETHING!"
Witnesses literally start running away with fear.

Tackett walks back into the living room and tells the cat "Can you believe that? They never will breach our walls again!" And then falls on his face, passing out. Going into a loud snore.

We never did see those Jehovah's Witnesses again.

The one in which I throw a temper tantrum at the bank

Missed a few Workout Wednesday reports, so let me sum up.

Work was a little crazy, planning lots of things and late afternoon meetings, so I missed a workout... or five. Had to reschedule with Amazon Amy twice, but she came at me with mad trainer juju in hour long sessions.
Amy: "You need to get more water into your body. Two gallons a day!"
Me: "Are you INSANE!?
Yes, we have established that she is insane. Brilliant, but insane. Super fit, but insane. Awesome trainer, but INSANE!)

So yesterday (Saturday) I dragged Hubster and Billy* to the gym for an early morning workout. I wogged** one mile on the treadmill first. Then started in on ab crunches, inner thigh contractions, quad pushes, calf pulls... then Amazon Amy showed up and put me through a final circuit with additional abs, back and then my least favorite, wiggley arms. What are wiggley arms? you might ask. Well, I will tell you! Stand up and put your arms out to the side, like you are making a T. Now shake your arms about. You know those wiggley bits on your upper arms that are bouncing about now? Those are the muscles that get worked during the wiggley arms exercise. Effing kills. Those muscles BURN!




So, long story short (too late) I got in a good workout. Hubster ran a mile in ten minutes and twenty-six seconds. He was beating himself up about the twenty-six seconds. Really wants to get back to a military ten minute mile. For a 41 year-old, having a six-pack and almost no body fat is pretty much as awesome as it gets. Don't worry about the twenty-six seconds! Heck, I wogged a sixteen minute mile. So there!

Other points to note about the weekend that have nothing to do with working out:

1) Freaked out at the bank and made a huge scene because I thought I had lost my passport. I could have sworn it was in my safety deposit box. When I checked and it wasn't there, I nearly lost it. Since we are leaving for Nassau, Bahamas in three days it's pretty damn important to have a passport. I immediately texted the girls that we had to cancel book club because I needed to get my ass home to find my passport. While driving like a madwoman home, Hubster found it in the file cabinent. Then, I called the girls back, but Daniela had already made other plans. Bueno was sick, and fasting for Yom Kippur, so she was out. Bodie was going to the Zoo or something with her daughter and mother. Rach was already on her way (hooray!) and Sherry Berry was headed up. So BCP was back on.




2) Book Club Peeps. The book was "One Fine Day' by ummm... someone. They just made it into a movie with Anne Hathaway and the dude from "Across the Universe". Jim Sturgess? Anyhoo, Rach didn't like it. Sherry Berry thought it was depressing. I didn't even finish it (and had talked to Daniela earlier in the week, she didn't finish it either.) I knew Bueno had liked it, so it's a bummer she wasn't there to tell us how she connected with it. Not sure what Bodie thought. But this is all a moot point since Rach, Sherry Berry and I spent a good hour and a half talking about what's going on in our lives - not the book. In fact, as we got our checks from the SERIOUSLY inattentive waitress at the Fillmore Pub, I said "Oh god, we haven't even talked about the book!" But as I mentioned, it was a very brief three minute discussion between us that we all couldn't get into it or didn't like it. Then we made our selection for next time: 'The Night Circus' by Emma Morgenstern. Looks good!

3) In a few hours, Joe Black is coming over to shoot our first consumer generated content spot. Basically, he finds the competitions online, then we decide which would make sense to enter. I brainstorm and come up with a bunch of concepts. Then we pick a few, I go back and write up scripts. Plan against those. Refine. Select location. Find talent. Shoot (Joe Black shoots, directs, etc. I'm just on set assistant.) Then he goes back and does his editing juju. We enter the competition and see what happens. We've got a production name (2C@ST) so that's good. It's not really about making money (although if we win, that's a nice chuck of change.) More about working on our craft. (I can't believe I just typed craft. That's so bougie! Whatevs.) It's using my creativity and working on my writing (beyond this bloggity blog blog.)

So my three readers, that about sums up. Maybe I'll get some blogging in on my vacay. Post some pics of Nassau to make you jealous. Or, more likely, I'm just going to be snorkeling all day, drinking, laying in the sun, and generally enjoying my hubs. (insert joke here)

Reeses Pieces.
G


* Billy is Chris' friend from the Navy days. He's sobered up a lot in the last ten years. This is the dude who would get ridiculously drunk and kicked out of clubs, or in one case he was actually kicked out of Mexico. I'm not kidding! KICKED OUT OF MEXICO! A COUNTRY KNOWN FOR ITS TEQUILA! Hubster had to basically carry him across the border. Then he calls me at 4am and says "Can you come get us? We're at the border." I'm like, "Are you serious?? It's 4am!" So I drag myself out of bed, get in Gus the VW bug, and drive sleepily down to the border. There's Hubster and Billy, basically passed out on the side of the street. As soon as Billy gets in the car, he says "I think I'm going to puke." He takes a deep breath and then says "G? Can we get some Jack in the Box?" I am not kidding.



**Wogged. Definition: a mixture between walked and jogged. Or wogging. "There I was on the treadmill, totally wogging, watching "The Big Bang Theory" on my iPad."