Go Cards!

This afternoon was the home opener for our beloved St. Louis Cardinals. The game was going really well. Albert Pujols gave us a line drive home run and the Cards led 5-1, going into the bottom of the third. Then, the rain started pouring down. Oh well. At least I'm able to attend the makeup game tomorrow evening.

Paper or Plastic? Neither!

I'm posting this photo in conjunction with the latest post from my friend Karen, over at Daysleeper, on "Pitching Plastic". In clockwise order, the bags are from Schnucks Supermarket, Target, Dierbergs Supermarket, and Trader Joes. I still have an endless supply of plastic bags that I'm reusing around the house, or recycling. But, I didn't want to collect any more, so I started using the reusable totes about two months ago. I find that at the grocery store and at Target, they hold more than the plastic bags. Plus, I can put the handle over my shoulder, which is much easier.

Do we cultivate a culture of ignorance?

I recently read a commentary on STL Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's website, on Barack Obama's recent speech on race. The article discusses our country's descent into ignorance and rejection of intellect. The writer praises Barack Obama for believing in the American people and not dumbing down his speech on race.

I encourage you to read the short article from STL Today and to listen or read Barack Obama's full 37-minute speech on the state of race in America. Please do not only listen to the short 30-second soundbites on CNN or Fox News, as I did. If you do, you will miss out on this profound emotionally and intellectually stirring speech. I truly believe that Barack Obama writes from his heart. The words are not empty, but so full of meaning that I admit to tearing up at the end of the speech. He really makes me believe in the promise of America.

Wedding Photo Booth Pics

To tide you over, here are a couple pictures from the wedding photo booth at Melissa (AKA Pam) and Jeff's wedding. The above picture is of the bride and groom. They are disgustingly cute together and I love them for it!

This is me and my sister. In the second photo, she "accidentally" flung water down my dress.

a tidbit

Sorry gang! I know it's been awhile and now I'm only posting a link to a fun Top Chef interview. I promise to write more soon, especially about the fantastically fun wedding I was in two weeks ago.

In tonight's episode, Chef Rick Bayless was the guest judge and the folks at Bravo interviewed him after the show.

Top Chef: Tony and Rocco Make Nice

Tonight was the premiere of Top Chef: Chicago. I was surprised that the guest judges for this first show were Tony Bourdain and Rocco DiSpirito. Last season, Tony and Rocco had a war of words on their respective Bravo blogs. I guess they made a deal with the devil to make nice and be on the first show. Let the fun begin!

Gorgeous George

I think I've previously stated in this blog that I love George Clooney. Here's another why in this New York Times Magazine video clip.

What Made Milwaukee Famous

I'm listening to the sophomore entry for What Made Milwaukee Famous, What Doesn't Kill Us, and it's pretty great. Props to Roy for introducing their music to me last year. Sarah, Laura, Sarah, and I saw this Austin band on a rare Monday night show at Off Broadway in St. Louis. If you ever have a chance to see them, they put on a great live show.

A sucker for a pretty face

I knew I liked James Marsden, AKA Cyclops from X-Men, for a reason. Here is a guy who makes sense about style and isn't afraid to express it.

Oh, Princess!

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not watched the finale of Project Runway. Please stop reading. Although, the title of thie post might give it away.

I actually agree with the judges this season. As I have noted in previous posts, five designers presented their works at Bryant Park during Fashion Week. I had a hard time understanding all of the collections via still photos. Now that I've seen the collections of Rami, Jillian, and Christian on the runway, I can clearly state the Christian deserved to win. He actually toned down some of his work, if you've been watching the whole season. I think Michael Kors was spot on about him using more color. I am amazed by his skill and vision for such a young designer. The whole collection was cohesive and clearly stated his point of view. Each piece was strong and led to the next piece. And, coming back to the point of stills versus video, the video helped me understand the movement of the pieces. This was the case for all of the designers. The static pictures don't capture the fluidity of their works. Don't I sound like a fashion critic? I always loved this part of (interior) design studio.

Regarding Jillian, I feel that Nina Garcia was right that Jillian appears to be still searching for her identity. She had a lot of beautiful separate pieces, but I didn't see each piece working or relating to the others. Rami's collection was also very well done. His experience is clear on designing wearable clothing, but it's almost to the point of being predictable. I agree with Michael and Nina on his color selections. I'm not a fan of the electric colors.

So, that's my two cents on PR4. Last year, I was definitely pissed off about Jeffrey winning. This season, the Princess got on my nerves in the beginning, but he certainly grew on me in the last five episodes. I was happy to see his nervousness and humility during the finale. It shows that he's got a heart and isn't fierce 100% of the time. He also gave props to his competitors, which either the editors never showed before, or he finally understood that he's a little fish in a big pond of talent.

Next week -- Top Chef Chicago. Woo-hoo!

Concert Riders

I'm a big fan of The Smoking Gun, especially their section on concert riders. One of my favorite bands, Foo Fighters, has a hilarious rider, with very sarcastic comments included.

Clinton vs. The Media

I must be making up for the weekend without any posts. I've been catching up on my political blog reading -- I only read two -- Time Swampland and the CNN Political Ticker. Both blogs take special note of the Clinton campaigns placement of the press filing center in Austin, Texas -- in a men's restroom.

Time Swampland

CNN Political Ticker -- they've posted a picture.

So, is this the Clinton campaign's way of getting back at the media for asking the hard questions?

What's a little bitching among friends?

You know I love the snarky comments of Tom and Lorenzo of Project Rungay. You must check out this commentary on part 1 of the season finale. On Saturday, after the wedding shower, me, Art, Pam, Jeff, and Kirsten watched the rerun. All of us had the same thoughts about Jillian's sweater, including the fact that she tucked it into her shorts!

The Boys from Belleville

I'm catching up on my DVR shows and I recorded the last Saturday Night Live with host Ellen Page and musical act Wilco. With the incredible success of Juno, most people were probably watching SNL for Ellen Page. I, on the other hand, was more interested in Wilco. They are the local boys who are very successful and have a loyal fan base. I admit that I joined the Wilco a little late. I was in school at Mizzou during Wilco's prime years, where they performed at least two or three times a school year. I was too busy in design studio, and now I do regret that I didn't embrace the incredible music scene in good old Columbia, MO.
Wilco played two songs from their latest album Sky Blue Sky, "Hate It Here" and "Walken". Both performances were great, although I must question Jeff Tweedy's wardrobe selection for "Walken". He wore a white suit with what looked like embroidered roses. If I can find a picture on the Web, I'll post it here later. Another interesting factoid: on the links page of Wilco's website, there is a link for Fred Armisen, who is one of the regular players on SNL. I wonder if that's how Wilco got the SNL booking.

A bit of nostalgia

I picked up the mail today and I was happy to see my iTunes Rewards card. When I bought my MacBook, I "earned" enough points for a $25 iTunes gift card. My sister was in town this weekend for the big wedding shower, and we spent a little time reminiscing about great late 80's and early 90's music. And, in light of those conversations, tonight I downloaded Kick by INXS, Automatic for the People by R.E.M., and Graceland by Paul Simon. My cassette tapes are long gone and I've been missed this music a lot.
I feel like I'm getting older because I really want to listen to music that is beautifully lyrical, but still musically complex. I think that teenagers now have so few great choices in music. There is a lot of crap out there -- Miley Cyrus, Britney, and almost anything playing on a Top 40 station. Have I become an old fogey? What will happen next? Soon, you'll hear me telling some kid in a convertible to turn down his/her music.