Charlaine Harris

This Christmas I spent the season with the fam. Of course that meant it was necessary to find ways to amuse myself. I have been devouring everything and anything Charlaine Harris has written. I raced through the Sookie Stackhouse series so quickly I nearly gave myself vertigo. She's a great plotter and love the sexiness of the series. I've been having dreams about some of Ms Stackhouse's paramours, and, no, not the obvious ones. She's genius.

Being Erica

How awesome is CBC's Being Erica? I adore Erin Karpluk. And the wardrobe is fabulous. I never knew that Toronto cold be so glamourous!

Birthday Sluts

Birthday Sluts

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Holy hotness. What a gift for a hungover Saturday morning. Found this over at dlisted and had to share. MK knows how to brighten any girl/gay's day.

Holidays

Am feeling dread about the holidays. My job has started sucking and one of my payments for freelance work just bounced. Not the kind of stress I need.

Still Stitching and Bitching

I am working away on four different scarves for my sibling's family. At the moment, they are living down south, but soon they will be returning to the frosty north. I thought it would be fun--for the kids at least--to knit up a little reminder of what's to come. I've been trawling the yarn shops for the best colours and textures. There is one amazing place near me. I have relied on Michael's for a few other things. Not very exciting, but they do have some good cotton and merino yarns.

Brightest Star in the Sky

Marian Keyes truly is a god among women. Her latest book, The Brightest Star in the Sky, has me curled up in bed and devouring every page. She writes such lovely busy crazy sentences. There are a number of intertwined stories. Each character is hugely likable, although each is different in their own way. I love the risk she's taken by adopting a slightly magical element to the narrative.

Update: I finished reading this last night. The last few chapters had me in floods of tears, but in the best possible way.

This is why the olds should stop having sex

I came across this story in one of my favourite blogs. Michael K. has named the hapless lovers from Cornell b-school as the hot sluts of the day. Their exchange, which can be read in full here, is totally cringe worthy. I will never be able to look at a blue thong without thinking of seasoning sauce. And that is not a good thing.

BTW epic fail for the tech guy. Hitting BCC all is a rookie mistake. Clearly, he was sending these missives to his personal email account as a souvenir or spank material for afters. Or maybe he just wanted to get caught? Hugely embarassing for both and their families, but if you're going to play you better be ready to pay.

Secret Diary of a Call Girl

What better way to spend a sleepy Sunday than catching up with a favourite series? Although I saw a few episodes when it first came out, I missed most of television's take on the 'Belle du Jour' blog turned novel. I adore Billie Piper. Wouldn't have guessed that, but she is completely winsome. Not so much a tart with a heart but rather a consummate professional. I have been taking notes. The actors are lovely and refreshingly un-botoxed. Must confess they do look a full decade older than their US counterparts. And it was refreshing to see an imperfect teeth bleaching jobs. It looks like the actress who plays Bambi can only afford to get the front four done. I spotted a very yellow-ish eye tooth on an episode from Season 2.

Blue Sky Thinking

I picked one of these bad boys up at Costco this week, and I am v impressed with the results so far. It may be psychosomatic, but I feel much zippier. A Harvard study indicates the blue light is more effective than traditional therapies. The Philips goLITE BLU is cheaper (with the limited-time discount) and more compact than any other I've found. I've been using while on the computer during the day. I am going to try it out as an 'alarm clock', and see how it works. Anything the beat the winter blahs!

Update: I am mildly addicted to this light. It's made a huge difference to my mood. Every morning, I trudge down to my office to switch on the light and bask in its glow for 20 minutes. I wasn't able to work out how to use it as an alarm clock. One needs to be careful though in placing it a good distance away. I had it too close to my face for the first few days, and I did notice some problems with my eyes. Follow the directions, and you'll be fine. Highly recommended!

HBO True Blood Marathon

It's taken me some time to warm to HBO's True Blood. I am a huge fan of Alan Ball's oeuvre, but I haven't been able to get into his latest series. It's the southern accents. I blame Anna Paquin. I adore her, but her talent don't stretch to the Louisiana border. I finally got over it by starting at the beginning. Am seriously in love with the actor who play Eric. Who the fuck isn't really?

MAC Staff Rock

I went to make a purchase the other day at my local MAC counter, but before stopping there I went to another department store cosmetic counter. And let's just say I was underwhelmed by the level of service I got. It was a completely different story at MAC. The staff is knowledgeable and efficient. Kudos to the company for their focus on service. I am a fan.

Coming Full Circle

After making the rounds of various skin care ranges--highs: Clairins (lovely but it didn't really seem to do anything); lows: Aveeno Active Naturals (made me spout countless zits), I am heading back to the Clinique counter to stock up on its 3-Steps. I do wish the Dramatically Different moisturizer was a touch richer, especially for winter use, but I am looking forward to using the cleansing bar. It really does the trick. And I think its time to start using the turnaround lotion.

ROYKSOPP by Matt & Natt

The covetousness I feel when looking at this bag is cancelled out by its virtue. I love Matt & Nat's vegan handbags. Since I've stopped eating meat, I have found myself repulsed by leather. I just can't get over the fact that its ripped from the flesh of a living thing. Gross and bad in equal measures. Real suede is the worst though. It almost looks like goosebumps.

Bamboo is the New Green Tea

Quel bizarre hairdo. Is this beehive meant to inspire confidence in the product? It looks like they wrapped hair extensions around a piece of foam

Being Erica

How awesome is CBC's Being Erica? I =3 Erin Karpluk. The clothes are absolutely fab.

Guys w'iPhones

From a purely anthropological perspective, the site dedicated to self-portraits snapped by a cross-section of young men--everything from muscle marys to twinks--is fascinating. I love the intersection between the branded object and the self. It's long been accepted that brands, like apple et al, have positioned themselves as either extensions of the personality or proof of individuality. This phenomena takes it to another level.

Nic Cage

This past few weeks have been all about work, so I decided to take today off. I'vewatched three movies on cable so far, two of them featuring Nicholas Cage in the cast. what ever happened to him? He was so gorgeous to me when I was in my teens. The first movie I saw him in was Valley Girl. I loved his edginess. The cast for "Peggy Sue" is amazing--Joan Allen, Jim Carey, Helen Hunt--but then it was directed by Coppola. It must be so amazing to have been a part of one of his projects. Nepotism has mixed results: why does Coppola persist in his belief that his daughter can act? Even as a teen, she was wooden and unconvincing.Valley Girl was appalling. It's amazing the sorts of things that mange to get made. A quick look on IMDB of the various working titles suggest that the script underwent a number of different incarnations. What struck me is how the fashions--largely preppy--were so incredibly concealing. Everyone was dressed in layers of things that obscured their bodies. It's a sharp contrast to the crop tops and low cut jeans of the period that followed.

Jezebel Reveal

I wasn't surprised when Kiwi Jenna Sauers was revealed as the author of the v. good Tatiana the Anonymous Model posts on Jezebel. Perhaps I should rephrase that . . . I wasn't surprised when a relative outsider was the woman responsible for the trenchant commentary and observations. Kiwis, like Canucks and members of those countries who live their lives in the shadow of super power, develop a more critical sensibility as they are constantly bombarded by messages or media that need to be reinterpreted. Living in the shadow of the US means that I watch a lot of films and television developed for a very different cultural sensibility. I'm a lot more critical watching this stuff than I would be otherwise.

Green Tea v. Tea Tree

These ingredients have become as ubiquitous as jojoba oil was in the 80's. But I've noticed green tea and tea tree oil turning up in the most unlikely places. While searching for a life-friendly nail hardener, i.e. one that is formaldehyde-free, I found one with green tea extracts. And of course cosmetic companies have been pouring tea tree oil into everything from shampoo to face cream for ages now. Personally, I love it for healing spots and cuts, but the smell doesn't do anything for me. I was surprised to hear that some studies have linked the use of tea tree oil to an increased risk of infection and, somewhat alarmingly, gynecomastia in young boys.

Vodka: Fail

Is this possible a 2009 thing? I just can't tolerate vodka. It seems kinda 90s.

Does anyone read magazines any more?

Is it just me, or does anyone read magazines anymore? When I was teen, magazines were an important part of my daily diet. I read everything I could get my hands on, voraciously and indiscriminately. Obvs. new media has steadily encroached steadily on print media's territory, but I still see racks of magazines every time I go to the drug store or the market. However, I rarely see anyone purchasing them.

The closest I get to reading mags these days is either at the salon or on the web. Jezebel's deconstruction of the ladymags is especially fine.

Natural Toothpaste

It's been a few months since I made the switch to a more natural brand of toothpaste, and I must admit I'm a fan. I used Colgate for years, but now I am sickened by the sweetness of it. The stuff I'm using now is by Tom's of Maine. It contains silica, which tastes a bit like a sealant. I haven't tasted it before, but if you've smelled the sealer they use on windows, you know what I mean.

Come, Armageddon! Come!

Everyday is like Sunday with swine flu.

Cover Girl Lip Stain

Initially, I thought this product was brilliant but after a few weeks, I ended up tossing the tube in the trash. It dried my lips out and the colour was a bit odd. I have reverted to my two-step method: a MAC lip liner and some balm. PS: Just checked the colour match on the website, and it looks like I may have picked the wrong colour for my complexion. Oops

Billy Boob Thornton

God, this man was an ass. It was absolutely excruciating to listen to and made me briefly sympathize with his former love interests. I don't often have the occasion to pity Hollywood actresses, but today my heart went out to Jolie, Dern, et al. This man is a bully plain and simple. Take it from one who has been there. Men like this need to be placed in isolation where they are unable to inflict themselves on anyone. Bastards!

Oscar Fatigue

Am I the only one who doesn't care? I switched off the broadcast long before the big winners were announced last night and was utterly unimpressed with the wins. Except for Milk, of course. That deserved everything it got and more. It's really the only film that seems mildly relevant in this post-America era. It was nice to see Phoebe Cates out and about though.

Recessionista

The recession sucks to be frank. I have contemplated the following: baking, cooking, shopping my own closet, recycling, thrift store shopping, ebay, and even arts and crafts. To date, the only homemade project I've had a hand in is amateur porn, but I'm confident that with a little time and patience I'll be whipping up toilet roll covers in no time.

Oprah Cover

I know it's not the cover, but it shows Oprah lighter than she's been in an awfully long time. Personally, I am sick of the debate surrounding the subject and wish she'd just embrace the journey. 'What happened' isn't the question I would ask. More like 'shit happens' and you try again.