Over at Cuteoverload.com, the arbiters of cute have determined that the 31st rule of cuteness is that if your eyebrows shift upwards ("furbrow"), it is cute. Of course, as a longtime Weimaraner companion, I have known this for some time. To wit:
And it's even cuter when she sits there
shifting her brows back and forth like Stephen Colbert as she anxiously
waits for a treat!
This week "Prairie Home Companion" was performed live at the San Francisco War Memoria Opera House. You can hear it live here. It was a great show, in a great (big) venue, and a sold out one (complete with a foyer full of people looking to score tickets), and got me thinking about the whole "San Francisco values" phrase that every Republican seemed to be trotting out pre- and post-election to scare waffling voters about the impending ascension of Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house. Listening to the mellifluous tones of Garrison Keilor, as he delivered the latest news from "Lake Wobegon," I wondered if the conservative talking heads had ever considered that while San Francisco may have a higher per-capita ration of drag queens, it is also full of people who like gently progressive midwestern humor, and enjoy listening to bluegrass music and stories of norwegian bachelor farmers from Minnesota. Heck, the city even has not one, but two bluegrass festivals.
Not saying that San Franciscans are perfect (we can be condescending, excessively relativistic, and oddly moralizing), but that perhaps there's not as much to fear from us as some might think.
Or maybe "St. Paul values" are just as scary.
Actually, the Bears are coming to visit the Trojans, and they're all going to sit down for a civil game of football, right? Riiiiight.
Since my alma mater did not have a football team ('UCSB - our football team never loses!"), Dad transferred affections to USC, and it's since become a bit of a family obsession. So, in honor of the BIG GAME tomorrow (5:00 PST on ABC), check out the "Tommy Cam" at USC, which is a web cam perched to display Tommy Trojan. My favorate feature is the time lapse videos that they compile of each day's worth of webcam shots. Game on!
Once again, the downtown Macy's and the SFSPCA have teamed up for a window display that really draws a crowd. They've made mock-ups of various famous Christmas movies, and then filled them with live kittens and puppies. This is probably one of the most genius cross-promotions every - Macy's windows are constantly surrounded by people cooing at the kitties, and an SFSPCA representative stands there collecting donations and handing out flyers about how to adopt the animals in the window.
I took a couple of pictures, but they aren't too clear - they were taken with a camera phone. Still, they give you an idea of the displays.
This Bulova Acutron SpaceView was my father's college graduation gift
from his parents (in 1968). It's been sitting around the house
without a battery, and with a metal watchband that'd seen better days,
for quite a while now. I finally got it in to a watch repair
place to get the battery replaced, and it seems to be keeping time
well. I also discovered that Fossil has an enormous
collection of cuff-style watchbands that are easy to swap out.
So, for about $30 total, I managed to get this "priceless family
heirloom" (as my dad views it) up and running again. Now I just
need to decide whether it's worth an additional $20 (or so) to replaced
the slightly cracked crystal on the watch's face (until I do replace
it, I'll just avoid going scuba diving with this particular
watch).
So I was at Target yesterday, refilling the highlighter supply (I swear I go through the things like TP), when I saw this cover of US Weekly:
Meanwhile, I was wearing this alluring ensemble:
She took my look!
I'll admit, I'm a bit torn on how to respond to the fact that Mrs. Federline is taking a page from my book of fashion choices. On one hand, a big round of applause for being photographed in something besides a mumu, Uggs, and a scrunchy. On the other hand, all-over argyle can make you look wide (as opposed to an argle pattern down the center of a sweater) - I was wearing my vest with a blazer over it, which helps.
Furthermore - this vest is from Banana Republic. I'm figuring it is pretty popular, because I got the last small in the store. Still - I didn't think Britney Spears knew what a "Banana Republic" was (either type!). Especially since, like, oh my gawd, its retail.
Of course, I think I wear it better than her anyways . . .
Can you believe that South Park has been on the air for 10 years? Whoa, dude.
Ok, the tag above is supposed to say that "I'm Kyle (poo is my imaginary friend)," but apparently Comedy Central went cheap on the computer programmers. However, I do think the link to the personality test is live.
Sweet.
I know, I know, the first response to the announcement that all liquids were banned on airplanes should not have been my grumbling about how I couldn't bring the chocolate milk I had intended to pack with my lunch aboard the flight, but being scheduled to fly two days after the intial arrests by British intelligence agents, I had to take into consideration how the new rules would affect me. One of the things I most wanted to know was what they were going to smuggle aboard, and how they were going to blow up a plane with it. Surely, I mused, there must be some way to allow people some amount of liquids aboard a plane.
Sure enough, shortly after I returned from my trip, I started seeing blog posts that mentioned that the feasibility of the whole "blow up a plane with hair gel" plot was a bit thin. Given the TSA's new policy today, it seems pretty evident that the initial response was a bit overblown. Especially for someone flying on Southwest (which seriously does not keep planes in the air for more than 3 hours at a time, and does not stock much ice). For a detalied examination of the who, what, and how to make a bomb mid-flight, I'll hand things over to the UK's Register.
All in all, I've got to say that I'm glad cooler heads have
prevailed. Though it would've been nice if they'd done so before
I dropped an extra $20 on Aveda styling whip that I intended to keep at
my parents' house, so as to avoid checking my bag every time I go visit
them (it's not Oakland's procedure that bugs me, but Ontario's - that
Ontario, CA - they make you stand in two lines to check a bag, and both
move at the speed of frozen molasses).
Since I don't eat out very often, I usually make an effort to eat somewhere with a pretty good reputation when I do. Today I was down in Cole Valley getting manicure at Lavande (nice place, nicer price), and was looking for a place to eat. I ended up at Zazies, a french-style (if the fracophilic posters on the walls are any indication) bistro just around the corner from the nail salon. I'd noticed earlier, while on the never-ending quest for parking, that there was a substantial line in front of the location (which says something in an area of town with an eatery every 100 feet), so after the manicure, my dining partner and I decided to check it out.
The food was quite good (though I never did remember to ask them how they're dealing with all of the items on the menu that have spinach in them, considering the current status of spinach in the US) - I had an excellent cream of mushroom soup and a BLT that was made with chiabata, roasted tomatoes, spring greens and chevre. Just lovely. My big complaint would be that they serve their mimosas in juice glasses instead of champagne glasses, but given the fact that they do sidewalk service (where people bring dogs - destroyers of all things thin and glassy), that choice is both forgiveable and not surprising.
The restaurant was not Denny's cheap, but the food was good, and served
in a portion that you could actually finish without adjusting the
notches on your belt.
I'll admit that ever since I found out there was a long-standing polynesian-themed bar in San Francisco, I have felt I simply needed to visit. I speak, of course, of the Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel, up at the top of Nob Hill.
So - how is the Tonga Room? Well, at Happy Hour, I would say not bad, but more for the environment than the food. The drinks were pretty good, but the Fairmont's idea of Happy Hour pricing is what most places think of as a regular, if a bit expensive, price point. There was an all-you-can-eat buffet, but it required a one-drink minimum purchase, plus an additional charge atop that. However, the place is plastered with Tiki idols, it features a pool of water in the center of the room with a barge afloat in the middle, and lots of palm tree thatching. There is also an artificial rain shower (with thunder and lightening effects!) every fifteen minutes. Generally, it is kind of like the Tiki Room at Disneyland, but with more rum (kinda like if the Pirates of the Caribbean ran the place, instead of Dole).
The place is pretty darkly lit, but I did get a shot of the drinks, served as all kitschy drinks should be with a marachino cherry. My drinking companion commented that she was surprised that they were not served in Tiki mugs. Maybe there are drinks that are . . .
A "Tonga Itch" (front) and a "Blue Hawaii" (rear).