Monday, October 26, 2009

Some things you just can't Twitter about

...even if what you want to say is perfectly expressed in under 140 characters:

"At bedtime, the still-rumpled sheets were a sweet reminder of the afternoon's indiscretion."

Oh, Captain, my Captain!

So first off, I've begun to think descriptively, to capture moments, in Twitter bites. This is sad, and really bad for my writing muscles. For example, the post above is a pale shadow of what I thought of last night, but refrained from Tweeting (thank God I still have a little bit of decorum left, and have not gone full-on We Live In Public quite yet). I can't remember the good structure that floated through my head last night, and my writing is just too rusty to come up with something equivalent or better.

Next oddness, when I decided to blog this instead of Tweet it, I autopilot logged on to Twitter anyway. Twitter has infiltrated my brain way more insidiously than I'd realized.

Thirdly, in the time I've been away, Blogger has gotten really hard to log onto! Annoying (though they do have a new "Monetize" tab that I might want to check out...)

You know what else is annoying? A clearly dominant personality who claims he wants to be dominated, but could never let go. And there's something else I'm rusty at, as well; I've totally lost the skills and was unable to keep him in line. Sigh, I've got a lot of work to do to get back on track.

PS: that link above talks about way more than just the "We Live In Public" project, so I don't want to give it short shrift. The end of empathy is something I've felt, ironically but most noticeably, since 9/11. Almost as if true feeling and connection has been replaced by the Cliff Notes version. Maybe this is another aspect of my Twitter-ready mind right now, and something else I'd like to work on more. But I think that will deserve a post all on its own. For now, let me just say that I agree with pretty much everything Jason said up there...

Thursday, October 01, 2009

The psychology of the booty call

Wow. It was just pointed out to me that I haven't blogged in months, and that I should, because I used to be funny once upon a time.

Then, like a sign from above, someone sends me a very bloggable and appropriate link:
The psychology of the booty call.

Safe dialing, everyone!

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Even better than a movie deal

Spoiler Alert: If you watch House and you haven't seen last night's episode yet, please skip down to the last paragraph of this post.
< end spoiler alert >

Last night, after the tears had dried, once the anger had set in at losing my favorite character, I thought, "There had better be a really excellent movie in the works to make up for this!"

The reality is so much better.

Non-Spoiler Info: Dude, seriously? Once a tv show has broadcast, all bets are off, and it's really not my fault if you haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. Sure, you can ask that we not talk about it in front of you, and we will surely comply. But to overhear a private conversation, and then yell and scream that we ruined it for you, when you never even told us that you haven't seen it yet? It's not my responsibility to keep tabs on your personal viewing habits, just like it's not my responsibility to remember your favorite ice cream flavor, or that you don't like chocolate or something weird like that. I'll respect your requests, but you have to *make* those requests first. I'm not a mind-reader, and you're not the center of the universe.

Geez.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Is terrance Brennan my new celebrity chef boyfriend?

This sounds deelish. Maybe I had the wrong celebrity bf all along?

Monday, March 16, 2009

Copy-editor humor

Really, who couldn't use a good cocktail about now?

More humor dear to my former-English-teaching heart:
The Fall of the Iron(y) Curtain

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Radio Free Maggie

These song lyrics used to make me weep every time I heard them:
Cath, she stands with a well intentioned-man
But she can’t relax with his hand on the small of her back
And as the flashbulbs burst she holds a smile
Like someone would hold a crying child

And soon everybody will ask what became of you
When your heart was dying fast and you didn’t know what to do

Cath, it seems that you live in someone else’s dream
In a hand-me-down wedding dress with the things that could've been all repressed
But you said your vows and you closed the door
On so many men who would’ve loved you more

And soon everybody will ask what became of you
When your heart was dying fast and you didn’t know what to do
The whispers that it won’t last roll up and down the pews
But if their hearts were dying that fast they’d have done the same as you
And I’ve done the same as you
But I heard it recently on the radio, and not a single tear. I was actually able to enjoy the song!

It made me realize just how miserable I was when I was dating B. I was so terrified that the above would be my fate -- to marry someone I didn't love enough, just because it was expected and I thought I didn't have any better options. And now I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest.

Can PTSD be a good thing? I'm definitely having weird feelings and reactions as I sort out what had been happening, but I don't think they are bad reactions or feelings. It's sort of like being Rolfed, or untying a big tangled knot.

So for any of you beloved folks who have wanted to hate him on my behalf, please don't. He did me a huge favor, and got me out of a bad situation that I refused to leave on my own. (Though I love you dearly for having my back, of course!)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Moldy Peaches, Atlantis Resort, Juno, and the greatest show of our time

What do these things have in common? Adam Green is the best he can be! More specifically:
"...they made it even better than we did. I just knew on Gossip Girl I could probably be even better than I am in real life, you know?"
Strangely, this version is less annoying than Ellen Page's rendition....

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

swoon



I needed that today. First day back in the office after enforced bedrest...

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Patience, little grasshopper

Scorpio (10/23-11/21)
Things are going well for you now, but they might not be moving forward fast enough. Your impatience is starting to get you feeling antsy, and even a little bit worried. The temptation is there to push things along a little bit faster -- but that's not the right thing to do right now. Just keep doing what you're doing. Trust that things will take care of themselves. Everything is moving at the right speed, and you are right where you need to be. Believe it, and relax.
Going to an art opening tonight with George. Deep breaths, stay the course, believe.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Lively cleavage just for Avitable



And I'm not even starting on how awesome CHUCK BASS is.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Shades of Bridget Jones

On Saturday, I felt a bit like dear Bridget when the neighborhood women and I gathered to ooh and ahh over the newest baby on the street. Cameron's mom got married in her late 30s after a marathon of internet dating, and then needed fertility intervention to have her two kids. The other women, moms all, got married very young and had less than no trouble getting pregnant (more like trouble preventing their pregnancies).

The Young Moms swooned over the baby. Then they started joking about how their ovaries hurt, and speculating on the baby boom that Cameron's arrival would trigger in the neighborhood. Because, you see, everyone can have babies, right? Why, certainly, no one in that very room has had trouble getting pregnant, right? Definitely not half the women in the room at that very moment, RIGHT?!?!

On the verge of tears, I got up to leave. Cameron's mom saw the look on my face and quickly tried to change the subject to something more encouraging and less... insensitive.

"Maggie, I meant to tell you! Remember my friend Camille, the one who had her son by insemination? She's engaged!"

Apparently this friend of hers, who had a child on her own three years ago when she was 39, has been swept up in a whirlwind romance with a 35-year-old she met through work. He loves her, he loves her son, the son is already calling him "Dad," and they're getting married in May.

At which point the traditionally more cluelessly insulting (truly, I don't think she means to be hurtful, I think she's just an idiot) Young Mom chimed in:
"Ooh, it's like some urban myth from Sex and the City; you always hear about women who get married in their 30s but you know they don't really exist. But now you actually know one, so maybe there is hope after all!"

I left. Cam's mom left with me, and let me have a good cry on the sidewalk before I went home. Seriously, it's like a scene from Bridget Jones, where the Smug Marrieds treat us like a different species or something.

Maybe I need more "Sex and the City" after all, and less Bridget. Certainly New York Magazine thinks this is a fine time for Singletons in New York.

Hmm, and George wants to see a movie tonight, how interesting....

(Also, the Captain checked in on me last night, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with marriage and babies, in any order.)

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

How the city hurts your brain - Boston.com

Plant yourself a window box, or better yet, take a walk.

At least he's getting paid

I can't believe Eliot Spitzer is writing for Slate, and that's not big news, somehow.

Friday, January 02, 2009

Say it ain't so, Gio

I refuse to believe that this piece of gossip about my beloved husband Giorgio is even vaguely true -- even if it did come from my beloved BANG! Showbiz gossip feed:
Paris Hilton is reportedly dating George Clooney.
The socialite fueled speculation of a romance after recently enjoying an “intimate” evening with the ‘Burn After Reading’ star at the Whiskey Bar at the Sunset Marquis hotel in Hollywood, according to Life and Style Weekly magazine.
A source said: “Paris and George sat and talked together for ages. They didn’t seem to be aware of anyone else in the room.”
The following evening, Paris, 27, was seen sitting beside 47-year-old George at a dinner at a Hollywood restaurant, with other guests including director Ridley Scott and Brittany Flickinger, winner of ‘Paris Hilton’s My New BFF’ show.