She's Come Undone.

I've now had two friends tell me about the importance of the TV show "Paradise Hotel." I'm watching it right now and see no importance. What the hell is this show?

While I'm on a tear... the MTV Video Music Awards show isn't exactly good for much besides bad clothes and badder attitudes. This I know. But I'd like to know who, after watching Thursday night's festivities, thinks pop music is going in a good direction. Really. Who?

Ok, this entry won't be all about what's wrong in the world. Here are some things that make me happy (I bet at least a few make you happy too):

1. Peanut Butter 'n Chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins

2. The ocean

3. Rollercoasters

4. Kids that wave at me and smile when I wave back

5. P.T. Anderson movies

6. Figuring out why my HTML is messed up and fixing it

7. Napping in the sun

8. Hearing "I love you" from someone I love

9. Just-flossed teeth

10. US Weekly

Update: I've switched the channel from "Paradise Hotel" to a blaring test pattern and my headache's all gone!

:)

PS- If you were ever an Eminem fan, please at least agree with me that beating up puppets is beyond unfunny.

PS part 2- Congrats to the newlyweds, Halley and Josh!

Back to School

So I'm filling in on Call For Help today and one of our guests is highlighting some nifty gadgets for the kids for the new school year. Ah, how I remember the chaos that was "Back To School." Let's take a walk back in time, shall we?

1. A couple weeks before our first day back (always used to be the day after Labor Day, no exceptions) the school would post all the students' names in their future classes. This was the moment you found out if all your best friends were in the same class as you (score!) and whether you got the cool teacher or the hag from hell (start acting sick).

2. Back-to-school clothes were big. No, huge. For some unknown reason, kids became fashion slaves sometime in August and rode that horse until October when everything had been worn. It wasn't about growing out of last year's pants...it was about Esprit and Guess! And if you were a frequent receiver of your older cousin's hand-me-downs (me), you might even pretend they were new. Man, peers can be unforgiving! I'd like to think kids aren't as shallow and judgmental as they used to be, but I have a feeling some things never change.

3. Remember those old pee-chee folders? They were printed with graphics of basketball and football players and were barely thicker than construction paper. Pee-chees were also useless if you were using a 3-ring binder cause they had no holes. Yet they were the folder to have. Why? I have no idea. My parents never bought them for me because they weren't practical. But you can't tell a 10 year old about practicality.

4. Lunch boxes vs. brown paper bags. Can anyone pinpoint exactly what summer we kids got the memo to switch from colorful, unique lunch boxes and advance to plain, identity-free bag lunches? I don't remember the year, but I remember the importance. Lunch boxes were deemed too babyish and absolutely had to go. To avoid Hunger Strike '86, you needed a brown bag.

Top 10 lunch box themes that were hot at my elementary school before they were not:

1. He-Man

2. The Smurfs

3. My Little Pony

4. Transformers

5. GI-Joe

6. Michael Jackson

7. Rainbow Brite

8. Care Bears

9. Strawberry Shortcake

10. Thundercats

5. Even more important than the sack lunch were the contents of the sack lunch. CapriSun was a must. Hostess cupcakes were reserved for the lunch elite crowd. Skippy peanut butter ruled. Let's just say I was never allowed any of that stuff, and today my body thanks my mother.

I can't say I miss that back-to-school status stress... but I sure wish I still had summer vacation.

40 Oz. to Freedom

If it ain't broke, break it.

A little of everything.

For some reason working in television makes me watch less television. You'd think we'd all be a bunch of TV junkies, but I actually think most of us don't want to turn work back on when we get home. That said, I do have my guilty viewing pleasures. And they're really guilty.

1. Inside the Actor's Studio on Bravo- I don't care who the actor is. If that show's on, I'll watch. I always want to know what their favorite cuss words are, and if he exists, what they'd like God to say as they're entering the pearly gates. And that James Lipton! What a kidder.

2. Emeril on Food Network- I know it's really dorky to have a band on your cooking set and all that jazz, but let's face it. Emeril can cook. I love to watch good food come together! But I don't clap like the others.

3. Maternity Ward on TLC-- I can't watch reality medical shows. I hate them. They make me seriously ill. Except when it's about babies, and then I'm riveted.

4. Golden Girls reruns on Lifetime- I'm sorry, but that show is absolutely brilliant. Bea Arthur, you're my hero.

In saner news, I just paid off all my credit card debt! While this great feat required me to slash into my modest nest egg (always a drag), the rewards clearly shine brighter. I literally laughed out loud as I cut up my stupid WebMiles Visa card. Goodbye! Never again will I be coaxed into a bogus deal with your manipulative kind! Boy, it feels good to be just a little bit more free.

Let's see... I just bought a dress for a friend's wedding. Women's clothing is such a rip! But it's a really nice dress. I rationalize it by telling myself I'll just wear it to a bunch of other weddings coming up soon (of which there are none). And I wonder how I got into debt....

Ok, Blanche is buying a new car and Rose might buy her old one.. gotta go.

It's the same, except that it isn't.

I've been to Europe a few times now, but this last trip was completely untreaded territory. And I really have nothing bad to say about the most excellent United Kingdom. Excellent company, excellent weather (Europe's going through a psycho heat wave right now, imagine 80 and sunny on the beach in Ireland), excellent luck finding hidden coves and towns and B&Bs, and never went too hungry. That said, what's a vacation without a little culture shock, even for an Irish lass? Allow me to elaborate:

1. The Guinness is better. The cider is better. The pubs are plentiful. Let the games begin!

2. "Still water" is water. "Sparkling water" is carbonated water. Simple enough, right? No. For reasons unexplained to me, some carbonated water stocked on the shelf with all the other water contains aspartame, which in my book begins to classify as soda. Dutiful label reading must ensue to avoid sugar alternative-induced headaches.
3. Mayonnaise haters beware! It's everywhere! Expect strange looks when asking for mustard or ketchup on items like sandwiches and veggie burgers.

4. Don't even get me started on the veggie burgers. I liked them, but I have no idea what they were supposed to be.

- When sheep are really used to humans, they'll lay in the middle of the road and won't move even if you're about to drive over them (we didn't).

5. Corporate America is depressing, but driving past a McDonald's down the road from a castle in Northern Wales is really depressing.

6. During traditional Irish breakfast, you will be served thick, homemade wheat bread and toasted white bread and expected to eat both. If you don't want to eat the bacon, ham, sausage and eggs, it's best to bring along a napkin to smuggle them off your plate so as not to offend your B&B host. You can always feed your traveling partner later if he starts to whine.

7. Vegetarians are generally pitied (see above).

8. There's nothing more beautiful than Ireland's million shades of green.

9. But don't expect anything that resembles a salad. Ok, salads do exist. But they won't look leafy and green and there's a good chance they'll be covered with what looks and tastes like mayonnaise.

10. Driving on the left side of the road/right side of the car isn't as hard as you would think. The rules are the same, they're just inverted.  It's like weird mirror math. Fun!

11. The deep-fried Mars bar craze actually exists and is quite possibly the most delightful piece of junk I've ever put into my body. Imagine an oozing, hot candy bar that tastes like a doughnut. Oh. My. God.

12. Architectural history is abundant and breathtaking and amazing.

Enjoy a few more pics, my friends:

Behind the scenes of London's fabulous tube:

Fancy a round?

I never said the deep-fried Mars bar looked as good as it tasted. 

Howth harbor at sunset:

Blogging abroad:

Got mountain?

Happy weekend everyone!