a open letter to jennifer hudson

so i was watching dreamgirls for, i don't know, the 15th time earlier tonight, and once again found myself unable to move during THE SONG. (for the uninitated - watch this video and come back here.)

and then i remembered something. back in '06, before the movie was released, there was a version of THE SONG floating around teh internets. i listened to it and quite honestly, i wasn't feeling it all that much. probably b/c jennifer holliday's version is one of my favorite songs in the history of everything. seriously, if i had to pick a stranded on a desert island playlist, THE SONG would be on it.

here's what i had to say to a friend in october 2006 after we'd both listened to the new version of THE SONG:

see, i wasn't that dazzled by the new version, but ireadily admit that part of it is sheer "how dare youtry to sing this song" hatred.

hence this open letter. i was wrong. i realized how wrong i was when bff and i saw dreamgirls in the theater in december '06 and it was so quiet during THE SONG that all you could hear was folks crying (self included), and then thunderous applause. i've realized it over again whenever i watch the movie, but since tonight was the first time in a while that i'd watched it while sober, i actually had enough presence of mind to write this.

so, j-hud, i'm sorry for doubting your ability to make THE SONG your own. my bad. forgive me?

and since i'm writing you this open letter, can we please talk about your weight watchers commercials? specifically, can you please reconsider singing in every damn commercial? y'know how mariah sang in her first spot for jenny craig and now she's talking to other women in her latest ads? that's not a bad pattern to follow. i mean no disrespect, but if i hear you doing that sing/scream thing one more time, i'm gonna have to officially quit you. this is especially true of your earlier ww ads with the cover of "feeling good." those make my soul wince every time. please. i'm pretty sure everyone in weight watchers' demographic knows that you lost 80-something pounds using ww. you don't need to yell, scream, and shout (see what i did there?) anymore. just a thought. thanks for reading.

i would save this (e)card forever.

so i saw this on sjb's site and did like 5011 fist pumps in my head. i would have all of the feelings if someone sent me this...and then i would go buy some wine and start going through my movie collection. :-)

fun with recycling

i was going through some files and saw a ipod meme that i did back in february 2009. since i suck at life and haven't come up with any original content lately, i figured i'd revisit said meme for shits and giggles. if i remember the setup correctly, you're supposed to start your ipod or itunes in shuffle mode and answer the questions based on what songs come up. here's the one i just finished, with my notes in italics:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
hey sweet man - madeleine peyroux
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
war of the hearts - sad
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
i'll write a song for you - earth wind and fire
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
artistiya - regina carter
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
last of a dying breed - ludacris feat. lil wayne (i know.)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
falls (violet) - van hunt
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
mary jane (all night long) - mary j. bilge (this is funny for reasons.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
naughty girl - beyonce (oh. my. *clutches pearls*)
WHAT IS 2+2?
think - aretha franklin
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
wordy rappinghood - tom tom club
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
stop - lizz wright
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
daddy fat sax - big boi
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
lovers in japan/reign of love - coldplay (buh?)
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
levees - terence blanchard (well, damn.)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
don't make me wait too long - barry white (um…)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
zerapiky - regina carter
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
aerodynamic beats/forget about the world - daft punk
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
let the rhythm hit 'em - eric b. and rakim
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
who's that girl - eurythmics (the hell?)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
steppin' out - zo! and tigallo
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
jack in the box - ralphie may
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
c'est la vie - robbie nevil
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
get busy - sean paul (ok, so there was this one time freshman year, but aside from that…wait, what?)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
i've got my love to keep me warm - ella fitzgerald
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
got to give it up - marvin gaye
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
submerge: til we become the sun - maxwell
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
love to love you less - nikka costa
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
one step ahead - aretha franklin (i want y'all to know that textedit kept autocorrecting aretha to "urethra." i was not amused.)
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
bring me home - sade
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
lola - me'shell ndegeocello
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
i'll be there for you/you're all i need to get by - mary j. bilge feat. method man

and, for comparison's sake, here's the version i did 3 years ago, again with notes in italics:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
rock the casbah - the clash
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
all i wanna do - sheryl crow
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
housequake - prince
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
boogie wonderland - earth, wind and fire & the emotions
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
celie’s curse - color purple broadway sdtk
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
baby elephant walk - quincy jones
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
a fifth of beethoven - walter murphy
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
mr. moon - jamiroquai
WHAT IS 2+2?
what’s your fantasy (rmx) - ludacris feat trina, shawna & foxy brown
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
sterling, virginia - patton oswalt
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
love hater - andre 3000
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
your song - ewan mcgregor & alessandro safina (moulin rouge sdtk)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
rapture - blondie
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
round midnight - ledisi
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
red red red - fiona apple
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
warning - notorious b.i.g. (wow.)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
the cisco kid - war (wow again.)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
baby, baby, baby - joss stone (oh, wtf?)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
elliptical - me’shell ndege’ocello
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
let’s get married (remarquable rmx) - jagged edge & run
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
another angel - lizz wright
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
sea of tranquility - kool & the gang (i can only hope to be so lucky)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
machete - moby
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
pick me up i’ll dance - larry levan/melba moore
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
blackout - lil’ louis
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
court and spark feat. norah jones - herbie hancock
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
young americans - david bowie (damned kids today...)
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
butterflies (demo version) - floetry
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
never been - mary j. blige
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
i can’t help it - michael jackson
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
so fine - howard johnson 

so, yeah. do with that what you will. happy monday. :P

penguin cam!

if you saw my twitter stream today, then you know that i am all about this penguin cam that the discovery channel has set up at seaworld san diego. this is easily my new favorite thing in the whole wide world. true story: a few minutes ago, i was getting worked up about my to-do list and how much of it i really need to complete tomorrow, and then i was just like "fuck this shit. i'm gonna watch some penguins." and now you can watch them, too. you're welcome. :-)



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videos of the week

these are posted in the order i saw them on tv this week. first up is this direct tv ad:



i was giggling at the turkish baths part and damn near on the floor rolling with laughter by the end.

next up, this music video that sjb tweeted in my direction, with a note telling me to pay particular attention around the 40 second mark.



i swear i've watched this video and/or listened to the song no fewer than a dozen times since wednesday. it makes me wanna do hoodrat things with my friends. i have the original and the instrumental on my ipod and it takes all i have not to start dancing in public when it comes on. it's so wonderfully ratchet.

honorable mention goes to the capital one ad with alec baldwin where he references getting kicked off a flight for playing games on his phone. it made me giggle. of course i can't find the ad online right now, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

recipe review: green beans and cherry tomatoes

yes, this recipe is probably as easy as you think it is. i used about 1/2 a pint of grape tomatoes that i cut in half, b/c that's what was in the fridge. i also used about a tablespoon of minced garlic, but if i make this again once i have a kitchen of my own (sigh), i'll probably used chopped garlic instead b/c the minced garlic, surprise surprise, damn near burned within 30 seconds. still nom, though.

fall out boy + prince

equals this gem, which i just rediscovered in my email. proverbial tip of the hat goes to sjb for sharing this with me and for making sure i didn't injure myself when i almost passed out laughing/screaming.

my name is eulalia, and i vote(d).

if memory serves me correctly, i have yet to miss an election since i've been registered to vote. you'd think that with all the recent upheaval in my life, i would've forgotten about changing my voter registration. actually, i did kinda forget about it, but chicago, lovable city that it is, went ahead and changed my registration for me based on my current mailing address. wasn't that nice of them? god forbid the city miss out on a potential vote, right?

since i won't actually be in chicago on election day, i decided to vote early while i was in the city running errands and such. i didn't get a cool "i voted" sticker, but i did get my officlal early voting receipt. i wonder if i can take that to local businesses and get discounts on stuff? no, wait...that implies that i have more than $10 in my wallet and $2 in the bank right now. never mind, then.

y'all should go vote if you haven't already. i figure if my un(der)employed, broke, and, well, technically homeless ass can do my civic duty, then other folks should be able to do the same.

and now i will step down from my soapbox and wish y'all a great weekend. :-)

recipe review: sauteed spinach with mushrooms

i made this as a side dish tonight and i can't shake the feeling that i've made it previously. nothing comes up in my searches on this blog for this recipe though, so maybe i did it back in the urbantherapy days and since that site is no more, i can't confirm or deny prior existence of this review. at any rate - this one comes from the new york times and i'm just gonna copy/paste it here:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 pound mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and sliced

1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound baby spinach, rinsed but not dried; or 2 pounds bunch spinach, stemmed and rinsed but not dried, and coarsely chopped

1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until seared and beginning to sweat, about five minutes. Turn the heat to medium, and add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir together for another minute or two until the mushrooms are tender. Add the spinach, and stir until wilted, about two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: Serves two to four.

i used about a teaspoon of dried thyme instead of fresh, and i didn't chop the bunches of spinach b/c it was all gonna wilt down anyway and i didn't really see the point. 'twas nom; would make again. the end. :-)

the celebration continues

remember back in december when i said that my birthday celebration would last until pulaski day at the earliest? well, pulaski day is on monday, and honestly, i'm not ready to put an end to this celebration yet. yeah, it'd be nice to actually have something to celebrate, like a job or an apartment or a bank balance that doesn't make me laugh to keep from crying everytime i log into my account, but all of that will happen, and hopefully soon.

in the meantime, though, i'm hereby decreeing that my birthday celebration will indeed continue until at least memorial day. i figure that gives the universe ample time to get its act together and throw some positive outcomes my way. :-)