Claire Krazy Hair

Have you been watching Lost? Claire has been living in the jungle alone for three years, gone bat-sh*t crazy, and adopted a bird’s nest hairdo. I can’t find a great picture of her hair, but wanted to share because I think this is what my mother and grandmother think my hair literally looks like.

When I visited Korea a few years ago, I was putting on my shoes at Grandma’s when I felt something against my head–she started to brush my hair. When we got to my uncle’s a few minutes later, my mother was there and asked if I came over in a convertible car. Rad.

mummenshanz

Remember Mummenschanz? They were like mimes with post-its for facial features or toilet paper rolls–I think they appeared a lot on The Muppet Show as guests. We actually went to a live Mummenshanz show on Broadway at some point–my cousin Ed was into them (he may have been 7 at the time or something) and my non-English-speaking grandmother was in town, so mime seemed like the perfect family entertainment, but it turned out to be a touch to artsy for Grandma, whom I still remember saying “What the hell is this?” in Korean in her non-inside-voice. Um, Mummenshanz is like a totally silent show with no music, so I feel like she was sharing with a few rows. Awesome.

Veg of the day

Veg of the day was onion rings. Sorry, it’s just been that kind of day.

Just don’t tell my mother…or Husband.

gays in the military

I don’t have anything hugely intelligent to offer on this topic, but it came up at a party because it was in the news at the time like crazy, since Obama pledged to dismantle “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” As is typical, someone brought up “yeah, but what about showers and how will a bunch of 18-year-olds from Iowa handle it.” One genius friend pointed out that 18-year-olds from Iowa are usually already aware of gay stuff already, then another genius friend pointed out that senior military dudes aren’t opposed to dismantling the policy because they realize gays make great soldiers. Makes sense to me.

Beyond that, I don’t know much about gays in the military or what the military is like, but something about the national conversation just strikes me as slightly paranoid or something. It’s like when they first admitted women to the military or schools, everyone freaked out about the potential of sex, but now that these institutions are co-ed, it doesn’t seem like it’s been as big deal as originally thought.

I just wonder if this overemphasis on booty emerges from the fact that people, particularly men, don’t understand how to be intimate or close to others without having sex involved somehow. It seems to induce this weird, random, Puritanical reaction. I don’t know if I have quite connected the dots on that one, but it’s just a theory/observation. What do you think?

Outcasts United

Outcasts United by Warren St. John was a New York Times article maybe last year, covering the town of Clarkston, Georgia, where refugees from Africa and the Middle East settle in the broke parts of town. This woman came in and started a soccer league, which improved the boys’ English, academic performance, and behavior, gave them a place where they could belong. There’s one section of the article that details the Coach being pulled over in her Honda for a broken tail light and getting arrested. The team, witnessing the event from the school bus ahead of her, started freaking out, since many of them had firsthand experiences with family being taken away by police and never being heard from again. It’s an INCREDIBLE article, and I found myself choked up on the subway and incredibly inspired when I read it. The piece hit home for a lot of people, and soon a book and film contract were in the works.

Thankfully, the book doesn’t suck!!! Hooray!!! It doesn’t quite have the emotional oomph of the article, probably because it has the space to explore a more complicated portrait of the community and the players, but it does an excellent job of contextualizing the backgrounds of the refugee families and the different politics of this small town, conflicted about helping this significant immigrant community they did not ask for. I loved the book.

It really inspired my friend Nancy to think about ways she could volunteer and make a difference. For me?…Uh, I’m lazier, I think. The article definitely make me want to start a soccer team or adopt a kid, but the book was just something I was content to observe and enjoy.

lesbian tv hosts

Can someone explain to me the phenomenal success of female TV hosts who have not sweated hiding their sexual identity and their acceptance in our country’s bosom? I mean, Ellen is SO out, and yet her daytime TV show is extraordinarily popular, and usually, daytime audiences are like Midwest housewives (if I may so blatantly stereotype) who I would think are close-minded about that sort of thing. Same goes for Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah Winfrey (who, by the way, I didn’t consider gay until my friend Becca casually mentioned to me, Oh sure, she’s totally a lesbian, and I was like WHAT? I mean, I’ve heard the stories of best friend Gail in Kathy Griffin stand-up routines, but I feel so naive.)

I just find it fascinating. Is it selective denial? Denial when it works to your advantage?

sore throat solution

So I’ve been dealing with this awesome cold lately, which includes fever, stuffed up nose, and sore throat, and with NYC apartments, the air is desert-arid with these heating systems and when you can only breathe through your mouth in your sleep feels like, I dunno, having knives splice through, etc. I came up with this ingenious sleep method of going to sleeping with a cough drop in my mouth — it just helps keep some moisture in there so you don’t feel like dying. But I just told Husband and he forbade me from doing this again, because I might choke or whatever.

I’m like, What about the kind of cough drops that comes in lollipop form? Like if I choke, we could pull it out by the stick part.

NO, he said.

Shucks.

In a Message to Democrats, Wall St. Sends Cash to G.O.P.

The New York Times had a story today about how Wall Street is annoyed at the restrictions Obama is proposing, and I’m like OH BOO HOO. Did he not save your entire industry this year? Yeah, that’s right. You have a salary and a bonus floated by taxpayers and now he does one thing you dislike and you ditch him? I don’t know much about the finance world, so forgive me if I sound ignorant, but I’ve read that Obama actually practiced the same philosophy as Bush, thus the butt-saving, and now is trying to be a little bit more lefty.

more conan

I just caught the last episode of The Conan O’Brien Show, which ended with an honestly expressed speech from Conan O’Brien, one that took me by complete surprise! His commencement worthy farewell focuses on the youngsters, whom he instructs “to not be cynical,” and also advises that being kind and working hard will lead to amazing things after he chokes up.

First of all, the guy has had an exceptional life — so the cynic in me says, well, I’m kind, I work hard, where is my show, but mostly, I was pleasantly surprised that a comedian who has such a tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic, guarded performance style warns to stay away from cynicism. Very cool.