Thursday, March 13, 2008

These boots were made for walkin'.

No one should walk in Jimmy Choos. No one.

Tonight, I remembered that I am not invincible as I walked from the Organization of American States to the Board of Trade in my cutest JCs. And while my Choos are darling indeed, my feet swelled and I got awfully cranky by the time I got to the Old Executive Building and had five more blocks to go.

By the time I got to the Mini, my toes looked like mini kielbasas and all I wanted were my Bandalinos. Thankfully, they were resting in the boot (of the Mini). So when I donned them on the mini kielbasas, I felt like I had just put on the most luxurious slippers.

Lesson learned? Always take cab money when you walk in Jimmy Choos, even if you're training for the Army 10-miler. Always.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Elizabeth is a famous rugby player on TV!

My colleague Elizabeth is the PR chair for the Northern Virginia Women's Rugby Team. Thanks to her good efforts, her team was featured in a segment this morning on Fox 5 News. Check it out: http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=5969953&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=5.2.1

Monday, March 10, 2008

The new seven mortal sins.

I was a little surprised to learn that the Vatican has issued a new list of seven deadly sins, particularly since the apparent reason for revisiting the list was because people aren't taking advantage of the sacrament of reconciliation enough. But just looking at today's headlines alone suggests that the old sins were the problem (i.e., lust at the Mayflower, envy of more popular presidential candidates). No, the sins aren't the problem: the problem is that people either don't believe that they sin or that they don't believe that telling someone else their sins will make them better people.

But for giggles, let's review the list:

THE OLD MORTAL SINS
- Pride
- Envy
- Lust
- Gluttony
- Anger
- Greed
- Sloth

THE NEW MORTAL SINS
- Environmental pollution
- Genetic manipulation
- Accumulating excessive wealth
- Inflicting poverty
- Drug trafficking and consumption
- Morally debatable experiments
- Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

Now, father forgive me, I have no idea what some of these mean, nor do I believe that I have the resources to commit these sins. Genetic manipulation? I'm not running any cloning labs in my basement. And violation of fundamental rights of human nature? What the heck does that mean? Requiring Catholics to take a philosophy course before they make amends with G-d just doesn't sound like an enticing way to get them back in the confessional.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Why blog?

Congratulations to interesting folks at www.unfogged.com and their roommates at the Flophouse for making the front page of The New York Times Style section. There's a part of me that's jealous (when I last checked, their blog had 484 comments on said article alone). But there's another part of me that's just a wee bit annoyed at The New York Times for painting a picture of bloggers as these cool bohemian people who invite you into their cybersalons, where you feel a little dumb for not knowing what poetics is or if you should ditch US Weekly for Naomi Novik.

So, the article got me thinking: bloggers probably fall into four categories:

1. LOOK AT ME, I'M SMARTER AND HIPPER THAN YOU.
These guys read Kafka for sport and get all the news they need from the BBC.

2. IT'S CHEAPER THAN SCRAPBOOKING.
These blogs were created by Aunt Matilda after she took that really neat class at the community college. Aunt Matilda probably could have saved some bandwidth (and pride) by keeping your family's history in photo albums on her coffee table.

3. 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE.
These guys think that Washington Life comes out too infrequently and they NEED to see their beautiful selves in the most excellent locations that no one has yet discovered.

4. SYLVIA PLATH.
These guys think the Internet is like open mic night for poets. Yeah, some of it may be good, but all too often these blogs reek of pre-pubescent awakenings.

And then there's me. My reasons for blogging change, depending on the topic on which I'm blogging. I hope I'm not so self-righteous as to project an attitude that my reasons are more noble than anyone else's, because they're usually not -- I like to see my hit numbers increase just like anyone else, I love doing Google searches on my name and seeing my blog come up, blah, blah, blah. So if anyone finds a noble blogger, please pass the site along to me so that I can burn incense on their altar.

Friday, March 07, 2008

I want Meghan McCain in the White House.

Meghan McCain -- she's got spunk and an AWESOME bog: http://www.mccainblogette.com/. She's a role model for any young person who aspires to make something sexy out of politics. She's my kinda girl.

Thursday, March 06, 2008

It's not yet branded, but...

There's a new blog in town: www.capitalgiving.blogspot.com. While it's not quite brand-compliant yet, this blog is a forum in which United Way donors, volunteers, and staff can share their experiences. Check it out and post your thoughts!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

'Bama Mamas.


My friend Aiko just forwarded a link to an article that appeared in Sunday's The Washington Post: "We scream. We sween. How dumb can we get?" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022902992.html And all I can ask is: what is Charlotte Allen's point?
- Is Charlotte a stealth feminist who is trying to get us so pissed off that we launch the fifth wave of feminism?
- Is Charlotte such a vitriolic opponent of Obama that she sees no reasons for women to support him, other than his golden tongue and good looks?
- Has she been co-opted by masculinists?
Please help me understand.