From Amurrica to Europe

Now that the World Cup is over, where am I supposed to get my necessary daily Rx of sweaty, tan, cursing, neon spandex-wearing, and over-coiffed men?

From Europop, duh.

Here is a blog I just found out about that scouts the interwebs and European radio stations for the latest Europop hits. I spent like, 3 hours reading/watching the site.

Possibly my favorite (and I mean legit favorite, and not "favorite") is "Allez, Ola, Ole" by Jesse Matador, which was a contender for the Eurovision contest. It's really, really catchy and dance-able, and there are awesome outfits in the video.

My "fave" is this Swedish hit: "Peña Colada Boy" by Baby Alice. One of the lines is "And when the sun goes down you make my boobs feel round". Oh jeez, sign me up for more of Baby Alice and her lyrical masterpieces!

And here is a replacement for all the hot soccer boys you're now missing:

God bless Europe.

Way Cuter than that Cupcake Song Kid

OTTERS HOLDING HANDS!

Commence with the "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" in 3...2...1...

Did you know that Otters are my favorite non-domesticated animal? In 3rd grade we were assigned to write our very first reports on endangered animals, and I got Sea Otters. After extensive academic research in the St. Clare Elementary School library, I decided I would love them forever. And I have.

Here are some more Otter pics, just in case you're having a bad day and need a pick-me-up in the form of a cuddle monster who smells like abalone

First Failure of 2010

NYT is going to start charging subscription fees for online readers. OMFG NOOOOOOOO

Here is the story. It's breaking my itty bitty heart.

How am I supposed to day-dream about exotic locales if I can't browse the Travel section? How will I know that I'm totally unfashionable without the Styles section? What will I do to look educated without being able to drop tid-bits about articles (that I skimmed while Perez Hilton's pictures took eons to load in my other browser window) into my conversations?????

Things I Like #13

Art Blogs

The NYT has a great blog by artist Christoph Neimann called "Abstract City": http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/. He has very simple, funny, off-kilter creations made from every day objects one might find in a city, such as leaves.

Here are some of his creations from one of my favorite posts, titled "I Lego New York". Check out the full post; there are so many ingenious Lego-city-creations, and they range from the NYC-specific to the city-universal.

More Good Blogs

I like arts and crafts as much as the next person (as long as the next person isn't NoPants, who likes them a lot). So I'll admit to browsing Etsy from time to time, and usually liking what I see. However, there are those times that you come accross something truly bizarr-o on Etsy. Such as a Vampire-printed reusable menstrual pad***. Ew. I'm sorry I even typed that, but the reading public must be warned.

This website gathers together the best of the worst, and it's name, http://www.regretsy.com/, really says it all. To give you an idea of the weird crafty people who exist in the world, here is a list of some of Regretsy's item categories:
Dead Things
Michael Jackson
Penises
Pet Humiliation
Self-Gratification
Twilight
Vaginas

Go check it out, if only so that I'm not alone in my horrible nightmares of this: http://www.regretsy.com/2009/10/05/fish-and-foul/ Dear Sweet Baby Jesus. No. No. No.
***And this:
http://www.regretsy.com/2009/10/20/the-curse/ (I warned you).

Nerd Alert!

I'm super-nerdy*, I like books, I like art, and I also like to travel.

Thus, I like books with/about/of maps.

Which means I need this: http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2009/10/the_map_as_art.php

And speaking of maps, here's a blog about them: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/



*Shh! don't tell anyone--It's a huge secret.

I'm a Mad(wo)Man

At long last, I'm where I belong: in a bar with the dashing Don Draper.

Cheers!

Things I Like #8

Mix tapes (and websites about them)

I love getting music from people I like. It's oddly revealing about who they are and who they think you are. And, five years down the road, it gives you some awesomely bad music to be nostalgic to.

This website records peoples' long-lost mix tape loves: http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/. It has professional writers' entries as well as post secret-style mailed stories.

In homage to Cassette From My Ex, here are the tracks from a wonderful mix CD I once received:

1. Penny Lane--Beatles
2. ABC--Jackson 5
3. That Summer--Garth Brooks
4. Lola--The Kinks
5. Cecilia--Simon & Garfunkle
6. Me & Bobby McGee--Janis Joplin
7. Under My Thumb--Rolling Stones
8. Tupelo Honey-Van Morrison
9. Hey Tonight--CCR
10. Stand By Me--John Lennon version
11. The Boys of Summer--Don Henley
12. Good Vibrations--Beach Boys
13. Colorblind--Counting Crows

I still listen to this CD when I drive around in the summer time.

Mmm, Books!

I like this website: http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/

I just spent 45 minutes perusing it instead of reading for Italian. Whoops! Great graphics and off-the-radar book suggestions

Om nom nom nom

I, like many, am a fan of the term Om nom nom nom, which is defined by Urban Dictionary as, "An onomatopoeical adjective based on the sound emitted when something is "oh so tasty" (either through hunger or flavorological value) that one gnaws through it without regard to cleanliness or etiquette. This sort of ravenous eating will often result in an "om nom nom nom" noise being emitted from the eater" . Therefore, when I found this website this morning while writing my midterm(I find my best new websites while procrastinating), I became very excited: http://www.omnomnomnom.com/

I couldn't help but think "om nom nom nom" every time I viewed a new photo. I encourage you to do the same.

Later gators, and happy om nom nom nom-ing!