"He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man
self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality. Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn’t that worth something? He existed."
- Patricia Highsmith, "The Talented Mr. Ripley"
Tunes Tuesday: "All of Me," Tanlines
You can practically smell the Hawaiian Tropic wafting from this synthy, poppy, islandy cut. Of course, the band's name is Tanlines. Of course! What better name for a band aiming to write your summer soundtrack. Tanlines will play tomorrow at DC9, but it's sold out already. DC hipsters are on it!
Listen to their whole album, "Mixed Emotions," here!
Don't miss the song "Cactus," so good with that flip of a guitar riff.
Crystal City 5K Fridays
So as you probably imagined, I abandoned my goal of running a mile every day in March. I made it till St. Patrick's Day, then mistakes were made and the whole goal went kerflooey like a falling souffle. Once one day had slipped by, then two, it hardly seemed worth it any more.
But that's rationalization for you. I did dust off my running shoes on Friday, when my friend Luther invited me to run the Crystal City 5K. He's a Crystal City Friday 5K aficionado. I was a little more leery after my grim run in the rain last year, where as you'll remember, I was passed by pudgy black Labrador. But I decided to give it a go and run again this year.
Here we are - thanks to Luther's best gal Michelle for the photos!
This time, I tried to set attainable goals for myself to keep my spirits up. I'd pick someone in front of me, then see if I could pass them. Woman running with a puggle? Passed 'em. Kindergartener jogging? Totally passed her. Mom pushing a double jogging stroller with two juice box-drinking kids in tow? Nope. That woman was a beast. Finally at the end of the race, we were neck and neck, then at the last turn she clicked up a gear and sailed away, leaving me in the dust.
Luther looks a lot happier than me while running...
Look, he's skipping!
It's not apparent in any of the pictures that my feet ever left the ground.
This time turned out to be way more fun and less painful than the last 5k I ran, and yet, I was one minute faster last year. Oh well, give or take a minute, who cares? It's good to get out in the fresh air and earn that day's smores latte... I might run the 5k again at the end of this month!
And if you are the type of runner who is inspired and motivated by fancy athletic clothing (ahem), you have to peruse Nike's new tumblr: http://madebynike.tumblr.com/
All I see lately is neon and uber bright running togs, but this line of Nike women's training clothes are all downtown muted greys and mauves and blacks, almost reminiscent of Alexander Wang? It's the type of stuff that Division 1 athletes turned Vogue staffers would wear to Pilates.
Frosting Fiasco
Is there anyone who can eat a Georgetown Cupcake neatly? Certainly not me. Stacks of little miniature cupcakes are served at seemingly every fancy party I go to, and they always look cute and dainty.
But I invariably pick up the variety that has frosting injected inside (perhaps via this device?). I take one bite, and frosting is simultaneously exploding and imploding and probably all over my chin. Maybe my nose too? Then I have to reach for the napkin while trying to hold onto the rapidly disintegrating crumbs of the cupcake, which seemed like a two-bite endeavor but now feels like more of a meal. Do I keep eating this and continue making a huge mess? Or do I throw it away? But is that admitting defeat? And has anyone noticed this sorry spectacle?
These are the things I worry about while all the other guests are refilling their drinks, ha.
But I invariably pick up the variety that has frosting injected inside (perhaps via this device?). I take one bite, and frosting is simultaneously exploding and imploding and probably all over my chin. Maybe my nose too? Then I have to reach for the napkin while trying to hold onto the rapidly disintegrating crumbs of the cupcake, which seemed like a two-bite endeavor but now feels like more of a meal. Do I keep eating this and continue making a huge mess? Or do I throw it away? But is that admitting defeat? And has anyone noticed this sorry spectacle?
These are the things I worry about while all the other guests are refilling their drinks, ha.
Children's Magazines of the 1990s
"The category for my trivia quiz this week is Nickelodeon," Debie told me. "Quick, tell me everything about our childhood."
After all those afternoons of staring at the TV many moons ago, everything just came rushing back. I rattled off: "Ren and Stimpy! Rocko's Modern Life! Stick Stickley!"
Remember Stick Stickley? It was a popsicle stick puppet that told you what shows were coming up next.
"I love that we were entertained by a popsicle stick with googly eyes," Debie said.
It was a simpler time back then, pre-Ipad. Kids nowdays wouldn't pay attention to Stick Stickley even if he was in 3-D.
"I think i had a subscription to Nickelodeon magazine, the most useless publication known to man. This is probably why i didn't end up at Harvard. Because I was reading Nickelodeon magazine instead of the encyclopedia," Debie said.
Debie definitely did have a subscription to Nickelodeon magazine because I remember reading it at her house when we were kids. They had a caption contest on the last page that I really wanted to win.
I myself was a Disney Adventures magazine subscriber. Do you remember that? I'm posting a very apt example of the magazine's cover, the September 1993 edition featuring Joey Lawrence with a cartoon monkey from Aladdin. I think I remember this very issue.
These were my prized possessions. After reading from cover to cover, I saved every issue. My annoying little brother (sorry, Dan) was always trying to borrow them and then bending the pages and gasp - losing them. I tried to create a library card system with the Disney Adventures to keep him in check. It wasn't as successful as one might've hoped.
I also saved all my issues of Zoobooks and oddly enough, I was really into Reader's Digest. I liked the jokes page and the "Life in These United States" section at first, but then I started reading every article, especially the amazing true survival stories.
Is that a weird magazine for a kid to like? Did you read any magazines when you were a kid?
Also, this makes me realize that I watched so much television as a child. I read a lot too, but we're talking hours and hours of Nickelodeon, which I loved. Maybe that time could've been better spent, but it's funny to think that now I don't even own a TV. I didn't develop a crippling television habit as an adult, and it doesn't seem to have adversely affected my life. Except for the whole Harvard thing, which Debie brought up. But let's face it, Harvard was never in the cards for me. Disney Adventures was, however.
After all those afternoons of staring at the TV many moons ago, everything just came rushing back. I rattled off: "Ren and Stimpy! Rocko's Modern Life! Stick Stickley!"
Remember Stick Stickley? It was a popsicle stick puppet that told you what shows were coming up next.
"I love that we were entertained by a popsicle stick with googly eyes," Debie said.
It was a simpler time back then, pre-Ipad. Kids nowdays wouldn't pay attention to Stick Stickley even if he was in 3-D.
"I think i had a subscription to Nickelodeon magazine, the most useless publication known to man. This is probably why i didn't end up at Harvard. Because I was reading Nickelodeon magazine instead of the encyclopedia," Debie said.
Debie definitely did have a subscription to Nickelodeon magazine because I remember reading it at her house when we were kids. They had a caption contest on the last page that I really wanted to win.
I myself was a Disney Adventures magazine subscriber. Do you remember that? I'm posting a very apt example of the magazine's cover, the September 1993 edition featuring Joey Lawrence with a cartoon monkey from Aladdin. I think I remember this very issue.
These were my prized possessions. After reading from cover to cover, I saved every issue. My annoying little brother (sorry, Dan) was always trying to borrow them and then bending the pages and gasp - losing them. I tried to create a library card system with the Disney Adventures to keep him in check. It wasn't as successful as one might've hoped.
I also saved all my issues of Zoobooks and oddly enough, I was really into Reader's Digest. I liked the jokes page and the "Life in These United States" section at first, but then I started reading every article, especially the amazing true survival stories.
Is that a weird magazine for a kid to like? Did you read any magazines when you were a kid?
Also, this makes me realize that I watched so much television as a child. I read a lot too, but we're talking hours and hours of Nickelodeon, which I loved. Maybe that time could've been better spent, but it's funny to think that now I don't even own a TV. I didn't develop a crippling television habit as an adult, and it doesn't seem to have adversely affected my life. Except for the whole Harvard thing, which Debie brought up. But let's face it, Harvard was never in the cards for me. Disney Adventures was, however.
Honey Pig
We went to Honey Pig in Annandale a few weeks ago, and though I had been there before, it was my first visit without Debie there to order in Korean for me. I'd never even touched a menu on previous occasions. We were left to own devices this time, as a bunch of white people, and I think it turned out to be fairly successful. Except, armed with a tip from the ever helpful Debie, I tried to order bokumbap and things went off the rails. The waitress looked very confused by my request and finally told me it was "menu impossible."
Something must've been lost in translation. We got some sort of rice dish in the end, and all was well. Good friends, good conversation and sizzling meat.
