Today's Moment of Happiness: Presidential Edition!

Putting aside my guilty pleasures for a day to bring you a three Moments of Happiness from a day filled with so much joy and hope.



YO-YO MA, ITZHAK PERLMAN, ANTHONY McGILL, GABRIELA MONTERO PERFORM "AIR & SIMPLE GIFTS" ARRANGED BY JOHN WILLIAMS.



YES WE DID!!



RICK WARREN CAN SUCK IT.

Todays Moment of Happiness: Guilty Pleasure #2

ROBBIE WILLIAMS: LOVELIGHT


This week may as well be all about the guilty pleasure. More Brit Pop, this time from Robbie Williams.

Todays Moment of Happiness: Guilty Pleasure #1

GIRLS ALOUD: CAN'T SPEAK FRENCH

I wish I could be ashamed, but I just can't. I fully embrace my unhealthy love for British pop.

Todays Moment of Happiness: Life Of Brian

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE


Growing up catholic, I remember when my church was attempting to sway the congregation not to see this movie. I wasn't old enough to see it at the time of its release, but it was on my list of things to watch as soon as I was old enough to rent video's on my own. It's a classic and one of my favorite Monty Python movies. This song, written by Eric Idle, was put to good use many years later when Idle put it in is Broadway musical "Spamalot".

Today's Moment of Happiness: Meglio Stasera

David Niven, Robert Wagner, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale and the great Peter Sellers listen to Fran Jeffries sing "Meglio Stasera" by Henry Mancini and Johny Mercer in the first (1963) Pink Panther movie's musical interlude.

I love this song.

Beware the Brides of March!

What else are am I going to do on a Saturday night?

All these were taken by esspressobuzz. Check out the Brides photostream on Flickr as well as his other great pictures.

Long vs. Short: The Finale

Sean and I compromised. He cut off the back and left the front and sides long enough to push behind my ears.

Short vs. Long

long hair cow, originally uploaded by astrothug.

Me: Do like my hair better long or short?

Him: Short.

Me: Shorter than it is now?

Him: Yeah. I like it when it's off your face.

Me: Huh. (Considers effort it's taken to grow it thus far)

Me: Sean likes it short, too.

Him: Who's Sean?

Me: My gay hair dresser.

Him: Well, there you go. The two most significant men in your life.

What Every Woman Knows By Now

I'm really, really liking the feminist/fashion/pop culture blog Jezebel (link to the right). Today they posted an excerpt from an article from Atlantic Magazine printed in 1950 and, man, how things have not changed in the weird world of womens fashion magazines. I'm gonna post the entire thing below but a warning to dudes: you might actually have to be a woman to really appreciate the humor and irony here.

It is as much a source of amazement as of income to me that readers of the women's magazines have such an insatiable thirst for reading the same information over and over again, despite the fact that any one year's reading must inevitably give enough information about the technique of being a woman to see one through a lifetime. I have, then, no fear of spoiling the market, either for myself or others. Every subject in this symposium, given a snappy title and an angle that appeals to the editor, will still be worth a substantial fee.

ACCESSORIES
The simplest are in the best taste.
Men like women to be in the best taste.

BROKEN HEARTS
Find a new interest
Time cures all.
Men don't like women to ring them up.

CARE OF FACE
Remove old make-up with cream (dry skins), lotion (oily skins), or superfatted soap (if you must).
Then dab face with an astringent lotion.
Then pat in nourishing cream.
Blackheads are frequently due to internal causes. Drink lots of water.
Men are repelled by pimples.

CHARM
Charm is an indefinable quality.
Men like it.

CLOTHES
Choose the clothes that suit you.
You can be perfectly dressed at every income level.
Little touches of white must be immaculate.
Diagonal stripes are slimming.
Invest your all in one good little black dress (or tweed suit).
Don't go in for clutter but have lots of bits and pieces that will make one outfit do the work of ten.
Men like black satin, well-cut tweeds, floating tulle, utter simplicity, and don't notice what you wear anyway.

CULTURE
Read good books sometimes.
Men don't like cultured women much.

FIGURE
Figure deficiencies are frequently glandular. Consult your doctor.
A good corset can correct many figure faults. Have it fitted by an expert.
Good exercises can correct bad figures. Here are some.
Men like good figures.

FURS
If you can't afford good furs don't have any, but there are some awfully cheap ones in the shops.
Men are impressed by mink -- but then, so are you.

HAIR ON THE HEAD
The condition of the hair reflects the general health.
Massage with the finger tips stimulates the scalp.
Brush fifty times a day and wash at least every fortnight.
Choose the hair style that suits you and don't get into a rut.
No moral opprobrium is attached to dye.
Men love those gleaming tresses.

HAIR, SUPERFULOUS
In the armpits remove by depilatory.
On the legs remove by depilatory, wax, sandpaper, or razor; the last will coarsen the new growth.
On the face remove by wax (will weaken growth) or by electrolysis (will kill it).
If the growth is slight, bleach with peroxide-and-ammonia.
Men notice superfluous hair.

HANDS
Before doing rough work smooth a protective cream over your hands.
After washing, smooth a creamy lotion over your hands.
Make your hands flexible by shaking in one way or another.
File your nails to the shape that suits you.
Press back your cuticles after you've had a bath.
Chipped polish looks slovenly.
Men abhor scarlet talons.

JEWELRY
One big good piece is better than a lot of little cheap trinkets.
One big cheap piece is better than a lot of little good ones.
In fact, One Big Piece is Best.
Men are better if they like jewelry.

MAKE-UP
Smooth on foundation cream or lotion, not forgetting neck.
Add rouge where it improves the natural shape of your face.
Add discreet eye-shadow and mascara on the upper lids only.
Paint outline of lips with a brush, fill in with lipstick, blot on a tissue, powder, and add more lipstick.
Press in powder over face and neck; remove surplus.
Men don't like women to be obviously made up.

MANNERS
Be sweet to old people.
Be kind to his mother.
Be nice to other girls -- they have brothers.
Don't comb your hair or clean your nails in public.
Don't order direct from the waiter.
Don't swear or drink too much.
Men hate red marks on coffee cups.

MARRIAGE
Enter it joyously and proudly.
Remember you've got to take as well as give.
There are all sorts of compensations.
Men should be encouraged to wash up.

PERFUME
Choose the perfume that suits you.
Spray it onto your body but never onto your clothes.
Test new perfume by trying a drop on the back of your hand.
Have different perfumes for different moods or make one perfume distinctively YOU.
Men are enraptured by perfume.

SHOPPING
Either go with an open mind or with a rigidly-to-be-adhered-to list.
Either enlist the help of the shop assistant or don't let her make up your mind for you.
Either men like shopping or -- more usually -- they don't.

SHYNESS
Prepare a few conversational remarks to break the ice.
Try to put the other person at his ease.
Instruct yourself in current affairs.
Join a club.
Men like a woman to be a good listener.

SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Cream hands thickly and sleep in gloves the night before.
Try to fit in a facial and a hair-do.
Rest for an hour with your feet up and pads over your eyes.
Make up extra specially carefully.
Oh, men, men, men.

TOP SECRET
Consult your doctor.
Send us a stamped addressed envelope.
Men are beasts.

Literary update

It didn't take long to decide that Jane Boleyn was going to be kind of crappy so I returned it to the library and picked up a book from my own shelf to read. I have a number of books that I've purchased because they look interesting but have never read. Umberto Eco was the lucky bastard this time so last night I started The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana and already I'm feeling much happier and anticipating a good read. Links for both books are to the right.

I'm feeling kind of crafty

With all of the home improvements and decorating we've been doing since the fall, I've found myself itching to do some sort of craft project for myself. I didn't know what until I stumbled over some jewelry organization projects in Blueline/Blueprint via Design*Sponge.

I'm not a big jewelry wearer - rings and bracelets get in the way and I had a late in life brush with pierced ears that ended painfully and puffily. But I do love necklaces and I have several that meet my very particular tastes. However...they are all in a small box somewhere - out of sight and out of mind. Consequently, I rarely wear them.

So, once I saw the lovely DIY projects at Design*Sponge I knew what I wanted to do - make a lovely display box to feed my craft yen AND make my necklaces more than just a box warmer. First on my list - rustle up an appropriate shadow box or small glass front curio case. (If I end up putting this in the bathroom, I'll need something a glass door as it will need to be enclosed to protect them from moisture.) Next, decided on location: bedroom vs. bathroom. Third, make the darn thing.

Instructions from Blueprint are below:

Boxed Rings
If surface area in your bedroom is scarce, try a wall-mounted solution on for size. This jazzed-up shadow box, retrofitted with a variety of hooks and knobs, shelters delicate earrings and chains from possible entanglements while turning them into objets d'art. Small decorative bowls perched on the box's lower ledge corral rings, pins, and brooches and complete the charming trinket tableau.

Box How-To
1. Select a shadow box (or a small wine crate) with a back and sides that are at least 1/4 inch thick to accommodate the hooks. Sand and prime the box, then apply two coats of semigloss spray paint.

2. Cut a piece of decorative paper to fit inside the box, coat the back of the paper with spray adhesive, and press it into place, smoothing it from the center out to the corners with your fingers. Then lay out the jewelry where you'd like it to hang and screw in hooks at the appropriate points.

3. Finally, add two evenly spaced saw-tooth hangers to the box's back for a steady mount.

Credits: Shadow box, $12, frames-direct.com. Similar Berenson "Barcelona" knobs, $6 each, cdmcabinethardware.com. Rust-Oleum "Painter's Touch" spray paint in Seaside Green, $3, rustoleum.com for stores. "Nepal Fish-scale" paper, $5 per sheet, New York Central Art Supply, 212-473-7705

I'll be sure to post pictures when I have something.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today is Lunar New Years Eve, with tomorrow being the first day of the "Chinese" New Year which is, by the way, The Year of the Rat.

I find the Chinese New Year and by extent, the Chinese horoscope, to be incredibly complicated so I limit myself to knowing that I was born in the Year of the Sheep and that, in this year of the rat, love is going to be the theme.

However, I find these two bits of information to be really interesting:

According to legend, in ancient China, the Nián was a man-eating beast from the mountains (in other versions from under the sea), which came out every 12 months somewhere close to winter to prey on humans. The people later believed that the Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the colour red, so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the colour red. These customs led to the first N(ew Year celebrations. Guò nián, which means to celebrate the new year, literally means the passover of the Nian.

And this:

The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before.

Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.

You can find more information about the Chinese New Year here, and here.

Rejiggering the pokey

I spent a little bit of time playing around with the blogs layout and links section.

I wish that either Blogger had more flexibility in blog layout/design or that I had more (re: any) hacking skills to restructure and redesign the blog to my liking. But I don't so I have to content myself for the moment with temporary fixes.

What I've done is shorten the number of posts viewable by limiting them to the last three days of posting. I've also added and rearranged the Link sections over to the right. I've added a "Daily Links" section for the sites that I check out pretty much everyday starting with news/commentary, ending with design/small living and sandwiching some miscellaneous fun sites in between.

"Links" has been changed to "Friends of Rimer" to which I've added Espressobuzz' Flickr page.

I'm still undecided on the number links to include in "Turntable" and "Bedside Table" and probably will for awhile. It really doesn't matter how many links are there which makes it oddly hard to come to a decision about it.

"Archives" are at the bottom.

Update: Not able to leave well enough alone, I've also changed the font to 'verdana'. I think it reads easier now.

Today's Moment of Happiness - No Rain

Admit it, you're bopping around and singing, aren't you?

Mini Dracula review

I'm almost done reading "Dracula" for the first time. My brief review of the novel thus far is: Dear god, sit DOWN, Abraham Van Helsing! Sit down and SHUT UP!

Tissues required

This was posted this morning The Strangers Slog. I'm not kidding when I say break out the tissues, you will need them.

Todays moment of Happiness - Providence version

Ivan and I flew out to Providence, Rhode Island this weekend to surprise my best friend, Thom, for his 40th birthday. So, in honor of Thom and this surprisingly nice city (I grew up 50 miles away and had always heard that Providence was shite) here's a little Guster playing all live and acoustic-like.

Evening at Doe Bay

Evening at Doe Bay
Originally uploaded by leaada

Take two. This lovely picture was taken by the lovely Lea, I believe, in the spring of 2006 when we went there together. We didn't have a clear view like this over the weekend, but I think it gives a nice sense of the place.

I think I'll put a link to her flickr page so y'all can get a gander at her work.

Today's Moment of Happiness -Big Man On Mulberry Street

One of the best scenes ever, from one of the best shows ever (Moonlighting), with one of the best Billy Joel songs ever, with one of the best dancers ever (Sandahl Bergman), directed by the legendary Stanley Donen! Bonus? This was before Bruce Willis became such an asshole.

Today's Moment of Happiness - You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

What's not to love? The sets, the song, John's voice, George's face, and Ringo in the pit of awesomeness.