HRC driving me crazy

The PA race was the worst. I'm so happy to see that the NY Times is seeing the light and basically retracting it's Hillary endorsement from months ago! I'm on board for all of their criticism. Also CNN is the worst. No matter what happens, the best political news team on television is going to make it dramatic and critical and important! No one thought Obama was going to win PA!! It's not that big of a deal! (More here.)

Obama is campaigning with a strategy not just willy nilly roaming all over the country. That's because the person with the most delagates is supposed to win. That's how it works. It's not like, whoever wins Ohio or Pennsylvania automatically deserves to get the nomination.

Jon Stewart is so funny though. This is what he asked Obama in the interview:

"Do you have a concern that you could win the nomination at the Convention and defeat John McCain in the general and, you know, go to the inauguration and Hillary would still be running? Do you feel... Do you have any concern that Senator Clinton would continue the campaign?"

I learned a new word the other day. I was playing Text Twist on Matt's ipod, and one of the words I missed was "fracas." It didn't even look real to me, but it's totally a word, as I found out, and it means "a noisy quarrel." I think that's appropriate, the word sounds like it should mean some kind of scuffle. Like: "Matt caused a fracas at Jeff's apartment on Hoboken St. Patty's day and ended up with a messed up face."

Then yesterday, it was used in two totally different blogs I read on the internet. SO COOL!

Could it have been less obvious??

If you plan on seeing The Crying Game, stop reading because I'm going to talk about the plot, though I feel like spoiler alerts shouldn't be mandatory for films/shows from more than 5 years ago (I was not happy at all when npr told me who killed Laura Palmer two years ago when I was watching Twin Peaks for the first time, though looking back, I really didn't have the right to be too upset).

Am I the only person around today who didn't know what the "twist" was? Probably, as Matt told me (I wasn't allowed to see Ace Ventura when it came out and still haven't, whatever, don't freak out, but apparently it gives it all away). But seriously? In 1992, were audiences actually surprised that Dil was a man? That was just about the first thing that I noticed. Oh well.

Week of fiestas and siestas in the Iberian peninsula

Matt's deserted me for the past few weeks to do celebrities' biddings and let them touch his shoulders, so finally here's the recap of my trip last month to Portugal and Spain! As I already mentioned, we did very well for ourselves, covering 3 towns in Portugal, and 2 in Spain over 7 day, and averaging 4-5 meals per day. I also found some amazing hostels. And when I say "hostel," I mean hostels where you have a private room, private bathroom, towels, hairdryer, balcony, and daily maid service for 28 euro each.

Because our pilot chose the word "severe" to describe the turbulence expected for our overnight flight, I did not sleep a wink and spent the whole trip over squeezing Matt's hand and hoping I might be doing it hard enough that he would wake up and console me and feel bad for me. But that did not happen.

We started in Lisboa. When we got into the city at 7 am, we dropped our bags off at the Lisbon Lounge Hostel (2 major thumbs up!) and got on a train to Cascais (pronounced kahsh-kah-eesh). Portuguese has lots of 'sh's and 'gshh's.



Cascais is a ritzy suburb of Lisboa on the ocean where they have cute little shops and FREE BIKES. Just give them your passport number and hostel info. So we hopped on the bikes and bopped around the town, ate a picnic lunch by the ocean, and rode up the coast for an hour.




We spent the next day (Easter) in Lisboa, which was pretty empty because of the holiday. We roamed around, climbed to the castle where you pay to enter and explore and get 360 degrees of the area.



In the evenings, we decided to opt out of the clubbing because I don't think I could have kept my eyes open until 2 am when supposedly everything comes alive. Instead, we found the Irish pub (which the guy in the hostel told us was not really very cool to be), and watched the soccer games. Then we got a bottle of wine (average price, you know, like 3-4 euro) and played Rummy 500 and spit at the Lisbon Lounge.



Next we flew to Sevilla (1 hour), and met up with MARTHA!



We ate more menus del dia and explored and walked around. The Plaza de Espana was expansive and gorgeous. The semi-circular plaza contains monuments celebrating the main cities of spain.



Sevilla has lots of gorgeous hand painted ceramics, so I bought several dishes for my home.



We went to a sort of pathetic flamenco show. Not because the performers were bad, but it was a huge bar that contained probably 80% american students studying there (many with their parents, presumably giving them a cultural experience ...) and everyone was blathering and chatting and being so loud while they were performing, it was ridic. We had lots of sangria though, so that was great.

The next day, we went to the Arab baths. This is basically a spa where you spend 1 1/2 hours, splitting your time between 4 pools of differing temperatures (boiling hot to freezing cold), as well as jet pools, a sauna, and getting a massage and drinking tea. This experience cost us 30 euro (16 without the massage). It was serene and calm and relaxing and lovely. We had to wear protective footware to keep the floors clean.



We took a day trip to Tarifa (on the strait of Gibraltar, 35 min boat ride from Tangier). Tarifa is WINDY. It's a major kite surfing location, and it has a surf-town USA vibe. We had lots of fun seeing Africa and talking about how we could see Africa and trying unsuccessfully to fix our hairstyles. We also played with and hugged random dogs in the streets.





Roamed around at night, explored the streets, tasted the local ice cream, looked at Africa.



We had our nightly feast around 10 pm, and ordered tapas galore and local spanish cheeses as well as an extremely large pan of paella. By the time it came we were all stuffed. But it was so fresh and delicious that we all but licked the pan clean.



We had another day back in good ole Sevilla and then went back to Lisboa for a our last day. We decided to go to the SUPER ridiculously charming town of Sintra, in the mountains for the day. We did a hike through a park up to the fortress and had an amazing lunch and soaked in all of the quaint beauty and food and cobblestones and weaving.



Best last day ever. We came home, sadly, and I'm still adjusting.

Expelled: What is it??

Matt saw an ad for something called "Expelled" with Ben Stein, and clicked on it. We both assumed it was a new game show ("Expelled is written in the style of graffiti, and Ben is wearing a schoolboy uniform), as we watched the flash intro to the site, which had "Bad to the Bone" playing in the background and called Ben the "rebel of his generation," we realized it's actually a movie, and we both assumed it was a wacky comedy about Ben as the rebel teacher at a high school.

Next we watched the trailer. It's ACTUALLY a documentary (perhaps Michael Moore-style) about the scientists behind intelligent design and how they've been unfairly persecuted and ostracized in the scientific community for challenging Darwin's theories! What?!? This is BIZARRE.

So I want to read the original paper about Intelligent Design that caused all the stir, but I'm soo skeptical about this movie, and I never knew Ben Stein was so political. Just because you have a different opinion doesn't mean you deserve to be heard when it comes to science, I'm sorry, but not having your paper accepted to Nature isn't a denial of your free-speech rights. The trailer really frames the controversy this way, as if all these poor scientists have been discriminated against. I hope they actually tell us why!

Doing what I want

So this will probably be the only post of the year relating to sports.

Matt had to leave Monday night for an "M" shoot in London. Ooooh! So I have the place to myself for almost a week. This means I get to cook for myself--salads, seafood, pork! It's also practically 70 degrees today!

Sooo, I take the dog for an extra long walk, being especially assertive in the crosswalks (you MUST yield to me even if you're racing to the Turnpike/Holland Tunnel!!), and come home and start watching the real wives of New York City. This show is out of control. One of these women has two sons named Francois and Johann. Their dad just said that it is easier to get into Harvard than to get a 3-year-old into a private preschool in the city. I'm not so sure about that ...

Then I make myself a BIG salad w/ tomato, cucumber, chicken, red pepper, MOZZ, BACON, and AVOCADO. I always say that practically anything is better with melted cheese all over, but I'm also thinking of extending this to bacon and avocado. This is ridiculous. Matt doesn't appreciate big salads the same way I do for some reason.

Now I'm watching the big game. Rutgers is beating UConn 21-8 or whatever the lingo is. AHhh!

OK, I also just watched this video, which made me very very happy. I want everyone to watch it. Feel good. Love women. Love yourself. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. For some reason my previously 'eh' opinion of Larry David has just risen 5 million percent.

BACK!

We just got in from Spain and Portugal, and because we decided it would be a better idea to stay up all night last night rather than get 2 hours of sleep before going to the airport at 5 am, we're exhausted. I'm also distressed because I'm trying to figure out how I will continue to incorporate getting up late, taking a daily 2-hour nap, and eating a minimum of 4 meals a day (includes Dinner I and Dinner II) into my drab life. Ohhhh and 1.50 euro glasses of wine and Super Bock (have you heard of it??) and good bread from the grocery store that doesn't cost $5 per loaf like Hoboken. And for some reason, I figured Spring would have thoughtfully begun by the time we got back, yet it's 30 degrees here.

It felt really good to be in Europe, and it feels really good to be home.

Pictures later! I'm still alive and I'm gonna go now and research turbulence and try to find assurance that it cannot knock a plane out of the sky because I think my blood pressure has shot up six million times after the past few flights this year ...

Take that, Claire!

I talked to my sister on my walk home from work yesterday about the issue of Obama's pastor's "controversial" viewpoints and remarks. She said it's worrisome to her that he would associate himself with such a person and that he wouldn't renounce him like John McCain apparently did in a similar situation. I disagreed. I think it's an entirely too-simplistic take on the issues. Race plays a big part here. Angry-sounding black men scare a lot of people in this country, they don't understand the origins or reasons for the anger. Obama is not appointing this man to his cabinet. This is a complicated issue that deserved an in-depth response.

When I made it home, I watched Obama's response on YouTube (transcript).

Just perfect. When in my life have we heard politicians speak to the American people like this? He took the issue so far and said some really brutally honest things that anyone else would not have touched with a ten-foot pole. I think it's really important that we have a leader who can address tough issues so diplomatically but not to alienate anyone.

Not that I want to compare the two issues directly, but Hillary has not addressed the sexism she faces in such a way that could truly lead to greater understanding on all sides (which, I think is equally deserving of such attention), nor do I think she is capable of doing that. She is playing a game, and that's fine, it works sometimes.

Sad day

One of the best things about living in New Jersey is that we have tons of options for amazing bagels. Like if you live more than 75 miles outside of the NY metro area, you most likely don't know what a bagel should taste like. The price of flour is on the rise! And with the $3 slice, also comes the 90 cent bagel! The place I get my bagels at previously charged $8/dozen, and now I'm paying close to $11! This is going to make a major difference in my nonexistent monthly budget! And I can forget about the baker's dozen they used to give me, which is still actually printed in the menu, but I never get, and I feel weird asking for, even though I'm a much more assertive person than I used to be. These people are dealing with the flour shortage, after all!

Because I frequently buy and eat bagels, another large part of my life is spent buying cream cheese. It's out of control! It seems like I'm seriously making special trips to the fancy Hoboken grocery stores for more cream cheese 2x a week (at $3 a brick!) because I'm about to run out, Katie can tell you that this is true.

I actually think I might need to start a BJs membership even if it's only for cream cheese and pickles. Does anyone go there who could tell me if they sell half-gallon tubs or anything like that? Or maybe I should just buy a cow so I can make it myself. That could definitely be cheaper, after all, Matt does have a backyard.

One time someone bought Matt a children's book for Christmas called "I Like Bagels," as a joke because he's Jewish, but little do they know that he actually LOVES bagels, and I look at the photos in the book all the time!

I'm trying to make an effort to cook with foods I haven't before. Hence the kale and chard adventures. I bought butternut squash yesterday, and I'm searching for a recipe now. Just from searching, it seems like you're supposed to make soup with it, which I'm not really feeling for this week. I'll probably make this since I have all the ingredients and I love roasted vegetables, and it will be simple and great.

An attempt to be relevant

My New Yorker cover this week made me laugh:



And I just read a great article about Hillary's latest ad and why she is not best suited for the nomination or presidency.

I get it if the fervor of the Obama campaign and his young, idealistic support base rub you the wrong way, but let's focus on real things, like fact that Hillary's campaign and erratic tactics are troubling and prove that she's willing to do and say anything to get what she wants. Seriously? You think it would be fair to count the votes in Michigan and Florida when everyone was told they wouldn't count. Obama's response was frank and appropriate as always.

"Obviously that would not be fair. I think even my 6-year-old would understand it would not be fair for Senator Clinton to be awarded delegates when there was no campaign."

Defeat

I was just looking back through my posts so far and what was supposed to be an exciting new project to motivate me to follow through with my hobbies and connect with strangers over the Web (heh), and it seems I've been a miserable failure at every turn.

Remember my herbs? Yea, they all got mold and died. What about my scarf (from the same post)? Remember that exciting and ambitious project? Well, I knitted about 1 more foot of length, and then realized I'd dropped a bunch of stitches a dozen rows back and had a big hole in it, and I would need to pull out a few hours of work to fix, so I haven't touched it for a month and a half. It's also March now, and I'm not really feeling the need for a scarf like I once did, so I'll probably forget about it. How sad is that??

Also, I'd love to share with you all the lovely tilapia I made last week, and my awesome recipes for basics like chili and a vodka sauce (two different things), but my camera is mysteriously not working, so I'm the kind of person now who makes her delicious food and gobbles it up, but never takes pictures of it or discusses in detail how/what I did (the original purpose of the blog, hence the ingenious name).

Anyway, I'm going to try to be better, I was just feeling kind of sorry for my lazy self and needed to share it with the world (or just my bf and maybe my sister).

Hah!