Eau de Vegas

My favorite quote from Crystal this week, while explaining why she never wants to go to Las Vegas again:

"Vegas smells like smoke and vagina."

Quote. Of. The. YEAR.

Not sure if she was referring to hookers or just slutty chicks, because I was laughing so hard I couldn't speak.

By the way, I love Vegas and think it smells like George Clooney and desert flowers.


Saturday 9: California Nights (1967)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Lesley Gore premiered this song on an episode of Batman. She played Pussycat, the protegee of Catwoman. (That explains her outfit in the video.) How many of Batman's nemeses can you name?
The Penguin, The Joker, Mr. Freeze, The Riddler

2) At least five actors have played The Caped Crusader already (Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale) and Ben Affleck will play him in 2016's Batman vs. Superman. Who is your favorite Batman? (If any Batmen were inadvertently omitted, Sam apologizes.)
Adam West!

3) Unlike most superheroes, Batman doesn't have any superpowers. This Saturday, you're more fortunate. We're bestowing any superpower on you that you want. Which would you like?
Invisibility

4) Though she's singing of warm California nights, Lesley Gore was a New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and, in February of this year, dying in Manhattan. Which coast have you spent more time on, the West Coast or the East Coast?
East Coast

5) Not many people know that while she was making records, Lesley was also a student at Sarah Lawrence and graduated with her BA in 1968. What's something we would be surprised to know about you?
Anyone who knows about this blog would not be surprised by anything about me.

6) In 1967, when this song was popular, the best selling new camera in the United States was the new Polaroid Swinger. Think about the most recent photo you took. Did you use a camera, a tablet, or a phone?
phone

7) The big fashion trend of 1967 was bright tights, in shades like Hot Pink, Shock Orange and Grass Green. Tell us about something you wore when it was trendy but now you look back and think, "Oh, God, that was awful!"
My favorite outfit my sophomore year of high school was bright turquoise pants and a white blouse with turquoise and neon pink fabric pieces on the shoulders and collar. I always wore it with big, plastic, turquoise earrings. Yikes.

8) In 1967, drivers complained about "gas wars." The price was unpredictable and would rise and fall, day by day, as much as 30¢ per gallon. How much does it cost you to fill up your tank today?
about $45

9) Random question: Are there dishes in your kitchen sink right now?
Nope.

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Floods and Tornadoes

Saturday night we were at Scott-n-Julie's playing cards when a tornado was identified on radar near our neighborhood. They've started issuing tornado warnings when this happens, but it's caused SO many false alarms that no one cares anymore. Whoever decided this seriously needs to reconsider. We need to discern between radar identified wind shifting and tornadoes seen with human eyes, if so many computer tornadoes are never going to materialize.

Monday we were at the mall when another one of these computer tornadoes was in the area. No one was all that concerned. We all sat in the hallways while the stores shut their doors. Then when the warning expired, the stores opened back up.

Meh.

Let me know when an actual tornado shows up.

The flooding has been crazy here. Slaughter Creek is our nearest water body. It was quite overfilled and rushing along, when it's normally a trickle, but it won't get near our home with the topography.

Wimberley has had it the worst. Mom lived there for 6 years. The rehabilitation center where she lived (she had survived a stroke from an AVM) was used as a shelter during the flooding and storms there, so they must be on a bit of a hill. That was a relief. I was worried about those good folks. I hope the employees' families and homes are ok.

It was so ironic that I've been looking for a rental house ON A RIVER in Wimberley and surrounding hill country for about three weeks now, so we could take a nice 3-day weekend away with a water view. Freaky.

We've had 10 inches of rain this week in Austin. They say it will take a month of no rainfall for the ground to dry out. It's still raining.

The only good thing about all this rain is that the lakes are filling up. Lake Travis has been at 40% full for so long and it's really been a depressing view, reminding us all how long the drought has been going on. Lake Travis is up significantly now.

Everyone stay safe and keep watching for flooding!

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Three-Day Weekend!!

I wanted to see Tomorrowland today. For the cinematography, not the hunky star.

(I almost typed that with a straight face.)

It's not getting great reviews though. I also hear it's "preachy," which I loathe, so I probably won't see it.  Instead, I went with the Jeffs to see Mad Max. It was good!

The best preview today was Vacation. Everyone was laughing. It looks hilarious.


Sunday Stealing: Very Much Questions Meme

1. What was the last clothing item that you bought? 
navy blue strappy heels

2. If you could stay one age forever, what age would you choose? 
36

3. When you say "lol", are you really laughing? 
Yes, but not out loud. If I'm actually laughing out loud, I type "LOL"

4. What is the most interesting thing you’ve done in the past year? 
Went to Berlin!

5. If you started a business, what would it be?
an OGO franchise with my gal pals

6. Do your friends/family/coworkers know about your blog?
a very select group of them

7. How long does it take you to write an average blog post? 
15 minutes

8. How do you keep up with the blogs you follow? 
I follow The Bloggess on RSS.

9. What is your bedtime? 
10-10:30

10. Introvert or extrovert? 
I would say I tend towards introvert

11. What is your biggest wish? 
to take a week off

12. What is the best job you ever had? 
Pharmaco, back in the day. Still working with several of those folks!

13. Dog person/cat person/both/neither? 
cat person

14. If you had $1,000 to spend any way you wanted, what would you do with it? 
spend it on a vacation at the beach

15. How do you “dress” your toast? 
with butter

16. How do you feel about snow? 
Pretty to look at and play in, a pain to drive in and deal with on a regular basis.

17. What was the worst job you ever had? 
telephone solicitor for the Houston Post as a teenager

18. What song can you not stop listening to? 
Ellie Goulding "Love Me Like You Do." It's been weeks now.

19. Love your name or hate it?
love it

20. How did you choose your blog/twitter handle?
I have always been a big Duran Duran fan. I found a lyric that is pretty bloggy and ran with it!

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News You Can't Use

I am sick of community newspapers tossing their product into the driveways of every single household in our area. No one subscribes to these papers. They may as well have tossed a chunk of trash into everyone's yard. It's incredibly wasteful and also polluting, and can be an indicator that someone is on vacation, if it sits there too long.

And in a "green" city like Austin? It's embarrassing. The very idea that in this day and age, someone can drive around and throw trash in a plastic bag into the yard of every single house is ridiculous. Incidentally, plastic bags are prohibited in Austin retail establishments due to their non-biodegradable nature. It's downright environmentally irresponsible.

And ANNOYING.

Stop trashing up our neighborhoods with papers to which we haven't subscribed. If you want to give me a free paper, mail it to me like Community Impact does.

Wait. Have I ranted about this before?

I'm probably just crabby because Crystal is leaving for a fancy new job. Well, I'm very happy for her, just sad she'll be leaving. Only a few more weeks before she's gone. Waaah.


Saturday 9: No Myth (1989)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The girl in this song is "just looking for someone to dance with." Who was your most recent dance partner?
Probably Jeff. I can't even remember the last time I danced with someone. Ha! I last danced at work as I walked into a meeting last week and some really jammin' tune was playing as the hold music on our conference call. :D

2) Michael Penn wonders if he'd do better with the ladies if he was Romeo or Heathcliff. What fictional character represents your romantic ideal?
Christian in Moulin Rouge

3) The lyrics refer to "knots I have yet to untie." Do the shoes you're wearing have laces?
Nope. Flip flops.

4) Name a character from mythology.
Venus

5) Michael Penn is the brother of Oscar winner Sean Penn. Give us the title of a Sean Penn movie.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High

6) Their father, Leo Penn, was a busy TV director from the 1960s through the 1990s. He specialized in detective shows (Magnum PI and Cannon) and medical shows (Trapper John and Marcus Welby, MD). Are you more likely to watch a program with lots of car chases, or one that's set in a hospital?
Definitely one set in a hospital. He did Trapper John? Wow. One of my early celeb crushes was Gregory Harrison. Just saw Gregory the other day in something. Still gorgeous!

7) 1989, the year "No Myth" was popular, is the year of the first HDTV broadcast. Do you watch many shows in "high def?"
Yes. As many as possible.

8) 1989 was also the year The Simpsons premiered. Who is your all-time favorite animated character?
Bugs Bunny

9) Random fill-in the blank: If I never had to ______________ again, it would be too soon.
...kickbox with gym rats...

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Haircuts

So my cool, new haircut? Shoulder length with side bangs. (Good grief. Seriously?) I did wear it curly for the first time in months yesterday and it was short enough to look good, so there is that.

Lauren got her hair cut at the same time I did, and lopped off a FOOT of it to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, who makes wigs for cancer patients. Her gorgeous hair looks amazing of course.


Sunday Stealing: CAPS LOCK Meme

1. YOU HAVE 10 BUCKS AND NEED TO BUY SNACKS AT A GAS STATION. WHAT DO YOU GET? 
Coke Slurpee, chili lime almonds. That's about ten bucks, right?

2. IF YOU WERE REINCARNATED, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE? 
I'm crossing my fingers for domestic cat.

3. WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE REDHEAD? 
Nicole Kidman

4. WHAT DO YOU ORDER WHEN YOU’RE AT AN I.H.O.P. OR BREAKFAST PLACE?
At IHOP I order pancakes, but at any other breakfast place I order some version of Eggs Benedict.

5. LAST BOOK YOU READ? 
I have no idea. I'm not a fiction reader.

6. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 
The Wedding Ringer. It was pretty entertaining.

7. DESCRIBE YOUR FAVORITE PAIR OF UNDERWEAR. 
I suppose I'm expected to say one of my lacy, fancy ones, but my favorite pair is nude microfiber. They can be worn with anything, especially white pants.

8. DESCRIBE THE LAST TIME YOU WERE INJURED. 
I haven't been injured in a long time. The last time may have been when I stepped on the sewing needle that got stuck in my foot.

9. IF YOU COULD INVENT ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 
The cure for cancer of course! Or a pain reliever that takes away all pain completely without any addiction risk or sedative effect.

10. ROCK CONCERT OR SYMPHONY? 
Rock concert.

11. WHAT IS THE WALLPAPER ON YOUR CELLPHONE?
Some boring default image, sadly.

12. FAVORITE SODA? 
San Pellegrino Limonata

13. FLAVOR OF PUDDING? 
Chocolate

14. WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A PEDICURE OR A MANICURE? 
Manicure. I'm super ticklish when I get pedicures. It's a curse.

15. ANY BUTTONS OR BLINKIES IN YOUR SIDEBAR? 
Nope.

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON YOUR BLOGROLL? 
I don't use a blogroll, because I don't want to drive any traffic here. :)

17. WHAT’S THE LAST PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU BOUGHT? 
An orange Lucky top. I wore it yesterday for the first time!

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Here Baby, There Mama, Everywhere Daddy Daddy

...Haaaaaaaaaair!

I want to do something crazy with my hair tomorrow when I go to the salon. Like, one side longer than the other or something. Wouldn't it be GREAT? A few gals at work have the longer in the front, shorter in the back thing going on, but it always looks like they are looking down, which is kind of strange to me.

The problem with the asymmetrical bob is that it's super cute very short...

I'm sassy!

BUT if it's longer, it just looks like the stylist screwed up on one side...

Does anyone have scissors?

I can't go that short. Gah. Maybe I'll get highlights instead.

In other news... This is all over the place, but it does amuse me so:

*snort*

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Love Me Like You Dooo-ooo-ooooh

...Fading in, fading out
On the edge of paradise
Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find
Only you can set my heart on fire
I'll let you set the pace
'Cause I'm not thinking straight
My head's spinning around, I can't see clear no more
What are you waiting for?...

Ooh yeah.

So. Quantum leap. I'm a big Train fan. Here's a fun article for all of us who thought that Pat Monahan weaves random, funky phrases into his songs because they fit perfectly in the spot- rhyming and rhythm and all that. Well, they aren't actually that random!

Train’s Pat Monahan Explains Some Of Their Most Iconic Lyrics

Saturday 9: Careless Whisper (1984)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) You can't miss George Michael's gold hoops in the photo above or in the "Careless Whisper" video. Are you wearing any jewelry right now?
My anniversary ring, a bracelet and my dangly flower earrings.

2) Though the label says this hit is performed by "Wham! featuring George Michael," George Michael is the only member of the pop duo who appears in the video. Do you remember the name of the other guy who was in Wham?
Andrew Ridgeley, of course!

3) Much of the video was filmed on Watson Island, a man-made island near South Beach. Have you ever been to Miami? 
I have been to Miami twice- once with the fansite gals (parrrty bus!!) and once for a day and night with friends before we left on a cruise together. Both trips we stayed in South Beach.

4) Born Georgios Panayiotou, George Michael is of Greek descent, the son of the Greek restauranteur in East London. When you think of Greek cuisine, what comes to mind?
Gyros. And spanikopita and baklava.

5) Today he lives in a tiny suburb called Highgate, and his neighbors are Kate Moss and Sting. Tell us about one of your neighbors.
One of my neighbors... actually a few of my neighbors on my street are professional musicians in Austin-based bands.

6) George Michael fans can purchase officially licensed merchandise from his website, including an iPhone cover with his photo and signature. Tell us about your cell phone. Is it Apple or Android? Is it a smartphone?
I have an iPhone 6.

7) George Michael sang Stevie Wonder's "You and I" for Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. What's your favorite love song?
"Come What May" from Moulin Rouge

8) In 2014, George had a health scare. He was rushed to the hospital for tests and released the next day. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
When I had a pulmonary embolus (or mystery lung blockage, still debated amongst the docs) and passed out at Walmart, they took me in an ambulance to the hospital. I also rode with Lauren when she was transferred from the Seton ER to Dell Children's Hospital with a very severe infection.

9) Known for hard partying in his youth, George is now in his 50s and says he's quite happy to spend his evenings eating takeout and watching DVDs. Are you doing any socializing this weekend?
Kathy and I are hanging out downtown tonight.

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