Fash-ON

Immediately upon viewing this picture of designer Zac Posen, I had many questions. And to answer YOUR first question, yes, I said this man is a designer. And to answers your second question, yes, a fashion designer.

At first I couldn't tell where the jacket ended and the background (blurry Christmas tree?) begins. It took me even longer to wrap my head around the idea that he was wearing this festive Southwestern style sport-jacket thingy with an obnoxious colored hoodie underneath. Is that yellow? A light neon green? It's horrendous.

But the most disturbing part of this photo is that I totally thought at first that Zac Posen, maybe because of the holiday atmosphere, was this dude:

He's the head elf from the movie The Santa Clause. One of my Mom's favorite new (post-1960) Christmas movies. (Hi Mom! Yes, I'm looking forward to watching this with you in a few weeks while we cook!) Maybe it's the eyebrows? Truly disturbing.

The Best Music I Discovered This Year

Everywhere this time of year are "best of" lists. I can't tell you what the best new music of 2007 was, I definitely didn't even hear a fraction of it. But I CAN tell you what my best music of 2007 was--which makes my list a little different, as it's the best that I came across this year regardless of when it came out. Here we go:

1. Neon Bible--Arcade Fire

This album is beautiful from end to end. Antichrist Television Blues and Ocean of Noise, two of the best songs on the album, will stay in your head for days. Their music reminds me of Bruce Springsteen for reasons I have not yet identified. And I don't even like Springsteen (or Springballs, as my dad calls him). Go figure.

2. Music From the Big Pink--The Band

Obviously this is a "new to me" 2007 addition on this list. I didn't know much of The Band until I watched "The Last Waltz," Scorsese's documentary of The Band's last concert in San Francisco in 1976.

After watching the movie I bought the album and was blown away. Such simple, rocking songs. Its easy to see why Eric Clapton wanted to join The Band.

3. The Crane Wife--The Decemberists

Saw them at the Hollywood Bowl accompanied by the LA Phil. Even Truman dug it.

4. The Reminder--Feist

Not normally into female singers, but Leslie Feist is an exception.

5. Icky Thump--The White Stripes

Jack White is the ugliest guy I have ever had a crush on. Maybe I can limit the crush to his brain and his hands, purely for the magic of his music-making.

6. The Besnard Lakes are The Dark Horse--The Besnard Lakes

I'm not into super-obscure music, The Besnard Lakes are as close as I can get. They're like a Canadian mix of The Beach Boys and Pink Floyd with a little King Crimson thrown in for good fun. I suggest checking them out.

7. Highway Companion--Tom Petty

Can't go wrong with Tom Petty. This is a "solo" album, but it basically sound just like when the Heartbreakers are with him. "Square One" is the best song.

8. The Best of Warren Zevon--Warren Zevon

I resisted the Warren Zevon for a long long time. Then, the day I was sworn in as an attorney my old boss (the best thing about him was his love for music) played "Lawyers, Guns, and Money." I didn't come across WZ again until I went home last Christmas and my dad gave me his CD.

Zevon is like a much better version of Joe Walsh. The lyrics are amusing (a little cheesy) but poignant. One of the best songs on the album is "The Envoy," which is a political song about Reagan's foreign policy. Another is "Mohammed Radio," where he duets with Linda Ronstadt. A surprising addition to this list.

Honorable Mentions:

These are albums that I enjoyed, but they didn't blow me away.

Ga ga ga ga ga--Spoon

The critics seem to love these guys, but they're just a basic rock band to me. Not bad at all, but nothing exceptional.

Wincing the Night Away--The Shins

Ditto.

Thanksgiving Goodness

Who's the master baker? Huh, punk? Who?

Actually you're right, its my mama, but I'm trying my best to follow in her footsteps.

I'm perpetually in charge of the desserts when it comes to the Lu Family, as (no offense Asian people) generally Asians are not so good with the desserts. Their idea of "sweet" leaves much to be desired. I'm happy I didn't grow up with the demented idea that red bean is a freaking dessert. dCommies.

I made a chocolate cranberry tart and the classic pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving dinner. The tart recipe came from a fancy cooking magazine and taxed my skills, but in the end I prevailed. Truman's uncle Peter, the snobbiest person I know, told me I could go into business selling the tarts. That's a huge compliment coming from him.

Pumpkin pie is pumpkin pie. I follow the directions on the pumpkin label like anyone else. I did make my own crust, though. Some day I will learn to make the edges pretty.


I also tried a new twist on stuffing. I made traditional Leslie Kromke recipe bread stuffing, but put it into (well-greased) cupcake tins to bake. They didn't hold together in the muffin shape as much as I would have liked. I'll work on it for next time.

Guilty Pleasures

These are true guilty pleasures. I'm frankly embarrassed that I feel joyous and happy in the presence of any of these things. But I do. In fact, I'm hoping to go home, crank up "Muscle of Love," watch Ben Stiller with blackface in a coal mine, and eat some deep fried tacos.


I love me some 70s rock. I'm sure its because I grew up listening to it in my Dad's garage, but whatever.

Alice Cooper is the epitome of 70s rock, and his Greatest Hits album has been playing in my car for the good part of a month. So much teenage angst and good ol' fashion rocking.

And of course, when I was little and I listened to the song "No More Mr. Nice Guy," featuring the line "I went to church incognito," I totally thought "Cognito" was a place where he went to church. True story.




Zoolander is possibly the best of the Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson collaborations. But the winner of best character in Zoolander goes to Will Ferrell.



Ferrell kills it as Mugatu, a combination of Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli, and any other flamboyant designer you can imagine. In one pivotal scene, Mugatu's assistant brings him a latte with too much foam. In a fit of rage, he spits up/spills the latte on his assistant screaming "Are you not aware I get farty and bloated from a foamy latte???"

It's magical.




Growing up in the east, the only thing I knew about Jack in the Box was a nefarious connection with e-coli poisoning when I was a kid.


Wow I'm sure glad I got to know more about Jack in the Crack.


The 99 cent monster tacos are the best thing ever. See, they're even in the main advertising attraction on JITC's signage.

Highly recommended.









Perhaps the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures is gossip blogs.

The worst of those blogs is that of Perez Hilton aka Mario Lavanderia.

He's disgusting. He's disturbing. He drags people out of the closet kicking and screaming and dyes his hair blue. He's hilarious and almost always gets the first scoop.

It's the first website I check in the morning at work. Such a welcome, and frequent, relief from work.


Guilty Pleasure Honorable Mentions:

Hall & Oates

Spaceballs

Elizabeth Peters mysteries

Even worse fake tacos: Taco Bell

Comments Please?

I re-started this blog awhile ago, and some of you have texted me or called me to say that you've checked it out, but NO ONE POSTS COMMENTS!

I just received my very first comment yesterday. I was ecstatic, even though it was from a totally random person (thanks Robage!).

Honestly, this is very disappointing. I'm fragile. I need lots of affirmation.

So, I figure if ANYTHING will provoke you people to comment, its the gay Klingon with a purse and stuffed animal picture that I've posted to the right.

Please?

Jury Duty

I have to admit, it really wasn't bad. It wasn't even really boring. I'm sure it was a fate worse than death to many of the other jurors, but it really gave me a good opportunity to understand what you have to do as an attorney to convince the jury of your position.

The most important thing I learned, and the most disheartening thing as an attorney, is that the jurors don't give a flying crap about the law. Overall, the consensus amongst the other jurors was to do what was "right," which in this case was to return possession of an apartment to a landlord who hadn't been paid in two years. No matter how much I argued that the landlord did not do what it had to under the law, it fell upon deaf ears. In the end I was the sole dissenting juror.

On the bright side, defense counsel can hopefully get the verdict overturned post-trial precisely because jurors did not follow the law. Thank god for that rule. But in the future, I will remember that more than proving your case, all you really have to do is give the jury one good reason to vote for you.

Sorry for the little legal digression, this has been killing me since I finished jury duty last week. Definitely a memorable experience.

Jury, Jury

When it rains it pours.

I just finished my first jury trial (not as exciting as you think, I was "second chair," which means I organized alot of documents and did alot of box moving), and now I'm on my first jury.

The trial I acted as an attorney on was, in reality, more awesome than I made it sound above. I didn't do all of the arguing and questioning (although I did question one witness), but I did get to see how it was done with a great example as trial counsel.

While it's alot less work, it's much more boring to be a juror. So I'm planning on using my time to just learn more about the whole process, since I'm not so involved in this trial that I can't watch and learn.

The downside is that with all of these trials I'm learning what it's really like to be an attorney, and it sucks. :)