March On

There's a new magazine that's just been launched in Britain, Karen, which already has a cult following. I think this is a great idea. It's much more fascinating to peak into real lives than fake ones made up by some publicist. It's the same thing that makes going to a foreign supermarket (or here, shopping at a Tienda) more interesting than going to a tourist hotspot. Somehow, to get a peek into someone from another country's banal everyday life; the food they eat, the soap they use, the car they drive is infinitely more fascinating than hearing a tourist guide trot out some blurb you could read from a pamphlet at the visitor center.

I was amazed to realize that John Profumo has only recently died. For some reason, I thought he had croaked ages ago. He was involved in a juicy Judith Exner-esque scandal, sleeping with a call-girl who also slept with a Russian spy, which became the basis of (of course) Scandal, one of my favorite movies. Joanne Walley is so hot in this film. And both the leading men are gay, which is kind of interesting.

This website is a horrible idea - you send in pictures of shameful things, like your kid's messy room or your best friend dancing on the table, and the photo is posted on the website. What a nasty, passive-aggressive thing to do. If anyone did this to me, you can be sure I will wreak terrible Scorpionic revenge on them.

I would really like to see Big Love, but being the cheap bastard I am, I only have basic (not even standard) cable. I've always thought that polygamy was not a bad idea, as long as it's egalitarian and not a weird Mormon patriarchal thing. I imagine it would keep everyone on their toes and cut down on any primadonna behavior, otherwise you would never get any.

Economy Edition

Seeing as I am such an aficionado of thrift stores and bargain shopping, here are some great deals to be had in Durham:

Habitat for Humanity Hand-Me-Up Store
I have gotten some amazing deals here; a dining table, sideboard and six chairs for $300, and a bedroom suite for my son for $200. Plus it raises money for a good charity and their delivery is really cheap. And they deliver on a Saturday! Also, every time I've been, they have had great kitschy art - paintings on velvet, sad clowns, Kincaidesque landscapes.

Grannie's Panties
That picture of the granny on their website is pretty scary. This is a great place for dishes, bowls, glasses and kitchenware. The furniture can be a bit pricey. I buy 'disposable' pie plates for a buck apiece then when I make a pie to take to someone's house, I don't worry about getting the plate back. Last time I went, they had a clawfoot tub and an old washer/wringer out front, plus some beautiful (and very tiny) clothes from the turn of the century. That's the turn of the last century folks. I have also bought wool from here - I guess old ladies die without finishing off their yarn stash.

TROSA Framing
This is an incredible deal - about half the price of anywhere else you care to get pictures framed, and they do a fabulous job. I like to frame my son's art; plus my sister is an artist and my mum has done some pretty killer Chinese brush painting, so I have plenty of things to frame.

Cosmic Cantina
Cheap, filling, healthy and delicious. The tortillas they use here must be the size of a bath towel.

Thrift World
Great thrift store. I have purchased some great clothes from here, plus they have a good book selection. They usually have some pretty good furniture too. This is one to visit regularly and keep on top of their stock.

Nearly New Shoppe
This is a pretty good little thrift store, where you can gette a goodde bargainne. The clothes are a little more hotsy-totsy than your average thrift store, which I attribute to professorial donations, but the prices are great.

In completely unrelated news, that Beep, beep commercial is driving me around the fucking twist. Ear worm much? And do you think 13 Stories is trying just a tad too hard?

Oscar the Grouch

I watched (as it turned out) most of the Oscars with a bunch of fun people. I'm very happy Minty co-won the pool, as she certainly did her homework with focused tenacity, only leaving a couple of Oscar nominations unwatched.

Well, the Oscars were one of those frequent occasions where America is watched by the world; check out what my compatriots think about this country. When I was growing up, my stereotype of Americans was an imaginary middle-aged couple called Nancy and Hiram, who talked very loudly in nasal mid-western accents. Hiram wore Hawaiian shirts, black socks and sandals, and had a big stogie wedged in the corner of his mouth. Nancy was definitely pear-shaped, a bit naive, and dressed in pastels. I've never met an American remotely like either one of them.

I do remember the American exchange students at the University of Aberdeen, where I studied. They looked really, really wholesome, but they were fairly slutty, which I think is definitely the perogative of the exchange student.

Now, I like beer. And I like ice-cream. But both at once? I'm not too sure about that. I would rather have a bottle of my favorite beer, and some really good vanilla on the side.

I am so going to create my own magazine cover one day.

From Metafilter, the draw a pig personality test. Don't really know what to say about this one other than it's deeply silly.

Check this out - the Guardian Health Editor thinks every birth should be a C-section. Certainly, giving birth seems unusually perilous for humans compared to most mammals. But you just need to gather a bunch of women, and I think the horror story to no big whoop story is about even. I fall in the no big whoop category, but I think being a strapping lass with a high pain threshold definitely helped.

If children are not for you, here's some surprising news about Walmart. Though it still has it's conscientous objector policy, a la Target. Who are these pharmacists who will not provide emergency contraception (or even birth control)? If you felt this strongly, wouldn't you choose another line of work?