Category Archive

We’re over here.

So, I feel bad.

My formerly diligent, for however short “diligent” may have actually lasted me, blogging career came to a somewhat abrupt stop with the start of this new year. I can probably point to a number of contributing factors, but they’d sound as excuses usually do and I’m not much for those these days. But anyone with any attention to this wee corner of the Interwebs would have noticed that you weren’t getting your fair share off quirky news bits, diarrhea of the mouth political statements and musical and movical recommendations. To be honest, I kind of gave up.

But I like the idea of blogging. Maybe it’s my character, but I enjoy the feeling of the glossolalia of just letting situations and thoughts slide off the tongue and poke at the alphabet soup for a new generation. So, I want to give it another go in another realm, a fresher, hipper fashion that not only incorporates the old, but gives it some of the newness that I am presently experiencing in my life both on and off computer monitor.

So, with these fancy new changes afoot, I find it as good a time as any to introduce to you, ChelseaBabble, Part II. And who knows where she’s headed. Maybe I’m just not meant to blog like the rest of y’all. Which is cool. Which is… cool. But it sure ain’t gonna stop me from trying.

See ya there, Dudes.

Or at the very least, my logos.

Also, tonight *is* the season finale of The Office. So there you go, Silena

A) WordPress got kind of fancy, no? Or at least the editing page underwent a slight metamorphasis. This shall be explored greatly, Friends.

B) I watched Magnolia last night in quite wonderful company. And aside from forgetting that the movie was 3+ hours long, its roots have carried through making today a most interesting one to live through. I’m not expecting frogs or anything, though I believe in the next few days we are expecting an 82% chance of rain. Exodus?

C) Matt found this website today and for any and all ex, current, future baristas, it sounds like it could potentially be an excellent idea.

D) Spaceweather.com informs us of two very important events, Cadets:

When the sun goes down tonight, step outside and look west.  Weather permitting you’ll see a slender equinox crescent Moon hanging above the rosy glow of sunset.  Framed by the cobalt blue of early evening, the Moon reveals its “da Vinci glow” or Earthshine, a pale impression of the full Moon inside the vivid crescent–a beautiful sight.

Consider it an appetizer for Tuesday. On April 8th, the still-slender crescent passes almost directly in front of the Pleiades star cluster.  Also known as the Seven Sisters, the dipper-shaped Pleiades are visible to the naked eye even from urban areas and they look wonderful through binoculars.  Tuesday evening’s delicate conjunction of Luna and the Seven Sisters should not be missed.

Eyes to the skies, Kiddos.

E) I seem to posess an insatiable craving for Matar Paneer.

Apparently, yes.

And I totally fell for it. Because I’m fully gullible like that.

Ha:

“How come I only get ten?

Our researchers have concluded that allowing each person more than ten pre-dated emails per year would cause people to lose faith in the accuracy of time, thus rendering the feature useless.”

1. My NCAA bracket has been crushed beyond recognition.

2. I have to work on Easter. Not only that, but I’m in charge today.

3. I woke up with an awful headache.

4. Said headache did not improve upon my arrival at work when I realized that 99.9% of the staff and volunteers we were supposed to have come in today called out because of the fact that it is Easter.

That’s all.

Holy crap. This thing has really fallen off, hasn’t it.

 Well, I feel like today is as good a day as any to get it back in gear. For today is DAY ONE back at the filming of The Office. And if my good friends over at Dunder Mifflin Scranton are getting back to work, then I suppose I should, too. So, today is the beginning of a new with you, Blog. Everyday I’ll try and put up something. No matter how mundane or silly it may seem. Yippie!

 (On an Office side note, if you haven’t noticed, Angela Martin is VERY pregnant and VERY showing. So, I’m quite curious as to how this is going to play into our remainder season… hmm…)

My friend Aaron passed this along to me because he is well aware of my massive and insatiable girl crush on Tina Fey.

Little did Aaron know that just this past Sunday night I spent a good 45 minutes gawking at a $75 Annie Leibovitz book for which I would do unspeakable things.

Check these gorgeous photos out. Added bonus if you’re a Disney fanatic. I’m not really, but you gotta check it out.

Blugh.

I don’t have nearly the words I wish I had, but John wrote a great piece over on his blog that you should check out.

Anyone who’s ever been to the Santa Barbara Zoo should find this story pretty sad. My mom sent me the article last week, but I completely forgot to post it.  

 Like I said, there’s little chance that if you’ve been to the SB Zoo that you’ve missed  Gemina.  I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t there and is always something I visit first whenever I’m there.

(This post is dedicated to Mike “With Fist” Smalls.) 

Mike, I was going to give you your strike update, but what you need to know is that it’s still going on and not too much good news has been coming out of it. They were close, but then everything collapsed. Of course. So we’re still waiting and waiting to see what’s going to happen. Hopefully good things. I do think that Leno, O’Brien, Letterman and Kimmel are going back to their nightly gigs after the new year, but that’s all I got for ya, Killer.

This, however, amuses me on this chilly December morning.

Britney Spears’ younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears has announced in OK! Magazine that she is pregnant. Meanwhile her mom Lynn Spears’ book on Christian parenting, due in Spring 2008, has been indefinitely delayed.

Wha-ha-ha-hammy!!!!

And. Alec Baldwin, you, Sir, are great.

Sick of the same old cheesy e-cards? You really should check these out. And laugh and enjoy and send.

(Also, I’ve pretty much narrowed down my top five albums of 2007! Stay tuned!)

This is one of the best written articles ever. And it makes me twenty times more excited that I am seeing F.H. Jon Brion in no time at all.

This is my favorite part in the history of favorite parts, ever:

“In a town that has over-commercialized nearly everything that made it so wonderful in the first place, it’s comforting to know that there’s still a place out there that remembers where its true meaning lies.”

Okay. Enough is enough. I’ve got some things to post and discussions to have so let’s get back to blogging.

And I’d like to make this big valiant return by asking you to check this website out and read the short story. It’s kind of like those Lost books, but… creative.

Hope everyone travels safe, eats their weight in turkey (or tofurkey, or White Castles, as the case may be for some of you), and finds themselves in the company of those they love most.

In case you’re wondering where the OBSCENE amount of top drawer entertainment you usually receive from The Bab has gone to, I’m here to answer that very question.

Presently, I am in the process of acquiring one of theseto keep as my pet. Move over, Tabeta-tha, there’s a new sheriff in town. Gosh, did I ever even introduce you guys to Tabeta-tha the Beta? My watch-fish and best mate? GD it. I’ll get on that soon. As well as getting on the fact that last Thursday was the last Office episode for the foreseeable future. And the fact that I spent 10 dollars at a book sale on Saturday and walked away with more than my fair share of gems. And that I saw Leslie Feist last night in Louisville and lived out a Jerry Seinfeld/David Cross joke. It was phenomenal.

I’ll get back to y’all tomorrow or Friday. Or Saturday. Or when I’m retired.

Last night Christmas threw up all over Starbucks. I actually don’t mind this because the red holiday cups make me oddly happy and peppermint white hot chocolate tastes fifty times better in them.  Furthermore, as I enjoy my Thursday night television, Christmas has also thrown up all over my commercial breaks.

 May the 2007 Holiday Season officially commence!

So, apparently my cousin Sari shares a NYC grocery store with Liv Tyler. And I love Liv Tyler!

I’m such a bad neglectful bloggy mommy!

Congrats, SeaBabble. You turned one on Sunday.

While my Halloween at work has become unexpectedly very busy, I wanted to stop in and make sure that you’re all having the most excellent of excellent Halloweens!

For some Halloween fun, might I suggest:

• Following the Joker around the country on a crazy scavenger hunt that’s going to end in something really cool and perhaps two faced! Keep an eye on that link, guys! It’s gonna get nuts!
• Catching all the cool Halloweek Happenings over on Bob-Net.
• Coming over tonight for Kashi pizza, movies, Phenomenon and sleep.

Also! I’ve posted my D.C. and Scranton photos on my Flickr page! Captions coming soon! Check ‘em out!

Well, kids, I’m glad it’s raining. I’m not so glad that the museum is humid and smelly and that the sky is falling all around my desk. I’m blocked in by trash cans and disturbed by the constant plop of of the water falling from the ceiling and the occasional dunk from a large piece of tile falling into the bog.

But no bother to any of this! For tonight, I am headed up to Columbus to catch my crack-o-dawn flight to Washington, DC for a few days of sightseeing and fun with my dear friend Tracy. And then it’s off to Scranton! For The Office Convention! Not to return til next Tuesday!!

You can read up more on the convention here, but I am fairly sure that our hotel in Scranton will have internet, so you best believe I will be making an effort to make nightly updates.

Until I get back, be good, don’t fight and feed my fish, Tabetha (I actually don’t think I ever made an official blog introduction to Tabetha. Well, Tabetha is my fish. And she’s lazy.)

And stay safe out in Southern California. I’m thinking of you guys, for sure.

Sesame Street, that is.

Not too long ago, John sent me a photo of Anderson Cooper with a couple of Sesame Street Grouches (photo pending when I’m not at work.). Aside from being the best picture ever taken, it was photographic proof that Anderson Cooper was going to make a guest appearance on perhaps the most influential show of my life.  As if I couldn’t love him any more…

(There was a good quality video on YouTube, but it appears to have been taken down. So, here we have this one which someone filmed off their TV. Until I find another one, this will have to do, but you get the idea.)

Also, as I was watching this video I was snookered into some other GLORIOUS Anderson Cooper YouTube videos when he is at his funniest and most ferocious.

Also, this week his special with Sanjay Gupta is starting on CNN, “Planet in Peril.” It looks pretty interesting, so maybe we should check it out.

AND, have you read Cooper’s book yet? I really think you should.

Goodness gracious, Gremlins! Where have I gone?

In case you haven’t heard, I got a job working here. I still work for The Siren, so as you can imagine my work week is getting in the way of time to report back here on all things fun, wonderful and interesting. Though to be fair, there hasn’t been much.

So! Here’s a little FYI on all things blog-worthy

1. We’re going to talk about last week’s Office tonight. I’ve managed to get three hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, but I can’t let that sit there any longer.

2. Happy Birthday yesterday to John!

3. One week from tomorrow I’m leavin’ on a jet plane to attend The Office Convention in Scranton, PA with the lovely Tracy Kay! Pretty much, it’s going to be the most exciting week on the blog, ever. Can’t wait! See ya there!

4. I’ve got a crap ton of photos to get up on Flickr, so when they’re there, I’ll holler and you can check it out.

5. Garrison Starr’s new album. Seriously. Get on that. Discussion coming soon.

Because he’s a cool 1.5 million richer! 

This news makes me really happy, and it should make you happy, too!!! Now all we need to do is convince him that he could power his ‘08 campaign bus with trash.

 (Don’t worry, Office notation coming soon!)

One of the things I miss most about Los Angeles is Largo. Anyone who’s been, myself included, will stand by the fact that there is nothing better to do in L.A., Monday to Saturday, then attend every one’s favorite friendly Fairfax venue. The food is spectacular and so is the company and no matter what night you’re there, you’re destined to be in for a treat.  Anyone worth your ear is familiar with Flanagan and his fine establishment and seeing them perform in this kind of place is like nothing you’ve ever experienced.  There was a good chunk of time there where my friend Eric and I were making the trip almost every weekend to see our favorites in action. Anyone who has been can tell you, Largo cannot be beat.

Not convinced? WELL!  There appears to be a film coming out on this most hallowed of grounds and the website offers quite a good sampling of what’s so awesome about the whole experience, with short video clips of Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, Amiee Mann, Zach Galifianakis, Grant Lee Phillips and many more. Actually, if you’re at all a fan of Brion, and really, you should immediately ensure that you are, watch his clip. His Largo sets are the stuff of legend and being that if you even thought of taking out a video camera during the performance, you’d be slaughtered, you’ve never seen anything like this. And it’s just a taste. Check it out: www.largofilm.com

More on this as the information becomes available!

I could totally go for some Baked Honey Chicken right now.

Tonight I went to the Union Kroger. Which just might be the fanciest Kroger ever. They have the greatest olive and antipasto bar that I’ve ever seen. And I am a girl who loves her antipasto bars. Whew.

However, what you should know is that before I walked inside this King Kroger, I heard reason 23486 that I absolutely adore Stephen Colbert right there on my beloved NPR. I hope you can find that you feel the same way by clicking right here.

This really is too cute and I couldn’t help but share.

Baby bears!

We’re taking a bit of a break from the blogging and such.

Don’t trash the place while I’m gone.

I want to pass down a sincere apology to all those who have found my recent bloggings, or lack there of, completely boring, uninformative and nothing you were promised (or not promised) back when we started this crazy thing. I haven’t forgotten you, no! I mean, we all make certain sacrifices as a result of having children, but no! Lord, no! (2 Points if you can name that movie)  In fact, I think about you constantly and how I’ve been a neglectful blogger ten million times over.

 I don’t have a real excuse, just busy and lazy and emotional and stressed, really. But, this past week has seen what I’m going to call my “Peter Gibbons Metamorphosis” and I’m chasing that feeling which continues on into this coming week where my work schedule is, to say the least, incredibly negligible.

So!

I, Chelsea Margaret Acunis Graham, of the Montrose Grahams, do hereby vow to you, oh, Loyal and Wonderful Reader, that this week we will catch up, start up, and fill up our blogging appetites to the fullest.

 Yesterday, Silena and I were talking about how I should start writing tribute poems to Don Lemon and posting them on my blog. I think we’re going to go ahead and employ the Don Lemon Standard here at Sea Babble and will gauge how successful my “vacation” and blogging week is on if I actually write a Don Lemon Poem.

Please stick around, I promise we’ll have tons of fun!

She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, Kid.

Ever since Food Network aired this cheeseburger making competition the other night, all I’ve wanted to do was make a fancy cheeseburger of my own. While everyone else there had super expensive ingredients and loads of time and experience, I thought I’d be able to make something happen in my little ol’ kitchen.

So, I tried. And it looks messy. And it was. But it was so good!

The meat is ground turkey with corn and sliced garlic mashed up in it. It gave the meat more of a texture instead of just… meat. Which don’t get me wrong, is totally delicious, but can be TOTALLY boring. The bottom is a veggie portion with sauteed spinach, garlic and onions. And for our topper, we grilled up a banana pepper and put it underneath a thin slice of Muenster cheese (That’s why the cheese is popping up like that.). I would have rather used something like mozzarella, but Muenster is what I had and it melted really well. Not too runny, not too stringy. Salt and pepper to taste and slide that puppy on top of a toasted wheat but with a lil bit of ranch dressing. “Yum-E!” (That’s going to be my rip on Rachael Ray catch phrase. Ya likes?!)

Til next time, eat your veggies, kiddies.

Have patience!

In looking at the calendar, and according to the CDC Malaria guidelines, I’ve been out of Guatemala long enough to be declared officially Malaria-free. Worth a blog post? Maybe. Maybe not. But it is anyway.

That is SHOCKING.

 Update: This actually should be shocking, but for some strange reason, isn’t.

Let’s chat about insects. The last time I truly studied insects was in Mrs. Saylor’s third grade class. We had this project where we’d have to get a milk carton and half a pantyhose and create some sort of habitat for an insect we were supposed to bring into class. Now, I’m going to be completely honest with you when I say that my insect was practically the largest and most bad ass moth you’ve ever seen. Mothra-esque, to say the least. We found it the morning I was supposed to bring it in to school and it was, to this day, the biggest insect I’d ever seen and it lived the longest of any in the class. I’m still not entirely convinced it wasn’t actually Mothra. Moving on.

In any event, I really am not up and fresh on my insect knowledge and I wish that I was. For today, when I went to my outside storage closet to deposit of a few items, I noticed something stuck to the inside of the door. Behold my photographic evidence:

It appears to me that it’s a butterfly in some sort of “cocoon” phase and that one day I will open the storage closet and hundreds of butterflies will spill out. There is, of course, the chance that it isn’t even this at all, but something totally terrible and terrifying. Like locust. Or snakes. But I don’t even know if there is a hint of accuracy or logic in that reasoning. Time will tell, I suppose.

So put on your entomology hats, Interns. Let’s I.D. this son-of-a-gun.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated and will be further investigated.

Okay, so if you’ve been watching the news, you’d notice that I live in that lucky region of the country that’s getting slammed with the worst heat and humidity ever this past week. It’s been wretched and on top of it all, my air condition was on the blitz. I was kind of timid at first to call maintenance because I wanted to completely rule out operator error and avoid embarrassment, but last night was the final straw.

I am a finicky sleeper. I can’t sleep without some sort of blanket on me, and if it’s too hot for blankets, I just can’t sleep. I was absolutely miserable last night and it was at about 1:30 in the morning when my thermostat was at 88 and my temper was nearing 110 over the fact that I hadn’t slept a wink and had to be up for work in 3 hours. I decided I was going to call maintenance. Since he’s come to fix it, my A/C has gone down 8 degrees and is now sitting nicely at 80. Which is still warm, but I’m not sweating just by sitting here. 

I’m on my way back out into the heat to the Boone County Fair, so here’s hoping that when I get home tonight, I walk into a wall of ice.

We’re going to follow this story to the bitter end, Interns.

 UPDATE! Success! I slept in flannel PJ bottoms last night because when I got home it was 68 degrees in this puppy! Life is GOOD!

So I could play Celebrity Jeopardy and win. Every time. Neil Patrick Harris has got nothin’ on me.

 The answer to a 1000 dollar question was just ”Guy Smiley,” which just so happens to be my personal Sesame Street area of expertise! I could so do this!

I want to start out this post by giving out a great big “Thank You” to everyone who made my birthday awesome and excellent. And a special thanks to those who have made going to my little mailbox so excellent and exciting these past few days Today, however, we got something very… special in our mailbox.

It was my birthday present from my good friends Eric and Aaron back in Los Angeles. Knowing Eric, it was likely to be something odd and zany. But knowing Aaron, and knowing he just got back from an architecture program in Italy, I thought it could be something Italian. Like a piece of Pope memorabilia, or even some pizza. But knowing Eric…

I opened the package that was sent from a company called “WHERE ON EARTH?” This had to be good. And it was. I think:

It’s a real Cane toad…

Turned…

Coin purse/key chain.

With the item came a small card that described the item in great detail, but I think that this highlight of Eric’s e-mail says it best:

 ”I wonder if they described the toad in the package?  They imported them from Hawai’i to eat a certain kind of beetle, but it didn’t, and when animals ate them, they’d die.  So they were covered with TONS of living beetles and dead dogs.  There are a million similar Australian gaffes.  This is why I love that country.  Now whenever they see one of those toads, they kill them, just like with bunnies.  Did you know that the Outback, the inner part of Australia that makes the continent completely uninhabitable beyond the coasts, was once green and lush?  A British sporting man, for kicks, set free a hundred or so rabbits for hunting and to see how they’d survive the terrain.  Next thing they knew, the bunnies sexed and sexed and sexed and before long all of the green was eaten, the plants dead.  Fucking hilarious.”

Well, I do love a unique gift.

 The website that it came from is pretty interesting, too. So look for a post of some interesting finds on that pretty soon.

I think that until I find a new job, every week when I get a new box of Tazo tea from Starbucks, I’ll post it’s totally pretentious and eye-rolling description on the blog.

If you missed last week’s, it’s right here.

This week, we travel to India (How Darjeeling Limited of us!) for Tazo’s “reincarnation” of traditional, Chai Tea, usually native to South Asia and the Middle East.  Chai actually just means “tea” in many languages of this region and is probably one of my favorites. It’s kind of a spicy black tea and tastes great with steamed milk and cinnamon powder.

Starbucks, however, describes the tea as this:

“A rich blend of teas and spices in the style of the hill dwellers of the Himalayas.”

“The hill dwellers of the Himalayas” makes me think of that nice man in Batman Begins that Bruce leaves Henri with after he very kindly, politely and quietly leaves the League of Shadows and informs them that he is no murderer. “I tell him you save his liiiiife.”

ANYWAY, our little “mood music, or description, for this fine product is:

“Throughout India, chai wallahs can be found serving up steaming cups of sweetly spiced chai to wandering souls. You’re with them now.”

 And this is why I need a new job.

I didn’t want to blog about the orgy of celebrity that’s happening in Hollywood right now over Becks’ and Posh’s arrival to the states to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, but… at least one thing is worth being mentioned after looking through the photos in this article.

Read the rest of this entry »

One thing that’s kind of cool about Starbucks is that every week I get to mark out either a pound of coffee or a box of tea. Being that I am a pretty active tea drinker, this is a good perk.

However, Starbucks, I just went to brew myself my nightly cup of chamomile tea (named “Calm Herbal Infusion” by the TAZO divison of Starbucks Coffee Company) and as I am waiting for the water to boil I read the back of the tea bag and it says:

“A single cup of Tazo Calm has been known to have the same effect as sitting for 45 minutes in a mountain meadow on a sunny day with your shoes off.”

Bluggh.

This weekend was my first full weekend in the Tri-State area, and what a weekend it was.

Read the rest of this entry »

Oh, my.

This morning I needed gas.

This morning on my way home from Waffle House (Yum) and dropping Silena off at the airport (Boo) gas was selling at $2.98 a gallon.

I needed to get home for the cable guy (because in case you didn’t know, I’ve got phone, TV and internet now) so I said “Eh, gas can wait til after work.”

When I went to work at noon, gas was still $2.98 a gallon.

At 5:15, when I left work, gas was $3.19 a gallon.

What. The Hell.

The last few legs of our road trip saw much less internet connection time than I had anticipated, so I apologize for the complete lack of updates… but what you need to know now is that I’m in my new apartment and will update you with stories and photos soon!!!

So far, so good. A little bit of a “funny” smell, but that’s soon to be fixed by an absurd amount of scented candles and Febreze up the wazoo.

Florence is pretty good so far, I don’t think the reality of it all has sunk in yet, so I’m still waiting for that.

Stay tuned for tonight’s Sea Foods: Cooking For One In The New Apartment Edition!!!!

Come visit!

Go here and watch Zach Galifianakis interview the lead singer of the Spin Doctors, Fiona Apple.  You will not be sorry.

a) Let me hear the combo of pouring rain and ground-shaking thunder which is one of the most awesome sounds ever.

b) Make me want to be a stormchaser or watch shows about stormchasers.

c) Give me endless opportunities for me and my brother to quote Twister back and forth each time there’s a huge thunder outside.  (”And it never. Hits. The ground. ”)

One more LEGO story on the blog and it might be time to give those little hunks-o-plastic their own tag.
Either that or it’s going to become customary to do a LEGO post before every time I leave on a trip.

Which brings us to this trip’s LEGOodbyes.

Everyone, meet Nathan Sawaya, artist of these fine pieces of LEGO art. Besides the fine art he also built a fully functional air conditioning unit.

I never had much of the patience for LEGOs, but have always admired people like my friend Gordy, who when we were little had an entire town he built out of LEGOs. Easily 10 feet by 20. Easily. Insane.
I would like to nominate Mr. LEGO Sculpture Designer to be a Real American Hero.

Looks like Harry Potter is getting his cut of the theme park pie.

Again, sorry for the lack of anything substantial these past few days, kids. But two things you would benefit from knowing are:

1. Yesterday was graduation! Done! Yay! Woot!  (Photos coming soon)

2. Tomorrow Iain and I leave on a whirlwind adventure to the Midwest. Definitely stay tuned for updates on that as we’re hoping there are some big ones.

Hope you’re all doing well. I’m especially hoping you’ll want to come with me to Orlando. Please?

No more teachers, no more books…

So, my Mesoamerican final essay on bloodletting and human sacrifice might have made me want to sacrifice a human of my own, but it’s over! I am done with finals! D-o-n-e!!!

As for tonight, we celebrate with swashbuckling pirate antics! And sweet, sweet dreams of myself and Future Lover Johnny Depp and I being stranded on an island together until the end of time. Meeeeeeeow.

Yeehaw!

Err… I mean…

“ARRRRRRR!”

Sorry for the slow flow of the Babble recently, guys. Things have been insane over here and I am pretty much running full steam ahead until next Friday mid-morning when brother Iain and I are boarding a plane to Ohio to find some sort of appropriate living situation for yours truly to occupy in a little over a month. That being said, after June 1st I am probably not going to be terribly stationary at home for more than 4 or 5 days at a time. Ohio, Guatemala and then moving, it’s going to be absolutely wild but I’m definitely looking forward to the change of pace and scenery. Lots of photos. Promise.

In advance, I thank you for your patience.

I’ll try and have some interesting or fun or cool things headed your way after tomorrow’s Mesoamerican Archaeology final is finished. We’re workin’ on it. Promise. Maybe a review of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End? In a very Graham family fashion we are all headed out tomorrow night to the Commons to see the first screening. If this shocks you, you obviously haven’t met or heard the legends about my Mother and sister Emily’s obsessive nature when it comes to this movie.

So please don’t think I’ve abandoned you or forgotten about our special bond. I will be back and who knows, after all this is said and done, I think it would be safe to say that we’re going to have reached a new level in our relationship.

Stay tuned…

Happy Monday Morning, kids. Since it is “What the Hell” O’clock Sea Babble Standard time, we need some real laughs so we can stop trying to find the fact that we’re up so damn early… funny. Because it’s pretty unfunny.

So watch this video of FH Jon Stewart. Because it’s hilarious. And has a one second mention/photo of FH John Krasinski. And it’s hilarious.

Which brings us to this week, officially.

Well, officially I am done with classes when I decide to finish my Mesoamerican Archaeology final. Which has to be done by Thursday, officially. And then I am officially d-o-n-e. Officially, this rocks. Then it’s weekend and graduation next Wednesday the 30th. Faaaantastic.

I’ve got some posts I’ve been dancing around for the past few weeks that I will hopefully buckle down to sometime this week, so keep your eyes peeled.

Happy Monday, Unpaid Interns.

Every day for the past 3 weeks someone has search engined “big comfy couch” and gotten to my page. Literally. Every single day. And with typing that right up there, I’ll bet I’m gonna get some more. Awesome. I bet that the searcher is sorely disappointed when they see that this blog talks about everything except large and accommodating couches, save a slight mention in passing on a Stephanie Miller “I’m up at 3 AM, oh heavenly GAWD what’s wrong with me?” blog.

I guess people are really in need of some big, comfy couches. This may be a call to action to edit the focus of my blog to incorporate more upholstered household furnishings.

Wow. What a weekend. I’m burnt out and am in need of some serious in-bed recovery time. Yowzah’!!!

Today, hopefully, will be active as far as posts go. I’ve got a lot I want to get through.

1. That Grey’s Anatomy chatter I’ve been meaning to get to since Friday.

2. A special post dedicated to a few of my all-time favorite Loggers. (Done! Check it out here!)

3. Office News! It’s a shocker. But if you want to spoil the surprise, John’s got the scoop already. (Done! Check it out here!)
4. A little number about how my life has changed since I saw Spider-Man 3 and how I find it in me to carry on.

5. General news I’ve been meaning to report on.

So, consider this a to-do list for Sea Babble. Hopefully you will have all of these things by the end of the day.

BUT!
FIRST!

Happy (Belated) Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!!!!

There is no person in this whole wide world that I admire more than my own mom and I am sure you can say the same about yours, too. Rock on, mommies! You’re the cause of a lot of good in this tired old world, and I love ya for it.

Woah, woah, woah, Chuck. Slow it down, son. You mean the entire food industry… of the WORLD?!?!?!? Say it aint SO!!!

I often watched his maneuvers from my bedroom window with great admiration. Those Tuesday mornings he zipped around the corner making the dross we left for him the night before disappear with grace and beauty, it was truly a sight to be seen. An art. A masterpiece. I would associate the efficiency to which he executed his task to that of a ballerina making perfect pirouettes as the contents of each refuse receptacle tumbled out in a confetti of crumpled notes and infested rotten fruits.

Until yesterday when you took the life of my dear, sweet, innocent, letter cozy.

I pay no attention to the somewhat respectful organization of the irreversible damage you caused, for it makes no difference, you see, its heart is forever lost.

We shall miss you, protector of parcel. Robbed in your prime of all life had to offer. With so much yet to gain and so much yet to give. So many wonderful memories we’ve had over the years and I hold them all near and dear to my heart.

I’ll be sending you some letters right away. In heaven.

For now, anyways.

I was able to fix the pesky comment input box problem pretty easily, so that will close this round of major code messing.
We may be doing some minor tinkering in the meantime, color-wise, so if you see something you like (or something that needs repair), holler!

Hope everyone’s weekend was lovely and filled with the most wonderful of adventures. Share them with me, would you?

ANYWAY, this post is to let you know that Sea Babble is currently under construction. We’re working on a new look for our girl and hopefully in a few days she’ll come out better than ever.

In the meantime, get to bed early so you can get up early with me tomorrow to watch Stephanie Miller on MSNBC at 6 AM Eastern Time (which sadly translates to 3 AM Pacific time, but totally worth it!)

Probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life was chosing my college major after watching Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Anthropology has allowed me to explore so many aspects of learning that I love; culture, history, science, literature, oral tradition and music.
The latter three springing mainly from my newest academic love, Folklore. I’ve been lucky enough to have two outstanding Folklore professors at CSUN and am convinced that if/when I do that whole Master’s/Doctorate thing, it will have to be in folklore. Luckily two of the three best schools in the country for Folklore studies are in the Midwest.

ANYWAY, this semester my Folklore seminar has us writing a final paper on urban legends. So, naturally, before the paper we research.
Loads.

And I came across this urban legend which may be my new favorite.
I guess we can call it Eddie Murphy-lore?

Gisela Klein, 48, was waiting for the elevator to take her to the ground floor of Manhattan’s luxurious Ritz Carlton where she was planning to meet her husband for dinner. As she waited, Eddie Murphy and his bodyguards appeared from their rooms and stood next to her.
Klein was so nerve-wracked by New York’s fearsome reputation as a hotbed of crime that she was convinced the Hollywood superstar and his burly security men were muggers.
When one of the security officers told her to “hit the floor” (as in the button), Klein fell to her knees sobbing and begging for them to spare her. The men were slightly confused but then laughed and helped her off the floor.
When Gisela and her husband later checked out after their week-long stay, they found the highhearted comedian had paid their $3,500 hotel bill in full.
Eddie even left a note for her saying, “Madam, our encounter was one of the nicest and funniest moments in my life. If only all women would fall at me [sic] feet like you did.
“But since you didn’t have as much fun as we had, I have paid your hotel bill for you.”
Signed,
Eddie Murphy

________________________

That being said! Tell me your urban legends for my paper!!! Please! Surely there’s some ghost that walks a road near your house. Or a friend of a friend knows a babysitter that got some menacing phone calls… well, you know the rest.
Let’s hear ‘em kids! Or, if you wanna hear some good ones, I’ve got a couple legends and ghost stories that’ll knock your socks off. Surely.

Look at that hair. Feathered and lethal. You just don’t see it nowadays.

Sweet!

Yep. That’s our Iain.

Reason one million that Chelsea doesn’t like reptiles. Period.

My cousin in Australia, Laurie, has launched her glass company, BeachGecko Glass on the internet. Check it out! There are some truly beautiful pieces!

My bags are (not) packed and I’m (not) ready to go, but I just wanted to take a quick minute to announce my much delayed return to Southern California this evening.

This has been an absolutely awesome trip and has really given me more reasons to stay than I can think of to leave (one being that I gotta finish up that whole school thing. [Don't worry, I miss you all, too]). I’m harvesting a plan right now that might make a lot of things work for the better and would put me Midwested by Mid-June. More details on this later.

This feels right. And as nervous and scared it all makes me, I know that this is going to be better for everything. Right? Right.

Oh, Midwest, you’ve stolen my heart yet again.

(Unrelated note: Aunt Lynn, Brian, Bradley, Grandma and I ate at Hong Kong Buffet (Reason 28392 I’m moving) for lunch today and there was just the most incredible display of Engrish everywhere you looked. It made me smile and laugh, and for the most part I kept it to myself, but it was difficult. Oh, was it difficult.)

A) It’s snowing! Well, I call it snow. Everyone else in the Midwest would probably call it “flurries” but it’s kind of sticking! I think! I took more pictures of the less than one inch of snow than I have taken in my entire trip so far. I’m acting 5 years old and I am okay with that. Hopefully by next winter this whole “weather” thing is old news to me, otherwise I will probably have a lot less friends.

B) I would upload some of these snow pictures… if I weren’t using my Grandma’s computer. Which is brand spankin’ new. It’s very nice. Pretty. Filled with goodies. One of those data port thingers on the front that has a slot for 8 million different memory cards and the 2 USB cables. But running on dial-up. It just seems like such a terrible waste. And it has reminded me how I would imagine dial-up as a punishment for shoplifting in some countries. It’s also forced me to sign onto AOL which I do maybe, maybe, MAYBE once a year. My inbox has 389 e-mails in it. One day, when I’m bored, I may go through these. Maybe I’m sitting on a mountain of unopened e-mails that say I’ve won a bazillion dollars. Or maybe I’m missing out on some good perscription drug deals. The world may never know.

C) My cell phone charger was left in Cincinnati at Aunt Mary’s. So I’ve got dial up and no cell phone. Tonight it looks like we’re gonna party like its 1999. Yay?

D) Apparently I now “knit.” My grandma is teaching me and I am not really learning. It’s not as easy as it seems and I keep making these giant knots that make my grandma say “You know, Chhhhhhhhelsea… you keep making the same mistake.” (Note: I do not see this “mistake.”) My first scarf is going to be this pretty green color that is colored like good veggies, but smells much nicer.
Anyway, maybe my Christmas 2032 you will all have a scarf or mittens. Put in color requests now. First come, first serve!!!!

I think that’s all for now.
New Office tomorrow night!!! I hope Roy keeps his dirty hands off my man. But if he does handle my man, I hope Jim knows I’ll go out and stock up on frozen peas, vanilla ice cream and rent us the entire first season of Good Times or somesing.

Also, according to Aunt Lynn, cousins and Grandma, I need to start working on editing my vocabulary.
(Silena- You’ve earned a few points here. My Aunt called me out on saying “market,” like you always do. She says I have to start saying “store.” See, you’re already better adjusted than I am!)

Happy Pesach to all my Jews out there. I hope you have fun *not* eating bread for the next week and sitting through the longest dinners ever tonight. I don’t mind passover. I think it’s an important holiday and I respect it. But the dinner is way too long for such little payoff. I should sneak a giant french bread under the table. When I have my own family and if we do a dinner on passover, I’m making buffalo wings.

Tonight is the final game in the March Madness (bleeding into April) tournament. I don’t follow college basketball and the only reason I very loosely follow professional basketball is because my dad is always watching it. But what I know about college basketball does not go beyond knowing the names of schools and the ranking number that is next to them on the brackets. But my cousin Brandon has done a great job of setting up the past few years of March Madness family pools. So anyway, I am tied for first and it all comes down to tonight in the The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Florida Gators showdown. Ohio State is my pick and Justin has Florida. If I win I walk away with 32 bucks. I’d love to have that 32 bucks. I will have that 32 bucks. It’s time for Ohio to right the wrong from the Fiesta Bowl (Mitzvah!) and take it to the streets.

So, put on your very best Buckeye costume and cheer for Ohio State for me. Check your local listings. And have a matzo ball while you’re at it.

Eaaat somethin’!

I am 3-ish hours returned from an absolutely lovely day/night in the greater Louisville area and had a truly fantastic time filled with good foods, good laughs and the best peoples. I’m still not ready to eat anything. Cheeseburgers, french fries, sushi, sushi, sushi, eel (!), and banana flavored pancakes. All super good. Thanks to John, the greatest host ever and to Bob, Courtney and Oliver. You were all some of the best company a girl could ask for.

I have to go to a pre-passover dinner tonight at Aunt Mary’s friend Helen’s house. Can’t. Yet. Think. About. Food.

Utterly. Speechless. And. Embarrassed.

Reason 34908234 I’m moving. Far, far away.

Edit: I can’t even express how incredibly awful and terrible and angry this makes me feel. GRRRRR.

Edit 2: No, really. I’m trying to think of something but all that comes through is a bad case of potty mouth.

Edit 3: Depressing.

Lavender! COME ON, PEOPLE!!!
I almost never ever watch, but when I do I usually get my butt kicked puh-rhetty darn bad. It’s refreshing when I get 10% of the questions right. I feel like I have some sort of greater purpose in life.

Anyway, no news to report so far. I really just wanted an excuse to post this picture somewhere.

It’s from a NYT article about facial yoga which is *kind of* interesting. I mostly just find that picture really funny.

And this:
A Darjeeling Limited Update, which has both old and new, somewhat interesting information. Like this:

But there are not that many laughs in The Darjeeling Limited, which in Anderson’s usual quirky style, features talking animals, lost parents and slightly deranged siblings. The brothers believe their father, played by Bill Murray-who went remarkably undiscovered in the two weeks he was shooting in Jodhpur-has been reborn as an albino leopard, and trace their mother to a convent where she teaches poor children.

Talking animals? Bill Murray as a talking animal? Bill Murray as Garfield in a Wes Anderson movie? Oh. Okay. This is the first I’ve heard of Murray, and it is yet to be confirmed on his imdb, but investigative reporting shall commence perhaps later or tomorrow. I’ll let you know. Or you can let me know. (So far my only confirmation is from a Livejournal post that contains the same article.)

Anyway, that’s all I have for you now. It’s time to watch The Guardian. Kevin Costner is bottom of the list for me and Ashton Kutcher is too goofy to be taken seriously sometimes. Should be excellent.

UPDATE: You know what was NOT excellent? The Guardian.

Children, I am so very sorry that I am no good at this blogging business. You must forgive me and my absent minded self. Life has been rather crazy these past few days as this evening I am leaving on a jet plane. And I’m not sure when I’ll be back again. Actually, I do. Sometime next week. But that’s not important now. I’m on the hunt for employment, housing and a potential city I can soon call “home.” Fingers crossed, children. I’m incredibly nervous, very excited and all around an entire rainbow of emotions and energy.

But, for now, I owe you many things.
1. Phriday Foto:
I don’t know how that happened, but it did and I missed a Friday. So I will give you three from last week’s Archaeology session at Anthro/Expo.

Anthro Geeks Erica Jean (The lovely ASA VP and Anthro/Expo coordinator) and Traaacy (Birthday GIRL and my co-chair in planning the ASA Red Rock Archaeology field trip to Las Vegas!!!!!!)

Xenia explains to me how she’s making her obsidian hand axe.

Miss Brittany spins yarn from wool.

All very exciting. All very awesome.

2. My list of biggest fears ever has a new item.
1. Snakes.
2. Sharks.
3. Haunted houses/woods/places.
4. Cat People.

Post to be continued on le airplane. Much to discuss. Much to do.

I love when I forget that one of the funniest things that’s ever been made exists and I re-discover its greatness. I know we’ve all seen it a million times. But let’s see it once more. Watch it again, Sam.

It’s over and that’s all that really matters. I’ve got photos and videos (Including one of Dr. Boxt and Dr. Cohen using the atlatl. Hehehe)
Please excuse my crazy behavior and habits these past few weeks.
Now back to our “regularly” “scheduled” “program.”

Maybe.

Well, at least for a few days.
Thar be travelin’ ahead, kiddies.

In other news, I had a dream last night that I wrote and starred in an episode of The Office. Aside from making out with John Krasinski, twice (Well, once when he was Jim and once when he was John… swoooon), I was hanging out with Michael Scott and I wrote a really funny joke for him in the show. Perhaps the funniest line that he’s ever said on the show. And when I woke up at 3:30 in the morning, in my 3/4 still asleep state, I thought it was hilarious. I even wrote it down. But it’s really unfunny now when I think about it. And for some reason I’ve been thinking about it all day.

Anyway, what’s new with you?

“…To be the best Rickey Henderson that Rickey Henderson can, or will, or want to be, as Rickey Henderson qualifying in a Rickey Henderson-esque type of way…”

When I was born, my great-grandmother (Tata) sent my parents some money. And with that money my dad bought me my first baseball glove, because Tata loved baseball, especially the Yankees, where Rickey Henderson occupied Left Field for four seasons during the 80s. The glove lasted me from about age 4 to 6, but I later upgraded to my favorite baseball player, Darryl Strawberry, because if I remember correctly, I really liked his name. Come to think of it, this is how I formed most of my “favorite athletes” when I was younger. My two favorite basketball players were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (because Kareem sounded like cream cheese to me) and Magic Johnson, because who doesn’t love magic?

And that’s the Rickey Henderson post.

Taken from today’s Daily News:

Beatles Invasion:
So Heather McCartney received $56 million from Paul. Too bad she didn’t take him for every cent he has — because The Beatles were America’s first invasion of internal terrorists.

By singing and selling their double-entendre songs to the limited 1960s mentality that prevailed at the time and by openly taking drugs, these four, lower than low, have brought the United States to where we are today: still trying to combat the plague of these four deadly bugs who infested the minds and bodies of far too many innocent youths who turned into far too many not-so-innocent adults.

-Paul Vaughn
Van Nuys

I thought the “four deadly bugs” line was a nice touch.
You can’t make this kind of stuff up, folks.

Ever use The Google to see if anything good comes up on someone you know?

Everyone, meet Dr. Kerry Noonan. My folklore seminar professor.

(Special thanks to Unpaid Intern Tracy for the link!)

Why do I feel like everyone and their mother has had a visit to the set of The Office except for me?

And this happened to be the next video on my playlist. (Do yourself a favor and hit stop after AC) A) Um… Yummy. B) Future Husband Anderson Cooper’s such a dork. But he’s my dork. And I couldn’t love him more.

Never tell me the odds.

In less than two hours I *may* be 300 million+ dollars richer.

That’s not much time left in the non-millionaires club (I’ll miss you ALL!), but I’ve been thinking long and hard about this and I’ve come up with my plan. After all, it is crucial to know what were going to do with such an important decision, like having a bank account that has a couple extra million sitting in it.

Of course these things all come after retiring the parents, and making sure friends and family are taken care of for as long as they’d like. And donating a gigantic chunk to a charity.

First, we’re all going on va