Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Mc"Crap"fe (Yeah, Yeah, I Know...)

The McDonald's between 16th and 18th St. on Blue Island

So the McDonald's by my house is finally installing the espresso machine in their "McCafe" corner of the restaurant. For the record, I hate McDonald's but when the grocery store is closed and I'm craving soda or sweet tea at 10 p. m., Mickey D is the only way to go. Or dollar sundaes, unless their ice-cream machine is broken, which has happened wayyyyy too many times this last year (There's something wrong here when McD doesn't have ice-cream on the hottest day of the year). So, this particular McDonald's is notorious for fucking up the simplest order, and don't even dream of modifying anything, the cashier will get this blank look on her face and start malfunctioning, being the robot that she is. Although I must admit, they're getting a little better at customer service but I mean, come on, it's fucking McDonald's, right, what is there to fuck up? An espresso drink, of course!
So I'm just waiting to see how long it will be before they start messing up my coffee. Cos if they can screw up a simple breakfast order, they sure as hell will fuck up an espresso drink!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Dapper Dans

Girls would like boys more if they dressed like these specimens.




Via Kickette

Couldn't resist adding that pic of Pep Guardiola!! He's always so dapper!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Funny Moment In History

Rahm Emanuel's response to being razzed by former colleagues at the inauguration...brilliant!!

Frozen!

The Chicago River looked awesome this afternoon. It sorta looked like this:

Friday, January 16, 2009

As Goode As It Gets



Um, hello!! Just sayin'.

Be Careful Out There, Chicago

The cab I was in was in a 3-car pile-up on Dan Ryan (go figure, I didn't want to stand around in the -30 degree weather waiting for a freaking bus and I ended up hanging around while the coppers went round getting everyone's statements etc.) I am thankfully okay, just pissed off since I have to get up way early for work tomorrow. Yeah, it's that kind of night, so if you're driving the next couple of days, please be careful!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Craving!

It's blizzarding outside but somehow I still want a hot fudge sundae or banana split. Am I crazy?

Whiteout!!




I believe we've had more snow that we did last year...and we're facing the coldest weather in 10 years. Damn you global warming!

My Family And Other Animals


Sometimes all you want to do is watch tv in bed, especially when it's like minus 50 degrees outside. Which is fine, except I chose to watch the second part of Masterpiece Classic's Tess of the D'Urbervilles (now there's a depressing adaptation!) which left me, well, slightly depressed. But flipping through the channels, I came across another made-for-tv movie on another PBS channel, 2005's My Family And Other Animals, a complete 180 from "Tess". I recall watching the movie quite a while ago, what caught my attention was the delectable Matthew Goode, playing Larry Durrell. He was of course, in Match Point, last year's movie remake of Brideshead Revisited, he was Inspector Lynley's heroin-addicted brother Peter in the Inspector Lynley Mysteries and he will also be in the upcoming Watchmen. I have a bit of a crush on him, I suppose, watching him present Masterpiece Contemporary...(those lips...yummy).

Mmmmmatthew Goode

But going back to the comedy-drama..My Family And Other Animals is adapted from Gerald Durrell's witty memoir recalling his dysfunctional family's move to sunny Corfu in the months leading up to World War II. The family comprised the widowed mother, Larry, a budding avant-garde writer, Leslie a gun-obsessed sportsman, Margot, whose preference for two-piece swimsuits caused quite a stir on the quiet island, and Gerald, who's 10. Durrell, a well-known zoologist, naturalist and writer recalled how this move to Corfu ignited his passion for nature and animals.

I love this movie, it's funny and heartwarming. Brilliant script too, I find myself giggling throughout the movie, with lines like these:

Larry Durrell: Why do we put up with this bloody climate? I mean, look at us: Gerry can't speak,
Gerald Durrell: Uh?
Larry Durrell: Lesley can't hear.
Leslie Durrell: What?
Larry Durrell: Margot's got a face like a plate of red porridge.
Margot Durrell: Shut up.
Larry Durrell: Mother's beginning to look like an Irish washerwoman.
Mother: I am not.
Larry Durrell: It's August. We need sunshine.
Mother: Yes, dear.
Larry Durrell: Now, I've got a friend lives in Greece - Corfu. Says it's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go?
Mother: I can't just go like that. We have a house here.
Larry Durrell: We'll sell up.
Mother: Don't be ridiculous, Lawrence. Gerry needs an education.
Gerald Durrell: No, I'll be fine.
Mother: We can't just up and leave; that would be madness.

In addition, Corfu looks brilliant, and I found myself wishing I lived there! Picnics on the beach, fresh air, sunshine all year round! Definitely better than Chicago this time of year.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Feast Your Eyes On This, Bitches!!


Yes, check out my new 80,000 pound, diamond-studded Hermes bag, bitches!! What, you don't have one? Too-effing-bad!! It 's only nearly a week's pay for David, no big deal. There are only three of these in the world, and I will have to kill whoever owns the other two. Diamonds, everywhere!! I have a Birkin in every color, so why not diamond-studded too?? I'm single-handedly keeping Hermes afloat with all these purchases, aren't I? Aren't I?? Huh, haters.



Source: dailymail.co.uk

Meh


Pardon the silence eh, but I'm a bit sick at the mo'. Just lounging on the couch with a book "The Reluctant Queen" and some hot tea (and watching reruns of 'Lost'). I'll be back soon!!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Ten Favorite Books of 2008


Here they are in no particular order..I've read a lot of them at least twice..yeah I'm weird like that. They're not necessarily published in 2008, but most of them were published at least in the last ten years.

Careless In Red by Elizabeth George: The much anticipated EG book dealing with Inspector Lynley's life after the death of Helen Clyde. I skipped the book before it, What Came Before He Shot Her as it didn't really deal with Lynley. I also recommend the brilliant With No One As Witness...

Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde: The fifth Thursday Next novel. Friday is now a teenager and Thursday has to convince him to join the ChronoGuard to save the world. This is the first of a four-part series...I cannot wait for the next book!!

A Rose For The Crown by Anne Easter Smith: The fictional account of one Kate Haute, thought to be the mistress of Richard of Gloucester (later Richard III), the last Plantagenet king. (Interesting fact: Richard III was the last English king to die in battle).

The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris: The continuation of Chocolat. Vianne and Anouk are in Paris with an evil presence between them. Full of magic. But I can't taste the chocolate in this book. I could in Chocolat.

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir: The fictionalized story of Lady Jane Grey "The Nine Day Queen". Yes, she gets beheaded in the end. At 16.

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory: The story of Henry VIII's fourth and fifth wives, Anne Of Cleves And Katherine Howard. (Do you know how to memorize how all his wives fared? Easy...Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, lived!)

Chasing Shakespeares by Sarah Smith: The story of two scholars searching for the real Shakespeare, revolving around the theory of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford as the author of Shakespeare's plays.

The Courts Of Love by Jean Plaidy: The story of Eleanor Of Aquitaine, her crazy husbands and equally crazy kids. Plaidy kept mentioning hair shirts when talking about Thomas Becket, which drove me nuts!

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer: My favorite author since forever. Art theft is at the heart of this book. I also recommend his books As The Crow Flies and Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less.

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore: Classic CM complete with clueless angels, zombies and crazy townspeople on the eve of Christmas. And a talking bat. I highly, highly recommend the brilliant Lamb, The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, one of my all-time favorite books.

Crap, ten books already?? As you can see I was quite into the Tudor time period especially towards the end of the year, and the books mentioned above are all fiction. I don't do so well with non-fiction or self-help. So over chick-lit. I wish Peter Mayle would come out with another book on Provence. I'm also resolving to read more Irvine Welsh.

So, these are some of my favorite books of 2008. Can anyone recommend other good books?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Just The Right Kind Of Soggy

I have had this hankering for Italian beef for about a week now, and only today did I act on it. Bundled up in my warmest jacket, two hoodies, two pair of gloves, a thick woolen scarf, two pairs of socks, a legwarmer and canvas shoes, I and Mr. Bex (who had wisely put on an aviator-style hat thing) braved the bitter cold on this first day of the new year and headed downtown to Portillo's for a bite. It had been ages since we went there last, sometime early last year perhaps, and I don't think I've had better Italian beef elsewhere. I hear there's a place on Taylor Street that has amazing Italian beef, but we'll get to that some other time, preferably when the weather warms up enough for me to come out of the house and actually visit said establishment to test-drive the Italian beef.

Anyhow, I digress. I was just glad to be inside again, out of the cold and howling wind. The place was crowded, but not crowded enough for me to wait in line to order a regular Italian beef with hot peppers and a small soda. Mr. Bex passed on the Italian beef and instead chose a salad! The last time we ordered the Italian beef sandwiches, we accidentally ordered a couple of HUGE ones, which were 50% bigger than the regular-sized (8 inch?) ones and had to take home doggie bags. Trust me, the regular-sized sandwich is more than enough!

Mr. Bex ordering a salad.

Normally I dislike soggy sandwiches, as they are hard to eat and fall apart in your hands and are messy, but my Italian beef had just the perfect level of sogginess to it, the giardiniera peppers were hot but not overwhelmingly so, and the beef itself was sliced so paper-thin that you can almost see through it...and like I said, it was piled on. Great sandwich!

It looks scary, but it's awesome!!!!!


Hmmmm...Italian beef......

I'm afraid I made a pig of myself, haha.


Mr. Bex is stronger than me, he got a Pecan Chicken Salad and garlic bread instead of all that red meat and hot peppers.

I made short work of the sandwich, and it was good. But next time I'll order it with cheese!

Sunshine On A Fall Day

Click photo for deets

She looks warm...and what a cute yellow bag!!! Great find!! Via Face Hunter