The Westing Game

Easily one of my favorite books when I was a kid was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Thanks to my favorite blog, Jezebel, I was reminded of the true awesomeness of this book. If you don’t remember the plot, Jezebel gives a really good synopsis. It basically is a really confusing and witty mystery about a group of people that live in a luxury high-rise apartment complex and how their lives are intertwined. It’s genius.

I’m so desperate to read it again that I’m considering buying a copy on eBay. I stole a copy from my elementary school back in the day and now I can’t find it. Ugh.

Does anyone else remember this book?

last KU post, I swear

The whole crew watching the KU vs. Memphis game. Thanks Zach and Range Life Records for documenting this momentous occaision!

KU National Champions!!!!

On Monday, my beloved KANSAS JAYHAWKS beat Memphis in the NCAA Basketball Championship game, 75-68. These past two days have been the most amazing days to be a Jayhawk and to be living in Lawrence, KS.

 

 

 

There were over 40,000 people celebrating our victory in Lawrence on Monday. I was amongst the crowd. It was beautiful.

Claudia Kishi: Fashion Idol

I have always been into fashion. While my current fashion icons range from Anita Pallenberg to Kate Moss to Oscar Wilde and even (admittedly) the dreaded Olsen Twins, my first and most important fashion icon was Claudia Kishi.





Claudia, as some of you may remember, was a member of the Babysitters Club. She was Asian, a quirky fashionista, a bad speller, and BFF with the other cool member of the BSC, Stacey McGill.

 She was the shit.

I remember reading Ann M. Martin’s descriptions of Claudia’s outfits and thinking “Oh wow, Claudia is sooooo cool.” What can I say, I was eight years old and a huge nerd.  But Claudia seriously took fashion risks. Granted, it was the 80s, and there were a lot of nasty fashion trends that she and the rest of the BSC participated in (stirrup pants, rolled socks, side ponytails, tie-dye, white overalls, etc).

Still, she always was wearing the craziest getups, and they all sounded awesome.  She was known for her wild accessories: bird hair clips,  mismatched earrings, t-shirts as dresses (belted, naturally), multi-colored hair, polka-dot tights, SPANDEX, purple high-tops. She once envisioned a whole outfit to appear like a head-to-toe WATERMELON. Claudia was brilliantly ahead of her time. Especially since she was a middle-schooler. 

Here’s one of my favorite descriptions of a Claudia Kishi ensemble, from the brilliant website What Claudia Wore 


“That afternoon, for instance, I was wearing a man’s paisley vest I’d found at a yard sale, over a striped button-down shirt with tuxedo-stripe black Spandex stirrup pants, held up with pink-flecked black suspenders. My hair was pulled straight back with a paisley comb, and I was wearing electric-pink ankle boots. The boots really set off the formality of the rest of the outfit, sort of like the punchline of a joke. I think you can tell a lot about people from the way they dress. If you saw me, you might think: artistic, fun-loving, good sense of humor. At least I hope you’d think that.”


Ah. She was so fierce.  


If you want more of a trip down memory lane, visit the BSC Headquarters.


Who was your favorite member of the Babysitters Club?

OMIGOD KU FINAL FOUR!!!!

HELLZ YEAH! I’m wasted right now and celebrating my beloved KU JAYHAWKS!!!! We’re going to the Final Four baby and we’re going to kill evil North Carolina. I LOVE YOU JAYHAWKS.

 

March Madness, baby! 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Blogs

I’m always finding new blogs and websites to waste my time on at work. My all-time number one favorite blog is Jezebel, which always posts interesting and controversial topics dealing with women’s issues, a unique take on celebrity and magazine culture, politics, the reality tv we all love, the random gossip tidbit or two, and lots of topics that deal with relationships, sex, men, and health issues. It’s never boring and always informative.

I recently discovered the blog Beyonceitis, which I literally roared with laughter while reading. It basically analyzes the effect of the overexposed, quadruple threat known as Beyonce Knowles, and how her career has squashed all other female entertainers of the last few years. That’s the gist, but the site is soooooo funny. I’m not a Beyonce hater, but you have to admit, her persona is very easy to make fun of and she is a little bit overexposed these days. Don’t even get me started on her “Upgrade U” DirectTV ad.

Last week I was listening to NPR while drinking my latte in my Toyota Prius, driving home from the natural food co-op…..er….maybe not, but last week I was actually listening to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” on the way home from work and they interviewed the guy who created the blog Stuff White People Like. He started it a little more than a month ago and it’s already had over 5 million visitors. The reason why? It’s fun for white people to make fun of themselves! The site doesn’t revisit the tired stereotyping of rural, good-old-boy, NASCAR loving, moonshine drinkin white folks, but the Latte Drinking Rich Liberal kind. I must say, about 3/4 of the list applies to myself, my boyfriend, my family, and a lot of people in my social circle. And I think it’s hilarious. It’s also a good way to waste a boring afternoon at work.

Makeup Alley gives thousands of reviews of makeup, perfume, skin care products, hair care, and anything beauty related. I’ve never been much into makeup or knowledgeable about beauty routines, so the user revirews and ratings are really helpful in finding products that actually HELP rather than just waste my hard-earned $$$$$.

R.I.P Buddy Miles

Buddy Miles died today at the age of 60. He was born in Omaha, NE and was in two very memorable groups in the 60s & 70s, Band of Gypsy’s (with Jimi Hendrix) and The Electric Flag. He also played drums on a few Monkees tracks, and appeared in their television show 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee with his band The Buddy Miles Express. R.I.P.