Friday, February 27, 2009

Guess Which One Is Which?

Which one is the real thing and which is the doll?


This has got to be the cutest thing I've read all day. Look how cute .. Mr. Flufferbutt owl cuddling with a doll. So cute and sad :*(

Thursday, February 26, 2009

C-c-check It Out: Daily Plate

Sure, it doesn't feel like winter is going to be passing by any time soon. But rather than continuing through hibernation mode (staying indoors, eating like a fattycakes), why not get a head-start in getting back into shape?

Check out The Daily Plate. It helps you keep track of what you eat, and helps you find the ideal calorie consumption per day for yourself, depending on your current weight, height, age, etc.

I've been on it for a few days, as have fellow LiB editors Jorge and Jen. The way I see it (get ready for a nerdy analogy), it's like playing a RPG game .. but it's real life! You have your food ration points, and the benefits?? Your health!

But seriously, I highly recommend people to check it out. And for you iPhone users, you can download the free app to help you keep track of what you eat via iPhone.

Recipe of the Day: Mango Lassi

So the big news this week was that the little-indie-flick-that-could, Slumdog Millionaire, won 8 Oscars, effectively sweeping almost every category it was nominated for. It was technically nominated for 10 awards but was only eligible for 9, cause it was nominated against each other in the Best Original Song category, and you can only have 1 winner. So, you can say it was a sweet sweep. Anyways, in honor of this Indian film outdoing every other American film this year, I present to you one of my favorite Indian foods, the mango lassi. Lassi is like the Indian version of a milkshake, but made with yogurt (and you know how much I LOVE yogurt). Some places make it really sweet, which I don't particularly enjoy, but thanks to Ms. Martha Stewart, I've discovered that it's so easy to make on your own.

I've tried this mango lassi recipe and it's pretty delish. You can alter the amount of honey you put in, so you can make it as sweet or not sweet as you want. Oh, and btw, if I've made it, that means it's like the easiest thing to make and pretty foolproof. Maybe I'll have a Slumdog DVD release party (March) and serve the lassi. Hmmm...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I <3 Lily Allen

I normally don't like my celebrities to be opinionated and speak a lot. I tend to like people for their work or their looks, and I usually like keeping it that way, without needing to know what they're thinking. But, I'm kinda fascinated by the things that come out of British pop star Lily Allen's mouth sometimes. She's crass, she's rude, she's vulnerable, she's honest. And I love that. However, I wouldn't be loving Lily if she was talentless and useless. That, she is not. I fell in love with her debut album, Alright, Still when it was first released in 2006. Playful, pop-y beats mixed with her sweet voice, mixed with her cutting lyrics- GOLD.

Earlier this month, Lily released her long awaited sophomore album, titled It's Not Me, It's You. If you liked her first album, the second is more of the sound that put her on the map. I think she's one of the most ingenius lyricists out there. Like I mentioned above, it's so jarring to hear this sweet voiced girl singing something like... "F**k you very much/Cause we hate/What you do/And we hate/Your whole crew" all set to a melody you'd be humming to your babies. Oh, btw. The song is not about some ex-lover of hers, it's about George Bush. So yeah, dysfunctional men, politics, religion, take your pick. Lily Allen has something to say about all of the above.


I Could Say - Lily Allen

Her current single off the album, The Fear, is a radio friendly song, much more so than the songs off her last album. It's about the craziness of her newfound fame and fortune, and it's kinda fun to hear about her self-reflection of living in the public eye.

The Fear - Lily Allen

And for some old school Lily, her most famous song- Smile.

Smile - Lily Allen

And.. follow Lily on Twitter, or on MySpace.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

100 Songs + 100 Dances + 100 Locations + 100 days = FTW!


BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

Ely Kim, a graduate student in Yale's graphic design program, submitted the above video as an entry for professor Michael Beirut's 100 Days of Workshop project. Ely recorded himself dancing 100 different moves to 100 different songs, in 100 different locations, for 100 days.

See if you can name all 100 songs that he danced to. If not, click to see the full list:

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Freebie of the Day: It's National Pancake Day!

Today is National Pancake Day at iHop!

Go in to any iHop today and get a free order of their short stack (3 pancakes), from 7AM - 10PM.

Nom nom nom.

Does anyone want to grab some pancakes for dinner tonight with me? :P

Friday, February 20, 2009

2009 Academy Awards Predictions

Whether you've entered in a pool or just predicting the winners for fun, part of what makes the Academy Awards fun is seeing which nominees actually end up with the big prize. This year is shaping up to be a bit predictable, because there seems to be a lot of shoo-ins rather than toss ups. But what makes the Oscars so interesting yet so frustrating is that the winners aren't always necessarily the "best," or most qualified work. I would say that it's 50% talent, 25% studio campaigning, and 25% plain ol' politics that determine who the winners are. So, while many of the categories have very clear frontrunners, there is always a big chance of an "upset."

First a little word on the format this year. Instead of the usual comedian hosting the show, the host of this year's Oscars is... People's Sexiest Man Alive, Hugh Jackman. Yeah, I don't know how that is going to play out. It is no secret that the ratings for the Oscars have been slipping in recent years. It didn't help that many of the movies nominated this year are not ones that did excellent at the box office. So in order to lure in viewers, producers have been working overtime to create a new format for the show. What can you expect? 1) They're not releasing the names of presenters this year, to keep it mysterious (I will tell you, Robert Pattinson/Twilight fans, he has been confirmed as a presenter). 2) The Oscars will take on a 'show-within-a-show' theme, with some of the awards/winners playing roles in this theme. Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, the Mamma Mia cast, Beyonce.. They've all been tapped to play a role. And my favorite, director Baz Luhrmann, has been recruited to choreograph a song-and-dance routine. 3) Judd Apatow and his crew have made a short film for the show. What it is no one will say, but as a fan, I am looking forward to it.

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Goodbye Conan ..

Tonight is the very last airing of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Yeah, I said it. Our favorite gangly, red-haired late night host will be movin' on up to Jay Leno's time slot .. and also to the other coast :(

Personally, I've never seen a live taping of Conan. I came really close this once, but the cutoff was RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND MY GROUP OF FRIENDS! Grr. Soo close.

Anyway, I am pretty sad that the East coast will be losing Conan O'Brien. Potential Conan sightings near NBC studios was what made Rockefeller Center worth going to, despite the massive hordes of tourists.

Entertainment Weekly compiled a list of favorite Conan moments. Check them out, laugh, and enjoy (the Mr. T Apple Picking one was hilarious!).

And make sure to catch the last show of Late Night with Conan O'Brien tonight at 12:30AM.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

A New Disney Princess


FINALLY, trying to keep up with the times, Disney will be introducing its first black princess. Princess Tiana will be joining the ranks of Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahantas, and Mulan (whew, there were a lot of Disney Princesses!).

Not joining the ranks of these Disney princesses is Suri Cruise - but you've got to hand it to the kid, she almost made it. Waltzing into Walt Disney World, wearing a Cinderella princess dress and all. I guess Papa Cruise and his paparazzi camera wasn't enough of a distraction for Suri to slip the poison into the real Cinderella's goblet.

Single of the Day: Kanye West - Welcome to Heartbreak


KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

My favorite Kanye song off his new album, which I must say, is not my favorite. The awesome song is set to a dizzying backdrop of scenes, and I don't know how to quite describe it, except that this is what it looks like when you're channel surfing and some of the channels are scrambled. You know what I'm talking about! Apparently Kanye rushed to release the video after he found out another video shot using the same technique was just released. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT ORIGINAL?? Let's not make this a trend people, my eyes hurt. But enjoy the song!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Jury Duty Recap

I reported to jury duty today, and spent a whole lot of hours sitting around, before it got to the good stuff. And the good stuff was only good for like 5 minutes, before I realized it was going to be more hours of sitting around. So, although I did not have to go to work, I did not enjoy my particular jury duty experience all that much. Allow me to explain a bit about the Jury Duty system in Bergen County, just in case you ever get called in.

The day starts bright and early, and you get to sit in a room with 150 other people to fulfill your duty as a citizen. The number of trials scheduled for that day and whether cases are resolved without the need to go to trial or not determine whether they need you on a jury. Thank god I had a magazine, a book, and my trusty iPhone to keep me entertained during all of that sitting around.

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DVD of the Day: High School Musical 3

Who's going to get their copy today? :x

Besides the Twilight DVD (which hits stores next month on March 21st), I've been anticipating the release of High School Musical 3 for a few reasons: a) I missed the first 15 minutes or so when I went to see it in theaters, b) it's my favorite out of the three, and c) I think that Zac Efron is cute :x

Friday, February 13, 2009

WTF: 13 Year old Father?

Um, WTF?

Tell me it's not true: Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13.

First off, what the hell is a 13 year old fetus doing with a 15 year old girl?? And yeah, I know the two year age gap isn't much .. if you're 23 and 25! Or 33 and 35?! WTF, you 15 year old girl!

And to read that their daughter was a product of unprotected sex WHEN THE BOY WAS ONLY 12. Holy cow. Holy freaking cow.

They need to start teaching sex ed a little earlier.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

David After Dentist


More kids should be given sedatives and analgesics if they're going to act like this.

WTF is going on with Joaquin?

Joaquin, Joaquin, Joaquin.

Sure, you have hippie parents. And duh, your brother was River Phoenix. You had to deal with a lot of stuff growing up because of the combination of the two, as well as the unfortunate death of your brother.

But you showed them all. You made a name for yourself. Literally - I mean, your name used to be Leaf!

But now .. WTF is up with you? The nasty hair. The beard. And .. the rapping?

Please say that you are kidding. Because you suck at it. And also .. why? Why, why, why?

It has to be some sort of PR stunt (especially since Casey Affleck is filming your start into your supposed rap career). If not, then dag, son, you are totally losing it.

Blog of the Day: This is Why You're Fat.


In case you're wondering, that is a sloppy joe on a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Enough said. Be prepared to salivate, cringe in disgust, or just be in amazement. Every time I visit the site, I feel like I'm gaining 30 lbs THROUGH MY EYES. It's really like an accident you can't look away from. Enjoy this little bit of food porn, and remember: This is why you're fat.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

on Alex Rodriguez

Kids, there are no such things as heroes, only a few individuals that make you think someday you can be one. Alex Rodriguez was never a hero. He has not been well liked since accepting a 252 million dollar contract to play with the Texas Rangers. A lot of his former teammates don't exactly speak glowingly of him. He cares too much about his image. Fans of his own team boo him.

Yet, now people's anger towards Alex is mixed with a strong dose of disappointment. It seems weird like being upset at Darth Vader for smoking pot. The reason for this disappointment goes beyond Alex's personality. People are angry at Alex because he was baseball's great hope. He was the one who would break all the records that were broken by "dirty" players. Now, he's one of them.

Should you really be surprised? It's not the 40 and 50 home runs per season, steroids or not he's always had the ability to do that. The one consistent part of Alex's personality is that he tries too hard. He tries too hard to be liked, tries too hard to fit in, tries too hard to be great. Steroids were widespread in the game at that time and he felt it would give him an edge. Little did we know back then how it would all play out. Fans look at steroids now as everything that's wrong with baseball, but the truth is that steroids saved baseball. After the player's strike in 1995 baseball was struggling to regain fans. Then came 1998's home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and everyone fell in love again. I think we all knew what was going on. These guys looked like linebackers not baseball players. Who cared? Games were finishing 10-9 with 4 or 5 homers per game. The stadiums were filled, TV contracts were signed, and revenues went through the roof. We all knew, but nobody wanted to admit it.

Fast forward to 2009. Alex Rodriguez took steroids. Should you be that surprised? He's no hero, but he's no villain either. He's just a baseball player. What's sad about this is that Alex probably didn't even need the steroids. He's won two MVPs since MLB instituted a steroid testing policy including one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history in 2007. In a couple of months Yankee fans will only care about one thing; a World Series. They know if that's going to happen they'll need A-Rod to play well. If he does, they'll forgive him. If he doesn't, they'll get creatively mean. I don't know what can be taken away from this mess. I guess Mr.T said it best, "Just Say No."

Katherine Heigl needs to go, stat.

News broke yesterday that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight might possibly probably leave Grey's Anatomy. I don't really care about that because I don't watch Grey's anymore. But, I care about this because I just want to say, GOOD GOD, JUST LEAVE ALREADY! Jesus Christ. I have never seen anyone in Hollywood whine as much as Katherine Heigl has. Holy shiznitz, lady. I know, I've talked about this before. And I swear, this is the last time I'll talk about it. But it really pisses me off that all she's been doing, since she has been in the spotlight, is complain, complain, complain, and butt in where she doesn't belong. Everytime an actor has a personal life that is full of drama, I can't help but think, has no acting coach ever taught them to be a blank slate? It's hard enough to take on a character and have people be absorbed in your portrayal of said character, but doesn't that become much harder when people know you so well from your life outside of acting? All this whining and complaining and talking has gotten on my nerves, and I think Katherine needs to drop off the face of the earth now.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Site of the Day: F My Life (FML)


I love acronyms (FTW!). And good website. And sometimes a glass of scotch. (haha, sorry, I couldn't resist)

F My Life is an awesome site where people can anonymously post a few sentences about events in their life that have led them to the intertwining conclusion: f*ck my life (FML).

Sure, they're probably not even all real scenarios. But it doesn't stop me from read through them and laughing.

My favorite one goes as followed:
Today, my girlfriend dumped me proclaiming she wanted someone more like her "Edward". I asked her who Edward was. She held up a copy her "Twilight" book. She was talking about a fictional vampire. FML.

Edward Cullen FTW!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Grammys Wrap Up!


Nothing much to say about the Grammys except:

* Jason Mraz got ROBBED! I would've been ok with him losing to pretty much everyone else in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category but John Mayer. I have nothing against John Mayer. I just think the song he was nominated and won for, Say, is his worst. You will remember I'm Yours years from now, Say, not so much.

* M.I.A. should get a T-shirt printed up... "I performed at the Grammys on my due date and all I got was this lousy shirt." Girlfriend looked uber cute and uber preggers performing with the "Rap Pack" (Jay-Z, T.I.,Kanye West, Lil Wayne). I was afraid she was going to pop on stage - according to the CBS' exec VP of specials and live events, she went into contractions when the show went live at 8pm. The producers asked her to hang on till' 10pm, when she was set to perform, and she did. =P

* Adele for Best New Artist!! Most deserving out of everyone else in that category. I would've cried if the Jonas Brothers won. But, to their credit, they did put on a hot performance of Burnin' Up and Superstition with Stevie Wonder.

* Chris Brown is in deep doodoo for allegedly smacking up his girlfriend Rihanna. They were both scheduled to perform at the Grammys but pulled out of the show because of the arrest/attack. I'm a bit mad at Chris, because yes, beating up your girlfriend is a major nono, but honestly, I was looking forward to seeing Rihanna perform Live Your Life/Disturbia. Poop. Idk what to think of this whole thing. The fallout has already begun, with Wrigley's suspending their Doublemint campaign with Chris Brown until the mess is cleared up.

*And I give you...the best performance of the evening.

Friday, February 6, 2009

25 Random Things

You've all seen it, written it, and talked about it by now. 25 Random Things About Me. This "phenomenon" has been spreading like WILDFIRE on the wonderful world of facebook, and it's even caught the eye of the NYTimes, who did an article on it. The rules are simple. Come up with 25 random things about yourself, and "tag"/send to 25 people who you think will want to read it. They read it, and learn more about you, and then they go and write their own 25 list. Simple enough, right?

This is like a re-emergence of a many chain letters back in the day, but I don't think I've ever seen anything take off in the way this 25 random things has. Facebook reports that over 5 million notes have been created last week alone, most of it having to do with this list. So what is it about this particular thing that has people writing in droves? I normally hate things like this, but after reading and being tagged by a couple of people, I found it really entertaining to read about people's quirks. Yes, it takes away from having a face-to-face convo with someone and learning about their interesting (or not so interesting) personality in person, but isn't that what facebook and the Internet is about anyway? Personal from a distance? Honestly, there is something fun about this exercise in self-evaluation, sitting down and really thinking about what you are willing to let people know about yourself. I for one, had a really hard time coming up with my 25, just cause I wanted to be entertaining for the audience but not too TMI, informative and interesting without sounding like I'm da' bomb in any way.

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Artist of the Day: James Morrison

I had the privilege of seeing the very hot very talented James Morrison last night at the Highline Ballroom. This was awesome for a variety of reasons, one of which being he tours Europe a lot, but stateside, not so much. Now, I've been to a looooot of shows, but I have to say, the James Morrison show was my best "seat" ever. Ever. I put seats in quotes cause we were technically standing, but we were standing right in front of the stage. A) My neck hurt from staring up at him, B) There was no need to excessively zoom in to get a good shot of him from my camera, and C) I was afraid I was going to get hit by a spray of spit everytime he sang. Does that give you an idea of how close we were to him??

Anyways, James Morrison is so cute and so good live. He has a really husky voice that works so well in his heartbreaking songs. He's released 2 albums so far, his debut Undiscovered, and his latest effort- Songs For You, Truths For Me. He played songs from both albums, and it was so awesome when everyone started singing along to the favorites. Great stuff.

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Etta James is Pissed! (Who is Etta James?)

If you're angry and you know it diss the President and Beyonce. Etta James is really angry. James, the 4 time Grammy Award winner, took a shot at both President Barack Obama and Beyonce, who played James in the movie Cadillac Record. The verbal slap down occurred during a concert in Seattle a few days ago.

James said, "You guys know your President, right? You know the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my President, he might be yours, he ain't my President. You know that woman he had singing for him, singing my song - she's going to get her a*s whipped. "The great Beyonce. I can't stand Beyonce! She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' President day, singing my song that I've been singing forever."

At last. An angry old woman. Neither the White House nor Beyonce has commented on the matter.

Barney Stinson = Awesome

I love How I Met Your Mother. Sure, not all people will love it. But if there's one thing to take from watching it, it's that Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris) is awesome.

Need proof? Check out Barney Stinson's Video Resume:

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Headline That Made Me Want To KMS

This morning, whilst scanning through my usual RSS feeds, CNN managed to throw another news curveball my way, by means of a catchy headline: Surgeons remove healthy kidney through donor's vagina.

Um, first off OUCH! Secondly, the article contains many WTF moments:

-"Removing the kidney through a natural opening should hasten the patient's recovery and provide a better cosmetic result," Montgomery said. (cnn.com)
Cosmetic result?? What does that even mean? OUCH!

-"If you asked our patient, she said it was like getting a tooth removed." (cnn.com)
OWWW! What a horrible analogy. Let me go die now.

*Writer's note: KMS = kill myself

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Reason #47382 I hate Miley Cyrus

Do I even need to explain this?

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Crush of the Day: 구준표/Gu Joon Pyo

As mentioned in my previous post, I am OBSESSED with 꽃보다 남자 (Boys Before Flowers/Boys Over Flowers). One of the best comic books ever written (well, at least for girls), and the Korean adaptation of it is sweeping the nation (of Korea, and Korean-populated areas of the states).

I saw episode 9 of the series last night, and it FINALLY happened. 구준표/Gu Joon Pyo and 금잔디/Geum Jan Di kissed!

Anyway, my current crush is 구준표/Gu Joon Pyo, who is played by 이민호/Lee Min Ho. Sure, the actor himself is pretty hot and TALL, but let's focus on the character of 구준표/Gu Joon Pyo here! After all, we can obsess over the actor all we want, but in a girl's eyes, the character of 구준표/Gu Joon Pyo is what makes us swoon.

I would elaborate more, but I don't want to ruin certain events from the drama for our readers! But seriously, watch it. You'll be swooning over him in no time. Minus the weird wave perm, that is .. but trust me, that'll grow on you, too :)