Today's arbitrary blatherings

So, I'm taking a cooking class tonight. I'm sure this little bit o' news just made the readers that actually know me laugh out loud.

And, in response to the likely question "Dara, why the heck would you take a cooking class when you cook in your apartment like once a month?" my only answer is "Because it was offered."

I'll report back tonight.



In the meantime, I was going to blog about how crappy all of my friends are because no one wanted to go to tomorrow's baseball game with me, but Inbal -- who doesn't even really like baseball -- agreed to go. All things considered, I probably shouldn't have agreed to take 18 games from our season ticket plan, especially since I work more than anyone else. But everyone's on notice: Unless some things change, I am not doing it next year. My schedule is way too unpredictable.



Has anyone else seen this blog yet? I am very impressed by this woman's initiative. I don't know if there is any celebrity I like enough to start a similar endeavor. Maybe David Boreanaz, John Rzeznik, or Brady Anderson, but I don't think my crushes on any of them rise to the right level of obsession. I would, however, like to have dinner with Bono and discuss the state of the world and music. But it wouldn't have to be a date.



As noted previously, Justin arranged for me to get a phonecall from Samuel L. Jackson on Friday. This morning, he called -- and apparently woke -- my brother, and it's a good thing the call was funny, or my brother would have called to yell at me.

Speaking of fake phone calls, did anyone else see the recent item on "the popularity dialer" on BoingBoing?

Have you ever been in a situation where you wished your cell phone would ring? Maybe you wanted to look extra important or popular on that hot date. Or maybe you just needed an excuse to escape from an unpleasant meeting.

With "The Popularity Dialer", you can plan ahead. Via a web interface, you can choose to have your phone called at a particular time (or several times). At the elected time, your phone will be dialed and you will hear a prerecorded message that's one half of a conversation. Thus, you will be prompted to have a fake conversation and will easily fool those around you.

This seems exceptionally useful.



Thanks to Bring it On for pointing out the list of the right wing's 10 most harmful books of the 19th and 20th centuries:

1. The Communist Manifesto


2. Mein Kampf


3. Quotations from Chairman Mao


4. The Kinsey Report


5. Democracy and Education


6. Das Kapital


7. The Feminine Mystique


8. The Course of Positive Philosophy


9. Beyond Good and Evil


10. General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

Why do they keep making these lists?



And finally, via Salon and Perez Hilton, I bring you this little bit of nonsense:

Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks introducing their song "White Trash Wedding" at a recent concert: "We're giving a shout out to Mel Gibson for our next song. Not for any reason in particular. But maybe if I claimed I was drunk on stage when I made my comments a few years ago [about George W. Bush], people might not have been as upset with us."

Having seen the concert on Friday -- which was good, not great -- I think maybe Natalie should quit while she's ahead. And when they change up their set list, they should include more of the older, faster songs -- otherwise the concert gets way too sedate.