Nerd Test

Take the Nerd Test.

For the record -- and for all you naysayers out there who doubted the last test results -- my nerdiness result is:

"Not nerdy, but definitely not hip."

Stuff in my head

I'm writing, but I should be sleeping. Too many thoughts are in my head to sleep.

Let me begin by stating that I've been down in the doldrums for quite some time. All work and no play will do that to a girl.

I dragged Inbal to go with me to visit some of my family, and in the car on the way back tonight, we were talking and I started put it all into words -- but unfortunately, the words didn't stop when I got out of the car.

The gist of it is that I think I've been going about it all wrong. Everything. For years.

A million years ago -- or back in high school -- I wanted to do something creative. Write, draw, make movies, stuff like that. And despite studying abroad and taking art history classes, somehow along the way I wound up pre-law. Even then, I thought I'd do something noble, like working for a non-profit, or maybe being a public defender, or whatever.

Now I'm a tax lawyer.

(Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

So now I'm left wondering how I wound up so far afield of where I thought I was going.

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarterlife crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul
--John Mayer, Why Georgia

It's just starting to dawn on me that maybe I'm following a path that someone else set for me. And that I'm scared of not being successful. And for some reason, I've been equating success with money.

That's wrong, isn't it?

And if it is, how do I fix it?

Now I'm wondering if this is really some kind of quarterlife crisis. Although, I think I prefer Douglas Coupland's term "mid-twenties breakdown," but I'm no longer in my twenties, and quite frankly, I'm not likely to quit my real job, move out to California, and take a McJob just yet.

Today's random music

These are the random songs I listened to on my morning commute. Last week, I listed five random songs; this week I'll list six -- but only because the last one is U2. Here they are, in order:

• A Lifetime, Better than Ezra
  I can't believe this song wasn't a hit. It's so perfectly nostalgic.

• Cold Hard Bitch, Jet
  I really liked this song when I first heard it. Now I'm kind of over it. Meh..

• Trees, Marty Casey
  The runner-up on last year's Rock Star. I really liked him, but agree that he's not as good a fit for INXS as J.D. When I was up in Chicago a couple weeks ago, there were signs plastered all over the place for some concert/festival he was playing at up in Wisconsin.

• Boys Don't Cry, the Cure
  This was the first Cure song that I ever heard. It's what, 30 years old now? Still an amazing, amazing song.

• Don't Bother, Shakira
• Yeah, Shakira. I'm not really a giant fan, but this is a great song. It's about jealousy. The lyrics are good, and she delivers it like someone who knows what she's talking about. Not that I buy it for a second.

• Beautiful Day, U2
  My favorite band; not one of my favorite songs. Still, it's U2, so by definition, it's better than most. Plus, this is a live version, from the U2 Go Home: Live at Slane Castle DVD. The song is upbeat, about seeing the beauty and wonder in things even when they're not perfect. It's certainly a good way to start the day.

Things to read today

• Slate's article on applying the game theory to the Israel-Lebanon conflict is one of the most interesting things I've read all week. And I read a lot.

• Yesterday, the Washington Post had an article about Orthodox Jews allying themselves with the Republican party. Believe me, I definitely get the pro-Israel thing, but who'd have thought that they'd be aligning themselves with Rick Santorum? Blech.

• Did you catch the story yesterday about the starved 9-year-old girl found locked up and wearing a diaper? Weird story as it is, but it just gets weirder at the end:
  

  LaFountain was originally described by police as Samoraj's live-in boyfriend, but the gender classification at the jail was changed from male to female following a routine strip search, Pinellas sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said.

• The Newark Bears are hosting a special promotion tonight: It's Britney Spears Baby Safety Night. This is the first time I've ever wanted to go to Newark. (Well, not really, since I have Dixie Chicks tickets tonight.)

• Yesterday, there were some comments addressing Jason's question about favorite albums, and what albums you say are your favorite to seem cool. So, today, this list of uncool songs its okay to admit you love seems markedly on point. (Source: Celebritology) And for those keeping track, the only ones I actually do kind of like are "More than a Feeling" and "Rebel Yell."
  

Redesign

Unless you're blind, you can probably see the redesign. (And if you are blind, how the heck are you reading this?)

Anyway, what do y'all think?

Bitching and moaning

It's FOAD Thursday. But I haven't had any serious gripes since the original post. Maybe it's the scotch.

But I do have three minor complaints that don't quite merit a "FOAD."

1. For those that are living under a rock, this blog has a site meter. Therefore, if you're reading this blog, I can figure it out. And, if you're my ex-boyfriend, why are you bothering? Give a girl some space!

2. How come no one signs the friggin' guest book? The questions are fun, dammit!

3. Grammar. This is a pet peeve. For your convenience, here's a quick lesson:

"It's" and "Its" are not interchangeable, and neither are "you're" and "your." Moreover, at this point y'all should know the difference between "their," "there" and "they're."

"It's" is a contraction meaning "it is."
"Its" is a possessive pronoun.
"You're" is a contraction meaning "you are."
"Your" is a possessive pronoun.
"Their" is a possessive pronoun.
"There" indicates a place.
"They're" is a contraction of "they are."

Got it? Good.

I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly...

We just had a scotch tasting at work.

Seriously.

Turns out I like the stuff - well, at least the good stuff. Who knew?

For a minute, I was seriously considering going out and buying a $200+ bottle. Now I'm over it.

Sarcasm? Me? Never.

Had a lunch; no time to write.

Here's a quiz -- How sarcastic are you?

My results:

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny. Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it. And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitutde, then too bad. So sad.

How Sarcastic Are You?

Go figure.

Reality tv update

Ryan got the encore on Rock Star tonight, but other than Jill being in the bottom three, my picks were totally off. Although, how the hell was Zayra safe? People must be deaf. I kind of feel bad for Dana. Her performance was really, really good tonight, and she still had to go home.

As far as I'm concerned, the only contestants who still deserve to be there are Magni, Dilana, Storm, and Toby. Maybe Ryan, after this week, if he can keep it up. At the beginning, I really liked Patrice, but I thought she was the worst of the three tonight, and she should have gone home. Zayra and Josh are so wrong for the band, in completely different ways. Lukas just annoys me. And Jill looks -- and usually sounds -- like a leftover from Vixen.

Meanwhile, on Project Runway, everyone was right about Keith going home; just no one got the reason right.

Why would someone that talented feel the need to cheat by keeping pattern books? It doesn't make any sense. And, because it's apparently backwards day, Angela actually won the challenge. Although, I have to admit, her design turned out really well.

Clearly, I need to get over this reality tv fixation and find something else to do with my Wednesday nights.

"Ask Dara Anything" has been fun. I think I'm going to post it on the sidebar, so that people can keep asking me questions as they arise. Although, at tax time, it might be a bad idea.

Question time

No one's leaving me shiny new comments today. What's up with that? Did I offend everyone by blogging about Israel?* Is everyone in a heat-induced coma?

Well, wake up, damn it!

To amuse me -- er, you -- for the rest of the day, let's play a little game called "Ask Dara anything."

Go ahead. Ask me a question. Seriously, anything. And I'll answer it.



*Apparently, my Israel post got mentioned by Slate. Who knew?

Crazy from the heat

It was so friggin' hot in my apartment last night that I couldn't fall asleep. Now I'm tired and grumpy. And I can't think of anything good to write.

Did anyone else catch Rock Star last night? Because I was out watching tennis, I recorded it, and was planning on watching later in the week -- but because I couldn't sleep, I stayed up to watch. I have to say, Ryan's performance of "Losing My Religion" was awesome. Don't believe me? Watch for yourself:



My prediction for the bottom 3: Jill, Zayra, and Lukas. Going home: Should be Zayra, but will probably be Jill.

And check out the real reason that Phil went home instead of Zayra last week:




And, on an unrelated topic, check out this awesomely silly video.



Of course this came from Weingarten's chat.

Tennis, anyone?

So, after all the seriousness I inadvertently started earlier today, it was time for a little levity. Thanks to my place of employ, I got tickets to attend the Legg-Mason tennis tournament this evening.

Tennis is way more fun to watch in person. But it was hot as Hades outside. And, of course, I got to see Andre Agassi lose in an early round. It was kind of sad. I remember watching him first start out when I was in high school. Alas, now we're both old.

Here are my very bad -- and very small -- cameraphone pictures:





Agassi didn't play all that well, but showed some flashes of his old self -- particularly when he threw a racket.

I think Jimmy Carter is wrong

I know this is going against everything I generally stand for, but I think Jimmy Carter is wrong, and {gulp} the Bush administration is closer to being right on the Israel-Lebanon conflict.*

If the U.S. can invade Afghanistan to eliminate al Qaeda, why can't Israel do the same thing in Lebanon in order to remove Hezbollah? Israel constantly has to defend itself from religious extremists who will not be stopped until Israel no longer exists. No matter how many times peace has been negotiated, the terrorists eventually resume their intifada. So, Olmert is completely right to want a different kind of ceasefire.

What Carter is proposing is essentially, "Give them what they want and maybe they'll go away." It hasn't happened before; why would things be different now?

Accordingly, the only response left is to do whatever is necessary to eliminate Hezbollah and, if necessary, Hamas.** Oh, while they're at it, stop Syria and Iran from supporting and arming these terrorist groups. Any backing down now is a sign of weakness, which undoubtedly will be exploited.



Alright, I said it. So, go ahead, give me shit for it. You're not going to change my mind.



*I did not say that they were right. I just think they're a little bit closer.
** I pretty much agree with the Omnipotent Poobah at Bring it On. I don't think Israel is without fault. And I understand that a lengthy war is ultimately going to make things worse. But there is no way that Israel can just go back to business as usual. The aim of the terrorists -- and their sponsors -- is the annihilation of the State of Israel; there is no negotiating with that.

Contextual Recognition

I meant to write about this on Saturday, but I got distracted by watching movies.

On Friday night, I attended a firm-sponsored event in one of the outlying Virginia suburbs, and then went out with some of my coworkers to a bar in the Farragut North-Dupont Circle area. The bar was really loud and smoky and crowded, as expected, and because I drove, I wound up having one drink and then heading back home at about 1:30.

Anyway, when I first got there, I was standing outside with a couple of people, waiting for some of the others to meet up with us from down the street. They walked up to us, and one of the guys said "Dara? I know you!"

I wasn't really paying attention, so at first I'm like, duh, you're one of the summer associates working for my firm. But I looked at him, and he wasn't with us. And I recognized him, but I didn't remeber from where.

He introduced himself, just as I was making the connection. He was a friend of one of my friends -- someone that I occasionally played poker with. I had even been to his house before. I asked if he knew the summers -- since he walked up with them at the same time -- but it turns out that it was just a coincidence that he walked up at the same time.

Of course I was bothered by the whole incident, because apparently, not all of my synapses were firing correctly. I'm generally really good with names and faces, and until this week, I don't think I ever had one of these episodes where I didn't recognize someone out of their usual context. I hope this isn't one of those "getting older" things. I mean, I'm only thirty.

So, my question is whether this has ever happened to anyone else? And if so, were you embarrassed by it?

Identity theft . . .

. . . or something like it.

So, I'm reading the WaPo Express's article about the design of the new metro cars, and after looking at the pretty pictures, I scroll down to post a comment, and lo and behold, I find comment #2:

I don't understand where (short) people (like me) are supposed to hold on, if standing in the aisle? It seems like there are no convenient handrails?
Posted by dara July 31, 2006 04:24 PM

Apparently, not only is there a second Dara in D.C., but she's also short -- and she stole my friggin' comment.*

I am very unnerved.


*If it was really me, I would have linked to my blog. I'm honest like that.

My take on Mel Gibson

So, this Mel Gibson thing really has become a big deal. When I first posted it on Friday, I was of the opinion that something was going to come out disproving the allegations of the anti-Semitic comments.

Alas, it seems to be true, and it now seems that, as Perez Hilton writes, "The fall-out has begun." Everyone's all up in arms about it, and the consensus is that Gibson fucked himself. Although, I don't think it was a particularly far fall from grace, considering that the only really good movie that he ever made was Braveheart, and the English would tell you that it was a load of historically inaccurate crap.

Of course, I wholeheartedly echo Justin's sentiments: Screw him.

I don't really care if he is an alcoholic and made a mistake, or whatever he's claiming. Maybe that excuse flies for the drunk driving, and maybe even for the sexist remark to the female officer. But the rest is inexcusable.

Things to read

The A.V. Club has a great interview with Pee Wee Herman -- er, I mean Paul Reubens.

Check it out, while I go watch more Wonderfalls.

Two-movie day

I saw two movies today -- Lady In the Water and Crash (on DVD).

To me, Crash was ok, but nothing spectacular. I'm probably going to offend people by writing this but, in my personal opinion, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, and Good Night and Good Luck were all better -- more groundbreaking -- films, and therefore any one of them was probably more deserving of best picture. I know that there is a purpose to having all of the related stories going on at once -- like Magnolia, Lone Star, or Short Cuts and their ilk -- but sometimes so many characters and plotlines detracts from the story and, ultimately, the point.

Lady in the Water was a disaster. And I really, really wanted to like it. I loved The Sixth Sense, and I think Unbreakable is one of the most underrated movies. I even liked The Village. This was just an unintelligable mess.

Celebrity Legal Watch

You know what's stranger than Steely Dan writing a letter (to Luke Wilson) accusing Owen Wilson of stealing the plot from their song for his movie? Owen Wilson's response, which is either (a) a joke or (b) an indication that he is blissfully unaware that Steely Dan is a band, not an individual.

Mel Gibson was arrested for DUI. It's a good thing he's not in one of those religions that frowns upon hooch.

Lindsey Lohan is one very bad employee, showing up late and calling in sick to work because she was out late partying the night before.

Remember Crocodile Dundee? Well, he's being investigated for cheating on his taxes.

And, even though this is not celebrity-related, check it out:




As far as I can tell, it's real.

Five Songs

I'm not going to have a lot of time to blog today, so I thought I'd do something interactive and fun for everyone.

This is a game, inspired somewhat by the A.V. Club's Random Rules.

Here are the rules:
1. Turn on your .mp3 player, i-Pod, computer, or wherever else you keep your digital music. Or, heck, turn on the radio.
2. Listen to several songe, up to five, in order. Heck, I don't really care if you listen to more than that, but five is a good number for discussion purposes.
3. List those songs and comment on them. I don't care if you list them in my comments section or on your own blog -- but if you do that, leave me a link!
4. Your comments can be anything -- why you hate or love the song or the band, someone or something it reminds you of -- the sky is the limit.
5. Be honest, no editing your song list to make yourself seem cooler.


Here are mine:

• Wonderwall, Ryan Adams
  Very different from the original Oasis version, much more haunting. I remember listening to it in the car last summer on the way back from picking my best friend up from the airport, just weeks before her house was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.
  

• Crazy, Alanis Morissette
  Another cover version. I definitely like Seal's original better, Alanis kind of annoys me now -- I liked her better when she was angry, and not all mellow. But this is way better than most of her recent songs.

• Collide, Howie Day
  I love singer-songwriter types. And I love this song. I don't care how uncool that is. "Where I follow, you'll go/I worry I won't see your face/Light up again" and "I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind" just melt my heart.

• Ball and Chain, Social Distortion
  This song reminds me of high school. Back then, I knew the words, but I don't think I really understood it. I definitely do now: "Well I've searched and I've searched/To find the perfect life/A brand new car and a brand new suit/I even got me a little wife/But wherever I have gone/I was sure to find myself there/You can run all your life/But not go anywhere." Amen, brother.

• Love and Memories, OAR
  Love it! The first time I heard this song, I would have bet money that it was an older song, from the late 80's or early 90's. It's got that kind of vibe. I couldn't believe that it was new.

Now it's your turn.