tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176731942024-03-13T22:58:02.647-07:00tomatoes are deliciousRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-9129516405016027512007-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:002008-11-06T19:57:59.710-08:00Happy Canada Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TWaVNfXDSeM/RohMerLLEeI/AAAAAAAAAAM/oV56-mhO7J8/s1600-h/iFlag.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TWaVNfXDSeM/RohMerLLEeI/AAAAAAAAAAM/oV56-mhO7J8/s400/iFlag.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082396269356978658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />p.s. Beware of <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070629.woverthere0630/BNStory/Entertainment/home">Jewish-Canadian Ex-Lawyers Speaking Greek</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1171326026946087322007-02-12T16:19:00.000-08:002007-02-19T01:03:00.178-08:00Yahoo Wants To Know When I'm Drunk And Still In A Hat<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/Rachel"><img height="282" alt="Rachel's Gchat weekend.JPG" src="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/Rachel%27s%20Gchat%20weekend-thumb.JPG" width="385" /></a><br /><br />Yahoo <a href="http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyid=2007-02-12T232121Z_01_N09400214_RTRUKOC_0_US-YAHOO-MAIL.xml&src=rss&rpc=22">announced today</a> that it's coming out with an IM program embedded in its regular email, an innovation that means users will no longer have to toggle out of one program and into another should they wish to use both simultaneously (which, as any inveterate web-addict knows, is rough on the wrists). It's an innovation, note, that was pioneered by Gmail in their Gchat program, to which this blogger has become a slavering devotee (though we have more than once found ourselves confronted with its various <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/02/google-chat-invasion-of-privacy.html">privacy</a> <a href="http://gawker.com/news/rachel-sklar/what-rachel-sklars-bust-did-this-weekend-233875.php">issues</a>). Why is it so great? Because it's EASY - providing a quick way to get information/make contact while permitting easy back-and-forth between email. It is the ADD-afflicted multitasker's dream. (And those taglines can be <a href="http://gawker.com/news/rachel-sklar/what-rachel-sklars-bust-did-this-weekend-233875.php">really, really fun</a>.) So, it's smart of Yahoo to be ripping it off. Yahoo also recently made the smart move of re-jiggering their (previously frustratingly inefficient) email program along the lines of Outlook, allowing for quickie categorization, sorting and searching. One drawback, however: It staggers under the load of many messages, making it near-impossible to re-sort for those of us who have long abandoned our Yahoo accounts and long despaired of ever cleaning them out. The new interface would be ideal for the quickie cleanup, if only it didn't take forever to load.<br /><br />In other news, MTV clips will <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/new_media/i_want_to_embed_my_mtv_53002.asp">soon be embeddable</a>, no doubt in a move to cash in on a little of that sweet YouTube action. Here's the thing about Gchat (read: Google) and YouTube (read: Google) — they're both way out front on both these points, and continuing to innovate while their competitors play catch up. I say "their" but of course it's "its" — the All-Powerful Monolithic Globe-Straddling Power that is Google.<br /><br />In the meantime, for those who are interested, my Gchat tagline currently reads "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/waffles%20are%20delicious.JPG">waffles!</a>" (Explanation <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2007/02/12/yahoo-to-launch-intraema_e_41078.html">here</a>.)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1170526087743418532007-02-03T10:05:00.000-08:002007-02-03T10:08:07.753-08:00Poems Are Made By Fools Like Me...but only God can make a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/books/review/Orr2.t.html">Marriage Japanese Dwarf tree</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1161322063066943882006-10-19T22:09:00.000-07:002006-10-19T23:21:54.613-07:00Yes, but I got TWO mugs!<a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116130278120298425-gpsF1_V_nSEJ12jvAja0__MYlfU_20071020.html?mod=blogs">"In lieu of payment, B-listers receive coffee mugs with a show's logo."</a><br /><br />The above is in reference to my occasional appearances on MSNBC's "Scarborough Country." The mugs are shiny red with white lettering, because Joe <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15045587/">loves Canada</a>. Catch me <a href="http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=ac03e4ce-231d-47b0-92fb-00a185ef441a&f=truveo&fg=copy">here</a>, on the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116130278120298425-gpsF1_V_nSEJ12jvAja0__MYlfU_20071020.html?mod=blogs">Friday night of Labor Day weekend</a>!<br /><br />Meanwhile, <a href="http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:hCHk_dXmP_oJ:www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1706866/posts+rachel+sklar+rush+scarborough+freerepublic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1">Rush Limbaugh has no clue who I am</a>. I must be doing something right!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1160929814796654702006-10-14T23:18:00.000-07:002006-10-19T23:10:31.230-07:00The Chicken Pox, With Silver Lining<object width="250" height="185"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/A1gahsPWCb4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/A1gahsPWCb4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="250" height="185" align="left"></embed></object>It's true, I have the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press/2006/10/11/a-pox-on-this-blog_e_31475.html">chicken pox</a>, and I'd be lying if I said it was pleasant and un-itchy. But - there is a plus side: I'm home on a Saturday night, with nothing better to do than watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084021/">this</a>. And I'd be lying if I said that wasn't kinda awesome. <br /><br />(Also kinda awesome: The fact that there's a nun in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cDXN59rKRE&mode=related&search=">this</a> scene. Comedy gold!)<br /><br />(Also: I got your stamen <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCoENKVNGwk&mode=related&search=">right here. </a>Okay, I'm done now.)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1158031017414856052006-09-11T19:23:00.000-07:002006-09-11T20:16:57.523-07:00September 11, 2006Five years later. A lot of coverage today, and by now a lot of newsreels and documentaries and films to commemorate the occassion. Watching it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar/path-of-911-finally-_b_29232.html">brings it all back</a>; hard to remember, but harder to forget.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1153066731130946372006-07-16T08:45:00.000-07:002006-07-16T09:24:47.243-07:00Tomato Season<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/1600/Tomato-Ranker.jpg"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/320/Tomato-Ranker.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />If it's not already obvious, Tomatoes Are Delicious is on a bit of a hiatus owing to the fact that I've been spending all my time on "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press">Eat The Press</a>" at HuffPo. It's HuffPo's daily media blog with media commentary and news, spin, stats and our famous and exciting <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eat-the-press">People Ranker</a> ™ — I'm really proud of it but getting it up and running has taken all my time over the past six weeks or so. I've probably driven you all away already (et tu, <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/03/shout-out-to-wapella-saskatchewan.html">Wapella, Saskatchewan</a>?) but hopefully you've got this on RSS and won't forget about me while I exhaust the blogging beast over at HuffPo. That sounds far sexier than it actually is. In any case, please check out Eat The Press and of course feel free to send me any tips/suggestions, especially for the People Ranker which is a deliciously addictive little toy. All right, back to work for me - if it's Sunday, it's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar">Russert Watch</a>. Oh Tim, I'd take your oversized noggin over strolling lazily in the sunshine any day. Hope you are all having a fantastic summer - Tomatoes will be back in season soon, I promise!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1149048242685172442006-05-30T23:22:00.000-07:002006-05-30T23:40:13.536-07:00Buy A Plant. Now.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/1600/inconvenient%20truth.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/320/inconvenient%20truth.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>In fact, buy two - and then go <a href="http://www.worldlandtrust.org/supporting/buyanacre.htm">buy an acre of rainforest</a>, and throw away the keys to your car. Yesterday I saw Al Gore's documentary <a href="http://www.climatecrisis.net/">"An Inconvenient Truth"</a> and was utterly blown away. Gore crunches the data in all sorts of different ways and again and again comes up with one conclusion: the planet is headed for disaster, and it's one of our own making. C02 levels are at astronomical heights, tornadoes and hurricanes are increasing in frequency and intensity, and chunks of land-based ice sheets are breaking off into the ocean, swelling the waters massively - and dangerously (where will you be when sea level rises 20 feet? You'd better hope not in L.A. or Manhattan) (actually, you'd be almost lucky; you wouldn't be in coastal India). Those snows of Kilimanjaro? Virtually gone. Like us, if we don't do something drastic, <span style="font-style:italic;">now</span>.<br /><br />"Oh, reeeaaaaally?" says the skeptic as he guns his Hummer, tosses his cigarette butt out the window and gleefully plots how he'll throw out his recyclable beer can with the trash. Yes, actually. Really. Per <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://newyorkmetro.com/movies/reviews/17092/index.html">New York</span> magazine film critic David Edelstein</a>: <blockquote>Perhaps the most amazing statistic in <span style="font-style:italic;">An Inconvenient Truth</span> is that of 900-plus peer-reviewed studies in recognized journals, not one has challenged the idea of global warming, whereas more than 53 percent of articles in the mainstream media have presented it as a theory or been careful to include the demurrals of a tiny handful of bought-and-paid-for scientists or politicians. In the course of Gore’s lecture tour comes the unsurprising news that Bush aide Philip Cooney routinely red-penciled the conclusions of impartial government scientists; when exposed, he resigned and took a job with ExxonMobil.</blockquote>Did you catch that? Over nine HUNDRED scientists assessed the data and agreed that the planet was on the brink of man-made calamity. Who doesn't agree: the oil stooge hired by the White House to doctor environmental reports in favor of...oil companies. As Edelstein says of the film: "Watch closely to see who attacks it and on what grounds."<br /><br />The mosquito line in Africa, rising. Polar bears swimming in search of receding ice, drowning. People sweltering through record heat waves last summer, dying. Hurricanes whipping into a frenzy over warm waters. Those waters, ever-warming. Moment after chilling, terrifying moment, the very real doom of the planet is laid out clearly (think "Ice Age." Right. Now, think of the reverse. Hot enough for ya?). As the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUiP6dqPynE">trailer</a> says bluntly: "Nothing is scarier than the truth." I'll go one step further: It's fucking terrifying. <br /><br />See this movie. And seriously, buy that plant.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1148366363991198882006-05-22T23:11:00.000-07:002006-05-23T00:40:33.473-07:00Live from New York, it's Bucky Turco!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/1600/live%20from%20new%20york%20it%27s%20bucky%20turco.0.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/200/live%20from%20new%20york%20it%27s%20bucky%20turco.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>God bless Bucky Turco, <a href="http://www.animalnewyork.com">Animal</a>'s hilariously intrepid everywhere-you-look reporter-about-town. The dude is anyplace there's a story, from <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/watching_the_watchers/transit_strike_coverage_news_you_can_snooze_29580.asp">2 a.m. during the transit strike</a> to the <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/circulation/santa_baby_just_slip_a_bloody_and_mangled_dolls_head_under_the_tree_29401.asp">bloody,mutilated Santa of Christmas past</a> to <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/media_people/bucky_turco_slayer_of_the_msm_22825.asp">slippy, slidey Snapple accidents</a> to <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/media_miscellany/media_minutiae_ahmad_chalabi_is_always_a_woman_to_me_edition_24948.asp">anything</a> relating to <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/media_people/well_they_began_it_and_hes_the_one_to_stop_them_once_and_for_alltonight_24878.asp">grafitti</a>. In short, Bucky is everywhere, and everywhere is better for it.<br /><br />(Disclosure: I'm a big ol' Bucky fan - we bonded over email when I was at Fishbowl, as per those links above. Happy to laud his reportorial flair yet again.)<br /><br />Anyhow, I am LOVING this pic because I am a big fan of the crack SNL women and get a kick of seeing themn out together - Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and cute little Rachel Dratch peeking out next to Bucky's giant head. I learned the phrase <a href="http://www.saturday-night-live.com/snl/reviews/02-03/garner/girlyamy.html">"six ways to Sunday"</a> from Rachel Dratch. See more of Bucky's pictures <a href="http://www.animalnewyork.com/2006/05/animal_takes_a_bite_out_the_ap.php">here</a>. I should say, however, that this is in no way indicative of my having <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/04/who-blogs-on-macs.html">changed my position on Macs</a>.<br /><br />p.s. Here's Maya's mama, Minnie Ripperton, singing her classic <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcVeixRr8Fo">"Lovin' You"</a> (you know the la-la-la-la-la's and if you don't then I'm old). Also, here she is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcVeixRr8Fo">getting attacked by a lion</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1147996513905584572006-05-18T16:45:00.000-07:002006-05-18T16:55:13.916-07:00The name is Ralks. Lehcar Ralks.For some strange reason, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/us/18heaven.html?ex=1148097600&en=e78fc3a2ad43490a&ei=5087%0A">this</a> is the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/us/18heaven.html?ex=1148097600&en=e78fc3a2ad43490a&ei=5087%0A#">most emailed story</a> in the New York Times today. It's a pretty name but it makes me think of <a href="http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/i/commonLife/ultramarine-Nivea.jpg">hand cream</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1147623613113937412006-05-14T09:15:00.000-07:002006-05-14T22:45:35.820-07:00HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!I am busy writing up today's edition of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russertwatch">RussertWatch</a> for HuffPo, but I wanted to take a moment to tell my mom that I love her, because she rules. I love you Mom! You rule! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. FYI, giving birth to the rest of you was apparently REALLY painful. So go buy flowers.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1147542940223960552006-05-13T10:50:00.000-07:002006-05-14T09:14:56.066-07:00I Want Someone To Smell Cheese WithApparently <a href="http://www.sploid.com/news/2006/05/eau_de_stilton.php">this one's</a> giving Chanel No. 5 a run for its money.<br /><br />(Jeff Garlin gives a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-hodges/shoutin-out-tff-says-hi_b_20751.html">shout-out</a> to us, we give him one <a href="http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2006/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=2162¬epg=">right back</a>.)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1147106244551823312006-05-08T09:36:00.000-07:002006-05-08T21:59:09.443-07:00Ahem"But mainly its appeal lies in Bob Martin, who plays Man in Chair with the easy offhandedness and perfect timing that seem to be dispensed with Canadian passports."<br />— <a href="http://nymag.com/arts/theater/reviews/16915/index.html">Jeremy McCarter</a>, <span style="font-style:italic;">New York</span> Magazine, May 15, 2006 issueRachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1146709143439986042006-05-08T00:26:00.000-07:002006-05-07T21:59:45.406-07:00Liza With A Zed, Part IILast Monday night I had the opportunity to see the incredibly delightful and fantastically clever and totally winsome new Broadway Musical (and not-as-new-Canadian musical) <a href="http://www.drowsychaperone.com/index.php">"The Drowsy Chaperone"</a>. I loved it as much as I <a href="http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/theater/reviews/02drow.html?ex=1146715200&en=bb123828a38ea161&ei=5087%0A">hate Ben Brantley</a> (yes yes, Ben Brantley, we're very impressed that you have the bestest knowledge of 1920's musicals, you must be MUCH smarter than all the sophisticated theatergoers in the audience on opening night who laughed uproariously the whole way through, because, you know, they had "no choice but to applaud." Whatever. The show was smart and fresh and unexpected and transporting. I have no choice but to call you an idiot).<br /><br />In any case, I had one hell of a sighting: LIZA! Not only working her charm and magic down the red carpet (very amusing to see a no-name starlet hanging back after her, knowing that not a single camera would care if she walked right past), but laughing and blowing kisses and posing with the writers. Even cooler, I actually MET her in the one bastion of privacy in any public place: the ladies' room (we were the only two people at the mirror, it would have been rude NOT to say something). She looked great and was chatty and friendly. In any case, she said she was a huge fan of the show and was a big supporter, also showing up at the after party and being very nice to people who didn't have the temerity to accost her in the bathroom. Upshot: Liza loves Canadians. Ergo, <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/03/liza-with-zed.html">zed</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AbSCNj83-PA"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AbSCNj83-PA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Here's more vid of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCmYAcf3fRY">Liza hugging Aubrey Reuben</a>, whom theater fans will know from his own <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/020610ta_talk_green">star turn in the New Yorker</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1146471965664005592006-05-01T00:15:00.000-07:002006-05-01T01:26:05.673-07:00There is TOTALLY gonna be cake in the conference room tomorrow<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/1600/Time%20100.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/200/Time%20100.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>This is just a little bit of AWESOME: Arianna Huffington, rockin' <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187219,00.html">the Time Magazine 100 list</a> of "People Who Shape Our World." And also, my boss. <br /><br />p.s. There's no conference room per se at the HuffPo office, but saying "there is totally going to be cake around the oblong white table in the kitchen part" doesn't have quite the same ring.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145856428372184942006-04-24T01:29:00.000-07:002006-04-23T23:56:03.890-07:00Tribecalicious!<img src="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/images/tribeca.gif" width="135" height="93" alt="Huffington Post Blogs the Tribeca Film Festival" style="float: left; margin: 5px 10px 5px 0;"/>The <a href="http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/">Tribeca Film Fest</a> is launching Tuesday and I'm <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar/lights-camera-blogging_b_19559.html">coordinating HuffPo's coverage</a>, which will be awesome because I've tapped some awesome people to help with it. I know these tomatoes have been withering on the vine but if you check out <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com">HuffPo</a> there will be cool TFF updates every day. Regular-ish posting will resume after the fest, and possibly before if I am struck by inspiration and/or time. I just had a mental image of me being bonked in the head by a clock, and it made me giggle. Get it? Struck by time? Yes, you really are going to miss me.<br /><br />(A clock! Time! On the noggin! Ouch!)Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145504171457892372006-04-19T23:27:00.000-07:002006-04-19T20:39:13.603-07:00YikesI knew I would catch heat for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar/senor-senor-i-presume_b_19431.html">this</a>. NB: I definitely did NOT say that White House press secretary was a good job - honestly, it looks like a giant churning ulcer waiting to happen. Well, we'll see how this all plays out. In the meantime, maybe I should stick to writing about <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar/what-does-american-idol-h_b_18970.html">American Idol</a>.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145401134730361042006-04-18T18:52:00.000-07:002006-04-18T16:12:03.486-07:00Game, set and match to the kid in the fancy apartment!Wow, two thumbs up to Loren Kreiss, the not-unwealthy kid <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/realestate/16habi.html?pagewanted=1">profiled</a> in the NYT Real Estate section and predictably <a href="http://www.gawker.com/news/chelsea/loren-kreiss-the-prettiest-boy-in-all-of-chelsea-167620.php">lambasted</a> on Gawker. (NB: <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/04/im-gonna-wash-that-national-newspaper.html">As usual</a>, I blame the NYT and its obsession with class and money). In subsequent items, however, Gawker started coming around, lauding his <a href="http://www.gawker.com/news/loren-kreiss/the-further-trials-of-loren-kreiss-the-prettiest-boy-in-all-of-chelsea-167720.php">actual-workingness</a>, and <a href="http://www.gawker.com/news/chelsea/loren-kreiss-little-ladies-only-please-167913.php">throwing in some Spanish</a>. Today they <a href="http://www.gawker.com/news/loren-kreiss/loren-kreiss-humors-us-plays-10-questions-168084.php">put him on the spot</a> with a game of Ten Questions, and he performed brilliantly, with a perfect mix of candour and self-deprecating quippery (plus managing to make me misty for a travertine console. So <span style="font-style:italic;">that's</span> where I could put my keys!). Maybe it's just the ghostwritten wisdom of a publicist, but he plays the game like a pro, throwing appreciative props to the NYT and to Gawker commenters, bringing wealth and privilege back to family and hard work, adroitly skirting the $6,000-per-month rent issue, making his Mom sound cool, and showing humility in the face of Swedo-hegemony. Throw in a bit of raunch at the end and you've got a winner, especially paired with this kind of level-headed gentle-hearted blue-state attitude:<blockquote>First off, I don’t consider being called gay an insult, and of course I see how people would make assumptions. I wouldn’t have moved to Chelsea and worked in the interior design business if I wasn’t comfortable in my sexuality. I also wouldn’t be ashamed if I were gay, the truth just happens to be that I’m straight. Sorry if that’s disappointing to your readers.</blockquote> And THAT, <a href="http://freejaredpaulstern.blogspot.com/2006/04/on-third-week-he-dove.html">Jared Paul Stern</a>, is how one makes good use of Gawker.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145326551328009442006-04-18T12:40:00.000-07:002006-04-18T09:42:23.510-07:00Love and Taxes<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r_7DgQVGNwg"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r_7DgQVGNwg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="288"></embed></object><br /><br /><p>Happy Day-After Tax Day! Hope you're all getting a big fat refund, or at least can add. I tried to post this yesterday but had to figure out the video code (read: ask <a href="http://www.bigandsharp.com/blog">someone</a>) so I'm a bit laste, but no doubt the memory of yesterday's fun-and-form-filled day of stress is still fresh. To celebrate, and because you already know that <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/03/tomato-plug-love-for-party-central-usa.html">these I think these guys are funny</a>, here is a thematic video from my pals at <a href="http://www.partycentralusa.net">Party Central USA</a>. Enjoy!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145050681411603642006-04-15T12:56:00.000-07:002006-04-17T11:05:43.670-07:00Forestalling the Journey to the Heaviside Layer*Look, a new day<br />Has <a href="http://sg1.allmusic.com/cg/smp.dll?link=79fhf9pepm9ru0nvrtwzwyc&r=20.asx">begun...</a><br /><br />(Hooray! Molly the Cat is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/15/nyregion/15cat.html?hp&ex=1145160000&en=4becc0aa6171e898&ei=5094&partner=homepage">free</a>!)<br /><br /><small>* Though I'm guessing this probably didn't help: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/nyregion/14cat.html?ex=1145246400&en=9cca0d3449ba0d86&ei=5087%0A">"I hear you, sweetheart," the therapist, Carole Wilbourn, cooed. "Come on, Molly, you can do it. Everybody wants you to come out. Nobody's going to hurt you."</a> This is that person's <em>job</em>.</small><br /><br /><small>**Thanks to Dania for the spellchecking and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennelly-Heaviside_layer">this</a> helpful info!</small>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1145050744128696742006-04-14T17:38:00.000-07:002006-04-14T14:39:04.140-07:00One more reason to love Tina Fey<a href="http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB0F15FB3B540C758CDDAD0894DE404482">"I honestly think I'm not working any harder than any working mom anywhere else," she said, seriously. "I'm at least getting to work on things that are exciting and fun."</a>Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1144791947934229132006-04-11T17:45:00.000-07:002006-04-11T14:50:37.443-07:00Yes, we have no bananas<a href="http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=11818029&src=rss/oddlyEnoughNews">...we have no bananas today!</a><br /><br />(We do, however, have <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/03/blog-synchronicity.html">blog synchornicity</a>. I swear to God this was a total coincidence. Ironically, I've had the "Yes, We Have No Tomatoes" post in draft since Saturday, and was going to offer a few paltry links instead except was annoyed to find that I <a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/04/who-blogs-on-macs.html">couldn't do so on a Mac</a>. So instead I decided to complain about Macs. Don't feel bad for me; think of all those people without bananas).Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1144519043529289882006-04-11T14:22:00.000-07:002006-04-11T14:09:31.086-07:00Yes, we have no tomatoesI know it's <a href="http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/2004/06/how-to-blog-by-tony-pierce-110-1.htm">verboten</a> to apologize for light posting, but while I get into the swing of things at HuffPo I may not have the time to put my half-baked ideas into half-baked posts (I have about five to ten posts languishing in drafts right now). My bad, please forgive and continue to rejoice in the delight of yummy fruity juicy tomatoe-y goodness in the reality-based community (i.e. in the kitchens and restaurants of your world) and I will endeavor to match that with on-line deliciousness in the near-ish future.Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1144649254928215572006-04-09T23:07:00.000-07:002006-04-09T23:41:33.450-07:00I'm gonna wash that national newspaper right outta my hair<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/1600/roots%20iv.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6163/1408/320/roots%20iv.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Seriously. Why am I still reading idiotic statements like this in the New York Times? <br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/realestate/09doorman.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1">"And isn't it a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman would sooner give up her colorist than her doorman?"</a><br /><br />Sadly, this is not an idiotic quote by an idiotic source, it is a failed attempt to be witty by the author of an article on the value and appeal of New York City doormen (<a href="http://tomatoesaredelicious.blogspot.com/2006/03/thank-god-im-man.html">Harvey Mansfield</a> has some ideas about doormen. He loves his colorist, too!). <br /><br />What's with the NYT's <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0914FB39540C718CDDAD0894DE404482">hair-color fixation </a>these days? Both of these articles speak to a New York experience that is definitely <em>not</em> universal; not everyone chooses to eschew doormen buildings because they don't feel like saying hi when they walk in, and - shocker - not every single woman has a colorist, needs a colorist, can pay for a colorist, or has the time to sit for three hours while being tended to by a colorist. So please, NYT, stop making these assumptions and parading them as universal experience. Your roots are showing.<br /><br />p.s. So are mine, above; that pic was taken in mid-Feb/05 after having blonded (double process! Woo-hoo) in late Nov/04. I finally got around to dyeing it back to brown in late May/05. Classy!Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17673194.post-1144567424113922152006-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:002006-04-09T21:52:14.350-07:00Who blogs on Macs?Seriously, help me out here. Is it me, or is blogging on Macs a ginormous pain in the ass? I'm doing it right now so don't expect any links, because the command icons don't show up here (and while I do love you, far-flung readers mine, I am <em>so</em> not hand-coding at 3:02 am). That happened the last time I tried to blog on a Mac, with Movable Type (that was a G4; this is a MacPro. So I'm surmising this is a system-wide problem). Also: links. How do you capture them? There's no such thing as right-clicking on a Mac! So if you want to link (as I do, 'cause that's the kind of girl I am), you have to open a new window (but not open IN a new window, 'cause that requires right-clicking!), then copy the URL, paste it into Blogger, and then hand-type in the link code around it. So much for blogging as a nimble, responsive medium. I'm sure Macs are lovely for things like photoshop and iMovie and whatnot, and I love the cute little shiny white ones, but come on! This makes no sense. <br /><br />So I'll ask again: who blogs on Macs? Because if there are secret little tricks I don't know, I'd love to learn them. And if not, I'd like to let Mac-bloggers know that there is an easier way. <br /><br />p.s. The timestamp shows up three hours early, btw. I'd change it but guess what? The button doesn't show up on Macs! Grrr.<br /><br /><strong>UPDATE:</strong> I learned some VERY helpful new things: (1) Holding the "CTRL" key down and clicking is the Mac equivalent of right-clicking, which made doing <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-sklar/russert-watch-toughtalk_b_18770.html">this</a> much easier; and (2) Apparently if you download <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/">Mozilla Firefox</a> the icon keys become visible (this I did not try - I hand-coded all my links. Becaus I <em>care</em>, dammit).Rachelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919559469301274698noreply@blogger.com