the joker

i don't know what it is, but steve miller band's the joker is a song i could listen to over and over and never get sick of. i love it. it just came on my pandora and made my day. favorite line: you're the cutest thing i ever did see - i really love your peaches, want to shake your trees.

the queen

as you all know - the obamas are on their first european tour as the first couple of the united states, and michelle's ensemble choices have been a-buzz.

well - i came across this picture and love it - not for what mrs. obama is wearing but because of queen elizabeth. i just think she's so cute (and little next to these two). she's a fascinating woman and i actually just learned something new about her sunday night. there was a show on tlc called 'royal inquest' about dangerous things that have happened to her family. it started with an attempted kidnapping of her daughter, anne, and ended with a tale about Elizabeth.

in the early 80s, there was a very poor man who thought the queen would help him if he could only speak with her and explain his whoas. so he stalked buckingham palace for months trying to figure out how to break in. he eventually succeeded, roaming the halls of the palace, until he came across elizabeth's room. along the way he picked up a glass ashtray, broke it and was carrying a jagged piece of glass when he found her. her guard had left his post to walk her dogs and the man walked right in. he sat down on her bed, all bloodied, and began to talk to her. he told her all about his problems and she was polite and listened - offering advice where she could. she had a panic buttom that she pushed but it was not hooked up so nothing happened. she sat with the man for a while - even calling the police - and no one came. finally taking matters into her own hands, she offered him a cigarette and he accepted. she led him into an adjacent room and came across a maid. the maid then got her body guard who arrested the intruder.

the amazing part is how calm she remained through the whole ordeal. she clearly didn't have enough security and her composure kept her calm and helped avoid any real tragedy.

seventeen

so in college i wrote a paper using seventeen magazine from the early 1970's, specifically 1972-1974, as my primary source (for all you history peeps out there). the magazines were my mom's when she was a young woman (13-15 years old). it was fascinating to dive into the issues, looking at what editors of the time thought seventeen readers wanted to read - and, in my opinion, what they thought they should be reading. they contained incredibly contradicting articles and advertisements. an article on your first period next to an engagment ring ad. quilting patterns next to getting into college advise (not that you can't do both). and noted: not a lot of sex advice. the seventeen of this time was evidence of a changing popular culture that tried to please both sides of the spectrum.

i am telling you about this because today i happened across a cover of the latest issue of seventeen, something i haven't payed much attention to since i was 15 or 16 (having switched to cosmo near the end of high school as i'm sure many of you did). i saw the cover in a people.com article about taylor swift - the latest teen to grace the cover. a few things from the cover caught my attention and i ended up heading to their website.

i mostly found that seventeen is still contradictory. on the cover of this issue reads a title 'flat tummy tricks' - which in my opinion isn't a title that should exist on a teen magazine. at the same time, there's a whole section of the website devoted to a campaign to help girls dispel negative body images.

i could go on but i'll stop. what you should take away from this post is that seventeen is an interesting magazine to look at through the years because it gives a glimpse into what is/was expected of young women in any given decade (that it's been in publication). you know - have your period? look for a husband! or please, be thin but don't get an eating disorder. it's bad for business.

ps--'Pretty Hair and Glowy Skin' - since when did glowy become a word? i just don't words that sound as ridiculous and incorrect as glowy should be on the cover of a magazine .

cat's cradle

anyone else out there have this book? i LOVED it and was recently thinking about it when i picked up a chain at conference last week. i still find myself throwing a jacob's ladder out there whenever i come across anything that'll work. really, the game, cat's cradle, is fun to play at any age and is quite a throw back.

cleveland rocks!

well - i've been at this new job for exactly one month today (which means i've been gone from asta for a month!!) and i leave tomorrow for my first nqf conference. its an implementation conference on overuse. i'll let you know if i learn anything interesting.

the conference is at the renaissance cleveland hotel - pictured above - a historic hotel built in 1918 in cleveland, ohio. i'm hoping it will be a chance for me to bond with some coworkers as well as prove myself in tough situations (which always arise at conferences). can't say there will be a lot of blogging going on while i'm there. nqf said they won't pay for internet in our rooms. i will be sure to say somethign when i get back. until then - enjoy your week!

fave.

i thought i'd post this picture of my favorite - reese witherspoon. i always think she looks great and this picture is no exception.

jeffrey eugenides

kirstin dunst as lux, along with sisters

for months (maybe even years) now i've been wanting to read middlesex. don't ask why its taken so long, it just has. i finally got my hands on a copy last night and realized its by the author of the virgin suicides. this makes me even more excited to read the book.

virgin suicides is one of my favorite movies. directed by sofia coppala, it is the story of 5 sisters living an incredibly sheltered life because of their fundamentalist, ultra-conservative, christian parents. the story is told from the point of view of a group of boys who become obsessed with the sisters after one commits suicide. kirsten dunst as lux - the sister who dares to disobey - starts a chain reaction of events that ends in tragedy. if you haven't seen it and like to find movies off the beaten path, i suggest giving it a whirl. you won't be disappointed.

for now, i'm excited to dive into the mind of jeffrey eugenides again with middlesex. i'm sure you'll hear from me again about it . . .