wishbone clover

Urban Burkha: A Goth's Battle with Sunburn

Yes, I learned today that in my black linen skirt the piercing sun of spring can  STILL sunburn me. For pete's sake I was under an umbrella at Red's Java House. I was consoling the loss of my laptop and backup drive - through some freaky bad technology luck. Sadly, my remote blogging skills are terrible, but I hope to start blogging from the iPhone and we'll see how it goes. Tips anyone?

Yes, They Brought the One Armed Drummer to DWTS

Woo-hoo, someone's getting old. And by someone, I mean Def Leppard. All of 'em.

Joe Elliot has Dude Lesbian hair in this picture, although on Dancing with the Stars his wig hair totally got extensions longer.

Things I Like: Shark Week

Jaws is bullshit, as any Shark Week lover will tell you.

And for good reason. Last week I was watching the San Diego shark attack coverage in a cafe at my work.

"Why did they close the beach?" I asked. "It's completely illogical. It didn't even work in Jaws!"

"No one wants to get in trouble if the shark attacks again," said one person; this made sense to me.

"And the shark may have developed a taste for humans!" another person said, which didn't make any sense at all. Jaws, I sighed.

Things I Like: Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt

JESUS. Was I born in the golden era of television or what? As a kid I could wake up to Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt and simmer down with 60 Minutes.

Charles Kuralt. I mean, what is there to say?

Things I Like: London Elise at Soothe

This marks the kickoff of a new series of posts titled, simply enough, "Things I Like." Because: why not? I like things, and you should, too.

Sometimes the "things" are people, places, events or memes. I can tell you already that Charles Kuralt and Shark Week will be included; lots of other possibilities are simmering as well.

First off is a small business owner and friend I've admired for some time: London Elise, who runs Soothe, a spa in San Francisco.

Tina, Tina, Tina! Fey, that is, not Turner.

Tina Fey, our so favorite lady writer, is everywhere these days. And it's awesome!

At last, 30 Rock is back, and better than ever. There are tons of commercials for her new movie, Baby Mama. She and Amy Poehler even turned up on The View (my secret shame daytime TV love) today.

She's also Photoshopped to the point of near un-identifiability on the covers of Entertainment Weekly and Marie Claire. That's some kind of fame milestone, right? Yay Tina!

But most importantly, after years of desperately wondering, we almost found out what kind of glasses Tina wears, and where to find them!

Dita Von Teese, Inspiration

Check out Dita Von Teese and her super hot Mom.

Dita is a true inspiration for those of us who espouse a dramatic personal palette. Look at that milky skin! Look at those fantastic shoes! The daringly shaped red trench! Her super dark hair, including eyebrows, free of high-lights or low-lights!

Live it, Learn it: Fuck You Money

Several years ago, a scandalously beautiful (yet somehow relatable) actress appeared on Oprah and tearfully recounted the tale of a relationship gone sour. That I remember this is remarkable for two reasons, one being that I never watch Oprah, and the other that when I thought "beautiful, relatable...who?" I knew it must be Halle Berry.

Anyhow, Halle Berry (I think) was telling Opes how she had lived with the low-down fool who treated her badly and beat her up, but she stayed anyhow. She was a struggling actress at the time and the man paid her bills. The lesson she learned was that a lady should always have a little fuck you money socked away.

The audience's shared brow crinkled in disbelief: what fool would do Halle Berry wrong? Who? Bring that motherfucker on stage, we'll rip his plugs out!

Only Lunatics Head for the Mic at Readings

Readings and writerly events can be totally fun, especially if you're listening to someone funny and brilliant. David Mitchell was the best ever. One problem: the question and answer portion is uniformly horrifying.

Yesterday my friend and I went to a panel discussion on writing communities. And that night, like so many others, only those attendees buzzing and twittering with mental disease orbited the microphone during the q&a.

"Let's make this democratic!" the moderator said, rejecting the sheaf of paper on which the sane people had submitted their considered questions. "We'll alternate between written and spoken questions."

Wrong answer, buddy. Wrong answer.

Real Friends Start With Yes

I have this philosophy about starting with yes.

At first it was a corporate survival thing, part of my conflict resolution skill set.

When you approach a negotiation with the firm belief that the end result with be correct and satisfying -- if you Start With Yes -- you give yourself permission to entertain all ideas equally.

Believe me, this approach drained the drama from many debates about "Which logo should we use on the newsletter?!"

Lately I've been in several conversations about friendship. It made me realize that as I get older I only keep friends who Start With Yes.