THE SNEAKER CONUNDRUM

Images Courtesy of Stockholm Street Style

How to jump on the sneaker train? It always seems so odd to me - I'm more of a ballet flats person myself, so I studied up on some representatives from Stockholm Street Style.  The trick to this seems to be so flash a bit of ankle.  Maybe a looser fitting pant to keep the illusion of a clean line. 

WOULD YOU BUY ORIGINAL ART?

One, Two, Three

When I say "original art," I mean an actual painting. I was poking around Sacchi Online and found a few things.  Good resource, this one.

A PICTURE FOR THE WEEKEND NO. 18

When's the last time you were on a train?  I think it's more of a European thing, but I have to concede that it can be a rather enjoyable way to travel if you can get a good one.  Images from the Andean Explorer train that travels between the cities of Puno and Cusco.

Sorry about the tilt, the train was moving and shaking.

ODE TO VINCE MASUKA

Source

Did you just read what I just read? Disgusting, right? That line is an expression of pure and unfiltered vulgarity, and one of the great benefits of watching shows on cable - through netflix of course, because you can't actually afford cable.  And it comes courtesy of the foul mouth of Vince Masuka.  

One of things I enjoyed about Dexter was its development of its side characters, because whenever I see a bit of color, that Asian on the side, I always wonder what exactly it is that he's there to do.  I sometimes wonder that about female characters too. You generally know what the main character is about to do - the show promos will answer that for you - and it should be part of the show's hook, but what exactly other people are doing or like is never revealed until possibly a few episodes in.  

C.S. Lee

Then you meet Vince Masuka - nerdy, short, bald, competent and a complete and unrelenting perv. What's not to love? He's not subtle, if you don't believe me, just reread the pic above and ask yourself what he means.  At the same time, he's likable. I think that's a plus in the Asian portrayals category. 

I know the show's coming to an end soon, but to be honest, I stopped watching after Season 4 when John Lithgow guest starred and let's just say the end of that season broke my heart.  But Vince Masuka, is an excellent find.  Here's a pic of C.S. Lee in non-Masuka civilian clothes FTW.

A PICTURE FOR THE WEEKEND NO. 17

It's my new profile pic!  What do you think?  Too blue? 

FORMAT CHANGE

Okay, this may be obvious, but I decided to get rid of the Dynamic View format in favor of a more traditional look that I can customize more easily. I didn't want to be boring, but the lack of options was getting seriously frustrating. And I wanted to add more water imagery.  Better? Worse?  Generic?

QUICKIE LINKS: SHINE THEORY

Photo Courtesy of The Cut

Shine Theory: Why Powerful Women Make the Greatest Friends  is an interesting read. I think it may be human nature to be jealous - jealousy is a good motivator, but you have to fight against it to stop from becoming constantly dissatisfied.  This seems like another way to re-interpret that tendency in a positive way, but actively appropriating successful women into the their lives so their association becomes a source of strength.  

I have to add that there is such a thing as reflected glory, which is most commonly exhibited by sycophants who try to associate themselves with powerful people and in that indirect way, to appropriate some of that greatness for themselves. 

I suppose it comes down to self-assurance, because only a truly self-confident person can genuinely feel happy for the success of those around her. 

A PICTURE FOR THE WEEKEND NO. 16

I should have taken a few steps back to take this.  Oh well.

NASTY DRIVERS

Ring courtesy of Nastygal

I've been penning this post in my head since early this morning, because I never know quite what to do about bad experiences, except to find a way to let them out. 

Here is what happened: I was taking the highway to work and changing lanes to get to my exit ramp. You know the drill: 1) check for oncoming cars and 2) change lanes.  So I repeated this process across two lanes - I might have crossed in front of a large truck, going about 60mph, which I think is a good speed when moving into the slower right hand lanes, when this large shiny Dodge Ram starts tailgating behind me. He seemed to appear out of nowhere.  What I think happened is this: he must have been going really fast (70-80mph) in the far right hand lane, and when I entered into the lane going 60, he must have had to put on the brakes. But I'm guessing here.

Now this is where it gets good: when the exit lane splits off into two lanes, this guy in his huge truck drives parallel to me (stopping everyone else in his lane from moving forward) so that he can stick his head out his window, call me a bitch (or other names) over and over again, and gesture wildly until he can't hold traffic up anymore. 

What is wrong with people? I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything wrong, and even so, there really is never any justification to launch into an ecstasy of profane road rage and going crazy ape-shit on a complete stranger.  What is it about being in your car that makes this behavior okay? Why do some people get worked into mouth-foaming fury over something like this? I'm sure if he was able to see himself behaving like...himself, and he was sane, he would feel deeply ashamed.

It doesn't end there. So this asshole made it a point to cut in front of me once we got off the freeway exit, but the thing is, once you're off the freeway, your freedom of movement in your large vehicle is considerably limited, and you can't leave people in the dust the way you could before, and if you cut in front of me, I will basically drive behind you for a long time afterward. This is pretty much what happened. I basically followed the psychopath all the way to his place of work, not on purpose of course, but because that just happened to be the same route I take to my place of work. This was some really great long term planning on his part. Now I know where this ass works, and the make and model of his car, and I will just take this information and sit on it, because honestly, I'm not crazy.  

JUNE 2013 READING LIST

Here are a few books that I've been trying to read more or less all at the same time, because...well, why not?

A lot of this depends on whether or not I can get the book from the library, so sometimes I just end up getting everything at once and then gorging. I also think t's a good idea to mix it up between fiction and non-fiction.

Dangerous Liaisons:  Classics are classic for a reason, and they're most likely to be available. This is a really juicy read, not a period piece at all, and the author makes some excellent observations about human behavior and social manipulation, and creates one of the strongest, most interesting female characters I've read in a long time in the Marquise de Merteuil. Please don't just watch Cruel Intentions and call it a day, you're just screwing yourself - it's not the same.

The Dinner: I'm waitlisted for this, but I've heard excellent things, how it's epically suspenseful and takes place over the course of a single meal.  I don't like to read too much about a book before I read it, but if it sucks then I will post an update. For reference purposes, I hated The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.  The original title of that book was Men Who Hate Women, and that is a more accurate description. Since I can't help myself, I will add that it felt like half the book had unnecessary descriptions of character's boring outfits.  

Yes Chef: There is a good reason why this book is so thick - it's because Samuelsson's life is just that interesting. He never lets up; his own life won't let him.  There isn't a lot of fluff in this book, such as excessive introspection, extended set up, needless descriptions, etc. Samuelsson just jumps right in and he should - he has a lot of ground to cover to get where he is today. After you put the book down, you can do what I did, and watch him kick all sorts of ass in Top Chef Masters Season 2.

The Templars the Secret History Revealed*: This is my own niche interest, the Templars, but I really like the way this book is written. Frale is a good writer and more importantly a passionate one. It makes a real difference in the world of non-fiction. Many people write about the Templars, but a lot of those rely on you personally having an interest in the topic going in, and they can get by with being badly organized and kind of eye-glazingly boring. Not the case here, my friends.

* This post has been corrected.  I listed the wrong book.  Sorry!