Currents as of Late May

Current Listening

Santogold - Self Titled
I've had this album for almost a year now...but I didn't grow super obsessed with it till I listened to it on repeat at work. Love, love, love it.

M.I.A. - "XXXO"
Her new album is great...but "XXXO" is one of the songs that shines the most on it. Catchy as hell.

Currently Reading
Stieg Larsson -- "The Girl Who Played with Fire"
Trying my best to keep this one for the plane ride to Vegas...but it's hard. Love Larsson's novels.

Tess Gerritsen -- "Ice Cold"
The only problem that I had with Gerritsen's new novel was that it was far too short. Her writing is so great and this series is so unlike all the other formulatic murder mysteries out there. Gerritsen really puts a lot of thought into her work and a lot of heart into her characters. I'm a little worried about the TV version they're working on...but if I hate it, I can pretend like it never even existed.

Currently Watching
So You Think You Can Dance (Dance Dance)
For real. It's the summer. And yes...Kayla, the dancer I chose to highlight above isn't on this season...but I'm still really bitter about her not winning Season 5. Look at those friggen lines. Unreal.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
My new old show to watch while passing out at night. Pure pop culture fabulousness.

Hallelujah, Entertainment Weekly!

With "Radar" defunct and even further away from a revival..."Entertainment Weekly" has once again captured my heart fully. As if this week's cover with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" didn't have me fully in love (SERIOUSLY?! A cover about a book that wasn't "Twilight" or Harry Potter!?! AMEN!)...this quick article in "News and Notes" did. FINALLY...someone snarky and absolutely amusing...

Alas I bring you yet ANOTHER article about current pop stars who need to put some clothes on...I still don't get this leotard thing. If you're not practicing for a dance recital...at least wear a pair of booty shorts. Talk about uncomfortable.

*****

Public Service Announcement
Hey, Pop Stars! Put Away Your Privates, Please!
Lisa Greenblatt

Musicians have been scandalizing the masses since Elvis and his Tilt-a-Whirl pelvis first gyrated onto The Ed Sullivan Show.

But pop-star provocation may have finally reached its fatigue point, thanks to the recent shenanigans of Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, and that tireless mistress of shock and awe, Lady Gaga. First, Aguilera capped off an MTV Movie Awards performance of her oral-sex ode "Woohoo" with a neon heart pulsing over her own woohoo. Then came Gaga's much-anticipated "Alejandro" video -- a seemingly subtext-free slurry of sex and religious imagery that, 21 years after Madonna's "Like a Prayer," didn't have much to say besides "Lookit! If there are machine guns hot-glued to my bra, it must be art!" Finally, Perry's Wonka-esque "California Gurls" video found the singer -- incidentally, the daughter of two pastors -- shooting twin plumes of white stuff from her sequined showgirl bustier. When Rihanna subsequently wore what looked like Spanx and a pair of suspended coffee-filter cones on stage at a festival in Spain, it actually felt...quaint.

Do we need to have an ob-gyn level of intimacy with these girls' ladybits to continue buying their music? Outsize sexuality is of course a pop star's prerogative, but it also tends to both obscure and cheapen their genuine talents: Aguilera possesses one of the best voices in the business, and Perry and Gaga consistently write their own hits. Sure, the're just responding to the public's seemingly unslakable third for fresh stimulation: To not play the vixen game is, more often than not, to be cut from the A-team. It would be nice, though, if for once they didn't feel compelled to streak the field.

*****

I couldn't have said it any better. Amen, Lisa Greenblatt. Amen.

My Wardrobe's Latest Addition

I've got a few social engagements coming up...weddings, parties, etc...and I came across this awesome dress in Avon. You can totally wear it 8 different ways...and I'm so excited to wear it.

I am, however, not excited about how to figure out HOW to wear it...but that's what I'll have good friends getting ready with me for!

I Will Possess Your Heart...

Stole this from Mari Mari...

Three names I go by:

• Julie
• J
• Grace (After a not so graceful tumble on my ass at work last year)
  

Three jobs I have had:

• Playground Supervisor
  
• Cashier
  
• Artist
  

Three places I have lived:

• London
• Pittsburgh
• Warren
  

Three favorite drinks:

• Mountain Dew White Out
  
• Diet Coke from Wendy's -- Best Syrup/Soda Ratio Ever
  
• A really well mixed Long Island Iced Tea
  

Three TV shows I watch:

• Dexter
• Glee
  
• It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
  

Three places I have been:

• Boston
• London
• Barcelona

Three places I would like to visit:

• Greece
• Scotland
• Amsterdam

Three people who text me regularly:

• Honkus
• Mari
• Kelli
  

Three favorite old TV shows:

• Blossom
  
• Golden Girls
  
• Salute Your Shorts
  

Three favorite dishes:

• Thai Chicken Fried Rice
  
• Three Cheese Grilled Cheese from Kim's Cafe
  
• Ice Cream
  

Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:

• A really bitchin' nail polish
  
• For real...a really awesome nail polish.
  

But not the horrid color on my toes right now. For real. Look: Three things I'm looking forward to:

• Stone Temple Pilots in August
  
• VEGAS!!!!!
  
• LA