Twilight the movie. It’s being talked about everywhere. It’s splashed all over the cover (or should I say covers) of Entertainment Weekly. Author of the book, Stephenie Meyer, has been named one of EW’s Entertainers of the Year. I was introduced to the book by my sister who called me up one day and said, “I just read this book, and you have to read it!” I trust Kelsey’s judgment, so I picked up a copy. And then I picked up the succeeding books of the series. While it is billed as a young adult novel, it isn’t written as one. The characters are well spoken. I’ve read other adult novels, and I find that most authors write young adult novels as if the young adults are…six or seven years old. They don’t seem to be able to find the right conversational styles for people of the age 16. Albeit, Meyer’s characters probably have conversational styles at a level higher than that of normal 17 year olds. But, one of them is technically 109 years old, so she gets a pass. Anyway, I am counting down for this movie. I don’t count down to thing very often, unless it is a holiday, or a time that I get to go somewhere. But I am ready for this movie to come out. So, it is being released at midnight next Thursday (technically Friday, but whose counting.) Well, I had a lot more to say about this topic, but I can’t remember it at the moment, so more for later!

Chase (is pretty excited for Twilight)

So, it’s been…I don’t know how long since I’ve blogged. Months. And months and months. But I want to get back into it, if at all possible. I make no guarantees, however. The election season ended last week with the election of the first African American President of the United States. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, it was a pretty historic moment for the US. Now that the election is over, and retailers can have the airwaves back for commercials, it seems that they are moving into the holiday season with fervor. I, for one, never admonish a holiday commercial. I love everything about the holidays, which anyone whose ever read my blog knows. With the economic crisis looming overhead, I would be willing to bet that this holiday season is not as big a payoff for retailers as it has been in the past. Many retailers are showing a loss in third quarter profits this year, and are expecting to see low fourth quarter profits as well. I’ve heard that some stores are planning their “black Friday” sales early, in hopes to counteract the low cash flow.

Anyway, I haven’t started any Christmas shopping yet. I still have some birthdays to get through. Although I have begun to think about it. I am about ready to start the decorating, though. Early, you say? Bah, I say. If retailers are already playing Christmas commercials, then why can’t I put up my tree? Plus, I am not really at my house much during the holidays, so if I put it up before Thanksgiving, I can actually enjoy it. I’m thinking of revamping the look of the blog for the holidays too. Not that I don’t love the green roses, but perhaps something new. Just until January 1st. Then the roses can make a comeback.

TTFN!
Chase

And yes, the orange stays for Fall, until I switch to red or green. Or maybe light blue. We’ll see!

I listen to a lot of music. Pretty consistently. At work, at home, in the car, even in the shower (yay, ipod shower…thing). So, I’ve been exposed to a lot of different songs. Well, a friend of mine recently came across this video, where apparently two guys challenged each other to come up with the worst mixtape ever, and the loser had to walk around town with a giant boombox blasting the worst mixtape. It’s hilarious, although I have my doubts about these songs actually being the worst songs in the world.

I decided to try to come up with my own list, but in the process, I came across Blender’s list of the top 50 worst songs ever. Some of them I disagree with, but some of them I completely agree with. You can find their list here. As for me, my list of top five would be something like this:
1) Man, I feel like a woman – Shania Twain
I actually like some of this canadian singer’s stuff, but this one I just think was overplayed.
2) My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion
This song brings back memories of the seventh grade, when my best friend was in love with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was a funny time, but I am pretty sure when we went to see Titanic, she was bawling when he died, and myself and our other best friend just couldn’t help but laugh at her, and the little girls behind us who were sobbing as well.
3) Who Let The Dogs Out – Baha Men
I don’t even have words for this one.
4) She Bangs – Ricky Martin
Ok, he did ok on Livin’ La Vida Loca, but he missed the mark with this one.
5) Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
I am actually sad to put this one on the list, but I think it belongs. It is definitely one of those that gets in your head and then just grates into your brain. And now, it is in my head, and will probably be there for the rest of the day.
What do you think are the worst songs ever?
By the way, I would just like to say that for like, 6 days now, someone (aka, Tony Perkins of the Fox Five morning news) has been promising me rain. And once again, it is bright and sunny outside. I’m not a creep who hates the sun, but I’ve lived here for almost two years, and not once have we had a decent thunderstorm. Sometimes you just need some pounding rain, and crazy thunder and lightening.
Bring on the rain!!
Chase

Well, the first real trailer was released today for the upcoming Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This is the sixth installation of the Harry Potter series. The trailer, which you can watch here, I personally think leaves something to be desired. At least to those who are familiar with the books. We do get a glimpse (more than a glimpse, actually) of young Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. But there are several key storylines that are missing from the trailer. And, I realize that movie trailers aren’t long, and can’t give everything away. Obviously. The trailer does reveal that this movie is going to be, like the book, darker than the Harry Potter movies we are used to.
I am looking forward to the release of this movie, even more than I am looking forward to the release of the Twilight movie. I am just not sure about Robert Pattinson as Edward. I did love him as Cedric, and I suppose it’s not fair for me to expect him to remain “dead” for the rest of his career. Although, as a vampire, I suppose that is slightly what he is again. Slightly dead. Yup, that’s what the master’s degree brought me. Phrases like “slightly dead.” Anyway, I’ve just recently seen a new teaser for Twilight, and it has me more excited about it than I was after seeing the first teaser.
Harry Potter November, Twilight December. These are two movies that I am excited about coming to the big screen.
And I will say that if you have not read the Twilight series, you should. And don’t disregard it because it is billed as a “young adult” novel. There is nothing young adult about the emotions that author Stephenie Meyer has managed to envoke in her characters.

Chase

I am always listening to music. My ipod travels with me everywhere I go. I take public transportation to work, and then walk from there, so it is not unusual to see me with my headphones on. As a result, I have a ton of music and other such essentials on my ipod. It actually isn’t limited to music, I’ve had audiobooks, movies, even old episodes of ER on my ipod at any given time. But I travel often too, either for work, vacation, or just to visit the homefront and see my family. I’m always dragging my laptop, cell phone and ipod in and out of airports. In a recent article published in The Telegraph, as a part of G8 agreements in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, airports are going to begin scanning laptops, mp3 players and ipods, and cell phones for illegal downloads. This is aimed at “how to deal with large-scale intellectual property infringements,” but there is concern that individuals who have illegally downloaded music strictly for personal use will be caught as well.

This is a concern directly from the article, but I am not sure that, at least to me, it was explained well enough. I understand that they are doing this in order to catch “large scale infringements” but the way this article approached it, it sounded like, well, we know that illegal downloading happens, and we can’t stop that, so we are just after the big guns. Actually, come to think of it, probably what the concern is is that so many people have downloaded something illegally, they they don’t want to have to pull every person out of line as they are screened. It’s also a customs issue with international travel. I thought this entire concept was interesting. Most of my music is bought and paid for through Itunes, so maybe I have a different concept of what this all means, but it seems to me that this is another way to make the security lines at the airport even longer….

Check out the rest of the article here.

Chase

I have been neglecting this blog for a while, simply because my work load, both at the office and at school has experienced exponential growth this summer. However, a great cause for celebration is around the corner! I will be graduating a week from Saturday. Done, fini, whatever language you prefer. And then, hopefully, I will find some time to dedicate to my beloved blog once again. I have missed it terribly. Until then, I continue to live off of the “finals week diet” of coffee and dry cereal (Cap’n Crunch is great brain food). And when I return, I shall be Master. Ha ha.
Until then-
Chase

Have you ever noticed that when you think you need to go to sleep, because you have to get up uncharacterisitically early, you can’t ever fall asleep? This is a chronic thing with me. When I have early flights, or early meetings….it is almost as if I would be better off not going to sleep, and running on low for the day, then crashing that night. Alas…

I had a 6am flight this morning to get to New York for the Personal Democracy Forum (yay, techies!). Because of my 6am flight, I was up at 4am. Knowing this, I attempted to go to sleep around 10:30 last night. Did not work. At all. At 2am, I was still awake. Which promted me to hit my snooze button when the alarm went off at 4 this morning. I almost missed my flight. It was pretty crazy. I was irritable until I was on that plane. Needless to say, I have not yet had my am coffee, something that is severely inhibiting my mood. Yet I took the time to sit and blog. I have now arrived at the conference, and discovered that (like all good techie conferences) we have decent internet access. So, I am going to be blogging throughout the day today and tomorrow, chronicling the goings-on and the nonsense. But now, I am off in search of coffee…

Ciao, baby!

Chase

A nod to one of my favorite movies, but not a whole lot to do with today’s topic. Actually, since summer is approaching, it is time to start thinking about summer colors! Well…I always like to change up my makeup for summer. It’s warm outside, so you don’t want to put anything heavy on your face, it just starts to feel sticky.
Suggestion 1:
Bare Minerals foundation, blush, and mineral veil. It’s light, but provides good coverage to hide those pesky freckles that appear when someone spends too much time in the sun (guilty!). It also has an SPF of 15, since some exposure is inevitable (unless you are a hermit). The mineral veil is also very light and leaves your skin oil-free, and that makeup won’t come off on the phone, or your clothes!
Suggestion 2:
If your skin has a tendency to get a little oily as the day goes on (as mine is prone), you might consider putting something on under your makeup in the morning. I’d suggest this product by Cosmedicine: Medi Matte. It is an oil control lotion. I know…how does a lotion control oil. But this sutff works without making your skin feel dry and flaky.
Suggestion 3:
This is actually a suggestion that works year-round, and I just recently discovered it. I don’t know how I was even wearing eyeshadow before finding Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion. It’s a liquid that’s got the consistency of a thick concealer, but it doesn’t feel the same at all. Once I put it on, I all but forgot it was there. It prevents your eyeshadow from smudging, fading, or creasing. I’ve always had a big problem with eyeshadow creasing, but this little potion in the cute bottle has cured that.
Suggestion 4:
Summer means new lip shades! My skin tone, hair color, and eye color aren’t really very summer friendly when it comes to summer shades. Peaches and cream skin, dark brown hair, and blue eyes. Well, I streaked the brown hair with blonde highlights, but the blue eyes throw me off. I have always worn dark brown eye shadow, because that is the main color to bring out the blue. So, I am on the hunt for some summer eyeshadow that I have yet to find. Perhaps pink or purple. Turquoise is going to be very popular this summer, blue isn’t my shade. Anyway, on to lips! As with eyeshadows, my lip colors are best for fall and winter. I search long and hard for a good summer-y color. I’m not a lipstick fan, it always feels to heavy, but I wear lip gloss almost every day. And I’ve finally found a new shade that is going to be my staple this summer. Lorac Mocktail lip gloss in Tequila Sunrise. It has an orange-y tint to it, and just a little shine. It isn’t sticky, because one of my biggest problems with lip gloss is when it is sticky. Or when it dries and gets flaky, which this does not do either. A bright raspberry color is also going to be very popular this summer. I am still searching for my own perfect variation of that one. I’m determined!
Suggestion 5:
My final suggestion is for perfume. I have one scent that I have worn for a very long time, and it is Kenneth Cole’s Reaction. I love the way it smells, I still love it, and will continue to wear it. But I can’t wear anything very heavy during the summer. For some reason, I tend to attract bees and other annoying buzzy creatures. So, I’ve found something that is perfect for anytime! You could even spritz it on for an evening beach party. It’s Vera Wang’s Flower Princess. It’s a floral scent, but light and…well….summer-y! I love it. And the bottle is so cute, it has a little crown and everything. What girl doesn’t want to be treated like a princess? This scent is a limited edition, so make sure you get some soon!

So, I varied from the norm, and revealed some of my favorite beauty secrets and/or supplies. I’ll update if I make anymore discoveries!

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