A Romantic Comedy That Does Not Look Terrible

Meet Hollywood's Black Best Friends

She's black, smart, female and usually "sassy." And her primary function in a movie is to act as the main (white) character's conscience, offering advice no one asked for at the exact moment it's needed. The Root takes a look at some of Hollywood's reigning BBFs.

Click on the link above to read about the Roots list of the top 10:


1. Viola Davis in 'Eat Pray Love'
2. Kerry Washington in 'Save the Last Dance'
3. Zoe Saldana in 'Center Stage'
4. Queen Latifah in 'The Bone Collector'
5. Regina King in 'Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous'
6. Jennifer Hudson in 'The Secret Life of Bees'
7. Wanda Sykes in 'Monster-in-Law'
8. Gabrielle Union in 'Running With Scissors'
9. Whoopi Goldberg in 'Girl, Interrupted'
10. Rachel True in 'The Craft'

These People Could Be In Charge: Seriously People

Please consider sending $10 to the DNC or to your local Democratic Candidate for the up-coming mid-term elections. Let's not have the rest of Obama's first term in office be complete gridlock and inaction. The Tea-Bagger backed candidates are seriously deranged and incompetent to hold office. If you don't believe in Government, you will do a crappy job governing, that simple. We're still trying to dig our way out of the Bush Administration destruction and bedlam--if you can't give, just be sure to vote and to remind your friends and family to vote.

Vintage Beauty: Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy even though she did Playboy. In the 90's she was kick ass funny and sexy in MTV's singled out.

I Can Haas Stove-Top Now?

How cool is this stove-top?

Lisa's 12 Week Summer Conclusion: Part 2

My measurements from 5/30/10 are:

arm: 15.25 in
chest: 47.0 in
hips: 51.5 in
waist: 41.5 in
wrist 6.25 in
Right thigh 29.0 inch

My measurements from 8/24/10 are:

arm: 15.25 in
chest: 47.5 in
hips: 51.25 in
waist: 42.5 in
wrist 6.25 in
Right thigh 29.0 inch

Conclusion:
arm: 0 in
chest: +0.5 in
hips: -0.25 in
waist: +1.0 in
wrist: 0 in
Right thigh: 0 in

Well the results are results. I tried. Didn't reach goals. Yet, I will never give up. I will just go back to the drawing board.

A Romantic Comedy That Does Not Look Terrible

September is National Yoga Month

National Yoga Month September 2010 invites all styles of yoga to participate in an awareness campaign designed to educate about the many benefits of yoga and inspire our fellow citizens to live healthier, happier lives.

If you go to http://www.yogamonth.org/ . You can receive a free week of yoga at a local yoga studio. I have signed up. I will blog about the experience late September.

Lisa's 12 Week Summer Conclusion

Week 12 Results

8/23/2010 Down 1 lbs going back to 241.6 lbs.
I stayed on track.

I started 5/30/10 at 243 lbs. I am finishing at 241.6. So in 12 weeks I netted a weight loss of 1.4 lbs. It is not the 22 lbs I wanted to lose. Yet, I believe if I wasn't on the goal to lose 22 lbs, I would have a net gain because I wouldn't have gotten back on track after vacation.


How I maintained the Summer Jump Start Challenge :

1. Tracking no mater what.
2. Moving more, because by saying I was an athlete until I believed it.
3. Not given up.
4. Remember I am am more then a number on the scale.

Tomorrow I will post the results of the measurements of the Jump Start Challenge.

Sara Rue Looses 50lbs, her Jenny Craig video makes me sad

I find this Jenny Craig video featuring Sara Rue really depressing--I'm not hating on Sara Rue for loosing weight! Its just, how much pressure there is for a beautiful woman (as Ms. Rue is skinny or curvy) to be thin is so overwhelming sometimes...not just in Hollywood, but on Mainstreet USA.

P.S. This video below is WAY less depressing because its chalk full of healthy living tips,



This one is a bit of a tear-jerker, but honest:

Vintage Beauty: Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate was one sexy chick back in the in 80's-90's. Even though her Kelly Bundy character didn't come off as the smartest. She did have some real zingers for her co-stars.

When Top 40 Pop Songs Become Kinda Good Performed By Real Musicians: Two Examples

Mama Grizzlies Reject Sarah Palin's Fake Platitudes

Changing the Landscape of Food Deserts: Walgreens is Getting it Right!

Check out this news piece on NPR about Walgreens incorporating fresh produce into their stores in "food deserts." This is fantastic! Its a pilot project beginning in Chicago, but if it goes well, they will expand it to other urban areas with "food deserts." Food deserts are a perfect example of how the free-market fails communities. Grocery stores have pulled out of inner-city neighborhoods, favoring the Supercenter model and catering to suburbanites, leaving many people with limited transporation to fend for food via liquor or convenience stores. Sure, you can get Ramen and Twinkies, but broccoli and apples? Good luck. Reintroducing produce in these deserts is both a financially good idea and a real commitment to the concept of community. So Walgreens, you deserve a gold star!

Adrianne C -- I Was 'Molested' Outside Star Wars Expo

TMZ is reporting:

Former "America's Next Top Model" champ Adrianne Curry called police in Orlando this weekend ... claiming an allegedly drunk man reached up her skirt and "molested" her outside of a Star Wars convention.

During the incident she was said to be wearing a Princess Leah outfit. People need to remember that a persons wardrobe never warrants assault.

Monday Manjoyment

Moment of Manjoyment: AC on a Bike

Lisa's 12 Week Summer Jump Start

Week 11 Results

8/16/2010 Down 5.2 lbs going back to 242.6 lbs.

I am back on track. I am in the zone now.


How I did it:
1. I actually followed my turning it around plan from last week.
2. Ate the lunches I brought to work and only bought a snack out one day.
3. Tracked excently for 5 days and ok for 2 days.
4. Most importantly not turning in the towel after seeing a crazy number.
5. Upped my Activity Points to 11.

Good for You Terri Hatcher

Terri Hatcher uploaded some pictures of herself making face-muscle-requiring-expressions in order to demonstrate that she doesn't use and will not use Botox. Nicole Kidman could not move her face to save her life at this point, let alone Meg Ryan. So Terri, you earn my Going Natural Gold Star of the Week:

What a Beautiful Poem & Video

What a beautiful poem & video! Brava, Tanya Davis! Words of wisdom.

Moderation People, Not Scare Tactics

Check out this gallery entitled 40 Desserts that Could Kill You!!!!

Boo: 40 Desserts that Could Kill You--Yeah, if you eat them all at once! Moderation People, not Scare Tactics! Also, whenever I get a ridiculous dessert, I'm generally sharing it with at least one other person, if not three.

The "Situation" Work Out Video

I don't know if "The Situation" ever openly advocated for "juicing" on the Jersey Shore, but Snookie sure did and she wasn't met with appalled roommates discouraging such an unhealthy illegal activity. So, I don't know if Mr. Sitch got his current physique through steroid usage, but he sure didn't get that ripped "in just 10 minutes" as his video claims. So buyer beware...results not typical.

Clarification: Snookie wasn't implying that she would take steriods, rather that she only wanted to be "with a real juicehead." Bulky and ripped is how she wants her Guido--back acne and homicidal rage not withstanding.

Real Housewives of DC: I Think I'll Just Skip this Batch of Housewives--I Love Me Some Politics Too Much to Let Them Tatter My Nation's Capitol

I can already tell that we're supposed to root for Stacie Scott Turner and Mary Schmidt Amons; the villains are clearly Michaele Salahi (remember the woman who crashed a White House party a while back...yet still is not in jail?) and Catherine Ommany (a British villain, edgy). Lynda Erkiletian is an pot-stirrer and a feud starter for sure, but likeable enough. Yawn...

Seriously though, Atlanta, New Jersey, New York--all enjoyable, but mindless. The OC is tacky as it is possible to be (yes, I'm calling OC tackier than NJ), but DC just seems SOOO FAKE and the women SO pathetic. They are not people of consequence, not in the sense that is meaningful to a political wonk like me. Give me a journalists' wife or a key congressional staff person. "I own a DC modeling agency" so the fuck what? Glamor Shots, Sioux City for all I care about that. You live in suburban Virginia? So what, give me a Georgetown Brownstone Townhouse dweller over a McMansion McBunny anyday. Fundamentally, Bravo failed in casting. These ladies are OC redux, not DC interesting. Andy Cohen, seriously call me about that Real Housewives of Brooklyn thing--I see hipsters, I see overly fussy parents worried about organic peanut butter, etc.

Enjoy Fruit? Most Veggies? Thank a Bee!

Roasted Corn on the Cobb & Veggie Soup from the Farmer's Market

I can't believe its already August! I went on a Farmer's Market Farm Tour two weekends ago (which I'll blog about later in the week), but I haven't been to the actual Farmer's Market as much as usual. Crazy summer, let's just say that. But I definitely want to accomplish two farmer's market related things this weekend: roast some corn on the cob and make a lovely batch of veggie soup (ooh, with the eggplant I'm actually growing in my own small container garden right now!!! I haven't picked it yet, but I've never been successful with eggplant for some reason). Anyway, so readers, what farm fresh produce recipe do you want to try before the season ends?

Oh, No, She Didn't? Yes She Did: Mariah Carey's Lollipop Bling Ad is Redic!

Magical Thinking doesn't begin to describe this ad campaign--and the thing is, in the hands of Lady Gaga or similar, this would be ironic. Mariah Carey? This woman is serious.

Free Speech Doesn't Equal Consequence Free Speech: Dr. Laura Shouts the N-Word Six Times on the Radio

So, Dr. Laura decided that it was her god-given right to repeat the n-word six times over the radio yesterday to a black woman who called into her show to discuss relationship advice (she's married to a white man, for context). So, Dr. Laura thought, "hey, black person! I can complain about how unfair it is that I don't get to call black folks the n-word anymore--that's reverse racism and I'm pouty about it!" You can check out the audio clips and transcripts here.

Okay, this is a conservative white person tactic to reduce the conversation about racism, race relations and inter-racial relationships to a matter of semantics. Its a common trope and notice that its always conservative or liberatarian white people (caveat, I am a white person, so don't call me a reverse racist) who like to bring this topic of the n-word up. The common argument is that it is not fair that they don't get to use the n-word without being called out for being a racist. Let me make this clear: yes, you have freedom of speech in this country and you can literally say the n-word, but guess what? There are consequences for engaging in racist behavior and hate speech, namely that you are called out for being a racist and for your hate speech.

When a black person on HBO or hanging out with exclusively other black folks uses the word affectionately, it is contextually different than a white woman on the radio saying it to a black woman who has married a white man. White people used the n-word to "other" and to humiliate black people for centuries, thus if a white person uses that word it is in order to "other" and humiliate and to remind said black person of the slave and Jim Crow eras in which black people were not regarded as fully human. This is what a white person using the n-word invokes, period.

Now, within the black community, reappropriating the n-word is controversial. Many believe that reappropriation is inadvisable and believe that there is no rehabilitating such a disgusting word whereas others fully engage in reappropriation, much like some feminists are trying to take back the words "cunt" or "bitch." Regardless of that debate, white people cannot use the n-word without also invoking hate-speech and if you are so angry about that, about feeling like you have been denied something, you need to examine how your privilege is acting as a barrier to understanding the deeper realities of racial history in America. Yes, there is something wrong with you morally, ethically and spiritually, Dr. Laura.

For Republicans 2 + 2 = ???

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Deductible Me
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

The quality of public education is of great concern to me--especially since its decline is impacting elected leaders ability to comprehend basic math concepts. Republican math is not real-world math unless of course its just blatant hypocrisy.

What Rachel Said!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

As part of the aspiring "professional left" I gotta say: "Gibs, without us, you don't have a base." Stop pandering to the Right--they will never play with you or support you or agree with you. They are the party of no and we are the party of accountability--and yes, that includes my criticism of the Obama administration's failure to achieve universal healthcare when we had our moment, so I fight on for that goal and about a 1,000 other progressive social policies and rights. This is our job--making Obama do his job and do it within the spirit in which he was elected. The spirit of progressivism, of liberalism.

"The Switch" Aka Sexual Assault is Wacky!

Quoting a commenter at Pandagon on this issue:

"I’d like to submit the notion that Jennifer Aniston is to American Entertainment what Sarah Palin is to American Politics: a walking, talking dressed-up anti-feminist cipher that poaches & mangles feminist language & ideas & is presented as an ideal that other women have to measure up to. I mean, JA’s entire career has been spent playing the same superficially-independent-utramodern-fembot-who-is-really-a-complete-neurotic-mess-for-want-of-a-good-man. Or some variation thereof."

--Comment #44: Smartpatrol on 08/08 at 03:12 PM

This is another bad movie, marketed toward women that only serves to insult women and encourage rape culture because this is a form of sexual or medical assault at the very least. He straight up asks her, what's wrong with my sperm, and she turns him down as donor. She does not want to have his baby and by making him "hilariously" drunk during the scene in question just serves to promote the horrible notion that drinking alcohol is the get out of responsibility card for men when they want to force their bodies (or their genetic material) into an unwilling woman's body. There's 200 plus comments up at the Pandagon thread dealing with this issue and its a good discussion, but I have to implore you dear readers, please don't see this movie!

"I'm Hungry"--Kristin Bauer

"The other day I realized as long as I'm in this business, I'm going to be hungry. The camera really does add 10 pounds. I'm trying to stay under the weight I want to look like on TV. It's a good incentive to stay slim..."

--Kristin Bauer, "Pam" on True Blood

I really do appreciate it when actors tell it like it is. Instead of saying "Oh, I love pizza and french fries, but to balance it all out I take my puppy for a stroll on the beach a couple times a week and try to fit in yoga." Kristin Bauer is putting it out there: "I'm hungry."

Eat Pray Love: Everybody Made Fun of the Book, Now Making Fun of Movie. Me? I'm Gonna See it Anyway!

Caveat, I know that this is about as privileged a view of life one can get--well off enough to take a year to discover yourself? Yeah, not "the common woman's experience" but you know what? Privilege and wealth do make opportunities--and sometimes those opportunities enhance the discourse, bring new perspectives and enrich all of our conversations about search for meaning, the search for beauty, the search for truth. So, I'm pretty pro-Gilbert and I'm really pro-the-art-direction of this film. Check out the locations and color pallet!

Yay, Another Thing to Freak Out About!!!

So, apparently women are at an increased risk of premature death caused by sitting at our desks all day at work! Well, I guess I better quit my job and become a homeless person...all that sad wandering the street has to be really calorie burning. Seriously, though this sucks and its another reason why we need more flexible work structures and perhaps, dare I say, start to get paid for the work we do not the hours we're at the desk? You can check out the whole scary, reactionary article HERE!

Infant Care Costs More than College Tuition in 40 of 50 States

Checkout this article from the New York Times about the costs of child and infant care in the US. The study shows that Infant Care for one year costs more than one year's college tuition and fees to that state's public university!!! This is obscene and yet another example of how truly anti-children, anti-prosperity, and sex-phobic out nation is.

Exact numbers vary — from a low of $4,550 per year for infant care in Mississippi in 2009 to a high of more than $18,750 in Massachusetts. Infant care was particularly expensive — the yearly cost of care in a center is higher, on average, than the the yearly cost of food in every region of the United States. But even as children graduate to the toddler room, care hardly becomes a bargain. The monthly costs for center care for an infant plus a preschooler are higher than the median cost of rent, and nearly as high as the monthly mortgage for most families. (Costs for school-age children ranged from $2,160 in Mississippi to $10,400 in New York.)

Yes, you read that right, care for one infant and one toddler exceeds the median cost of rent! Much like health-care, the costs of child-care grows at a much faster rate than inflation or wages. This is a problem, but since it so often is cast as "a woman's issue" it is neglected until it cripples many families. In France and Sweden, child-care is considered a "right of the child" just like public education. Here, we do have a public education model, but infant/toddler age children (as well as college students--remember, most European nations finance you through University) is supposed to be managed by parents alone. This will not work in our new economy--where both men and women not only "get to work" but HAVE TO WORK!!! This issue will grow and grow until it hits a breaking point, but let's not let that breaking point be toddlers left in ramshackle apartments alone enmass.

Lisa's 12 Week Summer Jump Start

Week 9 and 10 Results

8/9/2010 Up 8.6 lbs going back to 247.8 lbs.


How I did it:
1. Curise vacation. It included 4 meals a day.
2. When eating those meals I had extra portions
3. Did not go to gyme delay as planned.
4. Had high calorie beverages daily.
5. Ate still more fast food before I left.

How I am going to turn it around.
1. Got weighed in this morning. I know where I am.
2. Going to take up running.
3. Bought a week worth of lunches this morning.
4. Accurately got the points of my morning coffee.
5. Measured out my lunch today.

I'm Offended By Your Body!

In an interview with Christina Hendricks, Joan on Mad Men, she recounts an audition experience in which the casting director was essentially offended by her body. See below for her description of the experience and what she was actually wearing:

Hendricks: I remember one in particular. It was pilot season, and it was a procedural kind of show, and I went in to play the wife of a cop. I had to break down and cry and all these things. I left so confident. I was like, "I killed that." There are so few moments as an actor where you feel like in an audition you were truly there, you were so present and you really felt it. I got a call from my agent a couple hours later: "What were you wearing? The casting director was so offended by what you were wearing."

Now, let me tell you what I was wearing: gray dress pants from Banana Republic and a navy-blue silk top from Donna Karan, which was the nicest thing I owned. It was a little low-cut, because most things are; I just happen to be bustier than a lot of people. It was very classy and very nice, and the casting director was so offended by my breasts that she called my agent and said, "I couldn't even hear her audition because of what she was wearing." I was like, "You pathetic woman. I just killed that audition so hard, and you're so distracted by what I'm wearing that you didn't see my acting. And I put on my nicest duds for you!"