new find: Passion Pit

I think I like 'em. Hypnotic to say the least.

a couple pounds of cake

so i lost a couple pounds in my attempt to lose 8 total by xmas. then i saw this comic this morning and i chortled.

yes, a couple pounds is a huge deal for us women. we can't simply shed pounds like you men out there. my manlove lost 4 pounds just by eating healthier with me the first week. 4 pounds! jealous? maybe. determined? sure.

cake? well, ok, just a piece.

christmas cards

'Tis the season for writing holiday cards and sending love and warm wishes (and silly photocards) to friends and the fambam.

I've written/sent just over 20. My hands hurt. My stamps are depleted. My warm wishes are running low. Alas, 'twas totally worth it.

My mailbox has only been graced with one card so far. From Ms Borquita, of the Portland persuasion. I attribute this to the fact that it is still early and more are to come. Or, like in this lady's case, something is terribly wrong. Maybe I should call the police.

ohhhhh, no you didn't!

not be outdone by the funky boy, this young gangsta shows us the real meaning of cool.

he started hip hop. didn't you know?


my personal favorite breakdancing move is the middle one. i've been practicing it around the office today.

ker-splat

it's work like this that inspired me to get into advertising

If you only read some of the copy, try out the second sentence. And then the last sentence.

"Men and teenage boys love to be fashionable too!!....embellish with sequined applique, tassels, ribbon roses, rhinestones and nailheads."

Ahhh, to be funky and mustachioed (barely).

(click for larger view)

Kindness. Blindness.

I went to the gym last Wednesday. As I was sweating away on the stationary bike, a blind woman walked in with her dog and started her workout. I started thinking how great it was that she was there. Then I felt bad for thinking that just because she was blind, I expected her not to be there. Then I realized I don't know how I could be that strong.

Then, a second blind lady came in with a walking stick. What a strange coincidence. This is not a big gym. There are MAYBE 20 machines crammed together in a tiny room.

So the second lady gets on an elliptical machine. I've since moved to the tread mill to walk a bit. She strikes up a conversation with the guy on the machine next to her and asks his help with getting her started. He was a young guy, very friendly. I thought it was so refreshing to see people helping people.

I moved from the treadmill to the stair climber. And she moved to the bike next to me. She asks me to help her get it started. And continued to talk to me for the entirety of my 20 minute stair-climbing hell. Super nice girl.

We talked about jobs and work. We're both transplants from out of state. She kept asking me to update her on how far she had gone, how many calories she had burned, what her speed was (a girl after my own heart!) She talked about how she loves hiking and is part of a blind hiking group and is hoping to find a blind softball league as well. I was shocked. I can't even make sense out of what that would be. I didn't ask because I didn't want to seem ignorant to the fact.

But, it was an amazing experience. Twenty minutes changed my view of people with disabilities. I looked up blind hiking groups the next day. I wanted to volunteer. I wanted to take part. I wanted to help while also doing something I love: hiking.

I haven't found anything yet. But I'm going to keep looking. Even if I'm unsuccessful, it really made me think.

Before I left she asked me where her "friend with the dog was." How did she even know they were there? Amazing.

Maybe I'll run into her again. Maybe we'll become gym friends.

a good feeling:

a full gas tank.

i just filled up this morning. every time i fill up, i feel a little bit better. i'm no longer on empty. it'll be awhile before i have to invest in another full tank. i don't have to worry about stopping for gas in the freezing weather. stressful. gasful.

a good feeling.

Dear Mr Winter,

You bastard. I thought we had an understanding. But seriously???? -16 degrees this morning? Not to mention with windchill it was -30.

So ya. My commute sucked balls. And yes. Mr Pickles ALMOST didn't even start this morning. He sputtered to a halt three times before finally staying on. And yes. My frostbitten toes are absolutely over you and this relationship.

It's not me. It's you.

Sincerely,
Montastic

Dr Mr Winter,

You know I love you. You know I love the snow, and any excuse to curl up and drink a hot cocoa...or an entire bottle of whiskey. Yesterday you gave me a glorious 11 degrees to work with. Today you're promising only 9. I don't mind it during the day since my building finally got the heat problem worked out...and I am no longer freezing at work.

But during the commute, I'm quite cold. I only work a little over three miles from home. That is not enough time for Mr Pickles to warm up. He tries his best...but when it's only 2-3 degrees outside when I leave home in the morning, warmth is not easy to come by.

So here's my proposition for you:

Stay around 30 degrees from 8:40 to 9:00 am, then drop as low as you want. Warm up again from about 4:55 to 5:20 pm, then please plummet to the lowest lows overnight. Deal? Good.

Also, thank you for the solid sheet of ice that is frozen on the inside of my apartment windows. I've never had that happen before. You can teach me so many things.

Sincerely,
Montastic

a random sampling of cool

I've had these all in the to-be-posted pile on my computer's desktop. So, without much belabored description, here they are:




if you have this amount of time, please do things like this. so rad. every note played is a different video file, placed together to make one of my fav jams of all time!



this pie chart represents a combination of all the flags of the world. check the site for individual flag-pie-charts for each country. super cool.



glow in the dark gloves. for what? well, originally for sign language use at night time. innovation alert! something i would have never though about--people struggling to read sign language at nighttime. what a brilliant thing. of course these could be used at for dance parties, raves, nighttime jogging, or nighttime high-fiving.



i was in San Francisco over Easter this year. and i remember watching street performers for a while, just HOPING they would do something even remotely as cool as this. talk about talent.

yay winter forecasts!

i heart the cold.

i dislike pit stains

and not the kind that is just sweat showing through a shirt. dictionarally* speaking...those aren't even actual stains.

i'm talking about yellowish brownish stains on lovely white shirts.

like: white shirts
dislike: pit stains

like: hugs
dislike: lifting up my arms for a hug, only to reveal huge pit stains

like: pleasant aromas
dislike: the grotesque B.O. that you can't wash out of a shirt once it is pit-stained.

like: looking fab, sometimes
dislike: looking stained, all the time.

this just in!
Montastic sweats a lot.



*yes, i'm aware this isn't a word.

yet another way you know you are too tired

while starting to put on your morning makeup you start putting face powder in your armpit instead.

yep.

is that a biscuit in your pocket, or....

marvelous.

a distinct advantage

hearts to marc johns' work

the San Diego Breast Cancer 3day recap

I'm baaaaack. What a long and wonderful trip to California for the 3day walk and Thanksgiving.

The walk was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. Hands down. I hurt my foot pretty bad walking (I'm still limping over a week later!) but have already signed up for next year. Chase had to use a wheelchair at airport because her blisters were so bad from the walk--and she's signing up for next year also!

I guess you had to be there to really understand how amazing it was...and how you can be in SO much pain and still want to do it again. I've never done anything as physically tough and as mentally challenging as the walk. Roboknee and Montastic did well!

Some highlights:

- SDPD flying over and announcing their support for the walkers from the helicopter
- limping through the last 4 miles of day 2, and all 14.5 miles of day 3
- all the little kids handing out stickers and candy along the walk
- uncrustables. holy moly. delish!
- 8 of 10 toes taped up to (unsuccessfully) prevent blisters
- the biker-turned-crossing guard wearing assless chaps and a pink thong
- chase's good spirit through her pain, and her elderly nemeses that she couldn't catch up to
- my mamasita dancing anytime she heard music
- showering in porto-showers in semi trucks
- dolphins swimming under the bridge we crossed on day two
- finishing, barely!

that time I walked 60 miles for Breast Cancer in San Diego

in case you don't know me on facebook and missed the cutest baby ever

a couple different angles...

Pedigree commerical follow-up

So after my last post, I browsed the ol' youtube for more commercials in this campaign. None was as strong as the optimum pooper commercial, which explains why it's the one I see the most. But, this one was probably a second place in my book.

An optimum pooper

Time for some commercial lovin'.

I hardly like tv commericials. But this pedigree one is just the best. Cute (but not too cute) dog. The word pooper. Precious little doggy pride. Everything about it works. I love that the dog is proud of his pooping abilities. It definitely has that emotional connection to the brand, not for the dog owner, but for the dog itself. Not only that, but it does it all in just 15 seconds. Brilliant. Silly. Pooper.

common observation

guess it's just a day to test your brain out here at Bella and Brutta.

Check out this quiz link for 25 questions that test your observation skills--questions about things we see every day. No cheating! It says the average person gets 7 right. I got 15. holler!

Time to get those brain juices flowing.

the most common words

Here's a fun little game...if you're into words. Basically, it tests how many of the 100 most commonly used words you can guess in 12 minutes.

I got 69. Go figure. Go ahead...give it a try!

Friday Fun Day Song Send-Off!

Locksley. A fun sound on an ordinary Friday.

lyric love: "Don't think twice. I think it would be nice, a life of over-flattery"

Happy. Happy. Happy.

I'm not more happy than usual today. But for some reason I just really want some happy spread around. Right now.

A few things that make me happy--
candles, the smell of hazelnut, cuddles, new music, hiking, pictures, old men walking in the morning, bright colors, cleaning, chapstick, opening a fresh tube of toothpaste, new wallets, love, lust, pepperoni, stationary, seeing strangers laughing, laughing, and family.

I don't know about you, but I'm on the "Change Something" circle.

learn something new every day

I found this site this morning. Fun facts, lovely drawings, learning!

After I saw this one, clearly I was hooked!

I always new there was more value to tequila than most people thought. Now it's true. Quick, bring me a paloma so that I may wet my whistle and feel luxurious. (for those who aren't into as diamond-laced drinks as me...a paloma: tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, soda water) yum!


one more fun fact (mainly i just like the happy banana picture)

a messy bang and a song.

Ya that's right. I did it.



The Fratellis. Learn 'em. Love 'em.


Happy Monday!

Dear Building Management

I'm cold. So is everyone else. I keep my sweater on everyday. Or my big giant jacket. I even bought a blanket at the downtown Ross to drape over my legs to keep my lower half warm. It's bright green and I love it. But really? My fingers go numb most days. I hate being cold.

Some people had space heaters. We were told that was not allowed. Some complaints have been made. We've watched numerous times as the maintenance men come and poke at the vents and say they'll do something. Still cold. I've seen women wearing beanies even. Beanies!

I happen to know that our company pays more per month to rent this office than I make in an entire year. I think you can crank up the heat a notch or ten.

Don't tell me nothing can be done. It's beautiful and 75 degrees outside. And I'm freezing in here. And I end up just pissed off. And shaking. And even in midsummer I'd turn the heat on in my car to warm up on my drive home.

It cools me to the core. Only winterfresh gum is supposed to do that.

Help me. I'm cold.

Sincerely,
Montastic

a little floorplan creativity

Thanks to Chase for sending me this link yesterday. I thought it was a fun little bit of creativity to an ordinarily boring medium: apartment rental ads.


Her favorite was "Splash." Probably because she likes to use the bathroom a lot.

My favorite were "Be" and "Escape." Much better than living room and balcony if you ask me. Anyhoo, nothing mindblowing here. Just an easy lil smile on a Thursday morning.

puh puh poke her face

Happy belated Halloween!

Zombie Dorothy ate Toto. What can I say?


Oh and I made brain cupcakes AKA Zombie Food, obvs. So fun!

I don't remember where I saw this web banner...

...but it annoys the HECK outta me. Ya, that's right. I said it. HECK.

I mean really??? A horizontal banner ad... and they just rotated a vertical photo? Those lazy, cheap, sillypantses! This is not approved behavior.



Save money by purchasing cheaper banner ad real estate?

Check.

Save money by not hiring someone to design a horizontal version of the ad?

Check.

Well, maybe it was their way of being funky and different. You think?



Hrmmm. I agree with hippo.

Imagine Me and Mole

Dear Mole,
As long as I can remember you've sat on the upper left side of my nose. You've seen me through thick and thin. Through my awkward stages. Through relationships. Through friendships. Through multiple people trying to rub you off, thinking I had dirt on my face..and then through their embarassed looks as they realized the error of their ways. We've been through laughter, tears, and of course, a few tasty brews every once in a while. We were thick as thieves, you and I. Sigh.

But then you started to get bigger...and well, I didn't wanna have a huge face mole ten years from now. Basically, what I'm trying to say is... I chopped you off this morning. Do forgive me.

Me and you. You and me. No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be.

Sincerely,
Montastic

beliefs

i do believe in AWESOME hand sanitizer


i don't believe in fractioned speed limits


i do believe in drive-thru liquor stores

happy monday!

andremo in qualche posto bellissimo.

le sigh. love it.

the importance of a hyphen, knee problems, heaveno

They grow 'em tall in Baltimore! Watch out for those toweringly tall officers!


I understand you big guy. Both my knees hurt to. So it's not unlikely that I'd be grabbing one in pain one day, and have a brace on the other the next day.


You're right. The "hell" did just slap me right in face. How could I have been so blind! Seriously?

All found on Criggo. A site I heart.

but mah car wuz builded in 'Merica

Actually, no it wasn't. I drive a VW Jetta. And this billboard is tops!

Mando Diao - jammers!

I heard these guys a few weeks ago and have just been lazy about posting them. Great sound! Great energy! And from Sweden.

An awesome song of theirs is Dance With Somebody. The official video has embedding disabled, so be sure to check out the actual video for the song youtube. It's really great. And makes wanna just get up and...well...dance with somebody.


A bunch of musical Swedes who look like a buncha Swedes. Rad.

whimsy

want

just before the snow

It's mushy and snowy and wet today. Wet snow. The kind that looks like you could scoop it all into a cup and make a snowcone. Slush.

However---I must say, I absolutely enjoy the clouds just before the snow rolls in. They are not too far off in the distance, and the cover every bit of sky you can see. They are grayish with a hint of brown. Really truly ugly. And they look cold. And they look wet. And they are so discolored compared to the beautiful whiteness they release.

Mmmm! I can't wait for more snow.

Beauty is relative. So is ugliness.

This weekend me and the boy went to the Pumpkin Festival (hooray!). Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I was naturally very excited about this.

We bested the corn maze is a cool 18 minutes. Ate some nachos. Then went in search of the perfect pumpkins.

The horror! Only October 18th and most of the pumpkins were rotten and mushy. Though one can attribute this to the fact that we had freezing temperatures and then temps near 80 (thus freezing, then boiling the pumpkins), I couldn't believe it. We walked around forever until I finally found one I thought was just perfect. Sure it had a retarded side, but don't we all?

About twenty minutes more of searching yielded my honeypants a similarly disabled-yet-aiiiight pumpkin. Awesome. Home we went with our bounty.

We placed them by our door and went to bed merry. Well, Monday morning came. As I was leaving for work, I peeked out our pumpkin preciouses. GOOD GOLLY! Ugly. Two hideous little pumpkins. And I was looking at their "good" sides. Wow.

Never did I expect to find my own baby ugly. But here I was. Hatin' on my ugly pumpkin child.

I guess amongst the other uglier pumpkins at the patch, these were royalty! But taken away from the slums, well...they were disappointing.

Moral of the story: I guess that's why Chase's mom told her to not to be friends with girls that are prettier than her. It all makes sense now. BOOYA!


on an unrelated note:

videogioco

wow this blows my mind. i mean the amount planning, folding, drawing, creativity that went into this. absolutely amazing.

crazy italians! nice work.

VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone from Enrico Ascoli - Sound Design on Vimeo.

i'm glad my friends look out for me

well...and Honda.


A friend of mine sent me this link, stating that it would help me with my knee problems.
So...no worries if my knee doesn't ever get better. With the help of the Honda Walk Assist 2, I'll be a whole new woman!

I'm particularly excited for the function you see at :56 seconds.