334: The Broken Ones

Dia Frampton was my favorite from the first season of The Voice.  I...don't really know what's going on in this video?  But I like the song, and I'm looking forward to her album.

333: Campus flashback

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2006.

Going way back into the archives for this shot of my daily commute from the U of M's West Bank to the East Bank campus, back when I lived in Middlebrook Hall.  I believe this part of the Washington Avenue bridge is now fenced off and inaccessible during Light Rail construction.  Trufax.

332: Consumer ennui

I don't know about you, Internet, but I just cannot get into the whole Black Friday-Small Business Saturday-Cyber Monday thing this year.  I mean, yes, I did buy the Law & Order: Los Angeles box set for 67% off this afternoon, and a snow shovel for half off at the local hardware store on Saturday, but everything else I bought this weekend was just stuff I would have gotten anyway -- like food.

Maybe it's because I've been waiting for three weeks for a paycheck.  Maybe it's because I want everything to cost less than $30 (and therefore irrationally hold out for a better sale, when I can almost guarantee there won't be deeper price cuts any time soon).  Maybe it's because almost nothing I had my eye on went on sale this weekend.  All of the above, probably.

In any case, I hope everyone else had a better thrifty money-spending weekend than I did.

331: When in doubt...

...post a photo of animals making faces.

Minnesota Zoo, 2009.

Check.

330: Jingle Bells

Well, it's that time of year.  The day after Thanksgiving is when I put all my Christmas music into rotation, and the first holiday song came up in shuffle today.  It was one of last year's additions, Straight No Chaser's "Twelve Days of Christmas," which everyone should know, because it is hilarious (to me):

329: Stuffed

Well, our Thanksgiving was predictably chaotic.  Belligerent 90-year-olds will never make it easy, so we didn't make it to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  Therefore, he brought leftovers over this afternoon and we had our turkey dinner tonight.  Thus I am stuffed and groggy, and I hope that you, anonymous blog reader, had a similarly satisfying food encounter whenever and wherever you celebrated the big day.

Now, bring on the holiday music season.

328: The Butterball Hotline

Possibly my favorite Thanksgiving clip ever, and certainly the best from The West Wing.  President Bartlet calls the Butterball hotline:

Happy Thanksgiving!

327: Soft on Turkeys

On the day before Thanksgiving, allow me to share my second-favorite Thanksgiving storyline from The West Wing.  This is from season two's "Shibboleth":

Allison Janney is a national treasure.

326: Focus

2010.

I'm not sure any part of this photo is actually in focus.

325: I don't even

This is the sort of thing that happens when you spend too much time thinking about what would happen if the Doctor met characters from your other favorite shows.

The body was fresh. At least, that was Lanie’s best guess. “Drained dry,” she told Beckett. “As far as I can tell, your victim’s got no blood.” An officer pointed out a man among the looky-loos and said he’d asked to speak to the lead detective. Beckett followed the uni to the tape line and gave the guy a once-over. Tall, white, thirties. Unruly hair. Brown pin-striped suit, long trench coat. Sneakers. Interesting.

“You’re in charge here?” he asked as she approached. He had a London accent.

“Detective Kate Beckett. Who are you?”

"I’m the Doctor,” he replied, as though it meant something. “Tell me, Detective Kate Beckett, do you have a bloodless murder victim in that alleyway back there?”

Beckett narrowed her eyes. “How did you know that?”

“Because somewhere in this city, there’s a Plasmavore hiding in plain sight, just waiting to drain someone else dry. You’ll never find him with fingerprints or forensics, and if you don’t find him soon, the Judoon will sweep in, and believe me, you do not want them scanning first and asking questions later. You need an expert, Detective. You need me.”

Beckett laughed. “In this job, Doctor, I can believe a lot of things, but that line of bull you just fed me? Not one of them.”

The stranger looked grave for a long moment. Suddenly, a wide grin lit his face. “Oh, we’ll see about that, Kate.”

324: Specs

Because "trying on" glasses via computer is never not awkward.

Also, a website that refuses to provide prices for its frames is probably a website I can't afford.

Trufax.

323: Doing good

2011.

Stopped by the only liquor store in the area that sells Finnegans (100% of profits go to local charities!) to stock up before the snowstorm.  Of course, then I headed back out to go to lunch at Good Day Cafe and steered through the first skid of the year!  It's going to be a long winter...but at least we'll have beer.

322: Beware the Ides of March

Yup, just blasted through season 1 of Rome while alternately a) chatting with friends who were also watching it, and b) feeling gross and running a fever after my flu shot.  It's basically a show about the most British Romans you ever did see, navigating the wretched wasteland of the past.  It's also sometimes a show about how much the Roman gods love Titus Pullo, and go out of their way to let good things happen to him at the unlikeliest of times.  It's a well-written series in which you know that no one will ever be happy, and most of the characters will die in horrible ways, but damn if you don't just want to find out what happens anyway.

Highly recommended.  I'm starting season 2 this weekend.

321: Haircut redux

Seven inches shorter.  Heck yes.

320: Bling

Instagram, 2011.

Sometimes you just want to wear the fancy earrings.

319: Coppers

Law & Order: UK proves that every show, no matter how serious, should have a blooper reel.

(see also: Criminal Minds' gag reels)

318: May the odds be ever in your favor

Everything is The Hunger Games and there is nothing wrong with that.

317: Floral flashback

Ferry Building, San Francisco, 2008.

Because winter is coming, and we'll need some bright colors.

316: Beautiful Portals

by Derek King on Flickr
via Beautiful Portals on Tumblr

I've been hanging out on Tumblr for a while (and appreciating television with a friend).  I always like when posts from Beautiful Portals come up on my dashboard, because they're always nice to look at (see above).

315: Veterans Day

Jardin des Plantes, Montpellier, France, 2007.

Whether it's Veterans Day or Remembrance Day in your part of the world, take a moment to commemorate the service and sacrifice of those who fought and those who are still fighting.

And to all veterans, including my grandfather (a Korean War vet), thank you for your service.

314: One-eighty

So, one of the odd and difficult things about living with a nonagenarian with a myriad of health problems is that she can be impossible to get out of bed -- or deadweight when you do get her out -- one day, and wheeling herself around the kitchen, back to her more-or-less-healthy baseline two days later.  My mom and I actually cleared a path the other day for what looked like an inevitable visit from the paramedics.  But now, the patient is back to getting herself in and out of bed, when it took three of us to get her into the wheelchair yesterday.

So who knows what might be next?  Not me, certainly.

313: Ugh.

It's been another washing-urine-soaked-sheets couple of days, so...this half-assed blogging project is taking a backseat to real life.

That is all.

311: Look at all this paper

Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni on The Good Wife makes up for all the soapy melodrama with Alicia's life.  She has trouble with technology, appreciates cupcakes, and wants her parking validated.  She also likes that color on you.

(Also-also, I love that Carrie Preston is married to Michael "Ben Linus" Emerson in real life.)

310: Nîmes

Nîmes, France, 2007.

Reinforced arches at the Roman arena in Nîmes.

309: Somebody stop me

Downton meets Boardwalk.

No, really, I don't want to talk about Photoshop, Downton Abbey, or Boardwalk Empire.
Or what I do with my spare time.

308: "I'm a soldier."

Look, I don't want to talk about my Photoshop problem or my weird fascination with Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire.

Okay?

307: Yuck.

Not really in a blogging mood. Everyone's vomiting, falling down, going blind, or exasperated tonight, so...I'm taking the night off.

306: Nothing but charm

via Flickr

Oh, don't mind me, I'm just planning for my imaginary dream house.

305: Gastown

Vancouver, Canada, 2011.

Vancouver's Steam Clock, from my trip in August.