This is too funny.

Posted on Jezebel today:

"As part of its never-ending quest to be both exploitative and irrelevant, PETA has hired professional strippers for their "I'd rather go naked" campaign, thus rendering the entire thing totally nonsensical."

{snicker snicker snicker}

Neko Case

Neko Case's voice is so bloomin' beautiful. I've been waiting for her new album with baited breath. Middle Cyclone comes out today, and on it, Case offers up a whole batch of gorgeous, heartbreaking, beautiful love songs.

You can listen to all of Middle Cyclone here.

The question I dread most in the world.

Though there are several questions that send me running to push the panic button, one pops out as being the most stress-inducing, wet-your-pants scary question of all time.

"What are you?"

Yeah, that's the question. As a woman of {indeterminate} color, I get this question at least once a day. No, I'm not exaggerating. What a loaded question! For those of you who can't understand why I would get upset at a question like this, I want to put it this way:

Imagine that your identity is questioned Every. Single. Day. Imagine that when you explain your background to someone, they don't believe you. Don't believe me? Oh yes, it's happened.

Imagine that you're minding your own business on the subway, and a person interrupts you to ask "Where are you from?" When you answer "Oh, I'm from Connecticut (or MA or CA or IA)," they give you a confused look and say "No, I mean, where are your parents from?" When you explain that your parents are Canadian citizens who now reside in Connecticut, they get even more upset and then finally ask "What's your ethnicity?" or, incorrectly, "What race are you?".

Imagine that when you explain your intensely complicated racial background, this person's face morphs into a look of disbelief. Imagine that people come up and ask you where your lips are done and when you say that your mother made you this way, they don't believe you. Imagine that when your hair gets blond streaks in the summer, people don't believe you and say that you're trying to hide the fact you dye your hair. Yes, these things are minor, but believe me, they add up.

I understand that people are curious, and I don't mind if a friend asks me to explain my identity, or if a stranger is truly interested in where I'm from. What I don't like, and what makes me panic, is when I feel like I'm being interrogated; like I'm on trial for looking the way I do. I CANNOT HELP THE WAY I LOOK.

So please, ask this question gently, because I'm telling you, it's not a simple one for some of us.

And yes, all of this stemmed from a woman asking me what my background was on the T this morning.

Dreaming away.

Les Macarons

Petit gâteau rond à la fois moelleux et croustillant, le Macaron est le produit emblématique de la maison Ladurée. Chaque saison nous lui rendons hommage en créant un nouveau parfum.

La nouveauté Automne Hiver 2008 :
Le Macaron Mangue Jasmin

Les parfums permanents :
Chocolat - Chocolat amer - Vanille - Café - Pétales de Rose - Pistache - Framboise - Cassis violette - Caramel au beurre salé - Griottes - Fleur d’Oranger - Réglisse.

Les parfums d'été :
Noix de coco - Menthe Glaciale - Grenadine.

Les parfums d’hiver : Citron - Marron - Praliné

Les Créations spéciales & éphémères :
Abricot Gingembre - Muscovado - Barbapapa - Havana - Ambre blanc - Rose Indienne - Anis - Orange Safran - Muguet - Pain d’épice - Fraise coquelicot - Poivre de Java - Citron vert Gingembre - Rosanis - Epices & fruits moelleux

The caramel au beurre sale (salted butter caramel) is my faaaaaaavorite.

Paris, ma choupette, je t'adore.

{Photos courtesy of Your Destiny is Stone Golden}

I leave for Paris in 5 days and it couldn't be at a better time. It's snowing yet again in Boston, after flirting with the first brief kisses of Spring, and I can't begin to tell you how stagnant I feel. I need to suspend my real life for a little fantaisie.

Bonbon Oiseau of Your Destiny is Stone Golden is in Paris right now and her photos are making me excited. There are flowers blooming, and the sun is shining. It's also a good 20 degrees warmer there than it is here. Even if John and I weren't to do anything but sit in our hotel room, it will be nice to get away.

I used to live in Paris so this vacation is more of a homecoming. We're staying 3 streets away from where I used to live, in a quiet little arrondissement, far from the hustle and bustle of the big city. I like it that way. Though I won't be able to visit my little attic garret (from which you could see the Eiffel Tower), my old memories are sweet, and I have no doubt that the new memories I will make will be even sweeter.

Oh, I'm so close.

It's 11:19 p.m. and here is my one thought:

pleasenoworkpleasenoworkpleasenoworkpleasenoworkpleasenoworksnowdaysnowdaysnowday.

Yep, all one thought.

Night.

The greatest watch there ever was...

expandable wrist
gold
$40
digital
awesome
chronograph

AND TOO FREAKING BIG FOR MY TINY BABY BIRD WRISTS. A sad day indeed.
{photo courtesy of Timex}