10 x 4 = Cinco de Mayo

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8010473.post-62589441238778158052008-05-05T09:08:00.000-07:002008-05-05T11:11:03.716-07:0010 x 4 = Cinco de MayoHappy Cinco de Mayo everybody! I know the popular misconception is that everyone who's Latino in Los Angeles comes from Mexico, and so folks should be out in the streets partying hardy. But in my neighborhood, half the people are from El Salvador -- totally different country -- and they could care less about a holiday celebrating a 19th century Mexican battle. BUT since it's a day for celebration, let's start out the morning with a little "Yes We Can", courtesy of House Music United. <object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RowDxPcYQUE&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RowDxPcYQUE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object> I have no idea what's up with the place-setting video. I didn't make it. But can I just say that records like this are exactly why I like Europeans. No Americans these days are gonna throw an Obama speech over a tech-house beat, and we INVENTED house music! Instead we get will.i.am's folksy version, which is all very touching and inspiring, but when I need to get myself going in the morning, this is SO much better. Disclaimer: If you hate house music and hate Barack Obama because he's an uppity negro and you think his wife will be blasting "Computer Love" from the White House, sorry! Wrong blog for you! Yeah, let me push "replay" on that clip. I really need to hear that again. Yes we can! Wake up, that is! I will have you know that I did not go to sleep last night at all. I spent my evening getting caught up tweaking a little something I wrote a couple of months ago and then working on another short story I've been absolutely obsessed with. However, I'm feeling a little wired even though I haven't slept. It must be the sheer emotional adrenaline of what I was writing. That means it's perfect timing for me to swagger jack this meme from Madame hot-blogger herself, <a href="http://nineteen69.wordpress.com/">1969</a>! Get ready, because you're gonna learn a whole bunch about me that you had no idea you ever wanted to know. And if you don't want to know, stop reading now and call it a day, m'kay? Ten things I really liked when I was a teenager that I don’t much care for now: 1) Baked chicken: Vegetarianism sort of lured me away and soured my relationship with chicken. Gosh, I feel so guilty. I've been cheating with tofu all these years. 2) Horse racing: I think Eight Belles death on Saturday at the Kentucky Derby really put the nail in the coffin. But I used to be crazy for the ponies. I even wanted to be a female jockey at one point. 3) Leftovers: I never ate them when I lived in China and that soured me on them forever. I feel like throwing up if I have to eat them. 4) Blue eyeshadow: I really thought I was fly in that light blue. Gosh, it was an '80s thing. 5) Pancakes and fries eaten at the same time: Too much starch and I like for my clothes to fit. 6) Shorts: I just think they're for kids, not for grown women with two kids of their own. 7) Vanity Fair: The book, not the magazine. I recently tried to reread it and it just irritated me. I kept yelling, "Get to the point!" Waay too long! 8) W Magazine: My mom subscribed and I used to love it. I recently bought the issue with Keira Knightley on the cover. Bored to tears by the wack fashions and the lack of diversity in the models. 9) MTV: Too many Tila Tequila shows and not enough actual music. I'm not feeling it and haven't for a long time. 10) Popular radio stations: Same 10 songs playing over and over again and their morning shows? What in the world are they talking about? Radio has definitely changed for the worse -- or am I just getting old? Ten things I didn’t like when I was a teenager but I really like them now: 1) Talk radio: I love KNX 1070 out here in LA but I used to fight with my Dad over Chicago's very own, WGN. 2) Walking: Walking is the kiss of death for a teenager but now I'm all for it. 3) Television cop dramas: You would never have caught me watching a Hill Street Blues type show as some teen Now I love Law & Order. (Except I haven't watched TV for two weeks now.) 4) Exercise: We've come a long way from the days of Jane Fonda-type pure aerobics. Thank goodness. 5) Martial arts movies: I've been a Jet Li fan for 15 years now. And Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is still a masterpiece by any definition. 6) Ice cream: Three cheers for Breyer's Triple Chocolate. 7) Diet Coke: I'm with you on this one, 1969. But I'm being lured away by Coke Zero. 8) Art Museums: Now that I know the history and the stories behind the paintings, I like going. 9) Shopping: 80's clothes were kind of ugly and didn't look too good on me. Plus, if we were going shopping, chances are my mom was getting something, not me. Not fun. 10) Myself: Yeah, I wasn't too crazy about myself as a teenager. Thank goodness I outgrew that. Ten things I've never liked and probably never will: 1) Snobby people: If you have to keep repeating where you got your little JD/MBA from, how "good" your hair is, or who your daddy is, guess what, you've pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to HATE you. I could stop this list right here with this one because I will HATE you, do you hear me, H-A-T-E you. 2) Being Broke: Been there, done that. I'll never be money hungry but being hungry because I have no ducats is not something I care to repeat. 3) Big cars: Bad for the environment and I don't know how to parallel park them. 4) Alcohol: I can't stand the smell of beer. Drunk folks tend to get on my nerves, and drunk drivers deserve the slammer. 5) Drama: Especially the sort where people ask me for advice, don't take it and then come crying when their life gets all jacked up. 6) Mediocrity: Come hard with it or don't come at all. If you did your best, fine. But don't tell me you didn't really try or didn't really care what the end result was. 7) Brian McKnight, Wesley Snipes, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake and Rush Limbaugh: They all make me sick. Just go away. 8) Greasy Southern Food: Hello! Vegetables can be made without butter and I don't want to eat fried eggs you made with a jar of drippings. 9) Self help books: I have a total mental block against them. 10) Scary movies: I'm still traumatized by watching "Secret Window" and "The Grudge" with my sister two years ago. I seriously can't deal with scary movies. Ten things I’ve always really liked and very likely always will: 1) My kids: I love them more than anything on this planet. 2) Depeche Mode: In case you didn't know, they're the best band in the world. They just need to hurry up with the new record. Pretty please with a cherry on top? 3) Writing: Ah yes, the reason I did not go to bed last night and the reason I blog. 4) Dracula: The novel, as in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Mina Harker is one of my alter-egos. 5) Orlando Bloom: Is this the wrong time to talk about my unopened Legolas doll? 6) Shoes: I have a particular "thing" for red high heels and I really want some black stilettos with metal heels. 7) Driving a stick shift: I can be a little bit of a control freak and a stick shift helps with that. I'm good at it too. Alas, my current car is not a stick because my husband can't drive one. 8) Traveling: I will go anywhere you want to go. I really like to travel! 9) Jane Austen: Austen's novels are still so fresh and relevant. They're social commentary and soap opera all wrapped into one. 9) Tea: I will drink pretty much any tea that you offer me, not just my beloved chai. I like it plain or with a little milk in it and two sugar cubes. 10: Thai Food: I'm so spoiled because I live right on the edge of Thai Town and in delivery distance of one of the best Thai restaurants in LA. Whew, I'm tagging some of you...later. I think I need to recover from this post.Los Angelistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17794296990587989214noreply@blogger.com