In an effort to define people, our culture has developed sets of mutually exclusive categories. By default, a person can only fall into one group. You’re either a: Male/Female, Owner/Renter, Democrat/Republican, Cubs Fan/Sox Fan, etc.
But as a kid, no classification was more important than this: you were either a SNICK fan, or a TGIF fan. (…As an adult, this can morph into an argument of Nickelodeon vs. ABC, or worse yet, Viacom vs. Disney…)
TGIF and Snick were both nighttime programming formats from the 90s, and at one point, both featured a show starring Melissa Joan Heart – but that’s where the similarities end.
Personally, I am firmly planted in the Snick camp, and for all practical purposes, I consider myself to be a Snick Purist. In this blogger’s opinion, nothing can beat the original lineup of: Clarissa Explains it All, RoundHouse, Ren & Stimpy, and Are You Afraid of the Dark.
On Saturday, I saw the Mary Poppins musical. Before I begin gushing about it, I have a confession: The last time I saw Mary Poppins, I was in 5th grade. I identify much more with the Simpsons episode featuring Sherry Bobbins, and her fabulous musical number, “Just Do a Half-Assed Job.”
But that is just a testament to how Disney can take a cold, hard cynic like me, who hasn’t seen Mary Poppins in 15 years, and turn me into a big pile of mush.
As an adult, it becomes difficult to enjoy things on a purely innocent level. But Disney can always do it. Of course we all know about Disney’s history of racism and sexism, but that’s another topic for another post. I’m referring more to their storytelling and songwriting ability.
If you direct your gaze to the “About Me” tab of my blog, you will see that chief among my dislikes are: trends, and poor grammar.
Much to my dismay, I’ve recently learned that Sur La Table manages to deliver on both.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Sur La Table, it’s a kitchenware store for people who have hopped on the trendy-cooking bandwagon, but have yet to learn the tools of the trade, or the jargon. I’m aware of how mean that sounds, and I apologize. But it’s the truth. And the conversation I witnessed this morning at Sur La Table is proof:
Girl 1, Holding up a pastry cutter and turning to her friend: “What the hell is this?”
Girl 2: “I don’t know. A masher? I think you’re holding it backwards.”
My poor KitchenAid Stand Mixer had a brush with death on Saturday. But never fear, KitchenAid customer service came to the rescue!
I was making soft pretzels, and my mixer was hard at work, kneading my pretzel dough. Everything seemed to be going fine, so I stepped away from the mixer for a few minutes. Bad idea.
From the living room, this is what I heard:
rattle rattle
rattle rattle
CRASH!
I came running into the kitchen, but it was too late. The mixer had shimmied itself off the counter and onto the marble kitchen floor. I don’t know what scared me more – broken marble floor tiles, or a broken mixer. Lucky for me, the floor was fine.
Oh you guys… I love this cupcake. I mean, seriously. Look at it!
As with any great work of art, the beauty here is in the details. Look at the coconut on top of the icing. That is the exact same texture as muppet fur!! (and I would know, being a muppet expert…)
I am determined to re-create this cupcake ASAP. Actually, the more I look at it, the more I’m inspired to create a whole batch of Sesame Street cupcakes.
On Saturday, while most people were watching NCAA basketball, I happened to catch the Illinois 4A boys basketball championship.
My old high school, Whitney Young, was competing for the state championship, and one of our guards is none other than Marcus Jordan. The camera kept panning over to Michael Jordan, who was in the crowd watching the game. Whitney Young has some other claims to fame (see also: Michelle Obama, Wachowski brothers), but it’s always exciting when we win a state basketball championship – Go Dolphins!
I am not into diet or fat-free foods. (For those of you who don’t believe me, look in my freezer – you will find several sticks of butter). But, I belive that the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and the environment is eat locally grown produce.
Um, since when does Ron Howard run with the same crowd as T. Pain and Jamie Foxx? He was the LAST person I expected to see in the video for “Blame It.” Just goes to show ya that Hype Williams can film anyone in slow-motion, and make it look super-cool.
When I watch this video, I like to pretend that Jake Gyllenhall, Ron Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Forest Whitaker are all best friends in real life, and this video is just a typical Saturday night for them. My guess is that Ron Howard could drink them all under the table.
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