How Did I Miss: Let's Have a Kiki

Image from (where else) Gaydar Radio

I was home alone on Christmas Eve. Don't feel sad, I'm married to a flight attendant, so I'm used to it. So, rather than yuletide revelry, I had Pizza Hut and a Glee marathon. Which wasn't bad. Especially since the run of episodes I had backed up on the DVR culminated with a Christmas-themed episode. Kind of perfect, and certainly fun.

It was the Thanksgiving episode that raised my eyebrows though. Usually, I'm multitasking while watching TV. I'm on the computer or doing some housework or something. But during this episode, I stopped, backed up the DVR and watched. Guest star Sarah Jessica Parker--looking for all the world like Carrie Bradshaw in a musical episode of Sex in the City--sends her New York posse over to Kurt and Rachel's absurdly large apartment, and comes in late. She calls as she's on her way, and recites an odd little soliloquy. Then, the apartment explodes in song, and the song is Let's Have a Kiki.



The song is mashed up with Turkey Lurkey Time, a bizarre choice, but it works. Totally in character for Lea Michelle's Rachel character. And I was oddly mesmerized. Now, understand that while I do have "the gay," for the most part I'm missing the musical theater gene. I'm more interested in Glee for the comedy, the characters, and the occasional song. But this one struck me as inspired.

The next day while reading my favorite blog, Joe.My.God., I saw that the number one song of the year was Let's Have a Kiki by the Scissor Sisters. Joe described the song as played out, the big song of the summer. And before Glee, I'd never heard of it. I may not have the musical bug, but I am a pop culture guru, and I'm a Scissor Sisters fan! I must be slipping. Here's the real version of the song, with a decidedly less PG vibe.

I don't know what it is about the song. It's not melodic. It's odd. But I find myself totally digging it. And wondering how it's possible that it totally got by me. I mean, I even figured out Gangnam Style before it was totally old news. But I missed out on the Kiki?

Meanwhile, on Twitter: Mitt Romney's New Hashtag: #MoneyBooBoo

Brilliant.

Attention American Men: Pull Up Your Damned Pants!

I went to the local CVS today to pick up a prescription, and happened to follow a young man into the store. "Young" may be an overstatement.  He was mid-20s at the very youngest. He was wearing a wife beater and shorts so long, they nearly count as pants.  I've never understood why anyone wears these non-short shorts here in the desert. It kind of defeats the purpose.

Sorry it's blurry, I'm not very
good at sneaking pictures of folks.

Anyway, I soon realized that his shorts weren't really as long as I thought, he was just wearing them at half-mast.  This is a "fashion statement" that was birthed some time in the 90s, and for unknown reasons, simply won't go away.  It looks good on absolutely no one, and yet it has held on when most fashion trends would be long gone.  It isn't the only one, goodness knows.  If long shorts are stupid in the desert, what about stocking caps? I mean, what the hell?  Another one that doesn't look good on anyone.

What I don't understand about the droopy drawers phenomenon is that besides not looking good, it's gotta be uncomfortable.  And unless you've got a perfect body (and even then, it's a bad look), a skin-tight tank top and a waistband around the middle of your ass makes your torso look freakishly long, and any visible belly looks just gross.  And how do these guys manage to keep their pants up anyway?  Most Americans who have their pants at normal level have to occasionally adjust their belts.  With it cinched around your butt cheeks, sometimes beneath them, what the hell holds them up?  Do they have their pants safety pinned to their boxer shorts?

Look, I come from a generation when if the bands of our Fruit of the Looms peeked out of our pants, we were embarrassed about it.  And while the fashions of the late 70s to late 80s have their tragic side, if you had a rockin' bod, you could pull them off.  This stupid "pants on the ground" look is ridiculous and needs to die. And if you're as old as the guy at CVS?  Pull up your damned pants!

Picture of the Day: Burnout FAIL

I'm a big fan of cars in general, and even in tricked-out paint jobs and modifications if they're done correctly. But one of the stupidest fads of the last decade or so (except maybe Civics with spoilers bolted on) has to be ultra-lowered pickup trucks. The trend seems to be over, mercifully. But you still see these things skittering down the road, their drivers scared of the tiniest speed bumps. And as you can see by this picture, there are certain things these lowered trucks can't quite deal with. . .

Source: FailBlog.org

Shape of Things to Come: Curved Monitors!

Over the last 18 years or so, I've steadily moved up when it comes to computer monitors. Back in 1990, I had a 14" VGA CRT monitor. For years, they were all CRTs, moving on to a 15" SVGA or two, and then a 17" model. A couple of years ago, I stepped into the 2000s with a 17" flat panel, and then really thought I was hot stuff with a 19" flat panel just last year.

If you're a gadget guy, though, you know that that just isn't enough. So when CompUSA started their going out of business sale, I got a 22" widescreen flat panel, and I'm really digging it. When I got it, I told the other half that--unless it stops working--I'll have this model until the next big thing. And my prediction was that the next big thing would be ultra-widescreen curved monitors. That was my pie-in-the sky ideal, but guess what. . .it's almost here!

Check it out:


Source: the.LIFE Files

Kitchen Trends: Out With Stainless, In With Bronze?

Photo from Jenn-Air's website

In the last couple of years, I finally paid off my debt, and became financially stable enough to finally make those big purchases: kitchen appliances. I settled for a black refrigerator, because I wanted a Maytag Ice20, a french door, freezer-on-the-bottom, ice-through-the door model, and the deal I got on it was too sweet to pass up. But when it came time to upgrade the range, microwave and dishwasher, I went for a stainless-steel and black combo, so that everything would match.

It all looks and works wonderfully (except that the fridge's water dispenser habitually freezes up), but now I find out that all of my appliances will soon be passe. Well that's just great. On the other hand, this story is now about 18 months old, and I haven't been seeing a floor-load of bronze at the Home Depot yet.

[Excerpt]

The stainless steel craze for appliances may be coming to a shining end

Its luster resembles dark chocolate, so is it any wonder bronze would find its way into kitchen decor? For the past decade, stainless steel has dominated kitchen surfaces — major appliances and backsplashes have reflected in this silvery hue. But designers predict kitchens will soon take a turn for the darker — starting with bronze appliances set to hit stores next year. . .

Read more at: East Valley Tribune

Fashion Turns Scary: Extreme Hoodies

First photo from source, AFP
Second photo from source, Los Angeles Times

Kids these days. If they're not displaying their muffin-tops overspilling their hip-huggers, or wearing their pants somewhere barely north of their thighs, they're dressing like terrorists! And I thought Crocs were a hideous fashion statement!

[Excerpt 1]

Britons eye 'burkhas for boys' for Christmas

A jacket with sunglasses sewn into the hood, dubbed a "burkha for boys," is shaping up as a big Christmas hit within weeks of its release in Britain.

The garment has raised eyebrows in a country wary of so-called "hoodies," or young men wearing hooded coats, but police admit they can do nothing in the face of the anonymity it bestows on the wearer. . .

Read more at: AFP

[Excerpt 2]

Danger under the hood?

They're fashion statements to some, but to administrators in Orange County's Capistrano Unified School District, there's danger lurking under the hood. All six high schools last week banned hoodies from campus. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

iDon'tCare

Photo from Wikipedia

So, Apple has a new phone. Whoop-de-do. I'm sorry, I just can't get jazzed about it. I've never quite understood the "Cult of Mac," and I'm not sure I ever will. But beyond that, it's a phone people! Yeah, it's got snazzy features, but who needs it, really? Do we really need movies and Internet all the time on a teeny little screen?

I was a late adopter to mobile phones, so maybe it's just me. I mean, I don't don't like to talk on the phone all that much anyway. Mostly, I just got one so the Other Half and I could find each other, if necessary. Since getting the phone, I'll admit it comes in handy. I still wish people would shut up and drive though--I can't count how many people have almost collided with me due to yakking on their phones.

As for features, yeah mine gets the Internet too, in a much more rudimentary fashion than the iPhone. The only thing I ever used it for was to send ring tones to my phone. After the complimentary two months was up on it, I cancelled it. After all, I have a computer at home, a computer at work, and almost all of my friends and family are online as well. I don't need the Internet while I'm having lunch at Taco Bell.

Usually, all-in-one devices do many things, but none of them well. Dedicated devices (digital cameras, notebook computers, printers, scanners, copiers) can almost always be counted on to do a better job of each thing they do than devices that try to combine several abilities into one machine. Maybe the iPhone is different, but I just don't think it warrants the current frenzy.

But, I suppose if you are the sort to make a pilgrimage to the opening of the newest Apple store, this all makes sense to you. Good for you. But iDon'tCare.

Photo from CultOfMac.com