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September 24, 2005
Hey, Guess What? We're Not Fooled
Do they think we don't notice that Invasion, Threshold and Surface aren't all the same show?
Posted by nikl at 11:26 PM | Comments (1)
RT. No 9
RT No. 9 (the 9th anniversary party for Rodgers Townsend) was thursday night, and as I hear is the usual, a good time was had by all. I peronally danced my butt off.
St. Louis ledgends Mae Wheeler and Kim Massey provided the musical entertainment for the night, and they were awesome. Good stuff indeed. Photos here.
As a bonus, the day of the party, I went out to pick up Thai food downtown, and when I went to start my car up to go the 15 blocks back to my office... no ignition. So they towed it to the Honda dealership, where they won't be able to take a look at it until next week. Grrrrreat. But I still love the midwest, and having a car :).
As a result, I rode the MetroLink for the first time yesterday. It wasn't bad at all. It only comes every 20 minutes, and it kind of only does you good for about 10 different locations, but if you need to get to and from any of those 10, it's really great. It only took me an hour and a half to get to work from Belleville (30-40 minutes when driving).
Posted by nikl at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)
Champaign and Back Again, Jiggity Jog
Today Cameron, Karyn and Chad and I went up to Champaign to witness the 61 - 14 ass whooping of the Illini by Michigan State. We learned a few things.
1. It takes about 2.5 hrs door to do, not two.
2. Tickets should not be picked up at will call, b/c it's just a circus
3. Summertime football is just not the same.
However, a goodtime was had by all. Photos here.
Posted by nikl at 11:10 PM | Comments (1)
September 23, 2005
Go Crazy Folks, Go Crazy
A week later... Karyn and Nicole's night out.
Posted by nikl at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
TV Time
ER - It's always so weird when they switch actors mid-story. I feel like it only happens on Soap Operas, but then it happens on ER and you're like, whoah.
Surivor - Dude, they are whooping some ass this season. Only the second episode and most of the men on one of the tribes are down for the count.
Supernatural - Why the black guy gotta die first?
Invasion - I'm in for the moment. and where do they they find acting cats? I mean, acting dogs I get, b/c they can be trained, but cats?
Lost - dude. Where this goes, I am interested to know. I agree with the skeptics though on CLEARLY, Hurley would have lost some weight by now.
Posted by nikl at 11:00 PM | Comments (5)
September 19, 2005
Prime Time Madness
It's premiere week kids, and I'm ready to rumble. The series manager at the Hudson household has a total of 17 shows, in the following priority order. We'll see how long they all last...
1. ER - clearly
2. Lost - even more clearly
3. Survivor: Guatemala - the pilot was ass kicking BRUTAL. Interested to see where they go from here
4. The Amazing Race 8 - Family style this year, can't wait!
5. Medium - SO glad to see PA win for this last night (or, hear about it - b/c clearly, who watches the Emmy's). I've been a fan of this one since "go."
6. Everybody Hates Chris - Apparently the funniest thing since sliced bread
7. Supernatural - GREAT pilot. Better than all of the teen slasher movies I've seen since the Scream series - and I keep coming back for more of them. This one only takes an hour of my life (50 min on replay) and it's FREE!
8. Reunion - thanks to officemate Christy for alerting me to this one. So far, I'm likin' it - and the 80s references are unrelenting
9. Bones - liked this pilot. And here's to more smart women lead characters. And I love how she's constantly NOT getting pop-culture references
10. Threshold - more hot smart female leads (I'm about 90% sure Hedy Burress got called back for all of these parts)
11. Invasion - Haven't seen anything on this one yet, but more spooky stuff
12. Surface - have heard this is horrid, but am givin it a shot b/c, clearly, more spooky stuff
13. Prison Break - not sure about this one. My parents are watching, so I'll hang on for a bit longer
14. How I Met Your Mother - reviews so good and cast so interesting, no other reason it's here
15. Ghost Whisperer - clearly, this is supposed to be horrible, horrid and awful. JLH is supposedly clawing at the scenery. But I'm a sucker for ghost stories.
16. Rome - higher priority in reality, but if it gets bumped, I can always use on Demand and I generally watch it in B'ville anyway. Took me a few episodes, but I'm hooked on this one.
17. Curb Your Enthusiasm - again, avail on on Demand and follows Rome if watched in B'ville. I was anti this show for the first few seasons, but I think I've been won over
I also set it to tape E-ring on its pilot night, but I'm not expecting to get hooked. Maybe when Ghost Whisperer goes by the wayside...
You might wonder when I might actually have time to watch all of this. I'll just say that it's ALL about the DVR and fast forwarding through commercials.
I'd also taped the Lifetime/Showtime Film original movie, Speak. Finally got around to watching (most of) it on Sunday. Good stuff.
Ordinary Whirled's Prime Time post here.
Posted by nikl at 01:54 PM | Comments (3)
The Power of a Good Read
Last night I finished my book club book, and for the first time in AGES, I teared up at a BOOK.
We read The Dive From Clausen's Pier, by Ann Packer. It's about a girl who's been with her HS sweetheart all through college, they're engaged, but she's started to have doubts. Before she can bring herself to bring them up, he dives in shallow water and is paralyzed from the lower mid section down. And drama ensues. But I guess that's the thing about it I liked so much. While the whole thing is clearly very dramatic, the calm, deliberate and poetic way in which Packer writes makes the whole thing very real - realistic - connectable (<-- is that a word?).
I identified not so much with the character and how sehe reacted, but with what she felt and faced, which the author so effectively translated. I identified with the pressure, the guilt, the completely normal and everyday of love. Passion that defies the very essense of the word be being just so there, so calm, made up of seemingly un-passionate things.
Good stuff. Now on to the non-fiction book about the fact that individualism was at the core of the founding of our country.
Posted by nikl at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2005
You Can't Make This Stuff Up
Stumbling upon an article about Britney's new baby via a link from Ordinary Whirled's blog, I am struck by just how stupid people can be. I had to share a few choice quotes from the article.
The first from Ruben Garay, founder of the fan Web site WorldOfBritney.com on how Britney and Kevin will change now that they're parents:
"The lyrics are going to be totally different. The videos are going to be totally different," Garay says. "It's going to be a much, much more mature Britney that has really, really grown up because everybody knows that the day you become a mother or the day you become a father, you know, your life changes."
Because clearly, this had the same effect on Kevin for not only his first child, but his second? what, maybe third time's a charm???
Here's the other thing I must comment on - her description of her new line of fragrances, Fantasy by Britney Spears — a perfume she describes as a combination of "lush red lychee, golden quince, sensual woods and exotic kiwi" with a hint of "cupcakes, white chocolate and jasmine."
?!?!?!??!?!?!
And finally, another brilliant quote from her fan club pres on how motherhood will have Britney on the DL:
"Some fans will go like, 'Listen, I don't know what's going on, but I don't think it's a good idea at all that these two guys hooked up.'"
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
Here's the Full article.
Posted by nikl at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2005
What a Week
RT held it down for real this week. Cards game Monday night followed by two day meetings in TX, complete with much madness and fun.
A few highlights:
- Robb's "Born to Hunt" hat, that's really his son's.
- Rob Hoffmann at the Cards game
- "Honestly? Ya'll gon' tear that up." - valley girl waitress suddenly and out of nowhere gone hip hop at fushion sushi restaurant when asked if two apps were enough for the table.
- Robb and Katie singing serenading the streets of San Antonio with Guys and Dolls. Video here.
Photos of it all, here. Don't miss the link to the solo guitar cover of Ricki Martin.
Posted by nikl at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
September 12, 2005
Jennifer's Midwestern Extravaganza
Photos from our weekend - not even really, 30 hours - in St. L and Edwardsville. Not included here are the photos from the dance-off Jen and I had in Laurie's.
:)
Posted by nikl at 01:37 PM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2005
skunked
Our Saturday night small group met tonight b/c no one could make it on Saturday. We ended around 9pm. We're out in Scott's driveway, saying goodbyes after setting off sprinklers and shooting some hoops, when Scott's son, Tyler notices a skunk running down the street. Scott announces that he "loves skunks," grabs Tyler's bike, and goes after the skunk. It's about a block away, and after a few minutes, the rest of us notice that Scott's about 10 ft from the skunk, but it's ignoring him. It's just running in circles.
After about 10 minutes they come back down the block and note that there's something wrong with it, it didn't spray, it's just running in circles with its nose to the ground. We start talking (about my red hip-hop Pumas, Tyler flipping over the front of his bike then doing it again on the grass on purpose, me singing about the G-Hetto, Trapped in the Closet, Tyler showed us how he could come down the bump at the end of the driveway with no hands), and 20 minutes later noticed that the skunk was STILL down the block running around in circles.
We start watching it, and singing lyrics to the tune of Trapped in the Closet about the skunk. This is all hilarious for another 15 minutes. We notice that the neighbors down the street have come out the watch the skunk as well, and they've brought a flashlight. 10 minutes later, the cops show up.
Yes. The cops.
There's about 10 minutes of discussion and debate that we can't really hear b/c we're down the street. Jamie (Scott's fiance), decides she wants to hear and walks down to the group now forming around this skunk, still doing steady circles. Some guy has found some wood blocks, and he starts banging them together (?). Still steady circles. Somehow, the policeman gets the information that if you put a sheet over the skunk, it won't spray. So a guy from the neighborhood gets a sheet, and four of them, including Jamie, go in for the capture.
And it worked. It was either too crazy, too tired, or the sheet myth is true and it didn't spray. They covered it with the sheet, and a guy used a long pole to get it in the middle. They wrapped it up in and ball and tied it off. As the policeman carried it off, he asked the crowd if anyone cared what he did with it. The crowd started to disperse and we headed back down to Scott's.
As I drove off a few minutes later, the police car was still parked and there were still a few people out. I had the AC on and as I drove past the scene, i was 95% sure I smelled... skunk.
Posted by nikl at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)
Cheer(s)!
The brand we all know (and love) has launched a redesign. Walking down the steps to the garage this morning, I noticed a new Cheer box sitting on the steps. Like the recent Hostess redesign, I'm not sure if I don't like it b/c I don't like it, or b/c I'm used to and attached to the old look.
that is all I have to say on this matter.
Posted by nikl at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)
September 08, 2005
Serve, stroke, volley
I had my first tennis lesson in 20 years today. I've played since then, even on the high school team my senior year, but actual tennis instruction - not since who know (my mom) when.
I'm likin' my teacher and his technique. And even though it's only been 3 hours, my shoulder feels ok.
We'll see how it feels after my two dance classes tonight...
Posted by nikl at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
My Love For Apple Never Falters
My work iBook decided late Tuesday that it had had enough. In the middle of nothing, it decided "alas. that is all." The rainbow circle started it's dance of glory, and refused to stop. Rebooting, force quitting, booting from the CD - nothing would stop the madness. When it would come up, it couldn't see the hard drive. And so it is off to the place of miracles, to see what can be done.
I have to say, it was a refreshing feeling to have all my work on the server and any personal stuff on my iDisk or duplicated (more support for being prompt about manually keeping my iTunes library synched - no matter how much a pain in the ass). And for it to be my work computer and not my personal one. I was kinda like, huh, this is odd, oh well. And I had my book club book with me, so I was even less phased as to what to do for the hour and a half left in the day (I'd cleaned and organized my desk earlier in the day).
Anyway, all this to say, that somehow the magical Apple brainwashing works, b/c I wasn't phased in the slightest and when I receive the announcement for the new iPod this morning, the level of pride was intact.
I also saw an advertisement that the iBooks are now from $999. Still not as cheap as a crap box (I mean, a windows machine), but a start.
Posted by nikl at 09:16 AM | Comments (1)
September 06, 2005
Photos Galore!
Just back from a weekend in NY. Two days in NYC, two days up in Utica to see my partner in Boston Conservatory Escape, Elizabeth, get married!
NYC Photos
Elizabeth's Wedding Photos - these include Kathi and I being just a little insane here and there
Posted by nikl at 09:13 PM | Comments (0)
More Trapped in the Crazy
The S.I.M.S. do Trapped in the Closet
Posted by nikl at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
N.O. Discussion
Just had this IM conversation, so thought I'd post here b/c I've been meaning to summarize my thoughts, but have yet to:
KC: So what's your pov on this New Orleans disaster?
NH: sign of much larger issues sad to see them only discussed in relation to this situation
KC: Larger issues such as? Do you really think they waited to give aid to New Orleans because the mayor is a democrat?
NH: no. I think they "waited" to give AID b/c we're not prepared to communicate/execute as quickly as we should be - especially since all we've been asked to focus on for the past 3 years is "homeland security." bigger issues as in socio-economic/race in our country. to look at the things made clear by this incident as specific to this incident doesn't help any cause
KC: And so if you had to encapsulate the problem at large, what would it be?
NH: that we have lots of poor people that
a. expect to be taken care of
b. are not taken care of/taught extensively enough how to take care of themselves
c. are so screwed up that when given the opportunity to have the TV/Clothes/DVD Player our society has so efficiently equated with success and acceptance they STEAL IT RATHER THAN TRY TO GET SAFE
d. that we supposedly have a bunc hof social service agencies getting federal and private $$ but they are clearly not effective, b/c in my mind it's their place in society (not the government's) to take care of all of the above
e. that "The Community" is not working
The Community that in my mind would also help take care of the above
KC: And how do you propose we take care of this?
NH: yeah. good question. I really, truly, believe in the concept of social service agencies. in the same way we so successfully convince people that a big TV mean's you're accepted in society, we should get people to believe that being on welfare is LAME. we should stop selling monthly payments and convince people that credit is BAD and cash is GOOD we should teach our children to be responsible
for themselves and their families, for their neighborhoods. but I don't think social service agencies will work until they have the power behind them that, say, a new Coke or Nike advertising campaign does. we need an attitude adjustment - on both sides.
KC: This is FAR BIGGER than social services...this is a societal epidemic. This is big media vs. the little guy. We cannot rely on a little nfp social service to convince people of this thing...we would need a huge HANDSHAKE between lots of different things...magazines, media, bank/credit companies, AND social services. SCHOOLS would have to help in the raising awareness and providing this type of education and MOST OF ALL this needs to start in the HOME!
NH: totally that's what I mean by the "power of a coke or nike campaign." dollars, corporate respect (both partnership-wise and attracting and retaining superior management-wise), integration into society. they shouldn't be "little nfps" - they should be Apples and Microsofts
KC: And how do we do that?
NH: it would be a shift in structure. I think it would have to be initiated (into action at least) by big-whig $$ed corporate types or forced into being by the media. I don't know if a government mandate would be effective. or realistic
Posted by nikl at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
Brace Yourself
No words.
Posted by nikl at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)
September 03, 2005
VMAs
Who let this happen? Randy is doing my the pleasure (?) of showing me highlights from this attrrocious happening. Right this moment, it's KElly Clarkson sounding as though her volcal chords are committing suicide. Holy ew.
And who are the producers/directors and how was this whole thing approved. I mean, truly. The fire and water thing - what?? I don't need to see a soaking Kelly Clarkson, I don't need to see people run through fountains.
And what the hell is R. Kelly thinking?? Did anyone else see this??? I really don't have words for it yet. You really need to watch it, find out when it comes on next and catch this mess. It's about an hour and 15 minutes into the show. Chuck, Kathy (Mary), Roofus, Roofus and Roofus. Please. Please. Help. The VMA live version is priceless, but all five parts of Trapped in the Closet can be found on R. Kelly's mess of a website.
Dwayne. These people, I officially give to you.
Posted by nikl at 12:11 AM | Comments (1)
September 02, 2005
Only in NY
Ah, the NYC subways. Where else can you see a 12 yr old puerto rican hottie with a diamond stud belly button ring being stared at by an overweight married IT support guy while an upper west side 50-ish woman wearing turquoise with a silver southwestern belt tried to ignore the whole thing?
When I reached my destination (Cowgirl Hall of Fame), I was a bit early. Oh, but not to fear. I was entertained thoroughly by what I am pretty sure was a woman, high on something I hope to never take - accidentally or on purpose. Skinny, dressed in tight black pants, a sleeveless jean jacket, a black baseball cap, and black velvet heels topped with faux diamond pendants (yes, on the shoes). She was eating a fried chicken dinner, drinking whisky. With her feet up on the bar. After attacking each piece of chicken, literally throwing it bar on to the plate. Then she'd whipe her hands and thrown the napkin on the bar. The she's moan and curse. Repeat. Then came the scene that wasn't so funny when she pushed her chair out into the aisle, and wouldn't let an overweight guy pass. She started telling him he needed to go on a diet, that he was disgusting, etc. It went quickly from hilarious, to just wrong.
Once everyone arrived, it turned from NYC wrongness to NYC rightness as madness of the best kind ensued. Photos to come! :) And let's all just be honest - baby makes party!!!
Posted by nikl at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
Lemiwinks
Last night, I realized that I, Nicole Hudson, have my very own copy of the Lemiwinks episode of South Park (it's South Park at its most wrong, so if you are easily offended, do not watch. No, really).
Brilliant wrongness at it's best.
Posted by nikl at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2005
N.O. Blogs
Two blogs I can't stop reading:
Some guy manning a data center downtown
Posted by nikl at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)
One of These Things is Not Captioned Like the Other
Posted by nikl at 11:48 AM | Comments (1)