Be Melodious

Still not shampooing

2011-05-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

My 2-week experiment wasn't that successful. I think I ended up shampooing 4-5x a week, but my goal was 3x a week. Anyway, I inadvertently started the experiment up again this week. It was mainly borne out of laziness and ran-out-of-timeness. It's Wednesday morning, I'm in the office going on day 4 of greasy hair! Yup, I haven't shampooed since Sunday morning. I'm quite pleased with myself and am relishing in all the newfound free time I have now that I don't have to fuss with shampooing, drying, and styling. Who thinks I should go an entire week without shampooing?

Get over it

2011-04-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Today, President Obama is in Los Angeles for a series of fundraising events. People have been adjusting their commute and work schedules to avoid the gridlock that usually accompanies a visit from the presidential motorcade. I've heard of some people complaining about the resulting road closures and traffic. One person suggested that the President take a helicopter everywhere once he's here (which I believe he did from LAX to the VA Hospital in Westwood). According to this NBC article, apparently it was a pain in the ass last time he visited back in August.

Here are my thoughts on it: Get over it. It's only one day.

A blog about pens

2011-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

There really is a blog for everything. Even for pens. That's right, I said pens-- as in the writing instrument, which apparently, we don't stop to appreciate often enough. The blog is appropriately called Pen Addict, and I must say that I was rather tickled to see that the Pen Addict reviewed a pen that I actually own and adore.

Shampooing Experiment

2011-04-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

They say that you're not supposed to wash your hair more than a few times a week. I'm going to try this for 2 weeks (through the end of April). We'll see if the flies start buzzing around my head or if I have any friends left by the end of Week 1.

Wait, how does that work if I work out?? Am I supposed to just hang out with a sweaty, oily scalp? I guess this will take careful planning.

Kill the Kale

2010-08-03T23:23:00.001-07:00

My friend Stephanie just told me that she read my blog, so now I feel compelled to write (I'm a people-pleaser).

You might be wondering if I still get the CSA vegetable boxes. Well, since my last post in May, I got one more box to which I was greeted with more hearty greens: collard greens, mustards, kale, turnips, etc. To be quite frank, I am SICK AND TIRED of those damn greens. I spent so much time trying to cook and consume them all that now I just want to gag when I see them at the farmer's market or just typing this up on my computer. Here's what's sad: I was at Jonathan Waxman's (of Top Chef Masters fame-- for all of us mainstreamers who only know of chefs when they're featured on TV) NYC restaurant, Barbuto, where I came across kale on the menu. I ordered it, thinking, Hey the reason I'm sick of it is because an amateur like me is cooking it. The kale came, and sure enough: blech.

So, here's my advice about CSA boxes:

CSA boxes can come with a lot of vegetables. You don't get to pick what you want and what you don't want. So, when you get veggies you don't like, give them away! Don't feel pressured to cook and eat them all. No one is judging you! Otherwise, you will start to resent them. And, who ever heard of resenting a vegetable?

Top 7 things I learned while camping

2010-05-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I went camping in Yosemite. Yes, it was (quasi) real camping with a tent, lanterns, and everything. We did have flushing toilets nearby and a shower within driving distance (hey, I wasn't about to be digging). No, we didn't hire the services of a sherpa to build our tent for us, carry our backpacks, or fluff our goose down pillows. And, no, we didn't eat at any of the local restaurants or.

This was my first time in years camping. This was also my first time in Yosemite. It's so beautiful up there. Don't get me started about how lame I feel for having grown up my entire life in California yet had never ventured up to Yosemite. Now, I must go every year to make up for the last 33 wasted ones.

Here are the top 7 things I learned while camping in Yosemite (I tried to do a Top 10, but could really only think of 7 things):

1. A bear's sense of smell is several times stronger than that of a dog.
2. A hiking stick works wonders, especially when you're trekking downhill and you're over the age of 30 and feeling the impact of gravity on your knees (no, you don't have to whittle one out of a tree; you can buy a perfectly synthetic, man-made one at your local sporting goods store)
3. Korean BBQ, like kalbi, is like the best thing ever to cook at a campsite.
4. RVs can cost $300,000.
5. There are specially-designated sanitary dumps for those RVs.
6. Potable water means it's sufficient to drink, so don't be fooled by the name "potable" (btw, I didn't learn this while camping; I just Wikipedia-ed it now.) Who does PR for water? They need to come up with a better term than "potable." Potable sounds like water that's sufficient for drinking from the pot...pot as in TOILET.
7. Spam is still good, no matter where you eat it.

What the F*&# should I eat for dinner?

2010-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

How many times have you been like, WTF am I gonna eat for dinner? Well, this site knows your pain and will tell you WTF you should have for dinner.

Mom returned her iPad

2010-05-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update: My mom returned her iPad. BOO. (Read my post about when she purchased it.) Apparently, it was "too young" for her (I think she means it was too hip). She prefers the old school huge-ass desktop monitor. I don't know why since watching one hour soap operas on your desk has got to be uncomfortable. Guess the fobby moms wasn't ready for the iPad.

I cooked the CSA greens

2010-05-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here's how I prepared the greens from the CSA box. The recipes out there for these greens are pretty similar-- sautee and/or boil, chicken stock/broth, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. It's just a variation of any of those, so I was afraid that they'd all end up tasting the same. But lo and behold...these greens have their own unique flavor.

Here we've got rainbow chard sauteed with garlic:

And, this below is a mixture of purple mustards and collard greens that I cooked with magic that is bacon (from an Emeril recipe). This was delicious!

The veggies are here, the veggies are here!

2010-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Got my first CSA box last Sunday on April 25. I haven't blogged much lately because I've been busy trying to eat it all and not let any of it go to waste!

The box is a biweekly one, and what's nice is that it's not a regular subscription, so I can order one as needed. Because you get what's in season, there's a good chance that you'll be getting the same veggies for awhile-- and you'll get kaled out! So, I prefer this option--though I'm sure the regular subscription could work better for a family. This particular CSA, South Central Farmer's Co-op, charges $15 per box (all boxes are the same size), but of course you're free to donate more. (Read my last post for more CSA details.)

Contents of the 4/25 box:
- Red onions
- Rainbow chard
- Bloomsdale spinach
- Purple mustard greens
- Collard greens
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Fava beans
- Black kale
- Beets
- Green romaine lettuce

I've heard that you can blanch and free the vegetables. I believe my friend Judy cuts hers up as soon as she gets them and promptly stores them in the fridge. I, on the other hand, was not that organized. I cut some of them up and loosely wrapped the rest in newspapers.

What's neat is that the box forces me to try different kinds of vegetables-- ones that I wouldn't normally buy at the grocery store, such as rainbow chard or beets. I even sauteed the beet greens-- I didn't even know there were greens on a beet!

Eggs: Cage Free vs. Free Range vs. Organic

2010-04-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for organic eggs, the egg cooler in the grocery store can be intimidating and confusing. There are cage-free eggs, free-range eggs, organic eggs...What's the difference?

Fitness magazine gives a very succinct explanation:

Free-range means the chickens are raised with some access to the outdoors, and cage-free means they live in an open room so they can stretch their wings. Neither label is well regulated for eggs, so I look for USDA-certified organic. These are guaranteed free-range and are often cage-free, plus the birds get organic feed, so the farmer doesn't use hormones, antibiotics, or grain grown with toxic chemicals.

Wikipedia explains:

Significant differences cover feed, medication, and animal welfare. Organic hens are fed organic feed - which is the main factor in improving taste, nutrition and health benefits of the eggs; it is prohibited to feed animal byproducts or GMO crops - which is not discontinued in free range environments; no antibiotics allowed except in emergencies (in opposite to free range, which implies usually the same levels of antibiotics as factory farming); guaranteed animal welfare standards in organic farms, which also improves the quality of both the eggs and the meat - low stress levels lead to superior quality of animal products...

Now that I know the differences, I'm definitely going to seek the organic and free-range eggs. All beings should have sunlight, don't you think? And, all beings should eat natural food, yes?

Getting Intimate with My Newspaper

2010-04-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I spent nearly the entire day on my computer. I worked, I read news sites, I shopped, I perused blogs, I watched videos on Youtube, I listened to my Pandora stations, I chatted with friends and coworkers. Then that evening, I logged off my computer, kept the TV turned off, and shifted my attention to the pile of newspapers that had been collecting and neglected all week.

For all the hoopla about the immediacy, efficiency, and digital connectedness of a laptop / iPhone/ netbook / iPad / Kindle / Blackberry / enterotherelectronicdevicehere, something interesting dawned on me while I was blackening my fingers with newspaper ink. I realized that there is one thing that electronic media wasn't able to do for me, and that is to give me a true one-on-one connection with the story.

The Internet, in all its glory, is really just a crap load of information-- most of which you don't want or need, but hey, it's there-- or what the CE industry calls "content." Lots 'o content. Lots 'o stuff. All this stuff makes it extremely easy to get distracted. Sure, reading a story online can provide a richer experience, what with all the hyperlinks, the associated videos, audio, etc. Even when I was playing with the NPR app on my mom's iPad, I was mesmerized by all the neat features: the article itself, the links, and the corresponding NPR audio piece with the predictably calm voices. But, what's ironic is that although the Internet can provide this richer experience, it also distracts me. Sometimes, I just want to focus on one medium, like the written word or only the scenes on the television set. Sometimes, I want to focus only on reading about Kate Gosselin's Dancing with the Stars drama and bitchiness and not be tempted to click on the link that tells me about Jon's latest attempts at one-upping his ex-wife.

Look at your browser right now, and tell me how many tabs you have open (I have 8). Now, tell me how many programs you have open (I have just 1: the browser). Lastly, of the open tabs and programs, how many of these are you working on pretty much at the same time (I'm actively looking at 4 websites)?

Going back to my Friday evening newspaper reading...As I read the paper, I felt a more intimate interaction: just the LA Times and me. The stories and information resonated better with me. Even as I recounted to my boyfriend what I had read, I felt that I could recall the details better than had I read it from a website. With the newspaper, there are fewer distractions. (I mean, your eyes could certainly drift to another article but that's not the same as clicking to an entirely different website.) And, because of this, I'm able to feel more connected to the story subject.

They say that the physical newspaper is a dying breed. I hope it doesn't die. I'm not ready to be a widow.

P.S. I purposely did not hyperlink in this post because I wanted you to focus on my words :)

Pitching at Toastmasters

2010-04-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

I just joined Toastmasters in February. For those of you unfamiliar with Toastmasters, it's a group that helps you with public speaking (or any speaking, for that matter).

There's a section during Toastmasters called table topics where members are called upon for an impromptu 2-minute speech about whatever the Table Topic Master deems at that moment. (Side note: the last three times I've done a Table Topic, I'm always the second person called. Kind of weird.)

Anyway, this last week, my table topic was "sell something in 1 minute." So, I thought, Easy! This is part of my job!

I saunter up to the podium. I dive right into my pitch. "I'm going to sell you on a Belkin Wireless Router. This should be easy for me since I do PR for Belkin and selling stories of products is my job." Sounds good so far, right? Well, nonetheless, I was nervous. I should have said, "This should be easy for me...yet I'm still nervous as hell because all you 20 people are staring at me and are probably like, what the hell is a router?"

To summarize, I did a horrible job, and I'm sure my fellow Toastmasters were wondering how I even got a job in PR given my pathetic attempt to sell them on a router. Pitching to strangers is something I do regularly. But what's different is that when I'm pitching, I don't have 20 people staring at me. And, I usually have the product with me, so I'm interacting with both the product and my audience. So, it's not just a one-way dialogue. Although the Toastmaster audience is a captive one, they're not necessarily interested in wireless routers. I realized that I made the mistake of picking a topic that could be too technical. Of all the products out there, I choose one of the most technical ones, a wireless router with advanced apps such as BitBoost, which lets you prioritize what programs you want taking up your bandwidth (am I losing you yet?). The Toastmaster group is a diverse one of various backgrounds and ages. I'm sure some of these folks aren't tech savvy...I should have pitched laundry detergent or something.

What did I learn from this? Cater my speec to the audience (something I do in PR anyway), pretend that I'm pitching to a small group of editors, and hold a prop as a placeholder (if necessary).

Will my CSA box stress me out?

2010-04-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for a CSA box. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture, which consists of a group of individuals who support a local farm, sharing in its risks and benefits, by purchasing shares of its produced crop. Each week or every 2 weeks, the individual will receive a box of various seasonal vegetables and fruit. The benefits are immense for both the farmer and the buyer (more here).

My friend Judy and her fiance are CSA supporters, and she, along with my coworker Graciela, got me interested in this neat concept. Here's what else drove me to this:

* Watching the Oscar-nominated documentary Food Inc (which my friend's wife had produced- go Elise!) got me thinking a lot about food-- not just what exactly is going through my body, but also how it's produced, who's producing it, and the business of food.

* Graciela's recommendation of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, who was featured in the documentary and who is a proponent of eating REAL FOOD.

* A piece on Alice Waters in the LA Times, the famed Oakland chef who was the first to pioneer farm-to-table cooking in her restaurant, Chez Panisse. She's very orthodox about her commitment to local and sustainable food.

* Michael Pollan's Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. This is essentially a guidebook about what to eat and what not to eat for those who want to follow the rule of REAL FOOD. I like it because it's easy to read with bite-size (no pun intended) information.

* A phone call with my friend Sharon, who described her struggles with feeding her kids healthy and sustainable fare.

After that phone call, I decided it was time to sign up for the CSA box pronto!

Graciela clued me into the local CSA she uses, South Central Farmers Cooperative. My box comes every 2 weeks (that's the option for Long Beach residents)...first box will hit on April 25. I'm excited!

Although I am excited, I have some minor trepidations. Judy and R receive their box weekly, and she says they have trouble consuming all the produce in a timely fashion. She once had a poker party where she tried to stuff us with carrots and lots of other veggies (not what you'd normally find at a poker game!). I'm hoping that a biweekly box won't be as stressful. In any case, I'm sure it will make my cooking more creative and our bodies more regular (ha).

To find the CSA nearest you, visit LocalHarvest.

Mama's got a brand new iPad

2010-04-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Of all the people in my family to get an iPad, who would've thunk that my fobby mom would be the first one?!

Just the other day, my mom was talking about how she's been hooked on watching Thai soap operas on Youtube. The only problem is that my dad hogs the family computer, so she doesn't get much time on it to email the kids or watch her shows. She then talked about getting another computer for herself when I blurted out: "You should get an iPad!!" It's perfect for what she needs it for: watching video and emailing. Also the touchpad and the overall intuitiveness of its design makes the iPad really easy for a tech-illiterate person like my mom to use.

To everybody's surprise, it was easy like Sunday morning to convince my mom to buy the iPad (we even bought it on a Sunday). She was like, "Oh iPad? I hear on the news people wait in line for iPad. $500? That's cheaper than a laptop." The day after I mentioned it to her, we were at the Apple Store buying my mom her first computer.

We set it up so that shortcuts to each of the Thai soap opera episodes were on the homescreen. Watching her navigate on the iPad screen just proved how intuitive that sucker is. She was so happy to be sitting anywhere in the house watching her soap operas from her lap!

We did encounter one problem, and that was setting up her Yahoo email account to the iPad. We believe it's a problem with the Yahoo server (as I couldn't set my own Yahoo account to it either though my gmail worked). Hopefully, Yahoo will get that fixed ASAP!

In case you want to watch her soap opera, it's called Tuddao Bussaya.

Geeky Cookies

2010-04-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Sea of Shoes

2010-04-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

A friend at work clued me into this fashion blogger, who has the most amazing sense of personal style and panache. From her beautiful red hair down to her Barney's Co-Op over-the-knee boots, Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes is so darn cute.

After you've perused her site and drooled over her outfits and her shoes (oh the shoes!), get this: she's just a senior in high school (!!).

Where is my milk from?

2010-04-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

My milk is from Northern California.

With the new widespread interest in knowing where your food comes from (widespread as in maybe just in the coastal states), a new site has popped up to tell us where our milk hails from. Simply titled Where Is My Milk From, you enter the code from your milk carton or most other dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream) into the field on the webpage, then a map shows detail of what geographic area your dairy goods come from. You can even find out what other dairy products are produced here.

I entered my lactose-free milk (Ralphs generic brand) and learned that it's from Gustine, CA, which is east of San Jose off the 5. I also tried to do the same with my organic Wallaby yogurt, but I couldn't find the code on the container.

There's something similar for blueberries. I bought a blueberry carton last year, and it provided a code that you could enter online to find out what farm your blueberries came from.

So now that I know where my milk is from, how does that make me feel? Well, how is it supposed to make me feel? More enlightened? More connected to my milk? Nope. I don't feel nuthin.

Inbox Hell

2010-03-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

My Yahoo inbox currently has 428 emails in it. My work inbox has 310 (of course, I've read all of these). 85% of all emails should be filed away in folders/subfolders or deleted. It's just not healthy to have an inbox full of emails that just ferment or marinate.

My inbox goal is 75 emails or less. About twice a year, I'm able to whittle it down to accomplish this goal. However, when I do reach this point, it never lasts long since as soon I leave on a trip, it then inevitably fills up.

I've tried creating rules for certain emails to be automatically filed into certain folders as they arrive. But you know what I do with these "ruled" emails? Nada. I ain't do nuthin' with them. It's like, ha ha, you're in that folder now and I'm gonna ignore you even more. Neener neener neener!

I need a better system or just better habits! Any suggestions?

The fourquare mayor of Borders Long Beach is an old lady from the '50s

2010-03-28T00:46:00.001-07:00

I'm so happy that I'm still using this lovely picture as my avatar on foursquare. Today, this avatar made it to the homepage of foursquare (thanks to jjgiffin for spotting this)!

(That was supposed to be sarcastic, by the way.)

Might be time to change my avatar. Let me take this to my vast readership (consisting of 1, maybe 2 people); should I change my picture?

Gilt should make me feel "gilty"

2010-03-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'm hooked on Gilt.

Gilt is one of several discount sites that features special sales on high end or well-known designers for just 36 hours. They started off selling mainly women's clothing and accessories, but have since expanded to include men's and children's clothing and accessories, home goods, and even hotel deals.

The daily sales begin at 9am PST, and you must be ready for them because the good stuff goes FAST. Well, let me tell you: I am ready for them. I have my browser set up so that the page loads automatically when I open the browser. And, if I've worked it right, I've done my homework the night before to find out what will be going on sale-- which signals to me if it's worthwhile to miss a meeting (JK, I'm not that bad).

And, dammit, the folks behind Gilt make the purchasing process so easy-- too easy, in fact! Once you've entered your payment info and shipping address, your purchase is just 2 clicks away. You don't even have to think about it. Frightening or blissfully convenient? Probably both.

Gorjana goes up on Monday. I shall prepare to do some jewelry damage!

A Piggie Photoshoot

2009-07-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Pig had a photoshoot over the weekend (don't snicker or poke fun; the photoshoot is part of a wedding gift for my sister). Photos by Susan Sabo Photography (who does amazing pet photographs).

The Pig Trades Treats for Photos from Mike on Vimeo.

Sangwich, Sammich, Scanwich

2009-03-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Jon Chonko scans his sandwiches, aka Scanwiches...no, really, he LITERALLY takes his sandwich, throws it on a scanner, and runs that sucker over it.

Brilliant!

Ode to Panda Express

2009-03-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

O Panda Express
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways

I love thee for your lovely Orange Chicken
in all its breaded, fried, sugary glory
For your stir-fried eggplant and tofu item
its syrupy, garlicky delight
For your clever 2 item combo menu option
where the half steamed rice, half chow mein combo
makes me feel like I'm rejoicing in a 3-item meal
I love thee for your consistency
At any Panda Express I see
Your bright orange spherical lanterns
Hanging from your ceilings, in two rows of three
I love thee for the mere six dollars and twenty-two cents
that the 2-item combo costs me
Smiles, garlicky breath, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

O Panda Express

John Legend and Stephen Colbert Duet

2008-08-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

John Legend is set to drop a new album in the fall, and my obsession with him is starting up again. (This always happens when he has a new album out or a concert tour. Then it dies down.)

Here he is performing "The Girl is Mine"-- a classic duet originally sung by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney-- with Stephen Colbert. Surprisingly, Colbert can sing!

I miss you, Olympics

2008-08-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

I miss the Olympics.

Every night, I set my DVR to record the Olympics. Four hours of it on NBC (yes, I'm still affliected with standard-def TV, so I couldn't access the 24-hour Olympic coverage on the HD channels).

My DVR quickly filled up, and I had to delete other recordings. (Bye bye my beloved So You Think You Can Dance.)

Each night, I looked forward to whatever athletic competitions awaited me. I sat down on the couch with my dinner, turned the TV on, and let the games roll. I followed whatever order of competitions NBC dictated. I listened to the commentators-- sometimes scoffing at their blatant subjectivity (women's gymnastics)-- but mostly learning from them. I learned what qualifed as a good or bad score. I learned about the athletes, their countries, their coaches. I tried to watch for the flat footed dives, the abnormally long torso of Michael Phelps lunging through the water on his Fly, and the different styles of boxing between the 6'7" Chinese boxer vs. his shorter Italian opponent (the Italian won gold). I learned the difference between the snatch and the clean & jerk in weighlifting, and I learned that in trampoline, you have to land within the designated outlined box. And, I was entranced by the back story of the competitors (more love going to the underdogs, of course).

I had never watched so much of the Olympics. I used to only care about gymnastics, basketball (with the original Dream Team), and a little for track & field, swimming and diving.

I watched so many swimming events and track & field events; trampoline; gymnastics; synchro diving and solo diving; boxing (light flyweight all the way up to heavyweight); volleyball and beach volleyball; basketball; synchronized swimming; 5 seconds of fencing; cycling on that funky cylindrical track; BMX racing; table tennis; soccer; softball (as background noise-- does that count?); a few minutes of water polo; women's weighlifting; rowing; a litle field hockey. And yes, I even watched the marathon.

I was fascinated by it ALL.

Yet, I still missed taekwondo, shooting, speed walking, tennis, handball, decathalon, equestrian, wrestling, and sailing.

I know I can still find these competitons online but it's not the same. The experience of watching it on a larger screen with the commentators and not knowing what sport would be featured next-- all those elements are missing when you download it online.

Sigh.

Next up? The Democratice National Convention.

Green Tech Article in Audrey Magazine

2008-08-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

I wrote a story on green tech for the April-May issue of Audrey magazine, an Asian-American women's lifestyle magazine.

Click here to check it out!

Veep?

2008-08-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

We are less than 3 months away from the 2008 Presidential election...yet, we still don't know who the running mates are for each candidate. Shouldn't we know by now? Or, do they announce that at the party conventions? BTW...when are the party conventions?

Don't you feel like this election is dragging? Ugh, I do. And, it looks like many folks are tired of hearing about Obama period.

My Dog Air-Swims

2008-08-03T23:27:00.001-07:00

When Piggie the Pug gets wet and if we hold her sacrifice-style, she thinks she's in the water. Her instincts kick in, and she automatically starts moving her legs as if she's swimming. It's so funny and so cute.

Check it.

What I'm Beveraging This Summer

2008-07-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with beverages this summer.

Cucumber Limeade, perfectly refreshing for the hot days of summer. I had my first at the Belkin SF Media Event last week, catered by Fork & Spoon.

Starbucks has teamed up with Pinkberry to introduce a new Sorbetto out, an Italian Ice blend drink. So far, Tangy Mango is my fave.

Yes, even Iced Coffee at McDonald's. For $1.89, you can't get better than this.

This is your brain

2008-06-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is your brain...

This is your brain on Melody.

Any questions?

Move Over Hillary...

2008-05-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

...there's a new bitch in town: HELLO KITTY FOR AMBASSADOR

Have you seen my pig in a box?

2008-05-07T22:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Earth Day, Friends!

2008-04-22T23:54:00.000-07:00

Here are 50 simple ways-- in a pretty table from Wire and Twine-- to show your love for our planet. One tip I never considered is using cotton swabs with a "paperboard swindle" instead of plastic. That's a good one!

How do you score? (via apartmenttherapy)

Take that, MacBook Air!

2008-04-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Magic Manila envelope...

Stars who look better in analog

2008-04-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Ouch! Switched just posted a list of the top 10 stars who who look worse in HD.

Among those blacklisted: Cameron Diaz, Britney, and, god forbid, Brad Pitt!!

Maybe they could have benefitted by using HD makeup?

HD Forever

2008-04-09T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here's some makeup from Make up Forever that will supposedly beat the unforgiving clarity and magnification of high-definition video. Yawn.

The LA Times reviewed some HD cosmetic products from Cargo, Christian Dior, and Smashbox. According to them, Smashbox ruled. I guess it's because they've been in the film and TV costume makeup industry forever.

The LA Times review is good. Too bad this topic is now played out with so many damn cosmetic manufacturers jumping on the high-definition bandwagon.

Grappling with Green

2008-04-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Now that my sister and I have this canine, we've been running through all the old plastic grocery bags like it ain't no thing. Although I'm feeling good that Piggie the Pug is finally learning to take care of her biznizz outside, I'm feel incredibly BAD about all the non-biodegradable, plastic waste I'm injecting into our beloved earth.

So, I did some research and found some biodegradeable bags (from multiple manufacturers). One particular one, BioBag Dog Waste Bag, is made of corn (just like the corn utensils I bought not too long ago), and it seemed like exactly what I needed.

Anyway, I was just about to click the "buy" button to snag some, when I read on a different site that you have to dispose of the BioBags in a compost bin. Aiya! I don't have a compost bin; I live in an apartment! It ain't so easy to just have a compost bin, ya know. And, the City of Long Beach only provides us with a blue recycling trash can and a black waste bin; there's no green bin!

Here, I was thinking I was doing the earth and my grandkids a great favor by shelling out some scrilla (instead of stealing plastic bags from the grocery store-- something my mother would do) for biodegradeable Piggie waste bags, but instead I'm reading that it won't make difference unless you properly dispose of them in a compost bin.

BioBags, as well as all biodegradable materials placed in [airlocked or anaerobic] landfills, don't decompose very well. This is because they are not exposed to the oxygen and microorganisms that help break down biodegradable substances including newspapers, yard waste and kitchen waste.

In "open" or "turned" landfills, BioBags will break down at about the same rate as other similarly biodegradable materials that are found in these solid waste disposal areas.

I suppose I can call up the City to see if they'll supply me with a green bin, or I can search on the Internet for a local composting site. But seriously...I am not storing a collection of dog turd in my apartment until I can get to a composting site.

Does anybody have any recommendations?

Mariah understands the benefits of 802.11n

2008-04-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

Even Mariah knows the benefits of 802.11n, the most current home wireless networking standard.

Watch this video-- or, at least watch the beginning, then fast forward to the end, after the music ends.

In her next music video, I expect Mariah to get another Geek Squader in to upgrade to MoCA, Powerline, or WiMax.

Flat Faces Unite!

2008-03-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I just got my dad a 6-month only pug puppy, which we named Piggie because she snorts and wheezes like a one. She came from my sister's coworker's friend, who was unable to keep her once she moved into a no-pets-allowed apartment.

Piggie (that's with an "-ie" since she's now living in the IE, aka the Inland Empire, where Temecula is, wha-what!) is really sweet and crazy cute. (More pix of Piggie here.)

Seems that my family-- especially my dad-- has a thing for flat-faced, smashed-nosed dogs.

Another breed we considered getting was an English Bulldog:

And, we had boxers when I was younger:

Now we have Piggie the Pug:

I think these flat-faced, smashed-nosed dogs appeal to my dad because they look most like him:

G-Unit!!!

Call the Police on the Fashion Police!!

2008-02-27T14:27:00.001-08:00

Does anybody watch Fashion Police on the E! Channel? After every awards show, the "Fashion Police" critique the outfits worn by the celebrities at the show. This past Monday was the review of Oscars 2008.

In the past, they've had different hosts (such as Jay Manuel and J. Alexander from America's Next Top Model), with Debbie Matenopoulous (the regular E! person) and a couple other guest analysts (ha ha, for lack of a better word), who critique just jewelry or just hair. This time, Debbie hosted with Kimora Lee Simmons and some other British dude.

I have 2 complaints:

1) Kimora was annoying. I couldn't listen to her scratchy, unpolished voice. She has a rough speaking style; and I couldn't get past it to listen to her actual critique. She kept butting in and interrupting everybody, including the guest "police" from InStyle magazine and others. As my sister accurately stated, "Kimora always has to have the last word."

I'm happy to see that other people agreed with me.

2) Does Debbie have an eating disorder? She looked incredibly thin-- much thinner than in the past. She looked pretty (great dress), but so thin. And, she sat so awkwardly in her chair; she looked very uncomfortable and it was very obvious to me that she was sitting like that because of some kind of fear. She kept her arms propped/resting on the armrests, I think, for fear of showing fat arms (when laid flat against the side of her body). First, I thought she was sitting so erect because she was afraid her dress would slide off, but later we caught her doing the weird supermodel post where your shoulders jut out far in front of you with your back slouched. Kinda like this:

So, we surmised that she must be afraid to look fat on camera (Why Debbie? You are so thin already), but instead ended up looking weird.

Cosmetics Get Involved in HD DVD - Blu-ray Battle

2008-02-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a decision. After months of waffling in the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray, Cargo cosmetics have finally made up their minds.

Following their cronies at Warner Brothers, they're going the Blu-ray route with their blu_ray collection of makeup. "Created especially for filming in high-definition, this professional-quality makeup covers imperfections while looking completely natural—since any heavy coverage is amplified in hi-def— and the result is radiant skin."

And, a wise one decision it was...since Toshiba (its biggest champion) has officially announced they're quitting HD DVD. (via wired blogs)

Thank you, Cargo. We can now finally sleep peacefully at night knowing that you've finally chosen your side in this high-def format war.

bowling for fruit on the loft

2008-02-16T20:16:00.000-08:00

My favorite fruit bowls, posted on the loft.

Common and His Surprise Guest

2008-02-16T17:27:00.000-08:00

Went to the Common concert this past Wednesday at the House of Blues in Anaheim...and it was Sa-Lammin'! Guess who showed up as a surprise guest: his boy, Kanye. w00t!

Ba-Rock the Vote

2008-02-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

I voted for Hillary Clinton yesterday for various reasons that I won't get into here. But, frankly, I'd be equally happy if Barack wins the democratic primary, and I'd be very excited to vote for him for president in November.

will.i.am just introduced a music video honoring Obama, replete with celebrities and musicians singing/speaking to his "Yes we can" speech (something like that) cut with images of Obama giving this speech. My favorites, Common and John Legend, are featured...and just watching this video would've almost made me want to vote for Obama in yesterday's California primary!

What would AJ do?

2008-01-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

I wrote to an author, and he wrote back!

In The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, author AJ Jacobs recounts the year he...well, you get it from the title of his book. Among many rules from both the Old Testament and New Testament, Mr. Jacobs grows a beard, wears all white, ties tassles to the corners of his clothing, prays three times a day, gives up lying and lustful gazing-- all with the help of various religious advisors (priests, pastors, etc).

One commandment/law instructs you to tithe, which is the act of giving a percentage of your income to the church. The Bible also teaches its followers to give to those who are needier (I think; I don't remember exactly, but this sounds right). So, I wrote the author, Mr. Jacobs:

I just finished your latest book, "The Year of Living Biblically," for our book club. And, on my way to our book club meeting to discuss your book (which was well-received by my book club members-- kudos!), I encountered a homeless guy when I exited the freeway. After reading your battles/successes with tithing and all the other rules (as I'm sure this falls under many other rules/lessons from the Bible), I decided to give $3 to the homeless guy. I typically never give money to panhandlers, but after reading your book, I thought, why not? AJ would do it. LOL.

This is not to say that I will be doing this on a regular basis, but at the time, it felt right (it was rainy after all and he didn't look like he'd spend it on booze or drugs). And although Pastor out to Pasture (or whoever your other religious guides were) probably wouldn't condone that since the resulting feeling wasn't completely selfless, I'm sure the 3 bucks really helped him.

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration!

And, get this: AJ wrote back! And within just a few hours!

Hi Melody,
That is a wonderful letter! Thank you. I'm glad I played a small part in your decision.
Maybe I should market bracelets What would AJ do?
AJ

I don't know why but I'm so thrilled that he wrote back. After reading about an entire year of his life, I feel like I know him and his family so well. I am tempted to reply to him, but that might get stalkerish.

an (un)common pair

2008-01-27T21:51:00.001-08:00

I just got tickets to Common's concert at the House of Blues on Feburary 13, w00t! (Best part is that since I bought the tix at the HOB box office, I saved $25 on Ticketmaster fees...so, take THAT, Ticketmaster! Muhahaha.)

As some of you know, Common is my favorite hip-hopper, and I always try to see him in concert whenever he's in town. When I was blogging on myspace, I used to blog about hip hop more often; but I believe this is my first post on Common here on bemelodious...and, unfortunately, I won't be praising his musicality or lyrics today...because:

Tonight, as I was surfing my fave mobile site from my BB Pearl, TMZ.com, I came across some somewhat troubling gossip about Common and his new squeeze Serena Williams. Oh heaven forbid!

Design:Wood

2008-01-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

I blog about design-related items on loft405. Check out my latest post on wood being good.

Giada Helps Me Cook

2008-01-26T23:23:00.000-08:00

Brief Update on one of my New Year's resolution to cook more: I am. I've cooked twice this week (hooray!)-- with some help from mikey and Giada De Laurentiis from the Food Network.

I bought Giada's Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes cookbook, and although I've only made one dish thus far (orechietti with prosciutto and italian bread crumbs), it was just as Giada promised: simple and delicious!

Tonight, I tried a couple recipes from www.foodnetwork.com, and although I was not specifically looking for a Giada recipe, the recipes I ended up with (when searching under the parameters of relatively easy but tasty) were Giada's. Here was our menu:

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Herbs
Ginger Sea Bass Over Wilted Greens

Yup, it was all so good and so easy, and mikey and I were super pleased. So far, I'm a big fan of Giada. I love that:

- her dishes generally don't require crazy ingredients where you have to go to specialty grocers to find them
- the ingredients are generally pretty common, so you would most likely use them for future dishes
- they're quick enough to prepare during a workweek, even if you have a typical 9-5 job (or 8-6, in my case)
- and, they don't require uncommon tools, such as a dutch oven, which I've noticed is one of Emeril's tool of choice. (Shoot, I didn't even know what a dutch oven was, besides the gross kind from Urban Dictionary.)

Commercial Songs

2008-01-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

Leave it up to Apple to introduce another addicting song in their latest commercial. It's "New Soul" by Yael Naim played in the new MacBook Air TV commercials.

I hate to latch onto songs that become popularized because of commercials (especially when it's with another big Apple announcement). I did that with the Ingrid Michaelson song from the Old Navy commercial (that the Yellow Hummingbird clued me onto), and here I go again.

I. Just. Can't. Help. Myself. Dammit, APPLE!

How My 20-year-old Brother Wraps Christmas Gifts

2008-01-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

Designer Fruit Roll-Ups

2008-01-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

In a world where fashion designers slap their names on furniture, car interiors, and iPod cases, why not Fruit Roll-Ups?

I may have just misled you-- but no, Fruit Roll-Ups haven't partnered with Roberto Cavalli or Betsey Johnson. But, why not? Looks like they already have! Check out their latest roll-up incarnations:

New Year's Resolutions for December 2 Babies

2008-01-01T02:34:00.001-08:00

Don't have a whole lot to say but Happy New Year! I've always been partial to even numbers, so 2008 will prove to be super.

My new year's resolutions:

- Be less moody and cranky
- Save more money
- Be able to drink 2 shots of crown plus 2 mixed drinks w/o throwing up (I'm not speaking from personal experience or anything)
- Cook better and more often
- Blog more
- Get organized

I got a cleaning lady so I don't have to put clean the house more often on my list, yay!

It would also be nice to go back to a size 28 in my jeans, but I love red vines, red velvet cake, salt and pepper Kettle Chips, and steak too much so that probably ain't gonna happen.

I also have some New Year's Resolutions for somebody who shares the same birthday as me: Britney Spears.

- Be a better role model to my younger sister Jamie Lynn and niece/nephew bun-in-the-oven
- Cut down on Starbuck's
- Stop wearing boots that cut me off at the thickest part of my legs
- Get a side job shaving heads (should help pay for all those Starbuck's drinks)
- Learn how to properly apply hair extensions
- Learn how to interact with my children

Go Sagittarians!!

Code Blue! R. Kelly is IN the bldg, get out the way yo!

2007-12-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Ne-Yo explains why he's off the R. Kelly Double Up Tour. All I gotta say is, daaaang, R. Kelly is a diva!

Blog it like it's hot

2007-12-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

It's been nearly 2 months since I last posted-- sorry for my laziness. Hate to disappoint all 5 of my readers, so I'll go back to blogging more reguarly.

Last night, we went to the Ne-Yo concert. I guess Ne-Yo got kicked off R. Kelly's Double Up Tour (maybe b/c Ne-Yo doesn't pee on 15 year olds girls?), so he decided to throw a fan appreciation concert, where tickets were only $5 as long as you brought a canned food (donated to the LA Mission)-- which I thought was a very nice touch on Ne-Yo (or his publicist's) part.

On the drive back, Mikey played some music videos on his carputer. Snoop's "Drop it Like It's Hot" came on, and it reminded me that: "Damn. This video is so cool." I mean, how much cooler can you get with a black and white video of Snoop and Pharrell c-walking, bopping their heads, and clicking their tongues. What I especially like is that it's not a video trying to be like a short-movie, telling a story with a plot and an antagonist/protagonist, like so many videos do today (e.g. Justin Timerlake). And, it's not trying to throw in as many video hos as possible to show how cool they are (e.g. all Southern rap). No, this video is cool all by itself. Oh and nice touches with the puppy and that little boy playing the drum.

LBC represent!!

A "Do" and a "Don't" from Mia Farrow

2007-10-22T19:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Mia Farrow demonstrated to me a "Do" and a "Don't."

At this year's PRSA International Conference, Mia Farrow was presented as the keynote speaker. As some of you know, she's a humanitarian activitist, having done good works around the world (working with UNICEF to eradicate polio) and adopting 10 kids. She's the pre-Angelina Jolie, the pre-Bono.

Mia evangelized during her keynote, speaking of the genocide in Darfur (western region of Sudan) and all the tragedy that the Sudanese Janjaweed (Arab militiamen) have been senselessly wreaking havoc on Darfur-- killing, raping, torturing, and pushing them out to Chad and the Central African Republic.

Despite my opinion that she got too political (bashing former President Jimmy Carter and decrying China for underwriting the Sudanese in the genocide) and despite my thought that it was a somber way to open a conference, Mia's speech was certainly eye-opening-- enough to get me to log on to her website, http://www.miafarrow.org/, to see what I could do to help (I've signed up to contribute a monthly donation to Doctors Without Borders). She effectively persuaded me to participate; this was a "do."

But, you ask, how did Mia's keynote relate to PR? I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out myself. Though it would have been pretty simple to do, Mia failed to make the connection between the Darfur genocide and PR. It could have been: "With your influence as professional PR practitioners, you have the capability to communicate through the mass media the atrocities of Darfur. You have the power to empower those around you, to take advantage of the media as a significant vehicle to bring attention to Darfur" blahse-blah. And, that's just an elementary connection that I created off the top of my head. (I'm sure a strategic speechwriter could have helped Mia concoct a much better connection.)

Further, not only did Mia not relate PR to Darfur, but she also wasn't aware of who her audience was. Apparently, she didn't realize she was evangelizing to a group of 3000 PR practitioners. When the presenter/moderator said to her, "Well, Mia, you are talking a group of professional communicators who can help get out the message..." Mia exclaimed with sheer and genuine glee, "WOW! I am talking to the right group!" It was like, "Oh my goodness, would you look at that? I'm talking to a bunch of PR people! What a coincidence!"

Yeah, I understand that some speakers use one canned speech the entire year and tweak it a bit for their audience. But, hello: can you at least be aware of who your audience is beforehand? That faux pas is the worst mistake you can make as a PR professional: not understanding your audience. Despite her enlightening speech, here, Mia was a clear "Don't."

Haircuts

2007-10-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

Izzie finally got a new hairstyle. She cut off some of the length and got some layers. Now, if only Meredith would get rid of those annoying bangs that hang at her temples. They're especially annoying when she pulls her hair back in a ponytale and they're just hanging there. Makes me wanna give her some bobby pins.

Susan is still annoying

2007-10-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'm in Philly now, so I have the pleasure of watching Desperate Housewives earlier than my friends on the West Coast. Here's a spoiler: Susan is STILL annoying.

More spoilers ahead...

She wanted so bad for her her gay neighbors to like her (gee, I wonder why they dont' like her?) by hiding their runaway dog in her garage. That way when they came looking for him, she could be the hero who finds him. Of course, her I-Love-Lucy-but-not-as-endearing-as-Lucy plan was foiled when Mike opened the garage door and the dog came charging out towards his owners, his paws smothered with yellow paint.
Susan is so lame.

Foreshadowing

2007-10-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Remember this song "Lucky" by Britney Spears? I didn't think much of it at the time, but now it's quite CLEAR that she's singing about herself. I wonder if she was bright enough to figure out that she would become such a wreck 8 years later that she wrote this song...no wait, she doesn't write her own songs. Silly me! So, I bet it was her producer or songwriter who foresaw Britney's life in the shambles that it is now.

I've ammended the lyrics to make them more....uh, current:

This is a story about a girl named Britney…

Early morning
Brit wakes up
Screaming Frap, Frap, Frap at the door

It's time for Cheetos
And a...Perfect Wig
It's who they're all waiting for

They go, wasn't she lovely
This train wreck of a girl

And they say
chrous
she's so last week, she was a star
Now she cry, cry, cries with her lonely heart, thinking
There's now so much missing in my life
So, please bring my kids back tonight.

P.S. I realize I just made fun of Britney, but I'm seriously pulling for her. Everyone likes a comeback story.

Why?

2007-10-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

Questions from last week's TV:

1. Is Dwight Schrute that evil that he would kill Angela's cat?
2. Why is it that the men whom Izzie grows fond of die? Is George gonna croak next?
3. Why does Lexie continue to try to ask Meredith questions? Why is she so ditzy?
4. Why are there so many interns on Grey's Anatomy? They look so obviously like extras.
5. How did some of the models (like Jenah )on America's Next Top Model make it on their show? Get a professional makeup artist on me and an art director directing my shoots, and I can be just as FIERCE.

I'll Buy You Rogaine...

2007-10-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Yellow Hummingbird introduced me to Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" -- from Grey's Anatomy and the current Old Navy commercials, advertising their sweaters.

Of course, Old Navy only plays the excerpt that speaks of sweaters:

If you are chilly, here take my sweater.

But, I'm thinking Rogaine should start using the song in their commercials too. This lyric would be perfect:

I'd buy you Rogaine if you start losing all your hair.

If that doesn't speak of love and commitment, then I wouldn't know how else to express it.

A Southern Californian Autumn

2007-10-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

I know that I live in Southern California, where there are only 2 seasons: windy and hot. I also know that I've never actually lived anywhere else where people experience 4 distinct seasons. But, I travel a lot, so I do have an idea of what a true autumn is.

And, despite the fact that it's been quite warm and dry here, it's starting to feel like Fall! So what if red, orange, and gold leaves don't adorn all the trees here? And, so what if our palm trees stay the same shade of green and brown throughout the year. There's still a sense of a seasonal change here. You wouldn't be able to tell unless you were a Californian native.

Tonight, I feel the seasonal change. It might have been more because of the produce the local markets carried rather than the leaves and the air. But, regardless: it is October, so it's Fall.

Early today, I walked into the grocery store to be greeted by these fragrant cinnamon brooms-- to which I instantly I wanted to buy it but I didn't know what to do with it. I thought you might display it in the home, next to a cornucopia or pumpkins. But when I did an image search for a "cinnamon broom," it came up on wican websites. So I guess they're used for witchcraft!

Another thing that reminded me of Fall was the abundance of squash in the market. Acorn, spaghetti, carnival, buttercup and butternut-- so many varieties of squash, begging to be cooked. I went squash-happy and bought 3! Spaghetti, acorn, and carnival. I tossed half of the carnival squash in the microwave amidst 2 tbsp of water. Five minutes, 1 tsp of butter, 2 tsp of brown sugar, and a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon later, I had a piping hot, sweet squash for dessert. Fantastic!

Two more indicators of Fall: it now gets dark at 6:30, 7. And, the Fall season of television, with my favorite (non-reality) shows: Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Heroes (haven't watched any yet; still on the DVR), and Desperate Housewives.

Another Annoying Lady of ABC

2007-10-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

I just watched last week's episode of Grey's Anatomy, and hooray! We have another annoying character to roll our eyes at (alongside Izzie): Lexie Grey, Meredith's half-sister.

She is just so spacey. If you watched the episode, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Who reveals herself as someone's half-sister, blocking the emergency double doors to a hospital, in the middle of an ambulance/hospital crisis?

Annoying ladies of ABC

2007-09-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

The new fall season of TV is almost upon us, just a few weeks away. This past week, I saw a couple repeats of last year's season finales and was reminded about certain characters I don't like because they bug like hell:

- Izzie from Grey's Anatomy. Stop going for guys who you can't get! First there was the really sick, almost-dead guy. Now it's the married intern.

- Susan from Desperate Housewives. Gawd, she's so annoying. Her cutesy act of being clutzy, nosy, and trying to make things happen herself is so old.

Sour Yogurt for the Desert

2007-08-26T22:44:00.001-07:00

Read my very brief review of CactusBerry on loft405.

Step-hop, step-hop, now turn under

2007-08-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

FLASHBACK
My favorite childhood movie was the Sound of Music. They used to play it on NBC around Christmas time every year. My sister and I would tape it (yes, the term for that back then was "tape," not "record." This was the golden age of the VCR) so we could watch it over and over during the summer.

In addition to the usual Do-Re-Mi-in-the-hills-wearing-old-drapes part and the yodeling goats, I loved the dance that Maria and Captain Von Trapp shared:

Kurt peers into the ballroom of dancing couples: "What's that they're playing?"
Maria: "It's the Landler. An Austrian folk dance."

She starts to teach Kurt the Landler until the dashing Captain Von Trapp cuts in. They dance together in the courtyard-- a romance blossoming-- while the Baroness stares enviously. Then, Do-Re-Mi, yoda-lay-hee-hoo, auf-wiedersehn-goodbye, the Von Trapps live happily ever after.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY
The Sound of Music is still a very beloved movie of mine. Back in college, I decided that my groom and I would dance the Landler at our wedding. I thought it would be so cool, so original, so different! Instead of performing a typical ballroom dance, like the waltz or the foxtrot, it would be the landler!!

So, all these years (10 to be exact) I've been saving the Landler, telling only my closest friends. Then, last week, my sisters and I revisited The Von Trapp Family Singers and threw the DVD on.

I told my sisters about dancing the wedding Landler. Then I muse, "Oh I wonder if there are some other Landler dances on YouTube? Let's look it up, shall we?"

So, guess what I found on YouTube. ANOTHER wedding party doing the SAME Sound of Music LANDLER. DAMMIT. I'm not so original. I should have gotten married 1 year earlier!

BTW, although it is a very gallant effort at the Landler, I do think they left out some of the best parts (and I realize their reasoning behind leaving out the more complicated dance moves), such as the funny clapping that the Captain does while Maria gallops around him. At my wedding, there will be no cheating of the Sound of Music Landler!!

Aloha Plumerias (plural)!!

2007-08-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

Then, after a weekend in Palm Springs, I came home to find these!!

Aloha Plumeria!

2007-08-23T22:11:00.003-07:00

On August 14, my 1-year-old plumeria plant finally bloomed!!

Here's to the Roc

2007-07-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

Kanye West produced his first ever track, "This Can't Be Life," on Jay Z's Dynasty: Roc La Familia 2000 album. (It's the same album boasting "I Just Wanna Love Ya.")

What's cool is that Kanye talks about how he got started in the business in "Last Call" on his College Dropout album. At the end of "Last Call," Kanye's just talking over the music, chatting about how he worked with Jay Z and "This Can't Be Life." He shows love for Jay Z, Talib Kweli, etc. It's like a tribute to him and Rocafella, and you know, I'm all about hard ass hip hop cats and the warm fuzzies, yknowhumsayin', so I think it's super cute--er, I am dope-- that he's busting this one out to the jiggaman.

Anyway, check out the tracks-- the beats on both are tight, yo!

(Excuse my ghetto method of posting the songs-- getting them from Youtube was easiest. Also, unfortunately, "Last Call" doesn't include the 8 minute outro where Kanye's talking about his beginnings in the biznizz.)

"This Can't Be Life" - Jay Z featuring Scarface

Pilipino Prisoners Show Teamwork

2007-07-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

A couple thoughts that crossed my mind as I watched this:

- Is that person playing the female character a she, a he, or a little of both? She/he has a receding hairline.

- They must be using the karaoke version of "Thriller." You'll notice that there are no vocals singing along to the verses, only to the chorus.

A baby named Madi and a blind dog named Honey

2007-07-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

Green is the New Black

2007-07-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Get green. It might be considered trendy and the "it" thing to do now. But, we could all benefit from being a little more conscious of the waste we produce and how it impacts the environment.

Just think: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

* Try to use nontoxic cleaning agents that don't emit poisons and toxins into our air. For example, Method (found at Target) makes biodegradable washcloths, all-purpose cleaners, and laundry detergent. Their packaging is also recyclable.

* Use less plastic bags—or, better yet, none at all. Take with you to the grocery store the plastic bags that are filling up under your sink. And, fold those used paper department store handle bags into your purse for shopping at the mall. When you run through all your plastic bags, invest in inexpensive canvas totebags that are perfectly suited for grocery shopping.

* More bag advice: Use paper instead plastic. Paper is biodegradeable, while plastic is not.

* Recycle the wire hangers that your dry cleaning comes on. I have a girlfriend who tosses her wire hangers, and I was appalled to hear this. Either return the hangers to your cleaner or recycle them. You can do the same with the safety pins the cleaners use to secure your skirts to the hangers.

* Use less paper towels in the restroom. Do you really need 4 sheets of paper towels to dry your hands? Shake your hands dry of excess water and grab the amount that is necessary.

* Consider biodegradeable utensils and plates at your next BBQ or party. Bambu, for example, makes clean, well-designed products made of bamboo. According to the company, bamboo is sustainable and highly renewable. It's a fast-growing plant that, unlike trees (bamboo is a grass, not a tree), requires "no replanting, grows without fertilizers or pesticides and is harvested from controlled stands with an astounding growth cycle of three to five years."

* I come from an Asian family with a fobby mom so I’m very much familiar with the fobby practice of stealing stacks of paper napkins from restaurants. Don’t do this. Take exactly what you need.

* Seek eco-conscious hotels. The Kimpton Hotel Brand is green. In an upcoming trip to SF in August, I'll be staying at San Francisco's "newest and greenest" hotel, Orchard Garden.

** For more tips, check out TreeHugger**

Saint Cher

2007-07-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Even celebs couldn't get the iPhone before the 6/29 date.

Good. They get everything first anyway. Make 'em wait like the rest of us masses.

Apparently, some publicists don't agree.

In a recent story in the LA Times, Cher's publicist was quoted as saying:

"I haven't been successful in getting one for her," the publicist said, adding that she might have to stand in line for Cher or find a fan to do so. "Doesn't winning Oscars, Grammys and Emmys entitle her to move to the front of the line?"

What the...? Oh, Cher has so effected change in humanity that she of ALL PEOPLE deserves the iPhone. Listen here, Jobs, Cher has won entertainment awards, and thus she is entitled to the iPhone!

I was gonna post a pic of Cher here because blogs do better when you add multimedia, but she and her publicist disgust me so much.

Pick a seat, any seat

2007-06-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

It amuses me to see how some habits never die, even as we mature.

I was at a PR conference in NY this week. As I walked into the room, I naturally searched for a seat towards the back but that was still in the center of the room. Of course, all those seats were taken. I found a seat (smack in the middle of the room, not too close, not too far). I then proceeded to watch the latecomers trickle in.

What I noticed was interesting: they all exercised the same seat-finding ritual that I did. Everybody tried to snag the seats in the back first, then relegated themselves to the front of the room, but with reluctance. It was at this point that I realized that this ritual stems back to grade school. After a few misguided years as a 6th, 7th, and 8th grader (when the teachers finally let you pick your own seats), you figure out which seats you like—whether you were in a high school classroom, a large 300-person lecture hall, or a 10-person discussion. I always preferred the middle of the middle, which in a high school classroom or a 50-person lecture, would be the middle row in the 2nd or 3rd seat back. This allowed me to be close enough to see the board, but not too close where the instructor could scrutinize my notes or, worst of all, call on me. Also, this let me be close enough that should I decide to raise my hand, I wouldn’t have to yell across the room to the teacher to be heard.

And, here at this PR conference, I witnessed the same ritual taking place. Here we are, in our 20s, 30s, 40s, even 50s. We are successful PR practitioners and marketers at all different levels—coordinators, managers, senior managers, directors. We’re not being graded. We paid for this course; hell, we could fall asleep or walk out if we wanted to, without being penalized. Yet, we all kept to our old grade school ways in seat selection.

Old habits die hard…or just never die at all.

A Fat Bitch's Stream of Consciousness

2007-05-30T13:28:00.001-07:00

A recent email from my sister, FAT BITCH:

I'm fat they had a potluck and I had a hamburger, corn, and a 5 layer piece of big ass chocolate cake from Costco. I actually only ate half the cake. The cake is huge and dark chocolate and I really don't like dark chocolate that much. Except with scotchmallows. Is there any way to make this damn filing crap more fun. And they were talking about thai food for their next potluck and some lady said anybody can make thai food you just need four ingredients. I didn't say anything the whole time though so they didnt know I was thinking they were dolts.

(l-r) The sisters: FAT BITCH and the sister with what mom calls the "lesbian" haircut

The Empire Strikes Back

2007-05-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

The current empire waist trend has been a blessing to all women whose mid-sections are problems and also to women who just wanna eat a big ass dinner and not have to unbutton their goddam pants afterwards.

Conversely, the current empire waist trend has also been a curse, misleading you to believe that empire waist dress is hiding a bun in the oven, when really she's not.

Recently, I made the latter faux pas. I mentioned to a woman that I thought she was pregnant, but she wasn't.

DOH!

My bad!

I was at a boutique in Belmont Shores called La Bella. I was trying on jeans (the new wide-legged trouser style from Citizens of Humanity) and was concerned that the 28s were a lil tight. So I asked the non-preggers woman for her thoughts. Wisely and tactfully (tact-- something of which I was lacking), she didn't directly answer my question and instead answered my question with another question:

"Do you want me to get the next size up?"

"No, b/c I'm usually a 28 but I've gained some weight. So this will motivate me to get back to my original size."

"If it were me, I'd have to go like 10 sizes bigger."

"Oh, but you're pregnant."

"Oh honey, I'm not pregnant; I just eat a lot. It's the dress."

Oh man. I was SO SURE she was pregnant. I have never made that mistake before, and I felt incredibly awful. She had full breasts and a belly...and that wretched empire waist! Damn you, Empire Waist!

So, yeah, needless to say, out of guilt, I bought the damn jeans.

"Poong" means "belly" in Thai

2007-05-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday at my sister's graduation ceremony, I caught sight of a very large potbelly saying hello to me down the aisle from where I was sitting.

Oh wait, that's my dad's belly!!

Drain the Mozzarella

2007-05-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

Mikey and I made a Trader Joe's pizza the other day-- meaning that all the ingredients were from TJs : whole wheat pizza dough, basil leaves, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, and pizza sauce. We even wore aloha shirts while we made it. JK.

I won't get into details of the pizza process, but I will leave you with one piece of advice: If you buy mozzarella in water, you must drain it,or you will get wet pizza. It will be good-tasting pizza, but it will be wet pizza.

At the Farmer's Market in Hanalei

2007-04-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Birds of Paradise

2007-04-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

This week, bemelodious is being melodious in...Hawaii! I'm on the beautiful, chill island of Kauai with some cronies from work.

I've been here since Sunday night, and I've met 3 birds already! (Too bad my friend Melissa isn't here; she's got bird-phobia, and it would be so much fun to freak her out with these birds right now!!)

No mullets

2007-04-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

K, got my hair cut today. Doesn't look like a mullet. Whew.

An Alternative Method to Flushing the Toilet

2007-04-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Nadine, Melissa, and I visted Joyce in San Diego to celebrate her 31st birthday. This past weekend, we shared some good stories and laughs. This past weekend, we also learned how a toilet works.

After Melissa used Joyce's bathroom, the toilet went out of WHACK (too much kim chee from the Korean girl clogs up toilets, lol). The tank wouldn't fill. After futile calls to Joyce's landlord and maintenance, each of us resorted to calling other people for assistance. At one point, there were 3 of us hovering over the toilet talking to various family members, boyfriends, and fiances on our cell phones. Quite a funny sight-- wish I got a video of that. I didn't, but I did get an instructional video on an alternative method to flushing when the flushing mechanism on the actual toilet doesn't work. Joyce learned this from howstuffworks.com.

Check it out:

P.S. All the ladies shown in this video are taken. Sorry fellas.

Target for your 30s

2007-04-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Today's post is dedicated to Juan, aka Wafoofi, because it's his birthday today! Happy 30th!

After reading my post regarding hot dates at Target, Juan emailed me:

"You know what else is funny... Every time I go to Target I always see a lot of pretty girls. Maybe I should hang out there more often and make new friends."

As the jiggaman Jay-Z would say, "30's the new 20, jigga you're so fly...you meet honeys at Target!"

Unboxing Gourmet Marshmallows

2007-04-12T00:31:00.001-07:00

Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Swirl Marshmallows
Originally uploaded by mchalaban.

Wallow in Marshmallows

2007-04-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

Back in December, I posted about gourmet marshmallows in my myspace blog. My sister, Annie Chalabannie, had shared the marshmallow gospel with me during Thanksgiving, and I was intrigued. So, as a nice little treat for the Chalaban girls, I bought a box of peppermint marshmallows from Williams-Sonoma.

OK, beware, major geekiness ahead...There's a website, www.unboxing.com, that my editor buddy Andru Edwards does a stellar job running, where they videotape the entire unboxing experience of a new product. It's like geek pr0n.

Mesmerized by Williams-Sonoma's neatly packaged marshmallows, I conducted my own "unboxing," if you will. See above for my still-photo unboxing series.

So, guess what I find in the March 30 issue of the WSJ? A roundup review of gourmet marshmallows, Artisan Marshmallows! I'd like to note that now that the WSJ has reported on this trend, gourmet marshmallows are going to be HOT!! I intend to try them all.

Marshmallow Makers:
Plush Puffs
DeBrand Fine Chocolates
Pete's Gourmet

So, how do they taste? Well, I've only had the Williams-Sonoma one, but the texture, taste, and size are different from the grocery store ones. They're a little denser, chewier, and not quite as sweet. I ate them plain, but I'm sure they would be delicious in hot chocolate, smores, etc. I can't really remember much else about them, except that they're hella expensive for chunks of sugar, so consider them a treat.

See You Later Decorator

2007-04-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Every reality show has their signature "you suck so your ass is getting voted off" goodbye. For The Apprentice, Trump declares that "You're fired." Tyra tells her model-wannabes that they're either "still in the running to being America's Next Top Model" or they're not. Jonathan Adler of Top Design, however, has the worst goodbye: "See you later, Decorator."

Oh my, everytime he says that with his gentle, crooked smile and his cocked head, I laugh. Don't you think he himself is embarrassed each time he utters those words? Does he throw up a little in his mouth? At the start of the tapings, how do you think Mr. Adler reacted when his producers instructed him to say those words? Was he absolutely appalled and did he, in the name of good taste, try to refuse? Or did he cock his head, smile softly, and say, "Wow, that is truly beautiful...it's like a verbal aesthetic." I don't know what I'm saying, but it's funny. hahaha.

So, in the spirit of Top Design, The Frog wrote me about a month ago, ending her email with a very unexpected "Hasta la vista, fashionista." LOL. (I couldn't think of one, unless you count, "Au revoir, nurse practitionoir.")

Wait...I just looked at Mr. Adler's blog on Top Design. He titled his last post, "See ya later, 'Top Design' Appreciators." LOL. Oh my, he is having too much fun with poetry.

Danke!

2007-04-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

My roommate, The Frog, has a collection of Putomayo World Music CDs. Since she's on vacation galavanting through Eth-pana right now, I've been going through all her sh*t. Ha ha, JK. But, seriously, her "Music from the Wine Lands" CD has been in the kitchen, and since I enjoy world music myself, I've been listening to it. And-- dare I say that I'm quite impressed by the Germans! I'm a big fan of Brazilian, Cuban/Afro-Cuban, and Portuguese music, but never did I think I would like German music! This particular song is so smooth and sultry-- despite the harshness of the language. If I tell you the song title, it might mess you up and you'll never believe that a German song could sound so sexy, but here goes: "Zraumwohnung."

Ooooo, say it again...

Asparagus and Egg Dish, compromised

2007-04-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today, I tried a recipe from the LA Times. It's an asparagus with egg and anchovy dish. It wasn't bad but I actually ended up compromising the integrity of the dish. Here's how:

- Anchovies: I thought, "Eh, I don't care that much for anchovies, so I'm gonna leave it out."

- Parsely: I thought, "I don't like parsley at all because the flavor is too strong, so I'm not including that."

- Fleur de sel: I forgot to buy this at the store so I used regular table salt.

- Fresh ground white pepper: I only had non-fresh ground white pepper, so that's what it got.

- Two eggs: I don't like yolk that much, so I used 2 egg whites and 1 egg yolk.

- The recipe required finely chopped shallots; I thought, "Eh who cares! It's only me I'm cooking for!!"

- The recipe required you to dice the egg in 1/4 inch squares; again, since I was cooking only for myself, I got lazy and didn't diced them much larger than that.

Yeah...quite a different dish, eh? Anyway, it was still pretty good. Next time, I will substitute ham or bacon (bacon makes any dish deeeeeeeelicious!) for anchovies (this time, I added more salt to the dish since it was lacking the saltiness of the anchovies).

Click here for the original LA Times recipe: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-sidesrec1apr04,1,1656998.story?coll=la-util-features-food&ctrack=2&cset=true

Bringing Melodious Back

2007-04-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've decided to take my blog down another route (oops, I had accidentally typed "router" instead of "route"-- can you tell I work in tech!). As some of my readers (yes, all 5 of you) know, I have another blog on myspace. I've posted there much more regularly because more of my friends read that one.

Recently, however, I've been grappling with the notion of returning to blogger for a couple reasons:

- The myspace blog interface and design are elementary, and I am a design snob (ha ha)
- Since my myspace page is private (had to privatize because of all the freaks who were messaging me), hosting the blog there defeats the spirit of social media, which is to share with the community (as I'm sure my 5-person community are peeing their pants, waiting to hear my next opinion/experience/rant/rave).

But, I had always tabled it due to laziness or my recent "f*ck-it-who-cares" attitude.

So, now it's time to bring the melodious back to blogger. For awhile, I was using blogger as a forum to b*tch, but that ain't cool. So, I'm revamping the spirit of the blog-- making it more "melodious," if you will.

I thought about copying and pasting some of my more interesting myspace posts here, but f*ck it (I'm now repurposing my original "f*ck-it-who-cares" attitude)-- moving forward, I'm starting anew:

Welcome to Be Melodious, a reflection on pop culture, food, and other frivolous things that amuse me.

P.S. If you don't already know me, imagine my musings to be a little tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic, and goofy (see goofy photo above).

2 more nicknames

2007-03-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

I forgot 2 other nicknames:

- Weenie
- Meathead

Also, the "WBF" nickname is a universal one that every girl has...heck, some even have 2 or 3!

Nicknames for the boys

2007-03-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

My girlfriends and I give nearly every significant man in our lives nicknames. These have to be men either like us or whom we like. We use it as code so that nobody else around us knows who we're talking about. Here's a sampling of our nicknames:

- [enter real name] the Camper
- The Bunny
- Iron Man
- WBF
- Chipmunk (or Theodore or Alvin, depending on what kind of mood we're in)
- Carlos
- Pancake
- TOM
- The Lion
- Wally

I wish I could explain exactly how these nicknames came about, but that would be revealing too much. So, I'm just gonna list them here and giggle to myself. Tee hee hee... :)

Target: the New Date Place

2007-03-07T23:26:00.000-08:00

I've been talking to this guy, and we went to Target the other day. I wouldn't be surprised if he considered it a date. The last guy I dated liked to take me Target all the time too.

Apparently, all the guys I go out with now like to take me out on dates to Target.

Pinkberry: Good Yogurt, Bad Marketing

2006-12-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, I finally tried the much hyped Pinkberry frozen yogurt. If you haven't heard of Pinkbery, it was started by a Korean woman as a small frozen yogurt shop in LA. Its light flavor quickly became popular and has since spread to multiple locations in LA, NY, and even Temecula!

I've been wanting to try this Pinkberry frozen yogurt after hearing so many good words about it. Unfortunately, all the LA locations are a wee bit too far from my apartment in Long Beach, but now that I'm back at my parents' in Temecula, I can finally try it!

(Let's not get into my shock and disbelief that such a cool and trendy dessert joint would be located in Temecula.)

Everything about Pinkberry is light, cute, and minimalist. The decor, the logo, the website, the furniture and, of course, the yogurt itself. The menu consists of just 2 flavors, original and green tea, with a plethora of toppings, including mochi, fresh fruit, almonds, and carob chips. Along with frozen yogurt, their menu offers shaved ice and smoothies.
The LA Times describes Pinkberry's interior style as:

"So he painted the inside of Pinkberry in sherbet hues of peach, green and blue, and used Philippe Starck furniture and Le Klint plastic hanging lamps from Design Within Reach because, he said, they remind him of yogurt. The effect is modern Asian, not kindergarten."

So, how does the Pinkberry taste? Delicious. The flavor is so light yet so flavorful. I mopped up that small bowl and was still craving more.

I wanted to take photos of the store, but I was told that they don't allow photos to be taken in the store. I was shocked. I almost retorted, "That's a bad marketing move." It reminded me of the days Belkin used to forbid people from taking photos of our trade show booth and the products displayed in the booth. Hello, if you're showing it at a trade show, it's already public! That is exactly what rushed through my mind when the counter girl pooh-poohed my photography attempts. They're just hurting themselves not allowing their own customers to take photos and spread the Pinkberry gospel. It's called viral marketing. Duh.

Anyway, I did manage to get a photo of the yogurt itself (I guess you're allowed to take photos of the food but not the shop).

Roomba on w00t!

2006-12-19T22:22:00.000-08:00

Oh man, today's woot is a the iRobot Roomba! I'm so tempted to get it. It's only $130, and that sucker normally runs for 300 bucks!! A few weeks ago, I bought an iHome iPod speaker dock and alarm clock (for the shuffle). But it's OK b/c it has an audio-out jack so it will work with any MP3 player; I just wouldn't be able to dock my nano. But who cares-- it was $20!

Woot.

Sailor Moon

2006-12-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

Today I wore what I thought was a cute outfit but ended up looking like a Sailor Moon outfit. It was my blue BCBG dress with an orange-red turtleneck underneat and my new brown Biviel boots. I also got comments that I looked like I was Japanese and/or a flight attendant.

Busy busy busy

2006-12-12T23:29:00.000-08:00

My life is so busy. I don't even have a family, and I'm super busy. If I had a family, I'd be a negligent mother and I would suck. Work and travel have got me all tied up. I haven't even written out thank you cards yet for my birthday gifts. I'm way behind. I need to clean the bathroom too. And, the newspapers need to be cleared out. Christmas shopping hasn't even begun. People may not get Christmas gifts from me until June.

Everything is busy.

Man-Bashing Blog

2006-11-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

I just realized that this blog has become like a man-bashing blog! Everytime I get annoyed about something man-related, I come here to bitch like a...crazy bitch! I have another blog on Myspace, which I think is more entertaining, amusing, and a little more light-hearted. But, although this one isn't completely anonymous, my Myspace one isn't at all. I almost feel like with the Myspace blog, I gotta keep it chill and fun and upbeat. Can't talk there about deeper, heavier stuff.

Hot dates?

2006-10-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

I don't like it when guys who like you or are warming up to ask you out, ask you what you did over the weekend and then ask, "Go on any hot dates?"

Back Home

2006-10-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Because of recent travels and various other reasons, I've barely slept in my room the last 3 or 4 weekends. So, this morning was an interesting, almost foreign experience.

My room gets a lot of sunlight (even with the shades closed), which wakes me up easily. After a late night out, I went to bed at 3:30am, only to be awakened by the bright light at 8am, then again at 9:30am. I was stricken: I had forgotten about the brightness of my bedroom in the mornings.

I then waltzed downstairs and realized I didn't have anything to eat for breakfast and didn't even know what to eat. And, I thought, that's strange. What have I been eating for breakfast on the weekends? Pancakes, eggs, bananas, coffee...I suppose I could have made pancakes but I wasn't up to it. I decided on coffee, but didn't have creamer so I had to run to the store for that and some bananas.

After breakfast was brewed, I sat down to catch up on my TV. I had many shows to catch up on from the previous week. I turned the television on, but the TV was small and the video quality not quite as sharp or clear. Admittedly, my 27" standard def, CRT display was a bit lacking.

Being back home always feels good but it also feels strange at the same time.

YouTube Addiction

2006-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Dang, I just spent the last 2.5 hours watching videos on YouTube!!! I did a search for Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, and John Legend. Found all sorts of cool things. I even watched John Legend's interview on the Tyra Banks show! I'm so lame!