Hey There, It's Christa!

Behold the Bluetooth!

Yes, there are definitely a gazillion perks to the freelancing life, but occasionally, you miss interacting with "the real world" when you haven't worked in an actual office for 3 1/2 years. So since Will and I share a car, and I don't feel like driving out to Shoreview every day to drop him off at work, I often make a two-block trek to the downtown St. Paul skyways for my morning Starbucks (or Caribou, depending on my mood) and a little people watching.

And trust me, there's no shortage of interesting people to encounter when you're walking through the skyways. (BTW, for the initiated, the skyways are an absolute godsend in the cold Minnesota winters...I couldn't even imagine what life would be like without them. In fact, it's so cold here that I always think I'm going to freeze into place—like Lot's wife, minus the salt—just walking two blocks to the entrance. Sigh!)

In addition to the motley crew of Starbucks and Caribou baristas, who, sadly, know me and my coffee order by heart, there are always an array of colorful characters—the guy I affectionally call "the beatbox guy" for the steady stream of rhymes he produces on a daily basis, an elderly man who I always try to make a point of saying good morning to because he seems so sad and lonely as he strolls by with his walker in tow, and the usual corporate business types who insist of having their morning conference call via bluetooth—at a volume loud enough for everyone to hear.

In fact, one particular guy's morning business meeting sent this cute, grandmotherly lady walking by me into a minor tizzy. Looking up at me with an alarmed expression she asked, "Why do you think that good looking man is talking to himself? I mean it sounds pretty important, and he's going on and on and on to himself..."

"Well, he's actually talking to someone with his bluetooth. He's got the device in his ear, so it only looks like he's talking to himself," I said, trying to be helpful as I could.

"Ooooh, so the good looking man isn't crazy then!" she said with a laugh. "That's a relief. It's a little hard keeping up with all the new technology sometimes, isn't it?"

"It sure is," I said reassuringly.  "So I don't even try." Nodding, she smiled back and thanked me for my help before making her way to the nearby escalator.

If only helping people could always be that easy, huh?

Good Stuff From Philippians!

"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God."

—from Philippians 1 in The Message

The Requisite Post-Oscar Post

First off, I was very excited about the prospect of Hugh Jackman injecting some much-needed life into what's always a very, very long Oscar ceremony, and now all I can say is, well, at least it was different.

But in the future, I hope they rethink the overly long musical numbers (seriously, that was the work of Baz Luhrmann...must have been a rushed effort) and the blathering on and on and on about each Best Actor/Actress nominee. Let's face it: Someone's going to win and the rest are going to lose, so why prolong the inevitable? Just show a quick clip of the movie, announce the winner and be done with it, okay? I mean the audience has already waited three hours (!!!) for these particular awards. And my guess is that it didn't exactly change Angelina Jolie's life when Nicole Kidman raved on and on about her performance in Changeling when she knew she didn't have a chance in holy hannah of upsetting Kate Winslet. But I digress.

Or wait a minute.

While I'm still in full-on grumping mode, can somebody please promise me that Queen Latifah will never, ever sing again during the "In Memoriam" portion of the show? II wasn't ever sure if I was supposed to look at her or the ever-changing video clips of the dearly departed, which is a little sad. If this year's A-D-D approach wasn't already distracting enough, I also hated the whole unspoken, let's-see-which-dead-celebrity-gets-the-most-applause contest going on. I think it would be far more respectful if everyone simply clapped once all the people have been acknowleged. But I'm getting the sense that this is just like your high school or college graduation where people simply can't resist clapping or woo hooing, even if they know better.

On the plus side, though...Tina Fey and Steve Martin's bit was great snarky fun. In fact, I kind of wish they had hosted the entire show rather than People's "Sexiest Man Alive." I also have to give props to Ben Stiller for his funny take on Joaquin Pheonix. While Joaquin is definitely an easy target these days given his whole "I've quit acting" foray into rap music, that little bit of humor, not to mention James Franco's Pineapple Express take on all the serious "Best Picture" fare almost made up for having to suffer through all those boring technical awards. Because c'mon, even as cool as great cinematography and special efforts are in movies, it's not all that interesting in the Oscar context.

Not that I needed that pan to Angelina Jolie when Jennifer Aniston was presenting to keep me entertained, though. I thought that little pan of the camera was in really poor taste, especially when it happened for the second time. Seriously, I mean Jennifer and Brad broke up like five years ago, right? Why do people still care?

Moving on to the fashion portion of the evening, I thought most of the dresses were pretty blasé, didn't you? All those one-shouldered dressed seriously need to be retired pronto—and the same goes for any dress that's white, silver or gold. Can we say B-O-R-I-N-G? A little color is good now and then, and that especially goes for you, Ms. Jolie. Black, black, black...I'm beginning to think your choices in the pre-Brad days were far more interesting...weirdo brother in tow and all.

My favorite Oscar outfit for the evening is a toss-up between Natalie Portman's gorgeous pink gown (with flawless make-up and hair to boot), Penelope Cruz's vintage number and the lovely blue creation that Slumdog Millionaire lead Frieda Pinto wore. And for the boys, it was nice to see the Twilight's Robert Pattinson clean up and act all awkward in the spotlight when he introduced the "year in romance" montage.

As for the fashionally challenged, those honors go to Beyoncé, whose mother should never, ever dress her again, Jessica Biel's sad little Prada bathrobe (or at least that's what it looked like on TV), Melissa Leo's awful burnt sienna dress and stiff '80s hair and Miley Cyrus' curious choice of couture that not only wasn't age appropriate but looked like it weighed more than she did. With millions of dollars to their names, you'd think this girls would have better taste (or at least a stylist who did). A special note to "Project Runway" host Heidi Klum, you didn't follow Tim Gunn's advice to make it work. Not only was your dress poorly constructed, but your hair didn't look like it had experienced the wonders of shampoo in years. When Rob Pattinson's hair looks 100 times cleaner by comparison, you know you're in trouble. Big trouble.

Overall rating of Oscars 2009: ** 1/2 out of **** stars

A Rock, Paper, Scissors Revelation

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love games...Scrabble (!!!), Monopoly, Yahtzee, Boggle, Uno, you name it, and I'm in. So while it's a bit embarrassing to admit, given the game lover that I am, I never knew how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors until last night.

Yes, I've heard that a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors can be used to solve any number of disputes, but I never knew how. Well, until Will showed me the basics last night...turns out the Banisters even have an option called "dynamite" they throw into the mix too.

I feel so enlightened now, and it only took about five minutes. So why didn't I find this out sooner? :)

Poor Sophie Kinsella!

I absolutely adored Sophie Kinsella's "Shopaholic" series. Sure, they were particularly lightweight little trifles, but they really made me laugh...especially the letters interspersed from her snarky collection agent Mr. Derek Smeath.

So needless to say when I heard the book was being made into a movie, I was pretty darn excited, especially when I heard that Borat's girl Isla Fisher was starring.

Well, until I actually saw the thing, that is...

Not only do the clothes look like Carrie Bradshaw's heinous leftovers, but whoever worked on the screenplay managed to wreck everything that was ever charming about these books in the first place. And it's too bad, really, because I thought this movie would go pretty nice with my copy of The Devil Wears Prada, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and 13 Going on 30. But no such luck here...we can only hope they save us the misery of a sequel...sigh!
For my full review of Confessions of a Shopaholic, check out Crosswalk.com.

 

Is He or Isn't He?

Brett Favre announced he is retiring today.

Again.

Since we the loyal Favre fans have been through all this before, do you think the decision will stick this time? Or will there be more drama just like last season?

Thoughts?

Personally, I think it's a little too early for him to make the call. Unless his sore arm is literally falling off as we speak, I think he should've allowed himself a little more distance from the end of the season to make his decision. After all, as the days 'til training camp get closer, I'm thinking he'll miss the thrill of the big game. And heck, if Kurt Warner could make it back to the Superbowl, so could Favre. You know, if he had the right guys around him. Maybe the Jets just weren't the team for him...

Whatever the case, at least the NFL is back in the headlines. I'm already ready for some football.

BLTN: Thoughts on the 2009 Grammy Awards

When I was a kid, the Grammy Awards were, hands down, my favorite of the "big award shows." But in recent years, they've been, well, a bit of a letdown. After all, it seems for every "historic" pairing of Eminem and Elton John, there's a lame publicity stunt like the whole Madonna/Britney/Xtina brouhaha.

And while I may be the only one on Planet Earth to think so, I just don't get the big deal about Top-40 royalty like Justin Timberlake, Fergie, Nickelback, Three Doors Down or anyone from "American Idol." And with the exception of the tolerable Timberlake collaboration with Al Green on this year's show, I didn't have to hear them, which was a huge bonus.

Overall, this year's show was mostly worth watching. Sure, there were a few lackluster moments like that dreadful duet between country cutie Taylor Swift and overexposed Disney princess Miley Cyrus (seriously, someone could've told me she was 35, and I would've believed it). Or that horrific, see-through frock that Barbie (I mean Carrie Underwood) was wearing during her seemingly phoned-in perfomance. But for the most part, it was some pretty good TV, even if Allison Krauss and Robert Plant did win the highly coveted "Record of the Year" honor instead of Coldplay (who I thought better deserved it).

Soeaking of which, I thoroughly enjoyed Coldplay's energetic performance of "Viva La Vida," even if their outfits were a little too Sgt. Pepper for my taste. And when the band members accepted their numerous awards, it was nice to see Chris Martin and Co. seem geniunely grateful to win. I guess their little artistic risk paid off after all, and it'll be cool to see what's next creatively speaking.

While I did make a crack about "American Idol" earlier, I still couldn't help but tear up when A.I. alum Jennifer Hudson performed. Not only did she rock the national anthem at the Superbowl, but she really knocked her song out of the park this time around, too. I'm not sure I could keep it together after enduring family tragedy like she did. And that sparkly dress of hers? Absolutely stunning.

Speaking of gorgeous, Ms. Crack-is-Whack, Whitney Houston, sure cleaned up nice, wouldn't you say? I guess life after Bobby Brown is doing her good. Now about that comeback...

However, the best performance of the night (in my humble opinion) belonged to Radiohead (you thought I'd say U2, didn't you?). While U2 ultimately did the best it could with what I still feel is a sad little first single, Radiohead absolutely killed "15 Step." Adding a bit more fanfare than usual was USC's marching band, a nice little touch that made the track especially memorable. And hearing them play was yet another reminder that I really need to see them live (so Thom Yorke, if you happen to be reading...please come to Minneapolis pronto).

Also doing Britain proud was Paul McCartney. It was fun hearing him sing a classic Beatles track with Dave Grohl (channeling the Muppets' Animal) on drums. While McCartney is definitely getting up there in age, he's just as entertaining  as ever—even doing the trademark Beatles' head shake during all the high notes. It was funny, too, when Jack Black told the audience to remember that name "McCartney" because "he's definitely going places."

Yeah, I'd say that's an understatement—just like it was supposed to be.

Overall, I'd give the show *** 1/2 stars out of five.

@ Six Months

 Here are the top five things I've learned this weekend from hanging with the lovely Adelyn Grace McCormick this weekend:

5)Putting a pillow on your head, preferably one with fringe-y things hanging from it, will elicit a serious giggle fit.

4)Olive Garden is NOT Adelyn's favorite place for lunch. She projectile vomited not once, but twice over the course of soup, salad and breadsticks.

3)If you have a bottle of Dasani in your hand, you must share it with her. Otherwise, she's not a happy camper (and that's putting it mildly).

2)While she has no idea what Katy Perry was singing about at the Grammy Awards (thankfully!), Adelyn thinks it's pretty good bum-shaking music.

1)When in doubt, give her to Mommy (or at least have her nearby). No matter what Lindsey is doing—taking out the trash, brushing her hair or talking on her cell, Adelyn wants to watch. She'll follow her with her eyes, no matter where she's going. And like most things Adelyn does, it's downright adorable.

**Today also marks a really special day in the McCormick family as Shayne is coming home from Iraq for good. It'll be only the second time he's been able to hang out with his baby girl, so as you can imagine, Lindsey, Shayne and Adelyn are thrilled to be reunited. :)

Brett Favre: A Viking?

While it still pains me a little that Brett Favre isn't sporting a Packers jersey like he should be (see left), I did read a very fascinating editorial in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press that could potentially make the NFC games a little more interesting this year...

Apparently, the Jets are $13 million over their salary cap, which neatly coincides with how much Favre makes per year. So basically if the Jets wanted to solve their little money in one fell swoop, releasing Favre would be the easiest way. And if they did, he can sign with ANY team he wants.

Given the Vikings' dismal QB situation, which didn't exactly help them progress very far in the playoffs, the columnist assets that Favre could be the perfect solution (if that bum arm of his heals and all in the off season, natch).

Seriously...Favre a Viking?

Now while I loathe the Vikings with a passion (except Adrian Peterson, of course, because he's just too amazing of an RB to hate), I think it would be kind of fun to have Favre play for them. It also might be a nice way to sock it to his former team that didn't want to re-sign him last year (tsk, tsk). If anything it'll make the rather dull NFC North division a little more interesting, don't you think?

So do you think purple is Favre's color? I think it might work, and I'm admittedly a Cheesehead. Sad, isn't it?