Give me Liberty or give me death!

In an exciting bit of Anglophile consumerism news, Liberty of London is joining not only with Target, but also with MAC cosmetics to launch new lines in the States!!

Woo hoo! Now shopping at Liberty, without the cost of the airfare or dealing with VAT! I am totally loving the colors and the patterns! And folks thought I was excited when Target started carrying Boots! (I LOVE Boots brand skin stuff, but Target doesn't carry the Tea Tree and Witch Hazel line. I still love you, Target.)

Disclaimer: I have never actually been IN Liberty; I just stood outside waiting to meet JR once. However, I do own a couple button down shirts from L.L. Bean that have been mistaken for Liberty prints.

(This entry is with apologies to Patrick Henry, who is very likely rolling over in his grave right now.)

Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did *was* wrong. But we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal. Does that answer your question?
Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

My favorite moment during last night's Academy Awards ceremony was the tribute to the late John Hughes. When Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick first came out on the stage, I suspected what was going to happen, but I wasn't prepared for the tears that came to my eyes during the film montage or the fact that seeing John Cryer, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Macaulay Culkin up on the stage with Ringwald and Broderick after the montage gave me a major case of goosebumps.

When John Hughes died this past summer, I heard this awesome story on NPR's "All Things Considered" about how he had become pen pals with a teenage girl who had written him a fan letter. It just made me love him all the more, and it made me wish that he had made more films. I was in junior high school when the "Brat Pack" films came out, and I distinctly remember watching many of them at my best friend's house during weekend sleepover parties in her parents' living room. (Her senior prom dress was straight out of Pretty in Pink, even though it wasn't pink.)

There was something about his films that made being an outsider, or at least not being considered "cool", well, cool. And that suited me just fine, because I was brainy and into a lot of alternative music that was played on the college radio station at a time where it wasn't cool to be brainy and most of the girls in my school were listening to New Kids on the Block rather than The Smiths and The Cure...and Teenage Fanclub. (How I loved TFC. I stayed up one Saturday night suffering through Jason Priestley hosting SNL just to see Teenage Fanclub. I downloaded Bandwagonesque off iTunes not too long ago, but I still have my cassette tape.)

Even now, the films still have relevance in my life. When PunkRockMom and I first worked together, one of our mantras was: "Screws fall out. The world's an imperfect place." I also like to invoke European Vacation's, "Are you happy now, Dad? She's DEAD." Then there was the whole Hank Stuever article in the Washington Post a from few years ago entitled, "Real Men Can't Hold A Match to Jake Ryan Of 'Sixteen Candles'", which my friends and I talked about for months afterwards. (The first line of this editorial reads: "Listen to all the Thompson Twins songs you want, but let’s finally admit that Jake Ryan from “Sixteen Candles” is never coming to get you." NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!!!! It didn't stop me from listening to "If You Were Here" the morning of Sister B's wedding.)

The music in the John Hughes' teen films is an essential element, as integral as any one of the characters. I had the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink on cassette tape and played it in my car all the time, and nearly every mix tape I received my first year of college included Lick the Tins' awesome cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" (with the penny whistle) from Some Kind of Wonderful, which had a much more satisfying ending than Pretty in Pink because Andie SOO should have gotten together with Ducky and thankfully Keith was smart enough to get together with the very awesome Watts. And who can forget Yello's "Oh Yeah" from Ferris Bueller's Day Off or "This Woman's Work" from She's Having a Baby? (SOB!SOB!) These films totally raised the bar for pop songs in films.

Matthew Broderick closed out the segment of the program in classic Ferris style: "Danke Schoen, John". Thank you, indeed, John Hughes, from the bottom of my little freak heart.

The folks at Campbell's got it right; Soup IS good food.

My infamous cold returned at the end of last week, and I once again spent the weekend at home, either napping on the couch or sleeping in my bed. I did manage to read more of our book club book, The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (although I missed the meeting on Saturday afternoon), which I am thoroughly enjoying.

I needed to get some nourishment from something other than the Lipton chicken soup I drank all day Saturday so on Sunday I made the white bean soup recipe from the Williams Sonoma catalog. Needless to say because I made it when I was feeling ill, it is really easy to do. (Plus, with chicken broth, garlic, and root veggies, plus the beans all pureed up, it is very healthy.) I ate it with just some plain toast rather than with the roasted red pepper tapenade as the recipe suggested; will save that for when I am feeling better. Instead of grating the parmesan into the soup, I shaved it with a vegetable peeler (a Sister K trick) and sprinkled it on top, adding lots of fresh ground pepper. Mmm, delicious, thank you.

"Kids!! I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!"

I was talking to two of my colleagues earlier today about random childhood incidents. And thinking about it some more after I got back to my desk, I realized, I definitely had a few moments ala Ramona the Pest.

There were several moments that were particularly memorable. These are my top five. I am sure there are more that my parents could suggest to add to the list, but these are the ones that stand out to me.

the time I put a significant amount of Johnson's Baby Oil in my hair. (Who doesn't want silky smooth hair? Just don't do it this way.) My mom was finally able to wash the last of it out with detergent a few days later.

the time I gave my little brother a bath in his little tub without taking off his clothes. (There are photos of this.) We both were soaked; we were both wearing wool.

the time I decided to give my eyebrows a "haircut". I was without eyebrows for several weeks. (There are no photos of me during this time period, thank God.)

the time that was playing Wonder Woman in my Wonder Woman Underoos and I was jumping off furniture in the basement when I fell, hit my face on the floor and chipped one of my brand new grown-up teeth. I was taken to my dad's dentist. Fortunately, it was on the bottom and isn't terribly noticeable now, but, at the time, it was a big deal. (Broken front teeth would become a running theme in my family.)

the time at the beach when I felt that no one was paying enough attention to me so I let go of the string on my brand new kite, which blew away across the beach. My aunt had to chase it down. She came back with it some time later; needless to say, I was in trouble.

As I said, I am sure that my parents would have a lot more to add to the list. As an adult, I can appreciate both the humor and the horror that those situations presented, and all I can say is, "Sorry, Mom and Dad." I have several friends with little kids, and I love to hear all the stories of THEIR antics and hijinks. Later this week, I will post some of the GOOD things that I did as a kid in the spirit of balanced reporting.

Springtime, a ringy dingy ding... Wait, stop that, reverse it.

For just a little while (ie. yesterday), those of us here in Boston, Massachusetts, had a little smattering of spring. I was running errands with the sun roof open, the radio blasting (Led Zeppelin always makes me think of summer), and wearing Chucks sans socks. It was great; it was one of those days that, as my friend RECK noted, back on Mt. St. James, the boys were surely outside in shorts playing Frisbee on Easy Street. Unfortunately, while today was as sunny as yesterday, it wasn't nearly as warm (as I learned the hard way when I went out for a walk - had to go back for a scarf.)

But hopefully soon, the days will be warmer (they're already longer), and we will be seeing the first of the spring flowers. Until then, we can always look at some photos as we patiently wait.


(The title of today's post is a combination of two quotes from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I love that movie.)

You're always a planet to me

Those crazy MIT hackers were back up to their old tricks today as they celebrated the 80th anniversary of the discovery of the planet (or dwarf planet, depending on who you talk to), Pluto. As I headed home from work tonight, I noticed that the Milky Way was suspended from the little Dome, and I grabbed a couple of snaps.

Checking out the MFA

I had yesterday off for the Presidents' Day holiday, and, because I had been home fighting a cold most of the weekend, I really needed to get out of the house, even if it was just for a few hours. I hadn't been to the Museum of Fine Arts in ages, and, as I can usually find something to appeal to me there, I drove down to the Fenway yesterday afternoon.

Note to self: holiday+school vacation week=crowds at the MFA, which is excellent for them, but crappy for me. I checked out the Secrets of the Tomb exhibit, which I think I would have enjoyed more if there were fewer people and a mummy to see. I love mummies, and I didn't realize that there wasn't actually one in the exhibit so I am passing this information on so that others will not be disappointed. (Speaking of which, I read these articles that researchers now know how King Tut died. Seriously cool.) On the other hand, the stuff that was found in this tomb was amazingly restored by conservationists (after a fire by grave robbers in ancient times), and I enjoyed how they recreated how some of the items looked in situ by using photos from the dig.

I love the "new" Fenway entrance to the MFA. The neoclassical facade is really impressive (reminds me of another impressive neoclassical building across the river), and the Fens from this vantage point is pretty too. (I am sure it will be beautiful come spring/summer.)