Let me paint you a picture of my city. Main Street, Northampton. I’m assuming if you’re reading this blog, you know the city. No? It’s the liberal Mecca of the East Coast. Hampshire College and Smith College. Unshaven legs and crop tops. Ani DiFranco. Moccasins.
And now … Alicia’s DRIVING WITH THE HITS!!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAyWrrCS0U8]
Is it safe to film oneself creating a music video while driving? Kanye says … YES.
Like I said, I have been doing nothing but cooking and yoga lately. Sooo … guess what I did today?
That on the right is some diced chicken with carrots and onions and garlic cloves and freshy fresh basil. I won’t bother with a recipe on that because it’s just like … whatever whatever. I couldn’t even taste it to see what it needed — I had to bring it to my dad to see what he thought. (I don’t eat sentient creatures, as you all know.)
On the left? That’s the bucket of veggie chili I made for the fam. Recipe on the jump.
So I have a whole bunch of time on my hands lately because I quit my job at the newspaper. Besides the copious amount of yoga and online shopping, I’ve decided to fill my hours with trying new recipes out on my family and
friends.
I’ve always said I hate hate hate kidney and black beans. When my dad makes something with kidney beans, like spaghetti sauce or vegetarian chili (my mom and I don’t eat meat), I pitch a fit. My poor, extremely accommodating father is always willing — nay, eager — to cook for me, and I imagine it’s hard to find something nutritious for a girl who doesn’t eat anything sentient. Here’s the thing, though — I’m such a raging bitch about the kidney bean thing, even though in recent years I’ve discovered I like them.
I’m kind of irrational. Sorry, Daddy.
Here’s what’s good on Planet Earth as of 11 a.m. EST. Or at least the things we care about.
U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, known fondly by many as Teddy Kennedy, died late Tuesday at his compound in Hyannis Port. He was the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and the last surviving member of, as all the newspapers (including mine) are saying, an enduring political dynasty.
We’re kind of late on this one, but forgive me — I was helping design a 9-page special section devoted to the guy. Here’s what we did with the cover of The Eagle. Wish I could take credit, but that goes to Kevin Moran. Nice, yes?
(Yes, that’s the same headline I used on my page A2 tonight)
I was just as shocked as the scientists who performed this study to find that people who multitask the most are the lousiest at it. Meaning that their memory is worse, they have a harder time focusing, and they “can’t ignore the stuff that doesn’t matter.”
According to The Associated Press:
The people who multitask the most are the ones who are worst at it. That’s the surprising conclusion of researchers at Stanford University, who found multitaskers are more easily distracted and less able to ignore irrelevant information than people who do less multitasking.
“The huge finding is, the more media people use the worse they are at using any media. We were totally shocked,” Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford’s communications department, said in a telephone interview.
This is alarming to me mostly because I’m a crazy multitasker, like most people my age. Mom, please don’t read after the jump.
What a surprise: I had to work at the paper for Monday’s presidential debate. But this gave me the opportunity to see lots and lots of McCain / Obama photos. I’m talkin’ dozens. I was also rapidly and clumsily texting my sisters and mother all night. (I’ve got like these small, unwieldy Hobbit fingers. Not hairy or anything, though, just stumbly and uncoordinated.)
Saturday marked the final night of summer vacation, also known as the Summer of Love. It was bittersweet — after a long summer of adventure in this one-horse town, we’re all ready to move on to the next phase – Westfield. Wait a moment .. I don’t go to Westfield. O god. I go to MCLA. Which means that while my sisters escape North Adams and get to party it out with all these people in Whip City, I’ll be here, nose to the grindstone with my day job and my school. Thank god MCLA is so easy.
The last night of the Democratic National Convention was tonight, and it was amazing – but if I know my readers, you guys aren’t interested in Obama’s eloquent 40-minute acceptance speech. You’re interested in my thoughts and emotions ABOUT the speech. Right? Or you wouldn’t be at Buntology.
