“Never point your finger at a graveyard, or else your finger is going to rot. If you do it mistakenly, bite each of your ten fingers to ward off bad luck.”
Tip of the Day - Use Lemon!
I love the smell of Pine-Sol. It's probably my favorite smell of all time. When I was a kid, my mom would specifically clean the whole house with Pine-Sol on my birthday, so that when I came home from school it would make my day even brighter. While I prefer the original, sometimes she'd try out their "lemon fresh" and it would affect me in the same, magnificent way.
Anyway, I never really put any thought into why it put me in such a good mood until recently. Apparently, if you use lemon in more things in your daily routine, it has the ability to boost your state of mind and general happiness. Now I don't want you to scream at me demanding to know where I found this scientific information, so I'll just shut you up right now and say that I read about it in a bunch of aromatherapy research sites. All right?
These sites basically just suggest that the scent of lemon oil can lift spirits. So if you were to add lemon zest to iced tea or water on a regular basis, that's supposed to do wonders.
“The beauty of things must be that they end.”
Recipe - Banana Nut Pancakes
Photograph: Skinny Taste
Photograph: Skinny Taste
As far as breakfast foods go, I'm not the biggest fan of pancakes. I really just don't understand them. They've always seemed like bland little pieces of nothingness that are trying so hard to be cake, and failing miserably. But that's just my opinion.
However, the act of making pancakes? One of the most fun things to do in the kitchen. I did it for the first time yesterday and it made me feel... fantastic. Why the hell did I feel that way? I don't know. Maybe it was the flipping that made it fun. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't burn them on my first try. Maybe the banana smell helped? No idea. But I could've stayed there and made them for hours, so fun.
And chances are - you know someone who enjoys these guys. Those people are everywhere. And they love talking about how much they adore them. And this recipe was a really good one, I was told. (I did eat some, and thought, "Yep. Banana pancakes. I guess these are something.") But keep in mind, no pancake will ever impress me. Ain't possible. Not even with chocolate in it.
I'll for sure make these again since the reaction to them was good - and also, since it's a lighter version of the really-bad-for-you kind of pancakes. Go try. Or better yet, go try and make any kind of pancakes! The act of making them is way more fun than the outcome. Maybe eat a piece of real cake for yourself afterward so it feels more fulfilling.
Cereal Container Trash Can - In a Car
Dumb idea? No way, man. I don't know about you and your filthy life, but I'm a clean person. I like things a certain way. A clean way. I'm not a freak about it, but this kind of thing probably gets worse with age and one day I will be a freak about it. Which is fine. I'll come to terms with that then.
I don't own a car, but when I use one (my parent's) there is usually all kinds of crap laying around just being gross and hanging out. Why? Well, cars don't come with trash cans. Why don't they? I don't know, car-makers are idiots? No, I guess that's too rough. They're not idiots. But they clearly weren't smart enough to include some sort of repository.
This is a great idea - to use a cereal container in place of a bulky trash can. So slim! Almost invisible! And keeps things tidy.
Do you really want to have a gross smelling/looking car interior? People are judging you on that, bud. Hate to tell you. Get it under control.
(Thanks to Real Simple for the beautiful idea.)
The Greatly Disappointing Gatsby - A Review
I didn’t hate The Great Gatsby. And I know that a lot of my reviews tend to get really angry really quickly, so I'm not gonna go crazy over-analyzing this one. But here are some things that bothered me:
- No way you can play a 32 year old anymore, Leo. No way.
- Tobey Maguire. Yeah, just his essence bothered me. How has he lasted as an actor? He has one face! You know the face! This face!
And that's it! There are no other expressions! I don’t understand why people keep putting him in movies. He’s like a houseplant or something – just someone who sort of hangs out near other stuff happening.
- There were lots of really corny parts, especially that first "reveal" of Leonardo DiCaprio’s face at the party.
- Hated the way lines from the novel were plastered across the screen. Hated that so much.
- Also, in almost all of their scenes together, I kept thinking that Gatsby and Nick Carraway were about point three seconds away from some hardcore making out. Which would've be great. Just the tension of it all was way too overacted and weird.
- TOO. LONG.
And yeah, the clothing and set design were great. But that's it. I heard some teenage girls leaving the theatre afterward and they loved it. So maybe this just wasn’t a movie that I was supposed to enjoy? That’s probably it.
Anyway, suckfest.
Fury of the Day - New York Post
I think I can sum up my hatred for the New York Post in two images:
If you don't know the story of that second cover, you can read about it here.
There aren't many words to describe how despicable this daily paper is, considering these are ACTUAL DAMN COVERS. I don't even love Hillary Clinton or anything, but are we serious here? The fact that such blatant sexism can pass as an acceptable tactic in getting more people to buy your trash? Wow. Sometimes I think women have come a really long way, and then I'll see something like that cover and just think, "Well. Fuck." The rage I felt at seeing that published still lingers inside me and is infuriating.
And that second cover? I understand that "newspapers" are supposed to cover current events. But at the same time, is there not an amount of sensitivity that should go right along with that idea? That man's fucking family had to see that cover - which is so beyond fucked. I didn't want to see that photo and I didn't even know him!
Just a lot of hate for the cretins who work at the New York Post. Absolute trash human beings.
“Wear as little black as possible. It looks like you’re trying to hide how good you look.”
Running Or How I Learned To Grow Up And Become Healthier
All right, I run. I know I don't seem like a runner, but I am. It's definitely a relatively new thing, since I only started about a year ago. And it's not like I've always hated running, I'm actually really fast (well, really fast at night... I know that seems like it doesn't make sense, but really, something about the night makes me run faster).
Why did I want to start to run? Well, I never used to exercise at all. Really, it never happened. I would fake sprain my ankle for every single track tournament we had at school, so I wouldn't have to move an inch. I got a year-long YMCA pass when I was 16 with my best friend Harmeet and every time we went, we'd spend thirty minutes in the "warm-up" room and then go five feet outside of the Y exit to get some TCBY. That yogurt is still the best in the world. So now that I'm a full-fledged adult, I need to do stuff like this - and running is the easiest, non-invasive thing to get into. Eventually I'm sure I'll get a gym pass, but for now this is the best thing with the least amount of effort that I can bring myself to care about.
Tips That I've Learned About Running
- If you run on a treadmill and you don't want to lose your ass, then make sure you set it at an incline (read about that here, and all that whole piece is so true)
- People seem 10% impressed to hear that you're a runner
- You can run for longer periods of time (without strain) if you use replacement insoles
What kind of soles? I've tried Dr. Scholl's Active Series ones and they're pretty magical. They're only $20 or so and I've taken them out and used them in different shoes when I need to. They feel ridiculously more comfortable than just the default insoles.
I was recently at an event where I got to work out with Dolvett Quince (the celebrity personal trainer from The Biggest Loser, who was a sincere delight and is amazing as what he does) and I used these insoles. And to be honest, I figured I'd have some problems since I broke my foot last year - but they felt great against my feet. Sidenote: have you ever worked out with a personal trainer before? Go do it. This was my second time (my first time I threw up in the bathroom in the middle of the session, but that was mostly from nervousness, I think - nervousness and excessive movement) and this time, well, it was exhausting, but a tolerable amount of exhausting. But my feet could handle it all, which is my main point here.
You are not better than new insoles. They are better than you. Try these out to see what I mean.
*Special thanks to Haasan Morse at Morse Code PR for inviting me to work out with Dolvett.
Superman & The National Guard
I'm sorry, what's going on? Why the hell is the National Guard teaming up WITH A FICTIONAL ENTITY to try and enlist people?
I saw an ad for this before The Great Gatsby yesterday and wow. Just wow. So many things to say. Too many things. Brain shutting down.