As Real As You And Me - Rihanna

HAVE YOU HEARD THIS SONG?

My niece Layla was watching Home on DVD in my parent's living room and I heard this song from the other room, came in to watch the scene with this song playing, watched for a few minutes, cried, then left to go lay down for a minute. Does that make me seem like a maniac? 'Cause it happened just that way. 

This song is real as fuck. Gotta remember to watch that whole movie in full.

Duff Beer is Coming Soon

For years now, brewers from around the world have tried to sneak Duff Beers past the lawyers at Fox. It's never worked, though knockoffs are still common enough, but maybe the Fox legal team is sick of having to show up in court since the network is about to give Simpsons fans their first taste of authentic, licensed Duff Beer. Fox has reportedly been consulting with a brewmaster anyway "to get the flavor just right" since earlier this year. The beer pours a "deep amber colour and mixes caramel-y notes with hints of fruit." The packaging, meanwhile, is an exact replica of the cartoon brew. Eeeeeee!

Jeffrey Godsick, head of Fox's consumer-products division, explains the rationale behind finally turning the fictional brew into a "premium lager": "Once you see enough piracy, you're faced with two choices. One is deciding to fight it, and the other is deciding to go out [into the market] with it."

The beer is first headed to Chile, then to Europe and the rest of South America - since that's where the majority of Duff forgeries have taken place - but the beer may see a release in the North America, too. Godsick sounds pretty optimistic about an eventual North American release, saying: "I think there's potential to have Duff everywhere in the world."

Mocha Semifreddo

I don't have an ice cream maker. Why? Mainly because I don't have an oven - and if I must splurge on some sort of luxury kitchen item (yes, it's sad that I view an oven as a "luxury kitchen item" but I'm coming to terms with that), my first purchase would be this oven. That being said, I have dreams of one day owning an ice cream maker. But until that day comes, this recipe will tide me over.

I know that I've gone on and on about how great Chef John's recipes are, so if you have politely nodded your head along to those past posts without actually making any of his dishes - THIS IS THE ONE YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY MAKE. Partly because it's crazy easy and partly because it's summer and you should indulge in something that's homemade and ridiculously delicious. 

“Take a bath in the morning (preferably in a bathroom with a window). You’ll see.”

— #lizadvice #summeradvice

I Love Lucy

Anytime I've ever walked into someone's home and I see their I Love Lucy collection sitting high atop some dusty DVD shelf, I smile hard inside. (How many times could this have possibly happened, you wonder? Twice. There are two mutants in my life who love Lucy that much - and I love, love, love them both.)

There were never any Lucy reruns on when I was growing up, but God do I wish there were. I could've been a completely different person (ie. better). I've only seen a few episodes from a few different seasons and I swear to you - this show has something for everyone. I promise you. 

What's the point of this post? I just wanted to suggest that you YouTube an old episode. You can't be that busy right now if you're on here.

Charles Grodin on Louie

Charles Grodin is my absolute favourite part of Louie. Love this man so much. 

Mom Says

“If a mirror in the house falls and breaks by itself, someone in the house will die soon.”

Olive Oil Mister

I am definitely in that category of people who never measures his/her olive oil when cooking. It's too boring a detail for me to get on board with, I'm sorry. And I know this is a problem 'cause I always overuse my olive oil, which is a shame because you only really need a spritz of it to be cool.

Enter THIS OIL MISTER! I saw this at Crate & Barrel a few weeks ago and it's almost heavenly. Not only does having it cut down your olive oil intake (while saving you money on not having to buy so much olive oil) but it's also fun as hell to use. You're trying to tell me that you don't find joy in misting a pan before using it? You don't see the beauty of a freshly-misted salad? You don't dream of the day you organize your own dinner party solely for the purpose of walking around a dining room table asking if anyone needs anything "misted tableside"? THAT'S NOT YOU?! Okay, maybe that last one is just me. But still. Everyone should own this mister. Or at least everyone with a kitchen and a dream. 

Sidenote: Happy Birthday to one of the best humans I know, my brother Robbie. You're amazing to everyone who knows you and I'll never know how you find enough hours in the day to be such an incredible man. I'm lucky as hell to have you in my life and I've been thankful for that since the whole nipple incident all those many years ago. One day, I promise I'll stop telling that story to people. Love you, brother.

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“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.”

— Emily Dickinson

Reasons To Stay Alive By Matt Haig - A Review

I'd first heard of Matt Haig and this book when I came across an excerpt from his book (Reasons To Stay Alive) a few months ago and thought, "I should read that." I didn't look any further into what the book itself was about, but I should have.

In no way did I hate it, but I kind of wish I hadn't read it. Or rather, I wish I'd read it at some later point in my life. I think I thought that the book was supposed to be about something else (especially based on that one page I initially saw).  I didn't expect it to be as heavy as it was and it really brought me down at times in a way I didn't anticipate. If you've ever suffered from depression or anxiety (or if you've been close with someone who has experienced these things), then I think you'll probably get a lot out of this book. There were definitely memorable things that I took away from reading it (and I'll list those below), but I was so happy when it finally ended. I think it really just came down to the fact that I don't read books like this one typically and now I know why. 

Highlights

• "One of the key symptoms of depression is to see no hope. No future. Far from the tunnel having light at the end of it, it seems like it is blocked at both ends, and you are inside it." 
• "To other people, it (depression) sometimes seems like nothing at all. You are walking around with your head on fire and no one can see the flames."
• "Depression, for me, wasn't a dulling but a sharpening, an intensifying, as though I had been living my life in a shell and now the shell wasn't there. It was total exposure. A red-raw, naked mind. A skinned personality."
• "There is this idea that you either read to escape or you read to find yourself. I don't really see the difference. We find ourselves through the process of escaping."
• "Understand, for instance, that having a sad thought, even having a continual succession of sad thoughts, is not the same as being a sad person. You can walk through a storm and feel the wind but you know you are not the wind. That is how we must be with our minds. We must allow ourselves to feel their gales and downpours, but all the time knowing this is just necessary weather."
• "Hate is a pointless emotion to have inside you. It is like eating a scorpion to punish it for stinging you."
• "Laughing so hard it hurts. Laughing as you bend forward and as your abdomen actually starts to hurt from so much pleasure, so much release, and then as you sit back and audibly groan and inhale deeply, staring at the person next to you, mopping up the joy." - I just fell in love with that phrase "mopping up the joy" it's so perfect. 
• The new words I learned from this book were quixotic, languor and avaricious.

It's definitely well written and insightful as hell. My only advice to you if you read it? Take your time. I didn't take my time with it and maybe that's why I felt so overwhelmed.