We Have Come A Long Way...

Someone passed along a link to these ads. It's just mind boggling to look at used to be acceptable not that long ago...

15 (very) sexist ads that may leave you as speechless as I am

12 vintage ads that are just plain disturbing

I Love Me Some TV

I bought DVDs of the first season of Chuck and Andy Richter Controls The Universe. Even though the first season of Chuck was only last year, I had already forgotten a lot of what was going on back then. It's such a rewatchable show. I'm so glad it's been renewed for a third season, thanks to fan efforts.

Andy Richter Controls The Universe is a series that aired back in 2002. I remembered finding it very funny, but it got cancelled fairly quickly like most innovative and smart shows seem to. Anyway, I highly recommend it. I'm sure I'll be rewatching those DVDs often.

Finally, I was looking at my livejournal page, and all the keywords I had entered as interests. I think it describes me pretty well:

Aging, arrested development, books, cheers, chocolate, chuck, coffee, cooking, crosswords, dictionaries, french, grammar, montreal, monty python, movies, musicals, neuroscience, newsradio, non fiction, photography, politics, pride & prejudice, psychology, science, statistics, sudoku, teaching, technology, the colbert report, the daily show, the human brain, the office, the office fanfic, the x-files, toronto, writing

Farmers' Market

Earlier this week, I discovered that there is a farmers' market on Saturday morning from 9 am to 12 pm close to my place. There's nothing I like quite so much to buy local products. So I got up early this morning, wanting to go. It was a beautiful day when I woke up. Now that I'm ready to go because the market just opened? The sky is dark as ink, thunder and lightening are raging, and it's pouring buckets of rain. Bah. I guess I'll have to try again next weekend!

Kitty Is Going On A Diet

This is my cat:



She is a happy cat, but lately, her backside has been sore. She didn't seem to groom her backside as well either. I took her to the vet, and it cost me 400$ to find out that:

1) Kitty might be developing arthritis, and she needs shots.

2) She should lose weight. Putting her on a diet is going to be huge fun given that when the food is low in her bowl, she has no qualms about waking me up in the middle of the night for it.

3) Her fur was indeed somewhat matted in the bum area so the vet thought it'd be a good idea to shave her. So poor kid now looks like this:



She was apparently good when they were shaving her, but she looks a bit silly with her short black and white fur. It's a little cow-like. LOL

TV & Movies

I was thinking of rounding up a list of cultural endeavours I loved in the last few months. You might know I love old movies so there are a few of that. I'll stick with recommendations.

TV Series

1) Chuck: Of all the new series from last season, this is my favourite. I lost my other love, Pushing Daisies. I cannot say enough good things about it. It's got comedy, spy action, and romance. I love the characters. It's perfect TV fluff. I really hope NBC doesn't cancel it!

2) Breaking Bad: Such a dark series about a chemistry teacher who learns he has 18 months to live after being diagnosed with cancer. To leave money for his family, he joins forces with a younger guy to make crystal meth. So it's a totally crazy premise, but the characters are flawed and interesting, and you just want to know what will happen next. It's a series by Vince Gilligan, who was my favourite writer on The X-Files.

3) Being Erica: I've talked about it before, but I was totally sucked into this dramedy about a 30-something girl who lives in Toronto. The season finale really makes me die to see how it continues.

I also really enjoyed two BBC miniseries I watched: Cranford and State of Play.

Movies

1) Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? What a fantastic movie! It's a creepy thriller, and Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are both great. That movie had me on the edge of my seat.

2) Vertigo:. I had a Jimmy Stewart double bill a few weeks ago: The Philadelphia Story, which I love, and a movie I had never seen, Vertigo. I don't know that I was totally sucked into the movie, but I can definitely see why it's been so influential in terms of film making. It's definitely very interesting as far as how it is shot. And the plot has lots of twists and turns.

3) Sunshine Cleaning: I saw this movie last weekend. It's the story of two sisters who start their own crime scene cleaning business to try to rise up above in their situations. It's a quiet little film about the struggles of life. It just touched some cords in me. Made me cry like a little girl.

Other mentions: Loved Rachel Get Married. It was my favourite Oscar season movie along with Milk. I saw Monsters vs. Aliens in IMAX 3D. That was just a whole lot of fun. On the more serious side, Waltz with Bashir, a movie about the Shatila Massacre in the 1982 Lebanon War, is very poignant.

I have a few old school movies lined up in the next few days: 1) Hitchcock's Rope, which I have seen before but is just a great movie, 2) To Have or Have Not, a Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall movie, and 3) Fellini's 8 1/2.

I'll be back tomorrow with my favourite books that I've read lately.

Montreal, Baby!

I spent the long Easter weekend in Montreal, which was really nice. On Friday, my friends and I went to a fairly new French bistro called Le St-Urbain. It was really yummy. I had a risotto as I am wont to do in nice restaurants. Some of us also went to the Planetarium before the restaurant, something I hadn't done in years. It's always nice to gaze at the stars. There was a movie about the five great extinctions, which was really interesting.

On Saturday, I spent time with the family. We played Monopoly, and I lost again. I swear, I don't think I've ever won at that game. I also went shopping in the afternoon, and bought a new toaster oven to replace mine that is falling apart. It's all convection ovens out there nowadays. Can't wait to use it!

We went for brunch Sunday at Eggquis, which was really tasty. Then, I spent most of Sunday on the road, driving back to Toronto.

Monday and Tuesday, I was on the road again, in Windsor to go evaluate a patient over there. I stayed at the Hilton, and had a great view on the Michigan River, and Detroit's lakefront silhouette. However, Windsor was cold and rainy.

I'm now back in Toronto and we are having lovely sunny days! I love spring.

While I was in Montreal, I took lovely pictures, which I shall post up soon.

The Nanny

Again, the Internet makes me rediscover things from years gone past. I love you, YouTube. Anyway, I've been watching some episodes of The Nanny lately. I had forgotten how funny that show was, especially in its earlier seasons, before it became way too corny. The last time I remember seeing this show on TV was when I first moved to Toronto. I have memories of crying, missing home late at night, and watching that show to cheer myself up.

I came across a clip where Fran Drescher saying that her inspiration for the show was a spin on The Sound of Music, and it's probably exactly why I like it. It has the romantic aspect to it mixed with silly antics. I do remember my thinking Mr. Sheffield was so dreamy. LOL Fran Drescher's physical comedy was always very funny to me, which is surprising given that physical comedy doesn't tend to be what makes me laugh most. Niles and C.C. are also very funny as are the kids. This is a show I'd never pick apart because plenty of it makes no sense whatsoever. It's like a silly vaudeville, but it doesn't pretend to be anything more than that. I was pleased to still be finding it funny, because some shows just age very poorly.

Sights of Toronto

I have taken to carrying my camera with me when I'm walking around.

A cool alley mural...



The clock tower building is a fire station. Cool, huh? I love the architecture of this building.

Things I Bought That I Love

I love for purses and shoes. Hence, an entry about purchases I love from the last few months. Most are awesome scores from my favourite store, Winners.

I got a purse from the Montreal company Matt & Nat a few months ago. They make vegan purses that are just as cool as leather products. I love their designs. I bought this purse with some birthday money...



I've gotten so many compliments over that purse. Everyone loves it, and has a hard time believing it's not leather.

I found love again with Matt & Nat and this purse...



Look at the weaved fiber, it's so nice...



It's going to be a great bag, I think. It's big enough to carry files and other stuff to work.

As for footwear, I got these cute boots at Target when we went to Buffalo a few weeks ago.



They make me feel so spring-like! :)

I also bought these Steve Madden shoes. Look how cute they are!



My feet love them so dearly...

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report

I really enjoyed the economy-focused episode of TDS yesterday. It was one of the best recent episodes. There's nothing like Jon and the TDS writers going full spin on a topic. It was nice to see him calling out TV "financial analysts" who didn't see the recession coming and are now ranting about Obama wanting to help common people, not just big corporation.

As for TCR, Stephen Colbert's Doom Bunker is definitely one of the funniest segments they've ever done. I was laughing until I cried. FOX's Glenn Beck deserves every joke for putting such ridiculous fictional scenarios for doom analysis on TV.

Erica Strange's Video Blog

I love the show Being Erica and I discovered they made video blogs of her talking to Ethan about a bunch of daily events.

Here's an example...



I can only relate too much to encountering a mouse, wanting to flee, and the fear of becoming a cat lady. I love this show.

Sometimes It's The Little Things...

I had an okay day, I guess, but as I was unpacking groceries, my watch hit the shelf in the fridge, and a piece of the corner broke. I guess it doesn't even show that much, but I burst into tears. I have no idea where that came from except I've been feeling blue lately. What a stupid thing to get upset over. Sure, I love this watch, and I got it only a few months ago, but still... Meh, I can't wait for the winter to be over.

On the other hand, Stephen Colbert with his impression of getting on the Internet in 1997 made me laugh till I cried. Ricky Gervais on TDS was also a gift. Oh, and I couldn't believe Jason Jones's interview with guys who call Obama Hitler and the Anti-Christ!

I'm a Superhero

Hee. This site is so much fun: The Hero Factory.

Three-Day Weekend! Woo hoo!

Hit Buffalo on Sunday for a day of shopping, food, and art. We hit all the stores we don't have in Canada. I got cute rain boots from Target! We also went to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for an exhibit on abstract art, which was super interesting.

Oh, and this is the song I loved from my high school days that I was trying to sing in the car on the way back... It comes complete with cheesy early 90s video!

Place Des Grands Hommes (1989).