This was in town on Sunday. We missed it.

"Frankly, I'm surprised it lasted this long."

Fall Canceled After 3 Billion Seasons

Ninja Parade

Ninja Parade Slips Through Town Unnoticed Once Again

aloha!

just a quick note to say aloha! Kauai is, of course, fantastic and gorgeous and fun and great. well, almost... fyi, ya'll, Wendi had a stroke and we've spent the last day or so in the hospital. she's completely fine, for the most part - I'll tell ya all about it later. anyway, we're off to pick her up and get back to our beach chairs! see ya.

here's a quick little sampling of our fun in the sun.

Let's all watch Radiohead kick EMI in the balls...

It is a joyful time for Radiohead fans.

First of all, there is a new album out next week. That alone is enough to make my eyes roll back in my head. But even better, in fact one of the best things I've ever heard, is that they are selling the new album online (digital downloads, I mean), on their own (they are not signed with any major record label right now) ... and they are letting fans pick the price. Really, you can pay one dollar or you can pay one million dollars. You get to decide what the music is worth to you.

I just love it. I love it as a fan, who will probably even pay full price for it (see, they get that people who love music and love Radiohead don't want to steal from them) but also, I love it in that "stick it to the man" kind of way. Seriously - I cannot imagine how the big record labels are shitting themselves over this move, but I like to try. THE biggest band on the planet are selling their music directly to their fans for whatever their fans want to pay for it - come on! It's a beautiful and revolutionary concept.

Oh, bless that little Radiohead. I'm very excited to see how it all works out. Oh and, of course, to listen to the album continuously for ten straight days while I am looking at this:


and this:

and this:


and this:


and this:


I know, I know, shut up. wink.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina.

...with a little bit of uh, uh.

Oh, Tawny and her internal ruptures...

Welcome home, Tawny!

Ok, well not really "home" - - but welcome back to your own AK pad, which I'm sure is a more agreeable place than a hospital bed, however hospitable those southern nurses may be. We're all glad you are feeling better. Kiss, kiss.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina.

O lord, good stuff.

NYC , May 2007: A Photographic Time Capsule.

Ah, the Danielsons. God, they're cute.

Yes, yes, ya'll - - that IS a double-decker tour bus upon which we are perched. I'm sorry -I'll just say it - TOTAL BLAST. Really, it's a great way to see the city, comfortably (especially when gritty, city heat is involved), and distanced. Now, I'm not saying to see the city (any city, really) exclusively comfortably and distanced... but it's just one angle. And it's nice.

NYC lends itself to some seriously fantastic, tiny photographic moments. What a lovely thing for a lovely city.

Pure homage to one of my great g-ma's most infamous stories, involving a stolen chair, a fur coat, a crazy-ass BFF named Margaret McCloud, New Year's Eve and, I'm guessing, a few Tom Collins.

Okay, seriously, this is enough to make bring a girl to tears. This is at the MOMA - - I snapped this shot very quickly, thru a tiny window on the second floor, on the way to the bathroom. As I said, very photogenic, this city.

Too. much. to look at in this one... let's all just look at Girl Hog, in her spontaneous and natural beauty. As gorgeous a snapshot NYC takes, Amy bests on a bad day.

To-go margaritas + amazing, cheap, Cuban corn on the cob + blond buddies = good times in the East Village. Manda showed us a hell of an afternoon.

Street food, haaaay!! Gyros are awesome. Mel and I had a wonderful street-built gyro just blocks from where we indulged in the single best lunch of our foodie-wannabee lives at Le Bernardin. Another fanfuckingtastic thing about NYC.

Just another nice, and apropos, NYC shot. The controlled chaos of the busiest of NYC intersections is a sight to behold.

Back at the MOMA. Sweet Jebus, there it was, one of my favorite Chagall pieces, right there, all up in my face. The tour guide saw me chillin' on the periphery of her little schoolkid group, probably as thrilled-looking as they were, and motioned for me to sit right down with them. I did and it ruled.

HUNG over on the Staten Island Ferry. THE most flattering picture of me ever, yes, I agree.

It was "Fleet Week" in NYC. The only thing that really meant to us was to serve as a reminder that Sex in the City was just a television show.

This is right after Tech almost died in Brooklyn. Apparently, Techie was drunker than we thought and in no shape to handle the ladder leading to the rooftop. Somehow, after trying to descend the ladder, he ended up five feet from the top of said ladder, on his back, precariously close to the edge of the rooftop.

Totally sober, obviously.

Again, totally sober.

Jesus, clean yourself up, seriously.

You tell me.

Noted fashion photographer, Nigel Barker! okay, I know it's next to impossible to confirm, but I SWEAR, it's Nigel.

Fierce! (For Nigel. Rahr.)

As much as I love NYC, I know we would have had as much fun in Burnsville. Or not, I know, I know... I just mean -- buddies are awesome.

Ciao, buddies, you're awesome.
-Nina.

Not cool.

One in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an
Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Full story.

Shit, people, come on!

...which means "throw momma from the tambien."

Summer's end isn't the worst thing in the world.

... a nasty, naughty, bad boy. spank. spank.

Man, I fucking love these pathetic republican closet-cases... these guys just keep getting better and better.

Maynards and Cougars and Lap Dances, Oh My!

You guessed it - - I'm talking about a Saturday night on Lake Minnetonka. My first time - really! I have to say, I thought I would be feeling super old, partying in that scene... but I didn't. I felt lots of things, but old wasn't one of them. It was entirely thanks to the preying packs of cougars and the creepy old guys. Classic.

My favorite exchange of the night:

Maid of honor, to some hot, random guy at the bar:

"Give her a dollar - come on - and she'll give you a kiss."

Random guy's short, goofy-looking friend:

"What can I get for 17 bucks?"

Photographic proof:


This photo pretty much sums up the festivities for the evening: Missy, looking sexy and adorable at the same time (as a general rule, this an irresistible combination), surrounded by a herd of rich, drunk whiteboyz.


This is your typical "Cheers, ladies!" photo - but yet a tiny bit frightening. Look at blond son of satan in the background!


And my personal favorite moment of the night...

"Hip-hop," as Mel very appropriately named him, was a cute little pseudo-Timberlake who was willing (I mean drunk) enough to give the bachelorette an impromptu and free lap dance.

This is Hip-Hop bringing sexy back. Missy is the dirrrrty babe in the back, preparing to remove Hip-Hop's clothing.

She got him as far as topless...

and then this fool came along and kicked Hip-Hop out because, apparently, only chicks can be topless at Lake Minnetonka bars. No I did not really see any topless chicks, but it was cold and rainy so the girls were bundled up in halter tops made of cotton instead of lace and jean skirts that covered their upper thighs instead of just their upper ass cheeks.

I kid, I kid! It was a fun time, all in all. Oh, and I forgot - Rod Stewart popped by to wish the drunken bachelorette all the best. Or something.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

P.S. I always think it's very funny to refer to shirtless males as "topless."

Fun for the whole family.

Sometimes I forget about The Onion. Don't forget about The Onion.

Report: Iran Less Than 10 Years Away From 2016

Best graduation present ever? Yes.

You can't really see the show too well, but I am quite sure you can imagine it. If not, it went like this... I was taking a little nap at the table (because I was so sober that it made me tired) and then suddenly the freaking king was there. And he sang to me, accompanied by an electric guitar plugged into nothing.

And he made me dance and say things.




And I loved him. But I love Tawny more... seriously, sending a singing Elvis whilst in Memphis? Oh, that is good stuff.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina
(I promise more photos of the big day to come. And photos from cabin weekend. Oh, shite, and NYC, too.)

I just love her answer to this... no doubt, indeed. Damn, girl.

Perspective

Hi, kittens.

Ya know, when life is getting you down and you feel blue, when you feel like things just can't get any worse, well... it's important to put things in context and remember that other people have it so much worse than you. One almost feels guilty for complaining when you know others are dealing with such devastating situations:




Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

What if everyone I know sent me five dollars?

Aloha,

Summer is just not the time to blog, eh? I feel a little relieved that some of my other blog buddies seem as unmotivated to do so as I. And it's certainly not that I don't have things on my mind (which you, as a reader, must be interested in... that's the nature of blogs/blog readers, right?), because I do. So there, suckas.

• POLITICS SECTION: What a fucking hypocrite.
  
  

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) acknowledged Monday night that his number appears on
telephone records of the alleged D.C. Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, and issued
an apology. (AP)

"This was a very serious sin in my past for which
I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and
received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling.
Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there-with
God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have
disappointed and let down in any way," Vitter said.

Now, this fella, if indeed I know my full-of-shit, neo-con-tools as well as I think I do, is one of the most hardcore social conservatives out there, right? And he has said, repeatedly and patronizingly, that marriage is THE most important thing in the whole wide world and that those immoral gays, sin machines that they are, have no right to even look in its general direction. Oh, and also, wasn't he one of the loudest idiot Clinton bashers - demanding impeachment not so much for the lying (which, now seems almost quaint and precious when compared to Bushie), but for the immorality of infidelity?

Yes, is the answer, that's the guy. I repeat: what a fucking hypocrite.

This is not a photo of David Vitter. This is Tom Delay. Apropos and, I think, really funny.

• SPORTS SECTION: I need to start betting on things.

I could be retired right now. Seriously, last week's All-Star goodness (which I totally love, although I understand it's not for everyone) could have brought me some fat cash if I would have bet (assuming that I actually would have had anything to bet. can you wager with good will and a nice smile?) with my gut. I totally called the HR derby winner (My second favorite non-Twin, Vlad Guerrero) AND the game MVP (my third favorite non-Twin, Ichiro). I did, I'm not kidding; people heard me and everything.

• SOCIETY SECTION: East & West Coast All-Stars

Last weekend was a fun one: out with Courtney from NYC one night and Tatum from LA the next. I don't have a whole lot to say about it except that it was super fun, not very sober and that I spent all my money for the month.

But, well worth it:

Who needs to eat and buy gas when you have sweet memories of afternoon chardonnay(s) and pretty blond kisses.

Ciao, buddies.
-Nina

I'm here on orders from my bird

Hi, love bugs.

I know I have so many other things I should be blogging these days, like... NYC weekend photos, grad party photos (complete with a real, live Elvis Presley), Scooter Libby and how he's taught us that this administration can truly do whatever it wants and there is not a thing we can do about it, the Sopranos finale (which I thought was a lazy, offensive mess), John from Cincinnati (which I think is a lovely, oddball allegory) and the fact that I realized that, before, when I used to actually be a good blogger, I was very much using it as a procrastination technique.

But, instead, I give you this:



Ciao, buddies.
-Nina.