grainne's riffs

Lindsay Lohan: i think she still has potential to be a good actor...

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

...but i do find her embarrassing at the moment.

Bill Gates: don't love his business practices, but admire philanthropy

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

Wolf Parade - I'll Believe In Anything: best song on an awesome album

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

Target: tarjay is such a joy, but oh, such a disappointment now

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I love that Target offers fun stylish design at insanely low prices. Some of my most favorite things have come from Target. The Shabby Chic line, the Mizrahi line, the old Swell line (sadly, my Target doesn't sell this anymore), and of course the Michael Graves stuff.

It is a really wonderful store in almost every way.

Sadly, it has recently disappointed me by allowing its pharmacies to refuse emergency contraception to women...I shopped there recently and I love my $40 pink cashmere sweater, but I feel too guilty when I wear it, so I'm now joining the boycott. Sigh. There is nowhere left for me to buy cheap stuff! I can't go to Walmart (not that I'd want to, as it sucks) because they are evil, and now I've lost Target.

Somehow I made the odd assumption that people who sell such good design wouldn't cave in to the Christian right, and I was sad to discover I was wrong.

The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl: my teen anthem

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

Out of Sight [1998]: so sexy together

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I miss loving Jennifer Lopez. She took my breath away in this movie, standing in that room in her lingerie. So gorgeous, and she and Clooney were shockingly hot together. It is a great example of real onscreen chemistry.

Ashlee Simpson: she's a phony, and she isn't even nice (or pretty)

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I hated her before, but the McDonalds video? Being abusive to people who work at McDonalds is really not pretty. Not pretty at all.

Paris Hilton: classless and talentless (and not that pretty)

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I can't stand even to see her face in the magazines. Her eyes convey nothing, and I HATE that she is always making that same ridiculously trashy expression. She is worthless, vapid, and just awful, and frankly, not pretty enough to merit the attention.

High Fidelity [2000]: Would have liked better if British, but still really really great

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I was skeptical about moving this book to an American setting, but I ended up liking it a lot. I am unreasonably fond of John Cusack, though, so that probably had something to do with it.

The Postal Service - Give Up: perfect timely album

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

This album perfectly captured the mood of the moment when it came out. I wanted something just like it - the combination of death cab kind of angsty indie rock and the very appealing beats and hooks of the interpol kind of new 80s sound.

It is moody but danceable, and I love at least half of the songs.

The Colbert Report: colbert is great as right-wing nightmare

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

Colbert was one of my favorites on the Daily Show, and I'm thrilled to have him for a whole half-hour. There is definitely room in the fake-news genre for someone who mocks through imitation, rather than through the dry wit of JS.

Sometimes when I see Crossfire or O'Reilly, I honestly feel that a comedy version of these shows is unnecessary, given how ridiculous they are already. Fair and Balanced makes me laugh (and cry) even without Colbert mocking it.

That being said, even if it is obvous fodder for comedy, Colbert cracks me up. His notice boards are HYSTERICAL.

Weezer - Pinkerton: my favorite too

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

For me, this album has never lost its sheen. I don't play it as often anymore, but it was one of the first of my old albums to make it onto my ipod, because i know that sooner or later i will be in the mood for the self-deprecating croonings of Rivers Cuomo, and this album is the one that most fully satisfies that mood.

I mean, it doesn't get better than that Pink Triangle song.

This is a great album for a road trip, because every song is catchy and fun to sing along to.

Pride & Prejudice (2005): very fun and likeable (or, at least, to me)

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

It would be difficult to make a version of Pride and Prejudice that I am not at least somewhat fond of, given my adoration of the novel. So I don't have great confidence in my opinion of the movie.

I did like the new Mr. Darcy. Colin Firth is amazing and will always be my favorite in the role, I think, but I enjoyed this new softer Mr Darcy too. Colin's Darcy was more uptight, more repressed, and less emotional, which corresponds more to my interpretation of the character when I read the novel, but I did find the new Darcy's raw emotionality appealing. You can see the desire and the pain in his eyes, which I liked.

I found KK as Lizzy to be a little giggly and less smart than I would have expected, but she is lovely and I think she brought a girlishness to the role that I found interesting, if not compelling.

I agree with MH and Anthony Lane about the over-the-top Bronte-type elements, which felt misplaced in this movie and just kind of silly.

I did really enjoy seeing this movie, and would see it again happily, but I just can't tell whether that is a reflection of the movie or of my love of the book.

club monaco: great basics, edgier and cooler than the others

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

lulu lemon: cool stylish yoga clothes

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

These are so comfy, and really very adorable, so I highly recommend them for anyone doing yoga or even just going to the gym. They have really expanded their line in the last couple of years, so now you can get general workout clothes and even super-cute bags. They are insanely popular in Canada, and just starting to be sold in the US.

They are cute enough that you can wear them on the plane without looking like one of those soccer moms in Juicy.

Pride and Prejudice (Hardcover) by Jane Austen (Author): there isn't enough praise in the world to explain its greatness

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

This is my all-time favorite novel. Every time I read it I wonder why I and my friends are not nearly so witty and clever as Elizabeth and Darcy.

Each page of this book is a complete treasure. Sure, I have favorite parts ("From this day you will be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do." is one such favorite) but I never skip ahead when re-reading it, because I love every second of this book.

Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better: no second-album disappointment here

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I loved the first album, and I was a little scared to buy this one in case it suffered from the sophomore album problem. No need to have worried - this album is packed with great hooks the whole way through.

You have to be in the mood for FF, that is for sure. You have to be willing to accept that this is not "serious art" and that it does not appear to be aiming to send some kind of angsty post-punk indie rock message. Instead, you have to be ready for light-hearted honest-to-goodness fun. The cheeky fun that FF appears to be having is highly contagious.

Feist - Let It Die: album is great, live show awful

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

I LOVE this album, so imagine my surprise to discover that the talented and interesting Miss Feist is irritating and just plain bad live. I saw her in San Fran this year (with Rilo Kiley) and she was a big disappointment. Her melodies were indecipherable but her high regard for herself was overly clear.

It was actually embarrassing. I had told people she was great, and they glared at me throughout the painful and cringe-inducing performance.

So buy the album, but don't go to the show expecting it to sound like the album. Of course, everyone has an off-night, so it could have been that....I hope.

hockey: Yay, hockey is back!

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

Yes, I know, Americans don't tend to care, but I'm very excited about the return of the NHL.

The Toronto Maple Leafs: hard times, but always beloved to me

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:25:29 -0500

So they're having a hard year...so they're not doing so well, and even when they win it seems they have just fluked into the victory. Regardless, they are part of Canadian identity: Canadians are rarely neutral on the team - you either hate them, or love them.

For me, it has been and always will be LOVE. My Irish Dad transferred his love of soccer to his love of hockey, and he is a European-style hard-core fan. Sure, most of the time the TML bring him misery, but he loves them intensely. Growing up with him and my brothers, my love of the Leafs was inevitable.

I love them so much that I can't even stand to watch them play important games, because a loss crushes me.

Hockey is back, and even though people may complain about the players/managers etc., I love that my Dad can go back to yelling at the TV several nights a week.