Liveblogging the VMAs

9:00 - Britney, oh god I'm scared...
9:03 - Well, she didn't fall off the stage. So that's good - but she seemed so half-ass. I don't even know why she bothered lip-synching. Anyway, she survived but it wasn't Britney's comeback.
9:05 - Sending Sarah Silverman out next? This is not going to be good for her.
9:07 - Ok, wrap it up Sarah. I'm getting bored.
9:08 - "Jews are like snowflakes" Ha! Who's the live band?
9:09 - NO RERUNS!?! What?!? They should have made that more clear beforehand.
9:10 - I want to go to JT's party!
9:11 - Hey that chick from Pussycat Dolls stole Amy Winehouse's hair.
9:12 - Holy crap how many nominees are THERE!?! I don't like that Umbrella song, but you know what I do like? Rihanna's dress - she looks like Barbie :)
9:15 - It's officially times for someone to explain those glasses everyone at Kanye's party is wearing. I don't get it.
9:22 - I knew this text thing was too complicated. I voted for the wrong one. Damn! I think that officially makes me too old for this.
9:23 - They texted me back the opportunity to buy Britney ringtones. No thanks.
9:24 - I really hate the way they are presenting the nominees. Although the winner is clear: Justin Timberlake! ... THAT'S RIGHT! Look how cute he is! I think he's drunk. Still cute but drunk.
9:25 - These little mini-party/performances are lame. I want big stage productions. I don't feel like I'm there. I feel bored.
9:27 - God I wish I was watching The Hills instead.
9:33 - Oh!!! Kanye and 50 on one stage. What could happen!?! I'm guessing awkward jokes and stares.
9:34 - Again, the winner is clearly Justin Timberlake...WHAT!?! Beyonce and Shakira over Sexy Back. Are you freaking kidding me?!? At least, I was wrong about the Kanye/50 awkward jokes.
9:35 - Holy mama! I think her boobs might fall out. She seems one tuck away from disaster.
9:36 - Adam Levine is sexy. I wish he wasn't wearing a vest but he's still sexy.
9:37 - Jeez another commercial.
9:41 - Nipple alert!
9:42 - False alarm - they were pasties.
9:43 - A real performance. Thank God.
9:44 - Chris Brown?!? Really? I do love those little kids he dances with. They're amazing.
9:45 - Something tells me the Charlie Chaplin reference is going to be lost on this crowd. The dancing on the tables is kind of cool though, wouldn't want to be the ones they were jumping over but still.
9:46 - Someone actually singing - that's a nice change.
9:47 - Ok Billy Jean. I can get down with this and he really can dance.
9:56 - WHAT no Heidi! LOL! If JT doesn't win, I'm going to throw something.
9:57 - YEAH!!!! He is the hottest. Seriously, hot. I lose my language skills, all I can say is hot. See - mumbling, not making sense, still hot! It's like magic.
10:00 - The lead singer of Gnarls Barkley is really fat. Just sayin.
10:04 - When is the pole dancing going to be over? I'm so over it.
10:05 - Timbaland has some serious guns.
10:06 - The only thing lamer than Shia Labeouf's mustache is his name.
10:07 - The winner is Amy Winehouse. Come on! .... FERGIE! Seriously! - Actually who am I kidding? I have Glamourous as a ringtone. I can't lie.
10:08 - I thought Pamela had her boobs taken out. They don't look any smaller. Also, I think Nicholas has bowed out for the evening. He's disappeared.
10:10 - Oh that helicopter shot is cool.
10:13 - I'm all over Pageant Place. Believe that.
10:19 - A place we've never been before? We'll see.
10:21 - I've been here before. Fog and lazors? It was called Stone Mountain.
10:24 - I love the White Stripes. I hope they win ... Fall Out Boy - right, why am I still watching?
10:34 - I like Alicia but I'm not feeling this.
10:36 - Don't drag Stevie into this! Oh hell no! I know she's not dragging my favorite song of ALL TIME into this. Please god, leave it alone. I'm begging you.
10:37 - Stop it. Stop it now. Before I beat you with your sparkly boots.
10:44 - Pudgy pale guy taking his clothes off would definitely NOT be a good time.
10:45 - Tommy Lee and Kid Rock fought?!? Now that would have been worth seeing!
10:46 - Someone save Jennifer Garner. Quickly.
10:47 - You've got to be freaking kidding me. Amy Winehouse is hands down the most creative, real thing to come out of the music industry in like years. I know she's a hot mess but she's still crazy talented.
10:48 - Miss Teen South Carolina!!! ha! Props to the girl for showing her face.
10:55 - Mary J. Someone with talent.
10:56 - Dr. Dre, even more talent. Maybe he can save this sinking ship.
10:59 - Great the song I don't really like beat out two songs that I loved. With that I think it's time to call it a night.

Thanks for nothing MTV. I thought after the Movie Awards this might be decent. I was wrong.

11:05 - JUST KIDDING! More JT. I'm still here. And I love Nelly.
11:06 - Now this is more like it. I really like the Vegas showgirl feather send up.
11:07 - Seriously, Timbaland is like RAMBO. I can't get over his massive arms.
11:08 - Justin!!! Hot. Hot. Hot. Love the disco ball. Watch him move.
11:10 - I love the three of them together. See now, these last five minutes have been awesome. Too bad the rest of it sucked.

Intolerance

D.W. Griffith's 1916 silent behemoth Intolerance was a response to criticism of his previous film Birth of a Nation and its racist overtones. Griffith set out to tell the story of "how hatred and intolerance, through all the ages, have battled against love and charity" through four different mini-plays: The "Modern" Story, The Judean Story, The French Story, and The Babylonian Story.

The sheer scale of Griffith's film-making is incredibly impressive. He basically built a full-scale city of Babylon on the corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard that is the inspiration for the gates of the new Hollywood Highland Center. You can also see the influence of this film in any epic battle scene from Lord of the Rings to Braveheart.

However, much like Birth of a Nation, his heavy-handed moral tone seems dated and ignorant, apparently audiences of the time agreed and Intolerance was a huge flop. Its historical importance might be that it was the first massive spending spree by a self-important director that turned into a tank at the box office (think Ishtar, Waterworld, Battlefield Earth). Either way I'm not really sure why Birth of a Nation was removed from the list and this was added.

Tubing at Harpers Ferry

Tubing at Harpers Ferry
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

After much cajoling and a successful bid on priceline.com, I convinced Nicholas to take a tubing trip down the Potomac as a last goodbye to summer. We set out on Saturday morning, after a quick trip to Target for water shoes (that's right I now officially own Crocs!), and arrived at Butt's Tubing - really that's the name - at around noon.

The shuttle bus driver dropped us up the Potomac, after dire warnings not to go past the green bridge if we wanted to be picked up because he "could not help us." We parked our butts in our butts tubes and started floating. The trip was really nice - flat and lazy in parts with just enough rapids to make it interesting. I even got tipped over once. However, the water was only about three feet deep so it was always easy to get back on course.

I was covered up in my standard all-day-in-the-water attire: long sleeved black t-shirt and black swim trunks. I still got a little red on the top of my knees but nothing too bad. Nicholas, however, applied Neutrogena spray sunblock that had lost some of its aerosol and kind of splattered all over. He ended up with a very weird splotchy sunburn.

Despite the sunburns, we had a really wonderful day floating down the river and can't wait to go again.

Dirty Dancing UK - Julia and James First Dance

Nicholas should wake up every morning and thank God I didn't think of this.

Air-adding

So, here's the thing. I like Mary Louise Parker. I liked her in Fried Green Tomatoes. I LOVED her on The West Wing and I watch Weeds religiously. She's smart. She's sexy. She's funny. You know what she's not? Voluptuous.

Mary Louise Parker is a skinny bitch. Nothing against skinny bitches - I've made friends with some recently and they're not that bad. And, in all fairness, she hasn't always been a skinny bitch. Remember when she thanked her newborn son for her bodacious breastfeeding boobs at the Golden Globe in 2004? But now? Now, she's a skinny bitch.

That's why I find the above picture so angering. It's one thing to airbrush out fat. But to add it back in! That's just not fair. If us normal size girls have anything, it's our curves. There's something to be said for a little extra padding. Marylin Monroe had padding. So does J-Lo and Beyonce. However, you take away a little of our pride, our specialness when you can just give Kate Moss a Queen Latifah makeover. Not cool.

Seriously, not cool.

Ah ha Moment

I have a friend at work. Let's call him Matt because that's his name. Matt and I spend a lot of time talking about relationships. In particular, I spend a lot of time trying to convince him it's not near as complicated as he's making it. Today he had a breakthrough:

"So, maybe girls aren't crazy. They just think differently."

God bless him, it only took him 24 years.

Labor Day Weekend
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

We had a fabulous weekend in Atlanta for the first annual Holland*Con. All the Holland siblings were there, along with Lynn's sister Pam and her son Josh and his family. Needless to say, it was a wild weekend. I got there on Thursday and hung out with the babies. We also made a Dairy Queen run where the above picture was taken.

On Friday we did some eating and some shopping. I had told my sister-in-law Jenn that for my last 10 trips to Atlanta I'd only eaten at The Varsity and Athens Pizza. She made it her personal mission to change that and I'd say she did a pretty dang good job. Over the course of weekend, I tried Taqueria Del Sol, Crescent Moon, Brick Store, and Canoe and engaged in some chocolate decadence at Fritti and The Chocolate Bar.

Nicholas arrived late Friday night and we awoke early on Friday morning for a trip to the new Georgia Aquarium. It was pretty amazing, although the babies largely lost interest after about 15 minutes. We had big family dinners on Saturday to celebrate Elizabeth's first birthday and Sunday night for the Holland*Con family portrait. A grand time was had by all, especially the kids who all ate more sugar, watched more TV, and stayed up later then they would have normally been allowed.

Of course, I have a little baby hangover - known better as a cold you get from the little petri dishes - but it was worth it. We had a great time with all the family and it was over way too soon.

POLL TIME!!!

I've got about 20 free downloads from that new emusic.com website and I'm sending out an APB for music suggestions.

Any CD that you couldn't stop listening to recently? A new artist that you're smitten with? Let me know in the comments!

Sullivan's Travels

Charming comedy about John L. Sullivan a successful comedic director ready to take more serious turn. When his bosses inform he's never experienced any suffering that could inform a more dramatic turn, he sets on the road as a hobo...hilarity ensues.

Overall, I thought the film was very cute and entertaining. I'm not sure if it is any better or worse then some of the comedies that got kicked off - African Queen comes to mind. Again, the mere fact that is remains cute and entertaining almost 70 years ago is a testament but I'm beginning to realize that the movie industry loves nothing more than a movie about itself and that might be the real secret to this movie's critical acclaim.

Tuesday: Barbefu

Tuesday: Barbefu
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Monday: Tacos

Monday: Tacos
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Saturday: scallops and spinach fettuccine with red bell pepper cream sauce
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

The past few weeks have been crazy so Nicholas and I really enjoyed our nice weekend. On Friday, we went on our first date night in several weeks. We had a great dinner at Palena Cafe and went to see The Nanny Diaries. Despite the mediocre reviews, I felt required to see it because I'd read the book. Unfortunately, the reviews were correct, although Laura Linney was really great.

We had our friends Chris and Alice over for dinner on Saturday night. Chris and I were Moot Court partners this year and we both brought our significant others to the competition in Colonial Williamsburg. Needless to say, hanging out together was the highlight of our trip. So, we had them over for a little post-bar dinner for scallops and spinach fettuccine with red bell pepper cream sauce (recipe linked). Nicholas really outdid himself with this one. However, Chris and Alice were most excited about being featured on the blog. So, everyone wave to Chris and Alice! ;)

Sunday was for shopping. We went to C-Mart to get Nicholas some new shoes. Then drove all the way to Potomac Mills so I could finally see Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line. I bought a couple of cute things and was pretty impressed overall. We also stopped by my friend Guinevere's house where she was having her own little clothing sale and I got some great new work clothes.

The reason we had a car to drive all over God's creation to go shopping was we rented one to go see the Indigo Girls at Wolf Trap last night. This is my sixth time seeing them (counting performances at marches and on the Hill) and they never disappoint. This was our first time sitting on the lawn at Wolf Trap and it was really nice. We were a little late and had to squeeze in between a couple of other people. Nicholas was cursing me under his breath for being late, but then my stellar luck kicked in and we got a big patch of lawn after people went to their actual seats at the beginning of the concert. :)

I can NOT stop listening to this song

Cat Power – The Greatest

!!!!

Holy Ginger, Batman!!!

Little Rock, AR
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Last week I traveled to Little Rock, AR, to work on the campaign's advance team. The team was preparing for the Senator's trip to Little Rock this past Monday. I was only a trainee, but it was a great experience. One I hope to replicate, which is why I won't be blogging in great detail about it. ;)

The best part of the trip was Mom and Mema drove down from Paducah to hang out in Little Rock with me over the weekend. We got VIP tours fo the Clinton Library and had birthday cake in celebration of the President's birthday, which was Sunday. We also went over to Central High School to learn about the desegregation battle there in the late 1950's. Pretty fascinating stuff I have to say. We had a great couple of days together and I'm so glad they were able to drive down.

What is the What

I just finished Dave Eggers's brilliant novel What is the What, based on the story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Valentino Achak Deng. While the book came highly recommended from Nicholas and my good friend Dylan, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to connect to the story and might not finish it. I looked only at the surface and thought I could not relate to the story of an African male escaping genocide. This was not the only preconceived notion this book blew right open.

Now, after finishing the book, I've realized I was more afraid of connecting with the book then anything else. It is not an easy story to hear - the murder, the deprivation, the invisibility - and I think on some level I was really scared to hear it, scared of feeling helpless in the face of it. However, Eggers did a really brilliant thing by beginning the book with Valentino already in America. While his problems don't disappear once he's on American soil, as becomes abundantly clear in the first couple of pages, on some level you know he survived - you know he made it out of Sudan.

Of course, another perception the book destroyed is that escaping Sudan was the only goal for most refugees. Whatever the circumstance, home is home and it holds a powerful pull for all the characters in the book. The book not only shifted my perception of Sudan but also my perception of the refugee camps so many Sundanese live in to this day. The book makes clear that these are not temporary camps but permanent settlements where people live out their lives. It's not surprising I suppose but distressing all the same.

The book not only shifted my perceptions of the places in a refugees life but the refugees themselves. Either because of my own prejudices or what I believe would be my own reaction to the situation - I expected the Sundanese refugees, including Valentino, to be more than willing to ask for and accept help and aid where ever they could. But, of course, this was not the case. Just like any other group of people - some were embarrassed to ask for help, while others were willing to exploit it.

I suppose this was the ultimate lesson of the book. By telling Valentino's story with such honesty Eggers does an excellent job of illustrating that, despite everything, the Lost Boys are just human beings. Human beings put through an extraordinary situation - some survived, some didn't, some thrived, some didn't. But at the end of the day, they are just like us and we have a larger connection then I expected.

WHAT THEN!?!?!

Much better...

Thanks to all of you who reached out to me after my down in the dumps "Confession" posting a week ago. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have such an incredible support group of people who love me so unconditionally. It felt so good to hear your words of encouragement and, not surprisingly, your reassurances that things would eventually change were true. Almost a week after I wrote that post a really exciting opportunity opened up at the campaign and I am currently out on the road. I promise to post all of the details when I get home on Tuesday. :)

Mindblowing

Every time you think this administration can't possibly be more ridiculous...

The Return

It is so WRONG how much joy I get from The Hills. I mean this show is just too wonderful. Their clothes, their jobs, their apartments. Yet, beyond all that, the same struggles we all face. Career insecurity, psychopath boyfriends, cat fights! I mean MTV has really raised the editing hear to an art form.

But what I love the most are the little pearls of wisdom that manage to escape their mouths. Lauren - "I think every girl wants to be that girl - the girl he changes for."

Whew! - truer words were never said.