Words Like Birdshot... Something's Gotta Hit

Team Window Decals

2010-04-30T14:53:00.001-07:00

You'll have to arch your neck a little but holy shit... I was mid-sentence with my VP in her office and looked out her window and exclaimed,

"Is that MARIO?!?!"

It is! And he's firing a fireball across the Wrigley building at an unsuspecting Goomba mushroom. Aaaahhhhh I love it!!

Well done, Wrigley employees, I hope one day I can apply window decals for your benefit. Mario Kart mayhap?

Team Principle of Proximity (???)

2010-02-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

I'm just going to let this all speak for itself... you may all be acquainted with my dear linguistic friend B Ko (i.e. Bryan Koronko-whatever, i.e. loverrrr)... welp, here we go...

B-Ko: how would you define 'blarg'?

me: Like blah and arg at the same time
I'm bored and mildly irritated = blarg

B-Ko: nice
i said, it's like 'ugh' but less despondant
but i like yours

me: Yeah for sure but ugh is more "Ok I'm irritated"
blarg adds the "meh" to it all

B-Ko: right

me: Ha, can we document this somehow?
what language are we even speaking?

B-Ko: i would say it's english
our dialect
the principle of proximity says the more time you spend interacting w/ someone the more your language converges
it's linguistic fact!
that's why we talk alike
'stupid', et al.

me: hahaha welp... this just got REAL scientific
I might blog about it... I'm just giving you a heads up RIGHT now

AAAAAND scene.... there you have it, you learn something new every day... from your friend who is a linguistics TA... free education, y'all!! ;)

Team Lysacek (subtext, EW reports sports... who knew?)

2010-02-19T14:41:00.001-08:00

I mean you saw this coming, didn't you? The second Plushenko skated his well-played villain butt of the ice, I knew (read: crossed my fingers to the point of bloodloss) what it all was boiling down to. And I feel like the following facial expressions say it ALL...

GLORIOUS, is it not? Sorry Plushenko, why don't you go buy another fast car to drive around Russia so you can experience the thrill of the gold medal that you just DIDN'T win... mah ahahhaha!! Although... you did a great job of being the Russian villain that I loved to hate so... thanks. :)

I could write down every feeling I had during the broadcast but Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly is clearly my long lost soulmate and summed it up for me here for the short-program and for last night's excitement, she did a beautiful job with this. (The articles also contain links to the videos of the performances, in case you missed them... reason #1,687,934 that I love EW).

Also Johnny Weir was robbed of the bronze but I won't go into that TOO much cause I've already unleashed the evil laugh with Plushenko up there... one time usage, everyone, but trust, Weir's near-flawless performance should've gotten a LOT higher than 6th place.

So link it up and enjoy and until the next round, let's hope that this facial expression lasts with all of us and also as a "wha whaaaaa" to our disappointed comrade up there. Good luck in 2014, sir, and hooraaaaayyyy Team Evan! :)

Team Olympic Mens Figure Skating

2010-02-17T14:50:00.001-08:00

I'd say this is pretty self-explanatory but mostly just an excuse for me to compile all of the amazingly spandex-and-glittery costumes from last night's short program into one place. Let's begin, shall we?

First of all... MAD props to our Italian farmer friend who went opposite of the glitz and glitter of his competitors and went... dirty... I can only imagine the face Johnny Weir gave this guy backstage... but I don't care, Johnny, I love it... ** not shown is the square singular patch of plaid that was on his butt pocket that I'd say really pulled the whole look together...

Next up is my double-take of the evening... his music choice (the mountain monster song from Fantasia... you know what I mean...) was approps but sir... try to keep your skeletons in the closet and not bedazzled onto your costume. Although he's from Belgium and probably (judging from the neck-up) good looking so... hat's off to you for really exposing yourself. (mah mah maaaaah)

Opposite time!! American Jeremy Abbott looked great (and like a dude in comparison) but didn't skate so well... and Evgeni Plushenko looked like a Russian James Bond villain but skated to gold position after a three year break... and has the 'tude to show for it.

And here's Johnny Weir... ::sigh:: cool it, bud, Elton John thinks your juuuust a little too gay and Adam Lambert wants his lace up corset back... ;) kisses.

And FINALLY (until Long Program on Thursday at least) is our dear fellow Illinois-an, Evan Lysacek. Who may have looked like a bedazzled crow on ice, but was SO endearing in his tearful reaction to his Silver placement and also looks like this when not greased and glittered. So well done, sir, I'm on your team too.

Phew!! That's good for now, right? Right. Mostly I want to know what catalog these costumes come from... if there is one... which clearly I hope there is. Until next time (or Long Program... here's hoping they deliver as much aesthetic bedazzlement), go Team Olympic Mens Figure Skating (costumes)!!

Team She didn't lip-synch, ok?!?

2010-02-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is a little late, I know, and mostly for my wee sister who tried to battle with me on this the other night... but if homegirl was lip-synching... (which she WASN'T... P!nk don't play that game), I'm still REAL impressed.

Check it out for those of you who haven't seen her Grammy performance yet, but it's beYOND words. Also makes me want to join Cirque du Soleil and also maybe run around in duct tape... but for now I'll just enjoy her LIVE singing, even soaked to the bone and spinning above Lady Gaga's dangerously pointy headpiece... and Beyonce... enjoy. :)

Team Colin Firth

2010-02-02T11:37:00.000-08:00

I wondered for a while if my devotion was wavering... when I saw a poster with Amanda Bynes's face and my beloved Mr. Darcy staring back, I thought to myself... is this how we end, Colin?

NOPE!

Whilst I spent most of our relationship just equating him to Mr. Darcy or the Bridget Jones reincarnation of Mark Darcy, I always had a fondness for his ability to capture awkward mumbling but charming Brit. A skill that Hugh Grant has tried but not accomplished so gracefully as Colin. (Sidenote: Hugh Grant redeemed himself too cause he plays a ROCKING a-hole... also see: Bridget Jones's Diary).

Anywho, the turning point? A Single Man. I had heard from critics and friends alike that it was a must-see and I was intrigued by designer Tom Ford's directorial debut. Mostly I just knew him from this Vanity Fair cover. Not anymore, kids.

The movie was beautifully shot (as you would assume from a designer, someone who thrives lit'rally on aesthetics) but he also played with the color scheme to match the main character, George's, moods and took great care in making a sad story something that left me feeling SO great about the whole experience. What could've left me depressed instead made my love for cinema rejuved.

That may seem melodramatic but last thing I saw was Nine so... anything could've been good after that but this tipped the scales into phenomenal.

Welp, now it seems like this is a love note to the movie (which I guess it is) but the point is Colin Firth rocked his part. I'm sure it was a challenging role to play but he handled it with the grace and talent I remember from his BBC Pride & Prejudice days. So GO see it and wear a Team Colin Firth shirt with me on Oscar night... cause I mean... who wouldn't....

Team Hipster

2010-01-29T12:49:00.000-08:00

So I'm pretty vocal about certain things that are near and dear to my heart. Whilst I'm typically vocal about how wannabe hipster I am, I vocalize the same drag-my-feet attitude about my dislike of traveling all the way to the hipster mecca, Wicker Park. Which is ironically hipster of me... huh, twist.

Anywho, what I've found I'm doing recently is just bringing the hipster to me. First with B Ko's move to LP (maybe not my doing but noteworthy nonetheless), then the subsequent skinny jean and plaid shirt purchasing and now with my new Stache necklace... behold...Glorious, no? I think so. Finally I've found my Reader is backing my Team Hipster stance since my new favorite thing is this blog. Like Far Side meets Wicker Park meets ridiculously modern architecture / household furnishings. Love it. So... despite my Trixie locale? I'm gonna be honest... Team Hipster all the way, y'all!

My movie collection and wardrobe... one in the same..

2009-11-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me last night that I have a pattern when I'm buying clothes... if it reminds me of any of my favorite movies or TV shows, I'm exponentially more likely to buy it. Big rings to emulate Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, sunglasses to channel Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's... ribbon in my hair to just try and BE Zooey Deschanel, the list is endless. Last night's purchasing spree was especially outstanding though, as it makes zero sense why I would want to copy these DUDE trademark clothes... but I have... and allow me to show you...

My new Henley rocks my planet. Please direct your attention to the red and grey combo... I know B Ko will as it's officially advertised as 'unisex' and whilst I had my own random inspiration for buying this shirt (Hi, Dexter) they show it on John Cho in Harold & Kumar. SO much going on.

My second item was a rocking blazer that sent me right back to the days of John Cusack holding a boombox over his head blaring "In Your Eyes". ::sigh:: You all know how much I love the bejeesus out of that movie so when a female version of the trenchcoat presented itself, how could I resist?

So turns out I'm a sucker for pop culture (shocked? didn't think so) but also I'm an equal opportunity fashion emulator... man, woman, serial killer, fairy tale witch, I will pick and choose from each of your wardrobes to make my own. And as long as Dexter doesn't hold a grudge against girls who copy his killing attire, I think I'm in good shape!

... wait... what?

BACK and with a facelift...

2009-11-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

6 months later, here we are again... and WAY prettier, no? We can all (mostly me) thank B Ko for this rocking new template. Purple? Yes. Paisley? Love it. Graphic with an ACTUAL bird getting shot? PERF. He's a master, no denying it.

So let's see if I actually update as often as I want to now. Since I'm drawn mostly by aesthetically pleasing things, this new look bodes well for more frequent updates. Phew! Look out for lots over the next few days especially since my office is a ghost town and I don't have the proper heat-sensing / night-vision technology to just try and lure the spirits out from their corners.

Although the lights did mysteriously turn off on me in the bathroom today... which was both awkward and terrifying but I survived... take THAT, ghosts. I will NOT be the new girl at work who comes running out of the bathroom in her skivvies. That was SO seventh grade gym class.

Ok, get excited! I'll be back with more... and pat B Ko on the back, would ya? ;)

Road Tripping and the consequences therein... a PSA from the road

2009-05-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

At this moment, I've been in a car for nearly 12 hours. Loopy set in at abooout hour 8... Or that was just the punch of the 5 hour energy. Did you know you're really only supposed to drink half at a time? Twas news to me... News that I chose to ignore... Obvs.

Luckily, these many hours have been filled with entertainment provided by my sister and co-captian of this here ship, Hillary. Others have included music, reading Twilight out loud (I know, right?), aaaand updating gchat like a fool. Web-enabled phones are like... The cat's meow.

It's also way dangerous. Once K So copied and sent them to me, I realized there might be horribly wrong here... Or so horribly right... You decide:

Courtney's new status message - Three pig trucks and counting. I think Illinois is safe from swine flu now. Citizens rejoice! 9:41 AM Courtney's new status message - Iowa, silos and smokestacks, oh my! 9:54 AM Courtney's new status message - The wise words of Iowa-bound Hill: "are we in Indiana yet?"... "The speed limit should be higher in Idaho"... I-states are hard. 10:00 AM Courtney's new status message - Was just passed by what had to have been an iron tentacle on the back of a truck. Are oversized metallic octopi native to Iowa? 10:36 AM Courtney's new status message - I can hear Shawn Johnson's taco pop from here... Ew wait... I mean HI Des Moines! 11:01 AM Courtney's new status message - Court is driving. Hillary is awesome. Duh. 12:54 PM Courtney's new status message - Mile marker 54. Iowa. Holla. 1:49 PM Courtney's new status message - We have resorted to reading twilight out loud... In nebraska... 3:06 PM

So kids? Just be safe on the road. You never know what kind of Iowan octopi or Olympian taco you could encounter. The more you know.

PS- are you happy now B Ko? ;)

The Curious Case of the return of Courtney Carter

2009-04-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

These are crazy times, y'all. The economy blows, the weather is getting warmer (ish??) and there's sunshine involved now... and I find myself reverting to a 15 year old. I think it's been happening over an extended period of time (Hello, "totes"? Acronyms? I'm talking to you.) But what really shot me into the realm of tweenerdom was Twilight (thanks a lot, Kasey)... and my actual interest in this season of American Idol (I'm looking at you, Jason).

I'm a little late on both of these trends, I'll admit it. But when you spend a full weekend in the company of ACTUAL suburban teens and then come running back to real adult-life only to find yourself obsessing over the likes of Edward Cullen and Kris Allen, it's a shock, let me tell ya.

But they're both so dreamy! Edward's all brooding and mysterious and like... vampires are hot kind of... and you just want to tuck little Kris Allen into the back pocket of your Forever 21 jeans and take him out so he can grin lop-sidedly at you and you'll have Taylor Swift play at the wedding and like..... whoa.... I blacked out for a minute. What was I saying?

Anyway, I made a playlist! Here you go... sorry for those of you minus an Imeem account, you should sign up and start rocking embarassing playlists of your own. Then send them to me, thanks. Win for everyone!

While we're on the subject, let's have a visual of our own real tweener years... grr... No Nick Carter involved, my original dreamboat but... enjoy...

Quasi cut the city mouse.

2009-04-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

Spring is coming (or so I hear). The gray is lifting, the sun is making an appearance here and there, seasonal depression meds are depleting... and animals are coming out from their hiding spots. Which is sweet in theory... but let's take a good hard look at our animal folk in this wondrous city.

I am reminded of the old story about the city mouse and the country mouse and how they didn't get along, blah blah blah, happy ending (I did about as much reading as a child as I do now). But I can't help but think that the wildlife I've seen around the city recently? Frightening... not your cute little city mouse with a monocle and suspenders... no no no.

Exhibit A:

(I've stated before my hatred of pigeons, no?) Sssssick. This vision of pigeon putrescence, as many of you may know, is Quasi (as in -modo... as in bell tower... as in fugly). The pigeon that I hope to God is dead by now but one that frequented my favorite hotspots around the Loop last summer. WHAT HAPPENED TO IT??

I remember seeing it attacking other prettier** pigeons and as a result, had nightmares for a week. It looks like it was punted (a dream of mine... to punt a pigeon), landed in a puddle of engine oil, climbed its way out leaving feathers and maybe an eye behind... and then made it's way (one-legged) to Chase Pavilion where it graced us with its oily presence. And then I saw it again a few days later when it slimed its way up to Wacker. I'm sure there was a trail.

Obviously this was a traumatic episode since over a year later, I'm still getting chills from it, let alone writing about it in a public forum. What brought this back to the forefront though? Why would I relive such a traumatic birdsight-ing experience? Who would do such a thing?

A city raccoon... didn't think they existed, did you? Welp, me neither... ::sigh::... but they sure do.

Mason and I were walking along Pine Grove the other day and saw the Great Dane of all Raccoons just hanging out, staring at us. We dubbed it Roxie. Once it made it's way back into the crack between the buildings from whence it came, I thought about what it must feed off of to be so big (the answer, I told myself, was rats.... and probably Quasi). Eeew, city animeals.

So whilst I might never understand the wildlife in the city, it is SO entertaining to give it a backstory. Someone needs to write a newer updated version of the city and country mouse but have someone cut a bitch... because honestly... both Quasi and Roxie are far more comfortable with a switch blade than a monocle.

** "prettier" is SO relative in this case. All pigeons are hideous (hence my intense desire to punt them) but in comparison, these things were Venus de Milo compared to poor Quasimodo. RIP, Quasi... or just... see you in a month or two.

You can't stay here anymore.

2009-03-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Winter... it is a BITCH... and she's that bitch that comes skipping in and is like "Oh hi! I'm pretty and you can warm up near the fire and drink hot chocolate and look! I brought you holidays! Aren't those fun?" and you're like "Yaaaay! I love this, it's so cozy and presents are involved!"

Then after about a month or two of that you're like... "Hey, ummm didn't you have somewhere else to be?" and Winter is like "Nope! I wasn't really planning on leaving until like... March... but I might stop back here and there in April too... you don't mind, do you?"

Well yes, Winter... I do mind. Greatly so. Get the hell out of my city and don't come back until I'm good and ready... or until November. Whichever comes first. You haven't given me presents in months, my skin is translucent now and this gray cloud cover is making me crazy.

I think a good dose of sun (and maybe a beach with an umbrella-decorated drink) would do me a WORLD of good right now...

My promise set in stone (or just.... blog) is that with new sun and warmer weather I will be a ... cheerier... more cheery... cheery-ier... whatever... person. :) Until then, I'm getting a sun lamp and putting umbrellas in red wine. Who's with me??

I just hate birds...

2009-03-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

That's a lie. I do hate pigeons but that's another post all together. I was told the title of the blog sounded like a hunter's forum so I thought I'd just get that out of the way.

Hello! And welcome to my blog (finally). For the three of you reading, I'm sure you know how much I adore movies. And you might also be wondering where the F this blog title came from, if it truly is not an homage to my love of pigeon hunting. Welp, let me tell ya. There's a little film that slipped under everyone's radar back in 1998 entitled "Music From Another Room". It has an uber cute Jude Law in it (before the smarmy and the nanny came into his life) and it captures my entire verbal habits in just one little quote...

"You say as few words as possible. It's very effective. Like a sharpshooter. I'm a bit more like a shotgun, you know? Scatter words like birdshot hoping something is gonna hit."

(Click on it!! ... go to 4:30 and carry on from there, it's much more charming when heard in a de-Law-cious British accent)

Point being, I love to talk... I love writing even more so here I am, entering the blogosphere. I plan on using this space to just kind of rattle about the things that are of interest to me and just as a nice break from work too. Let's face it. In this economy and at this job, I need a nice little distraction until the job market opens back up.

So keep an eye out for randomness, thoughtfulness, your usual dose of ridiculousness and Courtney-brand fun. I'm just gonna throw some words out there. Something's gonna hit. :)