Oops, I Did it Again…

Dear MGF Faithful,

Go ahead…call me crazy. Call me nuts. Call me certifiable. What other labels can you brand on a woman who has decided to expand her little piece internet real estate to A BRAND NEW BLOG? Yes, you read that right. A new branch on the MGF tree! Tonight is the first post of The Modern Girl Friday Travels.

Why the new blog? Well, as any writer at heart knows, we’re always in search of new dragons to slay. In my case, I started to vent out what was in my twisted little mind. While I still love writing for our little original MGF Blog, the last few months has thrown me for a loop creatively. Worried that the well had run dry, I started hunting for the next dragon. It was actually on our recent vacation to Toronto that Lenny threw out the idea for a travel blog. The kernel has been growing and I finally found the time to get rolling.

What does this mean for this blog? All it means is that it now has a little sister. I (and hopefully some of my contributors) will be splitting time between this The Modern Girl Friday and The Modern Girl Friday Travels. I’m far too attached to our brand of sarcasm, gossip, and fun to give it up! Personally, I’ll post when I can on either blog.

And what exactly is the purpose of MGF Travels? Simple: To inform, suggest, and provide information. While I can’t claim to be a jet-setter who has been to exotic locales, I love me some travel! Thanks to business trips and my own leisure trips, I feel I have information to share in making things easier in this day and age of DYI Vacations.

MGF Travel isn’t like Fodors or Frommers. We don’t get freebies to go places (…yet. But you never know what the future brings, right?), so we’ll write about the places we can go to. We won’t be able to give you the 360-degree view of our destinations, along with list up list of where to shop and eat. But I think it will do something far more important. We’ll give you the view regular travelers like yourself want to hear. A majority of us don’t have the time to see EVERYTHING…so hopefully we can tell you about what we did have time to explore.

MGF Travel is the personal experience of its contributors in the places they want to visit. It’s the tips we personally use to get through vacations and business trips. Its information YOU want all in one place.

So – tonight, we start off with a little how to. And in the coming week, we explore our first destination, Toronto, Canada.

Hope you’re all in for the ride!

- Lily

Putin Adds New Twist to "Arms" Race

"Vould you vant tickets to my gun show?"

Photo credit: Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service, RIA-Novosti/AP

In what the Russian press roundly considers a bit of a “shock,” Russia’s head man, President Vladimir Putin was shown in a series of photos spending some time without a shirt on during his vacation in the Siberian mountains last week. The rustle of gossip and conjecture involved in seeing the “Russian Bare” is making the Russian media ask: What is he trying to say?

Gay activists say that the married (and very straight) president is saying he wishes to see a more enlightened view of homosexuality in his country. The talking heads guess he’s telling his competitors that he’s not ready to step down as an important figure in Russia’s political landscape. Women in his country are saying, “WOW…not bad at all for a 54-year old!” Some news commentators have said the photos are indecent. Others say he may have lost his mind.

I think I have a simpler answer: The man was on vacation.

Look, I understand that as a world political leader you are under a certain kind of public magnifying glass. And yeah, I know that very little of their moves AREN’T planned (I watched The West Wing, you know). But seriously…the man is out in the mountains doing what he likes to do! Putin is a DUDE. He’s into judo and has a military background. He’s the anti-Yeltsin. His face gets red because he’s gone running, not because of a massive vodka bender.

I guess it just goes to show that we live in a society that loves the drama. For the world and Russian press to be going gah-gah and ascribing absurd theories as to WHY this is happening really cracks me up! If he decided to strip down during a parliamentary discussion, THAT should makes news! But during his personal free time? C’mon guys…give the man a break.

Instead of pooh-poohing the incident as a flexing of political muscle, I applaud Putin for being upfront and showing us his accessible side. If anything, the incident gives his people the sense that he is like one of them and is trying to close the gap between power and the people. And by my untrained eye, he looks good while doing it. Well, look at that picture. He’s not a spring chicken…but DANG! Can you imagine Cheney or Bush pulling off the topless look?

Never mind. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth at the thought.

BrownSuga's Sweet Spot: You're the One that I want...

Dear Oblivious Person,


I have to wonder, what is it that is on your mind? And why is it that whatever is taking over your thoughts, prevent you from noticing your surroundings. Are you going through a break-up? Do you think your spouse is banging the neighbor? Did you kid get cut from the school team? Did you forget to take something out for dinner?

Maybe your music is too loud and you can’t think straight…

But whatever the reason, as someone who is stuck in the mess you’ve created, I’m asking you to get your head outta your @$$ and DRIVE.

You are creating traffic jams. And I know when you look ahead of you the road is clear and when you glance over at the cutie in the car next to yours, they’re driving right next to you without a care in the world, but take a glance behind you.

There are hundreds of us back there frustrated that at least ONE of you won’t drive faster. Some of us have been on the road for more than an hour and all we want to do is get home to our families.

Have you ever considered becoming a passenger carpooler? Not only would that get you off the road but you’d be helping the earth as well.

I know there are laws that you think you’re following but lets compare the two options:

1. You speed and maybe once in a blue moon get stopped by the police and receive a ticket
OR
2. Continue driving the way you’ve been driving and let all of us commuters behind you get your tag , track you down and really show you what it’s like to mess with a New York Commuter.

The choice is yours. But as a concerned and caring commuter, I’d suggest option number 1.



Signed,
A tired commuter

I'm Easily Amused...So Sue Me

I have been delightfully entertained the last few days. Felt I needed to share…go and have a few laughs on me!



Superbad (Sony Pictures, Rated R) – Is there anything Judd Apatow & Co. can’t make hilarious? This summer, Apatow had already scored early in the summer with the Seth Rogen driven Knocked Up. At the end of the summer he came back as a producer to the All-American Teenage Hormone Romp that is Superbad. The story is simple: Two buddies spend the night trying to get the girls by providing the alcohol while coming to terms with the fact they are moving in separate directions. Michael Cerna, of Arrested Development fame plays Evan – the awkward but loveable straight man to Jonah Hill’s blustery and blunt Seth. Some people might argue that Superbad is full of low brow and juvenile humor – but they’d be denying their own human roots. The School of Comedy According to Apatow pays homage to the risky business of being a teenager – but he crafts a set of characters that will find you saying, “I know that guy…I WAS that guy!” One of my movie-going buddies said as we exited the theatre, “That was horrifyingly familiar and true to life!” While Cerna and Hill’s best friends are the centerpiece of the film, newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse steals a good chunk of the show as the squeaky and oblivious to his nerdiness Fogell, a.k.a. McLovin (“Sounds like a sexy hamburger,” quotes the trailer). For those of you who don’t like your comedy blunt, crude, and awkward…don’t watch this movie. Some of the best bits come in this formula. Especially hilarious is a tête-à-tête of manly emotional expression between Seth and Evan. But seriously, I couldn’t tell you exactly what the funniest part of the movie was. Every 3-5 minutes, something more hilarious and even more daring would come along! This is arguable the funniest movie of the summer and perhaps more true to life than the original American Pie. So if you’re like your comedy raw, nostalgic, and real – this is the movie to see!


Feasting on Asphalt (Food Network, Saturday nights, check local listings) – See Alton Brown ride. See Alton Brown travel. See Alton Brown eat a “Koolickle.” WHAT exactly is a Koolickle and WHERE does one get this thing? Well, that’s exactly what knowledgeable Brown and his band of merry motorists have set out to do in Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run. Last summer, Alton hopped on his motorcycle and ventured the U.S. from coast to coast in search of America’s best roadside food. This year, he and the crew take the south to north route by following the mighty Mississippi River. Part travelogue and part food history – Alton declares at the beginning of each episode that they are in search of the food we love and discovers that “…no matter what sophisticated urban chefs create, deep down what we really crave is what the diner, café, and the truck stop can offer.” What I really love about this show is Alton’s attention to the stories behind the regional food he encounters. The audience discovers that home cooking is alive and kicking; while Alton learns that secret recipes are exactly what they are. The best part is that he not only highlights the great eats he finds – but the people behind the food as well. In the first three episodes, he’s delved into the roots of southern cooking and discovered the fruits of the road via Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I’m not sure how much better it can get than forcing an intern into a sausage costume and making him dance on the side of the road…but I never doubt Alton Brown can get the job done.


Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding (CMT, Friday nights, check local listings) – Murray, known as the King of the Cowboys, will embark on a 10-day crash course on bull riding with 9 “celebrities” riding along the last of their 15-minutes of fame. Some of the names on the challenge include, Rob “I’m Not Just Vanilla Ice” Van Winkle, Rahib “Rocket” Ismail, and former team heartthrob, Leif Garrison. Okay, I admit this: When I got sucked into this late one night…I thought to myself, “Why am I watching this?” I mean, I’m not bull riding expert. What I know is from the limited knowledge I gained from a cowboy roommate when I first moved to Arizona. So I knew who Ty Murray was…just had no interest further than that. It’s bull riding for Pete’s sake! But the four minute intro to the show was pretty much all I needed to reconsider keeping tabs on Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge. Think about it: These guys are going to attempt to ride multi-ton beast. There is a possibility that Vanilla Ice might be CRUSHED by this animal.

What other excuse do you need to watch?

Who Says Generations Can't Meet in the Middle?

If you don't know...I've developed an obsession lately with video's that use Unk's ubiquitos rap hit "Walk it Out." In fact, my favorite, featuring those loveable penguins from the movie Happy Feet was featured on MGF Blog.

Well, it was my former favorite.

What happens when you combine the choreography of Fosse, the legginess of Verdon, and the beatastic rap that is Unk?

I don't know the true answer...but I almost peed my pants when I saw this:



You are welcome...

I Don’t Want to Grow Up (Some Days)

“I wish it were November again…I want to draw hand turkeys.”

The table went into a small, stunned silence. My boss looked up from her cup of coffee and was apparently the only one together enough in the head to respond.

“What? Are you serious?”

I shrugged my shoulders and poked at my cottage cheese, “Why not? It was fun and I drew that mountain landscape with the crayons during the rest of the meeting…” I caught a confused look out of the corner of my eye. I turned fully to the rest of the table.

“WHAT?! It was fun!” I pointed to my boss defensively, “There’s nothing wrong with liking to play with crayons!”

A very quick visual inventory of my 4 breakfast companions/teammates sent the message: Uh…you’re a dork, Lily. You would have thought that I had told them I like to wear sailor suits and knee socks in my off hours. The message was loud and clear to me this morning – it is odd for adults to enjoy regressing into juvenile things like drawing hand turkeys these days.

I think that’s the stupidest notion to ever hit the pavement.

Everyone around me (mostly parents of children I coach and friends who are now having their own kids) that being a child is hard. You have peer pressure, bullying, the need to belong, etc. And yes, I think our kids today are more sensitive (*cough cough* wusses…*cough cough*) and require more emotional coddling than I remember my parents giving to me. However, in the midst of all this great concern for kids in the world – we lose sight of something that is equally (if not more) important.

BEING AN ADULT IS TWICE AS HARD!

Whether you want to admit it or not – we have the same problems as kids with peer pressure, bullying, and the need to belong. But now add all those wonderful adult “responsibilities.” We have jobs and deadlines. We wonder if we’re going to spend the rest of our lives alone. If we’re not alone – we wonder if we’ll make it through our lives without killing our significant other/spouse. Some of us wonder where we’ll be living from month to month, others are far worse off wonder where their next meal is coming from. Taxes, declining health, war, politics, and not to mention taking care of the ones you love!

With all this on our minds – it makes childhood and its activities look very inviting. A massage once a month is nice…but do you remember the relaxing satisfaction of really good and messy finger painting session? Laying back next to the pool is great, but don’t you long for the exhilaration of a HUGE cannonball?

I’m not the only one who likes their kiddie time. Once, I was traveling to London on a week long business trip. One of my colleagues came with me. As the plane settled into cruising, she pulled out colored pencils and a coloring book. She told me it helped clear her head to concentrate staying in the lines! One of my college guy friends had Play-Doh that he rolled in his hands during final exams. Deep in the depths of my closet, there’s a big bucket of Legos I haul out when I just want to build something! I never deny Lenny his video gaming time – nothing like a little bonding over a game of Tetris to keep a marriage going.

While my work colleagues would beg to differ, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with shutting the “adult” in us off every once in awhile. In fact, I think we should nurture the kid in us. Maybe we would learn to relax a little more and let less of the stupid crap bother us. Perhaps if the girls at work broke out the crayons more often – we’d be less grumpy about projects gone awry.

Hmm…maybe I should recommend macaroni mosaics next week?

But seriously…if you keep the inner child in your locked up, maybe you should let them out to stretch? Instead of screaming and ranting you’re not happy – why don’t you make yourself happy and play an old school board game (Hungry Hungry Hippos, anyone?). Break out a deck of cards, not for Texas Hold ‘Em, but a good old game of War or Speed. Lick the spoon. Make a mud pie. In the extreme…organize a game of tag or even take a milk and cookie break! You might find yourself feeling a whole lot better if you let yourself regress a little.

The adult in you will be there when you get back, I promise.

BrownSuga's Sweet Spot: Do You Believe In Magic

Ok so I’ve waited as long as humanly possible and I don’t want to wait anymore. If you don’t already know everything well, it’s not my fault. And in fact I probably won’t even tell anything you don’t already know just from being alive during the month of July in the year of 2007. So I’ll start with the less liked of the two, in my book….

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix the movie – What hurts the most about this movie is that it was my favorite book and I knew that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Of course I read the hundreds of comments/reviews from those who keep spouting the “But it’s a movie, editing for the largest of the series was absolutely necessary.” And that is the reason I wasn’t excited about seeing the movie. After all the addicted movie goers had their chance to see the movie, I began to read reviews about the movie, how it was the best of all five, how the new characters of Umbridge and Luna were wonderful additions to the series so I got a bit more excited. And then I was disappointed again. I will agree that the character of Dolores Umbridge was just psychotic enough to be a great asset to the franchise but I wasn’t impressed with the way Luna Lovegood was played. This is nothing bad against the actress who played her but really the direction the movie was taken. My imagination created Luna differently, not so wispy but more in her own world without seeming like a flake. And until they replace the man who plays Dumbledore now, I’ll never really enjoy any scene he is in. The worse part of the movie was the horrible way the scenes were thrown together. It felt so blotchy and separated. There was absolutely no flow or storyline. I’ve always known that I prefer books to movies and this is just more proof of that. I enjoy taking an author’s words and creating my own “movie” in my head and I hope that never changes…

So now….

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- The last installment of the Harry Potter series was highly anticipated. I was at my (new) local Borders at midnight and I was a proud owner of the final book by 12:15am. Unlike all the previous books that had a midnight release, I did not immediately start reading the book. I think I was a bit sad about it being the last book. There wouldn’t be anymore adventures at Hogwarts, no more wonderfully colorful characters like Dobby or Moaning Myrtle. JK Rowling did not let me down. Although there were deaths that I didn’t like or want to understand, I wouldn’t have wanted anything changed. The Deathly Hallows brought us a host of new adventures. The best part for me was the chance to change how I felt by characters that I’ve been reading about since book one. I, like Ron, became a sympathetic supporter of S.P.E.W. And I cried like a baby…at least the first time I read it. With book 6 I cried for maybe the first 5 times I read that infamous scene in the tower and following scene out by the lake (a few times I just refused to read it). Because this series was originally intended for a young adult audience the inclusion of an epilogue seemed fitting. And the kid in me appreciated it.

Unlike many other fans of the Harry Potter series, I am simply a fan of the books. I appreciate and respect the attempt at the movies but since the death of Richard Harris or as I like to call him, the real Dumbledore I’ve been sorely disappointed.

Sanitized for Your Convenience

Flipping through this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, I came across the following tidbit:

Disney Kicks the Habit
"On July 25, Disney CEO Robert Iger said he expects smoking will soon be 'nonexistent' in the company's Disney-branded (read: family) films. In May, the MPAA said it would consider onscreen smoking when determining film ratings, and Disney joins Universal in stamping out cigarettes publicly."

Normally, I would just gloss over this kind of stuff. IT’S DISNEY! However, I was shocked that a larger studio like Universal was the first to do so. And had I not just finally seen Kirby Dick's eye-opening documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated, I probably wouldn't have been quite as disturbed. But knowing that Universal is considering changes because the MPAA wants films to clean up their act makes me laugh.

Really Universal, are that you worried about smoking? You are the same company that put out the teenage sex romp that is the American Pie series, revamped the grisly Dawn of the Dead, and struck gold with the mobtastic Casino, right?

This latest small-scale salvo in the death match that is public decency versus the right to create makes me wonder what the MPAA is trying to do. How can smoking a cigar become the tipping point in a delicate moral balance? How is the graphic glorification of the 1970’s porn industry in Boogie Nights fit into the R-Rating, but Maria Bello enjoying an orgasm in a committed relationship while showing the very top of her pubic hair for a few seconds in The Cooler garners it an NC-17?

The purpose of the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system is to provide parents with advance information so they can decide for themselves which films are appropriate for viewing by their own children. They rate movies on factors such as violence, nudity, sex, and drug use. By this definition (stated on their own website), the MPAA rating serves as a buyer beware warning to those who might view/share the movie experience.

In the ratings process, filmmakers submit their work to a (formerly) faceless and nameless board and receive their ratings based on a flexible set of standards. They can appeal, if they’re slapped with an NC-17, but I think prisoner’s on Death Row get a better appeals process. There is no oversight from the industry and there are no hard standards that they have to follow and are allowed to get away with vague comments. The MPAA does what they will do.

You know…I think the Germans had something like this going in the 30’s and 40’s, no?

MPAA Ratings supporters state that they are justified in making filmmakers edit what they feel is inappropriate for others. But my question is: Why are you taking the ability to choose away from the consuming public? How come we aren’t smart enough to use the rating system ourselves and you feel the need to control what’s being put out there? It’s not like you guys have a great record of consistency!

Take for example the genre known as "torture porn". Movies such as Saw and Hostel glorify serial killers as antiheroes and sadomasochism like an addiction. I hate these movies and think they’re horrible. I think this violence is more destructive than most kind of sexual depiction that occurs in film today. But if Eli Roth gets his kicks and makes his paycheck off of it, fine! But I get a choice. I CHOOSE to not watch it. It's the best way to make an impact. Too bad too many of us act like lemmings, which gives the MPAA all it's power.

I’m all for making sure we protect our children from harmful images in the media. But for one, I don’t need a bunch of people who don’t even represent the demographic they’re trying to protect telling me what I should watch. Secondly – I don’t want a morals squad out there repressing creativity. A few more steps up and we’ll have a movie Taliban going.

And finally – if you’re going to knight yourself the protectorate – get your priorities in order. While activities such as smoking aren’t for the under-aged set and harmful to their health, the emphasis on violence (even the casual cartoon kind) and the glamorization of excess need to be address.

What good will anti-smoking be if we destroy the world before that?

Can't Really Beat That...

In keeping with the curse of never being able to come home from a vacation on the flights we ORIGINALLY scheduled…Lenny and I found ourselves killing some time at DFW International in Dallas, Texas. Because they make everything big in Texas, we took a couple loops around the fancy train that drops off travelers at the different gating areas.

As we finally disembarked for the A-Gates, we meandered past the standard airport food and shopping fair.

Starbucks at the bottom of the escalator…Fast food court one hundred paces after that...Cheesy city-you’re-in themed gift shop crowded with husbands/significant others paying out the nose because they forgot to buy their woman a gift…iPod based vending machine…Overpriced sit down restaurant/wine bar…

…wait a stitch…IPOD VENDING MACHINE?!

If we didn't see it with our own eyes...we wouldn't have believed it either!

We travel to another country, drive in it, and get through the entire trip without getting in a fight...but THIS…

This was the biggest news of our vacation!

You really can't top it...can you?