Time To Wake Up

I know I haven’t posted in forever, I know I’ve been distracted and sidetracked and have, basically, ignored this blog for damn near two months now, but I haven’t entirely forgotten about it or you and to prove it, I’ve embedded the following video BECAUSE the moment I finished watching it, I wanted to share it with you.

Seriously, I fucking love this guy.  If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, make time for it, bitches, at least skip to the 9:00 minute mark and watch from there.  (Warning: the following clip contains a political conversation.)

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m ready for the revolution.  Let’s have it.

See you soon, dolls.

~Nikki

Intelligence Is The New “Little Black Dress”

I don’t know if you feel this way but there are few things sexier than a high IQ.  Well, a high IQ coupled with the ability to speak coherently, to express oneself with a relative amount of poise and grace.  Add to that a healthy dose of humor, and that’s what I call the jackpot.

Case in point is a celebrity I’ve never found particularly attractive but who recently demonstrated his intelligence by responding gracefully to the rudeness of a few talk show hosts.  I’m speaking of Russell Brand and if you don’t already know about this incident, don’t feel bad – neither did I until earlier today.  I’ll fill you in.  About a month ago, Brand was out promoting his new stand-up tour and interviewed with the folks on “Morning Joe” over at MSNBC.  Five minutes into the segment, the three hosts began talking about him as if he weren’t sitting at the table with them, referring to him in the third person and talking about his accent and his outfit rather than, you know, interviewing him about the tour he was there to promote.  They were obnoxiously rude and Brand rightly called them out on it.  And he did it with style, with humor and wit and a little commentary on the absurd topics that can be called “news” by the media.  He spoke intelligently, revealing to anyone listening his sharp wit and clever mind and for the first time ever, I found myself attracted to the man.

He spoke so well, I think he embarrassed and maybe even somewhat intimidated host Mika Brzezinski, who became so nervous she could barely form a sentence.  If you want to get right to the rude bit, skip to minute 5:00.  Otherwise, if you have 8:34 minutes to spare, I suggest watching from the beginning.

See… he looks kind of hot now, doesn’t he?  I said it before and I’ll say it again: there are few bigger turn-on’s than intelligence.

~Nikki

10 Funniest Women of The Past Decade

After reading IMDB’s list of the “Top 10 Funniest Actresses of the Past 10 Years,” I thought it was a joke.  The list definitely includes some women who belong on it, women like Tina Fey, Kristin Wiig, Amy Poehler, Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Anna Faris.  HOWEVER, Sandra Bullock?  Sure, she was cute in Miss Congeniality and The Proposal was all right but I certainly can think of several actresses who are funnier.  And Emma Stone in the no. 3 spot?  Emma Stone, funny?  She’s adorable and charming and beautiful and a truly talented actress, but she isn’t a comedienne.  And guess who got selected as the 2ND FUNNIEST WOMAN: Meryl Streep!  Yeah, you read that right.  Look, I love Meryl Streep.  LOVE her.  She’s amazing and exceptional in countless ways but she hasn’t exactly made a career out of comedic roles.

I wouldn’t care about Bullock, Streep and Stone making this list if there weren’t several comedic actresses who really do belong on it.  But there are.  So, I made my own list of women who should have been on that list and weren’t:

Mindy Kaling, The Office, The Mindy Project

Angela Kinsey, The Office

Maya Rudolph, SNL, Bridesmaids, Friends With Kids

Jenna Fischer, The Office, Blades of Glory

Sarah Chalke, Scrubs

Wendi McLendon-Covey, Reno 911!, Bridesmaids

Betty White, countless comedic roles over the past 60 years

I rest my case.

~N.

Can’t Get You Outta My Head

I don’t have much to say today except that I am increasingly distracted by the summer time weather and the knowledge that I have a beach vacation coming up soon.  Like, within weeks.  I take a vacation with family every year to some beach or other and I must confess that roughly 5 or 6 weeks beforehand, every single year, I turn into a teenager on the cusp of Spring Break – unable to concentrate, always daydreaming, completely apathetic to the demands of my daily life.  I just want to goooooo…

I’ve been all over the east coast, from Maine to Key West.  This year, I’ll hit two beaches.  Oh, you read that right – TWO different beaches!  First, Myrtle Beach for a few days and then on to Holden Beach (North Carolina) for a week.  I haven’t been to either before and am so exceedingly eager to see them, to feel their sand in my toes and swim in their warm, salty water, I can hardly stand it.  My regular old existence feels dreadfully boring with such a trip on the horizon.

Do I have a favorite east coast beach?  Hard to say.  If you’re looking for waves, Virginia Beach will do, plus it has a fantastic boardwalk full of shops, restaurants and bars.  If you want a slower pace, Topsail, NC is perfectly lovely.  I’d also recommend New Smyrna, FL.  Its sugary sand and warm water sure were hard to leave.  If you want something more tropical, the Keys are gorgeous.  In fact, I married my husband in Islamorada, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.  You won’t hear the waves crashing because the water is too calm, but the coral and tropical fish will dazzle you and the laid-back, relaxed lifestyle is too intoxicating to resist.

I’ve only ever seen one beach on the west coast – Steven’s beach outside of San Fransisco.  While stunning to behold, the water is too cold to swim without a wet suit. (And sadly, I didn’t have one.)  The beaches of Southern California are most certainly on my list, as is Hawaii.

As far as foreign seas, I have been to the Caribbean once.  Yes, the white sand and aqua blue water of Jamaica still calls my name.  Then, not really in the Caribbean but bordering on it, Cozumel, Mexico where snorkeling is a must.  A short boat ride from land sits a rather impressive reef home to countless tropical species.

Otherwise, the Mediterranean is high on my bucket list.  Experience tells me that pictures rarely capture the true beauty of a place and if that holds true in Greece, I cannot leave this earth without seeing it first hand.

I like to visit a new place every year, which means I’m entirely open to suggestions.  So, tell me: which is your favorite beach?

~N.