This used to be my favorite fashion magazine. That’s right, it *used* to be.

It’s really changed a lot when the new editor took over (Joanna Coles). The design is awful, some sections are almost ineligible.It also feels like they’re trying too hard to be like Vogue or Bazaar. If I wanted to read one of those magazines, I’d buy them.

Interestingly, I may not the only one who feels this way. Sales have been consistently low since Ms. Coles took over. In other industries, most executives would be “dealt with” fairly quickly if they were impacting the bottom line. Why does poor performance seem to be more tolerated in publishing?

For now, all I can say is that my subscription ran out and for the first time in many years, I won’t be renewing it. I am now subscribing to the UK version.

One of my best childhood friends in Brazil is kicking ass as an actress. I’ve known her since 1st grade and I still remember when she started taking acting classes when we were in 8th grade. I saw her last year and she told me about some of the plays she had been on and a few movies that she was working on but I never really realized how big they were. I was finally able to TiVo one of her movies. It’s called Maids and it’s an awesome film. It was very strange to see someone you know so well in an actual movie. Then I did a search on Google and realized that she just got a contract to star on a sitcom that’s as popular as Will & Grace. How cool is that?

Other famous people but not exactly my friend:
My sister’s friend from high school who’s now a singer
Another friend from a long time ago who’s now a famous fashion designer

No big updates to blog about, just in case anyone was actually wondering. Work is still nuts. Things are still going well with C. Scary given my usual track record.

When you’re sick, there’s nothing better than using that as an excuse to watch
tons of TV. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do that lately but I thought
I’d list my latest favorite shows anyway. As you can see, I have really bad
taste when it comes to TV watching. Not that I have good taste in other areas
of my life. And I do have a life. Despite the long list of shows which may indicate
otherwise. Anyway, this is what’s on my TiVo:

• What Not to Wear (the original) - BBC
• What Not to Wear (the copy) - TLC
• Sex & the City - HBO
• Gilmore Girls - WB (don’t laugh, it’s a great show)
• Queer as Folk - Showtime
• Faking It - TLC
• Penn & Teller: Bullshit - Showtime
• Manor House - PBS
• Coupling - BBC
• Will & Grace - NBC

I’ve been addicted to this song lately. And it’s not because of I Am Sam or Pleasantville. I think I like Rufus Wainwright’s version better than Fiona Apple and maybe even The Beatles.

Across the Universe

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
Are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Images of broken light
Which dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of earth
Are ringing through my open views
Inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love
Which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva

the absent blogger
I know I’ve been a little absent lately. The thing is that Sofia is here so it’s hard to find the time to blog. She leaves on Tuesday though so I’ll have some time for updates before my parents arrive on 12/21.

I really enjoyed one of these stories which I got to read on the plane’s magazine.

This was probably one of the craziest business trips I have ever been in. On our way back, we had a lot of time to kill (see the end of this post) so we came up with the following stats:
3 days
3 girls
5 airports (6 if you count LAX)
4 airplanes
1 train
5 Lincoln Town Cars
2 cabs
2 hotel shuttles
2 hotels
2 hotel breakfasts
2 lunch meetings
2 in-room movies
12 hours to fly from Boston to San Francisco

Yep, it took us 12 hours to get from Logan to SFO. We left Boston at 1:30 PM Pacific Time. We connected in Denver at 7:30 PM PST. We were supposed to arrive in SF at 9:30 PM PST. At around 9:00 PM, the pilot informed us that we were being diverted to LA because of strong winds and a terrible storm. We landed in LAX at 10:30 PST. They kept us I the plane the whole time. We had only been served a half a sandwich in the flight from Boston to Denver and a small bag of party mix in the flight from Denver to SF. The flight was packed. We were starving, tired, and cranky. After 3 hours of being stuck in the plane, we took off from LA at 1:00 AM. We landed in SF right before 2:00 AM. I was home at 3:00 AM. I was not happy.

I think one of the best parts of having a blog is looking through the search terms that people have used and then somehow got my blog as a result. This week was a particularly good one. Here are the best ones (each string is unedited, I swear):
“scorpio sleepwear or pajamas”
“sister hand job” (no comments)
“blog jorge jason friend”
“guestbook beach worker’s 2002″
“”look for” German guy brazilian”

And my favorite:
“how to make german guys like you ”

Halloween has come and gone. I now have post-too-much-sugar-ingestion-depression. I went as a pirate in the end. Captain Morgan to be more precise. It was fun but I was exhausted all day today.

So I decided to stay in tonight and watch movies. And they were great. Which was great in itself considering that lately I had been very disappointed with most movies. The first movie was Italian for Beginners. The only other Dogma film I had ever watched was Mifune and, while I had liked the technique and the concept, I hadn’t completely liked the story. But I really liked the story in Italian for Beginners and I will now probably watch some other Dogma films.

The second movie I saw was Kissing Jessica Stein. Yes, it was a silly romantic comedy. But it was funny. And it made me want to live in NYC (hey, I actually fall for those commercials for long lasting lipstick). And it made me wish that I was a lesbian. And then it made me feel grateful that I’m not. So, all in all it was a good movie.

I think I just watched the worst movie ever. The Sweetest Thing needs to be renamed. The title is misleading. It was awful! And the worst part? I already watched the episode of Sex & The City I had Tivoed so now I have nothing to chase it down with.

When I was younger, I was really jealous of my sister’s name. See, growing up, Michelle was a very uncommon name in Brazil so she was constantly getting compliments on her name. (Of course that all changed after we both moved here and all of a sudden, Daniela was the more unusual name). Anyway, my parents used to sing “Michelle” to her all the time (you know, Michelle, ma belle. These are words that go together well, My Michelle. Michelle, ma belle. Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble, Tres bien ensemble.) I was pretty jealous and kept wishing there would be a song with my name so they could sing it to me.

Well, one should never give up hope. I now have two French friends and one Italian-french-speaking friend who keep “serenading” me with a song called “Daniela”. The first time they sang it, I asked them to translate the main part and it went something like “In the mouth of Daniela, all my friends pass by”. Hmm, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind… Anyway, they insisted the song wasn’t as bad as what I was thinking. Then yesterday Jean-Marie sent me the words with his “rough” translation. I’ve included it here for everyone’s enjoyment (with no editing in my part from his translation). Not bad my a**! The French!

Ouiiiiiiii Hihiiiiiiii…

Moi, ce que j’aime, chez Daniela,

C’est que l’on peut y mettre les doigts.

Elle est toujours d’accord

Pour me prêter son corps.

Ouh ouh ouuuhhh…

Moi, ce que j’aime, chez Daniela,

C’est que l’on peut s’y mettre à trois.

Elle est toujours d’accord

Pour battre des records.

Ouh ouh ouuuhhh…

Daniela, la la la la la la la laaaaa

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela…

Ce que Daniela aime en moi,

(pa pou pa pap yeah yeah yeah)

C’est que l’on a toujours le choix.

(pa pou pa pap yeah yeah yeah)

Je ferai tout pour lui plaire,

Par devant et par derrière.

Ouh Ouh Ouuuhhhh…

Daniela…

Et dans la bouche de Daniela

(Et dans la bouche de Daniela)

Et dans la bouche de Danielaaaa…

Oh oh oh oooh…

Il y a toujours de la place

Pour les copains qui passent.

Ouh ouh ouh ouhhh

Daniela, la la la la la la la laaaaa

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela (la la la la la la laaa)

Oh Daniela

Danielaaaaaa

Danielaaaaaa

Danielaaaaaa

Ouiiiiiiii Hihiiiiiiii…
Me, which I like, at Daniela,
It is that one can put the fingers at it.
It agrees always to lend its body to me.
Ouh ouh ouuuhhh…
Me, which I like, at Daniela,
It is that one can put oneself at it at three.
It agrees always to beat records.
Ouh ouh ouuuhhh…
Daniela, the laaaaa Oh Daniela (the laaa)
Oh Daniela (the laaa)
Oh Daniela (the laaa) Oh Daniela…
What Daniela likes in me, (Pa louse Pa PAP yeah yeah yeah)
It is that one always has the choice.
(Pa louse Pa PAP yeah yeah yeah)
will make very it to like Me,
By front and behind.
Ouh Ouh Ouuuhhhh… Daniela…
And in the mouth of Daniela (And the mouth of Daniela)
And in the mouth of Danielaaaa…
Oh oh oh oooh…
There is always place For the buddies who pass.
Ouh ouh ouh ouhhh Daniela, the laaaaa Oh Daniela (the laaa)
Oh Daniela (the laaa) Oh Daniela (the laaa)
Oh Daniela Danielaaaaaa Danielaaaaaa Danielaaaaaa

I wish I could see it live. I just saw it on HBO and it was great.

I hate to write about books. In college, my minor was Literature and I bullshitted my way through all my courses. So I’m not sure why I’m doing this other than as a response to a couple of requests from friends and blog readers. Don’t expect lengthy paragraphs, the most you’ll get is a “I recommend” or “I don’t recommend” or “eh”.

Ok, here we go…

Swift as Desire - Laura Esquivel
Argh! This book is painful to read! You would have thought I would have gathered that much just judging by the cover design but I enjoyed Like Water for Chocolate so much that I thought I would give it a try. And trying I have been for the past 2 months. The book is simply too dry and I have no desire to find out what happens next (as in what’s on the next page and not necessarily what happens next in the plot since it seems to be lacking one). Anyway, tonight will be its last chance. If I still don’t like it, it will end up in a book shelf tomorrow, unfinished.