song of the day

Muse-Uprising

I heard this song for the first time literally about five minutes ago and it stopped me in my tracks. I was seriously mesmerized. I had to immediately figure out who and what it was because it was imperative that I possess it ASAP.

love it

Just for you, Ambular!

Dear Amber (everyone else, please feel free to ignore this post),

I read this article and immediately thought of you and this classic moment from Saved by the Bell.

Sincerely,
Kim

P.S. Where did we get Munther from? I've forgotten.

more sassy gay friend

I didn't think this one was as good. They seriously need to do Bella from Twilight.

interesting idea

Immigrant farm workers' challenge: Take our jobs

By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 24, 5:42 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.

Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.

So the group is encouraging the unemployed — and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them — to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.

All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner "I want to be a farm worker" at http://www.takeourjobs.org, and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms.

According to the Labor Department, three out of four farm workers were born abroad, and more than half are illegal immigrants.

Proponents of tougher immigration laws have argued that farmers have become used to cheap labor and don't want to raise wages enough to draw in other workers.

Those who have done the job have some words of advice for applicants: First, dress appropriately.

During summer, when the harvest of fruits and vegetables is in full swing in Central Valley, temperatures hover in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion is one of the reasons farm labor consistently makes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' top ten list of the nation's most dangerous jobs.

Second, expect long days. Growers have a small window to pick fruit before it is overripe.

And don't count on a big paycheck. Farm workers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don't even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don't require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws.

Any takers?

"The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."

To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" plans to feature the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on July 8.

The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business, said Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation.

"Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers," he said. "I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers."

Hopefully, the message will go down easier with some laughs, said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, who was not a part of the campaign.

"If you don't add some humor to this, it's enough to get you drinking, and I don't mean Pepsi," Cunha said, dismissing the idea that Americans would take up the farm workers' offer.

California's agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms, he said. Three people showed up.

"Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don't know from day to day if they're going to get hammered by ICE," he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "What happens to my labor pool?"

His organization supports AgJobs, a bill currently in the Senate which would allow those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get legal status.

The bill has been proposed in various forms since the late 1990s, with backing from the United Farm Workers of America and other farming groups, but has never passed.

I am currently enjoying . . .

• The Seventeen Magazine Project
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
• The FURminator (Seriously-if you have a pet, you need this.)
• Being outside (Yes, Traci, my deck does count as the great outdoors!!!)
• Tootsie Rolls
• Hoppipolla by Sigur Rós
• Masterpiece Classic's adaptation of Little Dorrit
• the countdown for the season finale of Glee tonight
  

Newsies + Gaga = Awesome

Hey you guuuuuuys!!!!

Today is the 25th anniversary of The Goonies!!!

several things . . .

• I just got an ice cream maker and I'm obsessed with sorbet. I've just been making a simple syrup and blending it with fruit. I've done blackberry and cherry so far. Blackberry was better, but both were really good.
• Dinner tonight was delicious-grilled veggies and shrimp. We did leeks, peppers, zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes were awesome.
• Just watched Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It was cute and surprisingly funny.
• I can't believe the season finale of Glee is this week. I hate it when there's a huge break in the middle of the season; it makes the second half seem ridiculously short.
  
• Speaking of, in the last episode, when that horrible person, Jesse St. James, egged Rachel, I may have gotten a little teary. That was just taking mean to a new level.
  
• I'm on a country music kick. I can't get enough of this song. Or this one.
  
• These next couple of months before I move are going to kill me. I'm obsessing about it and time is just not moving fast enough.
  
• I randomly went to Wyoming this week for a night. If ever you are going to be really sick or need medical attention, I would suggest that you do it at St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. It was the nicest hospital I have ever seen. No worries, though, I wasn't a patient, I was visiting a friend.
• I'm giving up soda. Again.
  
• I've been behaving completely out of character lately and spending time outside. And not only spending time outside, but actually enjoying the great outdoors. And by great outdoors, I mean sitting on the deck in our backyard. Baby steps.
  

The owls!!!!!

5 Lovable Animals You Didn't Know Are Secretly Terrifying (Warning: contains swears, so don't click if you can't handle it.)

a quote

"Never explain. Everyone is far too full of their own private worries and fears. They'll take you for granted as long as you just seem sure of yourself. It's a great mistake ever to say anything when you needn't."

I saw this quote from Agatha Christie on Facebook and I think it needs to become my new life philosophy. I don't know if you've noticed, but I tend to feel the need to explain everything, even if it's something that wouldn't have been noticed had I not decided to explain it. I would explain further, but I'll just leave it at that. :)

traumatized

I just finished watching Grey's and it was the most intense episode of any show that I have ever seen. I was in shock and traumatized seriously every ten minutes or so. I won't even discuss the amount of tears shed. If there is anyone else out there who watched it, please let me know so that as soon as my heart rate goes back to normal, we can discuss.

mascara running down my face

I just discovered this little clip and darn near died laughing. NPH and Jason Segel doing Les Mis. Pure genius.

The Maltese Falcon (AFI #23)

This was not my favorite of the AFI movies. I only made it through the whole thing because I started reading my book like half an hour in. So I guess technically, I only really watched the first half hour and the last fifteen minutes. I just couldn't get in to it. I didn't care at all about the characters or what happened to them. I thought the acting kinda sucked (although Humphrey Bogart was o.k.) and I thought Peter Lorre was distracting. So . . . this wasn't the worst (remember Yankee Doodle Dandy?), but it definitely was not the best.



Side note: Every time I watch a movie in black and white, I spend an inordinate amount of time wondering what the costumes and set really looked like. Did they use specific colors for the way they looked in black and white? Did they use clothes that maybe clashed or looked garish in real life, but look good on screen?

feeling music

Here are a couple of songs that when they come on, I have to stop what I'm doing, close my eyes, and just feel the music. I know that sounds weird, don't make fun! But really, can't you just see me sitting in my room with my eyes closed, "feeling" the music!!!

1. Ennio Morricone-Theme from The Mission



2. Yanni-Aria



3. A R Rahman-Latika's Theme (from Slumdog Millionaire)



4. Garry Schyman-Praan (otherwise known as the music from the Where the Hell is Matt? video)





P.S. These songs also possibly make me tear up just a little bit.

song of the day and a nugget of a story

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) by Shakira. It's the official song of the 2010 World Cup. And, because I think I might actually like this version better (which tends to be the case with most Shakira songs), here's the Spanish version . . .



And since we're on a Shakira kick, here's Gitana. I love this song because when my family lived in Spain I would go around singing about how I was a gitana (a gypsy). I would also try to sell flowers to the tourists in the park because that's what the gypsies did and I really wanted to be one. Sadly, due to my American citizenship (although I wasn't actually born here, a fact which could indeed further my goal) and non-nomadic lifestyle, I fear that dream will never be realized.

this made me cry

and then I had to go watch this again . . .



and then go cuddle with my dogs.

my new obsession

The soundtrack to In the Heights is one of those albums where the first time I heard it, I wondered how it could possibly have been in existence without me knowing about it. I keep listening to it over and over again and I'm still amazed by it. Seriously . . . why have I just now found out about this music???

The Philadelphia Story (AFI #51)

I had watched Rear Window shortly before watching this movie with my parents, and we all agreed that Grace Kelly may be gorgeous to look at, but if we had to choose between them, Katharine Hepburn's spunkiness would win out every time. She's fantastic in a movie full of fantastic actors. Cary Grant is, as always, well . . . how do you describe him other than he's Cary Grant?!? He doesn't need a description, Cary Grant is the description. Jimmy Stewart (I can't call him James, it sounds wrong.) is hilarious, although I have to say, he (and everyone else) was upstaged by the little sister pretty much every time she came on the screen.

Letters to Juliet

Loved this movie. Vanessa Redgrave is just . . . wow. I want to be like her when I'm older.