Stumblings

Some days I wish I didn't have such a curious mind. I'd never find out about various things that man should just not be privy to. For example, the people who brought you the notorious Chia Pet now sell confidence in a tub. You think I'm kidding? Take a look... See, it's Confidence!

I'd still rather have my good ol' Method cleaners any day.

Speaking of which, the nice people over at Method recently sent me a couple sample packs to give to friends. If you're local (metro Phoenix area), let me know you want one and I'll set you up.

What The Jester Had to Drink: The New Fresca(s)

The marketing gurus at Coca-Cola have let yet another soda jump on the remixed flavor bandwagon. We've seen Coke with your choice of cherry, vanilla, lemon, or lime; Sprite with berry or tropical flavors, and now... Fresca? That old bastion of diet soda? Yes, it's been reinvented, complete with sleeker labeling and two cousins of the original grapefruit flavor- peach and black cherry. The original flavor hasn't been messed with; if you have had any in the last 20 years it still tastes just the way you expect. The peach flavor is by far my favorite of the trio; the aroma is dead on for a ripe, fresh peach, giving a slightly synaesthetic sensation of the gentle fuzz on your tongue. The flavor itself isn't quite the same, giving way to a bit of an artificial edge, but generally is one of the better peach flavors I've come across. I can't quite say the same for the black cherry, which was overwhelmingly candy-sweet and very little else.

Just noticed that the marketing wizards at Bose have started offering "widescreen sound" from their new line at Target... The sound ain't coming from the screen, folks. In other Target news, they now offer Reidel stemware at about ten bucks a stem... The only place I've seen it cheaper is Trader Joe's.

On Holiday Gifts (and the occasional lack thereof)

A quick warning to the lot of you... Yes, I know an awful lot of people, and HanuRamaKwanSticeMas is very quickly on its way. Due to my job this season, my free time will rapidly diminish as the 25th of December draws near, and shopping opportunities with it. I'm going to give you my holiday shopping methodology now so you all understand... I don't like going out to buy gifts for people. If I suddenly have a flash of inspiration and go "Aha! I know what to get for _____", or I'm out and about and I see something that makes me go "Hey, I'll bet _____ would LOVE that!", then I'll get it. If I don't see anything or have anything come to mind that you would like, then I won't get you anything. Don't take it personally. This comes from many, many Christmases with the folks where I would get *one* thing I liked, and have to take back eight or ten various items. Then there was the year they surprised me with a horse... hooboy, is that ever a rant in and of itself. Readers' Digest version: Don't surprise anyone with anything big-ticket unless you are absolutely, completely positive they really, really want it. If the thing is alive, this counts triple.

Anyway, where was I... oh yes, having to take stuff back. It's a pain in the ass, and I'm tired of it. If you know me well, you already know I can be brutally honest; if I don't like something, I'll be very thankful that you thought of me, and then tell you I don't like it ;-) If you feel obligated to get me something but can't quite put your finger on what to get me, don't worry about it. Just let me know you didn't see anything that screamed that it was perfect for me, and I'll understand completely; I know damn well that I can be very tough to buy gifts for. One hint I'll give you- no board games. If you think I'll like it, I probably have it already.

In meeting... Ow, DLP projector rainbows hurt.

Blast...

*grumbles* left my knitting over at Anna's place (ever more becoming Home 2.0, I do everything but sleep there lately), I could have used some work on my sweater over break. And then since I have things going on tonight (like baking my legendary pumpkin cheesecake), I'll miss out on the November Stitch 'n Bitch over at Changing Hands. C'est la vie.

Mmmmm.... I (heart) Lush!

The new Lush store is open over at Scottsdale Fashion Square, and I have but one thing to say about it:

DAMN, I love this stuff!

I picked up a bar of their Karma soap, and Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo. Both are utterly wonderful. The Karma scent is very citrusy, and has a lot of patchouli in there; I don't like the smell of patchouli but it hides very well in the Karma blend. The scent sticks around for a long time... after a day at a recent Renaissance festival, friends were still commenting that I smelled really good. I've noticed that hugs from people last much, much longer, mostly because their nose is now buried in my shoulder and they're giving me a really good sniff. God help me the next time I'm around my friend Gypsy; she'll be gnawing on me for hours. The soap is a beautiful bright shade of orange, too. It makes a nice contrast to the blues-and-greens color scheme I went with in my bathroom. And it cleans really, really well. I don't think I'd recommend it for faces, but for a luscious whole body clean, you'll love it. Something I just noticed... I washed my hands with generic soap out of a hand dispenser, and somehow it amplified the Karma scent. Sweet.

Then there's the Cynthia Sylvia Stout. Lush, thank you from the bottom of my heart for realizing that not everyone out there wants to add tons of body and volume to their hair. Our dogs are now getting washed with Paul Mitchell shampoo because the Cynthia Sylvia Stout just works that well. You see, the main ingredient in CSS is Guinness beer. Yes, that means it's dark brown, smells toasty and malty, and then Lush gave it notes of lemon and a little cognac oil to make it even yummier. All the ingredients help to keep your hair from going POOF, and make it nice and shiny too. Now to pick up a tub of The Strokes conditioner... and some other yummy smelling soaps... and maybe a bath melt or three... and... and... and...

Now if only it wasn't 12 bucks for a 250 mL bottle of shampoo. Aie. At least it's one of those "little dab'll do ya" shampoos.

How Much Longer?

Seen in an ad for one of the casinos dotting our landscape:


Win $100,000 a year for life!*

then down in the fine print...
*Life is defined as a 20-year period.

All I can say is... Eep.

Thought for the day... Enjoy yourself. After all, if you don't, how can you expect anyone else to?