MOMOBerry: I'm pink, therefore I am It's about time someone thought about giving us older gals a place to call their "Hello Kitty" own. "...breezy, quirky, stylish, a little older, surprisingly sophisticated and of course very pink."

Crooks and Liars Excellent impersonation of George Bush by comedian Frank Caliendo. (Thanks to J. for sending this and insisting it be propagated ;) )

Second-Graders Wow Audience With School Production Of Equus The Onion - America's Finest News Source Inspired! A laugh riot! (Thanks to A for sending me this.)

Scott Spotting Underwordl Evolution (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401855/) is still number one at the box office. I have no desire to see the film, but it warms my heart that this is something of a comeback for our own Scott Speedman, the actor who made Felicity’s heart go thump-thump-thump. I say “comeback” because I don’t know what he’s done since Felicity. A search on IMDB reveals other action flicks that I likewise have no desire to see (and it’s not because I dislike action flicks—I love ‘em. Ask me about John Woo’s Face Off.). So, in honour of young Scott’s renewed success, I offer this brush-with-celebrity story. When I first visited New York in the late eighties, my fantasy was to attend NYU and work part-time at the Dean and Deluca’s as a barista. I’d wear black jeans to go with the black logo t-shirt all the help wore, fetchingly tied at my midriff. I’d be friendly, but distant, serving double lattes as I thought about the impact of French Feminism on the economies of West Africa. A broody good-looking comparative it student would fall in love with me from a distance. I would only occasionally steal from the cash register. Two years after birthing this fantasy, the TV show Felicity based an entire plot around a young woman who follows her high school crush to New York and enrolls in NYU--the same school he’s attending. She stalks him everywhere. She finds a part-time job at Dean and Deluca. They pretty much stole my plot, except I was more the stalkee. Last October, travelling from New York to Montreal, I shared the plane with Scott Speedman, who played the guy Felicity stalks. He skulked around the gate’s waiting area for a while sticking close to the walls, and I wasn’t sure whether he did or didn’t want to be recognized. Once on board, I expected to find him in first class. Instead, he was seated in coach, like I was. He sat in the dreaded middle seat, as if he didn’t have people to do his travel bookings and ensure him at least an aisle seat (like mine). When I got up to go to the washroom, I passed his row and noticed that he was wearing headphones, had fallen asleep, and was snoring lightly. A copy of The Da Vinci Code lay face down on his tray table. At the luggage carrousel, some brave blonde girl began chatting with him, and I was relieved that someone recognized him and knew enough about his recent career to ask specific questions and treat him like a proper celebrity. Welcome back, Scott. Although I agree with one of my fave Canadian gossip columnists: for goodness sake, shave once in a while (http://www.laineygossip.com/ArticleList.aspx?ID=3108).

LibriVox I ran across this link while I was searching one of my other secret sites (which I may reveal in another post). LibriVox records public domain literary works and makes them available for free. Right now, I'm listening to Notes from the Underground. I love audiobooks for a couple of reasons: they're great when you're driving long distances and sometimes I need a bedtime story to lull me to sleep. Available as mp3 files or podcasts, they're free, they're portable, and they're well-read...or, should I say, read well (the recordings are done by volunteers). Their catalog is a little slim at the moment, but enthusiasm for the project seems high on their public forums.

Bag Lady for a Day There are currently five creatures in my house--four cats and one dog. Lola, my newest ward, is my friend B's black and white cat who I'm taking care of while B is in England for the next few months. The dog leaves tonight, which still leaves me with the too-close-to-baglady-number of four cats. I always told my pals that if I ever hit the five-cat mark, to intervene immediately. Lola was rescued from a pet store, where she passed from cute kittenhood to not-so-cute adulthood behind a enclosure. Despite having grown up partially behind plexiglass, Lola is a sweet little thing. Right now, she is torn between wanting to play with Nomar and wanting to tear his eyes out: she curiously watches him bat a play mouse around whilst growling from beneath a bench in my office. Welcome, Lola and thanks for bringing me closer to the brink of smelly eccentricity.

Go Fug Yourself Feeling fugly? Who doesn't, especially in the midst of Winter when hats give you flat-hat hair and central heating takes the dew from your otherwise fresh complexion. This site--recommended by my freind A--makes you feel, well, not fugly. Compare yourself to the candid shots of Britney, complete with spot cream and oh-so-unflattering Uggs on her feet. You're bound to come out leaps and bounds better-looking. And what about Mischa Barton and her ability to choose fugly as if it were second nature, not to mention Sienna Miller's ubiquitous tights? What's fugly? In a nutshell: the inability to dress oneself appropriately despite being surrounded by wealth, stylists, and free designer clothes. Don't you feel better already?

Surveying the Filing System

Surveying the Filing System Originally uploaded by mellowkitty.

When I started my own company in 2005, I didn't really anticipate all the new and slightly scary things I'd be doing.

Our first contract was with a studio in LA, backed by one of the big players in the film industry. The negotiations for the work were conducted over a few weeks, with me trading phone calls and emails with honest-to-goodness Hollywood producer-types. I held my own, but my mind boggled every evening as I wound down with a glass of red wine and reviewed the odd feeling I had that I was becoming as ruthless and heartless as the film folks I was battling with. In the end, we got the rate we wanted and started off the year with a bang. I felt proud when I deposited our first cheque.

Over the months, there were more cheques to deposit, bills to pay, and expenses to expense. I kept track of most everything using a cumbersome spreadsheet and the archaeology filing method: great piles of papers stacked more or less in the order they came in. I never threw anything away, nor did I file or sort it.

It's now year-end, I'm I'm paying the price for my "organic" approach to accounting. Vast amounts of data needs to be entered into a proper accounting system so that I don't spend the little profit we made on bookeeping services.

Nomar, pictured above, tries to help by lying on the newly sorted stacks of paper, absorbing the information, and then sprawling next to the computer. Alas, he's not outfitted with a wireless chip, so I'm stuck entering everything manually.

Accounting is new and scary...how *do* I receive that cheque in Euos but have it convert properly to Canadian dollars so that it jibes with my bank statement. Why do I have more cheques than invoices from a particular client? Can I put Nomar on the payroll? If so, how do I remit his income tax deductions when he's paid in Whiskas?

Spot the Cat

Spot the cat
Originally uploaded by mellowkitty.

Rosie, my 12 year-old kitty, isn't entirely comfortable with all the new creatures in the house. Over the past couple of days, you can find her perched high on the antique chest in the living room, trying to blend in with the Murano glass cat. Notice the similar looks of disdain on both their faces.

Nina Simone is a Basket Case

Nina Simone is a Basket Case
Originally uploaded by mellowkitty.

I have several visitors with me for the month of January. My neighbours and friends, R & J, are having their house renovated, so to avoid the dust of the major demolition going on, they and their cat and dog are all camping out here. Nina Simone, pictured above, made herself comfortable in the basket I normally reserve for baguettes. Vive la difference!