Dear Common

I hate to say this, man, but like, you are not good anymore.

Like, you kinda irked me a little with the whole friends-with-Kanye business, but I got it: you're both from Chicago. Hometown roots go a long-ass way. I'm alright with that. And, I mean, I was sorta willing to look past the whole "Gap" thing, because, you know, ya gotta make money, but...

I'm just not sure I'm ever going to be able to get on board with this new "Light" business. Serious. It's really FUCKING AWFUL. And like, it's all for a promotion for Smirnoff or something...?

Yo, dude..."The Light" was one of the bestest love songs and you have put out some of the best albums! Seriously, Resurrection? Like Water for Chocolate? Excellent. My collection would not be the same without those. Be wasn't even all that bad. I admit, I listen to it every now and again...

But, seriously. WHY THE EFF DID YOU DICK WITH "THE LIGHT"?! I sorta gotta put it out there like this: I sorta hate you a little bit now.

Which I'm sure is straight with you because of the whole, like, me being white thing. But...

Really? REALLY?

Regretfully Yours,
Sarah

PS, I still liked you in Smokin Aces.

Because I'm in a Cunt of a Mood

sometimes, there are certain people in this office who's voices just make me want to throw myself from the window. i'm not even being remotely facetious.

currently, the discussion is about working out, valentine's days with their "men" (barf. i hatehatehate when chicks call their significant others their "man"), and the baked goods they whipped up last night!!! oooh!!

is their something wrong with me that i find this sort of domestic, Donna Reed chit chat completely vapid and slightly obnoxious...?

all that said, i'm in a cunty ass mood today. fyi.

In Case I Haven't Bitched To You Yet

the weather sucks in chicago right now. srsly. i'm over it. i want to go to sleep and wake up in May.

about 16 inches of snow last week, rain yesterday that turned into sleet and freezing rain overnight and this morning (pelting me in the face during my 6 block walk to my office from the train), and apparently we're supposed to get a foot of actual snow this afternoon and night.

i know people in the south had some shit happen yesterday, what with tornadoes and whatnot, but i am going insane with this weather.

and my hair is doing some really fucked up shit right now. apparently you can't cut crazy curls/weird waves out of your hair. ugh.

looking very forward to my weekend vacay in the mid-atlantic. to see my peoples, but mainly to get out of this shitstorm.

In All Seriousness

okay, so not to be all american and celebrity obsessed and stuff, but i have something to say about this heath ledger business.

*ahem*

what the fuck is wrong with the people in this country/world?! a man died and people are treating it like a fucking freak show, circus. it's disgusting. what's even more disgusting is the people who went to stand outside the apartment he passed away in, hoping to get a glimpse of a body bag. what for?! to say that you saw a bag containing the expired body of a young man whom you didn't know? also, you know what else i find mildly disturbing? that people who didn't know him at all probably found out about his death before his family. before his child. before people who actually knew him and are actually experiencing tremendous grief right now.

and this business with all the tabloids--both online and print--giving minute by minute "updates" about his death and regurgitated speculations as to how exactly he died...? it's fucking despicable. i'm not going to even try and lie--i read the stuff that was being posted on the internet on the day of his death and i've read stuff since then. but with each entry and article i read, i become more and more grossed out. and mad.

why does it matter HOW he died? especially why does it matter to people who don't know him? who will just forget about him by next week, once the tabloids have something more exciting to talk about (probably the death of britney spears or something).

i'm taking this personally. i really am. this whole thing reminds me of something that happened in my life, several years ago. a close friend passed away unexpectedly, suddenly and when the people in his life of whom he meant something to went to his home (where he had passed) to be with each other. to provide comfort to each other, to his family, to him. and i remember standing outside of the house, chain smoking and crying and seeing neighbors who didn't mean anything to him standing on the edges of their driveways, waiting expectantly for something. what? i'm not sure. but they were standing and staring. and huddling together, whispering speculations of what had happened.

and then a few days before his viewing, i stumbled upon a blog some girl who sort of knew him, but was by no means close to him, had written about his passing. she claimed, with assuredness that he had overdosed on coke, and used his story as a "warning" to her friends.

at this point in time toxicology tests had not come back, nor was this girl with him when he had passed. she was merely reciting heresay, rumors...as tend to happen in a small town. or in a huge world obsessed with the lives of celebrities and tragedy.

the thing about death is that it's final. when it happens, someone, somewhere is affected by it. someone is grieving over it. it means something to someone, and it probably is making someone's life incredibly difficult. it's never a happy thing. ever. someone was sad when hitler died. someone was sad when saddam hussein was executed. death--whether expected or not--is a jarring reality that is sometimes difficult to swallow.

i sort of feel that when people die, it should be the one and only time in their lives that they really should be honored in some way. they should be able to pass on with dignity behind them. at least for a while.

why does it matter how someone died? all that matters is that they're dead and that the people who knew them will never see them in the here-and-now again. the chance is gone. all that matters is that it happened. and that at one time, they were alive.

i'm disgusted by allegations of drug use and rehab stints and "sources" giving up "information" about a time they saw a person who has passed away do something undesirable or illegal or unhealthy or untrue. it's disgusting that anyone would even for a second think about spending money to purchase a video from 2 years ago that allegedly depicts the deceased being at a party with drugs (the video shows no drug use by ledger, nor does it show anything incriminating on his behalf). thankfully, someone had some fucking couth and the shows that were set to air this video have sinced pulled the video from airplay.

the trailer that Entertainment Tonight was playing for the video says something about "clues to his death!" and then shows pictures of John Belushi and the hotel where the "party" from two years prior had taken place. 2 YEARS PRIOR. because someone's presence at a party from 2 YEARS PRIOR will absolutely give clues as to how a young man passed away.

and may i reiterate: IT DOES NOT FUCKING MATTER HOW HE PASSED AWAY.

i'm grossed out that i even am paying enough attention to write this blog.

i just really think that our culture has somehow erased the lines of privacy and decency and thinks that because it sees pictures of someone "being normal" in some tabloid magazine, that somehow they should be privy to the extremely intimate details of their life or death.

just stop.

Dear CTA

what the eff?!?! you got your effing funding--why suddenly are you running slowly and sporadically, with the too-frequent-for-my-taste breakdowns?! i'm tired of it. seriously. srsly.

please get your shit together so that i can get to work on time and don't have to stand outside for half an hour when its cold. and please stop breaking down in the middle of the tunnel six times on my way home from work when i just.want.to.get.home.

sincerely,
sarah

Why I Don't Heart Perez

for new years, i was going to give up Perez. 1) because for some reason, his comments and quips really annoy me, 2) because ever since i saw him on television, i cannot get that nasal annoying voice of my head, and 3) because i'd found someone new who was funnier.

well, i haven't actually been able to let go of Perez. i check in a couple times of week still--mainly on lunch breaks. i read my other guy (A Socialite's Life) regularly though.

i have decided just now that i really am done with Perez. for all the reasons i listed above, but now, especially because i am SO FUCKING ANNOYED with his music blurbs. i sometimes feel like he has flipped open an issue of Blender or Spin or something and just like, recycles what he reads.

what did it for me this time: his summation of Chromeo. because like, they are a brand new act that no one's ever heard before. don't get me wrong, i love Chromeo and i am constantly guilty of being late to the party (musically, cinematically, fashion-aly, etc.), but i don't have a website that a bazillion people read. ugh. you know, i realize that makes no sense. whatever. for some reason i am beyond annoyed about this Chromeo post.

i mean, seriously...how can i be expected to take a person seriously when they write about the Jonas Brothers (who the eff are they, anways?!!!), Paula Abdul, and Chromeo all in the same post?

and FYI, Perez, liking Daft Punk and Justice isn't neccessarily a good litmus for Chromeo fans.

and yes, i am raging music snob.

You're a Fucking Idiot, or Why I Refuse to Talk About the War

so, umm, this is the second installment of what i'm labeling my "Dumb Assholes" post. basically, it comes when i get stupid fucking forwards or read idiotic myspace bulletin.

this time i got a post about "The Troops"--one i've seen before, and find doubly infuriating this time around. the post is (for lack of a better word) propaganda, most certainly put together by raging republicans. the kind who hunt, wave confederate flags, say things like, "These colors don't run!" "Git 'er done!", and think Jeff Foxworthy is hilarious. (btw, he's not.)

anywho, the posts has a variety of pictures depicting soldiers and such, and between each picture it says things like, "You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.He doesn't get to eat today," "Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes. He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean," "You see only what the media wants you to see.He sees the broken bodies lying around him," "You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting," "You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded," and my personal fave, "You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.He still fights for your right to wear that shirt."

yeesh. where do i even begin...?

1. i don't have a maid. i don't make my bed but i do wash my own clothes. that's a dumb fucking sentence. at least have it make sense. i'm willing to bet that the majority of people in this world (especially those who are 'anti-war') probably don't have maids who make their bed and wash their clothes everyday. who the eff are we? a bunch of little orphan annies, living in daddy warbucks mansion?

2. while i agree that yes, the media (both right and left winged) chooses what to show. but the broken bodies? umm, don't mean to sound callous, but like...isn't the US some of the folks breaking said bodies? and p.s., the US isn't exactly an angelic, play by the rules kinda nation...

3. yes i criticize my government, and yes i'm pretty much married to the notion that i do not believe that war (especially wars started on false information) is really helpful in solving much. i think violence perpetuates violence and when the violence is more or less created because of a desire to democratize, westernize, or "civilize" another culture, it's sort of losing battle. and dumb. don't forget dumb.

4. i'm not sure i've ever really heard a joke about the war. nor have i really heard people making fun of soldiers. this may be naiive of me, but i think that since vietnam, we as a society have grown a bit, matured a (little) bit, and wised up a little bit. i'm not sure i've ever heard anyone making fun of a soldier. i think most people (and again, i may be entirely naiive on this right here) definitely make fun of the president (he's borderline retarded, i mean...) and definitely joke about him, but all in all realize (except for a handful of raging radical idiots) that the soldiers did not declare this war, they are merely pawns in an elaborate game of Stratego, and simply doing what their jobs are. no one faults them for that.

5. the funny thing about all of this is that what we're allegedly war-ing over is to bring democracy to these countries that we're ravaging and raping of culture and such. one of the wonderful things about democracy is the right to free speech, the right to protest, and the right to *gasp* think for oneself! so if someone were wearing a "Don't support the troops" t-shirt (again, a stupid fucking comment), that's their M.O. that's what we're allegedly fighting for Iraquis, Iranians, Afghanis, and all of the other "uncivilized" countries' consitutents, to have. right? so they'll be able to enjoy the benefits of a democratic society. including free speech. which is essentially what those t-shirts are. you follow?

in sum, i'd like to once again state that i am adamantly anti-war, adamantly anti-bush (the prez and the body part), and adamantly pro-troop. anti-war does not equal anti-troop. jesus fucking christ.

yeesh.

Learn It. Live It. Love It.

srsly. this means you, mr. man-who-keeps-clearly-open-mouth-sneezing-without-attempting-any-sort-of-germ-spreading-prevention-on-the-other-side-of-the-cubicle-wall-from-me.

Yes.