Read the Jar, Evelyn Wood

I am a fond reader of the Wall Street Journal. Or rather, I read WSJ Online. It's not just the often interesting and informative articles--although the WSJ has its fair share of lame fluff articles as does any major publication. No, as I've mentioned before, the real beauty of the WSJ site is in the comment section. Any news site has trolls, but the Wall Street Journal usually has a higher class of troll. Marxists and libertarians battle it out with sharply worded and often correctly punctuated retorts. I've started to recognize many of the names of regular posters, and some of them are so prolific that I can only assume they spend at least 8 hours daily commenting on WSJ articles. Of course, some commenters are just the regular kind of troll, so it's not all vaunted wit and wisdom.

But I also have found that some of the WSJ writers have a deft turn with a sarcastic phrase or two. In this article, decrying the tendency of liberalia to idealize the European socialist state model, conveniently ignoring the ever-rising tide of financial and political catastrophe flowing through these very supposedly ideal nations. Helprin throws a snarky bone to the Euro-lovers and bestows a backhanded compliment upon Europe's obviously superior cultural offerings:
Europeans make better movies; their cuisine is better (except in Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Scandinavia, England, Ireland, the Low Countries, Germany and Switzerland); and they do a better job of suppressing modern architecture, for which they are to be commended.

Well, if you don't see the humor, I just don't know how to explain it. For my part, I love Europe and see a lot of value in their culture, but at the same time, who doesn't enjoy the puncturing of overblown ego here and there?

The latest horridly talentless pop sensation?

The Onion skewers the current pop music industry with its seemingly endless line of over-produced, over-sexualized, under-talented young female performers. It's funny because (1) the (fake) interviewers deadpan all the things that we actual human beings wish we could say to the K'ronikkas of our world and (2) this song, while produced as a satire, is uncomfortably close to being what really travels the airwaves. *shudder*

Warning: I would rate the music video portion as PG-13, though it's definitely not any worse than one would see in an actual music video.

Public Service Announcement: Jeans for Curvy Girls

My dear fashion-conscious readers--I have made a sartorial discovery that has transformed my life, and no one is more surprised than I at the source.

I know I tend to harp on my own issues with finding clothes. I'm basically a tall, slim, curvy girl. I wouldn't have thought, based on simple observation, that I am particularly misshapen or misproportioned. However, I've deduced that nothing else could explain my situation, for it is virtually impossible to obtain off-the-rack clothing that fits my body type; apparently retailers manufacture their wares for everybody but me. I think the assumption is that slender women are built straight up-and-down, so there are no allowances for hips, rear, or bust.

I also make no secret of my distaste for certain kinds of "reality TV" programs, though I don't habitually watch many of them. I have a mixture of pity and disdain for people who put their personal lives on public view, because it seems somewhat unhealthy, although obviously they don't care about my opinion anyway. I've never been a fan of Lauren Conrad (to say the least). So imagine my total shock when I went to Kohl's, tried on a pair of jeans, and after deciding I loved them and I wanted to never take them off, checked the tag and discovered that they are from Lauren Conrad's LC clothing line. Well, with one pair of denim trousers, she has earned forgiveness from me for at least two seasons of The Hills. I just ordered two more duplicate pairs from the Kohl's website (I should have waited a week, because I paid $34.99/pair and now they are even lower at $27.99/pair--dang it!) because these jeans fit me perfectly: they are fashionably slim and slimming on the hips and thighs but then flare down from the knee to balance curvy proportions and allow boots to be worn underneath. Two different washes are available, but I went with the dark wash because it looks good enough that I can wear these jeans to work (with sweater or blouse, boots or flats) and still look professional.

I recommend these jeans to any ladies who (like me) have longish legs, round hips, and a waist that is small in proportion to hips and bust. Try them on at Kohl's if you are wondering if they will fit you as well. You can also check them out online: Lauren Conrad LC New Flare Jeans.

I am not getting paid to advertise this product. I just have so much frustration in shopping for flattering jeans that I thought I'd share something that I've found that actually works for me.

Stats

Okay, for what it's worth, I've started looking at my blog stats out of curiosity. I don't get a lot of traffic, but it's at least fairly consistent. I've been mostly amused by the Google search terms that have led people to click on my blog, such as:
"black people hipster meme" (Huh?)
"uo on the rocks" (Huh?!)

"happy days potpourri" (If this is a product, I should get the manufacturer to sponsor my blog.)

"darkwing duck cartoon" (Aw, yeah)

"maternity clothes for skinny women" (So rude. Lol.)

However, I'm also quite confused and disturbed by the fact that the primary traffic source for my blog is a Russian site (domar [dot] ru, seeming more than a little shady as a money-making site). What is going on, Russia? Why me? Weird. Maybe I need to reevaluate my security measures.

Trying Hard

Well, yesterday's Hipster Lord of the Rings find had me laughing, so I thought I'd track down something related to Harry Potter next. Surely, I thought, there must be a Tumblr site dedicated to Hipster Harry Potter. However, to my great disappointment, no such Tumblr truly existed. A Google search for "hipster harry potter" brought up some funny stuff, but nothing concentrated in one cool blog/site. I tried "emo harry potter" next, and again, there was not a dedicated space on the web for that particular niche of humor. I don't know why all the internet people are falling down on the job like this, but at any rate, here's one of the best memes that's been going around lately: Hipster Sirius Black.

LOTR Makes Anything Better

And now, to lighten the mood, I offer you:
Lord of the Rings Hipster Humor!

You're welcome.

True Thoughts About Greatness

Interesting

Facebook just suggested Nancy Pearcey as a "Friend" for me.

Wow, real-life proverbial illustration

Everything but the kitchen sink. Literally.

Price is good, though.