muslim ninja grrrls..

wow.. check out gaddafi's ninja bodyguards.. they're all women..



now, i would never want to be in a position where i would ever need bodyguards, but if i did, i'd want his little elite squad of black belts.. wouldn't you?

boricua world premiere in nyc...

two summers ago i was asked to do some accounting work on a movie that a friend of mine directed right here in chicago and it's finally ready for viewing!! they won a coveted spot at the tribeca film festival this year, so those of you in nyc should really check out this movie. it was made with very little funding, and the entire cast and crew basically offered their services for free. it's an indie movie in every sense of the word. the writer/director is a very good friend of mine and i can't even begin to describe how proud i am of her to have finally realized her dream!

here's some info on when and where you can catch the screening of boricua.

tribeca film festival screening:

all screenings will be held at united artists battery park theater 11 (UA), 102 north end avenue (at vesey street)

UA04 9:30 pm wednesday, May 5
UA06 4:00 pm thursday, May 6
UA08 6:00 pm saturday, May 8

tickets go on sale april 18th (with an amex card), april 22nd for nyc dowtown residents, and april 24th for the general public and are available through the festival web site.

please... do me a personal favor and go see it! i've read the script.. it's fantastic!

chicago headz, don't worry, there'll be a screening here sometime in mid-june. i'll keep you posted.

down south..

virginia is truly a beautiful state. all the mountains, trees, greenery in general were so refreshing to see after chicago's bleak winter! everything is already in bloom out there and just so purty!

not too many highlights of the trip since we were only there for 2 full days, but the weather was gorgeous. we were all tank topped out and of course as soon as i got on the plane to come home my throat started feeling sore and scratchy. you all know what that means.. yup, i've been sick for the past three days, but i only took monday off from work and a half day on tuesday, since i have so much shit to do here. i'm all behind now.

i've met c's family before, so that was no big surprise. except that when we walked into the room we were staying in there was a big ol' open faced bible laying smack dab in the middle of the bed with a plastic rose laying on top of it. that was definitely a little, um.. weird. but i found out later that c's mom does that in every room, so i felt just a tad bit better knowing that it wasn't solely directed at us sinning lesbians. i did get to meet her brother though who is really cool, as well as one of her old friends and his new boyfriend and we all (not the brother) went to one of the very few gay bars in roanoke. it was cool.. but you know.. a bar is a bar is a bar. they're all pretty much the same.

we did however go to the smithfield plantation museum while visiting the virginia tech campus. c and i don't like the word plantation no matter what context it's used in. anyway, that was an annoying experience. annoying for obvious reasons.. i mean, who gives a fuck that a bunch of governors lived there? it was essentially a throwback to the days of slavery. a big ass house in the middle of an ever bigger ass plantation with two smaller cabins if you can call them that, one of which is referred to as a "weaver's cabin" (read: slave weaver's cabin) and another one which is now a restroom but was obviously previously used as slave quarters. we did not, however, take the $6 tour of the inside of the house because i was in no way interested in patronizing the museum. i don't even know how they can turn a place like that into a museum.. what exactly are they so proud of? i don't get it. it must be some white nostalgia shit.

anyway, all in all, it was a nice, relaxing trip. i hate that i got sick though because it's completely thrown off my workout/eating routine. i've got an 8 mile run/walk to do on may 14th and another 3.5 mile run on june 3rd (the chase corporate challenge) that i need to train for. but i'm just not feeling fully well yet to even get into training mode. [cough, cough]

tidbitties..

well, for all intents and purposes, today is friday for me. and i can't wait to get off work. this week has been dragging like hell. i'm taking the day off tomorrow so c and i can go to virginia to visit her family. i've met them before when they visited us for turkey day in 2002 and they're really nice. though her mom can sometimes be a little too nice if you catch my drift. but it'll be a fun little weekend getaway. and surely the weather will be nicer than it is in chicago. i swear chicago weather is schizophrenic to say the least.

in other news:

i want you to check out this article because the subject matter is just really stupid. i mean totally stupid. i mean ridiculously stupid. so if you want some really stupid news, click on the link, ok? thanks.

here's an article that's actually kinda funny if indeed it was referencing the 'ol g. dubya..

finally, i'm glad that condi's little testimony is over so we don't have to hear about it "coming up" on the news every freakin' minute of the day. actually, now that i think about it they'll be analyzing what she said for the next 10 weeks. ugh. as i expected, her testimony was clear as mud. like she was really going to go up there and tell everyone what was discussed behind closed doors. yeah.. like we were all sitting here with baited breath waiting for the truth to come out. sure.

on the other hand, i think i've come to the conclusion that condi's hairdresser must be the evil behind lenny's new do.

gosh, i'm really mean aren't i?

say it ain't so lenny!!!



oh.my.god.becky... look.at.his.HAIR! it's.so... relaxed!

i'm really upset that lenny went and relaxed his hair. his hair looks like a mix between prince and.. james brown.

i'm so upset!!! previously lenny was at the top of my list of men i'd fuck in a new york minute. there aren't many on that list, mind you. but the man used to exude sex. not to mention he was definitely in touch with his feminine side which makes me want to pant like a dog. but what on earth is he thinking with this new do? who is his hairstylist and why hasn't he/she been fired? and why does his face look so damn thin? wow.. i'm scared to listen to his new album "baptism" for fear that it influenced his current style or vice versa. i mean, i'm all about him wanting to change styles but this is just.. bad.

shiiiiit.. lemme tell ya, he's definitely not going to be the father of my child looking like that! *sigh*.. all my fantasies of lenny are slowly fading... somebody help me!!!

aaaaaahhh.. relief:



whew.. now i'm just hot all over again.. lord have mercy!

april showers..

i just got back from a baby shower for a co-worker. she's actually one of the few co-workers that i genuinely like as a person, so i didn't mind going. two weekends ago i went to a bridal shower for a really close friend of mine.. and both of these events were firsts for me.

see, we don't do showers in bangladesh. it's definitely very much an american tradition (though i can't really speak for other countries). what really amazes me about these showers though, is that the recipients really make out big! i mean, damn! why can't somebody buy ME a whole dinner platter set or a set of martini glasses and a shaker? i mean, i've got dishes that used to be a set but are no longer due to breakage. same goes for my glassware. i've got cups and plates and glasses of all different shapes and sizes. this bengali could use some new housewares... any takers? granted, i'm neither having a baby nor getting married.. nor are any of the above events likely to happen to me in the near forseeable future.. but i just can't believe how utterly profitable these showers are! ok, so maybe profitable isn't the right word.. how about lucrative? yeah.. that sounds better.

then you have this whole business of registering, which has got to be an american concept because i had never heard of it before i came to this country. i completely understand the efficiencies behind the concept, and most certainly agree that it's better to get the things you want/need rather than having to return stuff. but in a way, i can't help but think it's a tad tacky. gifts are supposed to be, you know.. gifts. put some thought into it, make sure it's something the person will like based on how well you know the person, and then wrap it up all nicely, top it off with a thoughtful card, and you're done. registries throw that whole creative process right out the window. another co-worker of mine is getting married in july (actually he's getting married in hawaii next week but the reception is in july), and is already registered at some of the most expensive stores in chicago.

i mean, sure i have a choice, and don't have to buy them stuff off their registries, but it just seems like such a lazy concept on the one hand from the buyer's perspective, and a greedy/almost demanding concept from the recipient's perspective. not only that, but it also tells the recipient exactly how much money you chose to spend on them, which in and of itself lacks quite a bit of tact, in my opinion. don't you think?

ah, hell, what do i know. i'm probably just jealous cuz no one wants to buy me a new stereo or couch or pool table (minimum 8-footer, please) or large L-shaped-desk-with-hutch or a brand new set of non-stick cookware or even a used car. cuz you know, if i had a registry, those are some things i'd put on it...

april foolishness..

i got pranked yesterday. big time. and i'm usually pretty good at avoiding pranks.

there's a guy i work with, j, who is just the biggest joker you've ever seen. he's always trying to pull a fast one on somebody and i'd be surprised if he ever got any work done around the office as much time as he spends on pranking people.

when i got to the office yesterday i didn't even really think about the fact that it was april fools day. it just didn't occur to me. so i went about my usual morning routine: check email, surf the web a bit and then head down for a cup of coffee and a cig. i came back up and started working on a project i've been postponing, and at one point i went into my manager's office to ask him a question. when i came back, i continued on with what i was doing and reached for my coffee and took a sip.

it was the most disgusting tasting coffee in the world. it was ultra, ultra sweet, and when i looked at it, there were little chunks of white stuff floating on it, as if someone had spit in my coffee! i was totally baffled (again, not realizing it was april 1st) because i had already tasted that same cup of coffee earlier with my cigarette and it tasted just fine! so i spit it out and tossed what was left in my cup, thinking maybe the half and half i used went bad or something..? i just couldn't figure it out.

it wasn't until several minutes later when as i was writing down the date on the top of a workpaper i realized it was april fools day. and then a lightbulb appeared. duh. so i picked up the phone knew exactly who to call and sure enough j was on the other end of the line cracking the fuck up!! apparently he put 4 packets of sugar and a couple of teaspoons of creamer in my coffee while i was away from my desk.

grrr...

on another note, i put up two new songs for april, both by pamela means, recorded live. they're both off her "pearls" album which is currently oop but her latest album "single bullet theory" is damn good too. if you like what you hear, you can purchase her latest cd here.