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Monday, February 28, 2005 No Project Runway 2? Bravo and Miramax are stoopid to not capitalize on their little reality show hit. I have mixed feelings about it anyway; unless they get themselves another EvilPepper, as well as another Jay (yay!), I don't think they can recreate the reality gold from season 1. Surfergirl (Slate): J-Lo vs. Jay-Mac MediaWeek: Bravo's Project Runway in Limbo posted by sheryl | 9:21 PM | comments (0)
Al otro lado del Protest Now it makes sense.... I was wondering: why did Jorge Drexler when accepting the Oscar for Best Song, go up there and start singing? He was apologizing to the audience for Antonio Banderas' shouted version earlier in the broadcast! And maybe apologizing for Antonio's greasy hair as well. I'm just sayin'. Surfergirl (Slate): Viva Banderas! posted by sheryl | 9:18 PM | comments (0)
Oscars blah blah blah fishcakes Typically boring Oscars except with a few choice moments:
For much better coverage, the Television Without Pity creators covered it blow-by-blow. Enjoy! posted by sheryl | 8:01 PM | comments (0)
Friday, February 25, 2005 Tara, you're fired So Tara got booted from The Apprentice last night after a challenge before which she fatefully said, "If we lose this challenge, I definitely lose some street credibility." Um, I think she lost that street credibility when she started dating Matt Dillon.  So long, Tara! posted by sheryl | 6:24 PM | comments (0)
Thursday, February 24, 2005 PR highlights/lowlights Yay Jay! He totally deserved to win too, based on his collection. And this sounds crazy, but thank goodness for Wendypepper-- you can hate her as much as you want, but she gave us a hella interesting episode!! Anyhoo:
 One of Jay's winning looks Oh, don't forget to check out Tim's Take. He feels like it could have easily gone to Karasaun-- he felt her collection was just as great as Jay's. He may be right! posted by sheryl | 9:50 PM | comments (1)
Project Runway Update: Yay Jay!! Hurray, Jay won Project Runway last night, and right now I apologize to those of you who did not see the finale. Sorry! (hee hee) Anyway, lots of highlights and lowlights in the finale, including a raging fight between Karasaun and Wendypepper (since everyone except Jay seemed to be using their full names, or "fullnames" now). Also, what the hell was Parker Posey doing there? And why did she look hung over? Highlights coming later today!  Jay's sarcastic tears of joy posted by sheryl | 7:31 PM | comments (0)
NY Times discovers Egotrip VH1 is again running a VH1 series by Egotrip, called Race-o-Rama, and the NY Times finally wrote about it. I love the Egotrip series because they talk about race candidly, like racial stereotypes on TV, but, instead of being like a (yawn) PBS series on race, to quote Tracy Morgan, "It's hilavious!" Last night I learned that Gordon on Sesame Street (before he was Gordon) played a badass pimp named Willie Dynamite. Gordon! From Sesame Street! It's a total pop-culture bonanza for everyone like me who grew up watching What's Happening?. Their last series TV's Illest Minority Moments was also awesome. Upgrade! NY Times article: Seriously Kidding About Race VH1 series: Race-O-Rama by Egotrip posted by sheryl | 1:06 AM | comments (0)
Monday, February 21, 2005 Save Our Bluths! Arrested Development, my favorite, favorite show that nobody seems to watch, is in danger of being cancelled! I'm glad I'm not the only one worried about it: http://www.saveourbluths.com A message to FOX: Don't be chicken! Coka coka coka ko! posted by sheryl | 9:57 PM | comments (0)
Some articles for the Project Runway-obsessed Yay! I finally saw all episodes last night (I taped the first half of the PR marathon). I'm glad the first three to go auf were Daniel, Mario and Starr. Ugh, Daniel 'k.d. lang' with his jazz fingers. What a TOOL! And lazy Mario, ugh. And Starr looks just like Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is to say a bit freakish. Wow, she was a basket-case.  Sally=Starr Anyhoo, here are some article links that prove that this fave show is scoring in the ratings. I heard it even merited a SNL skit on last Saturday's show (which I don't watch anymore because it is LAME). MSNBC: Catwalks and Catfights NY Post: Wicked Wendy posted by sheryl | 9:35 PM | comments (0)
Friday, February 18, 2005 Garanimals, indeed Lowculture has this picture of Nancy O'Crazy's orange dress designed by Wendy on Project Runway. Ew! But at least she removed the feathers. http://www.lowculture.com/archives/2005/02/what_do_you_mea.html posted by sheryl | 2:22 AM | comments (0)
Thursday, February 17, 2005 Who is this Paul Giamatti anyway? We've all seen him in a movie here and there, but lately during awards season, doesn't he seem to look... different? Well, I've figured it out: he's hired someone who's been experiencing, let's say, a "career dry spell" and "mild weight gain" to take his place at events like the Golden Globes!  Mr. Affleck, meet Mr. Giamatti posted by sheryl | 10:08 PM | comments (0)
The goods on Project Runway Last night's episode was just a reunion show with outtake moments, but pretty good nonetheless. I can't wait for the finale-- it looks like Karasan throws down with Wendy, both of them complete with head-wagging and finger-pointing! It. Looks. Awesome! Some highlights from the reunion show:
Not as good as a real episode, but pretty good for a clips show. Wendy looked really weird-- I think she had her teeth capped! Gross! Kyle says Daniel looks like a younger, fatter k.d. lang. You be the judge!
posted by sheryl | 6:54 PM | comments (0)
Things I hate about my flatmate: revisited This is a little psycho-- someone copied the 'flatmate' blog word-for-word and claimed it as their own! Funny but creepy! http://ihatemyflatmate.blogspot.com/2005/02/copy-cat.html posted by sheryl | 6:49 PM | comments (0)
Outrageous Brownies: Recipe correction! If anyone wants to try the Little Outrageous Brownies recipe that I posted, I made a correction in the post-- add 2 eggs in the ingredients rather than 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. I screwed that one up (confusing it with another recipe)! Eet smakkelijke! posted by sheryl | 5:36 AM | comments (0)
My Super Bratty 16 I saw another episode last night of that MTV show My Super Sweet 16. OMG. I cannot believe that show. You have to see it to believe it. It's jaw-dropping, like some sort of horrible thing, but you can't look away. Basically it's a reality show in which each episode revolves around a different girl planning her sweet sixteen party, and these girls and their parties are unbelievable. I have never seen richer, brattier, spoiled... spoiled, richer, brattier kids ever! And I thought I was spoiled growing up! I saw one episode about an (I think) Iranian girl who lives in L.A. with her millionaire immigrant parents. Her dad throws her a $200,000 party. $200,000. And that's not the least of it! The girl flew to Paris with her mom to try on the skankiest dresses ever. Think this, but probably 5 times more expensive. Then, she cried and sobbed and cried and sobbed when her parents told her she wasn't getting a car for her birthday. And this was in a restaurant. Dari behaves better in restaurants! It was hilarious and horrifying all at the same time. And the way these girls behave... it's like Mean Girls but real. The girl last night-- her dad threw her a $450,000 party at a nightclub, filled with 80% people she didn't even know. You have to see it to believe it. posted by sheryl | 1:59 AM | comments (3)
Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Cababa Cooking: It's the cheesiest! I can't believe I haven't written about our latest cheese revelation: Beecher Handmade Cheese. It's in Pike Place Market, for those of you lucky enough to live in Seattle, close to my new favorite cheese. Our friend Sonja had gotten a little block of Beecher's signature cheese when she was here visiting from Australia (it also came with a cute little cheese cutting board, which Dari immediately claimed for his wooden cooking set). To keep it fresh, I put it in the bacon 'n eggs drawer of the fridge (which is usually filled with bacon, eggs and sometimes ground pork, oh yeah, and cheese... and is the coldest place in the fridge). We then promptly forgot it was there for a few weeks. Thank goodness it is a 'middle' type of aged cheese (what the Dutch call belegen, but I don't know if there's like an American word for the same), so it didn't go bad. Kyle had broken it open for a little sandwich on the go, and I hear him raving in the kitchen... about this cheese! So later Trish and I broke out the trusty ol' Dutch cheese knife (one of my fave cheap purchases from over there) and had some and we couldn't believe how excellent it was! If you like the semi-soft Dutch cheeses like Gouda or Edam (belegen, again) this is the cheese for you. (I sound like an ad for Beecher cheese). I couldn't stop eating it. Highly recommended. In eBay speak: A+++++!  Lousy picture of my new favorite cheese! posted by sheryl | 9:11 PM | comments (0)
I read the website which smiles me into a brighter frame of mind Sofia recently got this little Korean book that has a cute little bear illustration (which looks surprisingly like Dari) and says the following on the cover: "Babu smiles you into a brighter frame of mind." What?! That made me want to reacquaint myself with one of my favorite websites. I haven't checked out engrish.com in a while, but I looked at this one which made me laff and laff and laff: http://engrish.com/detail.php?imagename=I_saw_the_movie.jpg&category=Clothing&date=2005-01-10 Hee! posted by sheryl | 7:04 PM | comments (0)
Cababa Cooking: Have an outrageous Valentine's Day! Because Valentine's Day puts chocolate on everyone's mind (and because Food TV shoves Chocolate Obsession Week at us this time of year), here's my recipe for Little Outrageous Brownies. I call them Little Outrageous Brownies because I had to adjust Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) recipe for Outrageous Brownies. No wonder she's gained weight-- who makes a 13 x 18 sheet pan of brownies?! So given most people's appetites, I've been working to get this recipe down to a normal-sized 8 x 8 inch pan. This is my favorite brownie recipe so far (and believe me, I've tried a lot!). This one finally gives you that nice crackly top that you usually only get with commercial brownie mix because it has a healthy dose of baking powder-- something that is often missing from homemade brownie recipes. This also calls for a bit of instant espresso, which does wonders for bringing out the taste of the chocolate. The great thing about brownies, including these ones, is that you don't really need a super-high-quality chocolate for it (except use some great chocolate for the chips). And I made it even easier than Ina's recipe by replacing the unsweetened chocolate with additional bittersweet. Eet smakkelijke!  Yummy crackly top Little Outrageous Brownies adapted from The Barefoot Contessa 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I like Ghirardelli double chocolate chips) 3/4 cup butter (yes it's a lot, so what) 2/3 cup sugar 1-1/2 tsp instant espresso powder 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plus 1 tbsp for tossing nuts and chocolate chips in) 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 2/3 cup chopped roasted pecans (yeah, it's a pain, but do roast them-- it tastes much better!) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat, or over a double-boiler. Cool until just warm. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar and espresso. Slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture while whisking. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the egg/chocolate mixture until well-blended. Toss the nuts and chocolate chips in the 1 tablespoon of flour (this will keep them from settling to the bottom of the brownies) and add to the chocolate mixture. Scrape out the mixture into a nice little 8 x 8 pan. Bake for about 24 minutes, just, just until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a bits of chocolate clinging to it. Let cool, cut into squares and serve with excellent vanilla ice cream. :) posted by sheryl | 6:56 AM | comments (0)
What we wish we could've written when we had roommates... It's websites like these that make me love anonymous blogs! Things I hate about my Flatmate posted by sheryl | 1:49 AM | comments (0)
Monday, February 14, 2005 Yes Mireille, you are skinny, alright already! Sacre bleu! I've had it up to the gills with news about this book: French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. The gist is that she's a middle-aged French lady who studied in the U.S. once when she was twenty, and went back to France 20 pounds heavier because of her newfound love of cookies and brownies. She then lost the weight, thanks to help from her French doctor, and has never looked back. This book seems to be a new sensation in the press, with coverage by NYTimes, Vogue, etc. Here's an excerpt from a New York Times review:
Okay, I will tell you right now that the entire "Frenchwomen" (is that a word?) population of France is not making their own yogurt. That is absurd. It's like saying every American is on Atkins (okay, a lot are, but not all of us!) Granted, I have not read the book, but from the above review, it seems like a lot of sweeping cultural stereotypes. There is a big missing factor in all this: many French women (and Europeans in general) smoke like chimneys. And yes, this is a weight suppressant. I will give Guiliano this much: Jeffrey Steingarten once wrote about the French Paradox: it is true that with a diet high in carbs and fat, that the French suffer less from heart disease than the average American. That said, we must take the role of genetics into consideration alongside the cultural implications of the differences in our lifestyle habits. Anyone who's gone to Europe will notice that Europeans seem thinner in general. Some, like the Dutch, have generally awful cuisine, worlds away from delicious French food. Yet they too are generally thinner than Americans. Now here is my theory: the biggest factor leading to American fat? The car. I wonder if anyone has done a study on New Yorkers and Europeans. Every time I've been to New York, it seems the fatness levels are not the same as, say, in the Midwest. Many New Yorkers walk, just like Europeans. Are we onto something here? I need to start working on my own book. It's called The Diet of Frites. It's the story of how I moved to Holland for several months, ate frites with mayonnaise followed by ice cream or chocolate bonbons every day, and lost 20 pounds. The secret was walking. And no, I did not make my own yogurt. posted by sheryl | 10:59 PM | comments (0)
Fashion Week with Project Runway Now that the whirlwind of Fashion Week is over, we can all concentrate again on... Project Runway's fashion shows! There are pictures online of the designers' Fashion Week shows. My bets are now on Jay to win, due to his collection called Stereotype. There was even a red herring runway show by Austin because they didn't want to give away who got eliminated before last week's show. Which was probably for the best anyway: what was with Austin's pirate-meets-revolutionary-war-hero collection?! See pictures from Jay's, Kara's, Wendy's and Austin's Fashion Week show  Yankee doodle came to town.... posted by sheryl | 10:54 PM | comments (0)
Thursday, February 10, 2005 Project Runway: mini-cap Lots of good moments on last night's episode. But because recapping would take too long, I'll just point to some show highlights. :) Last week, Robio was out, and Wendyroach survived (again!) This week the challenge is to design a Grammy gown for Nancy O'Dell, the trashy host of Access Hollywood. Nancy walks in, all fake boobages and three inches of pancake makeup and tells the gang what she likes/doesn't like. Austin is excited because ball gowns are his "spec-i-a-li-teee". (And he says it like this through the entire episode. This gets more annoying than those ludicrous Banana Republic ads.) Highlight 1: Tim brings in a "surprise", some "technical assistance", and out jumps... Robio! Everyone looks disappointed but put on their fake smiles anyway. Cut to Jay in interview saying "I thought it was going to be some woman who speaks Korean and has like, 18 fingers ready to jump on a sewing machine, but instead it was Rob." Cut to poor, clueless Robio in interview saying, "They were looking at me like I was a goldmine! They were so happy to see me!" Oh, poor vacant Robio! In the end, Robio is NO help. All he ends up doing is laying around the Tim-lab taking naps and drinking beer. Highlight 2: During the dressmaking, Tim comes with another "surprise": "You're all going on a field trip to Michael Kors' studio!" Everyone is "Yay!" and cruel Tim says "Except you Rob. You're staying here in the studio." Rob puts arms down and looks crestfallen. Oh Tim! Highlight 3: At the runway show, everyone's dresses look tattered and crazed. Michael Kors dials it up. He calls Wendy's "too Garanimals" "too matchy-matchy, it looks like she'll go and get her shoes dyed to match." Ouch! He says to Austin, "It's too student fashion show, wind blowing, model leaning against the wall." Ouch! He says to Karasan (Karasan of all people!) that hers looks like "a bat mitzvah dress that's been tattered and now she's wearing pants under it." Michael Kors, you're on fire! Highlight 4: Nancy O'Crazy selects Wendy's dress! And Michael Kors reaction shot is priceless, like a "Oh no she didn't" crazy eyed look. Granted, Austin's did look like a big purple wedding cake. Austin gets eliminated and Jay, in interview, says "I felt grossed out when I saw Wendy come to the back." and "During the runway show, I was thinking, 'couldn't she have at least put on lipstick for the final challenge? I haaaaate Wendy." Thankfully, Austin, when eliminated, did not cry like a baby. So Wendy, Kara Saun and Jay are off to Fashion Week! 
So long Yves, whoops I mean Austin posted by sheryl | 10:40 PM | comments (0)
Breaking news: Prince Charles to marry Snaggletooth, whoops I mean Camilla After a 25+ year affair that has seen through 2 marriages, 2 divorces, 2 children, 1 horrific death by car crash, and many public sightings at horse-riding events and foxhunts (or whatever it is royal Brits do), the owners of the 2 wackiest looking faces in Britain will wed. Huzzah! (I suppose...) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4252795.stm 
A face only a prince can love posted by sheryl | 7:25 PM | comments (0)
Don't cry for me Project Runwaaaayyy, the truth is I never left yooooou... A hugely disappointing (albeit entertaining) episode tonight! Wendyroach (due to Jay's calling her a 'cockroach' last episode) should've been out, but instead, they got rid of Austin Scarlett O'Hara! I couldn't believe it. How am I supposed to watch the show now without his ridiculous face?! More moments: Michael Kors was on snark-fire tonight! I will recap some of his best lines later-- he definitely topped 'farty' on this one! So long, Austin! posted by sheryl | 7:50 AM | comments (0)
Wednesday, February 09, 2005 More Ick! It's raining (something), ohh, oh, it's raining (something)... I never filed an entry about our latest "neighborly" escapades. (Judy reminded me that I should enter this story-- it takes the cake!) The duplex next door, with it's precarious second-floor deck perched right above our bedroom windows, has always been a bit of a problem. The house tends to be owned by more-or-less absentee landlords who rent it out to a boatload of students. So, as you can guess, we have the common loud drunken party, with people jammed onto the deck, (in 35 degree weather!) to contend with. A few years back, we actually had to deal with someone jumping off that deck onto the roof of our house. When that happened in the middle of the night I literally thought a bomb had gone off it was so loud. That's about the worst that has happened. But it wasn't the grossest. A couple of weeks ago I was lying in bed, watching TV (probably Iron Chef, ha), with a party picking up next door (we can hear the voices from the deck). It wasn't even midnight yet, but suddenly I hear something hitting our bedroom window.... it sounded like liquid.... yes, I know that sound..... EWWWW!! Some dude had pissed off the deck onto our bedroom window! Ewwwww!!!! So I called Kyle over (he was in the other room) and we decided he would go over there with Windex and paper towels and have the guy clean it up. Luckily, when he went over there, some guy came over and did clean it up (insisting all along that he wasn't the one who did it, it was his friend, WHATEVER) so we didn't have to deal with it ourselves. What is with this? Are these people animals? Why is that fun? What's funny is my sister has also had to deal with bad student neighbors who live upstairs from her. A few months ago someone leaned over their balcony and puked onto her porch. (The balcony is right smack above her porch). Ick ick ick!! What is with bodily fluids raining down during student parties?! I'm old and crabby and I can't take it anymore. I'm not Jennifer "Crazy 8" Lee! posted by sheryl | 9:47 PM | comments (0)
For relaxing times, make it Suntory time Talk about a website that is a major timesuck. This has samples of every kind of Hollywood celebrity shilling every kind of product for the Japanese market. Check out the Brad Pitt section--it's especially weird! (Actually he's done so many there's two sections of his ads!) Japander.com 
Some bearded crazy guy in a commercial. Oh wait, that's Brad Pitt posted by sheryl | 8:59 PM | comments (0)
I want to be a dentist! Or a fashion designer! In celebration of a new episode of Project Runway tonight, I give you this equation, thanks to Gawker: 
Add Hermey, the wannabe dentist elf from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to a young bespectacled Yves Saint Laurent, and guess who comes out of the blender? posted by sheryl | 7:03 PM | comments (0)
Tuesday, February 08, 2005 Ick! LOOOOOK Out! If you've heard about what R&B singer Houston did to himself, then you'll know what to expect when you click on the link below. If not, read this first and make sure you're not eating breakfast. Yikes!! Houston as he looks now. (Warning: I screamed when I saw this!) Chingy-- you could've stopped him if you were right thurr!! posted by sheryl | 5:32 AM | comments (0)
Post yer comment here! Yay! I finally got a comment-hack working so that no one has to go through the Blogger form-- you can post right on my website, and it no longer will say "anonymous"! (Well, actually it will, but it'll have your user name too.) No more dealing with Blogger's blasted sign in form and their forcing-everybody-to-sign-up-for-a-blogger-account. See it in action here! posted by sheryl | 1:38 AM | comments (1)
Crazier than a purse full of divas What is wrong with Lara Flynn Boyle? Ever since she showed up in that tutu, she's been riding the crazy bus! MSNBC: Mischief is in the air when Boyle flies posted by sheryl | 12:31 AM | comments (0)
Thursday, February 03, 2005 Shame on you, 8! (or whatever your name is) For you journalism nerds out there, here is a tidbit that'll make you happy. (Especially if you'd been an aspiring writer and enviously saw this girl's byline all over the NY Times.) Jennifer 8. Lee is being sued by her former landlady for throwing ridonkulous parties. And I thought we had inconsiderate renters living next door! An excerpt: It looked like 'Animal House,' " said Beth Solomon, a PR rep who rented Lee the $2,900-a-month, two-bedroom apartment near the Washington Convention Center for 20 months. "There was urinating and defecating on the property, vomiting on the stairways. The kitchen was destroyed, the floors were destroyed, my baby grand piano was used as a wet bar and taken apart."http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59260-2005Feb3.html posted by sheryl | 7:08 PM | comments (0)
Project Runway Wrap-Up Great episode last night. So many good moments-- hell, I'll just recap it! Last week, Kevin-Passive-Aggressive was out, thanks to his overconstructed dress and Whiney Pepper's backstabbing. This week the team gets to design ... postal uniforms! Nobody looks excited when they find out. The first thing they do is work a USPS shift dressed like postal employees, delivering mail, so they divide into 2 groups: Austin Charming and Whiney, then Jay, Karasan and Robio. they all look like they're having a terrible time. Karasan says the polyester "just doesn't breathe". So she's already getting ideas, unlike Robio, who has nothing going on in that vacant little head of his. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. Anyhoo, back to the Tim-Lab. Whiney sits down and sees that someone drew a mustache on her daughter's picture that is on her work table. Ok, I can't stand Whiney, but that's not cool. She goes and accuses the rest of the crew, with lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth . Everyone just stares, and Robio says "I don't think anyone in this room would do something like that." Probably the smartest thing he's ever said. I think it was probably Kevin-Aggressive, because Whiney was directly responsible for his elimination, and as Kyle pointed out, he was writing a note to Jay on Jay's table before he left. Ah, the plot thickens! Design day in the Tim-Lab. Tim checks in and pulls Whiney aside , telling her she needs to make this design work, because Michael Kors already thinks her work is "dowdy". Ouch! Whiney, of course, gets defensive and Tim gives up, saying that he's just there to help. I love when Tim said to her "Don't defend that shoe to me!" when he was holding up the orthopedic-looking shoe that Whiney was intending to use. Hee! Runway day. Everyone gets ready in the house, Robio running around naked as usual. When they get to the Tim-Lab, Tim tells Jay that Julia can't be there til 5:00, giving her mere seconds to prepare for the runway show. Jay says "that's okay" and starts looking for another model in the street, and leaving countless messages on Julia's cell. Gee, I wonder which model will be eliminated next week? Robio also calls model friends for Jay, to no avail. In the end, guess who gets to model for Jay? It's... Austin Charming! Yay! Thank goodness he's built like a skinny tall girl! We knew that girlish figure would come in handy someday! 
Austin Charming working that skinny butt Runway show. Judges are Michael Kors, that Elle editor who told Whiney that her last week's creation looked like her "cat chewed it up and threw it up" (ha!), and a USPS woman employee who greeted the team at the post office earlier. Karasan's design looks awesome, of course, Jay's is good as well (and a bit similar to Karasan's, i.e. insulated vest winter ensemble), Austin Charming's is a bit crazy (the weird poncho thingy), Robio's is as usual "Robio" (blah), and Whiney's is dowdy as usual, with Michael Kors sneering at her design in his reaction shot. Austin was hilarious on the runway; Heidibot and Kors we're totally laughing. Judgement time. Kors had the best comments this week! He loved Karasan's (of course). Jay's he said was "too butch!", and Robio's was "unfinished". But he saved the best for Whiney's design. He said, "Was she thinking 'Let's take an outfit that every woman already feels dowdy in, and make it even more matronly!'" Then he followed up that gem with "It makes every woman look like she's nursing" and he called her design "Farty". Hahahahaha-- I love you Michael Kors! The judges then got on the subject of Robio. The Elle judge was like "he's just charmed his way through this competition!" She seemed almost violently offended by his still being in the competition. It's almost like she looked up at the beginning of the runway show and was like "WTF? What is HE still doing here?" She's totally had enough of him, you can tell. Let me guess why: is it all the stoopid ideas? But which one? Some typical Robio ideas from past episodes: 1) "Women are like sports cars" 2) "There'll be no coffee in the future so I've put solar panels on my futuristic vest to give people 'energy'". What the...? Basically, the Elle judge just realized that Robio has skated by just by being second to last every time! And she is not having it. Heidibot calls everybody out, Karasan wins the competition of course, so the Guitars of Relief play for her. She tells Jay and Austin they're still in, then it's down to Whiney and Robio. And who gets eliminated? Robio! I couldn't believe it. As much as Robio's work has been terrible, Whiney deserved to go this time around because she didn't even redesign the uniform! She's next to go, believe it. Maybe they'll bring Kevin-Aggressive back for the next episode so they can claw each other's eyes out! When Whiney gets back to the Tim-Lab, Jay says to her "You're like a cockroach, you just stick around!" Hahahaha-- snark it up Jay! Be sure to check out Tim's Take on the Project Runway site. His comments are priceless! He said Robio's design made him "SICK" and that Whiney couldn't have designed a "bigger BOMB". Hilarious! posted by sheryl | 6:08 PM | comments (2)
Wednesday, February 02, 2005 Chocolatey Goodness: an ode to Puccini Slate has ratings of the "tastiest" chocolates (quotations are mine) you can get by mail. Don't listen to any of it. Since the Holland stint, I have become the biggest chocolate snob in America. (Yes it's true, even more of a chocolate snob than either a waffle or french-fries snob. The french fry snobbery I will get to in another post). I usually really like Slate's Shopping column, with the exceptions, of course, being their coffee-maker article and their vacuum-cleaner article. (Many know about my obsessions with my Francis X5, (which I've nicknamed "Francis"-- what else?) even though I've gotten lazy and use a regular ol' Krups nowadays, and my newer obsession with our Miele vacuum cleaner, which cost more than anybody should ever spend on a vacuum-cleaner, ugh. But I love it! And I'm getting away from the subject here.) Anyway, I think Puccini Bomboni in Amsterdam ruined me, ruined me! for regular chocolates. It's the combination of super, super dark (i.e. at least 70% cacao content) chocolate and super-strong, unusual flavors, the best of which are fig-marzipan, tea, lemongrass, tamarind, and last but not least, pepper. We also had a Den Haag based chocolatier called Westerbroek, which had the best damn hazelnut chocolate anywhere. Unfortunately, Puccini does not mail-order, so Kyle, Tricia and I are incredibly depressed whenever we imagine pepper chocolate and fig-marzipan bonbons. How sad! As far as the Slate article goes, avoid pretty much everything on the list, with the exception of La Maison du Chocolat, the French company. They actually have stores in NYC, and are highly regarded. Some chocolate-crazies that I know prefer Maison's best of all, so even though I didn't get to try them while in Paris (even more expensive than Puccini, so I couldn't do it!) I trust that they truly are some of the best out there. Avoid Leonidas, the Belgian company on Slate's list: totally mediocre. A Belgian company I really like just for regular chocolate bars is Galler. They also have bonbons with flavors like curry, but I did not get to try them. Actually, now that I think of it, for regular chocolate bars and for baking, one of my favorites happens to be Scharffen-Berger, which is an American company! So that gives me hope: maybe I will come upon the ultimate American bonbon one of these days. Speaking of bonbons in America, when we got back to Seattle last year, one of the first things I did was check out Fran's. It is sometimes regarded as the best chocolate in America. I'm gonna go old school here-- Don't believe the hype! It was totally overpriced, and to me, tasted like the commonest Belgian chocolate this side of Bruges. Not only that, it was too sweet-- one of the typical crimes of American chocolate. It is $45 per pound! Compare that to Puccini's 40 euros per kilo, and you'll understand why I think Fran's is overpriced. The only worthwhile bonbon was the salt caramel, but it's still not worth the cost. Anyway, I can't write about this anymore, it's too depressing! Soon I will have to have a Holland-based friend send us some chocolates when this withdrawal becomes too unbearable. It'll be totally worth the shipping cost! Better yet, anyone going to Amsterdam soon?? :) 
Puccini's Staalstraat location. Staalstraat is one of the cutest little streets in Amsterdam, and this shop has a tasty sandwich shop next door (also named Puccini). (sigh... I can see the tamarind flavor right there in the forefront...) posted by sheryl | 10:33 PM | comments (1)
Am I the only one who thinks Mario Batali looks like the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons? 
Worst Ponytail Ever. posted by sheryl | 7:02 PM | comments (0)
Tuesday, February 01, 2005 Take that, Bobby Flay! Iron Chef America update: Jerky Flay went down to Ming Tsai in the Duck Battle last night. Ever since Jerky stood up on the cutting board against Morimoto, I've been waiting for him to lose. He is definitely the biggest jackass on Food TV. I'm so glad he was beat by an Asian-- hee hee! The episode: Foie gras creme brulee actually looked good (Tsai), and I have to say the jerk duck from Jerky (how appropriate) looked awesome on the plate. Even though he's my all-time favorite food writer, Jeffrey Steingarten's arrogant comments are getting old. Ted Allen was actually pretty good, and thank goodness they got rid of that stoopid middle judge from last week who was afraid of Trevino's catfish doughnut. (But not afraid of his 'miso honey' sauce. Haha-- I snorted on that one when he said it on TV). All in all, a great ICA episode. 
Ming's put on some weight since his Food TV days. Too much foie gras there, buddy? posted by sheryl | 1:39 AM | comments (2)
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Welcome to Sheryl's website, where I talk about my family's travels and the joys (and ordeals) of living as an expat. Oh, and to read more about my obsession with food, check out my food blog, Crispy Waffle. ARCHIVES FRIENDS NETHERLANDS/EXPAT DAILY READS FOOD OBSESSED
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