No compilations, 'best ofs/greatest hits', or soundtracks. They must have album release dates after 1/1/2000. It's kinda hard to whittle down but really how many albums are there that you can listen to from beginning to end? I reserve the right to modify. These are mine in no particular order:
Confessions on a Dancefloor, Madonna
Supernature, Goldfrapp
The Reminder, Feist
The Fame Monster, Lady Gaga
Lovers Rock, Sade
FutureSex/LoveSounds, Justin Timberlake
Kala, M.I.A.
The Greatest, Cat Power
100th Window, Massive Attack
A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay
Runners-up:
Simple Things, Zero 7
Finally Woken, Jem
X, Kylie Minogue
Fever, Kylie Minogue
808's And Heartbreaks, Kanye West
Ladyhawke, Ladyhawke
Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
Some People Have Real Problems, Sia
Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
Versions, Mark Ronson
The Breakthrough, Mary J. Blige
Come Away With Me, Norah Jones
I See Red, Uh Huh Her
Most Sigur Ros albums
Thanks for the idea Joanna! What are everyone else's favorites?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
random acts of barbness
it's a beautifully crisp day in new york. i just went for a bike ride 'round Prospect Park and realized it was a little too crisp for shorts perhaps. i don't know why every physical activity revolves around shorts for me, even if it is the dead of winter. dense much?
a few things:
i'm going to Buenos Aires on Tuesday, not Brazil. And no, Argentina and Brazil are not the same country and wont be. Ever. well, it's unlikely.
i have been there before. i'm going again bc i got a cheap ass (though likely not so comfortable connecting flight) by happenstance, it's 80 degrees there right now and i like traveling. i think that's enough of a reason. fingers crossed Mexicana!
Switzerland and Sweden are not the same country just as New York and New Jersey aren't the same state. put's it in perspective no? no? really?
Hong Kong is part of China which is not the same as Japan. supposedly we all look the same but even i know London is in the UK and not France. yeah, i wrote it. what?
no i am not half Swedish and half Japanese.
no i am not turning 30. not that there's anything wrong with that.
yes i work at glamour.com. yes, the website for the same Glamour magazine placed just so on your coffee table.
no, i don't write, edit, or test makeup. once upon a time i did write, edit, and test things but no longer.
what exactly do i do? words and pictures don't appear magically on the interwebs, someone has to put them there (whether they write them or not) and make it look pretty for you to 'read.' it's like christmas, just believe it.
i went to Binghamton University and no, it's not located the next town over from Southampton, Long Island. and yes, i did just look up exactly how to spell 'Southampton.'
before that i went to Birch Wathen Lenox for grades 8-12. don't you dare think for a moment i don't dread saying it every time because NO ONE catches it the first time. 'Birch, like the tree. Wathen, like i dunno what. Lenox. yes.' wonderful school otherwise.
yes, it was on the Upper East side but no it wasn't like Gossip Girl. yes, there were 18 people in my graduating class. 18. yes. really? yes. and you probably have met 10% of my graduating class.
i really did grow up in Manhattan. no, i am not a unicorn.
i lived in Hells Kitchen before it was clean, Battery Park City before it became a suburb, and the Upper East Side before it was...? currently i live in Brooklyn. a strangely passport free experience.
with the same roommate.
for 7+ years. yes. really. really.
i was born in Hong Kong and strangely i'm not Japanese.
yes, i like to travel.
no, i am not a trust fund baby. (i know you're thinking it. stop thinking it. right. now.)
yes i speak Cantonese but no i wont 'say something.' do i look like a trained monkey? and i most definitely will not order your next delivery order for you in Chinese.
Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese.
my name is spelled like so: Barbara. thanks Mrs. Streisand for screwing it up for the rest of us. that's right, look it up, there's a difference.
feel free to call me any pre-approved (please submit written requests via email) iteration you like except for Babs, Barbie, and Asshole.
my last name is not pronounced 'Hoover.' so, no, not like the vacuum.
i am not a monk, despite how i may sound at times.
no, i do not steal children. stop spreading lies.
generally i prefer a handwritten love note on my birthday rather than a gift.
that is, unless you were planning on giving me a Land Rover Sport.
my main pet peeves are flakiness, bad spelling, and general misuse of the English language.
yes, i am a snob.
people don't read yet i bother writing...riddle me that.
you have just read (probably scanned) the answers to the most often asked* questions in my life. now back to regularly scheduled programming.
xoxo,
that is all :)
*these may not reflect reality
a few things:
i'm going to Buenos Aires on Tuesday, not Brazil. And no, Argentina and Brazil are not the same country and wont be. Ever. well, it's unlikely.
i have been there before. i'm going again bc i got a cheap ass (though likely not so comfortable connecting flight) by happenstance, it's 80 degrees there right now and i like traveling. i think that's enough of a reason. fingers crossed Mexicana!
Switzerland and Sweden are not the same country just as New York and New Jersey aren't the same state. put's it in perspective no? no? really?
Hong Kong is part of China which is not the same as Japan. supposedly we all look the same but even i know London is in the UK and not France. yeah, i wrote it. what?
no i am not half Swedish and half Japanese.
no i am not turning 30. not that there's anything wrong with that.
yes i work at glamour.com. yes, the website for the same Glamour magazine placed just so on your coffee table.
no, i don't write, edit, or test makeup. once upon a time i did write, edit, and test things but no longer.
what exactly do i do? words and pictures don't appear magically on the interwebs, someone has to put them there (whether they write them or not) and make it look pretty for you to 'read.' it's like christmas, just believe it.
i went to Binghamton University and no, it's not located the next town over from Southampton, Long Island. and yes, i did just look up exactly how to spell 'Southampton.'
before that i went to Birch Wathen Lenox for grades 8-12. don't you dare think for a moment i don't dread saying it every time because NO ONE catches it the first time. 'Birch, like the tree. Wathen, like i dunno what. Lenox. yes.' wonderful school otherwise.
yes, it was on the Upper East side but no it wasn't like Gossip Girl. yes, there were 18 people in my graduating class. 18. yes. really? yes. and you probably have met 10% of my graduating class.
i really did grow up in Manhattan. no, i am not a unicorn.
i lived in Hells Kitchen before it was clean, Battery Park City before it became a suburb, and the Upper East Side before it was...? currently i live in Brooklyn. a strangely passport free experience.
with the same roommate.
for 7+ years. yes. really. really.
i was born in Hong Kong and strangely i'm not Japanese.
yes, i like to travel.
no, i am not a trust fund baby. (i know you're thinking it. stop thinking it. right. now.)
yes i speak Cantonese but no i wont 'say something.' do i look like a trained monkey? and i most definitely will not order your next delivery order for you in Chinese.
Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese.
my name is spelled like so: Barbara. thanks Mrs. Streisand for screwing it up for the rest of us. that's right, look it up, there's a difference.
feel free to call me any pre-approved (please submit written requests via email) iteration you like except for Babs, Barbie, and Asshole.
my last name is not pronounced 'Hoover.' so, no, not like the vacuum.
i am not a monk, despite how i may sound at times.
no, i do not steal children. stop spreading lies.
generally i prefer a handwritten love note on my birthday rather than a gift.
that is, unless you were planning on giving me a Land Rover Sport.
my main pet peeves are flakiness, bad spelling, and general misuse of the English language.
yes, i am a snob.
people don't read yet i bother writing...riddle me that.
you have just read (probably scanned) the answers to the most often asked* questions in my life. now back to regularly scheduled programming.
xoxo,
that is all :)
*these may not reflect reality
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
'i just heard myself'
i went up to Beacon this weekend to see my oldest friend E. she took part in an open studios event and i thought it'd be lovely to see her. off i went with 3 peeps in Hubie2 Saturday morning.
i wont bore you with details about the day other than that we saw some lovely art, went to a vineyard, and crashed a house party.
what i came away with, (you knew this was coming!) was a realization about what dear E means to me and why i've always felt such a strong attachment to her.
picture it: we met when i was all of 8/9 years old. she was my 15/16 year old teacher in Saturday morning German language school. (my mother wanted me to learn the language since i'm Swiss.) she was smart yet chill, completely charming yet humble, one of the most approachable and accepting people i've ever met and to top it off...she's a halfie. she was my first halfie role model. you may not ever think of this, or maybe you do, but it's not often that i'm face to face with someone who looks like me.
whether you recognize it as important or not, i never realized that very fact until i attended a Loving Day event a few years ago and was in a room full of halfies. i daresay most of the others in that room probably felt the same as i did. it was neither a feeling of woe and isolation nor one of happiness, rather it was a feeling of shared experience and solidarity. as you know, i have some of the very best friends in the world but i believe even they would have a hard time comprehending the feeling of awe i felt in that room simply because it's not likely something they've ever encountered. and it's not something i'd expect from them as non-mixed people. why would i? would i say i comprehend the black experience to my black friends? no. it's one of the few things in life one has to be to understand.
so it was this past Saturday I fully recognized my connection with E and why I've always held her friendship so close to my heart. i saw her almost every Saturday for 5 years and to be as young as i was and see a well-adjusted, unaffected, and brilliant biracial, i think, really had an effect on me. as i've said before, being biracial is only a part of who i am and i'd never want it to be more than that but it's an important part nonetheless. there was so much that didn't need to be spoken. we just understood each other. at one point on Saturday she said, 'it was like i just heard myself' while she listened to me rant about my Loving Day experience. precisely, how i've felt in her presence my whole life.
i know i have friends who don't see me as biracial and i honestly love that they're colorblind to it. but it's something i've always been aware of. in my impressionable years, it wasn't something that conjured a feeling of pride. i had been on the receiving end of one too many racially charged comments. i knew people didn't accept my mother because she had a kid with a non-Chinese and out of wedlock nonetheless. gasp! undoubtedly some of it was also self-imposed. was it why my dad left? and where were the role models who could've showed me otherwise? so you see, all this internal and external loathing made an indelible mark.
the silver lining is, as i became more confident and self-assured, i came to recognize my difference as uniqueness. it didn't automatically make me less and just because i didn't see many people around who looked like me (and by extension, felt as i did) didn't make me less worthy, less loved or less worthy of being loved and i needed to stop looking at myself that way.
so, dear E, please know that in the 20 years i've had the pleasure of your acquaintance you've unwittingly become my main halfie role model in all realms of life. i know you're so much more than being someone of mixed race but that part of who you are has been important to me. thank you for showing me tolerance and acceptance.
p.s. apologies for not retaining a lick of German! :)
i wont bore you with details about the day other than that we saw some lovely art, went to a vineyard, and crashed a house party.
what i came away with, (you knew this was coming!) was a realization about what dear E means to me and why i've always felt such a strong attachment to her.
picture it: we met when i was all of 8/9 years old. she was my 15/16 year old teacher in Saturday morning German language school. (my mother wanted me to learn the language since i'm Swiss.) she was smart yet chill, completely charming yet humble, one of the most approachable and accepting people i've ever met and to top it off...she's a halfie. she was my first halfie role model. you may not ever think of this, or maybe you do, but it's not often that i'm face to face with someone who looks like me.
whether you recognize it as important or not, i never realized that very fact until i attended a Loving Day event a few years ago and was in a room full of halfies. i daresay most of the others in that room probably felt the same as i did. it was neither a feeling of woe and isolation nor one of happiness, rather it was a feeling of shared experience and solidarity. as you know, i have some of the very best friends in the world but i believe even they would have a hard time comprehending the feeling of awe i felt in that room simply because it's not likely something they've ever encountered. and it's not something i'd expect from them as non-mixed people. why would i? would i say i comprehend the black experience to my black friends? no. it's one of the few things in life one has to be to understand.
so it was this past Saturday I fully recognized my connection with E and why I've always held her friendship so close to my heart. i saw her almost every Saturday for 5 years and to be as young as i was and see a well-adjusted, unaffected, and brilliant biracial, i think, really had an effect on me. as i've said before, being biracial is only a part of who i am and i'd never want it to be more than that but it's an important part nonetheless. there was so much that didn't need to be spoken. we just understood each other. at one point on Saturday she said, 'it was like i just heard myself' while she listened to me rant about my Loving Day experience. precisely, how i've felt in her presence my whole life.
i know i have friends who don't see me as biracial and i honestly love that they're colorblind to it. but it's something i've always been aware of. in my impressionable years, it wasn't something that conjured a feeling of pride. i had been on the receiving end of one too many racially charged comments. i knew people didn't accept my mother because she had a kid with a non-Chinese and out of wedlock nonetheless. gasp! undoubtedly some of it was also self-imposed. was it why my dad left? and where were the role models who could've showed me otherwise? so you see, all this internal and external loathing made an indelible mark.
the silver lining is, as i became more confident and self-assured, i came to recognize my difference as uniqueness. it didn't automatically make me less and just because i didn't see many people around who looked like me (and by extension, felt as i did) didn't make me less worthy, less loved or less worthy of being loved and i needed to stop looking at myself that way.
so, dear E, please know that in the 20 years i've had the pleasure of your acquaintance you've unwittingly become my main halfie role model in all realms of life. i know you're so much more than being someone of mixed race but that part of who you are has been important to me. thank you for showing me tolerance and acceptance.
p.s. apologies for not retaining a lick of German! :)
Monday, September 14, 2009
September 14th
Much like Mother's Day, September 14th has always been a strange occasion for me. It was 13 years ago today. Yes. Yes. THAT day. The day my life changed forever. Not in that melodramatic way but in that it irrevocably changed who I was at the time and who i was to become. Believe me, I've thought about it and I know I would've been different and, i daresay, less happy which is why i believe, so wholeheartedly, that everything. happens. for. a. reason. Ironically, September has become a month of celebration since many of my close friends have September birthdays so perhaps i'm meant to think of September 14th not as a day of death but a day to celebrate life? then again, shouldn't we be celebrating life every day? i think so.
i recognize that if someone just read the first 2 lines of this post without knowing me they'd think, 'Geez Barb, that sucks. how shitty. i'm sorry.' but, i'd prefer that people not think about it that way. i'd rather people realize, as i do, how incredibly lucky i am and have been. i don't have to try to be glass half full, it's really how i am and i recognize that i could've gone in the opposite direction. but i didn't and so again, i'm lucky. i'm healthy. i've got amazing people around me and a lifestyle that i just cannot complain about, even though i do at times. it's not to say that it's all been roses, which, obviously it hasn't. but all of it has made me who i am. all of it. as a result, i'm quite resilient. i know i can get over pretty much anything in time. life is too important and fragile. sometimes i think we all let such insignificant things ruin our days. i believe there's great value in knowing what's worth truly fretting over and what isn't. it saves one's time and sanity.
this is NOT about me tooting my own horn. this is about me saying, i don't know any other way to be. these are the cards i've been dealt. this is how my brain has reacted. my mother went through too much shizz getting me here to not appreciate it. i. am. lucky. so, to a life well lived.
p.s. to a life well lived to you too, dear reader.
i recognize that if someone just read the first 2 lines of this post without knowing me they'd think, 'Geez Barb, that sucks. how shitty. i'm sorry.' but, i'd prefer that people not think about it that way. i'd rather people realize, as i do, how incredibly lucky i am and have been. i don't have to try to be glass half full, it's really how i am and i recognize that i could've gone in the opposite direction. but i didn't and so again, i'm lucky. i'm healthy. i've got amazing people around me and a lifestyle that i just cannot complain about, even though i do at times. it's not to say that it's all been roses, which, obviously it hasn't. but all of it has made me who i am. all of it. as a result, i'm quite resilient. i know i can get over pretty much anything in time. life is too important and fragile. sometimes i think we all let such insignificant things ruin our days. i believe there's great value in knowing what's worth truly fretting over and what isn't. it saves one's time and sanity.
this is NOT about me tooting my own horn. this is about me saying, i don't know any other way to be. these are the cards i've been dealt. this is how my brain has reacted. my mother went through too much shizz getting me here to not appreciate it. i. am. lucky. so, to a life well lived.
p.s. to a life well lived to you too, dear reader.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Barb goes country
i know no one would ever expect me to ever say that which is why i, and everyone around me, found it amusing that i'd go rural for a weekend. dear j graciously opened up her family to me, why would i say no?
after a stressful half day at work i hit the road for my 5+ hour journey to Garrett County, Maryland. i was stressed out about being stressed out and 5 hours of solitude, music, and beautiful scenery turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. i have a strange fascination with small towns, not sure where it comes from and Accident, Maryland certainly fit the bill. the last 3 miles of my drive were through narrow country road, not a car in sight.
i could give you a play by play of the weekend but i'd rather sum it up by saying that i had no idea Maryland was far south enough to garner a Southern accent. i thought i'd have to go much further South to find this kinda charm. so wrong! plus i have a whole new appreciation for agriculture. it's easy to think that food just magically appears at the supermarket. these days we have so much less connection about where our food comes from and more importantly, who provides it. farmer's markets are the main exception, but even then, i realize there's a difference between knowing a farmer on a personal level and just purchasing from them once a week. you'd learn so much more about their ethics and be certain about what's really in the food that you're about to put in your body. i imagine my experience is the exact opposite of the industrial agriculture described in "The Jungle" or any recent Michael Pollan tome. i found it all incredibly interesting.
the other striking thing was experiencing a small town with someone who grew up in a small town. the notion of knowing everyone on your street, having your entire family and extended family within shouting distance, being able to point out the house where your mom grew up in, and following the same traditions your whole life are all foreign to me having grown up in Manhattan, with a single mother, far from any extended family. (though it's true that i find NY to be very small at times.) it's not to say that any one way of growing up is better than the other, i'm just noticing the difference and appreciate the opportunity and awareness of finding out.
because of the Edgemont crew i've always thought it was awesome to say that you've known someone (not in your family) since Kindergarten. i can't really say that about anyone, though there are people i've known for a very long time. there's no way to simulate that kind of familiarity and thus i've always treasured the lengthy relationships i do have because they remind me who i was and how far i've come. ultimately i treasure all my friends and family because they are who i am. if you ever question who you are all you have to do is look around at who you choose to surround yourself with.
so before i bore you further dear reader (me), i shall end this bout of introspection right here.
p.s. thanks to the Striders for a wonderful weekend and all this reflection!
after a stressful half day at work i hit the road for my 5+ hour journey to Garrett County, Maryland. i was stressed out about being stressed out and 5 hours of solitude, music, and beautiful scenery turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. i have a strange fascination with small towns, not sure where it comes from and Accident, Maryland certainly fit the bill. the last 3 miles of my drive were through narrow country road, not a car in sight.
i could give you a play by play of the weekend but i'd rather sum it up by saying that i had no idea Maryland was far south enough to garner a Southern accent. i thought i'd have to go much further South to find this kinda charm. so wrong! plus i have a whole new appreciation for agriculture. it's easy to think that food just magically appears at the supermarket. these days we have so much less connection about where our food comes from and more importantly, who provides it. farmer's markets are the main exception, but even then, i realize there's a difference between knowing a farmer on a personal level and just purchasing from them once a week. you'd learn so much more about their ethics and be certain about what's really in the food that you're about to put in your body. i imagine my experience is the exact opposite of the industrial agriculture described in "The Jungle" or any recent Michael Pollan tome. i found it all incredibly interesting.
the other striking thing was experiencing a small town with someone who grew up in a small town. the notion of knowing everyone on your street, having your entire family and extended family within shouting distance, being able to point out the house where your mom grew up in, and following the same traditions your whole life are all foreign to me having grown up in Manhattan, with a single mother, far from any extended family. (though it's true that i find NY to be very small at times.) it's not to say that any one way of growing up is better than the other, i'm just noticing the difference and appreciate the opportunity and awareness of finding out.
because of the Edgemont crew i've always thought it was awesome to say that you've known someone (not in your family) since Kindergarten. i can't really say that about anyone, though there are people i've known for a very long time. there's no way to simulate that kind of familiarity and thus i've always treasured the lengthy relationships i do have because they remind me who i was and how far i've come. ultimately i treasure all my friends and family because they are who i am. if you ever question who you are all you have to do is look around at who you choose to surround yourself with.
so before i bore you further dear reader (me), i shall end this bout of introspection right here.
p.s. thanks to the Striders for a wonderful weekend and all this reflection!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
oh whitney
making playlists is a hobby of mine so today Whitney's "My Love is Your Love" came on and this lyric struck me:
'If tomorrow is judgement day
and i'm standing on the front line
and the lord asks me what i did with my life.
i will say, i spent it with you.'
firstly, i hope she's talking about her kids and not bobbi bc we all know how that ended. secondly, how amazing would it be to have someone say that about you? what did you do with your life? i spent it with you. ugh, i'm such a sap.
'If tomorrow is judgement day
and i'm standing on the front line
and the lord asks me what i did with my life.
i will say, i spent it with you.'
firstly, i hope she's talking about her kids and not bobbi bc we all know how that ended. secondly, how amazing would it be to have someone say that about you? what did you do with your life? i spent it with you. ugh, i'm such a sap.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Perspective
i'm generally a glass half full person and even when things bring me down, it doesn't take me too long to pick my head up, look around and realize how lucky i am in life. why? because it's true. for example: yesterday, i was hemming and hawing about something to ajoy. she graciously listened, as she always does. but then she talked about something on her mind that had much more gravity to it. life and death stuff of someone close to her. and the switch flipped in my head. what the hell was i complaining about 10 short minutes before?
now, as a wise woman once said, it's not to say that one person's problems are more significant or important than someone else's. (though undoubtedly there are scenarios that could easily invalidate that.)
it was a matter of seeing outside my bubble, looking into someone else's and realizing that there are much more important things to fret over. it didn't erase my problem but recognizing that there was only so much i could do and only so much that'd be accomplished by fretting, i felt better. i have so much. to be annoyed as i was yesterday was greedy of me. it's like saying, i have 1000 apples, 950 of which i can't eat, but i still want more. (wow, that was the worse analogy ever! but i think you know what i mean.) to me, it's about being happy in the moment and workin' wit what choo got because there's no guarantee of anything else. one can just hope the rest will come. wheeeeeeee.
now, as a wise woman once said, it's not to say that one person's problems are more significant or important than someone else's. (though undoubtedly there are scenarios that could easily invalidate that.)
it was a matter of seeing outside my bubble, looking into someone else's and realizing that there are much more important things to fret over. it didn't erase my problem but recognizing that there was only so much i could do and only so much that'd be accomplished by fretting, i felt better. i have so much. to be annoyed as i was yesterday was greedy of me. it's like saying, i have 1000 apples, 950 of which i can't eat, but i still want more. (wow, that was the worse analogy ever! but i think you know what i mean.) to me, it's about being happy in the moment and workin' wit what choo got because there's no guarantee of anything else. one can just hope the rest will come. wheeeeeeee.
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