Tree Kangaroo Power

One of these days I'll get my life back, but until then, my hat (actually, I don't wear a hat, although I'm considering it because I'm planning a second career as a hobo and don't they wear hats?) goes off to my new fave tennis player, Marin Cilic. He beat Juan Martin Del Potro and Andy Roddick in full on nail-biter five set matches.

I think it's partly due to the magic of the tree kangaroo. Although last time I went on a Marin Cilic tree kangaroo spree he lost to Del Po at the US Open. Sadly, I don't have high hopes for him against Andy Murray, but we'll see. None of you know what I'm talking about, do you? I live alone in my grand slam tennis fan world. Tear.

I used to sort of poo poo the Australian Open as the slam that didn't really matter, but I've come around and seen some of the best matches at Melbourne Park via my tv... at 3 am...

In other news, I'm in Austin. Sitting in an office. Well, sitting in a laundry room that is now a cave that doubles as an office. I have lava lamps, though, and that makes all the difference.

I'm So Discombobulated I Forgot to Headline This When I First Hit "Publish Post"

This was the view from my front door this morning. Though I've been (possibly unduly) suffering at the hands of the cold, I can still appreciate good light and the romance of snow and ice.

Showering and sitting in a warm room shouldn't be a luxury, but I guess they are. I've thought about my dependency on all things modern lately and feel a bit guilty. I tend to be self-reliant to a fault (see: staying in a house by myself with no power in sub-freezing temperatures for three days), and when Tom's gone I spend the majority of my time alone. However, I'm never really alone with the TV and internets going 24/7, right?

I haven't watched the telly in three days and now don't want to. I saw that Serena Williams won the Australian Open and didn't much care, but then I wouldn't, anyway. If Dinara Safina had pulled it off, I would be pretty sad to have missed that.

However, tomorrow Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer meet up for the first time in a hard court Grand Slam final so, you know, I really really want to see that, but I don't want to impose on anyone to do so.

So, from my keyboard to the God of LG&E's ears, may I please have my electricity back for the Australian Open Men's Final? I'm not asking for much, I don't think.

Australian Open - Rafael Nadal is Blogging Edition

Okay, I confess, Tom isn't the only man I love that's in Australia at the moment. Though my excitement over Rafael Nadal is waning now that he's number 1 (I heart an underdog), I was excited to find that he's blogging again. You can keep up with it here and gosh, he's just precious. I dare you not to have a l'il crush after reading.

It will be interesting to see if Roger Federer can regain his footing - and I love how Fed losing his footing means not winning every darn thing. I kind of liked Novak Djokovic for a while but until he fixes his atititude, he can suck it. Hee hee.

I confess my attentions have turned to Ernests Gulbis, the Latvian up and comer who... still has some work to do, but is quite promising, and purty fun to watch.

Anyway, while I am waiting for someone in Oz to send me some new pics, I wanted to do an Australian Open post because I'm psyched about Grand Slam season starting again.

However, I still miss Justine Henin. The WTA pretty much blows without her.

We are the Champions

Winners of the weekend...

Australian Open
Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic emerged victorious. I really wanted Ana Ivanovic to beat MS but knew she wouldn't. Yuri Sharapov, Maria's creepy Unabomber father won the hearts of many when he made a throat slashing motion after his daughter beat Justine Henin. He is one class act. I think he might be worse than Richard Williams (father of Venus and Serena).

I'm thrilled that Djokovic won his first grand slam. I'm not thrilled that my DVR stopped recording the match in the third set so I missed it. I wonder if his opponent, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, will end up like fellow countrywoman Marion Bartoli and fade into obscurity after a surprise Grand Slam final appearance. Let's hope not.

Politics
Barack Obama trounced Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina Primary. We'll see what happens on Super Tuesday but Obama definitely has the momentum now. I don't care who gets the nomination as long as they WIN in November.

Figure Skating
Farewell Kimmie Meisner. She wasn't even in the top four as Mirai Nagasu, a 14 year old Californian, took home the gold in her first senior appearance. Too bad she and Caroline Zhang (who placed fourth) are too young to go to Worlds. Annoying male pairs skater John Baldwin (he's the blond guy who looks like Syndrome from The Incredibles) proposed to his partner Rene Inoue after their free skate. This would have been rather touching if Inoue hadn't looked mortified. Apparently she said, "yes" but it sure didn't seem like a moment of joy. Maybe she was hoping John Zimmerman would ask instead. Too bad he's already taken.

I'll be back tonight with SAG Awards coverage. The Actors definitely rank up there as one of the most nauseating awards shows as there's nothing more ickily self-aggrandizing than a bunch of actors sitting around congratulating each other and themselves. However, with the WGA strike still going on, this may be the only one they're allowed to show up to so I'll take my tacky glitz and glamour where I can.

Speaking of glamour, I found the Holy Grail of handbags at Neiman Marcus yesterday. I never thought I would covet a $1000 purse, but here I am... Damn you, Marc Jacobs!!!! Damn you straight to fashion hell!

I ate Krispy Kreme's for breakfast.

Unk,
Ms. P

John Gibson Still Sucks

We've been talking, briefly, about Fox Radio butthead John Gibson's remarks regarding Heath Ledger's death (you can listen to it here) in the comments of another post. Gibson apologized on Fox today... if he offended you. Not for what he said. Sadly, he did not apologize for being the King of Choads.

In other news, long live the Serbs as Novak Djokovic conquered Roger Federer in straight sets during last night's men's semifinal of the Australian Open. Also, congrats to Ana Ivanovic for making it to her second slam final in a year. I thought Hantuchova'd done her in. If she beats Sharapova, I will be jumping for joy.

Shucks,
Ms. P

Project Runway: Jazzin' for Blue Jean

Also: The Westboro Baptist Lunatics and Australian Open (old) news to follow...

On tonight's Project Runway the designers were challenged to re-imagine Levi's 501 jeans. We learn a bit more about the contestants - Rami survived the rigors growing up in Israel by sketching clothes, Victorya's mother made her whatever she wanted. My friend Priscilla mentioned that V rolls her eyes a lot, and it's funny - the one flashback clip they showed had them heading to heaven. Twice. In 15 seconds. Believe it or not someone's crying, and it's not Ricky (Jillian keeps pricking her finger on the sewing machine, and she's losing it. Quelle tragedie!) Speaking of Ricky, Christian is irked that RL and his stupid hats are still around. He thinks Ricky should have gone home instead of Kit. Can't say I disagree.

We're back to snoozeville here come runway time. I really hope they find more interesting designers next year. Ricky's cocktail dress isn't ... bad. Oh God. Cue waterworks. They like his work, and he's still in tears! Sheesh. Sweet P's modern patchwork was chic (and Michael Kors agreed). As for Victorya, was that skirt pleated or gathered or both? What was that? Besides lame, I mean. Rami's look is, of course, high end. For some reason I'm reminded of a classier Jeffrey Sebelia (perhaps because of the zippers on the outside of the dress). Christian loves the 80s. He just cannot help himself. I will give him props for creativity for adding the motocross jacket sleeves to the bottom of the jeans. Jillian maybe needed a poke in the head instead. Her jacket thing with the ruffled denim cuffs is strange at best. I don't even understand those red tabs on the shoulders. They look like little post its or something.

It's judgment time... well, bye bye Korea. Victorya's eyes will roll no more as Jillian lives to see another day. Ricky actually won, and I imagine his triumph probably has him in the fetal position by now. That guy needs to buy stock in Kleenex.

I'm still po'ed about the Westboro (not officially a) Baptist Church Heath Ledger protest. I did a bit of reading up on these nutjobs and it turns out they're the same losers who picket American soldier funerals (because apparently fighting in Iraq is the same thing as being a "fag enabler"). These inbred idiots (they're not allowed to marry outside the church and since the church is comprised of three families and some pathetic stragglers, they give new life to the term "kissing cousins") need to learn to do something constructive with their time. Like, oh say, campaign for Mike Huckabee.

On the bright side, Al Gore announced today that he supports the legalization of gay marriage. I think this all but insures us that he's not running for president.

I missed some great Australian Open matches that bid farewell to Justine Henin, Venus and Serena Williams, and David Ferrer. Maria Sharapova's going to the final against, it looks like, Daniela Hantuchova (who's busy pummeling Ana Ivanovic while I write). Since I can't stand Sharapova and don't care about Hantuchova, I'm no longer interested in the women's draw. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are still in it on the men's side so I'll remain curious, especially if it's a Nadal vs Federer final. Even a Nadal/Djokovic final would be cool. Perhaps Djok can win his first slam - he's certainly deserving (and I love his lampooning of Sharapova. Grudging respect to her for liking it, too).

Okay, it's sleepy time,
Ms. P

I Feel Sicko: Dan, Hillary, and McCain in Real Life

Things that happened this weekend:

I watched Michael Moore's Sicko. Boy, that was depressing. Unfortunately, every person I know that's dealt with socialized medicine never has anything good to say about it. However, I think insurance companies border on criminal in their handling of clients. I need to read up on Hillary's Universal Health Care Plan.

Speaking of Hillary, she won Nevada, which was either a surprise or her campaign made us think it was a surprise. The thrill of lowered expectations. McCain won South Carolina and that actually was a bit shocking, but Huckabee more or less had the wheels waving bye bye to the cart this week when he said the Constitution should be rewritten to reflect God's standards and compared homosexuality to bestiality. He's so awesome, that Huckabee. Not crazy at all.

I also had the displeasure of sitting through Dan in Real Life. What was Steve Carell thinking?! What was Juliette Binoche thinking?!! What were the producers thinking when they cast Dane Cook?!! I work in the music industry... I spend enough time with self-involved idiots, thanks. That he had an epiphany at the end of the film meant nothing to me. Too little too late, Dan.

In sports news, my first experience with the Australian Open has been quite gratifying, I must say. I've gradually progressed to watching all the slams (I used to be a Wimbledon only girl) and though it eats up hours and hours, it's a good time for tennis. I was awake until 5 am Friday night watching Roger Federer triumph over Janko Tipsarevic in a four and a half hour nail biter. Kudos to Tipsarevic, the Oakley wearing classic literature lover who has "Beauty will save the world" tattooed on his arm, for turning in an impressive performance. He might become my favorite Serb (which is tough considering there's a wealth of them right now, and they're all pretty excellent).

Speaking of 5 am, that's when the action ended in Australia. I couldn't believe things were still going at the Rod Laver Arena when I woke up Saturday morning. Lleyton Hewitt (bleah!) and Marcos Baghdatis (yeah!) didn't hit the court til after midnight. Hewitt eventually triumphed but not before MB put his usual heart into the match. Baghdatis came under scrutiny recently when video surfaced that showed him chanting "Turks out" at a barbecue. After reading up on Turkey's invasion of Cyprus, I might be chanting the same if I were him.

Tomorrow I'm off to Texas for two months. Fascinating reports from the Lone Star State heading your way ::snort::.

Drivin n Cryin,
Ms. P