how to:

necessary?

Thank goodness I can count on Japanese retailers to be embarrassed by bodily function noises even more than I am. Behold the Eco-Otome Toilet Sound Blocker: for a mere $19US (plus $15 shipping), you can have a key chain device that makes the sound of a toilet flushing -- so you can cover up those less-than-sexy noises you make in the restroom without wasting water.

The best part? This was sent to me in a list of Valentines day gift ideas (not from my guy, thankfully). "Happy Valentines Day baby! Why? Because I love you."

signage

A lot of people were angry in 2009. Thank goodness some people still had a sense of humor. The Huffington Post has compiled a collection of the Funniest Protest Signs of 2009. The majority of these are doing a hilarious job of using humor to cheekily mock intolerance, but most are slanted left (of course) and so if you're a tea-bagger you might not find some of these so funny. I've got a few below to whet your whistle, but these are just a drop in the bucket. You could spend hours flipping through the numerous photos of signs they have here. A great activity for this cold snowy weekend (at least on this coast). Enjoy!


(middle sign says "We have no idea what we're talking about" with arrows pointing to surrounding signs)

say it with sugar

If you haven't figured it out yet, I love baking. Mostly, I love eating baked goods. But the creation is fun too. There's something ridiculously cheerful about a cake, cookies, or a mound of cupcakes. And don't even get me started on sprinkles (I think they are clinically equivalent to Prozac). Knowing my affinity towards all things sugar-based, my guy sent me this link to a 'Message in a Cookie' set. You get cookie cutters with slots to insert included letters, which you can set any way you want to get your message across. Send a "Feel Better" set to your friend who needs a pick-me-up, or a "Dear John" set to that loser you're dating. Or make each individual cookie unique and write the next great American novel. Who wants a waste paper when you can write it on a cookie?

watch

Want to know what your neighbor is watching? Or the cool kids who live in Brooklyn? Look no further than the New York Times 'A Peek into Netflix Queues', which lets you see the most-rented (and least-rented) films for particular geographic areas. With help from Google Maps, you can view top ten lists by zip code, or flip through a list of Netflix's top-rented films from 2009 to see how well they fared in a particular metropolitan area based on that city's queues. The top rental in my zip code of 20009? Milk. Sounds right to me.

sleep talkin

Awesome new blog Sleep Talkin' Man. This woman in Britain has a sleep-talking husband, and instead of letting his odd midnight mumblings bother her, she is putting them to good use entertaining the rest of the world. Daily postings from the voice-activated tape recorder she keeps at his bedside include the following:

1/19/10: "My bagder's gonna unleash hell on your ass. Badgertastic!"

12/7/09: "Put the lobster down. Put it down!"

1/9/10: "Legs time! Everybody get your legs!"
[yelled upon waking] "COCK HUNTER!"

Karen's note: Also, just after he shouted "COCK HUNTER" and woke up, he looked at me with fear in his eyes and said, "um, did I just shout cock hunter?" It's been worrying him ever since.


Awesome.

come play

I recently signed up for the H Street Country Club's Skeeball Tournament with a team of my friends (team name not suitable for the interwebs). Skeeball, drinking, jeering others, should be a good time.

Rock & Roll Hotel is hosting both Spelling Buzz (a drunken spelling bee) and ping pong once a week, and Little Miss Whiskey's and Sticky Rice are teaming up with R&RH to host their second annual H Street Karaoke Competition.

Apparently the kids love a throwback game or competition, as long as it's combined with booze (cheap booze, preferably). And why not? No use pretending you're too cool to have a freaking good time.