when in doubt, make a list.

better yet, make a list about the best tv couples ever so people can debate in/exclusions. my personal favorites include:

however, two of my all time faves will always remain:

(jordan catalano, i will always ♥ your illiterate ass.)

(yes, still obsessed. i think the better question is, why aren't YOU?)

egregious exclusions (outside of others already in the top 20):

sydney & vaughn

felicity & ben

and of course, rita & chris

(did you also illicitly watch silk stalkings when you were little?)

is it april yet? i really need some new tv to watch.

i'm usually not a big fan of eating salt chunks.

...or labor of, well, any kind really. so imagine my pleasant surprise when i made this fleur de sel caramel recipe this afternoon and found it both delectable and effortless (photo borrowed from the recipe source):


if you like butter, sugar, cream, salt or light corn syrup (i may be judging you right now if you actually like the last one), this is the perfect dessert for you. if you like savory + sweet things chocolate-covered pretzel style, this is the candy for you (this is starting to feel pretty much exactly like if you like giorgio, you'll love primo! designer imposter perfume!). anyway, i'm not going to go all rachael ray on your ass and stand on my soapbox shouting YUMMO in your face, but you get the idea.

this would also be the perfect (read: cheap) gift to give that food snob friend of yours that prefers haricot verts to green beans and only eats canadian bacon ironically.

topics that came up in (one) discussion yesterday.

strategic modeling featured a guest speaker who talked about system dynamics and global warming. awesome. talking points (largely audience-initiated) included:

• colonization of mars (raised multiple times)
• syphilis
  
• copernicus
• alien invasion

trust me, it wasn't nearly as interesting as it sounds.

just in case you were wondering.

here's how the writers' strike has affected the future of your favorite primetime shows.

i am taking the call to refresh the page quite seriously. we're talking about the future of my nightlife, here.

(why is one tree hill still on the air? does anyone really believe chad michael murray as a novelist? i dvr it, but still. that doesn't mean it should be on the air)

what i like-like about valentine's day.

like any good american, i ♥ the presents of course! especially when they consist of creepy dehumanized body parts as stand-ins for actual human interaction:

i'm not judging.

what i love this valentine's day.

...is being (price) discriminated against myself. apparently yahoo bizarro c (recipient of the offer on the right) has way more money to throw around than student bizarro c (recipient of the offer on the left).

i can only hope that i one day live up to my aspirational yahoo lifestyle. word.

there must be something they're not telling us.

sometimes i wonder if the good people at pottery barn have a secret internal competition to see what they can dupe the mass market into buying. this is how i imagine the go-to-market conversation going down...

the champion of the giant wooden scissors would kick it off with a sales pitch:

"you will not BELIEVE the scale on these things! thin is in, am i right? well these giant scissors will make any book you own look downright TINY. while also offsetting your yuppie blueprint wallpaper."

then the compass guy would chime in:

"you amateur. you obviously haven't harnessed the power of nostalgia that will inspire people to buy ANYTHING they used as a child. even mathematical instruments. nevermind that it has two points and no giant pencil like an actual compass would. these dummies don't care about faithful reproductions. because it's A HUGE COMPASS. and AWESOME."

feeling the need to trumpet her own contribution, the clothespin lady would weigh in:

"some people might think we're trying to go high brow and create a claus oldenburg reproduction for the middle class. and i guess we're ok with that."

"but really, we just want to show that sometimes, you forget that the laundry room is a laundry room despite having a visible washer/dryer set and a giant hamper in the middle of the room. sometimes, you need four huge, obsolete clothespins on the wall to remind you. i'm just saying."

finally, the wing man puts an end to the debate:

"FACT: my freshly harvested angel wings on a stick are sparkly. FACT: americans love sparkly everything. GENERALIZATION: therefore, americans will love my gilded wing-on-a-stick. and double therefore, i own you."

(this random act of sarcasm has been brought to you by my 37th attempt to dodge doing any homework today)