Lean, Mean, Weight-Losing Machine

You know, very few people can pull of the “cadaverous blow-up doll” look, but Lindsay Lohan does it well looks like crap too. Lindsay was with designer Matthew Williamson to help open his New York store during the Mercedes-Benz Fall 2009 Fashion Week. I’m sure Matthew Williamson is glad that this gaunt bimbo overshadowed his store opening. Nice pick, Matt.

[Source: The Superficial]

Hint for Tomorrow’s Post

I went ahead and wrote my post for tomorrow, but I scheduled it to post itself at midnight tonight (unless it takes on a mind of its own and decides not to do so). In honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to post a true love letter–my favorite, in fact. By whom?

Hints:

• Music
• St. Bernard
• Germany

Austin’s Muse

The Green Muse, located in the ever-eccentric south of Austin, is a coffee bar hidden away in a discreet niche off of Oltorf. Without the typical lit-up sign out front, a company Web site, or even any kind of bona fide advertising, the Green Muse booms mostly due to client word-of-mouth.

This coffee mecca is exactly what you would conjure in your mind if I told you that it was uber “Austiny.” Eccentric Indie music? Check. Wonderfully strange, local artwork? Check. Fliers promoting local events and bands? Double check. Not to mention, the Muse has a mélange of coffees, teas, and other drinks that are sure to sate your pallet.

Hungry? Try a piquant panini, scrumptious sandwich, or savory soup. You can also get a side of hummus, tabbouleh, baba Ganoush (served with toasted pita and cucumbers).

At the Muse, you’ll find students plugged into chairs, laptops, books, and papers within arm’s reach. It’s a hot spot for the twenty-something crowd for the very reason that it’s just a chill, local shop. I recommend it. The free Wi-Fi isn’t bad either.

The Green Muse
519 W Oltorf St
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 912-7789

“Hometown Glory”

Adele, the Grammy-winning English crooner, has had mad props given to her for her divine talent and sensational debut album, “19.” Her commanding vocals resemble those of Etta James and Amy Winehouse, yet Adele maintains a very distinctive sound.

Songs like “Chasing Pavement” and “Cold Shoulder” rocketed Adele to stardom, even earning her the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance awards at the Grammys this year. The song that ignites my bones, however, is Adele’s soon-to-be smash hit, “Hometown Glory.” It’s poetic; it’s haunting; it’s ardent.

I beg you to listen to it, and see if you don’t find yourself reminiscing of summers during your childhood or growing up in the cities and suburbs.

Love that Adele.

Bon Appétit Seeks to Better St. Ed’s Dining Hall

This article was originally written for the Hilltop Views.

Since Bon Appétit was chosen to manage St. Edward’s dining hall in the
summer of 2007, there have been continual efforts to improve dining
services on campus. Recently, the St. Edward’s community had another
chance to voice opinions as Bon Appétit took further steps toward the betterment of the dining hall.

On January 19-21, Bon Appétit offered an opportunity for students,
faculty and staff to participate in on-line surveys on their current and future services.  In addition, they asked members of the campus community to sign up for focus groups, and over the next few days, met
with those groups.  Mike Stone, Director of Auxiliary Services at St.
Edward’s, explained that “the purpose of this research is to assess
what’s good with dining services” and what sort of opportunities there
are for improvement.

Michael Smith, General Manager of Bon Appétit, finds the feedback very
informative and helpful. He mentions though that those who responded
in the polls, surveys, and focus groups had mixed views. “Those who
have been educated about Bon Appétit and our philosophy where very
helpful in the discussion groups, [but] those who came just to complain do not know much about us and our philosophy.”

A problem, Smith recalls, was that students who had originally volunteered to express their needs and wants at the focus groups simply did not show. This understandably makes it difficult for Bon Appétit to gauge how to address particular needs.

“During our survey, we asked students to sign up for the focus groups, and we had each one full to capacity. A day before each session, we e-mailed those who signed up and anticipated full focus groups. We had two sessions each day with ten people per session. We did the focus groups for one week. We only had around thirty people show up of the one hundred who signed up.”

Student Nicole Henson attended one of the focus groups hosted by Bon Appétit. “They asked pretty basic questions like, ‘What would improve your dining experience?’ or, ‘What would you like to see in the cafeteria?’ We went around with our answers and discussed the issues.” The group discussed a few choice concerns as well, such as how the dining ware has been disappearing and how much food is wasted.

Students have had strong opinions in regards to how the services and
cuisine currently provided by Bon Appétit can be improved. Student Eugene Haller says he feels that there is too little variety and too much pomp in the cafeteria. “They try too hard to look upscale. I don’t necessarily just want sushi—I want the option of having barbecue or chicken fried steak too.” Haller went on to say that he wishes Bon Appétit would incorporate more local, Texas foods.

Student Amanda Nevarez says she also has many problems with how things
are being run in the dining hall. “When I first heard that the school was going to redo the cafeteria, I was really excited.  That really isn’t the case anymore. I try to avoid eating there as much as I can.” Nevarez criticizes Bon Appétit for their lack of selection, the quality of the food, and the inopportune dining hall hours. “Some students can’t get food when it’s open, so then they’re out of luck.”

Stone says that a report of the results from the polls, surveys, and focus group discussions should be ready around March 1. “The data from the surveys and focus groups is being processed and analyzed by the regional marketing staff of Bon Appétit.  When Bon Appetit has completed their analysis, the results will be shared with St.  Edward’s, including the Dining Services Advisory Council.”

Smith reiterates that Bon Appétit is listening to students and doing its best to address any problems or areas that may be improved. “One [concern] was about having the cereal left out all day and not just for breakfast. We started to leave it out all day and have had a few responses about it. Students were happy, especially those who like cereal for all meal periods. We are listening.”

Steelers’ Holmes Keeps Feet on the Ground

Many Steelers fans were stricken with panic when the Cardinals rebounded in the last quarter of Super Bowl XLIII, but not Santonio Holmes–he kept his feet on the ground. Literally.

In what had to have been the most well caught pass of the game (if not the season), Holmes planted his tip-toes on the very lip of the boundary line, allowing the Steelers to pull ahead enough in the last minute of the game to win.

He was cornered. He caught a pass from [Steelers quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger on the back side of the end zone, with three Arizona Cardinals bearing down on him while he balanced on the tips of his toes. (New York Times)

For a moment, Holmes sat crouching over, clutching the ball to his chest. As thousands of Steelers fans jumped to their feet and cheered, Holmes seemed to need just a quiet second or two to soak in what had just happened. His teammates ran and fell on top of him, patting his helmet and shoulders with great gaiety and pride.

Holmes was voted the game’s most valuable player. He caught nine passes for 131 yards. (New York Times)

Face Turned Grey from Spitting Stones

The following poem is by a skilled, creative writer by the name of Shayne Bates. I’m really impressed with what he’s done with this. Let me know what you guys think as well.

and crack and crack
and whistle pop
and off he goes and off he flies
a lupine beast in man disguise
stairway teeth with trees for eyes
a wretched ghost of woman’s cries.
and on he boast and off he drags,
skittering claws to molten crags
and we watch those diamond forests burn.

and hum and drum
and engine whir
and on he lulls and on he drones
a deadened bore of serpent moans
face turned grey from spitting stones
he cuts our eyes with ringing tones.
and on he crawls and on he sings
clamoring bells and demon strings,
and he lets those fiery lungs go hollow.

A Taste of Jen

It’s always difficult to test the unknown blogging waters.  You come across personal blogs, business blogs, popular blogs, unpopular blogs, blogs that stir up trouble, blogs that fit what seems to be the norm, funny blogs, droll blogs… I’m sure you catch my drift.

To help you gage whether or not you will dig my writing style, I’m offering up some posts from my previous blog.  The next few posts are what I consider to be some soid examples of writing indicative of  my style.

Add Me, I’ll Add You

This message is directed to my fellow bloggers out there.

As most of us know, the best way to network via blogging is 1. by commenting on other bloggers’ posts and 2. by being added to a blogger’s “blogroll,” or favorites list (the word “blog” came up far too many times just now, I know).  I add my favorite blogs to my blogroll anyways; however, if you shoot me a message or comment to let me know that you’re adding me to your blogroll, I’ll add you to mine as well.

Let us scratch each other’s backs, shall we?