Send me your addresses please

Hi ladies, its Cate. Somehow I can't log in as me anymore. Lauren, maybe you can help me with that? Regardless, will you please all send me your addresses?

Thanks!
Cate

Cat Power + eMusic

I wanted to recommend two things to you guys:

eMusic.com - I really love this site. I signed up for the program that allows 50 music downloads for $15 a month. It's all indie bands so you won't find Britney Spears, but I usually always find the music that the cool kids are talking about and it's a cheap way to experiment with lesser-known bands.

Cat Power - one of my downloads from this site (you can listen to samples here). I had heard about her forever and how good she was, but I just downloaded her "You are free" album last week and I love it. Imagine a more grown-up, pretty blend of Ani and Jewel.

No wonder we're blogging

I ran across this Wired magazine blog entry that says Austin has the highest percentage (15%) of people in the country that either read or write blogs.

OMG!!! Hello All!!!

Well, well well. I thought that the swimmerbabies were gone forever. Little did I know that my emails were just bouncing. Damn UT and not letting me keep my email addy. That was a very sad day last year when I lost krob@mail.utexas.edu. Sigh.

Anywho. Whassup Ladies!?!?!??!

I want to know everything about everyone. I know what Court is doing, and I keep up with Kristen through facebook. Sarah and Cate I know a little bit about. And Colleen's new baby!!!! Crazy!!! Is anyone else a mommy????

Well, I'm married. Yippie!!! My hubby and I live in Los Angeles, right near UCLA. I am pursuing the whole acting thing. Man is it hard. But I know it will be worth it, one of these days. Ummm. I dunno. That's about it. Just trying to make it.

I am so excited to know you guys still exist!!!! Yippie!!!!

Eat your heart out

What could be more romantic than your sweetie looking up at you deliriously as he gorges himself on your 1 lb chocolate heart and the smeared remnants drip down his hands and cheeks?

You can also find chocolate shaped brains with cherries inside on this site. Discovered on neatorama.

Your daily dose of amusement

Found on neatorama.

Your daily dose of Soviet Propaganda

The finishing ribbon says: "All world records must be ours."


I found this 1935 Soviet poster on an advertising blog, but you can look at many more on the originator's site. Pretty interesting. Apparently collecting Soviet propaganda posters is the new cool thing to do. Too bad I live in Michigan and am not cool.

A late congratulations to Colleen

I'm sure everyone knows that Colleen had her baby a few weeks ago, but I wanted to publicly congratulate her with some cards from my favorite online greeting card site.

Stop the discrimination!

Widespread and unacceptable discrimination" has led to the formation of the American Moustache Institute. Executive director Aaron Perlut, who rocks a Fu Manchu, says: "We view ourselves as the American Civil Liberties Union for the moustache."

Superficial is awesome

My old friend Andrew McConnell, who some of you may remember, tipped me off to a blog called TheSuperficial. I wanted to share this bit of hilarity that I pulled from there...

Nobody likes Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham has reportedly pissed off management at the celeb-friendly Chateau Marmont because "she always lets the paparazzi know when she'll be arriving. The Chateau Marmont tries to give celebs their privacy, and they hate her there." Additionally, Britney Spears showed up to the Chateau Marmont last Tuesday to eat, but the only available table was next to Victoria Beckham and Britney didn't want to sit next to her so she stormed off and ate somewhere else. A source tells Gatecrasher:

"Britney Spears turned up at the Chateau and the only table available was the one next to Posh. But Britney didn't want to sit next to her, so she and her friend stormed off to Il Sole instead."

Aww, poor Victoria Beckham. She's like the foreign exchange student who shows up to school and everybody makes fun of. And it's probably not helping that she's acting like an ass. Although it doesn't really take much to piss Britney Spears off. Last week I saw her storm out of Jack In The Box because they refused to deep fry her hamburger and milkshake. She yelled something about them "discriminatin' against the sexy" and then waddled off.

If you have to, call me a Michigander

Well, my dears, I'm off again and this time to the cold and distant north. Ann Arbor, Michigan to be specific. Tubing and sunbathing will be replaced with leaf raking and snow shoveling, sprinkled intermittently with putting chains on my tires.

But, despite all that, I'm looking forward to it and I hope you all come visit!!

I hope I still have days like this left in me

If you're ever bored at work or need something to to fill five minutes, check out YourDailyAwesome. It usually has good stuff and I found this gem there today...

A clip from a man's dairy when he was determined to meet Picasso one day. It's a great example of feeling like and idiot for taking a risk and being glad you did all your life.

We should all be proud of our alma mater

Psychologists at the University of Texas recently conducted a study in which they asked folks why they have sex. They first asked 444 men and women to come up with a list of 237 distinct reaons people have sex. They then compiled their responses into a sex questionnaire that more than 1,500 people ranked by order of importance. Reasons included:

I wanted to feel closer to God
I was drunk
to get rid of a headache
help me fall asleep
make my partner feel powerful
burn calories
I was slumming
return a favor
keep warm
hurt an enemy
change the topic of conversation
It seemed like good exercise
Someone dared me
I wanted to give someone else an STD
my partner was famous or "out of my league"

You can nominate your own reasons at TierneyLab. http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/the-238th-reason-for-having-sex-or-any-reason-for-saying-no/#more-110

Your daily dose of happy

Costa Rica!

hi girls!
sorry i'm so bad at keeping up with the blog :( i just returned from Costa Rica for a yoga retreat and wanted to share a little about the trip. i've always heard such great things about costa rica, so my expectations were high. bottom line - i was amazed. about a month before the trip i saw a flyer at my yoga studio "bodhi yoga" about the costa rica retreat. i'd been wanting to take a trip this summer, so i pulled the trigger. there were about 20 of us that met up at tierra de milagros http://www.tierrademilagros.com/. i learned to surf and cant wait till the next time i can practice. i repelled down 150 feet of waterfalls in the jungle and climed a strangling fig www.centralamerica.com/cr/gallery/photo5.htm 120 feet in the air with a climbing harness and jumped out into the canopy. my rope burns are just now healing. if any of you get the urge to go to costa rica, let me know, i'd love to get down there again sometime.
as for good books, i'm reading a couple and would highly recommend them both. "wind up bird chronicle" by haruki murakami and "tibetan book of living and dying" by sogul rinpoche. next on the list is "shantaram" by gregory david roberts (i heard from 2 folks in costa rica that it was their all time favorite book).
love you guys and miss you!
ct

In case you were wondering what Kristen's been up to...

Weird Dogs

I ran across this story about an Arnold Schwarzenegger dog (actually a whippet) and thought it was hilarious. It prompted me to find of some photos I'd seen of the world's ugliest dogs.

Both of which surfaced the unsettling memory of Leffie's suggestion that someone have his "puppies".

Happy Birthday Martins

The hairy eyeball

Banksey

Heard of him?

More Summer Reading

I just got finished reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and I really enjoyed it. He's more well-known for travel writing, and I've heard good stuff about all of his books. This one however, sets out to provide a basic, but not superficial explanation of the world and universe. Its an easy read, despite of the fact that he talks about the theory of relativity and the Big Bang theory and plate tectonics.

Meet Ups

I found the best website for everyone to check out... www.meetup.com. You can look up your city and find a huge selection of interest groups that people have started. I joined the wine tasting and French speaking groups here in Houston. It's pretty great because you can connect with people that are interested in the same things as you and who are open to meeting new people. I think these days it's hard to find a community to be a part of since we're all so spread out, and this website is really fun and refreshing in that regard. No more only knowing the people you work with!

I went to the French meetup tonight (by myself) and had a great time (et mon Français est terrible). The crowd was all young to middle aged professionals who were worldly and interesting. They even sent me a follow up email saying they were glad I came and they hoped I would come again next week. So you can see, it's very fun and friendly.

Summer Reading List

Good Morning Ladies!

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts so far... and I am definitely going to use that food website Kristen!

While I was reading Lauren's insightful book review from a few days ago, I got the idea that we could share recommendations of books we're reading now, have read, or are planning on reading...
Those lazy summer days of laying by the pool/ocean are upon us, so we'll all need some good books.
Anyway- thought I'd start us off; these are 2 travel-themed books that are favorites. (Maybe they will be inspiration for a summer gettaway):

"A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway is a great summer book- it makes you understand why he is considered one of the best authors of the 20th century. It's a very easy and delightful read.

Also, in that same vein... I'm currently reading "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt (he wrote Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil) and I love it. I'm ready to pack up and move to Venice next week.

Looking forward to some of your picks!
XXOO

holy crap

wow, i cant believe kelley was on that show...that was really cool....by the way i found a really cool website last night its http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/login.aspx
its really cool, you can enter everything you ate for the day and it tells you how you did eating your fruits,veg, grains etc for the day based on you height and weight and age....it also tells you how many vitamins a,b,c riboflavin etc you took in........its really neat.........this really gives away my suburbaniteness cause i spend my friday nights looking up food pyramids.........by the way marquis got into law school!!!!! congradulations lord knows its always good to know a good lawyer

Who is Matt Passet?

Matt Passet is the guy who wrote that article I (Cate) posted.

who is matt passet???

Ahhh! Kelley on Shear Genius!

I saw this episode and nearly flipped when I saw Kelley walk on. Then I was terrified when you were left in the hands of Dr. Boogie (see: day to night transformation challenge. yikes!) and he was relaxing your hair. Thankfully it turned out alright.

Looks like you're doing great out in LA! Way to go!

Tucker Max

I haven't really had a chance to check out this site yet, but this guy is a self-described "asshole" and "dickhead." Either his stories are really shocking and hilarious. Or we can all feel superior to him. www.tuckermax.com

Easier to cut and paste than be creative

Hi friends, I was a little bored at work last week during the pre-long-weekend lull. While I was trying to entertain myself, I found this on the internets:

CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN FAMOUS PEOPLE AS IMAGINED BY SOMEONE WITH AN AMERICAN PUBLIC-SCHOOL EDUCATION WHO DIDN'T PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION IN SCHOOL BUT WHO DID JUST ENOUGH TO PASS THE EXAMS.

BY MATT PASSET
- - - -
Richard Nixon and Winston Churchill
NIXON: Hello, I see you're smoking a cigar and wearing a large hat.
CHURCHILL: So I am, young chap. Could I interest you in a cigar?
NIXON: Sure, I think I smoke cigars ... maybe ... I don't know.
(CHURCHILL hands a cigar to NIXON, who bites off the tip and lights it.)
NIXON: We were probably alive at the same time.
CHURCHILL: Indeed, my boy, indeed. I had something to do with World War II and I think maybe you fought in it.
NIXON: I'm not sure if I did.
CHURCHILL: There's not that much more about me that everyone knows.
NIXON: I once held up my hands and formed two peace signs. I was either about to get onto a plane or get off of one.
CHURCHILL: I have seen the photo, because I think there were cameras when I was alive.
NIXON: And what about Watergate? I did that.
CHURCHILL: Margaret Thatcher is someone else from England. She was leader after me.
NIXON: People can buy masks of my face.

J.D. Salinger and Christopher Columbus
COLUMBUS: I discovered America.
SALINGER: You're a phony, everything's phony.
COLUMBUS: I sailed on three ships called the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. I don't think I had anything to do with the Mayflower. That was before me.
SALINGER: Everything is phony.
COLUMBUS: It was 1492 when I found America. That year is definitely correct.
SALINGER: Were there Indians here when you got here?
COLUMBUS: Yes. I discovered them, too. I don't think I had Thanksgiving with them, though. Those were Pilgrims. Maybe I was a Pilgrim, but probably not.
SALINGER: I wrote one book and nobody ever saw me again.
COLUMBUS: There were no books when I was alive.

Abraham Lincoln and Hitler
HITLER: Kill the Jews.
ABE: Free the slaves.
HITLER: Kill everyone, especially the Jews. Nazis are the best.
ABE: Emancipation Proclamation.
HITLER: Mein Kampf.
ABE: Four score and seven years ago.
HITLER: Kill all Jews!
ABE: I was shot in the head at a play, because the Civil War made people from the South angry.
HITLER: I created Nazis.

Better for Us and our Children

I just finished reading a book called "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," a true story by a man who played an influential role in building the system and country that we live in today. I have personally felt for a while that our country, society, and the qualities being praised are not moving in the right direction; that people are over-worked and under-paid, that politicians and policies are not reflecting the averages person's perspective, and that a lot of people around the world are suffering. Did you know that 50% of the world live on less than $2 a day?

If you feel at all this way think about reading this book. Even if you don't, it's an interesting read.

But, I personally have had a growing desire to do the right thing for society, and this book and website have given me a few more reasons to do so. Below are some interesting facts and resources pulled from the author's website (www.johnperkins.org/More%20Information.htm).

For ecologically responsible jewelry (for anyone thinking of getting engaged) log into http://www.greenkarat.com.

Drink tap water, not bottled water. Here are some facts:
-According to the United Nations, if we took half of what is currently spent on bottled water (approximately $100 billion annually) and invested it in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world could have access to clean drinking water.
-The U.S. EPA sets more stringent quality standards for tap water than the FDA does for bottled water.
-Approximately 40% of bottled water is actually tap water.
-It takes 1.5 billion barrels of oil to produce the plastic for water bottles.

Buy from local businesses over corporate chains. Buy locally grown, organic, non-genetically modified (GM) food. Agribusiness and supermarket corporations are increasingly gaining control over the world’s food supply. This shift to a centralized model of food production and distribution requires more chemicals, more transportation, and large-scale monocultures, and has had disastrous consequences on local communities, economies and ecosystems. Local food production, on the other hand, has environmental, economic, and health benefits. For the freshest, healthiest, most flavorful organic food that's grown closest to you. Go to http://www.localharvest.org.

Protect our forests from unwanted waste. Stop receiving catalogs and junk mail. Get your mail, magazines, etc. online.

These things above were just a small fraction of the information on the website. Hope you all can find a few things to do to help.

Bet you never thought I'd get on this kick huh? And no, Cate's not holding my boyfriend hostage so that I would write this either. :)

by the way the last blog was from kristen martin.....i forgot to post that eventhough lauren reminded me

howdy

hey, just wanted post an update on what i'm up to cause i havent been able to do the utswimmerbaby email in a long time. plus i have become increasingly bad at keeping in touch. i have been working at continental express for two years now, pretty close to becoming a captain........world beware. i have a wonderful boyfriend that i've had for a little over two years, his name is mike....we spend most of our time in suburbia doing home remodeling projects and mowing the damn yard.....its nice though....we just went of vacation to paris which was cool but extremely expensive..i really want to know how you guys are doing....i just saw biz....i wanna hear how seatle is going....i'm so jealous..i heard its beautiful up there...i havent heard for cybil in a while i wanna know what kinda crazy stuff shes up to .....marquis i wanna know how things are going out in cali....courtney, how your love life is mushrooming....plus everyone else i havent talked to in forever.....i miss all you guys

Janette's 28th Birthday

I thought I'd share this, it's something I did for my bf's sister. As you can probably deduce from below, the idea got translated into the magic "future" button.

I've invented the next generation of birthday cards! :)

My first website

hey guys,

i've been working on a website for my dad's architecture firm. it still needs a few tweaks but if you want to check it out, here you go...

http://hills.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmarti08/

eventually it will have a proper url.

Some good websites

I thought I'd pass these along... they are good finds.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
This website is an interior design blog, but it has the greatest links. I have found so many great online stores and websites through this one. Check out the AP+Design Within Reach "smallest coolest apartments contest," it's so inspiring.

http://www.coolhunting.com/
Great website. Get the newsletter. The amazing, interesting items are endless.

http://www.popgloss.com/
Great source for unique clothes. They compile links and pictures from all over the internet to bring together interesting, edgy stuff.

Blogs can see the future

When I first started this blog, there was a really strange "future" button. I didn't know what it was, so I went ahead and pressed it. Amazingly it spit out some visions from the future for a few of the Pruney Fingers crew. Look below...

Marquis never lost her flare for extravagant accessories.

Kristen contentedly settled down into the suburbs to enjoy the sublime inanity that flourishes there.

Colleen enjoyed family life as well, however her birthday parties were not to be missed.

Alison and Ashley kept the Eeyore's spirit alive. They even made friends with the silver guy, who eventually became permanently silver and miraculously stopped aging.

Meanwhile, Courtney spread the Eeyore's spirit to distant lands.

Cate continued to pursue her career in the political arena, gradually finding more and more effective ways to communicate her policies.

Sara built a distinguished career as well, but eventually changed directions to pursue something that allowed her to also follow her first love: tanning.

That was all that was delivered to me as of now, but I'm sure that the blog will serve up more Pruney Finger futures for all of us to enjoy.

A new way to keep in touch

Hidey ho ex-teammates extrordinare! I have been thinking of creating this blog for a while, and am glad to have finally done it. What better way for all of us to keep in touch than for everyone to post what they've been up to, include pictures, make announcements, write jokes, etc! I thought we could even alert each other to cool websites we'd found, or a million other uses.

I know swimmerbabies@yahoo.com has somewhat fallen by the wayside because a lot of people's email addresses have changed. Now we never have to worry about that! And on top of it all you can impress your friends at cocktail parties with the fact that you're a 21st century blogger.

I hope you all enjoy and have fun with this... so post away!!!

Love, Lauren