Detroit Diva

I thought that Burger King couldn’t get any creepier than their commercials with the “king” but BK has upped the creepy meter with their new ad for chicken fries. Have you seen it? It’s got a fake band called Coq Roq and groupies (I kid you not). The first time I saw it I thought it was a music video, and not a good one, right up until the end when they start eating the chicken fries.  BK has taken this thing so seriously that they’ve even created a web site for the group.  All I can say is scaaaary and what the hell’s a chicken fry?

I hope it is cool in your neck of the woods. We are having the hottest summer ever and of course, the a/c in my car has gone out 3 times.  Saturn assures me they have fixed the problem this time.  yeah, ok.  My sister was here for a visit over the weekend and we had a blast hanging out with my friend Mary on Saturday night.  Mary scored us $5 tickets to Loretta Lynn. None of us are country fans but it was the Coal Miner's Daughter.  Loretta misses some words but she's so sweet  - calls the audience honey and baby.  Mary only wanted to hear Coal Miner's Daughter so, of course, she went to the bathroom and missed the whole song.  The show was at an outdoor venue and the weather wasn't too hot and steamy. A nice way to spend a summer night.

I'm hungry even though I just had a giant salad, a trail bar, and an apricot. It was the first time I've ever had an apricot and I don't get them. Are they peach wannabe's? It wasn't bad just not all that interesting especially since what I really want is this, although I want someone to make it for me. While you're there check out the rest of the Domestic Goddess' web site but be warned - this is not the place to go if you are hungry and trying to avoid brownies.

Has anyone seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet? We were talking about it at book group the other night and Cat said it's gotten bad reviews but it's numero uno at the box office.  I like TIm Burton flicks so I can't decide if I want to see it or not.  I'm a little disturbed by Johnny Depp's look.  However, as someone who loves The Nightmare Before Christmas, I can't wait to see Tim Burton's animated movie Corpse Bride, coming this fall.  McFarlane toys is putting out action figures of the characters from the movie.  Who will be voicing Corpse Bride? Well, there is Helena Bohman Carter and surprise of all surprises - Johnny Depp. Really, would Johnny Depp have a career if not for Tim Burton.

Just a couple of web sites you might find interesting.  Both are stores that sell one of a kind stuff like notecards, jewelry, bags and the like.  They are Liquid Sky Arts and The Walrus and the Carpenter. Great stuff. Also, if you're an alternative kind of person and live near Brooklyn or Chicago be sure to check out the Renegade Craft Fair.

On a different note  - there is a Detroit band called The Candy Band that I've been dying to check out but can't seem to make it to any of their shows. They go by the stage names of Kit Kat, Skittles, Starburst, and Almond Joy and are actually a band for kids but rock out songs like Baa Baa Black Sheep  and Itsy Bitsy Spider. Friends have told me their shows are great. If you're at Lollapalooza in Chicago this weekend go check them out on the kid's stage.

I tried really, really hard not to buy the new Harry Potter book on Saturday, but I failed. I not only bought it, I've already finished reading it. What? Did I just hear someone say get a life? I'm not just saying this - it was a really quick read.  I enjoyed the book but I thought book 5 was better.  A major character dies in book 6.  I won't say who it is but I don't think it'll come as a surprise to many people.  So, now the long wait for the final book begins.

There are a two things that I want to see happen this week: Karl Rove fired for leaking the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson because it was a scummy way to get back at her husband, Joseph Wilson, for disagreeing with the Bush Administration and because it endangered her. I also want to see impeachment proceedings against W. begin because he's a lying coward who has fed us a continuous stream of made up bullshit and the American people and the troops in Iraq deserve better than this fucked up administration. 

I recently read the book "Fat Girl's Guide to Life" which is Wendy Shanker's guide to loving the body you have and how to deal with the pressures we feel from the media, diet industry, supermodels, etc. to be thin.  She said something in the book that I think is really great - "As far as I know, Gwenyth Paltrow won't be comparing herself to me today so I won't be comparing myself to her."  I've decided that this needs to be my mantra.

I watched the 1st episode of Rockstar: INXS and I gotta say - I liked it! I loved INXS when they were big in the 80's and saw them a couple of times live and they were awesome.  The premise of the show is that INXS wants a new lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence who killed himself years ago.  There are 15 singers who perform different tunes and are voted off at the end by the members of INXS and Dave Navarro. Why Dave is in on the thing I have no idea but he's pretty cool.  I'm telling you this isn't American Idol  - these people can sing.   It's on again tonight and Wednesday so check it out. 

I was going to start this off by whining about the traffic over the 4th of July holiday - if you ever headed to northern Michigan on a summer weekend you know what I'm talking about, but given the terrorist attacks in London yesterday, I don't have a damn thing to complain about.  The security people in Detroit are on edge because the Baseball All-Star thing starts today and they've been all over the stadium with dogs and the ATF.  Let's send our thoughts to the people of London and take a minute to remember those who died yesterday and  in the Madrid and U.S. terrorist attacks.

There is just too much death and grief in the world. I was home early on Wednesday and saw the Oprah show which had, among others, Lisa Ling, who has been covering the mass genocide and violence in the Congo.  A little background - I'm sure you've all heard about the genocide in Rwanda in the mid-90's, well those rebels were driven out of Rwanda and into the Congo where they, along with the Congolese militia groups fighting the rebels, have killed over 4 million Congolese. Yes, 4 million!  As Oprah said(and I'm paraphrasing) "We talk about the Holocaust and always say we will never let it happen again, Yet, it's happening everday." Not only are people being killed but the soldiers are raping women and children.  Lisa Ling interviewed women who had been raped and it was horrifying to listen to. One woman was raped repeatedly after watching her 10 and 14 year old daughters being raped and if that's not bad enough, the soldiers tried to force her son to rape her and when he refused they beat him nearly to death.  Oprah.com has the interviews with the women or you can check out the February 2005 issue of O magazine.  Truly shocking.