Models! Oh, Sorry, I Meant "Models".

So, "models"!

It's no secret that I have a deep, abiding love for talent/fashion-based reality shows. Project Runway, Shear Genius, Top Chef, Designer Superstar Challenge, From the Ground Up...I could go on and on.

My special favourites are all of the incarnations of the Top Model franchise. None of which have produced an actual Top Model. Some working models, yes, but top? Not so much.

While looking for online episodes of Season 2 (I refuse to call it a cycle) of Canada's Next Top Model, I came across a YouTube contributor who has given me the most amazing gift - the entire just passed season of Australia's Next Top Model. And it is just madly brilliant.

It's amazing to see what a new production company does to make an idea their own; AusNTM Season 3 has thrown a couple of excellent twists into the mix

• lowering the minimum age to 16;
• sending only the final three contestants overseas, completely on their own, to work with people that they've never met before;
• having the final two audition for a place in a Australian Fashion Week runway show instead of just giving a place to them;
• actually having the runway show be an actual show that would go on without the series' participation;
• competitions throughout the season that had the winners take part in paying modeling gigs;
• giving the viewing audience a vote as to who should win, with a weighing of 15% in the final decision;
• making the finale a live show where the judges deliberated and voted out loud for the winner;
• and, most importantly, having mentors that addressed the realities of the industry.

And yet? Still brought the drama. Excellent. See for yourself!

Play a Shopping Game with Me

Say you win a $5000 shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman (I would've preferred to have sent you to Holt Renfrew, being local to me and all, but Holts? Not so up with the online commerce). You can only spend it on clothing, no shoes, bags, jewellery or the like - clothing only. What do you buy? Also, lucky you - BG is currently having quite the sale!

My choices are below. If you have your own blog and want to play, create a similar kind of post, and comment on this post with a link to it!

My grand total: $4926. And seriously, without the past season on sale stuff? I could only have fantasy-shopped maybe two or three of them.


Carmen Marc Valvo Sleeveless Printed Dress - $625


Catherine Malandrino Embroidered Dress - $315


Diane von Furstenberg Printed Empire Waist Dress - $244


Dolce & Gabbana Classic Jacket and Pants - $837 / $347


Lela Rose Lace-Hem Shirtdress - $895


M Missoni Printed Slipdress (without the cardigan) - $357


Moshino Cheap & Chic Print Dress - $679


Narciso Rodriguez Cut-out Dress - $627

Four Things, Part the Second

It is not Sunday, no matter what the back of my mind says. Funny thing about routines and how shifting things a day up messes with your internal clock.

I am hurty-exerty all over, due to three-in-a-row days of working out with my trainer, Jeff, as we re-jigged my weight training program. And it feels good. This time around, I'm working each side in isolation, completing one set on one side, and then one set on the other. Without the stabilization that hefting weights into the air (I am strong, like bull!), making use of both sides of the body, affords, each exercise is twice as difficult. And three times as awesome. I am just hoping that my body recovers enough so I can head out on my bike tomorrow.

I am not attending the family reunion by cousins on my mom's side. Occuring: right now. And I don't think I need to delve into the why again, so I shan't.

This is Day 2 of puttering about in the kitchen. Resulting in the following batches of deliciousness:

• Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream
• Cinnamon Peanut Butter
• Strawberry Sorbet
• Seitan
• Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Four Things

I am excited: I'll be eating at Charlie Trotters with lovely, lovely friends next month.

I am delighted: I emailed David Lebovitz to tell him about how much I love his new ice cream recipe book, The Perfect Scoop, and to relate my successful substitution of homemade, natural peanut butter in one of his recipes, and he wrote back! There's nothing more excellent then when talented, busy people display excellent, witty manners.

I am a dick: I once decided that it was important to know how many push-ups (real push-ups, mind you, none of this girlie stuff) I could do in one go. Count: 46.

I am gleeful: Canada's Next Top Model has evolved from embarrassing to awesome (fierce!) in the space of a season. Thank God for Jay Manuel, and the extra production budget and guests that having him as host brings. The best thing heard on last night's episode? "Whose penis is this?"

The Daytime of the Night

From the ads, I knew that I would love Flight of the Conchords. I just wasn't prepared for how much.





Here - see for yourself. The Robot Video:




Like it?

• Watch the complete first episode at HBO's site
  

And clips from their HBO One Night Stand - Jenny:




Albi, the Racist Dragon:




Business Time:

Please Don't Stalk Me

But if you want to join me when I take to the road on my bike, here's what my most recent routes have been looking like. All are a little over 60 minutes, and vary between 20 - 30 km (that's 12 - 18 miles for you imperial measurers).


Hill Ride #1




Hill Ride #2




Hill Ride #3




And a relatively Flat Ride #1

Big Love - The Back Story

As posted to YouTube by HBO

• 5 Years Ago - Postpartum Depression - Nikki's first child
• 3 Years Ago - Meet the Babysitter - Margene is introduced to Nikki
• 14 months Ago - Big Move - Barb, Nikki and Margene ask for separate houses
  

This Is My New Couch

She only sits one, and is located outside, but damn, is she making my home more comfortable every minute.

Aw, Crapsticks.

I moved into my home 3 years ago. It came with an AC unit that was original to the building, and I knew that eventually, eventually, I would have to replace it.

That eventually happened last night. The freon inside the unit, where did it go? No one knows. But 18 years is a pretty good run for any appliance, no?

Thankfully, the following occurred today:

• A customer who had an AC install with the company that I'm using scheduled for tomorrow morning canceled.
• I'm had scheduled myself to work from home tomorrow.
• And the company hacked $200 off because they were trying to fill the spot.

Hopefully, if nothing crazy occurs, I'll have a cool house by tomorrow night. Cross your fingers, kids.

Passing the Torch

For the past couple of years, I've helmed a number of Squidoo lenses dedicated to providing an index of Canadian and International websites that sell and ship goods to Canada. Because the shopping? It is a love of mine.

Last week, I decided that though I loved ferreting out new retailers that provide shopping carts to Canadian customers, the job was becoming just that - a job. A job that really needed much more time dedicated to it to make sure that the lenses did their subject matters justice.

I'm passing the torch: Bargainista has graciously taken on the mantel of lens master. And I can't wait to see what she does with them!

Shoes of Silver, Thoughts of Gold

The only way to really know a city is to walk it. And whenever I travel to for business meetings, for conferences or to visit friends, I spend most of my time making friends with the city while I pound the pavement.

For years, I've been looking for a pair of shoes that (a) aren't running shoes, (b) don't look like ass, (c) I can wear while clad in a dress or skirt, and (d) let me walk and walk and walk and not end up in crippling pain at the end of the day.

I finally found a pair of silver Mary-Jane style shoes made by Puma, and I picked them up at the post office this morning. They make me smile and fill my head with thoughts of the streets I'll be walking down this summer.


Silver!

George Michael Bluth Grows Up

You really must view the newest online project of Michael Cera and Clark Duke, Clark and Michael. Brilliant and funny. Brilliantly funny.

Dear Ryan Reynolds:

Again, why is it that you're not my boyfriend?

I mean, just because I've been telling people that you're my Hollywood Boyfriend (PS: Evan Dando is still my mid-90's Indie Rock Boyfriend, and Ian Thorpe is my Closeted Gay Olympic Boyfriend. I get around) since Two Girls a Guy and a Pizza Place (last parenthesis this post: Nathan Fillion is my TV Boyfriend. I hope that won't make you fight. Or, I do hope that will make you fight. Because that would be hilariously sexy. Like Firth v. Grant in the Bridget Jones movies) it really doesn't make it true.

But then you decide to contribute to the Huffington Post, and your inaugural post is about Competitive Eating, one of my excellent subject matter obsessions? Seriously, mister, you make my heart go pitter-pat.

You need to stop doing that, please.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Why, Hellloooo, Creamy Goodness

This book arrived at my house today:


Since I have a tendency to bring in the bulk of my kitchen experiments into the office to share, I bet you're wishing you worked with me now.

I Have a New Robot

One of my dearest, funniest obsessions are robots. Whether it's doing the robot, telling people about the wonder that is Robot Frank, or pretending that the things I buy just might be robots in disguise, I feel like this one is a healthy and hilarious obsession. Unlike the one I have with pirates. Which just gets me into trouble.

The newest addition to my robot family is the Cat Eye Astrale 8. She sits, perched on the handles of my bike, telling me the distance I've peddled, the speed I'm barreling along at, the maximum speed I've hit on a ride, the average speed, how long I've been peddling for, the actual time o' day, and, most importantly, the cadence of my peddling.

This morning, I went out on a hill ride, and started training myself to keep a constant cadence -
peddling more or less forcefully, and switching gears up and down to keep an effective and efficient ride. And it freaking ruled.

Apropos of nothing, here's a confession: I'm currently watching a reairing of the Miss Universe Pagent for two reasons:

• Judges Nina Garcia and Marc Bouwer
• The below fall:

Assholes of the Animal Kingdom

I am compiling a list. Feel free to contribute.

1. Canada Geese. Yes, majestic. Yes, a symbol of the country I live in. And yet? Nasty, nasty little birds. Territorial in a way that you will never understand unless you experience for yourself - and territorial not in a way where they've staked out claim on a slice o' geography, but territorial in the sense in that if you come within 10 feet of them, wherever they are, they will GO AFTER YOUR EYES. Also, poop as big as your thumb.
2. Zebras. The Colbert Report learned me this: attacking zebras have caused more deaths in zoos then traditional predators, like lions and tigers and bears combined. Why? Because when they bite you, they won't let go until you are dead. I feel that zebras need to replace bears on Colbert's Threat-Down.

Talking about tigers, you have to read this story about Boris, the Siberian Tiger transfered from Montreal to Edmonton. Poor Boris - he only speaks French. He must be so loney.

Riding Blind

Ever since I got me a new, lovely road bike, I've been riding roads that I've never, ever been on before. In the city that I live in, the line between subdivision and farmstead / hiking trail woodlands is very distinct, and very, very close.

Early this morning, before many cars took to the road, my legs and my bike took the rest of my body across that line, up into the rural wilderness. The route I took was one of the prettiest and most difficult that I've attempted so far. The roads twisted and turned and were full of hills that needed climbing, and racing down the other side at speeds I've never hit before.

There's nothing like having the wind in your face as you swoop down a narrow country road full of hairpin turns, only to hit an incline of an even steeper magnitutude, and, realizing after you've made it to the top that you successfully resisted the urge to stand while peddling to make getting up that hill easier.

Also, I passed a horse farm. Horse farm! I now wish to take dressage lessons there.

I know I'm going to pay for this morning's ride tomorrow. Hell, I'm exhausted right now, but, damn, I can ride hills!

What Will Happen When Knut Grows Up?

Though it is inevitable, of course, I think capturing wee Knut while still wee is key. So here's the little man, by CreativeThursday, print available via her Etsy Shop.


Unrelated and random, this morning, I found myself delighted and may have clapped my hands like a goon. Why? Headed to Chicago at the end of July.

The end.

Vital and Fabulous Communications

Cracking. Up.

There Are A Number Of Reasons To Stop Eating Meat

There are a number of reasons to stop eating meat, by either cutting down, or cutting it out entirely. Here's a brand spanking new situation that I've never run across before - until today. Yes, I've lifted the below article in it's entirety. I am lazy. And don't have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Source: Article via Serious Eats via The Wall Street Journal

Junk Food Fed Livestock

Posted by Alaina Browne on May 22, 2007

The growing demand for corn-based ethanol is pushing up the price of corn, causing some livestock producers to supplement their animals' diets with more affordable human food:

Dwight Hess, a cattle feedlot operator in Marietta, Pa., is located in the heart of snack country, near Hershey and Herr Foods Inc., a maker of potato chips, pretzels and snack mixes. His cattle ration consists of about 17% "candy meal," a blend of chocolate bars and large chunks of chocolate; 3% of what he calls "party mix," a blend of popcorn, pretzels, potato chips and cheese curls; 8% corn gluten; and the remainder corn and barley he grows. He says the byproducts save him about 10% on feed costs. Still, it costs him about 65 cents to put a pound on a steer, up from 42 cents last year.

No mention of how these animals taste compared to their corn-fed counterparts. [via The Food Section]