check out this halloween costume my cousin made for her daughter:

i know it's a little weird, but i think it's pretty cool: nike designed a shoe specifically for the native american population.

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we had amazing weather the last couple of days, but tonight the fog is rolling in. it's supposed to be nice again this weekend, thank goodness. my good friend ann is coming in from nyc and i'm superduper excited.

today i went to some meetings at google and we ate at their famous free cafeteria. although i've been there before, it's still amazing to see that sort of perk in real life. the indian food is especially good, and has the longest lines.

if i had all of the time and money in the world, i'd pass out these for halloween.

i love my new purse:

okay, so i'm a bit behind the rest of the ann arbor diaspora, but RIP, Shakey Jake . i hope they have a full-on "old fashioned New Orleans style wake throughout the streets of ann arbor, complete with casket and horns (and a few untuned guitars)" as one blogger suggested.

we had a pretty crazy weekend.
we went to LA, where we went paragliding over malibu on sunday (we did the tandem rides). it wasn't as scary as i thought it would be, since we didn't have to run off of a cliff to take off (like they do for hangliding). it's really just a huge kite that you take a few steps forward to pull into the wind, and then it just picks you up, up, up!

as if that weren't fantastic enough, sunday night we went to the TV Guide post-Emmys party. it was a pretty amazing party -- lots of celebs and a damn fine performance by john legend. the big event of the evening was a "surprise" visit from kanye west, who did a few songs then had a freakout of sorts and left in a hurry. 'gold digger' was my fave, and john legend joined him on that. i was about 3-4 people back from the stage for most of the show, so i had a pretty good view. i could see kanye's eyes through his glasses, and when john legend danced out into the audience, he went right by me, dancing with us all as he passed. there are some good party summaries up already, from e online and associated press. i'm going to scout for photos.

i highly enjoyed this video. it's not new, but courtney just pointed it out to me tonight. they go crazy around the 2 minute mark.

i'm pretty ticked off at meg white this a.m. for freaking out and causing the white stripes concert to be cancelled.

i was supposed to go see justin timberlake tonight, and that was postponed too.

sheesh.

today was neiman marcus's 100th anniversary, and in their stores they were giving away their famous cookies for free. you can also get an official version of the cookie recipe, as featured in a classic internet urban legend, for free here.

i bought this book awhile back, but now apparently the best parts are online. check out some great female porn.
steve hates it when i read this smut!

i guess i haven't really written much lately about what we've been up to.
last weekend we went up to sonoma to get some sunshine. according to locals, it wasn't a particularly bad (read: foggy and cold) summer, but it still was not what we midwesterners are used to.
we stayed at what must be the only motel up in wine country, and spent most of our time by the swimming pool, and we were pretty much the only ones there all day. we also went to jack london state historic park, which is cooler than it may sound. jack london had been just about to move into a huge (15,000 square feet, i believe) home he was building up in the mountains out of redwood trunks and huge rocks, when the mansion was destroyed by fire. apparently the fire's cause was never confirmed, but they believe it may have been caused by spontaneous combustion! anyhow, we got to wander around near the ruins and hike a bit, which was a lovely break from our poolside slothness.
we were going to try to do something outdoorsy this weekend too, but our plans were thwarted. we did host my long-lost-but-now-refound friend amy and her fiancee adam on friday night, and then got to see b-schooler derek on one of his study breaks. and last night i once again proved my karaoke meddle at chris & courtney's.
today we're lying low, planning to eat a lot of the farmer's market bounty that we bought yesterday. we're both catching up on work, and i'm hopefully going to finish a few random projects i've been working on around the house.
what are you all up to?

the chinese really are going to win. steve has pointed out that while most victims of mining disasters need rescuing, these badass chinese miners dug their way out after a mine collapse, eating coal and drinking urine to stay alive. take that, survivorman!

mmmm... these make me sooo hungry!

steve and i both really enjoyed this list of the most boring videogames ever.

i think this one was our favorite:

happy labor dabor, everyone!