i had my first italian lesson tonight with giorgio. giorgio is fantastic because he is italian, he is milanese, and because he dislikes atlanta, and did you know how fun it is to bitch with someone in a foreign language about something you both dislike? it is MOLTO FUN. he is also fantastic because he is an aerospace engineer, and when we were chatting and i asked him where he thought he might work after finishing his phd, he said, you know, airbus, or, you know, nasa. then i asked, "vorresti costruire i razzi un giorno?", jokingly - would you like to build rockets someday? he said, very seriously, "si. forse." yes, maybe one day he would like to build the rockets. awesome.

so, you know, i spent the night chatting with an italian rocket builder. pretty sweet. it's also gratifying to know that my italian skills haven''t swirled down into the drain of my empty garbage disposal mind, but were merely lying dormant in a corner, like a sad ignored puppy that just wants to be petted. and wait till i give that puppy some beer. its italian will be GREAT.

okay, so, yeah. i am making a profile on match.com. BUT. i am doing it so i can see what profiles on match.com look like so i can help a friend create her sure-to-be-alluring profile. already, it's off to an auspicious start:

The username you selected is already in use.
Please enter another username, or choose one of the usernames we've suggested.

* catherinea531
* catherineapookie

just for the record, catherineapookie is going to be my new IM name.

UPDATE:
friend: um..yeah they suggested (name)bug for me
friend: i think i'll keep that one
pablohoney: hahah
friend: cause...just....yeah.
friend: that's me
pablohoney: wtf like those are the most stereotypically retarded names ever
pablohoney: POOKIE? BUG?!?!
friend: hhaaha
friend: how about qtpie
pablohoney: next it's going to be like, catherinea was not available, would you like catherineschmoopie

for myself and other fans of fabulous reality tv show america's next top model, you might be interested to read this interview over on television without pity with one of the show's writers about the strike the writing staff is currently on. it's actually kind of interesting - the writing team is striking because currently, basically no reality show writers have been allowed to join the writers guild of america and get all the benefits that come with that - little things like health insurance and pensions. apparently reality tv show writers aren't considered real writers, or something, by the industry in general, and this strike by the ANTM writing crew could have really far-reaching effects on if reality show writers are allowed to unionize. kind of interesting. there's also a bit of insight into the process of how the show - and other reality shows - are "written." my take is that the CW better up and let the ANTM folks do what the hell they want, as the show is basically the flagship of a fledgling network that's gonna need a lot of help come fall.

but let's face it: ain't no writer talented enough out there to come up with the line "bitch poured beer on my weave."

in case you haven't seen it yet, early footage of the simpsons movie from comic con.

so the past couple of days, npr has had those great couple of pieces on foreign service officers and their day to day lives. today? a piece on stretching for the elderly and why some people can jump high, delivered by two of the most annoying-voiced npr correspondents ever.

seriously now. ah well. somebody on the itunes shared music network has a lot of lyle lovett albums, and that is washing away all the nasal-voiced bad memories.