arielarena

Dear Covert Affairs,

Nice typography joke. Her codename is Helvetica and she's in Switzerland? Very cute and I approve. Keep it up and I may forgive you for significantly less Auggie in this past episode.

My main wonder about 2010 was how they would do the new year glasses. They balanced the 2 sticking out on the side with an exclamation point on the other. The glasses look silly but so did the previous years'.

Y'know what would start this new year off right? Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009. Is it up yet? Apparently it hasn't even aired yet--will have to wait until the Brit's get it and then hope they are generous and share the funny.

Before reading this, keep in mind that as of right now I have not watched the newest Doctor Who special so no spoilers please.

Brainstormed with Katrina for what I can do for project four for one of my senior project classes. I really like the restaurant she's doing and while I'm not about to rip her off, the idea of doing something in the same vein came up. So here it is: a Doctor Who themed bar. The entrance will be a normal looking wall with the TARDIS parked up next to it--but THE TARDIS IS THE ENTRANCE OMG! IT'S BIGGER ON THE INSIDE! Right now I'm partial to the New Who TARDIS interior more than Old School but I want to reconcile the different aesthetics so they kind of mesh together in one geeky cornucopia of awesome.

The center console with navigation controls will be the main bar--it will be larger than the actual consul, obviously, and there will no green tube thing because people need to stand there. I'm thinking there will be about three sections of the console/bar, each one representing different periods of the console in Who history. The wait staff will be dressed as various companions. A friend suggested having a floor show at one point in the evening where the Doctors come out and dance/sing/play instruments.

Pretty much I want to have fun and create a wonderfully nerdy bar that can bring old and new Who fans together in love and drunken debauchery.

What I'd need to do for this project includes:
-Create a logo (and apply it to sign-age, business cards, advertising)
-Advertisements
-Menu design
-Interior design
-Exterior design
-Uniform design
-Special glass design (if applicable
-Sign age (bathroom, exit, employees only, etc)


That's all I can think of right now. Anyway, thoughts? People who are into Old School Who, I need your suggestions the most. I'm horribly uneducated in Old Who.

Keep in mind this is a fictional bar.

Family is already driving me a little crazy at times but we had a nice evening hanging out at my apartment (because it is WAY better than the one they've rented). Bri was going to stay over but they left so late that he's opted to just stay with the 'rents. Tomorrow we're heading to Lake Maggiore. We were supposed to go to Lake Garda and visit my friend Fallen but it's going to rain heavily there, which is not so fun. Sadly, the family will miss out on the awesomeness that is giant lemons...oh, and a castle. Bri and I are hoping to convince Dad to hop over to Switzerland for dinner since it's so close. Seriously, it's like twenty minutes away from Maggiore.

Sunday we're going to hit up the antique market on my street (and I will get more photos for my steampunk obsessed friends because I am an enabler) and hopefully get to the science museum. Then Monday I say goodbye to my amazing apartment and Milano. I'm ready to leave Milan...the apartment, not so much. I love it to the point where I would take it with me if it were physically possible. To make up for this, I plan to steal the mini-Spiderman figure that hangs out in the bathroom (ohniki knows what I'm talking about).

( In other unrelated news, I had a weird dream that I was heading home. )

Okay, so I have a shitton of photos to put on my computer and eventually post. In a bit, I will get them up on facebook. I haven't been good about facebook photo albums since South Africa...lots to catch up on.

( Jesus Smallville, way to be craptastic. (spoilers, foul language and calling Clark a pansy-ass..okay, not that last part but it is implied) )

Well, I've gotsta meet up with a friend, then apertivo and then we're hitting up the karaoke bar. Madde and I are going to do Spice Girls (I'm voting for "Stop"), Backstreet Boys (preferably "Everybody") or Michael Jackson ("Billie Jean" probably). I may be convinced to do one on my own, which would most likely be "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai, "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin or "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. Most people who go are Italian and do songs in Italian. Last time Manuela and I did "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" but I didn't actually know the song that well, just the chorus, and we pretty much butchered it. But in a fun way. Tonight will be better, I'm sure.


ETA: Sang "Stop" with Madde and then "I Want It That Way" with Madde and Madde's boyfriend Walter. But Madde left us on stage. Walter and I kicked that songs ass (yeah harmony!). Walter signed me up after much prodding to do a solo but we left after they decided to take a karaoke "break" and never really came back. Oh well. Next time. Hopefully by then I will know "Virtual Insanity".

TELL ME DOLLHOUSE IS GETTING ANOTHER SEASON. JOSS, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME??

And now to catch up on Smallville. Shut up, it's a guilty pleasure.

The dude who's going to be Eleven...he's got a really long neck. Methinks neck!porn might replace oral fixations in fic.

Just sayin'.


We return to Critiquing Commercials:
I HATE the E-Surance commercials. Especially the one with the dude who is all "You can see what draws me to E-Surance" and then they become cartoons. Of course, he has ABSOLUTELY no inflection in his voice and the whole "animated" line doesn't work. They are all WAY too happy about insurance! It boarders on creepy.

Two things.

1) Folk Fest was amazing!!! I had a fabulous time (though I probably should have been a bit more social and not read my book so much) and the line up was fantastic! We got to see Janis Ian (who tells stories wonderfully), Kimya Dawson (who is adorable and I wanted to hug her because she seems huggable...she also had people go up and sing with her, which was sweet), Judy Collins (who was great, obviously, but she sang a few Joni Mitchell songs without giving credit), Tom Paxton, Al Stewart, Great Big Sea (OMG SO MUCH LOVE!!!) and many more. There was this amazing guy who could play a ukulele hardcore! It's amazing how many different sounds he could make with a tiny four-stringed instrument. There were tons of other bands that I could gush over but I wasn't paying attention to WHO was playing so I can't give names until I check the schedule.

Anyway, it was a great time and I got to see a bunch of people from high school that I haven't seen in years. It was fun meeting the Jugglers with Allison (many were rather attractive) and watch Trout Fishing in America with Benny and his friends and acting like children. All in all, a great weekend. Next year I'm TOTALLY camping.

2) The commercial for the new chicken sandwiches at (enter name of appropriate fast food joint here) is just disturbing. That whole "Chicken so good you'll cheat on beef" thing would be fine if it weren't for the angry cow. It's like the cookie singing songs to that chick that I wrote about here except with a cow. And it's got that pseudo-bestiality vibe. Not quite there but there enough that I'm vaguely creeped out.

Anthropomorphic chocolate chip cookies are very creepy advertising tools. Especially when singing along to "If You Want My Body (And You Think I'm Sexy Despite Me Being a Baked Good That Your Grandmother Sometimes Makes...If She Still Bakes, of course. Maybe Now She Just Talks About How She Used To Cook and Bake. Anyway, You Probably Just Buy Cookies Like Me in the Store Now Because You're Too Lazy To Take The Time To Make 'Em, Ass.)"