Giveaway! "Stars and Gods" by Larry Niven

I've had a busy week-- like most of you I'm sure. We've had family in for the Thanksgiving holiday and that's been terrific. Today, and I hope you don't mind if I talk about family stuff for a minute, we went to my father-in-law's retirement party. What's significant about that is that my FIL is a retiring Major General and the Commander of the California Air Guard. He's such a self-effacing guy that we never hear stories about his service and I got to learn more about what he does today, the day he relinquishes his command, than I have in the last 15 years! He's been in the military for 40 years and has a chest full of commendations dating back to service in Vietnam as an F4 pilot (his dad advised him that it was better to fly over all the crap than to walk through the middle of it-- truer words were never spoken). He doesn't read my blog (I'm not altogether sure he knows what blog is and he refuses to find out since he says he's going "low-tech" now that he's retired) but if he did, I'd want him to know how honored I have been to be treated like a second daughter by such a great guy. And to all of the service men and women out there-- you're all my heroes. Thank you for your service.



I know that's quite a digression, but after spending the day with so many distinguished people today, I felt compelled to show my appreciation. I also feel compelled to tell you that we have family here until Friday. So if I miss a day or two, that's why. I'm still eating too much food and pretending it's Thanksgiving. My hips will never forgive me.



As for the rest of this blog post... Well, as you can imagine, I haven't had much time to work up a post for today. But the timing is good as I like to do one giveaway a week and I think this week's slot is still open. I decided to go with a book that's been out a little while, but it's also written by an old favorite. Maybe it's one you haven't had a chance to pick up yet.

Stars and Gods by Larry Niven



Niven returns with the sequel to his most recent collection, Scatterbrain, which gathers an equally engaging assortment of Niven's latest work, all in one captivating volume. Here are choice excerpts from his most recent novels, including Ringworld's Child, as well as short stories, non-fiction, interviews, editorials, collaborations, and correspondence. Stars and Gods roams all over a wide variety of fascinating topics, from space stations to conventional etiquette.

Give yourself a treat, and feel free to pick the brain of one of modern science fiction's most fascinating thinkers.



Just add your information to the form below to enter (all information is guaranteed confidential and will be discarded once contest ends) and I will randomly pick one winner by Wednesday December 15th.((contest extended until after Christmas due to lag-time of holiday shipping)) No multiple entries please-- all multiple entries will be discarded. Open everywhere.



Good luck!



**Contest Closed**

26 November 10

I went to The Body Shop after work because I needed shampoo. I forgot about the whole... Black Friday thing. I waited in line at the cashier for almost half an hour!
Afterwards I met up with Jeff at work and we went to watch the game at Ceili's Pub, where we drank some beer and ate some food and talked about space-time paradoxes. Also some girls gave us free Guinness.

progress report: cable knit

I attempted to pincurl my hair again, but evidently, it's too long to be really curly rather than wavy now. For which I am thankful but about which I am somewhat vexed. In any event, this is a pretty boring outfit, but there's nothing like feeling like you're floating around in a cloud of your own hair to make you feel cute. I love having straight hair for about the first day and a half after I wash it, when it's swingy and reminds me of rain pouring down in sheets, or when I pull off my hat and my baby hairs are having a tussle around my part, but damn, I wish I could last longer without greasing up so fast. (That's why I curl my hair sometimes. Works like a charm. Like Wingardium Leviosa. Which is a charm. Unlike Lumos, which is a spell.)

Here's a progress report on my cable-knit scarf:

Jacket: gift. Mittens: J. Crew, gift. Jeggings: Forever21. Socks: HotSox. Black and white oxford: Miz Mooz.

Random Thoughts...

• Leslie Nielsen passed away yesterday and I'm too bummed to make any Shirley jokes. My parents always told me he was a great dramatic actor, and I'm reading a lot comments referencing "Forbidden Planet," but he'll always be Dr. Rumack from "Airplane" to me.


• It was announced today that Anne Hathaway and James Franco are going to be the hosts of the 2011 Academy Awards. Um. Huh? This is a head scratcher for sure. I grew up in the era of Johnny Carson and Billy Crystal-- wonderful comics who could think on their feet and had a wry appreciation of the ridiculous. I have visions of painful, scripted banter and lots of awkward pauses with this particular duo. No disrespect intended to Anne or James, but how did we go from Carson to Hathaway and Franco? This is being sold as a show that's going for a "SNL vibe" but I feel like I'm being punked. Oh well. Another year I skip the awards. 


• When I look at the trailer for "The Green Lantern" I can't decide if I'm getting old or movies really are just sucking a whole lot more these days. (I'm old enough that I have to allow for the possibility that I am out-of-touch. *Sigh*)  I have nothing against Ryan Reynolds, so I don't think it's the casting that bothers me. I just can't get past the sarcastic form of irony that every semi-comedic script wants to include. How many times can someone say "I know! Right?" before it gets old? My 10-year-old says it all the time so I know it's about as cliché as saying something is the bomb. I just wish Hollywood would stop trying to make everything so cute. I now think that Robert Downey Jr. is the only one who should be allowed to play it funny and everyone else has to play it straight. Unless it's Nathan Fillion. 


• It's amazing that different countries can ostensibly speak the same language but have such different slang. While recently watching the whole series of Harry Potter movies I frequently found myself frowning in confusion over terms like "tosser" and "barmy." And I'm a little afraid of treacle tart-- after all, I know what they put into the blood pudding.  Are foreign viewers as confused when watching American movies? Or has Hollywood taught everyone to speak our language?


• Why aren't there any great, cheesy scifi/fantasy shows anymore? I want to see Lucy Lawless flipping through the air and hear Xena's ululation. I want to see men fight with swords and try to take each other's heads off to be the last immortal standing. Is that so wrong? No one seems to know how to do bad special effects in a good way anymore. 


• Whenever I read a really good review I feel slightly inadequate. Then I read a really pretentious attempt at intellectualizing on Amazon and feel all better. 


• It's strange how it needs to be Christmas time to really enjoy a Christmas movie. I suppose I could watch "Elf" anytime, but it isn't the same when it's 90 degrees outside. Plus it's hard to justify drinking spiked hot chocolate in the summer. No wonder we all resolve to lose weight for the new year. Or am I the only one who looks for a reason to spike everything with alcohol? Forget I asked. 


• R.I.P. Irvin Kershner

Am I Too Late?

It's still technically Cyber Monday and I've just finished posting some designer heels on my ebay store. Go check them out!!

MY EBAY STORE

including...

MARNI

D&G

GUCCI

...and more :)

25 November 10

It snowed in the nighttime and most of the morning. I got to work ok, but I was right to take this photo out the window of the lunchroom on my break, because it started raining in the afternoon and was mostly slush by the time my shift was over.

Cyber Monday!

I can't say that I know where a ton of great deals are but I'm going to research it right now! I'll continue to update this post as I find goodies for us :)
This is a pretty good start though... The very popular Jessica Simpson Dany (I just ordered the grey snake and already have and love the black version) is only $69.99 today!! They have purple velvet too!!! And free shipping! So many exclamations!
If you want some boots I have a half off coupon for you too... 50BOOT
I got the Alfie in "Dust"

Endless.com is one of my favorite online shopping resources and they're having a buy more save more event. Spend $100 get $30 off, etc. Click HERE 

Another favorite, Net-a-Porter.com just started a huge end of season sale with some really great shoes and lots of sizes. No code needed.

Solestruck.com is offering 50% off sale items with code FP72HMPZF awesome!

And though I haven't officially announced it, I am the new designer for bebe footwear. So I'm sneaking this news in here so that YOU know if first. haha. They are doing a Cyber Monday deal...
bebe.com 20% off plus free shipping

Over at Vintage Shaun (super cute vintage goodies) you'll get 15% off with code: SHAUN


Enjoy! And leave me a comment with your favorite deals of the day :)

BINARY SOLO

Wearing glasses when my hair is like this makes me feel like a robot.

Jacket: delia's. Skirt: secondhand gift. Blue tights: Forever21. Boots: Steven by Steve Madden.

New "Game of Thrones" Trailer

24 November 10

Is Christopher Nolan Finished With Batman?

Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman story is one of the few things that can turn me into a genuine fangirl. So when I saw headlines that Christian Bale was leaving the franchise after the third installment ("The Dark Knight Rises") of Nolan's series I was honestly disappointed. But then I read the story, and not just the headlines, and I was even more disappointed.



~From Slice of SciFi



Christian Bale says the upcoming movie “The Dark Knight Rises” will be the last time he dons the cape and cowl as Batman.



“I believe, unless Chris (Nolan) says different, this will be the last time I’m playing Batman,” he tells Total FilmTotal Film.



As for the rumors on who will be the adversary Batman faces off with in the next film, Bale says he puts no stock in the rumors floating around.



“Until Chris tells me, I don’t believe it,” Bale says. “It’s gotta be from his mouth, or else I don’t really know. Chris will let me know what I need to know when I need to know it. I probably know a little bit more than some other people out there, but I think most people would be surprised at how little I do know.”



“It just hasn’t been necessary yet. I know he’ll give me plenty of time to prepare for whatever I need to, and I’ll discover it,” he adds. “He’s a pretty damn good filmmaker. I trust that he’s going to come up with something wonderful.”





Say it ain't so!



The worst part of this story isn't the possibility that Nolan will wrap up the Batman story with the third film. No, the worst part is that Hollywood will not be able to just leave well enough alone when Nolan says he's done with it.



I mean, look at what they're doing to Buffy...

23 November 10

June joined Jeff and me for sushi and then she came back here so I could give her a haircut. While I was seeing her out, I noticed one of my books was put back in the wrong place. I went to rearrange it, and the whole shelf tipped over. I called Jeff to come help me fix it, and while trying to reset the shelf, all the other ones decided to collapse too. So I just kind of crammed the books wherever until I had time to re-alphabetize them.

carrie-ing capacity & W1L 004: Write one leaf about listening. Or write one leaf about being heard.

I love this dress, but I'm afraid that one day, I will wake up to find that I've worn it to death.

In other news, I think my closet has reached its carrying capacity for new items - not that I've bought much in the past few months, but I've found myself much more interested in... sartorial introspection than in looking at what other people are wearing, which actually surprises me because usually by this time of year I'm clamoring for SHINY NEW! I guess it has to do with wanting the 90s back (and already having it packed away in boxes somewhere).

This isn't news, but Carrie is awesome.

Dress: thrifted and hemmed. (Chopped and screwed.) Thermal: department store. Tights: generic. Payless: Oxfords.

I write stuff after the jump.

22 November 10

It was fucking cold outside. And sunny. I had to wear gigantor shades with my four layers, scarf, leg warmers, and Russian Hat. So sexy.

"The Mechanic" Trailer

Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) is a 'mechanic' - an elite assassin with a strict code and unique talent for cleanly eliminating targets. It's a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business. But when his mentor and close friend Harry (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed - he wants those responsible dead.



His mission grows complicated when Harry's son Steve (Ben Foster) approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop's trade. Bishop has always acted alone but he can't turn his back on Harry's son. A methodical hit man takes an impulsive student deep into his world and a deadly partnership is born. But while in pursuit of their ultimate mark, deceptions threaten to surface and those hired to fix problems become problems themselves.

"Red Riding Hood" Trailer

In "Red Riding Hood," Seyfried plays Valerie, a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie's older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon's arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. As panic grips the town, Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect...and bait.

21 November 10

Steph and I went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows again, and got way better seats than at the midnight showing. I think I cried more seeing it the second time, ha.
When I came home the boys were making dinner and Terra brought over a cake! I'm not usually one for marzipan but the cake and filling were so delicious that I was able to enjoy it.

rained (preposition)

The day I wore this, I was rained in. Rained on. Rained under. Rained up. It's gettin' rained up in here. Rained against. Ow. That sounds painful. Today, I was rained toward, but I had an umbrella.

Trench coat: Foxrun, hand-me-down. Pashmina: street vendor. Dress: mother's. Galoshes: Hunter.

wear glasses & W1L 003: Write one leaf about an argument you've had.

I wasn't exaggerating much when I said that this is really boring. At least I know that I'm doing one of the "how to be smart" things on my t-shirt.

Cardigan: Forever21. T-shirt: Secrets of Mensa via Threadless. Tiny skirt: secondhand. Tights: generic. Oxfords: Payless.

I write stuff after the jump.

20 November 10

We woke up at Pia's on Saturday morning to find a thin blanket of snow over Yaletown. Kids were going nuts building snowmen in the park across the street. We decided to go for breakfast at The Elbow Room, which was pretty spectacular. Later I went to Grandview Lanes for Amanda's birthday, and then dashed home to get dressed for Jesse's James Bond vodka-tasting party, photos of which can be found here. We tried nine different vodkas, and I didn't even have a hangover!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday! I love hanging with my family and pigging out. :) I also love the excuse to be cheesy and say what I'm thankful for. Not that I really need one...

I'm thankful that I don't have shoes that remind me of a turkey. Sorry Givenchy, you got it all wrong.

Or these scary beasts...

I am thankful for shoes that use feathers tastefully. Like these by L.A.M.B.

But more than that, I'm thankful for my health, my AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING husband, my family and friends (including all of you of course!) and my cutie little puppies that are trying really hard to reach the turkey on the counter top. Not gonna happen guys.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xoxo

Your ShoeGirl, Celine



All I Really want for Christmas...

...is a SET set, rent money, maybe some new socks, and some time with my family, accompanied by good food. Shiny things are nice, but I think I prefer having total control over where my money goes over having lots of stuff I wouldn't ordinarily buy for myself.

These are beautiful, but I don't even know what I'd do with these if I found them under my tree. Cry, probably.

Weep with me, children.

Above, Altuzarra Buckle Jacket, $2280 at Barneys

Above, McQ sheer button front blouse, $335 at SSENSE

Above, Bensoni Brocade Skirt, $395 at Les Nouvelles

Above, 14k White Gold Edwardian Style Filigree Cubic Zirconia Ring, $299.99 at Janeliunas Jewelry

Above, Nicholas Kirkwood for Erdem silk and black leather hiking boots, $1133 at Browns

Happy Thanksgiving, guys. I am so, so grateful to be right here with everything and everyone that I have.

For All Those with Thick Hair

image credit massugu.be

Thinning shears(or thinning scissors as I like to call them) should be used to thin out your hair. I suggest Massugu thinning scissors as these scissors have been designed specifically with the beginning hairdresser in mind. These are simply gap-toothed scissors that cut only half the hair. These also come with various gap sizes, depending on what you need cut away.

I've seen how many people struggle with thick hair and I can just imagine the pain it is to manage it, hope this helps.

19 November 10

Pia hosted a girls' night/sleepover at her apartment. Heather and Calan were also there. We played silly games and had a few drinks and realised how old we all are when we were ready for bed by 1:30, whereas as teenagers we had no problem staying up til three or four.
This is Heather having a cigarette out the kitchen window.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy eating everyone!

facehunt me

Usually I post my outfits in chronological order, but since the next couple waiting to be posted are kind of boring, I decided to save them for when I have W1Ls to post with them. So this is what I wore to the Face Hunter event, my miniature recap of which you can read at the bottom of this post.

My hair was really dirty so I tried to hairspray and backcomb the ugly out of it, but I ended up kinda looking like I was wearing a wig. Oh well. This is the very outfit that swayed me into my frumpy phase.

I love it.

Sweater: thrifted. Peter Pan collar blouse: French Toast uniforms. Black skirt: hand-me-down. Blue tights: Forever21. Bag: thrifted. Oxford: Payless. Necklace: grandmother's. Rings: estate sale.