3.28.2007

Knut

Cute Knut. This guy is just a doll. Have you seen him? He’s a superstar baby polar bear at the Berlin Zoo. He’s just the fluffiest, whitest, cuddliest, fuzziest - did I mention the cutest? - baby animal that I have ever seen!

Check out photo galleries of him at http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,461624,00.html

Knut was born at the Berlin Zoo. After his mother rejected him and his twin brother died, zookeepers kept him alive in an incubator for 44 days while feeding him with a bottle. He made his public debut this week at his enclosure to the zoo and has been hamming it up ever since! He spends his days playing with twigs, rolling around with his blanket and covering himself with dirt...all in front of the paparazzi. He has also done a photo shoot with Annie Liebowitz and will be on the cover of Germany Vanity Fair.

Over the past couple of months, little Knut has become the unofficial mascot of Berlin and their ministry of the environment is leveraging him to bring awareness to climate change issues which I think is great. If this little guy can help polar bears everywhere then more power to him.
Here’s to Cute Knut!

posted by cateinthecity @ 5:35:00 PM 0 comments

3.17.2007

Bitter

Sometimes I just love New York. It's vibrant and alive and everything is convenient so long as you want to pay for it. And then there are days when I just hate it. I curse it all day long sometimes. It can be crowded and difficult and especially expensive!

Yesterday I was in France and today I was supposed to be in Las Vegas. Right now I should be sitting by the pool having drinks with my friends getting ready to have a fun night out, play some blackjack and make some basketball bets.

But where am I? Yup-you guessed it! New York City. It's the second year in a row where I have missed Chris' birthday. I got stranded due to a snowstorm and now I am spending the weekend here by myself in the slushy and dirty and cold snow.

I'm bitter...

posted by cateinthecity @ 6:37:00 PM 0 comments

3.15.2007

Nice


Greetings from the French Riviera! Or as Borat would say: "Nice is Nice..."

I am here for a conference in Cannes, but am staying in Nice and came a couple of days early to bum around and be a tourist.

It's been great so far. The weather is in the 60's and staying near the beach always agrees with me! I spent my free days walking around Vieux Nice where there is a farmer's market, a house where Matisse lived and lots of little streets, tall buildings, shops and cafes. I also walked up and down the Promenade des Anglais-which puts the Strand to shame-and even dipped my toes in the Mediterranean Sea. The beach is ALL rocks, so I pocketed some for souvenirs...

So I am staying at this hotel that is like an upscale Best Western. The people are nice and the service is great, but it would be nice if things worked in the hotel! They don't have washcloths, they missed my wake up call and I have to jiggle the toilet to make it work among other things. I would have complained to the management by now, but I feel really bad about blowing the power in the hotel when I plugged in my hair dryer...

Mon Dieu!!!

posted by cateinthecity @ 5:58:00 PM 0 comments

3.08.2007

Dating

The following author was on my local TV station this morning discussing her latest book. Her book falls into the category of things we women already know, but usually need someone else to point it out for us in order to figure things out!

“Courtney Sullivan, author of Dating Up, says there comes a time to dump the schlump and find a quality man.”

Below are some of her words of wisdom along with some commentary of course...

1. Think of a man who will not commit as a cactus. He may be tall and pretty and unusual, but he's not going to budge, and if you get too close to him, it's going to hurt like hell. Never thought of them as cactus - Note to self: stay away from all cacti!

2. A man of a certain age should know how do certain things. For example: tie a tie, pick up after himself, hold down a job, talk about his feelings-and exist in a relationship. I hear ya sista!

3. Women with opinions intimidate certain men. Leave these men to someone who doesn't have any. OK

4. Not all rich men are created equal, and you must decide the type that's best for you. Umm

4. A good rule of thumb for the first several dates with a new guy is to wear your rattiest, holiest, granny panties under your adorable outfit. This must be the Bridget Jones influence...

5. Cultured men are impressed by a woman who knows how to order wine. When he asks you what you'd like to drink at dinner, an answer like, "Oh whatever-something white" is fine, but it's not exactly going to knock his socks off. Doesn't this go against that intimidation thing above?

6. Women who catch men's attention are not always the prettiest or the best dressed. They are the ones who know how to flirt. Totally

7. Remember that men are extremely insecure creatures. They need to feel impressive in order to feel attractive. Insecure is the understatement of the century!

8. On the first date, do not divulge too much personal information. Ask him a lot of (not too probing) questions about his interests and experiences, and leave him wanting more in every possible way. I get it - I talk a lot...

9. While waiting for him for him to call you, always keep in mind the movie Swingers (Ouch!) Great movie

10. You should never alter yourself in any way for the sake of some guy you've known for five minutes. Too many women get stuck in the trap of trying to snag one particular man. If he's not pursuing you from the get-go, drop him like a hot potato. There's more where he came from. Heard this a gazillion times...

11. A man will tell you everything you need to know about him on a first date, so it's up to you to hear him. I don't believe this for a second!

12. Excessive drinking is a leading cause of cringe-worthy date behavior, but even more important, it's unsafe. Don't match your date drink for drink. Honestly, have you ever heard any man say, "I knew she was the one when I saw how easily she could throw back seven margaritas in a sitting?" And never even TRY to keep up with an Irishman!

13. The culture of movie romance makes a lot of us thing that love should be spontaneous and effortless. This is just plain dumb. This is just plain dumb.

posted by cateinthecity @ 4:51:00 PM 0 comments