Does Buying These Books Make Us Romantic or Indicate a Lack of Romance?

Data from Amazon which is subject to interpretation...

Love Is in the Air as Amazon.com Announces the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in America

Sales data of romance novels, relationship and sex books reveals Alexandria, Va. as the most romantic city

SEATTLE, Jan 28, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- With Valentine's Day just around the corner, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced its list of the Top 20 Most Romantic Cities in America. After compiling sales data of romance novels, relationship and sex books since Jan. 1, 2008, on a per capita basis in cities with over 100,000 residents, the top 20 most romantic cities in the United States are:

1. Alexandria, Va.         11. Washington, D.C.
2. Cambridge, Mass.        12. Pasadena, Calif.
3. Miami, Fla.             13. Bellevue, Wash.
4. Irvine, Calif.          14. Seattle, Wash
5. Ann Arbor, Mich.        15. San Francisco, Calif.
6. Orlando, Fla.           16. Columbia, S.C.
7. Berkeley, Calif.        17. Tallahassee, Fla.
8. Scottsdale, Ariz.       18. Austin, Texas
9. Arlington, Va.          19. Richmond, Va.
10. Atlanta, Ga.           20. Knoxville, Tenn.

In taking a closer look at Amazon.com's "romantic" data, the company also unveiled that:

-- Virginia really is for lovers, with three cities -- Alexandria, Arlington and Richmond -- ranked amongst the top 20 Most Romantic Cities.

Well, regardless of interpretation, at least we're working on it. ;)

A Whole Different Kind of Hair Experience

I'm not what you'd call patient. I walked out on my old hair stylist, who I won't mention by name here, when I realized that my making an appointment had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on when I actually got my hair cut.

I know they're busy but how freakin' long do I have to wait?! At least this time I was just sitting there waiting to be taken back for a shampoo when I'd had enough. The time before, I got shampooed and then sat with water dripping down my neck and back for half an hour while he dealt with the backlog. Yeesh.

This time, after a 1/2 hour of not being called I went back to the receptionist. She said "All set?" I said "What do you mean?! I haven't been seen yet." She checked and it turned out that he still had people that he was planning to see ahead of me. So WHY was I told I had an appointment at a particular time? We'll never know.

I'd been going to him for years and he was good! But he wasn't all that.

And so I had the angst of finding a new stylist.

I went to "PR at Partners" on King Street in Alexandria because it was in the neighborhood and I'm delighted that I did.

Note: This is an unabashed and unreserved endorsement of this place.

The "PR" in the title stands for "Perfect Relationship" and that's truly what they aim for. Not only did my stylist, Christina, see me on time but she did a great job and the experience was fantastic.

They have you fill out a short form before you start with a variety of pertinent questions along the lines of "How often do you wash and condition your hair?" and "Would you like your free scalp massage to be relaxing or reinvigorating?" In this way, they get a clear understanding of your likes, dislikes, desires, concerns, etc. Then they consult and then they listen!

Wacky, no?

If anyone wants a $10 off coupon for this place (I have two) let me know and I'll get it to you.

I am not associated with the salon and this is not a paid endorsement. I'm simply delighted to promote businesses that provide outstanding service.

The VCR is Dead, Long Live the VCR

I am the last person in America using a VCR.

At least, that's how it sounded when I went to Radio Shack to try to work out my VCR issues. The woman working there looked at me askance and said something along the lines of "You know they're disappearing... you can't really find a VCR these days..." as if to imply there was something deeply troubling about my trying to use a VCR at this point in time.

Now, mind you, I didn't go to Circuit City and I didn't go to Best Buy. I went to Radio Shack. Remember Radio Shack? Where the geeks went to get additional parts for their Commodore 64? The company isn't exactly cutting edge--they still have RADIO in their name!

When she realized I wasn't going to hop on the DVR or Tivo bandwagon until such time that I was sure the VCR (of which we have 2) was a no-go, she and another colleague worked out the issue and I am now, once again, able to use my antique as I please.

I was tempted to buy out all the blank videotapes at the grocery store, just in case they stopped making them, but there didn't seem to be any shortage. So maybe I'm not the sole VCR user in America. How long do I have? I'd say the "clock is ticking" but since we're talking VCRs, how about the "clock is blinking 12:00"...

Movie Review: Simpsons Movie

How's this for a to-the-point review:
We rented the Simpsons Movie on Pay Per View for $3.99. I'm glad we didn't spend more. There were funny parts and clever parts but mostly it ran like a long episode. It held my interest but it was mostly "eh." I give it 1 out of 4 jujubees.

The Updated Version of Foster Brooks?

In the 70s, Foster Brooks made a career of pretending to be the "lovable lush"--the raging alcoholic at whatever venue in which he happens to find himself.

The other day, I'm watching "Two and a Half Men" and thinking about the character of Charlie Harper--the raging alcoholic at whatever venue in which he happens to find himself.

And I posited that Charlie Harper is this decade's updated Foster Brooks.

We would no longer laugh at Foster Brooks, the belching, stumbling, boorish, out-of-control drunk because clearly he has a serious problem--a disease, fergawdssake--and there's nothing funny about that. It wouldn't be politically correct. Or even kind.

But it's okay to laugh at Charlie who is a high-functioning alcoholic. He always has a drink--often straight from the bottle, frequently passes out, periodically wakes up in strange places--like the neighbor's dog house, sometimes suffers from memory loss, admits that he is an alcoholic and that he uses alcohol to deal with most situations.

So what's the difference?

Charlie is still a fairly tightly controlled presence... and therefore it's all in good fun, yes?

Alcohol is funny if we remain in control of it or allow it to control us but only as we choose?

Foster's character doesn't know how he's coming across but Charlie's does know or doesn't care?

That's the only difference I can see... that we commiserate with Charlie but we distance ourselves from Foster's character because Charlie remains "cool" most of the time and Foster never is. So, the lesson is: it's okay to be an alcoholic if you remain cool?

Dunno. I invite other theories.