tebow

Gross

Make Your Man a Flamer
Mmmmmmm. Fresh Meat.

Posted by Emily Bryson York

Love a man who smells like grilled meat? We all do. For a limited-time only, Burger King is offering up Flame, a body spray with "the scent of seduction," and a "hint of flame-broiled meat." It's a favorite of the King, they say. The website to promote the scent is essentially a sequence of Barry White cover albums: sunset at the beach, a bath with candles, roses, a creepy looking guy wearing a Burger King mask on a shag carpet. All the usual stuff. It's not a joke, in the sense that you can actually buy it, online or at Ricky's NYC stores for $3.99. [Editor's note: If the sight of a half-naked BK King repulses you, do not keep clicking on the bottle of Flame.]

vino

Mike and I had the best Saturday... we joined a great group of people to celebrate Mike's friend, Josh's, birthday. Eleven of us rented a luxury bus and were chauffeured around Texas hill country.

We started at Becker Vineyards, where there were beautiful lavender fields. The sommelier started us out with a Viognier, which I would have never tried on my own (I'm not a fan of whites) but was absolutely wonderful. I then tried the Provencal, which they called the "picnic wine" because it goes with everything. I then tried the Grenache, Barbera, Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet-Syrah (don't be alarmed, it was only small samples not whole glasses!) They made us all finish with a strange wine experience... we were each given a little cup and told to dip the side of it in carmel. The cup was then filled with port and we were given a few pieces of chocolate. The process was lick the carmel, drink the port and follow with the chocolate. It was gooooooood!

Next we stopped at Torre di Pietra Winery. This place was beautiful... when we walked into the wine tasting area it felt like we were in a castle. Spending my weekends tasting wine by a fireplace- I could get used to living like that! The wines here all had fancy names and infusions of chocolate, berries, carmel and other fancy/delicious flavors. They were also very expensive... I sampled a $100 bottle!

Our third stop was Luckenbach, a German town established in the 1800's. We drank some beers and toured the little town... with a general store that had been there as long as the town has. Their stage is lined with license plates from all over the United States and we found one from Broward County! How funny is that?

Our last stop was the Salt Lick BBQ. Because the restaurant is in a dry county everyone is encouraged to BYOB, which I thought was hilarious. The food was AMAZING. I'll never be able to eat Sonny's again.

It was definitely a great weekend. We are so lucky to be in a place that offers so many amazing experiences with such great people. I have a feeling we're going to stick around Austin for a while :)

ps- It's snowing again! but this time at NOON! brrrrr

holy moly

IT'S SNOWING IN AUSTIN!!!!

well, now it's more sleeting... but it's AWESOME!

I made my first snow(ice)ball!

see where it says "Rollingwood" to the left of Austin? THAT'S WHERE I AM!

so sad

'Joe the Plumber' Looks to Stretch His 15 Minutes

New Book, Website, Tour Turns Erstwhile Campaign Headline Into Media Brand

By Marissa Miley

Published: December 04, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the beginning he was just an average Joe. Then he became Joe the Plumber, star of the presidential debate. And with fame came other epithets: Joe the Concerned Citizen, Joe the Fraud and Joe the Opportunist.

Now Samuel J. Wurzelbacher can add Joe the Brand to his many nicknames.

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher is taking his Joe the Plumber persona on a book tour.

Photo Credit: AP

Make of it what you will, but later this month a book he co-wrote with relatively unknown author and publisher Thomas N. Tabback, "Fighting for the American Dream," will come out. Thousands of copies have already been pre-ordered at $24.95 each via a star-spangled website (theme: "It's about we the people, not we the government") that also offers Joe-approved merchandise and the ability, for a price, to post to its blog and forum.

Telling his side
With all the Joe tales told since October, when Mr. Wurzelbacher first gained notoriety after questioning the tax plans of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, Mr. Tabback believed one story was noticeably missing, Mr. Wurzelbacher's own. "We felt he had more of an interesting story to tell aside from the more tabloid-style events around the election," Mr. Tabback said. "And it turned out we were right."

His 2-year-old husband-and-wife operation, PearlGate Publishing, will publish the 192-page hardcover, but a set publication date has not been determined. Those who pre-order the book by Dec. 8 on SecureOurDream.com -- a website Mr. Tabback developed for Mr. Wurzelbacher in conjunction with Visuplay, a media producer based in Dallas -- will receive a signed copy by Christmastime. But everyone else will have to wait until after the holiday for the book. Mr. Tabback said it will be available through Barnes & Noble, but that his firm is "still discussing with distributors and buyers about the broad retail market."

Still, the media outlets are lining up for after Christmas, when Mr. Tabback expects a national book tour for Mr. Wurzelbacher, with stops in New York, Las Vegas, Texas and Mr. Wurzelbacher's home state of Ohio. He named "Good Morning America," the "Laura Ingraham Show," the "Mike Gallagher Show," and "Fox & Friends" as outlets that have already expressed interest. And he also will reach out to other press with early review copies and what he calls a "complete marketing kit."

Plugging products
Messrs. Tabback and Wurzelbacher have talked about promoting products on SecureOurDream.com, but right now "that's in development," he said. There is a "Shop Joe" tab on the website that to date lists only "Fighting for the American Dream."

Mr. Tabback said he reached out to Mr. Wurzelbacher two days after the third and final presidential debate, and "was very frank with him" about his book proposition. "I said, 'Others will be in a position to offer you a very large advance, [but] we're a small publisher, we don't have the capability of doing that.'" Still, Mr. Wurzelbacher accepted the offer, which did not provide an advance but a profit-sharing arrangement based on the number of books sold.

Mr. Tabback declined to discuss details about the financial contract, but said that early demand for Mr. Wurzelbacher's book from SecureOurDream.com warrant a first print-run of 10,000.

"Fighting for the American Dream" is part biography and part current events, Mr. Tabback said, adding that it gives a behind-the scenes account of Mr. Wurzelbacher's encounter with Mr. Obama and what happened in the weeks that followed. It will also dip into Mr. Wurzelbacher's personal history and his take on American values.

Mr. Tabback said that the site is Mr. Wurzelbacher's new platform to give voice to those that may not have one. "[It] will help galvanize an effort for regular folks in the country to be heard on Capitol Hill and local and state governments," he said.

Joining Joe, for a fee
But that will come at a cost. For $19.95, Mr. Wurzelbacher fans can become "Freedom Members" with posting rights on his blog and forum. With membership they also get a monthly newsletter from Mr. Wurzelbacher and 10% off "Shop Joe" merchandise. For that price, they also become "an integral part of an American movement to preserve our American Dream," the site claims, but what that means remains unclear.

Mr. Wurzelbacher's book will be the second title for PearlGate. Its first, the novel "Things Forgotten," was written by Mr. Tabback and released earlier this year. "It would be naïve to say that this hasn't put us on the map," Mr. Tabback said.

memories

I was going through my old bookmarks and found the ratties' baby pictures!

Baby Cherie:
Baby Bijou with her brothers and sisters:
I miss them so much! Let's take a trip down memory lane....

They were such good ratties... who could have known those little angels would have had such an impact on my life?

RIP my little love, Bijou and my fattie rattie, Cherie <3>

pomegranate phone

This is amazing!

http://www.pomegranatephone.com/

...but there's a catch!

I LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!!!!

ummmm

I sent my teacher a copy of my research proposal and this is how he ended his email back:

"This looks like a fun research agenda! You could always stay and get a PhD..."


SCARY!

give thanks

Had a lovely Thanksgiving... spent Thursday with Mike and his mom, sister, grandparents, uncle and two cousins. Ate a fabulous meal with veggies straight from his uncle's garden. Watched UT beat up on Texas A&M. Spent Friday with Mike and his dad, sister, cousin grandma, great aunt and great uncle. Ate another great meal. Sat in the hot tub. Toasted marshmallows over a fire. I really miss my family though and can't wait to go home.

I don't think I've ever hated school as much as I do right now. The next three days will be horrible, but after that I'm free :)

<3 zyrtec

I should be writing my 15 page paper on the elaboration likelihood and limited capacity models and how they affect advertising during professional sports games, but instead I got caught up looking at recent ad campaigns. Even though I'm not doing my homework I'm still kind of doing homework... right?

boom

just watch it

epic

Finally!

Happy Election Day!

Ron Paul

Election tomorrow and all Mike and I keep discussing is Ron Paul... there is something about him we love and respect. On a personal level I do not agree with many of his stances, but on a political level I really do believe in him. That is an important point- he keeps his personal beliefs to himself and instead promotes what he believes will be best for the country as a whole. RP is about leaving many party-dividing decisions up to the states, cutting government spending in superfluous areas (ie Patriot act, no child left behind, IRS), bringing the troops home, ending NATO, I could go on and on. He is a republican-leaning libertarian. Not what the republican party is today, but what it is supposed to be. I'm not going to sit here and say he is 100-percent my perfect dream candidate, but he comes a whole lot closer than everyone else.

I feel a little like a poser voting for Obama... well, not voting for him, but trying to be a supporter and get other people to vote Obama also. It was at first more a vote against McCain (definitely a vote against Palin) and I didn't feel comfortable voting for a third party because our election process only works in favor of the democrats and republicans, but now I do believe in him. He sucked me in! For now, GObama!

Maybe next time.... Ron Paul R3volution 2012?

BCS

Texas is #1

Florida is #5 or #8, depending on which poll you look at

The BCS Championship Game is in Miami

if either team goes- I WANT TO GO SO BAD!

...but what are the chances?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowlprojection?season=2008&week=8

(check out Feldman's prediction)

beef

Let me preface this by giving a friendly reminder that I am a registered Republican.

Why do so many people think Sarah Palin is a strong, brilliant, qualified woman and then just say Hillary Clinton is a bitch?

A friend of mine told me how upset she was that Hugo Chavez said Palin is just a beauty queen. Not because it's Palin, but because he shouldn't say that about women in general. I understand and agree that it's wrong for him to be passing judgment on anyone... I mean, he's downright evil and he wants to be judgmental?  Anyways, that discussion got me thinking about all the people I know who would stand up for Palin's strength as a woman and turn around and put down Hillary... then get upset when they encounter someone who doesn't worship Palin.

I am a 21st century feminist. Women's rights is a deal breaker for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of a woman from any party being in the White House, but it would honestly make me sick if Palin becomes that woman. She doesn't deserve it... not compared to the many women out there from BOTH parties who have worked their butts off to get where they are.

Let's talk about Kay Hutchinson, a Republican Senator of Texas, since I just read about her recently. 

"In 1993, Texas elected Kay Bailey Hutchinson to the United States Senate in a special election, making her the first -- and, to date, the only -- woman elected to represent the state in the Senate.  One year later, she was re-elected to a full six year term.  And in 2000, she received more votes for her re-election to a second full term than any other statewide candidate had ever received.  In 2006, she was again re-elected by an overwhelming margin.  She serves in the Senate leadership, having been elected by her colleagues to be a chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the 110th Congress, making her the fourth-highest ranking Republican senator and the highest ranking Republican woman.  Sen. Hutchinson also serves on the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) National Advisory Committee."

She got her law degree from UT... before the Senate served in the House of Representatives and as Texas State Treasurer... named one of the 30 most powerful women... has a very strong history of beating democrats in elections... And you're telling me Palin is better suited for the VP office? I know, I know, Hutchinson is probably happy where she is, and maybe didn't want the nomination, but Hutchinson is only one example of many extraordinary women who should be in Palin's place.

There are too many brilliant women out there to waste our times handing privileges to the ones with the most makeup and highest heels. The fact the Republican committee chose Palin over the many qualified Republican women out there shows how shallow and ignorant they believe this country to be.

Palin will never break the glass ceiling. If she gets into office it's not a big step for women- it only proves the double standard that ugly, old white men can get anywhere but you have to be a relatively young, beautiful woman to even challenge them. No woman will truly break the glass ceiling until she cuts the makeup, pulls down the hair, puts on trousers and a loose blouse and still makes it to the top. Hillary came closest and maybe that's why I love her so much.  I didn't necessarily agree with everything she had to say, but I still have the utmost respect for her. Her relative androgyny intimidated people and earned her the "Bitch" title, but I'd rather be a bitch than shallow.

scary

I'm scared of white people.

Want to be know why? Watch this:

Any McCain supporters with even an iota of intelligence should be appalled and embarrassed by the ignorance surrounding the campaign.

wonderful weekend

so... last weekend was pretty amazing and I'm going to walk you through each amazing part!

1) MIKE GOT A JOB! yaaaay We went to dinner at a place in the warehouse district called Starlight to celebrate. Delicious.

2) We saw Benny Benassi- yup, third time this year. Can't get enough of him. Made some new friends, danced, had a great time!

3. Mike was nominated "Young Alumni President" of the Lone Star Gator Club :)

4. Our friends threw a "House Divided" party for the Florida/LSU game. My friend Katelyn from UF lives with two Tigers so it literally was a house divided! They did an amazing job decorating so here are some pictures of their condo...

Their garage

Les Miles and Urban Meyer showed up!

"Die Hard Gator Fan"

Britney Spears was mad the Gators were winning so she took her wig off...

The food was also amazing. Our chef, Kelly, treated us all very well!

She made this LSU vs. Florida cake

Fried Alligator (I didn't eat any, of course)

"Crawfish Kelly" -an item from her parent's Cajun restaurant

We had a blast! The Gators won 51-21 so HALF of the party was thrilled!

aw, despite our differences we can all get along :)

parah salin

I need to update on my insanely good weekend, but since I haven't gotten all the pictures yet I'll just post some great pictures I found today when doing a little Sarah Palin search.







and my personal favorite......

Austin City Limits

School is a pain but at least living in Austin makes up for it!

Last week Mike and I got free tickets for the third and final day of the Austin City Limits music festival. The lineup was pretty good... we saw Gnarls Barkley, Against Me!, Blues Traveler, the Raconteurs and the Foo Fighters. Our absolute favorite performer, though, was Joe Bonamassa... just an awesome guitarist jamming out. We actually live in walking distance from the park, which was wonderful considering all the major roads around us were shut down. Probably the highlight of the day was when Mike bought me a cowboy hat. I don't know how I feel about it... but I think my relationship with Texas is moving a little too quickly.

Other than that, our lives have consisted of football, football and football. Going to UT football games, watching UF football games with the Gator club, watching football at home, at restaurants, anywhere it's on. Gotta love football (minus our loss to Ole Miss last weekend).

A bunch of us are participating in the AIDS walk in downtown Austin to raise money for research on October 19. The weather has been beautiful so that should be fun :)