Take It On the Run

I just returned from my first work karaoke outing. I think I found a good team for me to be a part of in the workforce. I've never had a job where I was able to sing a Tainted Love duet with my cool new boss or got to see the woman from Global getting down with the office Snack to Living on a Prayer. Banking rocks!

The Fur Scarf

Today I tried on a mink scarf at Bergdorf Goodman. If you are reading this and want to buy me a really nice present, I want the chocolate brown mink scarf located in the front of the store. I'm too young for a fur coat but the right age for a fur scarf. Despite what I said in the last podcast, I do not want a fur scarf made out of my cat.

Stairway to Heaven

I haven't been blogging because I've been hiding out in bed and eating cake while listening to the entire 1043 top classic rock songs on Q104.3 with my special friend. This was a perfect way to end a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you who must know, the #1 song was Stairway to Heaven.

Things for Which I Give Thanks 2005

Well, it's that time of the year where I contemplate for what I am thankful this year. Here is the list:

1. MJ Cat-Believe it or not, I am still thankful I have the pleasure of sharing my home with this wild cat. I love him and I look forward to seeing him every day.
2. Matthew-Despite what I say and or how I behave, I'm thankful that I met him and that he still seems to like me.
2. My New Job-I have been working so hard for so long so it's nice to be out of the poverty bracket.
3. Todd and the Podcast-Working with Todd on the Beware of the Babylon podcast has been the most satisfying creative experience I've had in many years. I'm also very thankful that Todd is my friend.
4. The Risotteria-I still drop in on almost a daily basis and Joe still provides me with wine and advice.
5. Mary Kay Timewise-Eveyone at my new job thinks I am in my early-mid 20s.

Help me Hello Kitty!

Leave it to Hello Kitty to help you with all your Big Black Tuesday dilemmas. She offers more advice, but this particular test seemed the most relevant. Let me know how it pans out for you. Thanks to my new buddy at Tokyo Shoes for leading me to the guru that is Hello Kitty.

Rest sound knowing that Hello Kitty can help you with all of your life's problems.

Aslan Lives!

I haven't seen a really great movie this year until tonight. I attended a screening of the new Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I don't know if I've ever seen an adaptation that so vividly brought a favorite childhood book of mine to life. Although I enjoyed the animated version as a kid, this movie brought the book to life in the vivid way I pictured so many of the characters when I first read the book in third grade. The movie itself defies intellectual criticism in the same kind of way as did My Dog Skip . Aside from the spectacular cinematography and the exciting adventure narrative, the film brought me back to my youth and reminded me how much I love reading and how that particular novel captured my imagination as an optimistic young girl. When the film goes into release on December 9th, I highly recommend that you see it as soon as possible. My eyes felt dusty throughout the movie as I experienced a serve sense of nostalgia along with emotions of hope and faith that movies can still be really entertaining.

I Am Getting Married!

I'm through with the Snack and planning my upcoming wedding. I've noticed a recent trend where brides and grooms are creating elaborate wedding Web sites to create some excitement around their upcoming nuptuals so I'm working on mine now!

For details about my wedding, click here!

The History of a Loft Reflects the His-and-Her Story of a Couple - New York Times

My friend Kristen once tried to set me up with this buy in this past Sunday's Real Estate section. Unfortunately, I was too stupid to unerstand this man's apartment potential and didn't have any interest. I hate seeing my mistakes in the Times. Now he's married and has a lot more space than me.
The History of a Loft Reflects the His-and-Her Story of a Couple - New York TimesThe History of a Loft Reflects the His-and-Her Story of a Couple - New York Times

The R Kelly Cast

This week Todd and Rachel podcast from O'Flaherty's on Restaurant Row and end up
trapped in R. Kelly's closet...

Highlights include:

• How best to remember your pets

• Who would your rather? Bono or Sting?

• Why you shouldn't go into Rachel's closet

• Baby names that do not go well with 'Sokolove'

• Who get's the baby?




CLICK HERE or
or use ITunes' new podcast feature to subscribe to all the podcasts
(just search for Beware of the Babylon and subscribe)

All That and a Bag of Chips

As part of my obsession with my new 23 yr. old snack, I decided to have a complete Snack weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "Snack" please read the following post entitled "The Joys of Snacking with Younger Men" that I wrote last year. I haven't seen him since Thursday although he did call me and hang up. I fear though that in the current cultural environment where Demi married Ashton and Cameron and JT are still together, that perhaps the shelf-life of a Snack can be extended and I'm not sure if that's such a good thing. I'm always curious what these younger men do in their free time with their friends. I have a feeling they are not sitting home watching 60 Minutes and making turkey chili.

Here's how I spent my weekend researching Snack lifestyle:

-I actually went to see the movie Prime which kind of sucked but was a movie about the shelf-life of Snacks. I was much more interested in patient/therapist storyline than I was in the relationship between Uma and her Snack. What does this say about me?
-I went shopping at Urban Outfitters and bought some t-shirts.
-I had my hair cut and asked my guy to make it "messier."
-I ordered chicken wings and a slice of pizza for dinner.
-I stayed in bed until 2 today.

I just hope he calls me or I run into him again in the neighborhood soon. I'm having Snack withdrawal.

Survey Results

MJ Cat is celebrating Veteran's Day and taking the day off from catblogging. In any case,I wanted to present the survey results from my Man Survey.

It was an even split for the preselected candidates, but under the "other" category, ten people wrote in "Todd" so Todd won the survey. Somebody wants me to get with some guy from the NBA who was also not an option because he DUMPED ME over three years ago. Todd is also not a viable option because he is GAY and has a serious partner. So, I decided to choose Il Sputino the Italian Snack because he smells good and told me that I "impress" him. This survey was a waste of my time.

Big Black Hole Thursday

There are many things I don't understand in this crazy world. Here are some of them:

1. How is that ugly crazy Lisa is still a contestant on America's Next Top Model?
2. What exactly is wrong with Fernano Ferrer?
3. What is Max thinking when he stares at me for hours on end?
4. Where should I go to buy a new winter coat?
5. Why does House limp?
6. How does one celebrate Veteran's Day?

New Online Survey: Should I Be Into Him?

Well, it's that time of the season where men appear from the woodwork as they anticipate a lonely upcoming holiday season. Here are my current choices of men who at this moment appear to be into me. Please vote for your favorite so I can make an informed decision about how best to spend my time.

Il Sputino
Pros: He's 23, Italian and handsome.
He lives around the corner.
He attends film school and can talk serious film with me.
He likes to cook.
He's up for activity any time.
Cons: He's young and foreign.
His friends are young and smoke pot.
He doesn't properly keep a schedule.

Full House
Pros: He's very smart and has celebrity friends.
He's already bought me a gift which was a book about the psychoanalytic theories about the art of flirting.
He's kind of famous.
Cons: He's 50.
He spends every other weekend in Toronto with his ex wife and two kids.

Englishman in New York
Pros: We already have an established relationship.
He sends me painted postcards.
He makes me laugh.
He loves MJ Cat and vice versa.
Cons: He's obsessed with work and gets grouchy when things don't go well for him at work.
He wishes that he was dating a model rather than me.

The Lower East Side Rock Star
Pros: He's in my dating age range.
He's a member of SAG.
He's persistent.
Cons: He lives like he's a Snack.
He spends a lot of time a band practice.
He can't make a date and always calls me at the last minute.

The Trumpeteer
Pros and Cons:He plays the trumpet.



Click here to take our Online Survey

Kate Bush "Aerial" Album Released Today!

After 12 years, Kate Bush, one of my favorite singers, has released her new album "Aerial." I am an unabashed and unapologetic fan of Kate. I remember the first time I heard "Wuthering Heights" in the early eighties and was blown away that a teenager could write a song like that. While my friends were freaking out to Menudo, I was contemplating the second side of Hounds of Love. I even stood in line for five hours in the sleet to have Kate autograph the most expensive CD I ever purchased which was the bootleg Phoenix Recordings. I am glad she's back. Now, I have to go listen to Aerial so I can savor it without interruption. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Kate, here is the Wiki summary of her career.

Here are my top ten favorite Kate Bush songs:
1. Wuthering Heights
2. Running Up That Hill
3. Cloudbusting
4. Under the Ivy
5. Why Should I Love You
6. December Will Be Magic
7. You're The One
8. The Man With the Child In His Eyes
9. Wow
10. This Woman's Work

Tasteless Cat Humor

This is sick, but it made me laugh.

Working Girl Update

Despite my Avian flu, I love my new life in corporate America. I haven't felt this comfortable since I had a temp gig as a sales assistant at Dean Witter. I don't know why I thought I should be working in "entertainment/media" for all these years. Banking rules! Everyone at my new job has been very nice to me. At my last job, I sat alone in a cube for weeks before anybody really talked to me. I'm booked up for lunch for the next month and I've already made two new friends. Now, I just need to focus on my wedding and I will be living the American dream.

The Smells Like Maple Syrup Podcast

We're back from our hiatus and Todd and I caught up tonight at Cafe Dante for a brand new Beware of the Babylon podcast!

In this week's long awaited podcast, find out -

• what you should do if your pussy smells like maple syrup

• who put the rum in the baba rum?

• why Todd's Dad might have to arrest him

• what kills the music game for me

• how do you measure, measure a year?


Click the picture to hear it or use ITunes' new podcast feature to subscribe to all the podcasts (just search for Beware of the Babylon and subscribe).

Friday Catblog by MJ Cat: Up All Night, Sleep All Day

DSCF0261
Originally uploaded by redrachel.

I've been having a terrible time sleeping because my person has been coughing all night. For the last two nights, I've been sleeping alone on the chair. Next week, I'll be answering your questions for "Ask MJ Cat" so please email me at nycbabylontips@aol.com with your questions.

100 Third Avenue Update

Many of you might remember during the late 90's, I lived in an illegal apartment above a gay porn theater on lower third avenue. My roommates included a despotic skirt-wearing Iranian and his caffeine-addicted girlfriend, a Japanese guy named Aki who had a well-known acoustic act at the Sidewalk Cafe, a photo student from Cooper Union named Joanna and Melissa, an eccentric girl who lived in the back room we called the "Anne Frank Suite." While I would be sitting in my room quietly watching Fashion Emergency, Jo and Melissa were having a secret affair breaking up the entire fabric of our dysfunctional family. The affair even inspired the song "Joanna" recorded by the late great band The Cogs. Jo was forced to move out of the apartment by her controlling boyfriend in the middle of the night after he learned she was "licking ditches" with the crazy girl from the Anne Frank Suite. She skipped out on the rent and left the apartment in the middle of the night. I've lost touch with all these people but I did get an email from Melissa informing me of her current whereabouts via this interview on Gothamist. She's now driving a cab. Read the interview here. Now, I wish I knew what happened to Aki. He was a nice guy.

Help me House!

God, I wish I could score an appointment with Dr. House. I spent the last day of my vacation at D.O.C.S. which is the urgent care center. It turns out that I was breathing at only 1/2 my lung capacity so I had two nebulizer treatments and was prescribed some steroids. I pray the drugs kick in before my first day of my new job tomorrow. Dr. House could have cured me in an hour, but D.O.C.S. took over a week.