The Eyes of March?

Beware the eyes of March? Beware the hides of March? Huh? Oh, beware the IDES of March... yeah, 'cause that makes sense...

Nicole and I are in the car on a Sunday afternoon and I realize it's March 1st. Remarking that it's March already, Nicole agrees and says "beware the ides of March!" We sit in silence for a few seconds before she admits, "I have no idea what that means..." Neither do I, I say, except that I know it's March 15th and has something to do with Caesar.

Later that night we mention it to friends who also know that the ides of March is the 15th of the month and they think Caesar might have been killed on that day. Ahhh... Yeah, still not making much sense to us! Although we do warn our friend Caesar just in case and she said she dutifully stays at home with a baseball bat that day.

Like we do with everything we want to know more about, we google it. (This past week alone we googled "big blue arches on I-94," "ACC tournament 2009," "life is good grow," and "March madness 2009.")

I heart google. We google everything.

So, in case you also wondered, the ides of March is March 15th and the saying "beware the ides of March" does indeed refer to the day that Caesar was killed. Apparently a soothsayer warned Caesar that he would meet his peril on that day, but Caesar didn't listen and walked right into an ambush and was murdered.

But the ides wasn't always a terrible day. In the Roman calendar, the "ides" of a month simply referred to the 13th or the 15th of the month when the moon was full. It just so happened that way back in 44 B.C. some big political figure in another part of the world was murdered on the ides. If it had been a few months later, we'd be saying "beware the ides of June."

Yep, that's it. Not very exciting, is it? I think I'll start saying "Happy Ides Day!" instead. I think it's high time March 15th stopped getting such a bad rep.

Barbie looks good for 50

I loved Barbie. I dressed her in all of her fabulous outfits and dreamed of owning the gargantuan Barbie dream house and her pink Corvette convertible. But it wasn't all glitz and glamor with me, my Barbie flipped burgers and made milkshakes at McDonald's. She had secret rendezvous with Ken and was a role model for younger sister Skipper. And she was kind and humane to my entire stable of My Little Ponies.

Barbie, or Barbara Millicent Roberts as she is officially named, is an icon of American culture and has been a part of most girls' young lives for 50 years. Making her debut in March of 1959, she's seen a lot of changes. In 1971, her eyes were changed to look forward rather than demurely to the side. In 2000, Barbie gave Gore a run for his money when she ran for president (and even spawned voting booths in Toys R' Us stores for children to vote for their favorite candidate!) In 2004, Mattel announced that there was trouble in paradise and that Barbie and Ken had gone their separate ways, but were lovingly reunited in 2006. Released this year, Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie comes with a set of more than 40 tiny tattoo stickers that can be placed on her body and a faux tattoo gun with wash-off tats.

In honor of her 50th anniversary, Mattel has released a doll similar to the original. The doll features a new face with a more natural look, including a thinner jaw line, more almond-shaped eyes, fuller lips and a softer makeup palette, with shimmery pink lip shades and neutral eye colors. The new doll sports a two-piece black-and-white bikini trimmed with Barbie’s signature color pink, pink hoop earrings, a ponytail and, given how trendy she always is, a cell phone.



Look at the difference between the two. She may be an unrealistic depiction of an American woman, but you have to admit that she certainly does a good job of representing the changes in beauty women have gone through in the past 50 years. She's taller, she tanner, she's leaner, she's not as all-American.

We've all heard the Barbie backlash. Her body is so distorted that she would have to walk on all fours and wouldn't have enough body fat to menstruate if she were alive. Her pink scale reads 110 pounds, and since she's manufactured on a 1/16 scale, she would be 5'9" in real life and therefore 35% underweight. She's a horrible choice of toy for a young girl coming of age and coming to terms with her body. While I agree with all of this wholeheartedly, more than some of you know, I also think that, like Barbie's 44D chest, it's been blown way out of proportion. What little girl wants a toy that looks like a real woman with wrinkles and love handles and cellulite? I mean really - why do we go see movies? Not because we always want to see someone who looks just like us who's stressed out about mortgage payments, we want to see a beautiful woman find the love of her life or a big muscly man save the world. Movies are fantasy worlds for adults just as toys are fantasy worlds for children. What boy wants to play with a matchbox car that's a 1997 Saturn? So he can imagine himself at 40 years old with a dead end job and a gym membership he doesn't use? No, he wants a red Ferrari! So he can imagine himself as a super cool guy with lots of money and friends and everything he could ever want.

So perhaps we should give Barbie a break and see her for what she is - a total babe with a million dollar home and a pink corvette.

My life is a song...or ten

Sometimes I imagine my life has a soundtrack.

There's a perfect song for every situation, every feeling, every emotion, every struggle, every triumph...ok you get the picture. So if my life did have a soundtrack, I think it would look something like this.

Mel goes through a break up: "Everything You Want," Vertical Horizon

Mel does what she wants: "My Prerogative," Bobby Brown

Mel enjoys being single: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Cindi Lauper

Mel is bored: "The Thrill is Gone," B.B. King

Mel is worried: "Let It Be," The Beatles

Mel is thankful for her friends: "That's What Friends Are For," Dionne Warwick & Friends

Mel is stuck in traffic: "Move Bitch," Ludacris

Mel is on deadline: "Under Pressure," David Bowie and Queen

Mel gives in: "Whatever You Want," Vienna Teng

Mel waits for someone: "My Doorbell," The White Stripes

Mel watches the evening news: "What's Going On," Marvin Gaye

Mel goes on a cruise: "Fantastic Voyage," Coolio

Mel is in a crowded place: "Don't Stand So Close," The Police

Mel returns from cruise: "Back to Life," Soul II Soul

Mel travels to the South: "In God's Country," U2

Mel feels holy: "I Say a Little Prayer," Dionne Warwick

Mel is alone in the afternoon and wishing she wasn't: "Afternoon Delight," Starland Vocal Band

Mel is out for a ride: "Bicycle Race," Queen

Mel can't catch a break: "Rain," Patti Griffin

Mel makes her famous scrambled eggs: "Beat It," Michael Jackson

Mel sees through all the facades: "True Colors," Cindi Lauper

Mel wants to know the truth: "Straight Up," Paula Abdul

Mel realizes that nothing is perfect: "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Poison

Mel recovers: "Broken Wings," Mr. Mister

Mel meets Nicole: "Awake," Secondhand Serenade

Mel falls for Nicole: "Endless Love," Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

Mel meditates (or her downstairs neighbors are not home): "Enjoy the Silence," Depeche Mode

Mel keeps swimming: "Survivor," Destiny's Child

Mel is happy: “Walking on Sunshine,” Katrina & The Waves