About a month ago, a bright and shiny new Pinkberry shop opened up on St. Mark’s, a Hipstered-out street that’s only a few blocks from where I work. The first time I tried the mystery confection, I wasn’t sold. It kinda tastes like cold yogurt, I thought. Cold yogurt…but not.

But the second time, after eating an entire medium cup filled with the “original” flavor (don’t call it vanilla, they get oddly pissed) and a few scoops of fruit, I thought, it kinda tastes like cold yogurt. Cold yogurt…but better!

Since then, I’ve been a regular customer at this low fat, low calorie chain. So regular, in fact, that I actually felt sad when the New York Times recently confirmed my suspicious that things which seem too good to be true — are.

Seems that even though Pinkberry totes itself as all natural, it really, really isn’t.

“The list [of ingrediants] includes at least five additives defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as emulsifiers (propylene glycol esters, lactoglycerides, sodium acid pyrophosphate, mono- and diglycerides); four acidifiers (magnesium oxide, calcium fumarate, citric acid, sodium citrate); tocopherol, a natural preservative; and two ingredients — starch and maltodextrin — that were characterized as fillers by Dr. Gary A. Reineccius, a professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota and an expert in food additives.”

Damn you, Pinkberry! Damn you for letting me think I was eating a natural, low calorie snack when what I was really doing was stuffing myself with low calorie chemicals that will most likely cause my liver to shrivel and heart to explode in like 8 years.

Why didn’t you just stay in LA?!

I often contemplate moving to New York City. Born and raised in Boston, I love this city, but I sometimes dream of something bigger. In New York City, there’s always something going on and people are everywhere. I’m currently single, so I really have nothing holding me down. Why not, right? Except for one small problem: I don’t really want to remain single. Forever. Which could very well be the case if I move to New York.

In his new book, Who’s Your City, Richard Florida examines which American cities have surpluses of single men or women and what that means for the country…and us.

Basically, Richard Florida is telling us that New York City girls are screwed. Attention NYC girls: If you already have a boyfriend, hold on tight. And if you don’t, you might want to consider moving. In New York City, single girls outnumber single men by 210,000. That’s a whole lot of competition. Read More »

[Yes, LC, we realize this Hills update is late. No need to make that “holding corn chips incredulously” move of yours. This week sucked for your dear editor. I apologize. Now, on to the awesomeness…]

Yesterday I had a serious case of the Mondays. Even the Boston Creme donut I had didn’t make me feel any better. Or the giant sale on Bloomingdales.com (but I may not feel the good vibes from that until my brand new jacket arrives in the mail!). I was ready to retire to bed with a cup of tea and a good book until I remembered something awesome: The Hills is back. I have gotten so used to Mondays without my blonde and super tan frenemies that I nearly forgot. I turned on the TV and was blessed with even more good news: TWO EPISODES!

It was like the clouds parted and the sun began to shine.

Two full episodes means there is a lot of ground to cover. I took three pages of notes! Sure, a lot of that includes, “What the hell is Stephanie wearing on her head?” and, “Heidi looks like she wants to cry right now – she is trying so hard – but her face just…won’t….move.” But so much happened!

There is no way I can really discuss everything I want to – like Heidi and Spencer’s fight over who paid for which super-sized flat screen - so here is a brief rundown of the happenings on episodes dos and tres of The Hills. Sort of a Cliff’s Notes guide to last night’s drama.

Read More »

A woman trying to catch her plane home from Los Angeles to Texas was recently forced to remove her nipple rings to board the plane.

There are so many things wrong with this.

First of all, why are nipple rings setting off the alarm? I understand that the TSA has to be thorough (and I’m glad they are, even if they always put my very semitic father in the terrorist box before boarding a plane…but that’s another issue), but my understanding of this is that they are sensitive to people having metal on or in their bodies than cannot be removed. Yes, a nipple ring is a superfluous example, but there are lots of people who had surgeries that caused their cyborgness. And they have to take planes too.

My next issue with this is that they actually made her remove it. In the airport. WITH PLIARS. So completely dangerous to this woman’s health. Removing piercings in an unsanitary place is just asking for trouble, and a nipple piercing where the skin might have grown around the piercing? It makes me squeamish just thinking about it.

And the humilation! Oh my God. Why did they need her to do such a humiliating thing in public? And according to the article, like the jerkoffs that they are, the male agents who made her do this in the first place were laughing at her. These are people who are supposed to be maintaining public safety. It sounds like they’re more interested in being sadistic assholes.

I hope she sues their asses off.

And I hope her new nipple piercings aren’t too painful.

American Idol makes me feel like vomiting.

There, I said it.

How much longer can this go on? I won’t deny that we have found some incredibly talented singers from this show: Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Fantasia Burrino….Clay Aiken?

But, with that said, there are about 5 MILLION incredible artists playing in bars, clubs, coffee houses, etc. within a block of my apartment. Los Angeles, Manhattan, Austin, and po’ dunk towns with karaoke are cranking out talent as you read this.

It isn’t that the people on the show aren’t talented, it’s that the whole formula is absurd, obvious, limiting and now, boring.

There is ONE SLOT for each sterotype: Read More »

Senior year of college marks the beginning of an entirely new lifestyle. Here are a few of the top post-graduation destinations, what brings people there, and what you should know before renting a U-Haul:

Chicago, Illinois

Kanye West’s hometown is clean and pretty, giving Midwestern culture a big city to call their own. This is where about eighty percent of my college friends moved after graduation.

Yea!
It’s right on the beach for summertime. You also have tons of grad schools to choose from if you don’t want to work just yet, and a great laid-back vibe. It’s a driving city, too, so you’re not obligated to give up your car. Go to Cubs or Sox games, or start supporting the ‘da Bears!
Nay?
Ever heard of lake-effect snow? The Chi can get bitterly cold in the winter. Traffic is rough, so you may want to study up on your public transportation. Also, it has the potential to feel like undergrad relocated. Read More »

Last night was one of those nights that can only be described as bittersweet. I sat on my couch excitedly anticipating the action packed season finale of The Hills (sweet) with some homemade biscotti (also sweet) before I realized that it would in fact be the last Monday for a long time to include my gal pals from L.A. (bitter).

Today is completely bitter. I feel like it is the morning after an awesome hook up when I can’t do anything but sit and think about the guy while I wait for him to call. While the evening it all went down (no pun intended) was awesome, the morning after just sucks.

This time, though, is even worse; I know Lauren isn’t going to call. And I know I am going to have to wait a long, long time to see her again.

But even with all this sadness I can’t help but get warm and fuzzy inside when I think back to that half hour of perfection last night. And my delicious biscotti.

The episode could not have been better. I found my heart melting for Brody, which is weird because he is totally not my type. Usually the popped collar/weird oversized hat kinda guys completely turn me off. But I guess there is something to be said about a guy in love. And he so is!

Which, by the way, made me hate Lauren just a little. Don’t get me wrong; the girl is absolutely fabulous. She has a killer wardrobe, she is surprisingly driven and intelligent considering her more-than-comfortable upbringing and she and I share many thoughts and opinions. I have to say, though, it drives me crazy when girls play dumb with guys. Read More »

I can’t lie; I was out on the town with a hot new guy and almost missed last night’s episode of The Hills.

Ok. You caught me. I was actually at my friend’s house playing Guitar Hero 3. Don’t make fun; that game is so awesomely addicting. Unfortunately, it also causes serious hand cramping and my hand is sorta stuck in this claw-like formation at the moment.

Regardless of what I was doing, though, I almost missed the biggest episode of The Hills all season! Thank God the Pat Benetar song ended just in time for me to hop in the car, drive home and tune into the d-rama.

I did miss the first 5 minutes of the episode, but thanks to those guys over at MTV it wasn’t too hard to pick up on what was going on. Which mainly involved an awkward interaction between Lauren and Heidi (and Whitney and Heidi’s friend who were forced to sit there and watch the entire thing) that eventually led to an even more uncomfortable meeting at Lauren’s place.

Now, watching the IM interaction between Heidi and Lauren really bothered me. Not because of what was being written, but because it just further made me question the reality of this entire series. The camera angles, the fact that Heidi became to insistent about talking to Lauren, etc. just seemed to perfect. But, I will put my thoughts aside for a minute to indulge in the Heidi/Lauren Extravaganza! Read More »