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Rob's Details Interview

athena4rob — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:34:10 -0800

COFFEEIt's the unseasonably cold November of 2008 when I go to New York's Bowery Hotel. There's a young man sitting in the garden, wrapped in about nine black sweaters and wearing a wool hat, smoking cigarettes, sipping a latte the size of his head, and furiously making notes on a script in the bitter cold. I have read about teenage girls lighting themselves on fire in front of his hotel, but at the moment Robert Pattinson is warming his hands on a coffee cup.
Hello, I'm Jenny. I think I'm here so you can check me out."Okay. I'm Rob. Um . . . would you like some fries? With gravy?"
Allen Coulter, the director of Hollywoodland and a creative force behind The Sopranos, has sent me. He was thinking about doing this movie-it wasn't quite there yet, but I should "come meet Rob."
Rob. When he came to the United States, he slept on his agent's sofa and then got a small part in a movie called Harry Potter and the Something of Something, which grossed nearly $900 million worldwide. And then he made another one, called Twilight, which grossed $385 million in theaters and almost another $200 million in U.S. DVD sales. Box-office riches, like so much of the female population of this planet, follow him from continent to continent, nursing a raging crush.
Coulter suggested I do some rewrite work on Remember Me (for the record, there is only one credited writer, Will Fetters), the first American release in which Rob will portray a mortal, nonmagical, carbon-based life form of the earthly realm-Salvador Dalí, whom he played in Little Ashes, surely doesn't qualify. As Rob scribbles away on the script's pages, it's clear he is starting his own revision process.
Rob's face is constantly busy-especially his kaleidoscopic eyes, which are continually rolling and dilating, because he is always thinking. Over the course of that latte, he contemplates Jimi Hendrix, French fries, girls, art, beer, his cousin the philosopher, girls, truth, God, his dog, girls, and whether this week's stalker has followed him from L.A. I don't think he could turn his brain off if he wanted to.
Despite the legion of fans trailing him from hotel to hotel, laying siege to each like the Roman army, he is neither fearful nor cocky-he's hungry, curious, forever reaching intellectually. That may not sound like a big deal, but think of the context: Complete strangers want to f*ck you, shoot you, be you, buy you, sell you, run their fingers through your hair, watch you have sex, hear you pee, eat chips with you, and kidnap you and stuff you in the trunk of their car. And you? You must know more, more, more about exotic tropical diseases.
Rob and I discover we share a mutual fascination with afflictions that maim and disfigure and disgust: He brings up cancrum oris, in which bacteria eat away at your face until you get kind of a window in the side of your head and the entire world sees your teeth; I mention cyclic vomiting syndrome, a condition in which you puke literally all the goddamn time; he delights in lymphatic filariasis, where parasitic worms burrow into your lymph nodes and can make your balls swell to the size of watermelons, forcing you to tote them around in a wheelbarrow.
We come up with a blockbuster hit movie, entitled Candiru Infestation, about a tiny fish that swims up your urethra and into your urinary tract and lodges in your cock with backward-facing umbrella spikes it shoots from its spine.

"f*cking brilliant! It could be like Finding Nemo!" says Rob. "And the little candiru is lost in the balls! Think of the soundtrack!"

BEER NO. 1Fourteen months later we're in London. New Moon, the second movie in the Twilight saga, has set box-office records for largest midnight opening and biggest opening-day gross. Remember Me, Rob's young-man-in-crisis drama, has wrapped. He has 24 hours before he has to start rehearsals for Bel Ami, based on the Guy de Maupassant novel, in which he plays a bed-hopping social climber.
He is waiting to pick me up in the bar of my hotel. He has ordered himself a pint of beer and, remembering my beverage of choice, a Diet Coke for me. He has the lovely manners of the good son of a good mum.
He says he wants to take me to a particular restaurant nearby, "just a little out-of-the-way place." So out of the way, it turns out, that after wandering around nearly all of Covent Garden, we can't find it. He doesn't seem too surprised, really. Of late he's been getting lost a lot in his own hometown. But then it's been a couple of years since he's actually lived here, and London is confusing as hell anyway.
Considering alternatives, we peek into a crowded café full of the young and beautiful, but he recoils. A few minutes later, when we come to a tiny Mexican place, his hackles go up a bit. Hmm. I ask him whether, at this point, he's able to sniff out crazed fans lurking under the tables.
"Yes. Sure. But last time I was here, the guacamole was bad."
Rob has made no sartorial concessions to Britain's ugliest winter weather in 30 years. A button-down, light Carhartt-like jacket, no gloves. He does have a hat, perhaps the same one he wore in New York. I'm swaddled like the Michelin Man and I'm f*cking freezing. He's cheery, unfazed, giggling away. It occurs to me that London seems to afford him a freedom he doesn't have in New York or Los Angeles. And a London night with deserted, snow-piled streets, after an epic storm that paralyzed Heathrow and shut down the Eurostar trains, is like an unbridled romp while going commando.
Without trying, we arrive back where we started, in front of the Covent Garden Hotel. Across the street there's a high-end sex-toy-and-bondage shop called Coco de Mer. I mention that I popped in there earlier (before the National Gallery, thank you), and I tell him about this insane S&M body-harness contraption they have that allows you to dress up like a horse and have a long tail.
"That's so English. I want to do this entire interview wearing it, from an equine point of view," he says, stomping the sidewalk with make-believe hooves. "Seriously. As an experiment in public perceptions. Is the place still open?"
BEER NO. 2We're inside, at a warm corner of the hotel's Brasserie Max, and Rob is having another beer. We're talking about how he copes. "When I was 17 until, I don't know, 20, I had this massive, baseless confidence. This very clear idea of myself and how I would achieve success, which involved making decisions. I saw myself picking up the phone and saying 'Absolutely not' or 'Definitely yes.' Having control. Except you have to figure out whether the way you think at 19 or 20 has any value. And eventually I understood, with all that control, which was probably illusory, I wasn't progressing. So now I'm relinquishing a bit. I'll be a tiny bit naked. Except tonight I won't, because it's f*cking freezing and my balls will shrivel up."

He may keep his balls covered in winter, but Allen Coulter says that during the shooting of Remember Me, Rob did bare himself: "It was about control, for him, in the beginning. But he wanted forward motion more than he wanted to protect himself. Really brave-especially for a young guy with a big target on his back."
Rob does seem eager to shed some clothing, to give up the reins.
"Shall we go see about that harness? Seriously, you eventually realize you can't make every single decision. I was always building, always protecting something. At the same time, I seemed to be losing the ability to move. I'd protected myself into checkmate. Even mentally." In that moment, he has a realization: "I can barely remember the last two years. Not like a haze of partying or anything like that. Just . . . it's been crazy."
There's been surreal stuff. Like the time at a charity event in Cannes when two attendees bid nearly $60,000 combined to have Rob give their daughters a kiss on the cheek. There's been scary stuff, though the idea he might truly be at risk strikes him as absurd: "I find it really funny-if I got shot, I would literally be in hysterics. I would be like, 'Are you serious? Jesus Christ, get Zac Efron! He's got more social relevance than I do.'" He's pretty sure there was some good stuff, too. "There was this one time with some elephants on a golf course in Barcelona . . ."
He drifts into a reverie. He gets amazed easily, and at the moment he's fixated on the mysterious green bar snacks. They're sort of like wasabi peas, but not. They're covered in chili powder and look like tiny tumors. He's eating every single one.
"f*ck, these are good. What are they? I want to snort them-they'd clear up my sinuses."
BEER NO. 3Rob's hunger is more than merely metaphorical. He orders two entrees-the mini beef burgers with tomato-and-onion relish and the mini chicken burgers with mango chutney-along with another pint. "I eat so much, I'm like a compulsive eater. I've been eating room service, and I'm always really worried about it, so I choose like six things on the menu and eat them all."
He doesn't want to miss anything, which implies a hint of regret. He didn't always want to be an actor. He modeled. He's a talented guitarist and keyboard player who has toyed with following his older sister Lizzy into pop music. But he's a serious type, and his most serious aspirations involved political speech writing. "It's fascinating. You'd have two or three minutes to affect someone. Make them hear you. Get the message out and maybe it will echo. I quite enjoyed doing press for the first Twilight, because there was a similarity. But after a bit I was ladling it out. If you want people to listen to you, you'd better have something to say. I felt a responsibility to be fascinating. You're bargaining with the audience. Is this enough for them? And that affects the way you look at art."
Art. It's illogical to think he's not allowed to have ideas about it merely because he has helped a lot of people make a lot of money.
"Before, I felt like I couldn't break through anything, including myself. And now it feels a bit as though I've climbed along the side of my brain and am at least looking in. But I know it will take me at least another 10 years before I'm remotely satisfied with anything I do. But with acting you keep trying in the hopes you might be . . . great. But then I think, does wanting to be good or even great, or even just wanting to make art, cheapen the experience?"

I worry his head is going to explode. He answers questions with questions. Doors open onto more doors. This sometimes leads to trouble with scripts: Since he sees every character's point of view, he often needs some sort of distillation. The catch is that unless the distillation somehow encompasses every character's essence, it only causes his imagination to fire more wildly. It's the kaleidoscope-vision thing.
Some people can have the ocean in front of them and just put their big toe in. Rob wants to swim until he drowns, and he's going to try to drink it all up before he goes under. His striving is a source of worry because he can't really tell anybody he wants more: "Please don't make this about me complaining. Please. I'm the luckiest bastard on the planet." He worries he might be selfish. He worries maybe he's a nonhumanist-separatist-weirdo because his most profound moments have been with his dog. And he worries about whether he can be an actor who can reach the masses and still ask for anything.
"If it exists out there-this invisible-creative-spirit-idea thing-then you're the medium through which it travels so everybody can touch it. But . . . what gives you the right to be the medium? What gives you the right to claim it? And then get an agent and say I want $20 million and a fruit basket to be the medium, thank you very much.
"As an actor, you can elevate the human condition or cheapen it. I would assume it's the same with anything you do-you try to elevate and maybe someday you will." An actor may indeed have the ability to raise us, but Rob unconsciously starts speaking sotto voce each time he utters the word actor or any variation of it.
Rob, did you know that every time you say actor or acting you lower your voice to a whisper?He's genuinely startled. "I do?"Yes, so quietly it's like you're saying Negro.He laughs, lightens up. "What if we were 'acting' like 'Negroes'? Then we'd be f*cked-we couldn't hear anything. . . ."
BEER NO. 4Rob asks the waiter for another beer. He's talking about an uncle who worked in a steel mill in the Yorkshire town his dad grew up in. Rob's father and his other uncles moved away as soon as they were old enough, but the eldest brother stayed there his whole life.
"They're bulldozing houses, whole streets of houses. And my dad asked him, 'Why stay?' He said, 'Who's going to look after our mom?' And I was just thinking, Jesus f*cking Christ, there might be something wrong with my emotional sight, because I'm not sure if I could make that kind of sacrifice. The only emotional connection of relevance is with my dog. My relationship with my dog, it's ridiculous.
"I think you need to be able to break through what you think about yourself to try to make any sort of art. I used to play music all the time, and the most amazing part was the freedom that came with kicking myself in the ass, letting go, and surprising myself."
He tried to let go a little bit with the photo shoot accompanying this interview-it wasn't easy.
"I really hate vaginas. I'm allergic to vagina. But I can't say I had no idea, because it was a 12-hour shoot, so you kind of get the picture that these women are going to stay naked after, like, five or six hours. But I wasn't exactly prepared. I had no idea what to say to these girls. Thank God I was hungover."

Is your mom going to have something to say about it?"Oh, God." He puts his head in his hands, shrugs. "Well, she quite enjoyed when I got her cable." It's not that Rob's mother now spends all night watching Skinemax in her London home. "No, no! God, no! It's just that there's nakedness all over the place now. But this shoot, it's kind of eighties nakedness, you know? If you look at porn in, like, the eighties, there was something kind of quaint about it, quite sweet-like this little naked community. The people who made it liked it, they had respect for it. Not remotely like the porn that's available now. No community in it at all. It's just everything, everywhere."
CANDYIn the U.K., Smarties are made of chocolate and are kind of like M&M's in weird colors like mauve and teal but somehow more delicious. Rob's not really a dessert guy, yet he's rapidly hoovering my last packet of Smarties. "Amazing. I've eaten like 5,000 of these already. See what you have to deal with?"
In Remember Me he plays a guy whose issues are eerily like his own. Tyler is a young man who has retreated into himself, but then he meets a woman, becomes conflicted, and has to choose whether to remain in lockdown or step into life and the world.
"Tyler is so aware of his actions. But he has no idea whether they're of any value at all. Can you be a person if you live in the bubble? He's stuck in the middle. At the same time, he's lucky to have the choice. Conflict is innate in a lucky person."
What attracted you to the role?"I'm a lucky person. Thank God. And I'm conflicted. Thank God."
He tells me about a book he read called Eat the Rich, by P.J. O'Rourke (full disclosure: P.J. was married briefly to my sister, though Rob had no idea). He was drawn to a part that says something like: One man's wealth does not mean another man's poverty-and vice versa. Rob's slightly embarrassed to voice this idea.
He is unsure whether to feel guilty, to bask in it all, or both. Thing is, there aren't any rules for a life as extraordinary as his is right now. He tells me an elephant story. Not the one about Barcelona elephants-one about some he'd met recently in California.
"Did you know elephants purr? It's completely scary if you don't know what it is. They purr like cats, but their heads are so deep they sound like velociraptors. You feel it in the ground under your feet. So this big female started sniffing my foot-big female elephant, that is. She sniffed it so hard it came up off the pavement like her trunk was a vacuum cleaner. Then she took my entire body in her mouth. I was holding on to her head, and as I slowly let go she tightened her grip really carefully until I'm just upside down in her mouth and she's going through my pockets with her trunk, looking for peppermints. It was the best day of my life."
So you gave up control to an elephant, got groped, mugged, had your candy tugged at-and it was glorious? "Yeah. So beautiful you can't imagine. And the baby elephant was so excited that it sprinted out and did its routine in five seconds and then curtsied to everybody. It was actually laughing. Brilliant. Did you know they can also do imitations of other animals? A horse, a chicken, a monkey-these elephants could, anyway. They were movie elephants. One had written a screenplay, and one really wants to direct."

He laughs. He was in Los Angeles, in discussions to star with Sean Penn in Water for Elephants, an adaptation of Sara Gruen's novel. The elephants are actors like him, and he wonders if he might, on some cosmic level, be a bit like them.
"Do you know how they die? The elephant guy told me their molars get ground down from eating wood but regenerate like six times. And after that they slowly starve to death. Which is poignant, but that must also be what gives them time to get to the elephant graveyard. They're incredibly designed creatures. I mean, people hang on way too f*cking long. If I knew that when my teeth fell out, that was it . . . Wow. The best day of my life. Beautiful, beautiful day."
A few moments later, Rob announces he's going to get a cab home and excuses himself.
Can I walk you? I don't like you going out there all by yourself."I'll be okay."

Date Night! Star Couples Share Sweet Evening at the SAG Awards

kty — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:47:03 -0800

By Sarah Michaud
Romance seemed to be in the air Saturday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles as stars and their spouses showed their sweet affection for each other. • Kevin Bacon was a bundle of nerves before his name was announced as best male actor in a TV movie or miniseries for his role in HBO's Taking Chance, but wife Kyra Sedgwick kept him looking his best. How? "I had to blot his face a little," she admitted to PEOPLE at the afterparty. • Mad Men star Christina Hendricks's new husband, Geoffrey Arend, was clearly his wife's biggest fan. "I feel like the luckiest man ever. She's such a cutie pie," he raved. "When Michael C. Hall said 'I want to thank my wife for wearing that dress,' I feel that way every single awards show." Hendricks agreed, telling PEOPLE, "He's been feeling me all night."• It was date night for best actress in a drama winner Julianna Margulies and husband Keith Lieberthal, who left 2-year-old son Kieran at home in New York. "He's with the grandparents and he's having a ball," The Good Wife star told PEOPLE. "I'm with my husband and I'm having a ball, too." Toting her weighty new award didn’t faze her, Margulies explained. "I'm fine. I'm used to carrying a heavy baby!" • Office star Jenna Fischer and fiancé Lee Kirk chatted about plans for their upcoming summer nuptials – specifically, where they'll sit! "She runs things by me so I get a say," Kirk told PEOPLE, while Fischer noted, "You vetoed a couple of things. You had a very strong opinion about the chairs. I presented him with two chair options and he really liked one and didn't like the other." • Patricia Arquette, nominated for her role in Medium, endured hours of pre-show preparation, but husband Thomas Jane only required a touch up – from 6-½-year-old daughter Harlow. "Our daughter put some powder on Thomas," Arquette explained. "She put her own red lipstick on herself and then she put some powder on him." Jane says he didn’t mind his little girl's help. "There is nothing better in the whole wide world than having a beautiful daughter with the woman you love." • Not everyone is a fan of Mad Men star Jon Hamm's mountain man look, but longtime girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt certainly is. "It wasn't my idea, but he looks amazing any which way, to me," she told PEOPLE at the SAG Awards afterparty. "I think it's fun for people to see that he's not Don Draper at all." • Reporting by SHAYNA ARNOLD, JESSICA HERNDON, MONICA RIZZO and JESSICA WEDEMEYER

Sandra Bullock Thanks Her Hot Husband After SAG Awards Win

kty — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:54:22 -0800

By Brian Orloff
Is there an Oscar in her future? Sandra Bullock continued her awards-show winning streak, picking up the trophy for outstanding performance by a female leading actor for The Blind Side at Saturday's Screen Actors Guild Awards. "If this were only not televised so I could use the appropriate words I'm feeling right now," Bullock, who won the same award at last weekend's Golden Globes, said. "I'm Sandra Bullock, and I'm an actor and I'm so proud to say that in a room full of faces that have inspired me." The actress also paid loving – and humorous – tribute to her husband, Jesse James, from the podium at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium. "You get dressed up in monkey suits and you sit at a table with people you don't know," she said. "And I leave you there, and then you come back with, like, Morgan Freeman's e-mail [address]. I don't know how you do it. I love you so much, and you're really hot. And I want you so much!"Other top movie winners at the telecast included Jeff Bridges, also a Globes winner, for outstanding male leading actor (Crazy Heart); the stars of Inglourious Basterds, which claimed outstanding performance by an ensemble cast; and Mo'Nique, who was named outstanding supporting actress in a drama for her role as the terrifying Mary Jones in Precious. A Big Night for Glee
The cast of Glee had plenty to sing about at the SAG Awards, too. Fresh from last weekend's big Golden Globes win for best comedy series, the stars of Fox's freshman hit were named best ensemble cast in a comedy series. Collecting the award in a glamorous evening gown, as opposed to her character Sue Sylvester's trademark tracksuits, Jane Lynch said, "To be chosen by our peers means the world to us." But the stars of 30 Rock weren't neglected by their peers, either. Tina Fey collected her third consecutive award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series, while her costar Alec Baldwin picked up the evening's first trophy, outstanding male actor in a comedy series. "I just want to take a moment to say to everyone at NBC, We are very happy with everything – and happy to be here," Fey deadpanned, referencing the recent shakeups over the network's late-night scheduling, to roars from the audience.

Dramatic Moments

This year's Golden Globes best drama, Mad Men, claimed the outstanding ensemble in the drama award for the second year in a row. "I would like to thank every one of the male members of our cast for getting the note about growing a beard, except Jared [Harris]," a hirsute Jon Hamm cracked as he collected the award, surrounded by his castmates. "Way to go buddy. Way to drop the ball." In another Globes redux, Julianna Margulies and Michael C. Hall were named outstanding dramatic actors for their roles on The Good Wife and Dexter respectively.

Introductory Post

SoulShine89 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:23:50 -0800

Hello!
I have always been thin, so I never put much stock into fitness or balancing my diet. Easy- when Mom cooked all my meals and I had gym classes scheduled for me. Now I've been in college for over a year, and have put on some weight. SO I've decided to get the ball rolling. My goals are to cook more meals- starting at everyday for breakfast (which I pretty much do anyway), at least 2 days a week for lunch (which never happens), and cook 3 dinners. I also plan to exercise 3 days per week, and have one day of activity on the weekend. My best girl (and, happily, roommate), has similar goals, so we're trying to encourage each other.
Really glad Pop Sugar has a group of ladies with similar gols as well. So HEY!
-J

Nicole and Keith Duet at G’Day USA

PopSugar Australia — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:44:40 -0800

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban stole the show at the G’Day USA Ball on Saturday night in Los Angeles by serenading mate Simon Baker. Nicole has always insisted that she would “never” duet with her famous hubby, but obviously made an exception. Simon was receiving an award at the event and the pair sang Men at Work’s Land Down Under and changed the lyrics to “And his name is Simon Baker, surfer dude, home renovator.” One of Nicole’s best friends is Simon’s wife, Rebecca Rigg.

Also making appearances at the event were Toni Collette, Sam Worthington, Olivia Newton-John, Mia Wasikowska, Jennifer Hawkins, Cameron Diaz, John Travolta, Holly Valance and a newly divorced Greg Norman. One surprise no-show was Chris and Liam Hemsworth. The boys had rsvp-d for the event and Liam was expected to make an appearance with girlfriend Miley Cyrus, but unfortunately they were nowhere to be found. Now we just have to wait for the Keith and Nicole duet to hit You Tube.

First Dance

Cherlene — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:57:06 -0800

Picture it. I am 12 years old, and we are having our first boy/girl dance at school. I considered myself part of the 'cool' crowd. It was a gymnasium that must've bought out the whole aisle at the local A&P of their toilet paper stock. Black lights and a disco ball. Yes, a disco ball.

Of course, all the boys were lined up on one side of the gymnasium and the girls on the other. The music played, and the dance floor sparkled and glistened with toilet paper falling in random whisps - almost as if it were begging for 'someone' to dance!

Then, 'it' happened. My mother and father's best friend's son - Eugene - began to walk as if in slow motion across the floor, toilet paper landing on his head like a crown on a prince. But......Eugene? Ths couldn't be happening! I was 'cool'! I couldn't dance with Eugene!   But, he 'is' my mom and dad's best friend's son!   It was a 12 year old girl's dilemma, and it was happening quickly!

He walked up to me; his little wire rimmed glasses and his prepubescent voice sounding as if a girl were asking me to dance. I took his hand and walked to the center of the gymansium slowly; his head horribly directly the same height as my chest! We danced to the song 'Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin' by Journey. And, I thought 'why' do these words have to be sung to this song as there will be 'no' loving, touchin OR squeezin!

This was my first dance. Strangely, it was not awkward the following Sunday at our weekly visit after church with them. It was as though we both tried to forget that it even happened.  To this day, I wonder what happened to him? I am sure he grew taller than the 4' I remember him!

My luck, he is more than likely a millionaire and gorgeous and living in the Hills.

Do you remember your first dance?  Reminisce and tell your story!

Proposal, Ring, Nonwedding?

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:55:19 -0800

My engagement ring is a small .10 carat ring. I dislike everything about it except for the person that gave it to me, well in his eyes, I should hate him as well. I was devastated with my proposal. Well not entirely, the best part was my daughter handing it over to me. The proposal took place in a parking lot. It was nothing like I had imagined or hoped it would be and then came the kicker. I opened the box only to find this small tension ring with a .10 carat, princess cut diamond in the center. I loved the setting, hated the diamond or lack of. My initial reaction was how could he do this to me but then seeing him on one knee, my heart said the ring doesn't matter, my mind was screaming otherwise. I accepted the proposal as anyone woman would that loves the man that is asking. Everyone gives me the inferior look when they see my ring. And those that have balls actually say something about the ring. I am embarrassed of showing it off, worst of all I can’t even take of picture of it because the pictures don’t come out. My impending wedding has no date, venue and any question involving wedding has remained unanswered after three months. Everything went south ever since the proposal. Partially because of my resentment and the other part is his lack of interest in even planning a wedding. Plus everything he looks at is out of our price range. We love each other dearly but I am just so upset at the entire thing. We have tried communicating about all these issues and it’s just making things worse. Am I overreacting or do I have reason to be upset about everything?

Just a few of my favorite things...

girlA — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:50:28 -0800

These are some of my favorite dairy-free (and some meat-free) products that I stock my refrigerator and pantry with. Mirin cooking wine: a wonderful addition to marinades and other sauces. It tends to erase, or lessen the fishy smell in broiled or baked fish. Silk Soy milk: soy protein is comparable in quality to the protein found in dairy, meat and eggs.Soymilk is very low in saturated fat and 100% cholesterol-free and very easy to bake with. Oregon Chai Tea-Vegan: They make a great-tasting concentrate and warmed up with some soymilk, it makes an outstanding dairy-free chai. Add a touch of caramel sauce for added flavor, froth it to make a latte... Tamari sauce: Like a soy sauce, tamari is dark brown in color and usually slightly thicker than regular soy sauce. The salty fermented paste derived from soy beans, called miso, actually served as the basis for development of tamari. Typically tamari is almost always organic. Jasmine scented brown rice from Village Harvest: Wonderful to serve with stir fry, or just for a snack--add some steamed veggies and you have a healthy, yummy meal. It also has more fiber, more protein and more vitamin E than its white counterpart.Brown rice has even been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, lower cholesterol and encourage weight loss. Arborio rice from Village Harvest: Basically risotto, this hearty rice is great. It makes a great side dish: http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6600488 Rice Cheese from Galaxy Foods: Their shredded cheeses are pretty good and they were great additions in my cheese ball recipe http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6914717 and the layer dip recipe http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6845249 Also pictured is their Grated Parmesan Rice Cheese, great on Hurry Up Alfredo: http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6697866 Tempeh by Westsoy: Made completely of soybeans, tempeh can be cooked so many different ways: Marinaded and baked, fried, steamed, ground up--you name it! It comes in 5-grain and other flavors. Cheese slices, from Tofutti: Love them! Whenever you make a sandwich, add a slice. It's probably the best dairy-free cheese slices I've had. I like to top a warmed up Boca "Chicken" Patty with a slice of this and then stick it between two toasted English muffin slices. A perfect quick lunch or snack. Tahini by Joyva: I think they make the best tahini (sesame seed paste). This is a must-ingredient for hummus and even "cheese" sauces like the Hurry Up Alfredo. Ume Plum Vinegar from Eden Foods: Rich in organic acids, this is wonderful in marinades, sauces and even just to sprinkled over steamed veggies. Add to salad dressings and dips. Quinoa from Ancient Harvest: Get your fiber here! without gluten! It's such a healthy, power food that offers so much variety that I love to made side dishes using quinoa. See http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6646978 and http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/3158708 Balsamic vinegar: Need I say more? It adds so much flavor to any sauce or marinade or just drizzle it on veggies and sandwiches. Couscous: Like rice and quinoa, couscous is so versatile, healthy and yummy! Earth Balance Natural Spreads: Tastes like butter without the fat and sodium, increased the good cholesterol and lowers the bad, all natural, rich in Omega 3s, no GMOs, no trans fats or hydrogenated oils or artificial flavors. They make soy-free, egg-free spreads as well as baking sticks. Seitan: Love this stuff! Called "Wheat Meat" it is entirely made of wheat gluten and is primarily used as a meat alternative. I'm amazed at how delicious it is. See my Pecan-Crusted Seitan recipe: http://the-dairy-free-diva-recipe-exchange.yumsugar.com/6899933 Smoky Tempeh Strips from Lighlife: Basically a take on bacon and it's delish! Perfect on sandwiches or with your morning tofu scramble! Tofu from Westsoy: Comes in a variety of forms: silky smooth to extra firm. They make a great baked tofu as well. Sour Cream from Tofutti: They make the best non-dairy sour cream I've ever had! I use in everything! Non-hydrogenated, no milk, no cholesterol, no lactose, and no butterfat. What's not to love? They make an excellent cream cheese, too. (Not shown, 'cuz I'm all, out! Used it in the fabulous cheese ball)! Miso: Is a rich, thick paste used for flavoring a wide variety of dishes, made from fermented soybeans. Great for marinades and other sauces. It comes in different varieties and I'll be posting some great dishes soon that use this incredible paste! So there you have it--just a few of my favorite things...I'm sure the list will continue to grow!

"He won’t stop looking at porn! What can I do?"

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 02:03:27 -0800

A Guy’s Perspective: What a Guy Really Wants – Part I (warning, very explicit)
I am a guy, and I have heard several women here complain that their boyfriends look at porn. I thought I would give some advice from the male perspective. First, we men are nothing more than human walking sex machines. We think about sex all the time. If you were to ask us what we want to do right here right now, and we were honest, we would say, "Have sex!" It is important to consider the main question from this perspective. Every man wants to get good and aroused, and then have an orgasm. He wants it now, and he does not want a bunch of hassle. If getting aroused and then having good sex with her right now is too much of a hassle, then looking at porn is a whole lot easier and convenient.
First, what a guy really wants is to see her walking around nude. It is as simple as that. (Just today, I had lunch with a co-ed at my college, and I could not get my mind off what she must look like totally naked.) For example, a man would LOVE to see his girlfriend making dinner or vacuuming the living room carpet while she is totally in the buff. (There are porn sites on the Internet of women doing housework while nude, and they are quite arousing for us guys.) He wants her to walk around the house nude, put her leg up on the coffee table and tug on her pubic hairs, letting him watch. Or jump up on the kitchen counter and start fingering herself. Especially, he likes to watch her tits swinging in the wind as she walks around the house. If she is really small breasted it…does…not…matter. As long as he can see two nipples, he’s happy. Of course, he wants to do more than just look at her breasts, he wants to play with them, in a way that is easy and hassle-free. Her breasts are his toys. He wants her to him often to touch her breasts often, unexpectedly, and several times a day. The more she unexpectedly goes topless, gathers her hair up in her hands (if she has long hair), puts her hands on her head, jiggles her breasts, and lets him play with those two sex-toy breasts of hers, the happier he’ll be. What happens in porn? A porn star just walks in, pulls off her top and bra and starts swinging her tits around. That is what he wants to see, totally hassle-free, and he can get this from porn. His girlfriend can do the same thing, she will remove one of his needs for porno.
Let’s talk about one fantasy that every guy has. (Yes, all guys.) He wants to tie her up on the bed, nude, spread-eagle, in bright light, and look at, touch, taste, and enjoy every inch of her body at his leisure, especially her vagina. He may never admit to wanting to do such a thing, but that is what he wants to do. The important thing to remember is, she can give him such free access WITHOUT being tied up. All she needs to do is just lie there motionless, in bright light, spread-eagle, arms grasping the headboard above, giving him all the time in the world, letting him do what he wants, and then there is no need for her to be tied up. He just wants her to lie there patiently while he fingers her, gently pulls her open, looks up into her vagina, experiment with different lubricants, etc. He wants her to do things like let him spend ten minutes doing nothing but twirling her pubic hairs in his fingers, then spend another ten minutes doing nothing more than visually inspecting every inch of her inner lips. She can have four or five dildos sitting right there, and ask him in to insert each one and tell her which one he likes best (if she is willing). She could ask him to trim her pubic hair a little with a pair of scissors, or shave her if she is up to it. Her vagina is his most favorite toy. She should let him play with it (at least that is how he sees it). If she will give him totally uninhibited and leisure access to look at it and play with it, he won’t need to use porn to get the same "access." If he were to walk into the bedroom tonight and unexpectedly see her spread eagle on the bad, a pair of scissors in hand, asking for a small pubic hair trim, believe me, he would forget all about porn for a while.
Is she too shy to do a spread-eagle in bright light for him? If so, she should tell him! I had a girlfriend who would never, never let me get a good look down there. I never said what I wanted to say, which was, "Look, if you do not give me a good look, then why the hell am I here?" She needs to let him know that she understands the frustration he has. If it is a problem, she should admit it, apologize (yes, she should apologize), and find a way to be less shy. This is a problem they have together, and they need to work on it together.
Other fantasies. Every man likes to have his penis and his balls admired and cooed over as she fondles them. Every guy likes a blow job, and often. Every guy likes her to resist his penetration, and make him push hard to get in. Again, he may not admit it, but these are the things he likes. And if she gives him what he really wants, he is less likely to vicariously enjoy the same things in porn.
These are the kinds of things a man wants to see and have done to him. He can find these things on the Internet in just a few minutes. If his girlfriend can do these things for him, he will be less willing to go running off to the Internet. Remember that guys are nothing more than human walking sex machines. They know what they want, but they may not come out and say it. Porn gives him what he wants. She can give him what he really wants, so then he won’t need to go watch porn.
It is absolutely necessary that men and women know exactly what each other want. I am also a firm believer in the idea that it is his turn, then it is her turn (or her turn first). One night or one hour he gets exactly what he wants and she is only too happy to make him feel like a king. Then it is her turn to just sit back and enjoy him making her feel like a queen. There is no need to get into weird, kinky, submissive bondage stuff, just find out what each person wants and take turns giving it to them. This will greatly increase the emotional bonding between the two of them. And remove his need to get this from porn.
Okay, ladies, now I want to hear exactly what a woman wants.

Salon Pedicure At Home - EASY Step by Step

D-Lee — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:20:06 -0800

Even if the snow is falling and you aren't
wearing your sandals or walking barefoot
in the garden.

It is good to still pamper your feet or get them
'winterized'!

Here are some easy at home pedicure steps
to save you money from going to a salon:

Pamper Prep
Position a chair behind a clean, wide bucket filled with hot water.
Fold a bath towel into a square and place it at the bottom of the bucket. This will give your feet a comfortable surface to rest on when you soak them.

Add half a cup of epsom salt, a natural disinfectant. I also like to throw in a few capfuls of Johnson + Johnson Soothing Vapor Bath for Colds. It contains rosemary, eucalyptus and menthol -- three therapeutic, cleansing herbs that make the room you're in smell just like a spa.

Grooming Guide

Use a cotton pad soaked with nail-polish remover to take off old polish. If your cuticles are dry, add a drop of olive oil to the pad before using it on your nails.
Clip your toenails straight across with clippers.
Use a nail file to smooth the edges, including the sides. Best shape: square with rounded edges.

Soothe Your Soles

Soak your feet in the hot water for five minutes, then rest them on the edge of the bucket.
Dip a foot file, in the water, then use it to smooth your heels, the balls of your feet and the outsides of your pinkie toes.
Pat feet dry with a towel.

To get cuticles under control, use the edge of the nail file to push your cuticles back, then a nail brush dipped in an exfoliating scrub, like some of the homemade exfoliating scrubs we have posted on body shoppe, to clean the area where your nail meets your skin.
If you feel that you must get rid of your cuticles, have a pro do it in a salon so you don't end up with painful, ingrown toenails.
Rinse, then dry feet and apply a generous amount of super-moisturizing foot lotion or cream. If you have someone around - let him/her massage it into your feet and calves.
Wash the moisturizer off your toenails with soap and water and let them dry.

Polish How-To's

Create space between toes with a foam toe separator.
Apply one coat of base coat, two coats of color and one coat of top coat.
Use a Q-tip moistened with nail-polish remover to remove any polish that missed the mark.
Let your polish dry for a few hours before putting on close-toed shoes.
Apply one coat of top coat three days after your pedicure, then every third day after that to keep polish from chipping.