Mood:  lazy

Now for the Good Stuff

My Favorite Sports Moment: The ultimate underdogs, The New York Giants, beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That victory effectively made the Patriots historic undefeated season moot. I’m a lifelong New Yorker, and I hate, HATE, HATE, New England and Boston sports teams. This pretty much set up 2008 as one of the best years of this decade.

My 2nd Favorite Political Moment: John McCain’s humble and graceful concession speech on November 4th proved to me that Senator McCain is a decent man with only America’s best interests at heart. I don’t think he is a bad guy. I always got a bit offended anytime someone said that McCain was too old to become president. McCain is about six years younger than my grandmother, and she is healthy enough and of enough sound mind to do anything. Let’s stop hating on old people.

My Favorite Beauty Websites: I stumbled across three of the best beauty blogs/websites on the web. The second runner-up is Beauty Blitz for its professional insight to beauty products and the beauty biz, and for their stellar giveaways (for which I’ve won 5). The 1st runner-up is Sparkle Shelf for its hip insight into fashion, beauty, and celebrity gossip. Best yet, Sparkle Shelf allows input from its regular followers as well as articles from their dedicated writers.

Finally, the grand prize winner of my favorite beauty website of 2008 is Blaq Vixen Beauty. In these tough economic times, BVB offers fantastic reviews and honest dialogue about drugstore brand cosmetics and skincare products. The best part is that the reviews are geared towards women of color who have the hardest time matching make-up to their varying skin tones.

My Favorite Beauty Products: Avon’s Magix and Max Factor’s 2000 Calorie Mascara. I love Avon’s Magix. This wonderful primer has kept my otherwise greasy t-zone looking semi-matte all day at work, and I don’t have to wear a moisturizer underneath it on warm days. I was able to try Max Factor’s 2000 Calorie Mascara for free when I received it from BzzAgent.com. This is, by far, the best mascara I’ve ever used. It darkens, lengthens, and separates without smearing. It covers without making your lashes feel heavy, and it is easy to remove. For $6 a pop, it is also very recession-friendly.

My Favorite Movie: Iron Man was not as good or as thought-provoking as The Dark Knight nor was it as morally ambiguous or as serious as Quantum of Solace, but it was a hell of a good time. The action was easy to follow; Robert Downey Jr. was charismatic as industrialist Tony Stark; Gwyneth Paltrow’s wardrobe was hot; and it was relevant to today’s events. Oh, let’s not forget Jeff Bridge’s great turn as the bald-headed villain. (Gotta admit, Jeff Bridges was looking very old-man sexy with that smooth dome.)

My Favorite “Don’t Call It A Comeback” Kid: R&B newbie Robin Thicke proved he was still a white boy with a lot of soul when he dropped "Magic," a Philadelphia Sound-esque mid-tempo gem. To make it better, he dropped a hot remix of Magic with the incomparable Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige. (He was also a headlining act on her Love Soul tour.) Something Else, his third solo album, hit number 3 on both the Billboard’s Top 200 and Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums carts. The secret to his success? The sistas! "Eighty or 90 percent of my fans are African-Americans, mostly grown black women. That's who’s at my shows, who’s” buying my music, [and] who’s listening to me on the radio," Thicke admitted during a recent Washington Post interview. (And yes, this sister likes his music.)

My 1st Favorite Political Moment: Sen. Barack Obama’s smooth and cool gait as he walked out to thank the American people for electing him as the 44th president of the United States. How fucking cool was that moment?