How to play iPod Playlists on the 2011 VW GTI

I drive a 2011 Volkswagen GTI and have had a hard time figuring out how to access my playlists on my radio's iPod interface.  My owner's manual doesn't discuss how to do this, and none of the descriptions I found online match my radio system.  After some frustration and lots of button pushing, here's how to find your iPod playlists on a newer GTI:

1) Once a song is playing, hit the Menu button

2) Select Browse

3) Select Top

4) When Playlists appears, select Open

5) Your iPod's name will appear

6) Hit the Folder > button to access your first playlist

7) Hit the Category < button to find your other playlists

Enjoy the ride!

Remembering September 11, 2001

On the night of September 11, 2001, I received a phone call from my boyfriend stationed at a U.S. Army post in the northeast section of Korea. "The Pentagon's been hit by an airplane and is on fire. Another plane just struck one of the World Trade Towers in New York. My base is going on lock-down," he said. I immediately turned on Armed Forced Network, the only English television channel I received in Korea. CBS was broadcasting live footage of panic on the streets of Manhattan. The subways were closed, roads were blocked, and people were running down the street.

I called my parents back in the states. They had no idea about the plane crashes. My mom phoned my brother who was asleep in his Brooklyn apartment. He didn't know about the chaos occurring one borough away either. Dan Rather assured viewers although it looked like pandemonium, things were actually not that bad. With his words in mind, I switched the TV off and went to bed. When I awoke the next morning to teach my 6 am English class, the mood had changed. A second plane had hit the other World Trade Tower.  People were jumping from the buildings to their death.  Firemen and police were crushed by falling debris. Smoke and soot filled the air.

When class began, one of my adult students informed me that the United States basically deserved these attacks since we caused civilian deaths in Cuba and other places across the globe. "That's not what I need to hear right now," I told him. My manager said she was sorry this happened to my country. I think she was being earnest considering she's the same person who told me she wanted Japan to fall into the ocean.

The USO canceled my scheduled trip to Panmunjeom right after the terrorist attacks. Other than that and the continual 9/11 footage played on AFN, life went on as normal in Korea. What's eery to me is about a week before 9/11 I glanced at a headline in an Armed Forces newspaper about probable attacks to overseas American targets. Who would have thought terrorists would hit the states and kill thousands of civilians? Photo from L.A. Times

Keep calm

Out of the entire Keep Calm Arsenal on Etsy, this poster is my favorite.

Nathan Fletcher for Nixon (circa 1999)

Nixon sells watches, belts, and wallets among other stuff in case you couldn't tell. I'd swear they sell skate shoes or hair clippers going by this ad.

Gaga is Macchio-ish

Watching Lady Gaga's gender-bending 2011 VMA performance for the first time, I realized the singer isn't channeling actor Adam Goldberg, but rather Ralph Macchio! Bloggers say she looked like The Outsiders star, but for me her high pitched New York accent and mannerisms are what remind me of Macchio. Watch Lady Gaga's alter-ego Joe Calderone, and judge for yourself. Photo from mtv.com

How to make Domo kun cupcakes

Big-ass stir fry alert!

University of Massachusetts served up the world's largest stir fry to students during this year's "Welcome to UMass Week."  According to The Daily Collegian, the colossus meal weighed in at 4010 pounds, earning the university the new Guinness Book record. UMass chefs once again brought the academic institution honor after creating the world's largest california roll in 2011. Photo from The Daily Collegian

The Gap hits Tokyo

The Gap has launched a new campaign for their 1969 denim line.  Their photo spreads feature real-life folks from around the globe wearing Gap denim, like this fellow in Nakameguro. Read more about The Gap's marketing campaign here.

Spartacus: two swords up

If you like blood, lust, passion, vengeance, swords, elaborate costumes, sex, British, Scottish, Aussie and Kiwi accents, dry humor, nudity, whips, togas, CGI, John Hannah and Lucy Lawless, then you will love Starz's original cable series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. It contains all of these things in spades. My husband and I don't always agree on what is entertaining, but Spartacus: Blood and Sand had us both hooked.  The second season of the series, called Spartacus: Vengeance, begins on Starz in January 2012.

Don't let the 3-inch platforms fool you.  John Hannah, as Quintus Batiatus (center), is one bad-ass Roman and Spartacus' biggest headache.