2. Hurricane Diana ripped through eastern North Carolina.
3. I began reading the Sweet Valley High series.
4. "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper was a radio and video hit.
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street premiered in theaters.
#51 - Describe what to do with your body when you die.
What would I like done with my body when I die? Well, I'd like to be cremated and have the ashes either put in a musical intrument (maracas anyone?) or scattered in several meaningful places across the world by a small group of my closest friends and family, like in Kris Radish's heavily cheesy novel Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral. My traveling funeral should take my loved ones to Massachusetts (Salem), Virginia (Portsmouth, where I was born and Virginia Beach, where I've had a great deal of good times), Chicago (duh) and Paris, France (because whether I make it there while I am alive or not, it's where I've always wanted to go and it would mean a lot to me for a part of me end up there).
I've been writing every day for three weeks now and it feels really good to be able to say that. I've been consistent - posting blogs, or if I had nothing to post, working on something else. I'm proud of that, but still...it's only been three weeks. I'd like to keep it up. I'm trying to think of a name for the zine I'm writing. I'm going to include stories about family, friends, the past few years, a few how-to articles and some poems from a project I started in the summer but never completed.
When I haven't been working on the novel(s) or blogging here, I have been posting reviews and commentary at my other blog/online zine, Positive Bleeding Zine. Beginning January 1st, I am starting a project in which I watch and write about the AFI Top 100 films of all time. But I don't want to just write reviews - these are all older movies, they've been around awhile and they have surely spawned many a critical essay already. I guess what I am hoping for is that watching these supposed "life-changing" films might open me up for something and I think I'd rather write about the experience of that. I'll still be writing reviews of other movies, etc. in the in-between time, but I want to do something different for this project. It's only 100 movies and I haven't given myself a deadline to have completed them - just a deadline to start. I guess I will play it by ear.
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I mentioned back on December 15th that I had planned to post my thoughts on the book Julie & Julia...and then I never did. Here's what I wrote about it and forgot to post:
I recently finished the Julie Powell book Julie & Julia, about how this one woman - nearing the age of thirty, working as a temp and not knowing exactly how she wanted to proceed toward her future - decided to work her way through every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking. She begins her story by telling us how close she is to the end of her rope - she sees a woman on the subway platform who is chattering to herself. Everyone is moving away from her because she's a little scary, even Julie...only, in the briefest moment, she sees herself in that woman. She feels like she's going crazy and she's got to do something to ground herself. When she gets home, she makes a really delicious potato soup and then her husband - who spends much of the book being described as the most supportive, inspiring, patient mate anyone could dream of - tells her that she should be a cook. She poo-poos the idea - it would mean she'd have to go back to school, she'd have to have money to do that, etc. Then he says she should start a blog and write about her cooking...and the idea for the project is born.
I really liked Julie Powell. She came across as a little bit nerdy with a lot of dry wit. Allow me to demonstrate. Here are a few quotes from Julie at her niftiest:
"From LA I got a bar of Scharffen Berger chocolate, some ancho mustard, and a messenger bag that was made especially for the cast and crew of Laurel Canyon, a movie I love because - seriously? - girl-on-girl action just doesn't get any better than Fran-McDormand-on-Kate-Beckinsale."
"It occurs to me that I've never adequately explained my devotion to Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This is partly because I hesitate to put into words an emotion so delicate and precious, and partly because I have just a bit of residual shame at being obsessed with anything involving Sarah Michelle Gellar. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is - for those of you who've spent the last ten years living under a rock where the public schools ban Harry Potter for promoting sorcery - a television show, known to its devout following simply as Buffy."
She goes on about Buffy for awhile. In fact, she mentions the show in scattered passages throughout the book - which, if you know me, you know that makes me giddy all on its own. Yay for total geekdom!
And then there's this bit about her friend, Isabel that I especially like:
"The nice thing about having a friend who is crazier than you are is that she bolsters your belief in your own sanity. How could I worry too much about the wisdom of cooking my way through MtAoFC for no particular reason when Isabel was concocting a business plan for midcentury-style fuck-furniture, and asking my mom to be a consultant?"
Experiencing this book was interesting for me, because it was like looking through a mirror at another mirror. Julie was looking to Julia Child to inspire her; I guess, in a way, I was looking to this book to do the same for me. I, too, have been trying to figure out what to do with my life - and how to do it. It's so funny to say this book inspired me, but it really did. It started me really thinking about what I could do and how I could do it. I guess you could say it made me hungry in two ways - hungry for buttery comfort foods, since most of the foods that didn't contain meat were desserts, and hungry for something to happen. When I say it's funny, what I mean is I found all the talk about food as fascinating as Powell's sarcastic lamentations about her life - and it says a lot when a vegetarian like me finds herself absorbed in chapters about cooking live lobster. That's not to say I wasn't cringing and feeling sorry for the lobster, but who am I to say what people should eat? And it did, I have to say, make for some engrossing, enlightening reading.
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I also meant to post the assignments from Learning To Love You More that I had decided to do (because I love Miranda July and I think the idea is inspired, a word I seem to be using a lot lately). I didn't because I haven't completed them, but now I think I'll post the list of assignments and what I have so far. I'll re-post these with the rest once I'm done:
1. #63 - Make an encouraging banner.
2. #54 - Draw the news.
3. #53 - Give advice to yourself in the past.
4. #51 - Describe what to do with your body when you die.
5. #50 - Take a flash photo under your bed.
6. #49 - Draw a picture of your friend's friend.
7. #42 - List five events from 1984.
8. #35 - Ask your family to describe what you do.
9. #32 - Draw a scene from a movie that made you cry.
10. #27 - Take a picture of the sun.
That's the ten assignments I'm doing. Here are #50, #27, and #32. I did two for #27 - one on a sunny day and another on a cloudy day.
#50
#27
#27 part deux
#32
And speaking of conceptual art, I really love Yoko Ono's Twitter feed. That woman is pure awesomeness distilled.
You know the way you find yourself wincing at someone who is trying to be funny and failing miserably? That's the feeling Jennifer's Body leaves you with. Which is disappointing, because it has so much going for it. For one, it's written by pop culture maven and ultimate snark goddess, Diablo Cody - the wit behind Showtime's excellent dramaThe United States of Tara and screenwriter for the Oscar-winning Juno. Theideabehind the movie has potential: a sort of feminist horror movie told from a female perspective. It has a great soundtrack that includes Dashboard Confessional and Screeching Weasel. Plus, it stars Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!,Big Love), an up-and-coming actress whose screen time here is one of the bright points of the whole hot mess. But neither Seyfried or Cody can saveJennifer's Body- it's just one big train wreck of a movie and even the slang that Cody is so famous for falls flat in this so-called horror-comedy that is, sorry to say, not much of either. The movie revolves around two high school friends who only have their history in common - that and their latent bi-curious fixation on each other, which is never head-on addressed (other than a kissing scene thrown seemingly in to reel in an audience). One of the teenage friends is Jennifer (Megan Fox), a cheerleading vixen who is clearly riddled with insecurities - but that's not really addressed in depth, either. The other is Needy, her best friend, who basically worships Jennifer and also feels a need to protect her. One night, following a fire at a local bar, Jennifer goes off with some visiting band members who happen to be Satanists seeking a virgin to sacrifice. They mistake the slutty Jennifer for their virgin and plunge a knife into her - but she doesn't die. Instead, her body is inhabited by a demon that compels her to eat teenage boys. There never seems to be a distinction between normal Jennifer and possessed Jennifer, though. In fact, there doesn't seem to be much change outside of cannibalism and spewing black bile to indicate that she's not the same girl – mostly because she was pretty awful to begin with. Perhaps the failing is in Fox's acting, but I'm not so sure - even Seyfried, who actually brings life to her character, can't seem to bring life to this script.
I admit that it hasn't been a terribly memorable year for me. I've spent much of it anxious and depressed and managed to forget half of what had passed as a result. I don't adore feeling like time has shot past me like a bullet without much to show for it. My plan for 2010 is to find a way to remember the year - to stand still and bask in its glow (assuming that I have the capacity to make this year a radiant one, which I think I do) and try not to let whatever dark worry is lurking around the corner eclipse the awesomeness of living.
That said, I'd still like to do a year end survey, like a few of my friends have - because it seems like a good way to make clear the foggy mess that was 2009. Ok, perhaps it's also just a little bit because it's Monday evening, I am exhausted after a long (though nice) holiday weekend and I know I don't have much of substance to say at the moment. Whatever. Onward...
1. Was 2009 a good year for you? Why? - It was not awful, but as I mentioned above, it's a little foggy. I know there were good things but I am having a hard time remembering just what has happened. Maybe it's simply because there were no momentous changes in my life. Hmn...that's something to think about. Things remaining the same apparently makes me feel like nothing has really happened.
2. What was your favorite moment of the year? Despite what I just said, I do have a few nice memories (once I sit down and start thinking about it - or look back over my calendar): in April, there was Indian music and too many drinks with Kathy and my friend, Jeanie at Martyrs; there was Bill's birthday at the bowling alley and the Varietease Burlesque show at the Lakeshore Theater; in May, there was 2nd Story at Webster's Wine Bar, Uptown Poetry Slam at The Green Mill and The Jill & Julia Show at Lakeshore. In the summer, I made it to The Printer's Row Book Fair, the Jenny Lewis concert, the Neofuturists' Pride show and their stage readings of Legend, Cruising and Cool As Ice, Pride Fest and Market Days. My nephew came to visit in August and we had a chance to visit the Art Institute together. Wizard World was also in August - I got to hang out with a couple of my library friends there. I managed several monthly writing group meetings in a row, although attendance was spotty. There was the Renegade Craft Fair and Anna's going-away party in September, tons of stuff in October - the Halsted Halloween Parade, Sherman Alexie at the downtown library, Sister Spit at Women & Children First and the pumpkin patch in South Barrington. November was NANOWRIMO and the Old Town School concert with Jill Sobule and Erin Mckeown. Thank heavens I note things on my calendar pretty regularly - looking back, it looks like I've had a pretty full year. 3. What was your least favorite moment of the year? Dealing with Cymbalta withdrawal.
4. Where were you when 2009 began? In Chicago...at the Neofuturist's New Year's Eve show, I think.
5. Who were you with? Kathy and a roomful of strangers.
6. Where will you be when 2009 ends? At home, probably drunk and watching movies or something. I'm thinking "low-key" this year.
7. Who will you be with when 2009 ends? Kathy. I think that's it, unless you count the dogs and cat.
8. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions of 2009? I honestly can't recall making any.
9. Do you have (a) New Year's Resolution(s) for 2010? I guess you could call them resolutions. I am making some life changes in 2010 for sure and maybe I'll make a list of things I'd like to try in 2010, too. I really want to get out of my rut and try some new things.
10. Did you make any new friends in 2009? I can't really think of any, but I hope to in 2010. Preferably people who like to play board games (Book Lover's Trivial Pursuit anyone?), write and watch tons of strange movies.
11. Did you lose anybody close to you in 2009? Kathy's family dog, Daisy had to be put to sleep. And I feel like a distance grew between myself and some friends, but hopefully it's not permanent.
12. Did you miss anybody in the past year? Yes, I missed my brother in Portland, Oregon terribly - I often do - and I missed my friends and family in North Carolina.
13. What was your favorite TV program of 2009? Pushing Daisies up until it was cancelled, then Glee.
14. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2009? (500) Days of Summer.
15. Did you have a favorite concert in 2009? While I love Jenny Lewis, I think the best concert I saw this year was Jill Sobule and Erin Mckeown.
16. What was your proudest moment of 2009? Making it through another NANOWRIMO with over 50,000 words, going out to Pressure again and again for writing group meetings (whether anyone else showed or not), remaining steadfast in editing my novel(s) and keeping consistent with my blogs over the last couple of weeks.
17. If you could go back in time to any moment of 2009 and change something, what would it be? I would not have allowed my anxiety to get the better of me as often and I would always be kind to my friends.
18. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? I went to the Green Mill, which I had been wanting to do to since 2001! It's about time, right?
19. What kept you sane? my friends at the library (and the library itself), various movies, books and music, writing, my former therapist, Kathy and semi-regular contact with my NC friends and family.
20. What did you want but did not get? A new second job.
21. What song will always remind you of 2009? I think Feist's 1,2,3,4 and probably any song by Lady GaGa.
22. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "So it goes, though no one knows you like they used to do/ Have a drink/ the sky is sinking toward a deeper blue/And you're still all right/Step out into twilight." (The Weepies)
23. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I think Zooey Deschanel has remained at the top of my list for quite awhile now.
24. What did you do on your birthday in 2009? I wish I could remember.
25. What are your plans for 2010? I have quite a few. I want to continue writing as much as I have been lately. After that, my plans and hopes for the new year are (in the following order): to try and become healthier/visit the gym at least twice a week, brush up on French/get ready to go back to school, make a new friend or two/quit being such a hermit, find a new second job and make plans for the future/for moving into a place of my (our) own. I'd also like to: learn to drive, take a trip, sing in public and perhaps do other things I never thought I'd do. Even if it takes lots and lots of liquid courage.
Critics of Pixar's films have commented that it is the use of stock characters that bring them such success, implying that Pixar's consistently entertaining animated features are not that unique after all. Up, however, rises above that criticism - high above it. It is not just that it is the first Pixar film that made it to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival that sets Up apart from the usual animated fare; it's the beautiful love story that develops as a backdrop to the main story. It is this love story that makes us ache for the protagonist to reach his brave goal.
The story centers around Carl Fredrickson (the voice of Ed Asner), beginning with his early life. In the first scenes of the movie, we see Carl watching wide-eyed in a theater as news of a famous explorer named Muntz (voiced by Christopher Plummer) flashes across the screen. Carl is an avid Muntz fan - we see him wearing the same goggles his hero wears in each reel. In the next scene, he's playing by himself when he meets another Muntz fan. Her name is Ellie and she's an excitable redhead who likes Carl right away. What follows is both an homage to classic films and a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story told in silent images: Ellie and Carl grow up together, get married and face both hardship and splendor. In the end of the montage, Carl is left alone with only his house and the things that remind him of Ellie. As construction workers drill and turn up the land around his little house, Carl locks the world out. When the world comes knocking, an unfortunate accident lands him in court. Facing an order to leave his house and move to a retirement community, Carl takes matters into his own hands instead - he uses helium to blow up thousands of colorful balloons that pull his house up from its foundation and take it to the skies.
It is in this unlikely hero that Pixar creates what is most definitely (and defiantly) their most original, vibrant and overall, wonderful film yet. It is Carl's pain and his desire to be left alone that drive him initially, but as the story progresses, it is love and friendship that come to make all the difference in his life. As his house soars above the clouds, Carl thinks he'll be left alone with his memories of Ellie, to make it to the South American paradise they dreamed of before life got in the way. However, he has a stowaway - a hefty boyscout named Russell who, though annoying, turns out to be a good kid who just wants his father's attention. Their adventure brings them face-to-face with giant birds, talking dogs and even Fredrickson's childhood hero.
The colors of the movie are rich and each moment is so pure and perfect. If you think it's true that Pixar's characters are recycled, please note: their characters are so realistic and familiar that they work. And if audiences care about your characters, that's half the battle.
As Elvis croons, "It's Christmas time, pretty baby." And you know what that means. Hanging lights and stockings, watching the snow fall, caroling, baking gingerbread and visiting loved ones. And if you are anything like me, it also means curling up on the couch to watch the best of the worst Christmas movies ever made. I'm talking about made-for-TV Christmas movies - Lifetime's got a marathon of 'em that they call "Fa-la-la-la-Lifetime" and Hallmark's been making their own for a few years now, too. You can find a barrage of celebrities that you might have mistaken for dead or else, onto bigger and better things, right there parading across your TV screen. Here's a list of my top favorite made-for-television Christmas tales of all time (and I had to go way back for some of these). Twelve in all for each day of Christmas!
Mrs. Santa Claus - Angela Lansbury...and she sings! Lansbury stars as the titular wife of the big guy. Tired of feeling invisible, she rebels and takes the sleigh out for a spin...and lands in Manhattan. Talk about culture shock. And did I mention she sings?
Comfort and Joy - You may have to ignore the rather anti-feminist values in this drama (what's that you say? Women can have both a career and a family? This isn't the early 1950s?) but once you leap that hurdle, you'll be able to marvel at the "serious acting" skills of Jo Polniaczek. I mean Nancy McKeon. Here, she plays a career woman with bickering, divorced parents, an inattentive boyfriend and no time for a family of her own. Then, one night she wakes up from a car accident to get a glimpse into what her life might be like with a husband and kids. Comfort and Joy also stars Dixie Carter and several actors who will evoke a "hey, it's that guy!" response.
A Recipe for a Perfect Christmas - I admit to loving this movie because I find Christine Baranski incredibly sexy, despite the fact that she's 25 years my senior. Add to mix Carly Pope (who you may remember from an old show called Popular) who is also drop dead gorgeous and I am so there. In this tale, Pope plays J.J. (it stands for "Janis Joplin," I kid you not) Jenner, a food critic for a New York magazine that has just been given the chance of a lifetime - but only if she can get her editorial in by deadline. To stir things up, in walks her estranged mother, Lee (Baranski) who has just been laid off from her job as a singer on a cruise ship. Lee is the "fun one," claims J.J., while she has to be the serious one. To get her mother out of her hair so she can get some work done, J.J. makes a deal with a local chef who wants his restaurant reviewed. The best part of this movie comes when Lee sings karaoke to Pat Benetar's "Shadows of the Night." I tried to find a clip of that, but couldn't locate one.
The Christmas Box - John-Boy Walton stars alongside Annette O'Toole and Maureen O'Hara (yes, she's still alive!) in this adaptation of the Richard Paul Evans book of the same name. John-Boy and his family move in to work as caretakers for an elderly widow (O'Hara) in her Victorian mansion. Initially, the widow seems crotchety to John-Boy, irritating him with questions and observations on his family. But she bonds with his daughter and his wife, who back him in a corner over staying. Meanwhile, he has recurring dreams that cause him to reexamine his life. In the end, he discovers secrets about the widow's past that help him to understand her questions and intentions. Maureen O'Hara came out of retirement to play Mrs. Parkin, the widow who brings a little family closer together. Caution: this story is so saccharine, it may make you gag - but if you stay with it, it's actually an absorbing mystery and O'Hara does an excellent job with her multi-dimensional character.
The Night They Saved Christmas - This 1984 Jaclyn Smith vehicle also stars Art Carney as Santa Claus. Smith's family is residing in the Arctic while her husband, who works with an oil company, is there on business. The "business" is blasting for oil (in the Arctic?) and their drilling threatens Santa's North Pole village. So what does Santa do? He pays a visit to Smith and takes her, along with her three children, to his village in hopes of engaging them to help stop the blasting. Of course it's a happy ending, but the important part is that, long before The Santa Clause, this T.V. movie explained all the inner-workings of the elves' workshop and how exactly St. Nick makes it to all those houses in one night (hint: radical 1980's technology). As cheesy as you'd imagine an 80's Christmas movie could be, but The Night They Saved Christmas is a television classic.
A Mom For Christmas - Does anyone else remember that this existed? Made in 1990, it's actually based on a book for middle school children called A Mom by Magic by Barbara Dillon. In the book and the movie, a little girl who has been motherless since she was a baby makes a wish and brings to life a department store mannequin. The mannequin, of course, doesn't know what it means to be human and the child must teach her. Olivia Newton-John stars as the plastic mommy and she apparently wrote two songs just for this movie.
One Special Night - James Garner and Julie Andrews should be in more movies together. If these were ranked in any kind of "best to worst" order, One Special Night would win the "best" position hands down. Despite being incredibly sappy, someone did a pretty stellar casting job. The story spans the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and begins with Garner visiting his Alzheimer's-afflicted wife at a hospice on Thanksgiving, only to find that no taxis will pick him up during the developing snowstorm. Andrews plays a widow so well-known to the nurses and patients at the same hospice, the place her husband died, that she still pays them visits bearing gift baskets. Andrews offers Garner a ride home in her tiny sports car - but of course, they get stuck in the snow and have to spend the night in a vacant cabin. While it's not exactly love at first sight, they eventually warm up to each other. There are complications and a twist reminiscent of classic movies like An Affair To Remember - but everything comes together in the end.
A Diva's Christmas Carol - In this re-telling of the Dickens classic, Vanessa Williams stars as basically the same character she plays on Ugly Betty - only here she's a pop star named Ebony Scrooge who earns the title of "diva" with her fiery temper and narcissism. Among the ghosts that pay her a visit is Kathy Griffin as the Ghost of Christmas Past (amusingly flippant as ever, as only she can be) and John Taylor of the 80's musical group Duran Duran is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Very schlocky and incredibly cheeseball, this movie is more guilty pleasure than an extra helping of pumpkin pie.
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus - Just this year, CBS aired an over-the-top re-telling of the same story - animated this time - but the 1991 TV version is worth far more of your time. It tells the story of a little girl in the 1800's named Virginia who has her Christmas spirit shaken by a bratty classmate who informs her that Santa is a fiction. When she asks her father (played by Richard Thomas/John-Boy Walton - yes, apparently he's in a lot of these "heart-warmers"), he tells her she should write to the newspaper and ask the editor if, in fact, there is a Santa Claus. Way to buck the question, John-Boy. Of course she does and the letter becomes one of the most famous to-the-editor letters in history. Charles Bronson co-stars as the New York Sun editor who thoughtfully answered Virginia's letter.
The Christmas Choir - This Hallmark original first aired in 2007 and won itself four Emmys. Based on a true story (aren't they all?), The Christmas Choir follows a young man whose girlfriend has just dumped him for being a workaholic and whose life isn't taking the path he expected. One night, he hears a man singing in a bar and is stirred to start a choir for homeless men. It's one of those stories where one person's belief in others results in the unexpected. The choir meets with some difficulty along the way - at one point they try to sing in a subway to raise money, only to find out that (shocking!) they need a permit to perform there. Rhea Perlman co-stars as a prickly nun named Sister Agatha who doesn't believe these men are going to turn their lives around to sing in a choir.
The Christmas Star -Ed Asner and Fred Gwynne (yes, Herman Munster) star in this late 1980's family comedy about an con man who manages to escape from prison by disguising himself as Santa. It's Christmastime and although cops are scouring the town looking for him, there are Santas everywhere - ringing the bells for Salvation Army donations, posing for pictures at local malls, etc. - so he manages to escape. Two kids who believe in Santa are enlisted to help him recover loot he once left behind, but of course, they end up winning his heart instead. That said, kids really shouldn't be allowed to play with escaped convicts. Especially if they dress up like old Kris Kringle.
At least for today. Yes, we're celebrating on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas and there's much to be done before Kathy's relatives begin arriving tonight. Ciao for now and I'll be back to posting tomorrow.
Most of the heavy duties for the week are done and I don't go back to work until next Monday. Now is the time to settle in and reflect on my year and get ready for Christmas. I've actually been inexplicably buzzing with the ye olde holiday spirit for about a month now, trying to find the perfect gifts for the people who matter to me. I feel a little jittery tonight - probably coming down from a sugar high after munching on Christmas cookies at work - but mostly happy. For the next several days, I am going to attempt to relax (at least as much as I ever do) and only do things I will enjoy and that will mean something to me. I'm working on a blog about Christmas movies that I will post at PBZ tomorrow, editing a few other items and I hope to get some time to read, look over my French and go to the gym. I'm also itching to bake something and have been wanting to try to make biscotti for awhile now, so maybe I will look into that. And of course, I have the first of the AFI movies, Citizen Kane, to watch and write about. Yes, this is me relaxing. Heh.
Aside from feeling like I managed to get everyone a little something they will like, I have also received many lovely gifts from family (and friends who are, after eleven years or so, also family). It made me feel really cared for. My sister sent me comfy shirts from Newport News and my long-time friend, Charity sent me a ton of movies and music downloads, a glimmery silver bag I'm in love with and a card-making kit.
And my brother and sister-in-law in Portland sent me homemade cookies, jams and salsa!
Anyway, the weather has been much more winter-like lately. When it's new, white and fluffy, I'm rather fond of snow. On my way to the gym, I took this picture that I really like of the snow as seen through a gate. There are lots of beautiful moments and visions I'd like to make still and keep - things I see when we take the dogs for long walks daily. I wish I could manage it more.
I'll be back soon with some new update, but for now there is dough to roll and kolaczkis to make. Happy holidays to everyone who happens by my teensy blog! And have a magical new year!
I've recently completed the first season of Joss Whedon's latest stab at TV sci-fi/drama, Dollhouse (thanks to Netflix). I know the second season won't be on DVD for awhile (the season finale probably won't even air until January I am assuming) and I know it's been cancelled, so there won't be a season three. That said, however, I still want to take a moment to sing the praises of a show that has been a consistent adrenaline rush (that's to say, it will be missed).
If you don't know about Dollhouse, let me give you a little plot synopsis. The titular house is an underground (literally) agency patronized by wealthy clients seeking anything another willing party might be able to provide: a fantasy, a savior, a best friend, etc. That willing party is a volunteer called an "active" whose individual memories and characteristics have been wiped in order to imprint them with whatever memories, personalities and skills their clients need. When not providing services to clients, the actives are blank slates and act much like dazed children. Each volunteer signs a five year contract to work for The Dollhouse as an active, at the end of which their own memories will be returned and they receive their compensation.
The central character of the show is an active named Echo (the name given to her by the agency; we find out later that she was originally a college student named Caroline). According to The Dollhouse's founder (played by Olivia Williams), Echo is one of their most popular actives - and it's not hard to see why. Echo/Caroline, played by Eliza Dushku (who was also the show's producer), is young, beautiful and strong. Conflict arises, however, when Echo begins to have flashes of memories from her real life and the lives she has led as an active. There is an interesting morality question that emerges - a similar one that I bet has been argued amongst advocates for and against sex work. Actually, there are several discussions that could come to light as a result of Dollhouse - the question of how much power those with technology should have and how much progress is too much? I happen to think that a drama that produces that kind of debate is worth watching.
While it wasn't a completely flawless show (there were times when audiences would need to suspend not only disbelief but logic and the witty banter would occasionally give way to either awkward dialogue or pretentious monologue), the idea of and behind Dollhouse had so much potential - so many stories could have been told. There were already episodes in which we discovered that characters we'd been acquainted with had been actives all along - unknown to them or anyone around them - and episodes where clients were not entirely forthright regarding their plans for their chosen active. Every episode had audiences brimming with questions and holding their breaths/biting their nails through the twists thrown at them.
But it's over now and all fans have to look forward to is Season Two's completion and its release onto DVD/Blu-Ray. Unless, of course, Whedon creates a comic book afterlife for these characters as he has with characters from his other efforts - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly to name two. I, for one, hope he does.
This weekend has been productive and it's been a weekend of firsts (or at least a Sunday of firsts). Yesterday, we wrapped all of our Christmas gifts and I spent some time at the gym. I have discovered the abdominal machine - what a genius invention! I don't have to kill my neck and back by attempting crunches the absolute wrong way and I can already feel a nice tightness in my stomach muscles. I've managed a blog every single day over the past week and continued my streak of "writerly" persistence this weekend. And today, after another morning at the gym, Kathy and I took an excursion to Andersonville to attend The Neofuturists' year-end best of performance of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. We left the house early so that we could stop by Bon Bon (seriously, guys, the most awesome chocolates I've ever tasted and the place is owned by a Santerian priestess, doubling its awesomeness) to pick up gifts for Kathy's boss and cousin, then headed over to Kopi for dinner. For the first time ever since we've been going there together, Kathy and I sat on the floor seating. The place was crowded for a Sunday afternoon so it seemed the best option. We sat on pillows and drew the table closer to us so we could eat comfortably. The tables are next to the windows so that we could watch passersby. I've only sat there once before when I'd met up with a friend at Kopi and that's been at least a couple of years. I also had a panini that I'd been debating about trying for awhile now - the Panini de Melody Nelson (I had to look up that reference, by the way - I'm ashamed to admit that since I am a bit of a French culture fanatic), which has grilled Tofurkey and Camembert cheese. The ingredient that was making me hesitant, though, was the Granny Smith apples. I think Camembert is heaven and Tofurkey had potential, but I couldn't imagine how it would taste with apples. Turned out, it's surprisingly delicious - adding just a touch of sweetness to a savory sandwich. And Kopi has beer, wine and spirits now! I think all the beers they carry are local (like Metropolitan) or semi-local brews (like Dark Horse beers from Michigan). I ordered a Dark Horse Crooked Tree, which was almost like a Blue Moon but with a slightly bitter edge.
So to recap: I had three firsts at Kopi today, a weekend of consecutive gym visits (yay me!) in which I learned to use the ab machine (hey, another first!) and I have managed to update either this blog or Positive Bleeding (for which I also made a new banner) every day. In short, I rock.
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I've decided that, for 2010, I am going to watch and write about all 100 of the American Film Institute's Top 100 films of all time from their updated 2007 list. Even if I have seen a film on the list before, I will watch it again in the order the AFI lists them and hopefully gain a new perspective on the movies I have seen. New Year's Day I will be posting the first of these on my other blog. Stay Tuned.
I deleted the original post I made under this heading because I wasn't particularly happy with it. It was a little too cryptic and incoherent for a public blog. What I really wanted to say was just that I've been thinking about the notion of making each day count. It's a subjective idea, isn't it? Everyone has a different opinion about what "counts" and what doesn't in their lives. I'm still deciding what it means for me to make a day count.
Today, I am having a hard time coming up with something to say. It happens and I am trying not to stress about it too much. I think maybe I'll give myself the night off from attempting profundity. Maybe I'll read a bit, spend some time with my cat and learn new French words. Or maybe I will have the last Mike's Hard Pomegranate and just go watch a cheesy Christmas movie. For tonight, I guess this will be enough.
Tomorrow I will sort out the rest.
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I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. - Agatha Christie
It's nearly noon, I'm at the office and my boss hasn't shown up yet. I'm thinking about how being here feels like such a time suck, such a waste of time. I am typing up labels, though - sort of. Well, clearly I'm not now, but I was. I was typing labels (for "inactive" clients, mind you) and then I started searching on Craigslist for other jobs. I found a few I thought I might be able to do and sent them to myself so I can apply later. And then I went back to labels. But then I started thinking about how I was going to need to write a blog later and I might as well get started on that. That brings me to now and typing this.
I've made a lot of mistakes at the office over the last few months - mistakes that were careless, mistakes I didn't catch. I am not proud of this and I take full responsibility for them. There's really no excuse - you're hired to do a job, you should do it and do it right. Right? But you see what I do at work: I check my email, I check my Facebook, I look at other jobs on Craigslist (because anything sounds better than this job) and I type blog entries. This is how one makes mistakes that may (or may not) cost her her job - by rushing through one boring, mindless task to get to do something she wants to do before her boss gets back to the office. I'm only here ten hours a week and it's not enough time to mess around and do a good job. I know this...and yet, I keep doing it.
I've had office jobs before. I worked hard and enjoyed the work. But just something about being here in this office only drives me to this: slacking off. And I am really not a slacker. I love the library and I work my butt off there. I would like to be there forever and so I act like it. Herein lies the problem, you see. I do not want to be at this office. I want to be either shelving more books or writing them. I want to be watching movies or walking the dogs or privately dancing freestyle around my bedroom while my cat looks on wearily. Hell, I'd rather be scooping the litter box or cleaning up doggy puke (which just happens to be fresh on my brain since Barney was sick last week) than doing this. I want to be doing just about anything than coming to this office. I don't want to listen to my boss bicker with her husband, don't want to see her scowling face or deal with her generally pissy attitude and I really, really don't want to listen to her play either the same instrumental Christmas album on repeat or that goddamned Rocky soundtrack. Not ever. And please, don't even get me started on my issues with the office itself. I'd have to give you details on the many beasties I must avoid and the fact that it's a heating company and the damned place is freezing!
There actually was a time when I liked it here, but it has passed and has been a long time gone. It's been an ongoing theme in my life - this feeling of being fed up with things that I am finding it hard to change. I know I am in a rut, but how does one get out of a rut when even sending your resume everywhere yields no results? I'm just not qualified enough for much of anything and it's depressing.
My optimism, though, tells me there is nowhere to go but up. But then a little voice in my head tells me that I am nowhere near the bottom (I do know that, actually, since I do somehow have a roof over my head and food), but it is lurking forebodingly in my near future.
It's been a long day, it's freakin' cold (even indoors) and I had originally thought I'd try and write an insightful post about reading Julie Powell's Julie & Julia. But as soon as I got home from work, thoughts scattered with the winds and all I managed to eke out was a short review over at my other blog. I promise a more substantial post on my day off (Thursday) and it will be brimming with thoughts on the aforementioned memoir and maybe, finally, my completion of several Learning To Love You More assignments. For now, though, I'm afraid I am going to have to skip trying for anything more than this - a poem by Mary Oliver, who everyone should become familiar with. I think it describes (better than I could at the moment) a little of what epiphanies are coming to me now, what thoughts are falling into place.
The Journey - Mary Oliver
One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice-- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!" each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do-- determined to save the only life you could save.
If you're a zine junkie like me, you should certainly march on over (figuratively speaking, of course) and check outSyndicated Zine Reviews, a well-rounded blog on indie and zine culture. SZR doesn'tjust review zines (though there are plenty of reviews); it includes notes on interesting "found art" (like a father's note to his absent son found in a library book), reviews of independently made DVDs, such as a documentary on the Portland, Oregon zine scene when it was at its pinnacle, and what the editor refers to as "zine promos" - short blurbs on newly released zines. The blog also includes slideshow teasers with an inside look at what lies between the covers of each zine. Reviews are not solely the work of the SZR editor, Jack Cheiky and in fact, the site's "mission statement" declares that "ANYONE can reviews zines!" - so feel free to email any reviews to: quazipseudo at gmail.
Based on Lynn Barber’s autobiography of the same name,An Educationfocuses on the life of Jenny (played convincingly by newcomer Carey Mulligan, who gives the role both depth and humor) – a very bright schoolgirl in 1960’s London whose promising future has a wrench thrown in it when she meets a charming, much older man (Peter Sarsgaard). David is and isn’t everything he seems to be. While he can certainly provide for her, his ways of doing so are dishonest and his friends are shallow. Much of the life he leads is a lie, but he is still able to whisk Jenny away to Paris or Oxford and lavish gifts upon her. The title of the movie seems to refer not just to Jenny’s school education, but her education in life and love as well. The wonderful thing aboutAn Educationis that it isn’t preachy, though it has a moral, and the icky nature of the May-December romance (which is putting it mildly - Jenny is only 16 when she meets David and he’s probablyat leastwell into his 30’s) is downplayed by the fact that she’s extremely mature and clever, until it doesn’t feel so wrong. Also notable in the cast are Alfred Molina as Jenny's pushy father and Olivia Williams (Rushmore, TV's Dollhouse) as her teacher, who is much chagrined to discover her most precocious student having an affair with an older man.
It's nearing Christmas and all the preparation is leaving me both drained and anxious. But today was a mostly good day, warmer than it's been in a few days and sunny during the early part of the day. Kathy and I went to Andersonville to buy/pick up a few gifts. Then we headed back here to eat and clean up for tomorrow. I wish I could say I had more to write about tonight, but it's late and there's still the tree to decorate (we have the lights on it but nothing else). I'm just too tired. Instead of writing more here, I decided to post an entry to my other blog. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have me some tea and help put the ornaments on what is, this year, not a plastic tree but a real one.
One of the best movies of 2009 is out on DVD as of December 22, so mark your calendars. Here's my review:
(500) Days of Summer, starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt and directed by music video guru Marc Webb, uses split screen, dance sequences and a day counter that marks flashbacks and present moments to tell a story that “is not a love story.” What it is, however, is an exciting, heartbreaking, funny, smart and overall truthful look at love and the idea of “destiny.” In the space of 95 minutes, we follow Tom (Levitt) through 500 days (give or take a few that we don’t see) of being head-over-heels obsessed with a woman named Summer (Deschanel). Summer is bubbly and beautiful and tears the protagonist’s world apart without ever meaning to - she insists from the beginning that she’s not looking for a serious relationship (in fact, she claims she doesn’t believe in “love,” that it’s a myth). What’s especially honest and lovely about (500) Days... is that it doesn’t place blame and there is no bad guy (or girl). Instead, Tom and Summer are just two people who feel different things for each other. It's this very simple truth sometimes about love - that it can be lopsided quite often, a sad fact that diehard romantics might find hard to take- that is the movie's focus and it's actually the realism that gives it its heart.
