| Wooo! |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|12:57 pm] |
I'm jetting off early from work today to go crash AX, have dinner with Mylene (yay!), and hopefully spend some time with the ANN crew before heading home to finish up the last of my packing tonight. I just realized I'd almost forgotten to pack Rock & Rule; how tragic would THAT have been?
Leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow morning! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I already have a shit ton of plans. Meeting with the TAs tomorrow afternoon, then hanging with Andrew and Victor and Erin, then going to Taste of MN on Saturday and a party that night, then prepwork for SES on Sunday, and then teaching!!
I am so excited. |
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| Ramblings. |
[Jun. 26th, 2009|05:09 pm] |
So, um... yeah. Michael Jackson died. Celebrity deaths in the news are easy for me to ignore, and other than the occasional passing thought of "Aw, s/he'll be missed" (a la Bea Arthur) or "Huh, that's one way to go, I guess" (a la David Carradine), I tend not to be too bothered. News of Farrah Fawcett's death just yesterday morning inspired the same reaction I always have: a brief stab of sympathy, quickly forgotten.
This, though. Michael Jackson. This has stunned and saddened me, to my utter surprise, more than I ever would have suspected. I haven't actively listened to his music in years ("listened" as in "sat down and put on the Thriller album from beginning to finish"--it's next to impossible to avoid MJ's music in day-to-day life, since it's all over the place), he's been little more than a walking joke and tabloid fodder for over a decade, and yet I feel like the world has undergone a bizarre paradigm shift.
As the blogger Jill wrote over at Feministe, "I don’t remember a world without Michael Jackson." That's completely true for me, as well. I don't remember a time in my life when I haven't known "I'll Be There," "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and, of course, the epic "Thriller." I distinctly recall telling an elementary school classmate during recess that Michael Jackson was my favorite singer. I grew up watching Michael Jackson concerts on TV, watching his music videos on VH1 (MTV was a taboo in my household) and clumsily attempting the moonwalk, like every other kid I knew. I saw Captain Eo at Disney World when I was 8(?) and it was basically the greatest thing ever. I used to watch Free Willy on VHS all the time and sing along--and DANCE--with this music video, which played before the movie started (and right after a PSA to "Save the Whales!!" Hey, remember how important saving the whales was when we were kids?), because I guess VHS tapes used to cram all their previews and extras at the beginning of the tape before the DVD came along to organize things.
So, there's that. Michael Jackson was an integral part of the pop culture mythos while I was growing up; his music was everywhere, he was referenced everywhere, and everyone talked about him. He seemed to be as much of a universal constant as Coke or presidential elections. But there's also the bizarreness and tragedy of his life, as his fame drove him slowly insane and people began talking less about his music and more about his masks, plastic surgery, baby dangling and the eventual rumored child molestation. Despite his massive success, I don't know if MJ ever really knew what happiness, or at the very least, contentment, felt like. That he was so mentally troubled, unable to function as an adult or develop proper judgment, eventually leading to debt and isolation, is profoundly tragic. I am sad that the icon I adored as a child is dead, but I am also sad that a damaged man could ultimately never find repose.
There are much more important things going on the world right now--Iran is still in the middle of a potential revolution and Kim Jong Il is reaching stratospheric levels of crazy, among other things--but I can't help setting aside a small bit of sorrow and pity in my heart for a lamentable life unceremoniously cut short.
We'll always have the music, though. Thank heavens for that.
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| Seriously |
[Jun. 19th, 2009|11:52 am] |
I've been obsessing over this movie for the past two weeks. For real, if you haven't seen Barbarella yet you're missing out.
See Barbarella do her thing with a nice angel, with a warm, friendly ice man, with a cold, evil black queen, with a charming hand-to-hand Romeo... (Psst, "do her thing" = "have sex") There's also an orgasm organ! TOO AMAZING.
Also, which classic psychedelic mindfuck animation would be better to show to my class: Yellow Submarine or Fantastic Planet? I'm hammering out my screening schedule. I love them both so much! ;_; |
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| Wow... |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|04:08 pm] |
These are so amazing and inspiring, they need to be seen by as many people as possible. Although it's not my place to interfere, I wish the Iranian people all the luck, love and support they could use. I'm with you, protesters. Let's get this election result out in the open!
Also, looking at Twitter's live Iranian Election feed, I am now convinced that this service is worthwhile. |
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| Confused... |
[Jun. 12th, 2009|04:16 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sad | ] |
Dick Cheney has come out in support of marriage equality.
Obama's DOJ is defending DOMA.
Can someone turn reality back on, please? |
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| Cocktail for hilarity! |
[Jun. 11th, 2009|03:05 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  stunned | ] |
For instant laughs, instruct Republicans in Congress to write a clean energy bill:
Can you even believe this shit? Every day the GOP leadership proves to be more stupid than I ever could have thought possible. Jeez. |
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| Internet love and vampires |
[Jun. 8th, 2009|04:33 pm] |
I got some pretty great spam today:
"Hi I am looking for man.I am passionate,romantic,honest,affectionate woman seeking for a longterm relationship.Age is irrelevant to me,i look at the mind.Write me I will tell you all about me and send more pics. Kisessssssss
Remain Blessed
Marina"
And "kises" to you, too, Marina. Good luck with your search for a soul mate and his bank account.
Also: Twilight is the worst movie EVER, holy crap. I was expecting at least a little bit of campy entertainment value, but nope. Bella is the most unlikeable heroine in cinematic history, the script is a mess, and the soundtrack is distractingly awful. That movie threw me into a 3-day bad mood. |
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| E3 Photos |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|11:13 pm] |
So I scored an industry pass to E3 this week and got around to checking it out today. It was definitely one of the most fun conventions (well, trade show, technically) I've been to. Because the crowd was mostly industry and there is a strict nobody-under-17-allowed policy, they were absolutely the most pleasant people to spend a day playing video games with you can imagine. Except for the occasional obnoxious and smelly comic book guy, everyone was very nice and informative and in good spirits. It's a somewhat depressing reflection of the state of the U.S. gaming industry, however, that the crowd was easily 90% male. D'oh...
My favorite section of the show ended up being Indiecade (which has its own festival), a showcase of independent and up-and-coming game designers. It was a blast talking to people who were so obviously enthusiastic about their work and games in general. All of E3 was great, though, and I can't remember the last time I've spent 8 consecutive hours on pure, unadulterated gaming. I'm glad I went, and I need to figure out a way I can sneak in next year (seeing how I'll no longer be in the industry, but back in school).
Until then, I have the memory of today to look back fondly upon. I will now end this flawless, nerdtastic day by watching Genius Party Beyond, which has finally, finally been subtitled. Koji Morimoto!! Studio 4°C!!! *orgasm*
( Pics to follow ) |
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| Wow! |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|09:12 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  impressed | ] |
One of the more impressive things I saw at E3 today:
Can that guy fake drum or what? More pics on the way (booth babes included!) in a few minutes. |
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| LA Pride |
[Jun. 3rd, 2009|02:21 pm] |
The Los Angeles GLBT Pride Parade is next weekend! Wooooo! I'm going to volunteer with the Human Rights Campaign at their booth during the festival, and you should find a Pride event to volunteer at in your area, too!
This is perfect motivation to meet my goal of dropping 5 lbs by next weekend. Not only is the GLBT community shockingly beautiful, but this is freaking LA. I'm going to be surrounded by the most gorgeous people on the planet!
*gets ready to work out tonight*
P.S. I'm going to E3 tomorrow to look at video game things! All the cool stuff has happened already, but I'm still looking forward to just walking around and marveling at stuff.
P.P.S. Yeeeah, Go New Hampshire!! |
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| Monday news. |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|03:47 pm] |
I was thinking about buying tickets to this, and then I remembered that Berkeley isn't in Los Angeles. MY BRAIN IS DEAD TODAY.
I am pleased to report I've had two successful, no-incident runs since my barftastic gym accident, and I don't think they remember me. Thank god for change blindness, right?
One of my friends, bless her heart, has been slogging through the infamously terrible Twilight book series and posting thoughts and quips on facebook for the public's amusement. Her musings started out humorously:
[My friend] had never heard the phrase "staggeringly vast" used to describe a bathroom before Twilight. That is some fucking bathroom!
Lolz, more unfortunate wording: "light was filtering through the chinks in the trees." (It is worth noting that someone left a comment here, reading "I believe the term is 'Asian American.'")
BEST QUOTE EVER: (Bella is riding a motorcycle) "There was wind that wasn't there before, blowing my *skin* against my *skull*."
But now, 4 books later, she is unable to keep her disdain under control:
They're STILL talking about Wuthering Heights...COULD WE PLEASE GET BACK TO THE BOOK *YOU'RE* SUPPOSED TO BE WRITING, MISS MEYER???
Bella, on wanting Edward to make her a vampire: "I wanted his venom to poison my system, it would make me belong to him in a tangible, quantifiable way". Nope, definitely no subtext in that which might have been brought on by the author's super-repressive religious upbringing. Nnnnnnnope!
They're STILL talking about why they can't do it...can't Edward just let her jerk him off or something so we can get back to the plot?
This huge vampires v. werewolves fight is going down but instead of watching that we're in a tent while Bella & Edward tell each other their top 10 favorite moments together so hey that's pretty exciting I guess.
WAH, guys want to take me to the dance. WAH Edward wants me to go to prom. WAAH people are throwing me a graduation party, WAAAHHHH my sister wants to give me a wedding party. For fucksakes girl, just SHUT UP AND LET PEOPLE BE NICE TO YOU.
In related news, the trailer for New Moon looks hilariously bad. Also, I rented the first movie and will be watching it for the first time tonight! Hooo boy. |
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| Well, um... hm. |
[May. 27th, 2009|10:31 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | fuck | ] |
So two hours ago I'm at the gym doing my daily workout routine, and I'm making great time on my run. Like, really great time. On the brink of a personal best. I start feeling queasy at about the 25 minute mark but I've come this far without slowing my pace and I really really want to get my great time so I ignore it. So then I get to the very end of my run--I literally have 20 seconds left before the cool down--and my stomach gives and I vomit ALL OVER THE PLACE. Most. Mortifying. Moment. Ever. Nothing like blowing chunks in the middle of a crowded gym.
To Bally's great credit, the staff was kind and gracious, asking repeatedly if I was ok and telling me to drink some water and cool down, etc. I'm sure this isn't all that uncommon, really. But holy crap, I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life (except for maybe that time I stupidly walked across a subway vent on a crowded sidewalk while my arms were occupied with carrying a bunch of shit and an underground breeze blew my skirt up to my midriff). I couldn't stop apologizing. I've since showered and washed my gym clothes, but it's not as easy to wash away the mortification. Hopefully nobody remembers me when I go back tomorrow. ;_;
The things a girl will go through to look good in a summer bikini, amirite? |
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| Ughhh |
[May. 26th, 2009|11:41 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  pissed off | ] |
Welp, the courts decided to uphold Prop 8. Shit.
I feel really fucking shitty. If I see even a *hint* of celebration from anyone at all today I'm going to punch them in the face.
The Courage Campaign is gearing up for a 2010 ballot initiative, so I'm going to focus my energy on that, now. Hopefully MoveOn and other organizations that are actually *good* at grassroots movements will jump on the bandwagon soon so we can get this unpleasantness fixed. This, plus beating Republican leadership (who I'm so fucking pissed at right now I can barely see straight) into total oblivion in Congress, is going to be the most important part of the 2010 election. Get ready for it!
FUCK YOU, BIGOTS. Also, fuck the GOP. (But now that I think about it, silly me, they're pretty much synonymous.)
Love,
Me |
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| New Eye Candy! |
[May. 18th, 2009|06:42 pm] |
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The conclusion my friends and I have come to after watching the full-length trailer for The Princess and the Frog: the new prince is freakin' hot, dude! |
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| Awwwwww yeah! |
[May. 18th, 2009|09:18 am] |
Nailed the phone interview! MCAD called me back 10 minutes later with the news I'm hired for the SES teaching job.
Guess who's comin' to Minnesota, bitches!!!
Get in touch with me so we can haaaaaang. Also, if you know any art-crazy 16-18 year olds who want to learn from the best, tell them to check out the program here. |
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| Moving! |
[May. 16th, 2009|12:28 pm] |
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I'm moving to a different part of LA! Tomorrow I am going to look at a house in Burbank and an apartment in Echo Park, both places with marginally higher rent than what I am paying now, but in great parts of town and with bigger (I assume) properties. I am excited about the house, especially. We'll see what happens! |
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| Rock & Rule |
[May. 15th, 2009|12:17 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
So I was talking about this movie with someone yesterday and it reminded me of how totally awesome it was/still is.
Tell me I'm not the only one who remembers Rock & Rule and its oddly attractive dog people. I still love that soundtrack. |
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| Summer things! |
[May. 13th, 2009|03:31 pm] |
I have to put together a syllabus as the next part of my application for the MCAD teaching job. I've never done one of these before. My first instinct is to write "Will play Counter-Strike with class and watch movies every day for research purposes" but that probably wouldn't fly. Wouldn't that really be the best class ever, though?
Oh man, TEACHING. I know I'm going to be absolutely terrified if I actually do get this job. A classroom filled with 16-18 year olds, with some of those snooty Perpich kids mixed in. I can't even imagine.
In other news, I've been offered more freelance work by MAKE for this summer. :D This could possibly be the busiest summer of ALL TIME. |
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