Ingrid is the BEST

Amazing

Directed by Tony Kelly for American Apparel from Tony Kelly Photography on Vimeo.

One Sweet Love

Some days I wake up with a song stuck in my head. It's usually an indication of the state of my soul. This morning it's "One Sweet Love" by Sara Bareilles. If I actually lived according to my feminist ideals, that song would not be haunting me as of late. I am full of contradictions.

"A nameless face to think I see to sit and watch the waves with me, til they're gone."

LMAO

Sarah posted this on facebook. It's too amazing.

Bählamms Fest by Olga Neuwirth

That is the title of the opera I am to design in the spring. So exciting!!

Here is the only description I can find of the opera:
"It's impossible to summarise the action except to say that bizarre, horrific things happen: lambs and a shepherd get their heads ripped off, animals speak, and one of the main characters is seduced by her husband's brother, Jeremy, who just happens to be half man, half wolf (though which half is which is never made clear). The cast list contains roles for a spider, a bat, a cooked goldfish, the skeleton of a rat, and Henry the Dog. It is a typically surrealist dream world, whose sheer strangeness and compelling dramatic pacing are vividly evoked in Neuwirth's music. Her aural imagination has always seemed exceptional, and here the webs of sound with which she surrounds the voices (which speak as much as they sing conventionally, and are frequently subjected to various electronic enhancements) are compelling. The ensemble writing for 21 players also includes a prominent part for the Theremin, the early electronic instrument, now almost extinct, which was given immortality by the Beach Boys on Good Vibrations. Here its unearthly timbres lend yet more sense of dislocation to many of the textures in the opera."

Here is a clip of the music:

Werewolves

Bianca and her boyfriend, Steve, watched New Moon this evening and I dared to join them. I suggested Rifftrax as exemplified above, but they said no. Unfortunately.

New Moon was significantly better than Twilight, which is saying a lot. I think that the best way to sum up the movie is to quote Steve: "Wait, did she just say, 'I love you, don't make me choose, because it'll always be him'? What a cunt!!"

There it is, ladies and gentlemen. Stephanie Meyer is teaching the next generation of women to find their only worth and value in the love men give them and thereby reverse the advances of 50 years of feminism by making such a disastrous female the heroine of a poorly devised narrative.

Seriously, if more young women out there would read Jane Austen, they might learn a thing or two about life and love before they throw themselves at the first shiny vampire they meet.

Kiss Me, Kate

Diana posted this on facebook and it's so worth sharing on the bloggity mcbloggerton blog. Enjoy!

WHY???

The Section Quartet

I have a new favorite band.



This is The Section Quartet. 2 violins, a viola, and a cello. I discovered them by watching the film Whip It! (which btw is an excellent coming of age story. Ellen Page is fantastic as always). I simply loved the score to the film and was delightfully surprised to discover that it was a group, not just a person. Their album "Fuzzbox" is a compilation of covers of rock bands, to sum up. Hope you enjoy the video.

Penelope

New favorite movie. Stunning visuals. Art direction and costuming was beautiful. It created its own fantasy world for the modern day. Loved it.

The Chain - Ingrid Michaelson

This song is wonderful. I've been listening to it over and over again. It's so beautiful.



The sky looks pissed.
The wind talks back.
The bones are shifting in my skin and you my love are gone.

My room seems wrong.
The bed won't fit.
I can not seem to operate and you my love are gone

(Chorus)
So glide away and so be healed and promise not to promise anymore and if you come around again then I will take, then I will take the chain from off the door

I'll never say, I'll never love
but I don't say a lot of things and you my love are gone

(Chorus X6)

My sheep listen to my voice; they know me and they follow me.

get a clue

Clueless is on TV right now and I feel inspired to post on it.



Clueless is a 1990's modern take on Jane Austen's novel, Emma. Being an avid Jane Austen fan, you would think that upon hearing that Emma was being turned into a story about a snobby girl from Beverly Hills who has a revolving closet and says "like" more an encyclopedia of similes, that I would be completely horrified. Yet, I'm not. In fact, I think that this particular movie adaptation of an Austen novel is probably one of the better ones out there. Why?

What Clueless does that other Jane Austen movie do not always succeed at:

• It does not severely deviate away from the basic plot and characters
• It keeps with the spirit of the story
• It remembers to not take itself too seriously. Jane Austen is FUNNY
• The screenplay is actually well-written
  

I have no idea how accurate this movie is to the experience of a 16-year-old girl from Beverly Hills. To me, this movie seems like an exaggeration of the experience, mostly for humorous purposes. I think the comparison between Cher and Emma works very well though. Emma is a very rich 21-year-old woman who has nothing better to do but meddle in everyone else's business. Similarly, Cher meddles in her friends' and teachers' lives. She is used to getting her way simply because she's got money and cute face, which means people rarely deny her what she wants. Cher and Emma also have a simply character arc where they are humbled by someone pointing out their flaws. That recognition that they aren't perfect and they don't have an answer to everything is what makes their story irresistible, because there are times when you seriously can't stand them at the beginning.

hehehe

Can I just say, that I really like our president? He's so calm with poking fun and making jokes that are not awkward (unlike his VP). It's nice.

peace be with you

Last night I watched a movie on Lifetime (I know Lifetime right?) called Prayers for Bobby. It was based on a real life story about a boy who came out to his family, who were fundamentalist Christian. He eventually killed himself because he couldn't take it anymore. There was a scene in the movie where the mom eventually comes around after his death and she goes to this pastor/reverend at a liberal minded church. She starts crying and blaming herself because she knew now that nothing was wrong with him because God made him that way. And she blames herself and she knows she was the one who killed him. And the priest says that Bobby killed himself, not her. Then he says her:

"God has already forgiven you. When will you forgive yourself?"

It was a powerful moment that came back to me this morning in church while we sang the chorus of this song:

Lift high your chains undone
All rise, exalt the Son
Jesus Christ the Holy One
We lift our eyes to you

My problem is not God and his unapproving gaze resting on this sinner. That is a god of my own making, an unfortunate reflection of my own father. It's my unforgiving self judging all that I have done, all that I have thought, all that I lack. God's love is free.

And with that I will leave you a bit of silliness:

Are YOU ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ??

Is this supposed to be some strange sort of scare tactic into belief and/or evangelism? This is the kind of attitude I grew up with in church. Blech.

Yo Comments Are Whack!

he can't! he mustn't! he SHAN'T!

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there is no hope