Movie Madness .2

On The Oscars:

BOOM, Nat Portman with that Best Actress, hellz yeah. Knew she had it coming. You go girl.


That aside, I have some qualms with a couple of the nominees. I don't particularly agree with all the nominations The Social Network got. Sure, it was a great movie and fairly insightful, but at the core it's a dramatization of a series of events. I don't think it was deserving of Best Picture nomination. And as for Jesse Eisenberg getting nominated for Best Actor, I don't quite agree with that either. All it took was his playing a pretty douche-y character, and was Mark Zuckerberg even that big of a prick? I don't think it takes too much skill to act douche-y. Overall, The Social Network was an excellent film, but I don't think it's deserving of all the Oscar nominations its received. But if anything, I would agree that Trent Reznor is deserving of Best Original Score for this film. Props to him.
Then...there's Inception. I liked the movie. It's great. It's a spectacle. It makes you think. But all the hype about it still just seems...overrated, again, like The Social Network. Ooh, let's make the entire street/this half of the city turn on its side. Let's make the hallway spin around! I don't know, it seems like everyone made a big fuss over it. I just wasn't that impressed, I guess.

Moving right along.



Thank You for Smoking (2005)
I think I'm starting to get an Aaron Eckhart fever going on (Rabbit Hole, anyone?) [WHICH I STILL HAVEN'T SEEN, DAMNIT].) Eckhart's just such a smooth talker in Smoking, it's great. He's got the persona, the charm, the wit. Everything about his character in this movie is so awesome. I think starting into the movie, I had the idea it would be some farce/commentary on smoking and the tobacco industry, and while those issues do provide the setting for the story, the film as a whole is more about this man and how he's managed to get by in life because of his charisma. Really interesting and entertaining film.

Hard Candy (2005)
Ellen Page: WHAT THE FUCK. Girl you are SERIOUSLY creepy in this movie. And here I was thinking you're some odd kind of cute, what with Juno and Whip It. Then we get a taste of a more mature you in Inception, but now I watch this movie of your younger self and all I can think is WHAT THE FUCK.
Basically, this movie is creepy. Not in a scary, horror way, nor in the little-girl-is-odd-murderous kind of way (ok maybe the latter is somewhat true.) Creepy in the way that makes you wonder why the hell is this girl doing the things she does? How can this 14 year old girl be so mature that she outwits and overpowers a much older man? Psychological Thriller indeed. Holy damn.
Ok I'll say the movie is...good. It's good in that it's rather shocking and messes with your mind, somewhat, but golly, Ellen Page's character. Whoa girl. Whoa.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY SISTER

YOU'RE ONLY TURNING 19 AND THAT'S KINDA BORING AND NOT VERY EXCITING BECAUSE WELL GEEZ WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE 19 YEARS OLD EXCEPT ALL THE STUFF YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO DO SINCE YOU TURNED 18

BUT THAT'S OK

BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO SAY OTHERWISE I'LL PERSONALLY MAKE THEM TASTE THE DELICIOUS CONCRETE SIDEWALK AND BESIDES IF YOU THINK 19 IS BORING THEN WAIT UNTIL YOU TURN I DUNNO 22 BECAUSE FUCK, IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM THERE (OR SO I'VE HEARD) AMIRITE? 

SO YEAH HAVE SUPER FRICKIN' AWESOME BIRTHDAY.

I'D USE THE FOLLOWING SPACE TO LINK TO AN AWESOME KICK ASS BIRTHDAY SONG EXCEPT BIRTHDAY SONGS KINDA SUCK AND WOULDN'T DO JUSTICE TO YOUR AWESOMENESS SO INSTEAD I'M GONNA PICK THIS SONG BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO IT, IT REMINDS ME OF YOU AND IT SHOULD PROBABLY BE YOUR THEME SONG HELLZ YA. 

고마워, 누나.

Nothing like a good talkin' to with older cuz to keep me going. 

On a side note, painting is surprisingly calming. For the most part.

You're tearing me apart, Lisa!

So. I can only describe The Room as something you MUST experience at some point in your life. It's hilarious. The best, worst movie ever. A movie so bad, that's it's so awesome. Preferably, find a local cinema that screens it, because this film is best enjoyed with friends, in a crowd. Trust me on this. Fortunately for me, the indie theatre here in Athens screens The Room once a month. I'm certainly going to be attending again.

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On a suspiciously-gay note, I absolutely LOVE this Dove Men+Care: Extra Fresh bar soap. It's so good. Normally I don't use bar soaps, but hot damn, this is great shit. I decided to give it try as I'd been using the bottle version of the Dove Men+Care deep clean. I've concluded that the Extra Fresh bar soap is fantastic because not only is it more cost efficient than the bottle version (2 soap bars for almost the same price) and it feels better to use compared to Deep Clean, but when the bar is left to sit in my shower, it also freshens up my entire bathroom with its nice, clean scent! Score.

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I like stumblingupon these words that other languages have but do not exist in the English language (English is dumb anyways.)

Gheegle: (Filipino) The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute.

Cualacino: (Italian) The mark left on a table by a cold glass.

Sgriob: (Gaelic) The itchiness that overcomes the upper lip just before taking a sip of whisky

L’esprit de escalier: (French) The feeling you get after leaving a conversation, when you think of all the things you should have said. Translated it means “the spirit of the staircase.”

Pari-pari and Saku-saku: (Japanese) Hard-crispy verses Soft-crispy, i.e. a rice cracker versus fried chicken

Stam: (Hebrew) An agreement out of amusement and frustration that something doesn’t have a satisfactory answer among those talking.

Forelsket: (Norwegian) The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love.

Pena ajena: (Mexican Spanish) The embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation.

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One day, during a rehearsal for Seussical in my freshman year, I overheard a conversation and a guy was talking about his underclassmen years (yeah I people-watch and eavesdrop, wanna fight about it?). I recall how he described he could just feel himself being molded, his being and ideas shifting and morphing. Kinda trippy, but at the time it made me wonder what I was doing to expand my own values and knowledge, my character in general. At the time, I couldn't recognize any sort of self-transformation. At the time, I was scared that I was missing out on something.

But now, I think I can sense that very something. This entire year so far has been a rather molding experience (wait, that sounds like fungal growth, but it's not, I swear). A lot of things have changed, and will continue to change in times to come. However, I feel like only in the recent month or two have I begun adapting accordingly. It's a surreal feeling, and I can only wait and see what the outcome will be. It might've taken two years, but hey, better late than never, right? It's rather enthralling, really. 

Whip it good

Just watched Whip It (yeah so I'm behind the times so what wanna fight about it?) and I have to say, Ellen Page is just such a darling in this movie. That's all that comes to mind if I had to describe her performance/character. And I kinda thought Drew Barrymore would have a bigger role, but then again, she directed it so I imagine must of her time must've been spent behind the camera. Also, Landon Pigg's the band-singer-boyfriend? No wonder he could sing. Kind of.

BABE RUTHLESS, BITCH. 

Then last week, I watched Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds. He wakes up and discovers he's been buried alive and has only a cell phone and a lighter to figure out where he is and get rescued. The entire movie is only him in the coffin. Remember the scene in Kill Bill II where The Bride is buried alive and you see her trying to figure out how to free herself? Now imagine instead of Uma Thurman it's Ryan Reynolds for 90 mins without flashbacks. Yeah. The movie was pretty suspenseful though, not gonna lie. The ending pissed me off though. Geez. 

And later tonight: THE ROOM. Oh yeah, I'm excited. 

I really need to know

From Crimes of the Heart, by Beth Henley:

CHICK: They say each cigarette is just a little stick of cancer. A little death stick.
MEG: That's what I like about it, Chick - taking a drag off of death. Mmm! Gives me a sense of controlling my own destiny. What power! What exhilaration! Want a drag?

Oh yeah.

------



At the moment, I'd say things are...progressing neutrally. If that makes sense.




But in the meantime:



You feel so good, you make me stutter. 

THIS IS FULL OF SO MUCH "AWWW"

SERIOUSLY. THE AWW-NESS CANNOT BE DESCRIBED.


Signs
Uploaded by Xeryoxys. - Independent web videos.



...ok fine, call me lame and cheesy. But goddamnit, I like this short film.

Valentine's Day-ish? Hah.

Magnetized

This is the song I wrote and auditioned with for Kollaboration: ATL.

So, all the stuff I record is done using Garageband on my macbook pro. The audio interface I use is a Presonus Firewire Studio mobile. This particular song was recorded in one take, and was accomplishable by using a Digitech JamMan Solo loopstation. My melodica is a Hohner 32 Key Student (or whatever the proper model name is). Personally, I think the Japanese instruments are better (Yamaha, Suzuki). I've played around on a Yamaha and the build quality is just better overall. Oh well, whatever works right?

As for video...I've been using the built-in webcam on my computer, hah. At the moment, good audio > good video with what I can spend, I suppose.

I actually first started writing this song back in freshman year. I'd had some verses scribbled down but nothing quite so song-coherent-ish. Fast forward to now-ish, and I decided auditioning for Kollaboration would be a good motivator for me to finish the song, sooooo yeah.

Well. I think this has been a Friday night, well-spent.

Oh yeah, lyrics, if anyone cares:

Magnetized

One day I’m walking down this lonely street

Who should I meet

Still it’s such a lovely surprise

‘cause though I keep my life left up to chance

I pray for a passing glance

And suddenly I catch your eye

Oh, it’s a strange attraction

I’ve got you in my sights

I don’t wanna pull away

Oh, no hesitation

No doubt in my mind –

I think our eyes are magnetized

We’re talking away and I can’t help but smile

I hope this lasts awhile

My feelings are ignited

I’m really thrilled you thought to consider,

My invitation to dinner,

Makes me so excited

And oh, it’s a strange attraction

A playful touch

Pulls us into the alleyway

And Oh, no hesitation

No doubt in my mind

I think our lips are magnetized

The evening’s over but the night’s about to start

I’ve got to still my beating heart

‘Cause girl you  make me so glad

You’ve got me held in

A spell of anticipation

You’ve been running through my mind

Doing things so bad

And oh, it’s a strange attraction

We’re in each others arms

And never want to pull away

Oh, no hesitation

No doubt in my mind

I think our bodies are magnetized

like whispering, you know me.

Man, I really love this song.

It's starts out simply, but then it grows and builds, adding more sounds, vocals, and the emotion just soars right off of his voice. So incredible.

Listening to this makes me wish I could slow dance. But I don't think kids slow dance anymore these days.




You're the one I want, 
to see me, 
for all the stupid shit I've done. 

Havin' a Hunch

A ooh, wah, ooh ah. 

^(Seussical the Musical anyone? No? I would've linked to a song except there aren't any great videos of it. Sad days.)

So I watched Hunchback of Notre Dame, (Disney movie) just for the sake of watching a movie I enjoyed when I was younger. And it's still quite entertaining. I got a craving to watch it after browsing dA and looked at some images someone did of the film, was linked over to the scene where Frollo is bemoaning and groaning over his lust for Esmeralda, and I just thought "man, I really want to watch this movie again." Luckily enough, a classmate had a copy and loaned it to me. Craving: curbed. 

Then I decided to watch the Making-Of for this film, which was pretty entertaining in and of itself. It got to a part where they're showing some clips when they were recording the voice work and I thought "Damn, it would be really cool to work the sound for a film like that." Or just films in general. 

That notion prompted me to embark on a semi-brief flurry of research into what I've discovered is called Post Production Sound Editing. Basically if there's something that needs to have sound added or edited, usually for television or film or even radio, it'll go to these separate studios where all the sound work takes place. Fixes echoes, shuts out unwanted background noise, trims sound clips, or even add certain effects that enhance the sounds for the audience. And those people who do all that include sound editors, re-recording mixers, sound designers, audio/sound engineers, and Foley artists. (<--really. really. cool. )

It'd be really interesting to work in that field. It's a pretty small niche in the industry though. Hmm...

I've grown more and more disappointed with the plot in Glee. The conflicts seem extremely petty compared to season 1. All this relationship drama among the characters. So juvenile. Also: WHAT THE FUCK. BIEBER MUSIC FEATURED IN NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE? This is just insanity. Is Fox trying to cancel Glee? They're jumping the shark, I swear. Lady Gaga was ok I guess, but Bieber? Hell. No. I can't believe it. I seriously just cannot believe it. There's plenty of GOOD music out there to choose from, and whoever's behind song selection chose. freaking. Bieber. God. I want to hire a midget/small person to package him into a box. And I'll mail that box to the guy responsible for the song selection. He'll open the box, and the little person will pop out and deliver a swift, powerful punch to the guy's balls. Maybe two punches, for good measure. 

Lately, my taste in music has been gravitating towards...airy, eerie, female vocalists? Female vocalists in general, not necessarily dependent on singing style and genre? 

[Note: below songs are headphone-wearing recommended. No crappy laptop speakers for these ladies.]

Emily Wells is just incredible. Her main instrument is violin, but she plays so many others. One video is of her performing one of her songs, all by herself, using a loop station and just laying down track after track of melody and vocals. Hardcore. So far I've only listened to her Symphonies album, and by god, it is awesome stuff. This is my favorite song, with probably Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well and the Requiem Mix being my next favorite from the album. 

Then there's Elsiane. I'm not sure what it is about her voice. It's unlike anything I usually listen to. Maybe it's just her vocals combined with the very relaxing, groovy beats and haunting melodies filling in the spaces. So easing, mellow, smooth. I just want to sit in a big, comfy chair with a drink and a smoke, close my eyes, and listen to this song. 

I love the feel to this song, by Koop. It's definitely haunting, a little sad, but I can just feel emotion dripping off of the voice. The instrumental track seems quite simple, but maybe that's what makes this song special. It gives me the chills sometimes. So, so good. 

Ok, this one I know because of Scott Pilgrim, but so what. This band/duo kicks ass. I'm getting into their other work as well, besides the one featured in the movie. But seriously, how wild is Blood Red Shoes? They're a two-member band, and they rock! One guitarist and a drummer. Laura Mary-Carter on guitar: pretty hot. Girls who can play guitar are hot, but girls who rock an electric are even hotter. Man. I think it's the fact that in this video she's still wearing a dress but playing like it's nobody's business. I also find this music video to be quite amusing. I'm not sure why. 

C'est la Vie

So after a full day of nail-biting suspense, I found out I did not get selected to compete in Kollaboration: Atlanta. Sad days. I did notice there seems to be quite a number of bands this year. Only one soloist of any kind. Interesting. Well, good luck to those that did get selected.

I'll admit I'm pretty bummed. But I'm not entirely forlorn or anything. I'm not discouraged to stop playing. In fact it kinda makes me want to play more.

I'm kinda going through something at the moment where I'm debating my choices in terms of future occupations and whatnot. Seems like an annual thing. We welcome you to the 3 Annual Question-Your-Future-Plans Event Extravaganza! But yeah. I'm at least lucky that now my conscious is almost completely cleared at the moment, except for this pesky matter.

It's just that I have absolutely zero motivation to go into medicine, other than family pressure and money, and both of those are completely wrong reasons to do so.

I feel like I need to associate myself with like-minded people here at college. But when I'm working in groups for my science classes/have to converse with other science majors/pre-med kids, I just don't feel like I fit in. Whereas sitting in my theatre classes and working with those students makes me really feel at ease. Even writing these songs, recording them, and making these videos feels really good.

I feel hypocritical, that I can't devote myself to either theatre or pre-med. Several nights ago I laid in bed realizing college is devastatingly un-exciting to me. And I got worried that I might be missing out on something, but I'm just too damn scared to try new things because I think I have to study all the time, but then I end up not-studying so much because I'm stressing about how much this all sucks so I'm just unproductive in every single aspect when I in fact could be working on a new song or writing a play/screenplay or going over lines for my scenes or trying new things in general (like what exactly fuck if I know but it's out there).

My dream is that I want to make in impact in the world, somewhere, be it community, city, state, nation, or world. And I want to do so through music or writing or both.

Then...what am I supposed to do?




Also, my sister is just too kind. Mucho love, sis.

And we have lift off.

It is unfathomably difficult to forgive, I realize. But once you do, oh such a burden is removed. My heart is so much lighter.

And now I can honestly, truly start moving forward, in all aspects.

5.

View from Heaven, by Yellowcard.

Acoustic cover by me.



I remember I thought alot about this song back then. Doing this song now certainly does not reflect my current feelings on the matter, but I just thought I'd be a nice song to do. Yeah.

And I have to wonder, what does it all mean to me? Why do I take the time to reflect, each year? All I ever do differently on this day in terms of routine is throw on a necktie, dress a little spiffier overall, and maybe write something. I don't want to say I'm commemorating. But I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. Am I afraid to forget?

I insist on dodging the inevitable question I get from people who don't know what's up, when the remark "Oh you look nice today, what for?" Or some variation of the question. I always reply, "Oh...I just felt like it. No reason." But then that means I've lied. And by lying, does that mean I'm ashamed, or something? I'm embarrassed that I take the time to remember someone?

Well shit, it could just be personal. I was pretty affected, so for people who don't know me that well, I just don't feel like opening up about it. I usually don't open up to people around here in general anyways.

Why do I feel somewhat self-conscious about this, then. I was thinking last night and realized that one day I'll probably have a lapse in memory and forget about today. And the only times I'll remember it is if someone brings up suicide and I may or may not comment, "I knew someone who committed suicide while I was in high school." And will I then reflect, at that very moment? Feel bad I've forgotten?

I was never really connected to Ashleigh or knew her that well personally. Maybe it has to do with how this was the first time I've had to deal with suicide, personally, because well, she used to babysit us and all. So she's kinda like an older sister? But not really?

I think too much. But despite all my thoughts...

Ashleigh Webster

Always remembered

Always loved

Chance-->0

It's like getting punched in the stomach, twice. 

Ah well. Such is life. And life is unfair. 

So very unfair. Silly me.