I finally bit the bullet and bought a domain name of my very own. Check it out here:
How I use it will probably change over time, but for now it’s a little house for my 2014 movie project. It’s a project not thoroughly defined, other than my goal is to use it as a way to write more. Write more about anything.
Funny how the biggest struggle for a writer is writing anything at all.
So I did something pretty awesome today. But first, a little backstory:
I love bread. I love it more than that green eggs and ham guy loves green eggs and ham. I’d eat it on a train, for sure. Basically I could live off bread and pasta and potatoes and so I have nightmares about Atkins and Paleo diets.
While at lunch today, for the first time in my entire life, I turned down the free bread at the restaurant. No, not my second piece, my first.
I didn’t even regret it very much. I was just all, “no thanks” LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL.
Of course, I was eating pasta for lunch, but it was multi-grain angel hair which barely even counts.
Anyway, I’d like to report back that as of January first, I lost TWO pounds, and my body actually looks significantly trimmer. I mean, this is bra hook moving from the first to the third hook kind of improvement (TMI?). Not to brag or anything. But, BRAG.
And now to celebrate, I’m off to all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ for dinner.
Since it’s so close to the Oscars, I guess I’m trying to get in as many nominees as possible. Watched “Silver Linings Playbook” and even though (because?) the guys I saw it with all call it a chick flick, I think we were all surprised with how good it was.
Saw “Les Mis” – our theater was packed! – and turned into a puddle. Wow. Not sure why everyone says they were underwhelmed. I actually enjoyed it more than the live performance. Is it weird that when Hugh Jackman was carrying around the little girl for like 30 minutes it made me want to have ALL HIS BABIES?
Rented “Pitch Perfect” and liked it (even the boyfriend said it was pretty ok!), though it did seem to have an awful lot of “Bring It On” in its DNA. So not the most original movie of the year, but definitely well executed.
Caught up on “Parks and Recs,” and guys, I think Ben Wyatt single-handedly confirms I’m a geek. I know he’s fictional, but he’s totally my BFF for life.
Also convinced the boyfriend to watch “Wicked” with me for Valentines day!!! I think it playing across the street from where we live helped up the appealing factor. This will be my third time, so someone please stop me if I ask you to see it with me. I think I have a problem.
All in all, not the most life-changing or productive weekend, but it was full of friends and musical theater so no complaints.
Aaron Sorkin and Jeff Daniels keep real news alive.
At some point in my life, probably soon, people will stop asking me, “What you want to do with your life, journalism?” The farther I get from a connection from that world, through jobs or school, the more obvious it is that no, I am not a journalist.
And it’s something that will haunt me forever.
I’m intensely proud that I majored in Literary Journalism, but honestly even at the time I was never really set on the idea of being a literary journalist. I had a love-hate relationship with my classes, and where many of my classmates dreamt of writing for The New Yorker, I was satisfied reading it. However there was something magical about being on the brink of it, of getting those news internships, and having the world of journalism ahead of me. I clung to that “future time when I would be a writer” with as much optimism I could muster, all the while knowing I just didn’t want it enough and that one day the dream would end. It just seemed… hard and tiring. I never wanted a journalist’s life. I just wanted their purpose.
Why must I fall again and again for the dying and extinct arts? It seems that when it comes to rock and roll music and investigative journalism, I’m just a hopeless romantic. I think a lot of it can be attributed to one thing: the niche market. While in some ways a savior from the bland bully of the taste of the masses, some things will be lost along the way as the Internet fragments our popular culture. Will there ever be another Beatles or Elvis? Can you imagine Mumford and Sons permeating our culture in the same way? If anything, the more popular a band or artist is, the more derision they seem to attract (hello, Coldplay – I’m still a fan!).
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Investigative Journalism (Literary Journalism’s more practical sister). Apparently CNN no longer has an investigative journalism team for their news network. I admit, I may be a little late in acknowledging this, since apparently I’m part of the problem and don’t follow it too closely. However, yeah, so… one of our top American news source no longer has a team of investigative journalists. Sorry, I repeated what I just wrote – there’s just no way to make it sound more absurd than it already is.
Yes, my number one news source IS The Daily Show
We’re told people are more into opinionated talking heads on TV, and opinionated bloggers on the web. CNN seems to think we watch the news to hear what people on Twitter are saying than what professional journalist have to report on. They could be right. There’s no reason they shouldn’t try to attract viewers with condescendingly stupid segments. Newspapers were always a business; anyone who claims they exist to serve a civic duty hasn’t gone back in history far enough. I understand that, I just wish it wasn’t so.
But contrary to what everyone says, I don’t think investigative journalism is dead yet. I think saving journalism will be a global effort. Perhaps one day we won’t need to send someone to cover a drug war here or the plight of women there because the journalist will already be living in the country and the Internet will bring the foreign home. The Internet is both a destroyer of attention spans, and a savior of information. It publishes the uncommon to the masses, and I think that as long someone is willing to write about something, there will be someone reading it.
You also can’t discount the other forms of journalism out there. The veterans find success in documentary film making or non-fiction book publishing. If you write it, they will come. Maybe not in droves, but in appreciative niche audiences. Maybe you’ll have to write not to be paid a lot, but to be archived for eternity. Maybe that’s just enough to prevent people from saying journalism is dead.
Spoiler Alert: I watched up to the first episode of Season 3. If you’re behind or don’t watch Downton Abbey, read at your own risk (and reward!).
Downton Abbey’s season 3 premiere beat its season 2 premiere ratings by 98%. It’s PBS’s biggest success in decades (ever?). I decided to jump on the bandwagon before it leaves town.
It’s good, but a couple things that always get to me when I watch Downton Abbey is the lack of three-dimensional characterization and tepid love stories. For a nighttime soap opera, it lacks romance.
Yes, it’s a different time period and a different culture, so I’m not expecting a ton of sexy times or anything, but you can still have a romantic story (Jane Austin, to name the obvious, is an example of that).
“You’re so nice.” “No, YOU’RE so nice!”
Example #1: Bates and Anna are super duper in love because… they’re both nice? (OK, even though one’s a self-righteous maybe-murderer?)
Example #2: Sybil and the chauffer run off together because… they’re both liberals? AND it took her half a season to realize she was in love with him. When she decides she finally is, there’s no real explanation as to why she’s suddenly made up her mind.
Example #3: Mary and Matthew “will never love another as long as the other still walks the earth” because… they’re the main characters? The only reason I give this couple any merit is that the actors have pretty good chemistry together. Other than that, they are incredibly boring together.
I just want… better. Throw a girl a bone, won’t ya? The first time I read Mr. Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice I think I literally screamed from excitement and feelings of pent-up sexual tension. I don’t get any of that vicarious thrill with Downton Abbey. WHERE IS MY VICARIOUS THRILL?
This, of course, goes back to my other point about the lack of character development. I think from DA I’ve discovered a little trick about creating dimensional characters in fiction:
1. If you have to have characters repeatedly spell out the virtues (or vices) of another character, you’re clearly not creating a strong enough character in the first place.
2. If you have characters repeatedly spell out the virtues (or vices) of another character, it’s only interesting IF they are extolling different ones.
I’m kind of dashing, in a dull way. Rawr.
Take Matthew for example. He’s young, handsome, and very honorable. He wants to stay humble despite the fact that he’s going to inherit a fortune. OK, interesting start, but… HE IS VERY, VERY BORING. He’s like Leading Man 1.0, with lots of money but not much personality. People are ALWAYS saying: “Oh Matthew’s great. He’s GREAT! Matthew and Mary are MEANT TO BE.” And I’ll accept your argument, but it doesn’t make for great television.
Now look at Mary. I may be a bit biased because Michelle Dockery (the actress) is, I think, beautiful, but she’s much more interesting to watch. In the first episode I kind of hated her. She was a judgmental bitch to everyone, and seemed very cold hearted. But as the season goes on you see her more as pragmatic, and loving but guarded. It’s so subtle, that you can see why some of the other characters still see her as just a judgmental, uppity bitch. And those haters make it very clear they don’t think very highly of her one bit (DA is nothing if not heavy handed with their messaging).She’s uppity, for sure, but what do you expect from the heiress of Downton Abbey?
So while you have some characters always talking about how much Mary rocks their socks, a lot of other characters are like “UH, SHE MOSTLY SUCKS.” You can see why they would think either way, based on their relationship with her. That’s interesting.
I think one of the reasons it’s so hard to really get under the skin of a lot of these characters is that so much time passes between each episode/season. Can you imagine how much you’ve changed in 5 years? How much your viewpoint changed especially on the brink of adulthood like a lot of these characters? By glossing over so much of their lives, it’s hard to really capture change in character without having them starting to act seemingly out-of-character. I understand the benefits of having a lot of time pass quickly, however it also give the show some of its weaknesses.
I like Downton Abbey a lot, but sometimes to enjoy it I have to accept it’s not necessarily going to tell the story I’d want it to.
I’ve always found the decades-old argument that “The Little Mermaid” is a feminist’s worst nightmare an interesting one. The main argument being: Ariel gives up her voice for a guy and a pair of long legs. It teaches girls that what they have to say doesn’t matter.
It’s one of those sarcastic, cynical synopses that is suppose to make the speaker seem witty and intelligent. Yet I feel like in this case… um, are we watching the same movie?
First of all, the supposedly feminist argument is to me a bit offensive in itself. Ariel is not interested in humans because of one cute guy. The crush pushes her to take action, yes, but that’s the romantic part, okay? Get over it, it’s a movie. It needs a plot.
It’s established in the very first scene that her main objective in life is to explore and learn. She never asks for or demands anything; she pays what she sees as a fair price (without knowing the full price) to achieve her goal. She makes the mistake of taking a short cut, but how many of us haven’t fallen into the trap of an alluring short cut?
By reducing Ariel as a girl with a crush, that person is labeling a woman as the very stereotype they seem to loathe. Don’t dismiss a girl because she’s a little girly. It doesn’t make her dumb or weak. It makes her human.
Or in this case, mermaid.
Anyway, if anything, the older I get the more I appreciate Ariel.
Yes, Ariel is reckless, selfish and entitled. But you can also describe Tom Cruise in “Top Gun” the exact same way, and no one accuses him of ruining the future of America’s little boys do they? The movie is about her paying dearly for those faults, and by the end she experiences something we commonly see in movies: character growth.
Ariel is reckless. But she is also curious, brave, headstrong, and smart. How many other stories are driven by a female protagonist who has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge? How tragic is it that there aren’t more?
She has a passion for learning about humans and actively pursues it despite the fact that everyone, including her loving family, basically tells her not to bother because she has a great voice. Not ONCE in the movie does Ariel show any interest in singing or performing, and so it’s interesting that while everyone in the movie (and for that matter the audience), seems to define her by her voice, Ariel clearly does not.
When Ursula asks for Ariel’s voice she of course hesitates, but it seems mostly out of shock over the strange price. She gives it up pretty quickly, and it’s clear that Ariel’s self-worth is not tied up in what others so often focus on. Sure, you can make the argument that Ariel succeeding without her voice is a metaphor for how unimportant women’s voices are, but they are discounting the fact that she still succeeded.
Eric doesn’t fall in love with Ariel because she has no voice, but in spite of it. Maybe you can judge them for not having the most intellectual conversations, but I like to think he was drawn to her spontaneity and curiosity, her spirit and kindness. Ariel didn’t have a voice, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a personality or opinion. In fact, I really love that when Ursula tells Ariel she has to make Eric fall in love with her, sans voice, Ariel’s basically like “You’re giving me 3 days? Psh, I’ll do it in 2.” That’s self-confidence every girl should have.
Ariel is selfish. But is she? She doesn’t knowingly put her family in danger (again, she was just reckless with dire consequences). She clearly gained the respect and love of Sebatian and Flounder, and I don’t think anyone would say she wouldn’t do for her friends what they did for her. I see her as the type of person that would 100% support whatever her friends or family wanted to pursue. It’s just that this story isn’t about them. It’s about Ariel. She doesn’t think the world revolves around her – it does because this is her movie.
I would even go so far as to say Ariel shows some very selfless traits in the movie. When she flakes out on her sisters in the beginning of the movie because she’s treasure hunting, she expresses that her father and sisters will kill her once she realizes she’s missing the performance. Ariel doesn’t express any sadness about missing the performance herself, and it’s heavily implied that she’s really only doing it because her family wants her to, perhaps because it’s expected of her.
But like I said, is singing even something she cares about at all? Does anyone even ask her if it’s something she wants to do? She may love it, but it really doesn’t seem like she loves it as much as everyone else expects her to. Before Ariel fights with her father, there seems to be very little indication she was ever ill behaved or even very rebellious. Everyone, even Ariel herself, seems to view her as a flighty kind of girl, but she actually demonstrates a lot of determination and grit when she’s able to do what she actually wants to do. Making one mistake does not make a character trait.
Lastly, Ariel’s character traits are very consistent throughout the movie, and to criticize her actions for being unfeminist, you’re basically criticizing her for being herself. You’re the anti-feminist! Ha, just kidding. You’re probably just falling into the trap of thinking that a woman who doesn’t act like how you think she should means she’s doing it wrong. She’s not. No woman is when they’re trying to be the best version of themselves.
Ariel is a take-charge kind of person. She, and this is honestly amazing for a female character, does not just react to the world around her. She is the plot driver. Ariel isn’t just thrown into a situation and must somehow get out of it. She actively shapes her world, and shapes her own destiny.
Most awesomely, she saves Eric. Twice. Does Eric ever seem like some kind of macho man (and with eyes that pretty, how dare you even suggest it) who would be interested in a non-communicative bimbo? Or would he be like: hey, you’re a fucking badass, let’s get married?
As with all movies, it is what you make of it. You can see it as shallow and ill-intentioned. Or you can choose to see the best in it. I personally really like the music, so I think I’ll do the latter.
Today I saw an idea (not sure how long it’s been around?) to do a 2013 memory jar:
Start 2013 off with an empty jar and fill it with notes of good things that happen. On new years eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year.
It’s kind of cheesy but I like the idea, especially since it ties in with my New Year’s resolution to be a better memory-keeper.
I don’t plan to do it or anything, but it has got me thinking… in a melancholy way.
2013 has not started out in the kindest way – professionally or personally. And it’s not like 2012 was exactly a boat load of laughs all the time, although I’d say the latter half was definitely better than the first.
Putting it vaguely, I’m definitely living like a post-recession 24 year old! Hellooooo world, my self-worth is slowly decreasing every day! Something to put into perspective: by 26 I can no longer be covered under my parents health insurance, but at the rate I’m going I won’t have a job long enough or good enough to cover myself. I know a lot can happen in 2 years, especially since a lot sure has happened in the past 2 years, but that’s part of why I feel so worried. Sometimes, it’d be nice to just feel a bit more settled.
[Oh, but then I also made the mistake of watching “This is 40,” which was a nice reminder that even when you do finally have a nice house and a healthy family, life can still suck.]
I think deep inside I want to take my hypothetical memory jar and smash [what I think would be an accurate metaphor for the emptiness I feel inside] it against the wall. But the juicing, or the yoga, or something must be working it’s juju (or maybe I just hate feeling like a victim), because I feel fine.
I mean, I kind of feel like a Bruce Springsteen song most of the time, but that’s normal right?
Um, yeah, that cheered me up. A lot.
Happy (almost) Friday!
UGH. Dieting is the worst. So hungry… so so hungry…
Tonight I made a dinner of baked salmon, brown rice, creamed corn and broccoli, with an apple for dessert.
Now I just want some cake.
Oh, and Happy New Year! I guess.
For our new years resolutions, J and I are going to commit to being healthier. Our approaches are extremely different, but we’re both hoping for the same outcome.
Here’s J’s plan:
1. Cut down on pizza. Load up on Subway.
2. Go to the gym a lot and get super muscle-y.
3. Do this to the extreme for 3+ months. Um, not sure what the plan is after that…
4. By 2014, be James Bond.
Here’s my plan:
1. Add more fruits and veggies to my diet. Use my NEW JUICER (WOOT WOOT) to help me accomplish this.
2. Cook at home more. Less sodium and sugar, more whole grains!
3. Exercise every day (every other day?), alternating between weight lifting and cardio.
4. By 2014, be Wonder Woman.
My plan is clearly the more long-term oriented one, but also the more expensive and time consuming one. WHO WILL COME UP ON TOP?
To help keep me motivated, I loaded my Google Reader up with a few new blogs, including…
You had me at “nerd.”
It’s a fun, uplifting kind of site that takes fitness and health, but not itself, very seriously.
I’m no Rachel Ray. I don’t have a signature meal, I tend to burn recipes and I never remember where anything is at the grocery store since I rarely go.
I’ve never really followed food blogs before, but I’m desperate for healthy, cheap recipes and don’t want to put in a whole lot of effort looking for them. So I’m starting with one of the biggest blogs around, and from there I hope to branch out. It’s a sister site of Apartment Therapy, which lead me to all the current interior design blogs I currently read (and I stopped reading Apartment Therapy – ha) so hopefully the trend will continue
I’m also open to any and all suggestions!
What’s your favorite food/fitness/inspirational/nerdy blog?
all that poetry & all those songs 