It rainy and cold outside. Well, not even really rainy. That half-rain half-drizzle half-fog that makes you think of haunted graveyards and London. I am just plain not feeling very Christmasey and the weather agrees.
I thought my frist Christmas in my own house would be all piney fresh and hokey good times, but I am feeling the financial pinch, and that kinda sucks the cheer right out of the holidays. My job is going well but doesn't pay what my gig back in Waco did, so there is less money in general to go around. Which is not really a problem, but it never fails to dampen my spirits when I can't meander through the stores picking out special little somethings for all the people I care about. Alas. Bah-Humbuggery doesn't suit me.
Hopefully visiting my parents and brother over Christmas will pop me back into my normal Holiday good cheer. Patrick sent me an inspiration video to brighten my outlook, it was pretty well put together, so I post here for your enjoyment.
<3j
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Childhood Dignity Sold Separately
Really toy magnates? Really?
I've been Christmas shopping this week and I am severely more retarded for having shopped for my nieces and nephews. You seriously have to search for a toy that leaves the kids any form of imagination. Books..they are all getting damn books for Christmas.
I've been Christmas shopping this week and I am severely more retarded for having shopped for my nieces and nephews. You seriously have to search for a toy that leaves the kids any form of imagination. Books..they are all getting damn books for Christmas.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Hot Pockets and Social Commentary
Patrick and I recently went to see Jim Gaffigan at the Paramount downtown. We parked at his office and walked the couple blocks down Congress to the theatre. All the trees were wrapped in white Christmas lights, all the galleries were open, and street musicians were out in force. It really made me happy to be living in Austin. We've been so focused on settling in at our jobs and buying the house, we forgot we live in one of the most awesome cities in the country.
The show was great (besides the $10 jack and coke I bought at the bar. Holy Crap!) Jim had an opening act (whose name I promptly forgot) that did quite a few jokes poking fun at religious conservatism. The crowd was a good mix of basically every age and background (like Austin in general) but it seemed like he got a great response from everyone. Jim came on and brought the house down. His timing is spot on and his character voices are hilarious. He also did a little extended take of his Hot Pocket routine from previous specials I've seen on t.v. I (along with everyone else) died laughing. Giggles are pretty infectious when you hear him sing "HoOot POckET!"
Patrick and I went out to eat at a great little Greek restaurant after the show called the Athenian. While we were waiting for our food, we were talking about the show and the crowd's reaction. Some of the opening act guy's jokes poked fun at creationism (which, really, aint that hard) and the conservative's view on education and how our country seemed like the religious backwater of westernized cultures. The crowd really responded to those jokes much more than some of his others. It made me marvel at how people were more apt to accept social commentary about taboo subjects if it was comedy. Its difficult to bring up some of the topics in open conversation that are easily razzed in jokes. I wonder if our easy acceptance of comics poking fun at sensitive subject manner is a move toward popular acceptance that such radical ideals are more often than not, ridiculous.
Of course, this coming from a crowd that rolled when a comic sang the Hot Pocket jingle... it might be a passing fancy.
The show was great (besides the $10 jack and coke I bought at the bar. Holy Crap!) Jim had an opening act (whose name I promptly forgot) that did quite a few jokes poking fun at religious conservatism. The crowd was a good mix of basically every age and background (like Austin in general) but it seemed like he got a great response from everyone. Jim came on and brought the house down. His timing is spot on and his character voices are hilarious. He also did a little extended take of his Hot Pocket routine from previous specials I've seen on t.v. I (along with everyone else) died laughing. Giggles are pretty infectious when you hear him sing "HoOot POckET!"
Patrick and I went out to eat at a great little Greek restaurant after the show called the Athenian. While we were waiting for our food, we were talking about the show and the crowd's reaction. Some of the opening act guy's jokes poked fun at creationism (which, really, aint that hard) and the conservative's view on education and how our country seemed like the religious backwater of westernized cultures. The crowd really responded to those jokes much more than some of his others. It made me marvel at how people were more apt to accept social commentary about taboo subjects if it was comedy. Its difficult to bring up some of the topics in open conversation that are easily razzed in jokes. I wonder if our easy acceptance of comics poking fun at sensitive subject manner is a move toward popular acceptance that such radical ideals are more often than not, ridiculous.
Of course, this coming from a crowd that rolled when a comic sang the Hot Pocket jingle... it might be a passing fancy.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Twilight: The Multimedia Experience
I'll be the first to admit it. I like to read YA (young adult) books (Harry Potter, etc.) because they require little in-depth analysis or rarely provide any 3 dimensional characters that require thought and understanding of the human psyche. But they do have plot twists, easy vocabulary, and occasionally come in series form, which saves me hours on Amazon looking for something else to while away the hours whilst my husband plays video games.
I can usually read this type of book in an afternoon or short weekend. It was in this spirit a couple years ago that I picked up and first read 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer. I actually didn't even realize Twilight was being made into a movie until I stopped by B&N and saw the last book in the series was out. A hyper-excited girl-child gushed details about the upcoming release all the way to the register after she and I reached for the same book, accidentally forming an instant and unshakable literary bond in her mind.
So, for those of you who haven't decided whether to jump into the emo vampire world of Stephanie Meyer quite yet, I decided to write a review of the book, movie (which I recently saw... twice) and the soundtrack. Let me now mention that I am not actually a HUGE fan of the series, but I enjoyed the books and ended up with the full multimedia experience through no fault of my own.
The Twilight series is easily classified as an urban fantasy, seeing as how there are vampires, werewolves, mind readers, etc running amuck. One of the better aspects of SM's series is that these things never really become common-place and give the plot lines a smidgen of realism, which I like. The first books revolves not so much around vampires as the withdrawn heroine, Bella and her head over heels infatuation with a boy she soon finds out is a.. *gasp* well, you know.
The stories in general are seemingly a reflection on teenage love vs. adult love. There are several parallels drawn throughout the series to the doomed pairs in Wuthering Heights and Romeo & Juliet. The author even uses exerpts from HEathcliffe that make him seem vampiric. I was impressed. I didn't really like how Meyer tied up the series with a happy ending and no major death or dismemberment. Vampires + Werewolves should equal some bloody naughtiness. The ending was so anti-climatic I stared blinking and unbelieving at the last pages of "Breaking Dawn" and ended up re-reading them for fear that I'd missed the big ending. But alas, everyone ends blissful and smooching in a meadow. (sorry if i spoiled it for you)
It's an absolutely appropriate story for teenagers or for anyone looking for a book with some interesting characters, some historical scenes - a la Anne Rice back story, some mushy unending infatuation, and of course a happy ending. It reads very fast (one of my favorite things) and easily keeps your attention throughout the series. I've lent Twilight to several people since the 'craze' started only to have them beg the rest of the books days or even hours later. Best of all, the books have all been published, so you don't have to feel stupid waiting for the next installment of a YA vampire novel like an anxious teenager.
Twilight the movie. When I heard the movie was coming out, I wanted to see it. It is one of those inevitable things that if I've read it, I must see how bad they ruin it. Speaking overall, they didn't do too horrible a job. I did enjoy the tortured sanpaku eyes of Rob Pattinson as the lead pale face- he was quite the visually entertaining Mr. Darcy/James Dean hybrid with his stylishly messy hair and worked over American accent. Kristen whatsherface was a little harder to swallow, but the pair had chemistry on camera which made up for some of the high school theatre production over acting. Some scenes were bordering on campy... Edward looking like bad seafood was coming back to haunt him when he meets Bella in class for the first time. (Seriously.. did no one in editing think that was too much?)
The supporting cast was amicable EXCEPT for the kid playing Bella's werewolf friend, Jacob. I know the movie was supposedly low budget (around $30 million) but couldn't they have sprung for a better wig? His "native american" do looks more like dime store dracula with a widow's peak. I hope they fix that casting whoopsie before the sequel.
Anyway, I blackmailed my husband to seeing it with me over Thanksgiving weekend and my Mom tagged along too. They both pronounced it tolerable without ever having even heard of the book, and my husband with the added prejudice of knowing it was a love story about teenage vampires. My sister in law talked me into taking her to see it this past weekend. I didn't enjoy it as much the 2nd time around, as I kept picking out the character flaws in the actors. Also, we saw it on a Friday night (stupid, stupid) and ended up verbally abusing a group of tweens with cell phones and no parental supervision. I did, however, pick out Stephanie Meyer's cameo in the diner the 2nd time around. I also noticed that the soundtrack seemed pretty badass, so I swung by Best Buy and picked that up a few days ago.
Twilight the Soundtrack is great. Muse sings the first track, SM credits them with inspiring a lot of the plot action in the series, so I was glad to see they made the cut. Paramore, Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction fame), and Collective Soul all contribute good tracks. There are a few artists I had never heard of, but that quickly made my playlist. I adore the track Full Moon by the Black Ghosts. There is also a whiny coffee shop tune that I realized from the jacket is actually sung by Rob Pattinson, the lead. Interesting, but easily skipped. The only regret is the Linkin Park track oddly jammed in the middle. Its out of place on an otherwise well put together cd.
So overall, I would give the Twilight Bonanza a B+, mainly for the books and soundtrack. The movie isn't bad, but braving the tween army in the theater definitely lessened the experience for me. (I guess I shouldn't really bitch since that's who she originally penned the series for.)
I do hear that SM is now writing an installment with all the action rehashed from the first 4 books, but from Edward's POV. I read a little of the rough draft off of her website and it seems like an interesting concept. I wouldn't easily give up my cash cow either.
Beware... the film sequel, New Moon, is already in pre-production. So Twilight doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Just go see it. You know it will eventually come up in conversation if you know anyone with a vagina, so you might as well be informed.
<3j
I can usually read this type of book in an afternoon or short weekend. It was in this spirit a couple years ago that I picked up and first read 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer. I actually didn't even realize Twilight was being made into a movie until I stopped by B&N and saw the last book in the series was out. A hyper-excited girl-child gushed details about the upcoming release all the way to the register after she and I reached for the same book, accidentally forming an instant and unshakable literary bond in her mind.
So, for those of you who haven't decided whether to jump into the emo vampire world of Stephanie Meyer quite yet, I decided to write a review of the book, movie (which I recently saw... twice) and the soundtrack. Let me now mention that I am not actually a HUGE fan of the series, but I enjoyed the books and ended up with the full multimedia experience through no fault of my own.
The Twilight series is easily classified as an urban fantasy, seeing as how there are vampires, werewolves, mind readers, etc running amuck. One of the better aspects of SM's series is that these things never really become common-place and give the plot lines a smidgen of realism, which I like. The first books revolves not so much around vampires as the withdrawn heroine, Bella and her head over heels infatuation with a boy she soon finds out is a.. *gasp* well, you know.
The stories in general are seemingly a reflection on teenage love vs. adult love. There are several parallels drawn throughout the series to the doomed pairs in Wuthering Heights and Romeo & Juliet. The author even uses exerpts from HEathcliffe that make him seem vampiric. I was impressed. I didn't really like how Meyer tied up the series with a happy ending and no major death or dismemberment. Vampires + Werewolves should equal some bloody naughtiness. The ending was so anti-climatic I stared blinking and unbelieving at the last pages of "Breaking Dawn" and ended up re-reading them for fear that I'd missed the big ending. But alas, everyone ends blissful and smooching in a meadow. (sorry if i spoiled it for you)
It's an absolutely appropriate story for teenagers or for anyone looking for a book with some interesting characters, some historical scenes - a la Anne Rice back story, some mushy unending infatuation, and of course a happy ending. It reads very fast (one of my favorite things) and easily keeps your attention throughout the series. I've lent Twilight to several people since the 'craze' started only to have them beg the rest of the books days or even hours later. Best of all, the books have all been published, so you don't have to feel stupid waiting for the next installment of a YA vampire novel like an anxious teenager.
Twilight the movie. When I heard the movie was coming out, I wanted to see it. It is one of those inevitable things that if I've read it, I must see how bad they ruin it. Speaking overall, they didn't do too horrible a job. I did enjoy the tortured sanpaku eyes of Rob Pattinson as the lead pale face- he was quite the visually entertaining Mr. Darcy/James Dean hybrid with his stylishly messy hair and worked over American accent. Kristen whatsherface was a little harder to swallow, but the pair had chemistry on camera which made up for some of the high school theatre production over acting. Some scenes were bordering on campy... Edward looking like bad seafood was coming back to haunt him when he meets Bella in class for the first time. (Seriously.. did no one in editing think that was too much?)
The supporting cast was amicable EXCEPT for the kid playing Bella's werewolf friend, Jacob. I know the movie was supposedly low budget (around $30 million) but couldn't they have sprung for a better wig? His "native american" do looks more like dime store dracula with a widow's peak. I hope they fix that casting whoopsie before the sequel.
Anyway, I blackmailed my husband to seeing it with me over Thanksgiving weekend and my Mom tagged along too. They both pronounced it tolerable without ever having even heard of the book, and my husband with the added prejudice of knowing it was a love story about teenage vampires. My sister in law talked me into taking her to see it this past weekend. I didn't enjoy it as much the 2nd time around, as I kept picking out the character flaws in the actors. Also, we saw it on a Friday night (stupid, stupid) and ended up verbally abusing a group of tweens with cell phones and no parental supervision. I did, however, pick out Stephanie Meyer's cameo in the diner the 2nd time around. I also noticed that the soundtrack seemed pretty badass, so I swung by Best Buy and picked that up a few days ago.
Twilight the Soundtrack is great. Muse sings the first track, SM credits them with inspiring a lot of the plot action in the series, so I was glad to see they made the cut. Paramore, Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction fame), and Collective Soul all contribute good tracks. There are a few artists I had never heard of, but that quickly made my playlist. I adore the track Full Moon by the Black Ghosts. There is also a whiny coffee shop tune that I realized from the jacket is actually sung by Rob Pattinson, the lead. Interesting, but easily skipped. The only regret is the Linkin Park track oddly jammed in the middle. Its out of place on an otherwise well put together cd.
So overall, I would give the Twilight Bonanza a B+, mainly for the books and soundtrack. The movie isn't bad, but braving the tween army in the theater definitely lessened the experience for me. (I guess I shouldn't really bitch since that's who she originally penned the series for.)
I do hear that SM is now writing an installment with all the action rehashed from the first 4 books, but from Edward's POV. I read a little of the rough draft off of her website and it seems like an interesting concept. I wouldn't easily give up my cash cow either.
Beware... the film sequel, New Moon, is already in pre-production. So Twilight doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Just go see it. You know it will eventually come up in conversation if you know anyone with a vagina, so you might as well be informed.
<3j
7 Deadly Sins of Netflix
Recently, I had a revelation of biblical proportions, while perusing my Netflix queue, that I found profound enough to spend my lunch break writing about.
I am pretty lazy.
And by lazy I mean: as a law abiding and self-entitling American of moderate means, I expect the things I desire delivered at my convenience with little or no effort on my part.
Netflix plays into this role perfectly. I can spend 15 minutes adding movies to a list while sitting on my derriere and they magically appear a few days later, in happy red packaging. I don't really even have to know which movies I like anymore because Netflix suggests movie choices based on what I've already seen, thereby ensuring I don't have to watch anything unusual or out of the norm of my safe little viewing world.
So while adding movies to my queue this past weekend, Netflix prompted me to add "Seven", a crime drama starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Although I actually own this particular film in DVD form, I added it to my queue so I wouldn't have to dig through my boxes of unpacked DVDs looking for it if I so desired to see Brad hollering "What's in the box?!!" at the superior acting intelligence that is Kevin Spacey.
And then my revelation.
I am pretty lazy. As represented in the film by the dude tied to the bed with all the piney freshness dangling around him, I have become quite slothful about my movie watching experience. I refuse to actually GO to a theater after 6pm for fear that I will end up destroying the youth of some tween babbling thru my $10.00s of entertainment.
SO I began ticking off the cardinal no-no's I have been so naively led into committing by Netflix and realized...
1. Sloth - totally
2. Lust - Soft core porn easily available with no age restrictions
3. Gluttony - Making your queue so extensive, you could never actually watch all those damn movies.
4. Greed - Ordering 3 movies at a time that you know you will not watch for at least a month anyway
5. Wrath - bitching out Netflix when they skip over the new releases to send you stuff further down your queue
6. Envy - Jealous of the bitches who got your new releases first.
7. Pride - Showing off your extensive queue to visitors to see if they have respect for your awesome taste in film.
In conclusion...
Netflix is the devil!
You're Welcome.
I am pretty lazy.
And by lazy I mean: as a law abiding and self-entitling American of moderate means, I expect the things I desire delivered at my convenience with little or no effort on my part.
Netflix plays into this role perfectly. I can spend 15 minutes adding movies to a list while sitting on my derriere and they magically appear a few days later, in happy red packaging. I don't really even have to know which movies I like anymore because Netflix suggests movie choices based on what I've already seen, thereby ensuring I don't have to watch anything unusual or out of the norm of my safe little viewing world.
So while adding movies to my queue this past weekend, Netflix prompted me to add "Seven", a crime drama starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Although I actually own this particular film in DVD form, I added it to my queue so I wouldn't have to dig through my boxes of unpacked DVDs looking for it if I so desired to see Brad hollering "What's in the box?!!" at the superior acting intelligence that is Kevin Spacey.
And then my revelation.
I am pretty lazy. As represented in the film by the dude tied to the bed with all the piney freshness dangling around him, I have become quite slothful about my movie watching experience. I refuse to actually GO to a theater after 6pm for fear that I will end up destroying the youth of some tween babbling thru my $10.00s of entertainment.
SO I began ticking off the cardinal no-no's I have been so naively led into committing by Netflix and realized...
1. Sloth - totally
2. Lust - Soft core porn easily available with no age restrictions
3. Gluttony - Making your queue so extensive, you could never actually watch all those damn movies.
4. Greed - Ordering 3 movies at a time that you know you will not watch for at least a month anyway
5. Wrath - bitching out Netflix when they skip over the new releases to send you stuff further down your queue
6. Envy - Jealous of the bitches who got your new releases first.
7. Pride - Showing off your extensive queue to visitors to see if they have respect for your awesome taste in film.
In conclusion...
Netflix is the devil!
You're Welcome.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Mellow Manifesto
I am a big proponent of playlists. I have not joined the i-things craze, but I drift aimlessly about the interwebs searching out music that puts me in a particular mood.
Being part Irish and related to my father, I tend to be slightly temperamental. It helps to have a few tunes handy to soothe the savage, as it were. I felt like posting some of my therapy songs to see if it can't help cure some of the world's wrongs. (you'll have to click the pop out player since blogspot hates me.)
From Jenny to Angry People with Love. <3
data="http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/config/config_black.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/loadplaylist.php?playlist=25488894">
value="http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/config/config_black.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/loadplaylist.php?playlist=25488894">
Being part Irish and related to my father, I tend to be slightly temperamental. It helps to have a few tunes handy to soothe the savage, as it were. I felt like posting some of my therapy songs to see if it can't help cure some of the world's wrongs. (you'll have to click the pop out player since blogspot hates me.)
From Jenny to Angry People with Love. <3
data="http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/config/config_black.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/loadplaylist.php?playlist=25488894">
value="http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/mc/config/config_black.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.greatprofilemusic.com/loadplaylist.php?playlist=25488894">
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