A late notice.

Dear dedicated readers of my blog (yes, all two of you),
Unfortunately my computer decided to die on me (what?! twice within a year and a half?! yeah, i know.) so I have not had a computer for almost a month. Or over a month. I'm not sure. Regardless, that is why I have stopped blogging.

However, in the interim, I have been journaling by hand. My initial plan was to eventually upload these handwritten entries to my blog, but the nature of writing by hand is so different from writing online that I fear my entries have become too weird/personal, so I don't know how many I'll actually post. But you've got that to look forward to, that is if you look forward to reading my posts (<3 Samuel <3).

At first when I lost my computer I would get really moody and weird at times... like technology withdrawal, or something. But now I don't even want my computer back. Computers are a barrier between people of our generation and reality, Facebook is super lame, email is for suckers. FUCK YOU, STUDENT TALK.

Well well well, can I update you on? I've decided to study abroad next semester at the University of Essex in Colchester, England. They've got a lot of film classes, so that should be neato! I still have to start the application though, which is due later this month... but I have the utmost confidence that I WILL GET THAT APPLICATION COMPLETED AND TURNED IN ON TIME!

(I should probably be working on that rather than blogging but... sacrifices must be made).

Also, I successfully dressed as Daria for Halloween.

Please watch Swimming to Cambodia.

I've seen some more bands recently as well... better keep up that list...
Octopus Project
Starfucker
Sufjan Stevens
Owen Pallett

and maybe Young the Giant tomorrow. But probably not.


I'm getting ready to pick my classes for next semester and I think I've decided on the following:
Special Topics in Music: Film Music
Rock and Roll Writing
Music in Western Civilization
Elementary Astronomy
Applied Keyboard Studies

NEAT.

Uhh... not too much else going on... Thanksgiving soon, that'll be exciting...

MMK I'll try to update more (or maybe get my computer fixed... maybe).



That is all.



CURRENTLY READING: Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film by Peter Biskind
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: The Blues are Still Blue by Belle and Sebastian (The Life Pursuit)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Swimming to Cambodia (1987, dir. Jonathan Demme)

An oath.

I was thinking about how absurd it is that we pose for pictures. I mean, in the way we do. Everyone huddles together and smiles, for the most part, and it's like. When you look back, you're still going to know if that was a fake smile. Remember school pictures in elementary school? And the vision and hearing tests? That was fun.

From now on I am not going to smile in pictures. Even if I'm having the time of my life.

My birthday is in two days!

I like to write on these what I'm currently reading/listening to/watching, because i feel like it keeps me reading/listening/watching more. And I should be doing more of all of those things, in addition to writing more, which is kind of what the blog's for.

No word of the day because I hate smiling in pictures.



That is all.

CURRENTLY READING: The Story of Pygmalian and the Statue by Ovid
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Weird Science by Oingo Boingo (Dead Man's Party)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: My So-Called Life, season 1

A musical.

There are some really simple things that make me happy for no reason. I think everybody has those things. I love the word "paranoid," just looking at it typed on my screen is good enough. I also have this little spot on my pillowcase where i must have put it in some bleach, and it's this little brownish pinkish dot, this little imperfection. Maybe I like it because it distinguishes my pillowcase from all the other ones that sat on the shelf next to it.

I still have to watch the Music Man, it is making me UNhappy. It's just not that interesting for long periods of time. I'm noticing some cool things in it though. There's a lot of sing-talking, like when people talk to a beat, or sing to some diegetic music; they aren't singing a melody really, it really more like talking. And there is almost always background music (diegetic or not) playing. It's pretty cool, actually. Creative. It's almost operatic in a way. Start this video at about one minute in if you want to see what I mean.



This weekend I have to edit my first video for my production class. I think it's going to be fun but I also can kind of tell that it has the potential to be incredibly frustrating and ultimately disappointing. BUT. I'm keeping optimistic.

confiscable
liable to be taken by an authorized party.

That's a pretty good word. Like a contraband, right? I think so. I'm trying to use the word confiscable to bring up some sort of memory but I can't, and I should take a shower instead anyway. I always have good ideas in the shower so maybe I'll think of something in there and tell you aaaaall about it tomorrow. (Also, it's funny that blogspot doesn't recognize confiscable as a word).

It's also been hard to read in my room today because I can hear other people talking really clearly. I don't know where they are but somehow their voices must be echoing in such a way that it sounds like they are speaking into a megaphone directed toward my open window. I know at least one of the people talking (I can recognize one, anyway), and it's hard not to eavesdrop.


That is all.

CURRENTLY READING: "Video: The Aesthetics of Narcissism" by Rosalind Krauss
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Vivrant Thing by A Tribe Called Quest (The Anthology)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Thirteen (2003, dir. Catherine Hardwicke)

A memory.

I let myself get away with not posting an update yesterday because, technically, my last update WAS yesterday at 1am... either way, I'm missing one.

Funny story... Today in my video class each student was required to bring in an external hard drive, onto which we had to copy 50 video clips. We were supposed to rename our drive, and I suggested that the girl next to me name hers Melora and I named mine Shirley. The video clips were taking forever to load onto the drives, so two people uploaded them and the rest of us daisy-chained to share with the rest of the class. I got the videos, and gave my drive to another girl in the class so she could upload them to hers. When she was done, she turned around, gave me back my hard drive, and said "Thanks, Shirley." Because she (understandably) thought that was my name. Maybe that story isn't as funny as I thought it was. Oh well.

I read an article earlier today about Ernest Withers , an African American photographer whose work documented the civil rights movement. It was recently discovered that he was also a paid FBI informant, putting a blemish on his reputation. The article mentioned other artists whose work belied their personal morals or activities (T.S. Eliot's anti-Semitism, Picasso's misogyny), but the point was, should we judge an artist's work based on their art alone? Should their personal lives have an impact on how we view them? Randy Kennedy, the author, seemed to think not, and I tend to agree. But it is an interesting question. I also think that Withers is different from Kennedy's other examples in that he took advantage of his position as a photographer to gain information (allegedly), and that his behavior seems to contradict the messages he supported through his art.

Art and issues around art are especially of interest to me lately. I am not sure why. I guess I'm taking basically all arts-y classes this semester.

Speaking of classes, I should mention that while the norm is to take four classes I am only in three: Fundamentals of Music, Intro to Video, and Musical Theater in America (also, cello lessons, but that's only half a credit, and it's not really a class...). I should also note that I have to write papers for zero of my classes which is why I have been adamant about blogging recently.

But enough of that. On to our word of the day...

efface
to cause to disappear by rubbing out, striking out, etc.


I admit that I have not been the best about actually using my "word of the day" in real life, but I think this one is going to be especially hard to squeeze in today.

The word "efface" makes me think of...
This one time in second grade. My teacher was Ms Ketcham. She sucked.
Anyway, one day I was waiting in line for something, I don't remember, but I had to sit at a table with the pencil boxes, and I wrote PENCILS (in pencil) on the plastic lid of the box.
After recess Ms Ketcham gave us a very serious talk about how somebody destroyed her property by writing on it or some bullshit like that. And, after making a big deal out of how wrong and bad it was, she urged whoever it was to confess. So obviously I wasn't going to confess to her; when I was in second grade (read: even now) I was truly intimidated by teachers and people in charge and couldn't stick up for myself. But when I got home that day I told my mom what happened and the next thing I know we're having a "parent-teacher conference." It was all very serious until Ms Ketcham showed my mom exactly what I had done to deface her beloved property. "This is it?" my mom asked. She took the plastic lid of the box, licked her thumb, and effaced the word PENCILS from the lid of the pencil box.

My mom is a really awesome woman and I think she deserves an entry all to herself, but that is for another time.



That is all.


CURRENTLY READING: "Life In The Way Of Art" by Randy Kennedy from Sunday's New York Times
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Postcards from Italy by Beirut (Gulag Orkestar)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: The Music Man (1962, dir. Morton DaCosta)

A list.

Today I went to the Epicenter 2010 show and I had the best time EVER seeing Blink 182 and Bad Religion (also, Rise Against, 30 Seconds to Mars, but whatever.)
Anyway, I realized how many shows I've been to and I thought it might be a good idea to start making a list right now, even though there are definitely bands/artists I will forget.
So, (in no particular order except how they come to mind):

Blink 182
Bad Religion
Rise Against
30 Seconds to Mars
The Matches (more than any other band, around 7x!)
Laura Veirs (2x)
Minus the Bear (2x)
Snoop Dogg
A Tribe Called Quest
Wu Tang Clan (plus Method and Red a separate time)
Rakim
KRS one
Murs and 9th Wonder
Immortal Technique (2x... ugh)
Brother Ali
Jedi Mind Tricks
Hieroglyphics (del!)
Bad Brains
Slipknot
Cypress Hill
Sublime (sans Bradley)
Geto Boys
Pennywise
Pixies
Buzzcocks
Dead Man's Bones
Man Man
!!! Chk Chk Chk
The White Stripes
Jimmy Eat World
Motion City Soundtrack
Green Day
Paul Simon
Brian Wilson
Hall and Oates (2x)
The Turtles
The Lovin' Spoonful
Of Montreal
MGMT
Sam Roberts
Ben Kweller
Sufjan Stevens (about to be 2x!)
The Decemberists
The Shins (2x)
Viva Voce
Belle and Sebastian
Imogen Heap
Rogue Wave (2x)
Death Cab for Cutie (2x)
Plain White T's
Roses Are Red
This Day and Age
A Thorn for Every Heart
Aquabats
Backstreet Boys
NSync
Britney Spears
Mandy Moore
Gwar
Steve Aoki (also, Rivers Cuomo and Lil John)
Infected Mushroom
Deadmau5
Cascada
Built to Spill
Eagles of Death Metal
Young Galaxy
Madonna
Reel Big Fish
Streetlight Manifesto
Suicide Machines
The Hives
Ok Go
From First to Last
I Am Ghost
Dashboard Confessional
Brand New
Sage Francis
Yo La Tengo
Styx

These aren't even necessarily bands I even like, some I just remember because I bought a shirt or a poster which helped me remember...
LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN THINK OF ANY I'M MISSING.

An illness.

First of all I would like to say that I am sick. I have a cold, and a sinus infection, and the flu, and the ebola virus, and the chicken pox. Well not ebola or the chicken pox but you get the idea.

There's something so satisfying to me about being sick. As much as it sucks, there's a part of me that loves basking in my own vile body of unhealth and unrest. It feels like yeah, my body's at it's limit, but now it's cleansing itself and I will be as good as new when I'm better.

My disgusting personal oddities aside, I would like to share with you today's word.

hobbledehoy
an awkward, gawky young fellow.

Well. Looks like Michael Cera's got his own little entry in the dictionary.
Also, please watch this:


I'm playing Modest Mouse in my room. Without a doubt, they are the band I listen to the most. They never get old. And I think that in addition to their music AND lyrics being utterly ILL (cough, cough) I happened to find this band at the right time in my life. I thought I wanted to talk about this but I am realizing that I do not have the energy.

I don't feel good, I'm going to bed.

CURRENTLY READING: Sunday's New York Times, DVD review section by Dave Kehr
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Breakthrough by Modest Mouse (This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: The Third Man (1949, dir. Carol Reed)

An exercise.

I remember reading somewhere that when you keep using your brain for something it creates channels or pathways in your brain that make you better at that activity. I would like to be a better writer so I am going to try to just keep writing and getting myself used to thinking of words and stringing them together to form a thought or communicate feelings and ideas. This is my first attempt. Practice.

I'm trying to just keep writing even though I have nothing to say because I think it is good for me. It's not even that I would necessarily like to be a writer or do any writing whatsoever for the rest of my life, but I see other people who can express themselves through painting or drawing or writing music and I am not really very creative in those ways. I think I am a good writer but I just don't have things to say that I can put into words.

I have always thought of myself as a creative type and I am starting to come to terms with the fact that I am (and probably always have been) more of an academic. I always tell myself I'm musically inclined and bad at math, but I have an inkling that I am quite good at math and not that musically inclined either.

I wish I had more to say right now. I would like to give myself a word or page count that I should try to reach but unfortunately blogspot does not tell you how many words or letters you have typed. I should also stop using the word "you" in my writing because it's not really correct or proper. I should also stop using the words "really" and "very" because they don't sound good either. I should also stop using "good" and "interesting" and their ilk because those are not really good or very interesting words.

I actually really like words and I feel like I have a big vocabulary but I am not used to using bigger or more creative words in context, or ever. I try to use different words when I speak, mix it up a bit, I tend to say things like "excellent" or "superb" or "delightful," but even those have become a bit commonplace in my vocabulary. Maybe I should learn a word every day and make it a rule that I must use that word at least once in the day, in proper context.

Today's word of the day on dictionary.com is:
frabjous
wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious.

This is an incredibly satisfying word. Not only because it is from the Jabberwocky (trust me, it is), but because "wonderful" and "superb" (as already mentioned) are words for which I am constantly trying to find a synonym.

Damn I wish I had a word count.

I feel that this blog is going nowhere. None of my posts have any meaning, nor are they of any interest to anybody. They aren't even entertaining for those who might care to read.

Also, I have managed to accomplish exactly zero percent of my work today. Well, not zero, I did decide to skip the prologue in this book I have to read, and I read the first page after that, that's gotta count for something.

People always say "write what you know," right? Yeah, but all I know is ME, and film people will always tell you never to write about yourself. Draw from personal experience, they say, but everybody can tell when you write about yourself, and it's narcissistic and indulgent unless you are actually somebody people know or care about. (I am neither of these.)

Bottom line: I've got nothing to say.

That is all.




CURRENTLY READING: Doing Documentary Work by Robert Coles
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Ask Me Anything by The Strokes (First Impressions of Earth)
CURRENTLY WATCHING: Pink Flamingos (1972, dir. John Waters)

An update.

So a good friend of mine recently asked me to update my blog more.

Something about "intelligent film discourse"?

Here I go!

I'm currently taking a video production class and I am SO HAPPY with it. The professor is (I think?) a visiting professor from UCLA.

Usually in my film classes I feel like I already know a lot of what they're telling us (history, significant films and film movements, etc.). There are only so many times I can watch the scene of the Odessa Steps, or discuss the many ways in which DW Griffith and Edwin S Porter advanced the art of editing and continuity. Right?? I mean, it's not that I know so much already, but I feel like every class I take starts AGAIN at the beginning and covers the same shit. But in this class, I feel like she uses things I already know to teach me more. I'm also actually learning, which is refreshing.

We read an article about video art and time. If you think about it, the main difference between film/video and other visual arts is TIME, in many respects. For example, video can have a duration predetermined by the artist. Film can also manipulate time by speeding up the passage of time, or slowing things down, speeding them up, playing them in reverse or out of order.

I think that part of the reason I am so happy with this class is due to my summer internships. I became sort of disillusioned with the whole industry over the summer. I have always been into film as an art form, a means of expression, whatever. And I used to look at some of those stupid mainstream blockbusters and think, "Who thought this was a good idea?!"

But I've realized I'm a huge snob in that way. And that I have an appreciation for more sophisticated movies. And I can't help it. Is it just that people don't know that there ARE better things out there? I'm not sure, but I'm straying from my point.

The point is that I realized this summer that the movie business is just that-- a BUSINESS. It's not about making something meaningful or powerful or even very good, it's just about making MONEY. This makes me a bit sad. And it makes me less excited about my eventual career in the industry, or whatever. I don't know.

So, I signed up to volunteer at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles. They call it the "Cinefamily." It's a small theater that shows indie/cult movies and has screenings with people from the industry. They are definitely about quality. And significance. Anyway, tomorrow is my first day of volunteering, and I'm excited. I need a "cinefamily." They're doing a series of Jacques Tati films, so that's what will be showing when I'm there. I've never seen any of his films so I hope I get to watch a bit.

Well, it's the weekend (for me, no class tomorrow!), so I'm going to go find someplace to start a ruckus.

That is all.

That one time.

So I said in my last post that my Black Moth Super Rainbow explanation was a "story for another time."
Well, here's another time.

Alright. I was listening to a "This American Life" show on my drive home from work. It was about numbers, and there was a segment about a guy who makes lists of everything he does every day, for like his entire life. Sounded a bit obsessive compulsive, no? Anyway, it reminded me of how I used to listen to the "Top Ten Freakin' Favorites" every night on the Edge, and write them all down, because if you can tell all ten at the end of the show you win some sort of prize or whatever. So I wrote them all down every night, and called in, and I never won. But I dated each list and saved it in my drawer, for absolutely no reason. But it was silly. Because I never fucking won. And I called every night. I must have been like 12-14 years old. Oh wellz.

So I was thinking about that, and I didn't have my iPod, and my "This American Life" was over, so I turned on KSPC, my college's radio station. And they just happened to be playing Black Moth Super Rainbow. They're one of my favorite bands, but not very well known. How amazing that they would be on the radio! So I kept the station on, and after the song, the show host said the first person to call in would win tickets to a show Tuesday night! OMGZ. So I called in, and I won!!! A show at the Echoplex to see a band called HEALTH. I was STOKED.

Unfortunately, I forgot that I have class on Tuesday nights from 7-10 pm, so I couldn't go to the show.
So I didn't go.


That is all.

A month.

I told myself I wouldn't go over a month without writing a post in here. It has been one month and one day since my last post. DAMN.

I have been busier in the past three and a half weeks than I have ever been in my life, I think. Nope, I KNOW. A night class, two internships, and a two hour drive each way, four days a week. And for the first time since high school, I only have a two day weekend. :[

But to be honest, I'm really happy. I feel so much older than I did a month ago. In less than four months, I'll be twenty, and no longer a teenager... at first that thought was scary and sad, but right now, I feel like it's already here. Also, I love everything I'm doing right now (minus the four hours in the car every day). I am enjoying both of my internships and learning a lot, and my class is EPIC-ly good. The professor is amazing. He kind of reminds me of those teachers in films who end up changing everyone's life, like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. Well, he's not changing my life, but the way he teaches is equally as enthusiastic and creative, I love just hearing him speak, and it's almost impossible to not pay attention. It's a lot of work, but not too hard. In fact, I stopped in the middle of writing a paper for that class to write this.

I wish I had more free time, but I'm usually to busy to even notice. (I do wish I could ACTUALLY USE my Disneyland annual pass, but whatevs...)

I don't want to ramble on too much, I should probably finish my paper so I can get other shit done (today is my ONE DAY off), but I made a Summer 2010 playlist that inspired me to write this post.

Since I spend so many hours in the car, and there are only so many books on tape or "This American Life" radio shows I can listen to, so I've been listening to a lot of music during my drives. My iPod doesn't hold much, so I tend to listen to the same things again and again. I made a playlist of the songs that I think will remind me of this summer when I listen to them in the future.

Here's a glimpse of what it looks like:

-The Black Keys- a few songs off the "Brothers" album... self explanatory, it came out at the beginning of summer and has been in consistent rotation (although I guess that phrase doesn't work with mp3's...)

-Buzzcocks- songs off of "Love Bites" and "Another Music in a Different Kitchen." I saw them live two weeks ago or something, and they played straight through both albums. SO SICK. Nostalgia and ESP were probably the best. And Late For the Train, because I love that song and I didn't even think they'd play it, and they ended with it, with an epic drum solo at the end after everyone else left the stage.

-Mimicking Birds- I found them a few years ago, when Isaac Brock first signed them to his label and I really liked them. I mean, I put them on my iPod, which is a pretty selective collection. Anyway, I hadn't listened to them in a while, but I listened to them when I was with some friends in Phoenix, and it renewed my love for them.

-The Smiths- Had to put some on, they're one of my favorites! And they're fun to sing along to in the car. Especially I Started Something I Couldn't Finish.

-The White Stripes- not only are they one of my favorites, but I got this idea... well I don't want to write about it on here, don't want anyone to steal my idea, duhhhz. Let's just say I've been listening to them probably more than anything else.

-Minus the Bear- I was going to miss them by like a day or two in both Phoenix and So Cal. Luckily, they cancelled their Pomona show, and rescheduled for the day after I came back to Pitzer! HOW LUCKY IS THAT. It was a good show (too much OMNI, but what are ya gonna do!)

-Infected Mushroom- EDC a week from Friday. 'Nuff said.

-Black Moth Super Rainbow- they're more second semester of last year, but there's a good reason they're on here. It's kind of a long story... one for my next post perhaps?

-Del and Atmosphere- Love both rappers (but especiallyyyyy Del). They're really rewarding to sing along to because their words all sound so sharp. Do you know what I mean? I don't know how else to say it. (Especially: And They Thought That Was Hell, Pet Peeves, Guns and Cigarettes)

-Say Anything- Another rediscovered band. I love them in 8th and 9th grade, but they're still SO QUALITY. There's so much attitude in their songs.

-Those are the bands that have more than one song on the playlist, the rest are some randoms, including Rage Against the Machine, Cold War Kids, Man Man, ELO, Dresden Dolls.

Nobody reads this, and nobody would care about all of this information besides me, and I don't really care. I might just start keeping my own journal not online? I feel like since people CAN see it it encourages me to write more often. I'll keep this for now.


That is all.

dirty thunderstorm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36645958?GT1=43001




PS; Arizona sucks.

And yeah I know he's a pretty good read

"The problem was you had to keep choosing between one evil or another, and no matter what you chose, they sliced a little bit more off you, until there was nothing left. At the age of 25 most people were finished. A whole god-damned nation of assholes driving automobiles, eating, having babies, doing everything in the worst way possible, like voting for the presidential candidate who reminded them most of themselves."

3 is a Magic Number

I'm really surprised how much I still enjoy listening to Schoolhouse Rock after all these years. Most of the stuff I used to like was so bad. Well I loved it at the time but I wouldn't listen to it now. But seriously, Schoolhouse Rock is still sick. I want to listen to it all day.
Speaking of music, the new Black Keys album is streaming FREE on npr. THE WHOLE THING. It's definitely not disappointing but it doesn't compare to Rubber Factory or Thickfreakness or Magic Potion. But still I'd say give it a listen.

That is all.

Incapable of studying

I feel that this would be a good way for me to waste time and procrastinate studying some more. I also have not done one of these in a verrrrrrrrry long time.

BASICS:
001. real name → Alison
002. nickname → i don't really have nicknames... basically, ali and pineapple, haha.
003. zodiac sign→ LIBRA
004. male or female→ Female
005. schools, first to last → Cherokee Elementary, Cocopah MS, Chaparral HS, Pitzer College
008. long or short → long or short what?!
009. are you health freak → hahahahahahah
010. height → 5'3"
011. do you have a crush on someone → nope
012. do you like yourself → Sometimes
013. piercings → Ears and bellybutton
014. tattoos → z3r0
015. righty or lefty → Righty
016. favorite thing to do → have people over! i looove having people over.
017. school you attend → Pitzer!
018. usually found → in mah room
019. where do you work → nowherez
020. usually found with → Maya, Lisa, Mikesauce, etc.
021. where do you live → Claremont, ca


FIRSTS :
022. first surgery → ears, i guess.
023. first piercing → ears again?
024. first best friend → marisa anderson
025. first award → i have no clue
026. first sport you joined → gymnastics
027. first pet → Daisy. Well my first pet that was actually mine was Rex. :]
028. first vacation → Laguna Beach
029. first concert --> Paul Simon and Brian Wilson, ftw!

BASICS:
030. first crush → I don't remember!
031. first REAL kiss → Julian
034. first computer → Those old Macs with the huge floppy disk drive
035. first cell phone → A little Nokia brick
036. first job → Planned Parenthood
037. first love → I think it was JL

CURRENTLY :
049. eating → nothing
050. drinking → agua
052. i'm about to→ study for my music final
053. listening to → The White Stripes
055. waiting for → final on Wednesday, going home Friday, coming back on the 23rd, starting my internships, etc.
056: best friend(s) → i've got some.
057: boyfriend/girlfriend → NO.

YOUR FUTURE :
058. want kids? eventually.
059. want to get married? Yes.
060. careers in mind? music supervisor/consultant/contractor/solicitor for film/tv

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX? :
069. hugs or kisses → dependz
070. shorter or taller → taller
072. romantic or spontaneous → "spontaneously romantic"
073. nice stomach or nice arms → dgaf
074. sensitive or loud → are those opposites?
075. hook-up or relationship → dgaf
077. trouble maker or hesitant → depends?


HAVE YOU EVER :
079. kissed a stranger → <3college<3
080. lost glasses/contacts → yeah
081. ran away from home → kind of when i was little, didn't get very far
084. broken someone's heart → i guess
085. been arrested → no
087. cried when someone died → of course :[
088. liked a friend → Yup


ANSWER TRUTHFULLY :
097. Is there one person you want to be with?→ nope
098. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time?→ kind of, but not really, no.
099. Do you believe in God?→ not really

Awesome

I feel like one of these.

A haiku.

Last night, watched 'Like
Water for Chocolate,' on
dextromethorphan.

Clap On, Clap Off

I know a boy. We’ll call him Bob. He’s about fifteen years old. His best Christmas gift this year was a Clapper. “It’s great,” he told me, “now I don’t have to get up to turn the lights on or off.”
Okay, fair enough. That’s the whole purpose of this product, and it’s been fairly successful for the past twenty or so years that it’s been around.
But what did Bob do next? He recorded himself clapping on his iPhone. This way, he doesn’t have to get up OR clap to turn the lights on or off.
Does this seem weird to anyone else? I hate to sound trite—I really, really hate to use this example—but really, there are children in other countries who are starving for food, whose parents are killed right in front of them, who fear getting abducted by terrorist groups in the middle of the night. And this guy can’t even get up to turn his lights off.
Can I tell you something else? Bob wants to be in the Marine Corps. Is this the kind of person I want protecting me, my family, my country? I don’t know, but I don’t even have much of a choice. Maybe I’m just sheltered but it seems like most young people these days really are this disconnected from reality. This lazy, (though perhaps not to this extent). At my school, we live in suites (two double rooms connected by a bathroom). If we have something to say to another person in our suite, it is more likely that we’ll text, IM, or call him/her rather than walk four feet to say it to his face. It just gives me the feeling of disjointedness among today’s youth. Our friends and acquaintances seem to be hardly more than an entry in a digital phonebook.
And I know that there are young people who have a strong work ethic and moral sense. And the fact that Bob doesn’t want to get up or clap to turn off his lights doesn’t make him a bad person. Maybe it doesn’t say as much about him or today’s youth as a whole as I think it does.
But if it does, and if I am right, then I shiver to think of what’s coming next.
How are kids today supposed to grow up to be parents? We’re so coddled and, for lack of a better word, spoiled, that we can’t even take care of ourselves. My grandparents didn’t just quit a job because they didn’t like their boss or the people they worked with. In fact, I can almost guarantee that they didn’t like their bosses or coworkers. But they didn’t have the choice to leave that job. Nobody told them they can just get a new job on a whim. Maybe it’s because times were harder, and my grandparents worked not for their own fulfillment but to support their family. But, I don’t know, it just seems that people today are simply not up to the challenge. Even if they were up to it, how could they possibly be prepared for it? Is our generation just inherently weaker than the past? Is it because our parents were too easy on us? The truth is, it doesn’t even matter. Doesn’t it seem clear that as one generation follows the next we are becoming less and less in tune with our planet and each other?
Maybe we’ve just been given too many options. I feel an intrinsic longing for the days of apprenticeships, arranged marriages, even teachers who whack the knuckles of their students. Is it discipline we’re missing? People have been so adamant about fighting for freedom, but isn’t there a point at which we should realize how free we are, and start trying to work together? In an anarchist society, people are the epitome of free; but that system could not work unless people find inspiration within themselves to stop fighting the system and work together for the good of everybody.


I apologize for my rambles.

That is all.

Pure linguistic genius

I want to write about last weekend at the film festival later, but for now, a hilarious article.

Unfortunately, I didn't write this, but I wish I did.

People who like liking things on Facebook
By Kevin Slane

I like everything about Facebook. I like the ever-changing layout and the inevitable groups decrying every miniscule change. I like the creepiness it can cause, including one particular instance in College Library when a girl walked up to a rather seedy-looking guy and demanded to know why he was looking at her profile. I even like the awfulness of Facebook Chat, and how there is no single browser that can support its endless bugs. But the thing I like the most about Facebook is liking. When Facebook introduced that little “like” button, I wish I could have liked it. Who knew that by the time that little button was done growing, I would be able to like a page devoted to the like button, essentially fulfilling my wishes?

I like statuses like “Jon just can’t catch a break :-(.” I like photos from the album “R.I.P. Patches.” I like when people I barely know post a quiz asking me “How good of a kisser are you?” on my wall. I like when my friend from high school becomes friends with the biggest tool from our graduating class, who clearly found her through the omniscient “people you may know” tool. Hell, sometimes I even like things I should actually like, like when my cousin gets engaged or when that girl who dropped out of my high school has her third kid with a guy whose profile name is simply “Tron.”

Now, Facebook has changed once again, choosing to let you like pages rather than become a fan of them. The only real drawback to this is I will probably no longer like “becoming a fan,” a page that only exists because people like me thought it was hilarious to have “Kevin became a fan of ‘becoming a fan’” show up on their friend’s News Feeds. I like the prospect of transforming into an oscillating desk fan as much as the next fan of “becoming a fan,” but sometimes you have to let these kinds of jokes die.

Of course, there’s new jokes to be made with the liking of pages. Almost immediately, my News Feed was full of stories like “Jamie likes ‘it on top’” and “Tron likes ‘it rough’.” ‘Cuz it’s like sex, GET IT?!?! They like “it dirty?!?!” I’m literally LOL’ing out loud on the floor, and my ass just fell off. And, of course, just as I had seen “Mike became a fan of ‘becoming a fan’” in months prior, I saw “Mike likes ‘liking things. ’”

Unfortunately, there’s a flaw in this new liking system that I definitely don’t like. When I went to like that Mike liked liking things, Facebook made me like liking things, not like that Mike liked liking things. Then, my friend Wyche (sounds like “Mike”) liked liking things, when he really wanted to like that I had liked liking things. So Wyche (via Mike) liked liking things, and I wanted to like that he liked it too. So I wrote to Wyche, “I wish that I could like that you like liking things.” Wyche, who’s a bit of a tyke, decided to like my wall post.
This, of course, carries a completely different meaning, as Wyche liked that I wished I could like that Wyche like liking things, not that I liked liking things. Then my friend (and fellow Page Two columnist) Jon Spike wrote on my wall in a panic, “I tried to like you liking things but clicking like next to you liking liking things just made me like liking things instead of liking you liking liking things.” Of course, I explained to Spike I had faced a similar like dilemma with Mike and Wyche, at which point we theorized this was all a big way for Mark Zuckerberg to say “psych!” and provide a counter-strike to the millions of outraged users who dislike every change he makes to Facebook.

As it turns out, however, Mike, Wyche, Spike and the rest of my Facebook friends were about to witness the like revolution, the third major change in the use of the like button, commonly referred to as the Third Leich (sounds like “Reich”). In the coming months, Facebook is rolling out a platform called Facebook Connect, in which sites all over the Internet will connect with your Facebook profile, giving you the power to like literally anything. Like the video “Guy rides bike into wall” on College Humor? “Like” that bike! Like the story “Baseball umpires go on strike” on CNN? “Like” that strike! Like that Mike used a facial recognition site to find out his look-a-like is Dick Van Dyke? “Like” that Van Dyke look-a-like!

Of course, you may not want all this information published to your News Feed. “Matt likes ‘Trisha gets backdoor plowed and facialized’ on YouPorn” might not go over so well with Matt’s girlfriend. But considering how much joy the like button has given me, I can’t see how installing it on every other website I like to visit could be disliked. If the power of the like button is used to an appropriate level, after all, what’s not to like?

Sorry, one more thing.

My friend, let's just call him GERALD, posted this on facebook:

if Arizona was giant cage for retarded kids, chaparral would be the doctor in the middle of it giving everyone lobotomies

So I said: This is hilarious because it makes no sense, and you went to Chaparral.

The rest of the conversation is as follows.

Gerald: and so did you. how does this make no sense?

Me: Why would doctors give retarded kids lobotomies?

Me: do you mean everybody is retarded because chaparral is giving everyone drugs

that make them stupid

is that what you are saying

Gerald: no

im saying that chaparral is the cause of all the retardedness

Alison: that's what I just asked you

Okay, I still have no idea what's going on, or what this means, but either way, we aren't understanding each other at all and I feel like either one or both of us must sound in fact retarded. Anddd this makes me laugh.

By the way, sorry about the use of "retarded" in this post. I don't usually use that word.

Also, I'm sorry that my posts are mostly a complete waste of time for the people, if any, reading it.

That is all.

I Love You David Lynch

Has anybody else noticed the striking similarity between Sergei Eisenstein and Eraserhead?






They're even wearing basically the same thing. Hilarious. It's funny to me how I am asking this question/pointing this out to nobody because nobody reads my blog. And also, probably nobody else cares that Sergei Eisenstein looks like Eraserhead, at least not enough to call it mindblowing. However, my mind was blown.

Additionally, I just realized that Sergei Eisenstein has three "ei"s in it.

Also, if anybody DOES read this ever, you should watch Eraserhead, or another David Lynch movie, EVEN MORE than I think you should watch The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (actually, now that I think about it, you probably wouldn't even like TCoDC, unless you like silent German films from 1920).


Thank you, and good night!

Pantsuit... Uggghhh

I just spent about twenty minutes trying to log on to this website. Why did it take me so long? The world may never know.

Anyway, I was just about to go to bed when I thought to check if the classes for fall are posted. And they are! So I've been navigating that terrible website, whatever, but I'm seeing all these classes that just look awesome! Some are kind of self explanatory, but others aren't. And as far as I can tell there's no way to look at descriptions for any of the classes. Some sound interesting but could be really anything. Take, for example: Doing History (HIST 100Z); Alien Gods (HSID 122); Enlightenment Sexualities (HMSC 119A); Spec Top: Hyphenated Americans (LIT 179A). They all sound vaguely intriguing, but to be honest, I have absolutely no idea what those classes would be about.

I should probably go to bed.
That is all for now.

O hai blog.

I used to have a blog. Actually, it still exists. I began it the day before my 14th birthday, my last post was a little over two years ago. Why did I stop writing? I used to love that. I don't know, but I decided to start again.

First posts are always the hardest. Everything is very open. Who is going to read this? What is this blog going to become, and what will I end up writing about? No idea. Probably nobody, nothing, and nothing.

College is amazing. When else will I live in a place where I can basically do whatever I want whenever I want with minimal responsibilities, and everybody is my friend? I don't know, but I feel like it's pretty awesome. I'm taking some pretty sick classes right now. My favorite one is probably my silent film class. I just did a presentation the other day on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Rad movie. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it.

Just decided I'm probably going to try to post movie/music/book reviews in here.

I decided that I like college because I recently (read: last night) realized that since I came here, I became a very real person. Because I got to know myself very well, and I feel like I have developed certain opinions, viewpoints, outlooks, etc that will help shape my personality and my actions for the rest of my life.

For example, my life motto is pretty much that everybody should do whatever makes them happy. It sounds simple, it sounds like common sense, something everybody knows and thinks, but just try to keep track of how many people ask you What should I do? or What do you think? over the course of a few days. I don't know about you, but I get that pretty frequently. Lately, my response has been: Who cares? Do whatever the fuck you want. Why wouldn't you do whatever seems right to you?

People are too uptight and self-conscious about themselves, and I feel like that's what creates a lot of the negative emotions that people experience on a daily basis.

SMILE, FRIENDS.
:]

More on this later.