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.