Archive for January, 2008

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Published by
Sarah
January 31, 2008 in this post will conform to no category!. 5 Comments

GAH I AM SO MAD.

i just spent the last hour writing an awesome, super fun blog post, and then something happened, and stupid wordpress erased it.

GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

and i don’t have any more time to re-write it.

so.

UGGGHHH.

i will try to re-write it tomorrow, i guess.

i’m sorry there is no real post today.

but here is a picture of why i’ve been so busy at work, in case you’re curious:

which, you know, kinda adds to the GAHness of this whole thing.

WHATEVER

i will TRIUMPH over this adversity by re-writing the post tomorrow and making it even BETTER than it was before.

SO THERE.

important life lessons from recent films

Published by
Sarah
January 30, 2008 in culturelux. 13 Comments

it’s wednesday, and as usual, i’m running short on time due to work (actual WORK. BIZARRE) and my afternoon class.

so today, in ten minutes or less, i thought i’d share a few things i’ve learned from recent films. there may be some *slight* spoilers here or there, but nothing major.

JUNO 

1. if allison janey is a member of yr family, you will ALWAYS WIN.

2. morning sickness doesn’t seem so bad when it’s blue.

3. high school dorks in movies are ALWAYS cuter than the real life high school dorks. i’m sorry, but the nerds at my  HS couldn’t hold a CANDLE to michael cera and his short shorts. i won’t name any names, but you cougars know who i’m talking about. and then movies are all, “see? nerds are diamonds in the rough! you should have appreciated them more!” but those movies are WRONG.

4. if my best friend had crushes on old teachers, i don’t think we could hang out anymore. i’m serious.

THE ORPHANAGE

1. all it takes to make a little kid EXTREMELY CREEPY is a black smock and a scarecrow cloth mask. that’s it. THAT’S ALL IT TAKES.

2. never, ever, ever return to the orphanage where you grew up. i don’t care HOW majestic it looks or if yr furniture fits just right. DON’T DO IT.

3. also, never play childhood games with ghosts. because then they actually come closer to you, and you don’t want that.

4. never leave a bar wedged against a closet door. it may seem like no big deal, but trust me. just don’t do that.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD 

1. never ever EVER lie or try to swindle daniel day-lewis. he will take you out. hard.

2. attempting to strike oil at the turn of the century means you will be dirty, broke and probably hit on the head by a heavy falling object. i.e. look for other employment, yo.

3. if a pastor asks if he can bless the new oil rig, maybe you should just let him. i dunno. it seems harmless.

4. i know i’ve mentioned this before, but, people back then were DIRTY!! GA-ROSS.

5. a bowling alley in yr home is not only an investment in entertainment, it also doubles as a weapon for self-defense (or just plain murder).

CLOVERFIELD

1. if there’s a giant monster terrorizing the city, and the military is dropping bombs, and yr ex-girlfriend calls you to say that she’s trapped, DO NOT GO BACK TO GET HER. DUDE. SHE IS NOT WORTH IT. YOU GUYS ONLY GOT TOGETHER LIKE ONCE. YOU WILL DIE.

2. if yr city is being evacuated, and you’re walking over a bridge, you might want to hustle. i know they tell you to stay calm but, uh, POWERWALK.

3. always remember that yr video camera has night vision.

4. even if a metal bar has pierced straight through yr torso, you can totally still get around. no sweat.

5. i’m serious about the not going back thing. DO NOT GO BACK. get further away, not closer to, the monster. cos love is great and all, but it doesn’t conquer everything. like, say, nasty hugeass monsters.

LINKS

sorry the links have been so scant lately. I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME.

however, meredith sent me this v. v. interesting update about cameron diaz’s new man. you might think, how can it get better than justin? well, um. it can. and his name is ben.

san francisco: a few of my favorite things (brunch, julie & a baby)

Published by
Sarah
January 29, 2008 in pantship, tasty business and voyages. 3 Comments

out of all of the days on the trip (which were few, i know), saturday seemed destined to be my favorite.

it began with a cup of coffee brewed by j. and that is good, cos j. makes excellent coffee (it comes from ritual of course). here’s j. with his morning smoke and mug of coffee:

i took a picture of the little figurines on the fireplace mantel, cos i did not want to forget them.

aren’t they charming? i wish they would all come and visit me.

on our walk to brunch, we passed by a church that is now a buddhist temple. if you look inside the glass doors, you’ll see a giant, grinning buddha, which is not really what you expect to see on the inside of a building like this:

but that’s just the fun of discovering a city’s secrets, isn’t it?

also, i love the name of this place (which i think is a chain):

we be sushi! sarah be hungry!

j.’s roommate, annie, came with us to brunch. she hadn’t had a mimosa in about three years, which is UNBELIEVABLE. seriously. i kiiiinda wondered if she was lying. regardless, we corrected this travesty immediately.

i can’t remember the name of this restaurant, which is a bummer, cos this was probably my favorite meal of the ENTIRE trip. definitely one of my top brunches of all time! which reminds me. i need to make stickers that restaurants can put in their window, sort of like zagat but they will say: “posh d thinks we are the PANTS!” or something.

anyway

we began by sharing some french toast with bananas and lavender caramel sauce, which was DIVINE!!!!!!

totes the best french toast i have EVER had, no question.

oh and actually we started with some gorgonzola-stuffed dates, but those went too fast for me to take a picture.

for my main course, i ordered poached eggs with thinly sliced ham on fresh grilled bread. obvs i am a genius, cos this was ABSOLUTELY the best option i could have chosen.

SERIOUSLY. TASTY. BUSINESS.

i can’t even handle looking at that picture, to be honest. because it means i would need to jump on a plane to enjoy that dish again, and frankly, i just don’t have the time right now.

since j. is a regular (weekly) customer at this place, he gets lots of special treatment. including free dessert!!!!

i love eating dessert at brunch. it feels so SINFUL and wrong. especially this dish, which was a light lemon pudding with some kind of gingerbread in it. NOM NOM NOM.

after brunch, we headed over to ritual to meet up with julie, ye olde powersuite member (college roomie) and her archi husband, jared. but i actually saw them on the street first, so i got to shriek and hug julie in front of even MORE people. IT FELT SO GOOD TO SEE THEM!!!!!!!!

i realized that i haven’t seen the fishers since they got married, which was over two and a half years ago. i hate that it’s been that long. can’t we all just, you know, rent a big resort somewhere and invite everyone we know (correction: like) and just have group vacations every summer that involve lots of conversations and dancing and firefly catching and eating? i mean, how hard could it be?

as we strolled through the mission, we popped into a few stores. i really liked this one, which reminded me of that junk yard in the heights on 19th street except a lot cleaner and nicer and probably more snake-free.

i even got to pose for a photograph! well, i wasn’t actually the *object* of the photograph. the owner of the store asked me to stand next to this huge ship light so that the size would be to scale. i think it’s online somewhere… if i find it, i will let you know. cos this could totally be the chance i’ve been waiting for– an opportunity to make the leap from internet security modeling to object scale modeling!!!! holla!

here is a guy painting inside a store window. me and the backpack dude watched him.

and here’s a purple house! yay!

taking advantage of the lack of actual rain, we strolled to dolores park to enjoy the view. and oh, it was lovely!

this building (below) is really a high school. it reminds me of the schools in movies, when you think, “there is no way that is actually a high school” (see “10 things i hate about you,” RIP heath). but this is ACTUALLY a high school.

it really is a glorious park. i wish i could go there every day and maybe play with a baby or a dog and then roll down the hill and recklessly accrue grass stains.

henri agreed.

ok just one more shot of the view, cos i can’t help myself.

i mean, WOW, right?! also, big wow to the MOAT around the playground. yiiikes.

as we walked to julie and jared’s car, we passed by my all time favorite sign in san francisco: the glittering cocktail on the 500 club!!!!

note: they painted a “not” in front of the “open 6:00 AM” sign. crafty!

here’s a close-up of the sparkles:

if i could put that sign in my front yard, i would.

since henri and i hadn’t gotten to explore much beyond the mission, we decided to play tourist and check out fisherman’s wharf. i’d seen it before but never actually experienced it.

and ooooh MAN, it is TOURISTY. i knew cos the first store we passed had personalized license plates!!!!!!

as previously discussed on this blog, personalized license plates (signs, keychains, etc.) are the ultimate indicator that you are in Tourist Country.

in the name of “getting in the tourist spirit,” i asked jared to take a super cheesy picture. since jared is nice, he obliged.

i can’t decide if jared is the evil that the monkeys are trying to avoid or if he’s so pure that he doesn’t need to actually cover anything to avoid temptation.

i love all of the old businesses around the wharf, especially their signs:

we walked out to the edge of the pier to get a better view of the bay. note the “forbes island” lighthouse on the right of this picture:

it’s actually a boat, disguised as an island!! apparently you board and then the boat heads out onto the water and you get to eat while sitting on a fake island. I LOVE IT. next time, i am SO hitting up the forbes.

here’s alcatraz with some sailboats:

i think it’s funny how alcatraz has become this big tourist thing. i mean, sure, it’s fascinating, but when stores are selling prison stripe baby onesies, you gotta wonder.

henri was reeeally into learning about tides.

here’s julie and jared, on top of the world! er, well, san francisco.

gah i love them so much. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

and, since henri and i are completely ridiculous, we couldn’t just take a normal picture. oh no. we had to make it totally dumb.

as evening began to fall, julie and jared graciously agreed to drive henri and me to oakland to visit some of his high school friends. even though we spent some wonderful hours together, it honestly wasn’t nearly enough to make up for two and a half years of missing my dear friend julie. do you ever feel like you miss people MORE after you’ve seen them? cos that’s exactly how i felt (and still feel) after saturday.

but it did my heart good to see juliana banana, even for a brief time. she and jared are still the same, wonderful, whimsical, warm-hearted people, and yet, they seem a little bit older, like they’ve gained a stillness, a peace in their spirits. it’s the best feeling in the world to see someone you love and know that they are well, they are happy, they are living their lives fully and fruitfully.

julie is moving forward with hope and light, and even as she presses ahead on her own path, our hearts stay close. i am so thankful for that, especially when i look back and see how far we’ve come since painting our ceiling with glitter and dancing to the beastie boys at 3 AM.

on the way out of the city, we drove through downtown, where i’ve stayed on my past san fran visits. here’s a shot through the car back window:

we arrived in oakland to visit with henri’s high school friend alli, her husband, and two other classmates, anne and kristin. ok that is lie. HENRI came to see those people. *I* came to meet jonah, aly’s little baby boy.

meet jonah, in mid-surprise and mid-carrot stain. actually, the best expression he makes is AFTER the flash bulb has died down– his eyes go from shocked to disapproving. seriously, i have never seen a baby glower like that before.

it was nice to hang out at the house and watch the baby and get to know some people from henri’s past. meeting high school friends always fits a unique piece into the puzzle of a person, don’t you think?

ok enough about that. here’s more pictures of jonah:

alli gave him a bath and put him in his footed jimjams. and then i took a video, cos i couldn’t help myself:

apparently, jonah likes to sit in what his parents call “the office”:

“the office” is where jonah gets his big business done, and by that i mean, he likes to poop in there. i am not kidding. watch this video and listen to his parents give away his business secrets:

i can’t really fault jonah, cos pooping really is the most important thing that babies do (ok, besides eating).

here’s kevin, jonah’s dad, experiencing domestic bliss (complete with a cat).

after a lovely visit, kristin gave henri and i a ride back to the city. we had reservations to eat at firefly with j. and his friend chris, so we met up at j.’s apartment and walked (in the rain, but i had an umbrella, so it was ok) to the restaurant. on the way, j. pointed out a realtor’s office which doubles as a right wing propaganda machine:

reagan! and eagles! and english! FINALLY!

randy, you should meet my dad there. you guys would be in heaven.

it was fun to see firefly in full-on bustling form after observing its calm the day before. we sat at the EXACT same table where meredith, matt and i sat for NYE 2005-6, and we, of course, enjoyed some tasty tasty food. and j. even got a massage, which is not on the menu.

i didn’t take pictures of the food, cos it was dark and, well, cos i was HUNGRY. but it was delicious delicious. and it was fun to get special attention from all of j.’s co-workers, including these lovely ladies:

we headed home with full tummies, and i fell asleep right away (as i tend to do).

even though i was sad about the thought of leaving the next morning, the prospect of heading home seemed quite nice, actually. which is a sure fire sign that you’ve had a good trip.

and also, that you’ve been sleeping on an air mattress.

san francisco: tripe, r. kelly and the restaurant biz

Published by
Sarah
January 28, 2008 in tasty business and voyages. 7 Comments

hey ho, hey ho, i went to san francisco!

in my head, that’s a song. fyi.

anyway, henri and i flew to san fran on thursday and got back last night. before i begin the full-on post, here’s a cliff notes version for you people that are v. busy and important:

in san francisco, i:

ate a ton of tasty business (duh)

hung out with a baby (yay)

saw julie (my old college roomie) and her husband, jared

learned how a restaurant works (behind the scenes!!!)

spent a ton of time in the mission

ate tripe for the first time (GROSSSSS)

watched the r. kelly sing-along in a big concert venue space (totes VIP feeling)

slept on a v. v. tiny air mattress in a v. v. tiny room

walked around a lot in the rain. boo.

so yeah, it was a good trip, but it wasn’t the greatest. i can’t believe i’m actually writing that, cos i’m usually so “!!!” on this blog, but meh. i guess i wish we had more time to actually see the city (not to mention see julie’s sweet face for more than three hours). oh and also i wish it had actually been PRETTY weather instead of the fug we got.

but there *were* highlights, so let me tell you about them.

here’s henri, riding the BART from the airport to the city.

we had a layover in denver, which meant we got to explore the (pretty awesome) airport. my favorite thing? when the airport train approached (to take you to other terminals), a little country jingle would play, sorta like the “dukes of hazard” soundtrack. it was AWESOME. henri did a little jig every time. and, if someone tried to rush past the closing train doors, a female voice would say, “YOU are causing the train to delay its departure.” and seriously, that voice could really make you feel guilty.

anyway, we arrived in the city and got off at in the mission, where henri’s friend j. lives. we stopped for some sustenance at the taqueria down the street, which proved to be an extremely yummy choice.

i love how henri looks sad, like i’m going to take his taco away from him.

i ordered nachos, and they were AMAAAAZING.

NOM NOM NOM

the mission is pretty much a latino community, so you can imagine how authentic and tasty our food was.

j. arrived back from out of town, so of course we had to stop for coffee at his favorite place, ritual coffee.

their coffee is fantastic, but i was *really* excited about their tiny cupcakes!!!!

i didn’t have one, though, cos of the nachos. stupid nachos.

we decided to try a belgian restaurant, new to j., called “the monk’s kettle.” here’s a picture i took of the sign (it’s day time cos i took this picture on saturday, when we passed by the restaurant again):

even though we had to wait like an hour for our table, that was ok, cos that gave us plenty of time to enjoy some beer and catch up with j. the food was pretty good, esp. the cheese plate, which came with delicious fresh honey and walnuts and cranberries and MMMMMMMMMM. i didn’t take a picture, cos i was too busy eating. sorry.

after dinner, we went to a nearby bar called one palm (which is a lie, cos there are two palms inside). j. accidentally caught his jacket cuff on fire, and then henri made him do it again, so he could take a picture. here they are, feeling v. proud of themselves:

my favorite part of our time at one palm was when an (extremely drunk) guy tried to hit on me while i was waiting for a drink at the bar. our conversation went like this:

dg (drunk guy): heyyyyyy.

s: uh, hi.

dg: so… you should keep on smiling. it’s nice.

s: uh, thanks?

dg: i’m glad you smiled. i didn’t know what else to say.

s: …

dg: so how’s it going?

s: it’s fine. i’m here with those two guys over there (points to j. and henri)

dg: oh yeah? i’m here with some guys too. but i don’t like them.

s: oh. uh. i’m sorry.

bartender brings drinks.

s (to bartender): i’ll be back for the other one in a minute.

sarah leaves, comes back.

dg: heeeey! you came back!

s: yup.

dg: you said you would come back and you did! lots of girls tell me they’ll be right back, but then i never see them again.

s: mmm. well, i came to get the other drink, and now i have it, so… bye!

thank you, one palm, for providing the backdrop for that scintillating conversation.

on the walk home, j. decided to show henri some love. henri decided to look awkward.

the next day, henri had to work on his show for that night, so i got to tag along with j. first, here’s the back porch of his place, where he sits and has a smoke every morning.

since it was raining (SIGH), we took the bus instead of walking his usual route to work. we got off at the taqueria where j. stops for lunch every single working day. i love that j. has a v. specific routine, cos it reminds me of how people live in children’s books. you know? it’s just delightful and nice.

i discovered why he stops at the same taqueria every day, though. the tacos were TASTY!!!!

after lunch, we arrived at firefly, the restaurant where j. works. i’d been there once before, on NYE 2005 (turning to 06), with meredith, matt and crew. but now i got to see the restaurant during the day, when everyone was getting ready for the busy night ahead.

i decided i wanted to learn all about the inner workings of firefly, esp. cos i am such a foodie AND i’ve never worked in a restaurant before. j. happily agreed to introduce me to everyone, including the pastry chef, who i was DYING to meet. she even showed me all of the desserts she had made that day, and i suddenly wondered if i had missed my calling. i didn’t take a picture of her, though, cos she was busy. but i thought about asking her to maybe autograph one of her desserts for me. and then i could eat it.

i did take a picture of one of the chefs (i think his name is chris. or mark?), who has been working as a chef for only a few years. he says he likes his job. well, duh!!! you get to cook fancy food! and eat it, maybe sometimes!

i went out to sit on a stoop with j. and the manager, karen, while she looked over the reservation list.

karen has a really stressful job. she has to handle all of the reservations and inventory and basically she’s the Ultimate Planner Pants. plus she was wearing sweet sweet pink puffy boots.

part of j.’s job is shelving all of the wine and sort of keeping track of it (since he’s a bartender). i got to hang out in the wine closet with him while he told me about all of the wines.

for some reason, i felt like i was in a dickens novel. i have no idea why, but it was fun!

here’s the list they use to keep track of ingredients. i loved this list, cos i love food and i love charts.

it’s like the Ultimate Grocery List, you know?

around 4 PM, henri came to pick me up with sean, a guy from the san francisco film society. the SFFS is basically the group henri was working with, i.e. they made it possible for both him and me to come to the city. so, i was already pre-disposed to like sean, but little did i know i would come to adore him.

esp. cos he ate a fish head and allowed me to photograph him doing so.

AND cos he has a four and a half year old daughter, who once explained how she broke a toy by saying, “i was just finding my own business!” hee.

sean took us to this pizzeria place, which apparently is famous in san francisco (i can’t remember what it’s called. oops), and it only took about five minutes to realize that he was totally a kindred spirit, by way of him ordering about ten things off the menu for us to try. i love that!!

he’s also the adventurous type of foodie, so he ordered tripe.

do you guys know what tripe is? i didn’t. well, i didn’t until it came out and i was like, WHAT IS THIS, and he said, “it’s cow’s stomach.”

G TO THE ROSS!!!!

but, you guys, i try to keep my horizons open, *especially* when it comes to something as important as food, so i gave it a try.

it was… uh… rubbery. and then i thought about why it was rubbery, and then i almost threw up.

no more tripe for sarah.

after eating, sean drove us to the mezzanine, the venue for henri’s r. kelly sing-along. this is not yr typical sing-along venue, cos it’s a CLUB. like, a concert/dj venue. and it was extremely hip and cool and i felt EXTREMELY VIP while walking around its large, cavernous space. here’s the bar:

it was dark, so my pictures don’t really give you an idea of the space, but here’s the main floor after the crowd came in:

there’s a ton of balcony space, all with leather couches and big tvs (VIPEEEE), and it was packed with people as well.

this is TOTALLY the kind of place r. kelly would actually perform, and everyone would be all dressed up and blinged out, and then we’d all end up in the hotel lobby (after the after-party).

henri was appropriately dressed:

not only was it cool to be inside such a neat venue, but the show went over like gangbusters!! the crowd loved it!!!!! here’s a video of everyone dancing to “step in the name of love”:

and here’s a little video i took from one of the balconies during “remix to ignition”:

it’s a little dark, but the video gives you a much better idea of how awesome the show was, especially cos of the mezzanine’s hipness.

here’s a picture of the dancing crowd, in case you can’t watch the video:

and here’s the view from a balcony.

i mean, is that a party or what?! holla!

here’s the crowd swaying to “the greatest,” which came near the end of the show. you can tell that everyone bonded over a mutual love for cliffhangers, terrible rhymes and midgets:

to celebrate the success of the show, sean took us to a taqueria back in the mission. i don’t remember what it was called, but it did feature an amazing painting of a… gyro meat roaster?

we let sean do the ordering again (NO TRIPE), and he produced a DELICIOUS burrito AND the most TASTY TASTY pork nachos. OMGGG. you guys. I WANT THIS RIGHT NOW.

here’s me and henri, back when i was in heaven.

i can’t believe i had to leave that place. it’s like when buffy dies and then her friends bring her back to earth but they have no idea that they pulled her from heaven and she has to walk around with this deep dark secret. that’s how i feel right now.

here’s sean, doing another one of his great food poses, just for this blog.

since i don’t want the only image of sean you have to be a kinda disgusting one, here he is, looking normal:

with full bellies, we walked over to a bar (i think called doc’s clock?) and guess what?!! they had connect four!!!!!!!

i had just read about how obsessed kanye west is with connect four, and how beyonce is apparently the hip hop champion, so i was eager to get my game on.

apparently, so was henri.

it turns out that henri takes great pride in being a MASTER of connect four. he walloped sean and i over and over again until we gave up and decided to call it a night.

but you know, if the bar had “chutes & ladders,” i tooootally could’ve kicked some arse.

tomorrow: two reunions and a baby!

The currancy of social

Published by
Matt Gierhart
January 25, 2008 in poli not sci. 6 Comments

All you need for the best combination of easy and awesome (in sauce form) is cream and gorgonzola cheese. Mix it. Heat it. Awesome. It also can provide you with a tasty excuse for say… not updating Posh’s blog yesterday like you were supposed to. Yeah, that’s right. I ditched you guys for this:

If you had been here you totally would have been like, “Good choice, Matt. Your sauce is so awesome. Let’s make out.” But more likely you would say, tell me how you made it, and I would say, “okay:

There is the steak: marinated in balsamic vinegar, then pan seared with rosemary.

The potatoes chopped and backed with mature cheddar cheese between the slices and some grilled onions.

The pasta cooked, like normal, but then the sauce was awesome. I made a scratch cream sauce then added in a little bit of another sauce I was secretly making at the same time. It was a red pesto. I should have photo documented the steps, but I forgot.

Oh, also there was a salad with French dressing and tomatoes and strawberries. I got home from the grocery store with all this at 1 in the afternoon. Dinner wasn’t till 7, but I was excited so I made the salads and stuck them in the freezer, the lettuce froze and broke like an ice sheet. ”

–

But that was yesterday. I want to talk about something else, cities. Henri and I have been having an ongoing conversation about the idea of social currencies and the variability that exist from city to city. Let me begin with some examples.

Austin:

In Austin the social currency seems to revolve around what is unique and different (dare I say weird). Local business that do things in a bit of a cooky way seem to do surprisingly well.

New York City:

New York is dependant on location. Everything from where things are located and the connotations with being in that area, to people you trust because they know their way around the city.

London:

I’ve only lived in London for four months so I don’t know how accurate this will be. The currency here so far seems to be money.

Since I’ve never been to San Francisco I have no idea what to think of it, but I do remember what South Park said it was pretentious (sorry the youtube has been deleted).

Links

This is what I’m doing this weekend:

party

art x2

amber

working to get ready for

two little pieces of lovely

Published by
Sarah
January 23, 2008 in (extra)ordinary and tasty business. 3 Comments

so, i have to leave in about two minutes.

work is cray right now, and i had my class this afternoon, and i’m late for small group, and i’m leaving for san francisco tomorrow (yay!).

so, instead of a post, i am offering up two pieces of lovely for yr enjoyment.

first: my favorite kind of style, i.e. food and fashion, combined.

is this the ultimate definition of DELISH or what? it’s like, a donut tree!!!!!! with cute tights! or a hipper version of “cloudy with a chance of meatballs.” yr pick.

major thanks to erin for sending me this link, which has many many more examples of where this tasty piece of couture business came from.

second, feist has made another amazing “one take” video. and i think it’s my favorite. first, cos this is my favorite song off her last album. second, cos it features fireworks. which, as you may know, are enchanting (and totally addictive).

both amber AND matt sent me this video today, and to them i say thank you and let’s do more fireworks in 2008.

psst! while i’m gone, matt will be blogging for me. who knows what he will say, but i’m sure it will be both illuminating and inspiring and, yeah, weird.

a letter to heath ledger, who died today

Published by
Sarah
January 22, 2008 in culturelux. 9 Comments

dear heath ledger,

i can’t believe you died today.

john texted me the news, and i thought, surely, SURELY, it was a hoax. just like that rumor that pam from the office was dating david spade.

but it’s no hoax. it’s for real. you are dead.

i’m not going to pretend like i’m crying over you, cos, well, i’m not. but i’m really sad. and i’m weirded out. how can you be here, making a movie with terry gilliam, looking all gross cos you’re playing a homeless person, and then be gone? poof? just like that?

i kind of don’t believe it. and i may not, for a while. cos i’m going to see yr face in the batman trailers, and for all intents and purposes, you will look pretty alive to me. well, in that joker, half-dead, psycho way.

dude. i heard there were pills involved. and i find that upsetting. i hope you didn’t kill yrself, cos, heath, you’ve got a daughter! a lovely, adorable daughter named matilda! she’s going to miss you so much. then again, the alternative, that it was an overdose, isn’t my favorite option either. WHY CAN’T PEOPLE LEAVE PILLS ALONE? STAY WAY FROM PILLS. did anna nicole not provide an illuminating enough example?

what a freaking waste.

i remember the first time i saw you. it was on a television series called “roar,” and you were some kind of golden celtic warrior. i tuned in cos keri russell played yr dead girlfriend, and then i got hooked cos i thought you were gorgeous. if anyone deserved the perfection of keri, it was you.

of course, the show got canceled. i don’t think america was ready for hot celtic warriors, cos america is dumb.

then, how can any 1990s teenage girl forget yr star turn in “10 things i hate about you”? yes, i own that movie on dvd and yes i’ve watched it a billion times and YES i still wish i could get in a paintball fight and roll around the hay (literally and, ok, figuratively) with you.

(allison janey, holla! thank you for still being alive and awesome!)

even though yr hair was kinda n to the asty in that movie, i still thought you were so charismatic and goofy and hot. yr performance on the bleachers with back-up courtesy of the marching band pretty much ruined regular boys for me, thank you v. much.

i admit, i didn’t see “brokeback.” when it came out, it seemed so sad, and sometimes i just don’t want to watch a sad movie. but obvs i heard you were great. and then you started dating michelle williams, who is always adorable, and you guys fell in love and for a while, i bet things were really happy.

and i’ve been SO EXCITED to see you in batman, heath. the first time i saw the trailer, i almost peed my pants due to yr incredible creepiness. the voice! the laugh! the face! the cray cray make-up! i thought it might be yr best role ever. and i guess, well, now it’s definitely yr last. way to go out with a bang.

i hope you’re just as amazing in batman as i expect. i guess i want you to have some sort of legacy. and i don’t know why i care, really, when there are so many awful things happening in the world. and people die every day. but i can’t help it. i’ll always love you for being in some dumb, silly, high school movie, and that’s just how life works out sometimes. cos life is weird and twisted and even beautiful in its ugliness.

so, i guess that’s all i really want to say. thanks for being a glorious boy, a shiny star in the celebrity heavens. it was fleeting, and you made it even more so. but it was still glorious, just for an instant.

sayonara, heath. i guess we’ll always have patrick verona, won’t we?

LINKS

OMG i saw the hellboy 2 trailer in the theater this weekend and it is gonna be AMAZING.

speaking of amazing, have you guys seen the preview for “baby mama”? um, hilar-fest!

this movie doesn’t look nearly as good, but SMG is in it. and so is… brendan fraser? wha?

i have decided, from now on, to ignore everything scientists try to tell me about coffee.

please don’t tell me it all adds up in the end

Published by
Sarah
January 21, 2008 in (extra)ordinary and reading rainbow. 4 Comments

it’s MLK day, and i’m thankful for civil rights and a day off.

i’ve been reading poetry, which i never take the time to do, even though it makes my heart breathe deeper and my mind feel clean. but it’s raining, and i’m waiting on laundry, so i have nothing else to do but luxuriate in words.

i think the poetry has rubbed off on my typing fingers, cos this post has kind of a lilt to it, yeah?

boo boo, my neighbor’s cat, keeps mewing at my door. boo boo is grey with a light blue collar, and i don’t know cats well enough to know if boo boo is a boy or a girl. i think of him as a boy, i guess? although most of the time, animals seem so asexual to me. i like it that way.

boo boo talks a LOT and usually greets me in the parking lot when i ride in on my bike. i like to pet boo boo, and then i wash my hands.

boo boo harbors a burning desire to get inside my apartment. maybe he had a friend here, once? or maybe he buried a kitty treasure, secretly, in a dark corner (i hope i don’t find it).  in the morning, i step outside to water my plants, and he paws at the door. he thinks it’s rude that i don’t invite him inside, and i think it’s rude that he might pee on my carpet.

yesterday, henri decided to let him in, just for a little bit. he scampered in then stopped and slowly made his way around the living room. he especially liked the space under my futon. funny, he wasn’t interested in getting any rubbings from us. no, he had an investigation to undertake, which culminated in my closet, where he pulled an ET and attempted to blend in with my shoes. boo boo, you don’t look like my converse, i’m sorry. so henri got on his knees and slowly pulled a stubborn boo boo from underneath my hanging t-shirts.

and now boo boo thinks he can come in whenever he pleases. and he’s mewing at the door and making me feel guilty, esp. cos of the rain. but i won’t let him in, esp. cos of the rain, i.e. wet cats are sad and gross.

i want to share some john ashbery with you today, from his book “your name here.” ryan gave it to me, and i wish he had dated it, cos i can’t recall when i got it. but he did write “to sarah! you’re great! love, ryan” and i think that’s a nice thing to write in a book with permanent marker.

if you’re incredibly busy and important, here’s the end of a poem called “Variations On ‘La Folia’,” which i like v. much:

* * *

We should all be so lucky as to get hit by the meteor

of an idea once in our lives. It would save a lot of hand-wringing

and bells tolling in the undersea cathedral,

a noise to drive one mad, past the brink of human decency.

Please don’t tell me it all adds up in the end.

I’m sick of that one.

* * *

if you have a little more time for spirit culture, i hope you will enjoy this poem, entitled “Dream Sequence (Untitled)”:

Yes, she chopped down a big tree.

We could all breathe easier again.

It wasn’t the hole in the landscape

that gladdened us, it was the invitation to the weather

to drop in anytime.

Which it did, in proportion to our not growing interested in it.

After a third mishap we decided

to throw in meaning. No dice.

Our tapestry still kept on reviving itself

athwart the scary shore. You could look into it

and see fog that had been dead for years,

cheerful hellos uttered centuries ago.

Worse, we were going somewhere;

this was no longer the bush leagues, but a cantata

nature had ordered from the celestial caterer,

and now it was being delivered.

There were only a few false notes; these mattered less

than a cat in a cathedral. Suddenly we were all singing

our diaries of vengeance, or fawning thank-you notes, or whatever.

The hotel billed us by the hour

but for some reason the telegraph wires weren’t included

in the final reckoning. Too, the water-tower had disappeared

as though deleted by a child’s blue eraser.

It was then that the nets of chiming

explained what we had needed to know years ago:

that a step in the wrong direction is the keyhole

to today’s busy horizon, like hay, that seems to know where it’s moving

when it’s moving.

is it just me, or is it all about me?

Published by
Sarah
January 18, 2008 in culturelux. 8 Comments

i read an article in the ny times today that i found to be extremely interesting. cos it was about my generation (well, close), and who doesn’t like reading articles about themselves?

and that is exactly what the piece is about–  are today’s “young people” (ah, old people-speak) more narcissistic than previous generations?

btw, narcissistic is kind of a hard word to type. in fact, it’s annoying.

anyway

i’ve heard this idea before, mostly in the context of myspace/facebook/celebrities/american idol. obviously, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that our culture has gained new platforms for socializing and an increasing fascination with fame. but just cos our grandparents didn’t have facebook in the 1930s doesn’t mean they were less self-obsessed, right? it just means they didn’t have the internet back then. but since we have the internet, does that encourage us to be more self-absorbed?

the article explores these questions and focuses on two competing theories (i LOVE academic wars). on one side, you have ms. twenge, who thinks that “today’s young people” are definitely more narcissistic (seriously. i had to re-type that word again) than previous generations:

* * *

Ms. Twenge attributed her findings in part to a change in core cultural beliefs that arose when baby-boom parents and educators fixated on instilling self-esteem in children beginning in the ’70s. “We think feeling good about yourself is very, very important,” she said in an interview.

* * *

and, on the other hand, you have other people, like psychologist jeffrey jensen arnett (what’s up, three name guy), who argues, “it’s like a cottage industry of putting them down and complaining about them and whining about why they don’t grow up.”

i like this explanation:

* * *

[He] found that exaggerated beliefs in social decline are widespread — largely because people tend to mistake changes in themselves for changes in the external world. “Our automatic assumption is something real has changed,” Mr. Eibach said. “It takes extra thought to realize that something about your own perspective or the information you’re receiving may have changed.”

… an example of this bias: a scene from the film “Knocked Up,” in which new parents drive their baby home from the hospital at a snail’s pace. The road, of course, is no more or less dangerous than before the couple became mother and father. But once they make that life transition, they perceive the journey as perilous.

Indeed, the transition to parenthood, increased responsibility and physical aging are examples of changes in individuals that tend to be the real sources of people’s perceptions of the moral decline of others, write Mr. Eibach and Lisa K. Libby.

* * *

first of all, way to use an example from “knocked up.” go academia, being all hip and with it!

seriously though, i think i agree with the latter group. of COURSE people’s perceptions are clouded by their age and their own generational experiences. people in their 60s don’t understand myspace, cos they didn’t have it when they were teenagers. older folks see ads for american apparel and urban outfitters and wonder why people are so obsessed with image nowadays. um, dude. people have ALWAYS been into image (well, maybe not cavemen). wouldn’t you say the beat poets and hippies were just as focused on their own worlds as the kids going to hannah montana shows and putting up videos on youtube?

i do think that the internet (and media in general) gives our generation a new way to promote ourselves. and yeah, sure, that can encourage narcissism (guh). but what older people may not see is that the internet is also just a new way to *express* and maybe even explore ourselves. back in the day, people wrote poetry and ballads and plays to share their inner thoughts with others. i hope our generation will do that too. but we also have new, exciting avenues to explore, and i’m happy to take advantage of them (see: this blog).

still, has anyone ever taken the Narcissistic Personality Inventory? the article describes a few questions in it (you have to select which one out of the two you agree with):

a) “I have a natural talent for influencing people”

b) “I am not good at influencing people”

a) “I can read people like a book”

b) “People are sometimes hard to understand”

a) “I am going to be a great person”

b) “I hope I am going to be successful”

does this remind anyone else of an annoying myspace survey?

hmm. maybe ms. twenge has a point.

what do you “young people” think about this? agree? disagree? too busy updating yr FB status to respond?

LINKS

ya’ll, i’m gonna miss brad renfro. watch this “ghost world” clip and remember how awesome he was.

do you know why today is a special day? besides the fact that it’s friday? it’s WINNIE THE POOH DAY!!!!!! yay!!!! i’m gonna go home, eat some hunny and then get stuck in the door of my apartment.

the teaser trailer for the new “star trek” movie is out. and yeah, it’s exactly that– a TEASE. gah. i hate teaser trailers. don’t ask for my attention and then give me no actual images from the movie!! that’s just rude.

selina sent me these gorgeous pictures made with food photographs. FYI: i am moving to this place.

i knew love was blind but… wow.

Published by
Sarah
January 17, 2008 in cray and culturelux. 7 Comments

the magic numbers: crazy in love 

(side note: definitely enjoying the comments on education following my last post. you guys are, like, a real, not to mention intelligent, forum. as always, i appreciate yr feedback!)

last night, henri and i watched a documentary called “crazy love.” i had never heard of it, nor did i have any idea what it would be about, except for the description on the netflix case, which mentioned something about the twisted nature of love and revenge.

you guys. I HAD NO IDEA. I. HAD. NO. IDEA.

to give you a preview, here’s the trailer of the film:

and yes, linda has the most fabulous combo of wig and glasses i have ever seen in this lifetime.

here’s a rundown of the doc, posh d. style:

in 1959, burt pugach met linda riss and immediately fell head over heals in love with her. she decided she liked him too, mostly cos he was a rich lawyer and nightclub owner (every time she walked into his nightclub, the band struck up that old song, “linda.” you have to admit, that’s a pretty good reason to date someone. am i wrong?!!).

here they are, before things got bad (reeeeal bad).

as you can see, linda was quite the looker. and burt was quite the… glasses wearing guy. but still, things were going great.

the only problem? he was married. after she found out, he swore he was getting a divorce, but of course, he was lying. linda decided to get engaged to another dude, which made burt mad. like, really mad. like, stark raving lunatic obsessive stalker mad. he hired people to beat her up and throw stones in her window.

and then…

ok, if you want to watch this movie and be surprised (honestly, i was totally shocked, and it made the movie much more fun), you should stop reading now. cos i’m going to spoil the (first) surprise for you in exactly…

3

2

1

OMG! he hired some dudes to go to linda’s house and THROW ACID ON HER FACE. and, since acid and flesh don’t mix well, she basically went blind (well, she had some vision in one of her eyes, but eventually she became completely blind). and her eyes turned this cray albino blue color and looked really effed up and she wore dark glasses all of the time cos she was ashamed.

isn’t that awful?!!!!

well, it gets crayer (hard to believe, i know).

burt went to prison, even though he swore he blinded linda out of love. even in current times, when they interview him for the documentary, he still insists that he shouldn’t have gone to prison.

you guys, this dude is insane. and what’s funny is, everyone knows it, but they just kind of… let it go. as burt’s “best friend” put it: “hey, even hitler had friends, right?”

UM

in prison, burt made a lot of money as a lawyer, eventually busting several convicted murderers out of the clink (nice). meanwhile, linda’s fiancé swore he would stick by her, but when the news coverage died down, he totally kicked her to the curb.

lesson in this movie: sometimes, guys are really big a-holes.

another lesson i soon learned in this movie: sometimes, women still love them! for no good reason!

so the years pass. linda becomes kinda destitute, cos she can’t work too much and can’t really see anything that is happening. burt keeps writing her letters, declaring his undying love (note: he totes has that cray person handwriting that i mentioned in my roswell post). eventually, linda says, “if you feel so bad about it, how about you send me some money?”

and he did.

and here’s where we get to the sexism inherent in our culture, esp. 40 years ago. all of linda’s friends were incredibly worried that she would fall into the Lonely Old Spinster crevasse, because OMG she was 35 and SINGLE!!!!! THE HORROR! ok, well, and she was blind. which does make life hard, i’ll give you that.

when burt was up for parole, the board asked him if he would keep sending linda money. i thought they were asking cos they were worried he would start stalking her again. but when he said yes, they were like, “cool, yo! you’re outta here! go get yr stalk on!”

get this: when burt got out of the slammer, linda’s friends decided to SET HER UP WITH HIM. I AM NOT KIDDING. they were like, “well… he still loves her. and no one else will, cos she’s got wonky eyes. so WHAT if he’s the guy who actually gave her the wonky eyes? she needs a husband! SHE’S 35 AND BLIND AND SINGLE!”

even crayer, linda was wiling to CONSIDER this option!

so they hung out, burt proposed right away (cos he is INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE), linda said “give it time,” and soon… they were MARRIED.

THIS IS FOR REAL.

[btw, are they high fashion or what?]

burt blinded linda, cos he’s a psychopath, and then she married him. cos she was afraid of being alone.

as henri pointed out, this was basically burt’s strategy all along. he wanted to make linda dependent on him, even if it meant throwing acid on her face.

i won’t say that this documentary is the best thing i’ve ever seen, but it IS thought-provoking. first, are these two people really in love? or is it merely a combination of obsession (burt) and desperation/dependence (linda). and how awful is it that linda was so afraid of being blind and alone that she ran back into the arms of the person who hurt her?

i know this situation plays out across the country (it’s called “domestic violence”) , and it’s an awful, awful plague.

watching burt answer questions about his actions in the past (and the present) is kind of hypnotizing. this guy has, like, no remorse. nor does he realize that he’s fruit loops. it’s pretty incredible.

the other thing that’s fascinating about the documentary is the reaction of linda’s friends. they go from hating burt to considering him a respectable gentleman caller. cos they feel guilty about linda? cos they’re women who grew up in the 40s and didn’t realize that they can live their lives without husbands? i dunno. but you guys, friends don’t let friends date guys who hired people to throw acid on their faces. that’s gotta be cross stitched on a pillow somewhere.

there’s another surprise in the movie, but i leave that one unspoiled.

here’s the “happy couple” at the premiere of the movie.

listen, if henri ever throws acid in my face, and twelve years later i decide to get back with him, do me a favor and… make sure i have an awesome wig and glasses to wear.

you know what they say. cray loves company!

LINKS

radiohead announced their US tour dates!!! houston or bust!!!!

i now present to you… kitty wigs (thanks, mandy).

louis the octopus and mr. potato head… like a children’s story, but real!!

 

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