Holiday Discussions

I saw this on a friend's facebook page, and wanted to acknowledge that this is how I spent my holiday.

Movie Review: Bottle Shock

Oh you all know my feelings about Alan Rickman. Bottle Shock is essentially about a wine tasting in France that pitted French wine against California wine in 1976. The California wine won for both wine and red. More interesting to me was the struggle of the main California vineyard to stay alive, the family dynamics of the main characters, and finally the use of immigrant labor.

Perhaps my favorite quote, "If I had your privilege I wouldn't squander it." This is said to Chris Pine's character by a Mexican immigrant who's son has the audacity to make his own wine.

I give it a solid 4/5. It is a feel good happy ending with an epilogue. Steven Spurrier, Rickman, organized a rematch 30 years later, where he believed the French would redeem themselves, but instead California took the prize again. There is a love story of sorts running through it, but I wasn't too concerned by it. Yeah for classic rock music.

Gays! Almost citizens now.

President Obama signed the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell this morning. And all I can say is it is about time. I get that President Obama has to work with Congress, but it was seriously time to show some love to the gay community.

This really is only the beginning and no where near enough. One huge victory for the men and women serving and the gay community, but gays still have limited rights in the U.S. So about Prop 8, when is that case going to show up in the Unites State's Supreme Court? Because that is a civil rights issue (suck it respectable conservative friends). I don't believe in the slightest that the repeal is going to show a shift in the treatment of liberal by this administration, but it is a start.

The bill was signed this morning and brings to an end the 17 year policy...yeah 17 years of institutionalized hate. President Obama is quoted by The Hill to have said, "This law I'm about to sign will strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals our fighting men and women risk their lives to defend."

Gay advocates are encouraging gay soldiers to take it slow and be cautious, which of course makes sense particularly in the areas of the military more reluctant to accept the repeal such as the low level Marines (just to name one, not picking on them).

One campaign promise down...anyone keeping track of how many others we still have to go?

Movie Reviews!

I watched several indie films tonight after a fun filled day of consumerism. Seriously, I'm experimenting with liquid eyeliner...I'm either going to look awesome, like a raccoon, or end up blind. Should we poll?

Careless. So I maybe slightly in love with Colin Hanks. Seriously. Anyway I loved this movie. It is a romantic comedy about a finger, and I'm using the term romantic loosely. This guy, who works at a mystery bookstore because what else can he do with a Literature degree, finds a finger in his kitchen. He proceeds to speculate on how and why it got there focusing particularly on his neighbors who dislike him. The movie is a little bit of a boy becoming a man story, which I think is overdone, but with the mystery theater backdrop I was sold. Hanks' character is awkward and clever and loves books so naturally I'm in love. The awkwardness of his character is brilliant. The film was so well written full of great lines. It ends the way Breakfast at Tiffany's does; the book not the film. If you don't know what this means read the book.

Easy. After the first movie's ending I decided I need a more cheerful comedy. And what is more cheerful than slut shaming and promiscuous sex? Nothing. Except that is not what this film is about at all. Jamie is our heroine, and she keeps getting involved with the worst men possible until she meets to normal guys. Of course there is a series of random events where the guys and she take turns failing one another. I like the sadness of this film and the burden of commitment issues. The concept of sexual prowess is the background for this film but in fact Jamie is celibate for most of the film. The feel good ending brought my rating down a little. Additionally, I don't believe commitment issues can be solved so easily.

The Education of Shelby Knox. Yeah documentaries about kids, sex, and gays. In Texas no less. The film focuses less on Knox's quite to get comprehensive sex education in her high school and more on her coming into her politics and faith. A devote Christian girl comes to term with her pastor, friends, and family while she tries to convince the school board of the merits of sex education. Toward the end of the film she joins forces with the gay rights alliance. Both causes are unsuccessful, but the film isn't bad.

Book Review: Bad Faith by Gillian Philip

Bad Faith by Gillian Philip

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love it! I read somewhere Philip was asked what this book was about and responded with "what happens when Sarah Palin is elected president." The book is a distopian young adult novel. It centers on a young woman on a journey of self discovery and self revelation. This book depicts three brutal murders and illustrates live with fear. The government is controlled by the elected leader, a conservative religious zealot, and her right hand man, the head of their faith. The Holy Man is missing when the novel begins and through out it the main character and the reader are left trying to figure out what exactly happened to him and to everyone else around him. The religious community has high esteem for a missing serial killer who disappeared years ago, but eventually the reader is let in on this secret as well. I particularly enjoyed the ending because we're left not knowing whether our heroine makes it out safely to her brother and lover. Thumbs up for a quick and easy read about the horrors of conservative Christianity taking over the government.

View all my reviews

Think your job is depressing?

I saw this and had to talk about it. Mostly, because what English major didn't want to be a writer one day. Sometimes I still think about how awesome it would be, and my darling co-blogger is a teacher.

Health.com has a list of the most depressing jobs. They are as follows:

1. Nursing home/child care workers

2. Food service staff

3. Social workers

4. Health-care workers

5. Writers, entertainers, and artists

6. Teachers

7. Administrative staff support

8. Maintenance and grounds workers

9. Financial advisers and accountants

10. Salespeople

Personally, I love when they speculate that creative people just have more mood disorders to begin with. I wouldn't be depressed it I didn't feel compelled to smoke and drink when writing like every other writer ever. Anyway just something to make you smile...doom, doom, doom.

Additionally, I've have had a few of these jobs, and sometimes they just suck.

Filibernie! It just sounds better than filibuster.

Oh Vermont, and your Independent Senator Sanders. Well, I'm impressed on some strange level. On a whole I'm opposed to the filibuster because I think it is abused, but well done Senator Sanders.

Sen. Sanders led an eight and a half hour "kind of" filibuster on the Senate floor to rail against the Obama extension of the Bush tax cuts. My favorite quote from the day was "I'm not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle," Sanders said at the top of his speech. "I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides."

He had support from Senator Brown (Oh) and Senator Landrieu (La). Shout out to both for sharing their disapproval of the tax deal as well. Sen. Brown was on a few of the cable networks this week, and I love all things Ohio.

In the end it doesn't sound like this accomplished much except maybe showing a few liberals have spinal columns. Maybe, there will be some good news coming out soon about a revised plan. I doubt it though.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/133089-sanders-begins-filibuster-of-tax-deal-

House Dems say no to Extending Bush Tax Cuts

The House Democratic Caucus rejected the tax deal cut between the White House and Republicans yesterday. Now the pressure is on for House Dems have to win changes after they rejected the package presented by the White House in a take it or leave it fashion.

According to Madame Speaker Pelosi, "Democratic priorities remain clear: to provide a tax cut for working families, to create jobs and economic growth, to assist millions of our fellow Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and to do this in a fiscally sound way."

Press secretary Gibbs is unphased claiming that in the end the bill will pass in both the House and the Senate. Gibbs goes on to ask the Dems to come up with a better compromise. House Republicans naturally love the package.

The Whip count:

LAST UPDATED ON DEC. 11 AT 9:46 a.m.

Firm No — Republicans (1)
Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) — Flake told The Daily Caller that he has major concerns about the size of the package.

Firm No — Democrats (62)
Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)
Judy Chu (Calif.)
Yvette Clarke (N.Y.)
James Clyburn (S.C.) — The Majority whip is a firm no.
Steve Cohen (Tenn.)
John Conyers (Mich.) — Judiciary Committee chairman has been outspoken against the deal.
Elijah Cummings (Md.)
Danny Davis (Ill.)
Peter DeFazio (Ore.) — DeFazio is not shy in bucking White House; he opposed the stimulus.
Bill Delahunt (Mass.) — Retiring from Congress.
Donna Edwards (Md.)
Keith Ellison (Minn.)
Anna Eshoo (Calif.) — Close friend of the Speaker.
Sam Farr (Calif.)
Bob Filner (Calif.) — One of several chairmen who will vote no.
Barney Frank (Mass.) — The Massachusetts lawmaker said on MSNBC Dec. 8 he “won’t vote for it,” but believes the deal will pass.
John Garamendi (Calif.)
Alan Grayson (Fla.)
Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) — Progressive leader in the House.
Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) — This Illinois lawmaker has criticized Obama throughout 111th Congress.
Alcee Hastings (Fla.)
Martin Heinrich (N.M.)
Maurice Hinchey (N.Y.)
Rush Holt (N.J.)
Jay Inslee (Wash.)
Jessie Jackson Jr. (Ill.)
Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas)
Paul Kanjorski (Pa.)
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) — A darling of the left, Kucinich voted yes on healthcare, but will vote no on taxes.
Barbara Lee (Calif.) — CBC chairwoman a firm no.
John Lewis (Ga.)
Ben Luján (N.M.)
Stephen Lynch (Mass.) — Voted no on healthcare despite intense lobbying from White House.
Doris Matsui (Calif.)
Betty McCollum (Minn.)
Jim McDermott (Wash.)
Jim McGovern (Mass.)
Michael Michaud (Maine) — Has been outspoken against Obama’s efforts on trade.
Jim Moran (Va.)
Jim Oberstar (Minn.) — Another chairman who will vote no.
John Olver (Mass.)
Chellie Pingree (Maine)
Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) — One of the most conservative Dems on this list.
David Price (N.C.)
Tim Ryan (Ohio)
Linda Sanchez (Calif.)
Jan Schakowsky (Ill.)
Kurt Schrader (Ore.)
Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.)
Brad Sherman (Calif.) -- Has floated ideas to leadership on how to change the deal.
Adam Smith (Wash.)
Jackie Speier (Calif.)
Pete Stark (Calif.) — One of many California Dems who will vote no.
Betty Sutton (Ohio)
Bennie Thompson (Miss.) — Thompson chairs the Homeland Security Committee.
Mike Thompson (Calif.)
Paul Tonko (N.Y.)
Anthony Weiner (N.Y.)
Peter Welch (Vt.) — Spearheaded the letter to rally House Dems to vote no.
Lynn Woolsey (Calif.) — Progressive leader in the House.
David Wu (Ore.)
John Yarmuth (Ky.)

Leaning No (6)
G.K. Butterfield (N.C.)
John Larson (Conn.) — Called the proposal “troubling.”
Chris Murphy (Conn.) — Doesn’t favor tax breaks for the wealthy.
Richard Neal (Mass.)
Bill Pascrell (N.J.) — Said this week he's leaning no.
Chris Van Hollen (Md.) Dem leader said on MSNBC that the estate tax provision “makes it very, very difficult for me to support [the deal] in its current form.”

Firm Yes (7)
Shelley Berkley (Nev.)
Dan Boren (Okla.)— One of the most conservative Democrats in the House.
Jim Himes (Conn) — Represents affluent Fairfield County, is a firm yes.
Patrick Kennedy (R.I.)
Gary Peters (Mich.) — White House noted his backing in a press release.
Mike Ross (Ark.) — Frequently disagrees with party leadership. Says he plans to vote for it.
Mark Schauer (Mich.) — White House touted his endorsement of the plan.
Joe Sestak (Pa.) -- Will do so reluctantly.

Leaning Yes (1)
Bill Owens (N.Y.)

In the end what this all comes down to is who the White House wants to work with. I don't have a clue as to the strategy behind this one. This maybe the one time liberal policy has the majority of public opinion support, but we're going with the other guy on this one. Crazy. The support (and I use that work lightly) gained form this package won't come vote for you later, but your base is growing more and more disillusioned by the day. I don't see what is being accomplished here.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/132885-house-dems-vote-to-reject-tax-cut-deal-

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/132937-whip-count-house-democrats-positions-on-obamas-tax-compromise

Come back to the Fold

Ok, so I've been getting lots of e-mails about why we should support the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest U.S. citizens and be happy about it because unemployment benefits will be extended. Yeah, we should be happy that once again the wealthiest need to get theirs before they'll agree to help the poor.

Well, I say no. I say if the Republicans threaten to filibuster every Democratic bill let them. They're the ones who will have to field the questions about why unemployment benefits haven't been extended when they are so desperately needed. I also challenge they to try because I feel CSPAN isn't watchable enough, and watching McCain trying to filibuster on Christmas day makes me warm inside. Yeah, war on Christmas bitches. Balls to the wall kids, time to do something or at least try. And by that I don't mean cave. If we've given in to them already what will the next Congressional term be like? I don't want to think about it.

I had my final class of the semester last night. One girl in my class said the federal government is too big and needs to be smaller and stay out of states issues. She went on to say the Chinese don't think critically, which is why U.S. education is better. The wonderful woman who sits across from me and I gasped; she met my eyes and mouthed racism. I'm glad the class is over. Though several of us discussed how bad things are going to get in the next two years...Pretty bleak.

Dear Mr. President:

President Obama and White House Staff:

I am writing to express my concern over bending to the will of the incoming Republican leadership. I worry that extending the Bush tax cuts is only the beginning and that it will only get worse. What happened to the leadership we voted for and more importantly organized for?Do you believe in these tax cuts for the wealthiest 3% of the population? If not, then don't pretend that you do, after all this might be the only time public opinion is on your side. You've let women down, you've let gays down, but are you also going to let down the poor for the promotion of the wealthy? If you believe every Democratic backed bill will be filibustered by the Republicans then let them. Let them hold up unemployment benefits and everything else; they'll look like fools and maybe you'll stop looking weak. I've been a supporter even when the rest of the liberals started getting nervous, but now I'm just disappointed. Politics is politics, but this is not why I vote. I believed that you would do something to change the current state of things, and I had no lofty goals that you would single handedly fix the economy, but I expected some return.

Sincerely,

Kari

A Lament...

Goodbye Governor Strickland. I hate to think my inability to vote for you had something to do with your defeat, but hell it was close. Ohio goes red once again, and more than likely, the federal government will shut down.

May those who voted for the Republicans get what they deserve: tax breaks for the rich, cuts in school funding, and the movement of jobs out of the state.

At some point when my headache dissipates I'll write about Kentucky and the shit show that is happening there.

Some brief book reviews...

Ok, a few posts ago I said that I would be reading a WHOLE BUNCH this semester and it's very true. In the last 6 weeks of school I've read about 8 books so here is a run down! I only have time for one or two right now, but more will come eventually!

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

This book was mostly boring for me, but I could see younger kids getting into it. This is at a fourth grade reading level and the set up of the novel is actually pretty cool. Each chapter is another summer, over the span of one week, where the main characters Joey and Mary Alice go to southern Illinois to visit their grandmother for that week. Silliness ensues because Grandma is a bit of a spitfire and the stories are set in the late 20's and early 30's so there are all kinds of historical references to Charles Lindburgh, WWI, the Depression, etc., which would be very useful if it was read in English class while the kids were learning about the 20's in History class. The stories are clever, and I think the only reason I was really bored was because it was so simple to read. Anyway, I'd give this book about a 3/5

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

I liked this book a bit more and actually read it all in one sitting which I love doing. This is a great book for reluctant readers because it is a multi-genre sort of piece. There is no real narration in the book, but rather conversation drives the plot. When we get inside a character's head it is usually through a letter or a note passed in class instead of narration. Each chapter is a different type of medium through which we understand the characters and their motivation. Another reason why this is a novel for reluctant readers is because the main plot centers around a drunk driving incident that leads to a student's death and the aftermath of that death for the driver of the car. I would give this one a 3.5/5

OK Dems pull your shit together and pretend like you're a political party

Oh, Joe. I know you get to run your mouth off and it is part of your gimmick, but really. "Stop whining." I expect more when Dems trip over themselves. President Obama hasn't kept his promises, specifically DADT among several others. Where's President Obama's love for women? No love. No concern for women in health care, why because it was hard.

Now, being a woman I get it. I'm used to being disappointed in the guys I vote for. It comes with the territory. But as long as I vote I'm going to complain.

So I reiterate...Please Pull Your Shit Together!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/joe-biden-stop-whining-democratic-base_n_741160.html

Movie Review: Daybreakers

Those of you who know me, know I have a fascination with crappy movies, make it a sci-fi or action movie, and I'm yours. So this evening, I watched the movie Daybreakers.

It get pure sass points for naming the vampire lead Edward, but it loses points for making him suffer from the same psychological deficiencies all lead vampires apparently suffer from: the inability to eat people. So essentially this movie has Buffy and Giles (had he once been a vampire) working with Edward/Angel/Knight Rider, who used to work for Umbrella Corp, fighting Umbrella Corp. Get all that?

Naturally, I enjoyed myself. Ethan Hawke plays Edward who is having a crisis of conscious about his job, which is to manufacture a safe blood substitute. He works for a large company looking for a blood substitute and still wants to farm people for the profits (capitalism, got to love it). Edward covers/hides some humans one night, and next thing he knows he's working with them on a cure. Of course, they have one. The remainder of the movie is trying to get the girl back...did I mention one of the humans is a hot girl?

I'm giving it a 4.2.

You are going to like this

And by you, I probably just mean Kari because I'm not sure how often other folks stop by.

I'm taking a Young Adult Literature course this semester and we'll be reading something like 14 novels so I'll have plenty of sharing to do this semester. But that's not even the part you'll like! We're being asked to keep a Book Journal where, among other things, we have to note in 15ish sentences the general plot of a book.

If you've ever read a book review by me, I'm terrible at this. I have a really hard time being concise when nailing down a plot and I usually just give up and gush about how much I like the book and how much you should read it. Well, no more! I'm going to have to get better and the blog is going to directly benefit because I intend to put my plot summaries/reviews in here for all of the YA books I'll be encountering this semester. I'm hoping that by the end of this course, I'll have a good range of books that young adults would like to read and a helpful guide for parents who are a little scared of what their kids may be reading.

So, point your scared friends and loved ones this way. I'll help them sort through this mess of what the heck our teens are reading. We're reading an incredible range of books, including but not limited to graphic novels, sports books, banned books, etc. Hopefully by the end of this semester, anyone who reads this blog (hi Kari) will be able to recommend something from my reading list to a teen desperate for something new.

I was told to use a pen name...

Yeah, when I took creative writing courses, we'd have to submit for publication, and immediately after laying out the assignment Maureen said women should use their first initial or a male derivation of their names.

I love Jonathan Franzen. I loved the Corrections, but he isn't the best author ever. I don't think he should have been on Time Magazine, and I didn't pre-order the book. I pre-order books I need to read. When I read about the fuss about his book, all I could think was this is going to be the most overrated book. Then I started reading about this white men vs. the world thing, and still I thought, who cares? Women and minorities are always left out.

However, after NPR and the Huffington Post I got to thinking that their may be something to this. At least to the argument that Jennifer Weiner makes about men create literature and women create chick lit. I'm bad for it; I give a friend of mine hell for reading "chick lit," which I define as a step up from romance fiction, genre science fiction, and horror. These are books written in a series that goes on forever. They follow archetypes and are completely predictable. But all books written by women for women aren't chick lit.

This isn't anything new. The novel itself was considered a feminine literary device during it's inception. Many women wrote them, and wrote them for other women. An interesting fact about slave narratives is they were written to resemble novels to appeal to white women, who they wanted to join the abolitionist cause. Women were kept out of the cannon and largely still are.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating Franzen's work; the concern is that the New York Times, Time Magazine, and a variety of others only celebrate the work of white men. Want a great book by a African-American female author? Check out The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow.

The Locust Descend...

I hate tourist on a normal day, but wrap them in hate, and I'm not leaving the apartment. Naturally, the tea-party is coming to DC, because the Constitution was written here...wait, that's not right. They must be coming to lobby their representatives, those out of touch elitists. Just kidding, they want to spread their hate somewhere else. Apparently, things aren't going well in NYC, but never fear tea-baggers, I'm sure you'll win this whole mosque debate: the ignorant usually do.

For those of you who haven't heard, the tea-baggers are looking out for their own by providing a how-to-guide for traveling around DC. This dude pretty much just tells other tea-baggers (nope, never getting old) to stay out of any place they may run into non-white people. Apparently, my neighborhood is fine though, so never fear I haven't heard any gun shots. Kind of makes me miss home.

Naturally, they are told to stay in NW, and never travel by cab because all cabbies are illegals. Also, they are warned about assuming that all persons of dark pigment are African Americans...this guy shares some story about making that mistake. Which leads me to a pretty obvious question, who assumes that all dark skinned people are the same? Right, Americans or patriots or as I like to call them Fucking Nuts. I'm pretty pale, but I'm not Scottish and sure as hell not from Pittsburgh.

Well, they descend, and I go into hiding. But, maybe I'll venture out long enough to yell at some people on the metro or ask why they hate black people. That's always fun.

You have plans tonight.

Your plans are to go out and see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Seriously, go see this movie.

For once, an indie movie does music placement right. Movies like Juno, Garden State, etc all seem to try too hard to tell you what music you should like if you want to be a cool indie rock gal or guy. In Scott Pilgrim all the bands in the movie are fake bands that are based on real bands. The band that Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) plays in is actually Beck. He sings and plays all the instruments for the band. Also, all the songs for one of the other bands in the movie (Crash and the Boys) were written by two members of Broken Social Scene, Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew. And my personal favorite, the band Clash at Demonhead was based on Metric and they recorded a song for the movie as well. I couldn't put my finger on why these bands were actually really good in the movie until my husband read me the wikipedia page in the car on the way home. Thank you internet phone.

Anyway, this movie was just very clever and well done. The main plot is that Scott is in love with a girl (I know, yeah yeah just like every Michael Cera movie) but there is a twist. She has a league of "evil exes" (7 to be exact) that Scott has to defeat in video game-esque fight sequences until they've all been destroyed. The fighting is awesome, the plot is fun and exciting and it has all kinds of great twists. (Side note to Kari: one of the exes is a vegan and he has super powers for being better than dairy and animal byproducts. It's hilarious.)

But really, please go see this movie.

5/5

King James Just Won't Quit

Well, I know I'm running out to pick up GQ and read all about how much Cleveland hates on Akron and poor Lebron James. It must have been hard growing up impoverished; lucky you're a sport's star or you might have had to deal with the realities of being from Cleveland.

Cleveland hates on everyone, I think it may come from being in a recession for more than a third of my life. Maybe it coms from the mills closing, the auto plants folding, gang violence, and rampant poverty. Maybe it comes from a serial killer caught last year.

Here's a thought superstar, give back to the team and fans that made you. I never thought James was staying in Cleveland, maybe, just maybe he'd stay and deliver a championship, but not really. This whole, "oh they hate me, I wonder why" crap is disgusting. You made a decision, now deal with it. Being a Cleveland fan is a character building experience because of Albert Bell, Art Modell, now Lebron James and I'm sure more to come. Cut and run fellas, cut and run. James made the Miami Heat the LA Lakers. They may sell out, but welcome to being boo'd on the court, burned in effigy, and God knows what else. We're Cleveland after all, and I've seen beer bottles thrown at players and onto courts. I'm not kidding; Art Modell was burned in effigy the first few years the Browns played after he moved them to Baltimore.

Personally, I never cared for Akron. There is always traffic and nothing to do there. Not that there is a whole lot to do in Cleveland either. But there isn't this animosity James is describing either. Cleveland has room only to hate one place: Pittsburgh, and maybe Michigan.

Just for the record this is what James should have said, "I enjoyed my time in Cleveland and wouldn't trade it for anything maybe one day I'll go back. But I'm looking forward to play for the Heat and gaining new experiences."

Where are all the songs about sex with SciFi writers?

The best music video ever? Maybe, maybe.

Comic University: Love It!

These were posted by Chase Mitchell on CollegeHumor.com. I love this, some more than others. For example my favorite is the first image of Wonder Woman and Superman. Just something a little feel good. Especially sense there is a new study out saying comic heroes are detrimental to boys. The article was picked up by io9.com, who I usually love, but the author of the post seems to have taken offense to the idea that boys are being badly shaped by comic heroes. I'm not really sold on the whole pop culture ruins everyone. What I think the comic industry does need to recognize is the overly sexual images of women and lack of development of female characters. This isn't always the case; characters like Wonder Woman exists and Rogue enjoy a huge story arch in X-men Legacy. But like the Twilight series women have a history of playing support roles to further their male counterparts.

Regardless, fun pictures!

http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1808189

http://io9.com/5614325/superheroes-provide-bad-role-models-for-boys-says-psychologist

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10957590

Movie Review: Beautiful Girls

There is something those of you who know me already know: I love anything average. And tonight, I watched an average movie about average guys called Beautiful Girls. Timothy Hutton (who I love for no reason other than every character I've ever seen him play was drunk) goes home for his high school reunion (a reunion he and his friends don't actually go to) and meets up with his high school friends and together they all do self-reflection about their lives and relationships.

Everyone in this film is average, and average in a realistic way, not in the "we're trying to write about average people's lives way. There are moments that made me feel like I was invading the intimacy of friends. Then again this could all be me reading too much into this movie. This is probably true because the character I spent the film identifying with was not Hutton's. This is a direct irrational emotional response to some news I received this week. The dynamic between the guys is like going home again for the first time in a long time: friends are the same and somehow really different and conversations with everyone including family are really awkward.

The women in this movie have two functions: lovers and figures of wisdom. The lovers are as crazy as the gentlemen, worrying about their relationship and completely unhappy. The figures of wisdom constantly provide reasonable relationship and live advise, which always falls on deaf ears. It is particularly disturbing is that these guys as supposed to be in their late twenties, and they drink constantly, obsess about supermodels, get in bar fights, and drive trucks into cars to solve their problems. Really, this movie was made in the mid-nineties and more than a decade later nothing has changed. Of course, I liked the end where Matt Dillon's character talks about not being the man he wanted to be.

I give it a solid 3/5.

Write me a letter, I'll save it forever.

I recently received several boxes and containers filled with old notes, pictures, letters, and other memorabilia from my childhood and teen years.

Today I read, for about two hours, different letters, notes, poems and cards that people have written for/to me and it was really quite interesting. Reading a letter that someone writes to you begins to feel a little one sided. In most of my reading, I couldn't remember the specific time or place that the person writing me was alluding to (it doesn't help we always spoke in code) so I began to become frustrated that I never knew what my responses were to these letters.

However, the more I think about it now, I realize that it's really kind of cool to see yourself through another person's eyes. In the notes and letters I've saved it is the overwhelming consensus that I was loved. I have notes from people consoling me about fights with friends or breakups; letters telling me everything that is happening when I'm not around, and that I'm missed; poems and cards for birthdays and anniversaries and so on. It's really amazing to be able to see what other people feel about you, when they're feeling it the strongest.

If you have similar boxes lying around, I urge you to do the same. It's really quite a surreal experience.

Another garden post.

Just an update on the garden, I posted some pictures over here on another blog where I post pictures with my friend Melissa :)

Cari, Cari quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

So, as it turns out, I'm getting pretty into gardening, which is somewhat of a surprise for several reasons. First, I hate being outside in the heat. Second, there is the good chance that while gardening, one encounters bugs. And finally, I've never actually even tried container gardening indoors to know if I'm even any good at it.

Well, things change I guess because I just spent the ENTIRE day outside in the heat digging and planting and being near bugs, and you know what? It was extremely satisfying. And this is no fluke people. I spent the entire day doing the same thing last Wednesday as well.

Today I went with a friend to his mother's house and pillaged her garden for flowers and plants, which we then brought back to my yard and planted all around. She is getting ready to move so they'll just be mowing over her garden and I was able to take almost anything I wanted with the exception of the flowers she had on her wedding day and the flowers she planted after her mother died (seems fair to me!). Anyway, my entire backyard is filled with plants that are really going to look amazing next spring. I absolutely can not wait. I would still be out there now weeding if it wasn't getting so darn dark out. I've actually found myself going outside daily each evening to water the plants and pull some weeds from around them, which I never imagined myself doing.

Too bad there isn't a Julia Child of gardening or I could take this up as my new project, ha. Hopefully I'll be able to add some pictures of the flowers I have now, but most of them are at the end of their life since it's August and they're not very pretty. It's really the roots I care about at this point, but that wouldn't be too exciting to post a bunch of pictures of roots.

California's Prop 8 Overturned!

I'm sure this isn't the last we're going to hear about this, but what the hell. A federal judge overturned the ban on gay marriage today. This could lead to the U.S. Supreme Court having to hear a case on whether gays and lesbians can marry. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rejected the arguments presented by the sponsors of the marriage ban. Naturally, conservative and religious groups are are organizing an appeal for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Walker found that the ban violated due process ad equal protection clauses by singling out gay men and lesbians and denying them marriage licenses. This ruling doesn't mean gay marriages can start back up in California; Judge Walker is allowing both sides to submit arguments on whether his order should be suspended until the proponents of Prop 8 purse their appeal.

Huffington Post posted this story.

Labor Market Hurts Women, and the NYTimes has figured it out

An article in the New York Times, "A Labor Market Punishing to Mothers" by David Leonhardt discusses the realities of being a mother and a laborer. I love all the articles of late talking about how working and being a parent is challenging. According to the article many mothers take low paying jobs with flexible hours resulting in lower pay for women overall. The article also emphasises that women in the news lately such as Kagen and Miers. Leonhardt points out that these ladies are without children while most CEOs have full-time jobs and families. Really, I'm just kind of shocked we're continuing to talk about this like it hasn't always been happening.

So we can all agree that pay inequality isn't just because men are promoted at a higher frequency than women, but it is also because because women largely take positions that accommodate taking on the the role of caregiver.

Female Film Killers According to Some Dudes...

I do love comic book movies. I take small issue with this list though: the gender stereotype of oversexed killers. This is blatantly wrong by the way. Female killers usually don't gain sexual release/pleasure from murder opposed to male killers. I'm really just happy Informania and Current replaced Sarah Haskins with a rather funny lady. People probably shouldn't be rating the sex appeal of killers even on screen...it's just weird.

DC is Pushing Female Condoms to Fight HIV

According to the CDC, the District of Columbia is suffering a "severe epidemic" in respect to AIDS/HIV. The MAC AIDS fund gave DC a grant to distribute female condoms; 500,000 female condoms are supposed to be handed out.

However, they are having trouble distributing them. They aren't quite as easy to use as the traditional male condom. And according to one pro-condom using man, men are reluctant to use something new that they don't have control over.

Well, gee...you mean not being in control over your own STD protection is intimidating? Crazy. Let's see, the female condom maybe more effective at protecting against STDs, but people are reluctant to use them because they are different. I'm a new proponent of these...According to the Jezebel post, the FDA has improved upon the female condom making it less expensive and less nosy. Yeah, they are still more expensive than male condoms, but the benefits may out way the negatives to be in complete control of your sexual health.

Jezebel and AP.

Avatar: The Legend of Korra

I'm a little too excited about a sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I've been reluctant to write about this new cartoon until I learned some more about it. And here goes...

• The new series starts 70 years in the future of the Avatar timeline.
• Korra is a waterbender and the new Avatar (take a moment to mourn Aang).
• She is a teenage girl who has already mastered Water, Earth, and Fire by the beginning of the series.
• Korra will be learning Airbending from Aang and Katara's son, Tenzin, in Republic City (Aang's son is an Airbender).
• Republic City is a place where all nations live together.
• Korra discovers the city has crime and the beginnings of an anti-bending revolution.

The series comes out in 2011, and I can tell you I'm going to count down. I'm already speculating on what tributes are paid to The Last Airbender might find their way in based on the picture. I could speculate all evening.

Here are the links and the press release I found all this on:

Press Release

io9.com

RaceBending.com

In the Women's Room at the East Side Melt

Kari, I thought of you when I saw this :)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Julie and Julia and Me

I just finished watching Julie & Julia and I have to say, it really was quite inspiring. For those of you who haven't seen the movie (which I fully realize is probably just me) the main premise is as follows: Julie decides to begin a blog that will chronicle 365 days of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her main reason for doing so is that she's in a rut and she's looking for a change and most importantly (to me anyway) she's never finished anything.

This is the part of the movie that I really can relate to. I wish I had the gumption to do something like this, but even as I was watching the movie I was thinking, "Oh, I could never do that recipe!" I still can't even imagine going through all 500+ recipes without skipping over any. That's some incredible gumption.

Right now, my schedule is wide open. I was supposed to be in class for a summer session right now, but it was canceled due to a lack of enrollment so currently, I waste away most of my days watching television or straightening up the house. And you know what? Last week, I decided to cook some homemade macaroni and cheese, which I've never done before and I found it so relaxing and the day went by so much faster than any of the other days last week. The recipe I was working with didn't call for any seasoning aside from a 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper, so I opted to throw in some paprika, rosemary, and oregano, and it actually wasn't half bad. Maybe there is something to a project like this.

I'm not saying I'm going to take on this project, this project is not mine, but I feel inspired to do something. Hm, let me get back to you on this.

Oh, as far as the movie? 4/5 Very cute, great acting.

What's in a good story?

As far as I'm concerned, whether it is a movie or a book, a good story is one that changes you or elicits some sort of emotion. For the purpose of this blog post, can we agree on that? Thank you.

Young Adult (YA) fiction seems to have the market cornered on books that affect their readers. I was having lunch with my mom over the weekend recalling one of my favorite books from my childhood The Bridge to Teribithia. She told me something I never knew before, that when she read the back of the book at the library or bookstore, she knew right away (spoiler alert) that someone would die in the book. I must have been in 3rd grade when I read this book and I remember crying my eyes out when the character died, however, I don't remember it ruining my week. I just remember wanting more of the story, hungry for answers, to know what happens to the remaining characters. I didn't care about the happy ending, because this kind of story is like real life. Similarly, I was just as satisfied when I finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows, even though I had a dog growing up.

So why are we attracted, even from a young age, to literature that hurts? Earlier this summer I listened to a show on NPR's Around Noon (note: that link has both the show I listened to, which is great, and a list of all the books they talked about) about YA novels and overwhelmingly the books these experts were recommending had characters that had all the odds stacked against them, lost a family member or friend, or were dealing with major life experiences that most real adults don't grapple with. Many parents called in begging for recommendations for their young readers, with aptitude for more difficult books, in which nothing devastating happens to the main character(s). However, these experts were largely stumped by this question because so many YA novels have these themes.

Right now I'm reading one of the books they recommended called The Hunger Games and I am completely enthralled. This book is the first in a trilogy that has young adult readers taking libraries by storm, hungry for more. The second book is called Catching Fire and the third installment of the series entitled Mockingjay will be released in about a month. So what is this trilogy, which young readers are so interested in, about?

The Hunger Games follows the narrative of a 16 year old girl named Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where every year, 24 children (aged 12-18) are thrown into an arena to fight to the death in order to feed the people in their district. It's basically like The Goblet of Fire on steroids. Within the first 20 minutes of reading (well listening because I've got the audio book for this one) this book I was fighting - hard, and slightly unsuccessfully - to hold back tears at my desk at work. Katniss has every characteristic that Pixar or Disney characters have. 1. She lost a parent at a young age, 2. She is the head of the house because her remaining parent is in such despair over the loss, 3. She is a fighter, and 4. She (hopefully!) overcomes all odds to help her family. She is selfless and strong and an amazingly written character with flaws and a temper and man I hope the feminists get a hold of this book because they'll go nuts for her.

I really don't have an answer to the overlying question in this post though: Why do we like literature that hurts? What do you think? Basically, this was just a long way of telling you to read The Hunger Games trilogy. It is extremely well written and completely enthralling. I think I'll be reading a number of the books on the YA book list from NPR.

It's Hard to Be White, at least it is according to James Webb

And apparently Protestants are being persecuted. I'm not without empathy, and my dad's Irish Catholic so we can go rounds on Protestants and Catholics some other time.

Senator Webb wrote a memo in the Wall Street Journal outlining how African Americans and poor whites have both received bad deals throughout American history. I also like how Webb alleges that no one else in the United States has been discriminated against, but have benefited from programs originally aimed to assist African Americans specifically mentioning Asia, Latin America and Africa. I bring this up because we've detained the Japanese and anyone who looked Middle Eastern, who were conveniently left off Webb's list. And currently, Arizona is demanding the papers of people suspected of being illegal...which of course isn't based on race or ethnicity. I think there are 8 other states trying to pass similar laws. I love the sliding scale of oppression: who had it the worst? And Webb is arguing that white privilege is a myth.

I think everyone should get a fair shot at higher education, employment, or anything else, but Webb is just naive asking for other politicians to "Drop the Procrustean policies and allow harmony to invade the public mindset. Fairness will happen, and bitterness will fade away."

Really Webb, you'll click your heals together and utopia will descend? I recognize I have white privilege, and sometimes I get the benefits of being a woman...not when it counts like equal pay (really ask me about it sometime). Yeah, we can do better, but pretending that everyone is on equal footing when we execute African American men at a higher rate than anyone else is ridiculous. Webb doesn't mention it in this memo, but I'm guessing someone read the new study out saying that poor whites are at a disadvantage when applying to universities. I wrote about it earlier this week.

Consent as Defined by St. Louis: She Had It Coming

Every time someone says real America to me as though it is some idealistic utopia, and that the rest of us are somehow making this wonderful place a little worse by existing something like this comes along.

A woman in St. Louis discovered that she was topless in a "Girls Gone Wild" Video without her knowledge or consent. She sued "Girls Gone Wild," but never fear the jury found that she deserves it. The evening in question the woman went to a bar dancing for a "Girls Gone Wild" cameraman; she repeated refused to remove her shirt or flash anyone. However, another party goer pulled her shirt down, which was caught on tape by the previously mentioned cameraman. Without her knowledge or consent this image was put in a video, that came back to haunt her six years later. The jury foreman explained the decision, "Through her actions, she gave implied consent. She was really playing to the camera. She knew what she was doing." You have to love the she had it coming defense despite refusing consent.

So you're saying to yourself, well of course: free enterprise can't be bothered with consent. Lucky she was over age...makes you wonder if "Girls Gone Wild" did this to anyone underage.

St. Louis Today: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_30865bcc-95eb-11df-9734-00127992bc8b.html

Salon: http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/2010/07/23/girl_gone_wild_against_her_will/index.html

Housewives vs. Working Women Battlefield Stockholm

This is an argument as old as feminism, well not really; it is as old as conservative definitions of feminism...I should dedicate some serious time to finding the original of the "feminists are against raising children" mantra.

I've recently quit my job, fortunately, I have a new one. However, at my previous job I met a girl, E, who came to speak to me about that organization and their policy stance, which didn't exist. E and I spoke for a while, and she mentioned that she was researching or interested in the dichotomy of stay at home mothers and working women. Specifically, the undervaluing of the labor performed by stay at home mothers/housewives. E had a lot of preconceived ideas about feminists and how they undervalue the work of stay at home women and the stigma attached to staying at home. I was pretty shocked by this for a few reasons: 1. I know lots of women who intend to stay at home when they have kids; 2. feminism is about choice, the choice to work or stay at home without placing a value on one or the other; and 3. some socialist feminists have worked out the idea of paid domestic labor. This paid domestic labor much like domestic labor performed by an outsider opposed to a family member isn't expected to be well received by the labor community. Additionally, the socialist feminists also speculated that the majority of this work would continue to be done by women and not divided equally with men. I found myself explaining that women can choose to do whatever they like, but staying at home isn't for me. Which is what I think this argument really comes down to: if it is ok, then why don't you want to do it?" The explaining of your personal choices in such a way as to not offend.

All this happened about a month again, and then just yesterday an article shows up in the New York Times on the "Stigma of Being a Housewife"by Katrin Bennhold. A Swedish journalist, Peter Letmark attempted to track down a housewife in Sweden, but failed. The article postulates that feminism has "overshot its objective." That women are pitted against one another along class, ethnic, etc. lines, and everyone is one of two camps: pro or anti housewife. In the "developed world" housewives are seen as lazy, etc. The article also references that economists, internationally place domestic unpaid work above the manufacturing sector. It is noted that women feel compelled to conform to the standard of working mother instead of staying at home. Everyone interviewed in the article argues for a value and acknowledgement of their work, but not a wage.

This is a brief summary, but let's just look at a few of the limitations to this article.

1. Placing feminism in this for the argument. They mention it once, just to draw attention with little explanation. Merely, perpetuating the idea that feminists are ending the conventional notion of home.

2. "developed world" I'll just leave this alone...I obviously there is privilege in this article that isn't being acknowledged. So we're looking for housewives from a specific socio-economic class. Alluding to poor women who stay at home with their kids are just lazy and not expected to value their domestic labor.

3. Housewife vs. domestic work. I mention this because nowhere in this article does it mention children and child raising, but we are talking hetero-normative relationships surrounding the "home." We're also talking gendered labor, and this article does not address a househusbands or stay at home dads. Though it does mention paternity level.

Naked Reading?

Burlesque is in the mist of a revival, which you may or may not be aware. Dita Von Tesse is the most mainstream example the popular acceptance of this revival. Burlesque is not the same as stripping, though it has a shared history and similar techniques. Burlesque is stripping's predecessor and originated out of vaudeville. Women removing their clothing came out of ironic skits.

The Toronto Burlesque Festival is the debut of "Naked Girls Reading," which is the brain child of Frank Vivid, a Chicago photographer/writer. This is a change for burlesque because complete nudity isn't done. Vivid's wife, burlesque star Michelle L'amour, assisted in developing this idea and co-produces the show. The show usually consists of 4 or 5 readers who take 10 minute turns then concludes in a group reading of a common book.

The article argues that the women are more vulnerable because taking off their clothes is common to the entertainers, but reading is usually done in private is results in vulnerability. I'm not really sold on this. I mean I like reading as much as the next person, some would argue I like reading more than I like most people, and I personally have a strong avoidance to pants. I'm just not clear how this keeps with the burlesque traditions or if the skeptical of this is somehow damaging. This is a link to the article and the ladies' reading list.

The Root of White Resentment? Probably Not, But You Have to Start Somewhere

A friend of mine had a link this this New York Times article on her facebook page. It struck me as odd because of the title of the opinion piece, "The Root of White Anxiety," by Ross Douthat. It struck me for a couple reasons: 1. the plight of white people doesn't sound like something my friend is overly concerned with unless we are talking poor people, which is not alluded to in this title, and 2. the article begins by talking about Pat Buchanan and Harvard.

This is an interesting piece that talks about the dichotomy of elitism and bigotry, the American elite verses white Christians, to use Douthat's language. But for the sake of argument let's hear the argument about the discrimination of white Christians: liberal policies are giving too much to minority groups for discriminatory practices that happened to far back to render legitimate now. My interpretation of complaints of this vein is very simple people fear change. And while some are bigots and full of hate, I like to think that most merely worry exclusively about themselves and where they and theirs fall into a new world view. So less, white people vs. black people and more Molly Member (white, Christian, middle class) and family vs. change in world view that shifts conventional standards such as white people go to college to disenfranchised groups having access to college as well. A more individualist world view to a multicultural one. Not legitimate, but less large scale hate.

Regardless, the article argues that white people are nervous and just maybe there is some legitimacy to their concerns. Not that President Obama is a racist, but to the white poor/middle class young people may be at a disadvantage when being accepted to college. A study was put out a year ago entitled, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life, by Thomas J. Espenshade & Alexandria Walton Radford from Princeton. The study finds that the admissions process favors potential students who would diversify the study body, e.i. ethnically diversify. Douthat asserts like Russell K. Niele that the most disadvantaged by this process is rural/working class white persons. Douthat connects this group with the "Real America" the Tea Party and Sarah Palin supporters. Douthat suggest that the "cultural divide" in America has been in the works for years, but universities can alleviate some of the gap through admissions.

I agree...but let's talk for a moment about white anxiety. I don't believe admitting more lower class white people will rectify the problems. I think it will help, but a cultural shift away from the individual might help too. Michael Kimmel wrote a book entitled Guyland, which I wrote about before, he provides another hypothesis: white privilege is the root of these anxieties and without removing this perception of specific resources belonging to an individual for no other reason than a perceived birthrate none of this will change in any lasting way. After all there are only X number of spots in Ivy League schools. But everyone having a better understanding of this situation and entitlement would assist in rectifying the problem. Perhaps a look at standardized tests would as well, after all they are racially, socioeconomically, and sexually biased. Maybe, we should go in another direction?

"That's Gay!" Literature

I do love plays on words. I was skimming HuffPo this morning, and couldn't help but notice a post on books for LGBTQ teens. They listed thirteen great books for teens and specifically gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and questioning/queer (depending on the circle you use) teens. To my dismay, I've only read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, but I fully intend to get a DC library card and borrow the rest of these. I'd use my school one, but we're having some difficulties with communication.

The list offered by HuffPo is as follows:

• The Arizona Kid, Ron Koertege
• Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan
• Deliver Us from Evie, M.E. Kerr
• From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun, Jacqueine Woodson
• The God Box, Alex Sanchez
• Jack, A.M. Homes
• The Misfits, James Howe
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
• Rainbow Boys, Alex Sanchez
• The Bermudez Triangle, Maureen Johnson
• Absolutely, Positively Not, David LaRochelle
• Annie on my Mind, Nancy Garden
• Kissing Kate, Lauren Myracle

It is important that these books are becoming part of popular culture especially with the advent of Twilight and other reactionary fiction depicting hetero-normative lifestyles and a disturbing amount of gender based violence at least in this specific example, but Twilight will be for another day. After reading the brief descriptions of these books I'm sold on reading almost all of them. Perhaps my end of summer reading list. They're all young adult books so should read fairly quick.

I remember reading Perks of Being a Wallflower for the first time. It was a pretty huge experience, and still sits on my bookshelf. Sometimes I forget some how some books are banned and for these ridiculous reasons such as homosexuality is obscene and offensive. Still the increasing in readership is huge and hopefully will get these books off banned book lists, and maybe even into middle school reading lists.

Ordaining Women the same as the Sexual Abuse of Children?

Can someone explain to me how ordaining women as priest in the Roman Catholic Church as the same as sexual abuse of minors?

Oh silly Church. I'm pretty disturbed by this whole thing. Mostly, because equating these two things seem so monumentally asinine that it is a challenge to comprehend. Yep, ordaining women is the same as heresy, schism, and sexual abuse of minors by the clergy. Of course, any bishop who ordains a woman will be excommunicated with the woman being ordained.

The article also notes that these revisions were to a decree from 2001; the many purpose of which was to take on the sexual abuse scandals.

This is a pretty chilling idea that women being priests is as detrimental to the Church as sexual abuse. I'm really at a loss for words.

Adventures in DC Law

Day One: Today I've conquered the DC vehicle inspection. And my jaw suffered for it. I like using inflammatory language to talk about government procedures. I couldn't drive on my pain medication. Anyway, so far everyone has been really nice to me, which is contrary what I've read online.

Anyway, I waited in line forever, because one of the cars in front of my broke down...irony, I think so. Anyway the woman behind me was pretty angry about it, but eventually we got moving. She ended up being from northeast Ohio as well. After she let go of her anger.

Tomorrow: DMV for Drivers License, Title, and Plates.

Movie Review: The Last Airbender

I'm really surprised neither Cari or I have written about this film, The Last Airbender, in the past year or so. Granted, I'm more the science fiction nerd in our relationship. I don't want to skim over this film's controversy, and I'll try to link to articles about racism in casting at the bottom of this blog. I'm undecided as to whether whitewashed cast was intentional, and I will touch on that later, but it is something to be aware of especially in a children's film where the audience may not pick up on it.

I give this film 3/5. My brother-in-law and I went to see it when I was back in the Cleve...had to return to the homeland and lick my wounds with the news of Z's fleeing the northern coast, too. We're both big fans of the cartoon, and our end decision was the film looked amazing; M. Night Shyamalan is a brilliant director with special effects like whoa. Then again I like disappointment in my life; and some people hate the twists in his films. Which leads me and my brother-in-law to our area of concern: the twist. As of now, none, but Frank leans over at the end of the movie and says, "I'm going to be pissed if the third movie ends with Shyamalan reading these books to his kids." Funny man, my brother-in-law.

They cut out my favorite character who has a huge part later on, and according to interviews Shyamalan was running out of time and wanted to do her justice. This is problematic to me for another reason too: the character is a strong woman without special powers there are at least three more in the series, and some with large parts, but few have the impact on the development of the main four that Suki does. In my view Suki also transforms the way Sokka, a main character, appreciates women.

When push comes to shove all the characters in Avatar: the Last Airbender grow and transform, but Frank and I believe this cartoon was about Aang, Zuko, and Sokka. They evolve the most, but the women around them grow as well and become "great benders." This is a direct reference to the show/film, and probably makes little since if you are unfamiliar, but then again why read this far? Aang and Zuko find their destinies and save the world. Sokka overwhelming loses the most throughout the series.

Speaking of the ladies of Avatar. There is a special feature in the third box set specifically on women in the series only the benders, but still very interesting. The greatest bending masters in the series prove to be Azula, a fire bending prodigy, Toph, a Earth bending master who invents metal bending, and Katara, a water bender who learns blood bending. Unfortunately, these characters are featured more in the second and third seasons of the series, which means movies 2 and 3. We were given some hope for Katara in this first film.

In all the movie fell short for me because I like the show so much. As my love affair with the Harry Potter series, stories for kids that take on genocide, torture, racial, and gender relationships can be phenomenal tools for children. Shyalaman needs to step up his game, but I'm pretty hopeful for the series.

On that note: a lament on the film series. What happened to making one film? I love HP, but I feel like it was the first in many novel series to be turned into multi-picture film deals. Other examples: Narnia, the Last Airbender (though a cartoon), Twilight, and just about all comic book films. I guess I just want more from the film industry. And life with a few less remakes would be nice too.

Racism:

http://io9.com/5111680/avatar-casting-makes-fans-see-white

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37336714/ns/today-entertainment

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/02/10/airbender_open2010

MIA

Oh, how I’ve neglected you and without cause…well maybe a little cause. I’ve moved! I am officially a resident of DC, so tourist: watch yourselves. I’ve also quit my job without one, which is a novelty in itself because those of you who know me understand my compulsive disorder requiring control over everything. It is working out though. I’ve found a new job, and start in a week and a half. I’m excited to be doing something I care about and in a field that will help with my Masters.

I’d like to take a moment and rail against Comcast, and this is entirely their fault and not my lack of computer knowledge. I’ve been without cable and internet for a week…the cable I can live without, but no internet. I feel like less of a person. So after our Comcast person was late, and that is late in respect to the massive amount of time they are allotted to get here. I still lack internet. I’m writing this in Word, with the hopes of traveling to a coffee shop and posting there. I am wasting away to nothing…and blaming Comcast for my lack of information on Lebron.

Speaking of: Lebron, Miami? WTF. We’re going to win without him just watch. Because we have a good team and no one player makes the team. Yeah, I said it. However, I wish him no ill will, and like all Cleveland sports fans I now have a post season team…just in case.

I’ll be back to commenting on the sad state of women and politics in this country and books once I have the internet.

Hm

What precisely does it say about my life that I was browsing on Jezebel.com and saw the title "Kid with Mickey Mouse Underpants & Banana Mic Sings 'Bad Romance'" and I thought to myself, "Yep, that's something I need to see."

Well, if you need to see it too, here it is.

Film Fest Movies, 2010!

I should have made this post sooner, but I had a big scary exam on Thursday and it basically ate up my whole week (and my brain).

"Hipsters" is probably the most fun you can have in communist Russia. I would absolutely see that one again and Tim and I agree that it's probably one of the best one's we've seen at the Film Fest, ever. The contrasting colors of the gray, drab dress of the young communists and the hipsters was absolutely stunning, the songs were great and didn't make the movie seem to "musical-y", and the storyline was great. There were even some great moments where the whole theater was laughing.

All in all, I would give it a 4.5/5. It loses .5 because there is a really awkward scene where I had to look at the main character's boobs for too, too long.

"The Last Days of Emma Blank" took some very interesting turns that I didn't really see coming, but I didn't feel like I wasted my money seeing it or anything. It's kind of like if Beckett wrote a movie about a dysfunctional family, so it was obviously pretty great. The entire family is bending over backwards to serve Emma, who is close to death, when they find out there is no inheritance. The reactions of the characters was pretty great and I really don't want to ruin this one in case it shows up on Netflix. Definitely worth the watch.

3.5/5


"A Town Called Panic" was definitely my favorite of the three, though Hipsters put up an amazing fight. I love being in a theater when the entire place is laughing their heads off and "A Town Called Panic" succeeded at this. I think this would actually be a great movie to show in a French class in a high school because they use really simple French and it's kind of a kids film almost. Anyway, the animation was amazing and it was hilarious. Seek this one out by any means necessary. 5/5

I'm calling you out children's television!

If you don't recognize these guys, you probably don't have a child under 10 at home (neither do I, but I did the Google image search so I know who they are). Anyway, the gentlemen on the right in matching outfits are the Imagination Movers and the lady in the red dress is Nina (I have no idea who the guy with the silly bow-tie is, but he's incidental to this story).

I went out to lunch on Tuesday with my friend and her three-year-old son Jack. Jack loves these guys, who seem to be like the Wiggles of today's 3-year-olds. Jack also has a lot of musical instruments for a young kid, and I knew this, so when we sat down I asked him what instruments he had because I play a lot of instruments as well. He started listing them off and his mom told me that he didn't believe I could play an instrument because I'm a girl and girls only sing.

What?!

Apparently, this Nina chick doesn't play any instruments so little Jack with his little impressionable mind just assumes that boys play instruments and dance and girls can only sing. Luckily, I have a fancy-pants internet phone so I showed him some Facebook pictures of me playing keyboards, bass guitar, and saxophone at a show we had last summer, and then I told him that I also have a clarinet, a second saxophone, and a xylophone at home, AND that I play more instruments than both of the boys in my band. He was amazed and I hope I changed his mind about girls, but this really irritated me! They really can't find a girl who can play an instrument? Don't girls need role models in the music world, too? I guess my kids will just watch Yo Gabba Gabba, where all my favorite indie rock bands cameo.

Cleveland International Film Festival!

Ladies and gents, it is time for the film fest again! One day, I'll have the money to see a full two weeks of movies, but for now, we'll be seeing 3 movies again this year next week Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday so get excited for updates!

Here are the films we'll be seeing:

A TOWN CALLED PANIC

An absurd/surreal French stop-motion romp!

http://www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/films/2010/town-called-panic

Parachuting cows, snowball-throwing penguin machines, tidal waves, exploding houses, and pilfering sea creatures. If that doesn’t intrigue you, what else will? Such is A TOWN CALLED PANIC, the imagination-come-to-life of creative masterminds Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar. A true adventure story of three improbable plastic friends — Horse, Cowboy, and Indian — this French film cleverly employs the use of stop-motion animation to create a visual playground for adults and children alike. This delightfully odd comedy begins as Cowboy and Indian devise a haphazard plan for Horse’s birthday, in which everything that can go wrong does just that. Inevitably, the three friends lose their house and must journey through a parallel universe to take it back from the sneaky undersea hellions that stole it. Along the way they are continuously met with hilarious obstacles in which both their bravery and resilience are put to the test. A TOWN CALLED PANIC is a film you won’t be able to look away from and its wacky amusement will leave you smiling well past leaving the theater. (In French with subtitles)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3uG8LLuVPQ

HIPSTERS

A Russian musical (!!!) about Soviet kids in the 50's illegally listening to jazz and generally acting like the hip american kids of the time.

http://www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/films/2010/hipsters

A smash success in Russia and winner of top NIKA Awards including Best Film, Best Sound, Best Art Design, and Best Costume Design, HIPSTERS is a candy-colored musical set in the drab Soviet Union of the 1950s. More political than "Hairspray," and way cooler than "High School Musical," it inspired a wave of Hipster parties across Russia. The movie sets to music the story of a strait-laced young Communist party member named Mels. In the midst of a raid on a group of kids caught wearing American-style clothes and listening to jazz, he's smitten with an adorable Hipster named Polly, who sports bright red lipstick and a poodle skirt. Casting caution and his grey uniform to the wind, the newly christened "Mel" barters on the street for a saxophone and a snappy checkered suit with huge lapels, and soon he's cultivating an awe-inspiring pompadour. But as the Hipsters face growing up in Cold War society, they realize that life isn't always a song and dance. (In Russian with subtitles) – B.B.

Trailer (sorry, can't find a subtitled/English one... the film fest site isn't much help either): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Geb5zO4co


THE LAST DAYS OF EMMA BLANK

A Dutch dark comedy about a dying woman being a royal bitch to all the people around her during her final days.

http://www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/films/2010/last-days-of-emma-blank

Looming like a giant blot on nature, there’s a tar-colored mansion in the dunes of the Dutch North Sea. There, cut off from civilization as well as any sense of reality, a group of sullen servants waits hand and foot upon a despicable tyrant with the no-nonsense name of Emma Blank. Emma Blank has come to the black house to die, and she demands that everyone cater to her every last whim. They must cook incredible delicacies on short notice and stand at attention as she dines alone; they must mix her paints and hold them out for her attentively. Emma Blank insists that her butler grow a mustache overnight and that one servant act the role of family dog. Gradually the relationships among these put-upon servants become clear, explaining why they all can’t wait for Emma to get her dying over with. THE LAST DAYS OF EMMA BLANK is as dark as comedies come, a hilarious and unsettling meditation on mind games and family power struggles. (In Dutch with subtitles) – B.B.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXwbK9duCbE

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