Wow

I found this via my lovely sister. More here.

Reaction To Watching In Her Shoes Three (almost) In A Row

* That movie would have been ten times better if the chick from Muriel's Wedding (Toni Collete) wasn't playing one of the leads. I don't know why but even Cameron Diaz did a better job acting in this movie. I think there are some actors who just can't do lighthearted comedy and Collete belongs to this group (just like Nicole Kidman) - she has no comedic timing whatsoever. Her mouth is way too big and her character completely did not work. Also zilch on the chemistry between her and her boyfriend/fiancee and her bestest friend in the world: her sister (Diaz). Half the movie is spent talking about how fat she is (which she is not, although who ever was in charge of her wardrobe tried their darnest to make her unattractive) and desperate.

* I love Shirley MacLaine, but maybe, just maybe she could stop playing the same wise cracking grandmother already. I think ten films is quite enough to solidify your witty/repressed personality.

* I don't know if it was the plane, but half the lines were incomprehensible. Terrible sound.

You'd think there are other, more urgent, matters to attend to

...than to ban same sex unions in Nigeria. I admit i know nothing about Nigeria except that i do get a lot of e-mails from there asking me to store Mr. Norseknmkmsopajk's money left in his will to me. I would think they are more important things at hand to take care of than giving the rest of the world and the gay community a big fuck you. MaybeNigerian government should look into all those citizens that keep dying and leaving all their money to foreigners, instead of pretending to be the moral beacon of homophobia.

Take Two: Propaganda/Art

So a while ago i was planning to write a piece about Paradise Now and to some extent Munich (even though i haven't seen either of the film). I was going to use the two films to illustrate how art can be overwhelmed by the message it is trying to sell to become propaganda instead. I was going to do a long winded post but thanks to Seldom Sober i don't have to. He links to this great blog where the author does a ten times better job than me writing on the topic of art vs. propaganda debate.

This Post is Brought to You By the Letter P for Procrastination

Must, do homework NOW. No NOW. NOW. Okay, like in ten minutes. Or till i get enough will power to do homework.
Why did i notice that my Russian film professor's ass is huge compared to his body. Seriously, for a turtleneck wearing man he has a very bootilicious rear. I can't believe i just wrote that...ewww. Want to hear what i learned today in Russian film class? No? Well too bad, seems like the word glamorize comes from post-WWII phenomena of processed food. Oh the things i get taught everyday.
Speaking of disproportionate body parts, how come my face keeps getting thinner and my stomach/butt is, in best terms, not!? Does this mean i need to go to the gym. Oh that reminds me i have to go to the gym tomorrow...or the day after, or next week.
Um, i guess when blogger says half an hour it mean two hours of non-service availability.
I wonder if "Christopher" last night was a computer robot or a real live human chatting with me about how to "fix" my shitty newly purchased hp printer on hp version of im. The damn piece of crap kept flashing "change color ink cartridge" even though i don't need color printing/copying of any kind! I guess yelling at the piece of plastic crap wasn't going to do anything. I might need to look into anger management....
I hate procrastination but i'm so good at it i can't stop.

Spam!

I have 401 messages marked unread in my inbox! 400 of them are spam! I love round numbers! (And hate exclamation marks!) I wonder how long till i get a thousand spam love note*?

* As i love to call them, you know it's nice someone is concerned whether i'm aware about the latest enlargement techniques for various body parts. I feel the love, i really do.

Cryptic Verse

by Joey McKeown.
Seems like a shoe in for a Valentine card inscription.

Well, out here we call them "pirates," Ned.

They still exist!

Know Thy Self

A while ago i was reading one of Kundera's books and i came across an interesting notion. He posited that if people know only the "outside" you and people live post- death in other people's memories. Then the conclusion is that the "real" you is the memory that endures or in other word the "outside" you that others only know and the "inside" you that you maintain as the authentic identity perishes and becomes unimportant. This led me to remember an interesting diagram a twelfth grade English drew for my class:




Neil recently wrote on the impossible notion of knowing oneself. I myself am clueless about my identity. Maybe it's okay not knowing who or what you really are. I'm trying to enjoy life as it comes, sometimes the big questions get in the way. Although this is an angsty type of post, it's not meant to be taken too seriously, just a little meditation on identity and an excuse to draw a silly yellow chart that impressed me when i was eighteen. (Oh and if anyone wants to change category of "What only other people know about me and i don't, feel free (and hopefully nice).)

Perplexed

Two things that leave me perplexed:

* People who cut me off and then proceed to drive slower than a) the speed limit b) me. Seriously, what is your problem?!!! I have places to go.

* People who keep their furniture covered in plastic.
What is the point? It's furniture it's meant to be used without having me stick to it or making annoying shh noises.

What a difference a department makes...

So i haven't been very vocal on the blog how much the past semester blew, basically from the end of July to the middle of December 2005 i had barely enough energy to breath. Maybe, i'm being a tad dramatic but seriously life hadn't sucked so bad in a long time. Everything, and i mean everything went wrong. E-mails and phone calls were left unreturned, my blog became even more sparse and boring than before, and for 90% of the time i was not a happy person to be around. Maybe at another time i'll go into the gory details, specifically about how much i dreaded going to classes, but for now i'll say that things are a little bit better.
One of the reasons life is better is that for the first time in academic career i'm taking an Economics class. It's not so much that i'm enthralled with the concept money markets and net lenders, it is the fact that i'm in LOVE with my professor. You know what he did today? He mentioned the oil for food scandal AND the other day he mentioned Ayn Rand without snickering! Oh and also he doesn't pout his face every time he says the dreaded word....capitalism. I know this might not be much to any of you but for me this is academic heaven. No more social construction and the beauty of social Marxist models, well at least not till my next class.

Being Removed

A while ago Jessica decided to do participate in a charity bike ride for MS. I was pretty impressed with her dedication and the cause and so decided to contribute a miserly sum to her effort of raising money and awareness about the debilitating disease. A week or so before the race we were having a conversation about the disease and the potential of people not to give to such causes after Katrina and the Tsunami. However, Jessica was able to meet the money goal she set for herself (even getting more than the target) so there it was the happy little elation that something good happened.

There are two things that got me thinking of our conversation before the race: 1) i found out a family member of a friend got diagnosed with MS and 2) today on the radio i heard a commercial for a 3 day walk for MS happening on Cape Cod in September that almost made me cry (damn hormones!).

I was thinking about all the charity events i have participated in or given money to in the past. How i always looked at it as being for others. It always seemed that the numerous incurable diseases effect someone else and have no potential to effect me. The thing is when giving money in the past i was thinking about all the other people diagnosed with the disease but not anywhere did the picture of me crop up except in the benefactor role. It's strange because people i'm close with have died from cancer and other debilitating diseases and i know how out of nowhere lives can be devastated. And i don't know if it's the selfish instinct in me that sees the charity as helping someone else and thus giving me the feeling of being a "selfless" person or it's natural for people to expect good health and "normal" life free of chronic diseases or horrible events?

I guess i don't know exactly what i'm writing with this post but guess, there are moments when life catches up with you and you see that it is not as you might have imagined it and that is something to keep in mind, i guess.

Stars: Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

I've been obsessing with this video/song the whole day (it might take a while to load but it's well worth it). The video seems to be an homage to Michael Gondry's Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind. I never heard of Stars before today but i seem to have heard the opening line of the song somewhere, "When there's nothing left to burn, you must set yourself on fire." Both the song and video are brilliant.

via Receptacle

More great videos via Cliptip (discovered through Receptacle)

Also: Murph mentions the song in his top ten of 2005. Doh!

A New Miyazaki Film!

It seems that the next film from Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli will be Tales from Earthsea based on the book series by Ursula K. Le Guin called Earthsea (never heard of it). This is so exciting, Miyazaki's films are on my why i am happy to be alive list. There are very few works that appeal to children and adults while not making me either a) puke or b) snicker at the pandering to adults (see Shrek for this phenomena). I don't know how Miyazaki does it but his films have a magical aura about them that i can never really describe. After watching a bunch of his films, i can explain in technical terms the re-occurring troupes and themes but that really wouldn't explain why his films are so special.

*Also TCM has began showing Miyazaki films every Thursday night this month, i would highly recommend checking out the Miyazaki Fest. *

*Also Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan.

via Achtung, Baby

A Little Stupid Reflection

There are some things i realize i should never read or, i should say, i should not have read but did. There is information - truth or knowledge which isn't always illuminating, at the very least it is destructive, crushing, and upsetting. So there is a choice before me to know or not to know. And because i am human i choose to know - no matter how much it hurts. (Either that or it is because i'm so damn nosy inquisitive and i have a gossip instinct that i can't curb.)

Stupid Fun

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Petitedov!

1. Two grams of Petitedov provide enough energy to power a television for over twenty-three hours.


2. The average duration of sexual intercourse for Petitedov is two minutes.


3. If you chew gum while peeling Petitedov then it will stop you from crying!


4. During World War II, Americans tried to train Petitedov to drop bombs.


5. Petitedov can be seen from space.


6. Half a cup of Petitedov contains only seventeen calories!


7. Petitedovolatry is the mindless worship of Petitedov.


8. Peanuts and Petitedov are beans!


9. The Australian billygoat plum contains a hundred times more Vitamin C than Petitedov!


10. The word 'samba' means 'to rub Petitedov'.

I am interested in - do tell me about
herhimitthem

There Is A Pattern Here....

create your own personalized map of the USA

Next states to visit:
Illinois
Texas
Georgia
South Carolina

via Karol

That's One Way Of Answering It

I found the deadpan answer of the soldier from this article worthy of John Lennon's humor in Hard's Days Night.

Reporter: What do you feel when shooting at memebers of Al Queda in Afghanistan.
Soldier: Recoil.

Reporter: How did you find America?
John: Turned left at Greenland.

At Least She's A Princess of Something...

I don't really know why but this made me laugh:

From a customer reviewing a certain hotel - My wife, the princess of La La land was impressed and not one complaint from her.

A Philosophy I've Recently Tried To Implement

From French Kiss:

"The key to French waiters: If you're nice to them, they treat you like shit. Treat them like shit, they love you. "

I think this advice goes beyond French waiters, most people in the service industry will respond to certain type of treatment. Actually this goes beyond the service industry, i'm not saying i'm trying to be a total bitch. But a little bit of edge*, goes a long way with people. Sad but true.

*One of my most hated words: edge.

Crazy/Weird/Obsessive Behavior Meme -Thing

Gib was kind enough to tag. I'll stop trying to be cool and deny that i wasn't flattered. Plus it gives me a reason to write a post not decrying my mental/emotional state. Sort off.

1. Whenever i start to tell a story inevitably i will go into the most pointless details of the actual story, most of the time ending with a whole different ending which was intended in the first place of reciting the anecdote. People who know me well will sometimes intervene to point out that what i'm saying has absolutely nothing to do with my original point. I'm also one of the most random people i know. Everything reminds me of everything, my associative skills are crazy (or at least they drive everyone around me crazy).

2. I compulsively raise my hand in class. I. Cannot. Stop. Yes, i am that annoying girl who, as soon as the professor asks a question, raises her hand or answers the questioning without even bothering to maintain any decorum. I think my sister is the same. We come from a long line of training which maintain if we know the answer we MUST SHARE it with the world. Sometimes it gets a little bit ridiculous when i end answering more than half of the questions in class. Even i don't want to hear myself talk. However, i have no shame on this point.

2b. It's kind of a corollary to the previous point; when i see a person lost or if i eavesdrop on a contentious conversation (and know that i can help) i am compelled to help the person or try to resolve whatever the people are arguing about. Over the years i've been learning to curb this behavior since most people like keeping their conversations private and me sticking my nose into things doesn't usually turn out great.

3. I start speaking with a Russian accent when i'm extremely emotional/angry. Sometimes when the moment is deeply personal i break out into Russian with English speakers without fully realizing it.

4. I say sorry way too much. Seriously if i could excuse my existence i would. Although, i'm learning to be a little bit more aggressive everyday.

5. Another family obsession i share with my sister is taking photos EVERYWHERE we go. If it hasn't been photographed it never existed in the first place. So you know since my Cannon died on me four months ago i have been virtually dead.

People i'll tag:
Yaron - because as usual he'll bring the funny and besides i want to change the straight edge image i have of the guy.
Writersbloc because she can "bring the crazy" and this is the only way we will communicate due to the insanity of life. And - unlike Ace or Ken she's not afraid or "morally" opposed to memes.
Caryn cause it will give her something to write on her new pretty blog and she will also bring the funny.
B. : Mainly because like with Writerbloc i have been horrible in communicating with my favorite person in Scotland. Besides he always seemed pretty mellow to me, so it will be nice to see what he says about his darker side.
MLICS because she's funny and crazy and not necessarily in a good way.

And as the cool kids say, this is open to anyone who wants share the craziness.

My New Obsession

My new family in Nahariya introduced Rummikub to my mother and me. Then they were kind enough to give the game to us for a present - so now i'm determined to rope everyone (anyone) around me into playing.

Love Is In The Air

Oh the things you learn while bored on a plane reading hot off the press American Airlines Magazine. As if there wasn't enough dating/friend match up services, there's another way of never being alone: Air Introductions.

A concept that combines the creepiness of Friendster with the usefulness of My Space for the flight traveler in all of us! The site lets you post a profile of your likes and dislikes and send an e-mail to the intended traveler for only five dollars!

"Founder Peter Shankman developed the idea after an enjoyable flight in which he happened to be seated next to Miss Texas. 'It was a four-hour flight, and it took about 11 seconds,' he said."

I don't know, do i really need to know the guy next to be loves bowling and Bruce Springsteen?Can we just avoid the most unbelievable conversation of our lives by being, um, quiet?! I know the concept of four hours of not talking is mind blowing (possibly even more mind blowing than talking to Miss Texas), but let's try.

Late Hanukkah Posting

The Hanukiyah in Nahariyaa(corrected spelling curtesy of Kovrov):



My sister meanwhile posts a beautiful photo of the "aquarium" Hanukiyahs. She explains seeing a bunch of these, real oil lamps in a glass, on the last day of Hanukkah in Jerusalem.

On Self-Image

Speaking to one of my closest friends i remarked that this is my favorite picture of myself from the series my sister took while in Israel. Without a beat she remarked (in Russian), "Why because it's dark and you can't see your face? Makes perfect sense that's your favorite." And i guess it does.

Tonight

I am sitting here in the middle of Jerusalem (Esther i gave your regards) in a hotel lobby waiting for my room to be ready. Behind me sits a couple one playing the piano (he just played "Cheek to Cheek") and the other - violin, i'm here typing i guess we all use the instruments we know how to. They now played the theme from Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet which is both extremely romantic and lonely.

Still Travelling

I can connect
nothing with nothing

- T.S. Eliot

(From a quotations in The Archivist by Martha Cooley. The book is great, reflecting my thoughts back at me, but the description of the archivist profession is totally off base.)