I just watched In Bruges, and it was really, really great. I actually feel asleep in the middle of it, but I gave it a second chance and it was so worth it. It was an amazing story about sin, redemption, second chances, sacrifices, and other things I only think about when a good story forces me to ponder them. It was marketed as a comedy--specifically a quirky comedy that has the word fuck in it a lot--but it was ultimately a drama grounded in realism; the comedy just came from how honest it was. It was gritty, witty, and had a killer ending. Watch it.
Recently, I have been battling an addiction to How I Met Your Mother. It's a CBS comedy (Who watches CBS? No one? Definitely not me.) that could easily slip by every audience's notice, while it goes on year after year in perfect brilliance. Critics like it, but for all their attempts to make it more known, HIMYM still suffers in anonymity. But it is the new Friends. With a few more viewers, these actors could be making the million dollars an episode that the Friends crew earned in their final season. The show is about five friends in New York City. It mostly follows their dating life, particularly Ted's. The ultimate storyline is about how Ted meets the mother of his children, which is often frustrating for the nice architect with good intentions. Episode to episode, it is a great comedy, with funny situations and witty inside jokes. But it is the romance that keeps me watching. Like any good TV show, HIMYM handles its love stories with a suspenseful combination of restraint and exhilerating cliffhangers. I'm trying to get everyone hooked on this show, though I realize that beginning from episode one can be a dangerous thing. You may never leave your computer once you start illegaling downloading the episodes. Just kidding, I did not say that....
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Entertainment I Am Consuming Right Now
Currently:
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski: Lovely. I'm hoping it lasts a long time.
Friends, Season 8: Endlessly brilliant. Better every time I watch it.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas L. Friedman: Should be required for everyone to read. It's making me into a bleeding-heart liberal and an aspiring hippie. It's actually a textbook for one of my classes, but it's pretty entertaining.
Lost: Obviously. Can't wait til Wednesday!
Recently:
The Boyfriend List, by E. Lockhart: A wonderful surprise. It is a wise, therapeutic little novel that might make sense of your high school experience. Its realism is shocking.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz: Sort of disappointing. It had its worthwhile moments, but it wasn't brilliant like it's supposed to be. Bad narrative.
He's Just Not That Into You: Well-spent two-hours. It is cutesy, breezy entertainment that tries to stress you out but really is just innocent fun. Not as enlightening as it thinks it is, though.
Firefox: Great movie. It's from the early '90s, when its star Angelina Jolie was dating her female costar (haha that's right). It is thought-provoking and captures the feeling of close female relationships very well.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski: Lovely. I'm hoping it lasts a long time.
Friends, Season 8: Endlessly brilliant. Better every time I watch it.
Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas L. Friedman: Should be required for everyone to read. It's making me into a bleeding-heart liberal and an aspiring hippie. It's actually a textbook for one of my classes, but it's pretty entertaining.
Lost: Obviously. Can't wait til Wednesday!
Recently:
The Boyfriend List, by E. Lockhart: A wonderful surprise. It is a wise, therapeutic little novel that might make sense of your high school experience. Its realism is shocking.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz: Sort of disappointing. It had its worthwhile moments, but it wasn't brilliant like it's supposed to be. Bad narrative.
He's Just Not That Into You: Well-spent two-hours. It is cutesy, breezy entertainment that tries to stress you out but really is just innocent fun. Not as enlightening as it thinks it is, though.
Firefox: Great movie. It's from the early '90s, when its star Angelina Jolie was dating her female costar (haha that's right). It is thought-provoking and captures the feeling of close female relationships very well.
Melodramatic Sufferings of Love
It is a torturous thing to be of such
Romantic sensibilities as mine.
My favorite heroines of fiction wear
This affliction close to their hearts,
While I stagger under its force.
Its mass times its acceleration.
Its heavy despair then its rapid exhilaration.
The knock-your-breath-out disappointments
Then the take-your-breath-away thrills.
But such is the sorrow of my life,
That my heart spends its days in an illusion of calm
While it waits to burst out of my chest.
Romantic sensibilities as mine.
My favorite heroines of fiction wear
This affliction close to their hearts,
While I stagger under its force.
Its mass times its acceleration.
Its heavy despair then its rapid exhilaration.
The knock-your-breath-out disappointments
Then the take-your-breath-away thrills.
But such is the sorrow of my life,
That my heart spends its days in an illusion of calm
While it waits to burst out of my chest.
Friday, November 7, 2008
How Excited Am I For New Movies?
Twilight: 55%
I think it will just disappoint me, after loving the books with my entire soul as long as I have. But the midnight showing should be fun. And if the story sucks, I can still just stare into Edward Cullen's smouldering golden eyes for two hours.
Australia: 110%
I predict this will be my new Ultimate Favorite Movie. It's got all the ingredients to be amazing, like an exotic setting, Baz Luhrman, an epic plotline, sweeping romance, and a hunky cowboy. If the movie is as good as the trailers, I will see it like four times in theaters.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 100%
I love the short story, and wanted it to last much, much longer than just a few pages. Plus, with Brad Pitt and such a whimsical look, it has to be perfection.
Bolt: 40%
I'll see it, because of course I need to pay my respects to the wonders of Disney. But will it be good? I don't know, they never really make good computer-animated films without the help of Pixar...
Zach and Miri Make a Porno: 90%
Yeah, it looks great. That's all I can say.
Changeling: 18%
I'd watch it, but I won't pay money for it. It's getting really mixed reviews, so I think I'll pass for the time being.
I think it will just disappoint me, after loving the books with my entire soul as long as I have. But the midnight showing should be fun. And if the story sucks, I can still just stare into Edward Cullen's smouldering golden eyes for two hours.
Australia: 110%
I predict this will be my new Ultimate Favorite Movie. It's got all the ingredients to be amazing, like an exotic setting, Baz Luhrman, an epic plotline, sweeping romance, and a hunky cowboy. If the movie is as good as the trailers, I will see it like four times in theaters.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 100%
I love the short story, and wanted it to last much, much longer than just a few pages. Plus, with Brad Pitt and such a whimsical look, it has to be perfection.
Bolt: 40%
I'll see it, because of course I need to pay my respects to the wonders of Disney. But will it be good? I don't know, they never really make good computer-animated films without the help of Pixar...
Zach and Miri Make a Porno: 90%
Yeah, it looks great. That's all I can say.
Changeling: 18%
I'd watch it, but I won't pay money for it. It's getting really mixed reviews, so I think I'll pass for the time being.
How We All Long For What We Don’t Have
On this November night I kiss my summer boyfriend
With reluctance, sadness, and uncertainty
Two months removed from the ruins of that promising relationship
Here is my wonderful ex still in love with me
And I break his heart with everything I say or do
But difficult words have always struggled on our tongues
Keeping in so many things I should say
Like how it was him that broke us in two
Even if I sent the text that made it true
And he should have expected
That taking some time apart would mean my tragic love affair
Would fly through town and give me a taste of a whirlwind
And go back to South Dakota while I gave my pain to my pillow
In teardrops that he has caused for four years
So a kiss in November in a big city is one thing
My heart cannot be a part of when it belongs in a
Rural college town in the next state over
With reluctance, sadness, and uncertainty
Two months removed from the ruins of that promising relationship
Here is my wonderful ex still in love with me
And I break his heart with everything I say or do
But difficult words have always struggled on our tongues
Keeping in so many things I should say
Like how it was him that broke us in two
Even if I sent the text that made it true
And he should have expected
That taking some time apart would mean my tragic love affair
Would fly through town and give me a taste of a whirlwind
And go back to South Dakota while I gave my pain to my pillow
In teardrops that he has caused for four years
So a kiss in November in a big city is one thing
My heart cannot be a part of when it belongs in a
Rural college town in the next state over
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Product of My Recent Poetic Mood
I left out the poem called "Angst Angst Angst" 'cause who wants to read a poem with that title???
A Rebuttal of Tara’s Poem
Oh yes, it was a great summer
Fun and full of wonder and sun
Oh hateful sun, the nights were better
But what came before the summer were
Days of go go go
And stopping in passing to chat about Edward
To squeeze that into our whirlwind lives
I would have lost my mind
Or maybe just my spark
Without my three beloved roommates
Just outside my bedroom door
Always up for the Twilight talks that revived me
For spending money on good food
For venting about that other roommate
For planning our next shared adventure
Our lives moved in sync
Anchored in The Loft
Until we pulled up our anchors one by one
And tried unsuccessfully to be okay
With where the tide carried each of us
While lucky Edward can spend forever
Floating through the air molecules
Of the too-nice apartment where girls spoke his name
More than they spoke any other
I know he’s still there
And maybe this fall bit the happiness out of me
Because Edward can’t protect me
While he exists in The Loft
Once we’re together again he’ll be there too
And The Loft is an intangible thing that we thought was
Concrete floor and exposed pipes and crumbling wall
But really it’s just us
Dealing With Minnesota
You could argue that the unexpected
Warm breeze on a November day
Is the breath of some higher being
Taking his frustrations out on
A girl who hates the cold
And is suddenly reminded of the long
Winter quickly approaching
On the heels of this gust of air
That somehow smells like summer.
You could argue that the
Painful sun slanting through your
Window is just a mean reminder
That soon the sun will bounce
Brightly off snow banks and carry
No warmth even though it is the
Same sun that scorched you in
Your lifeguard chair all summer.
I wrote this one a long time ago:
The Brook
Or maybe it was the people that made
my life there everything it was.
Lauren dancing in the hallway
to Gwen Stefani.
Luke rushing through the lounge
with a kiss on the cheek here,
a kiss on the cheek there.
Maggie telling a scandalous and
very entertaining story.
Ashley watching Friends in the lounge
with people huddled around laughing.
Shana doing Calc homework while everyone
whirls around her drunkenly.
Lexi doing French homework while
wearing one of her adorable hats.
Nate belting out “America the Beautiful”
in the hallway for everyone to hear.
Lela leading nine o’clock abs.
Nick shrewdly talking his way out of
an alcohol citation.
Cassie popping in the room with
yet another cute emo boy in tow.
Kyle eating oranges, oranges,
and more oranges.
Kris rounding up reluctant people to
go watch free movies at the student union.
Sam carrying on a great drunken
French conversation avec moi.
Tara being a great friend to whoever
needs her at this particular moment.
Colleen discussing any movie with me,
geek to geek.
Mazy serving his parents’ expensive
wine to anyone who wants to risk
getting caught drinking in the lounge.
Austin introducing her friendly
boyfriend to all her crazy friends.
Will bringing us over to his frat house
for all the free beer we can drink.
Anna gamely explaining the logistics
of sexual favors to all of us innocents.
Kipp getting his long hair cut off
sloppily by all the girls.
And me, journaling away like crazy
and trying not to forget any of it.
The Brook was crazy, oh yes it was.
But it shaped us and took care of us.
Wistfully I am amused by
how we lived in the dorms.
A Rebuttal of Tara’s Poem
Oh yes, it was a great summer
Fun and full of wonder and sun
Oh hateful sun, the nights were better
But what came before the summer were
Days of go go go
And stopping in passing to chat about Edward
To squeeze that into our whirlwind lives
I would have lost my mind
Or maybe just my spark
Without my three beloved roommates
Just outside my bedroom door
Always up for the Twilight talks that revived me
For spending money on good food
For venting about that other roommate
For planning our next shared adventure
Our lives moved in sync
Anchored in The Loft
Until we pulled up our anchors one by one
And tried unsuccessfully to be okay
With where the tide carried each of us
While lucky Edward can spend forever
Floating through the air molecules
Of the too-nice apartment where girls spoke his name
More than they spoke any other
I know he’s still there
And maybe this fall bit the happiness out of me
Because Edward can’t protect me
While he exists in The Loft
Once we’re together again he’ll be there too
And The Loft is an intangible thing that we thought was
Concrete floor and exposed pipes and crumbling wall
But really it’s just us
Dealing With Minnesota
You could argue that the unexpected
Warm breeze on a November day
Is the breath of some higher being
Taking his frustrations out on
A girl who hates the cold
And is suddenly reminded of the long
Winter quickly approaching
On the heels of this gust of air
That somehow smells like summer.
You could argue that the
Painful sun slanting through your
Window is just a mean reminder
That soon the sun will bounce
Brightly off snow banks and carry
No warmth even though it is the
Same sun that scorched you in
Your lifeguard chair all summer.
I wrote this one a long time ago:
The Brook
Or maybe it was the people that made
my life there everything it was.
Lauren dancing in the hallway
to Gwen Stefani.
Luke rushing through the lounge
with a kiss on the cheek here,
a kiss on the cheek there.
Maggie telling a scandalous and
very entertaining story.
Ashley watching Friends in the lounge
with people huddled around laughing.
Shana doing Calc homework while everyone
whirls around her drunkenly.
Lexi doing French homework while
wearing one of her adorable hats.
Nate belting out “America the Beautiful”
in the hallway for everyone to hear.
Lela leading nine o’clock abs.
Nick shrewdly talking his way out of
an alcohol citation.
Cassie popping in the room with
yet another cute emo boy in tow.
Kyle eating oranges, oranges,
and more oranges.
Kris rounding up reluctant people to
go watch free movies at the student union.
Sam carrying on a great drunken
French conversation avec moi.
Tara being a great friend to whoever
needs her at this particular moment.
Colleen discussing any movie with me,
geek to geek.
Mazy serving his parents’ expensive
wine to anyone who wants to risk
getting caught drinking in the lounge.
Austin introducing her friendly
boyfriend to all her crazy friends.
Will bringing us over to his frat house
for all the free beer we can drink.
Anna gamely explaining the logistics
of sexual favors to all of us innocents.
Kipp getting his long hair cut off
sloppily by all the girls.
And me, journaling away like crazy
and trying not to forget any of it.
The Brook was crazy, oh yes it was.
But it shaped us and took care of us.
Wistfully I am amused by
how we lived in the dorms.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Three Types of Relationships
It's been a long time. I think my summer was just too much to process. I needed some time to understand those whirlwind three months. It was work, new friends, and a wonderful boyfriend that popped up at an unexpected time. But the boyfriend starting pulling away when school started, so i had to end it cleanly two nights ago. Yeah, there's hurt, but there's also freedom and relief after doing this painful thing.
And now the only thing to do is write about it. I talked to my mom about it yesterday, and as Carrie Bradshaw-style relationship philosophers, we decided maybe there are only three types of relationships, and only one of them leads to something good.
Type one: He likes her more than she likes him. Girls are suckers for attention, and if he treats her like a princess, chances are she'll develop some affectionate feelings for him too. At times, it is a shock for girls to see the loving side of men, and if there's any sort of attraction there, it will probably lead to her wanting him too. It will be a good thing for a while, but not forever.
Type two: He's just not that into her. No matter how much a girl likes a guy, no amount of attention will make him want her back. Sure, there are exceptions to this, but if a guy doesn't like what he sees, there's never going to be anything. Girls can't win over a guy with flattery the way they can win over girls. This will definitely end badly for the girl because it will never lead to anything.
Type three: Mutual adoration. Passion. Soul mates. In the best of cases, a blissful eternity together.
My relationship was a type one. I noticed how cute he was in the beginning of the summer, but we were together because he loved me and spoiled me and made me care about him too. He told me he loved me earlier on than I ever would have expected, and I always half-heartedly said it back. It sort of hurt my mouth to say it, which tells me I never really loved him. I was certainly never compelled to say it to him before he said it to me. And so, we were doomed from the beginning. As soon as things got a little less than perfect, I was out of there. I left him behind to deal with it alone. The hard part is, he was my best friend for three months, and I'm in pain and I want him to help me get through it. But I have to keep my distance and hope I can find a type three relationship while I avoid type ones and twos.
And now the only thing to do is write about it. I talked to my mom about it yesterday, and as Carrie Bradshaw-style relationship philosophers, we decided maybe there are only three types of relationships, and only one of them leads to something good.
Type one: He likes her more than she likes him. Girls are suckers for attention, and if he treats her like a princess, chances are she'll develop some affectionate feelings for him too. At times, it is a shock for girls to see the loving side of men, and if there's any sort of attraction there, it will probably lead to her wanting him too. It will be a good thing for a while, but not forever.
Type two: He's just not that into her. No matter how much a girl likes a guy, no amount of attention will make him want her back. Sure, there are exceptions to this, but if a guy doesn't like what he sees, there's never going to be anything. Girls can't win over a guy with flattery the way they can win over girls. This will definitely end badly for the girl because it will never lead to anything.
Type three: Mutual adoration. Passion. Soul mates. In the best of cases, a blissful eternity together.
My relationship was a type one. I noticed how cute he was in the beginning of the summer, but we were together because he loved me and spoiled me and made me care about him too. He told me he loved me earlier on than I ever would have expected, and I always half-heartedly said it back. It sort of hurt my mouth to say it, which tells me I never really loved him. I was certainly never compelled to say it to him before he said it to me. And so, we were doomed from the beginning. As soon as things got a little less than perfect, I was out of there. I left him behind to deal with it alone. The hard part is, he was my best friend for three months, and I'm in pain and I want him to help me get through it. But I have to keep my distance and hope I can find a type three relationship while I avoid type ones and twos.
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