The Britt Beat

Recent Acquisitions

2011-10-16T23:36:00.000-07:00

Jens Lekman, who I've been in love with since Ashley first played this song for me in her NEW (at the time) honda

What I REALLY wanted to put was my favorite (for now) song from her new album Metals, "The Bad in Each Other"... but since apparently it doesn't exist online you'll have to settle for this. Chickens, just back from the shore.

Hamburgers. Pool Party.

One of my favorite singers, this is from her newest album Passengers. It's funny now to think, based on the first song that I'd ever heard her sing, I thought she only had sort of sad, pretty songs. But seriously, some of them are full rock-outs.

And because I'm feeling the need to force the season

AND, if anyone would care to borrow a book (you can even read it before me if you want!)

Happy Place: "New Years Eve hasn't been the same since Guy Lombardo died"

2011-09-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

Neil Gaiman loves Gail Carson Levine, too

2011-06-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

I like to read. And when I read, the subject often varies, but my goal is to escape. That is why I dislike non-fiction, at least at the moment. Recently, I read a poem where one of my favorite authors paid a nice compliment to another of my favorite authors. It's okay if you don't know what it is, you'll enjoy it anyways.

Instructions, by Neil Gaiman

Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never

saw before.

Say "please" before you open the latch,

go through,

walk down the path.

A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted

front door,

as a knocker,

do not touch it; it will bite your fingers.

Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat

nothing.

However, if any creature tells you that it hungers,

feed it.

If it tells you that it is dirty,

clean it.

If it cries to you that it hurts,

if you can,

ease its pain.

From the back garden you will be able to see the

wild wood.

The deep well you walk past leads to Winter's

realm;

there is another land at the bottom of it.

If you turn around here,

you can walk back, safely;

you will lose no face. I will think no less of you.

Once through the garden you will be in the

wood.

The trees are old. Eyes peer from the under-

growth.

Beneath a twisted oak sits an old woman. She

may ask for something;

give it to her. She

will point the way to the castle.

Inside it are three princesses.

Do not trust the youngest. Walk on.

In the clearing beyond the castle the twelve

months sit about a fire,

warming their feet, exchanging tales.

They may do favors for you, if you are polite.

You may pick strawberries in December's frost.

Trust the wolves, but do not tell them where

you are going.

The river can be crossed by the ferry. The ferry-

man will take you.

(The answer to his question is this:

If he hands the oar to his passenger, he will be free to

leave the boat.

Only tell him this from a safe distance.)

If an eagle gives you a feather, keep it safe.

Remember: that giants sleep too soundly; that

witches are often betrayed by their appetites;

dragons have one soft spot, somewhere, always;

hearts can be well-hidden,

and you betray them with your tongue.

Do not be jealous of your sister.

Know that diamonds and roses

are as uncomfortable when they tumble from

one's lips as toads and frogs:

colder, too, and sharper, and they cut.

Remember your name.

Do not lose hope — what you seek will be found.

Trust ghosts. Trust those that you have helped

to help you in their turn.

Trust dreams.

Trust your heart, and trust your story.

When you come back, return the way you came.

Favors will be returned, debts will be repaid.

Do not forget your manners.

Do not look back.

Ride the wise eagle (you shall not fall).

Ride the silver fish (you will not drown).

Ride the grey wolf (hold tightly to his fur).

There is a worm at the heart of the tower; that is

why it will not stand.

When you reach the little house, the place your

journey started,

you will recognize it, although it will seem

much smaller than you remember.

Walk up the path, and through the garden gate

you never saw before but once.

And then go home. Or make a home.

And rest.

music for you

2011-06-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

Material Girl by thebirdandthebee

Polite Dance Song (Totally Rude Remix) by thebirdandthebee

And finally.... now we know where Glee found the arrangement that they used on the show (which was awful).

Will you stop making fun of my for loving Fleetwood Mac now, Mom??

2011-05-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Probably not haha. She just hates Stevie's voice, so what can you do? Won't stop me.

One thing I can say for Glee - sometimes they improve songs. Usually they make them worse, or just do an okay impression, but sometimes they get a really great interpretation. "Songbird" was that song this time - frankly, I think it was better than the original.

Kristin Chenoweth sang "Dreams" and it was actually pretty awful; her voice is not suited at all to this music - she's operatic, and Stevie sounds like she just got done chain-smoking right before she sings. Which is why it's great haha.

I could now dive into the basic reasons why I think Glee is the coolest show ever - not because they are all fantastic (or in some cases, even mediocre) singers, but because they're teaching a younger generation about all of this fantastic music that they'd never IN A MILLION YEARS listen to on their own - but I won't haha. I'll just say that Santana did a great job this week! Oh and I wish they'd played one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs from Rumours, The Chain, but hey you can't get everything.

Happy Place

2011-04-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Adele |Adele Lyrics |Adele Unplugged |Unplugged

I'm sure you've already guessed that I'm going to this.

2011-03-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Just read the summary and try NOT to think of how awesome it'll be. Pretty hard, right? No, but seriously I hope they do a scene from "Postcards" because that would SLAY me.

World Press Photo

2011-02-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

The World Press Photo winners have been selected, here's the link. I really loved this one, of a Russian cadet.

6 Months til Bloomsday, but I just had to hear it

2011-02-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

I think I've posted Aedin's reading before, but it's just so phenomenal.

I'm tempted to make it my desktop

2011-01-26T21:21:00.001-08:00

the night BEFORE the night that we slept on a park bench and a guy peed in the bushes next to me and offered me beer from a plastic bag

2011-01-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Everyone else's memory is of THE night. THE night when we missed our train and slept on a bench in a park. But my best memory is of the night before THE night.

Did I ever tell you that I watched Slumdog Millionaire with 2 Norwegian guys in a 40 seat theater at the back of a hostel in Barcelona at 1 in the morning? I think I have, but who cares. Nobody's forcing you to read this.

It was the most insignificant thing; I was tired and Pau and Angie wanted to use the computers at Kiah and Susan's hostel before we headed back. We had to take the subway to get to our place on the outskirts of the city and nobody would have contact with family for a few days. Literally the only reason we'd stopped there was because Paulina and Angelina were homesick; I was perfectly happy wandering around Spain aimlessly. In my mind, what was a few extra days, or even weeks? It's strange how you almost forget that home exists.

Well, I'd gone into the "computer room", checked my email, and chatted with my sister for about 10 minutes. Funny how quickly we ran out of things to say - this was literally every conversation that we had while I was gone:

"hey"
"hey"
"what's up?"
"not much. It's hot."
"it's hot here too, even at night. how's work?"
"it's good. Julie [her boss] and I went out to lunch today and then to the container store."
"that sounds fun. did you buy anything?"
"no, I'm fucking poor."
"oh, that sucks."
"yeah. so where are you?"
"[Insert the place that I am]. It's beautiful. [Insert name of random roommate] is being crazy, though."
"that sucks. what did she do?"
"[Insert crazy thing that she did]."
"you want me to tell her to stop being so fucking crazy?"
"no, I'll figure something out. I'm gonna go, I'm pretty tired."
"k."
"say hi to mom and dad for me."
"k."
"love you."
"love you, too."

- or maybe it's just that we didn't need to say a lot. We could talk about experiences later; you don't want to reminisce too early - it ruins the fun of actually doing something.

So I told them I was done (some crazy brit wanted to use the comp anyways) and that I'd be next door; it sounded like Transformers was playing or something, maybe I could take a nap in there - at least it was dark.

But when I walked in, it was something completely different. I was instantly engrossed. The darkness didn't have the effect I'd imagined - instead of dulling my senses I was wide awake. Sounds were louder, smells stronger, colors brighter. I sat, and I watched, and I thought about the time I'd spent away and the things that I'd dome. I thought about my friends and my plans and my finances. And then I finally thought about me, about how I felt at that moment, at that exact moment.

I had a feeling of complete transcendence; here I was, a Mexican-American, sitting in a hostel in Spain with Norwegians watching a film that took place in India where they spoke Hindi and English.

Have you ever wanted to take a moment and put it in a bottle and seal it air-tight, so that when you got it out again it was just as fresh as when you put it in? It's more that a photo or a mental image; it's feeling the same way, exactly, as you did when you were in the moment. I finally did it, and hearing this music is all that I need to bring it up again.

Someone remind me to look up this night in my diary; maybe I'll post my entry.

Here are two of my favorite paintings for you to enjoy

2010-12-31T00:08:00.000-08:00

Organs, Lungs, and other Instruments

2010-12-29T23:16:00.000-08:00

I think I'm about to enter the gothic era of my life. Why am I suddenly obsessed with song lyrics? And harps and blues organs and tuney pianos?

Even I'm judging me, so I wouldn't expect anything less of YOU

2010-12-17T00:20:00.000-08:00

You know those sad 35-year-old chicks who show up to ComiCon dressed as a fat Slave Leia (chains, and nudity, and weird little British accent, and everything)? This is how it starts.

Say you get bored and decide to watch Serenity, because it's on HBO and it's free and what the hell nobody's gonna tell YOU what to watch so it might as well be science fiction. And then you fucking love it. So you say you know, I think I heard somewhere that this was based on a tv show... maybe I should look THAT thing up. Oh, it's on Netflix watch instantly, FANTASTIC. You probably chew through that entire series in what? A week? 10 days? But, wait. It's only 1 season... there's nothing left. WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

So you probably start to hint to close friends that you've developed a tiny appetite (lies, it's huge) for science fiction, but only the good stuff. Like anyone will believe that you're not a total freak just because you have standards. And let's say, at a party, someone mentions that you should probably watch Battlestar Galactica just cuz. And 5 days later you find yourself googling shit like this and finishing all of season 1... all FIFTEEN HOURS of season 1.

Ya, that's probably how it starts.

Remember the last time you had that kind of look of awe on your face that didn't come from someone setting an enormous margarita in front of you? Me either.

2010-12-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

Yessir, Capt'n Tightpants

2010-12-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mal: Okay, help me look for our guy Harrow.. He's supposed to be older, kinda stocky, wears a red sash..

Kaylee: Is that him?

Mal: ... that's the buffet table.

Kaylee: Well how can we be sure... unless we question it.

Happy Place

2010-12-05T11:28:00.001-08:00

It started off as bragging, but ended up as me needing to read more.

2010-11-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

Meme I saw of fb, but I don't really want to post this there. Mostly because I want to write notes about all of the books which I'm sure no one will read. And because I'm procrastinating on writing my personal statement for grad school.

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (favorite. book. ofalltime.)

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible (sometimes I feel like I need to read the bible, but I never get past Genesis)

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (recommended for any person of any age. If you think kids shouldn't be reading this series - or you want them to read the CS Lewis stuff instead - you're wrong.)

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (I thought I was Jo, and I hated Amy with a passion.)

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (nightmares. oh and whatever you do don't watch the Polanski film.)

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (this is kind of misleading... there are what? 36 plays? I haven't read them all, but I certainly have my favorites... As You Like It, Much Ado, Macbeth, Lear, Twelfth Night is a particular fav)

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (am I the only one who thinks Holden is a total ass?)

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (ugh. just... don't.)

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ("...so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.")

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (I always think of the Harry Connick Jr. song where he sings about an old jalopy)

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (I can't even name how many times I've started this book.)

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (does it count if I'm reading it now?)

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (bought this along with another de Bernieres book, but I haven't finished it.)

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (looove.)

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (still reading, but I'm about 400 pages in, so I think it counts. this book SO reminds me of my grandmother's family.)

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (On Chesil Beach is fantastic, too. McEwan is phenomenal.)

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (interesting that they left out Northanger Abby and Mansfield Park.)

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (I just remember the alleged musical - omg I just found it - that Jen told me about in high school)

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (this book changed the way that I think about science fiction.)

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (no. don't. don't ever read Hardy.)

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (been meaning to read something by Rushdie forever.)

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce ("... I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.")

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (working on another Ishiguro book right now, but this one's next.)

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (does it count if I listen to the musical, like, religiously?)

...and then I looked at the date.

2010-11-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

Netflix knows me better than I know myself

2010-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

I probably never would have picked any of these up on my own, but they were fantastic, all of them.

Looking back, 2001 was actually pretty bomb. Just not for me.

2010-11-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

What the hell. Ghost World changed my life. And now she's a sexy alien. Whyyy

Read this on /Film earlier:

It looks as though Scarlett Johansson will be playing a big-screen villainess once again. According to Entertainment Weekly, the "Iron Man 2" starlet, who recently earned raves for her performance of The Black Widow in the superhero film, has been tapped to lead "Under the Skin."

The sci-fi comedy, which is set to be helmed by "Sexy Beast" director Jonathan Glazer, will reportedly begin filming in 2011. The news source reports that Johansson will play "a sexy space alien who kidnaps human hitchhikers and sends them back to her home world to be served as exotic hors d'oeuvres."

Fun facts:
Memento, The Royal Tennenbaums, Mulholland Drive, Moulin Rouge!, Waking Life, Donnie Darko, Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone and Amelie also came out in 2001. Less than 5 sequels for the whole year. Can you believe it? Go ahead, go look. Seriously what the helll

I'd say that a little part of me, the part that's had this expression

on her face since 2001, died when I read this. But, sadly, that death occurred when I saw The Island. Ugh.

Passive Me, Aggressive You

2010-11-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

The Naked + Famous

Wanna hear the whole album?

Kinda sound like MGMT, Fang Island, and Beach House all had a baby. A music baby.

Happy Place

2010-10-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

It kills me that if I dressed up as Irene Dunne for Halloween nobody would know who I was.

What's everyone else dressing up as?

Oh and I watched "Penny Serenade" on netflix last night. It was incredible.

"I like the part where she has her A machines on the table and her B machines on the floor"

2010-10-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

I posted a few songs about this band back in May (whoa, why did I think that was like... way more recent??) but here's another one that I heard on the radio today. Because Nic Harcourt now takes his music listening cues from yours truly. Just kidding... not really. But seriously sick beats, it was fun to crank up in the car. I felt super mexican for like 3 and a half minutes.

The Do

2010-10-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think I feel shitty?

2010-10-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to not be quite sure about whether you're depressed or not? I used to feel like one day you're fine and then the next you're just laying on the bathroom floor looking at the lint stuck in the showermat. But I don't think that's how it works. I think it's gradual.

Is it possible to be underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time? Like, ohmygod I have so much stuff to do... but... does it really matter?

What good will it do? What difference does it make? If I'm so far away from my goals how will this one thing help? How will it even make a dent in the hugeness of everything?

I don't sleep anymore. At all. I don't have enough energy to go out, and I'm never really exhausted enough to pass out, so I just lay and think. Or stare.

I've been trying to read lately but it's been really hard, exceptionally hard, to get through things. I've picked up so many different books, read 4 chapters, and then put them down again. What do I want? It isn't scifi, it isn't mystery, or romance, or political intrigue, or history. Of everything, I feel like books are the easiest way to gauge a person - how they're feeling, their energy, ambitiousness, diversity. Literally nothing is appealing to me right now, not even re-reads which can usually get me back into the swing of things. Right now I'm reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and it's been kind of a struggle. I'm about halfway through, and I like it - probably not as much s I would in different circumstances, but what can you do? I feel like I just need this one accomplishment to pull me out of this, just one thing to be able to say "YES. I started this thing and now I have finished it. Because I can complete shit when I want to."

Of course, not everything is falling to pieces. A certain little puppy has been brightening my days and literally taking up 100% of my home time, but it's a job I'm happy to have.

Taken 2 minutes ago:

Use book as a scale, because he really is tiny for what will one day become a giant dog.

Happy Place, but feeling strangely lonely in that place

2010-10-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Place

2010-09-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

Betty Draper is, as a rule, generally pretty insane.

But for a brief moment one insignificant afternoon she was a total BADASS. And that is why Mad Men is the best show on tv.

I STARTED AN AMAZON.COM SELLER ACCOUNT YESTERDAY AND I ALREADY SOLD TWO THINGS

2010-09-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is why I love America. One woman's trash... is another woman's slightly used statistics book.

The only thing that sucks is that I posted the second listing as a Hardcover w/CD and actually there is no CD, so... I emailed the chick (UCSB?) and hopefully she gets back to me soon (as in tomorrow morning) because she wanted a 2 day delivery. And hopefully she still wants it... I mean, you really don't need a CD for a stats class. Who uses them anyways? Especially if you're the kind of person who gets their books off of amazon during the second week of school... right?

The hitch in my second order does not detract from how awesome I feel right now, however.

ME:

Things I did today:

2010-09-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

1. put all of danielles shit in boxes.
2. moved all of her furniture into the center of her room.
3. bought paint at home depot and primered the walls.
4. opened an amazon.com selling account and listed some books.
5. SOLD a book. For 40 bucks!
6. tried to find another 24x36 poster to hang beside my casablanca one above my bed. not a lot of options, though.
7. felt badass because of all the stuff I did!

I just want to get a cat. And be a baby.

2010-09-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

"I have friends who had a baby and they sent me pictures and, I don't know if you know this, but you swaddle your baby up so they can't move their arms... and they just lay, like this. And anyways my friend send me a picture and the kid was laying like this and there was just a cat right there and I'm like, 'I wanna have a fuckin' baby, I do. I wanna have a baby." And I was like, oh, my biological clock kicked in! So I picked up my cell phone, I'd just gone to get a frozen yogurt, and I called my friend and I'm like, 'I think I want a baby..' and he's like, 'well, what are you doing right now?' and I'm like, 'oh, I don't know, I'm just wandering. I went to get a frozen yogurt,' and he's like, 'well, you can't do that when you have a baby,' and I'm like, 'fuck that'. Like, I can't get a frozen yogurt??.. Maybe I just wanna be a baby. I would just love to lay on a couch, and with a cat? Are you kidding me? That's like the best thing that I ever heard of."

RIP Patricia Neal

2010-08-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

Things I've been thinking about today.

2010-08-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being so gone - work, work, work.

1. Luckily my "side" job has improved. Marginally. At least I've become a lot better at pretending. I am now the world's authority on flirting with old men.

2. I wish I had more time to be outside. I went on a bunch of bike rides with my dad this past week and they were totally fun, but I want to go kayaking or swimming or something. I was contemplating doing a triathalon, but not until the fall - anyone know about cheap short triathalons?

3. I spent $100 bucks on cds at Borders 2 days ago. Because I was having a bad day... and just because I could:

4. I've played this on loop now for about 20 minutes. Isn't getting any duller:

5. Have started to fantasize about getting a Vespa again. I saw a cute little black one with pink accents parked down the street from me and I almost lost it. Honestly, one has to draw the line for adorable propaganda somewhere.

6. Have decided to pick up Ella Enchanted again. Right on time for my quarterly re-reading of the poor, tattered 1997 edition that I own. Is it just me, or does everyone love tattered, loved old books?

Things I love today

2010-07-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

1. Chanson Beatbox

2. Scented Chapstick

3. Scavenger Hunts

4. Still Waiting for Godot T-Shirts

5. Bevmo 5cent wine sale!

fuck.

2010-07-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

1. I am a waitress. I used to have these fantasies where I'd be at work and Sofia Coppola would come in to eat, stop me, gasp, and cry out "you are singlehandedly delivering the greatest performance of any actress of your generation!!" Tonight Joe told me that a. I'm not doing that great of a job acting and b. customers leave me lower tips because of it. The sad part - the really, really sad part - is that I was trying - like really TRYING - to be friendly and nice and have a good memory and talk to people and whatever. Obviously, I'm not cut out for this. Joe said he got an email from a customer saying that I was snide and that people say I'm sarcastic. I actually can't say I disagree. This job is way more work that I thought it would be.

2. I feel like I'm slacking off so much at the lab all because of this other job. But it's like... my career... so why do I keep fucking it up?? Damn the money!

3. I haven't exercised in like 2 months. I just work and drink. And sleep because I'm so fucking tired all the time. Which is so, so bad. I don't even drink wine anymore, I just drink beer. God. Okay, that does it - I'm off the beer, I just decided.

4. I'm depressed now.

5. I can't believe Joe said that people think I have an "interesting" personality. Like "weird", but for adults. Shit, this is high school all over again.

6. I'll just stop now. Here's a song that's been helping to zen me out:

Happy Place

2010-06-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of in love with Dexter.

2010-05-27T23:44:00.003-07:00

Happy Place

2010-05-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

Is this turning into a music blog??

I'd say it's not on loop, but I'd be lying.

2010-05-13T22:21:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite Paul Simon songs

2010-05-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

I don't understand

2010-05-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Women don't have prostate glands... so... I don't understand.

Reasons why Parenthood is my favorite new show #1

2010-04-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

While catering at a poetry reading, Sarah and Amber (her daughter) run across one of Sarah's exes, Jim Kazinsky. He was previously a coffee barista, but is now a successful author and is, in fact, the guest speaker at the reading. He stands up to read a poem titled "The Orchid". As he progresses through the verse it becomes more and more apparent that it's not really about what they think it's about.

Sarah: This is about flowers, right?

Amber: ...I think it might be about your vag

An Assortment

2010-04-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

So I've been reading A Room With a View. Again. And all I have to say is... will you take me to Italy? Please? Pretty please? Florence, thanks.

And speaking of British things (inadvertently), I watched Lady Jane the other day. What the hell happened to Cary Elwes? The poor man did not age well.

I loved this. Like beyond words. Kristin Chenoweth was great on the show, but seriously. Amber Riley. My god.

I've recently begun to realize an obsession that I have for bookcases. Like, when I get an apartment they will be everywhere. Ideally, they'd be built-in, but I'm open.

I went rowing today and my arms hurt. They will probably hurt more tomorrow. Also my lips have been incredibly chapped for like a week. And the palms of my hands and feet have been extra dry.

I'm going to tutor a teenager tomorrow. Like an athlete at Mater Dei. In chemistry. And english. Pray for me.

Help Me! Help Me!

2010-04-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Normally I post music on here that interests me, but usually it's temporary. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. It always interests me, but I usually listen to it avidly for about 2 weeks and then move on. Certain songs and albums pop up repeatedly, whether serendipitously or because I want to hear them, and that keeps these people on the brain. However, when I hear new (i.e. post-initial-infatuation) music by these artists that I really really like, that's when they get put into a different category entirely.

I initially liked Lucy Schwartz because I thought this song was adorable. I even decided not to be too hasty and I let her percolate for a while before making a decision.

I'm not gonna lie, these songs are still like crack to me. I literally listened to her entire catalog (which, truthfully, isn't a ton) at least 5 times today. And now I can add a new song to my list:

Sorry this video is so creepy.

Get it

2010-04-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

"Deemed “too urban” by Jive Records, “Get It” was kicked off of Britney Spears’decade defining 2003 album In The Zone. Several low-quality leaks later, we have the full-quality version of “Get It”."

O. M. F. G.

2010-04-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

I seriously cannot wait. Seriously.

I'm just pissed at HBO for letting this one slide; now I have to figure out where I can watch it.

This happens in the morning sometimes

2010-04-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

11:32

Brittany

whyy did you tell me there was a sale at gap

that is so evil.

11:32Adrian

well you need the coupon

but its easy and i can give it to you if you want it

11:32Brittany

oh hey, 50% off in banana republic today

11:33Adrian

WHAA?

11:33Brittany

I hope you're happy

11:33Adrian

holy fuccckkk

Conversations with Other Women

2010-04-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

If you'd never seen a film, but had read a film review, you'd never guess that it was describing a moving picture. Subtlety, nuance, idiosyncrasy, faces, dialogue, action, reaction, shape, emotion. Not a ton of that in the films that speak to us. Or at least not in the films that I want to watch.

Why do we watch them anyways? Because the one thing that I'm missing from my life is a giant explosion? Or two? Probably not. The chance to watch someone feel an emotion not unlike something that you may feel at any given time in your life. Distant familiarity, maybe longing, maybe regret. To experience what is happening to them, with them.

In the film, the man says, "time really can't move in two directions." But is that really true?

Roger Ebert said: "In our minds, and in our hearts, time is hardly linear or unidirectional. Visit your parents and you're instantly a child again, and if you all live long enough, time begins to curl back on itself and they become your children. Or run into a certain old girlfriend or boyfriend and you may enter a disconcerting time warp between then and now and some shared future you once envisioned, but that never came to pass."

There is a central struggle in the film, between the man and the woman, with each trying to get a grip on who they're with. And in the process they begin to forget who they are themselves. When you're with an old friend, do you feel your age? You might, but don't you also feel that you're the age you were when you met them? If I met you when I was 15 and we were having a conversation at 40, would you think of me as your 40-year-old friend, or as something else? How would I think of you?

"Is the 38-year-old you the same person as the 22-year-old you? Might the 22-year-old and the 38-year-old (and who knows how many others) exist simultaneously inside the same mind and body? And how well can you really know another person -- and for how long, given that people are always changing?" - Roger Ebert

It was not a love story, it was a conversation. The poster lied, but that didn't matter because I didn't see the poster until after the movie.

Things both were and weren't happening, because there both was and wasn't action. It was almost transcendental in it's lack of commitment to plot, but that's how most of my favorite movies are. I mean, what does it matter anyways, whether they end up together or not? Will that affect me in some way after I've stopped watching the film? It'll probably make me cynical if they do, so I actually prefer not to know.

Happy Place

2010-04-12T00:09:00.001-07:00

Criterion Collection poster. So simple, so powerful.

2010-04-11T20:14:00.001-07:00

Joanna Newsom

2010-04-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

So I had a Joanna Newsom album a while ago - this one, to be specific - and I honestly couldn't listen to it. I thought the instrumentals were interesting and that the overall sound was cool, but her voice, I just... couldn't do it.

Luckily for me something changed and she's got a much more listenable timbre now, not quite as grating. I actually really like this song and hope to get her new album and listen to the rest soon. Sound a little like Frances Ruffelle to anyone else? Just a smidge? Maybe it's just me. Or the fact that the sound of each of their voices seems to polarize people instantaneously.

Happy Place

2010-04-05T01:37:00.000-07:00

2009 was full of cinematic surprises. I loved a lot of indie films: The Brothers Bloom, (500) Days of Summer, The September Issue, and Bright Star were among my favorites. The Princess & The Frog, Up, and Up in the Air were also really good, and luckily weren't hoisted by their own advertising petards. An Education, In The Loop, and Zombieland I loved as well, even though I didn't see them until 2010.

However. The Young Victoria was my absolute favorite. Totally and completely in a class by itself. I don't really know that many people who've seen it, but those who have tend to agree with me.

It's a very tactile movie. I think a lot of that is due to the costume designer (who coincidentally won the oscar) - she put them in the kinds of fabrics that they would've worn; some soft and flowy, some starchy, thick stuff. You also hear the sounds of their heels tapping the floors as they walk, the smooth sound of their hands running along the banisters when they descend stairs, their gowns and coats ruffling as they glide through the open halls, the clinking of silverware at the table, the hiss of cushions when they sit.

The cinematography is gorgeous as well. You're not viewing the room at a whole - it's not a play. You're up there, close and personal, in their face. You see every emotion, every thought, every flicker of surprise or anger or passion or sadness. It's not about setting anything up, or even the script really. It's about you and them and the moment in time that they occupy and what they do with it. I was reminded of The Holy Moment even though I'm not sure that applies to period pieces.

More photos after the break. Don't you just love his hair??

A brainwave, sort of.

2010-04-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Like most normal people, I sometimes think about, and agonizingly critique, 3-minute semi-enjoyable live performances that I've seen by random college vocal showcase artists. For weeks after I've viewed said vocal showcase.

Sometimes things just stick in your head and you feel the need, the compulsion to ask yourself certain important questions about the universe. You're helpless against the universe.

So, since these things happen often I'll give you a "for instance". A month ago (two?) I went to see a vocal showcase, with my friend Sarah, that Casey was performing in. After the show I could not get the performance of this one singer out of my head (I can't really remember her name... Renn? Ren? Rhenn? Rhen?). It was stuck like a broken record.

What started out as me judging her for singing a song that is pretty much un-coverable (in my mind, "why even try?") eventually turned into a mental dissertation of music in its entirety. I'm not sure I can really type up all of my thoughts right now, they're still sort of jumbling around in my head, but a few major things have stuck out, mostly questions (rhetorical and non). It's kind of all over the place, but try to stick with me because I think I have a point. Maybe.

Okay, so, I've had the feeling for years that everyone is driven by compulsions of some sort or the other (not unlike the compulsions I feel from the universe to think about these things), and that possibly artists feel those compulsions more than the rest of the world.

Why do singers want to perform? Is it because they just need to? They have to, they couldn't stop even if they tried?? OR is that just what makes a singer great? Having that itch that they have to scratch. They don't even have to have a great voice, as long as they have the compulsion.

Because I can sing (shower, car), but I don't think I'm really that great. I don't have that itch. I don't need to perform in front of people.

Is it possible that (alternatively) a singer can have a beautiful voice and still sound as though they're missing something? It's pretty, but they just can't keep your attention?

What is the compulsion about anyways?

"I need you to hear my voice because it's incredible!!"

I don't think so, or at least I'd like to think it's something more than that. It's about emotions, right? Expressing yourself, maybe finding a connection with someone else out there in the world who can say, "oh my god, I know exactly what you mean!!" when they hear you.

"That feeling that I had that I couldn't put words to, you just expressed it."

I think that about sums it up, right? Opera, pop, jazz, folk, rock, metal. It applies to them all.

So, if it's about emotions, sharing the way that you feel with an audience, then what the heck is the point of singing a cover? "And now Brittany will sing an oldie, but a goodie -" Like anyone would want to hear my Dusty Springfield renditions. Is it just like karaoke for the world?

"Please listen to me sing a Whitney Houston cover, because I can do it just like her, only better."

I don't think so. I really don't. And I think that's where a lot of people don't get it. It's not like the national anthem, where everyone who sings it tries to one-up each other. You shouldn't do a cover because you think you can do it better. Which is why when you do a cover you should not try to sound exactly like the original singer. It's like trying to fail, especially if it's a song that people know, especially if the original singer is amazing. The purpose of a cover is to try and discern a different meaning from the song, a different emotion, you're putting a different tone to the same lyrics. Or at least that's the ultimate purpose of a cover. At the very least, sound different, have a cool arrangement, something!

So back to Ren. It turns out that there are some good covers of her chosen song, one of them by a jazz singer that I love, Dianne Reeves. Notice the difference between the original and the cover? Notice how Dianne Reeves is not trying to be Nina Simone incarnate?

A little sampling, in case you still don't believe me. I'll try to put them in chronological order so you can hear the progression:

Jo Stafford was one of Billie Holliday's favorite singers. I can see why.

The Four Seasons.

Etta, of course. She wasn't the original singer, but she's probably got the most famous cover.

Before you laugh, and besides the creepy movie-within-a-movie thing, just hear me out. It's Reba all the way, right? It conjures up different images than the other covers, it sounds different, it has a different feeling, she's going for something else.

A cover by Beth Rowley, who I think did a good job of changing the song to meet her vocal restrictions, namely that she is not Etta James. And it sounds like she's okay with that.

And just for fun, here are some famous (or little known) originals and their famous (or little known) counterparts:

Dolly. Gorgeous song, so sad and genuine.

Whitney. Completely different, right?

Dusty. We had one of her albums when I was a kid and Danielle and my god Danielle and I loved listening to that thing. I still can't explain it, except to say that it's great.

The White Stripes.

Ah, the sweet sounds of the Bee Gees.

The Bird & the Bee. I actually heard the cover before the original, and I like that it's more intimate, but the original is good, too. And I'm pretty sure that Sia is singing backup, just listen carefully at 1:50 and 2:50.

Ella. I can imagine being at some fancy outdoor party, dancing and listening to a live big band.

Norah Jones. Unlike Ella, this conjures up a completely different image.

The Beatles. Teenagers, fun, going to sock hops, drinking soda pop. Yeah.

As Roger Ebert put it, "When Prudence sings "I Want to Hold Your Hand," for example, I realized how wrong I was to ever think that was a happy song. It's not happy if it's a hand you are never, never, never going to hold. The love that dare not express its name turns in sadness to song."

MPDG aside, how effing CUTE is this

2010-03-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Makes me wish I had time to go to my ukulele class again. Fail. (on me) Every time I see a cute one, I think of the ukulele love of my life, the Blue Beltona. Oh and the ukulele singer love of my life, James Hill, playing the ukulele love of my life. Someday... le sigh.

"You're like the woman from The Omen... you've given birth to a demon, and now it's going to kill you."

2010-03-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

I died laughing while I was watching this.

On romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion.

2010-03-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

I spent the evening tripping balls.

No, I wasn't high. But I was watching Waking Life, which I'm fairly certain meets the criteria for being high. If you missed my previous post, I re-posted one of my favorite clips from the movie along with a few others. The last one is really intriguing. Actually, they all are.

I don't wanna be an ant, you know?

Maybe I only exist in your mind... I'm still just as real as anything else.

Sabertooth tiger, right behind you.

Okay, mister psychic, I believe you, you're a psychic.

Happy Place

2010-03-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

I love this story

2010-03-16T18:54:00.001-07:00

The Bloggess is my hero. And I know exactly what she means about the muster stations.

2 awesome pictures. And I want a cat.

2010-03-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone, but I never had yours.

2010-03-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes NPR is just kind of awesome. Actually, most of the time it's pretty awesome, but in this case it's extra, extra awesome.

I know that the MPDG schtick is starting to grate on some people's nerves, but I try really hard to divorce She&Him from all that. I think the music can stand on its own. Here are my favorite songs from Volume Two:

PS - does anyone else hear some Harry Nilsson going on in there?

Recent Acquisitions, Book Edition

2010-03-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

I just about died when I saw this.

Oh and I forgot to add one other thing to the previous "recent acquisitions" post. How could I forget this one?? I really like it, but it gives me a very "Sharon Jones & Dap Kings" kind of feel. Which is not a bad thing, but all the same... Anyways, it's probably just Kylie. She sounds a lot like her.

Now onto the recent acquisitions. I have heard nothing about any of these books (besides Vonnegut, which was recommended to me), and so I'm hoping that I got a good spread and that I'll be able to get through them. Ha, I never thought I'd say that. But honestly 2010 so far has not been fantastic and I've had a lot of trouble reading, so hopefully this'll get me out of my funk. And it seriously is a funk - I've been trying to read Persuasion for like a month and I'm only 1/3 of the way through. And not interested. So, so, so sad.

Recent Acquisitions

2010-03-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

I listened to this whole album in the car on my way back from LA today. I liked it, and I liked the angry.

For some reason, when I first heard 'Daisy' I just thought of whether or not KC would like it. I have a feeling he will, but I'm not sure. There's definitely a lot going on in the song to consider.

Amazing live album. Ignore the tongue in this vid.

Ya, pretty much.

Me likey. Depends on mood, though.

You might remember this? Ya, I think I was kidding. I'm actually really enjoying this album

A letter.

2010-03-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

Professor Cahill,

Here are a few things that I've learned in taking your class this quarter:

1. History really does repeat itself. Not in the way that I used to assume - where exact actions were repeated - but in the way that people think. In their ideology, in their values. I'm beginning to think that it might be a result of each successive generation's backlash against the former.

2. Many people have discovered things before they were "discovered". Whether it was because the original discoverer lacked the courage of their conviction or because said "discovery" was simply not accepted, it is clear to me now that hardly any discoveries change the world overnight. Time is the ultimate obstacle through which all knowledge must pass.

3. Science is invariably swayed by politics, and politics by culture. As much as we'd like to think that a purely scientific mind will simply rise above the pressures of society, the truth is that a majority of scientists are as prone to vanity, weak judgement and fame as any other person, and they're not above indulging their vices. Alternatively, we owe more to the few who've weathered past cultural storms than I could possibly imagine.

Thanks, and see you on Friday,

Brittany

BFF

2010-03-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

I ran across the cutest picture ever yesterday (thank you google image swirl) of Cate & Kate while I was looking for a picture of Kate Winslet chubby (hear me out) to prove the point that no, I do not think she is fat or ever was, BUT that by today's standards (a decade and a half after Titanic) she would never have been cast in that movie. You'd be surprised how many actresses wouldn't make the cut nowadays. Which is probably why movies suck more. Anways, I'll have to come back to that another day, because I have discovered something startling about the C/Kates: I think they may be the same person. Let alone the fact that they actually share the same name, they also have many other eerily similar qualities. I shall explain:

(so cute, right? ah, youth.)

(a more recent photo. still bff after all these years.)

1. They were both in a period piece early in their careers that was an adaption of a very famous piece of literature.

Cate: An Ideal Husband (Wilde)

Kate: Sense & Sensibility (Austen)

2. They have both played a younger version of Judi Dench.

(Cate: Elizabeth)

(Kate: Iris)

3. They have both played a character who is a member of the British army fighting against the Nazis.

(Cate: Charlotte Gray)

(Kate: Enigma)

4. They have both played Nazis.

(Cate: Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

(Kate: The Reader)

5. They have both played a middle aged woman who is having an illicit affair with a student.

(Cate: Notes on a Scandal)

(Kate: The Reader)

6. They have both played a somewhat whorish, very unstable character in a movie with the title "_____& Cigarettes"

(Cate: Coffee & Cigarettes)

(Kate: Romance & Cigarettes)

7. They've both played opposite Leonardo DiCaprio AND been nominated for an Oscar in those roles.

(Cate: The Aviator, she won)

(Kate: Titanic, she didn't win)

8. They've both performed Shakespeare.

(Cate: War of the Roses cycle)

(Kate: Hamlet. She's one of the all-time greatest Ophelias, in my opinion)

9. They've both starred opposite very famous comedians in bizarre films that have developed dedicated cult followings.

(Cate: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Her last name in this movie is Winslet)

(Kate: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

10. They've both become animated.

(Cate: Ponyo)

(Kate: Flushed Away)

Honestly, I could go on. But I've already wasted wayyyy too much time on the computer, so I'll just leave it at that. Now who wants to go watch a movie?

Oh, klahoma.

2010-03-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I just realized that you can netflix this. WHAT!? As of 30 seconds ago it's number 1 on my queue.

I'd spent 2 days in Barcelona

2010-03-06T23:34:00.000-08:00

I was exhausted. I was tired of running around. You don't get to know a place by visiting it's tourist traps, and we tried to avoid some of them, but still - I was exhausted. My memories of most of Barcelona are generally pretty nice - it was one of my favorite cities in Spain - but there was an hour - just one - where I felt magic. It's hard to describe, but I know what it was because I've felt it before.

It was late. Maybe midnight, maybe later. I was with Krystle, Paulina, Kiah and Susan. We'd been walking around after getting some tapas and we went back with Kiah and Susan to their hostel in downtown (ours was in the suburbs on a university campus somewhere and we had to take a 30 minute subway ride to get there). We went out of our way to walk back with them because they had a computer room and everyone I was with needed - needed - to check their email. I remember stopping to take a long exposure picture of the freeway while we were on our way over there. You've gotta know that my roommates couldn't be away from a phone or computer for more than 24 hours or they lost their shit. I, on the other hand, spoke on the phone only once the entire summer (oddly, it was the day after this, I think). I felt like I wanted to be lost, and disconnecting from everyone that I knew back home helped me do that. I wish I'd been able to stay longer, because I was just starting to acclimate to this new way of life.

The hostel was great. It was super nice inside and everything was really clean (which is way more than I can say for most of the places we stayed... I really wish I'd taken more pics of some of these dirt holes). When we found the computer room, I jumped on for about 5-10 minutes, chatted with my sister, and was ready to be on my way. By the time I was finished, the other girls were just settling in for what I assumed would be a good 2 hour chat with their loved ones. Obviously a lot of CA was online since 1am in Spain is 5pm here.

I left the computer room and wandered around for a bit. I kept hearing this booming sound that seemed to be coming from the walls, so I decided to investigate. It turned out to be a mini-theater, pitch black, with 30 or so huge comfy seats and only 3 other patrons. It was late and I was tired, so I sat in the back and watched. It was me, these 2 French guys and a girl from somewhere in eastern Europe, I think. She said something in English, but her accent was hard to place. We were watching Slumdog Millionaire, and it was about halfway through. It was so comforting to be in a movie theater - in Valencia we didn't watch TV, we didn't see movies, we didn't hear news - and you can imagine the comfort that I got from just this one little thing. A movie. In English. I'd never been so happy to hear my own language. I sat back and got lost in the story.

As it was nearing the end, I began to reflect on my trip so far and the things that I'd seen and done. The experiences I'd had, and the thought that no one, ever, would have those same exact experiences. Maybe it was the movie, but I just had a feeling of destiny. Like everything I'd done had been leading up to this point, good and bad. I'd been so many places, heard so many languages, and interacted with people of every type of culture I could imagine. I mean, I was sitting in a theater in Barcelona at 1am with 2 French guys and a Norwegian chic watching an American movie about Indian kids. It was surreal.

As the film ended I just had a feeling of wholeness, of oneness with the world - I knew that right at that moment I was feeling the same thing as the other 3 and it wasn't about where we came from or what language we spoke or how much money we did or didn't have or where we were going. It was about the human experience and the fact that we were sharing it. Right then. It was a feeling of completeness like I've never had. For a few minutes the world just felt tiny, and free, and ready.

It's funny that these little moments, moments that people I'm with don't even notice, end up being the ones that I remember. They're so insignificant and yet so precious to me. I once heard someone say that memory is "a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past" and it's true. These little moments that I have - they're unreal sometimes - but I know that as soon as they're over there's no way to recreate them. There's no way to get that feeling back and I miss it. I remember each feeling like this, they're all different, and I miss them all.

Happy Place

2010-03-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

Something I came across while doing research for my paper

2010-03-04T22:29:00.000-08:00

The following press conference is the first public mention of AIDS in the Reagan White House. At that time 200 Americans had died of a new infectious disease. Reagan himself did not mention AIDS for three more years.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

PRESS BRIEFING BY LARRY SPEAKES

October 15, 1982
The Briefing Room
12:45pm EDT

Q: Larry, does the President have any reaction to the announcement the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, that AIDS is now an epidemic and have over 600 cases?

MR. SPEAKES: What's AIDS?

Q: Over a third of them have died. It's known as "gay plague." (Laughter.) No, it is. I mean it's a pretty serious thing that one in every three people that get this have died. And I wondered if the President is aware of it?

MR. SPEAKES: I don't have it. Do you? (Laughter.)

Q: No, I don't.

MR. SPEAKES: You didn't answer my question.

Q: Well, I just wondered, does the President

MR. SPEAKES: How do you know? (Laughter.)

Q: In other words, the White House looks on this as a great joke?

MR. SPEAKES: No, I don't know anything about it, Lester.

Q: Does the President, does anyone in the White House know about this epidemic, Larry?

MR. SPEAKES: I don't think so. I don't think there's been any

Q: Nobody knows?

MR. SPEAKES: There has been no personal experience here, Lester.

Q: No, I mean, I thought you were keeping

MR. SPEAKES: I checked thoroughly with Dr. Ruge this morning and he's had no (laughter) no patients suffering from AIDS or whatever it is.

Q: The President doesn't have gay plague, is that what you're saying or what?

MR. SPEAKES: No, I didn't say that.

Q: Didn't say that?

MR. SPEAKES: I thought I heard you on the State Department over there. Why didn't you stay there? (Laughter.)

Q: Because I love you Larry, that's why (Laughter.)

MR. SPEAKES: Oh I see. Just don't put it in those terms, Lester. (Laughter.)

Q: Oh, I retract that.

MR. SPEAKES: I hope so.

Q: It's too late.

Distortion

2010-03-03T23:18:00.000-08:00

When I was 15 I went to the music store and bought My Bloody Valentine's album "Loveless". And you all laughed. It was 2004 (yeah, that was SIX years ago) and everyone thought I was a freak for buying something that was recorded in 1991. I thought it was an incredible album... just thinking about it makes me want to listen to it. Obviously Beach House (their album "Teen Dream" is RS's #2 College Radio Album) had the same idea.

It's like a nice gussied up version of MBV. In my opinion. I'm in the process of listening to the whole thing... if something sticks out, I'll let you know.

I love reading Rolling Stone, even though it makes me smarter about things I don't care about

2010-03-03T22:44:00.000-08:00

For INSTANCE. Why does Zooey Daschanel look adorable all the time? She's allergic to gluten, eggs, and dairy. What does that leave? Vegetables and soy milk. And fish.

I would stop eating dairy since I'm lactose intolerant, but I love cheese. And it pretty much wouldn't make a dent in all of the crap that I consume. Le sigh.

Oh and I can't wait for the new She & Him album!

I need a pat on the back, so I'm giving myself an award.

2010-03-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

I can't take any more Jane Austen books where people's heads get ripped off by zombies or where Mr. Darcy is really a vampire. I can't. I just can't. Read a real book.

This made me laugh. Mostly it was just Jim Carrey and his pendulous balls, though.

ApartmentTherapy is my favorite website now. I look at it almost every day and just... fantasize. "Some day, this will all be yours...."

I'm going to be a little bit obsessed with him from now on, I think

2010-02-28T23:09:00.001-08:00

So I saw Don Quixote with my mom today at OCPAC. We were in the third row. It was kind of amazing.
Ivan Vasiliev has basically the most electric presence of any male dancer that I've ever seen. That's all.

Ivan Vasiliev from ilya kuznetsov on Vimeo.

I went to Europe! Twice!!

2010-02-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

In my hours of procrastination over the past few weeks, I came up with a great time-consuming plan! (I always come up with the funnest, most time consuming ideas when I'm procrastinating) I decided to mount my world map on a foam board so that I could put pins in it to chronicle all of my adventures!

Well I finished it today, and it actually looks really good. Except for the fact that I want it to be in a frame instead of being held up with fishing wire, but that can't be helped right now since I don't have money to buy a frame.

Here it is (arrows pointing to places in the world that I've been):

Sitting at my desk and looking at it makes me realize 3 things:

1. I haven't really been that many places. Now, I know that most people would say something along the lines of, "What!? Well, I haven't been able to go to all of the places that you've been..." or, "Stop complaining, you're so lucky!" And to both of these comments, I simply have to agree. Yeah, I've gotten to visit some amazing places and seen lots of awe-inspiring things and had incredible experiences. But when you think about it, when you think about allllll of the places that exist in the world, I haven't been to that many.

2. I really want to go somewhere new. I have that travel itch again. 2009 was kind of amazing: January (Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC), March (New York), Summer (Spain, Florence, London), September (road trip to Hamilton across the midwest), November (Houston). I felt pretty settled for a while... kind of like, "Yeah, it would be cool to go somewhere, but I'm fine to chill here for a bit." Because, you know what?, it is a ton of work to plan trips. It's hours of online searches for hotels, hostels, places to go, flights, everything. Not to mention all the money it costs. Actually, most of the work is done because you're trying to save money - gotta find the cheapest flight, or hotel or whatever because it blows when you get there and don't have any money to spend! But I want to travel, so I'm going to have to figure something out for 2010. Maybe something small for the summer, but I really want to go somewhere cool in the fall or winter (I'm hoping to convince my mom that we should take a mom/kid trip to Ireland sometime in the next 2 years).

3. Greenland is freaking HUGE! What is happening there? People live there, but why don't we ever hear about them? I'm putting some pictures of Greenland after the jump just so that you can see how gorgeous it is! Seriously, they need to up their travel advertising because it doesn't seem like that hard of a sell.

Greenland: It's beautiful, they have the Northern Lights, and I'm sure there's lots of outdoorsy stuff to do - why doesn't anyone ever talk about going there??

A poster that I want rather passionately

2010-02-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

annie leibovitz

2010-02-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what brought this on today, but I figure you might as well hear about it.

I have a book of hers that my mom got me for christmas a few years ago. I have to say that I've never seen portraiture quite like hers, and I seriously doubt I ever will again. She's one of the most talented photographers that I've ever seen, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I look at people differently since having read that book. I wish I could find more photos from it, but alas, no one seems to care about people that aren't celebrities. Don't get me wrong, her VF photos are stunning, but don't you think there's something incredibly compelling about a black & white portrait of a 48-year-old Las Vegas show girl in all her jewel-encrusted glory juxtaposed to a photo of her wearing Sunday morning church garb? It's just incredible to see. She really makes you see what she sees, that's what I love about her.

Anyhoo, here's a collection of some photographs for your enjoyment.

Is this a theme with me?

New York, I Don't Love You

2010-02-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

The depths of my disappointment are indescribable.

"Where Paris, je t'aime overflowed with love from almost every pore, truly making me believe Paris is a city of love, New York, I Love You made me think that the city is nothing more than a place for chain smokers, hook-ups, stalkers and fights."

If it was possible to make one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the world a place that you'd never want to visit, this movie accomplished that. Of the 10 short films there were, what? Maybe 4 that I can remember? 2 that I liked? Honestly, it made Manhattan seem like it was filled with the most boring, sad, lonely people ever. Wasn't this movie supposed to be about love?

"The glaring problem I see is that in Paris each short film had its allotted time, with no characters crossing over into one another's stories, save for one small exception toward the end. In New York, there is a constant back-and-forth of characters jumping around, in and out of multiple story-lines, rarely knowing where one ends and the next begins, lacking any real sense of focus. But worst of all, where Paris felt genuine, New York felt gimmicky."

The one story that I loved was the one with Anton Yelchin and Olivia Thirlby. It was one of the best short films that I've seen. If you ever get a chance to see this film, please savor these few minutes because they are truly the best. And you will laugh at the end of it. Really hard.

Dylan

2010-02-22T18:44:00.000-08:00

And around that time I got a call from my business office, that Bob Dylan wanted my phone number. And I said, "Fuck you! You get that stalker away from me. I don't want any more 60's icons fucking up my life!" That's what I said in my head. Out loud I said, "Absolutely! I'll be waiting by the phone." Dylan wasn't calling because he wanted to ask me on a date. He was calling because this cologne company had contacted him to see if he would endorse a cologne called 'Just Like A Woman'. Bob didn't like that name, but he liked the idea of endorsing a cologne. And he wanted to know if I had any good cologne idea names. Do I look like someone who would be wandering around with a bunch of cologne names rattling around in my head? Well, tragically I did. I did have quite a few ideas for cologne names, so I told them to Bob. There was 'Ambivalence', for that scent of confusion... 'Arbitrary', for the man who doesn't give a shit how he smells... And 'Empathy', feel like them, smell like this. Well, Bob actually liked those... and then he said he might like to open a beauty salon. And I said, "What? Like 'Tangled Up and Blown'?" - CF

Big Love

2010-02-21T22:42:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite shows. The title sequence from this season (season 4) is kind of mesmerizing, no?

Something I found

2010-02-21T16:56:00.001-08:00

So I have a vinyl converter now. And it's incredible. I've been playing with it for WAY too long today and my brain feels fried. But here's the first thing that I "officially converted" from start to finish. Pretty bizarre, huh?

Both Sides Now by Britt.aggie

What foreign actors ALL have to do, or why Carey Mulligan has it and Romola Garai didn't... but maybe Marion Cotillard found a way around it

2010-02-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

Remember Romola Garai? Remember this movie and how much you loved it? Remember how she and Keira Knightley both starred in their first American movies at the same time? And how successful one was and how unsuccessful the other was? Remember? Yeah, probably not... you know why? Because Romola Garai's accent in Dirty Dancing was unbearable. Godddd it was bad. And thus begins my argument that everyone needs to be able to do a good American accent at some point in their acting careers. Unless you're Marion Cotillard and have somehow managed to get by on your amazing French accent; but, mark my words, she will have to eventually.

I know that Sarah disagrees, but I think that Carey Mulligan should win the Oscar this year. There, I said it. If you need me to defend my opinion I shall.

Now. In other news with regards to said future Oscar winner (and her impeccable American accent... see?? SEE??), I feel that she is officially the most valuable asset that "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps" has going for it.
Seriously, nothing beats an Oscar nod. Nothing.
Well, maybe if Anna Wintour says she likes you...

Even Shia LaBeouf's Transformer movies (I never saw the second one, but I liked the first one..) couldn't beat having an Oscar winner in the cast.
Maybe the fact that Michael Douglas is actually making a movie (that's not ridiculous) for the first time in like 10 years will get some people to the movies, too. But I remember the first trailer for Wall Street 2 a couple months ago... I'm almost positive that Carey Mulligan wasn't mentioned and certainly her name wasn't in letters equally as big as Michael Douglas. Nosireebob.

Thus is the power of Oscar. Oh, and watch this, I think you'll want to see it like me.

2010-02-17T09:01:00.001-08:00

CRIMINAL

2010-02-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

So the Oscars are coming up in a few weeks. I'm working on seeing all of the Best Picture noms (which I want to do before the show), slowly but surely, and so far I've genuinely liked them all. Let me refresh your memory with regards to who is nominated:

1. Avatar

2. The Blind Side

3. District 9

4. An Education

5. The Hurt Locker

6. Inglorious Basterds

7. Precious

8. A Serious Man

9. Up

10. Up in the Air

I've highlighted the ones that I've seen.

Now, my most recent obsession is "An Education". If I had to choose between the 5 that I've seen, and this is seriously a hard decision, I'd have to say "An Education" - with "Up in the Air" as a close close second. But it's incredible. Seriously. If you get a chance, you can watch it here.

Okay, so that was just sort of a primer for what I'm about to say:

Best Original Song is usually filled up with a bunch of Disney shit, which is fine because it's usually good (if not sadly predictable). However, what is upsetting to me is that "An Education" was cut out. What the hell is that!? And don't be fooled - this is not some dusty 60's LP that they dug up for the occasion. This was written and performed specifically for "An Education". I'm going to post all of the Best Original Song noms and follow it with the Beth Rowley song "You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger" and you can be the judge. For me it's painfully obvious that the only competition would have been the song from "Crazy Heart" (but mostly because people love redemption) and that Beth Rowley would've walked away with a statue. Too bad.

AN EYEBALL AND A DOZEN ROSES

2010-02-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is a short anecdote by one of my favorite bloggers, Sheila. I never cease to be amused by her stories, and this is no different. It's kind of long, but I think it's worth it simply because I feel like I can relate.

I was living in Chicago, having a grand old time. There were a couple of men buzzing around me. One of them, who was so sweet, so nice, a guy I had seen perform numerous times, approached me at a party and, after chatting me up for a while in a very humorous and effortless way, asked me out to dinner.
I said Sure, I would go out to dinner with him. I already knew he was very talented and very funny (having seen him on stage. Henry Kissinger was wrong. Power is not the ultimate aphrodisiac. Talent is. Or, I would say, more specifically, for me: Comedy is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Make me laugh? I'm yours.)
As I have said before, I'm not a real date-r, I haven't been on too many "let me pick you up and we'll go have dinner" kind of dates. I kind of cut to the chase, for better or worse. But this guy was very traditional, and so - like a true gentleman - he set up this entire date (picked the spot, picked the after-dinner spot, etc.)
It turned out being one of the best dates I have ever been on before IN MY LIFE. Not because there were amazing sparks between us (there weren't, at least not romantic ones) - but because of where he took me to dinner, and the people we met there, and what we ended up doing. We went to dinner at a great old-school Greek restaurant, where the coffee they gave you at the end of the meal was so thick that your spoon could stand up in it. The food was amazing. We stayed there for hours, and then, after 11 or so, the music started. There was a round dance floor in the middle of the tables (it was like a nightclub you see in 1940s movies, although falling apart), and people started dancing. These people were all Greek. They weren't doing the Macarena. They all danced in a circle, holding hands, shouting and whooping. To give you a more specific image, it involved a bunch of 70 year old Greek women, caked with makeup, dancing around in a circle, holding hands, gesturing majesterially out to us to join their dance, as their 70 year old Greek husbands, or lovers, stood on the outskirts, throwing money up into the air. 78 year old Greek women picked up 20 dollar bills and plastered them onto their sweaty necks and sweaty 78 year old cleavage. Everyone was laughing, and dancing, and whooping it up, and everyone except for us was over 70 years of age. It was 3 a.m., and he and I joined the geriatric Greek dance, as money swirled through the air. We scuffed through the bills on the floor.
But that's a tangent, and not the story I want to tell which is the story of the Eyeball and the Dozen Roses.
During the great date at the late-night Greek place - for some UNFATHOMABLE reason - I told him that my eye doctor had taken a picture of the back of my eyeball. (Great date banter, Sheila. Way to go.)
He: "Your grey eyes look so lovely. I could drown in their sparkley depths."
Me: "Oh yeah? I should show you a picture of the BACK of my eyeball, pal."
I have no idea how the subject came up - but anyway, he (bless him) seemed completely fascinated by the idea of having a picture taken of the back of his eyeball. (Or maybe he was just being polite. Politeness was in this man's veins. He did gentlemanly things instinctually. Holding out the chair, holding out my coat, holding open the door ...) The photo was very weird and I was kind of obsessed with it - a big red ball, basically - a circle of red. It looked like a close-up photo of the red storm circling Jupiter in the cold depths of space. That was my eyeball, apparently. I didn't have ahowling Mr. Bill face inside my body, but it was close.
During the date at the Greek place - he already set up the next date. "Okay, so Valentine's Day is next week. And I know we don't know each other at all or anything, but I think it would be fun to have a date on Valentine's Day. Whaddya say?"
I said, as I Zorba-the-Greek'ed my way through the carpet of money, plastering 20 dollar bills on my sweaty arms, "That sounds like fun!!"
So.
A date on Valentine's Day. I'm not big on Valentine's Day - not being a romantic type (as this story will OBVIOUSLY prove) - and also: it just seems like a hell of a lot of pressure. But he and I had such an unbelievably fabulous time on that first date, I thought: It's cool. It's cool. We'll have a good time again.
And then I came up with what I considered to be an inspired idea.
Instead of getting him a nice Hallmark-y little Valentine's Day card, I put the photo of the back of my eyeball into a little red envelope, with his name on it. On the margins of the photo I wrote, "Happy Valentine's Day."
I know it is insane.
I cannot defend it.
I am just reporting the facts of the case, which are: I put a photograph of the back of my eyeball into an envelope to give to a guy on Valentine's Day.
I went over to his apartment. We were going out to dinner or something like that. He greeted me at the door, so nice, so sweet. He let me into the apartment - he got me a drink. We didn't really know each other at all, but we had had (hands down) the best date EVER. One for the books. We were kind of proud of ourselves for that.
He went into the kitchen, and came back out, holding a dozen red roses for me. For Valentine's Day.
He got me a dozen red roses.
I gave him a picture of my eyeball.
Let me say it again, just so we all are clear:
He got me a dozen red roses.
I gave him a picture of my eyeball.
The second I saw the roses (and I don't know why I didn't anticipate that he would do such a thing! He was such an old-fashioned gentlemanly kind of guy - I should have expected it - but I have never received a dozen red roses in my life - I never expect that kind of behavior) - Anyway, the second I saw the red roses coming at me, I remembered the little red envelope in my purse, and I could feel my face getting all hot with mortification. My face was as beet-red as the back of my own eyeball.
Oh my God. I am such an asshole. I have given him a photograph of the back of my eyeball. What the hell was going through my mind at the time that made me think that was appropriate??? My head was literally burning with embarrassment and shame about my eyeball.
I could no longer bear the agony.
I said, "Okay, so this is completely embarrassing, seeing as you gave me a beautiful bouquet of roses ... but here's what I got you."
He opened it up - looked at the Polaroid - and then he BURST into laughter. (Thank God.)
Throughout the night he kept making jokes, pretending he was describing his Valentine's date to friends who didn't know me:
"Hey, man, did you go out on Valentine's Day?"
"Oh yeah, dude, I went out with this sweet girl I just met."
"Really? What does she look like?"
Long long pause.
"Oh .... she looks like a circle."
Or - when someone would ask him, "What did your date look like?", he would take out the photograph of the back of my eyeball and, smiling proudly, give it to them.
He ended up being very kind about the whole thing, turning it into a huge joke - which I appreciated.
But that is the mortifying story of a man who gave me a dozen roses, while I only gave him my eyeball.

A Coda:
He and I ended up going on something like 4 dates, stretched out over an 8 week period. Obviously there wasn't a sense of urgency to it all. We weren't hot for each other, we weren'tburning to see each other. I didn't mind. We were in the same place with it. Occasionally we would go to a movie, or out to dinner, whatever - but nothing ever really happened beyond that. There were no games, no weirdness, nothing like that. It just was what it was. I would forget for weeks at a time that he even existed, and then he would call and invite me to do something. I was dating other people, I'm sure he was too. Whatever. No biggie.
So the whole thing ended when I called him up, after another 3 week "break", and asked him to go to a movie, or something like that.
He sounded very hesitant. I could tell immediately something was up.
I said, "What's up?"
He said, "Well ... I guess I'm thinking that we should slow down."
I sat there, on the other end, filled with utter blankness. I thought nothing, I felt nothing - I was completely blank. There was nothing to say, but obviously I was required to respond. In some way. But I had lost my verbal capacity for a moment.
4 dates in 8 weeks? Slow down?
And what finally came out of my mouth, was: "I literally do not know how much slower I can go."
This was greeted by a deafening silence.
And then what came out of my mouth was: "If I go any slower, I think I will stop."
An even louder silence from the other end.
I wasn't being bitchy. I'm not bitchy with men I like. But I am, God help me, truthful, and the entropy was already swirling me into its vortex and I could not, conceivably, in any biochemical quantum-mechanics-based universe, go any slower than I was already going, without stopping outright. So I said so.
Needless to say, we stopped.
And to this day, amongst my group of friends, "If I go any slower, I think I'll stop" is a favorite phrase. It really works well in a multitude of situations.
I ran into him a couple of years ago at a party in Chicago, and we had a hilarious conversation about our dating. I said, "To this day, that date at the Greek place is the best date I've ever gone on." He said the same was true for him as well.
But I didn't ask him if he had kept the picture of my eyeball. That would have been too embarrassing.

2 Things

2010-02-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

Are you going to DEBATE me on this??

2010-02-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

My mom should know better than to try and start an argument with me, especially when she knows how much I love DATA. So when she says something like, "Ya know, I bet more than half of the Best Actress nominees have been prostitutes. The Academy loves prostitutes," she should know that I see that as a Challenge.

So, when she DID say that, I did the only thing I could thing of (because she loves data too, so simply telling her wasn't going to solve anything): I looked up the occupation of every Best Actress nominee since 1970 and made a spreadsheet. Then I made a bar graph so that she could easily understand what was happening when I took her theory out.

Oh and just FYI: the number of prostitutes totals 4.0404% of the total number of women nominated.

So as it turns out, UCLA didn't get ANY of my application materials because they were lost in the mail.

2010-02-09T23:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Place

2010-02-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

Saturday Morning Shuffle List

2010-02-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just need to search "Rock" on iTunes and let it take you where it will.

“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” – The Police, ‘Best of Sting & The Police’

“No Complaints” – Beck, ‘The Information’

“Molly’s Chambers” – Kings of Leon, ‘Youth & Young Manhood’

“Not Myself” – John Mayer, ‘Room For Squares’

“Knock-Down Drag-Out” – Weezer, ‘Green Album’

“Dreams (Previously Unissued Outtake)” – Fleetwood Mac, ‘Rumors: Expanded & Remastered’

“Gold Dust Woman #1” – Fleetwood Mac, ‘Rumors: Expanded & Remastered’

“Carrying Cathy” – Ben Folds, ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’

“Lithium Sunset” – Sting, ‘Mercury Falling’

“Race Car Ya-Yas” – Cake, ‘Fashion Nugget’

“Tripping Down The Freeway” – Weezer, ‘Ratitude’

“Where Eagles Have Been” – Wolfmother, ‘Wolfmother’

“Love On The Rocks” – Sara Bareilles, ‘Little Voice’

“Don’t Speak” – No Doubt, ‘Tragic Kingdom’

“Man Of A Thousand Faces” – Regina Spektor, ‘Far’

“Zak & Sara” – Ben Folds, ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’

“Wicker Chair” – Kings of Leon, ‘Youth & Young Manhood’

“Mrs. Robinson” – Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Bookends’

“I Feel The Earth Move” – Carole King, ‘Tapestry’

What's your favorite version?

2010-02-06T02:15:00.001-08:00

I'm sure you probably already know mine.

Don't Judge Me & Is it weird that this actually does feel kind of like Elton?

2010-02-04T23:42:00.000-08:00

Actually, I'm a Celtic Nation... but this other definition works, as well

2010-02-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

And just to defend myself, no one actually had this name when my mom chose it.

Urbandictionary definition of me:
Brittany: A girl usually born in American in the 80's or 90's. Brittany's are very attractive, popular, and have good hearts. Everyone wishes to be as cool as the Brittany's and are jealous when they can't compare. Sometimes Brittany's are a little blonde, but it's simply because they love life and laughing, and enjoy seeing other people laugh as well. Brittanys are usually envied by less popular people. Brittanys can be insecure but they shouldn't be, people try to bring them down but Brittanys will always end up winning... they need to realize how wonderful they are. Guys are intimidated to ask them out just because Brittanys are so unique and awesome.

Brittany = Popular, outgoing, loved by all, sometimes teased out of jealousy, loved by adults, kids love them too (and the higher order of plants), smart, & funny.

"Wow, I wish I could date a Brittany."
"Sorry man, she's WAY out of your league."

Real definition of me (not as fun):

One of the 6 Celtic Nations the others being

Cornwall Kernow
Ireland Eire
Isle of Man Mannin
Scotland Alba
Wales Cymru
Unfortunately It is more commonly known as a girl's name, especially in America, often misspelled as Britney. (By STUPID people)

Brittany is located in North Western France
The Breton language is closely related to Welsh and Cornish

Just for fun, here's a map of me:

Awkward Turtle

2010-02-01T15:35:00.000-08:00

I watched the Grammy's last night. It probably wasn't a great decision considering how much overwhelming shit I have to do... but I love a good celebrity gathering and I couldn't resist.

Let me just start with the important categories, who won, who should have won, and why.

Record of the Year:
*Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Halo - Beyonce
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

Personally, I feel like Kings of Leon are a bunch of sellouts who've traded their souls (and probably original fanbase) for popularity. They're on the bubble - my final judgement will come when I hear some new music from them. Let's just say I got "Youth & Young Manhood" when I was a sophomore in high school and they didn't sound anything like they do now. Or look like it. You might recall. I don't know how I feel about the rest of the nominees. Actually, I like them all, although Poker Face isn't my favorite of Gaga's songs. Oh, and Beyonce couldn't have won because her song sounds exactly like Kelly Clarkson's, so that was kind of a dealbreaker. If it were up to me, I'd choose Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" merely because it's literally the most popular song in the world (according to a poll distributed and taken by ME). Over the summer I heard it in Valencia, Granada, Sevilla, Pisa, Florence (okay, Paulina was just singing it here), and London. Did I hear any of the other ones? Noooo.

Album of the Year:
*Fearless - Taylor Swift
I am... Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
The END - Black Eyed Peas
The Fame - Lady Gaga
Big Whiskey and the Groogoux King - Dave Matthews Band

Um, here's what I think. Well, besides what you already know. This was obviously going to be between Taylor Swift and Beyonce. Hm... well. They were both kind of amazing this year, no? I mean, look at the facts: they were both incredible crossover artists who got people you would NEVER expect to listen to their music to listen to it. Both of them!! And they both sold millions of albums. And tour tickets. And they both have strong, solid personalities that reflect incredibly well on them and their music. So, what exactly was the tie breaker?
I don't think it was a genre thing because most people like both of their albums. In my opinion, Taylor Swift is like a mini-Beyonce. And the voters realized that. She's obviously got some work ahead of her, but I think the way that she handles herself and her career is eerily similar (making movies, too, I see). I theorize that people voted for her potential and they're hoping that her career follows a similar path to Beyonce's (and to someone else). And don't go feeling too sorry for B - she did win 7 other Grammy's last night.

Best Contemporary Folk Album:
*Townes - Steve Earle
Middle Cyclone - Neko Case
Our Bright Future - Tracy Chapman
Live - Shawn Colvin
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane - Elvis Costello

Do I even need to say that Neko Case should have won this? Middle Cyclone was one of my favorite albums of 2009, and is near the top of my all-time favorites list, probably #1 in the country/folk category. A recent article stated

"And I can only imagine the reaction had a performer with a voice that can shake walls like Neko Case or Mavis Staples been allowed to cavort with the pop celebs in prime time.

Case’s sixth studio album, “Middle Cyclone,” was nominated for a minor award (best contemporary American folk album), and didn’t win. Yet Case is exactly the type of artist that Swift aspires to be: an accomplished singer, songwriter and producer who keeps getting better with each year. Case is at the top of her game right now, and her breathtaking voice is a powerhouse of longing with a tart edge. She drummed in punk bands before embracing her love for mountain-soul ballads on her solo albums, and along the way she’s honed her chops as a lyric-writer and arranger, developed as a guitarist and pianist, and learned how to use the studio as an instrument to enhance the rich atmosphere in her voice and songs. The strike against artists such as Case is that they’re too esoteric, too underground, for a mainstream audience, but that’s bunk. A “Middle Cyclone” song like “People Got a Lotta Nerve” is as catchy as anything Swift has ever written."

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that the Grammy's continue to be all about revenue.

Best Spoken World Album:
*Always Looking Up - Michael J. Fox
A Very Special Time - Jonathan Winters
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates - Richard Dreyfuss & David Straithern
The Maltese Falcon - Various Artists
We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land - Jimmy Carter
Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher

This one I'm just throwing in because I almost had an "accident" (peed in my pants.) in the car when I was on my way to school while I was listening to Carrie Fisher's audiobook. I'm sure Michael J. Fox's album was inspiring and everything, but I was literally rolling on the ground when I listened to Wishful Drinking.

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists:
*Quiet Nights - Diana Krall
A Change is Gonna Come - Seal
Dedicated To You - Kurt Elling
In The Still of the Night - Anne Walsh
My One And Only Thrill - Melody Gardot

Okay, so I'm sure no one is familiar with any of these either, but I'm putting it up anyways. Diana Krall is one of my favorite jazz vocalists and her arrangements are really good... but, Melody Gardot's album is incredible. My beef with Diana Krall is this: this album has a very similar arranging style to those of her previous albums (which were also very good), so my question is what made it so much better than her previous albums that it deserved a Grammy? (Note: she already has 2, one from her 5th album in 1999, the other is from her live album which is probably the best live jazz album I've heard) Just food for thought. My 2 cents - Melody Gardot should have gotten the award.

why are...

2010-01-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

Lucy Schwartz

2010-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

I like to let things percolate. Well, not everything. But with singer/songwriters. Electronic music is a lot easier to decide: "I like this." or "I don't like this." But vocalists usually take me a while, and sometimes I end up changing my mind about a singer that I like initially.

Anyways, Lucy Schwartz has percolated and I think she passed the test. I really love the piano playing that she has in some of her songs and I think her voice has a great timbre.

"I don't know about you, Olivier, but I feel so much less lonely with the internet."

2010-01-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

1. Went to class and made a fool of myself
2. Donated blood
3. Gave money to the guy outside of Albertsons
4. Gave 2 bucks to this chick on a street corner and had a conversation with her about the economy

and yet, I still don't feel great

2 Post Secrets I read today

2010-01-28T22:44:00.000-08:00