see

music videos are one of the most versatile, accessible and exciting art forms. outside of the mainstream exist videos made out of ice sculptures, paper and food fights. videos that restructure videos of the past, videos that feature costumed adults riding bikes choreographically and rarely used techniques that add to the unique-ity of the artist. enjoy. words above the vids are the key reasons that i love them.

Jenny Lewis - "Black Sand" - double exposure

Black Sand

Passion Pit - "The Reeling" - gritty torn paper

Bat For Lashes - "What's a Girl to Do?" - biking animals

WHY? - "A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under" - purple thunder clouds

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" - eyelids

Ratatat - "Shempi" - abba

Beirut - "In the Mausoleum" - watermelons

(this may or may not count as a music video)

Animal Collective - "My Girls" - color and texture

Lykke Li - "I'm Good, I'm Gone" - elderly joints

Justice - "D.A.N.C.E. (Justice Remix)" - tees (duh)

Matt and Kim - "Yea Yeah" - live food

Modest Mouse - "Little Motel" - backwards with a backwards ending

sneak

my hero

(978): Last night i stole a disco ball from a frat house by pretending i was pregnant.

(photo by Hedi Slimane)

sketchy

i love The Selby because it makes me excited about getting a real place and being my own interior decorator. it also caters to my love of penguins.

The Selby

movies i'm excited about: #1

The Brothers Bloom

starring: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo

"A globe-trotting comedy about the last great adventure of the world's best con men."

i saw this film at the San Diego Film Festival last fall and fell completely in LOVE. Adrien Brody is incredibly sexy, Rachel Weisz is adorable and Mark Ruffalo is quite the mastermind. it is easily in my top 5 favorite movies of all time and i HIGHLY recommend it. i saw it twice at the film festival and i am anxiously awaiting its arrival in Ventura.

coachella pt. 3

soul food

silver lining + acid tongue

apple

i thought i had seen movies that shook me to my core; that made me have realizations that i thought were monumental. i just finished Rachel Getting Married and my eyes are red and puffy, my head aches and my stomach is grumbling because it was a roller-coaster of sorts, but it was an incredible experience. i'm not going to go too deep into this, but this movie made me acknowledge things that i forgot were waiting to be acknowledged, and while it sucks, and while i feel a bit more weight on my shoulders, i feel good. it's a great movie for sisters and a great movie for people who have dealt with big things. it's not delicate, it's very honest and, despite everything i have said about the oscars and benjy b. and slumdawg, this movie should have been nominated, and it should have won. and i swear to god, had there been no scenes of a crying dad i would have been fine. crying dads get me everytime. and btw, i didn't know this before i saw it, but the guy from TV on the Radio plays the groom (and he does a REALLY good job). cooooool.

coachella pt. 2

heaven. 

glock got popped

as badass as guns can look, when they get into the wrong hands they lose all coolness. nothing has happened recently in my life involving death by bullet, but this video i stumbled upon makes a pretty good statement. and it's fun to watch up to a point. you'll see. 

Q

i was taking the "which disney/pixar character are you?" quiz out loud yesterday and my dad chimes in "you're the balloons on the balloon house." 

i felt like it was a rare moment, something special that usually would not happen in my household. my dad has been becoming more and more up to date on the outside world (meaning the world outside of hot rods and car shows) and he's also been becoming more outwardly thoughtful. he is aware that my two favorite pixar movies are Ratatouille and WALL E, yet he tells me i'm a bunch of balloons. it must mean something. 

pengy

this is why penguins are my favorite animals. they're so personable! and fast.

txt msg ing

(607): I had a dream last night that I was the one that killed Biggie.

finally, one that's not grotesquely sexual. though those are pretty great.

and this one, so good: (614): The way white people respond to them, you'd think Journey was the president of Caucasia.

coachella pt. 1

roll with it


The Bloody Beetroots feat. Steve Aoki - Warp from Francesco Calabrese on Vimeo.

pastel

where can i get one (and this shit better be real):

Impressive Chameleon - watch more funny videos

500 days of summer

i'm a sucker for films with joseph gordon-levitt, zooey deschanel and animation.

people tell me i talk like zooey. not sure if i can hear it.

ew/kewl

ew: will eminem ever learn that songs about over-popularized celebrities aren't cool? they're fucking annoying.

kewl: on a brighter note, i got my jacket back!!! hard work pays off. 

far too long

i don't really know why i disappeared. i feel like as new people enter my life i have less time for random thoughts that i can share with other people. this month has been a big one though. i went to my first hip-hop show (besides Atmosphere) and i got my one and only prized possession stolen from me days after i received it as a gift. that happened like, two weeks ago and i still think about it all day every day. i really want my jacket back. i even blogged about wanting it a while ago. but maybe that's why someone stole it from me. i relied on a material thing too much. i loved it more than i should have? or maybe it's punishment for doing drugs? or maybe it's a lesson in losing.


to transition from the material world to the natural world i'll discuss my expectations for a weekend at lake arrowhead. i expect to get extremely dehydrated while drunkenly basking in the sun and to suffer a sever hangover on sunday, disabling me from completing my schoolwork, resulting in me getting a B or C in my art class (of all classes).

anyways, check out the vista website to read some of my newer articles, including a review of the T.I. show and an interview with Brett Dennen.

circus

after a perfect night out, i returned to my empty apartment with one thought in my mind: i need to listen to iron and wine. what prompted this intense desire to listen to iron and wine i do not know, but i think smoking had a lot to do with it. folksy music is my element. and when i'm in a curious state of mind, all i want is my blanket and my folksy music. 

the interesting thing is that i haven't listened to iron and wine in a very long time. he, Samuel Beam, is a poet and a great melody maker. his music flows in a way that i cannot compare; almost like lullabies. i'm happy to have rediscovered the music. it makes for a good sunday wind down.

a beautiful song (click the link to hear it, it's really a gorgeous consistent beat/melody/whatever. i'm obsessed).

and the lyrics are so honest and they make you feel like the event was something from your memory, not sam beam's: 

THE TRAPEZE SWINGER
Please, remember me
Happily
By the rosebush laughing
With bruises on my chin
The time when
We counted every black car passing
Your house beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision too removed to mention
But

Please, remember me
Fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then
They went on to say
That the pearly gates
Had some eloquent graffiti
Like "We'll meet again"
And "Fuck the man"
And "Tell my mother not to worry"
And angels with their great
Handshakes
Were always done in such a hurry
And

Please, remember me
At Halloween
Making fools of all the neighbors
Our faces painted white
By midnight
We'd forgotten one another
And when the morning came
I was ashamed
Only now it seems so silly
That season left the world
And then returned
And now you're lit up by the city
So

Please, remember me
Mistakenly
In the window of the tallest tower
Calling passers-by
But much too high
To see the empty road at happy hour
Gleam and resonate
Just like the gates
Around the holy kingdom
With words like "Lost and found"
And "Don't look down"
And "Someone save Temptation"
And

Please, remember me
As in the dream
We had as rug-burn babies
Among the fallen trees
And fast asleep
Aside the lions and the ladies
That called you what you like
And even might
Give a gift for your behavior
A fleeting chance to see
A trapeze
Swing as high as any savior
But

Please, remember me
My misery
And how it lost me all I wanted
Those dogs that love the rain
And chasing trains
The colored birds above their running
In circles around the well
And where it spells
On the wall behind St. Peter
So bright with cinder gray
And spray paint
"Who the hell can see forever?"
And

Please, remember me
Seldomly
In the car behind the carnival
My hand between your knees
You turned from me
And said, "The trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last"
The clown that passed
Saw me just come up with anger
When it filled with circus dogs
The parking lot
Had an element of danger
So

Please, remember me
Finally
And all my uphill clawing
My dear
But if I make
The pearly gates
Do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer
A boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner
A monkey and a man
A marching band
All around the frightened trapeze swingers

funnies

if you've read The Vista recently, you know who The Lonely Island are. it's andy samberg and co.'s band. they have these super silly videos on their youtube channel thing. made me laugh out loud

safeties

do you ever crave a safety? something to make you feel secure or comfortable; automatically at ease? i'm not talking people company. i'm talking objects. 

once you get home after a night that a left a bad thought in the body of your many muddled thoughts, do you ever automatically crave a certain food? certain pair of socks? cerrtain hoodie?

i get these urges sometimes to clutch my blanket/shawl while watching late night tv. conan or jay, it doesn't matter. all that matters is that i am comfortable with my thoughts, curled on my couch and wearing my velour sweater top. 

it's an interesting concept, that attitudes and memories that connect you to a certain object can make you feel safe or at home. or even a song, or tv show. it's fun to understand your senses.

sometimes i crave jewelry.

why?

songwriting at its most provocative. 

Good Friday

by WHY?

if you grew up with white boys
who only look at black and puerto rican porno
cause they want something that their dad don't got
then you know where you're at

mortaring your earholes shut in a rush with wet coke
in a starbucks bathroom with the door closed
on booze, i'm left in residue and confused
like the first time you used soft water
down on my luck, caught unaware
like houdini when the last fist struck

if i'm sinking in laughing at something sunken in, i am

sucking dick for drink tickets
at the free bar at my cousin's bat mitzvah
cutting the punch line and it ain't no joke
devoid of all hope circus mirrors and pot smoke
picking fights on dyke night
with shirlies and lokes and snatching purses

doing out on karaoke and forgetting all the verses
blowing kisses to disinterested bitches
playing lead lay in a bad way on broadway
sending sexy smses to my exes new man cause i can
on the road trying to break an old van
eating pussy for new fangs, i am what the hell
using purell till my hands bleed and swell
missing mail at a motel 6, i'm unwell

if i'm sinking in laughing at something sunken in, i am

it feels exciting touching your handwriting
getting horny by reading it and repeating poor me
intently staring at the picture of your feet on the sticker
at the r. crumb exhibit, i wonder who's sicker

jerking off in an art museum john till my dick hurts
the kind of shit i won't admit to my head shrinker
not even in a whisper to my own little sister
i just act like a dick and talk shit when i'm with her

aught six i'll say the friday before easter
this is not good i cried to myself in the pisser
and with you in the front row at the silver jews show
and you act like you didn't notice, my fear of the bear
at showbiz pizza when i was six was overwhelming and not dissimilar to this

if i'm sinking in laughting at something sunken in, i am

at jacob han's on tour i wake up
hung over on a hardwood floor
from a dream about how your dress
hangs off of your little breasts
i'd rather be dead than call this song
how i lost your respect but god bless or get neglected
and i'll see you when the sun sets east, don't forget me

koalalalala

koalas are taking over the internet this week because of their love of water. but i think it's heartwarming to see a burly firefighter giving a koala a drink from a water bottle in the midst of the smoke and debris of the terrifying wildfires in Australia. i'm thankful that my cousins and at least one koala are safe.

photo courtesy Associated Press

a post yclept NEW

i have a new favorite word:

yclept

whoever created this word is someone i wish could have been my best friend or related to me or something. i'd love to pick their brain.

it means "by the name of"

i don't care if it's archaic and humorous as my dictionary says. i think it's cool.

bodies

there is something really NOT comforting about watching people die peacefully (on ER). it might have something to do with the fact that my chest has been tight all day and i can hardly breathe. 

i've realized something odd. school is stressing me out. that's not too odd. but the reason it's stressing me out is because i WANT to do all the homework. i WANT to attend every single class. i WANT to learn as much as i can. i want to absorb every drop of knowledge collecting in my notebook. i want all of it, but i don't have enough time. i've learned so much about the world by reading two sections of the newspaper every day. it's a good feeling, feeling informed. my media and conflict class is extremely fulfilling. i feel passionate about the videos we're watching and the discussions we're having. i feel like i'm at the right place when i'm in that class. but as soon as i get home and i have to read for my philosophy and lit class AND another newspaper AND two selections for media and conflict, and it's 10 pm, it's overwhelming. i'm a born crammer, but i'm not a born slacker. i'm too motivated. i need to slow down. that's what my lungs are telling me. 

all i want to do is watch the office online but USD's internet is a disappointment yet again. the one night i can actually semi relax (no class on fridays!!!!!) it just won't work out. 

all of this is 10 times more stressful because i can't afford text books. tooooo muchhhh stressssss. 

conan said it best

in reference to Phelps taking a bong rip:

"kids, don't share your pot with someone who has the lung capacity of a dolphin"

irony

how ironic is it that someone named Bertha was performing illegal abortions in l.a.?

sillzville

"A 6-foot-high monument of a shoe in honor of the journalist who threw his footwear at the former President George W. Bush was unveiled in Tikrit yesterday, former dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown. The copper-coated shoe is filled with a large plastic bush."

this is true. i read it in the union-tribune. and it's silly.

photo courtesy REUTERS/Sabah al-Bazee

coachella 09

did you know? if you can't afford to pay for a 3 day Coachella pass, you can pay for your tickets in installments! layaway systems are back! here's how it works:

After the indie-rock fest lineup is unveiled this week, fans will have two options besides money up front when buying a $269 three-day pass: pay half down and the rest April 1, or pay 10% followed by equal installments on March 1 and April 1 without interest or additional fees. The plans are sold only online and aren't available for $99 single-day admission.

that's right. Coachella somehow managed to become cooler. also note (and this info was published on their website today) the lineup will be "unveiled THIS WEEK" 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here is a collection of all past Coachella posters (courtesy of coachella.com). it's kinda funny

hope/hype = wtf

i'm not a very political person. i don't claim to understand everything going on in the country right now. but i'm gonna vent. but please keep in mind that i have complete respect for republicans and what they believe, but i don't respect disrespect.

a girl's facebook status is "where you see hope, i see hype."

an old person's bumper sticker says "obama: not my president."

from what i've heard, many (not all) republicans don't want Obama as president because they don't think we need change, don't need to fix anything, except the economy of course because they need their money. but when i see stupid statements like the two above i get very angry. not only is it showing a lack of respect for our country, it is showing a lack of maturity.

Obama won the presidency for a reason. he is everything the country needs right now. if someone would like to be so pessimistic as to say that the hope the country feels is just hype, so be it. but please don't push that fucked up point of view on the rest of us. why promote negativity? 

on this same girl's profile, in her about me thing nonetheless, she has this quote:

"In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president."

way to be an american. now you believe in equality, right?

if you were a true american, you wouldn't spew bullshit like that. Obama has done nothing to ruin america. bush, on the other hand, did a lot to put america in a bad place. the reason he isn't respected is because he said a lot of dumb things, didn't seem to connect with americans very well and made quite a few bad decisions. the economy is what it is because he did something wrong. problems CAN be prevented. 

(ps: don't you see that the reason bush wasn't respected was because of HIM, not his political party? don't hate on Obama just because he's a democrat. )

did you not see the news on Jan. 20? the happiness that day was nearly tangible. finally the youth was excited. hope is what this country needs. can you imagine the country without it right now? with all of the issues slowly bringing america down, we need someone like Obama to take control. i'm excited for what the future holds and for the history i was able to be a part of, and you, facebook girl, should show respect for the country you claim to love so much.

fashionably late

packing clothes.

there is no task more daunting.

but i'm excited/nervous/terrified to drive to san diego on my own on saturday. i'm hoping all my boxes fit and i'm hoping the comet makes it alive. fingers crossed.

also, doesn't the US feel different? it feels much more positive, hopeful and happy, despite the recession, which looms over me and my every move every fucking day.

what a pleasure it is to say President Barack Obama. 

LOST nicknames

i am a big fan of LOST because, like many of the things i like, it exercises my brain. and i love this link because i love sawyer and his silly nicknames

my online shopping life is complete

thanks to O magazine, things have been simplified.

shoppingnotes.com is the website from heaven. paste the link of an item you'd like to purchase in the provided space. then place your e-mail address in the other provided space. then click "get alerts."

voila. you just signed up for a price alert. when the price of the item drops, you will be notified. you will stop worrying about missing a sale and are guaranteed to save money. now there is hope that i will get this hooded leather bomber by Silence & Noise for much less than $128, without torturing myself by checking the price daily. shoppingnotes.com does all the work for me. it's one step towards working on being a little less impulsive and indulgent. 

space

i'm so happy The Office is back. 

i miss having a scheduled week and i miss my San Diego friends.

i'm going to miss my mom and walking my dogs.

i'm looking forward to getting a kitten this spring. 

i'm also looking forward to cigarette breaks with matatat, and life with a car at USD.

"i don't trust children when they laugh at my  jokes" John Steinbeck

yum

i'm currently watching the Golden Globes red carpet thing on E! and i'm realizing how much i miss dressing up. while i still indulge in big jewelry on a day to day basis, i've yet to have a legitimate reason to wear a gorgeous dress. maybe i should have joined a sorority after all...

i've also realized how much i truly hate Anne Hathaway. she better not fucking win.

i saw a movie called Baghead the other night and reallllly liked it. it's about these 4 friends who go to a cabin to make a movie and they come up with the idea of a creeper wearing a bag on his head doing creepy things to terrorize a group of friends stuck in a cabin. the film seems to be pretty low-budget camera wise though i don't really know anything about cameras. the acting was good and believable, the film was scary and funny and the plot twist is a good one. highly recommended.

i found an AMAZING website called Fuck You, Penguin. it's a blog that takes a cute animal picture and rips it to shreds. it's a way of expressing that feeling you get when something is too cute. check it out.

finally, what do you think of these sunglasses? i'm newly obsessed and 90% positive that i will be spending my first paycheck on them. 

simplicity

i had a simple day today, and i valued it a lot. my mom is on a health kick so i had some simple food but i swear to god it was the best meal of my life. there's much to be said for rosemary and garlic and health. and there's also a lot to be said about rediscovering the truth that is Rilo Kiley on a simple drive through ojai. 

Rilo Kiley has some of the most honest lyrics i've ever been exposed to (and i'm sure many of you can agree). i had a therapeutic 40 minute drive amongst the mountains singing really loud along to jenny's voice to cover up the whistling noise that was coming through my mom's broken passenger window. anyways, no need to blog about Rilo Kiley as if they were a new band. i just like to bring back the "classics" every once in a while.

Rilo Kiley - New Music - More Music Videos

movies

whenever i'm home for any reason, whether it be a weekend to get away from idiots or month long breaks, i watch movie after movie and read book after book. had i been reading more recent books i would write mini reviews of those. but i've been catching up on the classics, and i highly recommend "The Winter of Our Discontent" by John Steinbeck. it's AMAZING. i think it's my new favorite book.

after i finished that book i read a few magazines, including Filter, whose offices are in L.A., which means i'm looking into a summer internship. after i finished the magazines i settled in and watched a movie called "Towelhead."

"Towelhead" is a movie about a 13 year old girl's sexual experimentations with her army reservist neighbor (played by Aaron Eckhart), a classmate and herself. it was graphic and uncomfortable and sometimes went a bit too far and included some unnecessary plot twists, but overall it held my interest and gave my insomniac mind something to do. 

the other night i watched a movie called "Reprise." it's a french new wave film described as a "postmodern Norwegian coming-of-age story," starring some unknowns (in america at least). it starts off like "Amelie" with a narrator describing little stories of things that we could assume might happen in the lives of the two protagonists. the two protagonists are aspiring novelists. one has a few mental breakdowns and the other is kind of an observer. as an aspiring novelist myself i found the film to be interesting and thought-provoking. it inspired me to start the novel i've been planning on writing for the last year. so we'll see what happens. overall i would recommend it if you don't mind subtitles. 

but my favorite movie of the week is "Marley and Me," of course. 1. it was about a dog. 2. it had owen wilson. 3. owen wilson and jennifer aniston's characters are a cute married couple that both write for newspapers. it was cute all around, made me laugh and made me cry. it was inspirational (because of the writing aspect) and it was different than the other movies in that it was based on a book/true story and wasn't trying to be super artsy. it had a great flow and a great story and didn't have to try very hard to get it's main point across. see it.

a birthday blog

a friend of mine is celebrating his birthday in a giant cast, and that sucks. since it's not the safest thing to get shitfaced while popping prescribed vicodin pills i have decided to provide him with an equally satisfying form of entertainment, one that i would compare to the effects of ecstasy - cuteoverload.com.

cuteoverload is my website of choice when i am in severe need of a break from thinking or am just bored and missing my my cat. for my friend stuck in his room in a cast on this special day, cuteoverload will distract him from his pain and provide him with some much needed laughs. and i'm not speaking crazy, there was an article about how doctors "prescribe" the website to patients suffering from depression and other things that make you feel shitty. so, evan, check it out!

i remember when i met evan. he was in a cast then too. i don't remember the whole night but i do remember bonding over cigarettes and the dinner he provided me with (which was a bowl of special k, sans milk). and then there was that night where i was drunk off my ass and ended up being stranded at mission beach after a party turned sour and my friend got an MIP. he limped alongside me as we traveled down the boardwalk to his place where i sat on his couch and waited for my ride. so thanks, evan, for not leaving me alone and lost in mission beach that night and for helping me watch my weight with that special k. have a wonderful birthday! and look at cuteoverload, you'll feel much better.

winter house show

i ventured out of my house today to attend Alexa's winter house show. it felt amazing to drive the Comet, listen to some Jenny and Band of Horses and wear a coat and boots; all of my favorite things at once. her backyard was set up very cutely, i had some of the best guacamole ever made and got to watch Dan and Stanley (wearing a wizard hat) jam, and they were really good! it was so nice to actually have some fresh air within my lungs and to be around some pretty genuine people. the air was intensely crisp, like the breaths of crunchy leaves swirling all over (seriously, that's what i envisioned while i tucked my hands into my coat). the combination of fruit trees, palm trees and trees with fall leaves was intriguing, as were the variety of people attending at the time that i left. had i not been sick i would have stayed the whole time. man...i miss going to live shows. i miss the troubadour and the bowl, even Mai's. and i miss being healthy. and i miss having money. i miss writing my column, i miss editing my A&C section. but i'm adapting to life at home with parents pretty nicely. me and my dad have been watching the sopranos again. i guess you could say it's a different kind of bonding experience. i lovvvve mafia shiz. i remember that show, The Black Donnellys. i don't know what happened to it, but it was really good, and the oldest brother was really hot. but i never did get to see the finale. 

here's another weird dream i had: i was on a grassy hill next to a crowded auditorium. i saw a friend riding a horse while wearing a Daft Punk helmet. it fell off and he started to ride away but i was trying to have someone take a pic of him. so i put down the helmet next to my friend's cd and then a wave rolled over everything. but we were on a grassy hill...where did the wave come from? i wish i could look up Daft Punk helmets in my dream dictionary.

this pic is from way back when on the first day i got to drive the Comet to school, before the 3 accidents and subsequent repairs. gooood day. 

let me see

after having a tough few days, being home by myself feeling delirious and sick (yet again) has not been the perfect cure. i've felt lonely, bored, restless and lightheaded, and all i've been able to do is watch TV. yeah, i watched One Life to Live, General Hospital and Lifetime movies. but i also had way too much time to think. as i said to a good friend, being an insomniac and having a cold is the worst combination. all i had left was music, so i downloaded tons. i now have some more Panda Bear and PJ Harvey, as well as some more Grizzly Bear and the newly leaked Animal Collective. between my gigantic sneezes were interspersed songs and a few kitty attacks courtesy of my cat, Scout. i wish i could figure out how to put songs on my blog, but since i can't all i can do is provide titles:

Grizzly Bear "Colorado"

Animal Collective "Daily Routine"

Panda Bear "I'm Not"

PJ Harvey "When Under Ether"

BONUS! team9 vs. stereogum Ratatat vs. PJ Harvey "Ratatat Under Ether"

* it's a mashup of "Wildcat" and "When Under Ether" sooo good (thank you Mitch)

and a bonus picture of my crazy cat (this is how he likes to sleep)