This is pretty much the best thing ever. Here's why:
1. Emma Watson is amazing
2. Kristen Stewart is the worst actress of all time...next to Katie Holmes. In fact, both are people that I want to root for and almost want them to be good, but then I see them in something, and it makes me hate them.
I read the Twilight series. I enjoyed it. I think the story is compelling despite the fact that Stephanie Meyer is not a good writer. Bella is a character that I think many girls and women identify with - she believes she is utterly ordinary, a beautiful, suave, mysterious man wants her, leading her to discover that she is utterly extraordinary. I'm not saying Bella is the most empowered female character I have come across, I'm simply saying that I am not surprised that a lot of young and old women alike got caught up in this story.
The series has some odd moments that seem to go largely unnoticed in popular culture. I find all of the following rather disturbing:
* Edward admits to breaking into Bella's room night after night to watch her sleep while she is completely unaware - That's just stalking right?
* Edward is not so much in love with Bella, at least at first, as much as he has a deep and borderline uncontrollable bloodlust for her. He wants to kill her - that is the attraction.
* Jacob tricks Bella into kissing him by telling her that he is going to kill himself. She tells him she will do anything. He wants a kiss. The scene in which he forcefully grabs the back of Bella's neck, pulls her hair, and gropes her, while she retreats inside herself, and becomes silent and still is one that reflects a rape scene. Many rape survivors note that in order to endure the physical and emotional trauma of rape, they retreat into their minds and become completely vacant.
* Prior to this scene, Edward, Jacob and Bella are huddled in a tent in the mountains (still not sure where those mountains came from). It is snowing and so cold that Bella is in danger of freezing to death. Because Edward is an ice cold vampire, Jacob (whose body temperature is abnormally hot) must keep her warm. He again, revels in his contact with Bella. He squeezes into her sleeping bag and presses against her, while looking at Edward and making innuendos.
* In the first book, Bella is almost gang raped in an alley - of course, Edward swoops in and saves her.
* It is revealed in one book that Rosalie, Edward's vampire "sister," was gang raped by her husband and his friends and left for dead. It is at this point that Carlisle finds her and turns her into a vampire.
* After Edward pressures Bella into getting married, they go on a honeymoon, where Bella can finally get the sex that she wants. It is at this point that Meyer gives a convoluted sex education lesson, explaining how female vampires' reproductive organs no longer function, but somehow, male vampires can still produce sperm. Of course, Bella gets pregnant with a demon child that is half vampire, half human.
* During birth, Edward must turn Bella into a vampire for fear that she will die. All seems well, that is until Jacob, formerly obsessively in love with Bella, imprints on Bella and Edward's new born daughter. We learn that imprinting is a like picking a soul mate for werewolves. Jacob proceeds to revel in the fact that he will be able to, at least in part, raise this child, and then turn her into his wife. This disturbing turn of events is horrifying enough as it is, but is made infinitely more horrifying by the fact that Edward and Bella allow him to be alone with the child...while they go have sex in their new house that Edwards vampire step parents gave them.
* There is some sick stuff going on in this book, but nobody wants to talk about it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the books as much as the 12 year old girls I was teaching at the time did. I loved the fact that I saw young girls of all different reading abilities tearing through these books, actually enjoying reading. What I found infinitely unsettling was the fact that these young women seemed to internalize all of the above ideas as romantic. I don't think that these girls aspired to be like Bella so much as they aspired to be with a man like Edward or Jacob. That's great, one wants to kill Bella, stalks her, and pressures her into marriage and the other tricks her, forcefully gropes her against her will, and transfers his obsessive love from her to her newborn daughter.
Anyway, back to Kristen Stewart...she can't act, that's the bottom line. She plays a Bella that can't get through a sentence without stumbling over her words, a Bella who looks like she has to poo every time she is in trouble or contemplating something important, a Bella who is perhaps the most awkward human being ever.
While Kristen Stewart and her fairly static character remain utterly the same throughout the series, Emma Watson and her character Hermione grow and change. Watson, a child when the filming of the first movie began, seems to have bloomed into a bona fide actress who makes me believe in the character's development across 7 books. Thank you Emma Watson, for at least bringing some dignity to an amazing character, despite the fact that the movies can't hold a flame to the books.
Date Taken: 3/27/12
Setting: Rach and Dave's
Thoughts: First, a gypsy glamor photo shoot. She is such a cute little pup, I can't help but take pictures of her all the time. I especially like the one below this slideshow. Gyps was relaxing in a ray of sunlight coming in through a window while I worked out next to her. I looked up and could see dust specks swirling though the light beam while Gypsy slept.
Rach and Dave have an amazing deck that overlooks the Kimmel center. The view, day or night, is unreal. I love this deck because it offers a rare bit of solitude in the middle of a city. It's quiet out there, it is peaceful, and the view makes me feel like I can't be seen, like I know a secret that the rest of the city does not.
I took Gyps for a walk to Rittenhouse and we strolled through the park. There is always a mix of people walking every variety of dog, parents and children, and people just passing through. It is a great people watching spot. Although I have been taking pictures of places - landscape style - I find them impersonal. I like the super close ups, it feels like it gives me some insight into what an object is, that there are different parts and each part is unique, each part has an interesting detail to offer. But, as I walked to the park, the view from the street was too beautiful to pass up. The sun hitting the buildings and trees made the city glow. The street, the buildings, the city itself didn't seem as cold and unwelcoming as it usually does when I walk through it.
I also love the contrast between the trees and the buildings. There isn't a whole lot of nature in the city, yet in each of those landscape shots, there are trees. They stand in the foreground, the buildings in the background, as if to stake their claim over the land turned into concrete and garbage. It feels like a blatant refusal to die, to go unseen - yeah, maybe they are just trees, but that's what I see when I look at them.
I also like the contrast between the wider angle shots and the closeups. This contrast reminds me that even though the city feels so immense, it is really comprised of millions of parts and pieces. There is beauty in the city, whether it is embedded in street or cropping up out of a flower box - there are simple, small, beautiful things all around us, we just have to be willing to see them.
As I left the park, I stumbled across this note. I walked by it, intending to move on, but something made me go back. There was something odd yet pleasing about the contrast between the dirt and rocks, the pathway, and the note itself. It epitomized city living - concrete walkways, a bit of nature thrown on top, and people...people buying stuff.
Although I walked away feeling oddly invasive, like I had seen something I shouldn't have, I couldn't help but feel excited by this glimpse into a stranger's life. The handwriting, the list of cleaning supplies, even the paper itself are little windows into a person I will likely never meet, and even if I did, how would I ever know. A passing glimpse into the life of a stranger - something I will easily forget, despite the fact that there is something deeply profound embedded in this note and the discovery of it.
Date Taken: 3/26/12
Setting: Temple, the streets of Philly
Thoughts: Well, I stumbled across these unicyclers. I took a picture from afar...then figured I'd try to snap a close up. Apparently, this kid caught me. He didn't say anything, and I just kept walking. Immediately after I looked at this picture, I felt awkward.
I then stumbled across these fellas...so college
Got these matching back packs
Later, Brian and I were driving out of the city, and we drove past my favorite mural. I never had much occasion as a child or a teenager to go into the city, but when we went on family vacations down the shore, we would always drive past this mural. Although I have a very deep seeded and unexplained fear of drowning and of unknown sea creatures (i.e. whales), I still love it. As a child, there was something magical about looking out between the poles of the bridge and seeing those majestic (and terrifying) creatures. Later, when I was driving myself down the shore, the mural was a reminder that I was headed in the right direction. It reminded me of my mom and dad, of times we spent walking on the beach or strolling on the boardwalk. It reminded me of the smell of french fries, the ocean, and sunscreen. It reminded me of being young and carefree.
As we left the city and headed out toward Ardmore, the sun took on an ethereal quality. It turned into an orb of light, the bright focal point of the horizon. It was eerie and exciting all at the same time.
Best. Song. Ever.
This song came up on my 90s pop station the other day when Brian and I were in the car. This song has a special place in my heart. This is my first real song. Of course I loved songs as a child. I loved the Wizard of Oz, a record that had a song about blueberry pie, a tape I used to fall asleep to with a song called, "the green grass grows all around." (as a sidenote, I realized the other day that I think talking, music, etc puts me to sleep because as a child my mom would play this tape for me in my stand alone hand held tan tape player every night as I fell asleep.)
But this song, this song was one that I picked, one I was old enough to understand was a part of a larger popular culture. I had the cassette tape. I sung that song dancing around the dining room. It was great.
Once, Sween and I were eating at a diner in Jersey when I was visiting. This song came on, our eyes widened, we both gasped, and we both started dancing in our seats. Then, we looked over and saw a both of ladies rockin out to it as well. It is a song that maybe doesn't make any sense, but the beat gets in me, it makes me move, it makes me smile, it makes me want to dance. That, is a good song.
Of course, it was Monopoly money, but it was still kind of cool. As I walked away, I started thinking about what I would do with 100 dollars of found money. I realized, probably not a whole lot. Then I thought about contemplating the idea via this post and realized that I would probably end up sounding a little too altruistic (give it to a homeless person, buy something for Brian) or perhaps a bit too pathetic (use it to fuel my car, use it to buy litter and food for Kitty, use it keep the car insurance company from taking away my car insurance).
Then, I started thinking about something Julie and I talked about once. She was reading a book in which the author was talking about only having 100 possessions. We wondered if we too could whittle down our worldly possessions to a round 100.
In the last few years, I have been enamored with the idea of only having a book bag and just going. This itinerant lifestyle fantasy is something that seems freeing. I would be in charge of my own life and there would be so little to cloud my mind, to weigh me down and trap me. It would absolutely be super scary, and probably dangerous, but it feels like I would meet so many different kinds of people and see things I could never dream up. I would have to figure it out. By, it, I mean whatever I encounter. It would test me, challenge me, give me a chance to see what I am capable of in terms of survival, in terms of my emotional capacity, my willpower.
Although right now, I am a wayfarer of sorts, the experience is not the same as the fantasy. Right now, I have responsibility, I have possessions in all different places, I have to be at certain places at certain times. Living out of a bag or a laundry basket isn't what I want. I am a creature of habit, and I am an all or nothing kind of person. I want to come home to the same place every day or travel every day. I want to have very little, or have all of my creature comforts in the same place.
Anyway...if I were going to have only 100 possessions, this is, at least at this very moment, what I would pick, not really in any particular order:
sidenote: I wanted two columns, but awkwardly could not get the numbering to continue, so below is two columns of 50.
- Mom's wedding band - it goes where I go, always
- Necklace for above object
- Small wooden owl my dad made when he was younger
- Photo album of mom, dad, me (yeah, I'm counting this as one even though I think technically each picture is one thing)
- Notes from my mom (2 counting as 1)
- Kitty
- Kitty food
- Kitty litter
- Kitty litter box
- Water bottle Brian gave me for Christmas
- Photo collage of LUSB
- Backpack
- Phone
- Phone charger
- Laptop
- Laptop charger
- Kindle
- Kindle charger ( I wish there was a universal charger)
- External hard drive
- Head phones
- Car (that's a big one, I know)
- Bike - I probably ride my bike maybe once every 2 or 3 years but it seems like an important conveyance to have.
- The Awakening - My favorite book. I have reread that book more times than I can remember, and each time, I find the language more beautiful, the ideas in it more profound.
- Pocketknife Taryn gave me when she was visiting from Afghanistan
- Survival bracelet Taryn made for me
- A large plastic container
- A second large plastic container
- Sleeping bag
- Wallet
- Box o tampons (again, counting this as one thing...and come on, it's practical, it's necessary)
- Notebook - of the unlined composition book persuasion
- Zebra M-402 mechanical pencil
- Pencil refills
- Pair of jeans
- Another pair of jeans
- Brown Lehigh sweatshirt - my favorite one that I wear to Le/Laf every year
- Highlighter green long sleeve shirt
- Grey zip up sweater
- Brown fleece jacket - gift from mom one Christmas
- Grey fleece jacket
- Giant brown puffy jacket
- Black and white jacket (yes, I have a lot of jackets)
- A pair of my Lehigh brown sweatpants
- A second pair of my Lehigh brown sweatpants
- A third pair of my Lehigh brown sweatpants (what?? I know three pairs is a lot for this list, but if you own them, then you know why they are here three times.)
- Le/Laf 03 T-shirt
- Sweeney Construction T-shirt
- Le/Laf LUFH alum game shirt - so comfortable
- I heart my body T-shirt
- Neon green shorts
| - Solid blue shorts
- Navy blue shorts
- Pair o sneakers
- Old school American Eagle brown boot type shoes (I figure its good to have some shoes that I can shovel snow in)
- Diddy sac - yeah that one sounds weird - it's the laundry bag we used to turn in our dirty practice clothes in during hockey season. It is a great sac to throw a bunch of stuff in.
- Glasses
- Glasses case
- Contacts (counting a year's supply as one)
- Contact solution
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Underwear
- Underwear
- Underwear
- Underwear
- My most comfortable bra
- My second most comfortable bra
- Sports bra
- A second sports bra ( I probably need a lot more than two)
- Pair of neon socks
- A second pair of neon socks ( I like bright colors)
- Pink sunglasses Julie found in a bathroom at Mendy's grad school
- Orange dress
- Black dress
- Stripey neon pink and gray dress
- Blue swirly dress
- Recently acquired Kohl's sun dress
- A pair of shoes that I can wear dresses with
- Small green cabinet my dad built
- Self-charging flashlight my uncle Joe gave to me
- A hammer
- A screwdriver (with multiple bits)
- Car key
- Swiss Army knife my dad got me when I was younger
- A mattress
- A sheet
- A comforter
- Fuzzy white LUSB blanket
- A small floor fan
- Full length mirror
- Tweezers
- Small toiletries carrying case
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Neon hairbands (a package = one)
- Golden Impala statue - It's a Courtney, Josh, and Steph Summerbridge thing...
- Red and white bad ass Tupperware container that reminds me of my mom
- A really nice can opener - smooth turning, stainless steel - the good stuff
- Portable fork, spoon, and chopstick set
- 50 mm black and white manual camera
|
Kip just downloaded this app the other day. We have sent a few interesting drawings back and forth. I chose the word "popular" to draw for her. These were a few of the guesses along the way to being correct. I love this game, if only because the person on the other end can see everything the other one is doing - drawing, erasing, guessing. It. is. awesome.
In a weird way, playing this game gives some insights into people's thought processes. This game allows players to literally watch other people's thoughts unfold. I also love it because I pick the word with this whole image in mind, then I go to draw it...on a tiny screen...with my finger...and that original idea is shot to hell.
Date Taken: 3/25/12
Setting: a long driveway and my dad's driveway
Thoughts: When I was a child, my dad owned a custom furniture business. His countless creations would come to life in his shop, where I would be enveloped by the smell of sawdust, the sound of a buzzsaw, my own hammer striking nails. As a child, I couldn't fathom how he created these incredible pieces of furniture. As an adult, I still can't comprehend it. All I know is that when I give someone a tour of my father's house, I walk into any given room and say, "he built that, and that, oh and that over that, also that one, this one, that one over there, this, that, and well basically everything except that one chair."
Although I gained no discernible skill in woodworking (much to my chagrin), I did become a wood snob. I know what classic, sturdy, built-to-last and built-with-love furniture is. It doesn't come from Ikea, it doesn't come from Walmart or Target. If you have furniture from any store like that, and you think it is well made...you're wrong. Yup, I'm a wood snob and I'm owning it.
So, as a result of growing up in my father's woodworking shop and going on trips with him to deliver his creations to his customers' houses, I have developed a sense of awe for find craftsmanship and a sense of reverence for wood and trees themselves.
About 6 or 7 months ago, PA was hit with a small hurricane. It took down the full grown tree in our side yard. Thankfully, instead of crushing our cars and tearing into the side of our house, if fell away into the yard. A tree in our backyard fell down as well, the top of it brushing up against the side of the house. Another tree, long dead but still standing, threatened to come down as well, so my dad had it removed. What we were left with was an enormous pile of cut of tree bits.
My dad has been working for months to cut up the tree into more manageable chunks and pieces of firewood. When I came home ther other day, I pulled my car up in front of the pile created by the side yard tree. For some reason, although I have been parking in front of it for months, on this day, I decided to get out and admire the wood that came from that slain tree, whose fallen body left me feeling a bit vacant when it first fell.
Perhaps it was the weather, or the sun just fading into the night sky that fed this impulse, perhaps it was the faint smell of sawdust that reminded me of afternoons in my father's workshop - whatever it was, I stepped out of the car, bent down in front of the wood pile, and snapped a few pictures.
When I looked closer, I could see so many details I had never bothered to before. There is so much life frozen in the rings of this wood, and in the bark. As I crouched down, taking a closer look, I felt like I was at the precipice of a great adventure story, a character peering out across an unknown land, a natural world untainted by human touch. Yet, when I pulled away, went inside to enjoy the creature comforts I am afforded, I couldn't help but be aware of the this tree's death, and of the way I would forget it as soon as it was no longer in sight.
Earlier on this same day, I was heading toward my old lady hockey game. The school where we play has a long driveway that takes cars back around a pond to a turf field. I love the staggered trees lining a driveway. I have always thought that this look had a magical feel, it felt special, elegant and mysterious, important. Now, with these pictures side by side, I am left wondering how a tree can go from what it is in this first picture, to what it is in the others.
Finally, a place where I can buy mixed tapes and sneakers for my CDs...
Date Taken: 3/24/12
Setting: My dad's house
I found myself taking lots and lots of close ups of kitty and flowers. They were there. They were pretty. They were interesting. So, here they are...
I love this first picture - Me under some cozy blankets, kitty keeping watch and preparing to snuggle, food, and Mad Men. Come on, this is good stuff.
Brian likes to do the voice for kitties that they do in the movie Cats and Dogs. It is very proper and very smooth and very high brow. In this one, I imagine her saying something like, "Hello human, I'm relaxing, get that camera out of my face before I claw you"
I just think Kitty is so dang cute in these next four pictures. I love the subtle changes between the pictures on the left and the pictures on the right. Kitty does this amazing thing where she curls up next to me and covers her face with her paw. In these pictures, she is resting, eyes closed, but then she knows I am taking pictures and moving closer, so she opens her eyes slightly and gives me, what appears to be a wry smile. It is as if she is tolerating me because she knows I like to show her off.
 I find that I keep taking pictures of Kitty, not only because it is so easy to do with my phone, but because I love her. Despite her hard-to-get attitude, she showers me with affection, snuggling into me, purring loudly as I scratch her belly and head. Her presence calms me when I am upset. In college, Taryn and I would talk about how much we just needed to pat a kitty sometimes. There is something so soothing about the rhythm of petting a gently purring cat. While the deer in my backyard (previous post) reminded me that there is something so much bigger than me, Kitty always reminds me that there are small and simple pleasures too.
Again, here are some flower closeups. And, once again, I do not like receiving flowers. Brian likes to joke that on one of our first dates (after I told him I don't want flowers for gifts mind you) that he picked me a flower and brought it to me and I took it and threw it on the ground and stomped on it. I just find them cumbersome. it reminds me of a Seinfeld episode - The Strongbox - where Elaine is dating a man who turns out to be poor.
The Strongbox:
Elaine, walking on the street with Glenn: "So, how is a guy like you not
involved?"
Glenn: "Well, I might ask you the same thing."
Elaine, in her mind: "That's true, maybe he's not married."
[Glenn gives her a flower]
Elaine: "Oh, that is so sweet."
Elaine, in her mind: "How long do I have to hold this?"
Glenn, seeing a woman on the street: "Oh, no."
Elaine: "Who is it?"
Glenn, running with Elaine into an alley: "Uh, no one, no one. Here, uh, let
me show you a short cut. Come on."
Elaine, in her mind: "Married. That's it, I'm chucking the flower."
Oh Elaine, I love her. She is my favorite character of all time, in anything, ever.
Despite my feelings, the bright, brilliant colors that radiated from this particular bouquet of flowers seemed too beautiful to not capture on film.
I was trying to watch the Lehigh vs. Xavier...for free...because I am cheap...and I have no money. I discovered that I could access this content through our Comcast account, but neither me or my dad had any idea what the account information was. I went on the online chat to speak with someone directly. I have to say, I love this IM feature. I used it when me and my dad were looking at cars last summer. I chatted with a very nice man at Scott Select. We met him about an hour later, took a car for a test drive, and it was a done deal.
In the end, I had to pay for the full March Madness online viewing package because I wasn't authorized to access our Comcast account. But, I will say, that Gifsy made my experience very pleasant. I just love her response to me in that third line. Finally, someone who knows how important TV really is.
|
RSS Feed