30 Day Dare+Blue Valentine+Whatever Else I Can Squeeze Out Of My Lame Brain

First! Let's get some pictures out of the way. This time I decided to do one of those "Inside My Bag" things-



I found these little guys at Toys-R-Us one day and had to get them because they were so cute. My elephant is missing his trunk though. I had names for all three but I can't recall them at the moment.

A bracelet gift from a friend. You never know when you have to just stop and accessorize.

I mostly got these Altoids because I liked the green, antique-y tin. Aaaand maybe so I could have a grasshopper minus the alcohol midday.

Field notes (fine tip Sharpies are my writing tool of choice, good for both writing and doodling).

Sunglasses, comb for keeping the bangs on point, wallet and junk pouch (full of various glosses, mints, bobby pins, etc).

Sunglasses again, phone, keys.

My-Going-Out-Bad-Habit (I occasionally smoke while I drink when out, though I haven't in awhile. Yes scoff now!) and lotion, because dry hands can really fuck my day up!

Mix CD for errand running (I'm a compulsive mix maker) and a CD from a band I saw a couple weeks ago.

Some lipstick I got from another friend. I guess Revlon has this line of vintage inspired shades and packaging that really does lend a darling feeling to the inside of your bag.

And finally, the segue into the next part of this post...

Saw Blue Valentine last night and, well, it was good. I think I would have been more blown away if the fights in it hadn't hit so close to home. I actually found myself wincing at certain parts because the dialog was just so real and accurate. I think the ending got me the most. That's all I'll say for now since I don't want to spoil it. But, definitely see it.

This post didn't exactly turn out the honor student I envisioned. I think it's because my vision is getting a little wonky. I'm so tired. Six hours of sleep in three days and a toddler whose energy level resembles the Tasmanian Devil will do that to you.

I'll try again tomorrow. In the meantime, here's some La Blogotheque videos that made my evening. If you have low tolerance for beauty than you shouldn't watch them though.






And!


And there you have it. Off to bed I go!

Movies I Love- The Royal Tenenbaums

I had been a Wes Anderson fan for awhile but never fully let that fan flag soar until Greg and I got together. His favorite movie is The Life Aquatic and by the time we had Jack, our Anderson movie collection was in full swing and being new parents with a baby and no social life to speak of we spent a lot of nights at home watching movies. Like all good movies it took awhile for Tenenbaums to fully bewitch me (this was the same scenario with "Lost In Translation"). I like movies that you find layers in. Little nuances that you only notice after watching it 2, 6, 25 times. By now I've peeled back all (maybe) the layers and it hit me the last time I watched it. I knew why I loved it so much. I knew what it was like to have an estranged father whom you don't quite trust enough to let in. I knew how it felt to be secretive and fucked up. How dysfunction is sometimes the only function to operate within and the resentments built up because of that.

And I always cry at this scene-


If you haven't seen it (although I don't know anybody that hasn't and I'm being highly unoriginal in even writing about The Royal Tenenbaums on my blog) I highly recommend it (Anderson also always has amazing soundtracks to his films, another reason why I love them).

Movies I Love

Annie Hall, 1977


Before there was "500 Days Of Summer" there was Annie Hall. What I love so much about Woody Allen's films is the way he portrays love and relationships. To me they are so accurate- messy, depressing, lovely, warm, cynical. Relationships only seen from the eyes of somebody who's actually been in a relationship. There is some romance but it's certainly not tied to fireplaces or screaming orgasms. Another thing that strikes me is his use of New York as a character in all of his work instead of it being a mere backdrop. If I were to make movies I'd want to do that with Tucson, because how could you not? I can't go anywhere anymore without a memory or ten placed along every avenue or restaurant, every nuance measured and bittersweet. And I love that he gets that and brings it to the surface.





"Love is too weak a word for what I feel - I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you, two F's, yes I have to invent, of course I - I do, don't you think I do?"

Where The Wild Things Are: A Movie Review (of sorts)...

I had planned on seeing Where The Wild Things Are (which we will now refer to WTWTA for the sake of time and my wrists) when it came out. I watched the trailer months before. I screamed at Greg from our room to "come and see what I found! Hang on to your balls mofo!" And I cried. Yes, I cried, or got "a little misty" as I like to call it. Because the music, the book, the beautiful cinematography, the monsters, the childhood memories and feelings came flooding in.
Well, life happens and we skipped seeing it in theaters but bought it as soon as it came out on DVD and about a week or so ago we finally watched it (we're late bloomers around here) and...
I loved it. I'm quite aware of many people's less than enthusiastic feelings about the movie. Some have said it was too dark (even Greg shared the same sentiments), some felt it didn't live up to the book, some felt James Gandolfini was a bad choice. But I felt a lot for this movie and here are my reasons-

1. I felt the movie lived up to the book perfectly fine (Sendak was one of the producers after all). The book wasn't all sunshine and smiles either, despite the fanciful illustrations. It dealt with a young boys anger. The monsters, as I see them, are manifestations of his feelings. Carol with his volatile appetite for destruction when upset, Judith with her pessimism, Alexander with his self-consciousness and The Bull (also known as Bernard from the book), a dark figure mysteriously looming around. The island was Max's refuge, a place where he could yell and smash and rumpus with all the ugly feelings (monsters) without being questioned, judged or scolded. It is an outlet, albeit one that you shouldn't indulge in too much or be consumed by them (something alluded to in the movie by the monsters when they told Max they had eaten all the previous kings). It showed Max coming to terms with his feelings as children his age everywhere, in real life are doing. It is through the monsters, the island that he begins to learn coping mechanisms and once he found them, he returned home.

Hmmm, kind of sounds like somebody I know. Or maybe everybody I know. Who hasn't wanted to release bad feelings be it by turning the music up louder, making the drink a little stiffer, shutting the door, leaving the room, punching a pillow, or sometimes through ways that aren't even very healthy. Emotions can run out of control sometimes, unable to be contained or contained too much until they implode. Just because Max is a child doesn't make his emotions less valid, only more confusing in his age and to watch him deal with that was beautiful and heartbreaking to me. We all want validation in our feelings, Max found his in an island surrounded by like minded creatures.

2. The characters really held up a mirror. I knew what Carol felt when he destroyed his handcrafted village. I knew the sharp tongue that Judith spoke with in all of her pessimism. I knew the desperate need to escape your world the way K.W. and Max felt it. The characters where not the mere pictures from the book. They were multi-dimensional and thus endearing. I'd like to know one person who hasn't had the feelings brought to life by these characters. Or rather, I don't want to know them. They're likely to not exist anyway.

I could go on and on about this movie but I'll cut this off here. The point is it was a movie about a child, not a children's movie. And while we read the book to our children, I can't help but feel that maybe Sendak had meant it to span all ages. To remind parents that children have raw emotions just the same as us adults and to not disregard them for the fact that they "are too young to feel that way". Keep in mind that you yourself, harbor your own wild things.