Sooooo.....

This is fascinating. Apparently my dad is involved in a massive conspiracy by the military to foce people to get divorced because it's cheaper for them to support singles than families. Apparently the military, in this vast divorce scheme, saves "1/2 million dollars per family." It's very professional. It's an insanely long, detailed, and hard to understand website/conspiracy theory put together by a man who was married to a woman who served under my dad a few years ago. Apparently my dad was extremely unethical in the way he attempted to legally protect this woman and her child from this clearly insane man. Really, pretty much all my dad did it looks like was write this man a letter asking him not to attempt to visit his wife at the office or on base because he was incredibly disruptive. And also, look at the pictures on the front page. He. Is. Crazy. I would send him a smarmy email, but he clearly wouldn't understand normal English, and on top of all his other madness, would probably try to kill me. ANYways, that's all.

Seriously? You made it this far?

If you know me, you may know that bad spelling is one of my pet peeves. Today I remembered something that really reheheally bothers me. Misspelling ritalin.

You made it out of high school. You're attending a 4-year school. You've probably been on ritalin before. You're studying psychology for heaven's sake. You're going to be prescribing it for the rest of your life. So, pray tell, why do rely on a pseudo punk/emo band for your spelling of one of the most oft-prescribed drugs in the country? Please, I'm desperate to know!

Australia's natural beauty is apparently not found in it's vistas.

So, If you haven't seen Australia yet, GO SEE IT. I say this, not because it is a masterpiece of film making (snicker), not by any means. But what it is, is a masterpiece of hotness. I've always had a celebrity crush on Hugh Jackman, but when I found out he was People magazine's "sexiest man alive," I was skeptical. I mean, there's just so many other men that I would classify as sexier than Mr. Jackman. However, after watching this, I understand completely why. This movie may have been meant as an homage to the natal land of its actors and director, but it looks more like a reverent homage to Jackman's rugged beauty and the ease and manly grace with which he portrays that iconic, and until now uniquely American, figure of the loner cowboy type person. I know I'm gushing like a ridiculous obsessed schoolgirl (omgzorz!!! lol :) ), but I cannot even find the words to accurately describe just how insanely attractive Hugh Jackman is in this movie. Nicole Kidman's amazing wardrobe and the gorgeous Australian landscapes fade into insignificance next to slow motion epic shots of "The Drover" rounding up cattle, or riding a horse, or, like, walking. Simple things yes, but they are made absorbingly interesting simply because they are performed by a very tan, very buff, very ruggedly disheveled and unshaven Hugh. *girlish sigh*

My current favorite tv characters

Let's talk about Marc and Amanda from Ugly Betty. They are my absolute favorites right now. Each exchange between them just brightens my day a little bit more.

MARC: What year were you born?
AMANDA: 1991.
MARC: You're 16?
AMANDA: 1992.
MARC: Other way.


And also Andrea from Samantha Who? Drunk and hilarious. Please watch an episode just for her.

Let's talk about this review of Twilight. Have I mentioned before that I love Manohla Dargis?

Well,

I did something really really smart on Monday. I wore slippery bottomed shoes even though I thought that morning as I was putting them on "these shoes always slip on my bike, maybe I shouldn't wear them...nah." And I wore them anyways. So that night around 5:30 as I was riding home in the dark (that's right, dark at 5:30), I was crossing to the other side of the street between the IPF and the SFH. My foot in my slippery shoe slipped off of my pedal. And threw me off balance. At least that's my hypothesis on what happened. Because I don't really remember. Because all I really know for sure is that one second I was upright, and the next I was sprawled on the ground and there was a car driving past and a girl walking towards me to hand me my keys and phone, etc... that had flown out of my bag. And So I stood up and walked my bike over to the side of the street and the girl asked me if I was ok, and I replied that I was because, well obviously nothing was broken or too badly damaged because I could walk. So I just stood there for a few minutes trying to collect myself because things like that really shake me up. and then I got on my bike to ride the next two blocks home and, oh wait, my knee! I can barely pedal because bending my right knee causes me so much pain! Oh joy. So I made it the rest of the way home without vomiting and grabbed some ice and laid in bed trying to ice my knee but not being able to because it hurt me. So instead I just laid a cold cloth on my knee as advised by my personal doctor (much better because no pressure=no pain) and basically I just felt sorry for myself for the rest of the night. I had planned to do things but those plans were circumvented by the twisting winds of fate. Anyways. It hurts. That is the point.

My new hero

Go here. It's 44 minutes long, but completely worth it. This guy is funny. So if you have an extra hour to kill, sit back and enjoy!

I want to read this book. And see the movie? That's coming out in 2011. I don't even remember how I found this. Oh yeah, I di, Kristin was trying to make me look up the Sony Robot dance (also worth watching) but she told me it was the honda robot dance and when I serached that on goole video, this was the only video that came up. cool. Anyways.

I blame Kristin.

I am: jessica.

I want: my eyes not to hurt

I have: an obsession with paper/

I dislike: non dish doers.

I miss: the creamery. the one that is dead now.

I fear: walking up the stairs in the dark. I always think someone is going to grab my ankle. I know this is stolen but it couldn't be more true. I used to have a companion who would try to turn off the lights and chase me up the stairs every night because she knew about my weird phobia. And I would have to try and run up the stairs without her noticing or while she was doing something else so I could arrive at the top unscathed. You never know what might be behind you!

I feel: tired.

I hear: Brittany as she crinkles the newspaper with filling out the nytimes crossword puzzle that she is cheating on.

I smell: Probably like coffee a little bit. It's kind of a long story. Let's not talk about it.

I crave: Pizza. Every day. I don't really know what's wrong with me.

I cry: sometimes.

I usually: really love but also hate to ride my bike.

I search: for hippo.

I wonder: what bear goals are?

I regret: nothing.

I love: my bed right now.

I care: too much about insignificant things!

I always: complain about the cleanliness of my apartment.

I worry: that I won't get into grad school.

I am not: well-rested.

I remember: my name. That's important.

I believe: That the moon really does exist. Not a hoax.

I dance: only to hip-hop music. Or Reggaeton.

I sing: along with everything.

I don't always: ride my bike very carefully.

I argue: when I know I'm right.

I write: about nothing important.

I win: any word based game like Scrabble or Scattergories. Because I rock the hizzouse.

I lose: patience quite often.

I wish: I had a car.

I listen: to the Wicked soundtrack as much as possible. I am a geek.

I don't understand: Other people's thought processes. Which, hi, I'm a psych major, I should, right? Actually, I lied, I understand most people pretty weel. But certain ones I just cannot get where they are coming from or the motivation behind anything they do. Let's not talk about it. .

I can usually be found: sitting on the couch or on the floor studying or working on a book or cathing up on episodes of 30 Rock or ER (yeah I'm watching ER again. I'm addicted, I can't help it!).

I need: A Bose I-pod dock thingy.

I forget: omg everything. Appointments, meetings, to plan things, everything. Ever.

I am happy: about colder weather.

I tag: Brittany Perez and that is all!

So what if I just spent an hour scanning the article on scientology on wikipedia for minor errors and posting a request that someone edit them? Maybe I have a grammar problem. Lay off me, ok?

Well,

I've found my newest addiction... this blog. It seems like mostly she just browses etsy all day, which is also what I would like to do. But because she does it, I don't have to! Perfection!

So I remembered another one of my fashion pet peeves. Deep v-necks on men. Why? It's not at all sexy, it doesn't even look stylish, it just looks gross. If a man wears a v-neck, it had better be a very very high one. Because if not....I just might lose my lunch.

Fashion pet peeves

So I always notice things on the way to campus and just in my travels here and there that people wear that annoy the crap out of me. Her are a few of them:

First, holes in your jeans. Ok, it's alright if you're painting the house or working in the ward or camping or something, but do not afflict my eyes with the sight of your bony knee sticking out of your jeans in a respectable public place. I don't care if they are your favorite jeans. I don't care how long you've had those jeans. I don't even care if you got that hole in your jeans while sliding down a glacier or doing some similarly exhilirating but completely stupid activity. If you want to wear shorts, wear shorts. If you want to wear jeans or long pants, then do it and keep your legs under wraps. Preserve an air of mystery. Or something like that.

Boys in skinny jeans. I don't hink I have to explain this one. If you feel that I do, you are no longer my friend.

I really hate these scarfs because, for whatever reason, they remind me of palestinian head-dresses. Not that I hate palestinians, it's just stupid to wear things like that (also Che Guevara shirts) as trendy accessories.

Don't worry, there will be more.

So remember how...

Sunday was one of the best dias de reposo ever? We heard from 3 members of the quorum of the 12 and sundry other amazing church leaders. One of the real treats of the day for me was the opportunity to hear from Elder Marlin K. Jensen-- he has long been one of my favorite members of the 70. This is one of my favorite talks of his-- It's from the conference session last year when they rededicated the tabernacle. I love hearing him speak because the principles he teaches are so simple and beautiful in their clarity. I also love to hear him because, as with so many others that make up our church's leadership, I know that, without having met the majority of the membership of the church, he has a great love for those he serves. The love that he and others have is something to which I aspire-- to be secure in my calling and love for those I serve.

I love to hear him in this talk relate the First Vision with such emotion. How many times is it told in haste, with little thought given to the gravity of the words being shared?

I love the idea of the importance of remembering in the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially considering the promise given to us that the Spirit will bring all things to our remembrance. I know the power that a past witness, a past experience remembered in a time of trial can have on my life. I know that the remembrance of those who came before us and their experiences can teach and guide us, can bring us each moment closer not only to the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, but also to true happiness in our time here on Earth.

In remembering, we find the lessons we were meant to learn; happy moments, spiritual experiences, and even the most painful of trials can become sacred to us, creating places and times in our lives that are to us what the Waters of Mormon were to the first followers of Alma (see Mosiah 18:30)-- places and times that are beautiful to us because they taught us more about ourselves and our relationship with the Savior than we thought was possible.


I'm so grateful for the amazing opportunity we had yesterday to be taught by those chosen to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ. I hope that I can always remember how blessed I am to have the opportunities I do.

Pointless

Ok. So Beth and I have this ongoing battle. We always make fun of each other for the types of men we are attracted to. Apparently I only like battle scarred 50 year-olds, while I am convinced she is only attracted to 18 year olds who are 6 months from out of the closet. I've included pictures below to demonstrate (I purposefully chose these specific pictures to illustrate and exaggerate the difference.) Left, please witness dream-boat Javier Bardem, the Spanish actor who recently won an oscar for his role in "No Country for Old Men." Beth would say he could be my father, and he's so scarred you can barely see his face (I actually don't see any scars, but she's prone to hyperbole). Right, see Justin Long, most recently seen in "Die Hard with a Vengeance". I know he's probably like 30, but seriously with the hat and the boyish grin? He could enroll in high school tomorrow. Anyways the point of this is that we were joking about this tonight, but I realized that evolutionary psychology can explain all of this. So basically there is no point to this post, just some rambling leading to an epiphany which I will not disclose. I'm not going to spoon feed you the evolutionary psych, figure it out on your own if you really want to know more about it.



ok, so maybe I also chose this picture on the left because he looks like a mixture between Wolverine and a vampire. I think it's funny.

Does anybody else see this? Or is it just me?

So I've spent a lazy break. The day after Craig and I made it home, we all left for Pensacola. Ah sweet mystery of life...We spent 4 days at the beach, the first of which was rather cloudy, but for the most part they were perfect bright days spent floating in clear blue water, avoiding fish, and quoting pride and prejudice ("A bit of sea bathing would set me up forever!"). We went to the naval aviation museum while we were there-- two hours of bliss for my father, and two hours of mild interest for the rest of us. It was a lot larger than I expected and cool for about 30 minutes. My attention span is short for things like that. Since we've been back, I've spent most of my time sitting around the house, reading, crocheting, and...whatnot. I did go out with the sisters a couple of times (we have sisters now!). I've finished 5 books, one of the Jane Eyre which I had somehow never read before. Very good, but not my favorite book ever, as it is for most people. Also Breaking Dawn (better than the last two books, but still very very bizarre), and two F. Paul Wilson books ("Rebirth" and "Reprisal" and I'm about to start on "Night World"). He's...like a talented mix between Lovecraft and Steven King--Scary but not terrifying. The most frightening thing about his universe is not only that evil is strong and mostly wins, bu that the opposing orce is not necessarily good o working for our benefit-- it simply exists to contradict and harass the evil. There is no absolute good, nothing pure and wonderful, and that idea is, to me, terrifying. Anyways, he's a good writer.

I'm about to start my last semester. Sigh. Excited and scared, and hoping that all goes according to plan.

Also, I registered to vote today! That is good, but I don't know who I'm going to vote for. I despise politics because they are, for the most part, highly contentious, and rarely accomplish anything good (which is to be expected, I guess, because there are rarely easy solutions to the problems we face) but I want simplicity, and I want someone virtuous, someone who actually aspires to something other than personal power and glory, to be the figure-head and leader of America. Maybe I expect too much, but I know that it's not an impossible goal, because there have been men and women in our collective past who have worked to improve the world for those who follow, putting aside personal pride and concerns for something better. Where is my James Madison, my George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? Is greatness only borne out of strife?

Let's talk about this for a second...We have a strong alliance with Georgia, and just within the last few months have had cabinet members visit the country. A few days ago, Russian forces invaded a Russia-sympathetic rebel province in northern Georgia. Aggressive, yes, but I can kind of understand the logic behind it. But, they haven't stopped, they are continuing south, outside that province and on into central Georgia. This is Russia's first military action outside of it's own country in over 20 years. Scary, yes.

Today I picked up two GRE study manuals. Good job me. Now I have all the materials I need to do something for which I have no time. But I'm one step closer to living the dream.

So. The Dark Knight. If you haven't seen it yet, please go see it, even if you don't want to or don't think you'll like it, chances are that you will...or at least that you'll be a better person for having watched it, even if you hate it. It IS without a doubt, the best movie so far this year (and probably will remain so, Harry Potter nothwithstanding). It's much darker than I thought it would be, though, honestly, I don't know why I was surprised because that's the one thing all the reviews I read had in common, but anyways...Heath Ledger is the best movie villain of all time. He's willfully, incoherently, and uncaringly malignant. His only end is to establish pure chaos-- an idea that is particularly frightening in our law and norm-bound lives. Ledger so completely portrays this character, that I find it hard now to think of him in any other role. The cinematography is beautiful. Watching it in IMAX, I maybe felt a little seasick at the full-screen shots looking down at the city, but who wouldn't, it's GIGANTIC. And the picture quality is flawless. And in IMAX, our first introduction to the joker is 6 stories tall. It's thrilling and frightening. Christian Bale is tormented by his own goodness and Aaron Eckhart is just tormented. Maggie Gyllenhal is good in her role, but I think we need something between her own sad Rachel and the bubbly idealist Katie Holmes played.

It's dark, yes, and definitely violent, but still pushes the idea that somethings are still worth fighting for, no matter how high the cost, though that idea may be tested in the next installment. A ver.

Finally!

So after days and days of hopeless waiting, the NYTimes finally posted their review of The Dark Knight. If you're wondering why this matters, it doesn't, not really to anyone but me, who read Manohla Dargis' reviews almost religiously. She's great critic, ok? I'm surprised they waited to durn long, but excited. The reason I love her reviews is because they are never fully good or bad, she always acknowledges the good points without glossing over the negative. That's true here as well.

My favorite review, though, came from Time magazine. This one gave me chills. Well so did Ms. Dargis', but not as many. Just read them.

I don't know why I get so worked up for movies. I just do.

the talkies!

Yes...so...I went to see Hellboy II this weekend. The only reason this is of note is because I wasn't actually intending to. A few weeks ago, while watching tv with my roomates, a commercial for it played and I said to them "that looks slightly interesting, I kind of want to see it." I looked around at them, to find them all looking at me with expressions ranging from utter bafflement to something bordering on disgust. Ever since that day, they have mocked me, until I swore a solemn oath to myself to avoid this film at all costs. With my friends, I made plans to go see "Son of Rambow" on Saturday, and waited with gleeful anticipation for the day to arrive. On Saturday morning, I received a text asking if we could see Hellboy instead because "it got three stars and Kyle really wants to see it." Thus I was forced to break the vow I had made so many weeks before.

I guess my point here is that we watched it and it was hilarious! Take that, roomates! I was right!

So the plot may have been a little cliche, but it's a comic book movie, what do you expect? The kind of film that is so emotionally draining on its actors that they need to start taking prescription drugs to escape its shadow? The fight scenes were spectacular, there were lots of really bizarre creatures (quickly becoming del Toro's trademark), and, as already stated, it was a very funny movie.

Yesterday, I watched A&E's version of that old classic The Mayor of Casterbridge. It's a sunshiny, heart-warming tale of the love that grows between one young girl (Elizabeth Jane) and the father who sold her and her mother to a wandering sailor when she was but a wee babe. It follows her adventures in ye olde towne of Casterbridge as she waits tables at an inn to pay her hotel bill, falls in love with a man who later falls in love with and marries Elizabeth Jane's Father's former lover who he's trying to force to marry him by threatening to reveal their former intimacy, and watches her "father" destroy his own life and relationship piece by excruciating piece. WHEW. But really, it's about her father (the mayor), Michael Henchard and his aforementioned slow road to self destruction. It's amazing to watch the way he alienates everyone with his cruelty and immaturity, and even more amazing that, after all he does, you still pity him.

Well acted, though starting to look a bit dated, I recommend it if you're feeling depressed and would like to go a bit lower.

So...ok. Youtube. Bane of all existence, I know. Well just get over it for a second, because I'm pretty sure that I just found the video that will solve all of the world's problems.

133t h4x0rz!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So today in the lab we were browsing the amazing array of services that google offers (for example, its own attempt at facebook, its own 3d drawing/model program, its own blogging site...etc...) and, while talking about how much "google rocks", I realized that someday, google will even have its own band called, what else, "G00g13 R0xOrz" or...something like that, you get the idea, and all their concerts would be free because it's google, and it would be totally awesome! That was what I learned about infant psychology today.

I just needed this today

Sigh....

Get over yourself already

So...you'll probably think that I'm a lazy bum for this, but one of my biggest pet peeves is......politics! I know that it's important to have an in depth understanding of the way our government works because it affects everything we do, but honestly, I hate talking about politics, I hate people who talk about politics, and I hate everything about it. I hate politics because they rarely accomplish what they mean to. I hate talking about politics because it never brings people together and it never ends well, no matter how good of friends, no matter how amicably the conversation begins, there's always an element of contention that creeps in. I also dislike it because, more often than not, it's merely a way for a person to show off their knowledge or connection to the modern world. I don't care how often you read the news, I don't care how many times you've read through Obama's plan for change, chances are I already think you're smart, and you talking at me will only destroy that. I hate talking about politics because it's a topic that inevitably draws people farther apart, rather than bringing them together, as it should.

I've seen this happen time and time again, and I am, quite honestly, sick of it.

So, I already put all these pictures up on facebook, but I can talk about it more here. Today was the fourth of July andapparently it's a crazy big deal here in Provo. I've only been here for the Fourth once before and I was lving in the dorms at the time and so was rather oblivious to...well...everything.

So the parade goes down the street behind my house and many people started claiming their parade-watching spots 24 hours in advance. By last night, there was complete insanity up and down University Avenue...A large group of people from my complex set up 2 big-screen tvs and played "Rock Band" and watched movies all night long. There were similar scenes every twenty feet or so, while all the space in between was covered with sleeping bags and fold up chairs and taped-off plots of sidewalk and grass. After walking up a couple of blocks and back, we were tired and turned in for the night. At around 3:30. Sigh.

I didn't mention yet that we also had a mini mission reunion last night-- about 20 of us met and went to dinner and had a complete blast. It's always awkward and wonderful to see mission folk in a real world setting.

Anyways, this morning I woke up around 7 because my body is insane, got ready, and headed up to meet the fam with my brother and friend, Fehi, who was visiting from out of town. I took about a hundred million pictures at the parade (I'm a geek like that) and here are a few.

So apparently there's a random brigade of Star Wars geeks in Utah County.
And one of them looks like Lego Obewon Kenobe. This was one of the very first entries in the parade. I kind of wish they had been a little later when everyone was a little bit more excited, because these folks were...just...really impressive. There were quite a few in amazing storm trooper costumes. Strange but ... wonderful.

My little brother... well, my younger brother, Craig, at the parade, waving his flag and just generally looking kind of patriotic. We watched the parade across the street from the indoor practice facility with our Aunt and Uncle and cousins. It was insanely hot, but so much fun! Every once in a while the clouds would come out and shield us from the sun's blinding rays.

I just like this picture. Babar and the glory of July.

Craig and Fehi on the say back from the parade. We're actually following the very end of it. Probably not smart because at the very end was a cannon which they kept setting off.

Me and Craig being totally hot like usual.

"Cheese carver Troy Landwehr brushes oil off a rendition of the signing of the Declaration of Independence carved out of 2000 lbs (907 kg) of cheese in New York, July 3, 2008."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sculpture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence made from a one-tonne block of cheddar cheese glistened on the sidewalk of Times Square in New York on Thursday as an artist's tribute to the Fourth of July.

"It's very patriotic, using the signing of the Declaration of Independence, bringing Americans together for the Fourth," said Troy Landwehr, who carved the sculpture for cracker company Cheez-It to celebrate U.S. Independence Day.

He worked eight hours a day for a week in a 40-degree cooler carving the block of Wisconsin cheddar.
"The cheddar has been pasteurized and will not melt," Landwehr said. "What I spray on it is cooking oil and that stops it from drying out and cracking," he said. "That's why it looks sweaty. It actually preserves the cheese."
The replica of an iconic painting by John Trumbull shows John Adams, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin and others standing around a table signing the historic document.

The work is not the first time Landwehr has recreated U.S. history with cheese. Last year he carved a cheese version of Mount Rushmore, which depicts U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abe Lincoln.

This year he took on another version of America's first "big cheeses" -- Trumbull's oil painting, which hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol and shows 42 of the 56 signatories of the 1776 Declaration of Independence from Britain.

"I scanned the painting into the computer, drew a 3D mapping of it and basically did lines and grids," said Landwehr, who has been carving cheese since he was 12 and owns a winery in Wisconsin.
"The hardest part was trying to keep everybody in proportion," he said.

He said putting the cheese on display in New York and Philadelphia would help it age faster and then it would be taken back to Wisconsin to be donated to food pantries.

(Reporting by Claudia Parsons; Editing by Bill Trott)

(this is from reuters.com)

Ok, but seriously, they're seriously going to make poor people eat their rancid cheese after it's sat outside in 2 highly polluted cities? Gj Cheez-it. Gj.

i'm on my computer

Um..

Just ew.

I mean, way to use your powers of deduction, but honestly. *shiver*

Something crazy about dogs

So, I was just reading the most ridiculous article of my life on NYTimes.com. Maybe this isn't news to anyone but me, but this woman, Leona Helmsley, was slightly off her rocker. Please read about it here. My favorite part of this, besides the title, is the original destiny of her fortune. She had set up two goals for the trust which may now go completely to the dogs-- first to help the disadvantaged, and second to help dogs-- the first goal was later scrapped as Helmsley realized her true calling in life-- benefactor of dogs everywhere.

Arg

So... all day at work today...or at least the 4 hours till now, I've been researching grad schools. This. Stresses. Me. Out. Why? I don't even know...which just stresses me out more. Basically what I did today was request information from every ALA accredited school that I would even remotely consider attending. Problem though, there are only really maybe two that I actually feel good about attending, those being the University of Maryland and UT-Knoxville. I think Knoxville seems good just because it's close to home and less of a striking out into the world on my own kind of option, and Maryland seems good just because...I'm not really sure. I love DC, it's one of my favorite cities, and I've always kind of had this dream that I would end up there, so grad school there would be one step closer to that. Also, it's familiar. Not overwhelmingly so, but just enough to not scare me out of my wits.

Thinking about the GRE and my low GPA and having to get references also makes me nervous. I know it shouldn't, but it just does, ok?

Honestly though, right now Maryland is definitely the front runner, because they offer a specialization that I'm really interested in-- archive and information management. Also, I would probably have access to some really interesting internship/employment opportunities there in exciting high drama locations like the library of congress or the national archives. w00t!

Anyways...

Bella

This weekend, I watched the movie Bella. It's a pretty simple movie plot-wise-- former pro soccer player helps out pregnant waitress recently fired by his brother and emotional drama ensues. This is what complicates things-- the emotions experienced by the main characters as they agonize over past actions and future decisions. I heart it-- it's a love poem to New York, and a warning against hasty decisions. Plus, there's a lot of spanish woven throughout which i love! And...have you looked at the main character? Wow. That's all.

Ok it's not all. Another reason I love this movie is because it's about love. Not lust, not erotic, and barely even about romantic love. It's about the purest form of love-- disinterested, sincere, and unflaggingly generous. And it's beautiful.

Wall-E

A really great review for Wall-E. I want to see it like nobody's business!

http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/movies/27wall.html?8dpc

Why do I always have

SINUS PRESSURE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.argh.

Why I don't like Kanye

Last night I spent approximately 4 hours watching the BET awards waiting to see Kany West perform. Well, I was waiting for other performances as well, but Kanye was the only one that kept not happening. And then, guess what? The end of the program came and NO KANYE. What is the world coming to? When television networks must make empty promises so that we, the masses, will watch their programming.

I also realized something last nigh-- BET is cleaner than both MTV *and* VH1. I mean, honestly. VH1 is supposed to be a music network for washed up 30-somethings with nothing better to do with their mornings. But VH1 is ruining the wholesomeness of those single-person homes with programs like "Rock of Love" one and two. When a booty video is the cleanest thing you could watch....just.....sigh.

20000 leagues under the sea

Sometimes I inadvertently drink so much water that my head starts to hurt and I feel like I'm swimming. Woops. Right now is actually one of those times, and I decided to share that fact with you lucky folks.

Mike Myers' fatal flaw

My favorite part of the NYTimes review of "The Love Guru," a movie which, though I haven't seen it, seems like an insult to the entire medium.

"The movie’s takeaway catchphrase is 'Mariska Hargitay,' which is used by the title character as a fake-Hindi spiritual greeting. This is almost hilarious the first 11 or so times he does it, but by the time Guru Pitka (Mr. Myers) says 'Mariska Hargitay' to Ms. Hargitay herself, it’s somehow less amusing than it should be.

Which might sum up 'The Love Guru' in its entirety but only at the risk of grievously understating the movie’s awfulness. A whole new vocabulary seems to be required. To say that the movie is not funny is merely to affirm the obvious. The word 'unfunny' surely applies to Mr. Myers’s obnoxious attempts to find mirth in physical and cultural differences but does not quite capture the strenuous unpleasantness of his performance. No, 'The Love Guru' is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again."

Um...yeah.

So this week has been pretty exciting. Or last week really. Melissa was here on Tuesday night, and went into the MTC the next day. I can't even begin to describe how good it was to see her again. I forgot how much I need her. But..alas. my needs are unimportant.

On wednesday I was deathly ill.

On Thursday Craig and my mom got here and we've basically been chillin' since then. Craig is now installed at the Elms, and mother is spending the next couple of days up in SLC until her flight leaves on wednesday morning. It was amazingly good to have her here to just sit with. I've been needing that.

Last night at ward prayer, I was talking to my home teacher about how i was doing and it went somehow in just a few minutes from "I'm doing really good" to "i'm so stressed out I can't take it and I need a break" and I didn't even really realize where it was going until I was already there and he was standing there with this look in his eyes that just screamed "HELP!" and saying "Um...is there...anything you...um... need?" Sigh.

Remember how I start more than half of my blogs with "so..."? I do.

The sickness of me

So this week, if anybody missed it, I almost died. I had a whole day of not being able to breathe or open my right eye. And while one day may not sound that dramatic, trust me, it was. Luckily, I have recovered enough to be able to venture among the general populace again.

Something funny happened a couple of days ago but I can't remembe what it was.

My mom and brother got here last night. i sat with them while they ate dinner and then we went to kung fu panda which was, surprisingly enough, one of the funniest movies I've seen for a while. I expected....another really immature animated movie, but nopw, it was just hilarious. loved it.

Today we went to the temple together which was, of course, awesome. I haven't ever been with my brother before since he didn't go through till after I left. Just glad they're here.

Arg

Sick this morning. There is no end to the dripping. SAAAAAAAAAAAAD

I <3 microsoft.

So. You know when you buy a new computer? Yeah, me too. Well, I just did, and it made me remember one of my microsoft pet peeves. You know how they always put random stuff in your "my pictures" and "my music," etc? Like they put pictures and music there to demonstrate because you couldn't figure out what could possibly belong in a folder called "my music." So they assume that I actually know or care who in the world Marc Seales or The Posies are. Give me a break. I have this picture in my mind of some soft-jazz obsessed programmer up in Seattle loading new versions of windows with crap music to spread his mediocrity to the masses. Of course his supervisors would go through and cull the excess files, but some would inevitably slip through and end up polluting my ear drums and those of millions of others. Do you think that starving kids in China want to listen to "OAM's Blues" by Aaron Goldberg? That won't fill their bellies. Just quit trying to a difference because IT'S NOT WORKING.

So last night I was trying to talk to my mom on the phone right before I went to bed, and I went outside to sit on the front steps because it was quieter outside. It was great until everyone in the apartment right across from ours came spilling out carrying marshmallow blow guns. Ok great whatever. It got noisy so I walked out to the street and sat on the grass in front of our complex to continue my conversation. About 5 minutes later, I feel something hit me in the back of the head. I turn around and there are two guys standing maybe 10 feet behind me giggling like schoolgirls over their blowguns.

Ok, maybe if I hadn't been distracted and busy doing something else, I would have been amused. I ALSO might have been amused if I was about 15 yeas younger than I am. But I wasn't and I'm not.
So I turned around and peevishly asked them to stop. I did say please. Then they just looked sheepish and left. And I finished my conversation in peace.

Sometimes I have the great privilege of walking to class in the morning with my roomates. This is always really exciting because it always goes exactly the same way. I have my ipod in the ear opposite them and I sing snatches of songs at them as we walk and talk our way to campus. This is inevitably hysterical because they always end up singing along. For example, this morning the walk ended with Cristina singing "cry me a river" at me about half a phrase ahead of the actual song. Completely enjoyable.

This morning I also missed out on the awesome lab-wide pizza party (and by lab-wide, I mean that maybe there were like 3 more people there than usual. There aren't a lot of us).

So I'm pretty sure I have like a hundred blogs floating around on the internet, only two of which I actually update, and that only recently. Hopefully those small snippets of my awkwardness will aid some wayward soul to find their way in this crazy mixed up world of ours.

So Craig is officially back. things have been good so far, and he'll be out here in a couple of weeks. Problem though-- the management company that he had his contract with in chatsworth oficially lost all record of him and never realized that there wasn't a person attached to that $600 they received SIX WEEKS AGO. So he's not going to be living in my ward anymore which is depressing, but he will be living next door which is ok.

Wednesday night we something not that exciting. Well, actually it ended up being really exciting but not for the reasons we thought it would be. We decided that (or i guess mostly just I decided) that we should go dancing in SLC, a friend's band was performing *and* it was supposed to be "hip-hop night" at this club. Guess what it wasn't. And also...it was 80's night. So we got all gussied up to drive up to salt lake, dance to 80's music for 20 minutes, and come home. It was pretty sad because nothing happened that was supposed to, but we ended up having quite a lot of fun anyways.

So apparently the first Friday of every month, downtown Provo opens its doors for a kind of gallery stroll thing. Totally going tonight!

amazing!

Today

Craig is coming home from his mission. actually, he's not coming, he came. he's here! back in the old usofa. i'm so excited i could scream. more on that later.