Sadness and movies

1. The Provo Tabernacle burned down this morning. I can't stop thinking about it! It was such a beautiful building, and (I believe) the first permanent structure in Provo (maybe even the whole valley), so obviously very historic. Just to think that so many people sacrificed to help build it, and it stood for so long, only to be destroyed by fire this morning- it just hurts my heart. I've been to so many concerts and church functions there- it really has been, as one article called it, Provo's cutural heart. I hope that somehow it can be salvaged.

2. The Tourist- bland, but kind of entertaining. I knew the twist before it even started, but it was still fun to see Angelina's fabulous wardrobe on the way there. What I REALLY don't understand about this movie is that it was nominated for a Golden Globe for best comedy. What the WHAT? While there are a few funny moments, I wouldn't really classify this as a comedy. Three out of five...I should come up with a ratings system...birdies. I like birds. 3/5 birds.

3. Tron: Legacy- CGI Jeff Bridges is inordinately creepy. This is a fabulously shiny movie that's exciting and very fun to watch but doesn't have much to say for itself. I guess if I had to pick out a main message, it would be "God=good, totalitarian dictator=bad". Anyways, it's super enjoyable.

4. Right now I may or may not be watching E! and they keep playing commercials for their horrible show "Married to Rock". These commercials feature the lead singer for Jane's Addictionand his wife freakingout over a supposed stalker who left a vase of red roses on their doorstep. I'm sorry, I don't really believe that these barely famous people have stalkers. Also, I do not feel sorry for them. Gah. Maybe I should turn the TV off? Nah...

ALSO-

To all you haters (who aren't really haters, I just needed an excuse to say that)- I haven't had any caffeinated soda since October 20. BWAHA! I did take a soda break on our fake Thanksgiving a week or two ago- we had slush! And sparkling cider! So I HAVE had some soda, but no caffeine. And no headaches!

Woo!

Guess what? In June 2009 I had 14 posts in one month. What was I thinking? Why am I such a slacker now? Discuss.

Parting is such...a horribly unsatisfying moment

You know what I really suck at? Ok, don't go off listing all my faults (though that might be interesting to hear sometime). I really suck at the professional goodbye. You know, when you're leaving a job and you go to say goodbye for the last time to your superior with whom you are friendly, but do not have a loosey-goosey super-casual relationship that would allow you to give them a hug and weep on their shoulder (not that I've ever done that)? Yeah, I suck at that. All I'll allow myself is a handshake, a smile, a few half-mumbled words about how grateful I am for everything, and then...just walk away. But that hardly seems like enough. Ever. So instead of walking away feeling happy that I'm done and grateful that I had the opportunity, I walking away having an anxiety attack thinking about what I should have said that would have felt more complete to me. I eventually have to force myself to do something meaningless to distract my mind, and that usually ends up with me (picture it if you will), walking down the street, focusing very hard on counting every step until I get to the car and can drown myself in mindless public radio.

Oh my life.

But really, thinking about this, I've realized that I just suck at saying goodbye to people period. Nothing I can do in those few minutes seems able to express everything I want to say, even if what I want to say is just "it's been great, k bye!", or "hey you were a bizarre roomate, thanks for messing up my laundry!" Don't worry, if you're reading this and we were roomates, that is not directed at you.

Unfortunately, I've had occasion to say quite a few (probably permanent) goodbyes in the last year or so, what with ending internships and practicums and volunteer work, etc...Maybe I just need to get a more stable, permanent job, and then I can just avoid goodbyes altogether. Awesome plan, me.

P.s. As I was adding tags to this post, I had to create a whole new one for "awkward". It wasn't already in my list of tags- can you believe it, with all the awkward things that happen to me? Well, I should probably say all the awkward things that I do, but anyways...

Steven is on his way home for mid-tour leave. He's leaving "theater today" which means he is leaving his tiny tiny base in the middle of nowhere to go to a slightly larger base to catch a ride to Kandahar where he will grab a flight to Kuwait, then Germany, then Des Moines to pick up his kids, then here. So he was supposed to hit the states around 11/4 so that should give you an idea of how long that whole trip will take. I'm excited he's coming back- I've somehow always been pretty zen about family members going overseas- it doesn't worry me. Maybe I'm cold-hearted. I don't think so, I've always seen it as a blessing, maybe a sign that they'll be ok. I'm grateful for that.

On the soda front- Day seven, WHAT?! My head still hurts. I wonder if that will go away eventually or if I am bound to be dependent on caffeine for the rest of my liiife.

Day two of my soda fast. HA! (Take that Emmy). Unfortunately, this is pretty much how I felt all day long:

Yes I'm addicted to caffeine, and yes it's ridiculous. But now, my life is going to be so. Much. Better.

Also, while I was looking for that grotesque picture above, I found this, which just makes my head hurt even more:

Day one soda free. This is real folks. And it's serious. And it's totally going to happen.

Facebook is...(duh duh duh) down? I was just trying to get on and kept getting the message that it's unavailable and maybe I entered the wrong address. I don't know if you've seen the recent 100% accurate movie ABOUT Facebook, "The Social Network" (I did, and it was fabulous...more on that later), but Facebook DOESN'T GO DOWN. I guess I have no other choice but to go to sleep now.

OMG CUTEEEEEE!!!!!!


Yes, I realize I'm to old to say things like that.

Don't laugh at me.

I don't watch scary movies very often. Until I watched "Devil" the other night, I think the last real horror movie I saw was "The Grudge". This is because, after an epidemic of boldness and stupidity my first year or two of college, I realized that after I watch horror movies, I CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT. I don't know what it is, haunted houses and things that are real like, oh say, people with guns, don't bother me too much, but show me a freaky movie and I will crawl up under five blankets on my bed (which I have probably moved to the center of the room by this point) with all the lights on, the tv on, and probably a book to read (the more distractions, the better). Don't tell me they're not real. I KNOW they're not real. I'm not an idiot. But maybe it's a symptom of my all too willing suspension of disbelief (which makes me generally a rather easy to please movie-goer), that once I watch something horrifying, I'm reminded of it in the most ridiculous places. So because of this...ahem...problem that I have, I have been studiously avoiding watching television commercials for the upcoming movie "Case 39"- some hooey about a foster child and the curse that plagues her- anyone who helps her DIES. Oh dear. Silly though it be, I can tell that it's scary and I don't want none of it. ANYWAYS, the point of this unnecessarily long explanation is that, with the tv on, but muted, in the background while trying to register for classes just now, I happened to look up right at a moment of scary-face-showing during that commercial. I deeply regret it. Guess how I'll be sleeping tonight?

If you ever wonder why I'm so obsessed with Law & Order (I can't help it!!), the New York Times captured it PERFECTLY (it's like they're living inside my brain) in their recent review of the new Law & Order: LA:

"'Law & Order' episodes hold attention, year after year and rerun after rerun, because the story arcs are both suspenseful and predictable; the plots are luridly fascinating, but their resolution is comfortingly familiar."

I don't have anything to add. It's like neon comfort food. Mmmmmmmm.

This is the first 9/11 since 2001 that I haven't gotten up in the morning and just felt like sitting on the floor and sobbing all day long. That's a step in the right direction, right?

I still want ALL of these. Time has not diminished my love for an Amy Butler rug. First purchase for my future new apartment? Yes. When will this happen? I have absolutely no idea.

Back in...June? It seems like it's been forever, but really (apparently) it's only been a few months...I started reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. I'm not quite sure what to say about it.

Plot first, I guess. A fairly famous (and fictional) American artist is arrested at the National Gallery of Art for attempting to attack a painting (depicting the myth of Leda and the Zeus-swan). With a knife. I know, right? He is admitted to a psychiatric institution under the care of Dr. Marlow, psychiatrist and main character extraordinaire, who is also an artist of sorts and, taking an intense interest in his patient's case and only confession that "I did it for her", goes to extreme lengths to follow the artist's obsession with a possibly fictional woman whom he paints and sketches over and over and over again. Eventually Dr. Marlow finds this woman (a faint memory of her anyway) and the reason for his patient's obsessive focus on her. This case becomes something of an obsession for Dr. Marlow himself as he tracks down former amours, associates, and paintings of his patient. It is interesting to see a number of lives unfold and the way they reflect and re-reflect one another. The contemporary story-line is frequently interrupted by first letters and then narrative snippets from the life of the mysterious woman at the heart of all this arty intrigue.

The main problem with The Swan Thieves- its length. It was, like I said, an interesting story, but there simply was not enough material to fill all of those pages (and, it seems, nearly half of my suitcase). I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as The Historian, but all in all, this was pretty wonderful. It's not the kind of book that I could gobble and gobble and finish quickly. Her writing is quite dense, and the book was very slow going for me. That being said, Kostova's writing has moments of quiet brilliance and unexpected insight. I really loved the imagined paintings that make up the core of Marlow's search. Each one seemed absolutely real and vivid. I wanted to see all of these paintings in real life, though the descriptions were so skillful that somehow I'm not sure I'd need to.


It was a nice book to span my time in D.C. D.C. is the main setting for the story, and it complemented my frequent museum visits well. Also provided great Metro reading as I could only focus for bits anyways.

Great if you're in the mood for something to nibble at. If you haven't read The Historian yet, read that instead.

I literally died when I saw this video.

Ooh!

I wish that I had a computer geek in my life to whom I could gift these. Alas, all I've got around here are fantasy/sci-fi/music geeks. Woe is me!

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

I include this picture because this is the way I would MUCH have preferred that Nicolas Cage look in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Since when do a (to quote the movie) "300 year old rawhide coat" and hair made out of straw translate into an ultra powerful sorcerer? I'm sorry, Nic, but no matter how much you spin, that hair will NOT turn into gold. I DON'T CARE WHAT THE MICE TOLD YOU.

So unfunny fairy tale tangent aside, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was average. It had some sweet romantic moments, some really delightful Alfred Molina scenes (all of his scenes, actually- his acting is really quite delicious- he did the best he could with a ridiculous script), some scenes of trademark Cageian insanity (which are also guiltily delightful), and lost of unnecessarily silly action sequences and occultism. Magic is awesome, but when the final spell of ultimate evil requires the wicked witch to writhe around on the ground like a...well you don't want to know like what...then it's just too much. I could definitely have gone without the hair swinging.

Final verdict- silly effects+gaudy jewelery+randomly kind of hot Jay Baruchel= C+

Well Played, AF.

So apparently no one likes the current DC mayor, Adrian Fenty. Whatever, I don't know anything about him. This I WILL say for him though, he has got to be the hottest mayor DC has ever had. And for that I say: good job good sir.

Predators

Ok so maybe thats not the real poster, but you get the point. On Saturday I went to see "Predators" with Nicole, fellow librarian. It was...pretty much exactly what I expected, which wasn't much. Imagine, for a second, that the same team that made the original movie set out to do...everything they had already done, in exactly the same style, with a new cast (except for the monsters, of course) and better special effects, and you'll have quite a good idea of what this was like. Bright spots: Adrien Brody and...I hesitate to add him to this list, because he only makes it by sheer force of insanity, but Laurence Fishburne. Also the Yakuza gangster whose name I do not know, but whose scenes were wonderfully referential to older Tokyo gangster films like...well, "Tokyo Gangster" (Kristin, please tell me you remember that). Laurence did the best he could with the material he had, which amounted to not very well with not very much, but it turned out to be one of the more entertaining sections of the entire film. All of that being said, the writing was astonishingly bad, and the violence was over-wrought. It had some really great "ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?!?!" moments, but not much else worth going for. Maybe I should start grading movies. I give this one a solid C-.

This definitely had some entertaining previews though. Look up "Machete". I promise you will not be sorry you did.

Fail

So I'm confused by this. I was looking for a definition of ectomorph, and the Merriam-Webster site came up as one of the results. "Well, that's a well-known name in the field of dictionaries" I thought to myself, and clicked. But there is a problem. Could someone PLEASE tell me where the definition is on this page (and no, it wasn't in the scrolldown, i promise)?

Inception

Why does A.O. Scott always end up reviewing the movies that I am most anticipating? Where are you Manohla?!?!?

Whatever. It's still a well-written review, though a bit disappointing:

"Admirers of Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” and Stanley Kubrick’s “2001” will find themselves in good company, though “Inception” does not come close to matching the impact of those durable cult objects. It trades in crafty puzzles rather than profound mysteries, and gestures in the direction of mighty philosophical questions that Mr. Nolan is finally too tactful, too timid or perhaps just too busy to engage."

Ouch. Not what I wes expecting.

Read the rest here.

Movies!

I haven't posted about movies in a long time and Andrea blogged a rant today about chick flicks and it got me all fired up, so I guess I'm in the mood now.



First up is a real gem- a French movie called "Barbe Bleue" or, in English, "Blue Beard". It's based on a classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault (ever heard of...oh, Cinderella? That's because of him), a 17th century writer and collector of folk stories. If you've read a lot of the Grimm Brothers o Hans Christian Andersen, you know that some fairy tales can get a little out of control, and Blue Beard is no different (seriously- what in the world is this about?). So anyways, in this movie (one of a large number of versions), two young girls in the 50s are narrating. The younger sister forcefully reads the older the story because the younger is fascinated by it. The elder is terrified. The story itself is about two sisters whose father dies, for which happening they are kicked out of their convent/school. Back home, they talk about their neighbor, old Blubeard, who has been married several times, though his wives have all mysteriously disappeared. The younger is obsessed with his wealth and the idea of escaping to his world of wealth and luxury, and accepts his proposal of marriage. Long story short, he leaves one day, giving her all the keys to the palace, telling her to visit every room and explore the whole property, but not to use the small golden key. So what does she do? Of course she figures out which door it opens and goes inside. There, she finds the bodies of his dead wives (though some versions of the story have them alive still, but tortured and imprisoned and nearly dead). She freaks out, leaves the room, and relocks the door. HOWEVER, instead of staying away for months as he promised, he comes back the next day. Of course she is still out of her mind, he notices, and $#!% happens.

So. Morbid, right? Aside from the one terrifying scene, the dead wives, the film is pretty sedate. It's very interesting because while the little gil narrators are spectacular little actresses (it feels so natural!), the acting in the fairy tale is rather wooden, almost emotionless. I've read a number of reviews that really criticize this, but I think it's a deliberate statement by the director, not the sad result of a woeful lack of talent as some have implied. It leaves them as generic representatives of men and women, their relationships a rather bitter commentary on the sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet relationship between the two. It also preserves the feeling that this is a story we're watching, not a reality or any kind of direct representation of it.

That being said, it is wonderfully watchable and definitely worth the time. It's on watch anytime on Netflix right now if you've got some free time (and, of course, a subscription)


THE LAST AIRBENDER: Well, if you're free for a matinee and really don't care how you spend your time, go see it. Otherwise, avoid like the plague. The performances here are painfully wooden, and not on purpose like the previous film. Just painful, especially remembering Mr. Shyamalan's former talent. Sorry M. Night, you've been replaced and overwhelmed for me by the giant of J.J. Abrams.



Well, all that I really have to say about this movie is "Oh HEEEEEEY Bradley Cooper!!!". The plot and writing were completely absurd. That doesn't, however, negate the fact that this is a good movie to escape the heat on a weekend afternoon. Worth a matinee (maybe not in D.C. though, where matinees are NINE DOLLARS). Lots of explosions, one really entertaining bad guy (hey Raul!), and some really silly portrayals of military types.




I think I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year" is the second best Bollywood movie I've ever seen (after "Lagaan", which is no longer available on DVD or Netflix or anywhere really). It's kind of "The Office" meets India without the sarcasm or the great writing. Harpreet Singh reports a client at his first ever job for requesting a bribe, is told by his boss "that's how we roll", and decides to start his own competing company while still at his job and using their resources (but keeping a strict accounting of everything he uses so he can repay it someday). His boss is horrible to him, more and more coworkers join him, then the whole situation blows up and his boss forces him out of business. Heartwarming self-examination and happy resolution ensues. It's a good, simple, solid movie. AND it's under three hours! (My main complaint about the Indian film industry is that it cannot, for the life of it, produce a movie that is less than three hours long- this one actually is, but only by about twenty minutes). Anyways, if your in the mood for something a little different, give it a try. This one's also on watch anytime on Netflix right now.

I feel like four is a good place to stop for tonight. K bye!!!

Recent events

I'm continually making note in my phone of crazy things that happen each day that I can put on here, and I inevitably forget and the humor passes. Here are a few that I can remember:

1. On Monday I waited for an incredibly long time for the train because of an "incident" two stops away, and when it finally came, I got on, sat down, and saw...a woman wearing a halloween candy sack shaped like a pumpkin/cat (yes, both at the same time). It was sitting upright, well really she was holding it up with her left hand, which was also holding a tall plastic mug. She started yelling at everyone who had just gotten on the train, ranting on and on about how she couldn't get any sleep, no one would let her get 8 hours of sleep, especially not since she got out of prison. This continued (I'm sure)after I got off the train.

2. Right when I was getting in the checkout line at Tarzhaaaaay the other day, "Cry Me a River" came on. I have so many wonderful and ridiculous memories about that song. It made me so happy, that I didn't even care waiting for ten minutes while the woman in front of me rang up and entire cart-load of items and then couldn't find her credit card. I even felt sorry for her.I've totally been there. Hope she found it.

3. One of my roomates is writing a paper about Washington scandals and started asking all of us which we thought were the worst and why/why they were so interesting to us. Her friend cited the Watergate debacle, and as for why it so gripped her? "It's just, like, really fascinating to me, like, the level of technology they used. Like, we still use wire-tapping today in the government" (and then she went on about how advanced wire-tapping was back then and how crazy it was that they were using it) What? Pretty sure telephone tapping was not the main issue there. It was burglary, manipulation, and Nixon's recordings of people without their consent. Not by tapping into phone lines, but just using a tape recorder. Wire-tapping has been around almost as long as telephones themselves. And that's all I'm going to say. I really do like her.

All for now.

What's new

Bored of my design and wishing I hadn't changed from the old one now. It was perfect.

I've been really really falling behind on my movie posts. When I have time I will. Maybe. Here's a sneak preview: Killers was terrible, Letters to Juliet had bad costume design (the Adidas!), and The A-Team was (if such a term can be applied to this type of film) fluffy. But Liam Neeson made that more than worth the $11 ticket price.

I had tapas for the first time this week, and it was a good experience. This was (I'm guessing) a rather low quality tapas restaurant, but I have since gotten some leads on a few very good restaurants that I will definitely be trying.

This last week and a half has been almost a total loss for me work-wise. Monday we didn't work because TWC had programming for us, Tuesday one of the librarians set up visits to the Archives of American Art (inspiring) and the library that serves the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of American Art (peaceful), Wednesday she also set up visits to the American History Archives (spectacular) and the Library of American History at the National Museum of American History (small but good swag). It was really wonderful of her to go to so much trouble to arrange all of those visits for my fellow library interns and I. Also, it was just effing awesome. I had my own private geek fest. Then Thursday through today (Tuesday again) I was off work to attend the American Library Association's annual conference. It was a huge messy geeky greedy get-together of like minded folk. Lectures, discussions, vendor exhibits, and best of all, soooo many free books. Granted, they might be books I would never read if left to myself (Brian Sanderson? SERIOUSLY? Even I have my limits of geekiness), but I got them for free so now I am clearly obligated to dedicate the time.

As a closing note (I'm getting sleepy) if you have Netflix, watch the 2009 French version of "Blue Beard" (Barbe Bleue). It is spectacular, restrained, grotesque, and just very very enjoyable.

State slogans, con't.

On the OTHER hand, Maryland's used to be "Oooh, the state I'm in!"

Now that makes me want to go to Maryland. It sounds like "Oh man, you will not believe what happened while I was in Maryland!" Story of crazy vacation bender to follow. THAT's what I want my vacation to be like. Something that will fuel the gossip for weeks.

Some of the worst state mottoes:

Kentucky had two, one promoting it's mediocrity: "Oh Kentucky, You'll come to love it!" That sounds like they're just trying to set you up for disappointment, or get you to have really low expectations so you'll be pleasantly surprised. The other one: "The uncommon wealth of Kentucky" (get it, because they're the Commonwealth of Kentucky?" just gives me the heebie-jeebies for some reason. Like uncommon wealth in what, NECROMANCY?

There was a really bad Tennessee one too...thinking...

I had to go back and look it up in the boxes of maps. "Tennessee...Sounds good to me!" Like we're driving down the highway not knowing where to go, our options are Alabama, Missippi, Kentucky, etc...Meh, we'll take what's left over. Tennessee sounds good enough. I guess. Fail.

Grrrrr...

The Washington Center is the organization that is running my internship program. It is a DOT/government funded program, but TWC handles all of the logistics. So they are in charge of our paychecks. I submitted everything for direct deposit weeks ago, but all the interns had to pick up their first check in person. At the TWC office. Which is oh so very far from the closest metro station. At least it's a nice neighborhood. So at the orientation, one of the program advisors told all of us that they would be able to stay open a little late for a couple of days so interns could come pick up their checks. He also said that for the interns living in the TWC residential facility (where I'm living), somone wuld be able to drop off their checks with the concierge. Awesome.

So here we are yesterday on check day. I work every day all the hours the TWC office is open, so I'm counting on being able to get the check at my bldg or go late one day to the office. I hadn't heard anything about that though, so I emailed both my advisor and the advisor who had made the above statements to ask about it. They both reply and so "Nope, sorry, you have to come between 9:00 and 5:30. NO LATER. WE WILL NOT BE HERE. And we can't take them to the building you stay at. All of this is for SECURITY REASONS!!!" Me: "But you said...!" Them: "WE LIED!!!". Ok, that's fine, I worked over on Monday, and I took a short lunch today (which, remember, in the story is really Tuesday, not Wednesday like today really is), so I'm fine to leave a little early. I figure I'll leave at 5, metro up to Dupont, and walk over, figuring I would make it right on time. Wrong. I got to Dupont right at 5:25, and then still had a walk of about 6-7 blocks, which for some reason took forever. I did pass the founding church of Scientology on the way though, so now I know where it is when I make my visit. So I got to the door (dripping sweat, I'm sure, because I was attempting to book it, but the air was so thick and disgusting that I could barely manage a brisk walk), but the door was closed, and there was another girl just standing in front of it looking forlorn, so I assumed I was too late, they were closed. BUT THEN! The door opened, and she walked in, so I rushed to grab the door before it closed. Inside the very nice newly redone foyer (so this is what all the undergrads' $10,000 for a summer term is going to!) (seriously, $10,000!), I stood and waited for someone to come. Finally, someone did, and I told her I was there to pick up my check. "Ok, but if you come again, remember we close at 5:30, I'm only here now because we have an event tonight." Smarmy lady. Seriously. Do you not see my sweaty face? Is it not clear that I was doing all I could to make it by 5:30? AND, for all their talk about security, when I started pulling out my wallet and asked "Do you need to see ID?", she replied "Oh, I probably should have been asking for ID from all the other people who came to pick up their checks. How about this, just to check that you're you, what's your first name? Hahahahahaha just kidding" In that moment I wanted to just smack her smug little face. I'm so mean. So I got my check, had a nice leisurely walk back to the station, and went home. End of frustration? NO. The TWC had one final jab for m this morning when I got to work and received this email from my advisor:

"Hi All –
I will be at DOT today for office hours from 11-noon in room E63-124. If you have not already picked up your pay check I can bring it to you. But you MUST respond to this email and let me know that you want me to sign it out and bring it to you. I will only be there from 11-noon so please make sure you come during that time.
Nicole"

You have GOT. TO BE KIDDING ME. After all the back and forth I had with her about how hard it was going to be to get my check, she waits until the last minute to announce that this was an option? All my frustration. FOR NOTHING.

The Weepies

Not the best performance, but this has been (and will continue to be) one of my favorite songs for a very long time. It just...feels right. Like everything is ok in the world.

ALSO

This was the ...sign? logo? that I made for my shop on etsy in which I am selling nothing. AT LEAST I'M READY, OK?

I wish it had a bird in a tree in it, but I'm not that talented with computer art programs.

I should probably wait until the good camera charges so I can take some better pictures of this, but I'm very impatient, and I need an opinion now. NOW. I'm making a book for a friend's wedding and I can't settle on the color of book cloth to use. And yes I realize that there may be some of you that warrant such a gift, but this is a recent trend and I'll get around to it.

Anyways, her colors are burgandy and pink and ivory (I think) and I found this pretty japanese paper that was the best combination of all of those. I originally bought ivory cloth to go with it.

I also bought some red cloth that (in real life) pretty exactly matches the burgundy/red color in the paper. I actually bought it for the book I'll be making for Craig and Nicole's wedding (yes, to all those of you who don't know, which shouldn't be any of you, Craig's getting married. I'm officially a spinster).

But then, on another trip to Paper Source in a different location, I bought some different cloth that I actually like better for Craig and Nicole's book, but which I realized also looks kind of fabulous with this paper for this book. It's a little darker than the other red and is very shiny, more like a satin-type cloth that the matte basic coarser weave of the first two choices (and of typical bookcloth for you bookbinders).

And now I have too many choices and I can't decide. The ivory might be nice, but as it's ivory and get's dirty easily, I would make the case out of one of the red cloths. Or should I just choose one of the reds and do that for the whole thing? But which red? I DON'T KNOW. I do like the color of the first red better, it matches more exactly, but the finish of the second one is so much prettier. Or is red too bold and I should just stick with ivory?

Or be boring and go with black or brown. Or natural. Or purple ooooooo.

Usually I am awesome with these things, but this paper isn't something I would choose on my own (though I know she'll love it) so I don't know what would work best.

Edit: And actually after publishing this post, these pictures are just too crappy. I will try and take some better ones tomorrow. Phones aren't good cameras. Go figure.

I'm losing my mind

Tonight I was doing a bunch of random stuff that I needed to get done, so I had the tv on in the background. It was on TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress" because you KNOW I'm an absolute junkie for pretty things, and what's prettier than designer wedding gowns? After a couple of episodes the dismal reality show "4 Weddings" came on (four brides attend eachother's weddings and then judge them and the winner gets a honeymoon). I was kind of focused so I didn't change the channel. I went on with my stuff. A couple of hours later, the episodes had cycled through. When I realized I was sitting there staring at the same episode of "4 Weddings" AGAIN, I realized something was seriously wrong. Or it was bed time. Yes I'm lame.

I think I posted about this earlier, but I was going to take an internship this summer at a national lab in WV. It wasn't the ideal internship I had been hoping for, but it was really good nonetheless. Then, after I had already accepted and turned in all my paperwork (because the due date was approaching and at the time it was the only offer I had received), I got a phone interview and several hours later an offer for another internship in DC. It also wasn't exactly what I had been hoping for, but was a good opportunity. So I had two great internships that I was kind of indifferent about, and I spent two and a half days in frantic prayers and fasting trying to decide which was right (because apparently I was taking this decision very seriously...I'm not sure why I was so worked up about it at the time). True to past form, I didn't really receive an answer and was about to reply to DC and accept (I received the offer on Wednesday and had to accept by close of business on Friday). So I composed an email in my phone accepting the DC internship around 2 pm on Friday and was about to send it, but I still didn't feel completely convinced, so I decided to wait until the last possible minute, just in case I received a 24 style high drama answer. Because 24 is exactly like the gospel. I distinctly remember composing the email sitting in my car, and I had my thumb on the "send" button and was just about to send it but I just felt something saying "hey just wait a little while longer". Then, at 4:30, just as I was walking into Hobby Lobby, I got a call. It was from the director of the National Transportation Library offering me an internship in the archives there. This was exactly the internship that I had been hoping for and had despaired of getting. She didn't even take time to talk to me and conduct any sort of interview before offering me the position (desperate for cheap labor? I don't even care) , and she sounded incredibly excited that I was available and interested. Have you ever had an interview that went really well, and you wer excited, and you could tell that they were excited, and you just felt that click? I hope so, because it's a great feeling, but that's the way this was. I am so excited that I got the internship that I wanted, which will give me some desperately needed archival experience, and it's in DC, and housing is free (to me anyways...your tax dollars at work :) ), and it's paid, and I have something to do this summer that doesn't involve manual labor. Talk about high drama answers. I was in the "well maybe he's telling me that I need to make my own decision because they're both good or maybe I'll receive confirmation afterwards" mode. Which is not a bad mode, but I love the "hey maybe I haven't answered you because there's an even BETTER option just around the corner- just be patient" mode SOOOO much more.

Of course now it's coming up soon so my terror is increasing daily because I just GET REALLY NERVOUS, OK?!??

Anyways, it was exciting. The gospel is true.

Flipping channels this afternoon I was really excited to see Bill Nye on tv again. Granted, it was as a guest on the stupid Dr. Oz show, but still, Bill Nye the sciece guy!!! Mostly, that bought me back to 6th grade when I had the most adorable science teacher in the entire world. She was only my teacher for the first half of the year and then she left to go to grad school at Georgetown. She was probably the age I am now or a little younger, as cute as Emma from Glee with adorable hair and a sweetly retro wardrobe. She was excited about science, had slight deafness (and a small speech impediment because of it). She also had a huge celebrity crush on Bill Nye. She would talk about it anytime we watched one of his videos (which, because of her love fo him, was rather often). She was honestly just one of the cutest, sweetest people I can remember meeting, and I hope that all her wildest dreams came true (except maybe the one where she became Bill's wife). Here's to you, Ms. (insert name here- I don't remember, ok!?).

Quote of the week

"I blame Beyonce for everything that goes wrong in my life"

-Anthony from "Project Runway"

Sound thinking, Anthony. You're my hero.

I LOVE CLUTCHES! They're so chic. And I want this one.

MOHMMH

For a few months now, I have been volunteering at the National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History (whew!). Once a week, I help out at the museum archives. For the last few weeks, I've been working on the task of culling excess material out of the museum's files. They keep a file for each Medal of Honor winner (or most of them...there are around 3500) with general information like photos, medal citations (the certificate or declaration from Congress stating the reason for the award), articles, correspondence, etc... Basically anything that's not an actual artifact that is stored elsewhere in the archives. Now, I have no idea who the person was that created these files, but I'm not sure what they were thinking. Apparently that there would be lots of demand for information on these people, because in each file there are multiple copies of EVERYTHING. 6-10 copies of photos, citations, multiple original clippings of articles, blah blah blah. Basically, just buckets of unnecessary stuff. So anyways, I'm combing through,pulling out the extras, getting rid of anything that doesn't belong there, and making sure everything's in the right order (because apparently that person didn't know the alphabet either).

Anyways, the point of this is to tell you just how interesting this has been for me. I am NOT in any way a military history buff. Or any kind of history buff. It's interesting, sure, but I'd rather read fiction than non, and I've seen more battlefields than I'll ever remember. I leave that to the men in my family. They're all in the Army (some on purpose, some by accident of fate), they're all ridiculously bright, and they all love history. Even my mom, with her graveyard and family history obsession, falls right in with them. So when I first started working at the archives, I felt a bit out of place. I'm just there to get some exposure to the field, everyone else that volunteers there is a veteran, over 50, and has lived through, not to mention studied, far more history than I. It's actually kind of fun because when there are more than 3 of them in a room they all reminisce about the crazy things they did as children (filling discarded hypodermics with gasoline and lighting it for an impromptu flame-thrower) and talk about how surprised they are they made it to adulthood. It's absolutely delightful.

So my lack of knowledge in this area is the reason I'm so excited to be going through each of these files. With each one, I get to see the faces of war heroes from eras past, read their spectacular stories, and learn a little bit more about that side of American history with each one. My favorite part are the items that personalize the stories: photos, letters, even just a signature.

It's also, honestly, quite heartbreaking. Many of the medals were awarded posthumously. In some of these cases, instead of a photo of the soldier in the file, there is a photo of his loved ones at the presentation ceremony. In these photos, the president awarding the medal is invariably ecstatic, clearly impressed by the example of these men, and appreciative of the opportunity to honor them in this small way (It's really cute actually, most of the ones from WWII, which also actually make up most of the medal winners, are president Truman, and he is just beaming. In the ones awarded while the soldier was alive, they usually show him hugging the soldier or holding him about an arm's length away while he talks to the soldier. I'll paste a pic below). In the posthumous awards though, the faces of the families, tell a different story. I have not seen one that is smiling. While I am sure they are grateful for the example of their lost son or husband or brother or father, their grief and pain at his loss is strongest for them, and it is so clear on their faces. These photos hurt the most. They show that, no matter how high the honor, there is nothing that can repay their sacrifice.

So every day that I go in there, my fingers get a little dirtier with newsprint. My knowledge bank grows a little bit more. My heart hurts a little bit more. But most of all, I gain more respect and understanding for the kind of man who would knowingly sacrifice himself to save his friends. That's what keeps me going back.





(the soldier in this photo is Desmond Doss, and I'm going to tell you his story because it's amazing. He's actually from my area! Anyways, he was the only conscientious objector to win the medal in WWII. He was Adventist and refused to carry a weapon or fight or work on his sabbath (Saturday). So he got a position as a medic with a unit stationed near Okinawa. One day, his unit got in a bit of trouble, and he was the only medic left. He agreed to come help as soon as he finished his scripture study (bless!), and arrived to find his unit on a high cliff with no escape but down the cliff. He waited, under fire, and used a rope to lower 75 (75!) other people to safety. Only when all were safe did he leave his post and seek safety himself. There are also a couple of other incidents where he rushed in to treat mortally wounded soldiers in incredibly dangerous situations, and continuing treatment even after he himself was wounded.)

Some brilliant person scheduled the new season of Glee for the same night and time as Lost. I am NOT a fan.

This video is ridiculous in every way possible, and so is the song now that I think of it, but I LOVE it. Everyone should listen to it. But not too closely.

Also, there's no way to embed this in a way that fits the center column and doesn't overlap into the sidebar (I know you're sad you can't see all the tabs). Youtube fail.

Today I was switching purses because, you know, it's a new season, and I felt like a change. Even if I'm just switching back to the giant grey thing I carried all last winter. Anyways, I was transferring the "essentials", and I realized something ridiculous. My purse "essentials" include SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIP GLOSS. Excessive much? I think so. But really not- you see, sometimes you want color (that's what the Clinique and Lancome are for), sometimes you just want shine (B&BW, and Estee Lauder), sometimes you want sparkle, which is different than shine (MAC), and sometimes you want the minty freshness of B&BW mentha lip gloss. I can't kick any of them out. I must be prepared for any and all potential lip situations.

So probably no one cares about this, but I just say the most impressive presentation I can remember. Today, in my digital libraries class, we started presentations of the two final projects. The projects were 1) report on an existing digital library, and 2) use the open source digital library program "Greenstone" to build your own digital library. Most of the projects are similar to mine, people have have little idea of what they're doing with the new software. BUT one student got it in a way which I can never hope to understand. The collection I built (and everyone else's) was very basic, mostly just a list of items, not much metadata (identifying information) or organization. Which is fine, that meets the requirements. This guy though, took it above and beyond, creating multiple access points for each item, so his collection is searchable by title, author, genre, blah blah blah. The items are presented in tables (noooo idea how he did that) and all his analysis was just above and beyond. We were all blown away, having communal text chat head explosion while he was presenting. I want to be him.

I was really grateful for conference this past weekend. In the Sunday afternoon session, I was sitting there, mind wandering, thinking (of all things) about Mary and Martha. The story of Martha being "cumbered about with many things" has always frustrated me (a few thoughts on that- many people demonize Martha for not dropping everything and joining her sister at the Savior's feet. I think that this is not the correct interpretation for the incident. Mary was doing what she thought best. Martha was serving others in the way she thought best [they had to eat, right?]. How can we possibly fault someone for performing a small but necessary service? I feel that the rebuke came to her not because of her choice of activity, but because of her momentary loss of focus. For a moment, instead of focusing on her act of service, she was overwhelmed by the unfairness of the situation and focused more on her sister's actions than her own. I take this story as an admonition to maintain focus and monitor my own motives instead of worrying about the motives of others). I was thinking about a friend and how this story applied to her situation, and then (I'm not sure on this, but I think it was) Elder Schweitzer stood up, not 5 minutes after I started following this mental thread and began to talk about Mary and Martha. Everything else aside, it was a very simple tender mercy- more of a spiritual nudge, really- showing me that I and my concerns are not unnoticed. Just something to say "hey, I know you're there", which is little enough, but, you know, timely and wonderful.

I'm Oprah.

I use Google Reader to keep up with my blog reading. Obviously, that never goes all that well since I often go weeks or months without checking it (mostly because I know that when I log back in, I'll be met with daunting hoards of unread entries). That being said, I still love Reader because it makes my life so much simpler. I love you Google. With all of my tiny, shriveled heart.

Here are some things I've been enjoying recently (some of which I just barely remembered that I loved):

1. The Sartorialist is an amazing blog by sales rep turned accidental fashion photographer Scott Schuman. It started simply as a place to post photos of people he met around town whose style he admired, and not long after was included by Time magazine as one of today's 100 top design influencers. Now, obviously I am no style hound. What I love about this blog is the simplicity of his portraits: usually a lone person standing on a downtown street (most often in NYC, Paris, or Milan), without artificial lighting, some posed, some candid, and always inspiring. I do love this London girl though- she has a muff!



2. Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez is another great photography blog (weird, I'm seeing an unexpected trend. Maybe it's time to start a new hobby) that I found one dry summer day in Utah when look for a picture of perfect, foggy, rolling smoky mountain-y Tennessee to put on my desktop. The winner was one of Mr. Alvarez', who (as I found after exploring his blog) lives a short distance away from me (hence the lovingly rendered portraits of Tennessee). Apparently he's a photographer for National Geographic, with an interest in cave photography (especially when said caves contain water, which results in ridiculously dangerous situations I imagine, but spectacular photos). Browse around, there are some really fascinating photo essays, and lots of what I'm sure is great discussion about the business of being a photographer (which I usually skip over because, hello, I have no idea what he and his guest posters are talking about). Oh and yeah, some amazing photos.



3. DOCTOR WHO has been my official obsession for the last several months, but I've come to the end of available episodes (until Easter, when the new season with the new Doctor premieres). Netflix is both a blessing and a curse. Anyways, Doctor Who is the longest running sci-fi show on tv. Of course, it hasn't been consistently on the air since it debuted in the mid-60s, but it was recently revived (in 2004, I think) and has been going strong since then. From what I gather, it's something of a national obsession (if British morning news is to be believed) over there, but hasn't really gained as wide an audience here. Yet. If you like British humor, really terrible special effects, sometimes brilliant writing, or random unexpected guest appearances by people like Derek Jacobi (squeal!) or Kylie Minogue, you need to watch this spectacularly addicting show. Oh yeah, did I mention the geeky charm of David Tennant?


4. Finding out that Paper Source carries bookbinding supplies (board, cloth, tools, etc...). I'm not sure why I didn't realize this earlier, but in my defense, it IS rather hidden away on their site.

5. Potato tacos! When I was in California and in the throes of my obsession with Mexican food, I made these at least once a week, but haven't broken this out for years now They're so unexpected (before I ate real Mexican food, potatoes never crossed my mind as a filling for tacos). I usually use 3-4 potatoes, cooked till soft, and mixed with about 1/4-1/3 cup of shredded chicken. Toss in a couple of tablespoons of crema mexicana or sour cream if you can't find it (which is unlikely because even Walmart carries it) to hold it together, a couple of tablespoons of queso cotija (again, Walmart) which is basically Mexico's answer to parmesan cheese, some salt, some pepper, and smash it all together. Never use store-bought taco shells. They are the worst. Heat some oil in a skillet, fill corn tortillas with 2-3 tablespoons of your potato mixture (keeping it to the middle so it doesn't splatter in your eyes while they're cooking) and fry on both sides till brown. Serve with lettuce of chopped cilantro or salsa or whatever your heart desires. Just eat them. Authentic and delicious.

I don't have anything exciting to blog about right now.

Just a warning.

Last night I saw "Alice in Wonderland". I'm not really a fan of Tim Burton (or Helena Bonham Carter these days, except when she's ridiculous Bellatrix...or to be honest Johnny Depp, I'm not sure his career is going where he thinks it is right now) so I was not awaiting this premiere with baited breath, but you know how I love movies in general, and especially movies at midnight. They're just better.

That being said, I was really impressed. I was not creeped out as I thought I would be, it was hilarious, the costumes were insane (in the best way possible), the beasts were cuddly, the mouse carried around an eyeball for most of the movie, Mia Wasikowska has the cutest accent imaginable, Johnny Depp was...orange, Helena Bonham Carter had pigs and monkeys in place of table or chair legs, and...I want to watch it again already. Always a good sign.

So in summary, I'm mad they only had 3D and it cost me $13, but it was mostly worth that much.

All I write about these days are movies, I'm sorry. My life just isn't all that exciting. I dog-sit. I do homework. I have class on the internet (gag me). I sew. I have weekly Glee night. I gossip. I read. I volunteer. Have I written about that yet?

I started volunteering a while ago at two museums in the area. One, the National Medal of Honor Museum, has a separate archive where I spend a few hours each week. It's a tiny museum located in the local mall for the time being because the old location was a moldy flooded nightmare. The other, the Hunter Museum of American Art, is a larger, more financially sound institution where I work in the library each week. The main volunteer is Frances. She's been there for 30 years, is in her 80's, can't hear anything I say, and is rather charming. They still use a card catalog (which they are outgrowing...I keep wanting to tell them just to scrap it all and try something a bit more modern, but the curators prefer this...I have no idea why), and I do a bit of cataloging, book repair, filing, whatever. It's small but it's something to do.

I had a job interview the other day at a local college as a records clerk/counselor/something. It's one of the few I've had since I've been here, and actually went really really well. I dread job interviews. They usually go horribly, I can never think of good answers, and I always leave feeling completely stupid. This however, left me feeling brilliant. There were six people there to interview me (overkill? I think so...), which was ridiculously intimidating, but I managed to control my nervous shaking and present a calm exterior and give great answers to all the questions. I even made them laugh. It was wonderful. The thing is, I haven't heard back yet. It's been almost two weeks now. They warned that it would take a while, but I can't help but be nervous. They had 200 applicants, about 50 of whom had Master's degrees already. I suspect the only reason I got an interview was because I (apparently) know one of the administrators (I didn't even realize this until after I submitted the application, and to be honest, I didn't even remember applying or what in the world the job was when they called to set up the interview) but anyways, still waiting to hear back on that. It would really be ideal. I think that it would be similar in a lot of ways to working at IS. Only, obviously, it would pay much more.

BUT. Right now, I'm really unsure whether I even want this job or not. I have no idea what I would say if they called me tomorrow (which they won't because it's a Saturday) and offered me the job. Why? Because I've already been offered a paid internship this summer at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (heavens, what a mouthful) library. It's not really in the area I want to go into, but it's in an area of librarianship that is higher paying, and probably easier to get into. And, all that aside, it's experience (which I don't have, but need) and it pays real money (which I don't have, but need). If I took a full-time job right now, there is no way I could take ten weeks off this summer to live in West Virginia. Also, I've recently been to a national lab. And who mostly works in labs? Men. Attractive ones. So. Full-time job, temporary security, or no full-time job, start substitute teaching next week, and make myself more valuable to future employers. Which is more important. I have no idea. Please tell me.

So this post basically started off stupid, became inane, and just got really long.

Guess what? Spring break is next week. I HAVE A SPRING BREAK. Take that, world.

"Shutter Island"

quote of the day:

"If I sank my teeth into your eyeball, would you be able to stop me before I blinded you?"

Martin Scorsese, may I please send you a puppy or some sunflowers or something? Because your mind is clearly getting much too dark. And it scares me.

Also, your soundtrack is a little heavy handed. The final scene would have been much more effective if it was silent.

I made this new background with this program that I lurrrrve (http://mugtug.com/sketchpad/) but it only allows you to create images in one size, so I had to enlarge it so that it would fit in my background, but the resolution is quite low, so now it's all blurry and I don't know what to doooo.

Waa.

I feel like I should post more so that I can give my tags homes. So there's not just one post linked to each one. But that's probably the wrong reason to post. I don't really have anything interesting to say.

Yesterday was one of the coldest days of my life.
I wrote one paper yesterday, one today, and I'll have another one going tomorrow.
Just that, and there's really nothing missing to say, but...

little buddy what you want, some violent...

Dear calendar-

When I bought you, I had high hopes for the year. You were to inspire me to learn more about art nouveau, and feed my shamelessly romantic (in the traditional sense again, not the modern sense) leanings. So far, things aren't going too well for you. Luckily, a new month is coming soon, and you will have another chance to prove yourself. February can't come a moment too soon, because THIS just isn't cutting it.

Love,
Jessica.

So I was rereading an old post and I said I would post a video of Madea's crazy version of the bible when I found one. Well I found on, but it's not actually from the movie ("I can do bad all by myself") but from a play. So it's not quite as good, but I love the flow from story to story. watch it here!

Why do I have two blogs?! WHY?!?!?!

Dear What Not to Wear:

I'm REALLY glad you're starting a new season. I was getting really tired of watching the weepy ballerina episode over and over again. Some comments:

Stacy, lay off the Mystic Tan. Or, if you refuse, wear a darker shade of lipstick.

Clinton, I want to hug you and then pinch your cheeks. Never change.

Ted, I miss Nick. WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?!

Carmindy, "tooken" is most decidedly not a word.