Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Capitalism: A Love Story

The HuffPost had a great Michael Moore article this morning.
Im watching the film later.



Also, my new hero strikes back at dumb dumb after she tries to rally her cronies to oust him, saying"Do it for the rest of America". "I look forward to an honest debate with Governor Palin on the issues, in the unlikely event that she ever learns anything about them," Grayson said. His campaign added that "[s]cientists are studying Sarah Palin's travel between Alaska and Florida carefully. They hope to learn more about the flight patterns of that elusive migratory species, the wild Alaskan dingbat."

HA!

And, Uh-hum, I happen to live in America and I think he is one of the only House Reps. that actually takes the job seriously and is not afraid to speak the truth.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

My First Scary Movie


The Silver Bullet was my first thriller/horror type "scary" movie and I watched it with my dad so it wasnt so scary. I was only around 6 or 7, so gimme a break, but it was kinda a big deal, like I could be brave enough now. But my little sister wasnt allowed to watch, partly because she was always afriad of "closet monsters" and "window monsters" so as not to add to that. Its about a werewolf that terrorizes the town and must be killed with a silver bullet.


Lets just say that movie fanned the flame that would later burn for Corey Haim. I had a huge crush. One of my first. The film Lucas was what did it for me, I was 8. Maybe it was the nerdy underdog that always tugs at my heart or the hilarious scene where the jocks smear icyhot on his most sensitive area and he gets locked outside in only a towel.




The best movie was LOST BOYS with both "the Corey's". Haim being the cute one, i thought Feldman was fugly. Its still one of the best vampire movies EVER!



I woke up this morning and saw the news ticker at the bottom of the screen.
Im so sad.

Wild Bird

Or Dream House.


This house built by architect Nat Owings in Big Sur California is the perfect blend of simple modern and cabin hideaway. It is nestled into a rocky cliff overlooking the pacific coastline as described in this 1959 Time magazine article. He built the home for himself and his wife, artist Margaret Wentworth Owings pictured here on Cathy of California'a blog (thx Cathy!).
The greatest thing about this pair is their activism and commitment to protecting the coastline and wildlife in and around Big Sur. They established the Big Sur Land Use Plan to do just that. Margaret Wentworth Owings established Friends of the Sea Otter and did extensive work to protect the sea lion and mountian lion population in that area. The two worked together, along with other conservationists, such as Ansel Adams, to established the notion of the ''scenic corridor'' - therefore no billboards or neon or intrusive decor were allowed and strict limits on roadside building were enforced along the winding road up the coast. California Route 1 was no longer part of the State Freeway and still remains a "Scenic Highway". The pair continued their environmental activism and she went on to write several books, "Voice from the Sea: And Other Reflections on Wildlife & Wilderness" released just weeks before she died.



Liberty

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Liberty at Target.


The bright ditsy florals and lush garden textiles.

I'm gonna stock up on spring watering cans, floral rain boots, feathered tea cups and tea pots and anything else I can find. It feels like a Easter egg hunt, the anticipation before the mad dash.


These dunks by Liberty for Nike are pretty fresh! But I was just kinda obsessed with the blazers a few months ago.
EDIT: I got there at 1pm and it was all gone! Woah.

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Cove


Oscar winner for best documentary. This film was very difficult to watch. It is the kind of thing i would usually have to turn off (like anything on polar bears) to avoid intense heart break and total sadness, but I needed to watch this to know. We all need to know and that is why I am so glad it won. See this film! Think! Feel it! Learn more! DO SOMETHING! Pledge NOT to go see Dolphin and Whale shows!

Dolphins and other small marine mammals are not protected by the ban on commercial whaling — but, as we shall see, the methods used are so nonchalantly brutal and gut-churningly primitive that Taiji officials are understandably publicity-shy. (And, we learn later, there are other secrets lurking beneath the town’s thriving tourist industry and cute, dolphin-shape pleasure boats.) Consequently, anyone straying too close to the kill zone — a secluded lagoon protected by steep cliffs, manned tunnels and razor-wire gates — is violently harassed by videocam-wielding fishermen hoping to record an imprisonable offense.



^Richard O’Barry, Flipper's trainer turned Dolphin activist


His drooping eyes and sagging shoulders testify to the bone-deep exhaustion of someone who has spent the last 35 years atoning, and when he gate-crashes a meeting of the International Whaling Commission, the video screen strapped to his chest is like a physical manifestation of decades of guilt.


You know there is a similar slaughter in Denmark's Faroe Islands as well as some sick sort of male right of passage. Read the article...
"I have seen the bays of the Faeroe Islands stained red with blood and I've heard the screams of mortally wounded whales pleading for their lives as insensitive brutes drunk on slaughter are showered in the hot blood of the whales, laughing and swearing as their vicious blades rape the whales repeatedly. It is a monstrous spectacle and it is an obscenity fully embraced by the Danish government and many of the Danish people.
When did concern for the environment and the protection of species become "cultural imperialism"? This is a ridiculous accusation from a country whose only claim to fame lately has been to publish cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Such is the cultural ignorance of the cartoonists that they did not know that Arabs do not wear turbans. Yet Denmark has defended the cartoons and Danes have expressed their belief that Denmark is defending Christian values in the face of Muslim extremism. This smacks more of cultural imperialism than the legitimate concern of European nations to stop the illegal killing of whales. Defending the rights of cartoonists as champions of Christian values while endorsing the illegal slaughter of whales and dolphins displays a warped sense of moral values."

I have not eaten meat in over 5 years for the reasons exposed in Fast Food Nation, Food, INC, and Meet your Meat. I refuse to eat beef, chicken, turkey, but I eat fish. Now I need to re-think my fish intake as well. Im not going to eat ANY seafood unless it is fairly local (alaska, because we cant eat fish off our coast due to heavy pollution). Horrible! This must stop! Im going to cut down on my main protein - tuna and salmon because tuna is already becoming endangered and risks harming other sea mammals and salmon because they are threatned and endangered now as well. MORE GOOD TOFU PLEASE!!!

I can not smile.

Our ocean is not meant to be RED!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Tim Burton

I think Tim Burton is a genius. My favorite film he made is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I even went to the movie theater near my house when I was about 15 to see it again for the 2nd or 3rd time alone on a rainy day. Even tho that kind of thing was greatly frowned upon by my peers at that age and kids were often calling out LONER even your just walking down the hall alone, as if someone needed to be with you at all times to ensure popular status. High school is so stupid. I remember people were saying stuff like "Hey lets drop some acid and go watch Nightmare", thats a idea, but this film is so stunning that drugs are not necessary. I used to listen to the score by Danny Elfman and knew all the words and I loved the film so much I went to see it again and again at El Capitan around halloween.
Before all that I loved Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Edward Scissorhands. (Did I mention I adore Winona Ryder?) His shorts were awesome too, like Vincent narrated by the very creepy Vincent Price and The Sandman.

Later, I also love Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, and Big Fish.

I cant wait to see Alice in Wonderland - I hope I will like it. Im sure I will, just be the sheer beauty of it. The amazing gardens, beautiful. I saw the portfolio of Daphne Yap at work and her wallpapers they used in the film are rad.

Tim Burton @ MOMA




SICK!