If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
I'm better for it
I came across this video as I was listening to my last.fm library this afternoon. This is one of my favorite songs from the 90s. I loved Juliana Hatfield when I was a kid. Literally, like a 14 year old kid. Too young to ever see her play, I didn't get a chance to catch her live until I was in college. She played Caledonia Lounge and after her show I got to tell her that "Make It Home" was one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar. And of course I still remember how to play it. "Universal Heartbeat" is a track from her record Only Everything. Great video, great song.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Nothing will happen to me
When we were at Barnes & Noble on Sunday (killing some time before seeing Mirrors) I bought the novel Towelhead by Alicia Erian. It was so good that I've already finished reading it. The film version comes out tomorrow and stars the fantastically talented Toni Collette and the very suave Aaron Eckhart. While I haven't seen it, I hear that Summer Bishil, who plays 13 year old Jasira (the main character) does a phenomenal job. I read a profile of her in I think Paper magazine a while back and it made me really want to read the book.
Without giving too much away, Towelhead really made me think about how we see ourselves, how we see others and what makes people do the things they do. While Jasira could be considered a very lost little girl who often does things when she knows she shouldn't, you can't help but feel sorry for her. A lot of her actions are just reactions to things in her life that no child should have to deal with. And who says any of us wouldn't have done the same things at her age, especially if we were confused, scared or just lonely. While there are times where you just want to shake some sense in to her, at others you just want to give her a hug because you realize that's what she really needs. I think a lot of people will empathize with her.
The title Towelhead will surely shock some people as well. But I'm sure that is its intent. Racism is definitely a strong theme in the book, especially since it takes place in 1990 when the US is involved in the Gulf War. When Jasira's Irish mother sends her to Texas to live with her Lebanese father, she encounters racism from kids at school, the 10 year old boy she babysits next door, and even her own father, who, although he claims not to be a racist, does not want Jasira to hang out with Thomas, a black boy who she likes at school. Is he really only concerned that Jasira will have to face the same rough time he and her mother did when they were married? Or is it his own underlying prejudices?
I was only nine years old in 1990 and so I can't really recall the racial sentiments in the country at that time. But in the grand view of the history of the world, it wasn't that long ago. And it always saddens me that people, even 18 years ago, could hold such prejudices against others just because of their ethnic background. It still goes on today. But just maybe, this book will make people realize that racism is something that should be left in the past.
And while the sexual awakening of a young girl will surely make some people very uncomfortable, I think its important to show how necessary it is for young people, especially girls, to feel comfortable with their bodies and who they are. They should also feel comfortable enough to go to the adults in their life who they trust, respect, and look up to and have them give them honest and straight forward answers to the questions they have, without making them feel ashamed for asking them. Too many bad things can happen when there's a lack of communication, and I think that is shown quite well in the book.
Over the past few years, I've tried to read books before I see the movie. The book is better 99.9% of the time. But I have a good feeling like this movie will most certainly due justice to the book. I believe in Toni, Aaron and especially in Summer.
Without giving too much away, Towelhead really made me think about how we see ourselves, how we see others and what makes people do the things they do. While Jasira could be considered a very lost little girl who often does things when she knows she shouldn't, you can't help but feel sorry for her. A lot of her actions are just reactions to things in her life that no child should have to deal with. And who says any of us wouldn't have done the same things at her age, especially if we were confused, scared or just lonely. While there are times where you just want to shake some sense in to her, at others you just want to give her a hug because you realize that's what she really needs. I think a lot of people will empathize with her.
The title Towelhead will surely shock some people as well. But I'm sure that is its intent. Racism is definitely a strong theme in the book, especially since it takes place in 1990 when the US is involved in the Gulf War. When Jasira's Irish mother sends her to Texas to live with her Lebanese father, she encounters racism from kids at school, the 10 year old boy she babysits next door, and even her own father, who, although he claims not to be a racist, does not want Jasira to hang out with Thomas, a black boy who she likes at school. Is he really only concerned that Jasira will have to face the same rough time he and her mother did when they were married? Or is it his own underlying prejudices?
I was only nine years old in 1990 and so I can't really recall the racial sentiments in the country at that time. But in the grand view of the history of the world, it wasn't that long ago. And it always saddens me that people, even 18 years ago, could hold such prejudices against others just because of their ethnic background. It still goes on today. But just maybe, this book will make people realize that racism is something that should be left in the past.
And while the sexual awakening of a young girl will surely make some people very uncomfortable, I think its important to show how necessary it is for young people, especially girls, to feel comfortable with their bodies and who they are. They should also feel comfortable enough to go to the adults in their life who they trust, respect, and look up to and have them give them honest and straight forward answers to the questions they have, without making them feel ashamed for asking them. Too many bad things can happen when there's a lack of communication, and I think that is shown quite well in the book.
Over the past few years, I've tried to read books before I see the movie. The book is better 99.9% of the time. But I have a good feeling like this movie will most certainly due justice to the book. I believe in Toni, Aaron and especially in Summer.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
If you say so, I'll leave home
The weather was terrible yesterday but it's a lot nicer today. Fall is approaching and I'm very much looking forward to it. It was a hot summer. I've just gotten over being sick (I had tonsillitis and spent Labor Day in the ER). My mom says that I need to start taking my vitamins regularly. I'm really bad about taking my vitamins. Perhaps I need one of those trusty pill boxes with the days of the week on them? Maybe not.
I met Rachel Zoe in Bryant Park on Monday. I saw a sneak peak of her new show on Bravo, The Rachel Zoe Project, a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. I've seen a few famous people here and there since I moved to NY, but I've never actually gone up to any of them. It's almost as if they don't live in the same world as the rest of us, so when you see them outside in the "real world" it's a little strange. But I was just sitting there talking on the phone to my aunt and I saw Rachel and her assistant walk up the stairs and into the park. Rachel sat down as her assistant called somoene on the phone. When I got up to leave, I decided to say hello. She was very nice, shook my hand and said thanks when I wished her good luck with the show. I think most people's apprenhsion of going up to famous people is the fear that they'll be complete assholes. I'm happy to say that Rachel was as nice as can be.
If you don't have the Does It Offend You, Yeah CD, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, you should really get it because it's all kinds of awesome. "With a Heavy Heart" and "Dawn of the Dead" are personal favorites. I feel so out of the loop with music these days (as I've spent most of the year listening to The Duke Spirit and The Cure). However, with CMJ coming up soon, I hope to get back into the swing of things. Lots of great bands will be coming into town in the next few months and I look forward to seeing a few of them.
I recently purchased tickets to two shows that I'm VERY excited about. The first is Jaguar Love who will be performing at Mercury Lounge on Halloween. Yes, it's very cool that members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers got together to form a band. I think everyone should like them on principal alone. However, their music is actually quite fantastic.
The other post Pretty Girls Make Graves Bands for those of you interested include:
Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death (Andrea)
Night Canopy (Nick)
The Moonrats (Nathan)
The Cave Singers (Derek)
I also purchased tickets to see the one and only RIVAL SCHOOLS at Mercury Lounge November 6th. It's already sold out (as is their show at Maxwell's in NJ) so I'm SOO happy that I didn't wait to get tickets. I never got the chance to see them live and United By Fate is such an important album for me. It's SOO my sophomore year in college. Rival Schools played a show in Athens once and all of my friends went. I couldn't make it since I was out of town. They all gushed about how great the show was and I've always regretted missing it. But now I get to see them in my favorite NYC venue. Once it starts getting colder, I'll have to start rocking my Rival Schools hoodie again. If you'd like some Rival Schools merch, there's a great sale going on over at their Merch Direct store. Perhaps their making room for new merch? Rival Schools' wikipedia page says that they've been writing new material, so maybe a new album is on its way as well.
As a side note, Merch Direct is owned by Justin Beck (of Glassjaw) who is married to the beautiful Melissa Beck (formally Howard -- She was in the New Orleans season of Real World and on Girls Behaving Badly). Melissa just annouced yesterday on her blog that she's pregnant! Congratulations to Melissa and Justin. That baby is going to be all kinds of gorgeous.
I met Rachel Zoe in Bryant Park on Monday. I saw a sneak peak of her new show on Bravo, The Rachel Zoe Project, a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it. I've seen a few famous people here and there since I moved to NY, but I've never actually gone up to any of them. It's almost as if they don't live in the same world as the rest of us, so when you see them outside in the "real world" it's a little strange. But I was just sitting there talking on the phone to my aunt and I saw Rachel and her assistant walk up the stairs and into the park. Rachel sat down as her assistant called somoene on the phone. When I got up to leave, I decided to say hello. She was very nice, shook my hand and said thanks when I wished her good luck with the show. I think most people's apprenhsion of going up to famous people is the fear that they'll be complete assholes. I'm happy to say that Rachel was as nice as can be.
If you don't have the Does It Offend You, Yeah CD, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, you should really get it because it's all kinds of awesome. "With a Heavy Heart" and "Dawn of the Dead" are personal favorites. I feel so out of the loop with music these days (as I've spent most of the year listening to The Duke Spirit and The Cure). However, with CMJ coming up soon, I hope to get back into the swing of things. Lots of great bands will be coming into town in the next few months and I look forward to seeing a few of them.
I recently purchased tickets to two shows that I'm VERY excited about. The first is Jaguar Love who will be performing at Mercury Lounge on Halloween. Yes, it's very cool that members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers got together to form a band. I think everyone should like them on principal alone. However, their music is actually quite fantastic.
The other post Pretty Girls Make Graves Bands for those of you interested include:
Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death (Andrea)
Night Canopy (Nick)
The Moonrats (Nathan)
The Cave Singers (Derek)
I also purchased tickets to see the one and only RIVAL SCHOOLS at Mercury Lounge November 6th. It's already sold out (as is their show at Maxwell's in NJ) so I'm SOO happy that I didn't wait to get tickets. I never got the chance to see them live and United By Fate is such an important album for me. It's SOO my sophomore year in college. Rival Schools played a show in Athens once and all of my friends went. I couldn't make it since I was out of town. They all gushed about how great the show was and I've always regretted missing it. But now I get to see them in my favorite NYC venue. Once it starts getting colder, I'll have to start rocking my Rival Schools hoodie again. If you'd like some Rival Schools merch, there's a great sale going on over at their Merch Direct store. Perhaps their making room for new merch? Rival Schools' wikipedia page says that they've been writing new material, so maybe a new album is on its way as well.
As a side note, Merch Direct is owned by Justin Beck (of Glassjaw) who is married to the beautiful Melissa Beck (formally Howard -- She was in the New Orleans season of Real World and on Girls Behaving Badly). Melissa just annouced yesterday on her blog that she's pregnant! Congratulations to Melissa and Justin. That baby is going to be all kinds of gorgeous.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
