Meditation2

Rilo Kiley @ the Swedish Hall

The show last night was awesome. Rilo Kiley kicked so much ass. I'm predicting that their next album will really take off. Each of the three acts I saw seemed so honest and like they couldn't be any happier to do what they're doing right now-- which I deeply admire. All three of these acts have Conor Oberst connections, interesting... Anyway, some thoughts on last night.

Willy Mason
This guy has got a case of Teenage Poet Syndrome but it could definately be worse. I couldn't decide if I really liked him or not. He could sing one song and I thought he was great and then he would sing another that makes me want to see this guy get off the stage. Apparently he's from somewhere near Martha's Vineyard and ended up at school in NYC. It was there that he wrote this terrific song about dorm life (something about how dry erase boards showed your personality)-- it was so honest and would most certainly strike a chord with anyone who lived in a college dorm. But then he had these totally unmemorable songs about who the hell cares teenage issues. He was kinda like Bright Eyes without being even half as intense. Never the less, he's the kinda guy I would immediately fall in love with and be blinded by his sappy sensitivity. I bet his favorite book is Catcher in the Rye.

David Dondero
Devin's pratice-space-mate had opened up for David. I went to the show but I left early and now I regret not having stayed because this performance was quite good. My favorite song of the evening was a he had just finished writing called "Double Murder Suicide" or something like that. It was about the Golden Gate Bridge its creator, its tourists, and its suicides. It was extraordinarily funny and morbid and catchy and I just thought it was terrific. He looks a bit dopey and you can tell that he's probably really is dopey except when starts to sing and play his guitar.

Jenny and Blake of Rilo Kiley
This performance was just the guitarist, Blake (who played Ronnie Pinksy on Salute Your Shorts) and the singer, Jenny (the redhead in the 80's Nintendo movie, The Wizard) playing an acoustic set. So let me cut to the chase and say that this was one of the best shows I've ever seen. There was something about them not playing in a dark club or a boring drunken venue that was so perfect for this acoustic performance. They were bitingly honest in their delivery and unbelievably humble (started on time and no roadies!!!) and kind to the audience. They sang an Elliot Smith song without mentioning his name. At the end of the song Blake had to step off the stage and sit in the audience to get himself back together. Their last song was a sing along that left the audience wanting more. I left happy. What a beautiful thing music can be.

Rilo Kiley tonight!

I'm going to go see Rilo Kiley tonight at Cafe Do Nord... well, actually the Swedish Hall above Cafe Du Nord. Yay! And the people I'm going with are big fans, even bigger YAY! :)

The Official Font

I did not know this but the US State Department has banned Courier New from being used on official documents. The new typeface is Times New Roman. Well, I guess it's good that they're being consistentl, even though it's consistently BAD.

Ghettoooooooo

I have constructed in home photography studio with about $20.
Don't you just love it?

Well, well, well

The Evening are opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's show on March 3rd 16th at the Fillmore. Lucky for Devin he wasn't a poopyhead about me draging to him to yet another show he doesn't want to go to.

In other musically related news, my brother recently has really gotten into the music of post-feminism feminist Peaches and is now randomly reciting lyrics from her songs including, "shake, shake yer dicks," "I don't give a f_ck" "sucking on my titties like you wanted me, calling me all the time" and so on. It's more than a little disturbing to hear my brother talking like that.

My brother also mentioned to me that he heard some girl singing a cover my beloved White Stripes' "Fell in Love with Girl" except she sang it as "Fell in Love with a Boy." Not a lesbian, apparently. Anyway, I was curious and listened to a clip of the song on Amazon.... Well, I would die a musically satisfied person if I knew that there would never ever be another serious cover of a rock band's hit song.

Bored

I went to the store for some paper. I cleaned my bathroom. Did some laundry. Browsing the internet is a dull. I painted my nails (all 20 of them). I tried to figure what to wear tonight for like an hour and then decided to shorten a dowdy skirt I've never worn with a pair of scissors, no thread. I used self-tanner on my legs-- my legs have a chemical stink that won't wash off and I'm still pale. I did homework for a while but got sick of it. I read through my new cookbook. Flipped through the new issue of Lucky.

I'm so restless.

I'm gonna go buy some Pirate's booty.

I hate you t-h-i-s much!

Today HBO was showing a movie about the life of Bob Crane from Hogan's Heros. My brother was mentioning that Hogan's Heros was a very popular show despite it being controversial since they made fun of Nazis. I replied by saying that nearly every American really hated Hitler so that it probably was a good for ratings to make fun of Nazis. Then I said that back then when Americans thought of "evil" the most likely imagined Hitler and that "When I think of 'evil' I think of Hitler, then Bush... then Satan."

Yes, I actually really did say that.

Speaking of hating Bush I think it's very, very sad that he thinks it's not right for gays to marry... and it's okay to wage war?!?

Ugly in a Cute Way

I love my Ugly Doll. New York Times article on the Ugly Dolls.

The 50% Crap Show

If it sounds too good to be true then it is. The Strokes are touring with The Sounds, but at the San Francisco show they will be performing with the crapotastic, overrated Raveonettes. I am sooooo disappointed. Time to go scalp my tickets for twice the price.

A New Quiet

I can't really say that school sucks since it's really not that bad. I have a midterm on Friday but I don't think it'll be that bad since the teacher didn't spend on time explaining what was going to be covered. How I can study for something when I don't know what the test is going to be on? Two lectures and two studios is a light enough courseload so I won't go crazy and heavy enough to keep me busy. When I get bogged down I start globalizing all my problems so even the good things turn sour but it hasn't been like that.

I've been thinking about my friends. Being happy for them, being sad, but mostly being hopeful.

My dad called me late last night and told me he misses me. He's always worried that I'm not eating well enough or that I'm working too hard. In a way, I'm glad that he lives thousands of miles away because I don't take gestures like this by him for granted.

I don't remember what I was thinking about, but the other day I was wondering about something and I said to myself, "I'll ask mom next time I see her." Then of course I remembered that that's never going to happen. Sometimes I just forget she's not here anymore. Maybe this is what it's like to have a phantom limb.

I'm tired and I'm going to bed.

Valentine's Day with the boy

I bought two bottles Martini and Rossi Asti sparkling wine and headed over to Devin's around 2:30. When I got there he was boiling water for the lasagna noodles. He made a lasagna very loosely based on his mother's recipe. I'm pretty sure this was the most complicated meal he's ever cooked in his life. I was starving and I had seconds which, I think, made him very pleased. Devin preceeded to drink an entire bottle of champagne and we had a spat over my fastidiousness. (I always want Devin to do things he really doesn't want to do.) But, like always, we made up and the rest of the evening was quiet. I even played some game online with him and Dan. For possibly the first time ever, I wasn't upset at all that I lost every game.

I just realized that Devin did something pretty much only I do (cook) and I did something only he does (play video games). Wow, "all the things I detest
I will almost like."

Smitten

Horoscope: You're still smitten* with someone that could change your life forever.

Main Entry: smite
Pronunciation: 'smIt
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): smote /'smOt/; smit·ten /'smi-t&n/; or smote; smit·ing /'smI-ti[ng]/
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English smItan to smear, defile; akin to Old High German bismIzan to defile
transitive senses
1 : to strike sharply or heavily especially with the hand or an implement held in the hand
2 a : to kill or severely injure by smiting b : to attack or afflict suddenly and injuriously
3 : to cause to strike
4 : to affect as if by striking
5 : CAPTIVATE, TAKE
intransitive senses : to deliver or deal a blow with or as if with the hand or something held
- smit·er /'smI-t&r/ noun

Blah, blah, blah

Is the word "dude" gender neutral?

My room smells like weed, but I'm not smoking any. It's a very thick, stinky, stinky, weed.

Quiz: What kind of drunk are you?
Affectionate Drunk
When you go out, you're all over everyone that you meet. It's possible that you're reserved when you're sober, but get a little wine in you and you're behaving as though perfect strangers are your oldest friends. Your friends probably think you're high-maintenance.

Quiz: What type of bum are you?
Bag Lady
You are a collector of many junk heap treasures, but hey, at least you're happy...... sorta.

Quiz: Which reality TV rich girl are you?
Ally Hilfiger
You're a sweet person, but your frequent mental breakdowns don't suit you. Go party some more.

Physical Attraction Test

I took a physical attraction test. It basically only reaffirmed what I already knew. Here's a peice of the results. I'll post the full results when I have more time.

According to the test here are...

"My Type"

"Maybe My Type"

"Not My Type"

The Ideal Show

I am so psyched!! The Sounds and The Strokes are going on tour together. That is so f_cking awesome! And lucky me I get access to the pre-sale tomorrow for the Warfield. Sweet. ::dance of joy::

I ♥ bureaucracy

It's wonderul that my schools love me so much and think of all my needs.

I-am-asian.com

Okay, so McDonald's wants to fatten up the asian market by making this website, but WTF? Why is the url i-am-asian.com? Is there more McDonald's propaganda at i-am-fat-ass.com too?

Someone to lean on

If you* are ever broke and hungry I'll make you soup.

*You know who you are.

Be happy

My exboyfriend was always telling me, "Be happy." I hated hearing that from him because I felt like expressing my sadness wasn't allowed-- like the sad parts of me weren't allowed to surface and I should just keep it all hidden. I was really upset last night for reasons I can't quickly explain, but the point is that I was going on and on crying and thinking of how hopeless I feel. Devin said he wished that that part of me would stop, sorta like what my ex used to mean when he said, "Be happy." And I got mad at Devin too because I thought that he was not accepting my whole emotional self, the happy parts and the sad parts. I kept thinking, 'oh, what's so wrong with me? why won't anyone love the whole me not just when I'm happy.' It really hurt deep down to think that some parts of me were not worthy of love and friendship.

But really it is unacceptable to be really upset. That part of me should just only exist as a teeny tiny peice of me. I really should make it stop. It makes me feel bad and it make other people feel bad. Even when I keep it to myself, bottled up, it comes out in other ways and people know there's something negative going on. They don't want that toxicity around them. I don't want to exude bad energy. I don't want to feel down, but it's hard to change.

Yeah, right

My ethics teacher asked us to write a 2 page paper on the following questions:

What is the nature of humans?
What is the human condition?
What is our destiny?
What must we do to get there?

What the hell do I know? If you do, let me know ASAP.

Racist?

The DVD for Lost in Translation was just released on Tuesday and I've watched it twice already. There was never a question in my mind that the movie was at all racist but after the film gained critical attention I started to wonder if it was or not. I recall one Japanese American women on NPR saying that the film wasn't clearly racist and wasn't clearly not either. It's hard to say. I think that if you take sound bites out of the film it does appear to be racist, but as a whole I think the portrayal of the Japanese in the movie is done with an attempt to show how Americans in Japan feel about being in a different culture. I agree that yes the Japanese characters are shown in one-dimensional roles... the prostitute, the confusion of L's and R's, the wild TV talk show host, and so on, but if you look carefully at the movie as a whole all the characters except Charlotte and Bob are depicted without substance. Charlotte's American husband is a typical artsy photographer, Anna Farris plays an American blond bimbo actress into "power cleansing" and the lounge singer is an American who does bad renditions of "Scarborough Fair."

As an American who has been to an Asian country I found the movie to really resonate with the emotions of an American in Asia. A typical tourist in any country will only see the foreign country as a caricature, not for its true complexity. I think the overall feeling of the character is meant to show their confusion of being displaced-- their feeling of being lost, lonely, and a bit scared of reaching out. When you're in a new place and vulnerable you want to find what's familiar and cling to it. So Charlotte and Bob become friends because they're both foreigners. I don't think they ridicule the Japanese and its culture they're just experiencing culture shock. Remember that Charlotte has Japanese friends and interacts with them just like any other friends would do and Bob tells his wife on the phone that he wants to start eating more Japanese food. They've both learned something about Japanese culture and appreciate it.

This group, Lost in Racism, is trying to get Oscar voters to not vote for Lost In Translation but I think the campaign is misguided. If they really want to change the portrayal of Asians in the entertainment industry stop movies like Kill Bill and The Last Samurai and speak out against other movies showing racist stereotypes like the Friday series and Bad Boys which, I think, are unquestionably racist and far more popular among, for lack of a better phrase, stupid Americans. Racisim isn't easy to stop so I truly respect that Lost in Racism is trying to do something about it, but spending $3,000 to run an ad in Variety against Sophia Coppola's movie isn't gonna do it.

ed (2.6.04): Lost In Racisim has cancelled their fundraising efforts to run the ad in Variety. See, even they think that was a bad idea too.

Deep thoughts

What some kids think about some rock songs including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ("It's making me think about doing bad things like putting snowballs down my sister's back").

Rocking Out

William Hung is my a hero. He is a man of true courage and genuine confidence. I wish I had as much conviction in my passions. It puts a tear my eye. Keep rocking out, man.

Wardrobe Malfunction

"I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl. It was not intentional and is regrettable."
--Justin Timberlake

And here's the picture since I'm betting most of you missed the halftime show.

What the hell?!?

me: i was watching the halftime show
me: it was CRAZY
me: Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson were performing together
me: and then Justin Timberlake ripped the cup of Janet's corset off
me: and now i know that she has a nipple ring
Devin: whoa, it showed her teat on television?
me: yeah
me: f_cking CBS
me: they don't show the MoveOn ad
me: but they show her nipple

Millions of American just did a double take. Tivo owners are hitting rewind.

Correction: It's a pastie of some kind not a nipple ring... but who knows there could be a nipple ring under there.