Ideal Scraps of Life

Things making me happy this week: May 1 -7, 2011

2011-05-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

Bossypants on audiobook: Tina Fey making voices and reading this is a gem even more than reading it in your head. I promise. This is how she wanted you toexperience it. What makes it extra special is this free audiobook coupon with a fourteen day trial at audible.com.

Positive, heartwarming comedy: Parks and Recreation and Jimmy Fallon are bringing the cuddly into comedy in the best way. Sure, there was a woman-on-woman fight scene in this week's Parks, but the end scene with Leslie and Ron was sure to make even the most heart-hard (is that even a thing? I might have just made it up) viewer say a silent "aw". And Elmo on Fallon was part precious, part hilarious, and slightly crude in the world of Sesame Street. It was still 100% adorable.

Celebrity fangirls:

I haven't read the Hunger Games trilogy yet, but it's on the top of my summer reading list.

Graduating: Sure it was raining and windy, but four years over in a blink. Now it's time to find a job, both exciting and nervewrecking.

TV in 7 words: May 2 - 6

2011-05-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

How I Met Your Mother

COCKAMOUSE MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN, totally called it.

The Good Wife

Frustrating characters make for great complex television.

Modern Family

Perfect show for Mother's Day, just as needed.

Community

It's back to form. I'm loving it.

Parks and Recreation

A break from sexual tension, just as needed.

The Office

Where's Michael Scott? Don't worry, still funny.

30 Rock

Weird show is still weird, that's all.

The Big Bang Theory

Mind-numbing sitcom. Amy is a favorite.

Fringe

What!?! Countdown to fall premiere starts now.

Doctor Who

Never thought pirates could be boring.

Nine years, seven months, and twenty days since nine-eleven

2011-05-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

...

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

...

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will — remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own.

Full text

I've been following the news since about 7 pm while I was taking a break from writing one of my last undergrads paper by watching The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon and looking through my twitterfeed that the President was planning to announce... something. And that something turns out to be a something that caused me to stop everything I was doing (like getting my paper done on time, which is a first in my entire education) to sit and read and reflect. My emotions have been on a rollercoaster trying to sort through my overwhelmed state.

I can't celebrate a death. Not even of someone who is responsible for thousands of deaths. I don't think that's where wisdom and truth comes from, so I refrain from it. But I'm relieved and proud of my country and everyone involved in this event. I'm just overwhelmed. It took almost a decade, but we did it. The details are continuing to leak out, and I'm taking a break from looking at them to jot this for posterity sake.

What happens now and what does this mean? I'm not sure anyone can predict. We'll still fight bad guys, try to stay true to our values, make friends and enemies. What does this change? I'm trying to answer, at least partially, and I can't come up with anything. Not that I should, but it would make it feel a little better. American Embassies received a warning about possible retaliation attacks. When does it end?

But really, what a ride this weekend. The jubilant party of last night's Correspondents' Dinner to the capture today of the number one most wanted for almost ten years. I don't think he can beat this weekend for the rest of his life if he tried.

It also reminds me how difficult this job is. That you do so much and can't talk about most of it. That a lot of it doesn't pan out so you can't talk about it. But when it works, it works.

Things That Made Me Happy Last Week: Third Week of April 2011

2011-04-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

It's all connected, so I chose three things that made me happy last week.

01. Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. The main reason I chose this is because the panel each choose one thing that made them happy that week to end each show. And I started listening to the podcast again after a few months hiatus.

02. Parks and Recreation! If you've been in my vicinity at all since Thursday, you have heard me talk about this show. It's adorable and smart and you should be watching it. Ben Wyatt, human disaster, does not disappoint, my friends.

03. I've once again been compulsively going through my Tumblr dash and remembering why I love it so much. I often have to rotate my internet time and last week I went through a big Tumblr time, which brilliantly coincided with great Parks and Recreation posts to look through. And Doctor Who is back in action! And in America! Generally I go through three main bursts of interest: television (Tumblr), style/fashion (google reader), and current events/politics (news emails, twitter). Then the cycle starts over again.

I also had a absolute blast in Portland for the #IAMDONALD tour with Donald Glover and his rapper alter ego Childish Gambino on Saturday. I snagged a setlist and all.

That is pretty much my week in a nutshell. I should probably be working harder since it's the last few weeks of my undergraduate life.

March: favorites and finds

2011-03-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Blog Crushes!

Milk Teeths

I've been reading this blog for a while and love her thrifting adventures!

Avalonne Hall

Found this girl last month and am forever delighted by her words, images, and style.

The Good Wife

I watched the first season in a week and I'm in the middle of the second season. I will definitely be caught up by the end of the week, probably by mid-week and it full of glory for me. I love the little politico in-jokes (Rahm! Ben Smith! etc. etc.). I don't love everything (the kids are annoying, I'm already bored with Blake since he's only been a device to further Kalinda's backstory), but overall it's ace. And a character Matt Czuchry plays I can get behind! And I'm a little infatuated (read: completely) with Will Gardner even though I shouldn't be.

Next up: season three Merlin or Twin Peaks. I'm betting the latter will happen. Excited!

And I already posted some of my favorite music as of late, but some new Childish Gambino
never hurt anyone, right? (I still recommend The Head and the Heart and The Lonely Forest wholeheartedly.)

Stores

This is just a cheat because I bought some goodies at the NBC Store. I also got something from Friday Night Lights but forgot to photograph it. :)

No time for sleep: TV and NYC

2011-03-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

First off, this week's comedy line-up was superb! I am mostly speaking about How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Community, The Office, and Parks and Rec. All incredibly funny and touching in 22 minutes or less this week.

Next, some photos from New York. I had the most amazing time last week traversing the city. I cannot wait to go back! I stayed at a friend's family friend's condo in midtown, right across the street from the CBS studio by the river. Couldn't have asked for more!

Sunday: Just arrived. Walk through Chelsea with some locals (friend's great-aunt and uncle). Japanese food, then Turkish coffee/tea and dessert. Peruse Times Square. Happythankyoumoreplease at Angelika's Film Center.

Monday: Shopping in Soho. Spring Street Natural for lunch. Japanese erotica for dinner. Drinks and midnight diner food with friends.

Whoops. No photos to post.

Tuesday: Soho, Nolita, and Greenwich trekking (more shopping). Junior's Diner for brunch. Magnolia's in Soho. Meme for early dinner. Memphis on Broadway. Serendipity for night desserts. Bumped into Katie Holmes and Suri. Paparazzi swarm.

Wednesday: 30 Rockefeller Center. NBC Tour [lame]. Magnolia's on 6th. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon taping [awesome]. Amy Poehler and Tiger Woods. Bill Cunningham New York at Film Forum [recommended].

Thursday: Brooklyn. Art museum and botanical garden. Jamaican for lunch. Beacon's Closet in Park Slope. The Chocolate Room. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway [with Dan Radcliffe].

Friday: Lower Eastside [Kat's Deli]. Chinatown. Gremacy Park. Upper Eastside. Bloomingdale's. Goodwill. Dean and Deluca. Metropolitan Museum.

We didn't take as many photos as we should have, but that just shows how much we were enjoying our time, right?

A brief pause

2011-03-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks has been a big blur. I went from rushing to get the first draft of my thesis done while studying for midterms (last ones for a while!) to rushing around New York City and having the most amazing time with my friend. Now I'm back to the grind of university and wishing I was still in New York. Look for a recap of my delightful trip later this week.

Today I wanted to express my gratitude for my life. My dad was talking about his upbringing at dinner this weekend. I knew he came from a poor farming family in Vietnam, but he doesn't talk about it much. He talked about not going to school because he was hungry, not wearing shoes except to go to the market or a celebration because they couldn't afford it, and taking a chance to leave his country with only the clothes on his back into an unknown destination. It's inspiring to see how far he's come and only a little bit of pressure to make my own leaps in life.

This leads me to thoughts of those fighting for their voices in the Middle East and North Africa, and the cruel lessons that even in a wealthy country disaster can strike at any moment.

I've also been impressed with all the lovely aesthic projects online whose proceeds go to the Red Cross and other relief organizations. This Colossal has a great archive post of some of them if you want a little something extra to show your support. The poster above is by Linda Yuki Nakaniski.

In this time of job searches between research papers and trying to enjoy the last few weeks with the people I've met in the last three years, it's easy to forget about where I've come from and what that means. It's easy to forget how blesssed a life I lead and it's important to take a few moments to recognize the sacrifices that created this journey for me to enjoy.

And some gifts for you, highly recommended new music from Seattle-area bands!

The Head and the Heart, "Cats and Dogs" and "Coeur D'Alene"

The Lonely Forest, "Live There" (new album out today!)

A Belated NPR Valentine's!

2011-02-15T19:26:00.001-08:00

To celebrate turning in my NPR internship application today, have some delightful Valentines from NPR!

More at NPR. You really can't get better than public radio.

Seven years bad luck...

2011-02-09T23:10:00.000-08:00

My poor mirror fell face first from my vanity set-up [pool cue rack with drawer and mirror]. Not a great way to start my [lunar] new year or my 22nd year of life! It's worse feeling like I could have stopped it. It's been two days [well, a day and a half], and I still haven't cleaned it up yet.

Super Sunday!

2011-02-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

First, Happy Lunar New Year! For the Vietnamese, the New Year lasts several days and we're still in the middle of celebrating! Do some good. Visit some friends. Start the year off right!

Next, I'm not viewer (or player) of sports, but I did manage a semi-Superbowl oriented dunch today (between lunch and dinner).

Grilled cheese with onions and guacamole (always homemade); side of refried beans, two olives, chips and guac, grapefruit to end; Dr. Pepper instead of beer because I need not be drowsy before bedtime tonight - too much to do!

Lastly, I bought this little number over the weekend and am currently wearing it under my robe. So cute, so vintage. Not very practical winterwear, but I'm indoors the rest of the day.

Until later! [I'm in the midst of thinking of a good end phrase - please see How I Met Your Mother 4.14 - "The Possimpible".]

February 2011: New Month, New Favorites.

2011-01-30T18:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't shared this before, so I will say: I love Parks and Recreation. It's cute, it's funny, and it's a love letter to local government. A delightful little show that had a really rocky start, but grew into itself in its second season and is blooming in its third season [which started up in January]. If you haven't seen it, go watch it! If Amy Poehler is not enough to make you watch, I am now in love with Adam Scott [not the first time] and Aziz brings a necessary kick - but let's face it, this is an ensemble show that makes great use of all its characters. It's beat Community as my favorite comedy this season. [Bored to Death is now my number two.]

As an ode to my favorite drama for the past five years - Friday Night Lights will be a beacon to me for network drama. It gets a lot of flack for being "a show about football", but as a non-sports fan, I still love this show to pieces. It's about family, growing up, and making the right choices. Brilliant acting, brilliant writing, brilliant cinematography. This show is my heart. It also might be an unpopular opinion, but I like the new cast better than the old.

Style

My go-to winter wear has been oversized sweaters and wool in general. Especially Ann Taylor Loft cape. The cape I bought last winter at a ridiculous sale price. It was the last one in the store and it was in my size [and an extra 50% off because it was in the sale section!]. I was wanting it the entire winter, and found it. I went off to Vietnam a few weeks after I bought it, so it has only this year gotten a lot of wear.

Thanks to their half of sale sales, Ann Taylor Loft and GAP have made a nice home in my wardrobe as of late, and growing.

Blog

The Coveted [edited: it is now The Coveteur] is my favorite January find. Click on a post, scroll to the bottom, click on a picture, and you have a wonderful slideshow of a fashion industry-er's favorite items and some stories behind them. An absolute thrill, and great photography! It deserves a post of its own, but because I am a horrible blogger, it gets this mention. Not only does it have amazing photography and fashion, the design of the site is unique and fresh. The front page is a collection of posts, in each post is a blurb about a fashion insider, some of their favorite inspiration from the web. Scroll down and there's a series of pictures of their things in their home. Hover over a photo and you get a blurb about the image. Click on the image and you have a sildeshow with the blurbs and images that you can control with your keyboard or by clicking! I'm in love.

Event

Uprisings in MENA [Middle East, Northern Africa] has made me glued to my twitter and grown my instaread by leaps and bounds. I'm pretty flexible about government styles, but I do believe in a responsive government. Historic moment right now. Let's let their voices heard.

This was fun! New plan: favorites post about whatever tickles my fancy. Hopefully I will be posting again soon!

Even death is not feared by those who lived wisely.

2011-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

My great grandmother passed away last Sundayv (she's the eldest woman in the photos - mother of my mother's father). The subject is a quote from the Buddha.

I've learned more in the past few days about my family's religious traditions than I have the rest of the time I've been alive. In the Vietnamese-Buddhist tradition, there are many Buddhas that are venerated (sixty-two, I think). My great grandmother's funeral rituals lasted more or less two days. Rituals continue for another lifetime as kin keep the spirit of the dead alive. My father is anti-organized religion, but it was enlightening (pardon the pun) to see a religious side of my mother's family. My great grandmother was very religious; she meditated and read Buddhist prayer everyday, and even kept vegetarian for decades. The remains after her cremation left purple and green bone fragments that, according to Vietnamese lore, means she's resting with the Buddhas in the sky/heavens. This has been one of the few times I've hoped for an afterlife. My great grandmother was one of the most patient, kind-hearted, gracious person I've ever met. Even though we had massive language barrier, I could tell that she was a pure and genuine person. She was religious, but not preach-y. She grew up when women didn't go to school and was forced to marry young, having only my grandfather. She was forgiving to a fault, and I do hope she's resting peacefully now. After her long life, she deserves the best any world can show.

Tragedy in AZ

2011-01-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

There are no words to truly express the tragedy that occurred in Tucson earlier today/yesterday. I just wanted to say that my thoughts are with the victims and their families. It's still shocking, even after all the poisonous words in our public discourse the past few years, that something like that would happen. It strikes at the core of our values as a democratic nation, that something as earnest and routine as meeting with your representative can end so horrifically. That a Federal Judge can be stopping by after church to say hello and a nine year old girl, recently elected to her student council body and invited by her neighbor for a learning experience in democracy can suddenly not be with us anymore. One of the most important aspects of a republic like ours is trust, and I feel like that is rapidly dissolving.

We can disagree without being disagreeable.

Please let someone good come out of this tragedy. Please let us learn that we cannot replace civil political debate with violent rhetoric. Please let us learn.

Hello Twenty-Eleven

2010-12-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

“Before, this city was like a geeky kid sister, and now it's getting noticed by all the older boys. We've got curves now.” [Helena Andrews, one of BLTWY's 35 under 35 who is changing Washington D.C.]

2011 means a lot to me as a soon-to-be college graduate. So I, more than some, hope 2011 shapes out to be one of my best years yet. I might still consider myself the geeky kid sister (despite being an older sister), but by the middle of the year, I hope to be sitting in or around D.C., making a life for my twenty-something self.

I've also started a new tumblr for excerpts of news articles and some commentary if anyone wants to check it out.

Monday Music; Water & Candy

2010-11-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

Another blog reboot fail. One day I will make it past two posts!

I did manage to make a mix for a friend, so here it is:

01/ All Summer; Kid Cudi, Best Coast and Rostam of Vampire Weekend

02/ All Day Day Light; The Morning Benders

03/ Release Me; The Like

04/ Boyfriend; Best Coast

05/ Paris (Ooh La La); Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

06/ Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin; Mayer Hawthorne

07/ Bullfighter Jacket; Miniature Tigers

08/ Eat That Up, It's Good For You; Two Door Cinema Club

09/ Prince of Tacoma; BOAT

10/ The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade; The Joy Formidable

11/ Generator ^ First Floor; Freelance Whales

12/ Animal; Neon Trees

13/ The Ghost Inside; Broken Bells

14/ Suzie; A B & The Sea

15/ Camera Talk; Local Natives

16/ Home; She & Him

17/ The Cave; Mumford & Sons

18/ What's In It For?; Avi Buffalo

19/ Ghosts; Laura Marling

20/ Older; Band Of Horses

21/ Science Fiction (Demo); Timothy Rabbit

This mix is longer than my usual because it was originally intended to be a birthday mix. It ended up being five months late, but better late than never, right?

I have been keeping better tabs of what I read and see on the internet, so maybe that will help in organizing and getting posts up. I'm also considering that I need to cut down on sleep to get more things I want to do in my life.

**Maybe I'll even let my friend take pictures of me again, but probably not because I am the most awkward model in the world.

TV Round Up: 30 Rock, The Office, Fringe, and Undercovers

2010-10-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Hello patient readers! I'm going to try to start a better posting schedule so I can refresh my brain and organize my thoughts better. Of course, this is not the best week for me to be starting, but we shall see how it passes!

Out of schedule, I would like to share a few little snippit thoughts on some shows this week. This Thursday in particular was amazing for me as a viewer.

30 Rock, The Office, and Fringe were my far my favorites. Those episodes are some of my favorite of the entire series of the shows thus far.

30 Rock because I am a sucker for politics and I loved Queen Latifah's Representative Regina Bookman. I hope she comes back. The race dialogue in the show was especially interesting as I just finished reading Watching Race by Herman Gray that dissects presentations of blackness in television in the 1980's and early 90's, including the role of exceptionalism (Twofer) that is explored in the episode.

The Office was just pitch perfect for me. I'm one to still have high regard for the show since Jim and Pam got together. I think the writing is still superb week-to-week, even if my fan enthusiasm has waned, but this week just filled me with joy. Seeing Andy sing, the unrequited aspect of his feelings for Erin, seeing Jim and Pam grow up, Michael's silly shenanigans, Darryl. It all just worked so perfectly. I laughed, I ached, I did all the things that needs to be done. It probably comes down to seeing Andy in Sweeney Todd.

And Fringe. Playing with the new alt!world is allowing the show to grow more than it would have normally. Watching Olivia try to retain her old memories and getting to know the alt!world is more memorizing than I expected. It's like seeing another side to the characters you know and love.

As far as least favorite, Undercovers was underwhelming for me this week. I am a fan of the lightheartedness of the show, and the spy genre in general, but this week was flatter than the other two. I'll keep on it because I still find the show charming and cute, nothing serious to wrap my brain around, but I am finding their trope a little trite and I don't know how long I can keep it up if every episode is the same. Let's see some development! Just a little? It doesn't have to be a super serious spy show to have some substance.

These are not the only shows I watch, but I just felt so much love for these episodes I had to share.

{Photos from FOX and NBC}

Monday Music #001

2010-09-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about how I have several playlists sitting on my computer that I feel like sharing a couple months ago. I am now posting them. No cover art for this one, I just wanted to get back to posting.

01/ 3 Rounds And A Sound; Blind Pilot
02/ You Can't Force A Dance Party; Dent May & His Magnificent
03/ Sofia's Song; Sufjan Stevens
04/Hold the Morning; Hey Marseilles
05/ The Garden That You Planted; Sea Wolf
06/Cover My Eyes; La Roux
07/ Passing Afternoon; Iron & Wine
08/ This Boy; James Morrison
09/ You Got Growin' Up To Do; Joshua Radin
10/ Mosquito; Ingrid Michaelson
11/ Open Fire; Sarah Mac Band
12/ Gone For Good; The Shins
12/ Blue Eyes; Mika
13/ Jodi; The Dodos

Download Lazy Sunday Drizzles Mix

Between classes, work, fashion week, tv premier time, upcoming election, and the constant news cycle, my life is in shambles, however I am considering starting a fashion blog with a dear friend. It'll probably be on Tumblr because I love that platform a lot. Maybe I'll get my butt into gear and post about my fall tv schedule. It's pretty packed at this theoretical point trying to figure out what new shows to watch.

Distracted Media: Islamaphobia versus important stories

2010-08-16T02:18:00.001-07:00

{image source: uzairm, NASA}

{Photos from Boston Globe's Big Picture}

Really, this fiasco surrounding the Islamic community center two blocks from ground zero is completely absurd, but I figure I would officially put my claim to the "endorsing it" camp. There are a million other places to get a play-by-play of all the hatred flowing around surrounding Park51 and, I guess since it matters?, the is-Obama-a-Muslim debate, which of course matters.

Instead, I'll focus this little post on the tragedy occurring in Pakistan right now.

20% of the country is flooded.
5-6 million are displaced.
20 million affected, 6 million children.
2.7 million in need of life-saving medical attention

Ways to help:

Text "FLOOD" to 27722 to donate $10 through the US State Department's Pakistan Relief Fund or online.
UNICEFUSA
OxFam
Red Cross
World Food Program
More info at NYTimes and this post

More photos:

For more cheeriness, UN Dispatch's top five most ignored humanitarian crises.

In defense of: The Jonas Brothers

2010-08-05T01:16:00.000-07:00

I've been sitting on this post for a while (it's been sitting in my drafts for a couple weeks) and this topic has been running in my head for quite a bit longer than that. I figure since I haven't posted in a while, I figure I will just throw caution to the wind.

The first in my "In Defense Of" series, I will try to explain my undeniable love for, of all things,The Jonas Brothers and most things they touch.

I hate the term "guilty pleasure", because as the wise John Mayer once said "I don't believe in guilty pleasures, I believe in pleasure". He might be talking about prostitutes, I'm not sure. The point stands that if you like it, you shouldn't feel pressured to feel like you shouldn't. If that makes sense.

This is my relationship with the JoBros since I'm a little bit older than their normal demographic, and, I hate to use this phrase, but cool (because I don't really know what cool is - but most of my music is described as indie, another term I hate to use, but describes what I need for now). I've never seen an episode (or even a clip) of Jersey Shore, I don't have the taste for trashy reality tv. It doesn't make me feel better about myself (as my friends and reviewers have mentioned for watching such entertainment).

But I do have an affinity for saccharine sweet, hooky pop music at the right time. Summer is usually my peak of such notes, this one is no exception. Yes, they're a little bit hokey, but that's part of the fun. And I like to think they don't take themselves seriously.

This would't really be a problem if I didn't have so many opinions about these boys and their endeavors that I have no one to share with. But I think it's easier for me to deal with this group in particular (I also enjoy the occasional country-pop no-longer teen, but don't have the same fondness for her character - and constantly pick at the grammar and structure of her songs) because I feel they do all this with a little wink the to side. Sometimes I will listen to a song and burst out laughing (often...). I feel I'm laughing with them and not at them, but who knows. My delusions save my feelings of guilt from becoming too powerful. Maybe I think they're more self-aware of themselves than they are, or maybe not.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to prove with typing this out, this has just been something on my mind often. How I do have reasons for enjoying music aimed at audiences half my age; it's hooky, they write their own music, they haven't folded their personal values (as far as we know), they're hilarious, adorable and growing more and more attractive (thank goodness they have left behind the long-straighten-their-hair days), and have better style than most kids. They strike me as genuine, which is hard-to-come by in this fast-paced, self-edited world we live in.

I will probably never see them live as much as I find them to be great entertainers and would love to see it, something about the price and the thousands of screaming tweenage girls repels me, but they make me happy and I shouldn't feel guilty of that.

Reading list: July/August 2010

2010-08-05T00:50:00.001-07:00

First. Happy Belated 49th Birthday to my President.

Second. A little relief in the overturning of proposition 8 in California for now. Longer thoughts later. (A little bit from me here.)

And third, my pile of books and other readings:

From left to right. You Shall Know Our Velocity by David Eggers. I'm almost done with this one and it's brilliant, as Eggers is to me. A fictional travel memoir about two lost boys in their twenties. Pretty great.

The Mars Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. This is not your light and fluffy read, though it is short (268 pages, big font and small pages). Series of vingettes (are they that?) during the time Earth starts expeditions to Mars. As Ray says, it's not really a sci-fi novel, it's a human novel that takes place on another planet.

Livability by Jon Raymond. Short stories about middle-class living in America to cleanse the palate.

So, I call myself a geek, but I'm not a comic book reader, as much as I've wanted to be. I'm starting now. I did read a few Scott Pilgrim graphic novels a couple summers ago, and soon I will start with Watchmen.

I don't know why this photo is vertical like this because the file certainly is not. I like fashion magazines. Pictured are Vanity Fairs and Elles and a New Yorker. I also enjoy Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Lucky, The Atlantic, etc.

Now it's bedtime because I have to wake up in eight hours to get to work. (I was able to get my work study job a few weeks early!)

Thoughts: Living an external life

2010-08-02T02:42:00.000-07:00

Let me just say first, that since using Chrome on my lovely little netbook for five months (let's call him Quintin - Quinn for short), it's been hard getting back to Firefox. I now use Chrome on my bigger laptop (Herbert, I think - Herbie for short) most of the time, and sometimes use Firefox. When I do use Firefox, I realize that I miss it, but really, Chrome is faster. Sigh. And thus ends my #firstworldproblem of the day.

{thxthxthx}

I was reading an article from the New York Times ("I Tweet Therefore I Am" by Peggy Orenstein) that at first I disregarded, but have been pondering for a few days. Her take that she was so focused on writing the best tweet, or to distilling her everyday activities into concise, shareable sentences, that she was losing some part of living. Me, I try not to tweet too many "personal" notations - I try not to narrate my life on my twitter and share other things, but I'm also on many other "social networks" that I deliberately edit my interests and myself accordingly. I feel too edited now.

I saw someone mention on Tumblr that the thing they like most about John Mayer is that he's honest. And it's true. He says things you don't agree with - he seems to have the most mish-mash of interests - but he's honest about them. I have a hard time with that sometimes. I will turn off my audio scrobbler if I am listening to an artist deemed uncool for various reasons for a long amount of time. This whole judgmental atmosphere disheartens me, but I buy into it too. Vicious cycle. Being me feels harder now than a few years ago for some reason.

I should just throw caution to the wind and let the judgments fall as they will.

Day life: Fun in Portland-town

2010-08-01T15:54:00.001-07:00

I am terribly irregular when it comes to posting. This is why my life is contained in lists most of the year. I did go to Portland this weekend to visit some friends and my favorite city.

The first stop was to the Bridgeport Ale House on Hawthorne. I got the porter, yum!

We stopped to smell the roses on the way to renting some movies at...

Movie Madness! Where you can find fun movie memorabilia collected by the owner. We rented the fourth season of Doctor Who for my friend Abby and her parents' marathon of the new series, and The Brothers Bloom with Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, and Rachel Weiss. Loved the movie, disappointed in the end, sort of. I put my own theory to the ending that I love.

The next night we went to Movie in the Park and watched Pretty in Pink. Here's the pink Voodoo Donuts' truck!

Afterwards, we dropped by the Pied Cow for some warm drinks and conversation trying to do a British accent. We did manage to go through almost the entire conversation bumbling through sounding slightly-British, but would drop it when we talked to the waitress.

Two less-personalized posts to be up this week. Summer reading, and SHOES!

Day life: 2010 - 07 - 23 / 24

2010-07-25T17:24:00.002-07:00

I hope everyone had a happy weekend. Mine was mostly filled with sunny skies, a little shopping, some Project Runway and Star Trek

I finally bought some alcohol in the states after turning 21 abroad five months ago. It feels good to just have a beer and watch some of my favorite tv or with a meal.

I love these sandals and can't wait to take them out when the sun starts shining! They're a little too big, so I wear them with inserts, but aren't they darling? Just a little sneak peak at a summer shoe post soon.

And my two buys at A Rusty Rooster in my hometown. It's a lovely little antique store with little odds and ends that I adore. It looks like a lot of things were marked down (unusual), but it means I will probably be back several more times this summer. But first, I need to find a leather strap for this lovely satchel. The leather is buttery soft now, and the inside is roomy will all sorts of compartments! And it was only $2.40 (marked down from a reasonable $6.70). Crazy good.

The other purchase was a muffin tin to keep some of my earrings in.

Not very exciting, but a couple other things filling my time has been:

Comic Con news! (Especially the hilarious Community panel - and of course the pen-eye stabbing! CRAZY!)
Finding out that my Representative in DC is retiring (Rep. Brian Baird) from leafing through my voter's pamphlet. Right now I'm voting for Denny Heck.
And, of course, Mad Men fever! (my favorite link so far: creator Matt Weiner being interviewed by the amazing Diane Sawyer)

Here's to another great week! And it should be as I will be in Portland starting on Thursday to see some of my favorite people.

ETA: I'm also on the lookout for: a new mobile phone (upgrade time! - I'm considering an iPhone, but unsure) and a new camera (pretty... please? But my sister is letting me use her's for now). Any comments/suggestions are wanted!

Summer Obsession: SYTYCD

2010-07-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

For years, one of my favorite parts of summer has been the chance to catch the delightful dance competition So You Think You Can Dance, often shortened to SYTYCD, and their ever-changing, personality-filled contestants. This year is no different, even if the formula has changed slightly by cutting the dancers in half and adding all-stars. Although I think the producers' hearts were in the right place, I'm not sure it was the best of decisions. I love my all-stars (I have watched every season), but the other contestants shone a little less (less time to get to know them too) plus the all-stars barely talk.

I'm happy with Adam Shankman being a regular judge (love him!), but I miss the rotating guest judges and I'm not that impressed with Mia every week (her love for José and mistrust of Kent irks me - mostly her love of José). I am glad Mary is no longer here, but sometimes I do miss her enthusiastic praise.

This year, it has been the year of the boys. Taking out the top twenty and putting in a top eleven (with six boys and five girls), left the dancers at the tweenage girls' mercy and the girls mostly lost. It was sad to see, but I have to admit that my favorites were boys too. Pretty much all of them. But the only one I truly dislike this season is also male (José, who probably wouldn't have made it to the top ten in a regular season - personality without talent for other styles can only take you so far).

My favorite? Alex Wong. HANDS DOWN. Amazing dancer. Heartbreaking that he left all too soon because of an injury. (Also, what is up with all the injuries this season? They obviously need to change something - three weeks in a row!)

Second favorite? Kent Boyd. So effing cute. I can barely handle it. He is just full of "aw shucks" good looks and boy is he talented. Really. And he's grown so much as a dancer!

Lauren (and Ashley) warmed their way to my heart too. And I did mention I love all the boys other than José. And I thought Lexie left too soon. And probably Maria.

With those left, I might choose Robert to be my favorite to win. Or Lauren. IT'S SO HARD TO CHOOSE! They're all so lovely (except José). Here's to hoping Billy is well enough to continue on tomorrow! (I also adore Billy. And Adé Cheké.)

Apologies for the un-uniform picture sizes. Lack of images (and the amount of time to fix images) is the number one reason I post so sporadically.

Anyway, with So You Think You Can Dance and America's Next Dance Crew, I have no idea why anyone would watch Dancing with the Stars. Why suffer through badly danced, simple routines when you can watch quality dancing with complex choreography is beyond my comprehension.

All photos were taken from fox.com/dance

"Dreams feel real when we're in them..."

2010-07-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

"Dreams feel real when we're in them..."

"What's the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules."

I finally saw Inception today, which is a funny thing to say when the movie has only been out for a day and a half before I saw it. That's how big this movie was because I couldn't handle being on the internet (mostly Tumblr) and seeing so many images from a movie I was so excited for, but haven't seen yet.

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I don't want to spoil anyone, so I will just say go see it. I was worried it might have been overhyped and I wouldn't enjoy it as much, but it still blew my mind. I didn't think it was as cerebral as everyone was making out to be, but it definitely isn't a dumb movie (I'm one who usually abhor dumb movies), but I'm not sure how thinky-thoughts it really is. It's still great great GREAT.

One of my favorite things about this movie that I love is that it uses characteristics from many different genres. I was on the edge of my seat (annoyingly, but understandably, the girl next to be was flailing every other minute during the last hour of the movie), trying to figure out where each piece of the puzzle was placed in the bigger story, I laughed, almost cried. I was completely involved the entire way through.

It's not perfect, and I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it was a damn good piece of film.

the muser.

2010-07-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a fickle little one that has started dozens of blogs only to stop. This is just another one of those experiments. I like to jump on new sites and hobbies to see what sticks. [Spoiler alert: not that much.] I'm going to keep this particular post as generic to me as possible, and continue to update and tweak the hell out of it.

I spend too much time reading my twitter stream [which is full of journalists and news sources], looking at my google reader [which is full of fashion bloggers and more news sources] while listing to music, and watching tv, although I do sometimes watch movies too. Oh and I'm a technophile with an affinity for sci-fi.

Since my dalliance into themed blogging left me uninspired, I'm turning the leaf to general musing blogging, as rattled and chaotic the subjects of my future writings may be. Watch for short news commentary, style inspiration, what to watch/listen to, and timey-wimey-lifey things.

Other internet-y places you can find me [for the time being]:
twitter ; tumblr ; flickr ; last.fm

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