Shades of Grey

Bed Making

2011-05-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

No, no dirty thoughts here now. I've been on an inspirational decorating kick. Indulging on websites and blogs dedicated to feeding my grandiose desires of owning a large house with endless amounts of money for accents. Saw this video in Rue magazine and just had to share...

Make Your Bed for Rue from You + ME* & Trent Bailey Photo on Vimeo.

Goals for the Week

2011-05-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Picture from Photos8

Mondays are usually my relaxing days. After weekends spent doing lots of work, I usually kick back and relax during the start of the week. As I didn't get around to writing a weekend list of goals, I figured I'd write my goals (non-work related of course) for the week...

Watch a movie I've never seen

Browse through blogs like this and this for new book ideas

Try out a dancing video for exercise

Light my new candle and relaxHave a meatless meal day

Try to find a wooden frame so I can make a cool necklace organizer like this

Something Borrowed

2011-05-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Picture from wikipedia

Just saw the new movie "Something Borrowed" that recently came out. The movie's based on the fantastic book of the same name by the author Emily Giffin. I absolutely adored the book, devouring it in only a weekend. So needless to say I was delighted and apprehensive when I found out they were making it into a movie...

Quick Summary: Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Darcy (Kate Hudson) have been friends since they were little. Darcy ever the center of attention, always overshadows Rachel, who is usually more than willing to comply with her best friend's demands. This willingness even goes as far as not saying that she is in love with Darcy's fiance, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), whom Rachel has liked since law school and who she introduced to Darcy. Then comes the night when Rachel sleeps with Dex...

Review: Overall, I enjoyed this film. It was fluff, but still fun, largely due to the character Ethan (played by the adorable John Krasinski). The film I felt deviated the most from the book with Ethan and Marco's characters. While Ethan was largely a secondary character in Giffin's book he played a large role in the film. Marco's character in the book was portrayed as a sort of goofy, but lovable guy. While in the movie, Marco (played by Steve Howey) came across as a womanizing idiot. The acting was ok, though it is worth mentioning that I felt Goodwin was particularly good at portraying the confused good-girl Rachel. In my opinion Krasinski stole the show. His comedic timing and facial expressions were absolutely hilarious, and helped to lift a plot that felt at times somewhat dragging. Hudson was also good at playing Darcy, the girl everyone wants to hate.

Final Take on "Something Borrowed": For those who loved Giffin's book(s), I think this is worth seeing in the theatre (if they already haven't). As for everyone else, I'd say this movie is more of a rent/Netflix flick.

Psychology on TV - Dr. Will Zimmerman

2011-05-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Robin Dunn (far right) plays Dr. Will Zimmerman on SyFy's Sanctuary

One of my favorite shows right now is SyFy's Sanctuary. Its about a place called, funny enough, the Sanctuary where a team of individuals led by Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) help to protect the world's "abnormals" (warewolves, vampires, etc.). As a lover of all things fantasy and science fiction I absolutely adore this show. Another draw for me is that one of the main characters, Dr. Will Zimmerman played by Robin Dunn, just happens to be a psychiatrist (yes not technically a psychologist, but that can be overlooked...). Will's character serves largely as a way for the viewer to become acquainted with the Sanctuary world, as his is introduced to the Sanctuary in the opening season. Not only does Dr. Zimmerman serve as resident psychiatrist of the Sanctuary, he is also a very adept profiler - a skill which is often showcased through rapid flashes of a scene. A big draw is that despits his intelligence, he is not cocky. Rather Will often comes across as just a good natured guy, who happens to bag and tag "abnormals" for a living.

Still not convinced that Dr. Zimmerman's character deserves rank on great psychologists on tv? Here's episode 2 of the first season where Will show's off some nice psychology skills on a kid with a "unique" problem...

Shakespeare Quote

2011-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Image by Tangent~Artifact, here sometimes :) via Flickr

Every fairy take his gait;

And each several chamber bless,

Through this palace, with sweet peace;

And the owner of it blest

Ever shall in safety rest.

Trip away; make no stay;

Meet me all by break of day.

- Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

2011-05-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Picture from Lauren DeStefano's website

I have a horrible habit of reading entirely way too many books at once. At any given moment I am "currently reading" around 5-6 books, and end up finishing about 1-2 of those books. Needless to say getting the kindle has only served to help foster this embarrassingly bad habit, but I digress...

While browsing through books on Amazon's kindle website I came across Lauren DeStefano's "Wither." I'd be lying if I said part of the reason for my hitting the *buy* button wasn't due to the beautiful cover art.

Summary: Rhine Ellery is a sixteen year old girl growing up in a world that's been brought to its knees by a virus that kills girls at age 20 and boys at age 25. As a result girls are frequently kidnapped to become wives of rich husband in order to bear children in the hopes of coming up with a cure. The book opens quite graphically with Rhine's kidnapping and subsequent selling to Linden along with two other girls. Rhine becomes determined to leave the country-sizeed estate that Linden (and his creepy father) own, in order to return to her twin brother. Along the way she starts to unravel some of the secrets of Linden's world while falling in love with Gabriel, a servant boy whose clearly off limits...

Review: Despite this book having some obvious flaws, I found myself compelled to read on hoping for some sort of conclusion to everything that was going on. Unfortunately what I failed to read when I purchased this book was that in addition to being part of a new trend (Young Adult Dystopian Genre - google it I swear), its also part of a trilogy thus those hoping for a conclusion are not in luck. While the story started out strong, I soon found myself growing bored. Rhine's big moral dilemma between either staying and living out her short years in luxury vs. leaving and being destitute felt extremely drawn out after awhile. I found myself being more fascinated with Linden's creepy father and his attempts at trying to cure the virus. The reader is led to believe that Rhine and Gabriel's romance is something worth risking their lives for. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to care about their romance. It felt too random, especially when compared to everything else that was going on in the book.

Overall I found the book enjoyable, though the second half felt like a let down. Obviously as this is part of a trilogy some of the questions I felt were left open in this book may be answered in the preceding ones. I'm not entirely sure if I was captivated enough to purchase the next few in the Chemical Garden Trilogy (apparently what the entire series is called). We shall see, this is just one of many YA books that I've bought on my kindle ad will be reviewing in the next few weeks. I've found I enjoy the ease at which I can read these books, as well as the escape they provide from some of my more textbook reading for class. Next up is Charlaine Harris's "Dead Reckoning" which is scheduled to be delivered to my kindle tomorrow *sigh* this might be love...

Weekend Goals

2011-04-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Picture from Photos8

After what seemed like an eternity I have finally managed to finish all my finals for the semester. Needless to say I am more than ready for the next three weeks off from classes. In lieu of having to write papers, read endless articles, and fret over studying for a test I have decided to make a "to do" list of relaxing things for this weekend (totally inspired by one of my favorite blogs)...

Drink a cup of tea while reading a good trashy book

Watch this documentary

Paint my toe nails a ridiculous shade

Be inspired by blogs like this and this and this

Re-watch Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, if only for her dress *sigh*

Use one of the many new masks that I just got

Kindle Part II

2011-04-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

So I got it...the Amazon Kindle WI-FI ($139), so here are my initial impressions/thoughts:

The Good

I love that with my wireless connection I can simply click and download a book in a matter of seconds
Amazon isn't joking when they advertise about the screen, it really is easy to read off of and looks precisely like a book
The Kindle is very light, which makes holding it for long periods of time easy
The ease of getting a book is a double edged sword as I have to be careful not to spend a ton of money on books. Luckily there are great free books on Amazon's store as well as on a variety of other websites

The So - So

The PDF reader with the zoom features is a bit cumbersome, and overall I do feel that I'll likely just continue to read my PDF in paper form unless I can't help it
I did find it frustrating at first that I was unable to increase the light intensity behind the text, luckily a cover (which I highly recommend) was also gifted to me and included a light that derives its power from the Kindle itself, you can buy it from here

Overall I am completely in love with my Kindle. I quickly downloaded the first 3 Percy Jackson books as I've been wanting to check them out for awhile. Via the Kindle I was able to get them at a significantly reduced price, which made me even happier. I can't wait to start reading and reviewing a ton of new books!

Cover via Amazon

25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!

2011-04-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am loving this youtube video tutorial on the many ways to wear/tie a scarf. I can't wait to try out so of these ideas!

Teen Wolf Remake - what?!?!

2011-03-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

Got to see the trailer for the new teen wolf re-make that's coming out. The movie look like a far cry from the original campy, yet lovable Michael J. Fox one. Darker with a slight, dare I say it, Twilight edge to it. The only thing that looks like this movie will have in common with its predecessor is that the main character just happens to be a teenager.

Not sure how I feel about this yet. I almost feel like this movie will be a complete stand alone film, and wish they had chosen to rename it rather than capitalize on the popularity of the original. That being said, I do recognize that had a complete remake been done, I doubt it would have fared well. We shall see if this ends up making it into my Netflix queue or not...

Teen Wolf - MTV Shows

I Want It

2011-03-29T23:56:00.000-07:00

From Giles & Brother Website

I picked up the newest Marie Clare (the one adorned with newly single Bradley Cooper and Abbie Cornish) and saw that Abbie was wearing the Archer Cuff (pictured above - recommend going to website for large zoom-able picture) by Giles & Brother. At $175 it is nowhere near impossible to afford, but with a limited budget I must resign myself to simply admiring its beauty from afar *sigh*

And the word of the day is....

2011-03-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

bildungsroman

I ran across this word last night, and can't wait to find a way to use it...such a nerd

According to Merriam-Webster, bildungsroman is:

"a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character"

Image by moriza via Flickr

Been playing in my head all day...

2011-03-28T23:54:00.000-07:00

I've had Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" running round in my head all day. I absolutely adore this song. Its one of those rare tunes on the radio where the lyrics are as mesmerizing as the beat is. And in case you've been living under a rock for awhile, here's the music video:

Shakespeare

2011-03-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Sonnet 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is hte star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor man ever loved.

- William Shakespeare

One of Those Days...

2011-03-16T21:48:00.001-07:00

This scene just makes me smile, and for no particular reason I thought I'd share...

Despicable Me

2011-03-16T00:14:00.000-07:00

One of my resolutions for this year is to attack the growing list of movies I want to watch. While I would love to say my academics accounts for my lack of viewing, frankly I find it difficult after a long day of work to sit and actively watch a full length feature. Needless to say I am trying, so here it goes...

Despicable Me
Summary: This animated feature follows Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), an aging super-villain, in his attempts to steal the moon. As part of the plan, Gru adopts three orphans as a means of stealing a competing villain's shrink ray. As time passes Gru starts to become more enchanted with the three young girls leading to all kinds of trouble in his attempts at becoming the worlds best villain.

Thoughts: I loved this movie. As a big fan of animated comedies, this movie really hit the ball out of the park. The plot was entertaining and emotional, which is perfect as I feel sometimes movies of this caliber can focus too much on the special effects of animation and fail to focus on actual plot. Additionally the movie was funny - the kind of funny that the whole family can enjoy. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Shrek, Ice Age, or any of the Disney Pixar films, as this tends to run along the same veins. Overall, I'd say a definite must!

Image by h2kyaks via Flickr

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

2011-03-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Image from http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/

I just recently finished reading Sarah Addison Allen's "The Girl Who Chased the Moon." It was the first of Allen's books that I've read, and I'll definitely be looking into reading more of her books in the future.

Overview: Emily Benedict is a teenager who following her mother's death returns to her mother's home town of Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather. She soon discovers that Mullaby is no ordinary town. As she slowly discovers the town's secrets, she also unravels some of her family's, including why her mother left in the first place.

Review: Overall, I really liked Allen's book. It was the sort of light, quick read I'd been looking for after devouring several large psych text books. The big secret of the book was enough of a shocking magical twist that even I found myself wondering where Allen came up with the idea. An area I would have liked fleshed out were the other "magical" components of the town that gave Mullaby its quirkiness. Other than that it was a delightful read, and I loved the inclusion of the recipes mentioned in the novel at the end of the book (really want to try Hummingbird Cake!). I recommend it for those wanting the light sort of beach read with a bit of a magical component to it.

Life Soundtrack

2011-03-04T16:49:00.000-08:00

From Photos8

If my life were an action/sci-fi movie this would be the soundtrack:

Clubbed to Death - Rob Dougan
Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums - A Perfect Circle
Teardrop - Massive Attack
Spybreak - Propellerheads
Cells - The Servant
A Pain That I'm Used To - Depeche Mode
Fever Dream - Tyler Bates
Christmas Eve Sarajevo - Trans Siberian Orchestra
Confusion (Dub) - The Pump Panel

Quote - The Village

2011-02-28T23:34:00.000-08:00

I was flipping through channels the other day and came across the film "The Village". Now it's been years since I'd seen this movie, though I do remember feeling that the twist ending felt too predictable and the pace felt a bit slow at times. Despite this I did enjoy the movie, and after re-watching this discovered several quote worthy moments - - one particular scene with Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) was by far my favorite in the entire movie. Here's the scene and words below:

Ivy Walker: When we are married, will you dance with me? I find dancing very agreeable. Why can you not say what is in your head?
Lucius Hunt: Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy Walker. I fear for your safety before all others. And yes, I will dance with you on our wedding night.

I will leave you with this equally beautiful line spoken by Ivy's father (played by William Hurt)later in the film...

The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe

Lucy's Analysis

2011-02-25T19:39:00.000-08:00

Psychology on TV - Dr. Mallard aka "Ducky"

2011-02-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite television shows of all time is CBS's NCIS. A primary reason I feel the show works so well is due to the character development and interaction. Of course what every good team needs is a team psychologist, which in this case Dr. Mallard aka "Ducky." For the first few seasons of the show Ducky wasn't officially sanctioned in psychology. Rather he was unofficially called upon to "talk" with his patients in autopsy. As the series progressed he actually took classes and became officially trained in psychology. While one could argue that his skills are usually confined to a more profiler type realm than more traditional psychological practice, I still count him as a favorite psychologist on television ; )

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Things I'm Loving Right Now: Makeup - Drugstore

2011-02-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

I'm not the type of girl who pretends that they don't use makeup. I don't really go for the "natural" look unless I'm either a) in a hurry b) at work c) on an interview. As a individual with a limited budget and a ridiculous craving for new makeup I tend to lean more toward the drugstore makeup to satiate my thirst. Here are a few things I'm loving right now:

Lips

Wet N Wild Lip Lacquer in Flirtatious and Risque
Rimmel lipstick in Airy Fairy
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm in Natural Mint & Shea Butter (not really drugstore but still the best lip balm I've ever used)

Eyes

Boots No7 Mineral Perfection Shadow Palette in the color Topaz
Wet N Wild Trio in "Walking on Eggshells"

Face

Rimmel blush in Santa Rose
Victorai Secret Pro Airbrush Fx Face Primer

Image via Wikipedia

Book Haul

2011-02-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

I will admit I faced my local Borders closing sale with both excitement and sadness. While I loved the huge savings that I got, there is a certain amount of sadness that comes from watching a book store close down. That being said I definitely went all out, justifying my large purchase (around $100) on stress, the huge bargain, and the fact that books are generally considered a good thing to splurge on!

Below is what I bought, and some mild justification for buying what I did:

Neil Gaiman - "The Books of Magic" - the graphic novel, one of my favorite authors
Anthony Bourdain - "A Cook's Tour" - loved, loved, loved "Kitchen Confidential"
Madeleine L'Engle - "A Wrinkle in Time" - one of my favorite books
Darlene D. Pedersen - "Psych Notes: Clinical Pocket Guide" - I'm a psych graduate students, I justify this as a school expense
Bill Bryson - "A Walk in the Woods" - I've been eyeing this book for years since seeing it on a friend's shelf
Sergel Lukyanenko - "Night Watch" - I'll seriously be kicking myself if I find I love this book and didn't get the others in the series at a discount
Pocket Posh Logic - a book full of logic puzzles, which I love to do on planes, neatly concealed in a pretty cover which makes it appear a lot cooler than it really is
Archaeology Magazine - this issue has stuff on lost wrecks and frankly I'm a sucker for underwater archaeology
Gothic Beauty Magazine - I have no way to really justify this purchase it just looked pretty cool, and I love the Gothic styling
SFX Magazine - why oh why is this a UK magazine and thus is definitely jacked up in price for a subscription, seriously tempted to just hit the submit and buy button for this magazine - absolutely in love

Image via Wikipedia

To Kindle or Not to Kindle?

2011-02-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Cover via Amazon

So I was informed recently that my grandparents are jumping on the Kindle wagon. For those of you who haven't been introduced to the Kindle here is the run down:

The Kindle is Amazon's e-book reader. Essentially it allows the user to download and read books, newspapers, PDF files, etc. all in one handy portable device. The Kindle comes with a variety of unique features that are better described in this promotional video:

I'd be lying if I didn't say after watching this video I wasn't more than a little impressed. Previously I'd seen e-readers and felt they were a bit cumbersome, as well as having concerns about reading off of an screen. Recently, however; I've started to become more concerned with the amount of space available to me in my tiny studio and how much of thisis taken up by books. While I could balk at the price (around $150 for the one I would buy), I am not discounting the fact that I would be saing money in the long run by not purchasing my books in regular hard copy format (especially helpful when purchasing textbooks for class!). Overall, I am not completely sold yet, as I still find great joy in actually holding a book (call it nostalgia), but I am highly considering purchasing one in the near future. If not just to swap e-books with my grandparents : )

So Excited!!!

2011-02-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

Pic from Charlaine Harris website

The other day I was browsing the website of one of my favorite authors, Charlaine Harris. On the website she announces her newest Sookie Stackhouse book, "Dead Reckoning." I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse books (inspiration for the show "True Blood"), and cannot even began to tell you how much I love this series and how excited I am for the next one in the series. Bonus: on Charlaine Harris's website she has a sneak peek of the 1st chapter!

X-Men First Class Trailer

2011-02-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to see this!!

So Want to Make This!

2011-02-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

I saw this on one of my favorite blog's PS I Made This and can't wait to run to Michael's to get the supplies to make this cute necklace!

Resolutions

2011-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

I never make New Years resolutions on New Years mainly because they tend to be the same every year, but for the sake of holding myself accountable here they are:

Exercise more
Eat healthier and learn to cook
Read more and watch more movies
Stop procrastinating as much
Get more organized

Have more new experiences

Image by Christopher Chan via Flickr

Soundtrack of Life

2011-02-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

Pic from Photos8

If my life were a movie right now this would be the soundtrack:

Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
You and I - Ingrid Michaelson
Little Too Much - Natasha Bedingfield
Mama Said - The Shirelles
40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Atlas - Fanfarlo
The Great Estates - Freelance Whales
Ring of Fire - Social Distortion

Something Borrowed

2011-02-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite guilty pleasure books just happened to be made into a movie, "Something Borrowed" by Emily Griffin. The first trailer looks absolutely hilarious and right on target with the book, check it out:

Beauty in Art

2011-01-07T00:23:00.000-08:00

I'll admit I am completely in awe of artists. Regardless of medium (dance, theatre, paint, movie, etc.) I continue to find myself blown away by what people can create. Case in point, this video chronicling the making of the Bergdorf Goodman's 2010 holiday windows, absolutely incredible!

Chicago Winter

2010-12-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

Image by dresmall via Flickr

When I first told people that I planned on movin g to Chicago for school the number one thing people would ask me about was how I was going to handle the winter. My general response was something along the lines of "it can't be that bad." Cue March when I emerged from my cave after two months of self-imposed hibernation swearing that next winter I'd be better prepared. Needless to say I've developed a nice stockpile of winter survival tips over the years and I figured I'd share a few:

Clothing

Layers are a Chicagoian's best friend. Not only do they help with the frigid air outside, but they also help with the inevitable overly-heated office or train car
Waterproof boots are a definite must. There is nothing worse than feet getting wet due to slush when the temp is in the negatives. Additionally, boots usually offer more traction for dealing with the occasional icy sidewalk

Beauty

Despite the cliche-ness of saying 'drink more water' in the case of Chicago winters and warding off dry skin its true.
As the unfortunate recipient of naturally dry skin, winter is particularly troublesome. As a result, I own just about every kind of moisturizer available. Here are just a few I've found helpful: Aquaphor (aside: CVS makes an excellent equivalent of this) hand cream, Egyptian Magic, Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizer, Oil of Olay's In Shower Body Lotion

Home

Only recently have I begun to recognize the amazingness of humidifiers, what did I do before I got mine? Oh wait I know I suffered through static, dry skin, sore throats...you name it. While no means the miracle cure for winter's ailments, I definitely recommend getting a humidifier for those who (like me) must content with the drying factors associated with some heating units. I love the one I picked up from Bed Bath and Beyond, it works fantastic and it kind of reminds me of R2D2
Lastly, I have embraced the old college-standby of using the cellophane-looking like products to seal my drafty windows. Attractive? no Beneficial? Definitely

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

2010-11-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I have a long standing tradition of going opening day to all the movies. This year was no exception and I was first in line with my friend opening day. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed...

Broad Overview:
This movie starts right where the last movie left off. We rejoin Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they prepare for the final battle against Voldemort for the magical world (geez even as I right this I am cringing at the adolescent geekiness that is Harry Potter).

Review:
I had the chance to read a couple of reviews prior to seeing the movie and found that the majority of complaints with film seemed to be around the lack of development with the plot/characters. While I can understand the frustration with this I felt that overall the film was generally setting the stage for the final film. Realistically, any translation from book to film will always leave out some information. There are few examples where the film is really able to capture everything the book is able to. As the Harry Potter books are notoriously long, I think it really is a lot to ask of a film to capture everything the book is able.

Anyone who hasn't read the books is in for a real shock as the latest installment is quite dark (as is the book). I find it quite refreshing that the tone of the films has changed in accordance with the books and age of the characters. I am looking forward to the final installment and hope that it leaves this series on a high note as this film in my opinion has left a solid base for a spectacular finish

(picture from wikipedia)

Quote - Gone with the Wind

2010-11-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Cover of Gone with the Wind

No, I don't think I will kiss you — although you need kissing badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how.

- Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara, Gone With the Wind

Heart This - Glee's Teenage Dream

2010-11-10T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Liar's Club

2010-11-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

Cover of The Liars' Club: A Memoir

I recently had the pleasure of reading Mary Karr's memoir "The Liar's Club." The book tells the story of Mary Karr's childhood growing up as part of a dysfunctional family in Texas in the 1960's. Karr's childhood was filled with unstable family dynamics, alcohol, drugs and yet she managed to rise above what most would consider a traumatic filled childhood to become a bestselling author. In addition "The Liar's Club," Karr has also gone on to write "Cherry" and "Lit" about later portions of her life.

I've basically described this book to just about everyone I've met. I've described it sort of like watching a beautiful train wreck - so horrified you want to turn away, but at the same time are increasingly fascinated to watch. This is probably the easiest way to describe Mary Karr's memoir. Though short, its not a light read. I'm sure that as psychology student I read way too deeply into this book, but I promise you it does go deep. Just when you think it can't possible get any deeper, it does. As the ending jumped several year ahead in Karr's life, I almost planned on skipping it in case I decided to read her other memoirs, I am so glad I didn't. I doubt there are many people out there like me who read this sporadically, but in case you do...do not skip the end! I promise you it will be worth it.

Final thoughts: I highly recommend reading this book if you get a chance, its definitely not light reading but its worth reading

City of Bones

2010-10-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

My family recently came up for a visit and I was gifted with the first three books in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. I just finished the first book, "City of Bones" and needless to say I'm hooked. I still haven't finished the "Hunger Games" series and I also just obtained the new Nicholas Spark's book ("Safe Haven"), the pile continues to grow...

But back to "City of Bones." The story is about a girl named Clary who following an incident at a nightclub gets drawn into the world of the Shadowhunters. This world is populated by vampires, warewolves, fairies, witches, and all sorts of magical creatures. While the story isn't terribly original (teenager finds out that they are actually a lot cooler than they thought they were and that there is a magical world), the way it is carried out is. The book is oddly compelling, I find myself extremely happy that I have two more books to go and that Clare just started a new series...

The Hunger Games

2010-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Here is the basic gist of the plot: In the future North America is split up into districts and is ruled over by the Capitol. At some point in time there was a rebellion against the Capitol the resulted in District 13 being decimated. Every year as a reminder that the government controls the people, each district must participate in the hunger games. This basically consists of each district picking 1 boy and 1 girl to participate in a fight till the death show that's broadcast as television entertainment.

Review: The book was entirely engaging. A couldn't-put-it-down, wish-it-didn't-end kind of book. The plot, while grim, was entertaining. The only real criticism I have about the book is the poor editing. There are some basic words missing (think "a," and "the"), as well as some past/present confusion. While I still enjoyed the book it did create a somewhat stunted reading experience as my concentration would be broken occassionally by the poor editing. I've read a few reports that stated that this is a well known problem with the book so I guess I'm not the only one. I'm several chapters into the second book ("Catching Fire") and this does not appear to be a problem.

Bottom line: I highly recommend picking up this book if you get a chance. It's proof that there is actually some great new reading in the young adult section.

Psychology on TV - Dr. Lance Sweets

2010-09-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

I wont lie I get somewhat giddy when I see psychology in the popular media, particularly portrayed in television shows. One my recent favs is Bones' resident psychology aka Dr. Lance Sweets. Sweets, as he's called in the show, is portrayed by Freaks and Geeks alum John Francis Daley. His character is described as a sort of early child genius as he graduated high school early and at a young age has a doctorate. Part dork, part Freudian wizard...I'm hooked.

Fall TV

2010-09-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Its somewhat ironic that at the same time that studious minds are bent over school lesson, television releases its best stuff on air. Thank goodness for Hulu or I'd never catch up. Here are just a few of my favorites (I swear they just suck you in...)

Monday: Castle
Tuesday: Glee, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles
Thursday: Bones, Grey's Anatomy

One more to add to the list is Sanctuary, which doesn't start its fall run until mid-October (sigh..). One thing I can say for school work is that it keeps me from being a couch potato...

Success!

2010-09-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Image from CVS

So after searching and hunting all my surrounding CVS stores I finally managed to locate one (on a recent trip out for work) that had the much talked about Essence of Beauty Crease Brush Duo set. Needless to say I'm absolutely thrilled. I've had several Essence of Beauty brushes before and I can honestly say they are absolutely terrific at a fraction of the price of the more expensive brushes (ahem...MAC...ahem).

Aspirations

2010-09-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Apparently two Chicago folks got MacArthur awards this year. I wont lie, its always been sort of a hope of mine that one day I would be doing work worthy of a MacArthur genius award. Needless to say I'm in awe and congrats to those who won this year!

2010 MacArthur genius grants awarded - chicagotribune.com

GLEE- "Me Against The Music" Sneak Peek

2010-09-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

Mail Surprises

2010-09-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

The Search for the Perfect Purple...

There is nothing I like better than opening my mailbox and finding something other than a bill...

Today's shipment was from Glamour Doll Eyes. While I don't have time to go into detail about the colors (Freud calls me to read...) here are the colors I got (all sample sizes in jars). All descriptions are from the Glamour Dolls website

Mood Swing: "This color is a greyish blue with some shimmer."
Premonition: "This color is a gorgeous dark greyish lavender."
Shaded Orchid: "...a dark purple color."
Girlfriend Sweater: "...a gorgeous matte dark purple."

I also got two free samples of Masquerade ("a very unique blend of black and purple") and Backstabber ("unique bend of black and green"). The package was sent to me in a bubble package and also included some Glamour Doll Eye shadow cards and sticker. I found shipping to be quite quick (about a week). Shaded Orchid is described as an "unblended pigment" and I appreciated that this was very clear when I purchased the samples. Both Premonition and Mood Swing were part of the 'Twi-Shadow' collection, as I can't resist something named for two of my favorite Twilight characters (Alice and Jasper respectfully).

I also enjoyed the fact that I could purchase an unlimited amount of samples, which I like as I hate committing to a full size unless I can see the color in person. An example of this is Masquerade whose picture on the website appears more pink to me, while in person it appears to look more like a dark purple.

While I haven't swatched/used any of the products yet so I can't speak to pigmentation/wear/etc I feel confident that this is a good start to me finding the perfect purple shade.

The Duchess

2010-09-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I had the pleasure of recently watching The Duchess, in which Keira Knightley portrayed Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. While the movie was somewhat sobering (several scenes even cringe worthy due to their content not portrayal), what I was quite taken with were the costumes. Georgiana was a socialite during her day, known for her fashions, and I felt that this aspect of the film was adequately portrayed. I particularly loved the earrings shown above (admittedly a bad screen cap of them).

New Loves - Bumble and Bumble Creme de Coco

2010-09-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

At the suggestion of my hair stylist I recently began to use Bumble and Bumble's Creme de Coco shampoo and conditioner. My hair was in dire need of some TLC, specifically some hydration. This shampoo smells of coconut butters and has helped sooth and hydrate my dry frizzy hair. I was recently complimented on how shiny my hair looked and I know I owe it to this amazing product (and my hair stylist).

Blog Love - Makeup

2010-09-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Autumn is my favorite season. It brings with it Halloween, sweaters, candy, and my personal favorite...darker makeup. Now I love Summer and its easy bronze shades, but nothing quite wets my palette like a nice rich plum or a dark burgundy. There's just something about these colors that screams fall for me. Thus I began my annual search for the perfect fall colors. This year rather than scouring Sephora and the like (though I will admit Lancome and MAC's newest collections have more than piqued my interest) I started looking through some blogs for some lesser known makeup collections. As I type I (according to e-mail invoices) have several makeup orders coming my way. Here are the blogs I owe homage to in my pursuit of the perfect fall colors...

Glitter is my crack : You know one of those blogs that you find yourself hitting the button "older posts" repeatedly on? Yeah this is one of those blogs. Seriously fantastic makeup, not for the faint of heart...think rich colors and lots of sparkle (hence her blog title).

Confessions of a Makeup Addict : I didn't realize until several posts in that I had viewed this blogger's amazing videos on youtube for quite sometime now. Based across the pond she does a lot of Internet based mineral makeup company reviews/swatches which is fantastic. It was through her blog that I first heard of Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy, which I look forward to receiving soon.

Pink Sith : I absolutely adore the breadth of information, and reviews on this blogger's website. As much as I love to read about the newest lines to hit Sephora, its nice to read about other beauty related items out there

And one more for the road...

The Diary of an Indy Grrrl : While not makeup related I did have to show love to this amazing blog that I ran across in the Blogs of Note section. This is another one of those blogs that I managed to stay on for a good hour or so. I love movie reviews about lesser known movies, and am secretly a horror movie junkie so I appreciated all the reviews about horror movies.

I Want It...

2010-09-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

So this past year I had the opportunity to go the Printer's Row Festival. It was there that I noticed a good deal of the vendors there were sporting t-shirts emblazoned with the covers of some of literature's greatest works. After further searching online at home I came across the website Out of Print Clothing which sells t-shirts featuring classic book covers (many out of print - hence the title). According to their website for each t-shirt sale one book is donated to the Books for Africa an organization that collects and ships books to children in Africa. Needless to say I'm hooked. I particularly want "The Brave New World" (Aldous Huxley), which is one of my favorite books.

Quote

2010-09-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Photo from www.photos8.com

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience"

- Emily Dickinson

Wishing I Had HBO

2010-09-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

Not that I need another reason not to study this fall, but HBO's Boardwalk Empire looks seriously good...

Blog Love

2010-09-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

Photo from www.photos8.com

Cupcakes and Cashmere
Just an absolutely beautiful blog and one of my favorite sources for fashion inspiration, as well as a good escape read.

Smitten Kitchen
It was through the aforementioned blog that I discovered this little gem of a food blog. This blog is full of great recipes and tons of mouth watering pictures. While I admit that I don't cook, this website gives me hope that one day I will...

Musings of a Muse
When I first started really getting into makeup blogs this was one of the first blogs I loved. Full of great makeup reviews, this blog has it all. What I love is that the range of makeup reviewed here is wide (drugstore, international brands, high end, etc.), which is great. I also love that the reviews are surprisingly honest (not something you always find), giving both the good and bad of each product.

Flipped

2010-09-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

I recently had a chance to check out Rob Reiner's latest movie Flipped. The movie is based on Wendelin Van Draanen's book of the same name. It follows two kids, Julie and Bryce, as they navigate the ups and downs of first love.

Overall I found the movie quite enjoyable. The ending was fairly predictable (I've never read the book), but as with most good movies, it's not so much the ending as the journey toward the ending that makes the movie worthwhile. I particularly liked how the audience was given the chance to view events in the movie from each of the main characters' points of view. This element not only added more depth to the film, but also made for some humorous (and sometimes scarily true to life) points in the movie. While the middle seemed to drag a bit and at times seemed a bit repetitive overall I liked this film. If you like Reiner's past films, or are looking for some nostalgic romantic dramedy I highly recommend seeing Flipped.

Urban Decay

2010-09-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

Its been ages since I've written, but here goes nothing...

So I've been updating my makeup recently and have become completely smitten by the makeup line Urban Decay. As I love to share things I'm absolutely crazy about, here are my favorite Urban Decay products:

Eye Shadow Primer Potion
This is by far my favorite eye shadow primer. The colors look fantastic after applying, and they last all day. While my only complaint about this product in the past has been the bottle (as has been the complaint of many a user), Urban Decay has recently remedied this by coming out with the Professional Size Primer Potion.

Naked Palette
I was fortunate enough to pick up this palette at my local Ulta. It's my first Urban Decay palette and possible one of the best palettes I've ever bought. As a lover of neutral shadows it can be quite frustrating to find good quality, highly pigmented neutrals. It can even be more frustrating to find these shades in work-appropriate matte colors. In the past I've had to hunt for individual shadows, sometimes buying quads or whole palettes to get 1 or 2 shades I've liked. Needless to say I'm in love with the Naked Palette. The quality is great, the range is awesome, and it has a nice mix of matte and shimmery shadows. I love that the palette is sleek, easily portable, and has a large amount of each shade. If my raves aren't enough just type in "Naked Palette" in any search engine for any number of reviews, swatches, and tutorials that have stormed the Internet over the past month.

All-Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
This was bought after reading multiple reviews during a particularly humid filled summer in Chicago. Not only does this spray keep my makeup from melting off my face, but it also helps give it that "just applied" look.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

School Finals - Time for a Brain Break

2010-07-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have been bombarded with work this past week with finals and feel the need to take a bit of a break from it all. And what better way to take a break than to watch my favorite eye candy of the moment...Joseph Gordon -Levitt

Things I'm Loving Right Now

2010-07-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the things I am loving right now...

The Twilight Sage: Eclipse
I finally got around to seeing this the other day and was pleasantly surprised. Eclipse is my favorite out of the series and I thought David Slade (the director) did an excellent job portraying a fairly chaotic book plot. What I particularly loved about this film was the soundtrack. While watching the film I caught myself thinking several times how I should definitely download the music (which I did). One particular song I absolutely adore is Beck and Bats for Lashes's "Lets Get Lost."

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon

I'd been meaning to write a review of this for a while now, but haven't just gotten around to it. Needless to say I absolutely loved this book, and managed to finish it in a night. It is about a boy named Christopher who investigates the killing of their neighbor's dog. What makes the story so interesting is that Christopher has Asperger Syndrome and he is the one narrating the story. The story itself is completely engrossing, but having Christopher for a narrator makes it all that more interesting. I highly recommend reading it if you get a chance

Prestige Cosmetics Lipstick in Beautifully Buff

Absolutely my favorite new lipstick. While I am a hard core lip gloss devotee, I occasionally test the waters in a new lipstick. I picked this up at Ulta a few days ago and have fallen in love. Its creamy, and is just slightly darker than my natural lips.

Amy's Kitchen As a person's whose diet largely consists of prepacked or microwavable meals, I have developed a list of reliable titles who I continue to frequent. Amy's is one of those lines. Largely organic, Amy's foods are absolutely delicious and make me feel less bad about rummaging through the freezer for tonight's meal.

Timer

2010-06-23T22:12:00.001-07:00

Imagine a society in which a gadget had been invented that would tell you the precise time you would run into your soul mate? Impossible you say, well not in the movie Timer. The movie starts out by explaining that just such a device has been invented. While people are initially hesitant to implant this device into their arms, it soon becomes common place. The story revolves around a woman named Oona (Emma Caulfield), who nearing thirty is obsessed with her timer. Oona's timer does not read a specific date as her "one" has not gotten a timer yet. We are first introduced to Oona as she takes her current boyfriend in to get a timer to determine if they each other's "ones." It is clearly implied that this is not the first time she has done this. As the movie progresses she goes on to meet a young man named Mikey (John Patrick Amedori), who tries to teach her that sometimes its not all about guarantees in life.

Needless to say I loved this movie. The plot was insanely intriguing. I found myself, long after the credits rolled, wondering who I would be if a device such as the Timer actually existed. Would I get it? Would I want to know? What would happen if my timer didn't read anything, or read that I'd be 105 when I met my "one"? Along with the plot the dialogue itself never felt forced. Somehow even in this bizarre environment you could see people reacting just as these characters did. I highly recommend seeing this film if you haven't gotten around to yet.

Sometimes You Just Need To Smile

2010-06-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

As I post this I reluctantly lie in my bed, a position that unfortunately is due to hurting my back again...sigh. Needless to say I have spent plenty of time surfing the Internet over the weekend. One video that made me smile was this one of a photo shoot with Glee's Harry Shum Jr., whose moves inspire the makeup artist's poodle to join in as well. Too cute...

J'Adore Paris Necklace

2010-06-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

I am one of those people who finds a necklace and wears it literally until it falls apart. Lately I've been in a Paris-themed mood and have been searching for a necklace with a similar feel. As I was perusing Etsy the other day (http://www.etsy.com/) I came across ChristineWDesigns (www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineWDesigns) and fell in love with her J'Adore Paris Necklace. As you can see from the picture, on the necklace was a little Eiffel Tower and crystal pearl. So gorgeous, I can't wait to purchase more items!

(image is from Etsy website)

Blog Love

2010-06-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

It is widely known amongst my friends how much I surf the Internet, and how often I turn up odd little websites or videos. What is not widely known is how many blogs I happen to read during any given week. Every once in a while I happen to run across a few blogs that I literally read from first post to latest post. These get filed in my "Blogs I love" favorites section of my computer. As my list gets longer and longer I figured that it might be worthwhile sharing a few of these blogs every once in a while. To start off here are two that I recently read cover-to-cover, so to speak:

Unruly things (www.unruly-things.com): as I type this I currently have a tab opened to this blog. I typically like blogs that are full of pictures and have links to sites/shops/etc. of interest...this blog has both. Easy to navigate and read this, blog is truly an enjoyable rainy day splurge to sift through.

The Kind Life (www.thekindlife.com): this is Alicia Silverstone's (aka Cher from Clueless) blog. Spinning off of her book, "The Kind Diet," Silverstone talks about everything from animal rights to great vegan recipes on her blog. I particularly like how when she discusses organic foods or eco-friendly fashions she mentions affordable or budget friendly options.

So those are just two of several of the blogs I have fallen in love with over the past few months. I know I'll be posting again soon with many more!

Twilight

2010-06-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

As a 24 year old graduated student I have for years tried to justify my liking for Harry Potter.

- When the books/movies started I was in middle school so technically I grew up on them

- I've been going to the movies opening night since they first started, it would be a shame to break tradition...

I unfortunately have no such justifications for Twilight. For awhile I resisted the Twilight universe, adamantly refusing to read the books or even to see the movies. Then, slowly but surely I started to drift over to the dark side. And surprisingly enough found I liked it. Now I know I'm not alone in this...that is to say I'm not the only one who is addicted to these books/movies who is clearly over the age bracket that these books were intended for. And I know I'm not alone in devouring all the media frenzy around the movies. And I just got my friend addicted to the movies as well, isn't that how it always starts?

So what you say brings about this little rant about Twilight?

I just picked up the last book, "Breaking Dawn" (*tear*) I hate ending series

I just found out that I can read the little novella, "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" online for free at http://www.breetanner.com/ now until July 5
Alice is my absolute favorite character in the book and I love her fashion in the movies. Check out this fan made video called "How to dress like Alice Cullen" which I am loving right now:

I have found my favorite Eclipse website: http://www.eclipsemovie.org/, seriously addictive

And most importantly... Eclipse (my favorite of the book series) comes out June 30th

Zooey Deschanel

2010-06-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

So I'll admit it, I have a bit of a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. Her fashion sense, her movies, her music...love it all. So I was a little bummed on missing She & Him (the band she's in) come play in Chicago. That being said I thought I'd just throw out one of the cutest videos ever starring Zooey and another fav...Joseph Gordon-Levitt dancing to She & Him's "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"

Urban Explorers

2010-06-07T20:12:00.001-07:00

I recently watched the documentary Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness, and was pleasantly surprised. The film follows several individuals who consider themselves urban explorers, or people who explore abandoned buildings, old subway tunnels, etc. as a means of adventure. The film does not make light of the real dangers that these individuals face in the pursuit of finding the forgotten. There are several brushes with the law, and a sobering tribute to some explorers who died during their adventures.

That being said I must admit feeling quite adventurous along with the camera men who followed these modern day explorers through abandoned seminaries and in underground sewers. Particularly fascinating were the breathtaking photographs taken during these explorations. While I don't think I'll be donning any spelunking gear to go explore old Chicago anytime soon I did enjoy this documentary.

Below is a trailer for the documentary:

First Day of Summer Classes

2010-06-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all a girl can do is dance...

Playlist for First Day of Summer Classes

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” - Whitney Houston
“Bulletproof” - La Roux
“Heaven is a Place on Earth” - Belinda Carlisle
“Love is a Battlefield” - Pat Benatar
“I Wanna be Sedated” - Ramones
“Better Than Her” - Matisse
“Good” - Better Than Ezra
“Send Me on My Way” - Rusted Root
“History Repeating” - Propellerheads & Shirley Bassey
“1901”- Phoenix
“Black and Gold” - Sam Sparro
“Forever Young” - Bob Dylan

Sex and the City 2

2010-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I went into Sex and the City 2 with little hope for the movie. The result? My expectations were not only proven correct, I had severally underestimated.

Now I must mention that I was not a huge fan of the first movie. Now on to the plot: we revisit the girls 2 years after the first movie. Carrie: is married to Big and living the typical married life (i.e. boring), Charlotte: is an overstressed mother of two with a very well endowed nanny; Samantha: is going through menopause and has found every possible "natural" means of stopping the change; and finally Miranda: is dealing with work related stress issues. The majority of the second half of this lengthy film, takes place in Abu Dhabi, where the four-some go for some much needed relaxation time. There the girls take in the scenery (and some men), clash with the culture, and (as the trailer hints at) Carrie runs into her ex Aidan Shaw (who I may add was looking particularly yummy in this film).

Review:

My biggest problem with the movie was how over the top it was. The dialogue seemed too cheesy, with sex filled one liners thrown in by the characters just for laughs. The trip to Abu Dhabi, while absolutely gorgeous, seemed like a failed attempt at creating a plot for the film rather than building a plot around it. The whole movie felt so far removed from the characters we had grown to love through the series. An additional comment that was echoed by a few of my friends were some of the cultural comments made by the characters, which were at times cringe-worthy.

I will note that while I am not often a fan of the clothing, both in the show and in the movies, I absolutely love, love, loved the clothes in this movie. From Miranda's plunging neckline dress to Carrie's billowing white dress at the end I must admit Patricia Field nailed this one.

Final thoughts: unless your a die hard Sex and the City fan I'd say skip it and rent it later

"literary crack"

2010-05-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

So I've become absolutely addicted to the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, like completely addicted. So it was no surprise to me that when I picked up the next in the series that I hadn't devoured yet the sale's lady referred to the books as "literary crack." I just had to use that line somewhere, as it was not only the perfect sentiment toward these books, but also just a great line...

Caffeinated and Eco-Friendly

2010-05-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

So I recently purchased this coffee travel mug so I don't have to keep throwing away all those Styrofoam cups for my coffee (so not earth friendly...). I found this one one ThinkGeek, a website that sells really cool stuff like caffeine molecule travel mugs to geeks like me (seriously though the site has a lot of really cool products that I highly recommend checking out). I can't wait to get it in the mail!

Hephaestus

2010-05-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity last week to catch the play Hephaestus, now showing at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. As a fairly recent Chicago resident, I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing this performance when they were last in the windy city. Needless to say I was impressed...

The full title of this amazing play is Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale, the title of which pretty much sums up the entire performance. Think traditional Greek mythology tale combined with the Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil. The performance was breathtaking, from the actors, to the circus acts, to the music...it was absolutely beautiful. I cannot rave about/recommend going to see this if you haven't already.

For more information check out the Goodman Theatre website at http://www.goodmantheatre.org/

Next on my list of plays I want to see is Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, check out the trailer for it below along with the trailer for Hephaestus.

Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale

Fuerza Bruta

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

2010-05-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

I feel like I haven't written in ages...I love writing for the pure joy of putting words on paper (or on the screen) even if no one reads it there is still something so satisfying for me about doing it. That being said on to my actual post...

Summer's here and though I am an adult I still get a thrill out of going to my local book shop and seeing the section of books marked off as "Summer Reading." I know it sounds dorky, but despite a hectic schedule I still somehow manage to read more books during the summer than any other time of year. One of the books I happened to read (at the suggestion of my mom) was "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave. The book tells the stories of two women in parallel. One is a white woman living in England, who is struggling with personal problems. Another is a woman named Little Bee, a refugee who fled from Niger following the oil conflicts. The novel is laid out so that the chapters alternate between the perspectives of both women. As their stories unfold you discover how their lives came to be entangled.

I found that for me, half the intrigue was discovering just exactly what had caused these two seemingly completely different women's lives to intertwine. The novel definitely touches upon some heavy issues within its pages and is not for the person who is looking for an easy beach read by any means. That being said I finished the novel within two days as I simply couldn't put it down. While initially I'd be hesitant about a book that changed narrative perspectives (past experience has made me wary of books that make use of this technique), I found that it was quite easy to follow and enhanced the pleasure of reading the book immensely. I highly recommend reading this novel for those who are interested.

Image from Chris Cleave's website, check it out at www.chriscleave.com to learn more about his books.

Glee

2010-04-02T01:08:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for the return of Glee and I'm loving the promo for their Madonna episode. "Like a Prayer" is one of my favorite Madonna songs, and their cover sounds great.

Can't wait for April 13!

Cherrybomb

2010-03-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Below is the trailer for Rupert Grint's newest movie Cherrybomb, needless to say Ron has definitely grown up!

Lush Newbie (and Convert)

2010-03-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

So I finally broke down and jumped on the Lush band wagon....

Massage Therapy Bar ($8.75)

I'd heard so many raves about this bar and its moisturizing properties I decided I just had to get one. The smell (which reminds me of chocolate) took a little getting but I must admit I'm now in love with it. The bar itself literally melts in your hands without leaving an oily/greasy residue, which is always a huge plus in my book. I highly recommend picking up one if you get the chance.

Emotibomb - Sex in the Shower ($3.95)

Unfortunately I am the owner of a shower only bathroom. Yes that's right folks, no creamy dreamy bubble baths for this girl...Figuring that Lush only had bath type products for in shower use I was pleasantly surprised to find this little gem. I'll admit I bought it for a few reasons: (a) its for shower use; (b) it smelled wonderful; (c) its called Sex in the Shower...hello?! I couldn't resist and will hopefully be using this in the next week as my work load increases two-fold

Lastly as my friendly cashier was ringing up my items she kindly slipped a sample (which is apparently typical, but as a Lush newbie I was floored) of Happy Hippy Shower Gel, which smells of grapefruit.

Verdict on Lush: will definitely be going back!

Next purchase(s): Emotibomb - Too Drunk and Honey I Washed the Kids Soap

(images from Lush website)

Micmacs

2010-03-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

I am a huge fan of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Delicatessen, A Very Long Engagement, The City of Lost Children, etc.) and really want to see his latest film Micmacs

*sigh* loving the visuals...

Cleaning Day

2010-03-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

You know how you throw your jacket on a chair at the end of the day? Well, like that, except instead of a chair, it's a pile of garbage. And instead of a jacket, its a pile of garbage. And instead of the end of the day, it's the end of time, and garbage is all that has survived - Ross

Need to clean my apartment and it reminded me of Friends: The One with the Dirty Girl (though not nearly as bad!)

Inspiration

2010-03-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Music inspires me a lot, here's what inspired me today...

The Mystic's Dream by Loreena McKennitt

Book Notes...

2010-03-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

I recently finished Lauren Weisberger's latest book "Chasing Harry Winston." Weisberger, who is famously known for writing "The Devil Wears Prada" (and the accompanying movie), where she writes about three long time friends who nearing thirty and not married decide to make a pact concerning men (well to be truthful only two of the women decide to join in on the pact). The book can best be described as light, casual, yet easily addictive reading. The only issue I had with the book was the somewhat one-dimensional characters (the workaholic woman who doesn't like her man, the needy woman who drives away men, and the sultry woman who wont settle with one man). That being said I enjoyed reading it as a nice break from studying. There are also rumors around the web that it will soon be made into a movie...check out the author's website here for more details about her books, movie adatations, upcoming projects, etc.: http://www.laurenweisberger.com/

On another note: After devouring Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," about a traveling circus I was absolutely thrilled to learn they planned on making the novel into a movie. Shoot to the present with my recent viewing of Reese Witherspoon talking about her involvement in the movie, video included below:

And lastly in my list of great reads turned into moves...Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love" whose book I have reccomended to just about everyone, has released the trailer for the movie starring Julia Roberts.

Can't wait to see these movies and be sure to check out the books before they hit the theatres!

(image from www.laurenweisberger.com)

10 Things I Hate About You

2010-03-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

In such a girlie mood:

I recently re-watched "10 Things I Hate About You," I had forgotten how much I absolutely love this movie (don't even get me started on the television show). A more modern take of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," the movie plays on every teen stereotype and cliche that seemed to penetrate the late nineties.

What I had mainly forgotten was how funny the movie was and how great of a soundtrack it has. Letters to Cleo's cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me," was in heavy rotation at the time this movie appeared in theaters (and I suppose after tonight's showing it will be again pounding through my headphones at the gym later).

I mainly decided to write this somewhat insomniac-driven post because of one of my favorite scenes. The car scene between Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) and Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, commence swooning...) when he basically calls her spoiled and then lists all the things he's done for her. The scene ends with her cutting him with a kiss, I melt....

The Joneses

2010-03-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm getting to preoccupied with trying to obtain the "newest thing," or at least in management of my bank account...coveting the "newest thing."

Demi Moore's latest movie is just about our desire for the newest "it" product. Playing mom to the perfect suburban family in "The Joneses." Turns out the perfect family is actual a fake family used for marketing purposes (I knew it!). Needless to say I'm loving the trailer and the premise of the movie, hopefully its as good as it looks....

Telephone - Lady Gaga & Beyonce

2010-03-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Title says it all, video is complete fabulous-ness:

Is it Spring Yet?

2010-03-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

So I managed to make it out to two really cool things in Chicago this past week. One was a performance of "Bye Bye Liver," and the other was the Shedd Aquarium.

Bye Bye Liver
Part sketch comedy, part drinking game, and all alcohol. I went to this as part of a birthday celebration for a friend and ended up having a blast. The premise is that you watch some funny sketch comedy, while interspersed in between are drinking games that involve the entire audience. Its a lot of fun, especially if you get a whole group of people to go. The actors are great and really funny. Be prepared to drink and laugh a ton. You can check out their website here: www.byebyeliver.com

Shedd Aquarium
Completely different experience but also equally as fun. I'm hoping I can post a ton of pictures, as I finally decided to start using my camera. This is your typical really cool city aquarium. Great for little kids, but equally as fun for the kid-at-heart adults who find themselves wandering in on a rainy day. Be warned that the price of admission is quite steep (read: around $23 for general admission), but there are tons of discounts to be had if you ask. Me and a friend easily completed the entire aquarium in a few hours (around 3), but for those who actually read the signs/go to the show/or have small children I would dedicate at least 4 hours to completing the whole place. (www.sheddaquarium.org)

I'm so excited to finally be exploring the city a bit more!

Ok Go - This Too Shall Pass

2010-03-04T00:43:00.000-08:00

So I vaguely remember having to build a mini-Rube Goldberg Machine in 9th grade as part of a science class. Sadly my foray into this scientific concept/art form was short lived as I failed to produce the desired outcome in order to pass (getting the golf ball on the tee). Not everyone is so inept at producing one of these really cool machines...case in point: the band Ok Go (one of the few bands I've seen perform live) recently put out their video for This Too Shall Pass, which (with the help of Syyn Labs) created a giant Rube Goldberg Machine. Admittedly I most likely would not have seen this had there not been so much hype surrounding the video, but found myself amazed along with the several thousand other youtube viewers. According to Syyn Lab's website it was filmed in one shot, which makes it all that more incredible.

Here is the video, definitely worth a view (side note - if you've never seen their treadmill dance that is also worth a view on youtube):

All Things Beauty

2010-03-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

So I recently went out and purchased myself a pair of lovely (and professional looking) pink nails. As a nail-bitter, my nails are often a sore subject of my appearance. In desperation I decided to go to my old stand-by...fake nails. After much Internet surfing I chose CiCi's Nails and am so glad I did. Not only do they have a wide selection of services, they also offer the much talked about No Chip Manicure, and UV gel nails. I cannot tell you how happy I am with my nails and the service was fabulous! After looking at my stubby nails the technician then literally "sculpted" me nails (less harsh than acrylics).

On another beauty note:
A friend recently asked me about applying makeup. Being no expert I kindly directed her to where I go all the time...youtube. I know I've already raved about Michelle Phan but here are a few more that I've bookmarked over the past few weeks:

MakeupByTiffanyD: I love, love this girl's channel on youtube. Not only is she down to earth about makeup, she also provides great reviews of products

emilynoel83 : emilynoel83 provides some great makeup tutorials using a wide variety of cosmetics, which I love. She has a bunch of great video tutorials concerning Wet N Wild's new revamped makeup collection

lollipop26 : lollipop26 does a ton of great review videos, what I like is that she is refreshingly honest about all her reviews. A good resource for finding out about new products

And lastly in this post about all things beauty... Coach's Kristin collection. I will admit after the initial thrill of my first few Coach bags I was soon on to others lines, but I am absolutely loving everything in this collection and cannot wait till it hits the Coach Outlets!

Things That Make Me Smile

2010-01-26T22:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things that made me smile today:

1. Neil Gaiman (i.e. one of my most favorite authors) is the "Honorary Chair" of National Library Week. National Library Week helps to celebrate libraries - which as a lover of books and all things free, I am totally on board for. If you want to learn more about this event you can check out the American Library Association webpage at: http://www.ala.org/

2. Up - I just received my latest Netflix DVD, Disney's Up which I am extremely eager to watch. My last two movies (500 Days of Summer and The Hangover) have been fantastic, but I'm in need of a feel good kids movie right about now.

3. Lastly I have recently begun watching The Big Bang Theory on CBS and caught an episode where one of the main characters incorporates psychological theory (behaviorism) into teaching another character correct behavior. Needless to say the psychology geek inside of me smiled...

Synergy's Organic & Raw

2010-01-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

In keeping with my New Year's Resolution of trying something new more often I decided to try Kombucha:

According to Drugs.com (http://www.drugs.com/):

"Kombucha is not a fungus or a mushroom, but rather a gray, pancake-shaped patty that may grow up to 0.15 m in diameter. The patty is placed in a mixture of black tea and sugar to ferment. Technically, the fermentation becomes a mixture of yeast and bacteria (ie, Bacterium xylinum, Bacterium gluconicum, Acetobacter ketogenum and Pichia fermentans)"

Doesn't that sound lovely? Well Kombucha has apparently been creating some sort of craze as the next big health drink. Combing reviews I have found there is quite a large fan base for this drink that boost such claims as helping cure anything from Cancer to Acne.

Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to try Synergy's Organic & Raw- GT's Kombucha. I chose Divine Grape as I figured "I like grapes." I decided to try it tonight. Pulling a newbie mistake I shook the bottle in an attempt to mix the drink more (there are cultures floating around in the drink and needless to say I was a little weirded out at first), completely forgetting the whole fermentation process...within seconds of opening the bottle promptly fizzed up. You would think that would be what I was focusing on - nope, what I was focusing on was the smell...Vinegar! Instantly I decided drinking from the bottle would be a bad idea and poured half in a cup. I can't exactly describe the taste but it is definitely growing on me. While I doubt I will be miraculously cured of any ailments I may be suffering from with just one try, I will admit a slight boost in energy or a buzz if you will.

Verdict: Not bad, I may buy it again but I don't think I'm quite a convert. The taste and smell is a little off putting at first - be warned this will not be like drinking fruit juice - that being said it has definitely grown on me. I am still a little weary about anything claiming to cure all these illnesses, and a little weirded about by the floating cultures - but find that the buzz is a nice alternative to either coffee or energy drinks.

Check it out at: www.synergydrinks.com for information about Synergy's drinks, where to purchase these drinks, and Kombucha.

2010-01-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

"Success is falling nine times and getting up ten" - Jon Bon Jovi

So the great start to 2010 has been a bit side tracked by a recent visit to my local ER. While I admit going to a Chicago ER is something that I hadn't done prior to living here, it wasn't a goal I was aiming to complete. Needless to say I am somewhat bed (or at least apartment) bound for the next few days after taking quite a spill on a patch of ice. This leaves me with the perfect amount of time to catch up on movies and mind numbing Internet surfing, as the medication leaves little in the way of allowing me to actually concentrate. Here are a few things that made me quite happy in the last few days...

Bradley Cooper - yes I finally got around to watching The Hangover and I'll admit...I loved it! I found it hilarious and in the process grew to develop a wonderful celeb crush on Cooper, whose recent ads for the A-Team movie have featured him and his prominent abs wonderfully. Check out Coopers abs and the rest of the team in the A-Team movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjTP9VR1DfQ
Brunette and Pink - I love reading blogs, and this is one of my new favorites to read. Beauty and fashion dominate here, and everything is easily accessible for those of us (like me) who love to look fashionable but don't necessary have the gene (or the wallet) for looking like Angelina on a daily basis. Check out the blog at: http://brunetteandpink.blogspot.com
Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows by Urban Decay - with Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland helping to build the hype up for all things Alice, Urban Decay also pays homage with their newest collection. I saw a picture of the set and fell in love. Not only is there a great set of eye shadows, but the box also features a pop-up-scene of Alice. Its a limited release so I am hoping I can snag one before they are all gone. Check it out at www.urbandecay.com
Steampunk - while searching through websites for ideas in which to decorate my apartment I came across the concept of Steampunk and absolutely fell in love. Steampunk decor is a combination of vintage/Victorian and metal (gears, clock parts, etc.). Etsy (www.etsy.com) has a ton of steampunk inspired artists and a great website to check out is The Steampunk Home (http://thesteampunkhome.blogspot.com) for some great ideas.

The Magicians

2010-01-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

I admit I picked up Lev Grossman's "The Magicians" mainly because I had heard it being called the "Harry Potter for adults." In the novel Grossman tells the tale of Quentin, a college hopeful. Disenchanted with the real world he longs for Fillory, the magical world told about in his favorite childhood story series. Extremely smart (by conventional non-magical standards), Quentin is accepted into a magical college, where he quickly learns that magic does not solve all one's problems, and sometimes creates many others.

I had had my eye on this book for quite sometime, and after much deliberation over the hardcover book price, decided it would be a end of the semester indulgence. Let me start by saying this book is not Harry Potter. There is sex, drinking, swearing, and real adult problems. Needless to say that does not mean that Grossman does not interweave some elements often in the form of humorous jabs at the famous boy-wizard. One of the reasons I loved this book was that there was the element of reality - magic does not solve all problems, nor does it ensure one is happy.

In keeping with interweaving fantasy and reality, Grossman does a fantastic job of creating the characters of the book. None are too archetypal and each has his or her own flaws. As a lover of fantasy I found myself drawn to Quentin - whose idolization of the magical is soon staunched by the sharp pangs of reality that so often entrap us as adults (yes at the age of 24 I am using that particular word).

Overall I really enjoyed this book. While I found the dialogue at times to be somewhat stunted, the book generally had a nice flow to it, and I often found myself disappointed at having to put it down. Despite its comparison to another famous magical book series I feel that it can (and perhaps should) be read and appreciated separately. The reality and fantasy mix was refreshing and something I wish could be incorporated in more novels. I recommend picking up this book (or borrowing it from your local library).

(picture from Lev Grossman's website: www.levgrossman.com)

Avatar

2010-01-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

I managed to catch Avatar right before I left for the holiday break. Slightly hesitant at the hype surrounding James Cameron's triumphant return to the big screen, I admittedly braced myself to be disappointed...I wasn't.

By now most people have either seen the film or read summaries about it so I will spare another account of the film and simply jump right into my take:

I felt overall the movie was extremely well made. Plot-wise I was impressed. The characters were well developed, and nothing felt too forced. The political message, while there, was nothing that felt too imposed upon the viewer (though I have read some reviews that disagree). Often there was this tug to side with our heroic troops in the movie, while recognizing that in this particular film they are not the heroes. I particularly enjoyed the development of the Na'vi, the native inhabitants of Pandora. The language, rituals, and the sense of community of the Na'vi being a stark contrast to the militaristic and economic environment of the humans. While I found at times the plot seemed to drag, overall I found myself engaged in the struggle that was showcased on the screen. (side note: while I recognize that the 2+ hour long movie felt long I also recognize that for a film of this size a film shorter in length may not have done it justice)

Visually the movie was astounding and deserves all the praises heaped upon it. I was initially skeptical in learning the movie was in 3-D as my previous experience with 3-D movies have not been the best (i.e. nausea, jumpiness, etc.). I was pleasantly surprised to find that rather than applying the typical "images jutting out of the screen" technique used in many 3-D films Cameron instead chose to use the 3-D viewing as it was intended...to enhance the movie. My favorite part of the movie by far were the luminescent landscapes of Pandora, which was absolutely beautiful.

Overall, I highly recommend seeing this film in theatres, as the stunning visuals will just not be the same on the small screen.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-03T18:12:00.001-08:00

Its 2010, which means its time for resolutions!! While I have notoriously not been a fan of the often broken New Year Resolutions I feel like I can confidently list several I at least will attempt to work at this year:

Procrastinate less

Be healthier (i.e. exercise more, eat healthier, floss more, etc.)

Learn how to cook (specifically how to flip a pancake)

Explore Chicago

Wear more clothes that aren't black

Spend less

Be a better friend

Try more new things

Organize/clean more

Laugh more

I am full of hopeful promise for this new year and am wishing everyone nothing but the best for 2010!

Bring Change 2 Mind

2009-11-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

Grad school has seemingly sucked out all the energy for my creativity to write, so while I spend the next few days soul searching I thought I'd share (yet another) youtube clip. Its a PSA for the campaign Bring Change 2 Mind, which advocates for the destigmatization of mental illness in society, as well as bringing support to those suffering from, or who know people who are suffering from a mental illness. As a psychologist-in-training, it is a passion of mine to bring awareness to the general public the misconceptions about mental illness that have gone on far to long.

Here's the video that caught my attention, featuring Glenn Close. I also included a link for the campaigns website after the video:

http://bringchange2mind.org/

Love

2009-11-04T00:04:00.001-08:00

As this is the second week of midterms this post will be quite short:

I happend across this trailer will purusing through the internet and was pleasantly surprised. Love is a film to be released in early 2010 by the band members of Angels & Airwaves. Immediately I was skeptical when I read that first introduction, but the trailer really impressed me. The story centers around an astronaut that becomes isolated and stranded in orbit.

The trailer reinds me a bit, conceptually, of The Fountain. I am at once intrigued and skeptical of the film, but also remain optimistic of this movie as the trailer looks quite promising.

Check the bands website which is full of content on the movie: http://modlife.com/angelsandairwaves

And here's the trailer:

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

2009-10-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

In light of Halloween coming up I decided to show some of my favorite non-scary Halloween movies:

Nightmare Before Christmas

Casper

Edward Scissorhands

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Twilight Woods

2009-10-27T17:51:00.001-07:00

I am currently sitting amongst piles of papers and stacks of books in front of a day long marathon of Grey's Anatomy - welcome to finals week. Before this started I did manage a little shopping spree to help stave off the inevitable. One of my stops was at Bath & Body Works where I discovered what I have now termed 'My scent of the season.'

Twilight Woods

According to the Bath & Body Works website: "Master perfumers have blended apricot nectar, mimosa petals and Tuscan cypress to create this hypnotic fragrance, inspired by a romantic walk in enchanted woods. "

I can only describe the scent as sweet while still having a warmth to it. I tend to shy away from fruity scents as they remind me too much of sprays I used as a teenager - but the light sophistication of this scent is what drew me in. Always a little wary of trying too a new fragrance I decided to pick up the roll on version. At only $7.50 I figured I couldn't go wrong and I am so excited that I did. I highly recommend picking up this scent!

(image from Bath & Body Works website: www.bathandbodyworks.com)

Paranormal Activity: Spoilers

2009-10-21T21:06:00.001-07:00

So I just got out of a screening of the new horror film Paranormal Activity. Overall I felt that the movie was okay, nothing too incredible - but worth a trip to see if your into horror movies. I wanted to review the movie since it's been forever since I've seen one in theatres, but in order to talk about this movie there will be some definite major spoilers (you've been warned)....

I felt that the movie had definite potential, but it was comparable to the TV show "A Haunting." Where there are reenactments and nothing is taken too seriously. I've heard that a lot of people were laughing/talking during screenings of this and I will be the first to admit that I was one of those people. I definitely was scared that things were going to jump out at me during the movie, but it was not one of those films that stayed with me afterwards. The character development was interesting - as the film continued and the demonic happenings increased Micah became more of an a**hole and Katie more of a witch with a b. By the end of the movie I felt that Micah had it coming to him after being so mean to Katie and then antagonizing the demon. The Ouija board scene was somewhat laughable mainly because it was predictable and then having it catch fire was a bit over the top. It was a bit of a tease to go into the story about the other possessed girl and then not learn anything more about it. I suppose its because its a mock-u-mentary, and we aren't suppose to learn anymore than the characters do but I found it rather frustrating. I suppose after years of horror films I'm conditioned to want to know why the person is being followed around by a demon, not just how the demon is follow them around.

The whole ending I felt was a bit of a cop out. Not only was Micah the dumbest character to not realize how clearly messed up Katie was (aka possessed), but the ending felt a bit over the top. Obviously the movie was going to have some sort of major ending, but it felt like it was too far of a stretch compared to the previous scenes. To have possessed Katie throw her dead boyfriends body at the camera and then stare creepily at him/camera for an ending was a bit too traditional Hollywood ending for a movie that survived off of more subtle things (like the noises and the sheets moving).

Overall I felt the movie was okay. Definitely not the best horror film I've seen, but worth a look just to see what all the hypes about. Apparently it was leaked on the Internet awhile ago and there are various endings. After reading about them I would have gone with just ending with her rocking on the floor, totally creepy. The character development was nice, with the couple getting more hostile toward each other and the demon feeding off the negative energy. I liked that the movie's scare was fueled more by what you didn't see or assumed was happening. As the audience was limited by seeing only what the supposed handheld camera saw I felt like my imagination filled in and added to the on edge feel. Additionally, it was interesting watching a film without a score behind it - I hadn't really noticed it till I read off of a few message boards. I suppose the demon's footsteps provided the "soundtrack" for the film.

I feel this is a DVD rental unless you have some deep desire to see what all the hype is about.

Victoria Secret Chicago

2009-10-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

I recently received my birthday "gift card" courtesy of Victoria Secret in the mail. I am debating whether I should check out their new store on Michigan Avenue Thursday and try to use it. According to the website the new Chicago will have personalized shopping and concierge service, in addition to an expanded section of their traditional intimates. I wont lie I'm a little intimidated. In preparation for the grand opening Thursday Victoria Secret has a whole week of events including a signing with Marisa Miller and a collection of the infamous angel wings.

Needless to say I am intrigued and intimidated by this whole thing and may just wait to use my cheapy gift card...

P.S. Yes they have a website dedicated solely to this new opening: www.vschicago.com

Dear John

2009-10-15T23:07:00.001-07:00

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks was one of the few books I can say I read cover-to-cover. It was heartbreakingly beautiful and painfully realistic. The book is about a man named John Tyree who on leave from the army falls in love with a girl named Savannah. He promises to marry her and quit the army...then 9/11 happens. Its a Nicholas Sparks book so its full of unrealistic romantic lines and tearful acts all under the context of a southern sun. I suppose it resonated with me mainly because the years in which I started to formulate an understanding of romantic love was also the time when I came to understand more deeply the idea of war. Now (unfortunately) this marriage of the two has become common place, particularly among people my age.

The trailer looks promising, although I haven't been all that thrilled with movie interpretations of Spark's books in the past I am hopeful. The cast looks great. The song they use in the trailer is Snow Patrol's (featuring Martha Wainwright) "Set Fire in the Third Bar."

Glee

2009-10-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

After a birthday weekend battling a horrendous cold its things like this that make me smile...

Missing the Music

2009-09-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen a musical in a while. I watched Glee the other day and realized just how much I miss theatre. I have been trying to figure out what show to get tickets to and came across this youtube clip. I will admit that despite the general buzz surrounding the show (Jersey Boys) I really had no clue what it was about. But after watching the performance at the Tony's I will admit to being intrigued...

Adoption

2009-09-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

I was recently surfing the Internet and noticed just how many times the use of the word "adopted child" came up. It was particularly prevalent in terms of explaining a family's child in terms of a family's biological children. It was a bit disheartening. As an adopted child myself when asked who my mother was I never hesitated to answer - my adopted mother was/is/will always be my mother. Designating that a child is the "adopted child" sounds as though while they are that family's children they are really not their family's kids - at least as not as much as their biological kids.

I remember reading an article once with Michelle Pfeiffer. It was the actress's second interview with the same interviewer (though years earlier). The interviewer mentioned that they remembered Pfeiffer correcting them that her daughter was not her "adopted daughter," but merely her daughter. That thought struck me. As an Asian child brought up in an entirely white family it was never really a huge question about whether I was adopted or not - that being said people seemingly need the label in order to make sense of what they see.

Needless to say it's all just my opinion and perhaps some people are more comfortable being called the "adopted child." As for me I will just continue to refer to those who are adopted as children...

Exercise

2009-09-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

I need to work out soon...

Maybe this will motivate me

See more videos on modelinia.com

Letting Myself Off the Hook

2009-09-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

The dreaded daily planner. I am currently sitting next to mine as it mocks me. Looming over me, I will admit there are days when I am scared to even open its cover to reveal its contents. Seemingly innocent it's the equivalent of the "Daily Chore Chart" from my childhood. Its check-list of items enormous, it seemingly taunts me at my inability to even get through half the items.

To be fair, I recognize that I create these unrealistic check-lists. That somehow when creating these lists I imagine myself living in this fantasy world where I wake up early, run 10 miles, help feed all the hungry, shelter stray kittens, read entire encyclopedias, and have time to be back home by 6 to scrapbook it all... Needless to say that is not my life (or anyone's).

And while my life certainly holds its fair share of procrastination time I also have the tendency to wear myself out. As such I have decided to designate today as the day I let myself off the hook. While I know there are items I need to complete (dishes, homework, thank you cards...the list goes on) I also realize that allergies, poor sleep, and stress have all led to a minor burnout on the part of this new graduate student. I looked around today at my classmates - all seemed to share the same sentiment. No one quite prepares you for this going into graduate school and perhaps you can't understand it unless you experience it firsthand.

So here's to tomorrow, the day where I figure out how to bring about world peace, discover a cure to an incurable illness, fix the ozone layer, and accomplish all my homework : )

(photo -freedigitalphotos.net)

Reflection of the Day

2009-09-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

I feel like this past month I have been neglecting key elements of my life and have been quite lazy in other areas. Chalking it up to having relocated I find myself in a state of passiveness which I am starting to resent. Its been a month now that I've been in Chicago. It scares me a bit how quickly time has passed, it seems just yesterday I was unpacking my things. It also scares me how little things have changed. That will change...

Honeymoon is over, the luster and shine of being in a new place has been replaced by the knowledge that work is still work no matter where you go. Stress and anxiety will follow you regardless of location - same feeling new place. That being said I am loving the city, it still gives me a sense of renewal and hopefulness that I feel I was lacking back in Boston. I am confident that this month will bring about more change (good or bad) that will hopefully bring me out of this passive state.

Today I am grateful for my understanding of what I have taken for granted. I came home to find a sign on my door declaring that due to construction my building would be without water. Needless to say my day plans are now shot, I then proceeded to complain all day. Upon further reflection I realized how much I take for granted that when I turn on the tap water comes out. Instead of bemoaning that for eight hours of one day I will be without water I should be praising the fact that for the rest of the time it does. Needless to say this puts my predicament in a greater light.

So here's to hoping that the next month will bring about just as many revelations, changes, and accomplishments...