dessert solitaire

SO TRUE. This is SO TRUE.

2010-05-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

Robert: You know? It's really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems.

Oprah: You are saying that it's not that difficult?

Robert: No. What's hard is to decide.

- Robert Downey Jr. on the Oprah Winfrey Show, 2004

This might be the truest thing I have ever heard, and everyone who suffers from addictive behaviors of any kind needs to face up to this. They need help, and they deserve help, but at some point, they have to help themselves. I remember once saying "This is stupid" and totally abandoning what I was about to do. It was the beginning of the end, at least of that. I decided. Once you love yourself enough to decide, it's amazing how the change comes.

not all who wander are lost

2010-05-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

"I will take the ring to Mordor, though I do not know the way."

"I made a promise: Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee. And I don't mean to."

ADORABLE.

daily doll: good friends

2010-05-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

Haru, Jenna and Eli just hanging out. Haru's purple tie was a birthday gift from Jenna.

I made another one.

2010-05-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Finished her yesterday. She's had offers already and I'm waiting for payment.

SPAM SPAM SPAMalot

2010-04-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

SO.
BORED.

Today's boredom quotient calls for a whole sampler of pic spam. Spampler. If you will.

DOLLSPAM:

Iris found a new hairdo and it is PERFECT. She looks good in everything, but this is really it.

CATSPAM:

DOWNEYSPAM:

I am working on my Moche paper, of which I miiiiiight get a draft of done tonight, minus the figures. It's due next Wednesday, but I have my Proseminar paper due next Wednesday as well and it's barely a zygote, so.

Tomorrow would have been the written part of generals if we'd stuck to the original schedule. InSANE.

I am so out of here. I cannot WAIT. I don't regret coming the first time, and I don't regret going back; I just need to leave now. It is time.

Here is another spamnugget, I don't know who made it, but it's classic.

Okay, the first one is true. The last one might have been true but no longer. The others...just no.

daily doll: Lishe

2010-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

She's lovely and quite well integrated into the gang. I don't want to sell her now. ;)

daily doll: gossip girls

2010-04-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Sako and Miranda exchange secrets and rumors.

PUPPY DOWNEY JR!!!!

2010-04-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so, I promise I'm not going to post pics of RDJ every day, but apparently yesterday someone snapped photos of him taking home a puppy. A PUPPY!! This cannot be ignored.

It looks like a baby Rottweiler and it's already friggin huge! I wonder what he is going to name it. Seriously, dying of cute over here.

dollspam

2010-04-22T08:51:00.001-07:00

Haru and his little brother Ichigo sat down for a nice lunch before Ichi got shipped off to Baltimore. Of course, Haru is eating only sweets and Ichi is eating sushi.

RDJ Worship Post

2010-04-20T15:59:00.001-07:00

This is not because I am annoyed at my boyfriend. Nope.

LET'S TALK ABOUT ROBERT DOWNEY, JR.

He is my latest celeb obsession. I loved him in the few films I'd seen him in before, but I didn't truly fall for him hardcore until I watched his early breakout Less Than Zero, which I watched, admittedly, because of his character's similarity to Haru. It's not a great movie, but his performance is brilliant, and so moving because it foreshadows his real life and made me feel for him as a person and reminded me of Haru.

ANYWAY.

Some eye candy pic spam to kick us off, but I promise there is substance and narrative in this post. Bear with me. I'm a geek.

World's best smile.

He's so real.
DASHING. UNF.

He has a great way with hats.

Reasons why RDJ is made of Awesome:

One: This guy can do anything.

He is friggin Iron Man for Pete's sake. Aka Tony Stark. Possibly richer, definitely smarter, and certainly sexier than Bruce Wayne (aka Batman).

Panache. He has it.

How...guh...what?
He and Jude Law are THE CUTENESS together in Sherlock Holmes. The movie has no other point but their awesome team acting.

Hottest Sherlock ever.

Smoldering intensity. He really has the best eyes.

He has truly aged beautifully, especially considering all the shit he's come through.

Having said that, can we talk about young RDJ for minute? Because I think I might die of death.

Holy mother of god. What a beautiful human being.

He's got that sexy self destructive side to him...

Who doesn't love a sensitive bad boy?

Julian, his character in Less Than Zero, IS HARU. Kind of. When I heard the plot I had to watch it, because of Haru. Julian is a coke addict and has to prostitute himself to pay off his debt. :( IT IS SO SAAAAD. It is also really scary-sad because this was around the time in RDJ:s life when he got really into drugs himself. Life imitated art.

Forget the drugs; those eyelashes should be illegal. *drool*

Julian is a sad wasted PUPPYYY!!

UNF. ILLEGAL EYELASHES. Arrest him and bring him to my room kthx.

UWAAAAA. JULIANNNNN~ D:

Before he crashed and burned, he got an Oscar nomination for the title role in Chaplin:

Amazing. It's simply uncanny. Too bad he spent most of the rest of the decade in between rehab and jail.

AGAIN WITH THE EYELASHES. Sad puppy. You're killing me.

My ovaries. They burrrrrn.

Twenty years later, still burnin'.

And can we talk about how this man can

Seriously, what RDJ has overcome, is huge. HUGE.

In the early 90s he was hailed as one of the finest actors of his generation, but his addiction got him in trouble with the law so much that no one wanted to take risks on him.
Cannot possibly include enough pics from Less Than Zero. Nope.

Between major busts and jail sentences, RDJ was on Ally McBeal in 00 and revitalized the show with his awesomeness, which included wearing dorky glasses.
EEEE. CUTE.
But, unfortunately, he got fired after getting in trouble AGAIN. Shame on you, Rubber Ducky Jr.

So what does our boy Bob do?

He gets himself clean (two steps forward, one step back? maybe) while gradually rebuilding credibility with films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly, Good Night and Good Luck, and Zodiac. He's back. He's getting respect. But is that enough for our boy Bob? No. He wants something more. He wants everyone to know how far he's come and how HUGE this is.

So he decides to be in a superhero movie.

Just like The Dark Knight would have been trivial without Heath Ledger's Joker, Iron Man worked because of Downey. Yes, it's flashy and fun and has surprising character depth for a comic book film, but the real point is, this is RDJ saying BITCHES I'M FOR REAL. The thing about Iron Man is, it IS HIS LIFE. Tony Stark begins the film as a spoiled prick, a weapons manufacturing heir whose near death experience as a captive in Afghanistan changes his life's philosophy and mission.

Tony's turnaround in the film is genuinely moving because it's RDJ. It is clearly a metaphor for his career. The scene where Tony returns from Afghanistan and everyone claps is so obviously mirroring RDJ getting standing ovations after his own long recovery and return. And then the board of his company is machinating against him, trying to write him out of the picture until he gets his mind right...but Tony's having none of it. Because he is Robert Downey Jr., that's why. Once again, as in Less Than Zero, Downey's life imitated his art. Suddenly the addict is an action figure. Who knew?

RDJ makes, or steals, every movie he's in, no matter how mediocre it would have been without him. Someone needs to put him in a truly great movie, stat.

The same summer of Iron Man, he ran away with Ben Stiller:s controversial comedy Tropic Thunder and got an Oscar nomination as this guy:
Yes. That is ALSO RDJ. I know. In the film he plays a white Australian, the *ultimate method actor,* who got skin pigmentation treatment to play a role originally written for black soldier. In another actor's hands it could have been offensive. Instead it's hilarious. Downey turns everything he touches into gold. Most of his films are not great films, but all of his performances are great. Every single one. He's brilliant. He:s like Johnny Depp that way, except even more diverse, I'd say.

Sherlock Holmes. This role was so perfect for him. No one ever would have guessed an American -- Robert Downey Jr, of all people -- could do it, but it was perfect.

Also pictures do not capture the adorable of his movements. I could watch videos of him all day. Not that I've done that. I'm just saying I could. I guess that:s why he's a movie star, hm?

I especially love his 2005 interview with Ellen. Especially the end. He's precious.

Also love how he loves to embrace his gay side even though he is straight.

He's not afraid to get in bed with Tobey Maguire...

...or snuggle with Jude Law... *dammit, the animation doesn't come though on this... will fix*

...or wear purple...

...or kiss Elton John ...

...or Val Kilmer...

...but he does have a beautiful wife. Maybe that's why.

and look at them, they're so in love.

He's a musician too. AND HE LOOKS LIKE A PUPPY ON HIS ALBUM COVER.

He is just so damn cool. And he kind of knows it, and that's okay.

He is a man of style.

He also has the cutest son ever. Even if, based on the image on Ellen, Indio is turning into a third Olsen twin.

He has one of those faces that can just transform. And I don:t just mean that vintage RDJ looks way different from aged-to-perfection RDJ. I mean that here he looks like Simon Cowell:
...here he looks like Hugh Jackman:

And here, in this aptly titled spread, he looks like Hugh Laurie:

Chameleon of all shades. He:s demonstrated he can do just about anything, as far as I'm concerned.

So, to sum up:

Pretty.

Dorky.
Goofy.
Manly.

I love all my RDJs.

This guy will be a legend. At last, he's just getting started.

2010-04-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

Amazing news! The faculty decided to push back our generals to June 9-11, and remove the take home part! This is so awesome. Also, I talked with Gary about my decision to leave and he wass super, super amazingly great about it.

I don't understand why certain people always have to rain on your parade, though. >>

daily doll: three amigas

2010-04-19T04:11:00.000-07:00

Vera, Iris, and Lishe. Iris stole Vera's hair. Vera stole Lenore's hair. Girls are viscious like that.

2010-04-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

"But isn't it great to look back, once it's over, on something really painful, some huge challenge you had to face, and to say 'Yeah, I climbed the mountain'?" Bridget asks me.

Indeed, I have thought a lot about mountains. I thought about cross-country and the epic, nostalgia-shaped hole it left in my life (a pleasant hole, though sad). Mount SAC. Mount Doom. I know that feeling Bridget is describing. It's not a coincidence that she was a runner too. There is pleasure in remembering the agony of the struggle. But only, really, when the struggle means something. I'm not talking about saving the world here, or even winning the race. You know if your struggle means something. You just know. Even if it just comes down to not waking up every day wishing you hadn't, to not loathing of the sight of your own skin. That means something. I've overcome too much, at this point, to be stirred by the challenge of an academic test.

"It is," I say. "It is a great feeling, and everyone has to experience it. But...I have climbed...several big mountains already. Real mountains, I can't even..." I sniff and swallow and press my palms against my eyes for a moment. The alkaline drip of bitter memories mingles with overpriced pizza grease. Press the shame back, back, back into the dark center of your skull. Close the door. Exhale.

"I've been there," I say. "More than once. I've done that. This, for me, is not that."

daily doll

2010-04-13T04:43:00.001-07:00

Margot jumping on the plaid bandwagon, in her own classy golden way. :)

daily doll: loverboys

2010-04-10T04:23:00.000-07:00

Baking together at the meet in January.

daily doll: hobbitses

2010-04-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

They are waiting on their cloaks. I should take a picture of their feet now that I finally finished those, but I'm lazy right now.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

This isn't especially Eastery, but whatever. They are such silly kids.

2010-04-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

I finally changed Anastasie's clothes. ^_^ She's such a cutieeee~

daily doll: custom

2010-03-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Made this one! :)

daily doll: the shelf of doooom!

2010-03-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Ah, excess.
And Haru is wearing a corset.

daily doll: beautiful disaster

2010-03-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

Who else but Haru. He's just...something else.

the month without sleep beings

2010-03-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

This: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/
Well that explains everything.

This:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/27/nick-levasseur-apology-an_n_516058.html
Stay classy, legislators. Stay classy.

Also, the main dragon in this movie has the exact same eyes and mannerisms as my cat. Lindsey has seen the film and confirms.

I have 30 days until Generals begin. Which would be fine if I didn't have four classes to complete.

I honestly have no idea what I am going to do.

daily doll: more girlfriends

2010-03-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

Milagros and Vera~ Vera is the newest and probably the last for some time.

2010-03-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is Miranda. I got her as a birthday gift from Haji. :D She's Mir, probably my second favorite 2009 doll (behind Clarity). She looks a little bit like Anastasie but they're also very different:

I've made her half demon just to mix things up. XD

2010-03-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

Jenna Celeste has a new hairdo and a supercute designer outfit.

2010-03-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

Here is another custom I did myself. I sold her and made some $. :)

daily doll: girlfriends

2010-03-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Dori and Lenore are my girlxgirl couple. I made some green eyes for Dori. I like them with her hair.

daily doll: oh snap

2010-03-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

That snap was my willpower sometime around February 10. This is Anastasie, neé Fanatica, the most beautiful Pullip ever. There is something so unique about this girl that makes her one of the all time most popular and sought-after. I managed to get her for a decent price, but she's still worth more than a couple of her shelfmates. ^^;

2010-03-20T05:11:00.000-07:00

Eli and Iris. Poor Eli has been flirting with all the girls for months trying to convince everyone he's straight. But he finally found the one who really clicked with him. Iris is Adsiltia. She is such a beautiful girl!

daily doll: twofer

2010-03-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes one picture isn't quite enough, especially when you're introducing someone new. And it's my blog so I make the rules. This is Milagros (Mila) - Pullip Zuora with new hair and eyes. She's a relatively recent addition. Haru has started stealing parts of her stock outfit. XD

random thoughts

2010-03-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

First: Oh my. Glenn Beck really does talk like the Joker.

Second: I'm not sure how I feel about this upcoming book -- seems like people who have managed to get their PhD's and are ostensibly reaping the benefits thereof shouldn't be putting down the system that sustains them, but who knows. I haven't read it. All I know is, Ph.D. should always have an exclamation point -- maybe two. Ph!D! I love that.

Third: I miss Johnny Depp movies where Johnny Depp looks like Johnny Depp. Is all.

Fourth: Johnny Weir is SO CUTE and so classy. I just love him. Listen to them both being all "I don't even know what they were driving at," lol. Riiiiiight. But yeah, it's true, it makes no sense.

daily doll

2010-03-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

Margot is getting ready for summer. :)

daily doll: Ichigo

2010-03-17T05:06:00.000-07:00

This is Ichigo, Avonne's original Death Note character and Haru's younger half-brother from our RP game. :) I made him for Avonne's birthday. She was so surprised and happy! He is a full custom, one of a kind.

another piece of the puzzle

2010-03-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

Another random thing I thought of regarding Asperger's is the fact that I hate the telephone and love the internet. Most people I know say they hate or have trouble with email and IM because they can't pick up on or convey tone in typed words. This, of course, is why emoticons were invented. But I've always preferred email because I had so much trouble with the phone. I really have mostly trained myself to understand facial expressions (compulsive sketching of faces, anyone??), but what I still have TONS of trouble with is vocal tone. This is why I always think people are yelling or angry when they're not, or, conversely why I always yell when I think I'm not. And this is why I hate the phone. I feel so disoriented talking to a disembodied voice, and I never really knew why before. By contrast, email is the great equalizer. NOBODY can understand tonal subtleties through most email, without the benefit of vocal inflection or facial expression. So they dislike it, and I like it. I like how there are certain signs clearly associated with how I want the other person to know I feel. When I see :) I am reassured, and I only wish there were something like that for the telephone. XD

Anyway, yeah. I think I get it!

pop culture break

2010-03-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Adam Lambert, whatever.

Yes, the pants are tight. But frankly I am more concerned with how DANGEROUS those greaves and shoulder pads look. I mean what if one of his ~~love slaves~~ stage dancers accidentally made forceful contact with one of those things? Not too mention his own face. Oh dear. Also, as from someone who loves gay things with spikes, I still think this outfit is ugly. Good idea, bad execution.

But what I'm interested in is the horrified reaction this gets compared to the passé response to the female equivalent. Ladies appear on stage with mile-high cleavage and no pants all the time. All the time. And yeah, it's kind of gross (unless you're Gaga, but I'll talk about her another time). But why do they do it? Because the industry is run by, and therefore for, straight men. Because women are seen as objects whether they dress this way or not. Wonder why everyone does it? Because they believe have to in order to get noticed. Whether it's true or not is debatable; the point is that regardless of talent the female stars are pressured to flaunt their assets. It's perfectly okay (read: expected) for Britney or Rihanna (or - flashback! -Janet Jackson or Madonna) to risk cameltoe or a nip slip (which is almost a rite of passage in the pop starlet's world), but Adam Lambert, well, that is way over the line. Makes sense to me. Poor Adam. He's just trying to be one of the girls! Leave Adam alone!!

Oh, but Adam, I'd still consider taking some style pointers from Johnny Weir. And by pointers I don't mean giant spikes on your extremities. Although...oh my, are we conjuring fun mental images? I think we are.

muñeca del día

2010-03-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Dori in the bakery at the January meet. This is her favorite outfit; it's so hard to get her to change. I love the pirate ship cake.

thinking about my atypical brain

2010-03-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

I took three different short tests online, and they all said I probably have AS. To be honest about it I feel like I've known all along, and yet never known. Isn't that odd. Obvisouly there's no substitute for a real diagnosis, but I don't know if I care to pursue that. Maybe later.

I finally figured out how I want to use the nice journal Nancy gave me for Christmas. It's by far the nicest journal I've ever had, so I hesitated to make a mark in it. But I realized I want to write a book about the way I've seen the world and how life has been for me. From time to time in the past I'd toyed with the idea of an autobiography, but it seemed self-indulgent. To me, my life was fascinating and full of wonder, but really, to an outsider, it was just a normal ordinary life. Why would anyone want to read about an upper-middle-class white girl going to the best schools and suffering upper-middle-class angst over Roxy shirts and calories? However, now that I understand my condition, I realize that I actually haven't had an ordinary life. What many would call my fantasy life has been of equal meaning to me as the side of my life that is observable to outsiders. I used to think that putting stories about "I'm not a girl; I'm a bear" in an autobiography would be seen as an overly cute and clever self-depiction. But now I see that my experiences, with my phenomenal longterm memory, are not irrelevant. There are other people -- other girls, primarily, for the boys have been better studied -- who think as I do, and parents who don't know how to raise them. There is not enough out there to read that is anecdote-based, engaging, first-person rather than clinical. I think it would be useful for the general public to have something like this. Autobiography is the wrong word, though. It won't cover everything, and it won't be in order. It will focus on a series of specific themes pertaining to elements of AS and trace those through incidents from my experience. I want people to be able to relate to me, even if they never meet me, in a way I was able to relate to so few growing up. I want to help people, because there are so many people unaware of this condition, especially the less severe cases who have gone undiagnosed, who are suffering unnecessarily and might be comforted by the understanding.

I finally understand now why, despite having had all the advantages in the world, including the best of families, I still had such a difficult time growing up. And I feel vindicated, in a way. I know lots of people would caution me to be more private about such a thing, and I'm not sharing it with anyone except my boyfriend and my family, even if I am writing about it here. It's not the kidn of thing you broadcast. But it is something very important to me, because world makes so much more sense now. So I'm not going to be super secretive or anything either. I am not ashamed, because it's just how I am.

Now back to writing my paper. I had a minor eureka moment while looking at some Moche pots, so I think I'll be able to have fun with it until that particular angle is spent. Maybe I'll get eight pages or so out of it.

daily doll: winter pastimes

2010-03-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your socks get too full of holes? Make them into hats for your dolls, of course. Lenore is modeling a kitty-ear hat that I have since sold. :)

daily doll

2010-03-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is QiaoMei, model China China. I gave her new eyes (the originals were flat brown) and later a new body, though this picture predates the latter. She is sold out from 2004. I got her for a very "normal" price though, from a local collector at the January meetup. I just love her simple beauty and her cool hair. They don't make the new stock wigs as nice as the old ones.

your daily doll

2010-03-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

Because I don't really have time or energy to make a huge post with all my favorite pics and new dolls going back to who knows when, I'm going to post one random doll photo a day. That way I won't be wasting as much of your time, either, since it takes two seconds to look at a picture. :)

Haru and his boyfriend Zero.

my little custom doll

2010-01-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Lishe is finished! I'm really happy with her.

this is my blog; i post what i want

2009-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I enhanced Kona's eyes so she's not so plain. I must say I'm rather pleased with the result:

Also my little Dals' wigs came today!

Who are they? ^_^ Can you tell? (Do you KNOW me?)

And speaking of ambiguously platonic twosomes, I don't know whether the new Sherlock Holmes movie is going to be any good as a movie, much less as a Sherlock Homes adaptation, but I know I'm going to love it for one wonderful reason:

Oh, Watson, this psychological disturbed state in which you observe yourself is called LOVE. Get out of denial, my good fellow! They're so super cuuuuuuute! They need to just get a room. OH WAIT they already have one. Lol.

pullips: cheaper than children!

2009-12-12T12:28:00.001-08:00

...and prettier too, imho. Mom, this is for you because you asked for it.

Click pictures to zoom! Stock names are linked to PullipStyle for comparison.
No fair clicking ahead. First, a review of the dolls you've already met:

Sako (Rida) and of course Haru (Horizon):
Haru and Sako were high school buds together. She actually appears in my original story, but isn't fully fleshed out. Once she arrived, I learned she wants to be a manga artist. Despite her bold style, she's somewhat shy and reclusive because she thinks she's more awkward than she actually is. Like Haru, she's an orphan. Haru also has yet another new wig which came to me by chance (more on that later) and is my very favorite of all his hairdos. I also love their matchy-matchy shirts!

Jenna Celeste (Celsiy) and Bijou (Angelique):
Jenna, an eccentric and artsy engineering major, is college buds with Haru, and Bijou is her cousin, a French model. They are very close. Lookit the inverse hair/eyelids! That's all stock; I didn't plan it! :D

Now, I know I told you when I went to the dolly meetup they had discounts? So I HAD to buy one right, because, discount, no shipping, peer pressure, zomg.

So I bought Youtsuzu. Her name is Midori. But she lives a double life.

This doll is to die for. Her kimono has four separate layers and feels like silk, and her hair is super elaborate. Unlike some of the pricier dolls, she's worth the money. Plus, I just adore her face. Her lipliner is unique among Pullips. And those eyes!
BUT, how can this traditional Japanese beauty fit in with my gang of crazy kids? Simple. She's Sako's older half-sister (yes she knows they look nothing alike, and she doesn't care). She works at a trendy Tokyo establishment as a neo-geisha. It's fairly good money and all she has to do is be pretty and put up with inappropriate comments from male patrons. Perhaps it's not the most respectable thing to do, but it put food on the table while Sako was finishing high school. In her real life, she has a totally different style from her professional elegance. She goes by Dori, and she prefers girls.
ARGH, A BUNNY! Dori has been experimenting with her at-home hair. First it was natural black. Then she discovered blond does wonders for her complexion:
The blond phase lasted awhile. But this week, perhaps because she heard a rumor another blonde might be arriving, she changed it to dark auburn, which suits her wonderfully. She's one of my very favorites to photograph in all her styles!
Thennnn someone else came along. I had been waiting for Haru's boyfriend since September and he still wasn't due out for another few weeks. I NEEDED another boy and I'd been looking at pictures of re-wigged, re-dressed Butler. I came to the conclusion he was the prettiest Taeyang. Then one practically fell into my lap from the boards.

When Eli arrived, he came with a red and black wig, which did not fit his personality, but Haru wanted it. Until the wig I'd ordered arrived, I kept him in it backward:
All the straight girls are flirting with him, lol. Well, Jenna and Bijou are. Sako is trying but it's more just like ...*erm erm awkward*

Finally his coffee-brown wig arrived from Hong Kong! Much better. That's a pretty boy.
As much as I adore his face, Eli as a character is still sort of unformed in my mind. He keeps aligning himself with Ichigo, Avonne's roleplay character (also Haru's made up younger brother), and it occurred to me I should change his eyes to gold and make him into Ichi to give to Avonne for her birthday in March. I still haven't decided yet though. He's so pretty.

At last at last, my Richt arrived around Thanksgiving. He also had a bit of an identity crisis. First he was London, an invented character who is Haru's rival in streetfighting and seduction. This worked well for their introduction, which was hot.

I swear, that outift is the gayest Taeyang stock outfit ever. There were some non-Pg-13 moments which I won't post here.Instead you get a nice picture of them being lovely!
Once he had changed clothes, it became obvious that with his eyes and hair he looked a lot like Zero, Haru's boyfriend in our RP (not in the original story though). So Zero he became. Look, matchy-matchy!:
He's very handsome and I love his hair.
My three boys! Haru stole his boyfriend's gaytastic stock outfit. It suits him much more than Zero. Zero is an interesting sort; he comes from another anime and we adopted him into our RP. He's very quiet, quite the opposite of Haru. He's a student. He's also a vampire, and a vampire hunter. It's complicated. But I promise you it's far more intelligent than Twilight.

EEEEE, he's singing to himmmm!

Aiiight, so we've covered Dori, Eli/Ichigo, and Zero. Here's another one. This is my first Dal, a Monomono. (Dal:Pullip::Skipper:Barbie.) I bought her for a ridiculously good price at an auction I accidentally won, but now I'm delighted to have her. I removed her lipstick because she's undergoing some gender reassignment...

I didn't use to like Dals; I thought they looked weird. But now I love them! It's just a matter of getting used to it. And for my supersecret plan, I neede a second one. So I ordered Coco because my friend Haji wanted the outfit for her doll. Coco's wig went to Dori; now Coco is temporarily wearing Haru's black wig and panda suit while the two of them await their special wigs from HongKong. Once those wigs arrive, their identities will be obvious and their names revealed. For now they're kind of unfinished. So they don't count. Yet.
Aw, my two little ones, don't pout! You'll have clothes and hair all in good time. ;)

We're almost through the whole gang. This next girl was something of a sympathy purchase. I call her an eBay rescue. She was used and ludicrously cheap- I bid a very low bid just to boost her numbers and ended up being the highest bidder without even meeting the reserve price. Then I got a second chance deal and took it because I felt so bad! She really should be worth more than that. She's a Latte, an older doll that never took off the way some of the '05s did because she's quite plain. I've always had a soft spot for her, maybe because of her name, or because her hair color matches my natural one:

And she came with lots of extra clothing too, such a good deal. I named her Kona. Get it? HA. Her hair was super crunchy and nasty at the ends, so I trimmed it and it looks much better! Still though, the best thing about her is her hat:
Kona is kind of a modern hippie. She's from Seattle. I don't know how she got tan like that.
But she's so plain next to my other girls. I might try to give her some custom eye makeup or something.

Then finally, the newest one, Lenore. She's a Papin, a doll I've wanted for awhile but only wanted to buy nude/bald/<$60. And I got my wish! Unlike Kona, I have no reservations about owning her; she's perfect. She's on an Obitsu body, not the one she came with, so she's SUPER POSEABLE and loads of fun: The wig I put her in for now is Monomono's stock wig. It's adorable on her. I might not change it. Lenore is very outgoing and spunky. She's becoming good friends with Jenna already, and she and Dori might get a little romance going before too long.
I cannot express how wonderful the Obitsu body is. I'm totally getting one for Haru now that he's destroyed his own body. I'm going to wait though, because I've bought enough, and I'm nervous because switching the boys is a little tricky.

Here's a picture of all my girls:

Kona, Jenna, Dori, Sako, Bijou, Lenore.

Aaaand here's the whole cast! The little Dals are sitting on the sidelines.

Last and currently physically least is my custom. Here's her faceup:

I'm aware that the eyebrows are crooked, but since it's impossible to make them even without a stencil (which I might resort to if I do them again), might as well make them in a cute expression. Quizzical, perhaps.
I must say I'm quite proud of the eyes and satisfied enough with the lips not to risk messing them up again. Lips are way harder than eyes, if you believe it.

That is that. So if you count the three in-progress customs, Kona whom I might customize or re-sell, and Eli whom I might customize and give to Avonne, I have twelve dolls. If you don't count the customs (I don't!) I only have nine. And if you consider Eli and Kona are merely passing through, I have seven. Either way, it's a big number and I'm SORRY! It could have been tattoos, and you can't re-home those if you get tired of them!

Anyway, Margot will have a full house to manage when she arrives. Silly kids.

how i spent my saturday afternoon

2009-11-08T10:00:00.001-08:00

Animadness Pullip Party~

The Wall of Doll:
My dolls are on the third shelf down on the left.

There are some non-Pullips down at the bottom. Haru was one of just a handful of boys, much to his disappointment.

The Black Butler dolls. Grell is in disguise.
Requiem's custom Dal versions of Rovam and Horizon...
and her custom Pullip Leprotto and Dal Leprottina! (Leprotto normally costs $800)

I think this was Hina Ichigo's doll, Haute NY, in an AMAZING wig.

Fanatica! My grail doll. Though actually...in person I was underwhelmed.

Last month's Pullip, Peter Pan, is actually way cuter than any of us thought at first (different outfit of course).

Mir's dress! I like her a lot but I'd never take that dress off. XD

My candy-haired girls: Jenna (Celsiy) and Bijou (Angelique), the latest addition.
The punk un-couple, Haru and Sako. Last time you saw Sako she had short black hair, huh? XD

The bakery set-up was adorable but I kept knocking that vase over.

Haru is in heaven.

CAAAAAKE!

And these are for mom, just some pictures of my new girl and Sako's new hair

Her original wig was very cute but not very good quality and I loved this one.

And this is Angelique, renamed Bijou:

I like her outfit well enough, but it's very anime and I haven't watcher her show. I want her to be my original character (she's Jenna's cousin, a French model).I love her sweet face, it reminds me of Xiao Fan and of My Melody, both of whom I no longer want because of her! So I actually saved money since I don't need those two now! (I LOVE LOGIC.)

She's going to have kind of a gothy-lolita style like Prunella but pieced together from bits of her outfit I've got on the way, and her own things like her stock socks here.

La ti da~

the cat's namesake, and a lottery prize

2009-10-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Instead of just a picture of the original Ryuzaki, I thought I'd post a video. You can skip the intro song if it annoys you as much as it annoys me, having heard it a thousand times. This is when the police are getting introduced to L, the world's greatest detective, who's never revealed his face before. I think you will see my cat in him.

And second, Mom, this is Fanatica, my all-time favorite Pullip. I think she is perfect. Honestly, I do not anyone I know to pay that much for a plastic doll. But I just had to show off what I believe is the pinnacle of Pullips.

SWEETEST FACE OF ALL TIME. In five years they have yet to come up with a prettier smile. Even if she didn't come in a red and black punk-Lolita outfit, I'd be in love. That's all just a plus.

END OF DORKFEST FOR THE NIGHT I PROMISE.

Attn: North Pole

2009-10-19T20:11:00.001-07:00

Dear Santa,

Clarity is back in stock at Pullipstyle, and she's even on sale!

Just sayin'.

Best,
Erica

Dear Santa:

2009-10-10T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have been a very good girl this year, much better than any recent years. I overcame my extreme fears and went back to school, and am doing very well there so far. I rescued a stray and became a cat mommy. I hope it's not too early for you to receive gift lists. My requests this year are a little unusual, so I thought I'd give your elves ample notice.

The most important thing I want is a new digital camera, since mine has started to fail. Not a large or expensive one, just a basic Canon Elph like before. However, I expect my parents might get this for me, since I've told them about it several times.

This is where you come in. I know it's been awhile since I've asked this of you, but I find myself once again in need of your services.

I want a doll.

My parents will not get me dolls, I'm fairly sure. But you might. You used to.

These Japanese dolls, called Pullips, are about the same price as American Girl dolls, but they're really not for kids. They're delicate things, made for photography and display more than play. They are also customizable and extremely addictive. It's hard to explain unless you immerse yourself in the community.

This one, Clarity, is my favorite. I absolutely want her, so even if I don't get her for Chistmas I'll buy her anyway once I've sold enough old things of mine. She has the most beautiful face, and she's so sophisticated, even my mom might like her. At the main site she's currently restocking, but she is available at this alternate site. I adore her so much. I will name her Margot.

Rida is another of my favorites, Clarity's polar opposite. I would name her Sako, after Haru's high school best friend. I love her style, and she's quite cheap because some problems have been reported (which I know how to fix). But because of the price, I could maybe even save for her myself. There are a couple other dolls (eg. My Melody and Marianne) whose faces I love and for whom I have character ideas, but whose stock outfits aren't really for me. It makes more sense for me to get those ones second hand, where they are often sold cheaper without their original outfits.

I have two dolls now: Haru, who was Horizon, and Jenna Celeste, who was Celsiy. It's Haru's fault I got into this hobby in the first place. He was a gift from friends. Jenna I got second hand for a good price.

They are cute together aren't they? They're college buddies.

Finally, I have also fallen madly in love with the November boy release, Richt, who has the most beautiful face of any of the boys yet. He's going to be Haru's boyfriend Liam. Haru is going to steal his flamboyant outfit, while Liam adopts a more conservative style. ;) Yeah, I preordered him. He'll be arriving in early December. He was my early Christmas present to myself. So even if you don't want to grant my wish for Clarity, or anyone else, a retroactive cash donation to assuage the guilt of buying Richt early would be a nice consolation prize.

Pullips are The Thing I'm into right now. I think about them a lot and talk to other collectors and take pictures and dream. I know it's an expensive obsession, but the online buying/selling/trading market is huge and a major part of the hobby, so it's not like I'll regret having them or won't be able to sell them one day if I need to. If I got gift money from my parents, this is where it would go. But even if I explained that to them, I really don't know if they'd be okay with buying me a doll for Christmas, or that matter, for my 25th birthday. So that's why I'm asking you, Santa Claus. Because Christmas hasn't been the same without you. <3

There's really nothing else I want. I don't need a phone, an iPod, or a laptop. I still have more clothes than I can wear and too little time to read non-school books. I don't buy CDs much these days and listen to everything online. So I don't know what to tell you, Santa. Maybe I'm regressing, but in the words of Sheryl Crow, if it makes you happy it can't be that bad.

Hope the economy's not hitting you too hard up there. If you ask me, you should have gotten the Peace Prize.

Sincerely,
Erica

Haru shows off some more

2009-09-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

And now, just because I'm a huge dork and love my Haru-baby, some pictures. Humor me please! I've always been a crazy doll person. Click on pictures for full view if you care about the clothing details. ^_^

First, Haru wants to show off his favorite pants.

From the front they look somewhat respectable...

Not as much from the other side.

Stop trying to seduce us!!! SIGH. Silly Haru.

I pierced his ear!

Just chilling like a normal Ivy League student...

I love these little things so much. All the parts are movable, even the sugar packs and stirrers.
He's supposed to be studying, but I think he's procrastinating again.

A little night series:

Um....
I don't want to know why he looks so...content here. I really don't.

In any case, he's tired now.

For his undercover nocturnal escapades, I made him a dress! :D I'm really proud of this.

The white floof is from the Jordan Almond wrappings from Kristin's wedding favors. He's pretty convincing as a girl.

And because one pair of leather pants is never enough, he has another, more modest pair that he can actually wear at school.

(I don't know what he is doing in this picture. He's goofy.)

Now for some final gratuitous glamor shots.

He really is so pretty. It's not surprising his mommy was a model.

Yaaaaay, I'm eight! And slightly perverted! Whooo.

grad school, take 2

2009-09-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a long time, except for my doll post. I'm going to change that, and not just as an excuse to post more doll pictures (though I have a ton more of those). I really do need to be better about keeping in touch, and with school coming up again, there should be a lot to say. NAturally I will have to be discreet. One thing I'm not going to do too much is political stuff, because I'm so tired of it and there are people doing a much better job of that than I could ever do. This is going to be archaeology-centric and life-centric. Including dolls. Not, of course, including too much talk of certain ex-roommates or -boyfriends, not to mention professors. Unlike on LiveJournal, I can't friends-lock this post, and unlike certain ex-roommates, I don't like publicly defaming people on the internet.

I've been in good spirits since Wednesday. Thursday I had my first classes, and it felt so surreal to be back in a classroom with a labeled notebook, doodling mangafaces in the margins. I'm so glad this Near East course is being offered, because I've never properly learned this materialand it's actually interesting! Specifically for the layman, "Near East" refers to Mesopotamia (Sumer, Babylon, Assyria...), the Levant (Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon), and Egypt. As Karl put it: "A Very Tough Neighborhood." Karl, officially known as C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, is kind of a big deal. I never got to know him before, as his specialty lay so far outside my own, but he's quite the character, and looks to be a very entertaining, informative lecturer. Immediately following is Gary's South America class, which should be one of the easier ones for me since much of the information is review. Even so, his course covers material I never learned at Yale, namely studies of the tropical forest areas in the Amazon, rather than just the Andes. So I think it will be extremely helpful.

Wednesday is goig to be my big class block. Oddly, even though Wednesday was the first day of class, it followed a Monday schedule in order to make up for lost Mondays (such as the upcoming Labor Day). Therefore, I haven't had Wednesday class yet. The Proseminar is going to be very difficult. This whole term is going to largely be a retread of Origins of Agriculture, except harder. In a bizarre way, I'm looking forward to it, because I need this stuff pounded into my brain about fifty times so I don't forget it before generals.

Here is my schedule if you're curious:

Tuesday/Thursday: 11:30-1: The Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
1- 2:30: South American Archaeology
Wednesday: 3-6 pm: Archeology Proseminar
7-9:30 pm: Ethnography and Archaeology

It's kind of a weird schedule, very compressed, but pleasantly allowing for very long weekends. I've already finished my reading for next week in everything but ProSem, because we haven't been assigned anything yet. I'm gobbling up these assignments. I have a beautiful office which I will take a picture of once I've finished decorating it.

Haru's photo post is going in a separate entry, just because. ^_^ Wish me luck with school; I'll continue to update, I promise.

Haru is here!

2009-06-14T06:37:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Rachel in Tennessee, Avonne in Baltimore, and Hajira in NorCal.

This is the box I received IN ADDITION to Haru's doll box:
It was hand -decorated by Avonne. Inside, there was all of this:

That L is the insignia of the Death Note character "L," Haru's biological father. Avonne made that herself. It was hard to get all of his stuff in one shot:

This was the original doll. Rachel and Avonne bought him. Avonne colored the silver part of his wig black, and bought him an extra, longer wig in all black. Each of them wrote me little notes and things. Haji included the original pencil drawings of her now-famous artwork of Haru. Avonne gave me a massive bag of candy. Rachel got me a set of little candies for Haru, since he basically subsists on sweets and other stimulants. :D And then, as if they hadn't gotten me enough, they got me a cute mug as well. XD Crazy women!

Here are a few more pictures, since that's what he's for. He's too fragile for rough play, but posing is his favorite thing.

Original outfit:

Cross dressing time! I seriously doubted that skirt was going to fit on him, but it did.

Just chilling:

By day, he might seem lazy sittin' in the mug tin with his candy and whatever's in that cup...

...or just very silly, with his panda suit and his T-shirt (custom made by my pals), and his very own Death Note...

...but he's also a secret ninja detective genius who occasionally cross dresses and (rather less occasionally) sleeps with the people he's supposed to be arresting.

Yoda looks interested:

Haru loves his candy.

But mostly he just loves being the prettiest boy in the world!

There are more pics where these came from, but believe it or not, I'm trying not to overload you. Leave that to the fangirls responsible for this...thing. XD He's so great.

For the record, Haru's make of posable Asian doll is the "poor man's" version. True ball-jointed-dolls range from $200 to $700 without hair, makeup or clothing and look like this. To be honest, I'm happy with Haru as he is, and with a fully furnished wardrobe, than something which would break just as easily and cost more than my bed. :)

grok?

2009-05-20T05:39:00.001-07:00

I missed this back when it was relevant, but DFW would have had a good laugh at this obit headline. Aw, I miss him.

All is well back at home. We still have our spring weather, but most of the blossoms have given way to thick green leaves. I've never been in Cambridge at this time of year.

Soviet Pooh Bear is awesome, seriously. So cool.

I really am unable to complete a paragraph on a substantial topic at this time.

Really, Barack?

2009-05-09T05:03:00.000-07:00

That's not change.

That's more of the same.

2009-04-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

Don't buy from Amazon anymore, you guys, until they change this policy.

I honestly can't believe this.

okay fine but

2009-04-13T05:15:00.000-07:00

What about Diet Coke?

They shouldn't tax the un-sugared beverages, right? Right?

JESUS CHRIST WHY

2009-04-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

HONDURAS!

2009-03-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

Long time no post. I'm back from Honduras! It was SO MUCH FUN. Do click on the pictures to see much much bigger ones!

The flight was uneventful, though I did have a hyperactive bilingual child next to me. It's two-plus hours to Atlanta and two-plus more to San Pedro Sula. From there we drove 2 more hours to Copan.

Don Udo's Hotel:

This is a lovely little place with cozy rooms, gardens and hammocks, and delicious food. I wish I'd taken a picture of the complimentary breakfasts, which ensured that every day started off on a good note. I stayed here all seven nights, and Kate was staying there with me for part of the time, since she had to move out of Bill and Barb's house to make way for their son Ben. I've been inspired by the Honduran cuisine to learn how to cook something that doesn't come in a Betty Crocker box.

The Site of Copan:

This is IT, the center of everything here. One of the greatest cities of the ancient Maya world. Bill and Barb have been working here since the 1970s, and it has developed into a multi-faceted archaeological project. But in the past it was a place of sixteen kings, of ritualized ballgames and some of the finest sculpture in the ancient New World. It was very hard to select pictures for this section because there were so, so many. But to non-archaeologists, I thought I should narrow it down. The main ruins open to visitors are in the "Acropolis Group," where all the royal and ceremonial structures were located. Much of the rest of the ancient city is unexcavated or covered by modern settlement, but all the flashy, "sexy" stuff is right here.

There are at least twenty of these large carved monoliths, known as "stelae," in the plazas of Copan. They commemorate rulers and are often covered in glyphic writing.

This is the ballcourt, where the famous ballgame was played.

This below is the Hieroglyphic Stairway, Barb's longtime pet project. It has 63 steps and is carved with one continuous inscription, the longest of any Maya text. The stairway was erected to revitalize the city and reinforce dynastic legitimacy after Ruler 13 was captured and beheaded by the ruler of rival kingdom Quirigua in modern Guatemala. Flanking the stairs you can see a sculptured balustrade, which does not have writing but is covered in sculpture. This is the part of the project I am working on.

It's impossible to accurately portray the scale of Copan in these pictures. There are so many buildings and they are all so impressive.

This is Altar Q, a monument which lists all the kings of Copan.

We descended into the tunnels beneath the pyramids. Above on the left, a deep shaft tomb. On the right, you can see how the plaster floors look in cross section when we dig through them.

The inscription before the tomb of the first Queen.

The Tomb of Ruler 12.

Barbara illuminates the beautiful stucco sculpture of the Founder's Tomb.

The macaw design symbolizes the name of the first ruler.

I'm getting a Legends of the Hidden Temple vibe here. It's really incredible.

Bill among the ruins.

The beautiful macaws would fly overhead sometimes, screaming. There were also adorable orange geckos, bats, and funny little deer-things, all of which were too elusive to photgraph.

The Sculpture Museum:

To protect the sculpture at Copan from further erosion, much of it has been replicated, removed from the site and relocated to the adjacent museum. Barb basically designed the place herself, and it's as wonderful as the ruins are.

Me, Kate, and Barb in front of the great mouth of the jaguar monster that forms the entrance to the museum.

The tunnel entrance opens up on a huge replica of the Rosalila temple. This building was perfectly preserved, color and all, many layers beneath the more recent temples. The real thing is visible down in the tunnels, but they only excavated one wall and have it covered in glass panels for protection. The colors are all exactly like this. Everything in Maya land was bright.

The museum is constructed around the temple. I got the whole tour from Bill and Barb, which was a real treat.

Bill and Barb!

This is one of my favorite sculptures. It's the Rain God, Chaac.

Whole building facades are reconstructed in the museum. Most of them had fallen to bits when Barb found them!

Lots and lots of skulls all around the face of the Central Mexican storm god.

More skulls, and what look like dog biscuits!

A full-body glyph of the moon goddess and her rabbit .

The bat was the emblem of the kingdom of Copan. Apparently they had a House of Bats where they tortured war captives.

Macaw themes are everywhere here. The huge red stucco macaw has a snake coming out of his belly with one of the "Hero Twins'" arms in its mouth!

Again, there were more pictures here than I could possibly post. The museum is such an inspiration for the kind of work I'd like to do.

The Town of Copan Ruinas:

All Bill and Barb's work at Copan has really helped this town grow up. It's very charming.

Kate taking a stroll.

Morning.

That sign literally says "Honduras is Love." XD

The town square.

Here we have Molly, a total rock star in her sixth year, at the Red Frog, a fun bar in town. You can draw on the walls.

Work!

I spent most of my time in the lab, scanning old photos of sculpture from the balustrade of the hieroglyphic stairway. The scanner had a mind of its own, so it got frustrating at times. I had to compare the photos with the inventory of leftover sculptures being stored in the bodega. Basically, my task is to do a new reconstruction of the balustrade on the sides of the stairway. The last reconstruction, the one currently at the site, is from the 1930s and full of errors. In the storage bodega there are a hundred pieces from the balustrade that didn't make it into that reconstruction. So I have to put on my detective brain and my artist brain to try to figure out how it really was supposed to look. The ostensible "reason" I went to Copan was to access the real sculptures and their photo negatives to facilitate this project. In this picture you can see Harold, Alex, Barb, Carina, Erasmo, and Aldeso, who have all been working hard here and in the field for months.

Other people have cool projects they're working on too. Alex, an epigrapher (glyph decipherer) who just got his Ph.D., is working on a 3-D scan of the entire stairway inscription. This is extremely cutting edge technical work that is difficult to explain, but he needs to work at night with his huge and very expensive equipment. This work will enable us to see parts of the inscription that are too badly eroded to see with the naked eye. Here he is with his scanner:

The dig site, the lab, the main ruins, and the town were all pretty close together, but we'd get a ride from Bill's longtime friend and project foreman Moncho. We all squeezed into his truck every morning to get dropped at our various workstations. I'm the one on the far right looking rather squished and pale.

Kate and Carina were working with the group at Rastrojon, a site not far from the main Acropolis group that might have served as the gateway to the city for outsiders. They've been finding a lot of serious sculpture there, some of which is in the museum. This is where most of the current archaeological work at Copan is happening, though Molly is also digging a tomb that might have belonged to Ruler 2.

The Rastrojon team has to excavate and organize these stone blocks so the buildings can be reconstructed. Crazy stuff.

On the final evening, the Harvard group went for dinner at the Hacienda San Lucas, a beautiful old farm that was revitalized and converted into a hotel and restaurant. It overlooks the whole valley: you can see the Acropolis group and the town and the lab where I worked. We made it up in time for sunset.

Kate and Molly. I avoided getting pictures of me. XD

The whole trip was marvelous. My Spanish is not as awful as I had feared, and it came back fairly quickly. The weather was better than I expected, and I wasn't ready to come back home to Boston rain. I definitely got the archaeology bug again, and am so excited about continuing in the field. I will have more to say about all this later, but right now I'm just overwhelmed with pictures and want to get this all posted! Hope you enjoy the photos! Hopefully I will be posting more. I don't know why I got out of the habit, and my comic has fallen by the wayside too.

a brand new day

2009-01-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

I've been negligent both in blogging and cartooning this whole month. Needless to say, Obama's inauguration and all its surrounding afterglow have really brightened the big picture. It really seems like he's done more good in the past four days than Bush did in eight years.

Barbara is trying to arrange me to go to Honduras with her sometime this spring, most likely in March, all expenses paid. I really really hope this works out and she can convince them I have an excuse to go. I'd be involved in a new project: re-drawing and digitizing the sculptural portion of the hieroglyphic stairway. I need to practice my Spanish and get some travel gear together!

Then there are other open avenues. Matt and I have applied for year-long English teaching jobs in Taiwan beginning in July. They had exactly two positions open at this preschool, which has a sister school in Cambridge, and they specifically said that knowledge of Chinese was not required or even expected. They pay $1800 a month and include room and daily lunches. In our applications, we mentioned that we would be willing to share housing to reduce the school's expenses. It would be really exciting for both of us, and because of our teaching and travel experiences, I think we have a shot.

It's kind of scary not knowing where I'm going to be even six months from now, but it's also liberating. By contrast, Lauren and Nawa just took the written part of general exams. The orals are on Tuesday. Oddly enough, they took it on the computers in the Meso Lab where I work, and it felt so strange to realize that I could have/should have been there with them. No regrets here.

Bodies in Flight has reached the point where I think I'm overworking it, except for the final act. I'm going to make the first 150 pages available for critique soon, and continue to work on the last 50, which aren't even roughly finished. I'm still planning to send it to Leapfrog by May.

In short, 2009 promises to be a year of expanding possibilities. With that, I resolve to blog more and keep you all posted.

Still can't believe it...

2009-01-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama is the President of the U.S.A.

2008-12-23T08:12:00.001-08:00

This is not what I wanted to see: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2008/12/23/publishing/

on my way

2008-12-18T05:03:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'm flying back to what seems less and less like home but somehow always will be. I'd be excited even if this did not include meeting a certain yellow Labrador for the first time. It will be so nice to have a real break again -- last year did not count at all.

I love the smell of winter when it first arrives. There's a thin veil of snow on the lawns and rooftops, with a foot more expected Friday. I would not be surprised if my plane were delayed. Boo. I will be pissed if I miss the caroling party Saturday night because of the storm.

I got Matt to watch Death Note with me, and now he's kind of addicted. It's been two years since I watched that show and I forgot how much I love it. Hee! Matt and I are going to the airport together tomorrow, which kind of makes me forget he's not coming to L.A. with me. My friends and I are going to exchange gifts when we get back, since many people have been wrapped up in papers and unable to shop as much as I have. All of us will be together for New Years, which is going to be a nice change.

I need to find a second job for the spring, since Mary will be at Stanford for the term and Barbara can't employ me full time. I've been in contact with Lindamood-Bell, and though nothing real has come of it yet, if I'm here this summer I'd like to do that again.

All my thoughts are disjointed. I'm going to make more coffee.

finally~

2008-12-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

2008-12-08T12:28:00.000-08:00

courtesy of toothpastefordinner.com

waiting for snow

2008-12-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

So I'm nursing a nascent cold, three pesky manuscripts, and a self-inflicted haircut (though I must say I am very pleased with the latter, as it now stands). Our Christmas tree has not arrived yet, and I am getting antsy. We're all going to Mauricio and Albert's housewarming party tonight. It took a really long time for them to get their stuff together, I guess. How strange that we might have all been living there together. Faux-granite kitchen or no, I'd much rather be here, especially considering where I ended up working.

Yay for pterosaurs!

Also, based on recent hearsay, I'm pretty sure that the G-clock doesn't stop, and if I went back to school next year I'd be a g3 already, with only one semester's worth of credit under my belt. I would have to teach while taking a full load of required courses and preparing for generals. If that doesn't seal the deal I don't know what does.

2008-12-04T17:25:00.000-08:00

I finally figured out where to find attractive layouts for this thing.

whoot

2008-11-30T10:34:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving, et cetera

2008-11-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not going shopping today, except for a little Christmas tree from eBay. The last of the leaves have finally fled, and the whole world is gray outside. Matt, on the other hand, is hitting the malls, since he's much better than I at braving crowds in the name of savings.

Thankgiving was very nice, and quiet, since there were only five of us around: Matt, Atanu, Philip, and I, along with Choo Choo, the adorable, incredibly polite shelter mutt whom Atanu is dog-sitting for someone in his department. Having Choo Choo around really made Marion Street feel like a home, which is sad because they're not allowed to have pets. The turkey came out well, and the stuffing even better. I think we all have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Speaking of thankful, here is a video of a very thankful penguin:

I have definitely felt that way before.

nostalgia, or the opposite?

2008-11-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Why does looking at old photographs make me so sad?

Ahahaha

2008-11-20T05:16:00.000-08:00

Ha ha ha.

worst line of NaNo yet

2008-11-18T06:22:00.000-08:00

In her head, Maddey thought of myriad possibilities that seemed to branch out like branches from a tree.

I...I can't believe that came from my brain...Gah I hate my novel. ><;

Girls just want to be lovesick?

2008-11-17T05:49:00.000-08:00

Note: If I've been posting a lot lately, it's mostly to avoid working on my disaster of a novel.

If you've been in a bookstore lately, you've surely seen the glossy cardboard ad-stands in black, red, and white. A cursory glance will tell you three things about the Twilight series, by Stephanie Meyer. It's dark fantasy, it's being made into a movie, and it's massively popular. Basically it is about a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire, and it is a huge phenomenon that arose completely unbeknownst to me, which makes me feel somewhat out of touch. Girls are reading it by the millions. But I have never read any of these books, and I don't plan on it. Many critics compare the appeal of Twilight to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and suggest its popularity could grow to Potter proportions. However, having read the above article, it disappoints me that something like this could be the next Harry Potter. Why? Because it represents a huge step backward for girls' search for fantastical role models.

As a fantasy fan who has often had to latch onto male protagonists to get my fix of inner conflict and peril, I like the idea of girls having a main character (who is not a princess) that they can roleplay without gender bending. As we speak, I am trying to write an ordinary young heroine who captures the same kind of je ne sais quoi that attracts me to young male leads. Unfortunately, Twilight's Bella Swan is really a lame heroine. LAME, I say. Here's why.
The whole premise of the book is based on Bella's obsessive love for Edward the vampire, who, despite being immortal, gorgeous, and brilliant with two Harvard degrees, is posing as a student at her high school. Worse, Bella is, as we fiction writers say, a Mary Sue -- devoid of personality, she was designed for reader self-insertion, a pair of empty shoes. The effect of this is that every reader, and the writer as well, places themselves in the position of an adoring girl swooning over this perfect (if undead) man. It seems profoundly anti-feminist in a way that even those fantasy sagas with few female characters are not. Eowyn and Galadriel, the only strong women in Tolkien's LotR (Arwen's heroism being largely a movie creation), would scoff at the LAME.

Compare Bella to Buffy. From what I've seen of Buffy, she, not the vampires she battled after school, was the main attraction. She was awesome. Yes, she fell in love with a vampire too, but the point was that she was a born slayer with inherent powers that set her up for internal conflict as well as just being kickass. However vapid the series could become at times, none would argue with the fact that Buffy exemplified a strong heroine girls could -- and did -- want to be.

Girls want to be Bella Swan, too. But why? I'm not saying Bella has to have magic powers or something to be worthwhile. But I have a feeling that if I read Twilight, even as a goth-leaning fifteen-year old, I would not be able to relate to Bella. Ironically, even though her void character is deliberately written to be a stand-in, I don't think I could do it. So maybe it's just me -- can I somehow not relate to an ordinary girl? It's not as though there have not been female characters whom I identify with. In Harry Potter, though Harry's story arc naturally resonated the most with me, I personally was able to identify equally with Hermione Granger, who impressed me by being a nerdy know-it-all who was nevertheless primarily defined by her daring rather than her smarts. This is no small feat. And Lyra Belacqua, an ordinary girl at the start of Phillip Pullman's Golden Compass is wonderful and drew me in immediately. There were the American Girls. And don't forget Disney's Belle, who originally was motivated not by desire for a man, but by longing for adventure and escape, as well as devotion to her father.

But from what I've seen of Twilight, Bella is no Belle, and she's certainly no Hermione. Yet apparently, most teen girls want to be her, which really just means they want to be loved and protected by the creepily perfect Edward. Does anyone else find this disturbing? Twilight at its core is neither fantasy nor horror, but romance. It bothers me that millions of teen and pre-teen girls are obsessing over romance novels, especially ones that seem so devoid of original interpretations of gender roles. I'm starting to sound like a militant feminist now, which is hilarious. That's how annoying these books are to me.

Nothing against romantic love, of course. We know how I feel about this subject, don't we? For that matter, I don't have anything against romance-centric fiction; I've even written some of it myself over the years, featuring characters who are by no means mine to feature in such a manner (my sincerest apologies to their creators). I would have no issue with these books if it weren't for the tremendous hype around them. Many romances, I'm sure, are much worse. It's just that the minds of girls are being led into a fantasy world in which their primary existence for being is to love this unrealistic male ideal. As an alternative to Hannah Montana and High School Musical, Twilight seems aesthetically appealing. But is it any more empowering? The message of Twilight's mass popularity seems to be that the ultimate thing a typical girl wants is the perfect man. Not saving the world. Being adored by Mr. Popularity.

Ew.

2008-11-16T09:46:00.001-08:00

I really dislike my new novel this year. It is hard to explain why. For one, it is a story that has been ripening in my head for over four years now, ever since my first dig. Although this makes the plot easier to get down on the page, it definitely feels stale. I'm not obsessed with it, and the characters do not live in my mind the way I had hoped they would. Constantly I am hit by flashes of other stories I could be writing that speak to the aesthetics that currently inspire me. This work is not a work of my soul. It feels, far more than the last, like schoolwork. Not the least because it concerns archaeology, and because it dredges up a time in my life in which I was unhappy. Even though the story is light and intended for young readers, which was refreshing at first, it does weigh me down, and I find it lacks the sense of whimsy and wonder necessary in children's literature. I am still a day behind, grasping blindly towards the 25,000 word mark. This is supposed to be the hardest part of the month for everyone, so hopefully once I pass 30k things will have become easier again. It was very easy at the beginning of the month. But that does not mean it was any good. I fear I might simply have waited too long to write the thing. I'm determined to finish, though, because if I can't do this now when I could do it last year, then I'm completely useless.

Also, the California fires make me very sad. California has done nothing but disappoint me lately.

It's going to be winter soon. Thoughts of Christmas keep me warm.

Cabinet of curiosities

2008-11-14T06:07:00.000-08:00

Would John Kerry or Hillary Clinton make a better Secretary of State? I think Kerry is more qualified, I guess. Both of them deserve something for all the work they did to pave the way for Obama. We won't miss either of them in the Senate, since Massachusetts and New York are only gong to put up more Democratic candidates.

And what is this I hear about bailing out the auto industry? Um...no. When an industry ignores the public good for so long, as American cars have done with their disregard for mileage standards, it's their own fault if they get left in the dust. Notice Toyota is doing fine. Finance is a special case, but why is it the government's job to make sure GM stays afloat? I guess to save jobs, which I can support, but still. Am I and my paltry understanding of economics wrong about this?

Whatever, news. I'm going running.

Things I need to do

2008-11-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

1. Sleep at night, write in the morning (not vice versa!)
2. Eat less sugar
3. Stop watching cat video

heeeeee

2008-11-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

November November

2008-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a NaNo write-in at our local ABP, where I saw some familiar faces over pumpkin soup in a bread bowl. Good times. I finally crossed the threshold of 20,000 words, and the more important one of hating my novel and moving forward anyway. It's hard for a language-driven, introspective soul like me to write a plot-driven story. Luckily, when I ran out of ideas my characters pulled some unexpected tricks and got the narrative ball rolling again. I've basically been exactly one day ahead this whole time, consistently.

I still don't know what I am going to do with my life, but I know that being in love is the most amazing thing.

Further insight into Prop 8

2008-11-08T12:43:00.001-08:00

This doesn't change my position about the issue by any means, but it is an interesting perspective I had never even considered. Basically, a black lesbian argues that for most blacks, gay and straight, the marriage issue is largely a white issue; that as a black, one is faced with inequality on so many more urgent fronts that marriage simply seems borderline irrelevant. Rich white gays don't see that because marriage is the only freedom they are being denied.

I don't buy it: just because there are other problems to address regarding racism is no reason to vote to ban gay marriage. By which I mean to take away basic human rights. Gay marriage should be a non-issue by now, and if only we could just accept it and let it go, then activists could direct their attentions toward the other socioeconomic inequalities that plague the state and nation. Ugh. But still, it's interesting.

Obama and the Dawn of the Fourth Age

2008-11-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

I knew I was noticing something oddly familiar as I read this article on "The Fourth American Republic". I kept wanting to call it The Fourth Age.

Obviously I am being silly. But not really that silly. It is the beginning of a new era. Obama has probbaly done more for America's international reputation by getting elected than Bush has done in eight years.

But as we all know, Obama will have no time to rest on his laurels. He has inherited a broken world. And closer to home, literally, is the sobering fact that Proposition 8 won. We have work to do.

On a side note, listening to John McCain's concession speech was almost moving. You could see a trace of the old McCain, the one who winced visibly at his supporters' booing when he congratulated Obama. You could tell he knew that when he sold out to the Bush brigade, he let them turn him into something unrecognizable from the man who ran eight years ago. He carries the blame, not Palin, for the train wreck of his campaign. But in that speech I saw him as a tragic figure, fully aware that he has brought upon his own downfall by compromising his integrity. Too bad, John. But in another sense, McCain never stood a chance in the first place. It is Obama's time.

Thank you, America

2008-11-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

2008-11-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Alright, nation, let's do this.

Looking back and forward

2008-10-25T05:02:00.000-07:00

I started this blog (on its original server) four years ago, in the heat of the 2004 presidential contest. In fact, my very first post of any substance covered the Democratic National Convention. I went back to look at some of my old posts from that period. What surprised me the most was how genuinely excited and optimistic I was. I really thought Kerry would win. We all did. It was absolute heartbreak. That's why so many Democrats are afraid to hope this year. We can't be afraid to hope -- that's exactly what Obama's trying to tell us. Fear is what McCain is peddling. There's the potential here to create a big enough gap that they won't be able to fudge the margins and steal the election. A lot has changed since then. I remember crying my eyes out on the phone that night, in total shock and disbelief. I had to tell myself then that the story would end happily, we just weren't at the part of the story we thought we were. We felt like we had come to the end, but we had no idea then what still lay ahead. The war was only a year old, and issues like torture and wiretapping and FEMA and Fannie and Freddie had yet to surface. Now we have one more chance. Compared to last time, this looks so much more climactic and promising. It's only when you arrive at the true summit that the false one looks so unimposing. We have nine days.

I don't remember breaking out the winter coats this early last year, but I can easily say it's the most beautiful fall I've witnessed since my very first season in New Haven. There are so many more maples here, with their translucent vermillion leaves. Every time I look out any window it's like a picture postcard of New England. The air smells like tannins and woodsmoke, and you can even smell the impending cold.

Artificial Christmas trees are more expensive than I'd expected. I'd love to decorate our apartment this year. A residence is not a home until it has a Christmas tree. Speaking of which, I need to remind myself to ask Barbara and Mary about winter vacation. I want to meet my family's new dog.

2008-10-24T08:58:00.001-07:00

My next mission is to find out why my paycheck is so much smaller than I expected. I suspect it's timetable-related, but I'd like to understand it.

Instant Karma

2008-10-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about something that happened to me today.

At 8:00 I went to the Extension School commons, where I told my students I'd be holding office hours. The room was empty except for a worker moving tables and white boards away from the center of the room.

"Hi," he said to me very directly. I usually don't like it when strangers greet me, especially when I'm alone at night. I returned the greeting and kept working on the email I was writing to my museum group. I saw him eyeing my laptop, and a few minutes later, he said, "Hey, for a computer like that, where can you buy just the power supplies?" From his accent I guessed that he was Dominican.

"I'm sure you can get it online, or at the Apple Store," I replied. End conversation, please.

"Oh because we just got a computer like that down in the science center, but it's just by itself, and the battery's gonna go dead." As he spoke, he came uncomfortably close to my laptop, examining the power outlet. "But yours is different. Newer I guess."

"Oh...you have the old round power cord?"

"Yeah, that's the one. The G4. I thought it was the same as yours."

"Oh, I don't know if they make that kind anymore at Apple...but I'm sure you could check the internet." I really wanted him to leave. It wasn't that I didn't trust him; as part of the cleaning staff he would have plenty of opportunities to steal. But he was annoying me; I wanted to finish my email and hopefully get around to some noveling.

The man explained how he had seen the cord sold online but only with the laptop, not individually. He said he had been talking to several people trying to get ahold of one. "I was hoping you might have an extra," he said. "But it's not the same as yours. Too bad."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. But keep looking, I'm sure you'll find one."

I returned to my work, hoping he wouldn't bother me anymore. He kept on pushing tables around and showed no sign of going. But after a few minutes of this, something else began to bother me. It couldn't be that hard to get an old power cord, could it? Instinctively I went to eBay, searched for "mac power cord," and there it was, the object of his quest, for $13.

"I found one," I said.

He couldn't believe it. I brought over my laptop to show him.

"Just search eBay - " I explained.

"How do I get there?"

I wrote down the url and the search info for him. He was so happy and didn't seem the least bit embarrassed to not have been familiar with eBay.

"Are you a student here?"

"Actually I'm a teaching fellow."

"Aw, no wonder you're so good with people! You're so nice with people!" He beamed. "But you're a young teacher!"

I smiled and told him I looked younger than I felt.

"Well listen, if you ever need anything you let me know. I'll be here eight to nine every night. You just let me know."

"Thank you."

"Thank you! I can't believe it!"

I felt warm inside from the man's smile. Such a simple thing. I could have just let it go. It wouldn't have been wrong. Someone else would have told him eventually. But that's not what happened.

After he finished his shift, I stretched my legs around the room and noticed a shelf marked "Book Exchange." There, among the magazines, mysteries, and academic tomes, was a mint condition copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I couldn't believe it. It was one of those books I'd been meaning to read for ages but had never gotten around to.
Someone else could have taken it at any time, and I'd have left the commons empty handed. But that's not what happened.

Not one student came for help the whole hour I sat in that lounge. But I'll be going back there someday soon -- to put my own book in the Book Exchange. With any luck, Robert will be there to tell me he finally got his power cord.

I know that, had I not helped the stranger, the book still would have been there. I might still have seen it, and I might still have taken it home with me. But that's not what happened. And that's why it doesn't matter whether my kindness caused the book to appear, whether there is karma, or fate, or God. Rather, it's our actions that tie our experiences together and give these things meaning. The book was not the reward for my good deed; my happiness was, and if the book hadn't been there, then I in my happiness would have made the same connection with whatever bit of good luck happened to come my way. Now, whenever I look at that book, I'll remember.

Why does this happen to me

2008-10-20T14:20:00.000-07:00

So, through a rapid chain of decisions which I don't entirely understand, I've become in charge of the creation of the altars for the Peabody's Dia de los Muertos celebration.

In fact there are seven of us students making the altars, but since I'm the paid assistant and they're full time students, I'm the leader. Is this terrifying? Yes. But I do think it's about the most perfect thing I could get signed up for. In fact, the epilogue of Bodies in Flight features a Dia de los Muertos altar. What better way to get inspired? I have some confidence this will go well, especially since the Museum has tons of materials and we're enlisting the aid of the Harvard University Mexican Association. But my goodness, the phrase "break up into small groups" sends shivers down my spine.

Again, basically I'm being paid to string up a room with candles, skeletons, and colorful paper. Pretty good deal. I would love, love, love to be helping this. Not necessarily leading it. Eep. O_O

Colin Powell redeems himself and other stories

2008-10-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

So Colin Powell endorsed Obama. I'm not surprised. In fact I'm surprised that anyone is still endorsing McCain. Seriously, even David Brooks is disgusted by Sarah Palin. I can't stomach too much election talk at once, but Obama's lead right now actually makes me nervous. It's his race to lose, and if overconfident, complacent liberal kids don't get out and vote because they think he's got it in the bag, we might be in trouble. The sentiments Palin's strring up at her rallies are reprehensible and terrifying. McCain should be ashamed of himself. I wonder what he would have thought if he could have looked into the future in 2000 and seen what he would become.

The power's out at my place, which I guess means I should go outside and enjoy the fresh fall air. It's windy and chilly. I love work, and I'm thinking I want to work in museum conservation, though actually I'd be happy to be an office assistant here forever. It's such a pleasant thing: all the pretty pictures, none of the scholarly responsibility. Matt and Lindsey are drowning in work; the possibilty of enjoying a Saturday just isn't there for them. I'm never going back to that life.

NaNoWriMo is fast approaching, and I'm just now pulling some of the threads of Bodies in Flight together. It's going to be completely different to write this year's book. The thought of having two going at once is kind of dauting, and I can't just put BiF on the shelf because the characters and landscapes are inside me all the time.

I'm going out to get some fall air, trap it in a jar, and keep it on my shelf until the middle of February when I need to remember how to breathe.

Interactive Christmas List 2008

2008-10-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

There will be a moratorium on CLOTHES. I have tons of clothes. Too many for my room. I like all of them, and I have at least one of everything I need. I don't even go to thrift stores anymore (my favorite thing ever) because I simply have no room for the clothes I might purchase. Exception: Victoria's Secret giftcard. Don't laugh. I need more simple cotton undies.

UPDATE: Oh, but I LOVE this.

BOOKS:

Comic Book Tattoo - This is perhaps the book I want the most.
Midnight's Children
Blankets
The Graveyard Book
Consider the Lobster, Infinite Jest, or anything else by David Foster Wallace
Crime and Punishment
Beauty and Sadness
Dictionary of Maya Heiroglyphs
Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico... - I think I'd rather have this one than the one above it.
A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography

DVD
The Complete Indiana Jones
The Dark Knight

MUSIC:

Rainer Maria: Look Now Again
Bayside Acoustic

There will be more. This list is just the product of one morning surfing Amazon/my brain.

It's colddddd at night

2008-10-07T04:31:00.000-07:00

I really like fall. Now that the rain has stopped, I can enjoy the breaking out of coats and sweaters, the varigated trees, the smell of California Christmas. My brain still confuses the two. I was craving candy corn massively yesterday, which reminded me that I need to get my Halloween costume in order. I'm going as an antisocial butterfly, complete with goth getup, earphones, and a book. I have some good filler material for wings, but I need to get wire.

Work in the Peabody has been great so far. I've been photocopying and scanning and organizing photographs of Maya monuments. So far my TAship has been relaxed, but the students (I can't call them kids) have their first assignment due tomorrow, so I'll be a workhorse for a couple of days before my parents come to visit(!).

Everyone else here is suffering under the tremendous workload, which makes me wonder about my recent leanings towards continuing next year. But grad school isn't supposed to be fun, it's about forging a path for yourself so that you can ultimately study what you like the most. As long as I keep that in mind, I should be okay.

Is it too early to start a Christmas list? I really just want books, music, and money. I definitely have too many clothes of all kinds.

Notes from above a laundromat

2008-09-29T07:06:00.001-07:00

It's been raining for almost four days straight. But the trees are changing early, and it's beautiful. Our housewarming party Saturday night went quite well, though someone told me I looked like Sarah Palin with my glasses and my hair up. Egad.

It seems like a full-time job is not in the cards right now, but with my current engagements I should get by through January. I made $64 tutoring a BU sophomore yesterday. My museum class is meeting at the MFA on Wednesday, I start work in the Meso Lab on Thursday. The English teacher I grade for has informed me I need to grade faster if he's going to continue employing my services. Okay then.

Sadly, I'm going to have to wait on the cat, because I didn't realize Emma hasn't been going in for her allergy shots. I also didn't realize she would need to go in twice a week, and that we don't know yet if her insurance covers them. I think it seems unreasonable to expect her to shell out the money for shots so I can get a cat, though she still says she wants one eventually, so if they're covered we'll go ahead.

And the Thousand Words Award goes to...

2008-09-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Yglesias.

2008-09-23T03:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was fairly miserable, thanks to my stomach's latest failure to function. On the plus side, I read a bunch of David Foster Wallace. RIP. I feel much better today, which is good, because tomorrow I start working -- back at Harvard. Sometimes the thing you were running from turns out to be what you wanted all along.

Even someone with no understanding of economics (say, myself) can tell that Paulson's bailout plan is stupid. Obama needs to say something to convince people he can deal with this kind of thing. If he doesn't win this election, I won't know what to think. The GOP has done everything in their power to demonstrate their incompetence. But because they lie mercilessly, and half the country watches FOX news, there's nothing Democrats can do to level the playing field short of playing their dirty tricks. It's tough being the good guy and having standards.

WANT.

WANT.

WANT.

WANT.

WANT.

WANT.

WFNX Disorientation (with Flogging Molly et al.)

2008-09-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

I no longer have a large enough workload to require enough procrastination to write massive and thorough concert reviews. But I should at least make note of them, especially when they're as awesome as last Saturday night was. I was very happy Matt enjoyed himself, because I honestly didn't know if he would. Together we critiqued fashion, mocked drunkenness, and enjoyed some very fine music under one roof.

The first act, annoyingly-named Does It Offend You, Yeah?, failed to impress. I think they hurt Matt's eardrums with their screechy, effect-laden electro-rock, and the tent acoustics didn't help them much. Most of the crowd seemed to agree, using the first hour to buy overpriced hamburgers, snap photos of the skyline over the harbor, and get properly sloshed for the big acts. Next up were Anberlin, filling in for Rogue Wave who were absent due to injury. The sound was not especially friendly to Anberlin either, but it was clear that for all the band's musical blandness, the singer is talented on a level above many of their emoternative peers. Subsequent research informed me they sprang originally from the Christian scene. Who knew. I'd still probably rather have seen Rogue Wave in the end, but it was pleasant.

After a break, the real show got started. The sun had begun to set, the seats had begun to fill, and the BAC had begunto skyrocket: it was time for Alkaline Trio. I was probably as excited to see them as I was to see headliners Flogging Molly. The decade-old trio is (are?) one of the best of their kind, and their early '00s stuff rarely leaves my CD player. I'm not a huge fan of their newest album, which, though listenable, just lacks punch, and thankfully they played about 50% older material, including some among my very favorites "Emma," "This Could Be Love," "Private Eye," and the moving finale "Radio." They also gave a live fire to the newer songs. Matt Skiba talked a lot to us and got an anti-McCain jab in when introducing "Warbrain." They made a lot of tight noise for three guys, and did not let up their pace for a minute . Even though they were technically openers, the show did not shortchange them on set time.

The Kooks, nearly overnight Britpop sensations, were next up, and the shift in fanbase was obvious. The Trio fans had been enthusiastic but serious, containing a large number of twentysomething men. When the Kooks hit the stage, a battle cry rose from the crowd: the unmistakable screams of teen girls. Hoo boy. But fangirls do not always reflect poorly on a band's talent (see Exhibit A: The Beatles), and the Kooks put on a great show. Although it was impossible to understand what the singer was saying in his chatty interludes, his singing was adept and versatile even as he bounded around the stage. In his manner and style he recalled a young Mick Jagger, and the music likewise sent out tendrils of nostalgia for an earlier time in rock. Matt liked the Kooks best of any band that evening, which doesn't surprise me.

Finally, finally, Flogging Molly took the stage. The famous six-piece slice of Celtic pride was a real powerhouse live, as expected, and both their punky raucousness and their virtuostic musicianship were even more apparent. Singer Dave King waxed foul-mouthed and adorable. "I'm not wearing this red tie so as to look like a Republican," he assured us. "I'm wearing it for your f***ing Boston Red Sox!" His love for his wife, who plays the fiddle and the flute in the band, was palpable from the stage, as was his fondness for Boston, cesspool of recovering Irish Catholics. Mixing older songs like "Black Friday Rule" and "Selfish Man" with tracks like "Paddy's Lament" and "Requiem for a Dying Song" off their new disk Float, recorded in Ireland, the band showcased its awesome consistency across the decade. The title track was a highlight, as were the strong selections from Drunken Lullabies (my favorite): "Rebels of the Sacred Heart," "What's Left of the Flag," and "If I Ever Leave This World Alive." The crowd, more physically imposing than the typical audience at one of my shows, was having a grand old time. The ushers tried in vain to preven drunken middle-aged men from dancing in the aisles like hobbits at an eleventy-first birthday party. It was pretty awesome. I felt Irish.

2008-09-15T04:43:00.001-07:00

I want a cat so badly.

Oh Microsoft...

2008-09-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Google search for "how do you get rid of those lines in word" returned the following result:

I wish someone had told me before I spent hours and hours on it this summer kthx.

on and on and on

2008-09-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after I closed out the storage unit, we went to IKEA. From my standpoint the trip went well; I got everything I needed, and nobody fought. Poor Philip, who can't catch a break, found that the mattress he'd wanted was out of stock. When we got home, the grudge resurfaced, and it was nasty.

I will not go into the details of Emma's quarrel with Philip. Suffice it to say that she threatened to move out. I have faith that this will blow over, as all these things do, but none of us want to be caught in the throes of this stormy personality conflict for five more years.

Assuming we can rebuild some kind of unity, today we're going to Target to get appliances. This time we're on our own for transport, but Target is fairly close. Also, the electrician is supposed to be coming. Out Ikea items are arriving tomorrow, and by Monday the place should resemble a home. So it goes.

The Fellowship of the Stuff

2008-09-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

I knew today was going to be interesting when Matt and I arrived at the lot where we were slated to pick up our Zipcar pickup truck, which appeared to be completely blocked in from the road by a swath of newly-laid roadwork. I'm not sure if we got it out of there legitimately, but we made it out whole, which is ultimately more important. We had the Ziptruck until five, and made good use of it. We emptied out our storage unit in four trips, though I still have to sweep it and sign it out tomorrow morning (before IKEA). That all went smoothly. The tricky parts came when we pursued our sundry Craigslist finds. We went to pick up a beautiful kitchen table in Brookline, which was more inconvenient than we had expected due to weird traffic patterns. It took forever. Then there was my antique dresser, which was a grunt to transport but looks lovely now. While we were out, Emma and Philip had been fighting, which is never pretty. I almost forgot to eat lunch, which is never good. And at the last minute before Matt had to return the truck, Philip wanted to get this huge desk, which we successfully got in time, and then had no idea how to move upstairs. It was too heavy and too long. We spent two hours trying to move it. While Matt returned the truck and Philip tended to the toenail which was spurting blood, Atanu and I stood with the desk on the sidewalk trying to take it apart. Fail. Once we got the thing inside the building with the help of our friends, we tried to take it apart again. Fail. So we decided to just get it up the stairs in one piece. Painful, hilarious fail. There were Philip (toe intact), Lindsey, Matt, Manizeh, Atanu, and I all struggling with this behemoth for two hours (Emma wanted no part of this). We tried taking it apart again, and things began to break off. Hm. "Sorry I got a stupid desk," said Philip. We left it next to the stairwell where we'll attempt to sell it to someone else. At least he got a chair out of the deal. A $75 chair.

Oh, and the cleaning company who was supposed to do our place? They bailed. Two guys from the management had to come in instead, and they did okay, but the shower room basically has to be completely redone because of the mildew situation, including an electrician installing a fan. As for the guys coming to paint, they said, better not wait on them to start moving.

Progress was made, though. All my stuff is in my room, which I've started cleaning myself with supplies purchased by Lindsey and Manizeh. The dresser looks beautiful, and the only real furniture I will need to buy at IKEA is a bookshelf. The IKEA trip is the next leg of the journey, and I anticipate to have to keep Emma and Philip separated by several showrooms.

So yes, long day. It became apparent along the way that Matt is an awesome driver, Manizeh is an expert spatial puzzle solver, and I can't lift a can of beans. I'm growing antsy to set everything up for real now.

Cambridge for good

2008-09-02T17:38:00.001-07:00

The apartment is ours. All my stuff arrived today as planned. The bed looks great. We're still waiting on the cleaning folks the landlord promised, since the place needs it pretty badly. I'm getting antsy to set stuff up but want to wait in case the painters come, which could happen this week. Tomorrow we're getting a Zipcar to get stuff from storage as well as a beautiful old dresser I found on Craigslist, and Thursday is the Ikea pilgrimage. I'm going for minimal Ikea, maybe a bookshelf, a wall shelf, and some cushions for the awesome free loveseat thingy the previous tenants left me. Things won't be put together until the weekend because we're waiting on the cleanup job, but it's exciting. I'm keeping my eyes on the job market and have sent out a few more apps. Still nil. It's not as hot and miserable here as it could be, and it's great living out of Matt's apartment while we get things squared away at our place. We still have to deal with cable and utilities. The world is complicated for grown-ups.

2008-08-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been joking about taking up vigilante editing. whiting out such travesties as those obnoxious apostrophes on the name placards in front of houses. Well, it looks like someone already took the job -- and paid for it. Ouch.

I think Obama has a good running mate in Biden. I still wish he had chosen Clark, but it could have been worse, and Joe should knock a few of Obama's "weaknesses" off the table. I'm kind of glad Matt and I will be camping during the Democratic Convention, as I've already got election fatigue. Which reminds me, I need to find a way to get my hands on some snorkels for the Channel Islands. Wheeeeee.

Congrats to all the Olympians, medalists or not. Until proofreading becomes an Olympic sport, I'll never be among them, but I can really relate to their stories.

In which I get off my bum and admit I love the Olympics

2008-08-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I really didn't care at all about the Olympics this year until the day before the opening ceremony, but now I'm kind of into it. Watching the women's marathon inspired me to go running today, which was really hard. Both Olympic track and Emma's cross-country bike feat are making me want to get back in shape again and go running every day. As it is, it's kind of embarrassing to stagger home after two miles. The marathon was cool, with its scenic tour of Tiannamen Square, and NBC aired the whole thing during prime time.

Obviously, Michael Phelps is awesome to watch. Dara Torres is inspirational. Shawn Johnson is, hands down, the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life, and Jamaica's Usain Bolt is just phenomenal. Even though ball sports aren't my thing, I'm surprised at how much I've enjoyed beach volleyball, especially the American teams of May-Walsh and Rogers-Dalhausser (the latter of whom looks like both Jim Carville and Billy Corgan). The Chinese synchronized diving was the most scarily beautiful thing I've seen in awhile. I got to check out some trampoline and badminton last night, both of which were also surprisingly captivating. Having reminded myself how to knit, I've been working on a scarf during my hours of Olympic watching. If I'm going to watch sports, I have to be doing something else concurrently -- preferably something as nerdy as possible, like knitting, or sudoku, to cancel out the concession to patriotic jock worship I feel compromises my character. Of course I'm being slightly facetious here, but the multitasking is a great way to create the illusion that I'm not wasting time at all.

I think I should start a running blog or something, not that I'm going to keep up with it religiously, but because it's more economical than a paper log and I'd really like to get back into a routine. I've essentially been sick for a year and am staring at square one, but I can accept that. If Emma can bike across the USA, I can run across town for sure.

State of the world

2008-08-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Congrats to my recently engaged high school friends, Kristin and Lauren! (No, they're not engaged to each other. Ew, what's wrong with you.) Seriously, YAAAAAAY!

Another high school friend of mine posted a note comparing Obama to Fidel Castro. Really? This in the same week the Wall Street Journal prints a pro-Obama editorial. Go figure.

Everyone is talking about the Edwards affair. It's too bad, and it makes me lose a lot of respect for him. I agree with Cenk Uygur on HuffPo that, based on historical precedent, it's ridiculous to say that Edwards' career must be over because he cheated. As he points out, Clinton, Kennedy, and Alexander the Great cheated, and by definition lied about it. So did John McCain, and I don't think he should be getting a free pass on this. I hope the silver lining of the Edwards scandal is that this important point about McCain comes to focus. However, when Uygur asks how Edwards' affair is different from John McCain's, I have an answer. Edwards was having his affair while dedicated volunteers were campaigning for him. While college kids and housewives were going door to door, Edwards and his family were guarding this secret, instead projecting an image of the devoted husband. It was a gamble. Let's say Edwards had won the nomination. McCain would now have November in the bag. Edwards -- and his wife, who knew about this in 2006 -- were banking on not being caught. He would put our country at risk for the sake of sex and personal ambition. Say what you will about McCain's affair; it did not occur while he was running for President. That's the difference.

Russia and Georgia gear up for battle as Beijing kicks off the Summer Olympics. Body count and medal count should dominate the headlines for awhile. One of the things that has bothered me about the Olympics ever since I was old enough to know better is its nationalist spirit. The more games are likened to war, the more war is likened to games. I might sound like a party pooper, but watching the USA duke it out with China for most medals and listening to chants of "USA Number One" makes me uneasy in the Bush era. Whoever said we had to root for American athletes? Me, I root for the attractive ones.

RIP, Bernie Mac.

On the weekend agenda: pick up new glasses, get haircut, re-dye hair.

Everything Must Belong Somewhere

2008-08-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

Interesting review of Conor Oberst's work, past and present. I personally disagree with the author, who finds herself less than taken by the folksy stylings of Bright Eyes' latest efforts; in particular, she does not give enough credit to his better lyrics. But it's an interesting point: his earlier work, which first caught my attention back in high school (wow), was so raw and youthful. Now he's pretending to be old.

But is he really? Yes, his vocals have borrowed more from Cash than Carrabba these days, and nothing on 2007's Cassadaga is as emotive as "Something Vague." But take a look at these lyrics from the recent release:

When panic grips your body and your heart's a humming bird

Raven thoughts blacken your mind til you're breathing in reverse

And all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse

And every reassurance just magnifies the doubt

Better find yourself a place to level out.

or this:

I keep floating down the river but the ocean never comes

And since the operation I heard you're breathing just for once

Now everything is imaginary, especially what you love

You left another message, said it's done

It's done.

No, it's not teen angst, but it's not aging cowboy angst either. It's twentysomething angst. It's the music that sounds mature; the lyrics are still lost and unripe. The rhymes are tighter and the language more contrived, but there's sophistication in that too. It's not Dylan, but it beats high school poetry.

As for me, there's a time for vintage Bright Eyes and a time for the new stuff. The former becomes most powerful when sitting in your room, alone and miserable and desperate for solace. The latter is best when driving down an empty summer highway. Take your pick.

2008-08-05T17:39:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things I never thought I'd say. For example, "Why yes, we should nuke Iran" and "I really think I've had enough cheese." I really never thought I'd see the day when I could solemnly swear, "Paris Hilton is a little bit awesome."

I really need to update more. The trouble is, I don't have much to tell besides stories about my students, and that would be breaking some sort of confidentiality rule. You have no idea how hard it is not to rant and rave about them to the world. They're darling and exasperating and brilliant and innocent. Like all children.

Um what else. The Dark Knight is fantastic. I might write a review if (a) I weren't lazy and (b) there were anybody left on earth who hadn't seen it yet. Besides my father and my boyfriend, who are allergic to the cinema.

I still can't believe I gained respect for Paris Hilton.