Millia Jovovich VS. Un Chien Andalou

Not sure if I'm right on the money or not but does anyone else get the feeling Millia watched one too many Surrealist films before making the video for Gentleman Who Fell? I picked the warped instrumental version, because I like the video best without her singing and her wannabe artsy lyrics.



For some reason I see parallels between this video and Un Chien Andalou.

Pardon the mess...it's all those brain donors.

Oh nostalgia! I just turned 28 yesterday (Happy belated Birthday to me!) and I am relishing in some retro memories from my childhood today. I loved me some NES and SNES as a kid and two of my favorite video game titles were: Chrono Trigger and The Secret of Mana. Oh man, I am even willing to say these may be two of the best RPGs of all time. I am seriously considering buying a Wii if these two games are available for purchase via the Virtual console. I need these in my life again.

Does anyone other than me remember Maniac Mansion (My post's title is a quote from this game) for NES? I was such a weird kid.

Indescibable Nth

The Indescribable Nth from Steve Moore on Vimeo.

This is a short independent film that I have loved ever since I came across it years ago.

Pasta Salad Recipe

Tonight a friend of mine was feeling down and decided the only thing that could make him feel better was a delicious pasta salad recipe. Well, being the awful cook that I am, of course I don't have one. So naturally I channeled my inner crazy cat lady and came up with this heartwarming recipe:

"First you take the pasta and you boil it with love, then you let it cool in the cool sunny rays from heaven up above. Next you place it in the bowl and shake it hard and true, once it's been seasoned to perfection I'll serve it to all my friends, including even you!"

He seemed to think it was funny and it cheered him up pretty quick. I guess it's true what they say, nothing beats the blues better than some home cooked love.

The Crazy Cat Lady according to Italian Vogue.

On a serious note: I did share what I thought were some equally parts wise and comforting words. I said "I'm not one of those people that will tell you things always get better, or that everything always happens for a reason because that's bullshit. Sometimes things don't get any better and sometimes they just get worse. But I can tell you that there will always be people around who care about you and want to see you happy." Man, am I good or what. I wish sometimes people would take the time to think and say something thoughtful like that to me when I've had a bad day instead of taking the easy road and pollyannaing out on me by giving me trite and cliche responses. You'd really be surprised at what a little respect, recognition and kindness can do for a foul mood!

Emily

I wonder what it takes to be a muse. How do you inspire creativity in someone else just by living, who do you have to be, to be so significant? I'm listening to Joanna Newsom's song Emily and you must really love or hate someone to write a 12:22 minute long song about them. Good or bad, I want to be that important to someone.

Rapture's Delight

I was on my way to Ithaca today when I thought I smelled "fire and brimstone" but then I realized it was just the sulfur like smell of cow manure. Go figure.

Click here to see the hysterical article about NORAD (yes, the same one that tracks Santa on Christmas Eve) and how it is going to track The Rapture starting tonight at 6PM.

Bun in the Oven

In light of my situation I've decided that sometimes you just have to laugh at the hand life has dealt you. If my life were a movie right now I'd call it "Sweet Buscuits: Bun in the Oven". Without further ado here is a still from my big screen baking debut.

(What this sign should say is "Warning I am HOT in a hair net.")

The plot of my movie would proceed as follows:

Rub-a-dub-dub,

Three men in a tub,

And how do you think they got there?

The butcher, the baker,

The candlestick-maker,

They all jumped out of a rotten potato,

'Twas enough to make a man stare.

Sounds kind of kinky.

Good Brains

Out of sheer boredom and a desire to see if my brain was slowly turning to mush, I took an IQ test tonight. My result was pleasantly surprising and I scored a 120 on the test, so I can be rest assured that I am not a complete idiot.

IQ Scale

Over 140 - Genius or almost genius

120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence (Hell yes!)

110 - 119 - Superior intelligence

90 - 109 - Average or normal intelligence

80 - 89 - Dullness

70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency in intelligence

Under 70 - Feeble-mindedness

I'm at the low end of superior intelligence according to this scale but I like the eloquent wording used by the programmers at www.testq.com:


Your IQ Score is: 120

You are equipped with a verbal arsenal that enables you to understand complex issues and communicate on a particularly high level. These talents make you a Word Warrior.

Whether or not you recognize it, your vocabulary is your strongest suit—use it whenever you can. Since your command of words is so great, you are also a terrific communicator — able to articulate big ideas to just about anyone. Your wordsmithing prowess will also help in artistic and creative pursuits. The power of words translates to fresh ideas off paper too. Since you have so many words at your disposal, you are in a unique position to describe things in an original way, as well as see the future in your mind's eye. In short, your strengths allow you to be a visionary — able to extrapolate and come up with a multitude of fresh ideas. And you are in good company — bask in the brilliance of Word Warriors who have walked before you. William Shakespeare let loose the power of his pen. His ability to articulate the most subtle nuances of human nature and to create colorful characters are why his stories still have a major impact — even 400 years after he first wrote them. Whether you put pen to paper or use your understanding of the words around you to come up with creative approaches to problems, your potential as a Word Warrior is terrific.

I find this to be very true, math is not my forte but I would like to consider myself a bit of a word smith or in this case, a word warrior!

Memories of the Future

Somehow Amazon.com totally gets me. I just bought The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck and The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. I still haven't bought Maldoror by Lautreamont just because it's become a sort of illicit longing now. I've wanted it for so long that I would be lost if I didn't want it anymore!

So after I purchased these two books I decided to skim through the recommendation pages to see what I would find. Of course there were Georges Batailles books, that's a given, and there were some books on vernacular photography. But the book that caught my eye is Memories of the Future by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky. It just sounds cool:

Fantastically imaginative, darkly ironic and marvelously crafted, these seven tales written in the 1920s were unpublished during Krzhizhanovsky's lifetime. Set mostly in Moscow, where the toilsome workdays sap spiritual strength, the stories are about the strange, wondrous and alarming things that can result from a chance encounter. In Quadraturin, the most straightforward story, the resident of a matchbox-size flat is proffered an experimental formula for biggerizing rooms, which, when applied, expands the space and doesn't stop until the room becomes a black wilderness. In Someone Else's Theme, a writer meets a down-on-his-luck seller of philosophical systems, while the protagonist of The Branch Line is directed to a train that spirits him into a disorienting dreamscape. The long title story is the biography of a brilliant, lonely scientist, Max Shterer, whose obsessive pursuit of making time dance in a circle proves prescient and chilling. Turnbull's translation reads wonderfully, capturing the isolation and strangeness of Krzhizhanovsky's startling stories. - Publishers Weekly

Thanks Amazon.com for getting me.

Uncomfortably Numb

I realize I've become a bit of a "Sad Sally" lately in my posts but I'm having a difficult time...even finishing this sentence. I really don't know how to describe how I'm feeling right now, I guess the best way to put it is just "numb". I am doing my best. I am looking for the silver lining and I am on the look out for the little things in life that make you smile. I've tried meditation, I've tried exercising, heck I've even tried praying! What's a boy to do, to find some peace of mind?

It's mostly my fault I came back to Cortland thinking I would be spending all my free time with friends and family and I would find a good job easily. Instead I spend a lot of time alone and I am working at a total dead end job. So much for high expectations. I had them in New York and now I've had them in Cortland and each time they've come crashing down right on top of my pretty little optimistic head. It's such a double edged sword. You are supposed to look on the bright side of things but when things don't work out you've set your expectations too high. So, can anyone answer this? What's the perfect coupling of hopeful optimism and realistic expectations?

I think these feelings reared their ugly head today because I had a few run ins while at work (hair net and all!) with some old acquaintances. After having to tell the same story about five times: "Yes, I'm working at Wal-Mart for $8.20/hr and yes, I'm living at my Dad's house again. No, not in the basement this time but in the guest bedroom." It really hit me, I am very self-conscious about where I'm at in my life right now and it makes me sad. It got to the point today where I was deliberately hiding because I literally could not have another chance encounter where I would have to tell people my story without tears welling up.

I feel like a stranger in my own life and I can tell you, it's shitty. I am so ready for a break instead of a breakdown. Please?

The Wal-Mart of my Discontent*

I had forgot to mention (intentionally or not) that I am working again. I've taken a part-time job at the bakery at Wal-Mart so I at least have an income while I search for a better job. The downside is I am working at the same job I worked for the five years while I was in college and I have to wear a hair net, like a freaking lunch lady. No offense to any of the lunch ladies who may read my blog. The plus side is, money is money and pays the bills all the same. I've also realized when it comes down to it, I am mentally strong enough and humble enough to do whatever it takes to be responsible and keep my life running in the best way possible. I've heard from some people they would never take a job like this. Well, then you can sit at home and wallow in your unemployed blues. I on the other hand have a life to live and goals to attain. I'm currently looking to make an appointment to find out what it would take for me to achieve my NYS teaching certification or obtaining a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management.

(Really? What the hell was he doing at a Wal-Mart convention and more importantly, why wasn't I there?!)

*The Winter of Our Discontent, published in 1961, is John Steinbeck's last novel. The title is a reference to the line "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son [or sun] of York," from William Shakespeare's Richard III. Plot Introduction: The story revolves around Long Islander Ethan Allen Hawley, who works as a clerk in a grocery store he used to own. His wife Mary and children resent their lowly social and economic position, and do not put any value in the high levels of honesty and integrity that Ethan struggles to maintain in a corrupt society. Under this constant pressure, Hawley will eventually manage to get back the store by renouncing his morals, but the new-found wealth will not bring happiness. Sounds vaguely familiar.

Is It A Day To Celebrate?

I'm so confused at the state of the world today. The breaking news last night was Osama Bin Laden's death at the hands of the US military. As soon as the news broke out the streets were filled with parading people, rejoicing in the death of Bin Laden. I feel un-American saying this, but I think this behavior is disheartening. Yes, I understand the horror, the devastation he caused and the insurmountable pain he caused families who lost loved ones. I do feel a sense of relief and even that he had this coming to him. I do hope this brings a sense of justice to the families who suffered a loss in the tragedy of 9/11. But parading in the streets saying things like "Kill the Mother Fucker, burn him at the stake!" and posting pictures like this:

seems really barbaric to me, the same way other countries rejoicing in the death of an American seems barbaric to me. A life lost is not something to be celebrated. It just seems like the human race is taking a step back when we should be moving forward.

I'm going to let Martin Luther King, Jr. say it because he says it better than I ever could. This quotation is exactly how I feel about what's going on.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.