Charlie Brown Christmas - Performed by the Cast of Scrubs

Hahaha god I love this show.

HAHAHAHA

I recently decided to look up old shows I used to watch when I was younger. The Babysitters' club was not really one of them, though I did read the books, but it came up as a search result. Zach Braff in the Babysitters' club, this is too much to pass up. Even he can sound like a bad actor with a shitty-ass script!

Mo' money, mo' problems

I've come to the realization that my greatest fear is to live a shallow life.

It sounds really pretentious of me, but I think hanging out with family during the holidays really gets to me. I have a very hardworking but extremely materialistic extended family. All of my cousins live in these nondescript mansions out in wealthy suburbs, drive German luxury cars, and sport either Louis Vuitton or Burberry purses. My family isn't too much better I guess. My dad drives a Mercedes and I just spent an inexorbitant amount of money on a Prada purse for my mother (it's actually a super nice purse though :) ). But really, I did because my dad asked me to, because my mom deserves it, and because she was feeling inferior to her friends and our family for not having nicer things. Now my mom feels she can't ever use this purse because she doesn't have equally expensive clothing and jewelry to accompany it. And therein lies the problem: Why all the fuss in the first place? Why must we be appraised with the things we own?

And then there are the people who live to find the best bargains. Meaning that anyone who doesn't spend hours shopping for the best deal was cheated and thus, their purchase is worth less than the one bought for 100 bucks cheaper. For me, shopping is a rare and usually arduous endeavor. I don't buy expensive things to begin with, so if I end up spending a little more on a nice thing than I should have, I don't really care because I'm not out to save every penny. The point is, I don't save money on deals. I just save money by not being a big spender. Doesn't that seem logical, that you would save money if you just buy less to begin with? When I buy something, and get told that I should have done this or that to have saved x amount of dollars, it ruins the pleasure of having even made the purchase. And then I want to burn all my cash, cut up my credit cards and wander off to Alaska in search of "something more." Wait. Someone already did that, and now it is a book/Hollywood movie. The irony.

My point is, I don't want my identity to be reduced to what I wear, drive, and live in. Or how much I spent. If I have children, I don't want to have them just because my family wants me to, and then bitch about the financial and social chore of having children (another popular topic of conversation with the cousins). I's like all of them got dealt the unlucky hand of having to start a family and having to live in these expensive houses with big mortgage payments. Really, people?

And to top it all off, one of my cousins had the balls to say to me that I should pursue a different medical specialty that makes more money so I don't end up like my brother. You know what I say to that? Mind your own fucking business. My brother is an amazing person who lives simply and more importantly, contently. He's got all the same comforts that you have at a quarter of the price, and he probably appreciates it more. It's not his fault you feel an inferiority complex and need to puff your feathers, so don't take it out on him or on me. Same thing with my mom, whose friends ask her why she doesn't wear designer clothes. Why can't people just leave us alone? We are the way we are, and I always thought and still think we are plenty happy.

I see a glimpse of the future relationship I will have with my extended family and the prognosis does not look good. I think we are just on very different wavelengths, and ideally, I'd like to stay that way, if it means I don't end up deeply in debt because I'm trying to prove my financial worth to them. I'm priceless, baby :)

BULBOUS BOUFFANT - The Vestibules

Oh god I totally forgot about this skit. Amazing.

Regina Spektor - One More Time with Feeling

Regina Spektor - Ain't no cover

First song I ever heard live from Regina. Kick-ass.

Regina Spektor - A lesson in how fleeting preservation is

I totally forgot about this song but she did perform it at Ram's Head

Regina Spektor - Small Town Moon

They won't stop! Ahhh

Regina Spektor - 8th Floor

Apparently this is the only circulating recording of this song anywhere on the internet. I bet the person who did this video would have taken care to do it better if he/she knew that would be the case! :)

Regina Spektor - The Wallet

At this point I'm just archiving all these random songs so I don't forget :)

Regina - Blue Lips

Argh WHY have I never heard this song before?? I love that she doesn't perform carbon copies of all the songs from her albums, but man I keep discovering random new songs that don't seem to be anywehre

Regina Spektor - Human of the Year

I love the part that starts "Hallelujah..." Sends chills down my spine.

The Devil is spelled I-n-t-e-r-n-e-t

My sister and I had a long talk about cyberspace and the effect it has had on society. It's amazing how big and powerful people feel when they have virtually (hah, pun intended) no one to answer to. People slander each other in the worst of ways, simply because they can, because there are no real consequences. I know of one particular person who marched to the front door of someone who trashed her on the internet...but a) she's psycho in many other ways, and b) for the most part, if you see something bad written about you, what can you really do about it, short of something illegal that will put you in jail or on a black list? You sulk about it, and move on.

Plus, the internet makes people narcissists and stalkers. Facebook and blogging make it so that we must all be intimately involved with the details of each other's lives without even really interacting. Talk about a major shift in the social scene. I can think of quite a handful of people that I know plenty about - their career goals, their relationship status, who they partied with last Saturday - without having talked to them for months, maybe even years. And then in return there are people who know these things about me, because I've chosen to make it public information It's so....wrong. So not the way I want to live. But I can't help it. I'm a victim of the 21st century :)

However, all I can say is that at least I got into all this internt culture "late", i.e. in college. Facebook didn't exist until my sophomore year of college. And I still consider myself to be a part of the Facebook generation. But man, 5-year olds can make Myspace accounts. That's disturbing. And what's more disturbing is how easy it is for adolescents to get addicted to these stupid online communities and make it their second life. And then you get stories like that 13 year old girl killing herself over a completely falsified online boyfriend. Falsified by a friend's mother who was avenging this girl for having beef with her daughter. People are crazy! There are so many things wrong with that scenario: poor parenting, online addiction, etc. I'm a big fan of "knowledge is power," but a part of me wants to hide computers from my children until they are 18.

On another note, my sister mentioned some article about blogging culture in Japan versus Western countries. Apparently in Japan, everyone blogs with the intent to conform, to fit in and prove that their life is equally as mundane and normal as everyone else's. No one will say anything negative at the risk of becoming a pariah. Whereas in the States and Europe and probably Latin America, clearly that is not true. The blog is our virtual soap box/photo album/diary, and we will pontificate until we drop if it means we can garner an attentive audience. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, at least by our standards. It's very interesting how a simple communication tool can really demonstrate fundamental societal differences.

I realize there's nothing too riveting about this post - but I'm horribly bored at work and it was an interesting topic. Now I shall dismount my soap box :)

Scrubs - My Musical - finale

I love Scrubs. 'Nuff said. It sucks the sound is a little off, but you get the gist. The premise of this episode is that this woman (actor Stephanie D'Abruzzo...from Avenue Q on Broadway?) hears singing all around her - a result of a giant brain aneurysm that had to be operated on immediately. Although fictitious, I like the familial/humanist vibe that this show offers. Plus it's just so very clever! I know my life as a future doctor won't be nearly as peachy keen...but I'd like to think that I won't be too jaded to break into showtunes once in awhile!



Oh, and for those of you nerds like me who were curious about the medical lingo in the song:

We're as close as --The vena cava and the aorta!
We're best friends just like --Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid!
The tibia, the fibula! The left and right ventricle!
A hypodermic needle and a latex tourniquet!
Diverticulitis and a barium enema!

Things to get off my chest

So yeah, I really hate venting about myself, but sometimes it feels so damn good, and this way, I don't have to bug anyone close to me about it. So read at your own discretion.

It's been a pretty tough year and a half for me. Obviously nothing compared the atrocities that happen to people on a daily basis, or having a life of "hard knocks." I'm comfortable, my life is stable, and I have a supportive family network. No doubt that I keep that in perspective.

But do you ever wonder why your body might respond better to an amputated leg than a paper cut? Your psychologically and physically go into overdrive for huge traumas...but the little ones usually don't trigger enough of a response and just continue to nag you until one day you're like DAMMIT go away...something to that effect. Basically, I have learned a ton about myself and about other people and I feel a responsibility to impart what little wisdome I've acquired to my invisible public.

For example: I'm not a huge "loyalty" person. I don't believe in the wolf-pack mentality. We were born to think with our heads and not to just go with the majority. Every person has a right to judge for themselves what is right and wrong about others, and how they want to behave. But if you're going to talk shit about someone I don't like to me, don't let me catch you being friendly with them later like you didn't just badmouth them. That's just hypocritical and superficial (saying whatever to anyone so they will like you) and it reflects worse on you than on the person I originally had issues with. It's even worse if I didn't even provoke the badmouthing when I probably had plenty of reason to. Moral of the rant? If you know you want to maintain an even artificially friendly relationship with someone, it's better just to say nothing bad at all. It's not about loyalty. It's about sincerity, to others and more importantly, to yourself.


But somehow that reasoning gets me in trouble. Despite neither joining a wolf pack nor trying to appease everyone, I still managed to make enemies and threaten others and get caught in the crossfire. Or maybe be a source of the crossfire. And I'm not saying I'm a saint, because I'm far from it. But I can't help but wonder what exactly it is I do to drive people away. For one thing, I seem to be a source of constant power struggles. I've always believed in the democratic approach and I usually defer to the majority...but just about every time I've had to make a major decision, someone comes under me and changes it up, making me look like a fool when I'm the last to find out. What's that about? Am I really that unapproachable that people can't just talk to me? Do people just want to be in charge and "can't seem to get rid of Jess the pest?" Or was my ultimate decision so horrible that it has to be completely changed so as to confuse everyone? I could chalk it up to bad luck I guess, bad timing, people wanting things done drastically differently than I...or maybe it's that I'm defensive and take things personally. Guilty as charged. But it's a little hard not to, when it happens constantly. Just rhetorical questions to no one in particular.

Anyway, so those are my dilemmas of the moment. But otherwise I'm perfectly happy. I'm in a good place in my life, and I'll leave it at that. It's just refinement from here on out :)

Happy Thanksgiving! I have much to be thankful for this year in particular.

Dear Architects (An Open Letter)

For personal reasons, I find this article hilarious. I look forward to writing one about doctors in the future, because I'm sure I will fall into the category of obsessed professionals who are married to their jobs and are incapable of thinking or talking about anything else...

...but at least I'll be able to admit it and accept it when my friends will inevitably make fun of me. And then I'll give them free prescriptions for narcotics and antibiotics and they will love me again :)

Annie Choi is a fantastic writer. I wonder if she's done any other stuff like this..

"Once, a long time ago in the days of yore, I had a friend who was studying architecture to become, presumably, an architect.
This friend introduced me to other friends, who were also studying architecture. Then these friends had other friends who were architects - real architects doing real architecture like designing luxury condos that look a lot like glass dildos. And these real architects knew other real architects and now the only people I know are architects. And they all design glass dildos that I will never work or live in and serve only to obstruct my view of New Jersey.

Do not get me wrong, architects. I like you as a person. I think you are nice, smell good most of the time, and I like your glasses. You have crazy hair, and if you are lucky, most of it is on your head. But I do not care about architecture. It is true. This is what I do care about:

* burritos
* hedgehogs
* coffee

As you can see, architecture is not on the list. I believe that architecture falls somewhere between toenail fungus and invasive colonoscopy in the list of things that interest me.

Perhaps if you didn’t talk about it so much, I would be more interested. When you point to a glass cylinder and say proudly, hey my office designed that, I giggle and say it looks like a bong. You turn your head in disgust and shame. You think, obviously she does not understand. What does she know? She is just a writer. She is no architect. She respects vowels, not glass cocks. And then you say now I am designing a lifestyle center, and I ask what is that, and you say it is a place that offers goods and services and retail opportunities and I say you mean like a mall and you say no. It is a lifestyle center. I say it sounds like a mall. I am from the Valley, bitch. I know malls.

Architects, I will not lie, you confuse me. You work sixty, eighty hours a week and yet you are always poor. Why aren’t you buying me a drink? Where is your bounty of riches? Maybe you spent it on merlot. Maybe you spent it on hookers and blow. I cannot be sure. It is a mystery. I will leave that to the scientists to figure out.

Architects love to discuss how much sleep they have gotten. One will say how he was at the studio until five in the morning, only to return again two hours later. Then another will say, oh that is nothing. I haven’t slept in a week. And then another will say, guess what, I have never slept ever. My dear architects, the measure of how hard you’ve worked and how much you’ve accomplished is not related to the number of hours you have not slept. Have you heard of Rem Koolhaas? He is a famous architect. I know this because you tell me he is a famous architect. I hear that Rem Koolhaas is always sleeping. He is, I presume, sleeping right now. And I hear he gets shit done. And I also hear that in a stunning move, he is making a building that looks not like a glass cock, but like a concrete vagina. When you sleep more, you get vagina. You can all take a lesson from Rem Koolhaas.

Life is hard for me, please understand. Architects are an important part of my existence. They call me at eleven at night and say they just got off work, am I hungry? Listen, it is practically midnight. I ate hours ago. So long ago that, in fact, I am hungry again. So yes, I will go. Then I will go and there will be other architects talking about AutoCAD shortcuts and something about electric panels and can you believe that is all I did today, what a drag. I look around the table at the poor, tired, and hungry, and think to myself, I have but only one bullet left in the gun. Who will I choose?

I have a friend who is a doctor. He gives me drugs. I enjoy them. I have a friend who is a lawyer. He helped me sue my landlord. My architect friends have given me nothing. No drugs, no medical advice, and they don’t know how to spell subpoena. One architect friend figured out that my apartment was one hundred and eighty seven square feet. That was nice. Thanks for that.

I suppose one could ask what someone like me brings to architects like yourselves. I bring cheer. I yell at architects when they start talking about architecture. I force them to discuss far more interesting topics, like turkey eggs. Why do we eat chicken eggs, but not turkey eggs? They are bigger. And people really like turkey. See? I am not afraid to ask the tough questions.

So, dear architects, I will stick around, for only a little while. I hope that one day some of you will become doctors and lawyers or will figure out my taxes. And we will laugh at the days when you spent the entire evening talking about some European you’ve never met who designed a building you will never see because you are too busy working on something that will never get built. But even if that day doesn’t arrive, give me a call anyway, I am free.

Yours truly,
Annie Choi"

Nada Surf to put out 5th album

It's always really cool when bands I like collaborate/actually listen to each other. One time Nada Surf cited "Singing in my sleep" by Semisonic as one of their favorite songs, which is one of mine as well...and now Nada Surf is collaborating with Death Cab...also a good combination! I'm stoked for the new album but I'm sad it's not coming out until February, which will be after I see them in November. Still, they tend to frequent the area a lot, will probably be back in the spring to promote their new disc.

It's hard to believe I've pretty much grown up with Nada Surf. Started listening to them when I was 16. Not that I'm much older, but as my music taste has evolved through the years, Nada Surf's stayed with me and always kept me smiling. Not to mention I partied with them in Spain. That was quite memorable..



Press release from their official website
US TOUR TO BEGIN OCTOBER 13

2008 DATES ANNOUNCED

Beloved New York-based band Nada Surf will be releasing their new record, “LUCKY,” on February 5th, 2008 on Barsuk Records, and will be offering fans the opportunity to hear the track "See These Bones" at www.myspace.com/nadasurf starting today.

“LUCKY” is Nada Surf’s fifth record and third for Seattle indie Barsuk Records, following the successful and critically lauded “Let Go” (2003) and “The Weight is a Gift” (2005). The band lineup for almost 12 years has been and still is Matthew Caws (vocals, guitar), Daniel Lorca (bass) and Ira Elliot (drums). The record is filled with songs of restlessness, longing and the elusiveness of love. Yet, in its inimitable way, the band beautifully counterbalances its signature lyrical wistfulness with its singular musical buoyancy. Intimate tunes become we’re-all-in-this-together anthems, thanks to the chiming guitars, propulsive beat, and the ever-present yearning in Caws' voice.

“I tend to be pretty hopeful about things further in the future, but full of anxiety about the next eight hours,” jokes Caws. “Unlike my friend John Flansburgh from They Might Be Giants, who says he's manic depressive without the depression, I think I'm manic depressive without the mania. Yet I'm ready to be cheerful at the drop of a reason. I’m always looking for rapture in music.”

“LUCKY” was co-produced by the band and John Goodmanson (Death Cab For Cutie, Blonde Redhead, Sleater-Kinney). It was recorded in Seattle at Robert Lang Studios where artists like Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, Foo Fighters and Dave Matthews, among many others have worked in the past.

Many great artists make guest appearances on the record, including:
Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, Ed Harcourt, John Roderick of the Long Winters, and guitarist Phil Wandscher of Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter. To help announce the coming of the new record, Nada Surf is about to embark on a national headlining tour. The dates begin October 13 in Philadelphia and end November 2 in Baltimore. Sea Wolf will be supporting.

Critical acclaim has followed Nada Surf through their career. Most recently, “MOJO” called “The Weight is a Gift” a “21st century pop masterpiece,” while “Esquire” said their “poignant anthems” are “full of airtight melodies and huge twists.” “Rolling Stone,” weighed in, saying:
“The band’s tunes achieve a kind of sleight-of-hand majesty,” while “Alternative Press” exclaimed the record is “nearly flawless.”
“Entertainment Weekly” called it “astoundingly good,” and “USA Today”
said Caws’ lyrics “have both mystery and a universal touch.”

Se, Jie

I just saw Ang Lee's most recent movie "Se, Jie" (Lust, Caution). It is a fascinating story with beautiful cinematography and an awesome score. It stars Tony Leung, who is undoubtedly one of the sexiest Asian actors alive. I should mention, however, that it's rated NC-17 and for good reason. If you have a weak stomach for very explicit sex scenes, this movie is NOT for you. Unfortunately, even with the great cast and compelling plot, the movie disappoints. I'm too tired to write a detailed review about it, and this one sums it up very nicely:

"Like most of Lee's films ("Brokeback Mountain," "Sense and Sensibility," "The Ice Storm"), "Lust, Caution" is impeccably crafted: Rodrigo Prieto's lovely cinematography, Alexandre Desplat's tastefully romantic score, and the gorgeous costumes and decor all delight. But there's a chilliness to the enterprise, and a remoteness, and all the sweaty intensity of the sex scenes can't heat it up or bring us closer to these characters. The film is never less than beautiful, but it's never truly absorbing." -- Shawn Levy

Thriller -The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehab Center

Real prisoners doing Michael Jackson's Thriller. No joke.

Military juntas at their most despotic moment...or are they?

From U.S. News and World Report

A Bold Call for Democracy. A Reply in Bullets
By Kevin Whitelaw
Posted September 29, 2007

It was being called the Saffron Revolution. Smuggled images of Buddhist monks thronging the streets of ancient Yangon opened a rare, but brief, window into one of the world's more backward and cruel regimes.

For nine days, the world watched as monks in saffron-colored robes led ever growing crowds on marches challenging the military junta that rules Myanmar (known more traditionally as Burma). Thousands were shaking off two decades of fear to join the monks. Myanmar's generals appeared caught off guard and even more unaware of the power of the Internet. Unlike past protests, this one played out very publicly, as photographs, video, and accounts of the protests—and the inevitable repression—blanketed cyberspace and the airwaves.

On the 10th day, the crowds were even larger. But this time, the monks were largely—and eerily—absent. Overnight, the junta's security forces had raided many monasteries, beating and dragging away untold numbers of monks. The generals had returned to their favorite playbook, greeting marchers with batons, tear gas, and bullets.

By Thursday afternoon, the streets of Yangon were littered with blood-spattered sandals left behind by fleeing protesters. At least 10 people were killed, with rumors of many more. The junta was still treading rather carefully with the monks, who have come to embody the nation's conscience. The monks already provide many of the social services that the generals have decided are beneath them—including AIDS clinics, orphanages, and schools.

If history is any guide, it will get even worse for any Burmese who continue to protest. During the last sustained anti-junta protests in 1988, several thousand were killed. And the government's belated move to cut off Internet access and confiscate mobile phones presages greater violence.

With most of the world offering no more than rhetorical condemnation and symbolic sanctions, it appears that the newfound courage of the Burmese people will be rewarded only by bloodshed. In today's Myanmar, happy endings are rare indeed.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
It is so true, that most people, while completely appalled, shocked, and saddened at the events occurring in Burma, just sit on their asses and mentally/verbally advocate our (dis)belief (like I'm doing right now, I'm well aware). And I am completely and utterly disgusted that power-hungry people with lots of weapons manage to treat other human beings this way, particularly Buddhist monks. My father was once imprisoned as a Buddhist student in Vietnam. This could have happened to him, or anyone who has tried to speak out against a repressive authority.

Sadly, this is not the first time that a military junta has taken over a country and massacred a population. Look at the Dirty Wars in Argentina. Or Pol Pot in Cambodia. Or ethnic cleansing in Darfur. This is not a new phenomenon. As the article states, it's not even a new event in Burma. The democratically elected president has been under house arrest for 11 years, and previous protests in Burma ended just as violently. It's just that thanks to Youtube, Facebook, and Google, we are just made aware of it rather instantaneously.

Anyway, despite history unabashedly repeating itself, I refuse to get disillusioned with the world, and I refuse to be apathetic. I believe in karma, and I guess you could say that's why I've decided to go into medicine. For every person that has died brutally and unnecessarily, I will hopefully improve or save a life. Obviously I wouldn't be able to stop military madmen with rational thought, compassion, and a stethoscope. But I could perhaps contribute to a community to provide health care and help instill ideals of compassion, personal liberty, etc. etc.

I guess my point is, ok, maybe all we can do with respect to an actual event like this is mourn for the dead and pray that the problem will get resolved peacefully. But it also pays to look at the way you personally treat people and the way you live your own life. Are you as aware of your own surroundings as you could be? Are you doing the most you can to help out your immediate environment? I think it's actually a trickle-up effect, where democracy and peace must start at the civilian level. And more importantly, we can't have so much amnesia that as soon as the rush of media is gone, we forget and move on. Never forget Las guerras sucias...never forget Pol Pot...never forget Darfur. History inevitably creeps up on us, and if we continue forgetting the past, every time it happens again, we've taken a few steps backward and have to start over with the peace-building process.

Don't mourn for these deaths because they are shocking. Mourn because they are not. Not even remotely.

VSA Officer Intro 2007

I am very proud to say I played a part in creating this group :) Aren't they adorably awesome? Props to Kin for the video filming and editing!

St. Elmo's Fire (1985) - Love Theme music video

I watched this with my sister my senior year of college. It's a pretty appropriate coming-of-age movie. This song is so wonderfully 80s, but I love it anyway. Not to mention, the movie is shot at Maryland because Georgetown's campus is not nearly as awesome :) Go Terps!

In the era of Windows 98 and when AOL was somewhat respected

Let's just say that between all the recent deaths in my high school graduating class, reconnecting with old friends, and finally having a few moments to myself, I have been extremely nostalgic recently. And coincidentally, my dad wants to give his old computer away, and I came across my old email filing cabinet while sifting through the hard drive. It was like discovering a dusty album under your bed. Talk about a trip down memory lane.

Lo and behold: emails since *gasp* 1999!

I can give you a summary of what I had saved in that filing cabinet:

1)I met an awesome chick in high school, where we exchanged many angsty emails over the summer ranting about people at school, our parents, life in general, and her ultimate move to Spain. She had her problems back then, but she was able to trust me and confide in me about the most intimate things. We continued to keep in touch, and sometimes she would write that she really missed me. I missed her a lot too. We have come a long way since that summer.

2)I was just getting into music, and was involved with various listservs. For example, I used to be a ridiculously obsessed with the Goo Goo Dolls, and must have deleted some 50 emails containing interview transcripts, concert anecdotes, and other random interactions with fellow Goo fans. It's a shame they suck now.

I also loved The Replacements ever since my favorite high school English teacher introduced me to them. "The 'Mats" as they were abbreviated. The dude who headed up the 'Mats listserv used to organize a "tape/CD trade" every Christmas. If you signed up for it, you had to made a mix CD for someone random on the listserv, and they reciprocated. It was a really cheap and thoughtful way to find random music. One year I did it, I got 2 Replacements CDs, which was awesome. And the other year, the person I was paired with totally snubbed me and didn't sent me anything. I'm still waiting, you asshole! Haha.

Speaking of the Replacements, they had some great songs as well: Left of the Dial, Can't Hardly Wait, Birthday Girl...Paul Westerberg did some solo stuff too but I can't remember titles right now. Another group I gotta pull out of the vault.

3)Forwards were such a big deal. So many funny jokes, bumper stickers, silly surveys, whatever amused us at the moment. I don't really get many forwards anymore, thankfully...I don't think I'd ever leave the computer

4)Boys, boys, boys...so many of them at the time :-P In that filing cabinet I found emails from 3 boys I've kissed, 2 boys who officially asked me out, and 1 who I am still involved with now!

Everything in that filing cabinet will be deleted tomorrow since I'll be too lazy to wake up and figure out how to print and archive it before my dad takes the computer to my uncle, who will delete it permanently.

One side of me wants to save and print everything out, to savor every moment like that tourist who takes a million pictures of the damn landmark from 50 different angles. I want 50 different angles of my life to reflect upon. Plus, like my parents, I am a packrat and I feel like I'm being gutted whenever I have to dispose of anything.

But another part of me sees those emails as conversations: passing dialogues that we all naturally forget about with time. The more practical (and physically exhausted) side of me is saying....Jess, get some sleep and lay those memories to rest. You have lots more time to accumulate even more memories, and hopefully this time they will be significant enough that you won't wait 8 years to look back at them.

Regina Spektor - Real Love (Lennon cover live at Ram's Head)

I just saw Regina again last night at Rams Head in Baltimore. Last time I saw her at 9:30 Club with a band and she was on keyboard. This time she was solo with a grand piano. Both concerts were awesome and different, but this time I knew her songs a lot better. Her rendition of "Us," "Field Below," and the John Lennon cover "Real Love" moved me to tears. Plus her acoustic "Hotel Song" duet with Only Son beatboxing was impressive (see below).

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in the car over the past year listening to the Regina mix CD I made. Andy's listened to it so many times he'd internalized the songs to the point where he couldn't tell them apart until a few seconds into the song. I'm so happy to have discovered her at her creative peak.

Regina Spektor - Field Below (live at Ram's Head)

This is the actual concert I was at. Sorry for all the Regina posts, but this is my blog and I shall do what I please :)

Regina Spektor - Hotel Song ( Live Melbourne ) with Only Son

The Office - Pavolovian Experiment

Amazing.

Worst American movies of Summer 2007

Courtesy of the Washington Post: Critics Everywhere Agree: These Were the Stinkers of Summer

If I were an angrier, snobbier, and more eloquent person, I would have absolutely written movie reviews for a living.

It is true, this past summer was full of shitty movies...especially sequels and trequels!

Anyway, I thought this article was hilarious, relaying the top 10 worst movies of the summer according to Rotten Tomatoes. I especially liked one critic's description of some bad Lindsay Lohan horror flick as "torture porn." I mean really, that IS the epitome of what those stupid teen slasher movies entail.

Or how about on the movie B.R.A.T.Z: "This movie is SO BAD! I can't believe I just spent an hour and a half of my life, like, watching it, when I could have been totally trying on hairbands instead!"

What's funnier, that the movie was so bad or that some 50-year-old male film critic was trying to emulate the personality of a teenybopper? "Trying on hairbands" ?? What the hell does that even mean?

In other news, I am officially on Netflix. Let the sedentary movie-addict lifestyle begin!

Katie

Though I don't like to wax personal on public space, I admit: these last few weeks have been turbulent. A lot of terrible news, and a lot of great news. My life is pulling together in a big way, and it's awesome and terrifying at the same time.

Katie -- without you, I would have never sang, not have dared try out for Choir or Chambers or All-State. But you believed in me and encouraged me, and somehow they saw the same things you did. I am so grateful to you for making music a big part of my high school career. I'm sorry we lost touch over the years, but it happens right? I know we weren't even super-close in high school...but hey, like many I admired you from a distance. Not just because you were a talented singer, actress, dancer, performer extraordinaire. But you just had it TOGETHER. Everyone loved you. You were great at what you did, but you weren't an asshole about it, and what's more - you inspired people. And for being an actor, I never EVER heard people say you were stuck-up or bitchy or overdramatic. THAT, my friend, takes talent.

And then just looking at your pictures from Facebook, I could tell you lived your college years to their utmost potential. I'm so happy you did.

Well, I don't have too much to say - I didn't have countless inside jokes or childhood memories with ya, not any that I can recall right now. But just know that despite our distance, I still miss you and miss the idea of being able to run into you in Bethesda someday. And you've taught me so much about my own mortality and vulnerability.

So thank you for the memories. Rest in peace, kiddo.

*In my heart's sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poet's gloss
words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute.
In response to aging silence, memory summons half-heard voices
And my soul finds primal eloquence and wraps me in song, wraps me in song.

If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God, sing me a requiem,
sing me to heaven

Touch in me all love and passion, pain and pleasure
touch in me grief and comfort, love and passion, pain and pleasure...
love me, comfort me, bring me to God,
sing me a love song, sing me to heaven...*

Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina

This is an unfortunate occurrence. "Everywhere like such as?"

Cake- Frank Sinatra

This is an honorable mention for my Life soundtrack. I can't believe I forgot to put Cake...they're so wonderfully original and ...West Coast. I think I tend to gravitate more toward New York musicians...but Cake has a different spirit. I wonder what happened to them...


Other worthy mentions:
No Doubt - Different People
Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
Ella Fitzgerald - I've got a
crush on you
Mozart - A Little Night Music
George Gershwin - They can't take that away from me
Foo Fighters - Times like these

My Life: The Soundtrack

This was an interesting and fun little exercise...what music matters most to me? What songs best describe certain landmark moments? This list took me forever because I had to cut so many songs and try really hard not to repeat artists, because as much as I wanted to include multiple songs from certain bands - Nada Surf, for example - I wanted to best represent the array of music that I listen to. I'd say compared to some people, the list of artists I listen to regularly is small. Some of these songs I haven't listened to in years, but they were a big part of my life at some point and were worth including. So here it is, my life as a soundtrack! Try it for yourself and see what you come up with!


My Life: The Soundtrack

Opening credits: The New Year – Death Cab for Cutie
Waking up: Little Plastic Castle – Ani Difranco
Average day: Hand in my Pocket – Alanis Morissette
First date: That Sunday, That Summer – Nat King Cole
Falling in love: Such Great Heights - Postal Service
Love scene: Let Go - Frou Frou
Fight scene: Paper Boats – Nada Surf
Breaking up: Ojala – Silvio Rodriguez
Getting back together: I Believe – Stevie Wonder
Secret love: Tan tranquila – Pauline en la Playa
Life's okay: Change Your Mind – The Killers
Mental breakdown: Window - Fiona Apple
Driving: Sideral - Macaco
Learning a lesson: Ghost of Corporate Future – Regina Spektor
Deep thought: Comptine d'un autre été - Yann Tiersen (from Amelie)
Flashback: Name – Goo Goo Dolls
Partying: Legalize it – Sean Paul
Happy dance: Mushaboom - Feist
Regretting: Wise Up – Aimee Mann
Long night alone: Gone to the Movies - Semisonic
Death scene: Lullaby – Billy Joel
Closing credits: New World - Bjork

RENT - La Vie Boheme

The opposite of war isn't peace; it's creation.

RENT - The Tango Maureen

I could post every song from this musical, really. I'm so sad I missed it when it was on the stage, but I have a feeling it will be revived someday. The original cast is phenomenal though, from what I hear on the soundtrack. And people who've seen the stage production probably hate on the movie, but I thought it was pretty good and true to the original, considering it had most of the original cast. Plus I love Rosario Dawson and Jesse L. Martin is damn sexy.

M.I.A. - World Town

More M.I.A. Get out of your chair and DANCE

M.I.A. - Paper Planes

I just came across this Sri Lankan/British rapper...she's nothing like I've ever heard. It's crazy that she's been censored by MTV because of her "politicized" lyrics...yet all the smut on MTV is approved. I don't understand the media.

This song samples "Straight to Hell" by The Clash...also a good song that I'd never heard before. I'm ashamed to call myself a Clash fan!

Feist - Brandy Alexander

This song is hypnotizing. Plus I totally appreciate the fact that she plays a NYLON-stringed acoustic...

Can I just reiterate how pissed I am that I missed her in concert not once, but TWICE...at the Black Cat and 9:30 club. I need to stay more up to date on good music! >:o

Trivia: What's in a Brandy Alexander? (From Wikipedia of course). Anyone know what a "jigger" is?

* 1 1/2 oz Brandy
* 1 oz Dark Creme de Cacao
* 1 oz Half-and-half or Heavy cream
* 1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg

Mixing instructions:

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the brandy, creme de cacao, and half-and-half. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the nutmeg.

Alternate recipe

Ingredients:

* 2 jiggers dark creme de cocoa
* 1 jigger brandy
* 1 pt. vanilla ice cream
* 1 c. crushed ice

Feist - Mushaboom

This song and video make me smile :) There is another video for the album version of the song, which is better musically. But this video is so darn cute.

Helping the kids out of their coats
But wait the babies haven't been born oh oh oh
Unpacking the bags and setting up
And planting lilacs and buttercups oh oh oh

But in the meantime I've got it hard
Second floor living without a yard
It may be years until the day
My dreams will match up with my pay

Old dirt road (mushaboom)
Knee deep snow (mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom)
Old

I got a man to stick it out
And make a home from a rented house oh oh oh
And we'll collect the moments one by one
I guess that's how the future's done oh oh oh

How many acres how much light
Tucked in the woods and out of sight
Talk to the neighbours and tip my cap
On a little road barely on the map

Old dirt road (mushaboom)
Knee deep snow (mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom)
Old

Old dirt road
Rambling rose (mushaboom)
Watching the fire as we grow (mushaboom)
Well I'm sold ...

Ani DiFranco - Wish I may

I rediscovered this song on an old mix CD a friend made for me in high school. Used to be one of my favorites. Ani is amazing and so talented. I'm not an avid listener, but no doubt she's a lyrical and musical genius.


Wish I may

I'm losing my love of adventure
I'm losing all respect
For me and myself tonight
I wonder what happens if I get to
The end of this tunnel
And there isn't a light
I've worn down the treads
On all of my tires
I've worn through the elbows
And the knees of my clothing
And I'm stumbling down
The gravel driveway of desire
Trying not to wake up
My sleepy self-loathing

Do you ever have that dream
When you open your mouth
And you try to scream
But you can't make a sound
That's everyday starting now
That's everyday starting now

Don't tell me it's gonna be alright
You can't sell me on your optimism tonight
It's a stiff competition
To see who can stay up later
The stars or the street lights
And all they really want
Is to be alone with the darkness
No more wish I may
No more wish I might

It takes a stiff upper lip
Just to hold up my face
I gotta suck it up and savor
The taste of my own behavior
I am spinning with longing
Faster then a roulette wheel
This is not who I meant to be
This is not how I meant to feel

I don't think I am strong enough
To do this much longer
God, I wish I was stronger
This song could never be long enough
To express every longing
God, I wish it was longer...

Foamy - Foamy's rant IV

I had to post this one too...Nuria this is for you, particularly the part about film critics ;-)

Foamy - Foamy's rant

The original rant by Foamy. See also rants 2-5, and Dating Advice. You won't regret it.

Warning: he's a potty mouth. Don't show this to your kids, unless you want them to enjoy Kevin Smith movies in the future.

10 Items or Less

I just watched this movie last night with Courtney and Pam. Most people would probably label it as an overly minimalist movie with lofty intentions. Not to mention utterly impossible.

But I personally thought it was clever without being pretentious and sweet without being saccharine.

Basic premise: Morgan Freeman plays himself as a washed up actor who hasn't had work for years. He gets a ride to the Latino side of L.A. and winds up on some busted supermarket where one cashier is banging the manager that never comes to work, and the stand-in manager is a loopy old Latino man who moves at snail's pace. Anyway, he meets Scarlet (Paz Vega), who is this snarky, restless cashier in the 10 items express lane and they strike up a friendship. It all unfolds from there. I'll tell you now, the movie ain't plot heavy. It's one of those movies that wouldn't be any good unless some high-profile Hollywood actor were behind it. And who's got more clout than Morgan Freeman?

Anyway, it's wonderfully quirky and I recommend it. Paz Vega and Morgan Freeman have really fun, unexpected chemistry. I tend to be pretty optimistic about most things...food, music, movies, etc. But I think if you're in a philosophical mood and a little down on your present state of affairs, this movie's a good up-lifter. It'll at least make you chuckle.

Cool trivia: It was shot in 15 days. Talk about minimalist!

She's back...

non sequitur; "it does not follow."

non-sequitur is defined as a statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it. Barring the awesome pun that is attached to my name because I have a soft spot for puns, I'd say non sequitur is the story of my life right now. A life with no relevance to the previous stage of my life.

It is - a rather optimistic interpretation of the phrase - a new beginning?

I'm a recent college graduate, hence the clever heading of this blog. I hope to remove "traumatic" from it in just a matter of years, but who's counting?

I kid, I kid...for those of you that know me personally, I'm a very happy camper most of the time. I'd say that right now I'm just going through a rather unstable phase in my life where I don't exactly know what I want to do.

Yes, I am applying to med school. No, I don't know where I want to go. No, I don't know what specialty. Primarily because I don't know if I will get in this time around, or even if once accepted, that I'll really want to go. Bottom line is, that stage has not arrived yet and I'm firstly focusing on showing the MCAT no mercy in July. After that, the decisions will come a' knocking.



But anyway, the point of this blog was not to tell you about every nitty gritty thought in my head, but more for artistic license. Simply put: I'm a closet artist. I love black and white photography, I love songwriting, singing, playing guitar, and I like creative writing. Unfortunately, once I got to college, I drowned in schoolwork, social networking, and $2 rails at the Fe. Not to say I had any issue with having a good time in college, no no, but come on, artists are supposed to be pretentious, sitting in cafes pontificating, smoking, and being pissed off! That's where the creativity flows! (Please tell me know you I'm joking..)

So yeah. Point of this blog. Right. I'll be posting original black and white photography as it accumulates and actually gets developed, writing, music as I record it, whateva. I'm a college grad. For now, I've got lots of time and no money. Which means, I can get CREATIVE! :) And to go back to the very title of this blog, consider everything you see here probably the most irrelevant, brief moments in my professional and social life -- which, invariably, make them the most valuable and worth documenting.

Jess out.