Pistons must win tonight!

The game is coming up so soon. Hamilton is going to play. I read this on the Detroit News (thanks, Dad):

Hamilton said he talked to his father Thursday, and his dad simply told him to "spit" on it.

"This is now or never," Hamilton said. "Usually when you talk to your dad he is like take your time son. But he said spit on it. You are at war right now. You ain't got no choice."

I love it. Get ready for the battle!

p.s. Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals on ABC at 7. It's a night of heart-pounding competition!

the good and the bad of storms and other things

It's been rainy, overcast and stormy (or at least one of those) the past couple of days. I actually love this kind of weather. I even get kind of excited about tornado sirens and such. I feel bad saying that because of the devastation that they cause (and have caused recently), so I mean no disrespect and realize that they are scary, deadly forces of nature but they are still pretty exciting. I also like anything that breaks up the usual, the routine, and the mundane. I also like excuses to stay inside and read and watch movies. It's kind of like when you get sick when you're younger. It's sort of disappointing but also kind of thrilling since it lets you get out of your routine of going to school and you can watch daytime TV. The sky also looks really cool and I like the wind in the trees and the sound of wind, rain, and thunder. And I love lightning, especially the crazy kind you see out here in Nebraska.

What I don't like about the weather is that it deterred my plan of seeing Loves of a Blonde at Film Streams tonight, something I was really excited about. I've wanted to see this movie for so long and I was thrilled at the chance to see it projected on the big screen. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait longer. And I don't know if this is to be blamed entirely or even partly on the weather, but I have been feeling chronically tired the last few days. I don't really know what it is, but I am so sleepy about 80% of the day.

Just saw on the news that a tornado touched down in Kearney this evening, which isn't too far from here. The storm isn't that crazy here right now.

I have not really followed through on some of my intended posts and promises. I saw The Flight of the Red Balloon yesterday. I wanted to write a post about it today, but I am feeling some pressure to get my real writing work done before I go into it. But I will say that I really, really liked the movie. Juliette Binoche was amazing, as usual. I will really, really try to write a bit more about it tomorrow. And post some photos. I apologize in advance if I don't (I don't think this is how blogs really work -- promises and apologies), I'm pretty busy this weekend catching up on some articles that are due. It was really nice to have a fun vacation in Chicago, and now I'm realizing that I have a lot to catch up on.

What else? Cody and I improved our pub quiz score on Tuesday. First time: 13. Second time: 18 (right?). At this rate, we'll get a perfect score in a month and a half. Little Couch (our team name) will win. We are determined.

Pistons play tomorrow night. They have to win, and they will.

I have a new overall idea/concept for my short film. Sort of. Just an idea, but not for a plot or anything. It's not like a breakthrough or anything, but I'm looking for something to really get me going with this thing and I'm hoping maybe this new sort-of idea will be it. We'll see...

I want to get back into watching The Wire, and I've had Fat Girl rented for so long and have still not watched it. I'm also trying to see more films that I think will inspire me for my own film. Not that they have to be at all related in terms of content or style, but just inspiring film-wise. The Flight of the Red Balloon was one of those films. There are certain films that just make me want to make a movie. And that was one of them.

Oh, and we got Date with the Night and Call Me on Rock Band. Very exciting. Snuggle Bees had a serious reunion session tonight. It was pretty awesome. We haven't lost our chops, and our band chemistry is still palpable. We filmed a few of our songs as we played musical instruments. It was pretty funny to watch.

Lastly, I had a really bizarre dream last night. It is too strange and complicated to try to describe/explain, but I will say that it involved a movie within a dream starring Jena Malone, Ellen Page and myself and had to do with academia, relationships and their boundaries, and rain. I was acting in it and knew that Jena Malone would eventually be killed by her abusive ex-boyfriend in the movie and while my character (who was her professor) was trying to help and protect her, I also thought (as myself) that I wasn't such a big Jena Malone fan and I wouldn't be too sad if she wasn't in the second half of the film. The dream also featured Usher, who performed onstage while riding motocross and performing stunts inside of a giant rubber tire. And that's like only the basics of half of the dream. Crazy.

what I'm doing right now

Looking like this and dancing to the Santogold album when I should be writing.

chicago!

punctuation heaven

Man, it's been too long...

I've been busy in random ways. And unfortunately now I don't have too much time to write since I need to shower, eat breakfast (or rather lunch now), do laundry, pack for Chicago, grade papers and exams, and go to the bank all before 5:30 when I leave for Chicago.

So, a brief rundown of what's been going on: my sisters came home from college; Laura visited for the weekend; saw Rilo Kiley twice; jumped on a tiger bounce, split my jeans; backyard bbq; saw The 400 Blows with a bunch of high schoolers at Film Streams and led discussion afterwards; saw My Blueberry Nights and Iron Man, watched the Pistons and the Red Wings win; played Wii Fit (awesome), Catchphrase, croquet and racquetball; went to some graduation parties; watched seasons finales of The Office and Gossip Girl; saw Jeff King artwork at Pulp; wrote some articles; got a freelance job at Venus Zine; and finished my first official year as a teacher.


Now for the upcoming stuff: I am heading to Chicago this afternoon, tagging along with Honeybee who are playing some shows in the city. I'm hoping to meet up with some friends and take some photos and video. As for viewing material: Pistons vs. Celtics and Loves of a Blonde and Flight of the Red Balloon at Film Streams.

I've got some other stuff on my to-post list, so look out!

Omaha in the springtime

Jasmine tree, originally uploaded by NotoriousLBT.

I like this house. And this tree. And the owner working in his garage-top garden. He was nice too.

the frere-joneses

I just recently became aware of Tobias Frere-Jones, a typeface designer. He works at Hoefler & Frere-Jones in New York and also teaches at the Yale School of Art. He's developed some really cool typefaces.

Anyway, upon learning about this fellow, I immediately wondered if he was related to (I figured the brother of) The New Yorker music critic, musician, photographer, blogger, and occasional contributor to other cool publications (e.g. Slate, Village Voice) Sasha Frere-Jones. (That last link was his personal blog, here is his New Yorker blog.) Frere-Jones is not exactly a commonplace surname. Sure enough, they are brothers. Just thought I would share this exciting (for me, at least) discovery. What a talented, cool-named fraternal duo.

friday finds

Came across this magazine/quarterly/website. It has a lot of good stuff in it. Here's their blog, which makes me miss L.A. when reading it because a lot of their postings are about cool L.A. events.

Also, Susan Faludi wrote an op/ed in today's NY Times about HRC. An interesting read.

OMG

Wow! Major reveal/plot development on the Gossip Girl that I finally watched tonight. The episode aired this past Monday. I could not believe it. The end was a complete stunner! A totally unexpected, highly dramatic, slightly preposterous, oh-so-engaging twist. Too bad I don't know a single other person who watches this show. That has to change. Are there any closet Gossip Girl watchers out there? I know it's hard to admit it, but I'll stand by your side. We can discuss the series and especially the episode "All About My Brother." Next week the episode is titled "On the Verge." Does the show get a credibility point or two for the Almodovar homages? C'mon people!

p.s. If you live in a major city, then insert an "F" between the "M" and the "G" in the title of this post.

Calligraphy

So I've mentioned that I've been into calligraphy lately. Here is a sample of something I've done. I made a title page for my sister's writing portfolio last week (hope you don't object to this, Erin...I'll take it down if you do). It was my first attempt at Gothic script (with slight alterations by me). I was pretty happy with how it turned out. This was the thing I was "graphing" last week at 2:45 am. And now I'm posting about it at nearly the same time. I'm not helping my reputation. Anyway, I'm excited to try out some new fonts. I even bought a calligraphy book. I'm thrilled.

I could stand to make some money on the side and add to another part-time/freelance/random job to my growing list, so if you know of anyone who needs a grapher or calligrapher (there's a slight difference, and I can play both roles well), please consider me. I think this further establishes me as a distinguished artist. I mean there's not much more of a distinguishing activity than calligraphy, is there?

Kyle Harvey article

My interview/article with Kyle Harvey was published in last week's City Weekly. You can see it online here (until Wednesday or Thursday).

official good news

Some of you may already know this, but now it's official: I got a grant from the Nebraska Arts Council. It was a huge surprise, and I am very grateful. So now I just have to force myself to sit down and write the short film/films that I want to direct this summer. I'm hoping that this will provide extra motivation/pressure. And perhaps the more people I let know about the summer film, the harder it will be for me to evade it. I really want to do it and I'm so excited and ready to make another film. I don't know what my problem is, but it has been really hard for me to start this script.

Anyway, here is the press release. Check it out, I am a "distinguished artist." Never thought I would be referred to as "distinguished", but I think I could get used to it.

Destroyer

Destroyer. Omaha. The Waiting Room., originally uploaded by NotoriousLBT.

Destroyer played here Friday night, it was an awesome show. Mal Madrigal opened and sounded really great.

the art of movie warnings

I'm not sure when this started, but it's been a while now that I've been enjoying the italicized warnings at the end of certain New York Times movie reviews. I think that Manohla Dargis started the trend, but it looks like it's spreading. It seems almost like an inside joke among the arts writers, a brief look into their personalities to show that despite their erudite analyses in a respected, lofty publication, they still have a sense of humor. As intended, they also serve the purpose of informing possible viewers (and parents) of material that may be found offensive, too mature or too graphic.

Here's an example from today's Iron Man review, written by A.O. Scott: "It has a lot of action violence, non of it especially graphic or gruesome. Also, Iron Man has sex, and not with the suit on. But not completely naked either."

Here's a poetic, haiku-like example from Redbelt by Manohla Dargis: "Blood and raw words." For In Bruges she writes: "Dirty words, bloody wounds." It's like Jim Carroll writing movie reviews. The Other Bolelyn Girl has a good one too: "Roving hands, rolling heads." Too perfect.

Dargis can also be flip while providing cultural commentary, such as the warning for Vacancy: "The usual: knife and gun violence, brief female nudity, profanity." Some are also funny for their specificity, like this one for The Number 23: "It has adult language, scenes of animal endangerment, and one realistic-looking slit and spurting human throat."

They are like little gems sprinkled throughout, which makes finding them all the more fun (because some reviews have no warning at the end, and others are boring like "strong language and violence", for example).

p.s. Can anyone remember the name of a more recent movie that was described as "Fight Club for teens?" I remember that one having a good one.

you know you're cool when...

you stay up until 2:45 am doing calligraphy.

There has to be a better phrase than "doing calligraphy." I suppose "practicing the art of calligraphy" would be more suitable. I propose the term "calligraphizing"; it's more efficient and sounds less haughty and more street.