Kids

This is not a post about MGMT.

This is actually a post about kids. When my next door neighbor found out I was going to be in town another two weeks, she called me, in a flurry, and said "Brandon (her husband) and I are going to Honduras for 10 days... Brandon's mom (Betty) will watch the kids for most of the week, but can you do the weekend?"
And, of course, I said, "sure" because the kids are cute, and since I already put in my two weeks notice at the mall, I had nothing better to do, and a lack of income.

There are 3 kids. Two boys, in like 5th and 3rd grades, and a little girl in Kindergarten.

Things I learned, rather, questions I asked myself later:

Did I beep over bad words in songs when I was a kid? And I do mean, ME making the beeping noise. (one of the kids did this.)

Why do we feel it necessary to cover our eyes or make beep or humming noises when we don't want to see something? Are we all living in states of denial or disinterest? Where did we learn to do this? Is it from parents?

Also, what does wanting an apple cut up for you indicate? That you never want to even be aware of the core? the bad, inedible part? That it won't even be part of your existence? Isn't there something wrong with that? With not wanting to take a bite out of something yourself first?
OR is it just pure laziness?

Also, why can't everyone still find SO much pleasure in bubble wrap?

Looking at kids and their actions is very interesting. It's like, where did they learn to do this stuff? What stuff, that maybe is natural, have they yet to unlearn?

And, most of all, why can't we stay more like kids?

She's Just Not That Into You

I saw the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" tonight, and it got me thinking about relationships.

What do I look for in a guy?

Was the question I thought of, and I decided that the answer was that I like a guy who is into me. I don't have any physical characteristics I HAVE to have, although strong eyebrows are nice. I don't really care if he is super smart or super dumb, exactly, although if we are not mentally compatible it's usually not an issue because he wouldn't be into be if we weren't, probably. I don't like ALL guys that are into me, that's for sure, but it IS the determining qualification for whether or not I'd like to spend time with that person again.

The girls in the movie were pretty much all selfish or clueless. This was a problem for me. There were so many times when I was just like "oh, girl!! stop!!!!" or just "come on!! just f-ing do it!" or whatever, and it made me realize that all these girls are awful role models. They all end up happy in the end despite being assholes the whole movie. Maybe that's what the world wants, because it makes them entitled and allowed to be clueless and selfish and asshole-like, but really? Is this okay?

I can understand if you get frustrated because it's hard to meet people, but I really have absolutely no sympathy. Figure out the new technology (myspace, texting, etc), or just go out to a hot bar and mingle. Or get friends to hook you up. The ways to meet people are endless.
And if that doesn't work, if you don't meet ANYONE who is into you, then maybe you just have to look at yourself and realize maybe it's time for a change.
It's probably not even that HE's not into you, it's probably also that YOU are not into you.
Because if YOU are not into yourself, NO ONE else will be either.
(the other extreme also hold true, though, if you are TOO into yourself, no one else has room even to be into you.)

I really hope sometime in the future there can be a movie called "She's just not that into you" because that is really the piece of advice that I need the friends of people who think they are prospectives to give to their friends.

Obviously, since I was raised in the South, as a southern lady, even, I do not call boys, ever, after a first meeting or date. I may text or facebook, but probably not. It is definitely your call. BUT, if I do not answer, or find a time to see you, or make a future date, really, it is clear, that you need not call again, even if I gave you my number or friended you on a site. really.

OK, well, this was my relationship advice for the evening. Not as cute as carrie bradshaw, but it probably would be if I had her shoe collection. Thank you for your time.

Current Selections include Limp Bizkit. wow!

Music I'm listening to at the moment, or have been impressed by recently:

Minotaur Shock - Am Dram
-really, the whole new MS album is amazing, i actually bought it from itunes i felt so good about it. released first in dec in the UK, it is called amateur dramatics. also, the website is fabulous, he has a page breaking down each song into a scale from which he determines monetary value, and it's how he priced his record. it is http://www.minotaurshock.com/

Limp Bizkit - Nookie (Disco Villains remix)
- a pre-pubescent classic is reborn

Britney Spears - Circus (Snowcone remix)
Snowcone - Dusty Dream Dub
- chinese disco-pop-electro, what's not to enjoy?

Brightblack Morning Light - Hologram Buffalo
Brightblack Morning Light - Oppressions Each
-a very very chill band. i'm seeing them live soon, update to follow.

La Roux- Quicksand
-co-ed duo fronted by a female redhead leads to questionably correct french name, but they produce very very catchy song nonetheless

This blog does not contain the usual question, so I will pose it shortly. Upon watching the grammys, which actually happened on accident, i found myself asking the question:

"Where has all the new good music gone?!"

My answer is this - Into Computers, and/or onto the Internet.
Because it is not really on TV, nor the radio.
There are some exceptions. (in atlanta, the gsu and gatech stations are both okay.) But for the most part, when i hear good music, it is on my comp. maybe mtv2 is okay, but i've never had cable so i really just don't know. but they were the first place i saw/heard modest mouse when i happened to be babysitting/watching tv.

Maybe it's because i love computers AND music, so it makes sense that the two should meet.
But I also love heels and drinks, and the two DEF do not go together, no matter how hard I try.

Anyway, i was so dissapointed by the grammys. My conclusion was that any band that had been formed for at least 5 years (mccartney, radiohead, etc) were good, but anything that was recent was really lacking. (cyrus, jonas bros).

There is an exception, which is Katy Perry, who is big enough that she could get away with descending in a large sparkly banana, whose icon was in combination with cherries on all the screens behind her. Hilaroius. She also didn't have a dance routine, which is almost unheard of for a pop singer these days. Although her voice sucked on that performance, she provided the entertainment that i craved. And I do know that on her albums she can give me what I want vocally. So that's alright. Also her song is just about scandalous enough for me to want it to be broadcasted in every TV in america, or however that goes.

Enough for now, time for bed! Going to go listen to some music i've never heard of on the radio and fall pleasantly asleep.

My "Top 5" of 2008 - Electronic

Why do I find myself so into electronic music?

What is it about the trance that draws one in? Although I used to be drawn to music that spoke to me lyrically, i've realized that music doesn't have to have good lyrics for me to enjoy it. The lyrics can really suck, or, actually it doesn't even have to have them. lonely syllables are completely fine. I'm going to compile a list of songs that get me pumped no matter what. And i can't really figure out why. but these songs were epic in 2008, and necessary.

Matt & Kim - Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus remix)
Villains - Thrilla
Hail Social - Heaven (Designer Drugs remix)
Dragonette - I Get Around (Midnight Juggernaut mix)
Britney Spears - Womanizer (The Teenagers remix)

These were songs that you heard at least once if you hung out with me in 2008.
I would make them links... but I don't want to deal with any legal repercussions, SO, either find them on hype machine, last.fm, or even youtube, if you get desperate! Or just ask me.

notable mentions:
-moster hospital (MSTRKRFT remix) - metric
-the end of you too - metronomy
-you visits are getting shorter - bloc party
-blind - hercules and love affair
-talk like that - the presets
-ready for the floor - hot chip (ALSO the duffy cover)
-hips lips and microchips - crash overdrive

Religion and Cars

Has the weekly communion been replaced by the daily commute?

Organized religion in my community (and possibly other places in america) seems to be somewhat absent. So how are people filling the needs that once were filled by religion? Also, why aren't more people upset or angry by their daily commutes, enough to change them? The answer may be that people have begun to use their daily commutes as the time to think, meditate, and be in their own heads. Time that some people may have called prayer in the past. Being alone in a car is actually a pretty peaceful thing. The driver is in charge of everything in a 1m radius. The air conditioning, the radio, the speed he is going, etc. No wonder no one wants to carpool. Not only would he lose the peace and quiet, he would also lose the aspect of control for that 45 mins (or whatever it happens to be). No one needs to go sit in a pew to pray, or to hear music - they can sit in their cars, zone out, choose some tunes, and be one - not with god, but with themselves.

Planet Earth

I was raised in a one-TV household, without cable. My parents did not really buy videos, and the our collection consisted of "beauty and the beast," "the empire strikes back," "a muppet christmas carol" (obviously watched year round), "mary poppins", "the chronicles of narnia" (BBC version), and "fievel goes west." SO, when I got home from college and found that my dad had not only purchased a new high-def TV, but ALSO the whole planet earth series, I was not only dumbfounded, I found myself suddenly addicted.

I was enraptured, as most are, by the artistry of the "documentaries," and watched an episode a night (or more) until I had completed the series. Now, admittedly, I was late in the game, and most of my friends had already seen them, but they were still willing to encourage my enthusiasm.

So, recently, when I found myself in a frat house, (one I didn't belong to), surrounded by a cloud of smoke and stoned boys, I was relieved when what they decided to watch was planet earth (as opposed to watching any will ferrell comedy, a ufc boxing championship, or worst of all, deciding to play halo 3).

However, I realized something while I was watching planet earth this time. I realized that I thought that I really didn't like how it depicted nature and the great outdoors. I thought, "Planet Earth, not unlike fashion magazines, gives an unrealistic view of what is actually present in the real world." I know it doesn't really claim to present how the earth really is, but we've got a nation who undeniably believes a lot of what they see in the media, especially when they see it on channels like the discovery channel.

I know that "art" is supposed to show people what they don't always notice. A photograph can capture a moment, and a painting can capture an emotion, and likewise, a film can capture something in such a way that we(the viewers) see it differently. And that is ok. Art IS supposed to be able to show humans something that is not ordinarily visible to the human eye. However, I don't think people really think of Planet Earth as being art. But perhaps that's okay.

Planet enthusiasts love the show, because it is entertainment that is also propoganda - it gives people motivation to save the world, to love the world, etc etc. The famous dying polar bear scene has shocked a lot of new people into becoming aware of global warming (or perhaps even believeing it exists). However, I found myself thinking that most people may be dissapointed when they step outside and see the world that they have saved, and it looks nothing like the world in planet earth.

The cameras and filters used in this show not only make the colors different, using heat filters, spotlights or night cameras at night, but they also, in the editing process, speed up or slow down movements in nature. The tide coming in, the sun on the sahara, the fog on the desert mountain, these are all images that we cannot actually see with our human eyes. If we go out into the planet earth, we will not be able to see these things. Also the zoom feature has allowed the show to show images that real live humans could never see - from the macroscopic to the microscopic.



SO, Is this show creating an unrealistic view, that will lead to dissapointment when confronted with the real world?

After a while, I actually came to the conclusion of, "probably not". I don't think anyone can quite capture, even in video, what the "awe of nature" feeling really is. Maybe the great outdoors will not be quite as visually stimulating as Planet Earth makes it out to be, BUT, I am positive that no one will leave dissapointed. Because you may not see the same fantastic images, but the feeling of awe and wonder of the real world will far surpass what you could ever see on a television.

SO, the fact that the images of Planet Earth may lure people into traveling, camping, expiditioning, etc, is actually okay, even if it seems like it is using a false pretense, because the real thing is actually just that good. (for the record, this is where the other kind of human cheese comes into my blog). SO, i'm done hating on planet earth. I worked through the hating, so to speak, to realize that I probably really don't have anything to worry about. hurrah! Go Planet!

*Another note: Another reason people, myself included, are apt to hate on planet earth is because people sit at home watching television instead of experiencing the "real" thing. but this is a different blog for a different night. we'll question that kind of "reality" later.

Introduction - First Musing

Have you ever wondered what human cheese would taste like?

This blog will be a chronicle of everyday, at least semi-regular, or even very uncommon musings, wonderings, or ponderments.

Blogs are weird things. I have always considered them rather masturbatory. It's like, "Oh, look at me, I think my thoughts are important enough to put on the internet. Read them!"
I've never felt pretentious enough to start one. (Also, a big factor was that I couldn't ever think of a good name.)
That said, I decided that I write better when I have an expected audience, and also that the internet will last longer than scribbles in journals that I constantly lose and misplace. So, here we go.