Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: confidence, deep, determination, directing, empowerment, film, growing up, happiness, idealism, independent film, inspired, Johnny Depp, life, obsession, prolific, skin tone, story, Teddy Geiger, The Rum Diaries, Thinking Underage, writing, youth
One thing I’ve come to learn is that it’s not about finding the untold story, or the gimmick that sets your story apart from everyone elses. It’s about finding something you want to explore, a theme if you will. As much as we all hate English class, as someone who will one day produce the “crap” we read, I actually think about the themes I want to explore, the symbols and foreshadowing I want to scatter throughout the story. And it’s very thrilling to have symbolism in your story, it’s very stealthy.
Looking at pictures of the filming of “The Rum Diaries”, I just realized that Johnny Depp is once again in the process of losing his pallor and turning orange.
There’s no denying the whole Johnny Depp period of my life will pervade everything I do for the rest of my life. I’m not saying that I will never get rid of this obsession, but it did happen in the formative years of my life. I wonder why I’m stuck with this love of quirky independent movies when my dad has weaned me on blockbusters since birth?
Sorry for the deep posts, but at least they’re happy deep, right? I am at the peak of idealism.
I am most prolific on my cell phone. When I’m on that thing I type up eight pages without knowing it. It’s only when I’m retyping it all onto my computer when I suffer. Perhaps it’s because the screen isn’t as daunting as Microsoft Word, the big white page glaring at you.
I love growing up. Ask me in fifteen years and I’ll tell you I’d give anything to go back to fifteen-years-old. I think I’m going through what Teddy Geiger went through when he wrote “Thinking Underage”, because a lot of the songs on that album make a lot of sense right now. Of course, I’ve moved past the Teddy Geiger phase. Yes, there was a Teddy Geiger phase. Who’s Teddy Geiger? That’s what google is for.
I have absolutely no resentment toward anyone right now. Thankfully everyone I was ever truly irritated by has moved away, which makes life a lot easier. Even the irritating people that are still around don’t bother me anymore. I am truly mellow.
If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down!
I am so happy, so inspired, so encouraged, so confident, and so determined right now. The best way to live life is to surround yourself with a bubble of awesome people but experience everything and open your mind at the same time.
I’ve realized why I want to make movies: to open people’s minds. Is that a bit cheesy? Oh well.
Sorry if this sounds like a empowerment post. It is.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cinema, directing, director, Ed Wood, Epiphany, film, happiness, Jean Valjean, life, movie, movies, passion, Pirates of the Caribbean, STAR testing, underwear, Who Am I?
It’s the second day of STAR testing, which I’m not complaining about. Being confined to one’s French classroom to finish fifteen minutes worth of work in an hour, one gets a generous amount of thinking time. Maybe it’s only me, though, because every time I look around it’s like a battlefield. Everyone’s sprawled all over their desks, and there’s a bit of snoring going on behind me.
I have a problem with falling asleep in public, however, so I stay awake, thinking about scripts I’m working on. Occasionally I venture into that cheesy territory of Jean Valjean’s: who am I? For me, the best way to answer this questions is by imagining I’m being interviewed.
That sounded way more epic in my head.
This job shadowing experience, while not over, has taught me a lot about the film industry, as much as I hate to admit it. I thought I knew enough, but it turns out that I didn’t. And thank god I haven’t encountered anything that would make me shun filmmaking forever.
As of now, I’m going to say directing is for me. The acting bug is shrinking, although I fully expect its return full-force next year when I take Theater Lab. Could it be more obvious when, instead of watching interviews with actors, I watch interviews with directors? And when Johnny Depp’s explanation of his character from “The Astronaut’s Wife” doesn’t move me as much as Martin Scorsese talking about the balletic movements in “The Tales of Hoffman”.
Do I sound overly pretentious today? Blame it on the English Language Arts section of the STAR test, the reading passages of which I must not be outdone by. There I go again,with the lengthy sentences.
I’m so in love with movies right now – they are as epic as PotC 3. I really appreciate every single director out there…even if their movie is crap, they’ve got passion for it and ideas that just…didn’t translate to the audience. Which is not good, but I admire their passion. Yes, I did just watch part one of Ed Wood, how did you guess?
Whell. This half-baked post can’t be as bad as that highlighter-yellow underwear Miya and Nobu bought me…which will never see the light of day.
One last question. These epiphanies, do you ever reach a certain age where they stop appearing?
Filed under: gift guides | Tags: arabesque, auction, birthday, blood, connecticut, crazy cat lady game, crocheted leaflet tights, dance class, Danny Boyle, Disney, Edward Scissorhands, fangirl, Gale, gift guide, gifts, gloves, grandpa hairtuft, hairy legs, interviews, Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Depp, Lone Ranger, lonely, michael jackson, Miya, mono, oprah, props, road trip, shang, STAR testing, stealthygrapes, sweat, Tonto, trailer, twitter, Youtube
I originally wanted to attack everyone with pictures of Danny Boyle, whom I have taken up drawing on every surface I see. I don’t think that was gramatically correct, nor ecumenically, nor spiritually, but I just woke up from a nap that went too long and began too late. I will, however, watch numerous interviews of Danny Boyle on Youtube, something I have never done before. Huzzah.
Miya. The Gale to my Oprah, the Tonto to my Lone Ranger. Scratch that, I’d rather be Tonto, as Johnny Depp is portraying him in a 2010/2011 movie headed by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. Now that I’ve told you, I expect you to not run up to your local Johnny Depp fangirl – who will have to do in place of me, I guess, although I am not a fangirl - one month before “The Lone Ranger” comes out, and tell them that you can’t wait for that new Johnny Depp movie. They will shun you for being an ignorant poop.
Back to the subject at hand. Miya’s birthday was two days ago, and I gave her the gift of joining twitter with her. Oh look! A perfect chance to self-promote! Mein twitter is @stealthygrapes. Huzzah.
But here are gifts that I would give her if I were rich and not lethargic.
1. Crazy Cat Lady Game; so that she can practice for the lonely thirty years spent waiting for me in the trailer.
fredflare, $22
2. Crocheted Leaflet Tights; so that her legs always look hairy.
fredflare, $12
3. Arabesque; so she can always be reminded of what we couldn’t achieve in dance class.
rock 'n rose jewellery, 10 pounds
4. Mono; for staring contests and incentive to buy the whole bio gang. Also, because Mono needs her Grandpa Hairtuft. And her uncle, Michael Jackson. And her other uncle, Shang. Do you remember our original road trip plans? To drive to Connecticut and steal the whole lot…
giant microbes, $7.95
5. Edward Scissorhand Gloves; so she can’t.
Michael Jackson auction, $4000-6000
Those are the real gloves from the movie that, by now, have been mentioned too many times. And there’s probably dried up Johnny Depp hand sweat on them…and blood, because he cut himself so many times. I’m only mentioning this because I know there are fangirls who like that stuff…
Happy belated birthday Ayim.
I’ll be back with another post perhapsedly tomorrow, because we have STAR testing and thus early dismissal. In the meantime, my fears have come true and I can’t stop twittering. Follow me if you’re already in the trap, but if you’re not – stay out and keep your life.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: elementary, gift guide, juvenile, Miya, open house, school, shun, teacher
Tonight was my elementary school’s open house, and all went well-ish. Teachers recognized me and Amanda got shunned a lot. But the most awkward was my fourth grade teacher.
Amanda forced me to go into his room because she was avoiding Joshua…blah blah blah. And then we were being kind of weird so my teacher started looking at me… so I had to say hi. Then he walked towards us but then it was really shunful and awkward so he moved away again. Shuuuunnnn.
I apologize for this extremely juvenile post – not that my other posts are not juvenile – but I must record this for when I am sixty and can relive this horrible moment. Hi, old Grapes. How are you? Is your hair black still?
Stay tuned tomorrow for Miya’s gift guide. Twill be exciting!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 13 Going on 30, AMC, brickbreaker, civilization, eharmony, fanfiction, guilty pleasure, home video, Love Today, Mad Men, Mr. Bean, Numb3rs, Pirates of the Caribbean, scandalous, Sean Connery, Sequoia National Park, soundtrack, stealthy, The Pink Panther, The Untouchables, viagra
After posting my last post, I waited for some caring person to reach out and pull me away from the toxic bubbling goo of obsession. Then my internet died, because I had entered into Sequoia National Park. And I was in the middle of a particularly well-written fanfiction too. I know, well-written and fanfiction in the same sentence? Please excuse me, I was stuck in a car in the middle of orange-growing land. I was, and am, also sad because the space key on my Blackberry no longer makes that cool clicky noise anymore. My city-dweller instincts kicked in and I clung to the last source of civilization I had. Until it too died on me. So I proceeded to play brickbreaker.
But no, I took a few good photos that did not include my family standing dorkily against the backdrop of a “Welcome to Sequoia National Park” sign, and I did a good Mr. Bean impression that unfortunately will forever be captured on tape.
Now we’re on our way to Yosemite, so I apogize for this half-assed post. I’m just trying to get you guys something to read before I’m once again thrown into the wilderness. Soon I will have only my ipod and brickbreaker to keep me company.
Sayonara, Japanese goodbye…
Which reminds me: I spent last night watching old movies on amc (Mad Men!) like “The Untouchables” (sadly, I missed Sean Connery but I saw a photo of him), and “In the Line of Fire”. Also, the end of “13 Going On 30″, which if I keep randomly running into, could become a guilty pleasure of mine. Next to “The Pink Panther”. I also spent the night hastily changing channels when eharmony and Viagra-type commercials came up. Viagra commercials are stealthy. They start out all happy and normal, and then BAM. But I also had to make sure I saw a few ads for “Mad Men”. Speaking of, I’ll be missing “Numb3rs” tonight and cramming on homework tomorrow. Dangnabbit.
One last thing: if you ever get a hold of these home videos, the wailing of the PotC soundtrack and “Love Today” in the background is me and my little sister.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: car, family, fields, grapes, Johnny Depp, middle-of-nowhere, nature, Northern California, obsession, Pirates of the Caribbean, relapse, Sequoia National Park, soundtrack, Sweeney Todd, trees
The annual spring break attempt at a road trip has begun. We’re off to Nor Cal, whose abbreviation makes me giggle. I think our goal is to go to the Sequoia National Park. Trees, oh joy. And I mean that.
I fell asleep for an hour because Mother Nature finally decided to pay a visit at the same time I went to pay her a visit. Too much information? Too cheesy? Too, dare I say, corny?
I awoke to flat fields, and what possessed me to think that they were beautiful? But they are, and the ones with randomly scattered bales of hay are a bonus. Oh look, now we’re amongst the grape farms. Hello, family.
Locked in a car in the middle of nowhere – okay, Bakersfield – with only my Sweeney Todd soundtrack, I fear I have once again become dangerously close to a Johnny Depp/PotC relapse.
Someone talk me off the edge of the vat of bubbling goo?
A text, email, anything. The lack of outside communication worries me.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Are You There God? It's Me, awesome, baking, basketball, birthday, box set, Design Can, fatty, friends, gift guide, kids, Margaret, Nancy Drew, presents, Self-Portrait mirrors, SiliconeZone, sister
In honor of my sister Jocelyn’s 10th birthday, here is a list of presents I would give her if I were rich and/or one of those sisters who aren’t lethargic lazy asses. In reality, she may be getting a colored card and a picture. Or a hastily bought notebook in the shape of a sparkly dress. Oh wait, that was five years ago.
The big one-oh. Isn’t this one of the things that Margaret freaked out about in that horrid book? Next to increasing her bust (she must!), crushing on boys, and getting her period.
1. Nancy Drew box set. Because she secretly loves mysteries and needs to read more anyway.
amazon, $43.522.
2. Design Can Self-Portrait mirrors. Because she needs to learn that the world’s idea of beauty is ridiculous, and that she shouldn’t be so depressed about her allergies and their subsequent scabs/rashes.
The Design Can, $19.99
3. A basketball. Because she loves basketball and needs to not become a fatty like me.
wal-mart, $18.88
4. SiliconeZone Kids’ Pack 10-piece Baking Set. Because I’m pretty sure she’s going to become a pastry chef. Or a lawyer/doctor, which is more probable because she is an Asian child.
amazon, $25.00
5. A day out with all my weird PE friends. Because only then can she be awesome.
priceless. Goodness, is that Sushi in the background, ready to strip?
Huzzah. Happy birthday Jocelyn. Even though I thought your name was weird when you were born.
So. I guess I’m no better than Sushi, because I didn’t learn this until now.
I was wondering why I had so little comments, when I found a few in the spam folder. But akismet or whatever it’s called had already helpfully deleted a couple hundred more.
So if you commented and it never showed up,
PLEASE COMMENT AGAIN!
It really boosts my morale and could keep La Poo Poo from being deleted. My life is pretty pathetic.
Aw, heck. If you’ve never commented, comment! If your comment was never deleted, comment!
Before I used to see the number of spam comments akismet had saved me from and be so grateful. “Akismet is great!” I would think. Grrrrr. It’s an evil monster who robbed me of confidence boosts! I suppose saving a few good comments from a pile of spam is better than deleting a bajillion spam comments from a pile of good ones.
And thank you, before I forget my manners in my comment greed.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: angry asian man, ass, birthday, comment, directing, Ernest, failure, film, Gandhi, happy, inspiration, Meryl Streep, oprah, party, PMS, post, preproduction, script, sixth grade, spam, The Devil Wears Prada
I was going to be a butt and not post, but that’s when I received the awesome, heart-felt comment in my inbox. If it wasn’t heart-felt, then I am a real poop, but I won’t care. It’s more about how things affect you than how they were intended.
At this rate, I’ll become Gandhi and spend my whole life spewing quotable inspiration while sitting on a bamboo mat and not eating. Although starving myself would not help my goal to become Oprah.
It is pretty sad that I’ve had to approve spam comments in the past to keep myself happy, but that only makes the one real comment even more awesome. Much more awesome – sorry, I couldn’t control myself.
Thanks so much, MUSICizmyLIFE.
I have just been surrounded in a bubble of happiness. Expect the monthly broadcast of grouchy to return in a few weeks. That’s being a woman for you.
Miya – I dare you not to say anything about that last sentence.
Ernest’s birthday is coming up, and yes, I am really planning a party for my paper bag. We were thinking a pool party. Don’t laugh, it’s his lifelong dream.
Also, I believe we are now in preproduction of my angry asian man script. I’ve found that the best way to pitch this story is by saying that it’s about first impressions rather than an angry asian man. Sounds much more poetic. I’m so excited, and determined not to make this like my old sixth grade attempts at making movies. Of course, that was sixth grade, and I was more excited about acting like a film set than making the film. And yes, this statement could come back and kick me in the ass. It’s not a hard target.
That is all, as Meryl Streep said in “The Devil Wears Prada”. Huzzah.