Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ernest, Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp, Arizona Dream, library, movie, Vincent Gallo, Emir Kusturica, film, bugs, Lilli Taylor, grumpy, bad day, common sense, Iron Man, comic books, Persepolis, Robert Downey Jr., road trips, favorite movie, Faye Dunaway, Jerry Lewis
July 29, 2009
Dear reader,
It started yesterday night, and I had a sneaking suspicion it would follow me to today. I was right. Last night I struggled with last-minute cramming for my psychology exam today, and as the night wore on I grew increasingly frustrated.
Sometimes the more tired you are the more restless you are. I was jittery, my eyelids were twitching, and I couldn’t stop shaking my leg. Not that I couldn’t, but if I had stopped I would have been even grumpier.
Even when I get emotional there’s a part of me that stands back and talks sense. It’s weird, but it’s there, like a mini-psychologist or some other scientific/analytical presence. I’m sure you there’s a definition for that but I don’t really want one. Occasionally ignorance is bliss.
After our exam we were let out an hour early. I had to wait for my ride, who didn’t get out of class until 10. My phone was low on batteries (it’s been acting up lately) and all my friends had gone home. Here I am, sitting alone at a community college. Joy to the world.
Finally, at 10:14, he calls to tell me his car broke down. My mother is not picking up her phone. I sit until 11:44, when one of my mom’s coworkers comes to pick me up. All this with a ticking time bomb of a cell phone.
I didn’t want to write about this, because I didn’t want to label today as a bad day. There’s still half the day left. Things can get better. But I thought, bad days don’t happen too often anymore. This calls for some recognition.
Oh yeah, Miya was supposed to come over but she couldn’t. And while I was waiting for a ride I stabbed my palm with a pencil. It bled, and I clutched it, pretending to have paid the blood payment for the Curse of the Black Pearl. I know. Indulge me.
I watched “Iron Man” yesterday. I know I’m late. Eh, it didn’t really live up to the hype, but it was okay. Because I’d seen the Batman movie first, I kept drawing parallels. That aside, comic plots are often too similar.
Tonight I’m going to watch “Persepolis”. Apparently I’m the first person to borrow it from the library. Borrowing movies from the library is hip, okay? Especially if it’s the Cerritos Library, because you can stop by the Children’s Section and marvel at how awesome they made it. T-Rex anyone? Giant aquarium? Lighthouse? Rainforest? Hogwarts Ceilings? CHECK.
I like the Old World section though, if that’s what it’s called. They made it seem like the library of an English gentleman. Big armchairs and a lot of wood. If I’m not mistaken, even banker’s lamps. I’d have loved to have gone shopping for the Cerritos Library.
Enough fantasizing about the library. “Persepolis”. I’m excited to see it, except that today might not be the day for Persepolis. I feel like watching…”Iron Man”, frankly, but I’m not going to watch it again. Robert Downey Jr. has always reminded me of Johnny Depp. Sometimes when I don’t have my glasses on I do a double take.
Something’s been keen on sucking my leg blood. Taiwan has mosquitos. I didn’t stay in America to get bitten.
I was thinking about impromptu road trips. They are suddenly less intimidating. You’d just travel from hotel to hotel. One day.
Let’s talk about favorites. I was so excited when I realized I had a favorite movie. At the time it was PotC, of course. I wanted to go back and fill out all the surveys I had taken before I had had a favorite movie, as if to scream out, “I love something more than everything else!”
So. What’s your favorite movie and why? I’ll go:
My favorite movie is “Arizona Dream”, a 1993 movie directed by Serbian director Emir Kusturica that wasn’t released in the U.S. because it was too weird. How then, did I discover this gem? First, it stars Johnny Depp. Second, I was very dedicated to my obsessions. Third, Youtube was created.
Every synopsis you will find on the Internet is wrong. They interpret Paul (Vincent Gallo) as Axel’s (Johnny Depp) brother, or some other fallacy, when in fact who Paul is is not important at all. And it’s pretty clear they’re not brothers, just close friends. It would be better to watch it for yourself, and don’t be intimidated by the Alaskan opening sequence. Yes, you have the right movie – the camera will migrate to Arizona soon enough.
What I love about it is how complex it is, and with complexity comes multiple viewings. Not that you won’t understand it with one viewing, but layers and layers will be revealed each time you watch. Take, for example, the mariachis at the end of the film. Did you see them wandering the streets of the town in the beginning, before they were even introduced? I like how it uses fantasy elements without making it “part of their imagination”. I like the irrelevance that ultimately builds up to a heart-rendering ending. Why mariachis, for example? And yet they lend to the atmosphere.
Because life is not full of symbolism, there are things wandering about for no reason at all, which makes this film seem even more plausible. We’re so used to seeing dysfunction on screen in the typical “dysfunctional family”. This movie is dysfunction without “dysfunction”. It’s not “The Royal Tenenbaums” (which I want to see). This film cannot be explained, and what I love about it cannot be explained, but I think that’s part of its beauty. And all of this is without even mentioning the acting. Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, Lilli Taylor? All excellent here.
If you took nothing away from that, at least read this: There are flying machines. There are mariachis, gut balloons, flying fish, and Johnny Depp. Go see it on Youtube. Or on tape, if you’re in Europe. I look forward to seeing more of Kusturica’s work.
One of the best presents I could get would be this movie. Hint hint. Of course it’s not available in the US. And it’s only on VHS. No matter, I’ll accept even that.
Love,
Grapes
P.S. Apparently Ernest is a bad-boy name and naming your child that contributes to a higher chance of landing in jail. I don’t think we’ll have that problem with our little paper bag.
P.P.S. I sound mentally ill in the above statement. Remember, mini-psychologist. At least part of my head’s still clear.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: La Poo Poo, Ernest, Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp, Arizona Dream, Mika, movies, costume, references, summer, mom, directing, psychology, screenplay, SAT, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel, Before Night Falls, Lieutenant Victor, Bon Bon, creativity, Trader Joe's, dragon, dragon lady, We Are Golden
Oh what fun it is to scan SAT practice tests onto my computer and try to write a screenplay, hey! Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. That has always irritated me. Whatever, it’s what I’m doing right now – scanning SAT practice tests and working on my first feature-length screenplay. I read it today and realized how much I relied on dialogue. No! Not good! Stop! Not good! You’re burning all the food, the shade, the rum!
To expand on my praise for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” yesterday, I would just like to say this. Julian Schnabel, I must watch more of your movies. For many reasons not limited to because Johnny Depp dresses like a woman in “Before Night Falls” and also plays Lieutenant Victor. What a nasty man is Lieutenant Victor.
If I get any of this wrong, please don’t tar and feather me. It’s been a while since I maintained my library of Johnny Depp trivia and my computer is in no state for me to check it quickly. I can imagine the neurons devoted to Johnny Depp trivia in my brain (if there is such a thing – which would be kind of sad) dying one by one from lack of use. Ah psych 101. The things you teach me. Like endorphins, which made me do the Drew Barrymore Syndrome in class. I hope no one saw that.
“Gives one the feeling of being in love.” “You don’t say…”
It’s the little things in life that make us smile. Like Johnny Depp references. And eating a whole bag of kettle corn before you realize that you’ve eaten a whole bag and emptied the equivalent of a gallon of sugar into your system.
While in the bathroom, I thought back to the moment I realized that I wanted to be a director. 11-years-old, creating a tour of Mesopotamia video for school. We didn’t have the money or the means to create an actual ziggurat, so we printed a picture out and moved our camera toward it. To simulate a long journey, we filmed back and forth on the same seven-foot stretch of hedge, with my friend’s little brother panting behind the camera for sound effects. It was impulsive thinking, it was creative, because we didn’t have anything.
Watching the extra features on “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, they did the same thing – but more sophisticated. A good use of camera angles and colors excited me more than a good story. It felt like finally, this was art. As I’ve mentioned, “Arizona Dream” felt similar to this, as did “Across the Universe”.
The summer has taken a turn for the better. Tomorrow Miya and Nobu are coming over for an 80’s movie marathon, and by the looks of it Club Retrospect has been approved. Huzzah!
Sorry for the lack of Ernest & La Poo Poo updates. It’s been difficult for me to even find time for my own blog, I’ll really try to find time for theirs but I can’t promise anything.
My mom and I have been hanging out because really, there’s no other option. But it’s fun when there are only two of you because you’re more free to make your own plans. I could never have my friends over if my dad was home, and especially if the house had not stayed somewhat clean. Which it wouldn’t have if my sisters were home.
I can’t wait for tomorrow, and I can’t wait to go to Trader Joe’s today and find more awesome possible birthday foods. Mostly, I can’t wait to fail my first psych test and realize that maybe I should study.
I just realized that “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” has unseated PotC as my second-favorite movie. To be honest, PotC wasn’t my second-favorite, it was only there as an obligation to acknowledge how prevalent it’s been in my life. I could never bring myself to put something before it on a list besides “Arizona Dream”, though. Congrats. I think I’ll watch PotC now…while no one’s home.
I’m busy working on the dragon costume anyway. Oh yeah, I went to Halloween Club and asked for a dragon costume. They showed me a dragon lady costume. I know it’s nothing, they were just trying to help me out and showing me their only options, but it’s sort of funny. In a racial way…and yet…whatever. It’s just…funny. I can’t explain it.
Costume-making isn’t so bad. It’s nice to have something you’re working toward. A goal, I guess, but not necessarily. This stop-motion keeps me optimistic that this summer will not go to waste.
In other news, MIKA’s new single is called “We Are Golden”. Huzzah.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bowling team, directors, Ernest, filmmaking, Future Filmmakers Showcase, game, greeting cards, inspiration, issues, Jack Kerouac, LA Film Festival, Mann's Theater, old ladies, On the Road, premiere, prose, Public Enemies, short films, stop-motion, summer, The Pink Ladies, travel shows, writing
Mine family went to the beach yesterday, and my sisters and I spent the time on the car playing a ridiculous game. It started out with me making strange noises but evolved into a very entertaining game. I prefer it as a one-man pastime, though.
How to play: Say “Abu”, repeating with the addition of a “bu” after each turn. See how long you can go without laughing. Basically it goes like this, “Abu. Abubu. Abububu. Abubuhahahahhahahahahhahaha.”
Shannon suggested rounds, where we go around with each person adding the next “bu”.
I think it’s been invented before. Who knows? It’s fun nonetheless.
Remember how we’ve been planning to stake out the “Public Enemies” premiere for months? Huzzah for failure? I did walk past it when I went to the High School Program 1 screening on Saturday of the LA Film Festival. Mann’s Theater is pretty nice.
Speaking of, the High School shorts were entertaining. They did group a bunch of activist documentaries toward the end, which was when my butt started to hurt.
Summer? It’s okay. I’m studying and working on Ernest greeting cards. The main thing is the stop-motion though. I’d really like to submit it to the LA Film Festival’s Future Filmmakers Showcase next year. It’s hard, though. I don’t know whether I’m oversimplifying the process or overcomplicating it. Still, all the issues real directors deal with – finances, schedule conflicts – it’s happening to me too, on a smaller scale. I can’t help thinking that if I can’t handle this maybe I’ll go crazy if I have to deal with it when millions of dollars are at stake.
Travel show hosts have a great life. They get to go on trips – paid for by their companies – and eat bugs in South Asian markets. I’d like a stint as a travel show host.
I’m working to stay in touch with my prose-writing self, so I’m writing something based off of that thing we talked about at lunch – The Pink Ladies. Old ladies are always wonderful characters, possibly my favorite. All I’m taking from it is the name and premise, though. I couldn’t remember our specific names so I made some up. The plot will be revealed in time.
I’m a little bit scared of finishing On the Road. So many people have shared how it was the book that changed their lives, that if I read it it just becomes a book that I’ve read. So far it hasn’t captivated me yet.
Whell then. I’m off to waste the day away in various activities that will add up to something in the end. 
Good god I need post inspiration. Any particular topics you want me to talk about?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Angela, beaurocracy, Ben Stiller, bloopers, books, CD, cheesy, cleaning, cliche, deleted scenes, Disney, epilogue, Ernest, escapist, hobo, India, intelligence, Jack Sparrow, LA Film Festival, La Poo Poo, MovieCube, music, Pineapple Express, premiere, Public Enemies, Ralph's, RedBox, soundtrack, stopmotion, summer, Sundays at Tiffany's, Sushi, taboo, Tropic Thunder, Twilight, Wal-Mart, walking, wizard costume
Hola, it is summer! Hola hola hola. Tomorrow I’m going to the LA Film Festival avec mine journalism internship. Excited? Actually, not that much, despite the fact that I asked for us to go. To be honest, I asked because “Public Enemies” is premiering there – but the $100 ticket price soon dampened my dreams.
I’d like to direct you all to Ernest and La Poo Poo’s blogs, where updates have been posted for you.
Every morning, I wake up and feel like something’s off. Something is off – I should be at school. It’s going to take me a bit of time to get used to this freedom. Usually I’m take no time in adjusting, and it’s at the middle of summer that I start missing school. Oh vell.
Next week I plan to go stake out the “Public Enemies” premiere with some friends. For now I’ll be content with finally doing some reading I never had time for during the school year. I went to Costco and bought three books, two of which are going to be returned tomorrow. The one remaining book is Public Enemies“, I’m almost ashamed to admit. Okay, Johnny Depp did inevitably factor into my reasoning, but I really am interested in reading about gangsters in the 30’s.
I should have known Sundays at Tiffany’s was going to be one big cheesy romance. The title indicates something that runs throughout the book – good writing exchanged for a quick and clever joke that is really just a cliche with a twist. Basically, every character says something clever every time they speak. The book, I’m sorry to say, reads like a mediocre fanfiction. At times I thought I was reading Twilight. The tenses kept switching back and forth. I could forgive the writer if the girl had actually died, but no. It turns out it was her mother, and so the girl’s mysterious vomiting is laid aside. Did I forget to mention there’s an epilogue? A bad sign. Harry Potter 7 had an epilogue, and that book may have been the worst out of the series. Well yes, in this book they have children too.
I’m willing to like a cheesy book if it’s somewhat well-written, even if it’s escapist and romantic. But this book was just a huge disappointment. The premise lures you in. Don’t be lured in.
Okay, book review’s over.
I’m doing my summer cleaning right now. Gah, it is a big fat hassle. I spent today cleaning to the tune of all my old CD’s. Embarassing Disney/nonDisney stuff, to say the least. Whatever, it’s a part of me I guess.
On the last day of school, we walked over to Towne Center and had lunch. Now I know what it feels like to be a hobo, because I only had three bucks on me so I had two things from the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Anyway, we saw a lot of old elementary school buddies, and not so buddies. I’ll just say that I’m grateful for being at my high school rather than the normal one. No matter how weird some of us get, we’re all guaranteed to be somewhat intelligent and sensible.
Then we walked to Sushi’s house and sat with her. Oh, wow. She’s in India right now. She was leaving midnight that day, but we just…walked into her house. And borrowed her wizard costume, huzzah! I hope Jonathan fits into it. Then Angela decided to go home because it was way too hot, so she left and we followed.
Oh yesh, Sushi’s keyboard makes the perfect noises for our soundtrack.
At Angela’s house, we ate her food, as usual. And played Taboo. I’ve decided – we will play at my birthday. Huzzah. Except that everyone kept using me as an example.
Amanda: Katherine is weird, right? So you would tell her to see a…
The answer is shrink, and yes, I got that one. Afterwards we went upstairs and Sunyoung had to go home. Amanda fell asleep for half an hour, Angela watched 90210 on her computer and played facebook games. I read H&M magazine. Did you know you can hire your own paparazzi for a day? Um…it’s the worst part of being a celebrity. But okay, if it floats your boat.
Finally Angela had to return her DVD’s to Ralph’s moviecube box, so off we went to borrow some more. Stupid box wouldn’t work. That’s the second time it hasn’t worked for me. We asked the cashier but she said, “We’re not associated with the box, but if you have any question you can call this number.” Beaurocratic much. I gave her much subtle attitude. Hahaha passive aggressive. No matter, we drove to Wal-Mart, with the much better Redbox, and rented “Tropic Thunder”. Of course we were sad that Redbox did not have “Pineapple Express”, which MovieCube did.
“Tropic Thunder”, as you may have heard, is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Ben Stiller, you have redeemed your entire career with one movie.
Thinking of holding a meeting next week with everyone involved in the stopmotion. “Thinking…of putting in French doors actually.” Oh Jack Sparrow, why is your voice so strange in that deleted scene/blooper?
That is all. Goodnight and goodluck, everyone.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: adult, beauty, Cerritos College, children, deep, Ernest, film festival, fish, fun, grapes, group project, happiness, interview, Japanese game show, Johnny Depp, Karate Tetherball Girl, literature, love life, movie, MTV Movie Awards, nicknames, optimism, orchestra, PMS, Public Enemies, screenplay, screenplays, summer, superpower, Sushi, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Wife of Bath's Tale, thoughts, Vanity Fair, What Women Want, writing
Hold tight, Ernest will be back sometime this weekend.
My sister’s fish went through some sort of mysterious trauma yesterday and now they’re always hiding. It’s hilarious, really, when they all huddle under the filter and try to stealthily swim to the other side of the tank. When you scatter food they hide until one of them gets the courage to dart and nip at the food. Very stealthy, except that as a human, I can see all.
We’re down to six fish, and one of the silver ones tried to eat the last corpse. Silly fish, you’re such a fatteh.
Today was a lot of fun, because I didn’t go to school for half the day. I was at Cerritos College taking the assessment test and enrolling in Psych 101. Now that that’s done with, I’m almost finished with all my summer preparations. Huzzah.
It was also the last orchestra rehearsal of this school year. I’m happy, of course, because orchestra tends to smack you in the face Monday morning, but I think I am going to miss it.
I just slaved away on a group project by myself. It’s been a while since that’s happened, but aside from a twinge of annoyance as I copied an excerpt of “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” paragraph by paragraph, I welcome my group’s unreliability. For one, I’ve been happy for way too long. And I don’t mean this in a sadistic self-harming way, but that I wanted my happiness to be challenged. I wanted to know whether it was the circumstances around me or a real change in my personality that caused my incessant optimism. The only exception to my optimism is around PMS time, when, like clockwork, I get snappy at everyone.
And now that the final draft is finished, I love the way it looks. I love putting together packets like this, the ones that are like written ready-made missions for fourth graders. And what’s nice is that all the while I kept thinking, “This isn’t so bad,” rather than “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.”
But enough of that. My sister’s computer was down for a while last night and I thought maybe I had lost half of my screenplays. Tomorrow night’s the Whitney Film Festival and I’m debating whether or not to go. It really depends on the amount of homework I have, as everything does. I can’t wait until summer. I’m really hoping this doesn’t end up a wasted summer, because how many more of these will I get? After I graduate high school it will pretty much be all work and little play.
I love how vague we all are on our blogs. Heck, I don’t even reveal my real name on here. Of course, I respond to Grapes in real life, and actually my real name sounds really strange to me, but still. For me, I have to really trust someone before I put their real names on my blog. As for Sushi, I’m just scared one day her Indian family will sue me for the blasphemous things I say about her love life. Not that it isn’t true, everything that she’s done. Like date James Bond and Chiranjeevi.
I like having the nicknames though. Like KarateTetherballGirl. It’s fairly obvious who she is but it sounds like a minor character in an indie movie or a “young adult” novel. God, I hate young adult novels. I like children’s literature, and I like adult literature. Not…”adult literature”. I mean like, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sort of stuff, not Wild Nights in Williamsburg With Sushi. Good god.
I was just thinking in the shower, not about little Japanese game show boys this time, but about being able to hear other people’s thoughts. Then, just as I was about to get all happy about this new imagined superpower, “What Women Want” popped into my head, as it often does when I wish I could hear people’s thoughts. Stupid movie, it never knows to knock before entering.
I imagine that it would be irritating though, having to wade through “That woman, she’s so beautiful. What a divine goddess. What’s her name? Sushi? Oh, nevermind how it sounds. She’s perfect. Look at those curves.” And so on.
I’m trying to get back to writing stuff other than screenplays. Of course I’ll still be working on scripts, but I think it’ll be nice to stick with some traditional writing as well.
With that, I’ll leave you before I get too profound and deep. I know too much of that tends to get irritating.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp has appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, I think the first magazine cover he’s done in a while that isn’t a “Public Enemies” still, and there’s also that clip of “Public Enemies” from the MTV Movie Awards yesterday. First interview he’s done in a while too.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: angry asian man, birthday, careers, children's book, conference, Ernest, idea, ironing, La Poo Poo, magazine, memories, movies, novel, projects, public speaking, publisher, sabbatical, screenplay, writing
Alright, disgruntled reader. Here are the answers to your questions. Yes, Ernest is doing well. He has taken a sabbatical to camp, where is he isn’t allowed to bring electronics. It was a surprise from La Poo Poo. All together now, “Awwwwwww.” Secondly, you haven’t heard much about “Angry Asian Man” because not much has been going on. I’m waiting to see what kind of production this is going to end up being, because depending on whether some important people help or not it will either be amateurish or only somewhat amateurish. As for your birthday, huzzah! Happy Birthday!
Once more, with gusto.
Aww, look at little Suzy and Jack. And look at their cake that looks like it’s made of Hawaiian leis. Don’t they look so happy? Oh no, little Bobby is playing with fire! See how the girls admire him so because he’s dangerous. What a lovely scene. So even if no one did much at your real birthday, now little Suzy, Jack, Bobby and friends are forever celebrating your birthday online. They’ll never stop.
On top of that, MUSIC, I have posted here today for you, and now must continue to churn out substance for this post because this is way too short. Did you enjoy my deep/happy essay yesterday? I hadn’t realized it was so long.
I apologize if I sound confrontational, it comes with the face.
I’m putting off any development on any projects for the summer, aside from writing. I haven’t been writing for several days, but I’m starting again today with an old idea I had about robots and Mexican housecleaners. It doesn’t mean I’ve neglected other projects, I jump around from day to day depending on my mood. Idea-making is actually very prolific right now for me, I have about 50 ideas recorded.
Is everyone enjoying the recent string of happily maturing Grapes posts? That sounded like a tutorial on how to make wine.
Have I mentioned how much I love ironing? Miya, on our trailer I call ironing duties. It is a serious art.
As for writing, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, and I’m not using it as a white person phrase tossed in for effect. Aside from preschool memories, which are dominated by naptime and walking to my classroom, and before preschool, I cannot remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I did it for fun, which I thought was natural, but it turns out it’s not. Oops. Is it too conceited to say that sometimes I amaze myself? What I mean by this is that to see fifteen years, and to see all my experiences and surroundings culminate into a complex person is a marvel in itself. And if I ever got to know anyone as well as I know myself, I’d be wowed too.
Actually, before movies came along and swept me off my feet, I sometimes imagined I would become a writer. But there was that image of a person locked up alone in the attic, typing laboriously. It did not appeal to me, in addition to the fact that one does not earn a lot of money as a writer, generally. Look what I’m going after now – an even higher chance of starving.
So yes, it is a life goal of mine to publish a novel, and a children’s book. I used to want to be the youngest published novelist. Reading my old stuff, I really overestimated myself. I guess I never feel quite secure as a writer, because my ideas are always convoluted. With screenplays I can visualize the action and the angles, and my plots are usually simple themes I’d like to explore that I expand on as I write.
I’ve never completely abandoned writing though. Like my screenplays, I go back and randomly add to whatever I feel like, albeit not as often as screenplays. Maybe there’s excitement in thinking that I’ll soon be able to create this into live situations. With a book you send it into the publisher and you wait. With movies you can take the fate of your script into your own hands.
I’ve been thinking about how fun being a magazine editor would be. Maybe I’ll make one issue for fun. In fact, I’m writing the letter from the editor right now - it helps to plan out the issue. I know this isn’t how the real magazines do it, but whatever.
Tomorrow is the all-day conference for the career development class. I can’t wait, but the butterflies are churning just a little bit. We’ll get to talk about our careers, which is very exciting, because as you may have gathered I love talking about filmmaking. Then again, what public speaking event is complete without some nervousness?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 1950's, 3D, Alice in Wonderland, birthday, critics, eloquence, emo, Ernest, feature film, fun, grapes, insteant messaging, l33t, lipgloss stain, Mika, movies, one years old, paper bag, psycho, school, script, Simple Plan, Six Degrees, Songs For Sorrow EP, teen angst, Tim Burton, website
Today was Ernest’s first birthday and I’m so freaking proud of myself for preserving a paper bag for a year. The only injury he’s suffered was that lipgloss stain from Miya’s mouth, and she wasn’t trying to kiss him when that happened.
Bringing him to school today, I sure did run into a lot of critics, and I got those funny glances where one eyebrow goes up and they look at you with their head turned to one side. I do feel like a psycho, but it’s so much fun when you don’t care.
I suppose he’s in for a gift guide as well…I’ll bring it in tomorrow. Today I’m working on a feature-length script that will hopefully be the easiest to shoot, so that may be the first feature I’ll film. And for that one I’m planning to go all out.
I’ve been thinking about my own birthday. It’ll be in the style of a traditional children’s birthday party. Think 1950’s and the mother at the pink stove. But the theme will be six degrees of grapes. Egotistical, I know. Any ideas?
MIKA, your website and “Songs For Sorrow”, while brilliant, scare me with the thought that you have become an emo girl and will now only sing of the teen angst genre, comme Simple Plan.
I love how in movies characters always im each other in long thought-out sentences. With l33t and capitalization, of course. And the other person never sporadically im’s them while waiting for their slow responses.
I’ll leave you with an example of one of my own such elegant conversations. Note the eloquence of our speech. And yes, there is a shameless plug for Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in there.
[20:02] violetcygne: are you typing?
[20:02] dustgoespoof: no
[20:02] dustgoespoof: oh vell
[20:02] violetcygne: bahhumbug
[20:02] dustgoespoof: OMG ALICE IN WONDERLAND
[20:03] violetcygne: WHATATAT
[20:03] violetcygne: AHWT ABOUT IOT??
[20:03] dustgoespoof: http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2009/05/first-look-alice-in-wonderland-in-3d.html
[20:03] dustgoespoof: quick! grab your 3d glasses
[20:03] violetcygne: OOH
[20:04] violetcygne: let me pull them out of my ass
[20:04] dustgoespoof: lolllll
[20:04] dustgoespoof: your ass doesnt need help being 3d
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aboriginal, actor, angry asian man, AP, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Arizona Dream, Big Girl (You Are Beautiful), Big Girls, birthday, bonding, Cary Grant, Chiranjeevi, couple, deep, director, Ernest, fangirls, flirt, foster children, Hunk-O-Rama Roundup, Indian, James bond, John Cena, John Dillinger, Johnny Depp, Lane Bryant, love, mall, Mika, Miya, mother, passion, perspective, picture, Public Enemies, religion, script, stealthygrapes, Sushi, Taiwan, twitter, ugly, wolf-whistle, yahoo
I forgot to mention that yesterday I was herded into an aboriginal Taiwanese outfit and was wolf-whistled at. The last time I was wolf-whistled, as I’ve recounted many-a-time because it is so rare an occurrence, was in the middle of a lake by three ugly Mexicans. Not to say all Mexicans are ugly, but these three would have been ugly even if they were White, Chinese, or Polynesian.
Also, that one of the foster/abused children may have been flirting with me but I wouldn’t know for sure because that part of my brain has been hibernating since birth. I hope to god he wasn’t.
Today I called another director – this one wasn’t in the schedule, but I called her anyway in NY, and it went awkwardly well. Then she asked me what my favorite movie was and I said, “Arizona Dream”.
I expected the usual, “Oh…” meaning, “I’ve never seen that.”
But goodness she said, “Oh yeah!” The yeah makes all the difference. Turns out it used to be one of her favorite movies too. Huzzah, I have found the one other person in the world who has seen “Arizona Dream” and recognized it for the genius it is. Johnny Depp fangirls don’t count.
Then later she said, “…you have a unique perspective on things, which you must because you like ‘Arizona Dream’.” I must, I must, I must increase my bust. Shut up, Margaret. No one cares about you. Go put on a pad.
She also said that “Angry Asian Man” sounded pretty good. Huzzah, it’s not as odd as I thought it would be.
Dr. Frank did not show up. I live to see another day.
I went to the mall with my mother, who lovingly ended the mother-daughter bonding with “Your face is ugly, like Mulan’s.” Mom, you are so bipolar sometimes. Of course, you (readers, not my mom) would know this if you followed the play-by-play on my twitter. What’s this? Another chance to blatantly advertise my twittar? Why yes, it is @stealthygrapes.
Follow me and we will become a religion. I only need five more people.
What is important about the mall is that I waited for my mother in Lane Bryant, a store which no longer contains cushy chairs to sit in while you wait for the Big Girl in your family to decide whether or not they want to buy clothing. Big girls are sensitive and undecisive, so they take a long time and usually end up not buying anything at all. I stood in the middle of the store on my blackberry typing up parts of a script while an old woman sat on a bra display and stared at me. Huzzah. They played this song that celebrated larger women, and I wanted to march up to the counter and ask if they’d ever heard of “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)”. I even contemplated hooking up my blackberry to the speaker system and playing it from there.
I wonder what old people think when I whip out my blackberry. “What a nice gir-oh, she’s just like the rest of them pesky teenagers, always on their darn technology. Probably doesn’t even eat dinner with her family.”
Ooh, what’s this on Yahoo? Hunk-O-Rama Roundup. Whell. Johnny Depp better be in this. John Cena? Oh yesh, he was in that movie where he pulled a girl out of a building, it exploded on him, and he lived. Poop.
#8. kafjksfjkljweklfjew. They picked a bad picture too. Who picks pictures for these things? They’re always horrible pictures of Johnny Depp, or the one where he’s on a stool with his fedora smiling slightly creepishly at you.
“Deep down, we have a sneaking suspicion that Depp’s kind of like Cary Grant — he just plays variations of himself over and over. Still, we get suckered for his aloof charm every time. He’ll pull the wool over our eyes again as outlaw John Dillinger in “Public Enemies“.
Although, it may be true.
Why have I returned to blogging about Johnny Depp again? This is bad. I should go get Ernest ready for his birthday.
I saw an Indian couple today, actually acting like they were in love. Which is rare, but it made me think of Sushi and Chiranjeevi, if they had lasted. Of course, I still can’t decide between Sushiranjeevi and Sushi/James Bond.
Wow, now I’m going to go deep and say that if I were in Sushi’s position it would be a difficult choice. She obviously loves Chiranjeevi a lot, and they’re very passionate about each other, but James Bond loves her so much too – he’d do anything for her.
Oh Sushi. You are pretty odd.
Miya, I need mine script. And we also need to start actor hunting – which I’m intimidated by but is necessary for a good movie.
Huzzah huzzah huzzah. Everyone have a good day and AP week.
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.
