Ma feets hurt

But it was totally worth it:



They'll hurt even more after this:

Au recherche...

Had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend in Phoenix, AZ with my grandparents. I know that sounds like a lose-lose for a long weekend, but it was surprisingly interesting and restful.
After a huge Thanksgiving dinner with extended family we spent a couple days driving around central Arizona. The Grand Canyon State has mroe to offer. The Superstition Mountains were lovely, and involved some interesting driving (ie, steeply down-hill on a twisty unpaved road). There was also time for a couple tourist traps: Goldfield Mine and Tortilla Flat.
Then we spent a day taking the scenic route to Sedona and back, through Red Rocks park with a stop in Jerome, AZ, which is an old mining town that looks like it all might slide down hill at any moment.
Sunday was more a day of rest, just touring Phoenix and preparing to get up at 5:30 am (which is 4:30 am, PST--but who's counting?).
Came back to rain and cold weather (even by East coast standards it's a bit chilly out there). At least the rain washed some of the bird poo from my car.
Gearing up for Christmas (hard to believe I'll be visiting my Mom in 3 short weeks)--I am always woefully unprepared for this season. No gifts, no money, no plans. I did put out the Charlie Brown Christmas tree--so at least the apartment's decorated.
The impending new year makes me oddly contemplative: what have I done this year? Why don't I feel any more adult or with it or whatever than I did last year? What will I do nest year? More of the same, most likely.
On the upside, I've replaced most of the light bulbs in my apaprtment with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use about a quarter the power and last 4 times as long as incandescent bulbs. The light's a little weird: white-bluish, starkly futuristic (or just stark). I wonder if I could paint the bulbs yellow? Probably not a great idea. The bulbs were a great deal though (4 for $8 at Big Lots--who knew?) and I got lucky enough to find globe vanity lights for the bathroom, too.
Maybe this will off-set the increased energy useage from the A/C and space heater I bought to make my room livable (next apartment will have central everything!).
Watched An Inconvenient Truth this week: wow. If Al Gore's right (and he probably is), we are screwed. California voters just voted down a huge initiative to develop alternative, cleaner fuels by taxing gas extracted here--we are not on the leading edge of this thing. At least I drive a small car and now have eerie fluorescent light illuminating my other energy-wasting activities.

News from all over

Thanks to Sara for passing this gem along: Global Orgasm. As the Beatles would say, let's get together.
Also, an interesting peek into the religion vs. science debate within the scientific community, from the NY Times.
Also, the English are weird. Hot weird, but weird nevertheless.

Manic Monday

After 2 years of living in SoCal, finally made it to the Echo last night. Thanks to Linda for getting me out of the house on a Monday night. Normally I wouldn't cap off an eleven hour workday by going to a bar--wait, actually, I totally would. In any case, I'll be thwarted by laziness and lack of company from venturing out to Echo Park no more!
Got there in plenty of time to see The Pity Party @ 9pm. Loved the psych ward chic aesthetic. Oh, and the music was good, too. There's just something visually compelling about a drummer who looks like she wandered out of Girl Interupted, especially in a two-piece group. The sound was surprisingly full (and loud!) for just 2 people. Of course I forgot to wear earplugs, again, because, apparently, I'm not going to need to hear much after I turn 40.
Sadly for Division Day they sent most of the house scurrying for the smoking porch, where we were informed that we were a fire hazard for standing in the path of a potential exit. Because if there had been a fire, we obviously wouldn't have moved, causing all those behind us to die horrible fiery deaths. It was nice to be outside in November and not need a thousand layers of clothing to avoid frostbite. I think I could get used to this.
The highlight of the evening (aside from finally being released from the office at 8:30) was definitely Great Northern, who not only sounded great, but looked good doing it. I like band's that make the effort to dress well, and coordinate, and decorate the stage with strings of red lights. It demonstartes a sense of showmanship that is often lacking in small venue performances. This quartet is definitely worth checking out--they'll be back at the Echo next Monday for the final week of their residency.
By the end of that set at midnight, I was unable to stand up straight, due to a serious case of little old lady syndrome. I was quite happy to skip the last band and head home for some zzz's.
Sadly, the night was marred by the worst beer ever! Moral of the story: be wary of $3 pints.
On a sad note, Robert Altman died last night in LA :o(

Justice for All

Well, it seems that reason and public outrage have prevailed. Rupert Murdoch just announced that the OJ book and TV special have been cancelled. Better late than never.

How to spend $50

Not only for this....

...but also...


...and



Thank you Ebay and Marshall's! $50 for leather boots, a leather bag and leather pumps. I love a good deal!

I am the Sony marketing department's pawn

The reviews are in and they are good. Bond lives to die another day (I totally should not have made that pun, I'm sorry).
The NY Times review by Manohla Dargis is great and focuses on the elements I care about: lots of action, no silliness and a hot lead. And it's spoiler-free. Speaking of which, I probably won't see this before Sunday, so don't tell me what happens. The consequences could be severe.
Happy viewing!

Boycott OJ!

Hopefully, this does not need saying. Hopefully the disgusting prospect of a man profiting from a murder he got away with is enough to sour the seemingly endless American appetite for scandal and gore. However, I'm going to say it anyway. Boycott OJ! Don't buy his book, don't watch his TV special. If you feel so inclined, TiVo it so you can boycott the advertisers without watching it. Stop watching Fox until they cancel the interview. Don't shop in bookstores that carry that trash (the holidays are coming and lots of people give books--make it not worth it to retailers to sell this one--sadly, this includes Amazon). Make sure crime doesn't pay, not for the criminal nor for the media that hopes to exploit his crimes for gain.
I thought I was cynical. I thought there there was no level to which a person or company could stoop for money or fame that would really shock me anymore. Boy was I wrong. Fortunately, we're not (I hope) drooling masses that have to take what is dished out to us as entertainment.

Your Name Here

1. FIRST NAME?Jess
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Shylock's daughter, from The Merchant of Venice
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?A few weeks ago, I had a brief (thank god) flu that made me barf and cry and cower under the covers until my head didn't feel like someone was driving a spike into my left eye-socket.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I have the worst handwriting. Just awful. I don't type that well, either, must be why I talk so much.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Does tuna count as lunch meat?
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd lik eto think so. The question that really keeps me up nights is whether my 16 year-old self would think my 26 year-old self is cool. It's terrible to think that if I saw this coming, I might have done everything different.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I sporadically write down impressions or ideas I have. A lot less than I used to. I was never in the habit of cataloging my activities.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep, last time I was hospitalized was when I was born.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? That depends, will something worse happen to me if I don't? I wouldn't typically jump out of a plane either, but if it were on fire and headed into a mountain, I might take my chances with thin air.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Honey Nut Cheerios.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not usually.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I think so. I'm getting stronger, definitely.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? What is this, Sophie's choice? Chocolate/coffee/mocha something
14. SHOE SIZE? 9
15. RED OR PINK? Slut red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm kinda too perfect for my own good...that's a lie. I wish I was a better planner. When people ask me what I'll be doing in 5 years, they might as well be asking me what I'd do on Mars. I have no clue. I like it that way. Sometimes the life you get is better than the life you can imagine. Even if it's not, that could change at any moment. I also wish I was a better liar--I am the worst liar!
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my mom and my college friends. Sometimes I really miss the person I was 5 or 10 years ago--she seemed to have a lot going for her and plenty of options.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Eh.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? I'm not wearing pants. I am wearing a khaki colored cord skirt, a blue shirt and brown flats.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Corn pops and a banana.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Some crap on my co-worker's radio and the sound of her IMing.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? There was this particular shade of orange I always loved but can't remember the name (no, it wasn't "orange"): burnt something, I thnk.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? This is odd: I really love the smell of Vick's--and it clears out my sinuses.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? I'm at work, so probably somebody's assistant; I can't remember.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Intelligence.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Nope, she's a crazy bitch ;oP

Take action

Last week's election really got me excited. For the first time in about six years, I think there's hope. Hope that the conservative reaction to the liberal revolutions of the mid-20th century is on the wane. Reaction to a revolution is inevitable cursory study of any major political revolution shows us this. But, eventually, the clock cannot be turned back and the bad old days are gone for good.
The good part of reaction is that it fosters political debate and reinvigorates the forces of positive change. There's a long way to go, so I've added some groups to the sidebar that represent what I'm about: protection of individual rights, protection of women's rights, legalized marriage for anyone who wants it, a healthier environment, separation of church and state and drug-policy reform. It's a pretty crazy liberal platform, I realize.
I want the government (the politicians especially) out of our bedrooms, out of our bodies, out of our relationships and out of our heads. Basically, I want the governement to stay out of it. I should probably be a Libertarian. I'm thinking about it.
Public debate in this country should be about things that affect our security and our future. Not about what your neighbor's doing behind closed doors. It should be about our role as a nation in the world, about how we can use the great power we have to make the world safer for everyone, to make the environment healthier for everyone, to make resources (like energy, food and clean water) available and sustainable for everyone, to bring justice to people everywhere so they won't feel that violence is their only option. We live in a uniquely small world and control a hugely disproprtionate amount of the power and resources of that world. We have the option to do what is right in the face of many wrongs, to lead by example. That may sound suspiciously familiar--it's a message preached by most of the world's religions, though not always as stridently as the messages of intolerance and hate that parade as religion. Ultimately wherever we live, or whatever god we do or do not believe in, I think human beings need and want the same things. They want peace, freedom and justice. They want to live and raise children without fear (of war, genocide, starvation, environmental catastrophe, their neighbors).
And yet, so much of the debate is about issues that don't impact the general good. Will two adult men starting a family together hurt me? Probably not. Does my neighbor smoking pot (and not operating a vehicle, as I hope he wouldn't after too many beers or a dose of Nyquil for that matter) make my living situation worse somehow (yeah, not really). It goes on. As a whole, Americans are so spoiled rotten, we don't know what the real threats to a way of life are. War, genocide, famine, natural catastrophe. Gay marriage, self-medication (even for recreational purposes), choice in family planning are not going bomb us back to the Stone Age or cause depravity in the streets.
Nevertheless, we're arguing about these things anyway and I refuse to let the naysayers win those arguments just because I think there are bigger fish to fry. I'm afraid we've been doing that too long already.

Holy Fools

It seems we are in a post-ironic age. It was inevitable. The seriousness of our times was going to permeate popular culture. Irony is a luxury for superfluous matters.
Even comedy, the most impervious of genres, has caught the general earnestness (I feel like there should be a less awkward word for this--earnestosity?).
Last night I saw Borat in a pretty full (for a Tuesday night) theater in Hollywood and everyone, including me, was howling. The basic premise of this movie is that a severly uninformed journalist from Kazahkstan comes to America to learn something of value to bring back home. Hilarity and scathing social satire ensue. Borat is as far from ironic as you can get. He is deadly serious in his ignorance and bigotry. He requires the audience to take it seriously as well, and it's funnier if you do.
He reminded me of another earnest comedy this summer, which was something of a surprise hit (and also made me howl, particularly at the end): Little Miss Sunshine. In this movie, the Hoover family takes a road trip to California so their little girl can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. They are not ironic people, even the teenage brother goes along under protest, but harboring his own serious ambitions. And finally, when Olive Hoover has her moment to shine, it's killer comedy, but only becuase she has no idea what's so funny.
Actors like Will Farrell and Steve Carrell have made careers playing these happy idots on the big and small screens. Characters who make us laugh beucase they appraoch the world with a generally happy cluelessness that seems to invite comedic mayhem. And they never wink. There is no breaking character here, no aside to audience, implying that we're all laughing together. These characters demand that we laugh at them, even when they're crying. And they're crying because it really hurts.
Shows like My Name is Earl and The Office especially focus on making us laugh at serious people encountering a world they don't entirely get. The purposefully witty banter of the Friends and Seinfeld gangs' overly-educated and under-involved young urbanites is no where to be seen in these shows, and one-liner jokes are notably absent. Imagine Chandler or Jerry in The Office--no one would get him!
Irony had a good run, and it was definitely getting too easy. There's a formula to any sort of comedy (this one has it too), and once everyone has figured it out, it's not as funny any more. And if it also ceases to be relevant, then it must be replaced. In a way, I think irony set us up for sincerity: if we weren't all so cynical and world-weary then Borat and the Hoovers might actually seem like tragic figures.

Success!

So in addition to renewed interest in blogging, I'm also trying to develop my culinary skills. Last night I took Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything for a test drive with a simple Carbonara recipe. Yummy! Normally all that cheese and egg and bacon would be off-putting (especially on pasta!), but last night it was just the comfort food I needed--not to mention delicious!
My general sense of accomplishement was heightened by the facts that I finally cleaned my apartment, got all my laundry done and did some grocery shopping. It's early Sunday afternoon and I'm already in good shape to face the week. Right now I've got some pumpkin baking and later I'll roast the seeds--more yummy!

About the Sidebar

I'm home sick today, so I have a little time to let you know what I'm doing here.
The sidebar is full of links to helpful information and listings that I use all the time. When I'm figuring out what to do, planning where to go and how to get there and keeping up with ma'peeps. The "Help Me" box has links to Rand McNally, publisher of the Thomas Guide which is the LA driver's bible. LA is huge and the roads are constantly changing--but I've never been lost (for long) because I have the Guide in my car. If and when you move here, everyone asks if you have a Thomas Guide, yet.
City Search, Craigslist, LA.com and Daily Candy are all pretty obvious sources of information on everything from where to eat, where to party, where to live, and what to do.
Under "Entertain Me" is a link to Metacritic, which compiles reviews from all over the place into a meta score so you don't have to read more than one review yourself. I mainly use it for movies, but they have also review DVDs, TV, music, books and games. It's pretty helpful and can save you from spending $12 on The Black Dahlia.
IMDB is a great way to stalk your fav new actor through the low points of his career, but also to keep track of what's coming out soon and to check out the trailers.
I am in love with KCRW! The best part is, wherever you are, you can listen to it on the internet and they have 24-hour on-line music programming--if you listen everyday like I do, you'll hear repeat programs. However, they're awesome shows and it's still way less repetitive than something like KROQ.
Below that is a list of bands I've found mostly through my KCRW listening. And they're mostly on MySpace, which is a surprisingly great place to get deeper into new bands. Hopefully I'll be updating and rotating that list to keep things interesting.

All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is a really fun holiday when you're young.
Children get to dress up and accost adults for more candy than anyone should eat in a year, let-alone the week or less it usually took me and my brother. Barf.
In college trick or treating went the way of the Dodo, replaced by the inevitable costume party circuit. At least we didn't have frats at my school, but I do have fuzzy memories of slamming SoCo at a Heaven and Hell party my Freshman year and very clear memories of the ensuing hangover--not pretty.
Last year I spent the night not in costume, meandering around Manhattan through about a million people. There was also a pretty cool haunted house.
This year, costumeless once again (due to the unavailability of white gogo boots), I happily ended up at the Wiltern in LA, so named because it is at the corner of Wilshire and Western. The Wiltern began life as an Art Deco movie theater. It's pretty cool just to look at. Last night, it was super-cool (as the French say) as I saw The Brazilian Girls and Under The Influence of Giants courtesy of tickets I won listening to KCRW on-line with some new friends I made on Craigslist.
The internet is awesome! I know it's been around a while, but I think it's worth reminding ourselves (those of use who can remember) just how awesome it is. Monday morning my Halloween plan was to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! with the cats. By Tuesday I had free tickets to a great show with new peeps. That's pretty hard to do from an office by yourself without the internet.
The show was unbelievably awesome. I felt transported, literally out of my body. If you have the chance to see either one of these bands, I suggest you take it. I haven't danced like that since I raved in college. And I haven't had such a great time at a show since I can't remember.
More adventures soon, now I must earn my keep!

Inauguration

So I ditched the old Blog and started a new one. Hopefully I'll give this one more care and attention on average than I do my houseplants...houseplants?...crap, I have some watering to do.
I tend not to keep scrapbooks or the "Dear Diary today I remembered to floss" sorts of journals. But I do stuff that's worth (to me anyway) remembering. Maybe this'll give me proper motivation to memorialize. Maybe I'll stop doing stuff to focus on the perfection of the blog and write rambling meta-posts about the challenges of the blogosphere. If so, you have my permission to stop reading and come put me out of my misery.
About two years ago I moved to Los Angeles and lost all will to do anything but look for a job, find an apartment and pay my bills, holding onto financial solvency by my fingernails. About 8 months ago I got my LA dream job--working at a production company. I answer phones, read scripts and set meetings. It doesn't sound like much, but it makes me smile when I drive to work each day. However, there is more to life than work and more to LA than making movies. So my blog will not be (I hope) about my job or celebrity-whoring ways. I hope it'll be about the cool people I meet, the cool things I do, and the cool things I see.
I am not a camera person. I own one, but it mostly stays in a desk drawer and when it gets out, it mostly stays in my purse. Lame, I know. I have a camera phone. It, at least, is always with me. I will try to make better use of it. The pictures may be low-res, but they'll be better than nothing.
So, I hope you enjoy.