p.s. if you've got the time

Watch cute comedian Demetri Martin act out "Selfish Jean," the new single from Travis. For me, the strangest thing about watching this video was that I once imagined a word-for-word interpretation of "Flowers in the Window" before I saw the band's actual video, the one of them stranded in a town populated only by heavily pregnant women. Yeah, I liked my idea better, too, but it's too difficult to describe. It's more difficult to describe than the band being "stranded in a town populated only by heavily pregnant women."

almost clean house

I did some cleaning in the house today. (And just between you and me: I cannot believe how many cardboard boxes we've kept, and we haven't even tackled the "play room"-turned-storage room yet.) Will continue cleaning tomorrow. God, I hope this is not going to become just another excuse for my not writing.

bad dog day

One year ago today, my 12-year-old dog Sandi died. We took her to the animal shelter where she was euthanized because she was experiencing the worst of old age. I don't want to get into details; it wasn't pretty.

The most tragic thing about it is that for years none of us really cared about her like we cared about Samson, who's always been treated like a king (doubly so now that he's the only dog in the house). I cried and cried in the car and at the animal shelter. I hate the way Sandi died.

ironic superheroes & villains

These days, these days of the fanboy, there is a lot of talk of mythology. Each character--whether from a comic book, graphic novel, or other invented landscape--usually exists in his or her own "universe" (read: society). For this reason, we don't often see characters cross paths with each other. And we all know how powerful these literary creations are when adapted for film consumption. But apparently actors who perform in two different films in roles on opposite sides of the good/evil dichotomy can fuck up the mythology.

For instance, Sir Ian McKellan played Magneto, the bad guy in the X-Men movies. Then he played the supreme goodie Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of course it's a testament to his acting abilities (or more appropriately, his ability to avoid being typecast). But still the fact remains: McKellan has played on both sides of the black-white divide. Some feared that his performance as Magneto would warp their reading of his playing the gentle giant Gandalf. Whether or not he did is not my point.

As for my point? I'm getting there.

I was just wondering if anyone has noticed that Jason Lee, who voiced baddie Syndrome in The Incredibles (2004), is now lending his voice to a new breed of hero, Underdog (2007). Is the mythology getting a bit tangled up? It may seem like I care because I've posted on this topic, but really, I don't. I just couldn't help but point out the irony.

figures

Doesn't it just figure that I would somehow miss the opportunity to blog on 07.07.07? I was too busy watching movies and talking to Stephanie on the phone.

Eh, who cares about dates anyway?

mom is the new barbie doll

Wednesday afternoon I had nothing better to do than watch a "Project Runway" (2005-present) marathon. Season three. It was all leading up to the two-hour season finale, which originally aired just after I left for England. Even though I knew the outcome, I wanted to see all four of the finalists' collections. But that is neither here nor there.

Watching TV, of course, it goes without saying that I have to contend with commercials. (I don't have TiVo.) One of the most popular ones I saw that day was for the Home Depot. You know, the one where the daughter tells her dad they need to get a new refrigerator and set of kitchen cabinets. And then it's revealed that the mother paid the daughter to say such things. We can almost assume the daughter could give a shit about the aesthetics of the kitchen.

Anyway, the mother character was decked out in that ubiquitous "soccer mom" outfit: the high-waisted and sometimes tapered khaki pant, the solid-colored knit top, and the button-down long-sleeve dress shirt. It's always unbuttoned, too. Drives me crazy. I was just using the Home Depot commercial as an example; these "soccer moms"/housewives types all look the same in commercials. During the eight months in England, I never saw such caricatures in the media. Seeing these women again once I got home made me realize how much I didn't miss them. They're so tired.

So where does "Project Runway" play into all this other than the fact that I saw these commercials throughout the marathon? Well, I came up with an idea for the show. If the producers and/or judges have made the designers reinvent the United States Postal Service uniform, for example, then why can't they redesign the "soccer mom" outfit? I know what you're thinking: the women on TV aren't necessarily representative of women in real-life. Oh, yes they are (in some cases). In any case, the designers could even interview mommies, ask them why they wear that sort of thing. Probably for comfort and to hide their tummies, I'm guessing. And they want to look casual. They could do it, but now that I think about it, it seems like Stacy and Clinton are better suited for this sort of transformation.

sexy bad boy

Oh, this is so frustrating. It just figures that the blog I have wanted to post for days won't be posted after all. At least, not in the manner I would like it to be. I'm a perfectionist, but I should give you a little something.

OK. So I've seen commercials--a lot of them--for the fifth Harry Potter movie. I don't know what it's called. Harry Potter and the Scorching Money-Making Machine, perhaps? But that is neither here nor there. The point is, within these commercials I have glimpsed some extreme sexiness.

God no, I'm not talking about the little kid stars. I'm talking about Lord Voldemort. No, I don't fancy him in that black dress. I fancy him in that tight black suit he's wearing in the clip from the film in which Harry spots him at the train station. I understand that Voldemort doesn't have a (real) nose, and yes, that detracts from his looks, but Ralph Fiennes just keeps getting sexier and sexier. I used to not think of him. Now, I find him extremely attractive, and his random, well-publicized sexual escapades only make him more intriguing to me.

As you might have guessed, this blog post is incomplete because I could not furnish it with a photo of Ralph as Voldemort in that black suit. I looked everywhere for at least twenty minutes. How disappointing. You'd like it, too.

more later

But until then, I'll just say it's pretty sweet that Johnny Knoxville's going to be single again. Then again, as I don't know much about him (I just find him attractive), I am sorry to hear that he's getting divorced from his wife of 12 years. I hope it ain't a second wave of rumors he was dating his The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) costar Jessica Simpson.

By the way, hope you had a happy fourth.

thank you dadd

I'm in love with my new chair. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should tell you how Chair and I met.

Well, ever since I got back, I've been complaining about my green folding chair from IKEA. I've had it for years. And remember, I think it's the reason why my legs hurt. So, since I returned from England I've been wanting another chair. I didn't even look for one when I went to IKEA to get a duvet and hangers. Stephanie said Staples was the place to go to bag a new chair, especially since they'll assemble it for five extra dollars. Yeah, I'd been fixating on this prospect for a long time. I mean, I really like Stephanie's chair because it is orange.

My father donated a cushioned (and ripped) folding chair to my cause, but the ripped seat also ripped my legs. And it didn't swivel, which hurts my neck whenever I turn round to face my TV. So I still needed something else.

Recently, we had been to Office Depot. Their selection sucked. But in the back of my mind I still thought Staples would be just the same because, let's face, they're the same in every other way.

Well, to cut a long story short, I finally made it to Staples today. Didn't intend to buy a chair. I just needed photo paper because I looked everywhere in my room for it yesterday morning and couldn't find it anywhere (which, I now realize, is because I sent it home in a box before leaving England). I figured, since my father agreed to take me to Staples so I could buy the photo paper, I would kill two birds with one stone. I could just look at chairs. But I found my new chair. I took it home, and we're in love.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

happy birthday ruth bognovitz

I love you, Cutie.

the tourist gaze

In writing a caption for the photo I plan to submit for the Post's travel photo contest, I mentioned in one of my drafts the concept of "the tourist gaze." I wanted to find a source that would help me write a succinct definition. So I remembered Lucy R. Lippard discussing it in On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art, and Place. I looked it up in the index and found the page, where she attributed the term to John Urry. No wonder his name came up when I wikied "tourist gaze." John Urry also featured on my Spanish cultural studies exam.

I know what you're thinking: OK. Who cares? Well, at the time of that exam, I wasn't that surprised my professor asked us to respond to one of his ideas. He's a sociology professor at Lancaster. He might be the head of the department. And he's definitely interested in "mobilities." I've walked past his office dozens of times, too.

What a small world.