Figured It Out

Fury (1936)

Wizard of Oz (1939)

This may be the reason why I have always wanted a small dog: "Rainbow" from Fury is "Toto" from Wizard of Oz. How uncanny!

M

I don't ever really remember if I've ever enjoyed researching for a paper. Having to read past and present reviews of Fritz Lang's M (1931) didn't really bother me. It's neat to get a different perspective on how people's views have changed over the (many) years.

Peter Lorre plays a child-killer who is hunted by both the police and the underworld of criminals. (Pictured above: Lorre shows his "psychotic" side, contorting his face in hopes to see how others view him as a monster.) I don't know if I can imagine anyone who could have fit the role any better. You want to sympathize with his childish appearance, then again the thought of his menacing acts lingers in the back of your mind. Definitely a must-see...5-star quality.

I think the real question is - Why am I awake right now?

Let the Roses Fall

While slaving over a 3-page paper (ha!) due tomorrow morning, I kept my Alan Silvestri Pandora station on with hopes of being more productive. (It beats sitting in a room of silence - other than the clicking of the keys on the keyboard.)

This song came on and instantly caught my attention. Right away I noticed its eerie feel and recognized it from American Beauty. Thought I would share since I've kept it on repeat on YouTube for the past 30 minutes. Time to ILL this.

A Photographic Chronogly

9/3/2006: Bristow, VA2/7/2007: Roanoke, VA

7/25/2007: Washington, D.C.8/1/2007: Charlotte, NC9/6/207: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA7/13/2008: Columbia, MD8/19/2008: Charlotte, NC
Coming soon: 2/20/2010: Washington, D.C.

Thoughts From A Pointless Day Off

After celebrating MLK day in style, I end up here at home waiting for John Mayer to show up on Larry King live for the special on the Haiti disaster. When I say "in style," what I mean is sitting in a room working on calculus for hours on end in order to study. Highlight of the day? Being able to sleep in until noon with no worries of missing anything.

Since I'm only taking 3 classes (but remaining full time), I tend to have a lot of free time on my hands. With all this extra time, I would think it means more time to focus on each of my classes. But nay! I've been finding myself watching movie after movie on Netflix instant online movies. No complaints, though. If I actually had a steady job, joining Netflix would mosdef be on the top of my priority list. Speaking of movies, I'm pretty bummed I forgot about the Golden Globes. But it's nothing that a simple list of winners can't cover.

Watched The Hurt Locker last night and honestly didn't really see what the hype was about. Don't get me wrong - I thought it was a decent film with genuine characters, but it didn't really stand out to me. Maybe I should consider watching it a second time - alone. On the other hand, Up In the Air pulled some strong emotions out of me. I may have went in with a bias since G. Cloon is one of my favs at the time being, but regardless - overall top-notch quality from all the characters. Vera Farmiga has a simple, eloquent beauty, but it's her eyes that knock you over and reel you in. Definitely worth the money spent.

Countdown to John Mayer (#8): 1 month, 2 days.
Currently on repeat: Edge of Desire (apt. sessions)

Silence

As stated by Maria in Lang's Metropolis, "There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator."

On "Losing" Things

After grabbing lunch with a friend, we walked outside into the bitter cold and I decided it was a bit too sunny for my eyes, so I went to put on my sunglasses. I stopped in my tracks and began to rummage through my purse. To my dismay, they weren't in there. I'm thinking, "Go figure - another pair of sunglasses...lost." So, I tell my friend I need to go back inside to see if I left them on the table. But! I turn to around to see a look of slight embarrassment. He says, "Erica. Your sunglasses are on top of your head."

It is moments like these that you have no choice other than to step aside and laugh at yourself. Because honestly, what are you going to say after that?

(Also, I can't count the number of times I've played card/board games and have looked for my cards to find they are in my hand.)

So, the next time you think you lose something (or someone?), it's best to start looking in the most obvious places. Just a thought.

8 Years In the Making

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvDaJaU5My4

Sign me up: 2/8/10

The Gentlemen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUObsrV8R4E

Chills run up my spine looking at these...creatures.

"Hush" itself is ingeniously creepy. But what took it up a notch was the fact that I had watched a behind-the-scenes of Buffy only hours before. I noted to myself to catch this episode online somehow, somewhere before I forgot about it. Little did I know it would be on TV at 3AM.

These guys are something I don't recommend as a first sight waking from a midnight slumber.

Eternally Flawless

Its complexity is remarkably simple. And I get it.

Feel the Burn

Chad Feldheimer

Currently watching: Burn After Reading.

Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney): one of my top favorite actors at the moment (I seriously need to invest in the Ocean's trilogy). Clearly works (repeatedly) well with the Coen bros.
Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand): every time she speaks, I expect to hear her Naw-then accent from Fargo. Seems to repeatedly play a tired and anxious, yet determined character, even in sticky situations.
Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt): can convincingly work the idiot role pretty damn well. Chad is priceless.
Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich): why have I not seen more of Malkovich's movies? Pretty intense character in every film I've seen him in thus far. Tends to have it out for the world.
Dr. Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton): not sure if I ever want to cross her path. Often times she plays a frigid bitch (Narnia, anyone?) who's practicality blindsides her.

From Feldheimer to Aldo, Brad undergoes a pretty drastic character change. Although both tend not to be the brightest, Aldo tends to have his wits about him - especially when it comes to killin' them Nazzzis.

Lt. Aldo Raine

Låt den rätte komma in

After wasting countless hours watching not-so-grade-A movies on TV this winter break, the past week has started to look up for me. My first 3-D movie in theaters proved to be top-notch quality - no wonder James Cameron has been off the radar for awhile. Tonight's late-night feature: Let the Right One In. Let's face it...Twilight sucks. Stephenie Meyer blows a big one and maybe should have waited a bit to catch a few tips from this gem before publishing used toilet paper (in both hardback and paperback!) that somehow made it to the big screen.

The only "team" in Let the Right One In is team Oskar-Eli. Otherwise, it's everyone for his or herself in the night.

Small kiss.

A Pocket Full of Lint and Some Bobby Pins

Who'd a thunk that such small car parts cost so much? I was very tempted to keep that bright pink rejection sticker on my car just to save some dough. But every time I needed to use Gyppsy, I could feel that fucking sticker glaring, sneering at me. It's pretty far-fetched to tell me that my turn signals "might fail to work, forcing me to use hand signals out the driver's window" - the only window that clearly hasn't functioned in well over 2 years (and apparently is a safety hazard). My response? Break down crying while my brother offered to use his Christmas money to help pay for the part needed. I would have never though that a high school kid would have more money to his name than me.

Now, with a boasting $3 in my wallet, I am indebted to my younger sibling for $X + $11 (...matinee viewing of Avatar in 3-D). This was notarized in ballpoint pen on a sheet of notebook paper torn in half - it doesn't get more official than that, my friends.

The bright side of it all? I can finally use drive-thrus, ATMs, and bank teller windows without fear of my flip flops falling out unbeknownst to me. Too bad it's the dead of winter and I have no real use of my fully-functioning window right now.

The Decade's Evolution of (My) Social Connectivity

...Because everyone's doing it! I think that pretty much sums it up:
-VTech cordless phone (now with turn-of-the-century caller ID!)
-Snake
-AIM
-myspace
-facebook
-twitter
-Blogger
(Ok, so maybe Snake on vintage Nokia cellies deserves an "honorable mention" - but countless hours were spent weaving the snake through its own maze of coils to avoid eating itself.) Feel free to add/edit your own list - ought to be interesting ha.

e.e. - enjambment

Came across this and jostled my memory of a long letter that should have never had to have been written. Its meaning rings a different tune to me now.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

e.e. cummings

You guys ready to let the dogs out?

After watching "The Hangover" 3 times in 3 days, it is ingrained in me that men have every right to wear purses, nay, "satchels." A trip to Vegas would not end well for me: break the bank (merely impossible when it's already empty), faulty marriage (minus the Holocaust ring, plus a baby), tiger in the bathroom, etc. Til then, I'll continue to bounce from day-to-day as a broke college student with no idea what to do with a 4-year bachelor degree.

On Grocery Stores

Trips to the G. Sto should be avoided at all costs unless you a) have a list, b) know exactly what few things you need and their exact location, c) enjoy wandering aimlessly around a building packed to the brim with food. These trips should also be avoided from the time of 11am-2pm on Sundays. (Behold the church crowd - filled with little old ladies - and sometimes gentlemen - who are willing to spend countless hours debating whether or not to buy the store brand or the name brand.)

Being surrounded by aisles and aisles of food isn't particularly my idea of fun. I may or may not have a biased opinion on this since the only feasts I know how to whip up are scrambled eggs, baked BBQ chicken, and cinnamon-sugar toast. It's not much, but just test my scrambs against anyone else's - best in the world.

Until I absolutely need to know how to start cooking, what's in it for me? Buying food just so it can go to waste doesn't sound ideal to me. Til then, I'll stick to snacking on pickles.

Hidden "Precious" Treasures

Seeing that I just realized Nurse John is, low and behold, Mr. Kravitz, "Precious" continues to amaze me. Can most definitely ring in as one of my top faves of '09. As for Mo'Nique's character, chills still run through my bones when the stairwell scene replays through my head. Well-played, Mimi & Lenny.

En Tribute

Caught a rerun of fuse's Loaded: MJ, running 11-4 (5 hours - a little excessive, no?). "Rock With You" may be my new most played song. Revolutionary. I'm guessing the criteria to be a video girl has changed from the time of "Thriller" to "Single Ladies."