7/7*doin' the cabbage patch*So who got an A+? That's right. I am THE MAN. so to speak. woohoo! ahem. got that out of my system. Saw the XFiles movie last night. eh. It was fun. like a big, well-written episode. The dialogue was better. However, I'm sick of women embodying the story. From Gibson to this flick, the female body is the territory colonized by invaders and "reclaimed" by the male. Feh. And a really annoying sleeping beauty/snow white (waking with the prince's kiss) reference. Grrr. Scully was the brains, remember? The BRAINS. O well. it's pretty light going. Unlike:Smoke Signals. Sherman Alexie is a great writer. Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, Reservation Blues, Indian Killer. All good to great. The most fun in the movie was seeing these characters and humor and stories brought to light. That and the 'traditional indian-style' chant of "John Wayne's Teeth, John Wayne's Teeth, hey yaaa hey hey John Wayne's Teeth." Alexie is at his most relaxed when poking fun at anglo fascination with 'real indian spirituality' and solemnity. (like shooting fish in a barrel, really, except it doesn't usually make it into the movies. One of the overarching themes was about people relating to their fathers. In an interview, Alexie talks about how he didn't expect that theme to cross racial/ethnic lines, but he found that it did. He told a story of a wealthy Nantucket (white) woman who was inspired to call up her father whom she hadn't spoken to for 20 years. For me that part of the film didn't ring as true. It may be that I'm too sensitized to cliche and structure or something, but that section of the swelling music and voiceover (about us and our fathers) felt overblown. I couldn't relate. I'm still trying to pinpoint what tugs my heartstrings. I often get teary at movies (Land and Freedom, Men with Guns, Ivan and Abraham) but none of them are traditionally made. I think the emotional sections of Smoke Signals were the places that relied most heavily on film cliches. Some of the kids' dialogue and scenes of childhood felt heavyhanded enough to be an afterschool special. I liked the open references, the constant mocking of Lone Ranger, John Wayne, and of the fetishizing of Indian Chants and 'spirituality.' The character of Suzy Song confused me. if anyone who has seen it please let me know what you thought of her. hyper-sexualized, constantly smiling, dreamcatcher-having, babydoll-dress wearing, "is that true? is that true?" girl. His best move is the storyteller character, who is obnoxious and manipulative, and not in a whiteguy way like I've seen before. You can't turn him into some shaman-symbol, he reminds you that stories have uses, personal uses, that there is always a storyteller and that they have their own agenda. The movie is worth seeing, rough spots and all. For the fact that it shows stuff you don't usually get to see at the movies, and for the humor. If you like pathos, there's plenty of that as well. 7/6: Big math exam this morning. All I did yesterday was study. In one cafe, then down the street in another cafe, then around the corner in a third cafe. In between I looked at cheap clothing and bought me a loaf of sourdough bread. Wotta life. Anyway, last night a boy I know who's a math major came over and helped me with some last-minute questions. Do you know how much easier this crap is when you do it WITH somebody? The loner thing can be a disadvantage. The exam felt okay. not terrible. I don't want to jinx it so I'll say no more. Last night it hit me: This is the first time I've really worried about a grade for a course. I have never had anything specific riding on a particular class I was taking. But now: must get at least a B- in trig, so I can pass calculus, so I can go to grad school. Not like calculus will guarantee it, but it certainly helps my chances. A new kind of pressure I've previously escaped..I've been a good student most of my life. Not out of guilt or pressure, but out of my habits. Oh Yeah, the 4th. Happy barbecue day. I studied so much on Sunday because I was with my friends all friday and saturday. I finally got sucked into watching world cup stuff and I am totally hooked. Croatia beat Germany 3-0 Right on my slavic brothers! heh. Nationalism and sports enthusiasm are weird and abstract things. The best thing about Saturday was brunch: Sunshine, tiny tanktops, all the ladies' tattoos showing, white t-shirts, jeans cut off at the knee, my favorite overalls, kool sandals, smiles and bright eyes, i wore glitter and felt sparkly... I felt good about my local pals, ladies and gents, all stylin' and smart as whips. Collected in the hot livingroom in front of the world cup. About ten of us hit the local club/bar/cafe for pancakes, eggs, middle-eastern potatoes with awesome chiligarlic sauce. Ate a lot of food in a leisurely fashion, fighting over the crossword puzzle, then we hit the brand-new enormous 24-hour supermarket nearby to buy barby supplies. Not since college in nowhere Ohio have I been part of such a large excursion to a supermarket. How american. Regrouped later for food and fireworks. Went up to the roof of my neighbors' place for a perfect view, oo and ahh, with music trickling up from the stereo below. On Friday I saw "Smoke Signals." I'll write more on it tomorrow. Promise. 7/2: Finally the sun is out! Goin' to see a good friend tonight whom I haven't seen in a while. Then, tomorrow, exboyfriend. You may notice that my "heartrouble" section is not linked yet. I know all you voyeurs out there would love to pore over my relationship angst. Or maybe not (that stuff is usually pretty trite. I sure felt like a cliche a lot of the time). But boy would it annoy my ex to find this stuff here. heh heh.. we'll see. MORE new stuff coming. woo hoo! that first flush of pride. My very own website?
7/1: Last night, when taking a cab back from my parents' house, I heard part of the Connection on NPR. I do think Chris Lydon is a big fat jerk. However, this session was on productivity, with Richard Lester of MIT. It's actually quite interesting. Lester writes about how technology is making work more productive. Many folks call to disagree. |