Meeting Chaske Spencer!

Some people had the rare opportunity to meet Chaske Spencer [Sam Uley] in a small group (about 50 people or so) on Tuesday of this week at a Yale University Master's Tea. And since I'm such a creeper (and because my fabulous Yalie sister is such an enabler) I was able to attend.



First, I'm amazed at how good looking he was in real life. I usually figure that actors aren't really that fabulous looking in real life - sorry to burst your bubble but if Chaske is any indication, then they're all strikingly beautiful. Damn for us lay people.

But, fortunately, he's also one of the sweetest, most impassioned people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He was first introduced by a member of the college hosting him. I'm still a little bitter about that because she stood directly in my line of sight while everyone was taking pictures so I have next to no pictures of the event (I refused to be rude and snap flash pictures while he was talking, despite how tempted I was).

Some of the Things I Learned Were:

He, like Taylor Lautner [Jacob Black], does not like to be asked to growl. And no, he won't take his shirt off either.

He moved to NYC at 20, with only a $100 in his pocket. And he doesn't recommend that anybody else try it.

His favorite part of acting is between 'action' and 'cut'. And all the cgi props (the cardboard wolves, etc) don't really throw him.

He really admires Gil Birmingham [Billy Black] and Graham Greene [Harry Clearwater]. He says that they can out act anyone on set and went as far as to say that Michael Sheen [Aro] and Graham Greene were scene stealers.

He talked about the cast and how, while it's difficult to hang out with the vamps, everyone is very welcoming. He also talked about what him and his fellow pack-mates bonded over - the work outs. He talked about how they all strutted around when they found out they were being trained by the guy who worked on 300. But that, as fit as he was going into the first work out, it still killed him. Apparently, they had to do 300 sit-ups right off the bat. But, he said that the workout changed how he lives his life. He continues to work out (admitting that he has to gain 20 more pounds before Breaking Dawn) and he eats healthy. Finally, he talked about how he gained all the bulk; claiming that he got the best bulking-up advice from ex-cons. He claimed that they not only knew how to pack on the muscular pounds but also how to fit in an entire work out in 30 minutes (something I suspect had to do with limited access to gym time in prison). He talked about his costars what they bring to the project. He said that there's something about Rob [Edward Cullen] that he "can't quite put his finger on, but it's there" and that he likes the different emotional facet Lautner adds to the love triangle.

Although the books wouldn't have been something that he would have originally sought out to read, he all but shouted that he "gets it!" He said that he understands the pull and why the fanbase is as devoted as they are.

He also did say that he still can't believe the hype associated with the saga. When asked what his craziest fan experience was, he said that he had someone faint on him. And, like Ashley Greene [Alice], he panics when fans cry and finds it very awkward. He says he tried hugging someone who was crying once and that she immediately started sobbing harder.

I asked him if fans could expect Eclipse to stay as close to the book as New Moon. I reminded him that in all the New Moon interviews Taylor Lautner would specifically say if we'd read the books, then we knew what was going to happen (i.e. do Jake & Bella kiss?). His answer was something along these lines "due to fan backlash if we change things, Summit and Stephenie Meyer (who was on set for a good portion of the movie apparently) made sure that it stuck very close to the book. David Slade's contribution makes this film much darker though."

He also talked about how he auditioned for the role of Jared (really???) but was called back to read for Sam (good call casting director!). He also said that he was about 24 hours away from not being cast at all. Apparently, Chris Weitz decided on an entirely different wolf pack, went home, had a dream or something, and came in the next day and said that it had to be the other group. The group that had Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz [Paul] and Bronson Pelletier [Jared].

He talked about how he thinks the Carlisle and Leah characters are interesting but that unlike his character, he doesn't see himself as much of a leader. Someone asked him if he thought that Stephenie's book was sexist in that it objectifies men and while he didn't outright agree, he skirted answering the question by saying the doors this job opened for him justify the means. Example, his production company is working on a new film called The Block which is the story of a writer who decides to kill someone to get past his writer's block and then becomes addicted to killing when it works (cool, hmm?).

Finally, I asked him to talk his charitable projects which ended up being when he got really impassioned. He's working with United Global Shift on some Native water rights. Apparently the government is trying to buy the land surrounding this lake in Montana from the Native peoples there and they're doing it both unfairly and corruptly. Chaske talked about filming a documentary and maybe helping the people there open a water plant so they can bottle and sell the water and wouldn't have to sell their land to the government. He also talked about his work with veterans. That he thinks it's such a travesty that young men are returning home from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD, broke, homeless and that the government isn't doing nearly enough to help them get back to their post military lives at home.

It was a very pleasant experience and I very much enjoyed meeting him (especially since I didn't have to wait in line at some giant convention).

Finally Somebody Gets It!

Reviewer on BBC radio finally gets how the Twilight Saga's subconscious abstinence theme plays off the original Victorian theme of the vampire myth. Plus, he seems to get why Twi-hards are so die hard. :-P

Today was a head spinner... too bad I'm off icecream and can't indulge in my favorite indulgence.

First Video Post

Check it out!

Feeding Frenzy




Toys are Fun

Why New Moon's Success is Good for the Future of Movies

Offhand, it would be hard to think of a pop phenomenon as rapturously beloved as the Twilight saga that is also as vociferously hated. My God, the hate! If swoony-gauzy teen-bloodsucker romanticism with a golden-eyed indie-rock James Dean as love object isn’t your cup of passion, then fine — so be it. But why the frothing torrents of resentment? I am constantly amazed to see all the incredibly vicious and hostile comments directed at an actress as lovely and expressive as Kristen Stewart. What is her crime? Having a personality moody and brainy and distinctive enough that it carries over, maybe a bit too much, from one role to the next? It makes me wonder what, deep down, is getting the haters so riled up.

Frankly, I think it’s this: The ascendance of the Twilight saga represents an essential paradigm shift in youth-gender control of the pop marketplace. For the better part of two decades, teenage boys, and overgrown teenage boys, have essentially held sway over Hollywood, dictating, to a gargantuan degree, the varieties of movies that get made. Explosive truck-smashing action and grisly machete-wielding horror, inflated superhero fantasy and knockabout road-trip comedy: It has been, at heart, a boys’ pig-out, a playpen of testosterone at the megaplex. Sure, we have “chick flicks,” but that (demeaning) term implies that they’re an exception, a side course in the great popcorn smorgasboard.

No more. With New Moon, the Twilight series is now officially as sweeping a juggernaut on the big screen as it ever was between book covers. And that gives the core audience it represents — teenage girls — a new power and prevalence. Inevitably, such evolutions in clout are accompanied by a resentful counter-reaction. For if power is gained, then somewhere else (hello, young men!) it must be lost. Yet such is the populist magic of Hollywood that these movies can’t simply be written off as some overblown high-school vampire version of a Miley Cyrus concert. Or, more to the point, they can be (hello, haters!), but that completely misses what’s going on in them.

I went into New Moon having not read the book, and so I didn’t really experience the movie as an adaptation, or watch it as any sort of Twilight die-hard. Leaving aside a few leaping boy-to-wolf transformations (which could, at this point, have come out of any routine horror film), what I saw, in essence, was a moody romantic melodrama from the 1950s, a movie that told its story, more than anything else, with faces. For two hours, they loomed up there — Stewart, with her pale crystalline severity, her ability to communicate desire and distress at the same moment; Robert Pattinson, with his sweet-but-not-too-safe, hurtin’-eyed, chalky-skinned delinquent chivalry; and Taylor Lautner, with those naturally wolfy features, as the group’s Troy Donahue, a friendly, quick-grinned stud-muffin who’s just buff enough to divert the heroine without threatening to capsize her devotion to her true love.

The key to New Moon’s appeal, of course, is that a lack of consummation is built into the movie’s very premise, and so the sexiness, as it was in the ’50s, has to emerge almost entirely from the atmosphere, and from the interplay of those faces. And that, more than anything, is what makes this a picture dominated, in spirit, by a new kind of girl power. Mock me all you want (and from the haters, I expect nothing less), but the reason I believe that the big-screen success of the Twilight saga bodes well for the future of Hollywood movies is that the girls (and some boys too!) who are lining up to see New Moon are asserting, in an almost innocent way, their allegiance to a much older form of pop moviemaking: the narcotic potency of mood, story, and romantic suggestion over the constant visual wham-pow! of action, effects, and packaged sensation. It’s not that New Moon has none of that stuff. It’s that the movie uses fantasy to liberate, rather than to steamroll, its emotions. That’s what makes it a new-style, feminine-driven brand of popcorn, one that’s more than welcome at a moment when the other kind — the boys’ kind — has grown more than a bit stale.

-Entertainment Weekly

Puppy Picture Time

What the heck are you doing way up there?



Sadie is Bat Dog!


Sadie is just hanging out.


Sadie Does Blue Steel


Puppy Match



Quiet! We're Hunting Wabbits!


I'm so gonna sneeze in your face.






Following the Leader



Distorted Puppies

If I stay very, very still maybe I'll blend in.

New Moon: Chapters 14-15

Chapter 14: Family

"Well, the wolf's out of the bag now."

"I bet she's tougher than that. She runs with vampires."

"So, you're the vampire girl."
I stiffened. "Yes. Are you the wolf girl?"

I was holding Emily's scarred hand as we faced into the shadows and waited anxiously for our werewolves to come home.

Chapter 15: Pressure

"Sometimes, if you get really upset or something, that can trigger it early. But I wasn't upset about anything—I was happy." He laughed bitterly. "Because of you, mostly. That's why it didn't happen to me sooner. Instead it just kept on building up inside me—I was like a time bomb. You know what set me off? I got back from that movie and Billy said I looked weird. That was all, but I just snapped. And then I—I exploded"

"Edward saved me twice," I whispered. "He sucked the venom out—"

"Why do you do that?" he asked. He tugged lightly at one of my arms, which was bound around my chest, and then gave up when it wouldn't come loose easily. I hadn't even realized I'd moved them. "You do that when you're upset. Why?"
"It hurts to think about them," I whispered. "It's like I can't breathe… like I'm breaking into pieces…"

It was not hard to convince myself that I didn't have time to search for another way—I wanted to jump from the top.

He was angry now, and the anger was so lovely.

I didn't want to fight anymore. ... that made me content to stay where I was. I was almost happy that it was over. This was an easier death than others I'd faced. Oddly peaceful.

New Moon: Chapters 12 & 13: Intruder & Killer

Lines I Love

It wasn't the grin that I knew and loved—it was a new grin, one that was a bitter mockery of his old sincerity, on the new face that belonged to Sam.

More than dislike—I realized I hated it, hated anything that caused him pain. Hated it fiercely.

Jacob, the only human I'd ever been able to relate to…
And he wasn't even human.
What did this say about me?
It said that there was something deeply wrong with me.

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"Could you… well, try to not be a… werewolf?"

"Well, I'm so sorry that I can't be the right kind of monster for you, Bella."


Lines/Things I hope are in the movie

I hope they have all of Jake's cursing. It makes him seem like the 16 year old he is and how modern he is compared to Edward (who refuses to curse in a lady's presence).

"When did you ever promise to kill yourself falling out of Charlie's tree?"

"Why in the world would I be okay, Jacob?" [I love the desperation I feel when Bella says this.]

"No, Jake," I moaned. "What if we ran away? Just you and me. What if we left home, and left Sam behind?"
"It's not something I can run away from, Bella," he whispered. "I would run with you, though, if I could." [I think one of the things that I'm interested to see if they do is whether they show how, for lack of a better word, pathetic Bella is when it comes to needing Jacob. I have a feeling that they stick with the cooler, more collected Bella.]

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"It's kind of a wolf thing."

"Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?"


Thing of the Day: Here's 10 minutes of behind the scenes stuff released by Summit for New Moon. I haven't watched it because I swore that for a month before New Moon, I wouldn't watch anymore clips of the movie but I've heard that it has birthday party stuff and the beach scene conversation between Jacob and Bella that is in chapter 13.

New Moon: Chapters 10 & 11: The Meadow & Cult

Lines I Love

It was the same place… but it didn't hold what I had been searching for.

this fairytale meadow filled with dark monsters.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As much as it hurt me, I knew it was better for Jacob that he was avoiding me. Safer for him. [I like this line because it shows how hard it is for Bella to do what's best for Jake and not what she wants. Everyone knows what it's like to want something so badly from someone but not be in a position to give them what they want or what they deserve to get. I love the tenure of this book because it's something everyone struggles with at several points in their life.]

"And now you've seen the light. Hallelujah."

This was just the end of what little peace there was left behind.


Things/Lines I'd like to see in the movie

"Jacob didn't want to be a part of this… cult. I don't understand what could change him." He stared at me, his face frightened. "I don't want to be next." [I like to see if they have the interaction between Quil and Bella before she goes to Jake in La Push. Just how dejected Quil is about losing Jake and Embry and how Bella uses it to incite a reaction out of Jake when she confronts him.]

"If you think I'm going to remind her about that, then you had better think again. She's only just starting to get over it, and mostly because of Jacob, I think. If whatever Jacob has going on with this Sam character sends her back into that depression, then Jacob is going to have to answer to me. You're my friend, Billy, but this is hurting my family." [Charlie to the rescue! I liked Chief Swan before but he became near and dear to my heart after this.]

New Moon: Chapters 8 & 9: Adrenaline & Third Wheel

Lines I love

I smiled tightly—it was still working—and ignored the questions. Jacob wasn't going to let anything serious happen to me.

I pushed hard against the gash, as if I could force the blood back inside my head.

I'd cheated—broken my promise. I'd been needlessly reckless. I felt a little less pathetic now that the promises had been broken on both sides.

I knew I would feel better tomorrow when I was with Jacob again. That made the empty hole and the familiar pain easier to bear;

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I was like a lost moon—my planet destroyed in some cataclysmic, disaster-movie scenario of desolation—that continued, nevertheless, to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space left behind, ignoring the laws of gravity. [This makes my top 10 favorite quotes of the saga list.]

Mike turned away, but not before I saw his maybe-she's-crazy-after-all expression.


Lines/Things I hope are in the movie

"I told you so," the perfect voice murmured, crystal clear.

"Do you want to kill yourself, then? Is that what this is about?"

The voice in my head growled against the roar of the motorcycle. [I heard a rumor that during one of the kissing scenes between Edward and Bella, Rob actually groans. So hawt! Well, if that's true then I'd love to hear not only the phantom Edward's words, but also the sounds and his expressions of being afraid/angry about Bella's behavior.]

"Of course, you might be an exception. I bet you'd taste good." [I love the irony of Jake teasing her about that.]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You'll come too, right?" I added quickly... So much for my chance to put some distance between us. I couldn't stand hurting Jacob; we seemed to be connected in an odd way, and his pain set off little stabs of my own. [I hope they can convey (foreshadowing!!!) how compelled Bella is to minimize the hurt she inflicts on Jacob]

Both Jacob and Mike had claimed the armrests on either side of me. Both of their hands rested lightly, palms up, in an unnatural looking position. Like steel bear traps, open and ready. [I already know this is in the movie. Amazing!]

[Word for word the entire scene outside the men's bathroom where Mike is puking his guts out. haha. I love that Jake is so upbeat about the conversation. And adorable.]

Dad's Newspaper Bio - WHS

Dr. David Ling [Picture]

The new teacher of physics, physical science, meteorology and astronomy received his bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University. After that, Dr. Ling worked for IBM in their research lab. As he put it, he worked on "automating the design of high speed integrated circuits, or as you would know then, microchips." these microchips are found the games such as Nintendo or X-box.

Dr. Ling is not a New Jersey native. He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Ling's mother was a harpist and his father was a physicist and a professor of physics. It is no wonder that Dr. Ling has been so successful. His influences are Roy Gaulber, a professor at Harvard who won a Nobel Prize, and Eric Clapton.

Something you might not know about Dr. Ling is that he also plays guitar. In fact, he used to be in a rock band. Some of his friends even continue to play in rock n' roll bands.

New Moon: Chapter 7: Repetition

Lines I Love

... remained, untouched and forgotten, behind them.
Just like me.

I felt hideously empty, and I wanted to see Jacob. Maybe I was developing a new kind of sickness, another addiction, like the numbness before.

now everything felt like an echo—an empty echo, devoid of the interest it used to have.

I'd never witnessed anything so reckless in all my life. My eyes widened, and I smiled. "Jake, you have to take me cliff diving."

"If this is how you're going to react, I'll freak out more often."


Lines I hope are in the Movie

"You really like spending time with me?" he asked, marveling. [I love this line because it shows how young, how adorable, and how likable Jacob is. Why Bella finds it so healing to be around him.]

"Jacob, you are absolutely, without a doubt, the most talented and wonderful person I know. You get ten years for this one."

"Here's to responsibility," he toasted. "Twice a week."
"And recklessness every day in between," I emphasized.

"It's just… the way they treat me. It creeps me out. He looks at me like he's waiting for something… like I'm going to join his stupid gang someday. He pays more attention to me than any of the other guys. I hate it."

New Moon: Chapter 6: Friends

Lines I Love and Lines/Things I wish are in the Movie

"If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow…" I heard Jacob threaten. [Love it!]


This chapter is pretty sparse for me. I would like to see if they have the whole 'Bella surprises the shit out of everyone at school by actually talking'. I also hope they show that Jake has talked to Quil and Embry about how into Bella he is and that they start ribbing him for it when she shows up randomly.

New Moon: Chapter 5: Cheater

Lines I love

My nightmare probably wouldn't even frighten someone else. ... There was nothing, really. Only nothing. Just the endless maze of moss-covered trees, so quiet that the silence was an uncomfortable pressure against my eardrums. It was dark, like dusk on a cloudy day, with only enough light to see that there was nothing to see. I hurried through the gloom without a path, always searching, searching, searching, getting more frantic as the time stretched on, trying to move faster, though the speed made me clumsy… Then there would come the point in my dream—and I could feel it coming now, but could never seem to wake myself up before it hit—when I couldn't remember what it was that I was searching for. When I realized that there was nothing to search for, and nothing to find. That there never had been anything more than just this empty, dreary wood, and there never would be anything more for me… nothing but nothing…

... trying to breathe without lungs.


I contemplated my luck. Only a teenage boy would agree to this: deceiving both our parents while repairing dangerous vehicles using money meant for my college education. He didn't see anything wrong with that picture. Jacob was a gift from the gods. [I figure there's no way they can work this into the movie - but it's my favorite funny line from New Moon so here's hoping!]


Interesting - I never realized that Bella ever rationalized her recklessness. I thought it was solely motivated by enabling herself to hear Edward again but she argues that since Edward's promise of "It'll be as if I never existed" was invalidated by the fact that Bella was changed by him before he ever left, that she shouldn't be held to her promise.

It made me feel silly for ever worrying about keeping my promise. Where was the logic in sticking to an agreement that had already been violated by the other party? Who cared if I was reckless and stupid? There was no reason to avoid recklessness, no reason why I shouldn't get to be stupid.

Happy Halloween!

Who plans to dress up? Who plans to trick or treat? Who plans to stay at home and veg like moi?

New Moon: Chapter 4: Waking Up

Lines I love:

I didn't know much about psychoanalysis, but I was pretty sure that it didn't work unless the subject was relatively honest. Sure, I could tell the truth—if I wanted to spend the rest of my life in a padded cell.

I saw no reason for fear. I couldn't imagine anything in the world that there was left to be afraid of, not physically at least. One of the few advantages of losing everything.


Lines/Things I'd like to see in the movie:

Charlie: "I don't think I can live through seeing you try harder. I've never seen anyone trying so hard. It hurts to watch."

My eyes did not stray toward the black garbage bag that held my present from that last birthday, did not see the shape of the stereo where it strained against the black plastic; I didn't think of the bloody mess my nails had been when I'd finished clawing it out of the dashboard.

The Great Re-Read: Worst Day

So, with 24 days left to New Moon, I started re-reading the book. 24 days, 24 chapters - you get the idea. Well, today is day 3 of the great re-read and I don't think I can make myself redo it because I know I'll sob like a baby. Although, re-reading chapter 2 with the sole purpose of reading only that chapter made me remember what a big deal Bella cutting herself was. I mean - duh - I know it was a big deal. But the aftermath was a big deal too. Even Alice ends up bailing on Carlisle stitching Bella up. I also didn't remember that Edward didn't take a whole breathe the entire time he was protecting Bella from Jasper and even when he carried her into the other room for Carlisle to stitch up. I suppose that I just remembered the overall vampire danger aspect as Edward's reason for leaving and not as much how hard it was for him to be around her without causing the damage to her himself.

In other interesting news, Summit was really really super smart and is re-releasing Twilight for a special, one-time showing on November 19th at 9 pm. I won't be spending the money - mostly because I'll be in class, but also because I can watch the DVD anytime I want. I predict that Twilight makes another million on the 19th.

Thing of the Day: Love Taylor Swift's Platinum Edition of Fearless. The six new songs are amazing. Here's my favorite song of the six.

Hilarious Picture & Wise Words

When you are in deep trouble, say nothing, and try to look as though you know what you're doing.

BAT DOG! [and other cute pictures]

BAT DOG


Run Puppies, Run!



Get My Good Side


Our Secret Hideout


I want that stick... pounce!

It's October Already!

I can't freaking believe that it's already October, which is one month away from November, which may soon become my favorite month!

So, this post is mostly to talk about what I think is the most awesome picture ever.


I saw this pre-release photo from the New Moon Movie Companion and I laughed so incredibly hard. It's exactly how I imagined it would be and it made me want to see New Moon just that much more. I'm so glad that they kept this scene and, in particular, this part of the scene in the movie. I just hope it doesn't get cut from the final version.

Speaking of which - I heard there is some sort of 5 hour long version of New Moon out there... let me be the first to say that Summit needs to release that shiz. That's one special edition DVD I'd pay a lot of money to own.

[Btw, I got the picture from NewMoonMovie.org who got it from some blog called 'Ralph something'... thanks for posting these scans online!]

New Music Day

So, I finally looked into what's new in the music industry. I did so mostly because the track list for the New Moon soundtrack was released (OCTOBER 13TH) and I cannot wait. It has Muse, OK GO and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. How could it not be totally awesome?

Anyways, I've listened to Muse's The Resistance and I really love Uprising. It's just so bad ass. I also like Undisclosed Desires and United States of Eurasia. I'm trying to get myself to like I Belong to You but I haven't succeeded just yet. Hopefully, when Muse reworks it for the New Moon soundtrack, I'll really get attached.

I like Carrie Underwood's new song Cowboy Casanova - very catchy.

And finally, I got the complete albums for Lady Gaga's The Fame and Beyonce's I Am... Sasha Fierce. So, I'm slowly working my way through the tracks to see which ones I like. All I can say is I don't know why I Like It Rough by Lady Gaga isn't number one on the charts.

Thing of the Day: This total numb-nuts in Canada interviewed 100 Monkeys after they performed in Vancouver. Apparently, the concert was a complete zoo and the lines for the bathrooms where ridiculous so, the interviewer asked Jackson Rathbourne about how he made RPatz pee in a cup. The look on Jackson's face (who clearly didn't know RPatz had to resort to peeing in a cup) was PRICELESS! I don't know if it's true that he had to pee in a cup. But, regardless, Jackson looked floored.

Freaky/Awesome

Ok, weirdness abounds.

First, the official premiere for New Moon is in LA on November 16th. It also happens to be on the same night as a new moon. I know, coincidence, right?

Wrong.

The Eclipse premiere (if it follows New Moon) will occur on June 26th (four days before opening night on June 30th). Interesting, the 26th is a partial eclipse.

My mind just exploded.

Btw, I had to talk myself out of buying the Death Cab for Cutie single of Meet Me on the Equinox. The reason being is that I refuse (absolutely refuse) to buy a song I don't like just to support a franchise. I cannot believe that I actually had to have this conversation with myself. I'm so disappointed with me.

Thing of the Day: My adviser at Cornell would consider my Food & Drug Law professor at Hopkins to be the Anti-Christ. hahaha.

Also, do I re-instate Facebook? meh, I don't really miss it. I'll ponder it some more for my friends' benefits.

Computer Shopping Time!

It looks like some financial aid might be coming my way which means that I can afford a new computer. Mainly, a spiffy laptop which I've never had (I was always with the very hard to make portable desktop).

I'm pretty much trying to decide between:

Dell Studio 17
Dell XPS 16
HP tx2z.

I like Dells but the HP computer is a tablet which I've always really wanted. However, it won't be nearly as fast or store as much data as the two non-tablet laptops. Anyways, lots to look into in the next few days.

Thing of the day: New Moon Orgasmic Trailer Mash-up. It's all three trailers put together for 6 minutes of awesome-ness!

VMAs 2009

I have three things to say.

First, New Moon extended trailer = orgasm.

Two, Beyonce, you are a honorable lady.

Three, f*ck you Kanye.

'nuf said.

Updates

So, let's see what's new:

First, I'm officially a graduate student! WOO-HOO! I got accepted to Johns Hopkins. Yes, Johns freakin' Hopkins. My mom was nearly dancing a jig when I told her that I'd be going to her alumna mater. I'm in the Masters of Science program for Biotechnology. I still have to pick a concentration but I'll probably choose the Bioscience Regulatory Affairs concentration. I went to my first class on Thursday and let me say a few things about Hopkins. The campus is tiny, minuscule, almost baby sized compared to Cornell. I can walk from one end to the other at a comfortable pace in under 10 minutes. Also, there's a parking garage just two buildings down from my class - so that's super convenient. And lastly, there seems to be nowhere on campus to get food after 5 pm. I find this hard to believe so I'm attributing it to the fact that I'm a newbie and didn't know where to look. Something I will have to remedy before next class (I refuse to sit for 3 hours of a class while I'm starving).

Second: TV and Movie News
Watched first episode of Glee - I'm so hooked. Lea Michelle is gorgeous and can sing. I love her character and Jane Lynch is hilarious. I love the facial expressions. We'll have to see how the rest of the series goes.
I watched the first episode of The Vampire Diaries. Ehh, it wasn't like the book and honestly, if they make Elena as superficial as she is in the book, I don't think the show will work. I'll give it another episode or two before canceling my Tivo season pass.
Finally, New Moon. Third trailer premiers at the VMAs on Sunday. The trailer already leaked online and all I can say is that Chris Weitz is quickly becoming a deity. It's looking like everything I hoped for and more. Additionally, I read an interview where Chaske Spencer said that Kristen Stewart stayed through all the wolf pack scenes and read all of her lines instead of letting a stand-in come read for her. I know she gets a ton of sh*t from people but I love all the stories I hear about her. She sounds very dedicated to her work and incredibly intelligent despite the awkwardness (a trait I most definitely share). Kristen, I think you're doing Bella justice and I speak for all the fans who think Meyer's characters deserve to be represented in film as Meyer wrote them in the text that you being adamant about honoring the spirit of the character makes me very happy that you accepted this role. No one else could have done what you're doing. Thx.

Pictures!

Nothing much to say. Busy time in my life right now. KR & Andy are headed back to college, Papa is visiting and Dad is getting ready to begin classes at Waldwick & NJCU. I'm going to miss everyone when they head off and I'm at home but at least I'll have the dogs for company.

Anyways, PUPPY PICTURE TIME!


Dakota chewing on my shorts.


Dakota on my bed.



KR & Dakota sharing some love.

Mommy, may I chew this?

Why not?


Pretty Puppy.


Princess Sadie on her throne.

I'll post more later. Promise.

Did You Miss Me?

I know, I know. It's been for-ev-er! Life got hectic, insane, whatever you want to call it. But, I'm done with all my academic stuff and I'm just waiting for my diploma to arrive in the mail. Meanwhile, I'm applying for jobs like crazy and working on law school apps. Hopefully, I'll be employed very, very soon and living in D.C. Otherwise, I'll just wait until KR gets a job at the Fed and then I'll just mooch off of her.

So, newmoonmovie.org posted this really great comparison between the Twilight and New Moon's visual interpretations of the characters. And I thought I'd just throw my two cents in.



First, overall I think the quality of the photography is much better in New Moon than in the Twilight stills. And, with only a few exceptions, the make-up is better too. Plus, they really really got the eyes right for everyone in New Moon. It's an incredible improvement over what the cast had in Twilight.

Victoria: I love how they shot her with the wind blowing her hair back for New Moon. It definitely makes her look like she's on the hunt for revenge. Although, the book says she has bright orange hair. New Moon makes it look much redder than it was in Twilight where I thought that they got the color right. Her make-up is awesome though.

Esme: Twilight wins hands down. Bella describes Esme as looking like Snow White. Nothing about the New Moon picture says fairy-tale princess to me. The hair is wrong, the make-up is wrong, and I much prefer the frilly shirt Reaser is wearing in the Twilight shot to whatever she's wearing in the New Moon still.

Laurent: I'm kind of feeling that the look is equivalent between the two movies. I don't like the scarf around his neck in the Twilight shot though.

Bella: Twilight. She looks much more youthful. Maybe she's supposed to look wacko.

Edward: NEW-FREAKING-MOON. He just looks so much more like what I expected Edward to look like. Incredibly handsome, but distant and lost. I always felt that Edward should look forlorn throughout most of New Moon. He's either miserable about subjecting Bella to danger, or miserable that he left her alone.

Jacob: I think that both Jakes look good. He really is supposed to be two different people.

Alice: I like Alice's hair in Twilight better than New Moon. I'm not sure how I feel about the costume since I really can't see the New Moon one. I think they might be able to go a little more trendy in New Moon than they did in Twilight.

Rosalie: New Moon. The Wig is better, the make-up is better. She looks much closer to a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model than she did in Twilight.

Jasper: Oh Hale yeah! New Moon is worlds above and beyond Twilight. He just looked weird in Twilight, not really really scary. Now, I can definitely visualize him being a soldier in the Civil War and struggling not to attack humans.

Emmett: Not really sure. I think they're both pretty much the same.

Carlisle: New Moon. He just looks so much older in the New Moon still. I really can imagine him being 360 years old. Plus, I like the outfit better.

Give Me Good World News or Give Me Death!

So, today I walked into my psychology class and one girl shouted, "OMG, Can you believe the snow storm yesterday??? Yeah, there were people out with snowblowers... geez can you believe we got hail in June. I almost didn't believe the front page of all the newspapers this morning..."

Normally, I would be just as astonished as the next person by hail in June, but that's not what bothered me about what she said. The idea that the FRONT PAGE of major newspapers had pictures of a pathetic snowstorm in June (that honestly only had about a 10 mile radius) instead of the headlines and pictures talking about the millions of Iranians protesting the election that took place last week, the possibility of fraudulent ballot counting, and that police (up until Monday) were beating protesters and journalists alike (one CNN camera man had to hide to keep from getting beaten with a nightstick by the police). The young generation of Iranians are furious that the current regime remained in office and even the Muslim clergy are calling for a recount (the results of which they will formally comment on in 10 days). Political strategists and experts from around the world are claiming that the numbers don't add up and that the results were announced long before they could have been known.

I don't claim to be the most informed person on World News, but if I hadn't watched the news last night, I would have read the paper this morning and thought that the most significant thing happening was a hail storm in Washington Township. And that's just so wrong.

I'm posting a portion of a book written by David Halberstam who is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. This excerpt refers to the failure of the media to do their job and why we've allowed it to happen.

"... sometimes it creates a hopelessly shortsighted view of the future that is damaging both to the company and the society.

Take our media world, and particularly our television networks for examples. Of the many results of the end of the Cold War the amazing surge in the American economy, six thousand points in six years in the Dow during the Clinton years, the rise of nationalism and tribalism in certain parts of the world- the most surprising, and by far the least predictable, was the almost immediate and quite dramatic trivialization of the American political and media agenda, most especially the decline of the important in serious new, above all foreign news from our nightly television screens. It was as if the old geopolitical impulse that had preceded World War II and the Cold War, America apart from the rest of the world, had been restored, especially in an era where, because of the quantum breakthroughs in communications, the pull of home screen entertainment became so seductive. Of our many traditional freedoms was added a new one - the right not to be bored in your own home. We became something unique: a de-facto monopoly superpower, the richest, most powerful nation in the world, binging on self-involvement.

The people who ran the newsrooms in our television networks learned, all too easily, in the eighties that the country was less and less interested in foreign news. It was now considered boring. The world was no longer threatening. Foreign reporters were expensive, and worse, brought low ratings. But celebrity journalism, especially in the period of the end of the Cold War, when the country was binging on self-absorption, brought high ratings. People now cared desperately about the lives of celebrities. Would Tim stay married to Nicole? Would O.J. be convicted? Would Monica ever find true love and marry? If it was journalism at its worst then it was economically viable: celebrity journalism was good for the ratings, which was good for the stock, but of course bad for the country. The senior people who ran the network news empires neglected the cardinal rule of a great editor - the need to balance what people want to know with what they need to know." - War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam

I'm all for the celebrity journalism (I follow Twilight news like the complete freak that I am) but not on the front page of newspapers and not during prime time news hours.

Things of the Day: Everything is Amazing right now, and nobody is happy...

Soothing Music: One and Two.

Sexy Vampires are Destroying Our Nation's Children

I can't make this stuff up... crazy Floridians.

Interestingly, the rumor about open casting call for the roles of Seth and Leah Clearwater was actually legitimate. Today, they posted instructions for submitting audition tapes online along with the audition scenes. We'll have to wait and see what happens.


In the year 3000, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook will merge to form one giant time-wasting website called YouTwitFace.

Miscellaneous

I'm just going to provide a collection of random things for today's blog.

My friend J.R. sent me a really funny, geeky joke. If you don't get it, no worries - it has to do with harmonic motion (physics). But I think it has introduced me to a site that I'm going to quickly become addicted to.

Cute - Turns out that the Twilight Stars really do stick together (that they really know the Twilight Saga) as evidenced by the fact that Kristen and Taylor really lobbied for the three-way date scene with Mike Newton to get put in the movie. Every twilighter knows that it's one of the few humorous scenes in New Moon so it's nice that that the stars understood that it needed to be in the movie.

Mandy Moore's new album, Amanda Leigh, came out last week (I think) and it's very folksy (which I love) and very Joni Mitchell influenced (which I also love). Two favorites are I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week and Song About Home which is so Joni Mitchell it's amazing (just ignore the first 6 seconds which are weird).

AskMen.com has put together a Top 10: Reasons Women Love Vampires. It's pretty good.

Thing of the Day... picture time! I have way too much time on my hands...

Top 10 Favorite Things About the 2009 MTV Movie Awards

Here's what I loved best about this year's MTV Movie Awards

10.) Jim Carey, Rob, and Prop 8

9.) Every time Twilight won an award, the winner thanking the fans AND Stephenie Meyer

8.) Twilight winning best picture

7.) Andy Samberg (the intro with the Twilight spoof, the reference to Edward Cullen in the rap, the Twilight bet, the Trailer spoof, the list goes on...)

6.) Eminem getting Bruno's crotch in his face (even if the whole thing was staged, it was hilarious)

5.) When accepting the award for best fight, Rob admitting that in real life, Cam would have just kicked his ass

4.) Rob winning break through performance by a male and talking about how he sh*t his pants

3.) Kristen Stewart dropping her MTV Movie Award for best female performance

2.) Watching Rob laugh at Kristen for dropping her award.

1.) The New Moon Trailer

Things of the Day: My two favorite New Moon Trailer reactions.
1.) Watch the volume at the end, otherwise the screams will blow out your eardrums.
2.) Not sane, but not crazy either.

Cinematic Adventures!

So, I've seen a couple of movies in the last few weeks and wanted to take the opportunity to talk about them.

First, requires no introduction. STAR TREK. It was fantastic and even my Trekkie mother thought it was awesome. Zachary Quinto was an awesome Spock (although there is a consensus that he never would have said thank you to Ahura) and Chris Pine was a pretty good Kirk (I liked him better than Shatner). Plus, McCoy was dead on and amazing... ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR VULCAN MIND?!?!?!? haha, awesomeness. They've officially given the sequal the green-light and I'm excited about it.

Second, Angels & Demon - meh. It was entertaining, but not very much like the book and there is one Ewan MacGregor scene that is meant to be serious and just comes across as ridiculously funny. I did like Tom Hanks much more without the mullet and Angels & Demons is much more artistically appealling because of all the churches and the papal dressings than The DaVinci Code.

Finally, if you have not seen this movie, you are completely missing out. It's called Taken and it's a Liam Neeson movie that is just so bad ass. Don't read anything about it (not even the summary on the back of the DVD). Just go into it knowing it's a good movie and just let the movie do all the work. I'M NOT KIDDING - GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!

More posts to come...

OMG - Operation Overload!

OK, I know I haven't written in more than a two weeks but, I have so much to post/blog about that I'm going to separate it into multiple blogs. First, I'll write about all the stuff that happened graduation weekend and other Cornell stuff.

So, on Sunday the 24th, I graduated (unofficially) from college! I'll get my diploma in the mail sometime in August after I finish the last class I have to take to satisfy all my requirements. Graduation weekend was, in a word, awesome. The family came up and I spent hardly any time in Ithaca. I know you might find this strange but I'm so sick of the place that I was just itching to have something to do as far as I could reasonably get in one day. Friday, my family helped be move about 80% of my junk out of my room. It took about 5 hours - thank god for air conditioning! I packed up a bag so I could crash with my siblings for the weekend and then we headed out to dinner at the Boatyard Grill. It's my favorite restaurant in Ithaca and usually, the food is fantastic. But, this time, they brought my blue crab stuffed shrimp and they over cooked it to the point of blackening it. So, they ended up remaking it for me and not charging us for it. And since I'm not one to complain about free food, I was a happy camper. We headed back to the hotel where Mom and Dad crashed and Andrew, KR, and I proceeded to stay up until 3 in the morning just talking about stuff and catching up on things.

Thus, we got a very late start on Saturday. But, we went to a local Cortland restaurant called Auntie Anne's (not the pretzel place but something very much like a Denny's) and I had apple cinnamon stuffed french toast. Delish! Then, the fun began... we went miniature golfing. Or as KR would say - put, put. Andrew and Dad totally kicked our girl asses and Andrew ended up winning by 2 strokes. I had the red ball. :-)

For our afternoon fun, we went and saw a movie (I'll go into more detail in my upcoming movie post) and then we headed back to Ithaca to pick up my cap and gown and get some food. We ended up at the Lost Dog Cafe which is another interesting place to eat in Ithaca. We all had really amazing food (Dad - burger, KR - rigatoni ala vodka, Andrew - apple cider pork tenderloin, Mom - some special, Me - whiskey butter filet mignon) and fried cheesecake which was so good!

We then headed back to the hotel in Cortland for a good night sleep before the 9 am start of the processional. Sunday (graduation day) kinda sucked. I helped my parents unload at the stadium and find decent seating by 8:30 and then I walked over to the part of the Arts Quad where the engineers were congragating. Then, at 10 am we all started marching and it took almost two hours to walk the (approximately) eighth of mile to the stadium. Luckily, the engineering seating was right next to the floor seating that my parents were in so my Dad was happily snapping pictures and taking video for the whole commencement speech. President Skorton spoke this year and I'm going paraphrase all the fun things he had to say to us graduates...

"The economy is shit. Less than 20% of college graduates in 2009 graduated with jobs and most of those are volunteer jobs. So, unless you want to go join the peacecorps or work for a non-profit organization, you're fucked. Maybe, someday, things will get better. Have a nice life." - President Skorton

Really? I'm so glad that I sat for 4 hours in a fugly black gown and paraded around with a silly hat on so that you could make me feel depressed about ever possibly being employed.

So, after the ceremony was over, I walked over to my parents (who were equally bummed out) and they suggested we bolt out of there and go see another movie. So, after returning the cap and gown, we headed off to the movies for an afternoon of fun followed up by the deliciousness of A&W Rootbeer.

Mom and Dad treated me to Dunkin Donuts before them and the sibs headed back to civilization. All in all, graduation was a rather painful experience and the only good thing about it was that I spent to much time with my family and so little of it in Ithaca. I'm just so relieved that it's over.

48 Hours of Drama!

So, I need to catch people up on the happenings in Ithaca. Yesterday, on my way to lunch (2:30 pm), my roommate Joanna called me frantic, asking if I had seen a car parked at the bottom of the back door stairs. When I answered that I had not, she started crying saying that she had her bf's (Josh) car while he was interviewing in NYC and that she had left the car parked there last night. I tried to calm her down, telling her that I'd never had any problems with my car which had been parked in that lot all year and that most likely someone had it towed. She was telling me about how she'd already called the police and the landlady to see if anyone had gone through them to have the car towed when I started to really think about what I had seen when I left the apartment earlier (1:40 pm) and I realized that I had seem an unfamiliar car leaving the lot. When I then asked Joanna what color Josh's car was, she confirmed it was gold - the same color car I had seen leaving the lot not attached to a tow truck. At that point, I had to tell her what I seen which pretty much proved that the car had been stolen. At which point she freaked out, I raced home, and we filed a stolen car report and I gave my statement to the police. As I was trying to answer the officer's questions in order to give him the most details I could about what I saw, his cell phone started to ring - it was the Law & Order theme song. I nearly pissed my pants but managed not to laugh for fear of getting arrested. The police officer warned us that because it was grand theft auto, anyone found with the vehicle would be taken down at gunpoint. Joanna assured him that she had the only key and that no one had contacted her about borrowing Josh's car. So, the officer said that he was going to leave to submit the case file and issue the report. Joanna, at this point, is hysterical about how she could have let this happen and what it was going to do to her relationship with her bf. On his way back to the station, the officer got a report in saying that a car matching the description was parked at a local fraternity. It turns out that Josh's younger brother had an extra key and, without giving Joanna a heads up, took the car to go grocery shopping. Joanna was so happy that the car wasn't stolen that she couldn't be mad. On the other hand, I was ready to go over to the frat and kick some bf's brother's ass!

Then, in an effort to not be a total recluse, I joined my other roommate, Tiffany, in the the common room for some TV. However, the movie Along Came Polly started playing and I don't like that movie so she turned over the control and said that I should pick something. I clicked the Guide button and there in the list was The History of Sex: the Middle Ages. I turned to my roommie and said that we had to watch and it turned out to be one of the most ridiculous hours of my life thus far. Let me give you an example, in the same era as Canterbury Tales, other rather lewd tales were being published like the story of the penis put on trial (yes, I said the penis, not the man with the penis). The penis was charged with seducing and defiling a virginal maiden, convicted, and sentenced to be separated from the man to which it was attached (wait, it gets better). After the sentencing, the maiden went over to the penis at which point, the penis 'stood' in her presence. Impressed by its politeness, the maiden argued that it was too kind a penis to be punished and thus the penis was saved. This was just one of many hilarious things discussed in the show.

In more important news, BREAKING DAWN IS A GO! Robert Pattinson confirmed this week at the Cannes film festival that Summit bought the rights to it and has unofficially green-lit it. I love Rob all the more when he exclaimed his interest in continuing with the Twilight Saga and how proud he was of New Moon. I love it when actors are proud of the projects that made them famous, even when they're not oscar worthy roles.

EW Magazine is having a New Moon spread coming out soon. It has pictures of the birthday scene, the meadow scene with Laurent and one hot looking kiss w/ Edward. I'm looking forward to it.

Rob is also #4 on Access Hollywood's list of Hottest Eligible bachelors. He tells a story about how some seven year old came up to him and said "I need you to bite me!" and that he was so overwhelmed by her intensity that he almost felt compelled to do it. (Maybe the little girl had some Jasper skillz... hmmm?)

SPOILERS AHEAD! I'll keep them all in the same paragraph so if you don't wanna know, just skip down to the next to the thing of the day.

There's some magazine that is claiming that they know of some major changes between the book and the movie. First, that Edward appears to Bella in visions rather than just his voice (yeah, we knew that one already since he was in Vancouver for a while). Second, that Bella's way of making Edward manifest is more dangerous than in the books (yeah, that was pretty clear when during the movie scene with Jessica Stanley, Bella actually gets on some guy's motorcycle and drives off with him.) Finally, that in the movie the ultimatum that Edward gives Bella for turning her into a vampire is NOT THAT THEY GET MARRIED! Ugh- If that's true, I'm freaking going to hunt down Melissa Rosenberg and interrogate her until I find out WTF she was thinkin! I will say, the site I read this on did claim that the magazine reporting the changes tends to exaggerate. I *bleeping* hope so.

Thing of the Day: Since today was such a New Moon heavy day, I'm going to do a few things. First, I came up with a potential playlist of songs that remind me of New Moon. I'm listing them below in order from best to least best (since none of them are bad). Secondly, I'm going to leave you with my favorite humorous New Moon quote.

This will probably be my last post until after I graduate so I hope you enjoy!

Lifehouse - Storm (perfect for Bella on the cliff)
A Fine Frenzy - Near to You (Bella about her relationship with Jacob)
Hana Pestle - Need (Bella about Edward)
Anna Nalick - In My Head (Bella about Edward)
Evanescence - My Immortal (Bella about Edward)
Kelly Clarkson - Haunted (Bella about Edward)
Avril Lavigne - Slipped Away (Bella about Edward)


"Only a teenage boy would agree to this: deceiving both our parents while repairing dangerous vehicles using money meant for my college education. He didn't see anything wrong with that picture. Jacob was a gift from the gods."

So, I'm just racking up the sucky days over here...

So, to outline what was so crappy about my day - I didn't fall asleep until nearly 2 am and then woke up at 6:05 for no apparent reason. When I finally managed to fall back asleep at 8:30, my roommate woke me up at 9:20 because she needed me to drive her to a doctor's appt (I'd already agreed to do it a few days before, I had just forgotten about it). So, in between dropping her off and picking her up, I ran over to Day Hall (home of the bursar & commencement office [weird... we have an entire office devoted to commencement - anybody else have one of those?] I digress) and I was able to pick up everything for commencement. Tickets for the indoor ceremony in the case of bad weather for everyone who's coming and parking permits for the rentals thereby redeeming myself for my previous failures. Although, I found out today that it's too late to submit a picture for the Biological & Environmental Engineering Ceremony so now, instead of my face, there's going to be a fugly bumble bee shown when I get my fake diploma... shit. Then, between picking up my roommate, preparing/eating lunch, and going over the material for my 3:30 meeting, 2pm rolled around at which point I took a 50 min power nap, which was nice but didn't really do much for me feeling sleepy. So, I got up collected my shit and headed over to campus to meet with a professor to go over my paper. Well, I get there and he, to put it in KR's words, was a douchebag. He said that my paper was disorganized and that he was going to make me do an exercise that would help me for the rest of my life. The exercise? to go back through my paper and specifically mark when I'm giving my opinion versus when I'm referring to the author's pov WHICH I FREAKIN DID WITH CITATIONS AND PHRASES SUCH AS "IN THE AUTHOR'S OPINION"!!!!!!!!!!! It was just a really humiliating experience and made me feel very childish. So, as a coping mechanism, I resorted to a jamocha milkshake from arbys. It kept me from going crazy and killing people so that's a plus. But, after that, I went to go fill up my car because it was running low on gasoline, only to notice that my gas card wasn't in my wallet... FUCK! So, my current plans are to finish this blog and go to sleep.

Things to do tomorrow: pick up my cap & gown, look into the gas credit card thing, set up a meeting with my Engineering adviser, head over to the career office and see if they have any interesting gap year opportunities, figure out where to make reservations for dinner on Saturday night for me & the family, and actually get my ass to the gym and work out.

So, the new New Moon poster is currently gracing my desktop and as you can see, I got a little preview & count-down going on here. My thoughts are I like how they're posed, very symbolic of Bella being involved with Jacob but always looking around him for Edward and also a good metaphor of Jacob's disgust with the vampires (having his back turned) but also standing as Bella's protector from them. And, in a high pitched girly voice - OMG TAYLOR LAUTNER IS SO HAWT. GO TEAM JACOB! Oh my, I have no idea where that came from... O:-) First, I really really wish they made Jacob look taller. He's supposed to tower over Bella and be a head taller than Edward but, I know they can only do so much. Also, in the promotional pictures for Twilight, Kristen Stewart looks very youthful - like a 17 year old should. In the New Moon poster, she looks older and harder (like she lost baby fat in her face...?? idk what I'm thinking). I don't know if I feel she looks too sexy (like the dark sultry look) or if she looks gaunt and exhausted like Bella's character is supposed to look like at the beginning of chapter 5 when she first starts to hang out with Jake. I'm wavering back and forth. What do you think?

And yes, I plan on obtaining a poster as soon as I figure out how to do so.

Thing of the Day: I'm sadly going to be repetitive and give you another song. If you watched this as a kid, you know you're cool.

Depressing Post

So I started my diet/exercise regime today. The exercising part is truly pathetic. I'm in horrific shape. I can't wait to go home and have someone to work out with though. That'll be a really nice change from mostly being alone up here. But, as far as food goes, I had a piece of toast (no butter) for breakfast and two servings of fruit around 4 for lunch. I haven't figured out what's for dinner. It'll probably be something quick and unhealthy because I really don't feel like hitting up a grocery store for food tonight.

Do you ever have those feelings like you're ugly? Not just physically unattractive, but like the kind of ugliness when your soul feels blackened. The feeling seeps out from your spine and spreads. You know you can't escape it, that it's contaminating every cell in your body. And as it moves through your insides and bursts through your pores, you feel like you don't deserve anything, like you shouldn't want anything - because you're ugly.

Thing of the Day: Marie Digby - Unfold

What I can remember
Is a lot like water
Trickling down a page
Of the most beautiful colors
I can't quite put my finger
Down on the moment
That I became like this...

I read over the weekend. Count's up to:
Twilight: 11
New Moon: 10
Eclipse: 10
Breaking Dawn: 10
Midnight Sun: 11

P.S. - First New Moon movie posters are supposedly being released tomorrow and the first movie clip is being aired at the MTV movie awards on May 31st, where it'll be presented by none other than Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Robert Pattinson.

A Disgusting Saturday Afternoon...

So, today's plans kind of went in the shitter due to an unexpected monsoon that's passing through Ithaca. I wanted to go for a run, do some laundry, enjoy my freedom... instead I'm sitting in front of my computer in sports bra and boxers with a giant floor fan (diameter the length of my arm) perched on my printer, set to high and hoping that if I don't move, I won't start sweating. Gross... I know.

Good news? I'm half way through Twilight/Midnight Sun which I'm reading simultaneously because Twilight just doesn't have enough Edward in it by itself.

In other news, I found out that I kind of forgot to take care of some graduation things. For example, I ordered my cap and gown and then promptly misplaced all of the pick up information. Whoops! And I kind of, sort of forgot to make sure I had tickets for my family for the indoor ceremony in the event of bad weather. Here's to hoping there's no rain! I know, I know. Bad Allison. I think that Monday may involve me schlepping all over campus and doing a lot of begging and pleading.

Onto really random commentary. I don't know if peeps know but, this fall I got laser hair removal. I'd done the math and figured that the $300 investment was a lot cheaper than a lifetime of underarm waxes since shaving doesn't really work for me. Results? Friggin awesome! I have almost no hair growth and what little I do have bows before my razor like a weak ass bitch. I only wish I could afford to do it everywhere. Where is my winning lottery ticket when I need it? I'm really glad that so far, only girls are checking out my blog. Otherwise, well, I can see a lot of my guy friends panicking in their rush to close the browser window.

Thing of the Day: So I was going to impishly post my colored in Twilight pic where I made Bella blonde and blue-eyed... sound like anyone you know? ;-) but my evil computer thwarted my plans and crashed before I saved it so I'm leaving you with a simple quote.
"The prince was never coming back to kiss me awake from my enchanted sleep. I was not a princess, after all. So what was the fairy-tale protocol for other kisses? The mundane kind that didn't break any spells?"

Thoughts on This Week's News

So there has been a lot of mention in the news recently about gay marriage rights. Several states ( I think it's up to 6) have passed into law legislation that protects the rights of homosexuals to marry and receive the rights granted to heterosexual married couples. Of particular notice has been the media's criticism of President Obama's refusal to comment on the passing of all the new legislation. Maybe I don't fully understand the issue, but here's my assessment. The 14th amendment guarantees equal protect under the law and the supreme court has already ruled that sexual orientation is a protected private right and can't be used as a means to discriminate. The fact remains is that either marriage, by definition, is a religious act and therefore government has no right issuing marriage licenses to anyone - gay or straight. In which case, the government should only issue civil unions as contracts between the two people and the government. Or, marriage has its own secular definition and therefore, the government is constitutionally obligated to provide that right to all who seek it. I don't understand how President Obama explaining the issue in this manner in a press conference to the American people could get him into any serious trouble.

In other, random, news - the big Twilight news this week was that a woman found a copy of the New Moon script and the new Rob Pattinson movie Remember Me (or Rememberance, I can never remember) in a dumpster outside of an LA hotel. Rather than selling them to the tabloids or leaking them on the internet, she approached Summit Productions and traded them for tickets to the premieres. My thoughts on this? First, wtf was a salon owner from Missouri (or wherever) doing going through a LA hotel dumpster to find the scripts? Honestly? Secondly, what kind of trouble did Anna Kendrick (Jessica Stanley) get into with Summit for leaving her copy of the scripts behind? I imagine it was a lot. Finally, I hope the weirdo was smart enough to get tickets to the premieres of all of the Twilight Saga movies.

So, today I stayed in bed until 11 am, I had time to hit the gym and I went out to sun tan on the slope which was gorgeous. Don't hate me people who have jobs! As soon as I graduate, I'll be going home to a regiment of work and studying.

Thing of the Day: In anticipation of June 26th (which I still think is the No Doubt featuring Paramore concert at PNC Bank Arts) here's my song of the day. Enjoy!

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Oh, where to begin? I thought the quote from Casablanca was particularly appropriate seeing as how this blog is both a beginning and an ending. It's the beginning of my life after college (and the end of 4+ years of collegiate torture). Although it isn't a true ending just yet - my last final starts in two hours - I'm done studying for it and can start to truly appreciate my new found freedom.

Things I'll write about? Anything I bloody want to. Whatever strikes my fancy, whenever it strikes. Although, I think it's fair to warn you that there will be a heavy dose of Twilight Saga based commentary because it's kind of like my boyfriend right now. We're still in that lovey-dovey courtship phase where we can find no wrong with each other. So, along those lines I've decided to keep a running count of how many times I've read each book in the series in its entirety (if I counted how many times I read the meadow scene or the first night back from Italy scene - we'd be talking in the 100s). I think it's a fair guesstimate to say that I've read each book in the series from front to back at least 10 times. So I'll start there and see what happens. My prediction is that by 4th of July, all of the numbers will be in the 20s. What do you think?

Btw, I'm lucky I didn't send myself to the hospital this morning. I was eating cereal this morning before I had brushed my teeth (cuz seriously, if I already had, I was just gonna get 'em dirty again) and I chalked up the weird milk taste to that. Little did I know that this afternoon, when I decided to be very bad (earmuffs Jessica!) and have milk & double stuffed oreos, that as I was pouring milk into the glass there would be a giant chuck of congealed milk. Expiration date? 5/8 That's what finals do to you, make you so damn confused you can't remember how old your milk is.

Thing of the day: Feel like reverting to your inner 5 year old? Now you can do that AND cater to your Twilight addiction with Twilight coloring! Check it out.

Twilight: 10
New Moon: 10
Eclipse: 10
Breaking Dawn: 10
Midnight Sun (I know, it's not the real one. I don't care, I'm including it!): 10