Here I am dreaming again

Sunday's Favorite Selection #16 (on Saturday!):

Side note: Most of Richard Linklater's films are good. Waking Life is beyond good. Slacker is better though.

Most likely-I hate you.

A thought always arises whenever I'm at the mall-I really hate people. Yesterday though it hit me that I actually hate consumerism not just the mall. My thoughts on hating people never comes up whenever I'm in a crowded train, or a packed show. I love being in crowds of people but the second I go to buy something I see how people can not act whenever they are buying. It really frustrates me to witness the true nature of people-they are horrible when they shop.

I think this is also the reason why I opted out on going to fashion school, and why I can really care less about fashion now. I feel so deceived by it. Shopping is hell for me because I never feel comfortable and I get irked so easily. And forget it I get so down when I look at the tag to see where it was made. 

Going to the mall is a joke to me. A joke to see a juxtaposed of silliness. Example: Let's say there's a mall in the middle of a rich neighborhood and working class neighborhood. The working class try so hard to look money it's so sad.  Why spend your money on that?

Though aside from food the only thing I don't mind spending money on is music. Local record stores of course because I really hate myself and other people when I go to Best Buy. I tend not to be so judgemental when I'm at a local record store. That is whenever I'm at FYE or whatever I start going on the bad taste people have. I know people have potential to be amazing (and have great taste of music) but this is can't be good. 

Now what to do? I've always felt the best stuff (music, art, films) always come from people who go against "the cool" but now "the cool" is a look you can get from your iphone and later as your default picture on myspace. Oh the sadness I feel. I do believe we have it in us to save our culture (and not the consumerism culture) but what is it going to take? A lot of people don't care anymore and it's difficult to start a movement if people don't care. Something big, really big has to happen to make a change. I want to say I'm waiting, but I'm tired of doing so. Sooo tired.

I'll tumblr for ya.

Marry me. I've been using tumblr for almost a week now, and I'm in love. It's simplicity and minimalist design should be praise. It's like the Mac for blogging. Perfect for just that one photo, song, or quote you want to post. Nothing more. Heck your grandma could probably help you with post your tumbling. 

With it's minimalist qualities it actually does a lot more that blogger. You can reblog, tell the people you're following that you loved their post, and as well you can find other tumblrs in your area using Google maps. I know following is just new here in blogger, but it's doesn't do much except it's in your dashboard and in Google Reader. Tumblr does not have a comments feature, but you can get it through disque. What's the point though? You can click the heart of the post and that's all you need to know. Tumblr should stick with its short posting no comments. Plus if you want to comment on it you can always reblog and write in your thoughts.

My only issue is more of a cultural issue. We're become more and more of a visual society and rather to discuss lengthy topics it's shorten to a post of a picture. Though at the same time Tumblr has this existentialist quality to it. Not sure how to explain, but I'll get back to it one of these days.

I do have to say this tumblr makes me so hungry:

http://gluttonyisabliss.com/

Marry me.

Sunday's Favorite Selection #15:

Side note: Just the other day I finished watching all of Arrested Development. I've only seen tiny parts of it here and there, but just a few weeks ago Jeff let me borrow the series. Wow. I can't stop doing all of the chicken dances.

New, elsewhere and repost of a repost!

I got a new blog! No frets though, because I will still use this to report my cultural activities.
This tumblr I got because I'm a bit obsessed with the ones I've seen so far (plus I get to post on posts Jeff made-duh!). Also this tumblr blog is reporting random scans and photos. Not much text will be written.

http://elegantsips.tumblr.com/

ALSO!
Someone I don't know blogged about this blog!


weirrrrd. yet coooool.

PAARRRRRTTTYYY!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #14:

Side note: Sadly I had to leave early before Cars Can Be Blue's second set last nite, but I had a great time and laughed a lot. Though I think that if I didn't leave early Nate would have sang this song to me. 

"My mouth is drier than my grandma's vagina."

My life in la bodega

In the strangest of matters, I have noticed that everyone I am close to is going through this "break through." Not sure exactly what to call it, but I guess what I mean is trying to figure out what to do next in their life. It's one of those moments (especially when you're my age and especially when you just graduated) when you feel extremely hopeless, too sad and worse of all losing your mind. Mood swings all over, constantly feeling anxious and waiting...just waiting. And while I am here just waiting and constantly on edge, I am learning to hold on to sweet things. Perhaps it's because my cynicism really hasn't been doing me any well, and I'm tired of feeling like this. I'm resorting back to my youthful days (I say that as a 23 year old) when being pure and simple was the best. Back when I lived in New York, and the tiniest thing will make me happy (Do I hear Mister Softee? Mami, Papi I need a dollar, Mister Softee!! Hurry, he's going to leave! I hear the music fading!!) Lately all those little things I loved as a kid are the only things that haven't let me give up.

The good ol' bodega.

For a nickel I can buy a Now and Later, for a dime I can buy Twizzler, or for a quarter I can buy any Wise snack chip (my favorite is Cheez Doodles..crunchy!) Luckily by my job there is a corner store that has my childhood, though there's no merengue-the sugar kind not dancing kind. My childhood as a wanna be BeBes Kids in the hood let to me to experiment with junk food. I would had to say if you wanted to know what taste good together come to me. Like example: this afternoon my lunch consist of Little Debbie snack chocolate roll, Cheez Doodles, and lemon iced tea-all for a price of $1.69! Sounds gross but the taste of sweet and salty...mmm my mouth getting watery right now. I've turned friends into believers. And if you were making the bucks-buying a pizza for a dollar after hitting up the bodega. Seriously that never fails.

Walking around was always good to me. As a kid in my hood-you walked all the time. A lot of those times with your friends (BeBe's kids). My elementary school was about 2 miles away from my house, and every single day with my friends (rarely with an adult) we walked. Sometimes my sister would wait for me and walk me home. Being outside, the breeze, talking. It's nice. Though not too nice in Florida. You see, people here frown upon it. People are always looking at me from their cars wondering why I'm not in a car. Sorry but I'm not going to confine my space-and going out doesn't mean going to another confine space. 

Throwing eggs out the window. Can't do that here for a few reasons. One being that I live in a one story house-throwing eggs is best when living in an apartment. Two you actually need people walking outside, under your window to throw the egg. The last memory I had of the day before I moved from New York was me throwing eggs out the window with a neighbor who was half my age-I was 12. Late that very nite (you see in my hood, during the summer everyone was hanging outside until very late) I heard my neighbor yelling from out her window to her brother who was outside "Yo quiero huevos!" I almost died. 

Books. and more books. Before I got into music (say whaa? there was a time!?) I read so much as kid. I would spend the whole day just reading if I could. It was an escape for me. Being the youngest, and not having any space I found it with a book. Oddly enough-one time my siblings had a party when my parents weren't around and told me not to leave my parents room for the whole nite. I was delighted. A whole night with a book and I can listen to whatever radio station I wanted to hear. 

And I'm pushing over my mid twenties, I realized that those simple things still keep me happy. I need it to stay that way.

Guy Ben-Ner's Stealing Beauty

Sunday's Favorite Selection #13:

Side note: I went to Ikea last nite and all I can think about was this video art piece. Also it's 7am Sunday morning and I'm watching Singles on E! How 90s of me.

Working and daydreaming all day

about the new love in my life

Except it can not be with me. Love does cost a thing, and that thing cost over $300. Luckily I met you the other day, tried you on, stared at the mirror thinking how beautiful we look together. We're too different to be together. You're rich, I'm poor. Though I think I'm okay with the $12 look alike I got in Target last week.

Oh yeah-if you actually wear glasses, try not wearing them for once in a while. It's pretty trippy and funny. Then of course wear sunglasses to darken the view. Then walk to your job and make sure your boss waves at you. Make sure it's her though, because you can't see from a far and you don't want to wonder who the person is waving at you-like I did today. Also, make sure to not wear your glasses in a familiar place, because if it was opposite world-that would suck major.

Hot for yous

Art crush of the month:

Martin Eder

I should scan the photo of him in my Art Now 2 book because it better represents why I think he's cute (with his knives collection). Since taking a painting course earlier this year, I've started to really enjoy looking at paintings now. Eder's kitchy surreal images of porno ladies and kitty cats makes me smile. Juxtapose!

Someone who didn't make it into my new life

Sunday's Favorite Selection #12:

Side note: Although I'm still waiting until one day Jens Lekman writes a song about me, he will always manage to write songs that my heart can relate to.

Feed me with your kiss

My Bloody Valentine's Glider 1990:

Bloc Party's Intimacy 2008:

The better band has the better cover. Glider makes me want to makeout, Intimacy doesn't.

The beat dies

I'm not one to write reviews about releases, because frankly if I were to explain the album you would have to be me listening to it. There are no words whatsoever that explain what music does to me. That is if it doesn't suck or if it's not mediocre. In that case I would just say "that sucks" or "eh".

But here I am typing this, because I've been listening to this Beauty Dies EP for about a week now, and love it to pieces. It the gap between Pretty in Black and Lust Lust Lust. It's poppy, still dark and emotional, without being sad/happy/cute emotional. Plus it makes me want to wear a black dress with black shades and dance in a large empty hall by myself, or maybe if I'm up to it dancing with one person, but still in that large empty hall. 

The stand out track in this 4 track EP has to be Young and Beautiful. It makes me sink so low. It's beautiful, tragic, and everything that I love about the Raveonettes rocked and rolled into this song. Somehow they amaze me how they write the same song (heartbreak, love, wearing black, being beautiful and young, and death) yet its still so refreshing. I can easily say this is one of those pop tunes I've been searching for all this year. I think I have maybe two hand filled now. But this is special in any case because boy/girl harmonies makes me swoon.

About this third installment of their fall/winter EP releases, I read an interview with Sune Rose Wagner (here at Culture Bully) that he wishes people recorded more singles instead of albums. Finally, I don't feel utterly alone when I say that statement.

Death to organization

Sunday's Favorite Selection #11:

Side note: Watching The Science of Sleep can be very painful for me, but I still love it.

I know someone who knows someone who knows Pam Berry quite well

There's certain album covers that goes unnoticed, until on day you have your headphones one listening to the album and you're staring at the cover. Then it hits you. Why haven't I noticed something so simple and beautiful? Simplicity with a small twist that knocks you down. That's how I felt when I actually stared at Black Tambourine's Complete Recording. You stare at the front; you turn it around, then bow!

The surprise Pam Berry was holding out on you. In the front she looks like she's reaching out, a longing, then of course that longing can only be harmful to all. I do have to say, if I had any lick of talent when it comes to music I would want to be in a band that sounds like Black Tambourine. It's pop-but the lovely dark, loud, noisey and moody kind. But back to the gun. There's something so seductive about a woman with a weapon, but at the same time it holds as protection for that seduction. I guess if you listen to Black Tambourine you get why Pam Berry is holding that gun. The great sentence in the liner notes said "Oh the violence of crushes." Stephen Pastel-throw Aggi off the bridge. If not for me, for Pam Berry. Baby, please, ditch the fool.

Another album cover that did the same thing for me is My Bloody Valentine's You Made Me Realise.
I get chills looking at that.

Viviendo en la era Pop!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #10:

Beginning side note: Sadly the actual video I wanted to put up has no embedding code. If you care to actually watch what I wanted to put up please do watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbF1phW2xLI

The reason why I'm putting this video up is because it's the same song (but doesn't sound as lushly good another version) and this video has Pedro Almodovar (era 1980s) singing and dancing along in some sort of drugged state.

End side note: Roque who told me about Zombies sometime last year and who hooked with me with other like minded awesomeness Spanish pop bands from the 80s was singing a song yesterday-one I know too well and too little. A very rare song called Red Go-Cart was in a mixtape my sister's friend made for her back in 1996. My sister's friend wrote that it was by Bunnygrunt but a few years ago when I discovered this tape I failed to find out what release it was from. This happened for a few reasons:

1. This was back when Bunnygrunt wasn't together, and there was little information on them-except that they were once called "The World's Cutest Band".

2. That song wasn't by Bunnygrunt.

3. My sister's friend knew little of Bunnygrunt (even at the time when they were first together) because in another mixtape for my sister she wrote that a song was called "Refrigerator". That ended up being a big mystery for me because I loved that song (still do) and while looking for the song titles in all their LPs-none were called Refrigerator. 

Which leads me back to Roque, because back at that time (Red Go-Cart and Bunnygrunt era) I didn't know him, but he was my neighbor once on last.fm. I saw him listening to a song called Favorite Food by Bunnygrunt (which favorite food was a part the lyrics of "Refrigerator"). I sent him a message asking him if he knew what release it was in and he told me. Two years later I finally got that 7". Probably one of my favorite 7". 

Anyways yesterday there he is singing another mystery for me-that amazing Red Go-Cart song.

I love a good mystery song but finding out who actually wrote it is the best feeling ever. Now if I can only find out who the heck sings that beautiful Angels, etc song. 

EDIT: The Red Go-Cart song is actually called Little Red Go-Cart and it's by Throw That Beat In The Garbagecan

I need to investigate the essence of each being

Film news:

Yesterday my friend was telling me that Jean Claude Van Damme has a new movie coming out. I blinked, but she continued to tell me that it actually looks good. I blinked twice. She showed me the trailer and I'm a believer. JCVD looks like Jean Claude starring in Dog Day Afternoon but less ATTICA! and more funny without being campy.

Aside from it's limited showing starting November 7th (which I doubt will be shown in South Florida)  Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival starts this weeks! Something worth doing in South Florida-finally! Sadly, this will be the first time going to FLIFF without my sister! Bummer. 

Though here's my youtube list of what I want to see:

Happy-Go-Lucky

Slowly I am trying to write down every female character I can relate to in a film. Hopefully this character can be added? So far I got:

Monica Vitti's character in L'Eclisse

Thora Birch's character in Ghost World

Audrey Tautou's character in Amelie

Miranda July's character in Me and You and Everyone We Know

Every female character in Pedro Almodovar's films

And a little bit of Shannyn Sossamon's character in Wristcutters: A Love Story and Parker Posey's character in Party Girl

Pussyfoot-Embedding code was disabled, but the title Pussyfoot should give anyone a reason to watch it.

Synecdoche, New York

Charlie Kaufman. That's all I have to say.

Music news:

Yo La Tengo are having their 8 days of Hanukkah at Maxwell's, but they are playing with THE FEELIES and VIVIAN GIRLS on New Year's Eve. Did I metion YO LA TENGO are also playing. Of all places New Jersey. What a girl to do?

what a girl to do?

The way that I feel when you cry is so bad

While on train yesterday I overheard this woman on the phone talking about how she wants to see her child (I guess she wasn't allowed to see her child). Then I heard her trying to cry in silence, but in a close proximity you can her weeping. Although I couldn't see her, her friend was sitting next to her just staring her. This older lady came by after a bit of the woman crying and stared to talk to her-giving her old lady wisdom. 

For some reason the sight of a woman crying breaks me. I'm not sure if every woman experiences this, but it's something that transform my own identity. It's one of the few moments for me that I completely can relate. When I see and listen (not hear) a woman cry-I automatically start crying. I see myself in her. All her emotions I feel. I have this weird aesthetic experience whenever I see Claire Danes on screen crying. She's one of the few actresses that when she cries you can see every pain in her face. Call it uglyface, but it's beautiful and hurtful. Reverting back to non verbal communication is the most honest someone could be with you, unless well you're acting. But it's one of the few times when there's no failed communication. You get it.

For that older lady on the train she told the crying woman that it's not always like this. She said sweet little encouragements to cheer her up. That made me smile.

 

Now I know I have a heart, because it's breaking

Sunday's Favorite Selection #9


Watch Death to the Tinman in Entertainment Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Side note: This short film got me to start writing my ideas down for my screenplay.

How to be socially knowledgeable

The best thing next to wikipedia is wikiHow. There's something so interesting about people taking the time to write or edit information. What's real? Who cares. Everything is this world is pretty much a lie. Information gets lost through miscommunication anyways so why is it frown upon when I use the best thing in the internet?

Back to wikiHow. I stumble upon it a few months ago and was giggling to myself on all the silly how-to whatever. It started with How To Be A Pop Kid. I laughed it off but it's so true. Step number 12 states: Try to persuade countless friends to listen to pop with mixtapes. (or CDs if you're digitally inclined) Be crushed when they don't listen to them. Oh how I've fallen into that mistake plenty of times. A tip: A lot of your indiepop days might be kind of lonely, so fill them with other hobbies besides zinemaking and band-doing! Examples include trainspotting, shoegazing, knitting, looking at bridges, trying to draw the Sarah Records or K Records logo JUST RIGHT, daydreaming, mixtaping, taking long walks while listening to the Field Mice, and arts and crafts.  And of course I need a lot of money to buy records. 

Here's a list of other gigglefest of wikiHow (that relates to me-duh)

How To Be A Shoegazer

How To Be So Lame That You're Actually Cool

How To Ride A Bike

How To Hug

How To Write A Famous Blog

My favorite thing along side from the wikis is when you're having a conversation with someone (example: about a band) and they totally start vomiting information you read from the band's wikipedia. Yeah.

In the streets of Philadelphia

Sunday's Favorite Selection #8

Side note:

Philadelphia is filled with babies and Bruce Springsteen. I want to go back.

Give it up to my shawty shawty!

Sunday's Favorite Selection #7

Side note: Originally today's favorite was Lost Boyz' Renee because it reminds me of my cousin and 1996. We listened to their debut album like crazy that winter (along with Redman's Muddy Waters). But I just heard this song on XM radio and I remember loving this song more in 96.

Cos I'm fall fall falling for you

Sunday's Favorite Selection #6

Side notes:

It's the last day of summer! 

"doo oo oo yeah" should be in every song ever.
There's this commercial for Rhapsody that uses Sound and Vision and The Sea and Cake did a lovely cover of it.

I'm drifting into my solitude over my head.

MTV's Top Pop Poop

(Blogger note-I wrote this awesome post last night, and something weird happened and only 1/3 of what I wrote showed up. So sadly this rewritten entry is probably not as interesting as yesterday when I was really into it.)

I don't think I've ever experienced feeling so moved by a text message that it made me post a blog about it, until today. As a ha ha joke, I texted my friend a picture of my mousepad at work. It's a Britto mousepad. Romero Britto - the uber cheesy "neo pop art" artist, that my friend hates dearly. 

A part of his response was "Mouse pads are just about the lowest of the low for visual artist...in fact, they're just below messenger bags." 

My replied back asking him aside from the artwork itself what's below that-a postcard, a coffee mug?

Honestly I couldn't stop thinking about this question. It automatically made me think of the essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin. I have yet to actually read the essay, but I slightly do know what its about. What's the lowest of the low of reproductions? I've seen Britto's work on buses (and all over the damn place in South Florida) but I counted that out because I think of that as public art. Tattoos are reproductions but I counted that out because for its sentiment to the tattooee. It's personal therefore the artwork is not lower down to the equivalent to a mousepad. Unless well you're me and suggested to your friend to get a tattoo of Joseph Beuys' How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare because you want to live your tattoo fetish through her. Back to Britto - His images (that's right images, not art) are all over the (consumer) place. I've been interning/working at this job for over a year now, and just a few months ago I noticed that my mousepad was a Britto. Not that I didn't notice my mousepad its that his designs are such a background image because I see it all the time. Just 2 years ago I found out that it was actually an art in charge of these designed images. I honestly thought it was just some manufactured cheesy design, like a tacky font. I know someone is in charge doing it, but I didn't know it was some famous artist who is in the Saatchi Collection.

So here's the response from my friend:

In order (of) reproduction: 

postcards

tshirts

coffee mugs

fridge magnets, 

toilet seat covers, 

mass produced shlock with no intrinsic artistic value...then mousepads.

He forgot messenger/tote bags. And umbrellas because I once had a Starry Night umbrella that I got from the Dollar Store.

Killer Coke's delicious new design makeover

I noticed a few months ago the new design for Nestea's Iced Tea bottles. Not that I know anything about good design, but I really like it. The old one looked too much like a soda bottle and it looked sporty. I guess it's mountainish features reminds me of sports. But this sleek bottle is pretty European therefore it's cool. Simple and futuristic. Futuristic because the yellow and gray remind me of my futuristic dress that has pockets (and I think in the future every dress should have pockets.) Plus it now comes with 50 more antioxidants. Yummy antioxidants. Yummy corporations that kill union leaders from my country. It's how I like my drinks.