3.27.2008

morning breath



My half-full store bought drink stands wearily on my roommates desk.

The morning birds and respiratory-related noise of squirrels match the hums of our freshly stocked refrigerator. Store bought concoctions purchased with student credit (we don't imagine ourselves living anywhere nice in the next ten years, much like Hemingway he says). I always awake to such avid curiosity after nights like these. I christen my age as my future is not around the corner any longer, but rather just a simple compass spin to decide where on Philadelphia and Painter I turn after graduating.

So with my month-old Chianti bottle I stroll, to discover the two happiest visions to be seen in the early morning (this far inland, at least): an untouched stack of LA Times and a water fountain. After a brisk gulp or five of (LA County's greatest) tap water, I discard the classifieds, slippery color ads, and the business section (luckily into our over sized recycling Tupperware), but fish back the business for lack of better judgement, and glimpse a Dodger weekend section perfect for my ex-pat mother. Or whatever you call Californians who cannot avoid moving to other states, let alone the one to our right. Joe Torre may mean change for this city of angeles, but he means a helluva lot more to my mother, so long as we get a few starting pitchers that can make leaving New York worth Torre's while. Oh wait...

I've distracted myself in this two-thirds sleepy, dark room with "news" of the Speedo LZR Racer controversy, American and Delta's decrepit plane technology, Basra Shiite scariness, whatever Private Investment in Public Equity solicitation is, and another Laker "technical difficulty" loss. I really don't see the point in straying from the Lakers blog whenever Jon Abrams feels it necessary to test his wit this early on a Thursday. Phil Jackson diatribes after losses are always refreshing after losing so lamely to freaking Charlotte Bobcats.

The Home section actually reminded me that I live in LA, where credit it given solely to those of whom are overpopulating the bumps and beaches of Malibu. ie The Arnoldi's.

Friends of Gehry's, aluminum fiends, who employ lonely succulents to serve as backyard sculpture, rather than subliminally emphasizing why xeriscaping is key in such flambable lands. People who are speaking of their artistry too loudly in this economy, rather than letting the three pages of photography do the talking.

American culture already has me looking at other colleges for greener grasses (maybe all too literally in my case), but now I ought to have reverence for those who live in immaculate, artsy homes in times like these? Maybe the Times has something to prove, or networking to seek out, but I for one would like to embrace this morning and opportunities I have, however slim; hoping my dreams are never constructed by dimly lit pictures of people in designer jeans and indifferent poses, hailed for not being gaudy.

Publicity is truly inescapable in this city, so what makes it so goddamn cool?

(On that note, I'm elated to day it's been 16 days since I've checked Perez Hilton or ONTD)

3.20.2008

meanwhile...


Not sure what I would have said to Perez Hilton on Tuesday night, but probably something like
"Blackle is the new pink, yo." My frosty headed friend sprinted down Robertson with the likes of Tori Spelling, Kim Kardashian, and some reality tv icons that brought the paparazzi right up the glass window of Newsroom Cafe demanding who my drunken friend was.

Arguing why reification of homeless peoples' invisbility has had a profound anthropological effect on politics, economics, and some of Stephen Jay Gould's profoundity. Neck deep in midterms, but an ancient book surfaced (no surprise to anyone at Whittier College) with a great Malcolm X quote:

"If you are not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being opressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
- Homelessness in America: A Forced March to Nowhere


3.07.2008

WC Pool Blanket Bingo, mae.

Urgent news: Albino Orca spotted.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/07/killer-whale-zoom.html

While I'm on the topic of the startling, it's pretty baffling how skewed the ratio is between students who study for BioAnth and don't complain after tests versus students who could care less and complain. Quizzy on mendelian inheritance theories and Quaker meeting differentiating the Buddhist Atman from suffering=existence=desire... my mind is shot.

Paix, tout le monde.

3.06.2008

Heliotropium Arborescens

Watching "Killing me Softly 3" is equally as eye-opening as it is horrific.

A slew of magazine ads I'd flipped through at the La Jolla public library as a tween reappeared in class today. Kate Moss in Calvin Kline with protruding hipbones I had worshiped, silly 90's makeup trash, and the worst reminder of padded-bra ads imaginable.

A pattern seems acutely obvious after Jean Kilbourne's sociological journey through male and female roles in advertising. As vulnerability (demure, virginal sexiness) collides with mass-media, women discover the appeal of devalued, objectification... as "style" or whatever form of capitalistic empowerment the Spice Girls were toying around with (back then AND now). Heterosexual men find themselves fitting perfectly with the passive-vixen ideal, as control-hungry, cleavage fiends. How can't they resist playing counterpart to an American society of sexualized array of pre-teens to women, smitten with the antiquated "seen and not heard" anthem.

I am familiar with one form of dancing: sweaty grinding. Even with my platonic friends. With my best gay friend! I have never dressed to any magazine or tv standards, I haven't had the opportunity to spend money on opulent makeup, but I truly fit in with my friends who do. I love Paris Vogue, are you kidding? Carmen Kass is the reason I have my cartilage piercing on my right ear. How much say do I have in my own passions?

Second guessing is fun, much like Valium.

My favorite scent in my microcosmic world is heliotrope blooms, which google has proven to be a intrusive threat to anywhere but Peru. Advertising is richly coated with fantasy and The All American dream, that even the most hostile of its agendas are discarded.

http://www.jeankilbourne.com/

3.05.2008

On va commencer...


Tentative first keystrokes and few drafts later, this is my third attempt at preening and nurturing a blog. I have a few pre-requisites by now, some early-morning/late night downtime at work, let alone I just quit on-campus therapy after a semester.

Instead, I'm going to shift my cognitive awareness to getting my work done and creatively surviving my next couple years inland. No sanctuary or nearby Kleenex box, but some form of a Majjhima Patipada towards truth, beauty, and revolution.

On that note, http://lotusinthemud.typepad.com/sujatin/ really blows my mind.
PBS has evoked a student movement, via (a tad contrived) online series about finding direction in life... http://www.roadtripnation.com.

Clearly, I need a break from Perez Hilton and ONTD.