Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A few twenty-ones

So August and September brought my and Sarah's lives to a count of 21 years. Here are some of the photos to document said birthday celebrations:Sarah, Me, & Behnaz

Sarah and Yvonne, who is holding one of my gifts to Sarah; BITCH wine.

Sarah & I



The group: Yvonne, Nnoma, Emily, Sarah and Me!

RAINBOW CAKE!!!!



I was very privileged to meet Sarah's good friend Carla, who invited all of us to her going-away / birthday party. She is half Lebanese and is spending a year there studying abroad. We had a great time dancing Lebanese-style and meeting some cool people!
POKER NIGHT! The weekend of my birthday. Not many pictures, but we had a great time playing poker! Behnaz, my awesome roommate, cooked delicious Iranian food on my request! IT WAS FABULOUS!
Called Zuresch Pollo, the dish is made with Jasmine rice, barbaries, saffron, onion, and chicken. IT IS SOOOOO GOOD.


Another adventure in between our birthday was SUSHI NIGHT. Sarah has a make your own sushi kit. We had some good Sweet Potato rolls and a few other homemade concoctions, as well as the "I SAY SAKE YOU SAY BOMB" experience.

I am sure more adventures are to come.

For Sarah:

Friday, September 11, 2009

You Can't Take It With You





Well, if you know me, you know that one of my all time favorite bands is As Tall As Lions ("but lions aren't very tall!"). I don't even know how I discovered them, but the first song I can remember being obsessed with was "Deep Sleeper", which you can hear in the montage of Italy pictures:


Italy 2



When their self titled album came out and I got my hands on it, I was pretty much smitten for life. "Song for Luna", "Ghosts of York", "I'm Kicking Myself", and the ever-popular "Love Love Love" (featured in Meg & Lane's wedding video) are just a few of my favorite songs. The vocals themselves are like another instrument...it's intense.

Back to the point, and their latest venture You Can't Take It With You, probably beat its predecessor into the musical happenings of my heart. The CD plays out in order like a film, each song complementing and leading the way for the next. My personal favorites, the title track "You Can't Take It With You", "In Case of Rapture" (amazing lyrically), the long instrumental "Duermete"...I mean, the whole cd is pretty fantastic.

I am hoping beyond hope I can get my hands on a ticket to the Voodoo festival in New Orleans on Halloween weekend, because As Tall As Lions is performing on Halloween Day! and I have never seen them live, though I've tried.

If you haven't heard them before, download:

Deep Sleeper (From Lafcadio)
Love Love Love (As Tall As Lions)


Ghosts of York (As Tall As Lions)
Stab City (As Tall As Lions)
Songs for Luna (As Tall As Lions)
I'm Kicking Myself (As Tall As Lions)

You Can't Take It With You
In Case of Rapture
Lost My Mind

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Why Louisiana?

"Actually, I'm from California."
"Really? Why did you move here!?!?"

You would not believe how many times I get this question. So to simplify it, here are the reasons:

1) Adventure! I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and experience something new and completely different than what I knew. While Louisiana is still familiar, there are a lot of differences between the food, culture, and social structures than in California. Believe it or not, sometimes it feels completely different! But it has almost all* the comforts of home.

*There is, however, a lack of good Mexican food and cheap sushi.

2) Cost! It is a fact that you get more bang for your buck here. My housing, a bedroom and bath all to myself with 3 roommates, two living rooms, a kitchen and washer/dryer, is the cost equivalent of a shared dorm room at a California university! The tuition, even out of state, is equal (and since the tuition hikes in Cali) or lower to California tuition.

3) Atmosphere! The overall feeling at the ULL campus is laid back and not LIBERAL. I don't feel the weight of a liberal faculty or student body, in fact, it's the opposite! There is a huge population of Catholic students (and other religions) on campus, who are active and outspoken. There's even a Catholic chapel on campus, Our Lady of Wisdom! I see Father Chester at Zeus all the time (the on campus Greek cafe).

4) The Campus Aesthetic: the campus is gorgeous! I fell in love with the buildings almost instantly! The ancient green tree canopies over the walk ways give it an old world feel, the look of an ivy league with less pretension.

5) My friend Sarah said it fit me perfectly: Sarah said I would fit in on this campus more than she did (she's a French major), and she was right! Not only was it a great choice, but I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. I love my teachers and classes, and have made some great friends here. Who knows what I will do when I graduate!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

LAX: Never again: Cali Trip Home Part 1

On my trip back to home for a week and a half, I found myself missing Louisiana! Impossible! Right? Well..no.

Trip Part (1): The Third Tier of Hell AKA Los Angeles International Airport

So I arrive at a gate somewhere in the 50s, go to McDonald's because, guess what, Delta charges for food now, and call my mom asking her to look up what gate my connecting flight is on. It was an Alaska Airlines connection, so I figured it was somewhere in my terminal, but I had no idea where I was. It was 7:20. My mom informs me that my flight is in Terminal 3 and that I am in Terminal 5. She tells me to pack up my food ( I hadn't started eating ) and get to the gate first. I pack up, ask an airport attendant where to find Terminal 3, and head on my way. THE GREATEST THING ABOUT LAX is that you have to go through security again if your connecting flight is in another terminal. Genius. So I go outside to where the Taxi's are and walk by Terminal 4 and then go into the one after it, presumably number 3. I go into the Terminal and see half of South East Asia standing in the ticket lines. I mentally note that there seem to be a lot of foreign airline ticket booths in the terminal. I start to think I am in the wrong place, but low and behold I look up and see my flight, Alaska Airlines 721, departing 8:55, top of the list on the departures. Kinda weird that all the flights following it are international flights, but I shrug and continue. I go through the International security line, get glared at for not having a passport (I'm flying to San Francisco, I said), and briskly walk to my gate, Gate 123B. Half of Mexico is standing there. I realize there aren't that many Latinos in Louisiana, not compared to California, and maybe my radar on ratios is off, but still, I find the situation odd. I go check the Departures television and can't find my flight anywhere. I go back to security, see a departure television there, and see my flight again.



123 B. I go back to the gate and hear the announcements in Spanish. Odd. I call my mom and start panicking. She tells me my flight is at gate 31 A. By this time it is 8:30 and I am certain I will miss my flight. I go to the desk at Gate 123 B, and talk to the representative, who is latino. He tells me Alaska Airlines does not come to this terminal, and that it is in Terminal 3. I shake my head and ask, "This isn't Terminal 3?" Realizing that only in a dream world would the terminal before 5 be 4 and the one before 4 be 3. "No, this is the International terminal!" And I curse myself and Alaska Airlines and think, "No shit!" I briskly walk, because I don't want to be one of those people who runs, out of the terminal, out onto the street sidewalk, and down the walk to T3 Alaska airlines. I go inside, go to the ticket booth, because surely at 8:48 I've missed my 8:55 flight. I wait behind a woman who is bickering with the attendant about her bag, which is too big to take on board, but she is too late for her flight to check it. I stand restlessly. The attendant leans sideways and asks, "Can I help you with something?" I reply slightly annoyed, "I am missing my flight right now." She kindly asks, "Where are you going?" San Francisco. She asks if I am checking a bag, I say no. She says, "Run." After going through security AGAIN, I run through the terminal, shoes in my hand, pants falling down, belt around my neck. I get to my gate and see that no one is boarding the plane. All the seats are full and there's a line at the desk. I ask some guy what is going on. He replies something about Miami. I shrug and sit down, annoyed that I let myself actually run. While boarding the plane, I hear a couple complaining to customer service about having done the same thing I did. "There's nothing we can do, sir," the attendant replied. The man was very angry. I was too relieved to be angry. I get my aisle seat, talk to the women in my row and relate my story, and we commiserate about connection flights and LAX. I read The Gunslinger from the Dark Tower series, and eat my McDonalds as we wait on the tarmac another hour because of the fog at SFO. During the flight, we linger over Big Sur because of the fog. When we finally land and I get my luggage, it's 12 a.m. As my mom and I leave to go to the parking garage, I run into a high school friend, Kurt, who is so tired from traveling he can't even remember where he came from. I almost felt the same way..more like didn't want to remember. If you ask me tomorrow about LAX, I will reply with some offhanded joke about a sport with sticks.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Share and Tell: MAE

I am so overjoyed that Mae is going to be on tour again, and coming to New Orleans the week after my birthday! So I decided to write about how amazing they are.

I've been listening to Mae since freshman year of high school (circa 2002) when my friend Tony sent me one of their tracks, Summertime. What caused me to fall in love completely? UM...the catchy guitar and the pretty piano in the background. The piano will get me every time.

Then I got my hands on their album The Everglow, which was in itself, something completely different from their other stuff, at least to me. This album is a storybook, a journey, and a complete masterpiece, from the prologue all the way to the epilogue. I have had a love affair with each and every song, starting the moment I bought the CD and continuing on even now with "The Sun and the Moon" (which could be my wedding song someday).

If I couldn't emphasize the magic of this music enough, I have to tell you about their shows. I've been to two. The first one I went with Christian, and we were really there to see Relient K. We got there late and frazzled, having to take a cab to the Fillmore since the bus was being retarded. We saw the last few songs of Sherwood's set, and then Mae. It was simply put, magical. I was in the back, and I still felt the entire emotion of the crowd change as people stood there and had some great inward experiences with the music. When Relient K came on, it was just icing on the cake. (They were pretty fantabulous as well, but that's another blog post. Sadie Hawkins Dance, woah!)

When I saw Mae this past spring, it was at Bottom of the Hill, a much smaller venue than the Fillmore. I had been there before, and knew it was going to be cramped. When Mae took the stage, everyone crowded around the small, 3 foot tall stage. Dave Elkins, on vocals and guitar, really has a great presence on stage and a performs almost perfectly live. For this particular tour, they had videos for each song that "aesthetically" went with it (Cause a rumor I heard is that MAE is acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience."). Walking away from that show, I had a natural high I had never experienced before, but similar to the one I felt about Ryan Adams at the Zellerbach.

Their album after The Everglow, Singularity, is very different than its predecessor. At first, I did not enjoy it that much. But having it in my iTunes library for a while now, I find myself listening to it more and more. The mind only has a capacity for so much that's familiar, I guess. I really love some of the songs on it now. A lot of fans criticize it though, because the sound is so different from what Mae had come out with before.

Their newest venture, Morning & Afternoon, 2 ep's that are being released over the course of this year, are quite different as well. The songs have that Everglow magic to them, but have a different lyrical substance. Their Morning tour (which is what I went to) and song proceeds all went to building a house for a woman in need in their home state of Virginia. As of June 1st, I believe the woman and her family have a brand new house, thanks to Mae and Habitat for Humanity.

If you haven't listened to Mae, you should definitely check them out. They have a great range of music out now, over the course of 8 or 9 years, and there's probably something in there you might enjoy.

My recommendations:

From The Everglow:

"Someone Else's Arms"
"Painless"
"The Everglow"
"The Ocean"
"The Sun and the Moon"
"Anything"

(or pretty much the whole album, start to finish)

From Singularity:

"Brink of Disaster"
"Crazy 8s"
"Just Let Go"
"Home"

From Destination: Beautiful
(this is their first major album, I think)
Add Image
"Giving It Away" (But I like the raw version on the Destination: B-sides cd they released after this one)
"Sun"
"Summertime"
"This Time Is The Last Time"
"Embers and Envelopes"

Visit their official site @ WhatIsMAE.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

My Beautiful School











Enjoy! I sure do.

Don't Mess With Texas

I swear, I didn't! But they keep sending me stuff!

My mom told me I had received some travel information from the state of Texas. She sent it to me in one of her amazing care packages. It's a 1/2 inch thick booklet of every single thing there is to do in Texas, plus another booklet of accommodations, and a map. So weird. The only places I stopped in Texas were Shannon's Aunt and Uncle's house and the Olive Garden. No Mom, I did not get a speeding ticket in Texas...to my knowledge.

So freakier---I get the same stuff in the mail HERE, in Louisiana, last week. First of all, my address here is only known to my mom, my bank, and recently posted on my facebook page. How did the Texas Department of Transportation, Travel Division, get my information?????

AND THEN TODAY---as I am innocently perusing the local news website, I happen upon this ad:


Is this a sign for God? Am I supposed to vacation in Texas? Or is their tourism department just THAT good?


I am not even thinking about messing with Texas:

but REALLY?



Seriously? What is up with your state, President Bush, and stalking ME?!?!

R.O.U.S.'s

Rodent's of unusual size? I don't believe they exist.

"Nutria are large rodents that look like beavers with long, thin tails. They weigh 12 to 20 pounds. Nutria are primarily nocturnal (active at night), with peak activity occurring near midnight."


Sarah and I ventured over to Girard Park because...well I drive by i
t almost every day and had never been...it's vast and green lawns, large, duck-filled lake, and squeaky swings seemed to be calling to me across town.


There were a few ducks that seemed almost cross-bred...and of course, the R.O.U.S.'s, I mean Nurtria. They are actually kinda cute...beavers with rat tails. The ducks were scarier, and the GEESE, ohmygosh, had a glare in their eye and were out for blood...or algae. There were some hipsters playing the bongoes, people jogging and riding their bikes, and children playing. Sarah and I plopped down on a ziggurat structure and watched the powerline sunset. Afterward we attacked the jungle gym and I got sick on the swings. The swings, I discovered, a childhood activity best left for children. Then I was attacked by bugs.

I am not complaining. I am sooo going back after I have recovered. Maybe earlier in the day for a picnic or bbq. Sarah tells me there are some pretty amazing festivals that take place in Girard Park. Can't wait!! Must remember a blanket next time, and a long sleeve shirt.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Roommate Alert!


Thank heaven that this is moving out July 31st! AcK!

To each their own inside her own room but this is in the shared living space--all the time! Also I can't leave any of my own stuff out for fear she might ruin it. I can't wait for the mystery of new roomies. Hopefully I will get at least one good one (out of three)!


----

As soon as I get my artwork up I will post pictures of my room! It's pretty great thanks to my mom's great eye for style.

To be a Princess or not to be!?

Here is my latest essay for my English class. The class is about Popular Culture, and our first unit was about Disney. My essay comes off as very critical, but that doesn't mean I don't want a Princess wedding ;) ! Taking the tone I did got me a 98%...woo!

“Ah, princesses, the scourge of feminists everywhere,” Craig Courtice of the Canadian National Post said after viewing Disney’s contemporary princess film Enchanted.
While the film in no way lacks poufy dresses or cheery, working songs, it does update the classic princess story to send the message that women can “win by getting to be both achievers and princesses” (Hornaday). Yet, in a film where the princess, Giselle, ends up bravely rescuing her prince, how can feminists still be in uproar? While it does confront its own traditional female stereotypes, Disney creates a new type of fairytale based in reality with Enchanted, however, still encourages those culturally acceptable stereotypes with the ruse of empowering women to be independent and assertive. Why in a world where career women, like Meg Whitman, former CEO of Ebay, and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, are on the rise, would Disney still cling to the ideals and gender roles of the mid-twentieth century? One word: merchandise. Disney has made a “$4 billion business that’s on its way to becoming the most successful marketing venture ever” after creating the Princess line in 2000. At first, it was marketed to “kids and tweens, but…Disney has begun going after middle-class women” (Setoodeh). It’s no coincidence that Enchanted’s male love interest is played by Patrick Dempsey, one of People’s Sexiest Men of the Year, and 40-something star of Grey’s Anatomy. Or that newly added to Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding is a line of Giselle wedding gowns.

Disney still promotes the traditional patriarchal values of their “Classics” in Enchanted, implying that a “happily ever after” for women can only be achieved through “True Love’s Kiss”, the heartwarming ballad vocalized by the story’s heroine, Giselle. Played by a thirty-two year old Amy Adams (whom adult women can surely identify themselves with), Giselle’s main life motivation is “true love’s kiss, And a prince she’s hoping comes with this”, because “that’s what brings ever-after-ing so happy”. During this musical number, she and her animal companions are putting together a statue trying to reproduce a Prince Giselle dreamed she was “holding hands” and “dancing” with; her “dream come true”. While slaying a troll, Prince Edward hears Giselle singing and rushes to her, only to have the troll follow and try to eat her. Giselle falls from the forest’s treetops and into Edward’s arms. The prince only asks for her name before firmly declaring that they’ll be married in the morning. They ride off into the sunset on a white steed finishing the song “True Love’s Kiss”.

The magical Queen Narissa, Edward’s stepmother, sees Giselle as a threat to her throne, and banishes her down a wishing well into a world where, as she puts it, “There are no happily ever afters.” Giselle crawls out of a manhole, long longer cartoon animated, and into Times Square to find reality full of unfriendly and non-singing people. Here Giselle is clumsy and in awe of what’s around her.

Meanwhile, Robert, a single father and divorce lawyer, is going home with his daughter. As in other princess tales, “Disney protects the benevolent status of the father” (Wood), by later having him explain the mother’s chosen absence. When first introduced, he is in a taxi and gives his daughter the book Important Women of Our Time, saying, “I know it’s not that fairytale book you wanted, but this is better”. He explains that Madame Curie “was a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to research, until she died…from radiation poisoning”, to which his daughter, Morgan, replies, “She died?” A “remarkable” woman is mentioned, and then casually dismissed because her life didn’t fit the category of “happily ever after”, because a woman being awarded two Nobel prizes and discovering two new elements is not a traditional, patriarchal viewpoint. “Such are the invidious choices that “Enchanted” sets up and eventually resolves for women” (Hornaday), essentially having to chose between something as bad as death, or the traditional happily ever after: getting married, domesticating, and having children.

Before Robert left to pick up his daughter, he was with a client in a divorce settlement. The Banks’ are bickering back and forth, and Mrs. Banks says, “Oh, you’re just afraid I don’t need you!” This comment is easily overlooked, as the proceeding is officially over and Robert is leaving. The next day, while waiting in the lobby of Robert’s law offices, Giselle talks to the Banks. She points out the “sparkle” in Mrs. Banks eye, and that “the man who holds [her] heart is a lucky fellow, indeed”. Robert explains that they are “separating forever” and Giselle becomes emotionally upset. By the end of the movie, the couple has reconciled because of “what that girl said” about Mrs. Banks eyes. When Robert brings up that they had problems, Mrs. Banks replies, “Everybody has problems. Everybody has bad times. Do we sacrifice all of the good times because of them? No.” While this is a positive outlook, it seeks to justify Disney’s classic ideal that “the heart, not the head, is the best guide” (Wood). The film continues to show that the “whimsical romantic follies” that bring couples together are keeping them in “obedience to larger social structures: the institutions of love, marriage, procreation, and of patriarchal order” (Wood). Disney wants couples to be romantic and whimsical because these “follies” encourage certain behaviors, behaviors that will lead to the consumers spending money.

Back in the taxi, while Robert explains to his daughter that he is going to ask his long time girlfriend, Nancy, to marry him; Giselle wanders the streets in the rain. When she sees a billboard for “The Palace Casino”, she painstakingly climbs to the top in her oversized wedding gown. She’s relentlessly knocking on the fake door when Morgan sees her from the taxi cab and runs out into the street. When Giselle notices Robert and Morgan, she loses her balance and falls into Robert’s arms. The princes in the fairy tales never exclaimed, “Ow! Ow!…are you okay?” after catching their Princesses, a subtle hint that Dempsey’s character isn’t the typical Disney prince. Robert asks if falling is a habit of Giselle’s, to which she replies, “Usually someone catches me”. This mindset; the “prince arriving to save said princess from drudgery, and whisking her away” (Cochrane) is the stereotype cleverly broken later on in the film. But while the roles may reverse in the end, Giselle falls many times in the film, and is always caught by a man, be it her Prince Edward or Robert. Also, Robert takes care of Giselle the entire time she is in New York City, letting her stay in his home, offering to pay for her trip “home”, throwing away her garbage for her, and even giving her money out of his pocket.

Giselle’s character is the personification of eternal optimism, playfulness, and hopeless romanticism. For the most part, she still embodies the very stereotype of a Disney princess. She has long, curly hair, a dainty figure, fair, white skin, and big blue eyes. She, like Cinderella, is “the ideal housewife; she’s beautiful; innocently sexy; a loving caregiver” who exemplifies the ideals of “cleanliness, self discipline, control, firm gender boundaries, and the regulation of others” (Wood). Her first morning in the real world, Giselle wakes up before Robert and Morgan, and decides that the apartment needs to be cleaned. She calls in her animal friends, which in reality are obese rats, cockroaches, and park pigeons, to help her. She sings “A Happy Working Song” as they clean together, a nod to the working songs from Snow White and Cinderella. She “controls” and “regulates” her helpers by instructing them on how to “scrub a stubborn mildew stain” and “lug a hairball from the shower drain”. Robert discovers the rodents and insects and quickly shoos them out of his home. He then walks in on Giselle in the shower after she innocently says, “Come in”, though, cleverly, two birds are holding up a towel in front of her. While Robert is the only one a bit stunned from the encounter, in another clumsy moment, Giselle falls on top of him in the hallway, pinning him to the ground, giggling. Robert’s girlfriend, Nancy, walks in at that very moment, and mistakes the situation for exactly what is looks like to the adult eye: sexual. As Robert chases Nancy down to try and explain the situation, Giselle makes herself a new dress…out of his curtains. This will not be the last time Giselle takes it upon herself to make her own clothes.

Where Giselle differs from other Disney princesses is in her discovered sexuality, raw emotion, and bravery. When Robert returns to find Giselle in her newly made dress, he explains that, “Nancy’s got it in her head that you and I—” to which Giselle interrupts, “Kissed?” Robert brushes this off by replying, “Yeah, something like that…”. Giselle, at this point in the movie, has not yet “discovered her true, heretofore repressed, emotional nature” (Hornaday). Later on, when she and Robert fight over her optimistic and romantic view of the world, she, delightfully, feels anger for the first time, and is liberated by it. Here, Giselle differs from one of her counterparts, Cinderella, who “evinces self-control: she contains her anger” (Wood). She absentmindedly touches Robert’s chest through his bathrobe, and instinctively notices him in an adult way. The tension boils over and Robert walks out of the room. Giselle looks after him, realization dawning on her face, and exclaims, “Oh my…”, having just had a “strangely romantic epiphany” (Wloszczyna). None of the other classical Disney princesses have had “adult” moments. As Naomi Woods argues in “Domesticating Dreams in Walt Disney’s Cinderella”, the “adult” situations like touching, being in bedrooms together, and arguing, are left to characters that are more culturally accepted to do these things, like close, same-sex friends.

Another discovery Giselle makes is learning about dating. In previous Disney films, dating is almost nonexistent. The princess meets her prince, is rescued by him, and they marry. Robert finds it baffling that Giselle knew Prince Edward for a day before agreeing to marry him. “How can you talk about loving some guy you don’t even know?” he asks. Giselle replies, “I know what’s in his heart.” Before the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dating, like in classic Disney films, was nonexistent. Courtship was the common way to find a mate. It “involved one man and one woman spending intentional time together in order to get to know each other with the expressed purpose of evaluating the other as a potential husband or wife” (Burzumato). Since Giselle “knows what’s in [Edward’s] heart”, she finds him suitable for a husband. But Robert persists, explaining, “most normal people get to know each other before they get married…they date”. Dating is, of course, a concept completely unknown to Giselle. Robert continues, “You go someplace special, like a restaurant, or a movie, or a museum, or you just hang out and you talk”. Courtship was usually considered “public acts conducted in private spaces” where the couple would interact with supervision in the family parlor, as opposed to dating which was “private or individual acts conducted in public spaces, located primarily in the entertainment world” (Burzumato). As Robert said, dates take couples to restaurants, movies, museums, dances, and other public places, all of which, usually cost money. Here Disney shies away from the traditional, and embraces the modern. But of course, this modern idea of dating is extremely consumer-driven. Just a few moments after Robert and Giselle have this discussion, Giselle makes Robert send Nancy flowers, and invite her to a ball, while singing a catchy song “That’s How You Know”. In it, Giselle sings,

Well does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?
Send you yellow flowers when the sky is grey? Heyy!
He'll find a new way to show you, a little bit everyday
That's how you know, that's how you know!
He's your love...

The entire song is about men finding ways to constantly assure women of their affection, using material things. Disney is encouraging women to expect things from men as signs of affection; flowers, jewelry, chocolates, and other romantic stereotypes, all of which are used as dance choreography, costume, and jest, in the “That’s How You Know” musical number. Eventually, Giselle absorbs the idea of dating and makes Prince Edward take her on a date in NYC, once they’ve reunited. When he is ready to go back to their world, she admits that she wants it to go on longer, explaining, “[dates] can just keep going and going just so long as you keep thinking about activities that you can do”. She suggests the museum, the theater, or the ball, to which Edward agrees to go to because of the music and dancing. Giselle’s suggestion implies that she wasn’t satisfied with what she knew of Edward yet, and that she wasn’t ready to marry him, a concept no other Disney princess has experienced.

Enchanted also differs from the classic Disney princess tales in that the Fairy Godmother magic is essentially missing. Because the second half of the film takes place in the real world, there is no magic for Giselle to use. Since she has decided to go to the ball, she finds herself in a predicament regarding clothing and accessories. She reunites with Robert’s daughter, Morgan, walking in on her trying on princess and fairy costumes in her room. As Giselle explains that she doesn’t “even know where to find a fairy godmother at this late hour”, “Morgan tells Giselle she has the perfect substitute…she steals her dad’s credit card”. She and Giselle go to store after store, purchasing perfume, make up, and getting their hair done, using Robert’s credit card, or “the modern way to conjure goodies out of thin air” (Scottish Daily Record). Here it is evident, that not only will money be spent on the date itself, but it must be spent in preparation for the date. Morgan asks Giselle if “this is like shopping with your mother?” Giselle admits she doesn’t know, but she “likes it”. By insinuating that motherly bonding can be achieved through shopping, Disney “draws unsuspecting little girls into the commercial world” of not only the “Disney Princesses” but all material possessions. “Gone are the days when Disney made lovely family cartoons. Today it’s all about the merchandise,” writes the Scottish Daily Record editorial, and when the camera pans out to reveal over twenty pink, red, and white frilly bags filled with tissue paper, it does appear that Disney is all about retail and less about the heart.

When Giselle has emptied the twenty-some bags and goes to the ball, she has clearly ditched the traditional image of princess. While everyone else at “The King and Queen’s Ball” is dressed in old fashioned, Victorian garb, Giselle wears a slinky pink spaghetti-strapped dress, noticeable eye makeup, and has long, straight hair. She and Robert inevitably dance, and come to the full internal realization that they have feelings for each other. Giselle realizes that he was the “Prince” she had dreamt about holding hands and dancing with, and his wardrobe even mimics the makeshift one Giselle and her animal friends had made. Robert even sings along with the ballad they are dancing to, negating an earlier comment he had made to Giselle about not singing to show affection. When Nancy and Edward step in, Giselle and Robert part ways silently.

As Edward and Giselle are leaving, Giselle runs into Queen Narissa, disguised as an old hag, who promises that she can help Giselle forget Robert if she takes a bite from an apple. Giselle, wanting to suppress her feelings, takes the offer and falls into a deep sleep, like her counterpart Snow White. Only “True Love’s Kiss” can cure her, and when Edward’s kiss fails, everyone agrees it must be Robert. After the kiss, Giselle awakens and exclaims, “I knew it was you!” Narissa, like her counterpart Maleficent, turns into a dragon and vows to kill everyone. Robert steps in and says, “Over my dead body!” She shrugs, “Alright, I’m flexible.”

Narissa/The Dragon grabs Robert and takes him to the top of the skyscraper. Giselle chases after, removing her glass slippers and grabbing a sword, as if shedding her feminine passivity and becoming assertive. Narissa even admits the “twist in the story” that Giselle is coming to Robert’s rescue. While Narissa/The Dragon falls to her death because of her own weight (and the weight of one of Giselle’s animal friends, Pip), Giselle throws the sword and pins Robert to the building, stopping him from falling. When his jacket tears, she catches him, drops him, and then they slide together down the roof, only to be saved by the gutter. Giselle mimics his earlier line, “Is this a habit of yours, falling off of stuff?” to which he replies, “Only when you’re around to catch me.” Giselle does “rescue” Robert, but it’s not as visually idealistic as when he rescued her. She not beat the villain with her own talents but has one of her “domesticated” animal friends help her. And as she catches Robert, it still has a sort of clumsiness about it, and lacks the follow through as they slide down the roof screaming.

As they kiss and the camera pans out, the viewer sees Nancy picking up Giselle’s glass slipper. Edward finds her and they run off together and go back to the cartoon world. Before they get married, Nancy throws away her blackberry (which amazingly gets good reception even when animated), symbolizing the idealistic and traditional notions of women giving up their careers to “settle down” and start a family. Nancy inevitably switches places with Giselle, finding Edward’s simple romantic ideals attractive. She lives the “Classic” Disney ideal.

Next the viewer sees “Andalasia Fashions”, presumably Giselle’s own business, full of fabrics and sewing machines, and little girls in princess dresses. Giselle not only saved the prince but has her own business! Wait? It’s a clothing business, using one of the most stereotypical women’s activities—sewing—and it creates princess dresses for little girls. If that is not irony…The film ends with Robert, Giselle, and Morgan, playing together throughout Robert’s apartment, happy and content as a “normal” and traditional family. The ideal of happy-ever-after.

Enchanted is just the latest vessel for Disney to promote its biggest hit: merchandise. The Princess line has brought overwhelming success, though “Roy E. Disney, nephew of Walt, complained bitterly about [its] creation” (Barnes) in 2000. While the line encompasses the classics; Cinderella, Snow White, and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, it also includes the newer animated princesses; Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and even Giselle. However, “Pocahontas and Mulan are usually kicked off the throne. Disney says that’s because their “qualities” are different from the others, though the only “quality” that seems different is that they don’t wear long, girly dresses” (Setoodeh). While Disney has been cashing in and promoting pink frills, other companies have taken note and followed suit. For example, “Mattel released its first Barbie princess video in 2001, and the series has sold 38 million units” (Setoodeh). But little girls aren’t the only targets of these corporations. Jodie Katz, reviewer for the National Post in Canada, admits after viewing Enchanted, “Even though I am well past the princess-in-training, four-to-seven-year-old market, the inner royal in me was swept away by the poofy dress, the curls aplenty and the glitter. It’s no wonder the wedding industry is experiencing such a boom”. And she’s right. Move over Bridezilla, “Meet a new breed: the Princesszilla” (Setoodeh). Disney’s line of “Princess inspired” wedding gowns “aren’t so tacky as to overtly mimic their cartoon inspirations. Only the bride would likely get the connection, which is as much psychological as it is material” (Setoodeh). From a young age, women have a “desire for true love, especially served with a dollop of princess power”, the ideal which is probably instilled in them through society and other notable influences, like Disney. A woman can grow up pretending to be a princess, with princess accessories and birthday parties. She can dream of marrying a prince and then have an actual Disney Brand wedding. Disneyland allows weddings in the castle or Snow White’s grotto for a high price ($20,000+). While the director of Enchanted, Kevin Lima, wants the new Disney message to be, “You are responsible for your own happily-ever-after” (qtd. In Princess Power), it seems that Disney’s version of it comes at steep price.

Disney’s stories have great entertainment and moral value. Despite the many different undertones, though, the ramifications of the Princess films are essentially greater than just a female’s view of how her life should be. The marketing of Princess and happily-ever-after will haunt our culture from pre-teen adolescence until the retirement age. The head of Disney’s apparel line, Jim Calhoun, says, “We want women to have a little bit of princess every day” (qtd. Princess Power) and one doesn’t have to look far to find “toys, video games, soundtracks, books, clothes, bedding, party supplies, children’s dishes, jewelry, and (literally) countless other tie-in products and images” (Lacroix) to make that wish a reality. Parents are faced with children demanding The Little Mermaid birthday plates, Belle’s yellow dress from Beauty and the Beast to wear on Halloween, and any number of other products to surround themselves with because “Disney constructs childhood so as to make it entirely compatible with consumerism” (Lacroix). Children buy into the fun of the films they watch and the characters in them, but “also can come very close to, at least materially, recreating” the films, characters, and situations in their own lives, through products (Lacroix). What’s even worse is Disney’s line of wedding gowns, bridesmaid’s dresses, and flower girl outfits, along with jewelry sets and matching tiaras, allowing fully grown adults the same pleasures and fantasies offered to children. And who pays for all of this? Parents. Robert’s credit card, the fairy godmother in the real world. While women can easily achieve their Princess fantasies with merchandise, the age old wish for happily-ever-after, seems to be less attainable. How do Princes and fairytales transfer to modern day? As Ramin Setoodeh notes, “The answer may rest in something far less rarefied: the quest for financial security, class mobility and, in our divorce-ridden, war-pocked world, a few moments of life lived happily ever after.”


Monday, July 6, 2009

Callin' Baton Rouge

Last Friday, Sarah and I traveled outside the lovely town of Lafayette to visit Louisiana's state capital, Baton Rouge. It was July 3rd, we had the day off, and so did everyone else it seems. We found the capitol buildings were closed. Here are some pictures, I took some from the outside.




The inside of the Old Capitol Building....

The outside of the Old Capitol Building... quite the Midieval Citadel... I looked but found no trace of a moat.


The New Capitol Building built by Huey Long in the 1930s. It's quite beautiful on the inside. Very 30s esque.

The drive to Baton Rouge is almost 50% on water. As you can see, the highway is on a bridge that lasts about 20-30 miles. I'm not sure what the exact term is, but it's swamp-like water, bayou-esque, and quite lovely. The trees are lush and green and the water (at least from far away) is serene and pretty. Sarah and I want to try canoe-ing but the (small) threat of gators leaves us apprehensive.
This chandelier is from an old building in the downtown of Baton Rouge. We stopped in a Community Coffee House (CC's), which is more popular than Starbuck's, to get refreshments and use the restroom.

The hallway to the bathroom.

The bathroom is inside the "Safe Deposit" room, which also housed a large safe.


Some pictures from the outside of the Citadel, erm...Old Capitol Building.



The New Capitol:

Downtown Baton Rouge:



Hopefully we will be able to go back soon when the museums and tours are actually open! And hopefully it won't be sooooooo hot!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Yellow Lobster!

Massachusetts yellow lobster is a 1 in a
30 million rarity
Associated Press
Posted: 06/11/2009
08:57:12 AM PDT
Updated: 06/11/2009 08:57:16 AM PDT


EASTHAM,
Mass. — This lobster will catch your eye, but not because you're imagining its
tail dipped in butter. It is bright orange and yellow, even though it's never
been near a boiling pot.
Specialists tell The Boston Globe it's called a "yellow lobster" and it's one in 30 million. The lobster now named Fiona was recently caught off Canada. It was given by a friend to Nathan Nickerson, the owner of Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar in Eastham, on Cape Cod.
New England Aquarium director of research Michael Tlusty says a rare genetic mutation produces yellow lobsters. Life isn't easy for such animals. Their bright
colors make it easy for predators to spot them. Nickerson said the human
predators at his restaurant will never get Fiona. He said it would be like steaming a Rembrandt.



Sorry if I just found this so incredibly amusing.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

JACOB!


I don't care about Daniel, Jacob better be alive and well in season 6, or resurrected! <3

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Lost Season Finale Part 2


OKAY! So I have a lot to say about the finale. To sum it all up---OH-EM-GEE!!!

JACOB! I love him! It can't be decided if he is good or evil, but I like him better than the other guy? The other guy? Listed as "Man #2" and probably "Samuel" on the casting call sheet. Let's refresh, shall we?
Locke says in the
2nd part of the Pilot episode:
[talking about Backgammon, a game he is playing with Walt]
"Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark."




Um, hello?


Two guys, one wearing dark, one wearing light, and I'm pretty sure they have a beef with each other considering the man in the dark wants (and just might have succeeded) to kill Jacob.

So who is this man? Is he even a man? There is much speculation. Many have taken to calling him Esau, Jacob's (from the Bible) older brother (fraternal Twins). Based off of Esau's Wikipedia biography, he could fit the bill. Someone also said since he was cast as "Samuel" it could be a hint at "Samael" which is, in some Angelic Lore (which I am, in my own right, well versed thanks to my obsession and my novel), the destroyer, the angel of Death, and someone mentioned, the patron of Esau, though I don't know where they got this. Samael is not good news, which is an argument that Jacob could be good and the other dude, evil. Other speculations is that they are constantly warring with each other, playing a "Game" to see how the humans will react. Clearly, or at least in my opinion, Jacob wants to prove something to this guy, and the guy hates him for it. It seems he just wants to end it all--by killing Jacob. Yet he can't for some unknown reason.

Many also think that because of his smoky hair and "dark" nature, that this fellow either IS or is associated with Smokey, our lovely resident monster.

Clearly, this foe of Jacob's can do something with dead people. He became a form of John Locke and impersonated him, while Locke's body was still intact in a crate. Loophole? Um? INSANITY? This is a big deal and a big mystery for many reasons. Old Smokey has been around while some characters have seen dead people...Mr. Eko seeing his brother Yemi, though I think we can safely say he knew it wasn't his brother...and Ben seeing his daughter. Is Smokey making this manifestations? I don't know. But it's odd.

Also--Jack's Daddio, Christian Shepherd. He has been parading around the island speaking "On Jacob's Behalf". Is this true? Well, Jack found his casket and there was no body. So is he really working for Jacob? Maybe. Food for thought.

Something I really need to say is this: LOOK!


That fish that Jacob is going to slice up, cook, and eat? That's a Red Herring, supposedly. As a fish, it could be tastey, I don't know...but as a literary device, a Red Herring is something that diverts attention away from the real issue at hand. Believe me, he wasn't just eating the catch of the day, it is symbolic and there for a purpose... BUT WHAT IS THE MISLEADING CLUE?

Could it be that the whole time we thought the war would be between Ben and Widmore? Or that we kinda sorta thought Jacob was the bad guy? Or he is the bad guy even though he is dressed in white? Or he's not really dead? AHHHHHH!!!!!! We could think about it all day!

My take on it, because it's no co-in-kee-dink that his name is Jacob and "God loves you as he loved Jacob."

****Jacob could have stopped Ben from killing him. But he believes that human beings are essentially good and that the Losties returning from 1977 will stop "fighting", stop "corrupting", and unite for a general purpose. Jacob is like a Jesus character, like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia. Ben is like Judas. Jacob sacrificed himself, and he will return on the 3rd day. Okay, probably not, but perhaps he just needs people to be loyal to him, like Dumbledore. Clearly, this war between him and the the Foe (or the Foe's master, who knows) has been going on for a long time. None of it explains the ancientness of the island or the statues that are either of the Fertility goddess or the god of Righting Wrongs (ehh Jacob?). ***********

Okay the asterisks were pointless, this is an unorganized rant.

To continue, Jacob has touched all of our main Losties, but not all of them BEFORE the crash. He touched Hurley and Sayid after the crash. The scene that flashed back of Juliette was important to show that Jacob never touched her--meaning she isn't meant to come back in his "Dream Team." So she's a goner. DEAD.

I'm done ranting for now, more to come later I'm sure in these....8 MONTHS UNTIL WE GET SOME ANSWERS AND PROBABLY MORE QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is Sayid dead? Who knows? I doubt it since Jacob touched him. The war is coming. Who's side will you be on?

DESTINY FOUND!