Storytellers

I thought it looked familiar.

My ears are a lot more alert to musical compositions than to lyrics. That's why when I first listened to Joanna six years ago, her voice didn't bother me so much. In fact, I found her voice very whimsical and so I kept the music to myself! Not like anyone at Prep would've cared for her, HA. Sometimes I can be selfish like that.

I guess all I really want to say is that Joanna Newsom is one of the greatest storytellers. Her songs can evoke all kinds of emotions, that sometimes all I can do is sigh. And I cannot say that I'm not glad that her voice "matured". It almost reminds me of Kate Bush. She is who she is and I love her.

Spring is in the air!

Despite the lack of sleep and the amount of work I've been getting, I'm so happy spring is here! I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day! I hate the winter.

This morning, while riding the subway, I heard someone playing Take Five by Dave Brubeck at the train station. And it's been stuck in my head all day. Just counting the beats all day. One two three four five One two three four five...

Wanted to share this. It's Carey Mulligan at the Oscars. With her new hair. And her TOOLS! Hurray!

Oscar the Grouch

Not sure if I want to watch the Oscars this year. 10 Best Pics, really? Producers are just getting more and more desperate to win every year. (ie Nicholas Chartier) It's really sad.

Here are my favorites!

1. A Single Man

Versatility always inspires me. Especially when an architect fashion designer like Tom Ford turns toward another passion and makes a wonderful film like this. It's about a man coping with the unexpected death of his lover. Each step becomes heavier and heavier for George (Colin Firth) as he continues on with life. I loved its cinematography. The usage of color cleverly communicates with the emotions of not only the character, but also with the viewers. The Playlist had mentioned that the film is reminiscent of Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which I agree. I got excited during the opening credits when I saw Shigeru Umebayashi's name alongside Abel Korzeniowski's. It's an exquisite film. And did I not mention how gorgeous Nicholas Hoult is now?

2. Moon

Sam. Rockwell. He's an amazing actor and should've been nominated for Best Actor (although I have high hopes for Jeff Bridges and Jeremy Renner). It's about an astronaut who learns more and more about the secrets of Lunar Industries (the company that hired him). I am not much of a sci-fi fan but this movie really surprised me. Don't want to write too much without revealing the plot. But I will say this: During the film, I wanted to hand Sam Rockwell a tissue and give him a big hug. (Catch him in A Behanding in Spokane. Great crew and cast, would definitely see it again).

3. A Serious Man

The Coen Bros. is the reason why I love outrageous characters. Sometimes I feel like I'm best friends with Jesús (The Big Lebowski), Chet (Barton Fink), and Marge (Fargo). A Serious Man is just full of it. The film is about an unfortunate man surrounded by absurd people and situations. The film whirlpools into a lot of WTF moments that are just random and eerie. Definitely not for everyone, but hilarious if you appreciate Coenhumor. Side comments: (1) Sy Ableman reminds me of Brother Richard from my Catholic high school. (2) Ginnifer Goodwin practically shows up as her character Margene (from Big Love). (3) About a week after we watched this film, my boyfriend saw Richard Kind on the streets, haha.

yoko oh no

This past weekend I searched Yoko Ono online and found this:

It says:

Life with John Lennon: Ono was Lennon's Bitch. She sucked when he told her to, and probably shit where he told her to. She is a dirty whore for what she did to that great man

The section was deleted and replaced by the wiki-nazis about five minutes later. But it totally made my day and I'm glad I caught it. Oh, rants.

tallest man in your eyes

Rae typed out our family portrait. Can you decipher her email?

>---------------------------->--O Kristian Matsson
>------>-O me
>-->-O you

Skhizein

Skhizein (Jérémy Clapin,2008) from Bertie on Vimeo.

dear miramax,

You were well respected while the Weinstein brothers owned you. Your children were purely driven by faith and beauty, and I loved you for it. You taught me how to to expand my creative vision without any fears. You produced heroes out of the obscure, the wallflowers, the unwanted. You were true to yourself, and made the best out of your name (and many others). I even considered naming my future babies Miriam and Max, because I'm such a loser.

Let's just remember your good years. We all knew your death was inevitable when those Disney assholes took over. They are just money-hungry people that use kids to bribe their parent's money. They've disgraced Walt's name. Don't worry, I will continue to love your films with all my heart. And I might still suggest your parents' names to my pregnant friends. Maybe.

Rest in peace.

Glass (clink!)

Over a year ago, I designed a portrait poster of one of my favorite mucisians, Philip Glass.

And tonight, I was able to give it to him in person =D (while being a couple feet away from Ira!).

A Behanding in Spokane

Martin McDonagh has a new play coming out. It's Reason #1539 why this year is starting off so great. We got tickets to find Walken's missing hand. I AM ECSTATIC.


Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell

Goin' Home

I'm a sucker for mellow playlists.
Great film, great soundtrack.