crippled fly

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing through films and caught Yumeji in the Japan section. So of course, being a Wong Kar-Wai fan, I immediately connected it to the infamous song composed by Shigeru Umebayashi. Actually I've always wondered who Yumeji was, being that the score is titled Yumeji's Theme. The movie is the last of a trilogy directed by Seijun Suzuki, with the previous films being Zigeunerweisen and Kageroza. I saw the first one so far. It's weird but pretty interesting. So if you're into foreign independent films, make a date with Suzuki.

It's good to know where Yumeji's Theme is from now, especially since I owe so much credit to this song. It's mellifluous, smooth and beautiful. And sometimes when I'm zoning out, I start seeing things in purple and red, with images bouncing off each other and fooling my vision. I need a big white sheet and a projector in my room...

I recently attended a big dinner and found myself sitting between a plane pilot and a graduate student from Yale Law. In cases like this, I can only sit there and imagine the depths of knowledge embedded in their brains. Actually I always find myself in these situations, imagining away. With the 4 corners of a kindergarten classroom (house, blocks, painting and puzzle section) who knows which corner you'll choose and how much it would affect your entire life.

I remember watching this girl in my kindergarten class paint once. She was using her fingers and palms to paint an elephant, which was really just a green glob on cheap paper. I remember getting frustrated and thinking to myself how it's ALL WRONG. ELEPHANTS AREN'T GREEN! .. But she looked so happy dipping her fingers into the green container that I felt bad telling her. And now I'm glad I never told her what I thought. Because it's like "why not?" Why can't animals be however you see them? Your eyeballs belong to only you and nobody should take away your own vision. And nobody deserves the right to take away anybody's happiness also! Being happy is the strength of mind that no one should ever cheat or try to steal. The sort of person that look for and possess happiness will be forever searching. Possession of tangible things in the world will always fade and disintegrate. The only thing you will ever have control of in your life is your own mind and vision. I hope you'll seek it within your soul.

the king of all Wild Things

I don't think I'm calm enough to sit and work yet. My mind is blank and blind, I can't concentrate! I wasted this entire day thinking of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. I want to finish reading but I hate ending a book I like. I'm actually not even halfway through but I can feel myself snowballing the rest of the 700 pages.

Earlier today, China's renown pianist Lang Lang gave a free concert at Town Hall. I missed it but it would've been nice to go. He is SO WEIRD. I feel you can already hear the music just by watching his body expressions. He'll be back playing with the New York Philharmonic in a few weeks. Rehearsal tickets are already sold out. Let's just hope Carnegie Hall gives out student rush tickets when he plays in February.


Look! Adidas.

Tomorrow I'll be catching an early screening of the much anticipated film Synechdoche, New York. It is a new film written AND directed by Charlie Kaufman. His stories are beautiful, brilliant, and mindf-cking. I'm also excited about the cast ensemble. Anyway, Spike Jonze was originally set to direct this film but then backed out to direct Where the Wild Things Are (which Catherine Keener also stars in). WTWTA, the adaptation of our favorite Maurice Sendak's classic, will be coming out in almost exactly a year from today.





A test footage.

Magically disturbing, no? Post-production is actually taking a bit longer than expected because of negative critiques given during test screenings. Children cried and parents complained of the film being too dark. They feel WTWTA should be fun, cute and light-hearted. Personally, I think Spike Jonze should be able to do whatever he wants because that's why we love him. Also the children of this generation are surrounded by such unhealthy materialism anyway, it'll be good to feed them something different! We should stuff their mouths with hairy monsters.

P.S.- I was scared sh-tless when I first saw Alice in Wonderland as a child. Look how great I'm doing now!

2-hour sleep + messy hair

I came home from the Notwist concert last night and couldn't fall asleep. I guess the essence of excitement takes a while to evaporate. I had 2 good hours of sleep and woke up to run an errand in Jamaica this morning. I'm missing my silkscreen class right now. I don't think it's a major deal since 1) I'm not behind and 2) I'm not a big fan of my instructor.



A few weeks ago I caught the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. They performed Kurt Weill's Seven Deadly Sins with special guest artists Ute Lemper & Hudson Shad. I have to say- it was quite strange but I liked it.

BTW- Last night my friend and I saw Dave Chapelle walking down the street. He was with his son. It was a cute moment. I snapped a picture of his butt.

I also saw April Wilkner on the train last Friday. I've seen her around Lower East Side. She's pretty.




I'm eager to watch the Project Runway finale this week. I'm glad they have a reality show on art & design. It's the story of our lives- being critiqued on our creativity and individuality. How healthy. Anyway- I'm rooting for Leanne. and I also want to staple Kenley's mouth.


Leanne with Tim Gunn. He's the funniest.

take me to the cinema

A list of faves because there shouldn't be just one 1st place.

Amelie. Life is Beautiful. Shawshank Redemption. American Beauty. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Sophie's Choice. Closer. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly. Short Cuts. Mean Creak. Dogville. Rope. Fargo. In the Mood for Love.

ambience

Mood: (see below)

The Radio Dept.

I'm working on an assignment. I think my subject is going to be past Academy Award winners so right now I'm just gathering up the info. Seriously, I think Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell & the Butterfly should have won at least one. Either best foreign pic, cinematography, art direction, or director. Totally underrated.

I'm excited for the next one to come. And I want to watch Australia. I like Baz Luhrmann. Heath Ledger was to play in it but he backed out to do The Dark Knight. I feel like Nicole Kidman's films don't fluctuate at all. Her selections are odd. The first film that I saw her in was Life when I was like, 8. I think watching the film and understanding death at a young age made a huge impact on me. It influenced the way I view life and I still see life as I did back then. The only difference is that the future isn't a whole anymore. 

I don't understand how parents protect their kids by hiding the truth to an exaggeration. Death is a part of life and we should embrace it by cherishing life just a little bit more. You'll never know, you know? so live life to the fullest because its the only thing that's yours. 

hey, I've got a question

so what happens if the answer isn't blowing in the wind?

Winter

I'm dreading the winter to come.

Actually, the only thing I look forward to is the moment when everyone gathers and squishes into the subway. It's great to get a seat during rush hours, and if I have to stand, it's still nice to look out at the tiny rectangular lights filling outlines of the cityscape. Anyway- a great moment is when you're sitting there, all snuggled up between two strangers and you can just kind of rest there. Every muscle of your body relaxes and rests against the down jackets surrounding your sides. You look up and see the dim yellow lights gleaming against the familiar faces of tired commuters. Oh New Yorkers.

Sept. 11

7th Anniversary of 911. The present: SVA, Darlin's studio. Studying French, him charcoaling away at his easel. Radio Dept. floating in the atmosphere. Half-eaten sandwich and this notebook on my lap. Handwritten flashcards... un bon mari, a good husband. Soundwaves of electronic birdchirps coming from the speakers. It's hot in here. We need to open a window. The smell of turpentine is not so strong anymore. Sandwich gone, break over, back to studying...

Meandered Mind

I am sitting in my room with my computer on my lap. My hair is in a side bun and my humongous glasses are on. It is Friday and I'm spending it in isolation.

I just took a whiff of Sharpie... ew, don't know why I did that. A few weeks ago, my friend gave me one of his paintings. It's yellow and blue, very bright. There's nothing surreal about it really, but it makes me feel that way. I guess bright colors hallucinate me. It makes me feel better. The canvas is another window to the life outside this room. This is what my friend Tanya wrote to me a few days ago: "ps. i saw a really really great green the other day and it made me breathe funny. which reminded me of you." hahahaha!

I was on Lexington Ave. yesterday and passed by a dead pigeon on the street. Half of the pigeon was smeared across the street and the other half was still plump. I never saw pigeon flesh before. It was pretty gross and I felt my guts peeing out. I got extremely upset and it reminded me of the song "That Time" by Regina Spektor, which goes like this:

"Hey remember that time I tried to save a pigeon with a broken wing
A street cat got him by morning and I had to bury pieces of his body in my building's playground
I thought I was going to be sick"

I started singing the song/giggling over the silly lyrics to myself and forgot about the pigeon almost immediately.


I took this at Grand Central station last December. The video quality is crap but other than that...It's beautiful, no?