Saturday (Un)Productivity

Today:

So instead of getting my homework done,

or working on my honors thesis proposal,

1) I went to Spark Lounge with this beautiful girl for a reading by Pat Madden about his book Quotidiana because the essay genre is so, so great. (Seriously, his "Mea Culpa" was so much more interesting/hilarious than the fiction and poetry representatives there.)

2) And then I listened to Shakira's "She Wolf" about 30 times (not embedded because it's so explicit. Watch at your own discretion) and Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" also about 30 times (see below) and David Guetta's "Sexy B****" (the video for which which I won't even give you the link to because you shouldn't even watch it. What is with music videos being "acceptably" pornographic?? Not cool.)

Watch this though.

THESE SONGS ARE SO CATCHY I CAN'T EVEN HANDLE IT.

3) And then my new favorite best friend Erin came over with a delicious marble cupcake from the Sweet Tooth Fairy where she works now and I shared my delicious banana bread with her (Thanks to Kaitlin's grandma for the recipe!). And I offered Erin my tips on wooing cute boys because of my obvious and thorough expertise.

Erin and me at a daaance party

B and me with Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes at Park City

So I wasn't quite as productive today as I had planned. But I did 4) study GRE vocab with Emily (abstemious? moderate in appetite. obstreperous? noisy and difficult to control. done.) and I 5) finally did laundry and cleaned my room!

So I have a lot of work to get done tomorrow but oh well! It was a good day. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[The plenitude (read: abundance) of hyperlinks in this post is to compensate for the dearth (read: shortage) of pictures I took today. Boo.]

Up next: The long-anticipated french (not capitalized) toast breakfast tomorrow. Will take pictures, don't worry.

PS. I want to do some series on here, but I don't know what I want to do yet. Let's be honest. My life isn't that interesting. Anyone want to read about how nerdy English stuff? Like how the Brownings were the Beyonce and Jay-Z of English poets? Or a creative writing series, like with short snippets of what I write? What about fun pop culture facts? Like how Modest Mouse (who will be here on July 8 for the Twilight concert series!!!) got their band name from a Virginia Woolf story or the newest Lady Gaga updates? Like this:

SIGH. Always more than I can handle.

I'll sleep on it.

I know you were waiting for this...

More Gaga videos!

Don't even pretend like you're not gonna watch them. Because you are. And you're gonna love them. Seriously.

1) University of Oregon :

I wish I could be cool enough to be in an all-male a capella group performing Gaga songs.

2) America's Favorite Dance Crew :

These guys are SO.GOOD! And they really captured Gaga's essence, I think.

(PS. They won this round on the show!)

3) Troops in Afghanistan :

I'm pretty sure this is for reals.

And if I were to make a potentially non-PC, not-that-funny joke here, I'd say something like Sure don't need to ask or tell here! But I won't.

All this Gaga just makes me want to go daaaancing. Any takers? :)

(Thanks to Jimmy, Pica, and Trav for sharing these links with me!)

Gaga

I think we all know much I adore Lady Gaga.

And honestly,

I think we all love her.

See?

Asian Gaga:

UCB A Cappella Group doing Poker Face

British Gaga:

London-based A Capella group The Magnets doing Poker Face

Beatbox Gaga:

DIY-natural talent duo covering Bad Romance

Acoustic Gaga:

The British next-big-thing Pixie Lott covering Poker Face

Not sure why I blog about Lady Gaga when I could write about more interesting/uplifting/enlightening things I occupy my time with (Sundance Film Festival, EDP, Willa Cather's My Antonia, Obama's State of the Union, Joan Didion and other wonderful essayists/writers, etc...)

I may have focused all my former passion for music in general and invested it in Lady Gaga.

Is that sad?

The Vastness of Cyberspace

It's brain-numbing to think about HOW MUCH there is out there on the internet!

Here are some fun things I've looked at recently.

Enjoy!

Valuable--ahem, "Valuable"-- tips on surviving the world.

I'd buy these. Future Gaga collector's items.

Mythbusters-- BYU style!

Don't have much in your fridge? As clueless in the kitchen as I am? You've got more resources than you think! Check off what you do have, then read through possible recipes: cook by numbers!

I'm already disappointed that James Franco isn't nerdy enough to be Allen Ginsberg. These clips from Howl are preparing me to be disappointed... anybody else worried too?

PLUS:

Apolo Ohno definitely makes speed skating more interesting to watch.

So does Stephen Colbert.

PS! I can't wait for summer. Only... too many months away.

How cute is this!

2009: A Year in Review/ 2010: Resolutions

TOP 10 THINGS THAT DEFINED MY LIFE THIS YEAR.

1) seijinshiki.

it's basically just your 20th birthday. [feb 20.]

but it's a big deal because it means you're officially an Adult.

so in Japan, I can vote, drink and smoke.

perfect.

2) new roommates!

i moved into a new place with amazing roommates! [sept.]

kaitlin is so fun and craftsy.

sara is the best baker i know. seriously. and she is so sweet.

brynn is so easy to talk to and is super insightful.

and none of them care that i perpetually leave our place is disarray. what a perfect setup.

3) this boy.

i've pretty much seen him every day since we started seeing each other [march.]

(well, except for when i'm out of the country.)

and i like it.

4) cooking

and cooking forreals!

5) my family moved to Japan.

I got to go out there twice this year.

total of about 5 weeks.

it's wonderful.

6) reunited!

pica's practically my sister and we rekindled our real-life friendship after several years on hiatus.

she's great.

7) an elephant phase.

seriously.

they're adorable.

always smiling.

8) the Writing Center

i work there!

as a writing tutor!

and i love it!

check out our podcast:

9) blogging.

and here I am.

10) gamelan

yep, still doing it!

we had a great concert [dec.]

(photo forthcoming)

10.5) lady gaga.

what an artist.

My 10 New Year's Resolutions:

1) learn how to use photoshop

2) start scrapbooking

3) take more pictures

4) blog regularly

5) write in journal regularly (for what I won't say on my blog)

6) read more literature outside of school

7) read scriptures and ensign more

8) attend temple regularly/more often

9) learn japanese

10) finish school!

the future is always so exciting. thanks for being last year's future, 2009.

Look, guys! I'm movin on up!

I finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy yesterday (a 4.5x cry book), and I felt incredibly accomplished. 287 pages in 2½ days, kids! Now I have another book that I can hold up and say, I've done this one. Not that it's an I've-done-that-one kind of book (that would be more like James' Portrait of a Lady that I've been "reading" since May)-- it was a beautifully sculpted novel, and you should read it BEFORE the movie comes out in October. I'm serious. Please?

It's about a heartbreakingly sweet father-son relationship as they trudge through a post-apocalyptic wasteland and avoid cannibalistic marauders. I usually have a hard time with cheap Hollywood versions of books I like (think: Harry Potter and the Prisoners to Flashy Undeveloped Plots and Dull Actors*). HOWEVER, I think I'll forgive the expected expansion of the woman's role (we need some sex appeal. I understand. And I respect Charlize Theron) and probably some (minor?) plot fabrications, and actually allow myself to enjoy the movie. For Viggo Mortensen's sake.




His undeniable sexiness aside, I think he's actually perfect for the role-- his quiet strength, his ability to portray absolute devotion to those he loves, and his ferocity in actively protecting goodness and innocence. (There is no one more man than Aragorn. Which may be the only role I'm basing all of these characterizations on.) Plus, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce are in it! And No Country for Old Men was fantastic, so there's hope!


BUT THE BOOK FIRST! Seriously. Don't even watch the trailer until you've read the book. I'm serious. Read it!





*This is the one irrational grudge I hold on to for dear life.


So I'm growing up regarding movies based on books.
____________________________________



"Why would you start a blog...?"

"Because I have things to say. Interesting things. And I think I'm awesome."

"I love how conceited you are... And by love I mean hate."

"I was being sarcastic to achieve a satirical end you boob bomb. Spare me."

"Just about a month ago blogs joined the plentiful list of things I abhor."

"Look who's conceited now."

"Look who's an asshole."

[I thought it was amusing dialogue, though the other speaker may not find it quite so harmlessly tickling if/when the speaker sees I posted this.]


So I'm growing up regarding [not] hating on things [i.e. blogging] that I used to love hating on. Unlike other people.
_________________________________________




In other news, I still do like Lady Gaga (even though she is an alleged hermaphrodite. See: http://gawker.com/5332485/hermaphrodite-lady-gaga-has-your-publicity-stunt-right-here).
So I guess I'm not growing up regarding questionably credible pop stars. I still think of her as an artist.
________________________________________________________________




QUESTION: How do I make hyperlinks with words in my post? Help please. Danke.

And thanks to Jenna for the tip on the movie!