Not a creature was stirring.

It's an hour into Christmas and my house is quiet, quiet, quiet. The presents are all wrapped in bright reds and greens and silvers with big pretty bows (except for my sister's, which is sitting in a naked box on my floor. must get on that)under our quite beautiful and majestic Christmas tree, wrapped in blink-y white lights and multicolored ornaments. We had a lovely dinner of shrimp linguine and watched White Christmas, an excellent old film with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. It's disgustingly warm for Christmas this year--no chance of a white Christmas for us. I read these posts from the wonderful blog with all of the lovely snow and wished we had even a smidgen of that here. But alas, it's not to be. But I won't let that dampen my Christmas cheer! As Bing Crosby says:

"Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'."

It's not about moving on . . .

Exams are over, and I've come home for Christmas. However, I won't be going back to my dear old college town for six months, due to the fact that I will be studying abroad next semester (as I've mentioned several times). I didn't expect it to be so difficult to leave the town behind. I'll admit I had a lump in my throat as I drove away. I've met alot of amazing people this semester and am sad to leave them. But now I'm home and am enjoying the time with my family.

We chose our christmas tree today but, due to a visit from my grandparents, it has made its home in the garage for the time being. That crisp evergreen smell is invading into our kitchen and I can't wait to decorate it with white lights and jewel-toned ornaments!

I can't wait to watch holiday movies, drink hot tea and chocolate, bake Christmas cookies, wrap presents. Hell, I can't wait for Christmas!

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!

This post serves several purposes, one of which being procrastination from my U.S Diplomatic history exam. I know I've been absent from my blog for quite some time, but I've had quite a bit to do! Midterms, Thanksgiving, concerts, etc. It was fantastic! Oh! And of course, the release of Twilight, which was done very well, in my opinion!

First, I went to a fantastic concert with my two new friends at the 9:30 club in DC. We saw Sondre Lerche, this fantastic singer/songwriter. This is one of his new songs--it's not even on an album yet!

Thanksgiving was amazing, as usual. My aunt outdoes herself with the food every year, and this year was no exception. I got to see all but one of my cousins (that are around my age) and it was fantastic to see everyone. My family is hilarious and I love spending time with them. Then we get to December!

My visa application has been turned in, my tickets have been bought, and as of yesterday I know what college I'll be studying with! Hertford college (pronounced: Hartford. Good to know!) They have a college cat named Simpkins, which I find hilariously awesome. According to Wikipedia, the college is in the middle of medieval Oxford and was founded (as Hart Hall) in the late 13th century and was home to John Donne, Thomas Hobbes, and Evelyn Waugh. They also have a Bridge of Sighs, that supposedly looked like the Venician bridge of the same name (except it doesn't). It's beautiful, the chorus is fantastic, and I can't wait to go!

And now it's the Christmas thing. I love Christmas. Particularly Christmas music, of all sorts. Sad Christmas music, happy christmas music, dorky christmas music, etc. So here's a list of my favorite Christmas songs.

The Bird and the Bee: Carol of the Bells
Clyde McPhatter: White Christmas
David Bowie & Bing Crosby: Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)
Jimmy Eat World: Last Christmas
John Lennon: Happy Christmas (War is Over)
Joni Mitchell: River
The Raveonettes: Christmas Song
The Waitresses: Christmas Wrapping
The Weepies: All that I Want
Sufjan Stevens: Holy, Holy, Holy
Priscilla Ahn: Silent Night
Leona Naess: Christmas
The Pretenders: 2000 Miles
Lenka: All my Bells are Ringing
Vince Guaraldi: Christmas Time is Here

I'll hopefully post again soon, but if I don't, have a happy holidays, and your winters look like this:

"Man is by nature a political animal" ~ Aristotle

I'm sure the blog world has been positively inundated by political posts in the last week or so. However, since the reason for this flood is indeed incredibly important, you will have to put up with mine as well.

I was ecstatic when Barack Obama won the election last Tuesday. For the first time in my life, I paid close attention to politics. I also watched CNN and wasn't bored for the first time in my life. As more and more blue states lit up on the map of the United States, I grew more and more excited. As a resident of Virginia, I was more than gobsmacked when our state went blue (that is, democratic) for the first time in about 40 years. The final map (according to wikipedia.org) looked like this.


I do believe that Barack Obama will be the start to the changes we so desperately need to see in America. I believe that he will listen to the people of America, even those that do not agree with him. I believe that he will be tolerant and moderate, and follow an agenda that is best for the American people and not simply best for him and his constituents. But we will have to see; I hope that he will be everything we dream him to be and more, but only time will tell. I am so proud that this was my first election and that I cast a vote that helped bring this man to office. I can only hope that our dreams will be realized.

I'd like to take a moment to just say how fantastic his campaign was; I mean, really, his campaign managers should get an amazingly huge bonus because they knew exactly what the country needed to hear and see. I remember last year, before any election nonsense had started, my roommates and I were straightening each other's hair and saying that after Bush, we need someone young and charismatic to unite the country and blur the party lines that seemed so ironclad during Bush's administration. We all agreed that we needed someone like Kennedy. And now, examine if you will, this portrait of Kennedy.

And now, the very familiar posters used in the Obama campaign.


Look familiar? And you can bet it is not a coincidence! This was an incredibly well-done campaign: politics at its very best.




















I'll leave you with the first part of President-elect (!!) Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, credited to Youtube user USATalk2008.

Hand Claps and Ginger Snaps

Well, my friends . . . .

Halloween/Homecoming weekend is over, and it was indeed full of tricks and treats. Halloween night was interesting to say the least. I went to eat dinner and get ready with a very good friend of mine, and then the pair of us went back to my apartment to grab my keys which I had forgotten. In the half hour that we were at my apartment, my dear friend's car was towed from our parking lot!! The complex I live in is very strict about their permit parking policy and will tow you at a minute's notice after 10 o'clock. Foolishly, we assumed that on Halloween these rules would be eased. Not so. And so we tracked down where the car was, how much it would cost to get it out of the impound, got the car, and got on the drunk bus to head to our intended destination (PARTY!). On the bus we ran into my roommates and their assortment of guests. We ended up chilling with them for the night, going to both parties and having a blast. It was awesome to dance with my friends and have a great time with everyone.

The tailgate/homecoming game was also fantastic. We trounced the opposition, 41-7, but it was great hanging out with my parents and my friends, eating crackers and cookies and brownies, etc. Then our apartment was turned upside-down for this party. It was crazy! Honestly the best party I've ever been to at my college. I knew just about everyone there, danced all over the place, drank much more than I should have and woke up to minimal damage done to my apartment!

Overall, it's been a great weekend, but it's time to head back to reality, and get some more work done.

The history of Halloween

I figured that since this blog is The Historian, I should probably put some history stuff on here. Here's the History of Halloween from National Geographic.

Happy Halloween!!

Today is Halloween! One of my favorite holidays, I must say. At home, my mom and I used to run around decorating the house and spreading out the fake webbing. My dad sent me pictures of their pumpkin carving adventures (my sister was apparently too tired), and it made my heart twinge for home just a little bit.


But! Home will be coming to me tomorrow! yay!!!! As I said in the last post, my parent's old college is playing my college for our Homecoming Football Game. We're going to tailgate with chili, hot dogs, apples and caramel, brownies, cookies, crackers and cheese . . . . beer . . .

It's gonna be good. Plus, my college should destroy their college.

For Halloween, I'm going to be a Devil in a Blue Dress, forties pin-up style. It's actually pretty class, so I'm excited. We're having a party at our apartment Saturday night (our first) and my roommates and I are trying to figure out just how to go about the whole thing. We'll see how it all goes. I'll be sure to update later!

Busy-ness as usual

. . . well, I thought it was clever.

I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now, but I seem to be having one of those moments. The paper is just not coming to me. I have an outline and everything, but the introductory paragraph refuses to write out. So, I'm posting on my blog instead! This week is going to intense, to say the least. This paper is due on Monday, I have a health test of Tuesday, I'm declaring my minor this week, AND this coming weekend is Halloween AND my college's homecoming!!

My friends and I take Halloween (and Homecoming) very seriously.

This year, my college is playing my parents alma mater. So, they and a few of their friends from college are coming down to tailgate with us and watch the game. I'm so excited for them to come. My parents have come to visit for dinner before, but they've never really visited longer than to move me in and out of wherever I'm living. They'll be meeting a few of my friends that they've never met and my friends will be meeting my parents and my mom's best friend, who is essentially my aunt. After they leave on saturday (and my college thoroughly pummels their college) my roommates and I will be hosting our first party!

It's a costume party, in honor of Halloween, and will be relatively small, in comparison to most parties at our school. Invitees and their friends only. We're making orange-colored jungle juice (is jungle juice only an American thing?) with ping-pong balls like eyeballs floating in it! Hopefully, everything will go well.

I can't believe the semester is almost over and that we're less than a week away from November! There's only 6 weeks of school left, including exam week and Thanksgiving break. And then it's only a few weeks more and I'll be jetting off to England! I filled out my visa last week and have to go to the biometric center to be fingerprinted at the end of November. All my appointments have been made, so that I'm in the pink of health when I leave the states. I can't wait to start my study abroad. Maybe its just wishful thinking, but I feel like everything's going to change.

Speaking of change, I posted my absentee ballot the other day. I'm so excited that this is my first election. It's a crazy time to live in America right now. And, again, in honor of Halloween, here is a clip from my favorite group of kiddies, the Peanut Gang.

Antiquity and stuff

Hello Hello!

So, this past weekend I went with my history club (yes, I'm in the history club) to visit Mount Vernon and olde town Alexandria for the
weekend. It was beyond beautiful. The weather had that lovely crisp in it that only a true autumn can have, forcing us to bundle up in sweatshirts and scarves. First, we all piled into our cars and drove off down the highway: direction, North. I knew two of the girls in the car I drove in. One I'm hoping to live with next year and the other is an incredibly endearing girl I've known for quite a few years now. The other two members of the funbus were utterly unknown. However, in that perfect way things work out sometimes they were perfectly charming and I was so glad they were in our vehicle. The house we stayed at (a member's parents house) was absolutely gorgeous. If I could have any house in the world I would want a house just like that. Very home-y, but embarrassingly Goldilocks in its perfect size. The floors were all hardwood with amazing detailing around the windows and doors.

Mount Vernon was fantastically fun. The house tour was fun, if a little crowded, and I still think that there is so much more many of these houses could do to increase the interest-level of tours. We went on a ghost tour of Olde Towne Alexandria, which I highly highly recommend. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and an excellent story-teller. She was one of those people that you're just riveted to while they're speaking. We went other places, but those were the main highlights.

The great thing was the people I was with. The questions they asked on tours were insightful and interesting. We could debate historical accuracy, legends, and historical fact on the tours, as well as consider what we would do if we were lucky enough to create an exhibit. But it wasn't super stuffy. We laughed, told jokes, went on a horse (except ours were mules)-drawn wagon ride! It was a great experience and an awesome break from the tedium of college life.

I'm also quite excited for our meeting next monday. We're watching From Hell and our english history professor is giving a lecture about Jack the Ripper in honor of Halloween. I am obsessed with everything Jack the Ripper, and can't wait to go!!




TT

A Blustery Day, Indeed

Since it has been quite a few days since my last post, I thought I'd update. But I won't go into detail about today, since it was your typical lazy Sunday. A little laundry, a little vacuum, et cetera and whatnot. However, I will tell you about my Wednesday.

The weather on Wednesday was beautiful. The temperature was just a touch past brisk, the right weather for a light sweater and jacket. And joy of all joys, the college miracle occurred. My physics class, the class that, while I love the professor and my classmates, cuts me off at the knees academically, was canceled. And so, I suddenly had a full three and a half hours before my film class began at 2:30. Life was beautiful.

I have to say that Virginia does fall very well. While the season is still early, the leaves are turning the crisp oranges, buttery yellows, and burnt reds that tantalize Americans with the promise of turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce-y Thanksgivings. These colors were falling to the ground in maple-leaf shapes amongst the gray stone collegiate buildings with the red roofs and iron stair rails. The carefully placed brick walk-way meandered down the quad, ending in a circular resting area with a statue of our college's namesake. I had thought to buy a deliciously good mug of Mayan Hot Chocolate from the campus coffee shop, and sipped it while I sat on the benches. I am totally unashamed to admit that I did my best to look intellectual and dignified. I probably failed miserably, but a little people-watching is good for the soul.

I am in Love.

Tonight I was introduced to Veronica Lake for the first time. I'd always heard a lot about her, knew her hairstyle and that she was once considered one of the great sirens of the silver screen. I wasn't sure that I was going to like her because I'm an ardent fan of Katherine and Audrey Hepburn. To be fair, I haven't seen any Betty Grable or such the like. But when Veronica Lake came on-screen, I immediately knew who she was and was immediately enchanted with her. She is well-known for her hairstyle, nicknamed "the Peek-a-boo Girl" for her heavily side parted hair that covered the right side of her face. Women all over the country loved this style so much, that Veronica Lake had to film a special commercial during WWII to promote the updo. Apparently, Rosie the Riveter's peek-a-boo bangs were getting caught in the machinery! This style has now been emulated by modern stars like Christina Aguilera, Jessica Alba, Kim Basinger in the film L.A Confidential, and the ever-popular ScarJo.




Continuing on the subject of girl crushes, I would like to bring up Nylon's new It Girl issue. While they have their customary gushfest about Cory Kennedy and Peaches Geldof (both of whom I have no issue with), their covergirl is Zooey Deschanel!!

Zooey Deschanel first caught my (and a whole bunch of other people's) attention as Patrick Fugit's older musically-inclined-runaway-turned-flight-attendant sister Anita. She has since done other quirky characters that are equally as fabulous, and I'm sure everyone is aware of her enamoring turn w
ith M.Ward as She & Him. I love their contemporized torch song-style covers and I cannot wait to see what else they come up with.

Other girl crushes include, but are not limited to:

-Kat Dennings, of Charlie Bartlett and Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist fame
-Mary Kate Ashley (kinda makes me sad, but she seems pretty cool. plus, their straight to video movies were TOTALLY my guilty pleasure in high school. Winning London!? Good times.)
-Abigail Lorick (ghost designer of Eleanor Waldorf on Gossip Girl, in case you didn't know!)
-Blair Waldorf
-Christina Ricci
-Coco Rocha (who I know nothing about, but think is gorgeous anyway)



So! I will leave you this evening with the video for She & Him's so "Why don't you let me stay here?"



video credits: markdcatlin and lalamaker, respectively.

"Ambition should be made of sterner stuff"

This quote from dear old William Shakespeare seems to be pretty relevant to my life right now. I don't know if it's my study abroad coming up or just my returning instincts kicking into high gear, but I seem to be racking up goals here. I've become an English major, as well as a History major. This isn't too terribly crazy. Thanks to the extra credits I'll be getting while at Oxford, my history degree will be completed a year early. I'll still have to complete the majority of a major in a year, but with some tweaking, that shouldn't be really difficult. Then, as I was waiting for my philosophy class to begin, I noticed the cross-disciplinary minors board. I should have known better, but I picked up the "Medieval and Renaissance Studies minor" pamphlet. It turns out that I only need one more class than I was originally going to do to pick up that minor. So, why not?!

I feel like I'm constantly running around, constantly organizing things, sending e-mails, reading e-mails, filling out forms, the whole lot of it. But, on the flip side, I'm also going horse-back riding with friends, watching the Tudors on DVD (sidenote: WHY is British television so much better than American? Other than Bones and Gossip Girl, all I watch is British TV shows. Dr. Who, the Tudors, Robin Hood, Secret Diary of a Call Girl . . .) Grabbing dinner and lunch with friends, going swimming, and all other sorts of things. I've never been happier in college than I am right now!

I will leave you with the music video for Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal". The claymation reminds me of Wallace and Gromit!





P.S Having trouble sleeping with 4 boys in next room, snoring in sync so loudly it's like they're in my room, instead!

Your Favorite just the Same . . .

I just saw the movie Penelope for the first time. When it first came out in the states (February), I was interested in seeing it, but nobody wanted to see it. I'm home from college for the weekend and saw it in the video store. Voila! It didn't do fantastically well in the box office, so I had relatively low expectations. However, I thought it was adorable. It turned out to be well-written, well-acted, and just well done in general. The cinematographer is Michel Amathieu who, coincidentally, also did Amelie. The production designer was fantastic; the room has an amazing sense of class and whimsy. I want my first grown-up apartment to look like that.



Penelope is the story of a girl born with a curse. Without giving too much of the plot away, the family sets about the orthodox way of break the curse. But as everyone knows, a curse is by nature, unorthodox. I love the message they've put in the movie, and I have to say, I LOVE her clothes! The costume designer is Jill Taylor, and she didn't miss a beat. Or a stitch, I suppose. This is how I want to dress: classic silhouettes, bold colors, with a touch of girlishness.



plus it has James McAvoy in it. Check, please?

Am I the Only Sour Cherry on your Fruit Stand

Well, you'll be happy to know that the insomniac spell has ended. I crashed out on the couch around 9.30 pm the other day and slept until it was time to wake up for class. Of course, it could always begin again, so here's hoping. I'm not really sure what else to say, other than the fact that I felt the need to post something.

It's been two weeks and a couple of days since my friends and I moved into our first apartment. We've lived together before, but in a dorm situation. Which means that we're learning how to share a kitchen and living room for the first time. It's interesting, the different ideas that people grow up with. Not big ones, like religion or that sort of thing (though that is interesting, too) but things like how to load the dishwasher and what goes in the dishwasher. In my family, pretty much just flatware and the dishes go in the dishwasher. Everyday I'm confused, thinking "Can this baking sheet go in the dishwasher?". Furthermore, just washing dishes seems to be an ordeal for some people. Dishes have gone days, even a week without being washed. Finally I just got tired of the mess and cleaned them myself. I'm not saying that its a huge crime not to wash your dishes. Maybe I'm just a neat freak.

Other than that, I haven't got much else for you.

Insomnia . . .

So . . . . it's 3:30 AM. I'm still awake, from waking up at 9. I fell asleep at 6:30 AM yesterday morning. Something has got to stop. I'd really prefer not to drug myself with Nyquil or cough syrup or something, but I cannot seem to fall asleep! Does anyone have any suggestions? Anyway, since I'm awake, I figured I'd do a recommendation post (assuming, rather in a narcissist manner, that anyone besides myself reads this).

In music, I cannot get enough of the Brunettes. 1) They're from New Zealand, which makes them fantastic. 2) They run in a similar vein with Rilo Kiley, Tilly and the Wall, and those sort of quirky-yet-amazing bands.

favorite track: If You Were Alien (click here to view the indie-tastic video)

Also, I ripped a page out of Nylon to remind myself to check out Uh Huh Her, an electro-pop duo from Los Angeles. One of the girls, Leisha Hailey, was on The L Word which is pretty cool I guess. Anyway, they kind of run with bands like Ladytron and Metric, and I've been dancing around my room in my apartment like a huge toolbox all week.

favorite track: Not a Love Song (click here . . . oh, you know what to do)

The new Subways album, All or Nothing, is pretty amazing. The Subways were completely overplayed in America (or at least, Rock n' Roll Queen was) thanks to the OC, whatnot. By the end of . . . . 2004 (?) I was pretty tired of them. However, this new album shows a lot of growth in my opinion, both instrumentally and vocally. The overall quality of the songs has vasting improved as well, with a good bit more variation between songs. * I saw them in concert once when I was still in high school. I had Charlotte, the bassist, sign my shoe (a red chuck) and I remember feeling really weird that I wanted her to sign my shoe. Looking back on it, I'm sure she'd had people ask for much stranger things to be signed . . .

favorite (or favourite, in honor of their Britishness) track: Lost Boy

In movies, I'm really psyched about Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. I shall let the trailer speak for itself.




I'm more than a wee bit miffed about the whole "let's move the Harry Potter release date back" thing. Despite what the producers said, I think it's a pointless move done solely for monetary gain. Harry Potter has always been a holiday franchise and they've always done well. As long as the producers treat the fans with respect, the movies will continue to do well. Unfortunately for the studio bigwigs, they made a huge snafu with this one. However, the Twilight movie has moved in and taken the Harry Potter release date. So I am slightly mollified. Slightly.

Other than that I have no real interest in any movies that are coming out. Easy Virtue is a Noel Coward play that is being turned into a movie with Colin Firth, Jessica Biel, and Ben Barnes. I'm looking forward to that, but its so far only a British release. Watchmen, also, is going to be intense. I squealed like the (closet) fangirl I am over that one.

In other movie news, my roommate (R? I'm still feeling this one out) and I have decided to make our movie nights a thing. I compiled a list based on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies list, plus other movies I've been meaning to see (i.e Lust, Caution, There Will be Blood, No Country for Old Men, etc.) And we'll be watching these quite happily on nights and weekends.

This being said, I think I may take that cough syrup now. I do feel pretty sick, actually.

Hats Off to Buster Keaton . . .

Well, my first week of school is officially completed. At my school we have to take a certain number of general education courses (GenEds), in order to garner a well-rounded education. I, however, maintain that I had a very well-rounded education in high school and therefore know that I will NEVER want a career in math and science. It's just not my bag, personally. Unfortunately for me, they will not let me graduate in two years (!!) unless I complete these courses. So I'm finishing them this semester to avoid senior year death by boredom. I'm taking . . . (drumroll)

U.S Diplomatic History
The Physical Nature of Light and Sound (fancy-pants physics)
Introduction to Film (to 1960)
General Philosophy
General Health

I'm petrified of my physics class. As a result, I'm reading my chapters and taking frantic notes on them so that I won't feel so overwhelmed come time to study for tests. But, I've only had the class 3 times and I already feel overwhelmed. My intro to Film class is FANTASTIC. My professor is hilarious and really knowledgeable (she also worked on a film with Scarlet Johansson and that makes her my hero, even if I'm kinda tired of ScarJo). We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Tuesday evenings. Tuesdays are the film viewing classes, and we've already watched 2 Buster Keaton films (Cops and Sherlock, Jr. for those interested). I'd never seen a Buster Keaton film before, but I had heard of him thanks the The Dreamers (two characters debate over who is better, Keaton or Chaplin). Having now seen both, I have to say Keaton. Not only does he star in these two films and do all his own stunts, but he directed the films himself. His cinematographer is amazing and the gags are brilliantly done. He's just so endearing, I find him adorable. It's amazing how certain humor stands the test of time. My entire film class was laughing hysterically at this silent film made about 80 years ago. I doubt the same will be said of say . . . . Disaster Movie?

check this video by hihuy

It's a montage of Sherlock, Jr. set to music by Air.

But anyway, it's practically 2 AM on a Friday night (Saturday morning) and I'm not out partying. I may be totally alone in saying this, but the house parties at my college have never been my style. I've always felt off-kilter around this horrible music and awful drunk boys trying to feel me up. I'd rather be at a nice bar or restaurant, or just watching a movie with my friends. My roommate -shall I go GossipGirl and call her R?- and I watched The Wedding Date tonight while drinking a beer. Blue Moon for me and Becks for her more germanic tastebuds. Earlier in the night my other roommate M was pre-gaming as we played a three-person game of kings. We had Miss Congeniality playing in the background and were getting rather silly when our final roommate and a couple of her friends came in. Now, I don't have a problem with people drinking. I drink myself, so it would be hypocritical to find fault with others. But I do dislike people who are overly drunk. It just . . . kills my buzz. I'd go to a party if it was a bunch of people I knew, or a bunch of people dancing, but a crowded room with people spilling booze everywhere? I'd just rather not. Am I completely alone in this?

oh! and p.s. eventually I'll get a camera or borrow someone's so you can see my room and maybe an outfit post or two . . .

It's just the bureaucrats . . .

Today I moved into my first grown-up apartment. Well, sort of grown-up; my first apartment at college. As excited as I am to be back starting school again, calling up my friends, and catching up on their summers, I know I'm going to miss my family as much if not more as I did when I was dropped off as a freshman. This summer just seemed really idyllic. I had an internship at a place I enjoyed working, I hung out and reconnected with several friends from high school. And, of course, I had an amazing time with my family. Last summer was filled with awkward tension (they disapproved of a guy I was dating at the time. Looking back, I disapprove, too). This summer was just a fantastic release of all of that, laughing and joking and getting along. So I'm going to miss that, of course, but this fall is just going to be and downward spiral into the pinnacle of my life thus-far.

This spring I'm studying abroad in England. And I know it's going to be ridiculously difficult and time-consuming, but I cannot cannot cannot wait. I've lusted after anything British for as long as I can remember, so . . . I'm pretty excited. Is it January yet?

PSA?

I was watching TV quite late at night (as I usually do). And stopped to watch a little bit of MTV (as I usually do). Then this commercial/PSA came on




And all I could think was "that was really effective."

That's all I'm going to say about the video itself, because I think it pretty much speaks for itself. However, I am interested in why it's come out now. I'm not say that there is ever a bad time for anti-hate messages, but why now specifically? I'm sure part of it is the upcoming election; MTV has their whole "vote or die" thing and probably want to galvanize people to think about issues. I always wonder about the rest of the world's view of America. Do they see us as ignorant? Hateful? Divided amongst ourselves? Are we so divided that we need to be shocked in such a way? To remind us of where fear and hatred can take you? But more importantly, for those people that are ignorant and hateful (and I'm aware there are ignorant, hateful people all over the world), is a PSA enough? Is a commercial, not matter how shocking, enough to make someone really think? To understand an event in the context of its time and still appreciate the horror of it? As a history major, my professors constantly push me and my fellow students to take an event in context, to fully understand it and in a way rationalize it. Part of the "post-1989-fall of the Berlin Wall- post-modernist" historical view. As historians, we have to ask ourselves, should we ever be able to understand something that horrific? And what makes an event "that horrific"?

"But this is History. Distance yourselves. Our perspective on the past alters. Looking back, immediately in front of us is dead ground. We don't see it, and because we don't see it this means that there is no period so remote as the recent past. And one of the historian's jobs is to anticipate what our perspective of that period will be... even on the Holocaust."
~from Alan Bennett's History Boys

Pack Up and Get Gone

August is here; the last month of the summer. In a little more than two weeks I will be driving back to my collegiate town to move into my first apartment. Then my junior year will begin, with the ticking time-bomb moving ever closer to graduation and the real world. But! rewind all of that to right now, when I'm trying to piece together my life and worldly possessions. You forget how much "stuff" you have until you're trying to consolidate and figure out what needs to be brought and what doesn't. At first I thought that I would be moving in over a period of time, since I assumed (foolishly) that since I started paying rent on August 1st, that I could access my apartment at that time. But no, I can't move in until August 21st, which is only 4 days before school starts. So rather than a gradual move, I now have to make a mass exodus from my house. Not excited for that, but I am excited to get back to school and start my new endeavors.

In other news, I finished the final book in the Twilight series. It didn't end as I thought it would, but looking back on it, I don't know how else she could have ended it. That's probably the mark of a good writer, but all it does is leave me with mixed feelings.

I've decided that since I will have a car next semester and will not need to walk all over creation to get where I'm going, I will revive that old high school trend of mine: wear heels with everything!

In high school, I was the girl that wore heels all the time. It was rare indeed to see me in a pair of flats. Not that I wear flats now, per se. I wear chucks. Constantly. Maybe a pair of flip flops if the weather is warm. But I have acquired some new additions to my collections that will revive my love of pretty heels.

I love love love these shoes. They're surprisingly easy to walk in, and add a glorious 4 inches to my 5'2''. The red is much deeper in person, and I can't wait to pair these with blues, greys, and all sorts of other colors. I'm also pleased that I managed to obtain a pair of black t-strap mary janes. I never feel quite right without my t-strap mary janes.
I'm also really excited about this hat I got from Urban Outfitters. However, I'm entirely unsure as to how to wear it (meaning what outfit to put it with, not what to do with it. It goes on my head.) If anyone besides myself reads this, advice is desperately wanted/needed.

Well, I think that's just about enough gushing about myself for now. I'm thinking about doing a make-up post in the near future. Maybe?

Song of the post: Pot Kettle Black by Tilly and the Wall

photo credits: alloy.com, urbanoutfitters.com, respectively.

O.M.G

video credit: HarryPotterHBP

Counting the Days

Things I'm super excited about:

August 2: The Release of Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn-

My sister got me the first book, Twilight, for my birthday this year. After devouring it in a day, then buying the next two books and reading them in one day, I am officially a converted Twilighter. I'm a team Edward girl myself, for those who know the series, and can't wait to how the series culminates. For those who haven't read the books, they are quite good. Admittedly, they're light reading, but the characters are interesting and the romance isn't too terribly cliche. The premise actually makes sense, as long as you can allow for the existence of werewolves and vampires . . . And vampires vs. werewolves are the new pirates vs. ninjas, right?




August 19: Season 1 of Gossip Girl on DVD-

I am in love with the show Gossip Girl. The fashion, the stories, the actors and actresses; it's guilty pleasure television at its best. My favorite character, in both style and attitude, is Blair Waldorf. She may be a little bitchy at times, but at least she knows what she wants and how to get it. While I'm not condoning her behavior in real life, I think everyone loves the malevolent glamourpuss. While I'm at it, I might as well say that the second season premiere's on September 1st, and I cannot wait. With that said, here's a clip promoting the new season, with my favorite couple, Chuck and Blair. (video credit goes to blairandchuckonline)




Finally, I'm super excited to get the books I ordered from Barnes and Noble (a birthday gift from a friend). I ordered Neil Gaiman's Stardust and Nina Garcia's Little Black Book of Style. They should arrive any day now, and I can't wait!

All this good stuff aside, where is my issue of Nylon?! I think the people at the post office confiscate my magazines and read them.

Let's Put a Smile on the Face

I'm sure it's been done to death, but I'd just like to take a minute to discuss the amazing cinematic experience that is the Dark Knight (the latest in the Batman saga, in case you've been living under a rock). Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post, a notoriously tough movie critic, praised Heath Ledger (as was only right) but found fault with Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent.

"He's got to show a love and an idealism so stout they can stand against the vilest villainy yet so fragile they can shatter into evil at a single catastrophic loss. It's not in him to show a range of contradictions like this, and the character -- as written by the Nolans -- is beyond demonstrating as much, either."

I disagree with Hunter on this point. I thought that Eckhart did a wonderful job depicting the fall of the White Knight of Gotham. And his change of heart is NOT completely out of the blue. The Nolan brothers give shadows, brief glimpses of the villain within. If the name was not enough, the ever-present two-headed coin was enough for any comic fanboy (or girl) to squeal and piss their pants at the sign of a new arch nemesis. And finally, that horrific make-up didn't detract from the pain visible on Dent's face as he reminisced about his life and the things he'd now lost. Dent, unlike Bruce Wayne and his nocturnal alter-ego, had followed the letter of the law. He'd worked hard with the system, and been rewarded for it. He'd won the girl, won the city, and was on top of the world until that was all taken away from him by complete chance. I'd go a little bonkers, too.

But nothing compares to the magnificent performance turned in by the late Heath Ledger. I remember how shocked I was when my sister called me to blurt out the news. The Joker is certainly his swan-song. The Joker is diabolical, nonsensical, and utterly anarchic; the perfect foil for Batman's code of honor. The movements, the sounds, the delivery of the lines are so precise, so perfectly in tune to his character; there is an understated homage to past precedence (Alex from A Clockwork Orange, Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols) but a twist that blows all other bizarros out of cinematic memory. It's terrible that Ledger isn't here to witness the success of this role. I think alot of people were worried that movie-goers would only see the film out of macabre fascination to witness the "role that killed Heath Ledger". But as I watched the film, I forgot that he was no longer alive. And I think that that's the wonderful thing about the film media; it is a record, a piece of immortality for everyone captured on screen. If actors were hesitant to attempt to out-do Jack Nicholson's Joker, Ledger now has the role clinched. He will never be outdone.

Re-Vamp

So, as you can see, I've revamped the blog, and I'm going to try to keep up with it as best I can. I'd love to start posting pictures and such the like. However, this would require me to carry a camera around . . . We'll see about that. Anyway, all of the blogs on my new list have inspired me, both in what I'd like my style to be as well as blog dedication. Since its ridiculously early in the morning and I can't be bothered to say much else, I will leave you with the song of the post.

song of the post: Fleet Fox- Sun It Rises


Hopefully I'll post more later today!