I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic with my mom... which... well I have to say that movie perception for me is like... 20% my mood... like... I'll definitely dislike a bad movie and love a great movie... ... but I have a 20% mood-margin-of-error (MMOE... if you will). ANYWAY, I haven't been liking romantic comedies recently... but I thought this one was pretty good. It COULD have been a more accepting mood... but I will hold that it was definitely better than He's Just Not That Into You.
First of all, Isla Fischer is funny.
Also, even though I feel like I would USUALLY think that being a shopaholic is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of... they convinced me. I really thought it was an issue for her... and they rooted the issue in a way that wasn't brilliant... but it satisfied me.
ALSO, I thought it was a nice, light-hearted comment on our current national (and international) economic situation. Plus... it TRIED to discourage useless spending... and it did KIND OF encourage thrift shopping... which I appreciated... It was appealing to the high-fashion seekers and trying to tell them that they don't need that stuff. I appreciated it.
It WAS a little long though... I could feel the 90 minute mark (which I often can) and I was like "I'm done! Wrap it up!"
Then I saw Claire... and we did the usual... came up with a movement and a secret language (Vaginknee) (I'm writing it for posterity... it's my blog). Applebees. Ya know. Knowing that Claire, Claire, Natalya, and Sarah are all going to be in PA this summer STRONGLY encourages me to try harder to get an internship in New York. And Elana (I think!)!
Then I went to New York. We tried and failed to do a number of things including seeing Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, who I hold is not a wonderful late night talk show host... but whatever. We also thought about seeing a show on broadway but nothing was so interesting that it was worth the $60+ ... although there is a show called Blithe Spirit. We DID have some delicious Cuban food.
Then we went to the Television and Film museum and watched an episode of Clarissa Explains it All (she wore some AWESOME clothes) and an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club where Britney showed the audience about Louisiana. It was AWESOME! Then we watched this thing about women in comedy that was made in the very early 90s. It was okay... but it was a pretty stale place. Plus there was a BU alum who graduated in 2000 who worked there... and he had a film and television degree. I was like... oh ... hmm..
Then we ate again... got some thai at the place where they shot the beginning of Garden State. That was good.
Then we saw the movie Phoebe in Wonderland... which I thought was very great. Elle Fanning was wonderful... there was this one scene where she was crying with her mom (Felicity Huffman) because she didn't understand what was happening... and I was like "this is REAL!" It was unbelievable... to me. Also it dealt with a lot of VERY contemporary issues in a very contemporary way. It ALSO was a little draggy... but it was hard for me to pick out parts that they could lose.
Then we stayed at Amanda's and watched The Birdcage with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Hank Azaria which was super cute.
The next day we went to Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. I have to say it was $35 and totally worth it. There are like one jillion celebrities... which is obviously just fun. But also they have a scary house thing that was cheap but scared me a lot. AND they had the underwater Planet Earth in 3D that also had those special effects like water spraying on you and bubbles and vibrating chairs and stuff. I thought it was GREAT!
Then we got lunch, including going to Red Lobster to get cheddar bay biscuits, which has been Kevin and my dream for a while.
THEN I took the bus and it turns out that I CAN read while in motion. I used to be able to and then I started getting SUPER sick from it... BUT I've been experimenting with it more and I've been PRETTY okay. It is a little uncomfortable... but I don't remember it ever being the most pleasant way to read. ANYWAY, on the bus back I finished my Bob Dylan memoir, Chronicles, which, I thought was wonderful... but I'm obviously extremely biased. But, the best part for me was that the whole thing is five chapters... and it starts when he gets to New York and he talks talk much about his life before he gets to NY when he's like... 20 years old. And then it goes on about right before he got his record deal. Then it goes to how crazy his life got in the late 60s and how he just really wanted to protect his family and everyone was trying to get him to be a revolutionary so he had to make some decisions to get people off his back because they were so crazy and violent. Then he talks in depth about an album that he made in the late 80s when he really tried to make a good record again... which was the most difficult chapter for me to understand... but I think I got the idea. I just had to read everything like... 8 times. And then at the end he goes back to leaving Minnesota and stuff... and it's much more in depth about his beginning... and I was so happy... I felt like he had taken me through the other stuff and NOW we're close enough that I can know about his growing up and stuff. Just a little bit though. I loved it. Although I think everyone did.. it's a national bestseller.
Also, it's the second book I finished this semester... which says a lot for the book, I think. The other one was a school book, which is pretty miraculous... although I SHOULD HAVE finished several. But I wasn't able to get through Craig Ferguson or even David Sedaris... or these two Chinese anthro books that I also only read half of each... so ... I recommend.
Then I got home and got excited for The Daily Show because Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer have been having a public tiff and Jim Cramer came on the show... it was a big deal. Now I THOUGHT it was going to be a little silly and whatever... which on some level it was because Jon Stewart is very level-headed and not abrasive. BUUUT he got MAD! Not in a crazy way... but in a very thoughtful way. Jim Cramer was just apologizing all over. It made me think several things:
1. I want to to absolutely know what is happening. I was even more illuminated when they were talking (mostly on Jon's end...), but I was, at the same time, being made aware of how little I do know about the economic crisis. I would either like to take a course, or even more fun... have someone sit and talk to me about it. I'm going to definitely call my grandpa tomorrow if I remember.
2. It makes Jon Stewart look... just heavenly. I hate to gush because... everyone loves him whatever... but it was so wonderful because as far as I can tell, he REALLY has the public interest at heart... like... absolutely 1000%, and he's super upset about what's going on because these people are investing their life savings into something and the corporations and the financial media are telling them that it's fine and great and then watching the corporations do bad things without checking up on them... and that's really... why they are there. I mean... it IS a social responsibility and even though The Daily Show is a comedy show, he KNOWS that he has a social responsibility to reveal things about everyone. AND he also said 2 things which I also really appreciated. a) That money is work. When you put money into something and then you get 20% more... something IS going on.
Note: I KNOOOW I don't know anything about the stock market.. but THAT seems pretty obvious and it's definitely always confused me. To me it's always seemed like a safer lottery because how can money be coming from nowhere. I know that's pretty rich coming from me because... I don't invest anything and it's easy to ride the blame train when we already know it failed... but I do have to say that when Bush said that we should put our social security in the stock market, I remember being so confused. How could EVERYONE make money on the stock market? How is that a safe way to have money for your retirement... which isn't really something you can gamble? If someone wins, someone has to lose. If you get 20% more, isn't someone else getting 20% less?
and b) he said, at least twice, that it was unfortunate that Jim Cramer was made the face of CNBC's general issue.
AND Jon Stewart never raised his voice. And When Jim Cramer kept saying that there was so much to change, I don't think Jon Stewart ripped his throat out... taking power when the other person gives in. I was just super impressed. SUPER impressed. And he ended it very nicely.
ON A COMPLETELY SIDE ISSUE!!!
I have to mention that I've been having a really tough time with accidently categorizing myself... which I've ALWAYS done (and I really think... ya know... everyone does it) but it's getting so frustrating... because I feel like I find a pattern of things that I do... and maybe I only did something twice... and then I make the pronouncement (outloud or in my head) "I do _______." And the PROBLEM is that then I do things based on what I think IIII do. It's a vicious circle.
For instance, since the beginning of my obsession with Bob Dylan, I've been trying to reconcile myself in terms of what I know about him... and I keep thinking to myself that I'm not a musician and that's why, while I'm obsessed with his way of thinking and his passion for music... and just the things he idealizes and how he sees the world... I have a hard time getting it in terms of the music. And one of the ways that I prove this to myself is by saying "I don't listen to the lyrics of songs." Okay, fine. I usually don't. I probably know more than 500 songs extremely well (I'm sure I know more than that... but whatever, I'll under exaggerate because... I don't feel like spending time trying to approximate something like that)... and I'll bet that I don't think about the MEANING of 75% of them because I don't listen to lyrics.
So what I've done here is say I don't listen to lyrics. Thus I do not have a musical mind. Thus I can't completely relate to Bob Dylan.
But you know what. Why don't I just LISTEN to the lyrics! I can confidently say that that doesn't come naturally to me... but I don't know why I just leave it at that. How frustrating! And I do it ALL the time! Sometimes I'm talking to someone and they tell me something that happened to them and I tell them what I think and then I try to explain why I think that and I end up making a generalization about myself that I've never considered before. And if I don't realize I did it... it could just stick in my mind... and then I semi-subconsciously believe that thing about myself.
I even do it within conversations in my head. They're even harder to catch because they aren't fully formed things. Here are some examples of other ways that I've generalized myself.
1. I like my movies to be dramas and my TV shows to be comedies.
2. I drink coke (which I actually stopped saying because I realized that I don't want to have brand loyalty... that's how they GET YOU! (another generalization... I'll accept this one though because it's a thought out affirmation and not an unconscious generalization... fine line))
3. I don't like middle-aged women.
4. I always dress the same.
5. I understand movies more than music.
6. For me, singing isn't an expression.
7. I don't understand poetry.
8. I only read about 5 books a year (very VERY untrue this year).
I'm not saying these things aren't largely true.. but they don't HAVE to be... and thinking that these statements DEFINE me is LIMITING me... and I want to stop.
I WOULD conclude with the interview between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer but it isn't up. BUUUUT Kevin and I were reminiscing about this episode of The Colbert Report last week with his doom bunker and... it was HILARIOUS! So I'll put that up instead.
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