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I picked up this book today for Austin to use on his senior paper and my personal enjoyment. It was a used copy but other then some minor creases in the cover it seems to be in pretty excellent shape.
I’ve always been more of a DC girl, but Austin’s romanticized the Marvel universe since we’ve started dating.
Barnes and Noble describes the book as an “oversized collector’s style guide[.] Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe, covers the history of the national obsession, the marvel influence on media, and the best loved characters including the Incredible Hulk and X-Men, and ends with a look at new worlds to conquer. Full of stunning 4-color photographs, movie stills, original comic art, and animation drawings, this is a vibrant and colorful tribute to the incredible cultural phenomenon.”
The book is dated so it doesn’t include any of the recent adaptions of Iron Man, Hulk, etc. or mention post production films such as Thor and Captain America. I guess the next superhero related book I’m looking into are both DC and Marvel Encyclopedias released by DC Publishing. While looking for information on more recent adaptations I found these Watchman related videos. My favorite is the Watchman Saturday Morning Cartoon (spoof?). I would not recommend watching it until you’ve finished all twelve issues as it contains several spoilers.
The website, Comic Book Movie, actually has some pretty interesting articles on its home page, I suggest checking those out when you visit the site.

Austin and I got to watch “Let the Right One In,” tonight. It is a Swedish, poorly dubbed, vampire movie. Poor dubbing is sometimes acceptable (like in the case of High Tension), so that was overlooked. Other then that I thought the film was somewhat mediocre. The movie was bloody enough but probably lost its intensity in the dubbing. Tomorrow my parents are leaving for Grand Lodge!

Blossoming tulips

Peachy O-Rings

More pictures on my photobucket.

I’ve just finished the twelfth issue of Watchmen. My final list (continued from my previous entry) is: Dr. Manhattan, The Comedian, Silk Spectre, Rorschach, Nite Owl, and Ozymandias. After seeing the film adaptation I can compare not only the comic to the movie, but the actors to their characters. I’ll try and post a revised list based off the film characters once I get around to it.
Judging by Austins progress with the issues, it may move to DVD by the time we see it. He is currently on issue 3. For the last few days we’ve been reading them aloud over the phone.

I’m on the ninth issue of Watchmen.
So far, Dr. Manhattan is my favorite character, followed by Rorschach, The Comedian, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl, and Ozymandias. I’ll update whether or not things stay this way- my dad is an issue ahead of me and is hinting that my feelings about the Comedian may change in the next issue.

EDIT: After reading issue nine- Comedian is now my second favorite.
EDIT: After reading issue ten- I like the idea of the genetically altered Lynx, Bubastis.

I’ve posted some previews of The Black Freighter film below, a fictional comic book within the Watchmen universe that revolves around pirates.

I wrote a huge post on Ida Maria the other day but it appears to have been deleted. To sum it up- Ida Maria’s song, Oh My God has been featured on several Gossip Girl promos for their March 16th airing of the “Age of Dissonance” episode. The song is also the opening track to my newest twee mix, Defiance of the Season, which also includes Hot Lava’s Apple Option Fire, A Sunny Day in Glasgow’s Sometimes I Think About You, Tralala’s Yellow Taxi, and Dressy Bessy’s Second Place, to name a few. Also in cue are twee mixes sex through mine. Twee mix one, two, twee, four, and five were created for Fremont Coffee when we were still functioning, with about fifty other side mixes created for family members of the owners (otherwise known as me). I’ll try to remember to post any tracks that stand out to me. In the meantime I’ve posted Ida Maria’s music video for Oh My God and a longer GG promo, below.

Enjoy!

I went over to Austin’s house this morning where we watched Saw, Saw II, See No Evil, Thank You For Smoking, and the beginning of Lake Dead (which looked marginally better then See No Evil, but was on the same level as both Saw movies). I would love, love, love to be in a scary movie.

Austin made amazing garlic dip tonight. So, so amazing and peppery my stomach still feels like its bleeding.

Love?

Skewl

More pictures can be found on my photobucket.

SCREAM QUEENS<3333

Party Pix

I purchased this

I purchased this

I purchased this

This

And this

My mom purchased this

And this

Gretta

My Holly Madison socks.

Happy Birthday dear, Austin.

More pictures can be found on my photobucket, Totenkindergeschichte. I also have some videos on the way.

I have an incredibly busy schedule this week. Tomorrow morning I’m registering for my next term at PCC, going shopping around Lloyd and Hawthorne districts, having dinner with Austin’s family, and baking him a birthday cake. Saturday we are celebrating his birthday at his house and Sunday I’m cramming for finals. Meanwhile, I’ve been told about three exciting events!

I was emailed by Universal Studios the other day with concept art for their gift shop in the Harry Potter experience in Orlando, Florida. The gift shop is modeled after the Dervish and Banges store from Hogsmeade. Attached to the email was this description of the shop: “Dervish and Banges supplies the Wizarding community with school supplies, Quidditch gear, and magical, wizarding equipment. Here you can purchase authentic and unique items from the world of Harry Potter.” I also went to the HP Lexicon and picked up this description: “Shop that sells and repairs “magical instruments and stuff,” according to Ron, including Sneakoscopes (PA5). It is located near the end of High Street (GF27).”

I’m very excited to see what they will be selling on location. Based off the concept art I imagine they will be selling the Harry Potter School Book Collection (Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them),the entire HP series, as well as special and US/UK editions of Tales of Beedle the Bard.
They probably will also include house scarves, badges, stationary, quills, plush dolls, action figures, and Harry Potter themed candy. It is very possible that they will sell special made brooms, uniforms, and wands by Alivan’s, as well as the Opal Harry Potter yarn, WB replica memorabilia, and various other magic themed toys- chess games, astronomy contraptions, and runes.
The “land,” located at Universal Studios, is still under construction. I know that they are building a dragon themed ride which appears to be a Hungarian Horntail based off recent pole results, and are considering an interactive game where players are given wands to cast spells around the grounds. The land in question includes Hogwarts, Hogsmead Village, Dervish and Banges, The Three Broomsticks, and possible rides located in the Forbidden Forest, in connection to the Whomping Willow.

In other news, Harry Potter: The Exhibition, has chosen the location for its first exhibit in Chicago, Illinois. The show will take place at the Museum of Science and Industry from April 30th to September 27th, 2009. Some of the artifacts they advertise on their website are the Triwizard Cup, the golden egg (clue for the second task) in Goblet of  Fire, Buckbeak, the Marauders map, and authentic costumes. I’m hoping that the tour will continue on through Portland or Seattle so that I can attend it.

Finally, there is a new New Moon contest that has just been launched to the public that gives one lucky fan a chance to visit the set and appear in the film (a simple walk by role). To apply, you just have to create a one minute video on why you deserve the opportunity to be in the film and send it in by March 20th, 09. I’ll be brainstorming my reasons this weekend, but I’m short of the obvious “because I’m adorable, because I’ve read all of the books, blah, blah, blah.” You must be 14 years of age to enter this contest.

Now I’m off to bed so that I can wake up bright and early for all of the things I’ve mentioned above and more. Updates with my new goodies and Austin’s SOON.

Inspired by my aunt’s post at Adelita Style: “What’s in my bag?”

01. Real 3D Ray Bans
02. ASU Key Ring & House Key
03. Deodorant
04. Cell Phone Cozy
05. Assorted App Brushes
06. Sweet Kiss Lipgloss (see my post on best beauty items)
07. Trivora
08. Make Up Bag
09. My EnV2
10. Milky Way Wrapper
11. Mac Studio Fix Powder
12. Hollister SoCal Cologne
13. Avon Eyeliner
14. Avon Blush
15. Hair Tie
16. Lauren Conrad Super Soft, Super Long Gloves
17. iPod
18. Glasses & Case
For some reason my wallet is not in this photo but I do carry it with me every day. I still don’t think this is an accurate description of me since I’m not carrying all of my favorite brands. I normally carry Old Spice, not Speed Stick, a different kind of blush and eyeliner, a Hersey’s wrapper, and a million more hair ties/clips. I also usually carry my text books and pencils with me (not to mention the camera I was taking the picture with). Below I’ve included some photos from the last few days. The apartment post is being put on hold as well as some other posts I was planning on making until I have some free time.

E Beth, the little girl I babysit.

The best crackers ever.

Austin’s preeeseent.

I’ve finally picked up my present for Austin’s eighteenth birthday; I’ll reveal what it is on Saturday. I’m now in the process of creating a card, which should take care of everything but the cake. Austin asked for something with blueberries and raspberries inside of it. I have an idea of what I’ll be making, though it won’t be very large.

I’ll be studying for math’s chapter 2 and final test until then, so there won’t be many posts. My schedule is packed.

EDIT: I got him an iPod.

White Russians, yum…

My Spring term schedule is posted below. I wanted to take a ballet class to realign my back (for my last required PE course) but they took place at the same time as one of my other classes. I’m now starting to take five classes a term to speed up my graduation process, which hopefully won’t interfere too much with work hours, whatever they may be. Austin just got a job at the 42nd Dollar Tree and I’m trying to get one there for both of us to make rent. I’m now a full time student (again)! Wish me luck.
M/W: HST 203, 10am-11:5 @ SE Center
M/W: GS 108 (Oceanography), 6pm-8:5 @ SE Center
T/TH: MTH 62, 11am-12:5 @ Cascade
T/TH: Yoga, 1pm-2:2 @ Cascade
F: HE 250 (Health), 10am-1 @ SE Center

Cinnamon roles for my boy.

I’m an artist.

This is what I live in. You have no idea how unbelievably dirty that mattress is and floor is.

“I’m baby guts.”

5:30AM

BEST FACE WASH: Clearasil Ultra.
Comments: This face wash is ultra creamy and doesn’t contain any scrubbing beads. My skin is typically pretty clear so when I do break out it draws a lot of attention to my face. I only just started using this product but I saw an immediate difference (practically over night). My skin also tends to dry out when the weather changes drastically and this wash controls flaking better then washes containing beads do, leaving your skin super soft and touchable.

BEST FOUNDATION: MAC Studio Fix.
Comments: The foundation is absolutely, hands down, the best cover up I’ve ever used. There are a few reasons why this product is so good. To start, you can apply the product dry or wet. I’ve started applying it wet to create a smoother, more natural look, and have had a 80/100 success rate at covering blemishes. With the summer coming up there is no better reason to buy this foundation because a MAC specialist will personally help you find your match. I know that I’ll be going in once I start to tan to get an updated case. Once you’ve collected a certain number of empty cases, MAC will give you a free one!

BEST EYE SHADOW: Fresh Minerals.
Comments: This eye shadow is wonderful and light as air. My favorite color is Twisted Mind, a sparkly nude shadow that goes with just about any outfit. I don’t normally use shadow unless I’m attending a special event or holiday, but this is the brand I always turn to.

BEST POLISH: A toss up between Sinful Colors and OPI Nail Lacquer.
Comments: Both of these have an amazing shelf life, and none of them have dried out for me yet. They also come in amazing colors and apply super smooth with a great grip handle. My favorites are Sinful Colors #9 Bronze, and #2 BlackonBlack. Corals, golds, nudes, a blood reds are some of my favorite nail colors that both brands have. I’m currently wearing OPI’s You’re A Pisa Work (NL125 Hot Pink).

BEST MASCARA: Voluminous Waterproof Mascara.
Comments: I’m always trying new mascaras and getting disappointed by the gloopy, clumpy results. My goal is to really lengthen my lashes and this mascara tends to do the trick on the top and bottom. For those of you interested, I recently tried Lash Stiletto and it really does lengthen. The downside was that my lashes did seem to be a little wiry after applying it. It also is not waterproof to my knowledge and leaves streak marks.

BEST LIP GLOSS: Nouba Sweet Kiss.
Comments: Pretty, glittery, and great for special occasions, otherwise I don’t like anything sticky on my lips (not even chapstick). This is a great lip product that doesn’t numb your lips or encase them in gloss. It is actually a very nice look (see it on me here).

BEST BLUSH: N/A.
Comments: No idea, still looking. I’m more into powders applied with brushes then cremes, puffs, or sticks. It is really hard to find the right color and method of application. Sticks and cremes leave my skin feeling sticky and my pores feeling clogged; I feel like you can achieve a more natural look with powders. Because my skin is so fair I like to have a big burst of color on my cheeks and nose, otherwise I look drained. I’m open to any suggestions (POWDERS ONLY)!

BEST EYE LINER: Maybelline or Sinful Colors?
Comments: I haven’t had this liner for a while because I was given a bunch of Avon pencils. They work fine and are good for creating the thin cat eye look I love, but my favorite is what I think is Maybelline or Sinful Colors. It is a black stick with a black sponge on the opposite end, encased in silver foil. I don’t remember the brand but if you look for it at your grocery store I’m sure they will have it. It is a really great liner, stays sharp for ages, and never dries out. You can get an ever darker look by placing your liner above a lighter for a few seconds.

BEST MAKE UP REMOVER: Rimmel London Gentle Eye Make Up Remover.
Comments: Amazing. Everything comes off fine with out having to rub and pull at your eyes. Its way better then baby oil because it reduces the number of break outs.

BEST HAIR SPRAY: Bedhead Hard Head.
Comments: I don’t use hair spray any more but when I did this was what I would spend my money on. This hairspray smells delicious and holds well through the night. It is also great for getting that crunchy, just out of bed but not in a defeated sort of way look.

BEST SCENT: NOT GOING TO GO INTO IT.
Comments: Too many to choose from.

BEST BRONZER: Fresh Minerals.
Comments: I only used bronzer for a short while in 2005/2006. My preferred method was Fresh Minerals (at the time) but a natural glow is a million times better. Spend an hour outside every day to achieve this look, I know I don’t.

My desktop is officially toasted. Its packed with viruses and I haven’t been able to access my pcc account in weeks. My iMac is up and working, though. It doesn’t have internet or a proper word document but it has photobooth, itunes, comic life, garage band, and a bunch of other applications that have held me over for the past week.

On Friday I went to dinner at Stark Street Pizza with Austin, his dad, and his step mom. On Saturday I went to breakfast with my dad and Olivia (waffles with blueberry sauce), and to dinner at my grandparents house. My aunt Kamie and her daughter, Estelle were visiting for the weekend and she is sending me a disc of 600 photos from the Seattle photo shoot (I should have some of those up soon). We had an excellent dinner of eggplant lasagna, tempura sweet potatoes, rice, and seaweed, and we watched both Narnia’s on DVD. The next morning, Austin came over. I made chocolate chip pancakes, again, and took a bath while he rubbed my back with soap. Then we went to Tyler and Courtney and Trevor’s house and watched Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job before coming home and making macaroni and garlic bread. I have a million pictures- they are uploading pretty slow because of the viruses (I’ve been trying to upload them for three days now). Hanging out with my boyfriend is amazing. Yesterday we talked about my dream bong/pipe (lime green with magenta/purple/white lotus blossoms). Now I am dying to have it made:

I want to make an “apartment” post soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Bootylicious mac photo

Acai-blueberry pomegranate- the best VW flavor ever.

The house that my family is renting right now.

So many shadows!

My bedroom! The window upstairs.

Summertime vibes.

My baby

These mac pictures from photobooth are really shitty because I had to take them with my digital camera instead of importing them directly to my photobucket.

Here is my list of things I miss and can’t wait for, for summer:
The 80 degree weather, Cactus (my grandma rubs cactus on our sunburns to make them go away and they are really pretty in blossom), Vegetarian bbq, Iced coffee, Slushies, and Shaved ice, No SCHOOL, Blues music, Neon colored bikinis, Shorts, Flip flops, Long hair, Beach trips, Metallic nail polish, Metallic everything, actually, Walking barefoot, My birthday (I’m turning eighteen this summer!), Picnics, Parties, Cold beer, Hard alcoholic fruity girl drinks, Purple kush, Toe rings, The tan!, Green grass, Abundance of photos taken, Darker and warmer nights, Sleeping without clothes on, The ability to kick really hard, Summer dresses, Making friends (Summer is great for socializing since everyone is out and about), Lunch dates, Wood cabins, Horror movies, Big breakfasts, The zoo, Reading on the porch, Spending all your money on books, Crushed ice fraps, Cheesy fries and crepes at the market place, Natural highlights, Summertime sex, Flowers in my hair, Summertime smells, Seasonal fruit (Austin and I are make four berry pancakes… blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry), Forth of July fireworks, Braids, Sleeping in, The drive to get in shape.

Send me your list of things you miss about the summer or can’t wait for.

Chocolate chip pancakes yum

More pictures on my photobucket.

My grandpa gave me his brand new iMac. He only used it to file some documents and says that he doesn’t need it anymore. There isn’t a single scratch on it; it is the most beautiful computer I’ve ever owned! And I have to say that I feel like I deserve it. I’ve been doing so good in school and I’ve saved up so much money for the apartment. I’m glad that I won’t have to worry about getting a new computer when I move out. I should have it ready to use by the end of the week.

I skipped class today to hang out with Austin. He just got a new bong fashioned after the Century and the Void and Young and Liz wanted to try it.
Pictures dans les tonnes underneath the cut.

“The pipe of my heritage”

Finally!

Not letting me take pictures of him, as usual.

I took Austin to see My Bloody Valentine yesterday. It cost me twenty-five dollars, so I’m not even going to bother reviewing it. I will say that the realD glasses they give you look like Ray Bans, so that’s pretty cool.
Some how, with only ten hours of work in the last three weeks I’m also going to have to get him a present for Valentine’s and his eighteenth birthday. Noted that my co-workers hate me, but I’m not a completely horrible employee. I asked my boss a few weeks ago whether I should start looking for a new job with seasonal work coming to a close but she asked for me to stay so I skipped that period of time when businesses were hiring. Since then the most I’ve had was eight hours in one week. It’s like some way of making me quit so they won’t have to fire me.

Fragonard paintings of Louveciennes with lecture notes by John D. Tatter (source).

The Swing (1767)
“The Progress of Love is a series or collection of four paintings designed for the walls of one of the two salons in the chateau [the pavillon ed.] of Louveciennes, being remodeled for Mme Du Barry.”

Storming the Citadel or The Surprise or The Meeting (1773)

This picture depicts the two lovers bathed in an almost unnatural radiance of stage lighting, and the woman’s gestures derive directly from the stage. The thrust of her hand against the greenery is mirrored in countless prints of the period depicting dancers or actresses directing the audience’s attention to the wings: this was a pantomimic gesture gaining popularity in the French theatre at the time.
Besides the dramatic tension between the two lovers, however, there is a tension between them and the sculpture that towers above them–a statue of Venus withholding Cupid’s quiver of arrows from him. Watteau had used a different version of this sculpture in at least two of his paintings, and Fragonard would have known those paintings as well as Dryden knew Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. In Watteau’s paintings, however, Venus is playful and smiling. Here she is rough and menacing, almost knocking Cupid off of the cloud. The trees in the background, too, seem to shy away from her and match the angles formed by her body and Cupid’s. You might be reminded of Pope’s line in “Windsor Forest” about Nature there: “Not Chaos-like together crush’d and bruis’d, / But as the World, harmoniously confus’d.”

The Pursuit (1773)

In this picture the woman is again in motion, and to a contemporary viewer she would have been unmistakably performing in a ballet. She is leaping in a classic ballet position, and she wears soft, low-heeled ballet slippers like those worn by professional dancers of the time. The grouping of the three women is also a direct allusion to a contemporary choreographer’s typical composition of figures on stage. In a similar way, the sculpture in the upper right of Cupids with a dolphin fountain would be recognizable as a visual allusion to Boucher, who often included such sculptures in his paintings, though with a much lighter and playful touch. Here, as in the first painting, the sculpture suggests darkness and turbulence, or at least mystery. Love may be a game with a conventional ending, but in the middle of the game convention dictates suspense.

The Declaration of Love (1773)

The calmest work of the four, this picture has a statue of Venus as friendship dominating the scene at the right. The lovers in the center act almost as a human sculpture, the woman on the central pedestal and the man leaning into her shoulder in a stylized posture of devotion. If these postures seem overly artificial to you, it might do to remember that adolescents today often mimic the walk, the talk, the gestures, the hairstyles, and the clothing of movie and television stars, and that if the young men and especially the women of Fragonard’s day mimicked the gestures of the Belles of the theatre in Paris it should not be surprising. This painting, at any rate, would not have seemed unduly artificial to a contemporary viewer any more than an Olan Mills portrait, complete with artificial countryside background seems inappropriate for the wall of your parents’ home. You might also notice here that the trees create the shape of a heart behind the couple.

The Lover Crowned (1773)

Along with the sorts of details you see in the companion paintings, here you will find scattered attributes of the sister arts, particularly the lute and tambourine and the sheet music, but also the statuary, the architecture, the landscape garden design, and the implied allusion to the dance and the opera and, therefore, to literature. Note also the presence of the artist himself in the figure in the foreground, who by his posture initiates the diagonal movement of the viewer’s eye first to the woman’s head and then on up to the statue of the sleeping Cupid. It is not the actions of the god of love now that animate the scene but the actions of the painter. Notice that in all of these paintings the gardens depicted are as lush and overgrown as the landscape on the island of Cytheria in Watteau’s painting. But also notice in this picture that two of the plants are orange trees growing in large boxes, natural and artificial at once. In order to produce oranges without damage from the cold weather, orange trees were planted this way to be moved inside hothouses called orangeries. The figures in these paintings are hothouse plants of a different sort, as protected by their social class from the wildness of life as Pope’s shepherds are by his poetic composition.
I would also like you to consider in more detail the relationship between the human figures and the sculptures depicted in the paintings. Normally we think of sculpture as static and eternal. When we come upon it in life, we know that it has appeared the way it has for a long time. In these paintings it is used as commentary on the action, and it serves as a response to or illustration of the lovers. The painter has created both at once, however, so the illusion of the sculpture’s permanence versus the lovers’ temporality is an illusion. Because they are created artificially in the painting, they are as permanent/eternal as the staturary. And perhaps the scenes they depict are just as eternal.

Marie Antoinette screencaps under the cut.

Thhhuging.

New sparkly headband.

New Victoria’s Secret lipstick.

New earmuffs from Austin.

Pictures from Tess’ last day in Portland under the cut.

Buuhlazed

Austin and I are going on a picnic tomorrow if the weather is nice.

My Ravenclaw scarf.

“Games Blasted”

Beer and Barbarella

Here are those videos from the garage party last Friday. My camera was dying so they are short:

Tomorrow Austin and I are going to get a touch up of his tattoo at Daisy’s and come back to my house to watch Barbarella. Hopefully we will get to eat a lot of brownies/macaroni (the way I like it) then of course, separate so I can watch Gossip Girl and he can watch Heroes. I don’t even know what we are going to do when we move in together.
On a semi-related topic, Thursday was our eight month. We just realized that today, so tomorrow will be kind of celebratory, I guess. Here are the holiday marks through March:
February 8th: 9 Months.
February 14th: Valintines.
February 28th: Gann’s 1-8.
Sometime in February: Yearbook’s Winter Gala.
Sometime in March: Spring Break- Tess invited Austin and me to Cabo San Lucas! But I have no money because my paychecks are going towards school tuition and my first apartment.
I really want to go to Cabo and will do almost any favor for flight money.
I am accepting donations now: rain.andersen@pcc.edu at paypal.

I just started reading Notes From The Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Dostoevsky last night. It was one of the books I got for Christmas and gooood. I’ll update more when I finish it but it may take a while with the term starting again. I can tell that I’m going to be kept pretty busy with class/Austin/work (if they don’t fire me). I might have to start looking for a new job soon.
There is a Cower show this Friday, which I think is the only band in Portland still booking shows, and I may be attending if it is free/if I can get in for free. That’s all for now.

Here are a few pictures from the garage party last night. I have a couple videos but I haven’t uploaded them yet.

He just really likes the camera or something.

Playlist under the cut.

Honor’s Society

CLUB FAIR PLAYLIST:
Way Back -Keak Da Sneak
Day n Night – Kid Cudi
So Tall – Zion I
Buy You A Drank – T Pain
Self Esteem – The Offspring
Higher – The Game
Oh Yes – Juelz Santana
If I Ruled the World – The Fugees
Boy Looka Here – Rich Boy
Drivin Me Wild – Common
Cookie Jar – Gym Class Heroes

Here is the first batch of photos. I went out to the store tonight to pick up some supplies for club fair tomorrow and ended up buying spray and fabric paint to make tshirts for Jennifer and me.

My first three stencils were ripped so I decided to use these letter stencils I found in our basement. Here is a layout draft.

The letter stencils didn’t work so I made this thug ass shirt.

Tess’ shirt made by Tess.

Jennifer’s shirt made by my mom.

A fat stack of info pamphlets, position submission forms, guest submission forms, artist submission forms, mailing list sign ups, etc.

Things have actually been really comfortable this week aside from school.
Yesterday I went to Austin’s house where we watched a bunch of animated superhero shows. Then I fell asleep and had a dream about Harley Quinn.
This morning Tess and I smoked and watched Thirteen. Austin came over after class for a while and when he left we watched Thirteen again.

I’ll have pictures from the fair up later.

Tess and me.

I won’t write a full review of the film but Austin and I both agreed that The Spirit had both good and bad aspects. One of my favorites was Michael Dennison’s costumes.

I have to say that my favorite femme fatales of the film were Eva Mendes as Sand Saref and  Scarlett Johanson as Silken Floss.
I imagine that Sand’s costumes and hair required a lot of research. My favorite outfits of her’s were her white business suit, at the beginning of the film (I think it is the second costume we see her in) and the white, one sleeve, embellished dress, with a cape, which we see in the scene where Sand plays cards. That scene also has my favorite hair style of the film, seen below.

I haven’t been able to identify the name of the hairstyle but the two horns remind me of an owl or devil, which complies with the idea of her being a femme fatale or “deadly woman.”

Read this interesting article on wikipedia for more on femme fatales like the famous Mata Hari and Theda Barda (my drawing here). One of my favorites is Lillian Gish.

This is a picture of the back of her dress where you can see that the sides have been cut out.

Finally, the beading can be seen a little clearer in this publicity photo.

Another favorite costume of the film was Silken Floss’s nurse costume. Silken Floss wears several costumes in this film, and does not stick to one particular style like Sand Saref. Other costumes Silk wears is a Nazi uniform and a Geisha kimono. Her nurse costume, described above, was one of my favorites because it immediately reminded me of The Bride of Frankenstein.

I was lucky enough to find these photos of the costume from the front, side, and back.

The photo above is Silk’s first costume in the film where she wears false eyelashes with black leather, a turtle neck, and pencil skirt.

Samuel Jackson’s character, The Octopus, also has his fair share of costumes, which when seen with Silk are almost identical. He too has a Nazi uniform and a samurai kimono. The photo above is his first costume in the film where he fights with The Spirit.

The only one who remains uniform throughout the entire film is The Spirit, played by Gabriel Macht. In the comics, the Spirit wears a navy suit with a red tie and fedora. The switch to black may have been a wise decision because of how Miller tends to block out colors in his films- part of what makes it so visually stunning.
Even though it is not included here, I do have other photos from the film. If you contact me I will willingly send them to you. All of the images I found through Google image.

Playlist under the cut.

“100% REAL SILK.”

AFTER NAP PLAY LIST:
Dead Prez – Hell Yeah
Andre Nickatina – 4AM Bay Bridge
Big Tymers – Project Bitches
Birdman – Pop Bottles
Blackstreet – No Diggity
Chris Brown – Down
Chris Brown – Kiss Kiss (Remix)
Curtis Mayfield – Move on Up
Federation – Hyphy
Federation – What is It
Guided by Voices – Don’t Stop Now
Rhymefest – Brand New
Blink 182 – Whats my Age Again?
Trillville – Some Cut
Wyclef Jean – Sweetest Girl

Perfectionner uniced sugar cookies.

Jello shots.

Florescence.

Short New Years Ever playlist:
New Order – Age of Consent
Chris Knox – The Joy of Sex
The Jam – All Mod Cons
The Jam – A Bomb in Wardour Street
The Jesus and Mary Chain – Far Gone and Out
Life Without Buildings – New Town
AND OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF RAP MUSIC.

Classic picture

Sleepover.

For the jello shots- too sour watermelon wine and melon fusion jello.

Touring OCI

Chocolate Marie Antoinette brick

Apparently because my mom works at PPC my tuition for OCI is only $1,800.

Merry Christmas! Here is what I got:

From Austin, a necklace.
From my parents, “Notes from the Underground, The Double, and Other Stories,” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, my own unabridged “Lolita,” by Nabokov, some clothes, and press on nails.
From Olivia, the Girls Next Door season one.
And I am having Tess get me either the Lord of the Rings trilogy (books) or Gasoline by Dame Darcy for her gift.

Boo had a good Christmas

Boo had a good Christmas

These photos are a few days old. The snow is even thicker now.

Austin and I are celebrating Christmas early so that we can spend Christmas day with our prospective families. That being said, I’ll post a list of his presents now. My mom made him a red, brown, and white scarf (seen above)- she also knitted me and green and blue phone cozy with an astronomy pin, by request.

This is more of a gift to myself that I will force Austin to wear.
The back of each ring says “Twilight” and the front says either “Lion” or “Lamb.” Below is the lamb ring.

Then I bought him the new Prince of Persia on XBox360. I’ll probably have to play this.

And Nabokov’s Pnin for my mom.

Gingerbread!

My mom and I were doing “Alice-Cullen-plays-baseball” kicks in the snow all morning.

Tess Ryan

Looking straight snatched in Gann’s long John’s and my new Twilight shirt.

My new cell phone.

The rest of the day has been great… chocolate chip cookies dipped in coffee, Millennium on DVD, and gift wrapping.
I’ll post more later. I want to enjoy my last day off until Christmas.

I finally got some of my Christmas shopping done!
For my dad, a copy of Barbarella.
For Austin, a bunch of surprises, I’ll post on Christmas day.
For Tess, tattoo’s I’ve designed for her stomach.
And for me, my new ENV2 maroon cell phone and two new septum rings. The first is a small silver one that can be worn with or without balls, and the second is made with little pink diamonds (the best ever).
I still haven’t picked up Olivia’s, Boo’s, or my mom’s gifts but will try and get it out of the way tomorrow. I’ll be working 50 hours next week (every day, excluding Christmas), with no time to go shopping. Picture updates and news soon. Right now I am filling out transfer college applications and composing a playlist for the winter gala.

My State Of Mind
Mood: Lazy.
Favorite Fragrance: Food, Austin.
Comfort Food: Chocolate.
Ring Tone: Standard.
iPod Track: Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation, from the Twilight soundtrack.
Conscience: I am a vegetarian.

My Mantra
If I could have a magic power it would be: to read minds.
My biggest teenage angst: is my peers.
Last night I dreamt: that I was a mermaid.
I sometime get called: Rain, Rianna.
If I could wave my magic wand: everyone would have money and no one would be in debt.
Blondie’s are: cute.

My Entourage
Hair Colorist: Myself.
Manicurist: Myself.
Nutritionist: Dr. Beard.
Spiritual guru: Steven Patrick Morrissey.
My Fitness Trainer: Sharon Bolden.

My Inside Secrets
Diet Plan: Pilates and sex.
Vitamins: Fruit and vegetables.
Skin Prep: Any foam face wash.
Secret Crush: A young Danny Elfman.

My War Paint
Lipstick: Chap Stick classic original.
Mascara: L’Oreal Carbon Black Voluminous Mascara.
Nail Polish: Black on black by Sinful Colors.
Blush: Gingerly or Fleur Powder by MAC.
Foundation: MAC studio fix foundation in N4 (during spring/fall).
Eyeshadow: Bare Mineral cashmere glimmer shadow.
Bronzer: N/A

It is a lazy day. I need cider and fantasy books, and Lord of the Rings on DVD (where did I put you?). I’m going to speak to Kira about getting a job at the childrens book store on Fremont. I would love to work there! Most book stores don’t hire until you are eighteen but a little advanced placement and some inside connections might help.
My mom has been pushing me to apply for OCI (Oregon Culinary Institute) because it is close to home and in connection to her teaching job at Pioneer (meaning that I would receive a discount). My heart is still in Nottigham, Chicago, Paris, and Pennsylvania but we will see how the tour goes. I am set for a meeting at OCI on December 30th. The snow is just starting to fall in Portland. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it gets really bad so that work will cancel and Austin will be snowed in with me.

Work was canceled today and will most likely be canceled tomorrow due to the snow storm.  Today’s yearbook meeting went fine. I’ve been inspired by Twilight’s prom scene for Y.O.U.’s winter gala. I want to install some type of outdoor lighting system like they had (I’ve included a picture under the cut), which seems to have three different light sources: lanterns, fairy lights, and some sort of bulb or rounded string light. Fairy lights are widely available- most people have them for Christmas- but the other two might be harder to locate. I still have to think about indoor lighting, food, drinks, guest submission forms, and possible chaperoning. Kevin, the events coordinator, has told me we can use south east’s main hall, which is more then enough. I’m confident that the dance will turn out nice.

I feel like watching Twilight and reading more about Falkor, the luck dragon.

Nino and Boo. German Shephard/Pug love.

For the fall term of 2008 I had a 4.00 GPA and A’s in all of my classes! Hooray!
Below are the pictures from the last few days, not in any particular order. As its become in fashion to post Christmas decorations around this time of year I’ve included some below, as well as photos from another sleepover with Austin and other fun things. Here is a sample:

My popierre’s Christmas card.

Still Ill

Prepping for pre-funk

I walked into a cabinet corner. You can’t really see it but it cut my face, ouch.

I’ve had so much hot chocolate and cider this past week. Mm.

Cropping!

I still have my septum pierced. I just haven’t been able to find my ring. I’m going to try and buy a new one this week.

I told Austin about a sports ad that I was trying out for, so we started taking pictures that he could send in as well. The full day of modeling pays five hundred dollars if the person is cast, and three hundred dollars for a half day. They are all hilarious, and wonderful in their own way but I’ve chosen two of the least embarrassing ones for his sake. The best pictures were not included in this post.

My family just got a copy of the color version of Blow-Up, the 1966 British-Italian picture by Michelangelo Antonioni. I’d love to do some drawings, or paintings, or photographs based on this movie. It has recently become one of my favorites.

The Lloyd food court is closed today which means I only had to work one shift this week. Unfortunately, I’m still sick and haven’t been able to really enjoy the snow on my day off, or Monticello’s as planned.
Austin invited me to go sledding with Alec, Young, and Lizzie today but I wasn’t able to go because of this horrible illness.

Mm, Austin came over on Thursday and made my family delicious garlic-based pasta. The next day I had to cancel my shift at Orange Julius to pick up some important medicine at the doctors office.
Regardless of the hours I lost at work, I was able to watch the kids for Sarah that night and made fifty dollars.
The doctor gave me a goody bag of assorted pink, yellow, orange, and sparkly pearl-white condoms, and I was able to watch all the Christmas themed episodes of The Girls Next Door on demand while drinking mandarine-lime soda water. It was wonderful.
This morning I woke up achy, and coughing, and sneezing everywhere. It was horrible, and I had to cancel my second shift this week. I’ve laid in bed all day sleeping and reading The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende. Austin visited at one point to cuddle which was nice. He is always around to nurse me when I am sick, I love him.
Later on today, after he had left, my parents told me that we may not celebrate Christmas at all this year because of our financial problem. The money we had for Christmas will probably be given to my sister Tess, who I now hate for robbing Christmas.
I’m still going to be buying everyone gifts, just because I love buying people presents. I am trying to make a custom blanket for my dad with a nude portrait of my mother, and some vintage jewelry from Monticello’s for her. It is all very complicated, I’ll have to get it sorted out soon between work, Austin, illness, and Y.O.U.
I am hosting a very important meeting for my members this coming Tuesday and have spent the last few days composing a packet for them. Kevin, the events coordinator of PCC, even said we could use the great hall at SE for a winter dance. Other ideas I’ve been messing with are a student beach trip, trips to the observatory, student art shows, sports, bake sales to raise money for PCC scholarships, museums, and blood drives. All events encourage that you bring guests of course, which the students love.
Next term I’ll be transferring to Cascade campus, which I’m sure doesn’t make any of their students very happy- but I love the campus! It is so much bigger and greener then South East campus and full of school spirit. I’ll still be going to SE for my pilate’s class, but will be taking math and writing at Cascade.

Meanwhile, I’m going to start hunting for a new job. Once hired at Orange Julius, they told me it was seasonal, and my work there has made me hate working food! Coffee shops and bakeries are different, but they are harder to secure. I’d also love to work in a book store, but want to avoid the elitist attitude of their employees.
Back when I was applying for a winter job I applied at Bath & Body Works in the mall. Everyone was really kind and I hoped I would get the job there, but Orange Julius and F21 seemed to be the only ones hiring. I’d like something closer to my home this time too. There is a Thai restaurant by my house, and jobs available on campus I might be able to tie into Y.O.U. In any event, I’m hoping Austin will go job hunting with me, because he hasn’t received many hours at the deli.
I’m also trying to get him to go to college. He was interested in The Art Institute of Portland for a while, until he saw their tuition. All colleges have high tuition’s, you have to accept when applying for further education. I recently saw an article on PCC’s website about the number of scholarships they give out (hundreds a year, and expanding) to students with as low as a 3.4 grade point average. My mom is personally trying to get me to go to a pastry school after getting my associates at PCC (one more year!), but I haven’t been able to decide yet. I’ll update more on this later. I have pictures to post.

The picture post I promised is below!
My family has no money to go Christmas shopping, so I was contemplating buying a bunny with my allowance. They are the cheapest animals apart from fish and mice (40$ leaving me ten more dollars to spend on a book). I’d love to have a little canary too, but I’m thinking about getting something more practical, like books or art supplies. I also asked for lots of little cheap things that would make them feel like they had bought me more stuff because they feel so guilty- “those ear muffs from target,” “alchemy candles,” “knitted socks.”
I’m really excited for Christmas. I just got my pay check and am going shopping sometime next week. The good food we are going to eat/bake, giving people presents, and drinking warm things on the porch; its all so good.
I’m decorating the house for Christmas tomorrow, my parents talked about stealing a Christmas tree from down the street, and we just saved up money to buy ingredients for sugar cookies (including star, tree, stocking, and gingerbread cutters). I’m going out to pick up ingredients for Boo’s present this week before work. I’m baking her honey and bacon doggie biscuits this year and my mom is knitting her a new bed. It should be fun. I’m hoping work won’t give me too many hours over break. I’m exhausted as it is.

Just for fun

Here is a new photo method offered on wordpress. I don’t think I like it very much.
Click the photo view a larger image.

I no longer have wireless connection. Because of this, I will have fewer posts- I can’t determine how long. Once I am able to get wireless I’ll post as regularly as I did before and provide a massive photo post.
I’m going to my last final of the term today so will use the remainder of this time to study for it. My schedule after Tuesday will be free until January fifth, of next year (between my work hours). Please get a hold of me via phone.

So much has been going on, I’ll start by saying that I am trying out to be PCC’s panther mascot for our men’s basketball team. There have been few or no inquiries on the mascot position since the majority of responses are applying for cheerleading. I’d love to be a PCC cheerleader if I had any experience in gymnastics but am meanwhile very happy to apply and secure the mascot position. I’m so excited to hear whether I get the position. I’m going to Cascade campus this Saturday to try on the gear.
Secondly, I have been emailing Niko and Jane long and detailed messages about our yearbook committee. We’ve gotten behind with the holidays and the end of the term approaching. I’m still making an effort to complete the project. My latest idea was to provide events to college completion and GED students to make it more of a community. I’ve made a small list of events I thought were appropriate: a winter gala/dance, a student art show, a blood drive, trips to the local observatory/museums, a student beach trip, a bake sale to raise money for PCC scholarships, and sporting events. Its been a tedious process getting both Jane and Niko to reply, but I’m really confident and excited to hear their approval. The winter dance would be my first project because of the season, and then progressing on to other activities.
In the meantime, I am writing up my book review for my history class, studying for finals, buying Christmas gifts, working, and attending various appointments at my doctors office. My schedule this week is Friday, 5-cl, Saturday, 5-cl, and Sunday, 1-cl. I also have a babysitting job on Monday from 4 to 11. I’m going to try and make it to all of these jobs without getting anyone to cover for me so that I’ll have a decent amount of money to buy everyone gifts this season. I’ll have to work fast to get everything done and polished and hopefully suitable for our history final on Monday. Failure on the test or the book review could influence my grade, and probably have me fail the course based off their percentage level. I’m going to try and post another seasonal fashion review as soon as finals are over (a completed version!). Keep your eye out for this post and others.

New shoes for prom:

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious! We had potatoes (mashed), Hawaiian bread rolls, amazing onion/garlic dip with water crackers, stuffed olives (gorgeous olive trees on google image), green bean casserole with dried onion, tofurky, cranberry-apple dumplings, vegan jerky, berry cobbler, and so much more. I can not express the amount of exhaustion and pleasure I got from the meal! For drinks Olivia had a spritzer, the adults had wine, and I had spicy rum with cherry coke (delicious but too much and now I have a tummy ache). I used to like buying the black cherry rum to mix with cola, but now that I’ve tried it spiced I don’t think I can ever return to fruit flavored rum again. It has such a rich, buttery smell. Its very good. We didn’t have sweet potatoes but Austin’s mom made some with walnuts and a sweet sauce that she packed away for me (so sweet). I have work tomorrow from eleven to seven (eight hours on Black Friday!) so I should probably be napping right now, but my parents promised we would watch Memento together before the night was over.

In the meantime- I thought it would be fun to try out for New Moon if I catch casting in time, so I started researching the film. No open casting calls have been announced. The chances are unbelievably slim and there aren’t many new characters to the series with much screen time. I tried out for Paranoid Park and got a call back but didn’t make it into the film. I’ve also been in school plays, but thats about as far as my acting experience goes. I’m going to ask my mom to take me to Lana Veenker Casting for inquiry and write out to Aquila/Wood Casting in California. I don’t have much hope for the project; I don’t resemble any of the characters and the film is a major motion picture but Veenker casting is where I went for my Paranoid Park callback in Portland and they did some casting for the Twilight film. My sister Tess was actually called about being a stand in for Bella’s role in the film but was studying in Arizona at the time. She turned twenty today.

EDIT: I went to Lana Veenker’s website for more information on casting. They posted an email address with the request that you do not call their offices. After sending the email I found on both their myspace’s and in an automatic response email that any head shots/resumes/or otherwise flooding of their inbox or voice mail is prohibited, and that transgressors will be eliminated from consideration. I guess I blew that.

Chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries and whipping cream.

Tofurky

It has just been reported that the New Moon script is completed and filming should start sometime in March.

Austin and I slept all day. We ordered pizza between naps.

I just downloaded an application Lizzabeth showed me called “Stumble.” The tool bar lets you check off your interests and ultimately brings up a new page on a subject each time. I have over one hundred subjects. One of the first ones that I clicked was “sexual health,” and I got an article on the history of vibrators. The second one I clicked was “ballet,” and I came up with a website titled “The Ballerina Gallery: Ballet Photos of Professional and Renowned Ballerinas,” sooo pretty. I continued searching- agriculture, The Vertical Farm Project, Hinduism, Vendanta Spiritual Library, Astrology/Physics, What Tree Did You Fall From? (I fell from the hornbeam tree according to this site), activism, the Free Hugs Campaign. This program make me want to sit at the computer for hours just so that I can learn new things; it is amazing. Download the app here.

Another long day. I cut school to make truffles and cheese cakes for my CG presentation. After the macaroon disaster last night, I couldn’t bring myself to make any more sweets. I finished my speech (though it needs to be polished), and the truffles and cheesecakes look lovely. I’d still like one more thing for my classmates. I am going to buy strawberries for this quick fix, and raspberries to garnish the individual cheesecakes. I also picked yellow, red, and pink roses this morning to garnish the sweets (since rose petals are edible). I was planning on candying them, but ran out of egg whites. I still have to make a final menu, a detailed outline (to refer to in my speech), and a final draft of my paper, before the night is over. Pictures below.

Spicy, soy “buffalo wings.”

Chopped, bittersweet chocolate.

I took about four small spoonfuls of the macaroon spread from last night and tried to “truffle” them, and coat them with different products. The first one I tried was cayenne pepper. People seemed to like this one the most. While making the truffles I added a little over two tablespoons of pear brandy. My mom tried the mixture on the to-be-washed and said that you could taste the brandy but that it was delicious and subtle. I coated the first sample with cayenne, the second with powdered sugar, the third with dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa, and the fourth with an almond/chocolate/sugar powder left in the food processor from last nights failed macaroons. Cayenne had a very distinct taste. You are not able to taste the pepper until you’ve finished the truffle and it lingers for quite some time- very, very spicy!

The macaroon filling.

Some of the cheese cakes came out cracked, but closed up within the first five minutes of leaving the oven.

This is actually a really dark chocolate. The flash on this photos makes it appear lighter, but shows the creamy golden streaks from the brandy.

In the end I made about eight truffles with powdered sugar, nine with cayenne pepper, and six with dutch-processed cocoa.

I’m very glad to have the two main plates finished. Making macaroons really depressed me, and after burning myself twice in two days I started to feel like I wasen’t a real baker, but feigning it. I have to finish the menu and outline before bed. Tomorrow we are going shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, and I am purchasing my first tofurky. This is our first year at home (we usually celebrate Thanksgiving at my grandparents house in Tualitan, where everyone eats meat, so they never buy tofurkies). I’m going to find something to bake (a pie maybe), and hopefully pick up some sweet potatos. Its amazing to think I’ve been a vegitarian almost four years now. It will be sad to have Austin in Florance, I’ll say again, but I’ll try and make the best of the situation. My popierre, Benjamin, will be coming off course. I’ll post pictures later. Right now I’m thinking about starting a drawing on Twilight. I keep getting Bella’s Lullaby and 15 Step by Radiohead stuck my head.

I have had the worst baking experience. My background with baking this far has consisted of cakes (mainly), cupcakes, and a modern sort of creme brulee (a hard shell surrounding a warm, liquid center). For my baking final I narrowed it down to five dishes that I have loved and would be happy to include in my own bakery, if I were to open one. I’ve been at work every day this past weekend, with a limited amount of time to do homework, or create my moms birthday present. I realize that I saw Twilight twice this weekend- an unexpected mistake- I only planned to see it once and the date and time weren’t finalized until late in the day. I made a point of picking up the ingredients for my main dishes this weekend. I didn’t want to do any of the berry dishes because I wanted them to be fresh for the presentation- I also had to knock off my berry trifle from the presentation from lack of funds.

Tonight I started off with the chocolate macaroon. I love the idea of pistachio, lemon, and rose macaroons, but I know that they wouldn’t sit well with my classmates judgmental taste buds. I got the recipe off of David Lebovitz website, French Chocolat Maccaron Recipe. The recipe was simple but I didn’t quite have the baking utensils necessary to create them.
First I had to find a food processor (that took forever). Once I located one I put in the powdered sugar, unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa, and sliced almonds. I ground these items up until it made a fine powder. Then I beat two egg whites until they rose and began to foam. Lebovitz says to use a standing electric mixer, which I don’t own, so I had to do it by hand; another long process. Then I added the granulated sugar, mixed until it was stiff, and added the ground concoction I had made earlier. Once I added the powder I realized that the almonds had not been ground well enough. They were small but substantial pieces. The mixture, after having been folded in, smelled and tasted delicious.
Lebovitz later instructs to use a bakers bag to pipe the mixture on to a baking pan lined with parchment paper. I didn’t have any more baking bags so I put the mixture into a plastic lunch bag, and cut the tip. This method worked well at first but became harder and harder as I ran out of mixture. The macaroon batter was busting out of every end of the bag. At this point I switched to a rounded spoon, which was much easier. I only had enough mixture (though Lebovitz says you should be able to make fifteen cookies with this recipe) for twelve cookies (six macaroons, a big let down). The macaroons were not looking very good. The first batch was cracked, with no foot. I thought that trial and error suggested I might do better on my next try, and I did. The macaroons didn’t crack on the second batch, but they combusted out of the foot of the cookies. The third batch was perfect, but once I grabbed it (with a glove), I burnt my hand and dropped the macaroons. They pan landed bottom up, which was wonderful, but the macaroons slid to the side, detaching their shell from their still maturing inner-batter. I’m so incredibly frustrated with the circumstances. I haven’t gotten anything done this weekend. I only got three hours of sleep last night, and haven’t been able to make it to bed yet, this evening. It is the worst, and most awful scenario. I am hoping my presentation still goes well. At this rate, I won’t be able to finish my mom’s present by tomorrow, her forty forth birthday.

Busy, busy, busy! Austin and I went to see Twilight after I had gotten off work on Friday. After the movie (which Austin hated) we had a wonderful sleepover at my house- Taco Bell, Vertigo, and two layers of pajamas. I went shopping for my macaroons, truffle, and cheesecake ingredients the following morning, and went to see Twilight a second time with my mom and cousin, Veronica, who choose out the film to celebrate her sixteenth birthday (she was passing through on her way to Washington).

My first viewing of the film was not good. The theater was packed with middle aged woman and teenaged girls, hooting and hollaring just about every time Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson, came on screen. Though I thought the locations and saturation of the film were beautiful, the film was a conclusive let down.
The second viewing was better in many ways; the theater was moderately packed, there was an agreeable amount of laughter, and we had gotten a better seat. I was able to pay more attention to the script and to the actors without the background noise of the theater. I’m glad to report that the audience loved the movie on both occasions, and sad to say that I did not. Even though the film was very physically accurate in regards to casting, I felt like actors were exaggerating their roles. Most of the supporting roles had no tone and the leading roles took direction too literately. I’m sure if you told them to speak quietly, they would whisper on a barley comprehensible level, or if you told them to run, that they would bolt. Such is the result of casting beautiful people who do not act for a living. I did, however, think that Taylor Lautner, who played Jacob Black, and Anna Kendrick (loved Anna Kendrick!), who played Jessica Stanley did very well.
There were also portions of the film that I found confusing or unappealing. The meadow scene, which inspired the novel, took place in a forest where Bella and Edwards characters discussed his species, a topic that was supposed to have taken place on their way back from Port Angeles. On another note, Edward whose senses were so acute, in addition to being able to read minds, was not able to tell that Victoria was at their senior ball… if you’ll notice, she is in the left hand corner of the venue when Edward and Bella enter, playing black jack. I seemed to be the only one in the theater that found the slang, used by adults and teens, unacceptable and unremarkable (this film is not Juno), and I was sort of upset with Burwell’s lullaby. As pretty as it was, it didn’t sound to me like a love drenched bed time song but a weighty, typical, vampiric melody. The focus of the book isn’t that a vampire is falling in love with a human, but that there is a strain in their impossible relationship that they are constantly battling. The fact that Edward and his family are vampires is more of a back story, to further stress Myer’s point (keep your eye out for her cameo in one of the film’s diner scenes). I was really hoping that the film could portray what the book was unable to, and I was sad to see that it hadn’t done this, or even met up with the expectations of a book made from vanilla extract.

The statment was just issued today, that actors will be called back for Twilight’s sequel, New Moon, effective immedietly. Here is the statement issued by leading actors Kirsten Stewart and Robert Pattinson:

Pictures from the other night and photos of my latest drawing under the cut.

New drawing, just pencil. I don’t like this one very much.

A video my little sister made with her friends while I was at the theater.

My cousin from Washigton who has surprisingly similar features to Rachel Lefevre, who played Victoria in Twilight. Her natural hair color is strawberry blonde.

Now I’m off to bake dozons of macaroons, truffles, and cheesecakes!

Love Animal Planet

My drawings are being put on hold so that I can start a new project. I’m working on a painting for my mom’s forty-forth birthday, this Monday. I’m not sure about the size or design yet. I also have to bake her something. Here is a long to-do list for the coming week:

- Work on Friday (10a-?)
- Interview at F21, Fri. (5:3p-?)
- Saturday morning meeting at Orange Julius (8:3a-?)
- Work on Saturday (1p-cl)
- Painting for my mom’s present (including the purchase of new paints, a canvas, and a frame)
- Baking something for my mom’s birthday
- Typing my speech for my CG Final
- Baking the visuals for my CG Final (some how transporting them to the classroom by 2:3p, Tues.)
- Work on Sunday (1p-cl)
- Creating a final menu to hand out to students
- Catching up on HST201 readings (haven’t done any!)
- Catching up on HST201 book review (more reading to be done!)
- Typing something beautiful for the HST201 book review, submitting it
- Studying for my HST201 final
- Getting my bi-monthly paycheck at Orange Julius
- Planning Thanksgiving feast, cooking it, and serving it
- Finishing The Air-Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller

So much to do!

EDIT: I also wanted to add that Austin’s tattoo is finished and healing. I’ll have pictures of it up later. Probably when my to-do list isn’t so long.

Preview of my menu (I still haven’t come up with a name for my bakery yet).
This is just a draft; my menu will have a background, better descriptions, prices, and hopefully some photos added to it. As you can see a lot of my products are named after 18th century aristocrats, political figures, and so forth. I wanted my bakery to serve French foods with a Asian twist. Asia was, for a long time, a primary source of trade and members of Europiean upper class often found use of their services as an exotic form of entertainment. I love it. Here is an ebook, Asia in the Eyes of Europe: 16th Through 18th Century’s by Donald F. Lach, that goes into further detail. Provided with many thanks by The University of Chicago Library.

Blossoming teas provided by Golden Teahouse.

Champagnes and white wines served with your choice of berry.

Not for sale<333

I’m working on a bunch of new drawings. I’ll try and have them finished soon and posted.

Right now I’m reading Henry Miller’s The Air Conditioned Nightmare. I haven’t had much time to read it between school, work, and drawing – I am also sharing the book with my mom who keeps taking it to work with her but I’m about a chapter in- Good News! God is Love!. Of course I’ve been raised under the impression that all of his work is sacred, so I haven’t picked up any of his work until now. I tried to read Sexus during my freshman year in high school and was so entirely overwhelmed that I’d abandoned the book and refused to pick up any of his work unless to purchase it for a coming of age present or to read a paragraph and be satisfied.

After work I listened to Radio Lab’s episode, Choice, which you can stream here. I really enjoyed it so I thought I would attach a link to this entry. I remember my first summer out of high school my dad made me wake up every morning and listen to OPB News, Talk of the Nation, Fresh Air, and The World. Their voices were so calming though, and I didn’t have a taste for politics at the time so I usually fell asleep. Later on my mom and I would fold laundry to articles from their website (you can stream most of them there). Please look into their website for more information.

Two o clock in the morning drawing:

Pencil

Copy and paint

Sort of based off of this picture of K Dunst and Ban.Do head wear:

I got another interview this Friday at F21. I really hope that I get the job for two reasons. The first is that Orange Julius is not giving me many hours and F21 is not distributing many- I should have a balanced schedule with both jobs. The second is that I absolutely love F21. They always have a variety of clothing, for reasonable prices, exercising the latest trends, constantly expanding (they have three sister stores, added on to both Portland locations, and created a men’s clothing line in the past year), and exhausting themselves of personal style (I love the downtown location dressing rooms, doors a la hobbit hole). Its always been my first choice when I have extra spending money. I always give them about a week into a trend before shopping there and they rarely ever disappoint me. The only downside, which is ironically one of their biggest strengths, is that they sell clothing quickly and replace it with different clothes. You aren’t really given time to save up for an item before it is sold out which is why I am always checking the site for new arrivals. Wish me luck in securing this job!

Pictures from yesterday: Austin’s tattoo is almost finished!

Rosy cheeks

Fine Cooking <3 $8

Austin is spending this Thanksgiving in Florence with his grandparents where there is no phone reception. You have no idea how happy it would make me if he could spend it in Portland with me. I’m making tofurky and petite fours.

Pictures from the last two days:

First day of work

Second day of work.

My first purchase in months! $11.50 – F21.

Work has been insane. The first few days always are. I’m still memorizing the drinks and the layout of the buisness but I can see myself picking up pace (which is a relief). Maybe it was just me but it seemed really busy today.

Photographs by Marlene Marino.

New York Nudes

New York Nudes

New York Nudes

Sisters

Sisters

Sisters

Photos are a little distorted. Save the image to your computer to see the full size or visit the image URL.

Wonderful news, amis! I got the job at Orange Julius! I’m so, so excited, and also very nerveux. I have orientation tomorrow afternoon from two to around four o clock in the evening after which I’ll be attending Lizzie’s party! Sandy is going to Las Vegas for her birthday and is leaving the house to her and Abigail who moved out last month. Lizzie constructed a guest list the other day which assures that each and every bed and every sleeping bag will be occupé!

I ended up withdrawing from my math class today which meant I had to create a new schedule for winter term (below). I’m still doing really well in my history and CG courses. I’m glad to have withdrawn from algebra so I can focus on my finals in these classes. I’m working on a book review for HST201 I mentioned a while ago on Salem Witchcraft, Volumes i and ii by Charles Wentworth Upham which absolutely amazing. I love his writing and subject matter.

Meanwhile, I’m creating a career presentation for CG on baking. I’ll be writing an essay, reciting a speech, turning in an outline with Holland codes, dressing up as a little baker (so excited), and making some things for my classmates. I was thinking about creating a menu for my “bakery” to hand out to students since I won’t be able to make everything. Here is what I am preparing before the class: chocolate truffles with chili or cayenne pepper, strawberries filled with cream and drizzled chocolate (room temperature), and either a individual cheese cake with candied roses and berries and/or chocolate macaroons. I’m also making a modern berry trifle with rum in class for our teacher, Jane. It was definitely difficult to come down to these things, I ended up choosing the ones that cost the least, so as to spare my family- I’ll be making all these items from scratch.
I was thinking about doing a berry tart (pressing graham crackers into the bottom of a cupcake filter, filling with custard and berries and removing the filter), Mexican wedding cakes (Russian tea cakes), millefoglie (napoleon), millionaires, shortbread tarts, and gelatin with meat and berries. I’d love to try incorporating fake meat into desserts though I don’t know how it would taste or hold as far as preservation goes. I’m really excited! I’m usually very good at giving speeches, especially when including a visual- hopefully all goes well.

Here is my new schedule for winter term:

At SE Center:
12572 PE 2:3-3:5P M/W (My pilate’s class is the same)

At Cascade:
12690 MTH61 11-12:5P T/TH
11480 WR121 1-2:5P T/TH

Mommy day earlier this week

Waters breaking

My babies daddy

I just got health insurance and they are getting me up to date on my shots. I got four yesterday (HPV, tetanus, flu, & something else) that has left me completely sore and nauseous and uncomfortable and crampy and achy but still enjoying the fact that I’ve gotten a real job, withdrawn from my least favorite subject in school, and am in love with my boyfriend. I’ve got a whole bunch of appointments lined up that I’m not looking forward to.

I watched Marie Antoinette after getting home from my meetings at PCC. I totally relate to the character and adorer everything about that film. The colors, the costumes, and music, and the nourriture have each been an inspiration to me in their own ways. I remember how happy I was when I saw Radio Dept. on the soundtrack and how proud I was of them. This movie totally encompasses who I am and my history. Of course at lot has changed since then, but I still recognize the similarities we had/have. I’ll be re watching sections of this film during the construction of my CG visual. I love all the foods and displays they had during the movie. The gelatin idea I mentioned above was actually something I saw in a behind-the-scenes piece and fell in love with. Peas and ham! I’m a vegetarian so I would never eat it but it all looks so decedent. Love it!

Self portrait, sort of. My head is more heart shaped. It’s the second one I’ve ever done. The first one is here.

Blue, green, pink.

I had a lot of different ideas as I drew it but they were all too complicated for me to execute in the moment. I wanted to draw fast! Basically- being at a loss of my femininity. There is a story and explanation behind it, I might end up explaining later. I like the pretty colors, they remind me of night-time. I did it with acrylics and pencil.

I got an interview at the Lloyd Center Orange Julius! I applied to a million places and this has since been my first response. I’m meeting the manager at eleven, tomorrow morning. I’m really hoping that I get the job and some other interviews. Wish me luck!

Pancakes before class!

Twilight comes out in 11 days! Celebration!!

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Sleeping in, good food, animals, & Austin.

What historical figure do you most identify with?
Marie Antoinette.

Which living person do you most admire?
My parents, Sunny and Brian.

What is a trait you most deplore in yourself?
My immaturity at times.

What is a trait you most deplore in others?
Their immaturity at times.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Baking supplies, dresses.

What is your favorite journey?
Across country.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Shiny hair.

On what occasion do you lie?
When I am protecting my sense of self.

What is your greatest regret?
No regrets.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
Family and dogs.

When and where were you happiest?
Now.

Which talent would you most like to have?
Musical talent.

What is your current state of mind?
Content.

If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
My social discomfort.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Enrolling at PCC.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing what do you think it would be?
A cat.

If you could choose what to come back as what would it be?
A man.

What is your most treasured possession?
My journals, my camera, my books.

Where would you like to live?
France.

What is your most marked characteristic?
My BIG heart:)

What do you most value in your friends?
Our respect for each other.

Who are your favorite writers?
J.M. Barrie, Hunter Thompson, Vladimir Nabokov, William Shakespeare, Charles Bukowski, Charlotte Bronte, Dame Darcy, William Golding, Charles Upham, Jean-Paul Sartre, George MacDonald, Raymond Carver.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Peter Pan.

Who are your hero’s in real life?
My parents.

What is it you most dislike?
Drama.

How would you like to die?
In my sleep.

What is your favorite movie, book, and musical artist?
Too many!

Who are your fashion inspirations?
Kirsten Dunst, Mary-Kate Olsen, Lauren Conrad, Hayden Panettiere.

What is your favorite part of your body?
My lips.

Do you have any children?
Not yet but they have already been christened.

What is your idea of a perfect date?
Austin, the perfect dress, total privacy and corniness.

What are you excited about?
Getting my associates at PCC, moving on to other parts of the world, living on my own, traveling, transferring to a foreign college, prom, pilates class next term, Thanksgiving dinner.

What do you plan on buying next?
A surprise present for Austin, ingredients for my baking presentation in CG, plain t shirts, lots of sweaters and cardigans, high waisted jeans, baggy dresses, TIGHTS, scarves, faux leather riding boots, a croc embossed purse, a hair cut, heels.

The last movie you watched?
Alice & the Darkness Light Darkness tomorrow.

Who is your best friend?
My mom and Austin.

What is your dream job?
To be a mommy and a wife and a student. To own a bakery and to make art on commission.

Are you bilingual?
Not yet!

Austin and I have been dating for half a year now. That a really big deal for me, and a huge accomplishment. His predececors didn’t usually make it past the one month mark.
I’m really worried I won’t be able to get his surprise present in time because it has a time limit, I am broke, and my method of purchasing isn’t pulling through. I’ll be eternally bummed if it doesn’t work out for his and my sake.

I just got back from Seattle. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to leave Oregon twice in one week; its made me feel really appreciative of the city.
The photo shoot was interesting to say the least. We started shooting immediately; before we even had the chance to put our luggage in the condo.
My aunt Kamie (the stylist) and Shawn, the photographer, are pushing me to apply for an agency but for several reasons, I don’t think I will. The first reason is that I am 5′5” and professional models are 5′7” at minimum. The second reason is that I wasn’t happy with the pictures from the shoot. I’m already cautious of people taking my picture and am really critical about the results. Everyone else seemed to like the finishing product but me (I should be getting a disc of the photos soon). Shawn wanted me to do another shoot with him with a wedding theme. I would actually love to do this but since Austin declined, we would have to find a different male model. I posted some pictures from my trip below with a bunch of others I haven’t posted yet.

Tarte au chocolat in the making.

“This sucks,” I ran out of frosting.

Cupcake frosting for the photo shoot.

I love this painting!

Helping me letter.

Building set A.

I had so much fun playing with this plume on set; I wish I could have taken it home with me.

I was supposed to wear this wig but they thought it looked too judge-like even when it had been pulled up on top of my head.

Some of my cupcakes after the shoot. “Let them eat cake.”

Some no-flash pictures my mom took while we were shooting. We had three costume changes, three set changes, and two hair changes.

Mmm, a yummy pastry I got to shove in my face during set three.

FINALLY DONE

My cousin, Estelle Kahlo.

I found this while cleaning up around the studio. We had dinner at Shawn’s that night.

Honey-yogurt-strawberry-raisin-granola.

Pictures from Tempe, part four.

Arizona

Oregon