Film Analysis - A
Studies in Film: Reel Nature - A
Commercial Photo I (Lighting) - A
Koopman Chair - A
Professional Practices in Photo - A

Cumulative GPA: 3.85

Graduating with Honors.

SOMEONE IS FUCKING WITH MY LJ AGAIN AND SO HELP ME I WILL CASTRATE THEM WITH A RUSTY SPOON.

I just attempted to make coffee with my mom's coffeemaker, and, even with an entire individual-sized container of Silk poured into the giant mug I used, it is still too strong to drink. I'm very sad that a) I just wasted a bunch of coffee and soymilk and b) there is no coffee left for me to drink.

I made a new journal. Not because of the hacking incident, which really didn't amount to any damage other than a deleted and replaced user icon. I just came up with an interesting concept for a philosophy of living and blogging and wanted to grab the username before anyone else stole it. Until further notice I'm keeping this journal. In fact, I may keep it indefinitely for personal entries.

The new username is beaumangeur. It was one of the outcast name suggestions for "vegan" before Donald Watson, the founder of the Vegan Society, coined the term. It translates to beautiful eater or one who eats in a beautiful way. I think it would be interesting to expand upon the philosophies of veganism to focus on health - a truly holistic view of health. Not just of the animal, or the vegan, but to the health of the planet and the health of society. I think also the health of the mind through examined living and the arts should be included. Many vegans draw the line at animal rights or personal health. Issues such as GMO's and the huge corporations who create them, organic farming, local farmers aren't necessarily included in vegetarian philosophy. I think mental health, in a different way than sane or not sane, should be considered too.

I've long been wanting to blog about veganism and I think it would be well to have a separate journal for it so that those who want to "opt in" can do so, while not alienating my non-vegetarian brethren.

It remains to be seen whether or not I will start blogging until after my show goes up, as I'm supposed to be concentrating on other pursuits at the moment.

Yesterday after my last post was one of the worst days EVER. I am not in Toronto and my trip has been postponed for sometime in the future. Also, apparently one of my papers had been due last Friday and I had no idea. The prof was extremely weird about it too. His communication was very brief and sparse and led me to believe I was in deep shit but I guess he ended up being lenient about the late paper in the end. There was some other really bad shit yesterday that I'd rather not talk about just now, so yeah.

But I don't want to dwell. I've talked and talked yesterday out with my parents and friends and things are looking a lot better today.

I'm dressed to kill and I'm going out on the town tonight so I'm excited. Ann took care of me today and brought me thrift store shopping and then we got falafel. Also got my grades in:

City in Film: A-
Koopman Chair/Photography: B+
Senior Seminar/Photography: A
View Camera/Photography: A
AUCT: Issues in Health and Society: A

I am fucking done. -kicks semester-

I have not slept or eaten properly in days. My body hates me.

This ( article ) [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97320958] written by Brian Eno relates to something I've been thinking about for a while - probably since I started going out and dancing frequently, especially with my friend Rachel. When Rachel and I go out dancing together she reminds me not to be self-conscious about moving my body around a bunch of strangers or, worse, people I sort of know or know well. When we start dancing on an empty dance floor we just forget about being shy (sometimes this requires a couple drinks and a couple of high-spirited colluding trannies) and modest, and when we're dancing in a crowd of other enthusiastic dancers we feel connected to the other people around us - maybe not as strongly as the sense of community Eno talks about in a capella singing, but close. I don't like when I feel like I'm performing - when I'm conscious that other people don't want to make fools of themselves and are instead staring longingly at me like kids without swim trunks on a hot day. I like when other people feel like I've invited them in and start dancing too.

Something Eno mentions is a study "conducted in Scandinavia [that] sought to discover which activities related to a healthy and happy later life. Three stood out: camping, dancing and singing." I think that's remarkably beautiful, because music, dance, and interaction with the natural world are things that I'm finding very important to a good quality of life. It's funny how these things are considered "extras" in our society - things we get to do if we get the "important" stuff done. I think mental and spiritual health are linked to physical health. I think society pushes us towards the rational, the tangible, the acheivable accomplishment, hard work, but emaciates the spirit.

I'm growing my hair out. I'm really sick of this bullshit. It's going to take so long though.

P.S. Raw homemade almond milk. Mmmmmmmm.

Is it National Get Rid Of Your Couch week or something? Because I've literally seen 20+ curbed couches this week (none of them look very salvageable, otherwise I'd try to nab one). Also a fair assortment of plumbing or other appliances, including a WAY vintage fridge and a very pink toilet.

Overall I have to say I was disappointed by the concert. Not by the performances - they were just right, but the crowd was awful. Never have I been in a lamer crowd. Bunch of overweight, middle-aged folk who had no sense of humor, were whiney, obnoxious and DIDN'T even get out of their seats!! I mean, what the hell! You can't just WATCH the B52's. You have to DANCE!

Highlights were "Mesompotamia" and "Rock Lobster". Oh and "Your Own Private Idado". Damn is Kate Pierson a cutie. I would marry her. Cyndi Lauper is a really dynamic performer, and I swear, she's like a cartoon character. She played "Time After Time" on a mountain dulcimer, and Rachel and I had a cute girl moment where we held hands and swayed.

Anyway, I will have to put up pictures of the ensemble I wore. I was pretty proud of it. I ended up wearing the black sequined "Eurotrash" dress that people wouldn't let me wear to my birthday party. Haha.

Anyway, Dada is over and I can kind of have a life now, which I am looking forward to. I got a supreme compliment from my professor on my paper on Max Ernst. I guess the research I did was pretty in depth and the way I interpreted the information maybe offered up some new ideas about Ernst's collage "les éventails brisés". She wants me to revise it a bit and think about presenting it to the Honors Symposium in the spring.

Well, that was basically everything I could have hoped for out of an Indiana Jones flick. The one note of contention for me would be the fact that the plot was essentially hinged around the sometimes-perpetuated Western conspiracy theory that ancient Mesoamericans couldn't have been sophisticated enough to create such amazing civilizations without the help of extraterrestrial beings, but hey, it's all good. Sort of.

Overall, very engaging commercial film experience.

Oh, and my comment about the KBG folk's angle in the film: back in Soviet Russia, brain thinks you.

This was also the first date-ish experience Nate and I have had in a while, so that was sweet. Mmm, Thai food. We had them make us Thai tea with coconut milk instead of half and half so that I could enjoy it. It's even better that way anyway.

EDIT: Also, for a split second in the beginning when they cut open the metallic coffin deal I was TOTALLY expecting to see Vladimir Lenin's body. Teehar.

I think I need a run and retail therapy. I'm pretty sure I should be worrying about photo projects though.

I just found out that if I flip my hair over I can do pseudo 80's new wave hairstyles with it. AWESOME.

( Cut )

By the way, I actually have legitimate things I should be doing, but have just chosen not to get around to them in lieu of tomfoolery.

P.S. Avie, the honeywine you drink is made by Honeyrun, right? I be working on a bottle of it, albeit not in the bathtub. :)

Do you ever wonder if the people that pack the strawberries place them just so, so that you can't see the bruises and rotten spots? Seriously. I bought what looked like a beautiful pack of strawberries and just opened them up to find that every part that wasn't visible through the plastic was icky. I mean, I'm still going to cut them up and eat them, but... Jus' sayin'.

P.S. Itis party, my apartment, anyone? In say, five minutes from now? Itis, for those who missed it is extreme fullness followed by extreme sleepiness and power naps.

"Artist" Adel Abessemed is having his show Don't Trust Me sponsored by the San Francisco Art Institute's Walter McBean Gallery. His videos show 6 animals (sheep, pig, ox, horse, goat, and baby deer) being killed by blows of a hammer. I researched this a little bit to make sure that the videos were not appropriated. They were, in fact, made by Abessemed himself, which means he either killed them himself or had these animals killed. I also looked into his other work to see what his general "viewpoint" is. It is decidedly deranged and antisocial.

My opinion: the email I sent to the Walter McBean Gallery:

"Art ends where sociopathy begins. The Adel Abessemed exhibit is a terrible infringement upon the lives of other beings for no purpose other than to feed the nihilistic cloud within which Abessemed works. These videos are not art. They are not in any way constructive. Even the ideas they inspire is hateful. Hate speech is not tolerated in this country, so why would hate art be? This is just the kind of thing that needs to be reduced from this world. Your sponsorship of this man is deleterious to your students and to society as a whole, and I suggest that you try to find Abessemed a therapist and a police escort as killing animals for pleasure is a trademark of a serial killer."

If you want to contact the gallery:

exhibitions@sfai.edu

415.749.4563

An article about the exhibit (warning to the image sensitive):

http://www.nonstarvingartists.com/News/adel-abdessemed-don1t-trust-me-opens-at-sfai

This is particularly poignant to me because as I was driving home from school I saw a tiny dog nearly get run over by the driver in front of me. The expression on its face was terrible, sos much so that I got out of my car and held it for a few minutes and got it away from the road, then found some neighborhood kids and asked them to find its owner.

Nate got a new JEEP! It is HOT. It feels so luxurious compared to the old one, as it's a 2005 which means 10 years of Jeep improvements. The seats are almost... comfortable! And there are... lights inside!! And the heat comes out at you in regular heating vents rather than a crevice right up against the windshield... It's carazay.

So, the old one was named Japo (which a French pronounciation). And the new one is Japo Departdeux, which is a double pun. French actor, Gerard Depardieu, and "de part deux" = "of part two". ;)

Also, after the last little thread we had going, I'm thinking I need to buy or make a bikini that looks like it's made from lettuce leaves. That'd be hilarious. I'd totally wear that to the beach.

Whee! New phone (with lots of bells and whistles)!

Also, new haircut. Image brought to you by new phone!



P.S. I'm thinking of gradually going raw foodist, at least for a while. I don't even want to know what some of the jerks out there criticizing me for being vegan are going to say to that. But what I say to them is, when you are dying of heart disease, I will be dancing on your future grave in a lettuce bikini. Booya.

So I'll edit them down.

Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn't say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
Oh, but I do.

I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
You can pin and mount me like a butterfly
But "take me to the haven of your bed"
Was something that you never said
Two lumps, please
You're the bee's knees
But so am I

Oh, meet me at the fountain
Shove me on the patio
I'll take it slowly
Oh ...

It was such a high performing tonight. There was this moment before we went on where all I could think was that the place smelled like fried chicken and the hip hop music was so awful, and Miguel and I looked at eachother like we were lambs being led to the slaughter. But then we started playing and we were fine. Someone shouted for us to play more songs afterwards, but we didn't have any ready. So we're going to do it again in two weeks. Can't wait.

Oh... And I'm pretty sure I got asked out on a date tonight, but I didn't realize this until afterwards when I was thinking about it. I'm a little spacey. Shit. This is awkward.

The band and I are doing an open mic night at the Hawk's Nest on campus tonight. In theory. I mean, the open mic lasts from 8-10pm. And I have class from 7:30-10:20. My plan is to say I'm going on my 15 minute break, run over, sing, then run back, hahaha. I hope all goes well. We're covering "Down By The River" by Neil Young, cause everybody needs a little "down by the river... I shot my baby dead" in their life.

I have more to post on later.