Cidade de Deus

So I just finished watching this movie, City of God.

You have got to watch it. Start it right now.

It's about a slum in Rio de Janeiro and two boys that grow up there. One (Li'l Dice, who later changes his name to Li'l Ze) becomes the leader of a gang that controls almost the entire city. The other, Rocket, is an aspiring photographer.

It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Seriously, watch it now.

A Stashbuster Scarf

My problem: I love movies. I'm on a quest to watch the IMDB's top 250, and to finish the top 25 by the end of the summer. (Only 9 more to go!!!!) BUT. I'm fidgety. I don't have the attention span to sit still for two hours or so and watch a movie. I need something for my hands to do while my brain is concentrating on my computer screen.

My solution: Knitting! I wanted something REALLY easy, so I started a big chunky scarf. Any monkey could knit it - hold a couple strands of yarn together and knit garter stitch on size 35 needles. I would've finished it while I was watching 12 Angry Men just now, but I ran out of one of the yarns I was using and I need to find something similar to replace it.

PS. I can't believe it took me almost the entire movie to realize that Juror #2 is Piglet!

The Meatrix

I just finished watching The Matrix, number 25 on IMDB's top 250. This means I'm almost to the halfway point of my summer goal of watching the top 25! (Only half a movie left!)

In honor of this occasion, I'd like to share a video that my English teacher in twelfth grade showed the class, I guess when he was bored, because it doesn't have much to do with English.

So without further ado, The Meatrix:

The Bibliophile in her Native Habitat

My mom was my photographer today, and let's just say she took a little artistic license with the pictures. When I looked over at her and saw that she was holding the camera crooked she actually seemed surprised when I asked her to hold the camera straight.

The cardigan is from H&M and the shoes were a present from my grandmother, but what I'm most proud of is the dress. When I bought it from Goodwill, it was white, but I dyed it and some other clothes (a t-shirt and a pair of shorts) pink yesterday. Well, I really was just trying to give the faded shorts some new life, and the t-shirt was in my "to give away" pile, so I really didn't care about it, but I was very excited to see how the dress would turn out. And I must say, I'm very happy with the dusty pink color.

The dyeing process:

Note how the colors fade from the original violent fuschia to the pale pink of the last picture (which, the clothes still being wet, is darker than they eventually turned out). The shorts did darken up a bit, which is nice.

I spent today running errands with my mom. I came home from the library with three books and a movie: Remains of the Day, God is Dead, Push, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I decided to check the movie out after reading this post at The Clothes Horse. I was going to watch it tonight but I'm far too tired for a movie before bed so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

And I admit, I got a bit carried away with myself with the books. I'm going to take them all with me when I go to the Outer Banks with my family next week, but I have to finish Love in the Time of Cholera before I start any of them!

All-Time Top Five Songs About Death

1. Chemo Limo by Regina Spektor
2. In Case We Die - Architecture in Helsinki
3. No Children - The Mountain Goats
4. I Can't Decide - The Scissor Sisters
5. Angels Hung Around - Rilo Kiley

Inspired by the movie I watched last night, High Fidelity. I was looking for something to watch before bed, and my boyfriend suggested it - it's one of his favorite movies (and based on one of his favorite books).

Well, let me tell you: I was smitten. First of all, this guy compulsively makes lists. Just on the basis of that alone it's a match made in heaven! There's no one who enjoys a good list more than I do. In fact, the title list (death songs) is one of the lists in the movie.

And then there's the whole - obsessed with obscure music thing. I'm not so much into that, but my boyfriend is, a whole lot, so I could get into it.

And the whole - making yourself miserable, not happy with what you have, even though it's the best you could have - I've been there. Not so much anymore, thankfully, but I could relate.

But, yeah. The lists! Watching this movie made me inspired to revive and make more use of my listography account. Because lists just make me so happy.

And I love the part where Jack Black makes fun of John Cusack's sweater for being a "Cosby Sweater!" Too true, too true.

Mastering the Arts of Cooking and Blogging

Thoughts upon watching Julie and Julia yesterday:

1. I must cook.
2. I must blog.

Also 3. Meryl Streep is pretty rad.

I really. really need to learn how to cook, at least some things. Next year at school I'll be living in an apartment with a kitchen instead of a dorm, so I would like to be able to make some things more complicated than cereal. Perhaps I'll make something a bit more interesting than a PBJ for lunch today.

You see, it's just so easy to not cook at all. My mom always has dinners planned, and if I say I want to make it (with her minimal help), she ends up stepping in to do most of the work. (Sorry if you're reading this, Mom. It's true, though.) Yesterday I said I wanted to make enchiladas one day next week and she just looked at me funny and said, "Enchiladas?"

And so. I must take it upon myself to cook some things. I already bake up a storm, so cooking meals can't be that different, right? Maybe.

Regarding thought #2 above, I already have it partially accomplished. I have a blog. I post in it. It just seems that no one is reading my posts.

So. How to get more traffic? I think when I comment on others' blogs I'll leave a link to my own at the end. I've seen other people doing it and I click the link about half the time. If anyone reads this, and has any tips, please let me know.

And regarding thought #3 (the movie), I really, really enjoyed the Julia bits. The Julie bits in the present were less interesting, as I found the Julie character to be so melodramatic and self-absorbed as to make herself unsympathetic. But maybe that's just me.

The bits about Julia Child, however, were fantastic. Meryl Streep played the part really well.

And as I watch more movies with Stanley Tucci, I'm finding that I really like him. He just looks so different. Maybe that's it. I'm intrigued by the way he looks and the way his voice sounds. It's just so fun and interesting.

And I really liked him in The Lovely Bones, although I was disappointed by the movie as a whole.

His EYES are GIANT POMPOMS!

Here's a teaser for the delightful little monster I made yesterday. Like I said, his eyes are made out of pompoms, which was a stroke of genius on my part, in my humble opinion. The whole process was quite an adventure; I cut a general shape out of the back of an old t-shirt and went from there. He reminds me of a plaque monster hidden between your teeth. (But in a good way - he's misunderstood, just looking for love, it's not his fault you don't floss...)

Today and yesterday have been so very productive. Literally. Yesterday I made a plushie, and today I made recycled paper, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do. There's also freshly baked honey wheat bread in the house, though my mother is to thank for that, not I.

Oh, and another thing! The most exciting thing of all! Last night I babysat the two coolest kids. They're daughters of one of my professors - 9 and 10 years old. While the younger one was reading her comic books, the older (named Flannery!) picked out a movie to watch.

You will never guess what movie she picked.

Go ahead and guess.

Oh, I'll just tell you. This kid, who's in fifth grade, picks out Casablanca! And then when it first starts Peter Lorre reminds her of another movie, so we end up watching some movie from the 40s called The Mask of Dimitrios. The conversation centered around how "they just don't make movies as good these days" and "what's wrong with black and white?"

She is my hero.

I watched Julie and Julia over lunch today - will probably blog about it later.