...A fals-fals-fals-falsity.

I should have posted this sooner.
Much, much sooner.
Turns out that Wednesday - this past Wednesday was the anniversary of the release of a certain movie that just happens to be quite possibly my favorite movie of ALL time.
That movie?

Psycho.

Yes, the Master of Suspense's (quite arguably) best film was shown in movie theatres across the nation 50 years ago, changing the way movies would be depicted from there on out.

And then, 27 years later, I developed a certain type of obsession for Norman and the Bates Motel. Blame the lit/film class I took. Blame the professor for making us dissect the film frame by frame for each and every little message that Hitchcock was trying to convey through lighting, camera angles, authority and society.

Ah, the infamous shower scene,
that title sequence,
the soundtrack!
...and the way Norman Bates cracks on that candy corn.

I love all of it.

In conclusion, the viewing of this film started my odd fascination for characters and situations that veer in the direction of a slight, subtle creepiness that you just can't quite figure out, but you're instinct tells you that something just doesn't add up.
And as much as I love explosions and blood, I'd take Hitchcock's pyschological thrillers over any of these so-called action films anyday.

Cheers.

Hippin' that hop.

First of all, how does this video not make you happy?


Secondly, I started taking hip hop dance classes again! After a lonnnng 3 year hiatus (not counting random dance classes through RecSports) I decided to resume my affair with the original love of my life. So, after sitting antsy one day with caffeine running through my veins, I went over to Ballet Austin and signed up for Intermediate Hip-Hop with Shepard.
Shepard is a white guy and new instructor for the company who clearly has Justin Timberlake as his idol complete with fedora, white t-shirt and awesome jeans that give the right amount of stretch. He taught us a little routine to this song right hurr by Nicki Minaj (who I'd never heard of til that day, but apparently is the cool, new thing) amongst other dancers, including a guy who looked around 55 years old. It's true.


Ah, you have no idea how happy I am. I can't wait to go back.
Is it weird I want a pair of Nike's now?

I Want to See the Seas.

I love everything having to do with Dublin.
Dublin the city in Ireland.
The Temple Bar area in Dublin,
Oscar Wilde hailing from Dublin.
The fact that Kate Nash is from Dublin,
And Dublin Dr. Pepper...of course, ignoring the fact that the Dublin in this case is in Texas. ;)

Nevertheless, one day I will go.
So I'm going to start saving up all the monies from now on. Well, not all of it, but bits and pieces here and there. You have to start somewhere, right?

Shout out to Mr. Wilde.

One.

Miss you, Grandpa.

Theatricality.

Artie gets his day! In 'Dream On', Artie finally gets to step into his dream world of what his life would be like if he wasn't in a wheelchair. Curse you, Glee for messing with my emotions.

But on a happier note, kudos to Joss Whedon for directing this episode. I can't stop watching Mr. McHale's solos - especially since he finally gets to show off his talent. He might just be my new favorite character. Woot!

Lullaby.

Dearest Blog,

I'm oh-so-very tired, but I have so much caffeine in me that I can't fall asleep.
I guess it doesn't help very much that I decided to go and consume even more caffeine - but on the bright side, I have listened to many songs that I hadn't gotten around to listening to (though they had been downloaded for several months) AND I can say I was very productive today in enhancing my photography knowledge.

Actually, today was just a good day in general. :)

Besides that, my highlight of the moment is that I am completely in *total like* with Grizzly Bear. I never knew that the singer from Department of Eagles is also one of the singers for Grizzly Bear - this is crucial information that I am kicking myself for not knowing before, because I love, love, LOVE DoE.
Seriously, Jen? You wikipedia everything. How did you skip over such an important detail causing the longest delay EVER for liking a band? Ahhh.

So, throwing my shame aside, I gave Grizzly Bear another listen - immediately recognized Daniel Rossen's voice, then proceeded to download all their albums and now I'm addicted.



Anyways, I'm getting all comfy/cozy now. I think I'm gonna head home, watch my favorite movie to fall asleep to & call it a night.

Peace loves,
Jen

Got 99 problems, but this bitch ain't one.

I'm home for mother's day weekend and here in my hometown of San An, we have been celebrating by shopping at fabulous antique stores, having margaritas and...watching the Father of the Bride marathon on TBS.

I thought in honor of all the hot mommas out there in the world, I'd post some mum related tidbits just because I think moms are great. We wouldn't be here with out them - and well, they tell us exactly what we need to hear when we're in a pickle. And if you're like my mother, you not only give the best hugs around - but you spot me some cash and tell it like it is after a few sips of tequila.

So, here's to you mom. Love you!

The Most Adorably, Hilarious Badass Grandmother:
Betty White!
If you've been paying attention you might have heard about an online facebook campaign to get Ms. White to host SNL. And 'lo and behold, after a week of heavy adverts, Ms. Golden Girl herself crossed the Saturday Night Live stage and gave an incredible performance last night alongside many past female SNL alumni such as Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Mya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Amy Phoeler.



Good Job, Betty - best SNL I've seen since Zach Galifankis.

Sell-out Porn-Star Wannabe Mom:
Christina Aguliera.
That girl sing - so I've always favored her to other pop singers out and nakedly about because at least she had the chops to backup any of her crazy antics. BUT, I have to say that with this new single - I'm just...disappointed.
Yeah, girl's in shape. And she's hot. She also manages to promote some sex toys if you pay enough attention to notice 'em. And I'm all for a girl confidently displaying her sexuality, but it seems Ms. Aguliera just prances about to a over-produced mixture of nonsense that just cries desperation.

In what is a nod (sort of) to everything positive that Madonna, Pink and even Lady Gaga have done for women empowerment - the former X-tina uses her newest single, Not Myself Tonight, to pay tribute to...well, I don't know what she was going for.

Guess overall, I just felt like the whole using soft-core porn in a music video is so overdone now - kind of like celebrities "losing" their sex tapes to suddenly boost their fame in a tabloid lull.

Come on, Christina - the Baby Jane look was good for you. How 'bout you give it another whirl, eh?
Here's the new vid:


And last but not least-
A Mom's Unconditional Love.
I was wandering around mentalfloss and found this cute interview between a mother and her son who has Asperger's syndrome. The exchange was turned into an animated video which resulted in this heartwarming piece. Enjoy.

Q&A from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Happy Mother's Day, folks.

Don't be such a Holy Cow.

I'm drowning myself in all things PR, Marketing and Photoshop related. It seems that an interview for being a simple seasonal employee turned into becoming the lead of Marketing team for a local Austin bookstore. :)

No complaints here - it finally gives me incentive to buckle down and grasp my head around the role of social marketing and at the same time give me a deadline to quickly learn the Photoshop skills my little heart has been yearning for. I'm just one of those people who cannot seem to be truly productive unless I'm under pressure to perform....or in a really, really good mood that I just feel compelled to make something of the day (kind of like that feeling I get when I clean the house...? Yeah, yeah - don't judge me.). So... woo! to that, and yay for me.

Wish me luck.

In Music, Music, Music! News, I am currently obsessed with Madonna - I'm sure as a result of the recent all-Madonna themed episode of Glee - andddd I also have the new Rufus Wainwright album of constant rotation.

I've also been studying all the music videos that I used to know the complete dance to. It's funny how easily some things just come back to you.
This means only one thing - that I'm finally ready to get back to my dancing roots and take some classes again. It's been waaaaay too long and this dry spell from performing has gone on way longer than it ever should have. Shame on me. Tsk, tsk. But I shall fix that soon.

I'm thinking Lindy Hop - ever since I saw this video a while back, I told myself that one day, I'd learn how to be as good as these people:


Ah! Doesn't it look like so much fun? It's a long clip, but I swear it will make you want to get up and dance after you watch it.

I'm also considering a dip back into Hip-Hop (my dearest, regrettably forgotten, old friend). The only thing that concerns me is that the instructor will usually use music that is currently popular to choreograph a routine to...and a lot of music (at least pop radio music nowadays) just doesn't do it for me anymore. But we shall see.

Anyways, that's all for now - I just needed a breather from all this research.

Lots of love and other fine stuff,
Jen

He must kill puppies.

Well, it's been a good week and half or so since my last bloggage occurred and oh boy! do I have some great news to tell you.

I have T-minus so many days until my work (aka Gold Class Cinemas) is up and open to the awaiting public. Just imagine an upscale, much more pricey Drafthouse with a bunch of hot guys on staff and you pretty much understand the place I work at.

BUT I'm even more so excited because I just got my uniform today.
It's black, the sleeves only go a little more than halfway on my forearm and it buttons up all the way to my neck.
So...I pretty much look like a ninja in flats.


Yeah, I can take your order.

Also, I have some wonderful news on these lovely little projects I got going on...
#1 - Music Plate!
The set is my room. The room is my set.
It's a puppet show.
I make puppets.
You should watch it.

#2 Trivia: Who Wants a Dollar?
First gig at Shangri-la on Monday! Be there...or I'll kill you.
I'll be the person stalking you with my lovely cam-mer-rah. Say hi...if you can find me.

#3 Photography!
This isn't really a project, but I've cracked down on learning a complicated little ditty of a program called Photoshop & I think I'm going to do a series pretty soon - I'm just trying to finalize the concept I'm going for. I find capturing moments and images to be my love - so I must pursue it. Watch me as I go. *squee*

...And that's about it, folks. If you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to say something. But now to close this post of the day, here's a video.
This one feeds my addiction to a certain TeeVee show. You see, Glee season just started up again - so my Gleekiness is comin' out and all my love for that wonderful little Chris Colfer...and that good-looking Jonathan Groff (!!!) who is scheduled for 8 of the next 9 episodes! He's gorgeous and was in Spring Awakening with Miss Lea Michele.
I'm in love.

Anyways, here's Jimmy Fallon doing what I consider to be one of the funniest skits since he started Late Night based on the on-goings of Glee. Good job, Jimmy - you're improving. I clap for thee.

I present to you, 6-Bee.

Happy, Happy Eeeeeeaster.

Guess it's that time of year again where occasionally a family gathers to eat a big meal, find out if that one cousin is still in jail or not...and hey! take pictures that will mark that terrible fashion sense you have now so one day you and your kids can talk about your unfortunate reasoning for wearing those skinny jeans, a ponytail with a low-cut V neck shirt and somehow think that it made you even more attractive to the opposite sex. I'm talking to guys of course.

Although this can apply to all holidays, today was the one day where we included all the previous incidents mentioned except this time, we add-in to the mix one joyous bunny who leaves us behind colorful Easter eggs and some lovely semi-broken eggs emptied of all their yolky insides and then filled again with numerous amounts of confetti and glitter that we break on each others' heads.

So, what I'm trying to say is...Happy Easter, folks.

I've also decided with everything that's been consuming my life, I need to do something to unwind or get away. A mini-vacation since I don't think that I can really afford to go anywhere too elaborate.

I think I've narrowed it down to three options.
Here's where I wanna go. What I wanna do.

1) Corpus Christi
The beach! Who doesn't love sand between their toes? Salty air that stings the nostrils and burns the eyes?

2) Portland
A place I've always dreamed of going. Mainly because two of my favorite artists at a certain point in my life are from here. Plus, there was a phase when I wanted to transfer here for a Photography degree.

3)Camping
Could be fun. Depending on weather. How many people go. Who's preparing food. Where the bears are.

4.) A road-trip with no pre-determined destination.
Now THIS is my ideal journey, but the money it'd cost for gas I don't thinks me have.
Le sigh.

I'll keep you updated.

In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorite parts from Spaced.
Only because I need to redeem myself after watching that stupid it's-so-bad-no-one-would-pick-it-up Pilot for the FAILED U.S. remake of my beloved show.

It's Mike!!! And he's doin' his dance in what is my *favorite* Spaced episode...
Gots to loves that song remix. :)

15 years ago today...

...Tejano music lost its brightest star. This lovely girl gave me the music my mom would play when cleaning the house and for all the family bbq's at the park every Sunday during my childhood. She also loved hot sauce like no other, was an aspiring fashion designer and taught me all the Spanish I'd ever know.
Can you see why I loved this lady so?

RIP Selena.
You are missed dearly.

...Now a symphony's the only song to sing.

Okay, in the past, I've done Tuesdays where I post videos I'm currently obsessed with or just simply find amusing.
But it's been a while, so I'm going to post several. :)

The first is a new video/song from Kelis.
Yes, that Kelis. The "milkshake brings all the boys to the yard" Kelis.
I heard this song the other day and it's been in my head ever since.
Plus, I really like the video even though it makes no sense.
From an artistic visual point of view, I find it kind of alluring.
Take a gander.



Secondly, is my current female crush/idol. Annie Clark (better known as her moniker, St. Vincent) has come under my radar in recent months and I just can't seem to stop listening to her latest release aptly titled 'Actor'.
Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago and as I blindly surfed YouTube, I clicked and clicked, clicked again, then clicked some more until...

WHAT?!

Can it be?! St. Vincent and ANDREW BIRD have a duet together?!
And not just ONE duet, but a whole SHOW?!
My eyes were not deceiving me, and for about an hour straight I repeatedly watched the two songs that struck my little violin-loving heart - Annie's "What Me Worry" and this little diddy right hurr:


Fun fact: Mr. Bird invited Annie to be part of his tour after this chance duet encounter. I hope they have babies.

Here is a tune from a band I just came across the other day - Local Natives. Much more powerful when you know what the song's about.
I loves it and look forward to hearing more from this band in the future.



And last but not least, a video from 3 years ago or so. When I was madly obsessed with everyone's favorite Office couple - JAM. More recognizably known as the adorable pairing that is Jim Halpert and Pam Beasley. This video documents their heart-breakingly "why can't Pam just leave Roy already?!" romance set to the tune of Mat Kearney's 'Bullet'.



Oh, I rooted for them. I rooted hard.
And look where they are now...married with a daughter.
You go JAM, live on forever.

Bird outside the kitchen. Burn inside...the food.

I'm moving!

To a new place!

On the other side of 35!


....

Okay, so this isn't the big move I was planning - but my impulses got the best of me in wanting to just up and go...and I also didn't have any money to support me.
So there goes that plan - for now. Maybe I just need a vacation, eh?

At least moving in with friends saves me TONS of money and will get me out of my comfort zone. Besides, I was getting that sense that it was time to change the atmosphere again. But as it is, I've been stuck inside packing for the past two and a half days. And with all this silence, I'm starting to scare myself. I do that, thanks to my over-active imagination, and also the fact that everything clumped together in the darkness has the potential to be hiding some unknown intruder just waiting til I close my eyes to sleep and...AHHHHHH!

The tips of my fingers hurt from playing my Mandolin-dolin and I'm also starting to look into going to Connect-i-cut for my friend's wedding in May. One of three I shall be attending. ::inhales:: Ah, Let the spring love bloom.
Everyone altogether now: Awwwwwwww.

Anyways, I write to tell you of my new interest.
His name is Keats.
John Keats.


(The soft, golden locks of hair and gentlemanly, day-dreamy eyes did it for me)

Retreating to my favorite sanctuary, I browsed along the aisles and for some reason I picked up a collection of letters he wrote to his dear beloved Fanny before he died. They had planned to get married, but his sickness took him away at the young age of 23 causing Fanny to go into deep mourning not deciding to settle down/marry until she was 33 (only having been 18 when she met Keats).

It wasn't so much the letters that were moving (although the feeling starts to get pretty tense as Keats' sickness become a primary topic in the letters), but the poems inspired and written for Fanny are what did it. It...was moving. And voila! I now have a new literary interest in my bones.

I guess I'm excited because it reminded me of why I settled on being an English major.

Thank you, Mr. Keats.

Now my next quest...looking up how to prepare Enchiladas.

P.S. San Fran's not exciting?!
I have a friend visiting the town right now and he complains that he's bored out of his mind there.
How can this be?
It ranked higher than Austin for cities I should visit.

So disappointing. But then again, I wasn't impressed with Cali when I went to Hollywood. And now that Conan's off the air...I really have no reason to ever set foot in the state again.
Oh well.

P.S.S. Listen to Florence and the Machine. That girl can sing.

P.S.S.S. I'm going through a Michelle Branch Rewind?!

Flight.

I'm going to run away, dearest blog.
For a month I'm going to run from it all.

Do the Mashed Potato!

Hello Loves!



Well, if I continue this trend, then it seems that I will be writing an average of every month and a half - but I have to say that I'm content with life as it is, so I can't complain.
I can never complain.

That's right - it's 3 am and I'm still up and with it. Just got back from being out with friends and I've been having such a good time just being out on the floor and dancing. No strings attached, just chatting up random people and gettin' my groove out on the dance floor, which I'm pretty okay with. :)

I love that we got there (to this lovely little bar called Barbarella) and pretty much got the dance floor started. It happens almost everytime that we hit up this particular place.

Anyways, enough about my indoorsy (ha!) adventures. Let's talk about life.
I'm switchin' up the college schedule, trying to get everything right. I need to graduate already. I'm on time - but I'm sure as hell burnt out on X amount of years of studying, playing the networking game and attending classes that really don't have anything to do with my future.
Don't get me wrong - I love learning and I'm the most grateful for the opportunities that I've been given...but I'm over it. All of it. I want to start my life already.
For the first time in about 5 years I know what I want.

I really do.
Instinct is striking almost every moment of my waking life and I can't let this drive pass me by. Yes...the process will take long, but I believe I finally have a good balance between idealism and realism that will allow me to get things done.

With this new puppet project I'm doing I've got to meet the Bowerbirds! and RJD2. I've also been taking sewing classes - trying weird new foodz and...my car crapped out on me. The transmission fluid decided to just fall out all at once while I was on a mission to get things done.

My point of this blog is that I'm determined and actually getting things done.
And I'm having fun.

I've finally learned to just go with the flow and live in the moment.
It works.
No worries, folks.

No worries. :)