Normally I do these things reverse chronologically, but this time the most important thing goes first.
The other night, I spent a whole lot of time clicking from this to that on the IMDb, and one of the movies I came across was Requiem For a Dream. I read a bunch of the reviews and messageboard topics, and it left me wanting to see it so much that I got Nathan to sign up for Netflix right away. We watched it Tuesday night. I think it was a beautifully shot film. It also had a lot of fast cuts and split screens, which I always go in for. Aside from that, I think it was the most powerful movie I've ever seen in my life, or at least the most tragic and heartbreaking film I've ever seen. Without giving too much away (and I now wish I hadn't read quite so many reviews and topics on the IMDb before watching), I'll just say that it's a movie about four people and their addictions. Granted, it's very much a worst-case-scenario-type film, but how many movies can you name that aren't unusual-case scenarios? I found it incredibly haunting. It was the first thing I thought of, when I woke up the next day, and it leaves you feeling sick or empty or both. It came out in 2000, and somehow it got past me, because it wasn't a movie I'd heard of. I'm sorry for missing it at the theater. Also, somehow, Ellen Burstyn lost the Oscar, which is really just wrong, because she was the most amazing out of everyone in the film, but I will say that seeing Marlon Wayans in something very serious was great. How many of you have seen this? Since watching, I've been reading more and more reviews and messageboard topics about it, even though everyone mostly says the same things. Most of those things are what I've just said. I can't think of anything new to bring to it, but I can't get enough of reading people's feelings on it, either. It was based on a novel by Hubert Selby Jr. which I've added to my wishlist and I feel like I need to get a hold of soon. Everyone should watch it and then tell me how they feel about it. Please?
For the curious, the other movie I chose was Irréversible, which I haven't yet watched. I will watch it tonight, with Nathan if he thinks he can stand it. If you happen to read the reviews and think me a total sicko, please remember that I am weak and that as soon as I read that something is incredibly shocking or disturbing, then I have to run right out and get a hold of it.
Last Friday we saw Ben Folds with Corn Mo as opener. His shows are always so crowded. We got there an hour before they let us in, and the line wound around three sides of the building. Why can't they schedule Ben for shows at a larger venue? They Electric Factory always sells out in less than an hour. As for the show, I'm glad someone I like was opening, because standing up through someone I don't care for just makes my feet or back hurt all the more. The more I see Corn Mo the more endearing he becomes to me. This time he went on some crazy rant about Art Bell and time travel. I don't have to tell you that Ben was great, but Ben was great. It was nice hearing some of the Songs For Silverman live, but it was also neat that he played "Where's Summer B?" and "Alice Childress." The worst thing about this show, however, was that the people right in front of me, and I mean about 12 inches away, started to suck face during "Still Fighting It." It's not easy to look around someone that close, you know? But I do give them mad ups for taking a break during "All U Can Eat." Thanks, dudes! After the show, I really wanted to buy Corn Mo's other album, but they were selling no CDs whatsoever, so I bought a Ben Folds shirt and took my leave.
Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright are going to be touring together. Tomorrow, we must buy tickets for them for their August show in Atlantic City. I've never been to the Borgata before, and I've never seen Rufus live, so it should be interesting all around.
Speaking of Atlantic City, I went with my uncle last Sunday evening. Lucky for him, he won enough money to pay for our dinner and still have a few bucks left over. I, however, lost over $20 that he gave me to play with. You know, they have Garfield slots now. That's funny for two reasons: 1. WTF? and 2. I always thought that casinos shied away from slots with certain themes, because it would entice the kiddies who passed through to gamble or some crap. Evidently, they don't think that Garfield pulls that kind of weight with the youth anymore. (lolz "pulls weight" and Garfield is fat! I rule!)
Said the girl who still has a rather large box filled with Garfield comic books and a shelf of plush Garfields. D'oh!
Incidentally, that one-armed bandit took $5 from me. {slaps forehead}
Otherwise, I haven't been up to terribly much this week. I must fill out that application to volunteer at the hospital, and I should call up the PBS and ask, "why ain't you be askin' me to come in?" I did do nine hours of wok study this week, including data entry in addition to my regular activities. Good for me. On Tuesday, the other kids and I even got free sandwiches, brownies, and soda. I really do enjoy work study, and I will be a sad kitten, when the money is gone, and I can't return until fall. At least I am somewhat closer to reaching my goal.
Remember that summer to-do list I wrote about in one of my last entries? I'm sure you don't. Anyway, I need to add "study for and take the GMAT" to it, which will entail seeking out Alyssa, so she can let me borrow her book. I do not wish to pay for one, if I can help it. I know that the earliest I could possibly start grad school, if I even choose to go—and I may decide not to go—would be in two years from now. But GMAT scores last for five years, and I think that getting it out of the way this summer would be wise, in that it will remove a great deal of the stress from applying if/when I do decide to apply.
MonsterMania begins tomorrow. Yaywhee! And now I think I will watch RFAD again before Nathan gets here, even though it wrecks me. It draws me in so.
posted by Beth at 10:54:00 PM
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Remember last week, when I wasn't sure if I should take that marketing test? I ended up taking it and I got a better grade on that than I did on the other two tests for that class.
Finals week was pretty exhausting. I went to the doctor on Tuesday, and she told me to have blood drawn, so I thought I should do that on Thursday morning, rather than have it hanging over my head for the rest of the week. I'm super scared of needles, remember. So I got hardly any sleep Wednesday night, then Nathan took me to the hospital on Thursday morning. While we were waiting, a lady asked us if we were brother and sister. She said we looked alike and had the same smile. I've never heard that before. This time I remembered to tell them that I'm a fainter, so I got to lay down while they did it. I didn't even come close to hyperventilating and passing out this time. Good for me! Then I ate some breakfast, napped, and went to school to take a Statistics II exam. I'm not sure how I did on that or the replacement exam. I want to say I did well, but I hate to guess. I had my last two exams coming up on Friday morning, starting at 8, and I hadn't yet started to prepare for them. I'm so bad at studying. Reh. I wound up staying awake all night Thursday, and studying for OM for six hours straight and then putting in only two hours for accounting. I'm still waiting to find out how I did on the accounting test (last night, I had a bad dream that I got only a 1500 out of 5000 on it), but I know my grade for OM. For OM, it turns out that I'm getting a B, graciously round up from a B-. I am very unhappy about this. I did really poorly on the final. I'm not saying that he's a bad teacher, but I do question his grading methods. He grades only by using raw numbers, and he offers no kind of extra credit to make up for missed points. Also, he doesn't look at everyone's grades for the tests and see if there were bad questions on there. I've had three other professors from this semester alone who would throw out bad questions, but he won't. That's a Type II error. :P I'm not saying I deserve an A, but I thought maybe I'd get a B+ or A-. I mean, I got perfect grades on all of my quizzes and very nearly so on homework and my grades for the other two tests were good. Thinking back, I heard him arguing with another professor who said something about "all of the kids are failing your class...". He read the grades aloud for the second test, my best of the three, and they were very low. I'm not saying it should be an easy A for everybody, but I do think he's gone too far in the other direction.
In better news, I'm allowed to do work study until the end of the month, because I have some money left. I'm still looking for something to do over the summer. The woman I do most of my work study for told me she'd try to see if she can get me something at least for June. It's probably not very likely that she can, but I really, really appreciate her trying. She's restoring my faith in humanity, and she doesn't even know it.
Hrm. What else? I just started knitting with four double-pointed needles, and I am now working on a sock. I can do it, but it's really kind of annoying and clumsy. I much prefer circular needles.
So I'm done for the semester, as I said, and I'm already bored to death. I thought there'd be some nice relax and enjoy not having to do work time in there, but I'm already going squirrely. Here's a list of some of my goals for the summer. Some are more lofty than others:
- Keep looking for some kind of little summer job-type thing, preferably at school - Start volunteering at PBS again (I've already made that call, so I'm on my way) - Volunteer somewhere new, maybe at a hospital - Read all of the books I have stacked up and waiting - Start playing clarinet again and/or try to learn the piano and/or accordion again - Play and beat Windwaker - Clean out the front room of our house, because there's too much junk in there
Yeah, that's my life. :P
Entertainment Review Corner
A couple weeks ago, I finished reading Ring by Koji Suzuki. Ring is the book on which the Japanese film Ringu is based, on which the American film The Ring is based. I liked it pretty well. I didn't love it, but it was interesting and added new things to the story. It also added some really crazyass things to the story. It's less scary and more of a good mystery novel. The sexism was a little jarring for me, but what'reyagonnado? Koji Suzuki wrote two more installments to the story, Spiral and Loop, which I'm interested in picking up, when I can.
The other night, I finally watched/listened to the director's commentary on my Exorcist DVD. Since I love the movie and book, I'm surprised that this wasn't something I did a long time ago. It was interesting, because William Friedkin talked very little about the technical aspects of making the movie (aside from the little bit about filming in Iraq) and more about "this means this" sorts of things. I was grateful for that, despite all of the junk I learned in those years of college. Since I'd read the book a couple times and seen the movie even more times, there wasn't much for me to really get out of the commentary, but I still think it was worth my time.
A - Age you got your first kiss: 20 B - Band listening to right now: Well, he isn't a band, but I'm listening to Ben Folds. C - Chore you hate: I don't know. I hate most chores. I like putting away and organizing best, but I hate doing it, because I have too much stuff and not enough room. D - Dad's name: Patrick E - Easiset person to talk to: Nathan. F - Favorite bands at the moment: At the moment, I can't think of anybody aside from the usual ones I like that jump out of me (TMBG and the rest). This is what I get for doing this, when I'm in kind of a blah-y mood.. G - Gummy worms or gummy bears?: Bears. H - Home state: New Jersey. I - Instruments: Clarinet, but I also own a piano and accordion for what it's worth. J - Job: Student and occasional work study-type stuff K - Kids: I change my mind almost daily on this issue, but at present, I wish to have three girls. L - Longest car ride ever: New Jersey to Montreal. M - Mom's name: Same as mine N - Nicknames: Beth, along with a bunch of little cute things my family (that I live with) calls me. I wish I had more nicknames. O - Overnight hospital stays: None. P - Phobia: Bugs, spiders, and needles. Q - Quote: "All the kids in Springfield are S.O.B.'s" R - Religious affiliation: Unwavering atheist S - Siblings: Zero. T - Time you woke up today: About 5:20PM. Get off my ass, it's Sunday. U - Underwear: And how! V - Vegetable you refuse to eat: I'm no fan of peppers, but I'll eat them. While not a vegetable, I refuse to eat raisins.. W - Worst habit: Dwelling on upsetting things I cannot change. X - X-rays you've had: Just dental. Y - Yummy foods you make: Me make yummy things? Indeed you jest. Z - Zodiac sign: Scorpio
I think the point of that was to point out what a lazy bitch I am. :p Thanks, Nathan!
posted by Beth at 12:23:00 AM
Sunday, May 01, 2005
It's time for my once-a fortnight-or-thereabouts-jumbled-list-of-things update post.
The coming week is finals week, and I'm feeling rather nervous about it. Usually, I don't fret much about finals, but I really need to do well in some of them. The first final will be on Monday, and it's in marketing. Since my professor left for a month to have a baby, she's making the exam optional. If I don't take it, I get an A. If I do take it, I get an A, because even a bad grade won't hurt my overall grade. I liked the class, and I learned a good deal about marketing, which wasn't hard, because I knew nothing about marketing to begin with. In a way, I feel like I should take the test, because it will provide closure for the end of that class. Don't ask me why I'd need closure. I liked the class. I got something out of it, but I didn't love it. So the closure thing sounds messed up. Also, taking this test and preparing for it might help gear me up and get me ready for preparing for the four other exams to come. That sounds silly, but it's true. So I pose a (probably stupid) question:
Should I bother taking this marketing exam? It is made entirely of multiple choice and true/false questions. Wellies?
On Tuesday, I have my OM and Legal Environment tests, and those are going to be tough. So maybe taking this test will get me in the proper test-taking mood, or maybe I'd be wasting time that I should be spending studying for those (but I probably wouldn't, because I hate studying).
On the last regular day of the afore mentioned marketing class, my teacher was explaining the concept of scrambling. All it means is that a store will sell anything it thinks it can sell, no matter how unrelated, to make money. Her example was this video store that had a tanning bed in the back of it, and how weird is that? I found the example funny enough, but then this girl, with a certain amount of defensiveness in her voice, said that the place where she gets her tans also sells videos. Then the professor stopped talking about her example, for fear of sounding insulting or judgmental. I did laugh and laugh.
Another thing amusing only to me was that last week, my OM professor told us that people should bring food in to our last regular class meeting, so we could have a party, and he named things like cookies and chips and... tacos. So we had our last meeting this past Thursday, and everyone pretty much assumed that no one was going to bring anything in. But then this one kid came in with a can of (pizza-flavored) Pringles, which was later passed around, and this other kid comes in with guess what. A Sara Lee poundcake, a can of whipped cream, and a knife suitable for cake-cutting. I took a couple Pringles, but since I'm not someone who likes pound cake, I was going to forego it. But then the professor told us that the people who ate the poundcake would get better grades on the final exam, so I had to have a piece. {g} I was even the first one to put whipped cream on it. :) I will be so bored after this week.
I've been filling my time by knitting an ugly hat, which will soon be my first attempt using double-pointed needles and watching Simpsons third and fourth commentary with Nathan. I might have a crush on Al Jean, I can't quite explain why.
I still don't have any kind of teeny tiny summer job lined up yet. There have been no listings on the school site at all. Maybe just maybe the office where I currently do work study would like to have me around for a couple days a week. I'd like that, and so I'll have to inquire about it sometime this week. I'm at least going to ask to work until the end of May.
The only things I can think of that I have to look forward to are the Ben Folds concert and the Monstermania Con [Note that I did not link to the Monstermania site. This is because it has embedded midis and other crazy sounds, and that's too frightening to share], except that both are kind of sad for me. I do love Ben Folds, but there's always something that strikes me as sad about his music, something I can't quite pin down, but it's always been there for me. As for Monstermania, I'm kind of extremely bummed that Gunnar Hansen won't be there. Last year, I didn't even know who he was, aside from the role he played, but then he really won me over with his snarkiness. Now I fear Monstermania will never be the same for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about it, and there will be some cool panel discussions and guest speakers, but I {heart} Gunnar. I'm also unhappy that this year they aren't selling vouchers for meeting Robert Englund, and if I wait in line the entire time, then I'm going to miss everything, so it's just not in the cards for me this time. {sigh}
Now for the obnoxious part that no one wants to read about (as if everything prior to this wasn't painful enough!), and I shouldn't be writing about. I've been feeling so lonely as of late, and I don't think there's a thing I can do about it. Well, I know that what I can do is make more of an effort to reach out to people. I certainly can't argue with that. Thing is, when I try to call a person I've been wanting to talk to, and my calls are never returned, then how do I know when to take the hint that I should stop calling and how do I know when trying too much (say, once a week) is too much? Feh, I'm an idiot for writing any of this, but I mention it because it shows my putting forth effort and yet my fears are reinforced. Also, I know that my IM hasn't been turned on once in the past month-and-a-half, but that's due largely to business (as in busy-ness). But I do really envy people who can approach other people in a friendly way and not be plagued with worries that I'm just getting in their way or bothering them. And that's why I always wait to be approached, despite my knowing better and knowing that's wrong, too. And, I mean, I know I'm lucky to have Nathan, and he is my best friend and he's always there and he's someone I'm never afraid to approach, but I don't think it's selfish to wish I had more people I could see and talk to from time to time. I do mean this in a non-finger-pointing way. Oh... bleh.
posted by Beth at 6:20:00 AM
palindrome \PAL-in-drohm\, noun: A word, phrase, sentence, or verse that reads the same backward or forward.
A few examples: * Madam, I'm Adam. (Adam's first words to Eve?) * A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama! (The history of the Panama Canal in brief.) * Able was I ere I saw Elba. (Napoleon's lament.) * Mom, Dad. _________________________________________________________
Palindrome comes from Greek palindromos, literally "running back (again)," from palin, "back, again" + dromos, "running."
Today is also the birthday of my favorite person with a palindrome for a name. Happy birthday, Mike Leffel.
posted by Beth at 3:54:00 AM
