Culture Shock!

I recently joined BU's blog, CULTURE SHOCK. Check out my first post.

Shots of Soup

Last night, I borrowed Antoinette's Pentax cam and took several pictures of Campbell's Tomato Soup...

It was for our COM 201 AD CAMPAIGN assignment, where we have to create a panel for the Greater Boston Food Bank. I know we could've easily google image searched a pic of this iconic image, but I had too much fun experimenting w/ different angles and lighting (with the working light bulbs on our flex-arm lamp, and a backdrop made out of my white macbook and a couple sheets of computer paper). I think I want a high-res camera of my own.

I love this unchanged image:

One of Campbell's Soup Cans

only 40 years old

How will this affect fashion world?

Reflection on "Coffee House Reading" Memoirs

When I came to the memoir readings, I wasn’t sure what to expect, aside from coffee and cookies. But I was moved by almost every one of the readings. Every piece conveyed an individual, poignant message – in very different manners. The readings ranged from the seemingly mundane, comical to seriously shocking.

However, I did notice that the story structures were somewhat similar. Each had an element of surprise with expositions that kept audiences in suspense, until we found out what the actual event or twist to the story was. Also, the authors painted the scenery with vivid, tangible descriptions – in some instances I felt that I could have been there with them. Some instances I thought I could feel what they were feeling. They did a good job being relatable. But I have to point out the ones that touched me the most, and why (in order of appearance):

“The Fourth Floor Window” : Lee did the best in physically placing us in his perspective. His vivid, clear descriptions incorporated and permeated past the five senses to the point where I got chills hearing about the impact of such a transformative catastrophe. I could see the “cerulean skies” and the “paint fumes” pained me. I especially liked that he interjected a story about the encounter with the “husky” bully being the most nerve-racking point in his life up until then, juxtaposing the weight of September 11^th.

“Untitled”: Honestly, I was a bit teary eyed after this one. Even though Madeline talked about such a seemingly shallow task of removing acrylic nails, there was a beautiful sadness in her story. It was more about her painful pressure to be outwardly perfect: fake – than a story about simply tossing nails. I liked the synthetic imagery that she rips away to reveal her natural, liberated, moved-on self.

“The Impact of Inaction”: Anna was blunt and truthful. This story, in comparison to the others, reveals the most about her character. She acts (after all, her story regrets inaction)– she sticks to literal events and actions that had happened rather than dwelling on descriptions. I liked that you pointed out that she painted herself in a negative light; her story was straightforward and real. It takes a lot of courage to tell the story she told.

“My Airness”: Sam’s story stood out because it was funny, and I’m glad he ended the night on a sweet note. I loved his use of free association where he sporadically sticks in his comical streams of consciousness (ei his tangent about the greatness of fruitloops). Mainly, I loved that he somewhat paradoxically humbled himself in cocky manner, by comparing himself to the great Michael Jordan while also being able to make fun of his inability to make the team. I’m glad it ended with “Sam [last name].”

The Deal With T-Swizzle: An COM 201 Op-Ed Piece on the Success of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s discordant, cacophonous attempted duet with the accomplished Stevie Knicks during last week’s Grammys spawned enough criticism that her record label had to defend her performance. “This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It’s not about that technically perfect performance,” said Big Machine Record CEO Scott Borchetta in an interview with the Associated Press (USATODAY.com).

Personally, I believe “true artists” should also have perfect performances. Isn’t that the point of great music? I’m sure I could easily find many people who don’t consider Taylor Swift a good artist. However, I can definitely find many who do love her music.

There is a reason she was nominated for 8 Grammy Awards this year, winning the coveted Album of the Year Award. She defeated the “Fame Monster” of the visually stunning, pop (no pants) sensation that is Lady Gaga (my personal favorite), and she conquered the ferocity of Beyonce’s “Sasha Fierce.” Honestly, the vocal skills of those two women could shock the tone out of Taylor’s implied twang. However, Taylor’s album, “Fearless,” had more record sales than the albums of Lady Gaga and Beyonce combined (Perezhilton.com).

So what makes Taylor Swift so great? Initially, her simplistic songs may seem laden with horribly jejune lyrics about falling in love, like “teardrops” caused by a guy named “Drew.” Maybe, I theorize, that her success is due to the ease in which fans can sing along. Almost anyone can sing along to a simple chord progression with a vocal range of about five notes.

Nonetheless, the sophomoric themes in her music strike a resonant response. Maybe it’s because there are a lot of sophomores out there. There are a lot of teens that entertain that “Love Story,” about a forbidden paramour (though I’m sure Taylor misinterprets Nathaniel Hawthorne in her “scarlet letter” reference and disregards the bitter ending of Romeo and Juliet).

Anyway, I put my lyrical critic aside and connected with her biggest and most recent hit, “You Belong With Me.” “She wears high heels/ I wear sneakers/ She’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers/ Dreamin’ ‘bout the day when you wake up and find/ That what you’re looking for has been here the whole time.” She transported me back four years ago, to my frizzy haired converse wearing days of unrequited crushes. I’ll admit I was bopping up and down, nostalgic and rooting for the lyricist. Her songs are upbeat, catchy and hit relatable themes.

I don’t know if she is a “true artist and writer and communicator,” but I think T-pain puts it plainly, “Some of the stuff she talks about is really girlie, but it’s cool with me” (Perezhilton.com).

I Vlog

testing testing...

walk, walk fashion baby (but in a good romance)

I have been following The Sartorialist for awhile (as a part of my daily google reader routine!), but I only recently discovered his girlfriend and fellow fashion blogger, Garance Doré. She's great! While she "essentially" does the same thing as her beau by photoblogging classy style, she adds more of a whimsical, carefree touch to her posts. I love her feathery sketches, her fanciful cursive, and especially her photographs that present an artistic intimacy that Scott lacks. Her feminine tastes must have influenced it.

Her recent post about temporary tats by Chanel (cool idea! but i think, undoubtedly, that it'll be copied and mass-produced):

In Interview magazine, posing in front of a sketch (she's carefree enough to pose like this):

But what interests me most is their relationship. She wrote in one of her earlier blogs:

It was a good three years ago now. Like everyday, I was looking at his photos. I’d never met him. That day though, looking at one of the shots, I wanted to be behind his shoulder.

He communicated something about fashion that no one had to me before. For me, his photos were like a dream made out of reality. With him, fashion was an affair of grace and moment, then with something hidden in the bright light, the gaze of a child.

More recently, Scott blogged about grace and Garance. I love this post because he's actually expressing beautiful thoughts through words instead of photos. He's so classy :)

I'm telling you guys again, women notice the small stuff. They notice the gentleness/gentlemenliness more than if you use the right fork at dinner. I'm a very lucky man, Garance notices every little kindness I offer her, she doesn't miss a thing. Knowing that makes it so much more rewarding to do even more little things for her. I'll be honest, my biggest obsession in life right now is not better shoes, more suits or a bigger career but, to simply be a more graceful man for my graceful woman.

fashion and romance - what a fun idea.

Butterflies and Hurricanes

The other day, as I was scrollin through Perezhilton.com, a few photographic stills of a harrowing yet intriguing scene grabbed me. It was Sean Faris, shirtless and bare with some girl in black lingerie, both drenched with red, blood-like wine, in disturbingly lewd positions. I've thought Sean was hot since "Reunion", but always put him off as one of those typical "football jock bros." These photos captured a willing, raw, violent intensity of emotion that changed my mind about him - I had to find the director behind the lens:

Tyler Shields is a celebrity photographer with a seemingly disturbing psyche. He shoots storm troopers and men in mickey mouse costumes. He uses mediums such as (fake?) blood, liquor, dirt, food, fire etc to make a visual mess of his subjects. And he frequently eroticizes his subjects in sinuously sensual scenes. People might be put off/ scared by his work, but it's this sort of avant-gartistry that sticks; it either touches you or shocks you. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the bloodied work, but I love the rest - I love how he captures human emotion in a dark, minimalist manner. One of my favorite of his "video-portraits" is of a lonely, frazzled (her hair is literally frizzy) Juno Temple sitting on a stove smoking a cigarette in her pajamas. This muted black and white scene has her glare at us with piercing eyes, and then she forlornly looks down as a smokey haze surrounds herself. I can easily see this scene in a movie - the character all down and dejected cuz of some drama; a video portrait sets the scene for great characterization.

Check out this video that captures his 2009 moments:

I feel as if scenes like this move me now because I'm sort of in an angsty faze that missed me in high school. I'm in a phase where I'm finding romance in darkness. But don't expect me to be wearing black and white strips, rockin the hot topic look...

"a moment, a love, a dream aloud"

On this shivery, slushy, slippery day, I walked a mile from COM to fit rec, walked on a cardio step for 1hr 15min (yeah cardio step and ab lab!), walked back to CAS, walked home, walked onto the Fenway T (whew!) and walked to work. I estimate that I've walked a shit ton of miles since going to BU, but ever since I started using my iPod, I look forward to all these steps I'm taking to listen to songs. Despite the shitty weather, the "(500) Days of Summer" soundtrack sweetened my day and brightened my disposition.

I love that movie so much, and what I think makes it so special is its use of music. Songs alone can evoke intense emotion, penetrating our cores - you know a song is good when it hits that right rhythm, true tone, magical melody - it's your jam in da club!!! But when you add visuals - gahhh - i absolutely gushh when the song makes the scene on the screen reverberate what its singing to what your seeing - it just adds another dimension that I wish I could describe in music video form. Marc Webb, the man I like to call genius director, directed countless music videos according to Wikipedia.org, so it's not surprising that (500) days feels like a montage of meaningful musical scenes. (btw I aliterate too much). When I'm listening to the soundtrack, it's like I'm reliving the movie.

When I'm listening to "You Make My Dreams" by Hall and Oates, I cannot help smiling from the inside and wanting to break out in dance (not just because of FSA Kamayan '09 routine). When I hear "Hero," I picture the double screen shot of Tom's expectations vs. reality where reality bitch-slaps away expectations to Regina Spektor's lamenting shouts of "cheatin, cheatin, cheatin!" And when I listen to "Vagabond", I cheer for Tom getting over his depression, literally clearing for himself a blank slate that is his bedroom wall, symbolically/really building himself up as an architect - I see that beautifully fast-forwarded scene where he sketches the city skyline from day to dusk and a tangerine sun waving by in the background.

2010 Resolution #6: Be gifted the (500) Days of Summer Movie

;D

vintage wayfarers

I really don't want this blog to be one of my transient obsessions. It's my nature to be easily fascinated about something - then learn, research, feed on, breath it - to then move onto the next thing. Right now, I've been non-stop watching Weeds ever since Kelsey and Morgan got me hooked... but that's not what I want to talk about. Why do I easily get bored of things? I'm so easily amused, quickly enthralled by new things - but as I get older I'm overcome with longer states of ennui. But then I go through newer measures to chase that entertainment. I'm not reckless by any means - it's usually a nerdy entertainment, like my goal to see every Christian Bale film or HP FanFiction. That is such a lame statement. I'm not afraid to admit it because I'm just telling the truth - but this extends pass what you can google. I'm bored with my life... I'm not sure if that's exactly it, but I guess more accurately put - I'm being desensitized.

I think I'm being desensitized by my growing cynicism. It's also my nature to think positively, and I still am like that, but I'm holding on to a thin sliver of truth connecting me to that exuberance of innocence. I recognize more knowledge doesn't necessarily lead to less amusement in life, but wasn't it magical when you knew that present was from santa, or burgers more delicious when you don't think about slaughtered animals, or water more refreshing when you don't realize there is water scarcity in 3rd world countries etc... Maybe I'm being to extreme, but I could go on and on. I don't usually think about these things - and you can't live a positive life seeing the glass half empty. But what I've realized is that everything is about perception. A glass half full is the same as a glass half empty. Just like a marijuana enthusiast could be the same thing as a pothead burnout. I'm not hatin', just sayin'.

What I am hatin' on is the nature of knowledge - I love knowing things, I like learning, I'm not the smartest person I know - but I'm starting to realize that the more I learn, the more distrustful I become, and I can't take everything I hear as absolute truth. I'm learning to weed out the information thrown at me. There's a bias in almost everything. People always see things differently, through different colored lenses, highlighting nuanced features in the same scene. And as long as the sun shines and illumination burns, we can never take those lenses off. I'm not saying that enlightenment is dangerous, but I am saying it's the nature of knowledge because everything is a perception. I want to take those glasses off and see truth.

Enough pessimism for now. Seems awkward to subsequently add to my 2010 Resolution list, but I've got to jot it down. I don't call them New Year's Resolutions because how many people keep them? I will keep these:

2010 Resolution #1: Love Art

2010 Resolution #2: Only purchase patterned, colorful items of clothing in hopes to curb my shopping and transform my GAPtastic wardrobe.

2010 Resolution #3: I cannot watch television on a regular TV, unless it is international news.

2010 Resolution #4: Exercise for my future 50 year old body, in hopes that my then self would be thanking my now self for her milf/gilf physique.

2010 Resolution #5: Keep on adding to my Resolutions.