I fall without my wings.

I tend to save links to interesting stories and e-mail them out to people to discuss based on its topic. Here are some articles I've been reading from the past few weeks...

HELP US CATCH A KILLER by Michelle McNamara (LA Magazine) -- this is the fascinating archiving of a serial killer from the late 70s/early 80s. He raped 50 people and killed 10 in California. He was known as the East Area Rapist then as the Original Night Stalker -- now he is known as The Golden State Killer. The author has been trying to catch the killer for years, because he IS catchable - they have his DNA and he is most likely still alive. I made the mistake of listening to the recordings of the killer's voice as he left a creepy message. VERY SCARY. I've always been interested in serial killer stories, and this one gave me chills.

WE FOUND OUR SON IN THE SUBWAY by Peter Mercurio (The New York Times) -- this may or may not have brought tears to my eyes as I read it at work. Embarassing when your eyes are all red as you head into a meeting... Great story, and I love how it plays out like an epilogue.

THE CRIME OF BLACKNESS: DOROTHY B. HUGHES'S FORGOTTEN NOIR by Christine Smallwood (The New Yorker) -- I read The Expendable Man earlier this year, and it's GREAT. It originally came out in 1963 and to read it now is astounding in light of that year; I urge you to read the book (it's under 300 pages) and then read this article. But if you read this article first you'll definitely want to pick up the book anyway. If you've already read the book... you are awesome.

THE GHOST WRITES BACK by Amy Boesky (The Kenyon Review) -- written by a woman who ghostwrites for Francine Pascals' Sweet Valley High series. I was in love with these books growing up, of course. A bit of a window into something that makes me nostalgiac.

IN WHICH WE REGRET DIVORCING BEN GIBBARD by Cathaleen Qiao Chen (This Recording) -- TR has the best essays and perspectives on pop culture. Whether it be reviews written by 'Dick Cheney' or insightful pieces on a single piece of music, I love that website. Here's something that made me laugh and wonder.

WHY 'OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL' IS A MAJOR STEP BACK FOR WITCHES AND WOMEN by Elizabeth Rappe (Film.com) -- perhaps this essay more than any other was the reason why the most recent James Franco movie I've seen was Spring Breakers and not Oz. I had higher hopes for Sam Raimi. At least, higher than Harmony Korine, right? Has anybody seen this and liked it?

Speaking of Spring Breakers, yes I reviewed it. It's definitely a movie I thought I would hate, but I ended up kind of liking it? It's not for everyone and can be interpreted several ways, but I enjoyed it. Read my review and let's discuss. Also, join Letterboxd, let's be friends, and let's discuss movies all the time! It's my favorite thing to debate! Anybody else seen Spring Breakers? Got yer dark tannin' oil? Spring break forever????



Photo by Arno Arno via Flickr

The way my brain works and random links.

Last night was finally a relaxing Friday. I ate Jesse's Thai food leftovers, poured us each a hot cider and whiskey, and settled in. He eventually went to a show in the city, and I watched Nashville and Parenthood, which are two great shows if you don't watch them. Then, since Nashville was created by Callie Khouri, and she wrote Thelma & Louise, and that was directed by Ridley Scott...I decided to watch Prometheus since I'd gotten the blu-ray for Christmas. (Yes, this is how my brain works.) However, my decision to turn off all the lights and snuggle into a blanket on the couch proved disastrous: I fell asleep half an hour into the movie. I awoke two hours later during the credits. Woops. Will have to watch again sometime soon.

Here are some other things in my brain waves this week...

J.J. Abrams officially directing the new Star Wars movie ...as the story that definitely surprised me.

Mainly because he said he never would a month ago, and the fact that because of this I defended my opinion to Jesse back then that why would he mire himself in another franchise with similar fandom? Of course, my number one choice would have been Ridley Scott. Yes, that guy again. I love Abrams, but he has an aesthetic and quality to his films and television shows that is great, but do I want to see two similar-feeling franchises about space? We'll see. I like the levity of Scott, but I do trust Abrams. We'll just have to see.

M. Ward declares new She & Him record ready to release this spring ...as an album I didn't even know was in the works in order to anticipate it!

I'm a huge fan. Liz can attest to this... I mean, we spent an entire weekend together in two cities seeing them play shows. Also, this. So, it's going to be called Volume Three, I would guess?

I'm just going to leave this here right now ...as a story that's really just about technology and our time.

Dating was different in the '90s. I wrote a whole (unpublished) short story on the theme, because something happened to me that was pretty similar to this article. I don't know who's reading, but for those that I've read, I usually begin to admire from afar, forgetting the reasons why I sought you out in the first place.

LETTERBOXD ...as my new favorite internet thing.

Thanks to Michelle for telling me about it and sending me an invite!! Basically, and I've been saying this for years, I've always wanted a site like Goodreads for movies. Goodreads is a fantastic way for me to keep up with my reading and my friends' opinions on books I've read or want to read. Letterboxd does that for films, and it's got a great design. I'm slowly and surely keeping up with my DVD collection blog of personalized reviews, but what about all the Netflix movies and in-theater movies I watch? For Christmas I got a Film Moleskine, which I love, but with Letterboxd I'm able to make lists and keep track and friends can check out what movies I loved or disliked. It's fantastic! DO YOU HAVE IT YET? BE MAH FRIEND!!! I have two invites left for now...

Miniature pencil drawings by Marie Harnett via The Film Experience

They're not waiting for you.

Today Jesse got on a plane heading to Florida to visit his grandfather. He's been back from tour since Thanksgiving, so I've been feeling pretty lucky having him around, especially during the holidays. And since I've been sick, he's been taking on a lot more around the house. I haven't done the dishes in days, the litterbox is clean, the cats are fed, the floors are swept. I mean, why do you think I've been "sick" for three weeks? Just kidding. Kind of.

The next four days then I'll be continuing my recuperation (seriously when will this thing die already?), hopefully helping a friend find an apartment in my area, brainstorming about an impending wedding of one of my best friends, and perhaps, as always, a movie night.

I have to enjoy these relaxing weeks when I can get them! Here are some other things that have been on my mind...

The Director's Guild of America nominations ...as the thing that aggravated me most today.

With the Academy Award nominations coming up on Thursday (CAN YOU TELL I'M EXCITED?), I was waiting to hear about the DGA nominations, since in the last five years they have predicted four of the five Oscar nominees. I am a bit disappointed in one particular name on this list:

Ben Affleck, Argo
Katherine Biglelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Nominating Tom Hooper is absurd. THERE I SAID IT. I thought it was absurd when he was nominated for The King's Speech--again, great acting in there, but the directing was subpar. And in 2012 it's even more absurd since this list doesn't even contain Michael Haneke (Amour), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) or Tarantino (Django Unchained). I mean, you guys, I would nominate Joss Whedon, Ridley Scott, and Sam Mendes over Hooper (why don't action film directors get any love?!). Behn Zeitlin who directed Beasts of the Southern Wild had more vision and artistic integrity than Hooper. Steve Soderbergh directed his best in years! I didn't even like The Master but PT Anderson's directing was--because I'm running out of adjectives here--DOPE.

Let me quote the LA Times, in an article they entitled "DGA nominations: These voters did see Les Miz, right?" describing Hooper's directing of the musical:

...the oppressive close-ups, the bizarre, canted camera angles, the compositional shifts in scale and his all-consuming affinity for asymmetry...

I was dumbfounded during the movie when Cosette and Marius were singing to each other and she was completely blurry and out of focus during their interaction?! That's sloppy and terrible. But, you know, who cares? This is just another award show. And I shouldn't even be excited for anything at all, what with Seth MacFarlane set to announce the nominations AND host the Oscars. I mean, why do I care?!?!?!

Three free Zoya nail polishes ...as the thing that greeted me with glee this morning.

Use this deal! Just type in ZOYA2013 when you checkout and three polishes are free. I'm a huge fan of Zoya nail polishes--they are 4-free, meaning they are free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. And, have you seen all their colors? Today I bought Storm, FeiFei, and Noot. Tip--whenever I buy nail polishes online I google search a certain color with the word 'swatch' and tons of photos will come up to show me what it looks like in real life and how many coats it needed, etc.

The Nashville tv show soundtrack ...as the thing I am most guilty for loving right now.

The show isn't even a guilty pleasure because I actually, really like it. As I'm waiting for it to return from hiatus, I decided to look up the soundtrack on rdio and I am totally into it. Guilty! Connie Britton doesn't even have that strong of a singing voice, but I enjoy her tone anyway. She's pretty good. The duet she sings with her hunky ex-lover on the show, "No One Will Ever Love You," is currently my favorite. "If I Didn't Know Better" and "Telescope" are great as well. Maybe this is another top album of 2012? Guilty!

"On Repeat" by Jen Girdish for This Recording ...as the personal essay that recently resonated with me.

I don't even listen to Explosions in the Sky, but after reading this, "Your Hand in Mine" has been playing on repeat. I haven't been what she's been through exactly, but I've definitely put a song on repeat over and over again for hours just as something to help me get through an event or even a mood. It's usually Ryan Adams' "Dear Chicago." Do you have a go-to repeat song?


Painting: "Your Tomorrow" by Henrietta Harris