I'm dropping anvils!!!

It really bugs me when people can't take a hint. Certain people are really annoying me right now, not because thy are annoying, but because they can't take a fucking hint! These people probably don't read my blog, but I still won't mention them on the off chance they do. If they do read my blog, I hope they can figure out I'm talking about them. Don't freak out if you're reading this. I'm most likely not talking about you. Anyway, in honor (?) of these people I have made a short list of historical people who could not take hints.

1. Louis XVI: You were King of France, you needed to produce an heir and your wife was a lot hotter than you. We're talking way out of your league, and it took you how long to finally do the deed?! Everyone knew you were a little slow, but how daft can you be? Poor you with all that pressure to bang your wife impregnate her. It must have been so tough. We've all heard the gay rumours, and if they are true, then I take back everything I've said. Honestly, you never should have been king in the first place, but if you had hopped on the baby-making train earlier, maybe one of your children would have survived the Revolution. Oh, well. Vive La Revolution!



2. King Arthur: Your wife, Guinevere, was a stone fox that everyone had eyes for, and same for your buddy Lancelot. You thought leaving them alone together would be a good idea? Oh Artie, you should have brought Lance with you on your journey. Then you guys could have had some quality guy time, and you would have prevented yourself from looking like a sap when you took Guin back.



3. Eddie Murphy: Not exactly a historical figure, but he really needs to take a hint. Stop doing shitty movies! Maybe you could still fill theaters with your crappy movies 10 years ago, but those days are long gone. Want to know why you didn't get that Oscar for Dreamgirls? It's because Norbit came out a little later!! What the hell Eddie?! Get your life back on track and take on another good role (Richard Pryor biopic perhaps). It will do wonders for you.

Thus ends my rant. These three came to the top of my head as I started writing this. If you've got any others, please feel free to comment, but don't write George W. Bush. I purposefully left him off because I could go on for hours about hints he should have taken.

Peace,

Kim

Rotten Tomatoes the TV Show?!?!

So Rotten Tomatoes has a TV show. What?! When did that happen? Was I the only one that didn't know about this? Anyway, my weekend home was filled with a good amount of movie and television watching (thank you Comcast OnDemand). I just happened to stumble upon the Rotten Tomatoes show while channel surfing one day. To be honest, it was pretty lame. They try way to be hard to be funny, but I like how they have random people do the reviews. There was one thing on the show that I found hilarious. I thought I should share it with the rest of you.

Love this! Oh, how I love indie films in all their pretentious glory. Don't even try to deny that they aren't pretentious because they totally are, but in the best way possible as this film highlights.

Peace,

Kim

Stand By...

So I've been a little lax on updating my blog the past couple of days. Recent events have occurred in my life that have turned my world upside down (and stolen a lot of my free time). Let's start from the beginning.

So, I'm perusing craiglist for job listings and the occasional peek at the Missed Encounters section, that shit makes me laugh so hard. Do those people really think anyone is going to respond?! Anyway, I'm scanning craigslist, when on a whim, I decide to see if there are any cool internships available. This one listing instantly catches my eye: INTERN FOR THE EDITORIAL DEPT OF A FEATURE FILM. I'm not really sure how interested I am in editing, but just working on a feature would be awesome so I applied, sending a resume, cover letter and contact info for a reference.

Next thing I know, I get an email asking me to interview. I show up, and the interview goes great. When I say great, I mean fucking fantastic. We were laughing, joking and going way over the amount of time I usually spend in interviews. Apparently, they were extremely impressed by the letter of recommendation they received from my reference. Thanks Doc! The job doesn't sound particularly exciting, mainly logging and labeling, but whatever.

So I'm thinking I've got this shit wrapped up right. I buy a 30-day Unlimited Metrocard, since I figure I'll be traveling to Brooklyn a lot. The days start pass. I get worried. Finally, an email comes. They decided to go in a different direction. Fuck. But they really liked me, so they decided to refer me to another person working on the film who was also looking for interns. Whoo. A series of emails and calls ensue between me and a Linda Slater, the First Assistant Camera on the film. She thinks I'd make a good camera intern and I'm working on the set the next day.

So far, I'm really enjoying myself. I love the people and the atmosphere. The shoot times are pretty crazy; I got home at 5 in the morning today. I'm learning so much about cameras and cinematography from Linda and the Director of Photography, Chris Levasseur. Plus, the shoots are catered, and they really go all out. The snacks table is full of everything from Rice Krispies and Fruit by the Foot to Nutella and potato pancakes. The one thing I'm not liking, is how I'm back to drinking coffee to help me stay up on the shoots. I hate the way that stuff makes me feel. I view it as a vice. Speaking of vices, everyone on set smokes, blech. I've never been offered so many cigs in my life, but I always remember to just say no.

I'm just so glad to be on a set working with professionals who are also great people. I'll definitely be updating my blog with funny stories (read embarrassing) and adventures from my time on set. I actually have the weekend off, and I'm heading back to New Hampshire. Whoo 603!! I'm glad I came to New York this summer. Things happen here. I like that.

Peace,

Kim

NYC Adventures with Sam!!!

My good friend Sam came and paid me a visit this weekend. I love Sam. He's just an overall good guy. So for Sam's first night here we hit up RUSH, an 18+ gay club. Sam and I are avid dancers. So we head to this club very open-minded. We get there walk through the curtain, and nobody is there except for a few creepy old men that wouldn't stop staring t us. So we decided to leave and go for a walk then come back. We hit up Pinkberry on our walk. I've heard some people rave about this place. I don't know what the big deal is. It's just frozen yogurt with cool toppings, but it was pretty good.

We headed back to RUSH about an hour later, and the place was packed with both kids that looked like they were 15 and old creepers. There were also scantily clad Gogo dancers. I don't know how those guys dance up there all night. I would have been so tired. Sam and I danced the night away. A weirdo who couldn't dance tried to get with Sam. He denied him. I had a fun time, and I think I burned off all 120 calories of that frozen yogurt.

The next night of Sam's visit we meant to go to an improv show, but we got lost in Brooklyn (we weren't even supposed to be in Brooklyn). We headed to a sleek sushi place. It was very good, but the pieces were very small. Unfortunately, I am very broke so I could only buy one, but it was sweet potato tempura. Anyone, who knows me, knows I love sweet potatoes, and this did not disappoint.

On departing the restaurant, we heard some loud music from a bar. We walked into Spike Hill and caught a couple live shows. The two bands we heard, Amy Crawford & The Electric and Brit & The Calvary, were really great and featured amazing female vocalists. We also got a free CD!!! I love schwag!!

I had a great weekend with Sam who will be headed to the hills of New Hampshire (my home state!!) for a summer camp job. Here are a couple videos of Brit & The Calvary I managed to find. Brit kinda reminds me of Tori Amos. I couldn't find anything of Amy, pooh. Enjoy the vids.

Peace,

Kim

Got to get this out there...

This blog entry is inspired by a couple late night phone chats with two dear friends and a blog post by one of them. Racism, prejudice, inequality. Are we past that? Some may yes. I definitely say no. It sucks realizing that so many people I know are a part of the problem. It sucks even more realizing that I have been part of the problem.

The hardest people to stand up to are your friends, and what I've come to realize is that every time I am passive when I hear off-color remarks that some pass off as only joking, I am perpetuating the discrimination that is present in this country. I would definitely describe myself as non-confrontational, but from this point on, I'm going to try and be confrontational in situations that I see fit.

My parents were immigrants that came to this country and worked for everything they have. The fact that my sister and I are attending college and working towards creating a bright future for ourselves is the American Dream for them. I grew up in suburban New Hampshire surrounded by mainly white people all my life. My sister and I were the only black kids at my elementary school for a few years. I came out of it all pretty unscathed, but there are things that still stick with me. Kids laughing at me when I wore cornrows to school in 2nd grade. In 5th grade, a boy told me he would never date a black girl. Constantly being told I did not act black. Friends casually saying the N-word around me. Actually being called the N-word in a malicious manner.

At the time, I acted like all of these things weren't a big deal. I didn't address them. I didn't talk about it with anyone. I just pretended it never happened. I'm through with acting like that because these things do matter. The fact that I can vividly remember them now, and it's bringing tears to my eyes as I write this is a testament to that.

So when you're talking shit about immigrants. You're talking shit about my parents. When you make off-color remarks about anyone because of their race, sexual orientation, religion or whatever. You are making that same joke towards me. You are telling me that you think it's okay to judge people based on those things, and that it's okay to judge me based on those things. So if you want to make a remark like that around me, go ahead. Just be prepared to get a mouthful from me, and know that you will lose my respect. I'm 20 years old. I'm at a time in my life where I am figuring out the type of person I want to be and the type of people I want to be associated with. I hope you are one of them.

Peace,

Kim

"Prejudices are what fools use for reason." - Voltaire

(500) Days of Summer!!!!

Thanks to some good fortune (and a head's up from A-Rab), I was able to see an advanced screening of (500) Days of Summer tonight with my two favorite film buffs. One of the writers graduated from Syracuse, and I was actually able to hear him speak about the film and his experiences in the industry this past semester. The anticipation had been building, and I hoped I would not leave the theater in disappointment.

I am happy to say that overall I was not disappointed. On the contrary, I liked the film a lot. It pushed the boundaries of what constitutes a romantic comedy in a smart and edgy manner. The film is both laugh out loud funny and gutwrenchingly emotional. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel gave wonderfully realistic portrayals of two very different, but very real characters. Gordon-Levitt's performance especially stood out. He's an extremely talented actor with an ease and charm that is both relatable and admirable. He does a great job of making the audience care deeply about his character to the point where we are rooting for him even though we've been told from the beginning he will fail. The rest of the cast is also very good.

The film looked amazing. It was very visually appealing. I loved the blue and brown color scheme, which I have not seen too often before (though I guess if you count brown as a desaturation of red/orange, than it as certainly been used before i.e. Traffic). The cinematography was beautiful. There were a lot of interesting shots and techniques used, which might be attributed to the fact that the director, Mark Webb, got his start in music videos. Some might say it was too showy, but I thought it only made the film more interesting.

What really drives this film is a simple, but well-told story about a relationship where one person is in love and the other is not. This is a real story that happens to people every day, but romantic comedies tend to focus on people falling in love, instead of what people learn from relationships, especially the failed ones. It's funny because I was talking to a friend the other day about how most romantic comedies are the so far fetched and untrue to life. How do those writers write that crap?! I wonder if a new generation of romantic comedy writers will arise with stories that are actually real. Maybe then most women in America won't obsess with finding the one, but that's a rant for another time. Anyway, I liked how there weren't any sappy overly long monologues (there may have been one at the end, but it was actually good and not sappy); these were replaced by dialogue that felt true to life between characters that felt like real people.

The only thing I truly despised was the very, very, very end. If you see the film, talk to me about what you think of the end because I was so perturbed. The amount of music might have been overkill too. It felt like it never stopped, but that didn't bug me too much.

Anyway, go see it. I highly recommend it. Rom-Com's don't have to suffer the fate of cheesy jokes, lame storylines and Matthew McConaughey!!

I couldn't decide, which movie poster I liked best, so I put them all up.

Peace,

Kim

Amazing 66 is UH-MAY-ZING!!!

Some of you reading this may know a friend of mine named Ryan Lu. Well, his mom has a restaurant in Chinatown, and Ryan was nice enough to invite some of us over to eat. The food was soooo good. I cannot get over how amazing this food was. I ate so much. I'm not eating for the next week. This is one of those restaurants that makes me miss eating meat. The Peking Duck looked so good, sigh.

Anyway, if you are ever in New York City, head to Chinatown and go to Amazing 66. It's family style, so bring a bunch of friends and enjoy. You won't regret it!

I Google Imaged "Amazing 66" and a picture of Ryan Lu's mom came up!! She's the cutest woman, and she had a fierce handbag!!

Peace,

Kim

Another book done - Arcadia

I finished another book on my summer reading list. I probably should have finished it a while ago, but I just find myself so busy all the time. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Anyway, I finished Arcadia, a play by Thomas Stoppard, a couple of days ago. The only thing I didn't like about this is the fact that I don't know if I'll ever be able to see it performed. This is a brilliant piece of work by an innovative playwright.

I don't want to give too much away, but the play centers on Sidley Park, an English country house. The play juxtaposes the inhabitants that lived there in 1809 with the ones that presently (1989) live there.

The plot and characters are very interesting, but I especially loved all of the ideas the play brings up. The play really delved into the subjects of math and physics, which I normally hate, but I was enthralled by them in the context of this play. The whole idea of time and how it moves was very interesting. There are underlying themes of romanticism vs classicism, chaos theory vs. determinism, nihilism and lust. I especially loved how the play brought up the question of what is knowledge through two academics who are pitted against each other. One is a scientist and mathematician while the other is a professor of literature. I could go on and on about the ideas it discussed, but you should really pick it up and read it for yourself.

Peace,

Kim

Celeb Spottings!!

So the other day, I'm walking to this job interview. Who do I see? PATRICK WILSON!!!! Gaaaahhhh!!!! I literally stopped walking and stared at him with my mouth wide open (totally catching flies). He was laughing with this very pretty woman whom I assume is his wife. It was an amazing moment. I am in love with him. Ever since I first laid eyes on him (and part of his penis) in Angels in America, I have had the biggest crush on him. Pat you made my day.

So here I am thinking, wow it can't get any better. WRONG. I'm in Chelsea Market, and I'm looking at this woman. That's a Victoria's Secret model. That's Alessandra Ambrosia. Nah, I'm being dumb. I walk out and spot none other than the wonderful Rae Ann. She's pretty much a celeb in my book. She confirms it was Alessandra!!! Two celeb sightings in one day. Craziness.

I love my life. I love NY.

Peace,

Kim

Who says that blacks and jews don't get along?!

A couple nights ago, Ray was nice enough to take me to this event through his place of employment. It was at the Museum of Jewish History. Their new exhibit, Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars, examined the strong relationships built between Jewish professors at historically black colleges and their pupils. It truly was an eye opening experience. I had never even heard of this before. I found it so interesting how many of these pupils went on to be presidents and deans of colleges or internationally renowned poets and artists; one even became Surgeon General. These people were in college to become plumbers and maids, but a few good professors changed the course of their lives. The exhibit also highlighted political cartoons, which paralleled America's treatment of blacks to Nazi Germany's treatment of the Jews.

Overall, it was a great experience. There was free food and drink. I got to hang out with some very cool people, and I learned so much. Check out Ray's blog for his opinion on the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in DC. His title says it all: We've only come so far.

Peace,

Kim

Spontaneously Exploding Beer?!

A very peculiar event took place the other day. I was in the living room reading, when all of a sudden, I heard this loud crash followed by a shrill scream. I got up and ran into the room I heard the noise coming from. What do I find? Broken glass and beer everywhere. Apparently, a 40 just exploded... spontaneously... wtf?!?!

A girl that was on the other side of the room got hit with a piece of glass and was bleeding. Some of the glass was embedded in the wall because of the power of the blast. One girl's computer and cell phone were ruined (ouch) from all the beer.

I am still in shock over this. Has anyone ever heard of this happening before? I googled it, but not much came up. I'll show you what did come up though:

I'm very upset I didn't actually get to see it explode. It must have been so cool. Oh well.

Peace,

Kim

10 Followers!!!

To my 10 Followers, you have made me the blogger I am today. Thank you so much for all of your support and dedication to this blog. All of your comments brighten up my day. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough. Just remember, dreams can come true. Thanks guys. Much love to you all!!!

Peace,

Kim

P.S. - TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO FOLLOW MY BLOG!!!!

Hebrew Mamita!!

So I'm staying in NYU Summer Housing and they put on this series called the New York Experience. Basically what happens is every Tuesday someone will come in to speak or do whatever their schtick is. At first I thought, wow, super lame. Well, I'm a dumbass. I missed Dr. Ruth last week, and I heard she was great. I'm bummed about that, but I made sure to go to the one this week.

Vanessa Hidary aka The Hebrew Mamita is a spoken word artist/solo performer/actress/occasional rapper (usually after she's had a few cocktails). She's performed on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and is the creator of the show Culture Bandit!, which chronicles her coming of age as a Sephardic Jew on Manhattan's culturally diverse West Side during the Golden Age of Hip-Hop.

I'm always down for some poetry, especially when the subject matter is culture and diversity. I show up to the event, and I wasn't surprised to see only 5 other people there. Poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I was all the more happy for an intimate setting. This woman is amazing. She's got this unique voice that is both quirky and full of sass. Thanks to the intimate setting we got to talk to her and really get to know who she is and what she's about, as well as watch her perform some great pieces.

Her words really spoke to me personally. Her first poem was about a guy in a bar telling her she doesn't look or act Jewish. She also read this story about her experiences dating a Dominican man, and how she transformed from a Jew into a Latina complete with a gold cross hanging around her neck. I'm not Jewish, but those themes of belonging and culture are universal. As a black girl growing up in the New Hampshire suburbs, the culture-clash and confusion of who I am and how I should act was prevalent in my life. I came out of it unscathed and with few horror stories, but Vanessa Hidary takes her stories and makes them funny, thoughtful and poignant.

Here is her signature piece:

This one just makes me laugh:

Peace,
Kim

Here is a summation of my New York life so far.

New York is...

• open bars and free sushi at charity events hosted by my place of employment :-D
• meeting Daniella from The Fashion Show at said charity event (she is an FYP Alum!!!)
• meeting The Naked Cowboy at said charity event...
• pizza at 2AM with very cool interns (yummy)
• being called pretty lady/beautiful/baby or just plain getting hollered at by various scumbags around the city BOO... ok, sometimes I secretly like it ;-P
• hanging out with good friends
• catching up with old friends in their swank accommodations
• pining over the cute librarian
  
• independence
• not home
• waiting in line at American Apparel for almost an hour for an interview that lasted 2 minutes
• FREE STUFF
• honey roasted almonds!!!!
• reading and writing in union square
• rooftop films... indoors haha
• 39 year old roommate (wtf?!?!)
• corona and cheap pizza
• sample sales :-D
• the present

I think this is a good summation of my experiences in New York so far.

Peace,
Kim

Gay Marriage is legal in the 603 :-D

Live Free or Die! That's the New Hampshire way. We are about freedom, and I feel that became clear today, when we became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage. I am extremely proud of my state. People may poke fun and say that New Hampshire has more cows than people or that we're all hicks, but I think it's clear that New Hampshire truly is a progressive state with people that care about equality and freedoms.

I applaud Governor Lynch. I think that his requests do make sense, as much I hate to admit it. Lynch basically asked that some changes be made to the bill before he signed it. These changes grant religious organizations the power to deny gays the right to marry. Make no mistake, I think this is morally wrong, but religious organizations have the rights to religious freedom. It's sad that they choose to exercise this right by discriminating against people, but that is their right.

I salute you, New Hampshire :-)

Peace (& Equality),

Kim

I Likes to Read :-)

Upon arriving at my NYU apartment, one of the things I was excited for was to use the NYU Library. It would be so much easier finding books in there, than at the public library since far fewer people are using it. So let me tell you I was very shocked to learn that I couldn't use the library because I'm not a student at NYU. WTF?!?! I'm paying for your fucking overpriced apartment, and I can't use the library?!?! NYU is a bitch. Case closed.

So after work, I stopped by one of the public libraries. I wasn't even sure if they would give me a card, but they did! The lady was so nice about it too. She should be employee of the month. Then I went searching for books. I figured all the ones I wanted would be gone. They were all there. New York Public Library you really made my day. Way to not let me down. I truly appreciate that.

What a fine way to segue into my summer reading list. I saw one of my pal's who blogs post his, so I thought it might be a good idea to put mine on here too. Who knows if I'll get to them all, but I'm going to try. I've already finished one yay :-)

Summer Reading List

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

My Fiction Workshop professor pretty much told us we had to read this book. We read a couple of short stories by García Márquez, which I really loved. According to my professor, García Márquez is the master of magical realism. I look forward to reading this one.

Arcadia by Thomas Stoppard

I wanted to make sure that I read a quality play this summer. A friend recommended this one, and I've heard raves about it. I picked this up at the library today, but instead of just getting Arcadia, I decided to get a collection of five plays by Stoppard. I hope I have time to read them all. I've seen Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are dead, and it was excellent. Apparently, Stoppard's stuff is top quality so I am very excited.

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

I also picked this one up today at the library. I needed some poetry on my list. From what I know about Plath, I feel like I would really like her. I guess I'll know pretty soon.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Wow more Sylvia Plath haha! I read this when I was younger, but I was too young to really understand it, so I'm coming back to it. I did that way too often as a kid, so now I have to backtrack and read them all over again. Whatever, I'm sure it will be worth it.

Dylan Thomas... anything by him

I haven't yet decided exactly what I'm going to read by him, but everyone loves Dylan Thomas, so his work can't be all bad. Plus, I needed more poetry on my list. The fact that part of Bob Dylan's pseudonym comes from this guy should be enough reason to read anything by him.

Ends and Means by Aldous Huxley

I have read both Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited. I liked them very much, but it was clear to me that he is an essayist at heart. This was confirmed when I saw the The Complete Essays of Aldous Huxley is 7 volumes! Anyway, I needed some non-fiction on my list, and I thought this might suffice.

The Fall by Albert Camus

Camus. He's French; he waxes philosophic. Need I ask for more? No. I've read The Stranger, The Plague and Caligula, as well as been a participant in a heated philosophical conversation touching upon The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus has not disappointed me thus far.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The only reason I think I might not like this is because Jodie on Daria doesn't like Ayn Rand. If I remember correctly, Jodie said she was vulgar and sensational. If there is any fictional character that is shares many of the same attributes as me, it is Jodie Langdon. She would never start to slack off like I did. Anyway, I've heard many mixed things about Rand. I thought it was time to I decide for myself how I feel about her work.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Murakami is know as one of Japan's finest contemporary novelists. As a lover of Japanese culture and good literature, this book seemed like the perfect addition to my summer reading list. Here is another guy who likes his magical realism, and I know I like magical realism, so this should turn out to be a good pick. Plus, I've heard this is a quintessential "thinking person's" book. I like to think I am a "thinking person".

New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton

I've got another Thomas on my list, but the two are nothing alike. This book will fulfill my need for something spiritual on my reading list. It was between this and St. Augustine's Confessions. I decided to go with this one because Merton is still alive.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I picked this one up today too! Here's another big time Japanese writer (technically, he's British). To be perfectly honest, I stole this off of a friend's facebook page. I know they have good taste in books so it seemed logical. Is that creepy?

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

I actually have not read a lot of Vonnegut, which is surprising to me. I have read some of his short stories, and I really love his work, especially his voice and style as an author. I honestly don't know why I haven't read more of his stuff. Well, I've declared this summer the time to start!

The Wanderer by Alain-Fournier

I love France. I love the country, the language, the culture; I love everything about it. This is classic French literature so I had to put it on my list. I actually finished reading this one. Great read. I got through it so quick. I was hanging onto every word, so excited to see what would happen. It's a beautiful coming of age story that I highly recommend, especially for people who appreciate classic literature.

Thus concludes my Summer Reading List. I really hope I get to them all, but between internships, a part-time job, friends and my writing (currently working on 2 screenplays, 1 play, and 2 short stories), I don't know if it can be done. Wish me luck!

Peace,

Kim