The most nonsensical paragraph I’ve ever read

…comes from the Wikipedia page for the 2006 Nicolas Cage film The Wicker Man.

“Malus then begins searching the village, suspecting that Rowan might be involved in the ritual. After being attacked by a crazed Sister Honey, whom he subdues by punching her in the face and then kicking her into a wall, he disguises himself in a bear costume and follows a parade led by Sister Summersisle.”

Yet more evidence that Nicolas Cage is just awful and everything he does sucks.

*This passage has since been removed from the page. Find the old draft here.

Five Very Good Film Soundtracks

In no particular order:

1. Hackers – electronic music for people who don’t listen to electronic music (like me). With contributions from Orbital, Underworld, and the Prodigy, the album has a great mix of high-energy songs and milder, chill tracks. Best Track: “Cowgirl.”
2. Passion: Music from The Last Temptation of Christ – Peter Gabriel composes global music for people who don’t listen to global music. LTOC is one of my fave films, and this soundtrack captures the eerie-ness, heartache, and beauty of the film. Best Track: “A Different Drum” or “Passion”
3. The Crow - a collection of the best early 90s alt-rock, (grunge excluded). Featuring Henry Rollins, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, the Cure, Violent Femmes. Best Track: too many to list.
4. Pulp Fiction – could probably be replaced with any Tarantino film. Best Track: “If Love is a Red Dress,” “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon.”
5. The Lord of the Rings (All three films) – Howard Shore composed an amazing, eargasmic score to compliment a visually breathtaking film trilogy. Best Track: All are equally fantastic, although I’m a big fan of the “heros” motif repeated throughout the score – you know, the Robin Hood-esque heroic theme. “Journey in the Dark” and “The Bridge of Khazad Dum” are my faves on the 1st; “The King of the Golden Hall” is the most memorable on the second; “Minas Tirith” and “The Black Gate Opens” are pretty fan-freaking-tastic on the third.

Honorable Mentions: The Animatrix, Legend (if you’re into Tangerine Dream-type stuff, anyway), Natural Born Killers, Songs in the Key of Springfield, Team America: World Police.

On my Fascination with Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has an insane, overstimulating, unsettling, fetishistic, imaginative, visually striking, and dare I say it, sexy new video out for her song “Bad Romance.”

My fascination with LG surprises even me. I normally don’t get into dance music, flashy female pop stars, or anything this popular among the young kittens these days. Yet, I LOVE this woman’s music, style, ridiculousness. For the record, I don’t actually know anything about her – i.e. I don’t follow celebrity news. At all. She could be a cannibalistic dog-rapist for all I know. So my fangirldom has nothing to do with Ms. Stefani Germanotta herself.

Having said that, I am totally in love with Lady Gaga. I even spent an afternoon making my own disco stick for my LG halloween costume (it lit up and everything). But why am I so into this artist, whom, really I probably shouldn’t give a damn about? I mean, her music is catchy and poppy and like nothing else I’ve ever really gotten into (unless you count Ace of Base in the 4th grade). I’ve done some reflecting, and I think my fandom is a throwback to my teenage obsession with Marilyn Manson during my jr. high years. Yup, that’s right; when I was a young teenage kitten, I had a big celebrity crush on the scariest man on TV.*

Lady Gaga with her extreme appearance and over-the-top fashion, seems to be the female answer to Marilyn Manson. Her music is much more accessible and mainstream than MM’s ever was, so I’ll say she’s like a love-child between MM and Madonna. Regardless, her more recent videos feature a lot of vivid, somewhat frightening imagery and bizarre couture. She doesn’t seem to shy away from appearing downright freaky and disturbing sometimes (think: Paparazzi), although unlike Mr. Manson, she rarely fails to come off still fairly put-together.The woman is so far out there, yet still manages to do it while maintaining a sense of otherworldly sex appeal.

Whatever the hell she does, she does it well. Go Gaga!

*For the record, my crush on MM came to an end with the release of Mechanical Animals when I was about 15.

Soul Searchin’ (I)

This is the first in a series of posts on my move to D.C.

I’ve been in Washington D.C. for almost six weeks now, and to be honest, I’m at an impasse. What I came here to do – research tech and info policy – has thus far failed to really trip my trigger. It’s surprising, because I like tech and all forms of technophilia. Which means its the “policy” part that’s killing my ambition. Wonkishness might not be my “cup of kool-aid.”

I think it’s public policy in general that’s got me down. I’ve been ignorant about and apathetic towards government and politics for most of my life. It wasn’t until I switched majors in college to economics that I started thinking about public policy. In fact, I recall doing some pretty awesome projects on social security, health care, and tobacco taxes for my senior-level classes. But as econ ushered me into the world of policy analysis, so it promptly showed me the door; the smattering of public choice theory that I’ve read has cemented my opinion that the whole dang system is structurally in disrepair, and there ain’t much we can do about it, folks. The founding fathers strove to create a system of government that was resilient to tyranny, but failed to come up with a fail-safe plan for getting gov’t back to its modest roots after the big bad progressives went and exploded it.

I guess you could say I’m disillusioned. Disaffected. Disturbed. The whole idea of national public policy, working on the hill, power-hungry pols, coalition-building, logrolling votes, us-vs.-them mentality, crafting legislation, analyzing policy, and generally living and breathing in the political sphere doesn’t exactly make me jump out of bed in the morning. Where I’m from, it’s still considered rude to talk politics at dinner.

So, in short, I have to tackle the question of whether or not a career in public policy is really for me. For the last few months, I’ve felt overwhelming ambivalence towards living out my life in DC as a policy wonk. But maybe I’m just really, really homesick. I definitely miss living close to my family, my friends, the ease of college life, and having a monthly rent bill that doesn’t break the bank. Or maybe I’m just stubbornly resisting growing up and becoming an adult. I realize that I need to give this more time.

The big question I’m asking though, is: Does it make sense to invest time and effort in a career path that doesn’t really have me jazzed about it?

If so, then I might as well go to law school, become a full-fledged alcoholic amidst the stress, and make some money at the end of it.

A Random Observation

When I was just a bright-eyed, young little kitten, I used to think that someday I’d like to change the world. I wanted to make a difference so large that statues would be built in my likeness and honor.

Then the other day, I saw a flock of pigeons just hanging out on the statue of Admiral Farragut in the center of Farragut Square. There’s something about a bird standing on top of your head that looks really… undignified.

A Quick Way to Brighten a Basement Apartment

I’ve spent my labor day weekend this year getting settled in my new Mount Pleasant basement apartment. When I moved in, the place was awfully dark, and both the landlord and the previous tenant had warned me about the dearth of natural sunlight. Say what you will about federal bans on incandescent light bulbs, but CFLs really are the superior option (I just lost some libertarian cred there, I’m sure). I’ve put CFLs in the main living room and bedroom, and neodymium incandescents (GE’s “Reveal” brand) in the bathroom, kitchen, and all other light fixtures. My apartment is much brighter and less claustrophobic-feeling now. If you haven’t tried either CFLs or neodymium bulbs yet, go out and get some – they make any room more inviting.

On a related note, the big move is over and done with. Last week, I packed up my car and drove 1200 miles across the country to Washington D.C., where I’ll be playing the role of the bright-eyed, midwestern ingenue who’s determined to Change The World (but I’d be happy to just find a job).

Homely Celebs with Sex Appeal

From the Nerve.com list of the “Twenty Sexiest Ugly People:“

9) Willem Dafoe

An immortal Simpsons episode finds Bart and Lisa watching a movie called “The Muppets Go Medieval”; they ask their father why one of the muppets is made of leather, not realizing they’re looking at an aging Troy McClure. We ask the same question every time Willem Dafoe is in a movie. The guy looks like a hairless Shar-Pei, and he only gets scarier when he smiles or grimaces. It’s a little exciting to be scared, isn’t it? For a taste of Dafoe’s strange allure, forget his crazy/sexy Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ and go straight to his drag-queen performance in Boondock Saints.

 

 

 YES! Willem Dafoe is freaky-looking… and totally hawt.

And for the record, his unsettingly sexy portrayal of the son of god in Last Temptation left me much more, shall we say, ”confused” than his cross-dressing, gay detective in Boondock Saints. ;)

Incidentally, LTOC is one of my all-time favorite films, but I’ll save the religious and philosophical commentary for another day.