end of a decade.

“I want to say something upbeat about 2010. You know, start on a good note. But it seems so artificial. I don’t think we need to magically be in a great place at the end of a year. Or magically know our goals to start off a new year. I think, sometimes, that it’s already magical that every day we wake up with the strong belief that we can make things better.”

Popular Posts of 2009. Sort of., Penelope Trunk

Also a quirky read: The End of the 00s: Made in New York, by Joel Johnson.


Happy New Year, folks.
Let's make the coming decade much better than this past one.

happy belated, j&j!

Cake, card games, & interesting characters. Good times.

columbia: early dec.

World AIDS Awareness.


The lights! :) Festive.


The prey of Columbia.

rice krispy fun: nov.

& for the Glee fanatics:

what do you do when your friend is having a bad week?

You make it a little brighter with a giant bunny made out of your old Christmas lights and bandana.

gallery bar: november.

semester in sections to come.

This past semester I slacked in adequately updating this thing. Result? Several picture posts to come that show snippets of the past two months or so. Bear with me.

In other news, being on Long Island & spending time with Akio has been kind of nice. Minus the teething.

vulpesvulpes.

Long overdue post on the amazing VulpesVulpes, Tanya's band that has been around for quite some time now and are doing phenomenally well. You might have caught them featured on MTV, introduced by Alexa Chung during the Woodie Awards this past semester.

Recently migrated from Tallahassee, FL, VulpesVulpes is now residing in Brooklyn, NY and taking over the Manhattan music scene at CMJ and places like Santos Party House and Bowery Electric. Tonight, however, they'll be revisiting Long Island and performing at the Crazy Donkey. If you're down for good times and good music, I'll see you there.

Get to know VulpesVulpes a bit:


This video is one of my favorite songs (you know how I love angst) and actually the last time I saw VulpesVulpes live -- moons ago at Blaggard's in midtown:


T, if you're reading this, I know I've said this before but...super proud of you!

resolution #4.

I'm going to be honest. I judge. Hard.
But this resolution isn't about not judging.

When I look at certain girls I think, "How does she do that with such a nonchalance?" or "God, I never want to be like that." (I know, I'm so mean...)

I'm genuinely baffled at their apathy towards their conscience and their self-declared morals.

And then I realize that I am already them. The twisting sensation that I get in my stomach is insanely painful, believe me. Even as I write this. Thanks to some early years of DC Talk, I've always been a huge hater of hypocrisy and here I am, practicing it in multiple ways.

So, resolution #4:
Stop being a hypocrite/being anything remotely like those unnamed girls.

They've inspired me so strongly to change my ways. Amazing.

up in the air.

I thought I had posted this weeks back, but apparently not.

New Clooney movie looks good -- makers of Juno (fave) and Thank You for Smoking.



That was the original one I saw. You can also check out the new, official trailer.

still young.

I certainly don't know everything, but I'm still pretty young.

I have officially entered into my 23rd year of existance, having completed twenty-two about 40 hours ago. I don't know how I feel about it yet.

*   *   *   *   *

From about the age of 5 until about 15, everyone thought that I was going to become writer one day. Can you believe that? I used to be a writer. Not that you can tell from this awful blog site, but I used to be good at writing. Then everyone thought that I was going to become a photographer or an artist of some sort, so I pushed aside the idea of becoming a writer and let my talent and skills crumble.

I feel like I should return to writing. It would be a good exercise for me in expressing myself with words (which I am very bad at) and being concise too (which I am even worse at). I just need someone to keep me accountable.

So, Resolution #3:
Write more.

noteworthy (from berkley): poker face.

In the middle of my weekly supervision meeting with the director of my agency, she stopped, told me to hold on, called all interns and workers into her office via intercom, and showed us this:



We finished our meeting after everyone laughed and left.

this is what i used to say.

(stolen from Shendi.)

From about the age of 8 until 15, this was my response without hesitation.

spotted:

(& confirmed):
Andrew McCarthy riding the Q train from Union Square to Times Square after getting some shopping done at Whole Foods.



Upside: Andie Walsh found herself crushing on him back in the 80's. AND he wears plaid!
Downside: He's not that warm and fuzzy.

sad panda wishlist.

I didn't think I'd touch my blog for 2 weeks. But I need a break from critiquing child support subsidies and figuring out tax credits for NCPs.

That time of the year is coming around again...the time of the year when everyone gets a little more jolly, lovers get a little more snuggly, and I get just a little bit older.

I can't remember the last time I made a legit wishlist (but believe you me, I made them all the time in middle school and early high school -- like 10 years ago...) but this year, I'm reviving The Wishlist.

The only tangible-item things I really want this year are:
1. A new Macbook (because I'm seriously about to be computerless in 2010).
2. A compact point & shoot camera.
3. 3-tier Minnetonka boots (because my fake ones are getting gross).

Anything else is unnecessary.
Sadly, they're not really practical for people to get for me ($$$) so I think I'm going to have to do without for another year and just keep paying my overpriced rent and my overpriced tuition. And occasionally a $1.29 sandwich at Wendy's to keep myself alive.

super cute ukulele boy!

This kid is so insanely adorable, I can't get over it. The above video is him playing Jason Mraz's I'm Yours. And below is another video -- rendition of the Beatles -- that I'm putting up simply because his outfit is amazing. (His outfit + performance give off a Joseph Gordon-Levitt feel)



EDIT: Sorry, Douglas, but...

M: if sam has a son in the future
this will be him.
he just SCREAMS sometimes
with his eyes widening
G: HAHAH! YES!

green street x trueface: apparel.

Evidently, the boys of Green Street are now selling tshirts.



They come in different colors (A-live showed up at my apartment tonight -- to pick up a blow-dryer, mind you -- wearing an orange faced shirt) but as far as I can tell, their online store only has the green face. But yeah, you get a free, yet-to-be-released CD with your purchase too. So shop Green Street for new clothes & music.

nyulocal is actually really amusing & somewhat informative.

I recently discovered NYULocal. The writing is enjoyable AND it's relatively interesting. Some amusing articles:

NYU student goes a week without technology.

NYU students dress like hobos, basically.

NYU is way overpriced and way under-justified in being so.
At the end, they mention how unnecessary it is that Bobst has flat screens but I'd like to add in how even more unnecessary it is that JSex has an $800,000 retirement benefit that's not included in his compensation calculation. (For those of you who know me well, I strongly dislike that mother-hugger.)

And lastly, a link from NYULocal led me to a completely-biased/stupid but somewhat-amusing article on NYC Universities and stereotypes. The 12th st. and 3rd Ave. chain-smoking comment about the New School kids amused me.

They feature the real voices of the students, elementary drawings of puking rainbows, and social commentary. Best of all, they rip on Gossip Girl. With every right.

camera count: 4.

So for a while now, I've been thinking about how I really, really need a compact point&shoot camera.

When I was in middle school and early high school, I was all about the disposable camera (I wonder if anyone even remembers those). And then I got my beauty, my baby, the Minolta xd-7.

But let's be real. As much as I love the faded soft pictures of 35mms, we're in the digital age and those crisp shots saturated in bright colors are tempting (and you can make them crisper and more saturated via Photoshop, for those of you blessed with the program). And so I looked into getting a digital camera.

DSLRs were too pricey for me back then (the crappiest one still hitting close to the $900 range) so I saved up and settled for a Canon G5, which was the lastest of the G-series at that time (I can't believe it's been so long ago -- they're up to a G11 now!)

I made do with that for a number of years but around 1.5 years ago, I just stopped using it altogether (meaning I ceased taking pictures!) After playing with a friend's dSLR, I knew I needed one. And thus arrived my cheapo Rebel XS.

I've had the Rebel for less than a year and I like it very much but...it's just not as convenient as a simple point & shoot. And I feel a little behind the times; digital cameras have been around for so long now and I've yet to own a simple P&S that I can slip into my bag or pocket.

After some brief researching, I decided that since I cannot afford these beauties:

that I could settle for something cheaper...sigh.

I really liked the Lumix LX-3

but between paying rent, paying tuition, paying the MTA, and paying for life in general, $400 still was out of my budget. Eventually, I settled for something cheap but still reliable.

So as of last week, I can now say that I am a proud new owner-to-be of a Canon SX780is!


I'm happy.
But be warned, those of you who may see me IRL: there will be much clicking and snapping.

hula hooper: this is the stuff.

She's amazing! I want to be her.

Thanks, KP, for sending it to me! Love, love.

work in progress.

Thanksgiving weekend was more than restful and much more than I expected it to be.

Weekend of clarity and relational progress. It's almost liberating.

stolen from Nylon: quiz time!

Taken from Nylon's blog, here's a short quiz for y'all this weekend:

1. This Thanksgiving, I ate too much _________.

2. The movie we watched (on TV or at the cinema) was ________.

3. I think “Black Friday” is lame but I still really want to buy ____________.

4. The celeb I’d most want at Thanksgiving dinner is ___________.

5. The song I play when I’m finally alone without all the guests and relatives around is __________.


My answers:

1. Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies // marshmallow chocolate chip cookies.

2. Got UP, went to my parents', and made my mom watch it with me :)

3. A Lumix LX 3 or a Canon SD780is. And a good pair of black leather boots.

4. Emma Thompson. She's classy, she's like that nice aunt or relative that you actually like, and I wouldn't mind stuffing my face at the Thanksgiving table in front of her (as opposed to, say, Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Sendhil Ramamurthy.)

5. Everything from the Broadway musical soundtrack of Hairspray...or That Thing You Do by the Wonders.


Leave your answers too :)

backtrack: gallery bar, november 19.

BEATCAKES PRESENTS GREEN STREET & DJ YEHO.o 11/19!! from Beatcakes on Vimeo.

For those of you who missed it Thursday night, there were indeed glowsticks and cupcakes. The cupcakes were pretty delicious too.
I almost didn't go but fortunately my roommate dragged me downtown to the LES. Not only were the performances fresh and the people chill, but the venue (Gallery Bar) is definitely a spot to hit up. Art gallery by day, lounge by night.

Once I have time (& patience) to upload my own pictures, I definitely will. But in the meantime, I'll leave you with some stolen photos from Green Street Records, courtesy of CMCstyles photography.

ishmael beah, live.

Present: Jo Becker, Children's Rights Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch; Ambassador John McNee, Permenant Representative to the UN; Ronnie Harleston, Lieutenant Colonel and Military Adviser of the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the UN; and Ishmael Beah, former child soldier and author of A Long Way Gone.