...In which our heroine absorbs.

Consumption of media, play it as it lays:

Funny People - I wanted to love it so, so badly and went away just feeling very blah. To be quite honest, nothing happens in the film, certainly nothing that I did not expect 100%. We talk a lot in my screenwriting classes about basic ideas of story - what are the stakes for the characters, what challenges them, what does the protagonist want - and the film fails on all of these levels. I'll skip the plot details because the trailer already shows them all. Judd Apatow needs a firmer hand editing - the whole subplot of Seth Rogen's roommates and love interest was essentially worthless, and I was more than antsy for the end after two and a half hours. Also, I swear every joke within in a dick joke, which wears thin quickly. I will say Rogen and Adam Sandler give pretty decent, understated performances and the cinematography is lovely. A big disappointment for me - probably the weakest Apatow affiliated film I've seen. Oh, and on a personal note, I really do not appreciate the use of "Jesus Etc." in affiliation to Seth Rogen's character, too many sad memories attached to that one. I almost lost it.

District 9 - A refreshing breath of individuality into my beloved sci-fi genre. Far and away, the most impressive aspect of this film is the amazing visual and make-up effects. It cost $30 million and looked like it could've easily cost $150 million. I loved the faux-documentary style mixed with the narrative film, and the lead, Sharlto Copley, plays dorky as well as anyone I've ever seen. This film has the distinction of only a few other films - Audition, Dead Alive, The Fly, 28 Weeks Later - that have ever made me feel sick, yay!A lot of the reviews I've read have remarked that it's the best sci-fi film of the decade which seems a little much, but then again, I'm hard pressed to think of anything that's better. I've seen better films, for sure, but this is just a solid, entertaining flick that shows how far a moderate budget can go.

Mad Men Season 3 premiere - I loved it, duh. But I mostly wanted to mention that the Parents Television Council filed a complaint against it for the gay sex and semi-boobs in the episode, but yet doesn't care that The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife (NSFW) - which put Henry & June over the top to be the first NC-17 film ever twenty years ago - is featured prominently. How times change. But that aside, a really beautiful episode. I love Don more and more, that smarmy bastard. I would've like more of the ladies, Joan, Betty, and Peggy, but that'll come.

Top Chef Masters - Caught up with this, my favorite food show. While I doubt I'll ever even attempt the dishes on here, but I love watching them get made. Everything looks so good - especially Chicago's own Rick Bayless and his gourmet Mexican food. I enjoyed the Masters edition because the disasters were fewer. It makes me want to improve my culinary skills.

The Dead Zone - Probably the least interesting Stephen King book I've read in its entirety - Gerald's Game and Lisey's Story were both given up on. I guess it's partially my own fault for knowing the plot ahead of time, but his style is weak in this one. I felt the characterizations were weak, and the macabre element wasn't explored enough. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't The Stand or The Long Walk.

Jim James: Tribute to George Harrison - Three posts in a row with him, but hey, I'm going through a hippie boy phase. This is a beautiful album, simply put. George has always had my favorite work as a solo Beatle ("My Sweet Lord" is one of my favorite songs ever) and Jim James doing stripped down versions? Oh yes. If you're a fan of either, I recommend fully. And you can even stream it for free. 

Picked up East of Eden and Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Practice, and Purpose of the Movie Business for reading, American Beauty and the Alien trilogy to add the collection, although I haven't watched Alien 3 yet, on purpose. Taking Woodstock and Inglourious Basterds are musts for the weekend.

Since I mentioned it, "My Sweet Lord." I never tire of this song and it always makes me smile.

...In which our heroine gives back.

So before Pitchfork, I spent the week with some wonderful kids. Bright, fun, varied, and talented kids. I was their mentor, and they were my mentees, which sounds ridiculous, but it was a clearly set out relationship.

The organization I worked for is called ArtUp, and is part of Columbia's outreach program to help encourage Chicago public high school students to pursue college, especially in the arts fields. The organizers of the program - Mecca, Joanna, Rob, Avery, Cecil - are all truly wonderful, giving people. Seeing their devotion to improve the lives of children makes me want to be better than I am.

What we actually did was make a book based on the concept of change, filled with work - prose and photographs - created by the mentors, the students, and the two teaching artists. We began with writing a stream of consciousness about what change means to us, then shot photographs inspired by that writing. From there, we did a process called essentialization - something I found to be most beneficial - where we chose 24 words from the stream of consciousness that represented change. Then we went down to 12, 6, and finally 3 words that meant change. Everyone got "change =" and mine finished with "creation of possibility."

At first I was unsure what to do with the kids - what do I, a Midwestern white girl going to an expensive arts college, have in common with a bunch of black kids from the south and west sides that have some pretty crappy lives? As it turns out, a lot. The kids were wonderful, smart and opinionated and full of ideas. I cannot even explain how great it felt to see them take an idea and put it into action. Lunch was provided for us everyday and us we all sat around - six mentors and eight students - and talked about everything from tattoos to big stuff like women's rights. They amazed me with their willingness to be engaged, and what they contributed.

It was an inspiring experience and one I'll never forget. I'm hoping that when school starts I can continue working with ArtUp. I've seen so much potential in these kids and I want to help foster it. It was great to work and feel like you were doing something beneficial. This summer has made me realize I need to give more and take less, which I'm trying to do. I need to stop wallowing in personal bullshit because it isn't really important. I can only improve myself, so anything else is pointless right now. I'm letting go of everyone else's bullshit and attempting to be more positive.

In semi-related news, I finished draft #2 of the screenplay which is currently titled Sharp as a Razor, Soft as a Prayer. There's one scene that needs added and another that needs to be cut, but so far, I'm really happy with all 134 pages of it. I'm really understanding that writing is what I do best and what makes me happiest. All I can do is be productive, absorb art and experiences, and try and fix personal issues.

Oh! And I met the ever-fabulous Chuck Klosterman yesterday. He read and signed his new book which I have purchased and not yet read. He was kind, hilarious, and gracious enough to sign all five of my books. And he told me to choose Depeche Mode over Kings of Leon, who he apparently does not like.

Double Oh! I completely neglected to mention Charlyne Yi and the adorableness of Paper Heart. First, the movie is really cute and an honest exploration of relationships. Way better than (500) Days of Summer, the other indie romance everyone (including every third fucking commercial on TV) because it's more real and less quirky. Yi is hilarious and meek in person, but was very honest - I found out from her that Judd Apatow improvises most of his dialogue on set. We saw her again at Pitchfork, and I fought the temptation to ask for my future husband Seth Rogen's phone number.

I love having the apartment to myself - Kristen is home until Lollapalooza - and the family is in town tomorrow.  I'm going to my first Cubs game at Wrigley this weekend! While this summer has been far from what I planned, in a lot of ways it's been the most eye-opening and introspective ever. Back in the nasty next week...

"Reckoner" is one of my favorite songs off of one of my favorite albums. It makes me think of nights in my bedroom, spend hovered around my laptop with an ever-revolving cast of wonderful characters.