Why Alternative Transportation Can Be a Form of Activism

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the intersection of the two seemingly disparate ideas of transportation and gender. Most likely, my recent interest in the two topics in conjunction with one another comes from my new-found love of cycling, but my ruminations on gender and transport don't stop with the frame of my bicycle. I began thinking about the implications of taking the subway, the bus and the train for the two years that I lived in New York City. Obviously, every person packed into a subway car or sitting on a humming crosstown bus means one less vehicle on the crowded streets of Manhattan, taking down the air and noise pollution significantly and most likely decreasing the number of collision-related injuries and deaths. But less obviously, participating in alternate forms of transportation puts one in a more vulnerable position, taking them out of the safety of their personal vehicle and placing them in contact with strangers, darkened street corners, and abandoned late-night subway stations.

It takes awareness, wherewithal and a little dose of courage for ANYONE to take the subway back to one's apartment alone at 3am, although it took me a while to admit to myself that I was vulnerable to any negative consequences by waiting alone on an almost empty subway platform. This vulnerability was palpable not just because I am a woman, but also because the reactions of my friends and family would lead one to think that my womanness somehow made me more of a target. I refuse to believe that I was any more susceptible to assault or attack because I was a woman alone on a subway platform because I believe this to be a subscription to victimhood. I understand that pleading with me to "be careful" or to "just take a cab home" were their efforts to protect me from the comfort of their own apartments and from across the country, but their attempts at protection made me feel less like a woman and more like a child that needed to be told how to function in the world. Which made me doubt my own confidence in my safety. Which, in turn, made me start taking cabs home when I had maybe had a few too many or was a little more tired than usual.

Now that I have started cycling, I'm starting to feel this same undue protectiveness coming from all directions. When my brother, a road cyclist of over 5 years, decided to bike 100 miles from Los Angeles up to Santa Barbara, almost everyone was impressed instead of worried. This could be due to his experience with road riding, but I don't think his years of riding were what made my family and his friends okay with his excursion. When my brother and my boyfriend ride their bikes to work or to do errands, friends shrug their shoulders or shake their heads in a disbelieving - albeit impressed - manner. When I decide to ride 2.5 miles to Target to run an errand, I am met with worry and hushed voices regarding my safety. I understand that my family and friends want me to be safe and want me to be aware of myself when I'm on the road, and I appreciate their concern; I do not, however, appreciate their overwrought concern that is directed only at me and not at my male friends and family who decide to employ cycling as their primary mode of transportation.

As of right now, I live in the hills. Due to my level of experience, the quality of my bicycle, and the grade of the nearby hills, cycling everywhere is totally out of the question. I'm forced to drive in order to cycle, and for now I'm okay with that. I've only had my bike for three months, and I have no desire to completely abandon my four-wheeled vehicle in favor of my two-wheeled one. I didn't begin cycling to make some grand statement about the reduction of my carbon footprint. I didn't start riding my bike to prove anything to anyone, least of all to myself. But slowly I've been realizing that cycling - and all other alternative forms of transportation, for that matter - actively takes a stand against the pervasive car culture of my hometown of Southern California, a culture that is dangerous to others, to animals, to the environment, and to the landscape and unique geography of the area. Cycling is only dangerous to me if I decide to ride in a dangerous manner, and I've been taught by experienced bikers how to obey the rules of the road. That being said, I understand that I have no control over the actions of vehicles larger than my vintage road bike, and that the unprotected state of my cycling body potentially puts me at risk for injury.

But I am beginning to realize more and more that by participating in this activity, I am also actively changing and challenging the perceptions of females and their safety when engaging in cycling and other solo, alternative transit options. This activism also comes in the form of my good female friend who chooses to take the Metro to and from work in Downtown Los Angeles alone instead of buying a car, or my closest gal pal who prefers walking to dinner in her neighborhood despite the setting sun. We may not be speaking out at rallies, but our activism in the form of alternative transportation makes me feel like I am a part of what Susan B Anthony called "free, untrammeled womanhood.” The bicycle helped to liberate women from their domestic setting and attire. That liberation became taken for granted when women preferred less strenuous activity for the sake of aesthetics. I say to hell aesthetics, and to the roads with our bodies. Transportation need not be gendered, and our gender should be no indication of our ability to travel.

The Gentrification of Brooklyn: The Pink Elephant Speaks

On Thursday, February 4th, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn opened their newest exhibit titled "The Gentrification of Brooklyn: The Pink Elephant Speaks" to a mass of attendees. Complete with digital turntablism and free food (which I overheard was donated from local eateries and restaurants) and wine, the opening event was so crowded that it was almost difficult to see all of the 20 works of art inhabiting the walls, floor, and video screens in the museum's gallery space. I was there supporting my friend Josh Bricker, whose installation piece at the MoCADA titled "The Order of Things" can be viewed by either visiting the gallery itself (open Wed thru Sun 11 - 6) or by visiting the sculpture section of his portfolio on his website.

I mention this exhibit not just to plug my friend's piece, but also as a nod to my "Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the Media" course. (I know, it's pretty much the only course I've blogged about thus far. Trust me, posts having to do with "Sexual Personae" and "Art After Deleuze" are forthcoming.) There seemed to be a mix of anger, confusion, and critique present among the attendees and the works of art in the gallery as to what the gentrification of Brooklyn means in relation to class, to loss of a unique identity, and to the social structure of the inhabitants of the area that is in the process of gentrification. I highly recommend visiting the exhibit for yourself to witness pieces from artists from the five boroughs of New York City of diverse ethnic backgrounds (none of the artists currently reside in Brooklyn, however) whose pieces cover topics including relocation, homogenization, redefinition of the word "community," and what it means to be a neighbor.

For more on the exhibit see an article from The Daily Serving and a video from NY1 in which you can see Josh's piece with the artist himself standing by, and my bewildered-looking roommate (hilarious).

Former NY Times Journalist talks about drinking and journalism

Thanks to MediaBistro, a media-centric news content provider and creator (that, I might add, always advertises amazing panels, classes, and jobs in one's area), I recently discovered Big Think, a "global online forum connecting people and ideas" through videos from experts in particular fields. Big Think hosts pages from each of their "experts", one such individual being Gay Talese, a former New York Times journalist and non-fiction writer who is credited with bringing "storytelling into the practice of journalism". It makes sense that a site like Big Think would consider him an "expert", even though he has not been as active as of late with his writing practices: his way of writing and relating to the world seems to be very similar with the way that modern-day bloggers share their views with their readers.

Little segue: I've been watching Mad Men quite a bit lately, and although I am not quite caught up enough to start watching the 3rd season live, I have watched enough of the show to assert that the show is a fascinating case study of several things: gender roles, the American Dream, power, and, among others, our nation's relationship with substances. Everyone on that show seems to be constantly ingesting something, usually cigarette smoke or alcohol in its myriad forms -- hell, Don needed about five beers just to finish building his kids' playhouse. But in this interview with Gay Talese, the former journalist puts all their afternoon office drinking and after-work inebriation to shame. "Hell," he states, "journalism was beyond that [what you see in Mad Men]...It's a wonder the paper could even get out."

See the video below for a fun recollection of the mighty journalists from days of yore passing out face first on their typewriters.

Toward the Sentient City: When Urban Technology is "Too Smart"

A few notes on The Architectural League of New York's exhibit "Toward the Sentient City"

The project that stuck out the most for its wit and (almost) cynical take on the idea of a city complete with the “benefits” of ubiquitous computing interlaced with architecture within urban spaces was Too Smart City, a project funded by Eyebeam Arts & Technology Center and the Georgia Tech Digital Media Graduate program. All five of the projects in the exhibit incorporated technology and architecture, but this was the one project that seemed to make a comment on the idea of an urban space literally being too sentient and too intelligent for its own good. Too Smart City included three different pieces of urban “furniture”, all of which functioned as a comment on what happens when technology takes over the role of a city official, a concerned citizen, or law enforcement and the possible negative effects of a city being “too smart”.

The three different pieces of furniture – The Smart Bench, The Smart Sign, and The Smart Trashcan – all tackle the fault of technological enthusiasts who think that any advancement is a good advancement, and, much like Adam Greenfield suggests in his interview with Mark Shepard in the Situated Technologies Pamphlet “Urban Computing and it’s Discontents”: “just because we now have the technological ability to, say, correlate lighting levels to the average blood pressure of everyone on the floor, should we?”

Here's a video proposal of the project:

Too Smart City from David Jimison on Vimeo.

Possibly the one piece that acts as being the most counter-intuitive – or, as the artist statement suggests, as a “[failure] rather than…progress” – is The Smart Trashcan, a device that acts essentially as an urban dweller’s Jiminy Cricket, spitting trash back out of the receptacle that more properly belongs in a recycling bin (glass, paper, plastic, etc.). The sociological reasoning behind the construction of this technology would seemingly be to teach individuals what does and does not belong in a trash can, and to make the urban dweller aware of the differences between the myriad objects they are discarding while simultaneously allowing for simplicity in waste disposal. But, unlike Trash Track – MIT’s project involving a system of tagging trash that allows one to follow what happens to their waste – the urban dweller who relies on a sentient trash bin to do their work for them does not think about the fact that if their garbage is not granted access to the interior of The Smart Trashcan, the can spits their garbage onto the street either to lie dormant in a pile or be swept up by manual labor.

The Smart Trashcan also does not provide the urban dweller with other options like a recycling receptacle; instead, the sentient can spits the trash onto the ground below, since the person who discarded the object in the first place has seemingly moved on to their next destination, already being too busy to be bothered with finding a recycling bin. As a comment not only on the fast-paced ideology of the urban dweller but also a reflection of the project’s “Too Smart” title, The Smart Trashcan initially seems like a fantastic idea, until it is actually used in something other than a hypothetical or fictitious urban setting.

I'll warn you like I warned my boyfriend...

...this post will probably be a huge self-indulgent, life-is-awesome-for-me-right-now self-affirmation session, so if you decide not to read on, I totally understand.

That's me jumping off a stage at a park in Santa Barbara. I feel it best captures how I've been feeling since the Fall semester began.

Let me explain.

A new semester usually means meeting new people, starting new classes, buying new books, getting used to new and possibly quirky or off-kilter teaching methods, and a whole new boatload of stresses including reading assignments, participating in online discussions, thinking up paper and project topics, etc., etc. But as the first week of the semester comes to a close, I'm left less with a sensation of newness per se and more with a feeling of excitement, control, and accomplishment. This is for several reasons:

1) I'm starting an internship next week at Planned Parenthood Federation of America as the social media intern. I'll be playing around with Facebook, Myspace and Twitter all day, completing tasks that the Social Media Specialist (who happens to be a good friend of mine. Probably why I got the position, but whatever, I still got it!) assigns to me, and researching developments in social networking trends. It's unpaid, but I'm receiving school credit as well as the added bonus of having an item that looks good on my resume. And the fact that I'll be working with an organization with which I have parallel ideological sensibilities will, I think, make it even easier to put myself into this position wholeheartedly. My undergrad internship consisted of laying out bagels, making coffee, stocking the fridge, retrieving the mail twice a day, and picking up lunches for employees in the offices of Montecito Picture Company, a film production company that's given us such gems as My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Disturbia, and Road Trip. Excuse me for not being totally amped to sit at a desk chatting with friends online, doing numerous crosswords and strategically napping between tasks. Occasionally (read: ONCE) I got to assemble a few scripts that I had time to intermittently peruse, which was exciting only because it was a break from having Ivan Reitman pretend to not even be aware that another person besides himself was in a room at any given time.

In any case, I'll be starting next Tuesday and will be working for PPFA three days a week. I'm sure there will be a much stronger "reproductive rights and their representation in the media" presence on this blog, but I'll try not to make it all that I write about with a mind for not alienating or losing any readership or interest. The topic of women's rights and their representation and discussion in the media has been a huge topic of interest to me lately, as you might be able to tell from some of my more recently added links in my "Now Hear This!" sidebar, but I don't want it to completely dominate this blog. If you find that it does, please make sure I hear about it!

2) I've been asked to act as the Media Studies chair of The New School's 10th annual Critical Themes in Media Studies conference! I couldn't be more excited, especially since I was really involved with it last year and wanted to be involved again in some capacity this year. We're holding our first meeting on Wednesday, September 16th to discuss last year's conference, possible keynote speakers (any ideas greatly appreciated!) and introduce the idea behind this student-run event to all of the incoming 1st years who wish to attend. I'll probably be airing out some ideas, frustrations, developments or announcements on this here blog -- just a heads up!

3) I've started going to yoga again. The center I've chosen is absolutely amazing: payment is on a donation basis (they ask for $10 but I've given $3 each time because no one is standing there judging you), the classes are challenging yet refreshing and energizing, and it's right off my train in the East Village. I'd almost forgotten how much better I feel about myself and my body after only a few days of yoga, and since this place is so affordable I don't doubt I'll be going at least twice a week. It's better than what I was doing all last year (going on a two mile run and feeling great about myself and thinking That was awesome! but once the time comes to go out again finding an excuse -- weather, sore muscles, not enough time -- and somehow not go running again for another 2 months, by which time it's started snowing and I freeze my face off just running around the block and my nose runs but I can't feel it because my face is, like I said, frozen, so I look like a bundled homeless person running from the cops and people take pity on me and my snot-crusted face so I give up and decide Well, I do walk a lot. I guess that's enough.) and I'm hoping I'll stick with it. There's just something about the class environment that's so much more encouraging than going for a run solo. Especially since all I have are these huge headphones that get all sweaty and jangle on my head and are not the most comfortable of all devices in which to run around the streets. But, I digress.

4) I'll be starting Ph.D. applications within the next few weeks. I honestly never knew I would be doing this with my life, but I'm really happy I've made this decision. I have support from all my loved ones, peers, and professors, so even if a Ph.D. program isn't in my future in the next year, at least I'll know that I was encouraged along the way. I've decided to apply to NYU's Cinema Studies program at Tisch School of the Arts, Rutgers' Communication, Information and Library Science's Ph.D. program with a focus on Media Studies, University of Chicago's Cinema and Media Studies program, USC's Critical Studies program within the School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA's program in Film and Television, and UCSB's Ph.D. program in Film and Media Studies (my alma mater!). I've yet to start on any of these, but the process of asking for letters of rec (I need three) is just around the corner.

Oh yeah, and on top of this I'm taking two classes: Imagining Language, and New Media and Global Affairs. Honestly, I think I'm going to like the NM&GA class more than the former, just because the professor actually has a structured syllabus and I'll be able to schedule my time accordingly.

So, there you have it. I'm pretty happy to be busy once again, and also pretty thrilled to be doing things that I'm really passionate about.

I've been recently bidding my time with the most recent issue of Bitch magazine, and there are some very interesting things that I've been meaning to write about. But, that'll be another day, another post!

Ciao for now...

Culture of Distraction

I'm all for constantly remaining connected. Whenever I am on a computer, I usually keep my Gmail account open so I can instantly know if someone sends me an email or instant messages me. I keep my cell phone within my sight at almost all times. But I think there is a point when certain other "distractions" should take the place of connectivity-related distractions, wouldn't you agree?

If you know me personally or have been following me on Twitter, you are probably aware of all the free cultural events I have been attending in the city this summer: David Byrne concert in Prospect Park, the New York City Opera and Orchestra at South Seaport Pier 17, a poetry reading and Meredith Monk tribute concert at Rockefeller Park, the Figment collaborative art festival on Governor's Island, Harold and Maude in Bryant Park, "Pay What You Wish" Saturdays at the Guggenheim, Siren Music Festival on Coney Island, the Colombian Independence Day celebration in Flushing Meadows...the list goes on and on. And while most of these events are far from formal, they are still, for the most part, performances -- cultural, artful "distractions" from work, school, life, or any other mundane, repetitive, commonplace part of everyday living. When one is dedicating their time to the viewing of or participation with performance or a cultural event, is it too much to ask that emails and text messages are ignored, at least for an hour or the length of a film or the course of a musical performance? Is it too much to assume that everyone loves to get lost in these types of experiences as much as I do, that it's not about just being there and saying you were there but actually about experiencing something new and having it alter you, even if that alteration is ever so slight? My basic sentiment, to quote Gob Bluth of the wonderful Arrested Development,

"Come on!!"

Two instances have gotten me particularly up in arms lately:

1) When I was home in California, my boyfriend took me and his brother's girlfriend to see Andrew Bird perform at the Greek Theater, a beautiful, woodsy, outdoor venue nestled on the hillside of Griffith Park. I sat to the left of my boyfriend with a mid-thirty-something year old man to my left who was text messaging almost continuously throughout the show. Now, we certainly weren't inside where extraneous light would certainly be distracting, but the LED glow emitting from that screen was piercing through the darkness of the amphitheater like a searchlight on the middle of a lake at midnight. It was completely distracting in my peripheral vision, and I made a point of perching on the verrry edge of my seat so as not to be distracted by his blinding cellular device, somewhat hoping he would pick up on the hint that his glowing cell screen was bugging the shit out of me, as if my sideways glances and tisking weren't enough of an indication.

If you are that bored during a musical event and not paying attention to something that you paid to see, just get the hell out and let the rest of us focus. Seriously. His slouching posture made it clear that his texts were not urgent or necessary, as did his occasional bursts of air-violining whenever he decided to tune in to the illustrious Andrew Bird's beautiful set. This to me is almost worse than messing around with one's cell phone during a free performance or event, especially since one has paid to be there. But then again, I think I've recently developed an even more sensitive relationship to what it means to spend money on something. Call me old-fashioned, but I think it's polite and probably worthwhile to pay attention during a live performance. Even if the live performance is of the ilk executed by the landlord in The Big Lebowski, it's probably a more unique experience than whatever is going on in the ether with one's social networks.

2) I mentioned above that I went to see Harold and Maude in Bryant Park. What I failed to mention was what an intriguing experience it was. I could honestly write an entire post about struggling through a sea of people to find a patch of grass large enough for myself and my roommate, the gay couple that was taking pictures of me because they apparently liked my outfit, the fact that everyone got up to dance when the HBO introduction began - but the element of the evening that was the most relevant to the topic of this post has to be the group of girls in their late teens sitting directly ahead of us on the lawn. Before the film started there was a silly Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd cartoon, during which this group of girls proceeded to take endless arms-length focal distance photos of themselves (someone with less respect for women might call these "cam whore" shots, but no, I'm not going to do that here. I'm not going to go so low as to dub these girls "cam whores.") with the flash pointed directly at my retinas. They would then proceed to giggle and scream if the photos were not to their liking or happened to capture a double chin or an awkward blink. I figured I wouldn't allow myself to get too upset until the actual film started since for now was just a cartoon, but when the film started and the Myspace-whore photo-snapping did not subside and one of the girls turned to the group sitting to their right and asked "What movie are we watching?", I was visibly gritting my teeth with rage. Not only did these girls not even know what movie they were all meeting up to see, but they were also ruining the entertainment factor for others who very much did know what movie they were about to watch with their inconsiderate behavior. They weren't there for the actual experience. They were there to document that they were there, to have a reason to post photos to their Facebook profiles, and not at all for the film. In fact, about a half an hour into the movie the girls began dropping like flies until they had all packed up their digicams and their loud mouths and left the park before the film had even reached the tree liberating scene.

In short, I guess I get pretty aggravated when peoples' lack of interest in an event or a performance are blatant and visible. Especially when that lack of interest bleeds into text messaging and taking photos that impose on my vision and attention - there's a reason why cell phones are banned in movie theaters and museums. And the fact that this activity is so rampant even further enforces my belief that appropriate mediated behavior should be considered as much of a civic responsibility as picking up one's trash.

Okay, so maybe that's going a bit far. But I think you get my point.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

While I'll be watching the fireworks from Hoboken, everyone who's missing out on fireworks this year can enjoy some exploding candy and coins.

Enjoy!

My fotos, now on Flickr

So, again, because of this design class I'm taking over the summer, I have to take photos basically weekly, each week with a new theme. I've already fallen a little behind (mostly because I've been too lazy to buy new batteries after my rechargeable ones totally crapped out on me), but I definitely caught up yesterday after visiting Figment on Governor's Island, a weekend-long collaborative arts and music festival. If you are interested in looking at some of the photos I took -- which include some on the week's theme of "Motion" as well as more straightforward, non-artsy shots -- please visit my new Flickr page. If you have Flickr, be my friend so I can see your photo's, too!

Below I've posted some of my favorites to give you a little taste of what you're in for.

I'm really into the idea of painting with light. I think that the image above does that well.

I stuck the lens of my camera into a prism. Done.

Moving around on my roof at night must be done with great caution...

Whimsical linens on Governor's Island.

What happens when children and hippies try to recreate A Beautiful Mind. I'm telling you, it's all part of The Man's vast conspiracy to take away your finger paints and convince you that peace is not possible, man!

The Future of Media is, apparently, all about Twitter

In a panel at 20 Cooper Square's 7th floor television studio in New York City yesterday afternoon, panelists Nick Denton of Gawker Media, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Bonnie Fuller of Bonnie Fuller Media, Wall Street Journal deputy managing editor Alan Murray, and Craigslist founder Craig Newark gathered and spoke with moderator Patrick Phillips, founder of IWantMedia and adjunct NYU professor, about the trajectory, impact, and trends in new media for the remainder of 2009 as they saw it. Mostly, the themes of the panel centered on the concept of community and user-dictated need and services; opinions on whether or not users will be satisfied with a "pay wall" for their valued news and information, even if each site only mandates a wall for small portions of their content; the importance of blogging and the difference between old school and new media journalists; a grasping attempt by Murray to talk about advertising, which was quickly lost in the more timely topics of discussion; and, of course, the media wonder that is Twitter.

Everyone on the panel uses Twitter, and more recently, they all noted, everyone was using it to find their news even before consulting other trusted news aggregators like Google. While most of them recognized that there needs to be more credibility and fact-checking in these tweets, the fact remains that all five of these people who ultimately have control over the media we consume daily feed off of tweets for myriad reasons, whether for access to news, building a community with friends, or self-promotion. Dorsey admitted that Twitter was a constantly evolving animal, and that this evolution was driven by the users, not the programmers; the appearance of Trends, of @replies, of the search engine (which Dorsey states is not a search but a discovery engine...um, okay...) were all because the people at Twitter saw these things happening or saw a user need for these modes of functionality. The folks at Twitter just made it easier for their users to execute these actions and fulfill these needs.

Something I found interesting was Denton's insistence that old media producers (ie: print journalists) did not work fast enough to be successful in the blogosphere. Claiming that while these "old media" journalists did fantastic investigative work, they were not prepared to have the tightened deadlines or produce the amount of stories required for the new media format of blogging. I wonder, and sometimes fear, that the need for instant information will eventually mean an ultimate breakdown of credibility and reliability. Actually, this has already begun. But I digress.

The half-hearted attempt to discuss advertising quickly fizzled out when Denton trumped Murray's claim that advertising online was not the way to monetize a service. Gawker takes a significant portion of their revenue from ad dollars, and is still utilizing this advertising model successfully, much to the chagrin of other media outlets who are no longer succeeding with this model (for example, Murray's WSJ). Murray and Denton, who were sitting next to each other, got into a slightly heated debate during which the former raised his voice and the latter simply sat their grinning and looking overly-confident through his rebuttal. Murray admitted that advertising was indeed a part of the puzzle, but not the whole puzzle. Coming from someone whose company has effectively monetized a pay wall, Murray must have been slightly irked at Denton's claim that Gawker is thriving off of ad dollars. Newmark joined the conversation to ad that the biggest threat to the advertising model that some adhere to so stringently is actually user review services, which are huge in the gadget community (enter another excuse for Newmark to mention how nerdy he is).

There were some stark contrasts among the panelists, and this is not a comment meant to be in reference to their opinions and thoughts: their appearances and mannerisms alone defined their unique characters, almost dictating what would come out of their mouths. Dorsey, the youngest in the group and by far the best dressed in a casual blazer with sunglasses dangling from the front pocket, looked like he was going to throw up any second. He was by far the most soft-spoken, and I'm not sure whether I should chalk that up to his actual modesty or his industry greenness in comparison to the other panel members. All of his statements seemed very calculated and cautious, and I don't blame him: everyone's watching Twitter's actions right now. Denton portrayed the ultimate "I'm totally confident and I don't give a f---" new-generation kind of UK business man, draping his right elbow over the back of his chair and idly swinging back and forth on his revolving stool while eagerly grinning throughout the hour-long discussion. His mannerisms made it very clear that he, and his company, were sitting quite comfortably at the moment. Murray sat facing forward, almost on the edge of his seat, with his hands folded, stuttering a bit when he spoke up to contribute to the discussion and repeatedly talking loudly over Phillips or the other panelists. Probably the only individual still grasping to survive the "old media" model (despite the WSJ's pay wall system that seems to be functioning quite nicely, depending on who you ask), it was obvious that due to the uncertain future of the newspaper business, this man constantly lives on edge. Newmark made it known that he was a "nerd" who lacked common social skills, and made this painfully clear by emphasizing several of his points with old-timey radio effects cued up on his sleek white iPhone (a rimshot, a wah wah wahhhh noise, etc). Fuller's demeanor was pretty uninteresting by comparison to the others, although her random interjections seemed like futile attempts to establish her credibility as a celebrity journalist.

Fuller, I must add, should not be totally discredited just because she is a celebrity journalist. She did have some very interesting things to say, especially on the topic of the vanity searches that are so popular on Twitter and how this relates to new media's catering to our need for fame in our personal lives. She made a comment relating to our individual need for being known, and that the Internet can now fulfill this need better than a short-lived reality television stint can.

As the panel was coming to a close, moderator Phillips mentioned that IWantMedia does a poll each year to determine the most influential media person of the year, and asked the panelists who or what this person was likely to be, even though the year is only half way over. Fuller, Denton, and Newmark all said that, without a doubt, "It's got to be the Twitter guys." Dorsey simply sat there, hiding his smile and red face behind his hand that was casually covering his mouth. Murray piped up, saying "I was going to put Murdoch," but eventually agreed that the guys at Twitter would be "a good choice." Dorsey, in all of his modesty, whether real or feigned, calmly stated "I was going to say our users."

Current MoMA exhibits worth seeing

Since Spring semester has come to a close and I'm pretty much settled in my new apartment on the Upper East Side (still need curtains and more decorations on the walls, but that's another matter), I've had lots of free time on my hands. True, I should probably be looking for a job, but with the 3.94 GPA I've been maintaining I'm convinced a job will just make my grades and my work suffer. However, knowing that I'm starting summer session in less than a week and will probably be working on stuff for my design class at a computer all day instead of enjoying a day in the park has served as a great motivator for me to get out and do things! The Met has a killer Francis Bacon retrospective that's up for quite some time that I've already been awed by, and MoMA has all sorts of exciting exhibits to kick off a summer full of culturally-stimulating events and works. I'm pretty upset that I've almost completely missed the Cruel and Unusual Comedy series that focuses on different socially charged aspects of silent slapstick comedy such as racial issues, violence, and the treatment of children and animals, but my visit today more than made up for what I missed. The MoMA is six floors full of awesome so I didn't get to see all the new exhibits, but one of the (few) perks of being a New School student is free admission to the museum any time of any day, so I'll just have to make another trip some time soon. What I did get to see, however, especially in the photography section, made me completely nerd out with glee.

Polish Posters 1945-89
Hidden in the Architecture and Design Galleries with the product design pieces, 3rd floor
(Up through January 11th, 2010)

I was honestly expecting a lot more in terms of quantity, but the small corner exhibit of 30 or so prints made in Poland (that took the place of George Lois' Esquire covers exhibit) were all quite impressive in their own way. Characteristically expressionist and most of them quite surreal or abstract, the majority of these prints, most of them made by four artists, were made in Cold War-era Poland, a country which the exhibit cites as being the most free of Soviet-imposed power of all the Eastern Bloc countries and therefore the most devoid of artistic censorship. All of these brightly colored images were used on either book jackets or on film, opera or theater posters to announce a performance or showing of a particular piece. The poster above, "Ksiadz Marek (Friar Marek)" was a piece made by Roman Cieslewicz in 1963 for a play to be performed in Poland that same year. Ranging from graphically simplistic in the genre's inception to gruesomely detailed and disturbing in its later works (see Andrzej Pagowski's "Psie Serce (Heart of a dog)", 1982, below), every one of the posters was visually stunning or moving in its own way. I would have liked to see more description of the individual artists, and overall I don't think enough space was devoted to these pieces. Especially after being so impressed by the Met's British Prints (1914-1939) exhibit back in October and know what sort of memorable impact extensive wall literature and descriptions and ample space can bring to a themed exhibit, I was expecting a bit more. But, as I suppose it is with every building, space is a premium in New York City, even at the Museum of Modern Art.

Into the Sunset: Photography's Image of the American West
3rd Floor at the back of the long corridor
(Up through June 8th, 2009)

Featuring photographs ranging from daguerreotypes of gold miners in the 1850s to color prints from as recent as 2007, the focus of this exhibit was on the usual, unusual, commonplace and hidden lifestyles of the American West in all of its glory: beauty, repetition, degradation, suburban banality, and a richness of the rural. Photographers such as the well-known Cindy Sherman (featured above, Untitled Film Still #43, 1979) and Lee Friedlander were sprinkled throughout the exhibit, which danced between black and white, muted sepia and rich, large scale color prints. Some of the photographs products of personal endeavors, others WPA-era government-funded projects, the exhibit was held together quite nicely by the common themes of desert scenes of sparse nature, portraits of working (and unemployed) men and women, stages of progression of the once untouched land (one six-image series shows the steps of development of a planned housing community in Lakewood, CA) and counter- or sub-cultural figures such as Hell's Angels members, native Americans, Las Vegas prostitutes or suburban families.

I mentioned above that some of the things I saw today made me "nerd out". A certain 1872 Albumen silver print of Yosemite by none other than Edweard Muybridge, in particular, was the one image made me squee a little inside. Here was one of the fathers of the moving image, one of the men who aided in the invention of the motion picture camera, one of the geniuses who was fundamental in the art which I have studied so intently and lovingly for the past five years, just casually hung next to other Albumen prints like he was just one of the many who was taking landscape photographs during the 1870s. In effect, he was just one of many, but he was definitely the only one who was hanging on that wall at the MoMA who took a bet that same year as to whether or not a horse in full gallop completely left the ground, leading him to be one of the first to experiment with human and animal locomotion through the medium of photography, eventually causing him to be known as the certifiable "grandfather of the motion picture". As I stood in front of this image, I looked shifty-eyed from side to side, wondering if anyone else in the gallery knew how special this photograph was. Sure, it wasn't of a horse; it wasn't even of anything in motion, just a fairly serene, peaceful landscape with trees and water and mountains. But this photograph had a special celebrity aura to it, a certain draw that none of the other photographs in this exhibit had. Based on your knowledge of film history or the amount that you even give a hoot, this photograph might easily go unnoticed among the dozens of photos throughout the four room exhibit. But if you do find it, please take a minute to look at it and think about the hands, and the eye, who thought of capturing and therefore created that image. Yes, I was starstruck by a mediocre photograph from the 1870s by a dead guy who basically invented the filmic process. Big huge nerdy nerd. Right here.

Tangled Alphabets: Leon Ferrari and Mira Schendel
6th Floor at the top of the escalator
(Up through June 15th, 2009)

Leon Ferrari (Untitled, 1962, is pictured above) and Mira Schendel, both of Latin American heritage, are a bit like Picasso and Braque. I would assign the role of Picasso to Ferrari and Braque to Schendel, mostly because I think that Ferrari was far more evolutionary, experimental, and daring than Schendel, and also broke the mold of his early work, branching out into multimedia territory with far more comfort than his contemporary. Please don't think that I am comparing Ferrari and Schendel's artistic talents to that of the two Cubists; I am simply using them as a comparison of contemporaries with similar incipient visions.

I understand why the two were put in the same exhibit, and it is important that one sees the similarities between their works: both artists integrated language, the cosmos, and religion into their pieces, but the first two categories are really where the most similarities lie. Some of their pieces, much like Picasso and Braque, can be shown side by side and, without wall descriptions, the artist will certainly be completely indiscernible. There are very few works between Ferrari and Schendel that hold that many visual similarities, especially when one moves from their work with letters and blank space to their depictions and statements of religion. Simple graphic elements, letters, and shapes almost always presented with minimal color, Schendel's style remains virtually unchanging and consistent throughout her career, even when she was attempting to make statements on religion. Some might see Ferrari's religious work as heavy handed, but it's just as thought-provoking as Schendel's pieces, most of which as up for differing interpretations.

As with my relationship and feelings about Picasso, I was more impressed with the breadth and visual style of Ferrari than I was with Schendel. Including more color and detail (two visual elements that are consistently compelling for me, no matter what the genre), Ferrari's early work can be described as a series of ink scribbles that experiment with depth and the structural elements of the alphabet and language. Ferrari even went to lengths to construct his own alphabet, complete with icons both language- and image-based.

His series "Rereadings of the Bible" was probably the most imposing yet astounding of the work from his twilight years, taking Catholic figures and placing them in scenes of violence (atomic bombs, missiles, war) and sex (images from the Kama Sutra) to create something that was "not anti-religious art but art that [was] against repression, torture, and power." Creating a collage of sorts, these stood out among the myriad sculptures, paintings, prints, and illustrations to be my favorite of Ferrari's work in the exhibit. I wouldn't mind, however, staring for hours on end at one of his scribbled pieces like the one I've pictured above. So much detail for things only the artist can fully understand...

The Future of Media: 2009 at NYU on June 3rd

For the second time, media news blog I Want Media is rehashing their (hopefully) annual forum entitled "The Future of Media" at 1 PM on Wednesday, June 3rd at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at 20 Cooper Square and 5th Street. Persons who will be speaking on the future of social media, the newspaper industry and sharing communities include Gawker Media founder Nick Denton, Twitter co-founder and chairman Jack Dorsey, the WSJ's managing editor Robert Thompson, and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. The hour-long event will be moderated by NYU Adjunct Professor and I Want Media founder Patrick Phillips. If you will be in the New York area I would highly recommend attending this free event, although the space is very limited by now (standing room only). For those of you who aren't in the New York area or are too late to RSVP (which might be my case, but we'll have to see if I'm lucky enough to get shoved in the back somewhere) there will be a streaming video of the event through Livestream's I Want Media TV page.

This event and many others are a part of Internet Week New York, an event beginning Monday, June 1st and culminating with the Webby Awards (invitation only) on the evening of June 8th. There is an extensive list of events on their site's schedule section, and I'm pretty excited for several of them that look like they are free with an RSVP. The week will include conferences and panels on social media, content, and advertising, the future of arts and entertainment in the digital age, and oh so much more. I'm starting to RSVP for some of the events today (especially since almost all of them are freeeeee!), although I might be too late for some of the events.

West Coasters, be jealous!

Must Love Robots

So one of my fellow Media Studies MA candidates who is in my Media Industry Perspectives class this semester started a web series called "Must Love Robots" about a young man who is trying to find a date for his roommate who just so happens to be a lonely robot. The two live together in Brooklyn and have created a blog where they are posting all of the webisodes. I found it completely adorable and also quite hilarious. Trust me, it's not one of those inside joke things where one has to know the person for it to be funny. It's genuinely awesome. Be sure to scroll to the bottom and work your way up to watch the videos in the correct order.

In tandem with the blog they have also created a Match.com-esque website called Robot Friend Finder where one can create their own character profile (mine is an android who goes by the same name as her human counterpart). Be sure to watch the introduction video before you actually enter the site below; it's equally as clever as the actual web series. If you find that this web series is something you'd like to continue watching the in future, you can become a fan of them on Facebook or follow the characters on Twitter.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

(PS: I've been tossing and turning all night because I knew I had to wake up at 4:30 to get ready to meet my boyfriend and the airport and I'm both excited and nervous that he is flying. This was definitely a more than welcomed way to spend my sleepless time.)

Movin' on up to the (Upper) East Side!

To a ti-ny apartment on the sixth floo ooor!

Well, at least I hope.

My friend Arthur and I put down a deposit on this place this morning, and we won't be sure that we have the place until the credit check is approved, a process that is occurring tomorrow. So I don't quite want to jinx our chances of getting the place, but it all looks pretty good so far.

The place is small, with barely enough room to do anything in the living room except place a couch. There's not even room for a dining room table, but heck, man, this is New York City! Anyone who has the misconception that where I've been living is typical, please, PLEASE erase that thought from your mind - Stuyvesant Town is an anomaly. But the new building is great, and the neighborhood is amazing. On our way back to the train we passed countless pubs, various ethnic restaurants (even Turkish), and several laundromats, although the building is getting laundry facilities within the next few months. We're 6 blocks east from Central Park, and since we're moving there in the summer I can guess we will be hitting up its green belts and shady trees quite frequently. When we went to make the deposit today we met the landlord, who is a young man from Israel, and Arthur pulled out a slick "Thank you" in Hebrew that really caught the guy off guard. Quite amusing, I thought.

Manhattan property managers are bastards.

I totally thought we had a place. I was ready to skip home, dancing and singing the theme from "The Jeffersons". But no. This dude blatantly lied to us. Told us yesterday evening that Apartment 7 at 350 E 91st Street was available. I called him this morning before taking the train ride up there to tell him that we were coming by with the deposit money, and he says "That's fine, I'll see you when you get here." And lo and behold, we get to his office at 11:30 this morning to find that, oops! He got confused! He already took a deposit on Apartment 7.

"I do have another place in the building next door though, much nicer than the other one, a little bit more expensive though."

"Like, how much more expensive?"

"It's $1750, but I'm sure we can talk him down to $1600 for you two." Apartment 7 was listed for $1495 with heat and hot water included.

I give Arthur a sideways look. "Well, we called you this morning to tell you that we were coming by to make a deposit. Did this happen this morning?"

"No," he says, rifling through paperwork. "These girls came by after you saw the apartment on Saturday and made a deposit on the place."

"Then why did you text me at 7 in the morning on Sunday to say that we should come by that day with the deposit for Apartment 7?"

"Oh, man, I must have got confused. I was at a christening yesterday and was just so busy, it's hectic right now, you know?"

Yeah, I know. I know that I now have two weeks to find an apartment in the midst of finals and paper writing and my boyfriend coming to visit this weekend, a weekend during which I thought I would be completely free to enjoy his company and not have to drag him all over the city looking at god damned apartments. I know that this guy was probably planning this tactic all along, trying to mess with some young kids who he knows are students and are desperate for a place. I know that I almost had an emotional meltdown on 91st Street this afternoon. And I know that no matter how much foresight I try to have, and no matter how much I try to be rational and not let my emotions get the better of me, things never work out the easy way. At least that seems to be my horrible luck lately.

So in the middle of writing a 15 page paper and a finishing a take-home final, I'll have to start the apartment hunting process all over again. I thought we were done, but really, we're back at square one.

"You know how your iPod's got songs? Well, now you can download books and shit."

The title of this entry is a direct quote from a kid on the L into Manhattan this afternoon explaining the concept of Amazon's Kindle 2 to a friend. I knew he was explaining the Kindle because he was motioning to the advertisement for said product above his head on the train, although I think I would have understood to what he was making reference even without noticing the ad displayed above. Seriously, Amazon, this should totally be your slogan:

"It downloads books and shit."

How good does that sound? It appeals to those of us who want the straight, no-nonsense facts, to the younger, hipper, edgier generation who knows curse words make anything more awesome. Come on, what other sort of product description do you need? Does the average consumer really give a hoot about longer battery life or that the buttons are less sensitive than the Kindle 1? No. All they really care about is that it downloads books. And shit.

Also, I think it's really hilarious that, just like the skins for iPods, the Kindle is coming out with "cute" colorful covers as a way to make each Kindle 2 unique to its owner (read: make more money on useless, wasteful products that the device really "needs"). Sure, they protect the product from superficial damage, but do I really need a pink leather case when a straight black one would suffice? Or, much like I keep my iPod in a super soft ped sock for which I sadly lost the left mate, don't you think think your Kindle would find protection and comfort wrapped in an old, well-worn t-shirt? Think of it like a bonding moment between you and your dear, beloved Kindle. It will take on your personal, unique scent, a far more distinguishing mark than a gaudy pink leather cover that a thousand other people will also have. But maybe that's just how I roll, since I refuse to buy a manufactured piece of plastic or animal bi-products just to make my electronic device unique to me. Although, I guess it would be cool to have one to match the potential outfit I might wear on any given day...omg effing hawt loves it!

Pssh. Seriously, people.

Happy Birthday, Dear Bloggie...

...Happy Birthday to You!


Today marks exactly one year since I posted my first blog entry as You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet!, and look at the forms it's taken as it's grown up to a walking, talking, free wheelin' space for my thoughts, rants, observations, and musings. What began as a place to document reviews of music shows (my first entry is a reflection on Coachella 2008) and films slowly morphed into a space where nothing I post is not somehow media-related, stretching the boundaries of what I originally intended into a far less restrictive arena of new media, advertising, television, audience studies, etc (the most recent entry is on the evolving nature of YouTube's social networking capabilities). Sure, there are other themes that I've incorporated throughout this weblog's first year, including but not limited to politics, gender issues, a series entitled "Things Grad Students Love" (that I hope to continue as an on-going contribution...ideas for Part 6, anyone?), and reviews of art exhibits, but I try, sometimes in vain, to always dovetail the issues I discuss with media studies and analysis.

While I certainly maintain this space for my personal benefit as a portfolio, as a way for family and friends who don't live in my city to keep up with my life and interests, and as my own contribution to the on-going meta-dialogue on the media, I have also gotten recognition for my work here from professors, administrators within my Masters program, fellow Media Studies students, and non-Media Studies friends, as well as some comments from a few strangers. While this certainly boosts my ego and restores faith in my abilities, this is not why I am writing. I want my writing and ideas to be public to inspire conversation within the Media Studies community and the Internet community at large and hopefully cause someone, even one individual, to think a bit differently about the way they interact with the visual environment surrounding them.

Some may think that my quiet voice in a sea of millions of others may not make an impact, and I don't expect it to. But it does instill a sense of purpose in the work that I am doing, and has even allowed me to chart my growth and decline of interest on certain issues and topics, guiding me in (god, hopefully) the right direction for future areas of study. I started this blog wanting to be a film critic. But because I have been given a space to air out my ideas that is communal and includes much-welcomed comments, questions, and discourse, I have decided that writing solely about film would be selling myself short, as the Internet is quickly replacing film as the most influential visual media in the world. I will never give up my passion for film and what it means to me as an art form, as a social commentary, and as a form of entertainment, escapism and fantasy, and I will continue to write about film when the mood strikes. However, I will also never again pigeonhole myself into such a narrow category.

So, for all of you who have been with me from the beginning and for those of you who have just started participating in the discourse I offer here, thank you. Your readership, comments, participation, kind praise and constructive criticism are more important to me that you may ever know.

Tweeting my trip: Because any one really cares.

I am very torn about Twitter.

A recent member to the site, I found the idea initially quite silly. Honestly, this site is even more self-indulgent and narcissistic than Facebook, save the "@replies" feature that allows one to dedicate their status in response to another person one is "following"s status.

But within my first week of joining I had my mobile phone networked so that I could text status updates while I was walking around the city, sitting on a bus, etc., and now I find myself thinking in status updates quite constantly. Well, at least when I'm by myself. Going hand in hand with being narcissistic, I only think to tweet when I'm by myself either at my computer or out at the supermarket or just after class. Here is how my thought process plays out when I'm, for example, at Trader Joe's:

Old woman with amazing pashmina scarf in line behind me starts talking about the best place in the city to find roses and asking me about the chicken broth I have in my cart. She also has the most amazing blue rimmed 1983 glasses I've seen this side of the new millennium.

I want to remember this moment because she is exactly who I want to be when I'm 75.

There are a few friends who would have appreciated this experience with whom I must share my thoughts and feelings.

I must send a text to Twitter about this event so as to remember it and simultaneously share with friends

I also now have my Twitter updates linked to my Facebook profile, so whenever I send a text to Twitter with a new status update the update will ultimately end up on Facebook as well (although I believe there are a limited number of these that Twitter will send to Facebook per day).

But, this is assuming that my friends actually care about what's happening in my day enough that I should share every little part of my life with them through social media. I know that I have a few friends whose updates are always very interesting, funny, or informative, and I guess at times I hope mine have that role for someone else in my life. And in a way, I don't really care if anyone cares about these little things I find amusing in my life. Again, straight up narcissism.

In any case, the tweeting is almost entirely superfluous, although not entirely unnecessary. Case in point: My flight to California on Monday was met with several problems, almost all of which I texted to Twitter or to Facebook (through their mobile photo uploads feature). Several of my friends and family members were able to find out when I would be home and what was going on with my layover situation simultaneously, without having to go through the time-consuming process of calling/texting everyone who needed to know. In a way, the Twitter status update is a type of mass text sent to everyone who is following me, just through the medium of the computer instead of the cell phone.

However, a big reason why I use Twitter is so that the end result of my status update will find itself on my Facebook profile. I have 435 friends and family members with whom I am directly connected on Facebook, and only about 20 people who I am following/follow me on Twitter (I would give an exact number here but my mom's laptop is not wanting to connect with Twitter at the moment. This actually happens quite frequently, and I think it's due to their small yet expanding bandwidth). This is most likely due to the fact that Twitter is a newer site, and that the majority of the people with who I am close have not yet decided to join the site for either moral or insignificant reasons (I was having a cell phone conversation with a friend the other day who said he was feeling out of the loop lately. He ascribed this feeling to the fact that he was not yet on "Twatter". You get the idea). Some still think it's a joke, but most new media trends are usually met with adversaries.

Not taking into account how many businesses have been using Twitter to profitable, reliable, networking-savvy ends, Twitter for the layman is really just a fun tool with an easy to use, pretty cool interface (my profile has birds on it. Hee!). And as narcissistic and self-indulgent as it may be, the next time I'm waiting in line at Trader Joe's for a half an hour or find that the L is shut down and have to walk 5 Avenue blocks to my destination or some idiot is trying to take a photo of the Washington arch at night with a flash and I feel like I simply have to tell someone about it, you can bet I'll be texting my good friend Twitter with the details.

Police Raid The New School

In response to the student body's disappointment with the leadership choices (among other decisions) made by New School President Bob Kerrey, a student group called the New School in Exile threatened to shut down and occupy the school on April 1st, an action that never came to fruition but was certainly made known to the public.

Below is a letter from President Bob Kerry about the 60-student protest and building occupation that resulted in a massive police raid incleuding alleged tear gas and violence. An article on the incident can be found here, which cites the fact that 19 of the 60 participants were actually arrested. I kind of wish I hadn't missed out on the mayhem, although while I certainly understand their motives I'm very thankful I'm not involved in this mess.

"A Note to the Community

"On December 15, 2008, an unofficial student organization calling themselves the New School in Exile occupied the cafeteria at 65 Fifth Avenue, barricaded themselves into the room, and issued a set of demands. Early on the morning of December 16, a group of students and non-students broke through a fire exit on 14th street and entered the building.

"Although the occupants had violated a number of important security rules, the university made the judgment they were neither an operational or a security risk. Accordingly, we did not file a complaint with the New York Police Department to have the occupants removed. Instead we entered into a process of negotiations with our students and reached agreement on a list of demands including amnesty for all involved early on the morning of December 17. The students left peacefully at that time.

"In January, this same unofficial student organization issued a public threat to forcefully shut down the university on April 1 unless the President and Chief Operating Officer were removed. Following this they were caught stealing an entire edition of the student newspaper on account of a story they regarded as unfavorable to them; and subsequently they vandalized the university's presidential residence.

"During this time the university has allowed and accommodated every peaceful protest, teach-in, and demonstration. We have enforced our rules governing such events in such a way as to permit protests, so long as they don't endanger the safety of other members of the community or destruction of property.

"This morning's illegal occupation of 65 Fifth Avenue was joined by a number of New School in Exile students as well as individuals without any affiliation to The New School. Their claim that this was a simple political protest is false. Their entry into this building was forced, they removed a man who was cleaning the building, took his phone, injured a security officer, and did physical damage to the building.

"Accordingly, in this case the university asked the New York Police Department to remove and arrest those who were trespassing on our property. We suspended, pending administrative review, all New School students who were a part of this action.

"The New School prides itself on civic engagement. We have been and will continue to be a refuge for open and critical political debate. Students and faculty who choose to peacefully and passionately oppose the policies of the university will have their rights to do so protected as strongly as we protect our right to safely and securely operate our university."

President Bob Kerrey

I'm a neglectful parent!

Look at what I've done. Leaving my blog alone for almost two weeks. Neglecting to update for 14 whole days. Shame on me! This small child above must know how it feels to be neglected, dear blog, and so, I must offer you an apology.

I have several excuses for why I've been so bad to you, oh blog of mine:

1. School work/readings are killing me. 200-300 pages a week, and I'm not reading romance novels here, kids.
2. I had a brief stint with a relationship that is now over.
3. I haven't had much time for writing due to excuse #1.
4. An out-of-town friend was visiting for a week and I decided, for my sanity and his entertainment, to take a bit of a break from work to tour the city and visit his brother and sister-in-law in Baltimore, adding Maryland to the short list of states I've visited.

The relationship-ending thing happened today, and it's certainly not aiding in the whole focusing-on-work-and-getting-shit-done goal. Also, there's been a major (almost 24 hour now) snow storm that has forced me to stay inside for most of the day, making me just a bit stir-crazy and a tad bit more depressed than I should be about a less than two month-long attempt at a relationship. But, c'est la vie, no?

Anyway, I should be posting a paper I did for my Methods of Rhetorical Analysis class soon, so I can actually post something of value that's media-related. I'll also have several things to say about a book I've been reading called Hitch Your Antenna to the Stars, a history and analysis of early TV stardom. More on that to come...

OH! And did I mention that my TA from Understanding Media Studies from the Fall semester wrote to me to ask if he could use my three abstracts as examples for his students this semester? Or that my Methods professor called me out for proper use of quote integration in my Obama paper? Maybe I shouldn't be so down on myself after all...

81st Academy Award Nominations

I'm not much of a fan of award shows. But you can bet I watch the Oscar's every year. It kind of gives me an idea as to where the major players in the industry stand when it comes to what they think is "best", and it also reminds me of important American films I should really get out and see.

Having said that, here is the list of the 81st Annual Academy Award Nominees:

Best Picture:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Frost/Nixon'

'Milk'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Actor:

Richard Jenkins 'The Visitor'

Brad Pitt 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Frank Langella 'Frost/Nixon'

Sean Penn 'Milk'

Mickey Rourke 'The Wrestler'

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway 'Rachel Getting Married'

Melissa Leo 'Frozen River'

Meryl Street 'Doubt'

Angelina Jolie 'Changeling'

Kate Winslet 'The Reader'

Best Supporting Actor:

Josh Brolin 'Milk'

Robert Downey Jr. 'Tropic Thunder'

Philip Seymour Hoffman 'Doubt'

Heath Ledger 'The Dark Knight'

Michael Shannon 'Revolutionary Road'

Best Supporting Actress:

Amy Adams 'Doubt'

Penelope Cruz 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'

Viola Davis 'Doubt'

Taraji P. Henson 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Best Director:

David Fincher 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

Ron Howard 'Frost/Nixon'

Gus Van Sant 'Milk'

Stephen Daldry 'The Reader'

Danny Boyle 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Animated Feature Film:

'Bolt'

'Kung Fu Panda'

'Wall-E'

Best Adapted Screenplay:

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'

'Doubt'

'Frost/Nixon'

'The Reader'

'Slumdog Millionaire'

Best Original Screenplay:

'Frozen River'

'Happy-Go-Lucky'

'In Bruges'

'Milk'

'Wall-E'

----

I really have to see more of these films before I can make any predictions. For all my New York friends out there, I will be having an Oscar party and you better all be there.