Everyday Rebellions

sooner or later ya gotta see this film!

2011-08-05T12:19:00.001-07:00

i've hit crunch time on a few projects so my anticipated room tour will have to be held off until next week. i also have some treasures i discovered via dumpster diving as well so stay tuned for that as well!

but i didn't want to leave you empty handed and so i've decided to bestow upon you a treat. and oh what a treat it is!

truth be told i consider myself to be quite the connoisseur of 70s and 80s Made for TV films. just as some trekkies get their identity from being able to flash vulcan gang symbols, i too derive much pleasure in showcasing the depths of my useless knowledge. with that in mind, you can imagine how aggrieved i was to discover that there is a priceless display of 70s coming of age propaganda out there with which i was completely unfamiliar.

the gem in question is the so-spectacular-it-has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed Sooner or Later. Now i always enjoy a good on the nose title. snakes on a plane anyone? but this one throws in a little double entendre for good measure. cthis is a film to be taken seriously as a tranche de vie 78 style.

it’s the story of thirteen year old jessie who uses makeup obtained via a NJ mall as her main weapon to beguile seventeen year old guitar instructor/parking lot rockstar/skinny jeans wearing michael. there is also a fabulous subplot of caroline’s (jessie’s friend) attempt to get another cavity so that she can elbow kiss her dentist. to say more would ruin a storyline that has one of the most delightfully creeptacular payoffs in made for tv history.

there’s a whole lot to love about this flick. from the jammin’ 70s tunes to the killer mall fashions to the sure to ensue debate as to how a man can wear such tight jeans with nary a bulge, Sooner of Later is a must see. really the price of admission is more than returned just to be able to gaze longingly at rex smith’s luscious locks and unbuttoned to the navel shirts. it also has mory amsterdam. ‘nuff said.

now i was a little concerned that it would be hard to find a copy of this elusive treasure. but thanks to my dark mistress youtube and a high comfort level with illegal downloading, i am now in possession of said flick. huzzah!

check it out and share the love. this is something that must be paid forward ya’ll.

you take me away to another world

2011-08-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

it's been a day of running and running and crafting and running and painting but i am managing to squeeze in attending the kim zimmer book signing tonight which is sure to be ace! this book couldn't come at a worse time for me since i have an almost impossible avalanche of work staring at me to be done before i start my new gig on monday. lots of painting, furniture shifting, thesis researching, video editing and odds and ends but i know perfectly well i am going to curl up on the couch and read this from cover to cover. i have a deep love of soap operas from the 70s and 80s and am looking forward to reading a queen bee's take on the current shenanigans affecting the genre.

when i first started watching the soaps in the late 1980s, there was no such thing as online fandom. the only sense of a community i had came via glossy soap magazines and the kevetching of storylines by my grandmother’s book group. i can only imagine if i’d had things like fan fiction, RPGs and fan vids at my disposal.

as a graduate student looking at fandom and participatory culture, i’ve had additional incentive to take a look around the interwebz at what some fans are doing to celebrate the soaps. some of my favorites include a yearly fan vid contest celebrating gh’s robin scorpio, a gl role playing game and twitter account written in character as mindy lewis. and while all of these efforts are fantastic, the award for most creative definitely goes to the podcast fanfiction being done by robansuefarm. it’s such a great fusion of technology with traditional fandom and even though i’m unknowledgeable about the couple for which she writes, i still feel myself getting sucked in. definitely check it out!

as for me, i took my first steps toward soap fan vidding with a video to celebrate what would have been the 75th birthday of my most favorite actress of all time, beverlee mckinsey. it’s a first effort but everyone has to start someplace. what i’ve discovered is that this type of fandom is addictive and ridiculously fun. i’m definitely hooked.

pinterest challenge #1: pop art

2011-08-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

last week i was reading one of my favorite blogs, young house love, and a challenge went up to recreate something you'd seen on pinterest but as a diy. well seeing as how i am a poor doctoral student with an obsession for pinterest, i had to go for it. this is actually a project i've toyed with before but have never loved the results...until now.

my inspiration was this piece which came via Maggie Scanlon:

i've been remodeling my basement for what seems like an eternity (room tour soon!) and it is almost complete but it needed that extra pop. i'm pleased as punch with the results. feast your eyes upon these loverlies!

did i mention the grand total for this project was$6-the price of an ikea frame? that's something even my tightwad budget can withstand!

here's what a couple look like up close:

And the best part? You can make your own for free! Check out the tutorial below for the skinny......

the 411
last month, i picked up this picture frame holder at Ikea on the cheap. it was even on sale from that crazy low price. i liked it because it could be mounted to the ceiling for a hanging look and because there was enough room to display ten 6x6 photos. i knew instantly that was the perfect frame for these prints.

so how can you make some of these bad boys for yourself? it’s easy peasy.

step 1: stalk google and photo sites to find a black and white image you think would make some rad pop art. ideally, larger images work well but any size can be used. once you’ve found a photo you deem drool worthy, save it to your desktop. lets use this one as an example:

step 2: head on over to Picnik and follow the instructions for uploading the picture. this can be done by clicking the green “Upload a Photo” button located to the left of the page.

step 3: once the photo is uploaded, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can crop, resize and edit your photo. once you have the image sized out just the way you want, head on to step 4.

step 4: click on the green “Create” tab. you’ll be taken to a screen with loads of photo options. for this project, we are going to select the “Effects” button located to the top left of the screen.

step 5: once the “Effect” browser pops up on the left hand side, scroll down until you come to the “Tint” option. click on the “Tint” button.

step 6: at this point your photo will now be tinted whatever default color the screen opened with. you can change the color by clicking to different part of the rainbow bar under the “Tint” button.

step 7: but wait! i don’t want the whole image saturated! dude, i got you covered! just click on the paint brush icon under the “Tint” button. you’ll see a box pop up that says “Effect Painting.” click the box marked “Reverse Effect” located at the bottom and all the color will disappear. you can now apply color selectively by holding your mouse down and brushing the color where you want it in the photo.

step 8: once you’re happy with your image, SAVE IT to your desktop. now you can print it at home or do what I did and take it to staples for some real saturated color goodness! i used a coupon that made the project free but even paying full cost you'll only spend a couple of bucks.

Step 9: sit back and admire your creation, preferably with a vodka tonic.

challenging disability

2011-08-01T21:29:00.001-07:00

in thinking about how i want to frame a video i'm working on, i've been turning to some of my favorite ad campaign initiatives for inspiration. the ones i always come back to come courtesy of the genius that is the creature discomforts ad campaign. it combines "the real voices and experiences of disabled people, with the creativity of Aardman Animations" to create one of the most ingenious public service announcements i've ever seen.

put out by the UK based leonard cheshire disability, the ad campaign seeks to challenge stereotypical views of people with disabilities. it draws upon real life experiences in a way that is both challenging and poignant. the first series of ads was nothing short of brilliant. the second series, equally as wonderful, can be found on its official youtube channel. i'd be hard pressed to choose a favorite but i do have a certain soft spot for the love and sex:

reading is a trip says captain og readmore

2011-07-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

i was recently asked to make a youtube video giving a book talk on my favorite book which is both exciting (i really miss book pimping to the teens) and frustrating (how do i narrow it down to just one) but i think i've got my top two. shockingly, both are adult fiction which makes no sense as i read primarily ya literature (once an occupational necessity and now a true love). but i'm having trouble picking a winner. anyone out there want to advocate for one over the other? or better yet, tell me your favorite book. i'm always in the market for something new to read!

here are the contenders...

lonesome dove: the first book i ever had to lay down because i was crying so much, this is an absolute gem. i actually don't read many westerns but this story is more about relationships. I fell in love with gus mccrae when i first read the book but now that i'm older, i understand woodrow call far better. i think it's the mark of a great read when the characters can change with you as you age and each new reading leaves you discovering something new.

the good earth: i can't remember why i ever picked up this book because it is not the type of story i would normally interest me. but from the first page i was hooked by this story of wang lung as he rises from a poor farmer to become a wealthy land owner. i still think the last scene in this book is one of the best in all literature.

its half past 4 and i'm shiftin' gears

2011-07-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

hey ya'll!

dipping my toe back into the world of blogging and I'm excited to see where it will take me. i can't really say I have a particular vision in mind and I'm likely to be all over the place until i settle into what it is i'm drawn to writing about. for the past year, i have been working on systematically dismantling my life as i knew it. the results have been a tasmanian devil swirl of change. along the way i quit a job i loved a whole heap and went back to school and discovered a knack for making documentaries; i left a relationship that had long ago run its course and made new connections; and i took a good, hard look at what was working and what wasn't. the space has been cleared and now it is time for some good, old fashioned diy rebuilding. i look at this blog as a way of keeping a record of what i'm doing-sort of a daily check in to keep me honest. i hope you'll join me!

and as a way of a formal introduction, i offer you this little youtube gem. here's what you need to know about the following clip:

1. alan carr is a genius and i want to live on his set

2. torvill and dean are my all time favorite ice dancers to the degree that in once spent a summer trailing after them while they were on tour. like deadheads but with ice.

3. they are talking about dancing on ice, the brill british series that's dancing with the stars but with ice.

4. this is the third year in a row i missed the tour due to work. i'm only hugely bitter. alas, there is no ice.

5. why can't we have an interview show like this on the US telly?