I was busy all morning and didn't have a chance to check on the babies. But after coming back from lunch, I thought I'd take a peek. Saw them doing their business and my first reaction was, "ew". My second reaction was, "screenshot!" So here's a photo of one of 'em taking a poop on top of one of their toys. And look what a mess they made in their bed. So sloppy, those babies. Apparently we only have 3 weeks left to watch them. A few of us are work at going to have to start a support group after that. *sigh*
Hmm... looks like this blog host has been tinkering around with the site, and these so-called upgrades have made it incompatible with Firefox. Now I'm forced to go back to IE to use this. BOO. Come on, people, let's get on this! I need to use Firefox. Grrrr.....
Okay, rant over.
In today's puppy news, it looks like they changed the camera angle, so now we can see more of what's outside the box. Exciting! And look at this fella dozing away on a sibling. *heart melting*
While I was out getting coffee, I overheard a conversation between this guy and this girl and it made me laugh because listening to her, I suddenly realized - that was totally me about 10 years ago. They were talking about what they were studying, and she said she was majoring in sociology and economics; he was studying poli-sci and international relations. Then they started chatting like intellectuals. Oh, to be a smug arts student again!
Yep, back in the day, that was me, miss sociology and history. I mean, I know this might be hard to believe right now - and you might think that all I know about is celebrity gossip or commenting on mundane Seinfeldian things, but there was a time when I could play devil's advocate to the biggest intellectual snob poseurs out there. I could, on the spot, discuss the dichotomy of matrilineal societies in a post-modern political economy based on social constructs used to control and manifest the existence of biased gender roles, as evidenced by the glass ceiling effect compounded upon by the social mores of the proletariat class. <--- Hey, look, that made no sense whatsoever! But didn't that sound intellectual, intimidating, and pompous? Baby, I've still got it! Ahh... feels like old times again.
That's the kind of shit that would flow out of my mouth on a regular basis. And nowadays, I can barely remember any words longer than 3 syllables, and the closest I've gotten to discussing politics recently was the water-cooler chatter about Tina Fey's latest Sarah Palin skit. I truly believe that there really are people who are incredibly intelligent, who do genuinely speak like that and are interested in those things, and have brilliant minds. But I also believe that there are people out there who are dumb as doorknobs, and basically talk out of their ass. I used to be intimidated by people who sounded smart - at first listen. But as I soon learned, just because someone talks a lot and uses big words, doesn't mean he has anything new, intelligent, or of value to say. It's called being a bullshitter and one of my best skills (I should put this on my resume) is being able to smell bullshit a mile away.
Of course, it takes a bullshitter to know a bullshitter, so yeah, I knew how to work it. I managed to do well in my classes and term papers without using the academic buzzwords. And I also managed to keep things short and concise (I seem to have lost that skill these days, huh?) while proving my thesis. But on occasion, I would have a prof who was what I would call "old school" - the kind that liked the old standard bullshit, complete with microfiche-researched citations. So for those ones, I knew when to turn on the pompousity switch. It's all about figuring out the formula and applying when necessary. You could say that about any given situation in life, really.
But anyway, this rambling tangent was meant to illustrate the type of world I lived in as an arts student, and how funny it is to see that after all these years, nothing has changed. It's even stranger to see people who are taking the same path I took. It makes me want to walk up to them and say, make sure you go to grad school right away, or go get a certificate in an actual skill after graduation - because outside of this bubble, nobody cares if you can discuss theories, they only care that you can coordinate, manage, fulfill quotas and meet deadlines. I know, that's very jaded of me - but that's another post entirely. For now, I'm basically amused to see that the wheel keeps on turning, whether you're on it or not.
We all have an idea of who we are and the type of person that we think we are. We think we know how others perceive us. But sometimes a person will say something about you that makes you sit up straight and think, "What? Is that how people see me?" Or vice versa, where you hear a person say something about themselves and your inside-thought about that is, "Huh? Really? Is that what you think about yourself?"
Of course, a person has many sides to them, so it's possible to be a different person in a given situation. For instance, the person I am in front of my family is different from the person I am in front of friends, and in front of colleagues. The difficult part is that sometimes we get stuck with a certain persona with a particular group of people. My family sees me one way, and if I try to be someone that doesn't fit into that compartment, then they give me crap about it - "since when did you start doing that, dressing like that, saying that?" or "who do you think you are?" And so before we know it, we have a role to play and whether we want to or not, we wind up conforming to that role whenever we get back into that particular environment. They know you in one way and they basically don't allow you to change, even if you actually have.
I remember talking to a colleague some years ago about how I'm a really shy person and how I get nervous in front of people I don't know - and in particular how I have anxiety attacks about public speaking, even if only in front of a small group of people. He reacted by bursting into laughter and said, "You think YOU'RE shy? Are you kidding me?" And I could sort of see what he meant, because he only knew me in a certain way and hadn't seen how I was while growing up. I guess I had slowly improved in the shyness department over the years, and maybe to other people I didn't seem shy, though in my head, I still felt that way. So it's funny how we actually pigeonhole ourselves the way others do to us too.
A few times over the years, I found out from people that my sort of reputation was that I'm a person who "doesn't take shit from people", is "sassy" and "strong" and "outspoken". I guess those aren't bad things, but when I first heard it, I was really kind of shocked. I honestly don't see myself that way. It sounds like I'm some in-your-face, confrontational, scary person. Am I like that? You guys will have to answer that for me, because I don't know. In my head, I still feel like the quiet, shy girl who's always insecure and unsure about herself. I don't argue or get into fights with people, so I don't think I'm confrontational to that degree. Though, yes, I have an opinion on things and I'm generally not afraid to say what I think. (Though I'm pretty tactful and know when to keep my mouth shut.) Does that make me strong and sassy? I have no idea.
(to be continued...)
This is like the third time I've talked about Beyonce in a week, I think. Totally weird. But anyway, just wanted to quickly gush about Paul Rudd. That guy is awesome. Great comic timing and so, so, so, very cute! Too bad he's not a regular cast member - I'd probably watch more often.
But the skit with Beyonce filming a music video was gold. Justin Timberlake showed up in that skit with 2 other male cast members and they all wore unitards like Beyonce, and danced like she does in that "Single Ladies" video. I generally can't stand JT, but I have to admit he's a pretty funny guy. And good lord, Beyonce has amazing, hypnotic thighs - really!
Check out the skit below. Pure gold.
Update: well it looks like they took down the video. Bummer. There's nothing on youtube.com either. Those NBC lawyers are quick! So if you missed it, too bad for you. I'm sure they'll show it on every entertainment news show anyway.
Another gem from producer Judd Apatow. This one was actually written by its star, Jason Segal (that's Marshall, for you How I Met Your Mother fans). I loved this movie. Who knew Jason Segal was so damn funny as a writer? What I like about these Judd Apatow films is that they usually star normal-looking everyday guys like Jason, or Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and that usual crew that you see in all their movies. I like that they're not those super buff guys or pretty boys, you know? I don't like guys like that usually. I personally like the regular guys, kind of geeky, but really smart and sweet, and most important of all - wickedly funny.
Basic premise of this story is that Peter (Jason Segal) has been going out with actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell from Veronica Mars) for 5 years when she suddenly dumps him. He's devastated and to try to cope with it, he goes off to Hawaii to stay at a place that he's heard Sarah mention before. As it turns out, Sarah is also there with her new boyfriend, an English rock singer, played by Russell Brand (he's SO funny). The rest of the film is about how he deals with the various situations that arise from this, and about the people he meets along the way, including a girl that helps him get over his heartbreak, played by Mila Kunis (Jackie from That 70s Show). It's super funny, really sweet, and I definitely recommend it. It's not as crass and raunchy as The 40 Year Old Virgin and those movies, but there are some moments of that, for sure.
There's one part that's kind of random - where Peter reveals that he's been working on a rock opera, or more specifically, a musical about Dracula, using puppets. He sings one of the songs and he sings it in a Dracula voice. It's so funny, and while watching, I was thinking to myself, who actually wrote that song? Because somebody had to, even if it was for the purpose of this movie. But according to the bonus material on the dvd, Jason Segal actually did write a Dracula rock opera musical - with puppets in mind - in real life! Yep, and it wasn't supposed to be ironic or anything. He was serious about it, and had started it about 8 years ago, and finally had the chance to incorporate it into this movie. And so I guess he got to see his crazy idea come to fruition. They actually did make a musical for one of the scenes and the puppets were made by the Jim Henson company and it was a full-on mini-production. Brilliant.
And that's kind of what sums up what I like about these guys in the Apatow films - they're all really creative and funny and odd, and they just stick to their guns and they go for it. So go rent this or buy it if you haven't seen it yet. Good times!
The fact that I gasped when I saw the puppy looking into the camera really says a lot, doesn't it? I then scrambled to quickly get a screenshot, because I knew it wouldn't last. And here is my crowning glory - the face that can melt the coldest of hearts (LeDan).... my little muffin!
I'm in the mood for some PJ Harvey today. She's so underrated, it's tragic. But this is from one of my absolute favourite albums ever - Stories From The City, Stories From the Sea, from 2000. Happy Friday!
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