1. Working on my thesis
2. Studying for my neuropsychological assessment midterm
What I Would Rather Be Doing:
1. Watching Mad Men (after finally drinking the kool-aid and becoming addicted two weeks ago)
2. Dicking around on Facebook
3. Reading back-email digests from Gothamist, Jezebel, and Apartment Therapy
4. Going to the Errol Morris or Paul Newman series at my newfavoritemuseum
5. Watching any/all of the 121 titles (literally) on my Netflix view instantly queue
6. Washing the dishes (seriously)
7. Figuring out which Internship sites I want to apply to (not necessary for at least one more year)
8. Updating my CV (because I need to apply to externships again in like 6 months)
9. Chipping away at my giant stack of articles snatched from old issues of the New York Times
10. Chipping away at my (altogether separate) stack of New York Times Magazines
11. Sleeping
12. Reading the Murakami novel I bought a month or two ago
13. Listening to the 294 podcasts I currently have downloaded
14. Snuggling with my cats and/or boyfriend
And, of course:
15. Writing blog posts that completely perpetuate my refusal to get anything productive accomplished, complete with oodles of unnecessary links just to draw the writing process out a tiny bit more
We are in the middle of summer, which means OMG PARADES.
ALL THE TIME.
I have been in attendance at several of these processional festivities over the last two months or so. I've witnessed four, in fact--two small-town spectacles and two big-city extravaganzas. I figured I'd share some of my pictures of these events for your viewing pleasure.
Parade 1: Highly Inconvenient Live Free or Die Parade
Boyfriend and I had the immense pleasure of spending Memorial Day weekend with many of our friends in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. In order to make our bus back home on time, we had to get out of there in a somewhat timely fashion. As we were leaving, this parade came along.
Note: NOT the band for the California-based basketball team.
The town we were staying in is not large, yet as we spotted the oncoming marching band and flag tossers, our deft driver dodged onto a parallel street to avoid them. Then they turned onto our street.
ANNOYING.
The lucky thing is, the town is so small, the parade literally consisted ONLY of said marching band and flag tossers, plus a few cops.
And we had such a nice view!
In case you were concerned: we made it to our bus just fine.
Let's just say being on a certain little island a few days later for the Pride Parade was the tiniest bit emotional. And AMAZING.
(Editor's note: I unfortunately don't have the most stunning pictures in the world of Parade #3 because I only had the use of my cell phone camera. My apologies!)
And finally:
Parade 4: Let's Be Quaint and Then Make Things Explode Parade
Boyfriend, Mom and I took a little trip for 4th of July weekend to visit my grandfather. As a bonus, we got to see this adorable Independence Day parade.
Lots of marching bands...
And old cars...
And old people (in marching bands)...
Seriously precious.
Afterward, we had an awesome view of a very respectable fireworks display.
Ooooooooo
oooooooooooo
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa
ahhhhhhhhhhh
It was fun!
The grand
finale!!
I hope you enjoyed!
Now, I really should get back to my thesis proposal.
You may have noticed that I've recently denoted (and will be denoting) some much-enjoyed recently-viewed movies with not just a rating of 5, but of 5!.
That's because I've been lucky enough to see some movies in the last few weeks that are really, extra-special exciting, each for their own special reasons. Since I've happily been in the midst of a movie-watching rampage for the last month or so, I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to write about a decent selection of my recent viewing, I'm going to need to consolidate.
In that spirit, I present to you: A trio of exclamation point-earning films from the months of June and July.
1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007)
Much to my delight, this movie is currently available to view instantly on Netflix. As a result, this is the first film I watched during my post-surgery recovery last month.
The film depicts a woman's struggle to secure an abortion for her friend in Communist-era Romania. Its stark, crisp realism is completely intoxicating and immersive, providing a clear view of the suffocation of Communism.
During one sequence, Gabita, the main character, attempts to rent a hotel room in which her friend's procedure can take place. The concierge interrogates her extensively, and after learning that Gabita is a student, asks why she can't just stay in the dorm at her university. As a lucky and apparently spoiled inhabitant of a Capitalist nation, I entitledly grumbled at the screen, "Jesus, lady, let her rent the room! Don't you want the money??" The notion that a hotel employee would all but bar someone from patronizing their place of employment out of--what? paranoia? simple malicious obstructionism? what??--was almost beyond belief for me.
In this manner, every single step of the process Gabita goes through trying to help her friend is difficult to an almost absurd degree, revealing that in some cases desperation and deprivation drives people to a stubborn refusal to yield even an inch for their fellow man.
However, what most impressed me about the film is its refusal to browbeat its audience over the issue of abortion rights--and the lack thereof. I've seen other films on the topic that felt somewhat ham-fisted, such as "Vera Drake" (2004). Quite to the contrary, "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" simply presents the reality of the risks women without the right to choose have had to endure in order to control what happens to their bodies. No hand wringing or moralizing, in either direction. When dealing with what continues to be such a contentious issue, that is a considerable accomplishment.
Watch the trailer here:
2. Waste Land (2010)
This breathtaking and incredibly moving documentary features a collaborative artistic effort by Vik Muniz, Brazilian-born and Brooklyn-residing artist, and a group of people working to recover recyclable materials from Rio de Janeiro's largest landfill, known as catadores.
Muniz returns to his homeland in search of people in need of attention and help, and beelines for the community of catadores at the Jardim Gramacho landfill. Having recently organized into a union, the catadores report that, in spite of the lack of glamor in their profession, they feel their work grants them dignity and a life free from the depravity typically befalling the deeply poor in Brazil. Many of the women proudly state that being a catador means they've never had to prostitute themselves to survive.
Nevertheless, the community lacks many key resources and a broadly audible voice in Rio and throughout Brazil. Muniz joins with many of the catadores he befriends in an ambitious project in which he photographs them, then works with them to recreate those portraits on a huge scale, working with the recyclable materials with which the catadores earn their living. The resulting photographs of these huge, vibrant, and stunning collages were then sold at auction, with all of the proceeds returning to the community of workers at the Jardim Gramacho.
There are so many emotional high points in this film I lost count. Since I'd rather not spoil them, take it from me--this is, like the other movies in this post, an absolute must-see.
You can watch the trailer here:
And lucky you! It's ALSO available to view instantly on Netflix!
PS: I saw one of Muniz's self portraits during a recent museum visit, and it was pretty awesome.
Note the shading achieved in his face even though he worked only in circles punched out of magazines.
BECAUSE I got to see Errol Morris's brand new documentary, "Tabloid", in advance of its nationwide release on the 22nd.
AND.
ERROL MORRIS WAS THERE.
I shook his hand.
It was awesome.
Star-struckedness aside: GUYS. You *have* to see this movie. I have not been so insanely entertained in a long time. It's hysterical. It's fascinating. The woman at the center of the film, Joyce McKinney, is all at once completely insane, charismatic, romantic, naive, whip-smart, and hilarious, rendering her endearing in the most bizarre way possible. Transcending the ridiculous details of the scandals in which McKinney has been embroiled throughout her life, this film is about love, loneliness, and the stories we create and recreate for ourselves and which guide our lives, for better or worse.
By far one of the most fascinating questions pondered with Morris after the screening was whether two people are necessary for an experience of love, or just one. McKinney's life seems to stand as a testament that love can be an inherently, monolithically lonely experience, while simultaneously granting the most enduring purpose a life can possess.
Hunt this shit down like a a hungry crazed monkey as soon as it's in a theater near you. You won't be sorry.
Trailer:
Needless to say, each of these films has a huge and exuberant PsychoCinematic Seal of Approval. They are each incredibly remarkable in their own right, and make for very exciting viewing. They remind me of why I love movies, and of how engrossing they can be. I guarantee you'll be happy if you see any of them, and I highly recommend watching all three.
With that: Happy Harry Potter/Bastille Day!!
<3
PS: To the friend who recently told me that she's read every post I've written, thereby making my day: Hi! :)
I am excited to unveil the list of movies I watched in June. Because it's SO LONG.
Without further delay:
23. Shorts: The Pottery Maker (5) and Cheese (4)
24. Los Muertos (5)
25. Super 8 (2)
26. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (4)
27. Buck (5)
28. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (5!)
29. The Social Network (3.5)
30. The House of Yes (4)
31. Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death (4)
I hope to be writing little reviews of many of these films over the coming weeks, because so many of them were interesting and provocative. June was a good movie month.
However, I'll get to that later. It's been a while since I've focused on grad school-related updates, so let's do that.
I'm really pleased to have been making respectable progress on my thesis over the last few weeks. I've performed even more fancy data analyses (with some super cool findings emerging) and had some really productive meetings with my mentor, with whom I am increasingly in love because she's AMAZING. I've turned in and gotten back the second draft of my proposal, which is really exciting because JESUS I hate writing that shit but I actually did it anyway!
We're also ramping up planning of my dissertation, which is fun but also terrifying. I am very lucky to be working on it with a fellow classmate, because otherwise it would be much too much work for one person. We're doing some hardcore planning next week, which should be awesome. The more real this project gets, the more exciting it feels. It's great that we're being allowed to do something so ambitious, because in spite of being intimidating, at least it's not boring.
All of this has, of course, stalled during this past week of surgery recovery, since in spite of having continued anxiety about maintaining forward progress, it just feels somewhat irresponsible to continue playing with data and reading scientific literature while all foggy-headed. Hopefully I'll be able to resume actual work sometime this weekend, because holy shit it's already July.
I'm also starting a summer class in neuropsychological assessment next week (i.e., something bad happened to your brain, so we should figure out what it can still do), which will please my dad. He is privy to how much money people make doing that kind of work, and has emphasized repeatedly the (monetary) value of acquiring such skills. Since clinical psychology is not a field where people typically make bazillions (definitely more of a "virtue is its own reward" kind of profession), it would be nice to have the option to do a little work on the side that would actually pay the rent eventually. And like... help send eventual babies to college. If I'm lucky.
After class, Boyfriend and I have got a trip or two planned in August, which will be very welcome breaks but also speedbumps in my research progress. So this whole "maintaining forward progress" thing is pretty critical at this juncture. Hopefully my body will start cooperating sometime in the (very) near future.
Further updates to come!
<3
PS: As always, following my blog is very much appreciated for the vote of confidence/small ego boost it obviously is. I'd love it if you would!
