Drew and Me.

I'm just like Drew Barrymore. We're both too old to act the way we do.

Spotlight on a Film

Looking for a thought-provoking film to watch? Unfortunately for the rest of my town, I own Blockbuster's only copy of Ma Vie en Rose, a Belgian film that explores the gender identity of Ludovic, a beautiful seven-year-old French boy who wants nothing more than to be a girl. He believes there's been some sort of mistake and expects a miracle to come along and fix "the problem".

The family is tested and endures extreme suburban prejudices causing them to blame Ludovic for the loss of the father's job, loosing family friends, Ludovic getting asked to leave his school and eventually having to move. In the end, the family comes together having learned a lot about life and love.



I always brought this movie up in the early childhood class I taught and prompted a discussion about the expectations of gender during play. The idea of a child this young feeling so strongly about his identity when it contradicts everything society teaches us is "the norm" tends to provoke college students in a rural and predominantly white Christian area. Provocation can be a good thing, and this film does it with much sensitivity.

The film is oddly beautiful, colorful, and uplifting and, at the same time, extremely sad. The character, Ludovic, is so wonderful, but his hardships are distressing to watch. If you're interested, you can check out the video clips at the movie's main site. Sony didn't do the movie too much justice with the Trailer, but they did include a clip of Ludovic's fabulous dance that makes me very happy and I want to learn one day. It's the clip titled Ludovic Talks With Grandmother And Dreams Of Being A Girl.

You've So Gotta Freakin' See This Toy!

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I went to the Goodwill yesterday for reasons explained in the next post. I found this crazy toy and laughed my ass off. I thought it was just me until I got to the counter. It took me five minutes to get out of there because of this toy.

Well, we've become fast friends. He has hung out with me all day yesterday and today. He's a really fabulous stress reliever. Here's some more pics of our day.




Here he is pondering his selection at Burger King. God, it took him like forever!



Here's a face shot. He's kinda cute in a really strange way.




Here he is in all his fullness. He needs a name. I've been calling him Zappo, but I'm not sure he likes it. Any suggestions?

A Girlfriend for Sticky

So, why was I at the Goodwill store yesterday? I went in hopes of doing my part in the search for Sticky's new girlfriend. He's already had some fabulous offers which you can see here. In my search, I came across an Olsen twin who is totally dying to meet you Sticky. Please consider. Here are some pics.



Now, I tried to get her to show her boobs cause I said that might better her chances, but she would only show one.



Don't even freakin' ask me why an Olsen twin was hanging out at the Goodwill. I tried to ask her, but she kept changing the subject...bitch.

P.S., I don't know if this helps her chances any, but she's a cutter.

I love you Bateman!

I just wanted to say that today. (You know, since he's a regular reader of my blog.)

Where's GrandPoo?

Should I be in this picture? Ironically, I spent a lot of my young life with senior citizens. My mom picked them up and took them to "the mission" everyday. We ate lunch together and played Bingo every Friday. I had my fifth and favorite birthday party at "the mission". Maybe this is partly why I'm so weird.

SkippyBushKangaroo and IMDb Too

I used to hang out a lot at the IMDb (internet movie database) message boards. It's a great reference for movies. I've only been on the message boards lately checking out what's going on with Cate Blanchett's (who is fabulous) new movie.

Usually what irritates other posters on IMDb amuses me. Such is the case with SkippyBushKangaroo who posted this message on Blanchett's board:



Which gave us this awesome picture:



This is obviously her and they look very happy together. Kudos to you Skippy for that fantastic capture. Kudos to you.

Infinite Flickr

This has got to be the most creative idea for a flickr group so far:






It sure is a small, small world.

Wha?

Andy Warhol is God? This is the same picture as below, but now this face has magically appeared!

I think I need more sleepy less drinky.

Birthday Blues

I drove a total of 3 hours and shelled out 15 bucks in gas just to celebrate my birthday with my family. At least it was pretty on the way up there:




We ate at a Japanese restaraunt called Wasabi. Japanese dinning is always fab, but it sucks when your family pulls out a big-ass birthday cake and stays for 2 more hours.



I did, however, get lots of cash and my #1 birthday present from my little sister: a homemade card complete with a glued-on Polly Pocket pocket book (a prized possession for her) and a pair of Eeoyre socks that say, "This is my happy face." Very fitting given my bitchy disposition yesterday.



I was half-crazed on the way home, and I kept getting shit like this:



The trucker directly in front of me, by the way, had written, "Be a flirt, lift shirt" with his finger in the dirt on his truck. Classy.

I did find some solace in #7 from The Murmurs. I attempted to link the song to the picture below for your listening pleasure. Let me know if it worked.




This weekend I'm curling up in my new down comforter from IKEA and reading the Half Blood Prince.

My Bumper Sticker

photo from kodama at flickr

I saw a bumper sticker today that said:

I'm a Christian Gun Carrying Democrat

I can one up that. Mine would say:

I'm a Confused Christian Anti-War Pro-Life Pro-Gay Rights Green Party Leftist who loves Jesus

Starting a Blogroll

This is my lame ass attempt at getting blogger friends. I haven't started a blogroll yet, and I'd like to. Please be my friend.

Hide and Seek with Harriet

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Harriet loves to play Hide and Seek, only she's not very good at it. She always hides where I can plainly see her but she still acts like she believes there might be a chance I'm not looking at her. She's so entertaining.

It's a Small, Small World

I no longer see the world as a ride at Disney World. I did at one time. I also grew up thinking the world wanted to be like America. Imagine my disillusionment at finding out we're far from being the world's golden child of a country. Admittedly, I came from a small town in the US with a small town mentality. Fate doomed me to be a Sally Simpleton, but I decided some time ago that the world was beyond my window and that we would all be better for learning about it and from it.

There are things I hate about the US too. Most of what I hate stems from our country's legacy of bigotry and oppression. I've made it a lifelong avocation to think critically about first my own biases and then the biases of my surroundings to contribute to the cessation of the Jim Crow, dogmatist mentality we're so well-known for.

When I finally had the opportunity to leave the country to visit Europe, I came back having traded in my small town perspective for a world view. This world view was like a baby that had to be looked after and fed. I don't have any illusions that having visited two counties in Europe meant that I had now seen the world. What I did learn from talking with students from Poland and Denmark at the summer institute I was attending was that a) many Americans are extremely inward focused, b) our educational system is very far behind, and c) capitalism isn't so fabulous. I felt ashamed to be an American. I felt disgusted. I came back to the US with much contempt for my home and felt depressed.

I held onto that contempt for over a year. I'm letting go of that contempt for a couple of reasons. For one, it's unproductive. Secondly, I believe there is good in America. When I see the work of moveon, alternet, and the videos of the media that matters film festival which I've followed for three years I see the America I believe in. I'm proud that our country no longer has one face, one color, one voice. Yes, there's a lot of crap in America. There's a lot of crap everywhere, but what good is it going to do us to only dwell on crap?

Please watch the short films from Media that Matters at http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm05/

Gertrude and Marty Go To Paris

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Here's a little Tomfoolery from a little while back. This is the first installment of the "Gertrude and Marty" series. Enjoy.

PS, can you believe this was unscripted?