woody allen and wanderlust

I recently watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Actually, I watched it twice in one weekend. I have never been one to watch just any movie repeatedly and certainly never in such quick succession. Typically, I am easily bored upon the second viewing, however a few films are able to capture my attention time again. It met and exceeded my hopes for the film, proving to be the artsy, passionate and wine soaked romp in Barcelona that the trailers promised and reminding me of the the wit and quirk Woody Allen's omnipresent voice (which in this case comes in the form of Christopher Evan Welch* narrating) brings to his films. Allen never allows romance or idealism to bloom eternal or unblemished. I will say that the narration is a bit jarring at first but I came to the conclusion that the juxtaposition between the practical and omniscient voice of the narrator and the fantastical and naively impulsive characters created a compelling tension.
Penelope Cruz's performance alone could warrant a repeat viewing of the film. Without having seen the films that her fellow contenders for best supporting actress acted in, it is unfair of me to say that she surely deserved the Oscar but I can say that her wild eyed, hot and hot tempered, intensely emotional portrayal of Maria Elena is one of the most arresting performances I have ever watched and one of my favorite film characters.
The film was full of Spanish guitar and giant canvases dotted, daubed and splashed with ochre, searing white and fiery red. The artwork featured in the film is that of Agusti Puig, a Catalan artist hailing from a small industrial town called Sabadell who has exhibited at galleries all over Spain, in London, New York City, Washington, D.C., France, Portugal, Japan and at esteemed international art fairs.

One of the most subtly sensuous and melancholy moments in the film takes place during a performance of Spanish guitar by Emilio de Benito.



To reign in the tempest of wanderlust and bohemian living that the film stirred up in me I have been listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela and taking paint to canvas despite not having the least idea what I am doing. Someone please make law school end so that I can flit about for a little while.

*Incidentally, Welch plays the role of the pastor in Synecdoche, NY, a film I absolutely must see again more so because I need to decide whether or not I loved it or was utterly bewildered by it. At least some of the bewilderment can be attributed to the fact that I dozed off somewhere in the middle of the film, which has far more to do with my own mild case of narcolepsy than the quality of the film.

weekend dance party inspiration

sweaty slipster dance party death match



pure sexy saucy class (no doubt i will now attempt to break this out at my darkest (see: drunkest) hour)

Limbaugh-Palin 2012

she's baaaaaaack....

Some Republican Glory Holester whose name I cannot recall announced the CPAC Straw Poll results on CSPAN yesterday amidst a dull roar of America loving and Obama hatin'. He made an allusion to MLK Jr's I have a dream speech by comparing the release of the straw poll results to the feeling of being "Free at last, free at last." WOW...really? An organization that had George "Macaca" Allen speak at its 2008 conference is co-opting a negro spiritual as quoted by MLK Jr. WOW. Then he said that 10,000 % of CPAC voters hate Obama.
Blah...here's some results:

“Thinking ahead to the 2012 Presidential election, who would you vote for as the next Republican nominee for President?”

Mitt Romney in 1st with 20% of the vote despite allegations of donning magical underwear and believing that if he believes hard enough he could become god.

Sarah Palin in 4th with an un-freaking-believable 13% of the vote despite allegations of stealing designer suits, shooting wolves from the sky and being mentally challenged. Oh yeah, and she was completely disowned by her party and God immediately following the announcement of the election results. I guess the elephant does forget.

"Who is your favorite conservative media personality on either tv or radio?"

Rush Limbaugh, everyone's favorite fatfeck pill-poppin' uncle, came in 1st with 26% of the vote followed by my personal heroes Bill "I pretended I won a Peabody" O'Reilly in 4th and Sarah "gurshdarnitwinkumsmcgee" Palin. I thought Bill O'Reilly was neither conservative nor liberal instead operating in a purgatory known as the "No Spin Zone" where only the facts matter.

meh. bored. presidentbarackhusseinobama. so there.