Synecdoche, New York

A month ago, I watched Charlie Kaufman's latest brainchild Synecdoche, New York and have been meaning to blog about it, but never found the words to describe it.

In fact, I still don't have any words I feel are befitting of its genius, other than "wowesome" and "synecdocool" which really.. aren't words at all.

So I'll just leave you with some pictures.








"Now it is waiting and nobody cares. And when your wait is over this room will still exist and it will continue to hold shoes and dresses and boxes and maybe someday another waiting person. And maybe not. The room doesn't care either."

Education

"Too much of current education is concerned with rote learning that has little relationship to real problems and real life."

While pondering the meaning of life today (cough), I found myself asking this very same question. Which I read off of a newspaper.

But in all honesty, how much of today's education is applicable to real life situations and less to impractical/social situations? Here is normally where I would use a valid example, but it’s a pretty well known fact that I have few friends and using one in this topic would be akin to tying a noose around my neck and saying “swing me!”

So, for argument's sake, let's use Joe Kerr. Now Joe was great at Biology at school. He kicked academic ass in most of his subjects and he liked cutting things up. Joe decided to study medicine and become a doctor. He aced all the university textbook crap and was doing great until he started on his prac, where he realised "(Oh shit!) I have no compassion or people skills," and was inherently sadistic at heart. He later went on to become Batman's nemesis.

A slightly more relevant example: I know someone who got a high OP, yet can’t cook anything that isn’t microwaved, has no appreciation for the aesthetic, and doesn’t know what “circumstance” means. I could never have an enjoyable conversation with said person because I know it would shit me to tears of their obvious ignorance and stupidity. Of course, this person could consider the same thing of me.

There are many different types of intelligence and most of the time, school only teaches you the one they think matters. You can cram as much as you can while you're there and ace all your subjects, but in the long run, it doesn’t teach you to be logical, and it doesn’t prepare you for the real world.

Anyway, I guess my point is that there’s a massive divide in concern to the association of textbook theory and practical application. Does knowing random facts make you smart? No, it makes you sometimes-witty. Does writing a blog make you sound clever? No, it just makes you sound like an opinionated idiot with a penchant for Batman metaphors.

At the end of the day, all you can do is learn all you can and hope it is somehow relevant to real life.

EDIT: I liked high school, I really did. But after being out of school for two years, I guess I was hoping on more fonder memories than fun lunchtimes, and sitting in the library drawing/reading and listening to The Hush Sound. I really don't think I learnt anything at all... well, other than the fact that I learnt that I didn't learn anything at all.

Six beds better than yours

Although I am very well aware that I have surpassed the age at which possessing a bunk bed is the height of cool, I couldn't help but fawn over a few of these babies:




My personal favorites are the Uffizi (3rd image) and the Soho Twin Bed (4th), though I do think the kid's bunks are very cute. I love the practical use of space.

Sources: (L to R) Sirroccohome (Kidzoneshop.com.au), Troms (Ikea.com.au), Uffizi (Argington.com.au), Soho Twin Bed over Futon (Simplybunkbeds.com), Cronulla Loft Bunk Bed (Awesomebeds.com.au), Metro Bunk (Futonsrus.com)

Twilight

I happen to be apart of a very small demographic of females my age who currently do not have Edward Cullen at the top of their TO DO lists. To be quite frank, he is currently on my TO DIE list, right beneath Tom Cruise and Katie Holmely famous only because they happen to dress their spawn better than themselves. Okay, inappropriate and slightly off-topic. Let's just say, I love hearing about Twilight about as much as Fabio can't believe it's not butter.

My life is being terrorized ever since the sexual fantasy of a thirty-year-old woman, incarnated into a teenage girl with no emotional backbone, falls in lust with the face of a hundred-year-old vampire (and he, with her scent!) and is printed into a series, hereon known as Twilight.

To be fair, I have nothing against the series or Stephenie Meyer, other than the fact she has too many e's in her name. In fact, to prove myself a good sport, here are some things I actually enjoyed about Twilight:

1) The wittiness/tension between Bella and Edward (it slowly died with each book, but I enjoyed it while I was there)

2) Knowing that Edward was more interested in eating Bella than sleeping with her (sucker!), and being able to appreciate the rarity of that ever happening in teenage novels or in real life.

3) Watching the movie and not getting sick of listening to Bella stuttering her way through scenes ("But Edward.. you can't.. jus.. bjuh.. plea... how can you sa... your so... i jus... blakjds!")


Things I enjoyed less about Twilight

1) The dwindling originality (let's add some werewolves to square off against the vampires and make Bella's best friend fall in love with her and we're all set.)

2) Being reminded of glittery, god-like Edward's beauty in every. single. scene.

3) Plot inconsistencies (my favorite is when Edward dumps Bella and her so-called "maturity" and resolve disappears like coke in the hand of a crack whore. Real cool, Bella. You're a role model for girls far and wide.)

4) It's sense of appeal by means of a super handsome protagonist, other than things like, oh i don't know... literary tools for unliterary tools.

5) So... why are Edward and Bella in love again? I mean, besides the fact Bella thinks Edward is really hot and mysterious and is flattered when he stalks her, and Edward is intrigued by the fact his jedi mind skills don't work on her. And he think she smells good (and less in a healthy way, more of a I-want-to-eat-your-skin way). The book constantly tells you that they can't live without each other, but never enough are we reminded why. Gosh darn it, Meyer.

6) It's success in affecting the lives of people who, in no way, want to be associated with it!


Yes, yes. I should ignore it. Well, you try going into a bookstore without a cashier reccomending you read Twilight (if it wasn't disconcerting enough to see New Moon twiddling its thumbs next to Jane Eyre in the Classic Literature section) or better yet, buying a pack of gum from K-Mart without overhearing a conversation between two cashiers and a customer about how swoon-worthy and musically talented Robert Pattinson is- a conversation which lasted three minutes, despite the fact the lady was only buying a book and a baking tray.

Just as I finished mourning the loss of Harry Potter (and coincidentally, my childhood!), I get caught in a four-year-long vampire eat human saga. Life is officially a school bully and I am his bitch.

EDIT: In no way was this blog intended to belittle Twilight fans. I acknowledge that I didn't read Twilight because I thought it was going to stimulate my brain like Kevin Rudd just did our pocketbooks (zing!), but my point is that hearing too much of one thing will drive you mad (seriously), hype nearly always equals failure (unless you've written something called ... The Dark Knight), and people who think Twilight is literary (it's not) are super lame! Don't worry, Ashleigh Hanlon, this isn't aimed at you. Love you long time.

Teapottery

How cute are these teapots from teapottery?




I may not be a tea drinker, but I do know an awesome Christmas present when I see one!

Dear Michelle Williams,

Please send your stylist my way!




I love how she holds herself on the red carpet, and in general. She always appears so effortlessly chic and modest. Plus I would kill for her collection of boots (the mere few showcased are just a small sample of the plethora of awesome boots she owns.. so jealous)

Also, her 2006 Oscars dress - marigold chiffon Vera Wang (top left) - is my favorite Oscars dress ever. I loved it so much, I even bothered to google the name and when the Oscars air every year I make snooty comments about other people's dresses - "Yeah, that's nice... but it's no Marigold Vera Wang." (Here would be an excellent place to add a disclaimer: I know nothing of fashion and plan never to learn - The Devil Wears Prada taught me well - but that is one beautiful dress)

Where The Wild Things Are / Girl Skateboards

Anyone who knows me knows I am a massive fan of Spike Jonze, otherwise known as the king of quirky cinema (he directed Adaptation and Being John Malkovich for you non-cinema nomads.. not to mention every awesome music video under the sun). In fact, I've even made a hobby of uncovering the methods behind transferring his brain into my head.

But, I digress.

Jonze, who has just filmed the children's classic, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, has released a set of skateboard decks via his skate company, Girl Skateboards.




My unrequited affinity to Spike Jonze may make me a tad biased when I say these may be the COOLEST THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN. And while my coordination skills are akin to the limbless, or - this is where I try to sound socially acceptable - Bella from Twilight, I am going to buy one anyway, hang it on the wall of my room and air skate whenever I please.

Bloggity Blog

And... i'm blogging again.

Because I'm not quite sure where this is heading yet, here are some cute salt and pepper shakers in exchange for not having anything remotely profound to say (I found them whilst searching for question mark shakers, which apparently don't exist... yet)