I Love NJ

Popular News Topics on nj.com:

1. New Jersey corruption

2. New Jersey traffic

3. New Jersey transit

4. Weird New Jersey news

5. New Jersey shootings

6. New Jersey plane crashes

We are corrupt, morbid, and drive a lot. Awesome!

And our hockey team really likes to fight...

New color scheme? The old one was feeling drab and wintery. Not that this is quite so springy, but it's better. What do you think? I can't decide if I like it or not...

Side note: My overuse of ellipses is titles is atrocious. As is my overuse of them in text messages, emails, and any other non-schoolwork form of writing. This must be really annoying, so tell me to stop! Most of the time they're totally unnecessary, and only make me sound unsure of myself. Which I am quite a bit of the time, but rarely in blog post titles or text messages.

Also, my blog took a bit of a detour into Xanga/Livejournal-dom the other day, which I'm really trying to avoid with this, because it's childish and passive-aggressive, so sorry for that. So I plan on sticking to movie reviews, fashion reviews, postmodernism, and all that sort of good stuff from now on. Who wants to read about my feelings when they can read about the Oscars and other blogs?

Alice in Wonderland review coming soon (for real this time). Teaser: I thought it was mostly wonderful (pun intended), which I totally wasn't expecting.

And the Oscar goes to...

Well, no one really, because this show wasn't that great, but let's start at the beginning.

Which of course is the red carpet. Sometimes, I love the red carpet more than the show itself, because I really love couture. But this red carpet was just lackluster. There were some horrible dresses (Zoe Saldana, the usually beautiful Diane Kruger), and some great ones (Gabourey Sidibe, Carey Mulligan, etc.), but mostly a lot of "Oh, she looks really good for her" (Tina Fey, Meryl Streep), and "That dress wouldn't be so bad if it were a different color/this one detail was different" (Anna Kendrick, Charlize Theron). Even George Clooney didn't look all that great, and that never happens. Seriously George, get a haircut. And now that I have a Vogue subscription/followed Fashion Week, the lack of good dresses was even more disappointing, because I've been seeing designers do some really wonderful things lately, and I wish that was represented on the red carpet. And obviously these dresses are chosen far in advance, but I would have liked to see someone in an Alexander McQueen. Not even Sarah Jessica Parker, possibly his biggest fan, was wearing one of his designs; instead she decided to put some metallic embroidery on one of her curtains, wrap it around herself, and call it an outfit. Ew.

As far as best dressed goes, I would probably have to say Gabourey Sidibe. Obviously she's quite a bit bigger than the average Hollywood star, but she really dressed to flatter her body and the dress itself was beautiful and age-appropriate. I would totally wear it. As for the other top 9? I'll get back to you on that.

And the show itself? Once again, let's start at the beginning. If it's entertainment news and on the internet, I will most likely find it. I had no idea about Neil Patrick Harris opening the show. Good job, Oscars! He's one of the most loved and lovable people in Hollywood right now, and that worked really well. Alec and Steve themselves were perfectly decent hosts. A bunch of their jokes were hilarious, a few were wonderfully off-color, and most were at least mildly funny, although a lot did fall flat. They played well off each other, but something about it came off as vaudeville-esque, like they were going to throw pies in each others' faces or do some other slapstick humor any second. That's not bad necessarily, but it wasn't as interesting as it could have been. Case in point? My grandma thought they were the best Oscar hosts ever. My grandma has a wonderful sense of humor, but it's also a bit indicative of the time she grew up in...

The show wasn't actually any longer than previous ones, despite the 10 nominees for Best Picture and those somewhat silly video introductions for each category. Maybe it was those things, or the lack of Best Song nominees singing, or maybe I was just distracted, but the show felt a lot longer than usual, and I think it just really wasn't that interesting. Everyone's speeches were reasonably short and appropriate, and the presenters mostly just did their jobs and that was it. Even Ben Stiller's Na'vi impression wasn't nearly as good as his Joaquin Phoenix impression last year (which I totally thought may be Devandra Banhart when he first came out, but clearly that wouldn't happen at the Oscars). All in all, the show wasn't bad, but wasn't too good either. Either way, I can't wait for next year's Oscars!

Blogging Idols

I've been reading this blog, Smart, Pretty, and Awkward, for a while. When I first heard about it, I was really excited, because I like to think I'm reasonably smart, reasonably pretty, and well, sometimes (often) I just can't help being awkward. I would never turn down anything that claims it will help me be smarter, prettier, and less awkward. And while a lot of the blog is great, the truth is, the advice is sometimes dubious (manicure every week in the middle of a recession...?), and the woman who writes it seems like one of those people with inspirational quotes hanging on their walls, which if you know me at all, you know is not the kind of person I would generally take advice from. Nothing wrong with some inspiration, but the advice is sometimes just a bit too...I don't know how to describe it. The best I can do is to describe her as an inspirational-quotes person.

But anyway, a few days ago, Smart, Pretty, and Awkward pointed me in the direction of what will definitely be my new obsession: Cupcakes and Cashmere. It's mostly a fashion blog, with a lot of posts about food, some posts about life in general, etc. But it has absolutely beautiful pictures, of both the person who writes it and other people, and I have a huge girl crush on her now. Anyone who writes almost exclusively about food and fashion will have my heart, but everything about the blog is just so beautiful. And it won Best Fashion Blog at the Bloggie Awards (whatever the hell those are) this year, beating out The Sartorialist and The Cut, which is a huge deal.

So check out the blogs. Maybe keep reading mine, but know it will never be this level.

Gonna write you a letter...

I've always been more comfortable with writing than with talking, and in some ways, more comfortable with fictional characters than with real people. Maybe this is because when I was younger I didn't have a ton of friends and read a lot of books, but maybe I was that way because I was more comfortable with fictional people. Regardless, we've been talking a lot about identity and authorship in my postmodern literature class, and about how writing about someone takes away their own sense of their identity. You deny someone a voice by fictionalizing them, or even writing about them in a purely nonfictional way.

I think the same goes for writing to someone. If I have an issue with you, I probably won't talk to you directly (although I'm getting better!). Instead, I'll write articulate letters that I'll never send, and if you try to talk to me, you'll be stuck with inarticulate ramblings about how I don't know what I want. It's somewhat obvious how writing about a real person turns them into a fictional character, but maybe less obvious how writing to someone makes them into a fictional character. Or maybe it's obvious to everyone, but the point is that when you write to someone, you're not having a conversation. Hopefully, they'll respond, and you'll respond, and you'll go back and forth, but in the act of writing, you are the only one there. You get to put all your thoughts and feelings down without giving them a chance to respond in a way that could change the course of the conversation. You are not talking to the real person, but a version of what you hope the real person would be. You can anticipate what they say, and maybe that's exactly what they will say, but who knows? You create the version of the person that you want to talk to when you write to them.

Can true identity ever come from writing? Even in an autobiography, you write a fictionalized portrayal of yourself; how you see yourself or want to see yourself may not be how others see you or how you know you are. Is there such a thing as true identity? Who owns it? Am I being ruined by my postmodernism class? What do you think? Write me a letter, Box 3071. I promise I'll respond.

"He believed it was a natural law that men with secrets tend to be drawn to each other, not because they want to share what they know but because they need the company of the like-minded, the fellow afflicted - a respite from the other life, from the eerie realness of living with people who do not keep secrets as a profession of duty, or a business fixed to one's existence." -Don DeLillo

Just for you...

I said the best movies were "theoretically" coming soon. Well now I can tell you all about the difference between a theory and a paradigm, but I guess that doesn't really matter... Anyway, in no particular order, the top movies of 2009, well before it's time for the 2010 list, which is for some reason very heavy on the kids movies:

1. An Education: I will admit a huge part of the reason I liked this so much is the early 1960s fashions. And the fact that I've been to the random small town in Greater London where it takes place. But regardless of that, Carey Mulligan was fabulous, as was Peter Skarsgaard. The desire to do something better/more fun/bigger than what people except of you is certainly something I can understand.

2. Where the Wild Things Are: A lot of people didn't like this movie. They thought it was too dark/too whimsical/ruined their childhood. They are wrong. To be fair, it's not really a "kids movie." It is a movie for 18-34 year olds who want to relive childhood and feel infinite again. It was complex, and heartwarming, and sad, and yes, definitely whimsical.

3. Coraline: My opinion in animated movies this year is probably controversial. The first 20 minutes or so of Up were better than most real movies this year, but the rest of the movie wasn't my favorite. It was good, sure, but I think as a whole I found Coraline more enjoyable. Perhaps because it was quirkier, and we all know I love quirky...

4. 500 Days of Summer: In case you didn't believe that I love quirky...Realistically, this was not a "best of the year" movie by almost any standard. But I'm kind of obsessed with both of the lead actors, and desperately want Zooey Deschanel's wardrobe from this. And to be her, but slightly less bitchy. The musical scene was fabulous, and despite it's occasional corniness (the ending with Autumn, ugh), I think it did have some interesting things to say about love.

5. The Brothers Bloom: Another quirky one, but a little-seen one. Which is sad, because it was a really excellent movie. The acting was great, the story was original, and the ending actually had a twist you didn't quite see coming, and that kept you guessing for a bit.

6. Julie and Julia: Like most people, I could have cut out Amy Adams' part completely and just watched Meryl Streep as Julia Child. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Amy Adams' performance, but damn that character was annoying. Julia Child more than made up for it. She was funny, over-the-top, and just extremely lovable and I want her kitchen at the end. And Stanley Tucci of course was great too.

7. Ponyo/The Fantastic Mr. Fox: These two go together simply because I'm not sure I can justify giving so many spots to kids movies. I had watched My Friend Totoro before seeing this, and wasn't too thrilled with Miyazaki's attempt at making a straightforward kids movie. Ponyo, however, was fabulous. It didn't pretend to be anything it wasn't and it just worked so well. As did The Fantastic Mr. Fox. George Clooney's voice made this fox the foxiest I've ever heard. I'm a huge Wes Anderson fan, and I know people who aren't didn't love the movie, but I mean, c'mon it's a quirky kids movie, what's not to love?

8. A Single Man: Realistically, I didn't like this as much as I thought I would. But since I had been waiting/excited about it for months, that's not necessarily a terrible thing. Colin Firth was amazing and understated, Julianne Moore looked incredible, and I always love seeing the boy from About a Boy all grown up (check out the British show Skins if you feel the same way). People criticized that it was too much style over substance, and while it was very stylized and exquisitely detailed, Colin Firth's performance was incredibly substantive.

9. Up in the Air: I feel like people have already sort of beat this to death as "the best movie!" I think sometimes I forget that George Clooney really is an actor and not a movie star, and he was just the heart of this movie. Of course the movie was heart-breaking, but that's a different story. The story I love about it though is that Jason Reitman actually wanted to make this movie before Juno, but it kept getting pushed back, and it just so happened that it ended up being really timely. I think things like that can really help make a movie...

10. Avatar: The story was atrocious. It was barely passable as a movie I would actually want to watch, and I'm very upset it won Best Picture at the Golden Globes. But the technical feat alone makes it one of the best movies as the year. See my post on the movie.

That's my 10, though there are probably some I've seen this year that I've forgotten, and definitely some one that are considered really good I haven't seen, like Precious and The Hurt Locker.