I've been a bad, bad blogger

I know! I know! Kathleen is shouldering this beautiful load all by herself. Aileen and I come in every 3 months and sprinkle some fairy dust and call it a day. It's not fair. It's just that I can't write when I don't feel true to myself. And I often don't feel true to myself.

The other day Aileen asked me what creative outlets I have. Urm...creative? I told her that I've been writing really bad poetry, which is true. Emphasis on BAD. As for movies, I don't think that Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy counts as good filmmaking so I can't review that.

But I have been moved. Here are some things that I've been moved by recently:
1. The comics of Jaime Hernandez, specifically--Love and Rockets. Sometimes bi-sexual punk rocker Latina roommates living in So Cal? Yes please!
2. Fiona Apple--either Aileen or another good friend forwarded me a Fiona Apple interview in which she said something like "Every girl in fucking America has an eating disorder." I watch Criminal on youtube upwards of 5x daily.
3. Jacob Have I Loved. Young adult fiction is so good. So good because is teaches you a Lesson and not many teach as well as Katherine Paterson. I have definitely subjected more than a few people to a very detailed plot synopsis of this gem. Damn, it's good. Paterson respects her audience and she writes about really weighty subjects--but never gratuitiously. 14 y/o girl falls for a 70 y/o man and hates her perfect twin sister? Paterson never makes it trashy but she doesn't skimp on details.
4. Ciara--the princess is here! I'm really confused because Ciara was amazing. What happened to her? 1,2 Step, Oh, My Goodies, and Like a Boy were pitch perfect. And she's one of the best dancers of our generation. She breaks AND pops and locks. (she might be better than Janet...I say this in an apologetic whisper) And Like a Boy is a BETTER VERSION OF BEYONCE'S LIKE A MAN SONG. Why? Oh Why do we have B and not Ciara?
5. The Ichigeki performance at Battle of the Year 2005. In 2006-7 I was obsessed with breakdancing and I watched Planet BBoy everyday. Or nearly everyday. Or parts of it everyday. Point is--I watched it a lot. Recently, I rewatched the Ichigeki performance. It's amazing. Maybe it's because you don't often see Asian men being lauded for athleticism or something. But this performance moved mountains. It's part break dance part interpretive dance. I will even forgive their using Linkin Park for part of the performance. Sometimes foreigners just don't understand.
6. This one line from American Pastoral. I'm paraphrasing but it goes something like "underneath the surface there was just more surface." You meet someone and you talk to them and you realize that underneath the surface there is, what the hell?, more surface?! But Zuckerman wasn't right in American Pastoral. Maybe the surface is hiding deep reserves of pain? That's what I hope.
7. Say Anything. Lili Taylor. I die.
8. Enter the Ninja by Die Antwoord. Hip hop art school drop outs from South Africa. I know I'm 3 months too late to jump on the bandwagon but the video is some of the best art I've seen in months. Note--I've not viewed any art in months, as well.