a jolly commuters & friends christmas

think • think • thinking

c. Summer 2014

There are lots of cool people on the Internet. (And that is a huge understatement, believe me.)

I can't deny that I'm constantly inspired by the work I see everywhere, ranging from projects started to spur change to the beautiful film productions released on YouTube. Last week in particular I got incredibly caught up in binge watching multiple incredible web series, and I discovered a handful of utterly mind-blowing creators who work in the film production field. AHHH. I'm just so overwhelmed and filled to the brim with excitement and encouragement! I'm getting a little worked up just thinking about all the amazing discoveries I've stumbled upon, so just give me a moment to get myself together. (It's probably not helping that I'm listening to a particularly invigorating EDM playlist right now, ha.)

I think I'll go about this list of links chronologically, in order of when they were found. Lots of rambling after the cut! Read through if you're interested in reading about some great web series and beautiful YouTube creators.

type-oh's and other words

A typo that made me stop and smile:

"Her Brother Andrew Birkin captured their together" (via blog.burnedshoes.com)

B.J. Novak on Mindy Kaling as a writer:

“Mindy has long been considered the best writer on The Office, and every actor on the show thinks she writes for them best,” says Novak. “There is the extra little ‘smile’ that infuses her scripts, which is hard to quantify. My guess is that it stems from a real loving sense of the superspecific inner life of every character. Characters aren’t joke machines to her, or types to satirize. As a person, she’s incredibly sentimental, more than anyone I’ve met, but she’s also incredibly sharp. She’s unabashedly both. That allows her to express real emotions without shyness, but also without clichés.” (via nymag.com)

A more ordered life:

"But practiced at its highest level, mise-en-place says that time is precious. Resources are precious. Space is precious. Your self-respect and the respect of others are precious. Use them wisely. Isn't that a philosophy for our time?" (via npr.org)

Other daily thoughts from today, August 11, 2014:

• There is a deep-seated feeling of disappointment in my gut that came from the fact that I was more affected by hearing about the death of Robin Williams than I was about my paternal grandfather's. There was no crazy emotional response; I just paused longer and thought of Genie, Mr. Keating, and Mrs. Doubtfire with such clarity, but saw the word "grandpa" and felt and pictured nothing but a blur.
• The team behind God Help The Girl is looking for volunteers to spread the word about the film in the US! One of the cities listed is San Jose and I'm completely over the moon with anticipation as to what "postcarding" might mean! It would be so wonderful to help.

this restless heart

I could make you mine

I've been following Neon Gold Record's blog for over two years now, and a video for their 5th anniversary was released recently. I've been reading their blog all this time for the cool music, but I never actually looked into the people behind it. The video (produced by MOI$T) really gave me a look into the effect the label has had on some of my favorite artists (and I discovered most of them through the Neon Gold blog!). This led to a lot of clicking around and Google searching, and it was all pretty inspiring.

(Listed in order of the discovery process)

1. http://neongoldrecords.com/ (from blog)
2. NG5: Five Years of Neon Gold (to video)
3. Refinery29: "How Two Buds Started Neon Gold Records" (to an article)
4. The Knocks – Dreaming (to music video by an artist from Neon Gold)
5. MOI$T (to the person who made the anniversary and music videos)

...all the way to me sitting here, thinking about not only how spectacular Lizzy and Derek from Neon Gold are because of their supportive influence, but also about the impressive videos produced and edited by the lady behind MOI$T! 

I especially, especially, especially appreciated what Justine Bowe (of Magic Man) had to say in the anniversary video about Lizzy Plapinger being one of the most inspirational female figures for her in the industry. More power to the ladies! The issue of the gender gap is something I've thought a lot about, being not only a woman, but also a person of color who wants to enter the entertainment industry.

Basically, this post is just another display of my nerdiness when it comes to subjects that intrigue me. I love discovering new music, and film or media production is something I'm going to start learning more about soon. Soon!

that's love

Lack of inspiration? Lack of motivation? Fear of the future? Excitement? Sleep deprivation?

I guess these are all just little excuses I've come up with to compensate for my lack of writing. I'm doing my best to settle back into the routine of school, but for some reason spring quarter hasn't felt as "smooth" as the last two. It might just be the weather that's making me feel detached from schoolwork, or maybe it's just that a couple of my classes aren't as engaging as they should be (bitin' my thumb at these boring freshman critical thinking/cultures courses!). It could also be the hectic chaos that comes with this time of year in terms of all the big culture shows and events, along with elections and getting ready to transition into a new board. If anything, it's honestly probably the overwhelming combination of all of these things.

Nevertheless, since I don't have as many words and ramblings to share, I thought I'd just compile a handful of pictures and snaps from my life this past month or so.

answered

The weeks leading up to the end of winter quarter and the start of spring quarter were so hectic and so busy that I hadn't realized that I'd begun to lose sight of some crucially important things. Luckily, a 4 to 5 AM chat with a close friend on the other side of the globe this past Friday night (Saturday morning?) sort of set in motion a new series of little happenings, and I just realized that my anxieties have been answered by the universe. A sense of gratitude and appreciation for everything that is going on in my life has been revived in me and I can honestly say that I feel invigorated again.

After a long Friday night that seemed to never end, I came home to a silent house, as usual. I crept into bed but all the things on my mind that I've been pushing aside flooded over me and I realized how much I needed someone to talk to, despite how exhausted I was. I saw that my friend was awake in Taiwan so I sent her a message; we ended up video calling each other for at least an hour. After talking to her and listening to her feedback, I felt a little lighter, because I think what I really needed at that time was to hear myself put into audible words all my pent up frustrations and disappointments, rather than let them continue to stew in my brain and drain my energy. I've been worrying about being "spread out too thin" between my obligations to my club, my role in the Commuter family, and my place in another group of friends I'm slowly growing closer to. I guess the weeks at the end of winter quarter and the days leading into break/Week One of spring quarter made me feel really detached from these three social circles, and for a moment I'd felt a bit lost and lacked a sense of belonging.

Tonight, despite it having been another long day, ended on a really comforting note. I spent an hour after PCN modern dance practice talking to my ate, and just all the things we talked about and learned about each other reminded me how important it is to open up a little bit once in a while. (And that's something that has become increasingly difficult over time for me.) I'm going to work harder towards maintaining these human connections.

slow attraction

Still floating around in this little music purgatory. Transitioning from alternative to hip hop then to bubbly EDM and all the way back to hip hop.

Here's some music I've recently come across/been listening to:

Chance the Rapper • Acid Rap 

Anamanaguchi • "Endless Fantasy" and "Planet" and "Prom Night" 

Years & Years • "I Wish I Knew" and "Real" and "Eyes Shut" 

Klingande • "Jubel" 

DJ Topsider • "Cold" and "Vibe"

Also, if you're feeling particularly bad-ass or just plain angry at the all the stupidity around you, check out my new playlist, "open letter to doopidity & co." on Spotify. I hope it makes you smile. (Note: It does contain a lot of explicit language.)

I'm running into the final three weeks of Winter Quarter, so as much as I'd love to sit down and spill everything that's been on my mind, I can only take about fifteen minutes to list some links of my current music recommendations. Other than that, I've just been doing a lot of complaining about the rainy Bay Area weather (but secretly enjoying it a lot). Also, lots of dancing. But more of that later. Happy March!

a new genre

Just a quick post as a filler to break the silence this past month and a half. I've been doing lots of thinking, even though I haven't been writing about it (and I apologize because I really know I should!). Lots of cool, "professional" things have been happening and I guess I've been barely able to fathom how to put my excitement into words.

This blog started out as a place to just jot down moments and little things that inspired me throughout each week, but the reason I'd written on these topics was because, well, I didn't know what I wanted my blog to be focused on. Then an idea hit me this past weekend — a soundtrack blog. Honestly, I don't know exactly what I want to call this "genre" of blogging, but the gist of it came from this train of thought:

• I like films and the idea of film production/writing. I don't know a whole lot about it yet, but I'm incredibly determined to learn. (I'm even considering tacking on a Communications/Film major to my current English major. So exciting!)

• I like music. I've been in a "music rut" recently, meaning I've been listening to some music, but nothing has struck me enough to make me obsess over it. Sadly, I feel like I'm moving out of my folk/indie phase and transitioning back into EDM/house and hip-hop. I keep asking myself "Why?? Music?? What?? Listen?? To??" (that's a bit of an exaggeration) but it's really frustrating because I want music to be integral to my life again, not just "stuff" I listen to while driving to school.

• Films I've watched recently (Spike Jonze's Her, Xavier Beauvois's De dioses y hombres, Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, and Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds) have moved me a lot. Especially in Her and Inglorious Basterds (as well as some of my other favorite movies), the music helped me connect to each of them.

And as a result of all this pondering, I've come up with this idea for a blog (partially inspired by Brain Picking's Literary Jukebox):

1. Come up with an idea for a short film/documentary. I'm wondering if there are any scripts that are in the public domain that I could use. I might even write my own...
2. In each post, include a scene from the film that I find important/significant. 
3. Handpick songs and create a "soundtrack" (more like a playlist) that I feel reflects the film.
4. Do a little blurb. Include a graphic or image.

I know there are people on 8tracks and Tumblr who create mixes and fan soundtracks for their ships, television shows, and even for broader genres of film (like this one and this one), and I guess this would fall under that category, but I think the differentiating detail is that I'm using films or series that aren't in the popular mainstream. Original scenes of my own work (I'm not sure if I can do this yet, since I have zero experience in screenwriting), abandoned scripts floating around the Internet, etc. I think that's what'll make this blog stand out.

I thought about making an entirely separate blog for this project, but I think I'll pilot it here. Looking at all the steps needed to construct one post, I estimate it'll take anywhere from two weeks to a month to make each one, since I'm basically married to my college studies and extracurriculars. I mostly see myself working on this during my bouts of free time between classes and on days when I (miraculously) do not have piles and piles of work to do.

How does this all sound? Would people even want to follow a blog like this? Even if I end up being the only reader, I think I'm fine with that, since it's mostly an activity I want to do in order to explore film and music more. It's mostly for me. If other people can enjoy it, then that'd be spectacular. I feel like I'm glowing inside just thinking about it.

december never felt so wrong

After things kinda fell apart in my  family and what was left of us tried to haphazardly stick ourselves back together again (things are still kinda dangling around, unresolved) each holiday we've "celebrated" has felt lonelier than the last. I don't really feel comfortable writing posts like these, especially knowing a lot of friends I care deeply about are and have been celebrating with their own families happily, warmly, safely. So, my holidays have been spent surrounded by wishy-washy, whirly-swirly, humdrum feelings.

Still, I can't help but say, from the bottom of my heart, Merry Christmas to you and yours. May the New Year bring us even better memories and experiences.