And I'm sorry... again!

Okay, so apparently I'm really bad at this blogging thing... I'm going to give it one more shot and then I may have to beat myself up a little bit.

I'm actually going to say a few words about Twitter and that article I read this morning in the New York Times: Celebrities are not really Twittering! They are ghost Twittering! Terrible! You can't manage to write 140 words about something? Are you really that busy? That is impressively busy!
That being said I'm still not sure how I feel about Twitter... Is our world really so fast paced that we have to update people every second of every day about what we're doing? I dunnoo... So I think I'll try it out. I'm now Twittering about my imaginary life: www.twitter.com/myimaginarylife
Hopefully I can manage 140 word updates... XP

I'm a little bit obsessed with The West Wing and I'm a little bit upset that hulu.com doesn't have West Wing episodes so now I'm going to go scour the internet to get my fake political fix. Oh Martin Sheen, be still my heart!

Next Blog post (preemptively): Gone With the Wind and Toronto

Good Grief...

So, it has recently (30 seconds ago) come to my attention that I have not yet watched any Charlie Brown holiday specials. Usually I hit "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" and I'm good til Linus gets to tell me the true meaning of Christmas... but... I missed it this year. It was on TV... and I missed it... AUUUUUGH! Now I have to wait until Christmas to get my fill of Snoopy and the Gang. I'm seriously bummed out.

However I did get my first Christmas movie in last night. I sat myself down (and the boyfriend too, who considers Die Hard a Christmas movie, so you can imagine how pleased he was) and watched Love Actually... which is so so cute; it's one of my favorite movies that pretty consistently makes me cry. It's cool if you're all "Love Actually is not all that sad! Do you really cry at that?!" A lot of people find it hard to believe but I cry very easily at anything that even lightly tugs at my apparently very delicate heart strings. I cry less about things in real life than I do about movie things, but... there you are. Love Actually makes me cry.

This whole post has been about Crizzymas, which is lame of me as Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet. I shouldn't be neglecting Thanksgiving because I am totally stoked for Thanksgiving. My friends all have separation anxiety, so going home will be good. I'm hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner, and in my desire to be a Stepford Wife, I am in serious need of recipies and shit. Maybe some pinecone centerpieces too...

That is just lovely.

If you have any recipe ideas I'd LOVE to hear them, as suddenly I'm cooking for 8. Holy stuffing Batman...

Oh man... college...

So sorry I took a little break. I promise I'll post something more extensive in a little bit. I have a few papers to write, what with break coming up soon, and them being due... tomorrow morning I'm a little behind, but I just wanted to say something:

Dear Upstairs Neighbor,
Hi. You live above me, which is totally cool. Usually you are pretty quiet except on Thursday nights, but we have overcome that hurdle and things were great... at least I thought so. Until this weekend. This weekend you betrayed our already shaky trust by bringing a creature into your apartment.

I don't mind creatures, upstairs neighbor. They are pretty generally cool by me, except the creature you brought in sounds like a rabid 15 pound squirrel that does a hell of a lot of scampering across the hardwood floors in your apartment. If the sound of scrambling claws does not stop waking me up at 3:45 AM I am going to give your giant squirrel a rabies shot... or I'm just going to shoot it. Make it shut up. I'm pretty sure our lease says we cant have animals like/ that sound like giant clawed rodents... although I may have to give it another read.

Thanks,
Em

PS: Your speakers have sweet bass, what kind are they?

Guys, I am pretty sure my upstairs neighbor, nor the mystery beastie read my blog, but if you live above someone be considerate about it. For real. I live above someone too, and I try not to stomp around too much or walk around in high heels or scrape my fingernails against the floor. Its just not cool. Sorry. I just had to get that out. I'll post more exciting things later. Promise. XOXO

Christin Fox

Making her second fabulous appearance on my blog is the amazing Christin Fox (Campaign Slogan: "She'll slap your grandma!") We talk about all sorts of things and she gives fantastic and insightful answers. She is currently a sophomore at Towson University.

S4L: Alright, so you're in a sorority, do you think the "traditional" image of greek life that's always presented by Hollywood is accurate? Or is it over exaggerated?
CF: It's definitely over exaggerated. or at least definitely for mine. I'm not in what seems to be the "typical" sorority. i don't think that the ones portrayed in movies truly represent the ones on my campus either. it's true that there's drama, but not that much.
S4L: I mean, theres sort of this stigma in popular culture surrounding greek life, but from what we've talked about in our conversations and even what you just said, it seems that this really isnt the case. Do you think there's sort of this image perpetuated in pop culture? And if so does it affect your sorority? I mean, do you get people who want to pledge because they think its going to be one huge party?
CF: There's definitely that stereotype, I mean, a lot of my friends never thought I'd join a sorority because of the image of greek life. and after going through rush, there are definitely some girls who come in expecting it to be a big party, but it's a lot of business too. some girls get it more than others, but then again, some sororities do party more than others. it really depends. but for the most part, girls kind of get a reality check about the partying after going through rush. there's a lot more than partying that goes along with being in a sorority, from sisterhood to philanthropy and community service to the business aspect.

S4L: Cool cool. I love talking to you about this because I feel like its good to set the record straight from someone who is there right now. But we can talk about other things now... Like, are you going to vote on November 4th?
CF: yes actually. I'm driving back home to vote because I wanted to make sure that my vote counted and didn't get lost or disappeared or something, y'know how that stupid stuff happens sometimes.
S4L: really?! Me too! hooray voting! Do you have any opinions on the candidates? I mean, I'm not going to ask you who you're going to vote for... but...
CF: Haha I do, but if I start talking about it you'll see my bias

S4L: That's true, so we'll skip it. ok, have you read anything fantastic recently? and if so, what is it?
CF: I haven't had much time to read BUT! did get two books that I can't wait to dig into!
S4L: oo what are they?
CF: one is called Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut, which was actually recommended to me by two of my friends. they say it's modern/satirical, so i'm excited to read that. the other one is called The Writing Class by Jincy Willet. I saw it in the store and the cover looked really interesting.
S4L: I've never read any vonnegut, but I just got this book called "The Best American Non-Required Reading" and it had a whole selection of his quotes in there. I just finished reading them. They were fantastic. I'm glad I'm not the only one who judges books by their covers. Was that the main reason you bought the one by Jincy Willet?
CF: pretty much. it has a bunch of different pens and pencils on it, each labeled with their owner. each has personality, and I thought that was really cool. I read the inside cover and it seemed interesting. a little juvenile, but still interesting. it's the story of a professor and her writing class, but it evidently turns dark with a phone call and threats that lead to a murder. the professor has to analyze all of her pupil's writings and work with them to find out who the murderer is.
and although it may seem dark, the reviews claim it to be extremely funny, so i figured I'd buy it

S4L: That sounds really really good actually. I'll have to borrow it after you're done. I hate not having time to read what I want to read. School is so time consuming. I'm sure we've talked about this, but are you going to do grad school or something?
CF: I'm going to have to go to grad school if I want to get the job I'm set on. I was hoping to prolong it, but my advisor (though I'm not sure if i should trust her) claims that I'll have to go straight into school again.
S4L: Crazy... I think we should just leave school and take up our dream of pirating and being saucy wenches. What do you think?
CF: Perhaps. but then again, it might be nice to have something to fall back on. but there definitely should be some pirating and sauciness in our futures

S4L: I'm sure there will be. No doubt. Is there anything you'd like to throw out there before the interview ends? Any last statements or anything that you think the whole world needs to know?
CF: There are many things the world should know, especially about how I'll slap their grandma when I gain control of the world. but until then, I just would hope people start realizing there's a lot more about people that they don't know about, so even if they think they know someone pretty well and can "judge" them, I'm sure there's a lot more that they don't know that factors into that. does that make sense? I guess just you don't know someone's situation, so don't assume... oh! and one last thing! to everyone: Your life is beautiful.
S4L: Wow. that was very insightful and... nice. Good ending Christin! Now you just have to tell everyone to read my blog.
CF: I will! haha

Alright, well there's another sweet interview for you. Again if you have anything or something to say and you want it to be here for all the world to see shoot me an email at bellamorningglory@yahoo.com subject line "Interview" Thanks for reading! Look for some updates from the glorious land up north sometime real soon.

Amanda Bender

This is my interview with my "good friend" (read: sworn enemy) of many years, Amanda Bender. She is tops at being crazy awesome and is a sophomore at University of Maryland. She's my first interview, and probably not my last:

S4L: Can I interview you?
AB: Absolutely

S4L: Sweet. So, first question: As a college student, do you really care about world issues, or do you follow them to seem like you know what's going on?
AB: The first.

S4L: Ok, so what issues matter to you? Name like.. two?
AB: Hmm.. having soldiers in Iraq still, and overusing our resources

S4L: So if it bothers you that we still have soldiers in Iraq, you're probably also pretty peeved about the possibility that we might invade Iran?
AB: i don't exactly know the situation there, and what we would actually be doing there, how the people would think about the soldiers being there and treat them... so i cant say for sure

S4L: That makes sense. You are so levelheaded. I'm just grumpy. Anyway, if you could suggest one book to one person, what would you suggest? for who? and why?
AB: Hmm...good question..
S4L: Thanks.
AB: I haven't read for pleasure for a good while
S4L: That's okay, it doesn't have to be something you've read for pleasure. How much reading do you do in your classes anyway?
AB: Depends on the class. two chapters twice a week for film, a paper or two a week for linguistics... I'd say... the book you gave me. The Realm of Possibility to anyone..
S4L: Why?
AB: It's very thought-invoking

S4L: Whats the difference between invoking and provoking?
AB: Provoking's the one i was looking for
S4L: But aren't they the same thing anyway?
AB: I think invoking is calling on something for support, like invoking the right of such and such
provoking is stimulation

S4L: Good call. OK, is there anything you want to say before we round off our interview?
AB: Not that i know of. What is this interview for?
S4L: I want to interview people, I just thought I'd try it out. I might put it on my blog if that's okay with you?
AB: Sure.

AB: Are you curious about people's responses to those particular questions? or just want to ask people different questions about different things?
S4L: I want to ask people about anything. I'm starting with people I know first, and then I'm hoping to talk to anyone. Probably just people around. I'm trying to become a better listener... and I like to talk to people.
AB: okay

S4L: Does that sound silly?
AB: only a bit. People you don't know might not be willing unless you have a purpose
S4L: yeah, but some of them might, and who wants to interview grumbly people anyway?

AB: You can't be prejudiced like that =P
S4L: You can interview grumbly people if you want. I'd rather not, that's all I'm saying.
AB: Fair enough.

So, that was it. I also interviewed myself via introspection and my inner male pirate... but that hasn't posted yet. I don't really care who you are or what is up, but if you want to be interviewed, let me know. Shoot me an email at bellamorningglory@yahoo.com subject line "Interview."

kthnxbai.

A Brief Overview...

...of thoughts that I have recently been having:

1. I love reading Hemingway. I don't know when or how this happened because I used to hate reading Hemingway... now I think that he is rockin'. Go Fig.
2. Maybe we should live life with more enthusiasm... it would probably make things easier.
   
3. People who pronounce "poem" "poI-em" with that I/Y sound in there, really make me grumpy. Do you really have that big of a desire to sound like a d-bag?
   
4. Watching old episodes of The Addams Family (the original series) makes me want to be Morticia Addams. The way Carolyn Jones plays Morticia, with the walk and the hands... it's very cool. I want to be like her. Kudos Ms. Jones!
5. The song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is more beautiful and sad than a song ever needed to be. Thanks Susanna and the Magical Orchestra! Thanks for making me depressed fairly consistently!!!
6. Everything cool in Toronto is happening two weeks before I go there. Some of my favorite artists/writers are going to be at Word on the Street all together in one spot!! I will be in Baltimore, and not even at the Baltimore Comic Con... BUMMER.
7. I am pretty much done with hanging around here. I might have to go on an adventure soon.
   
   Good luck with whatever you're up to right now. Do it to it.
   

It's the Economy, Stupid... and It's Politics and Comedy

What is up, my peeps?

Today we're going to talk about all sorts of things, as I have the afternoon off, and I haven't blogged in awhile, which is a shame.

1. The economy: WHOA!! What happened there?! I mean one minute things were slowing down but now they're crashing and burning like cars in "2 Fast 2 Furious"- quickly, and furiously!! I'm not sure that I really have much to say on the situation except for maybe, "oh crap" and "I'm glad I didn't invest that money in stocks last year."
   
   
2. The Presidential Race: I don't know who I'm voting for. I'm registered as a democrat, but not wild about Biden, and I wouldn't mind McCain but I cannot STAND Palin. Ooo she makes me angry with all her hypocrisy. In my perfect world it's an Obama/McCain ticket, but that would never happen for real. I know, I know, that's taking bipartisanship too far... but think about it. Wouldn't that be a fantastic ticket? It would. You know I'm right.
   
   
3. John Oliver: He's a Daily Show correspondant from across the pond and is downright hysterical. He did a show recently at Loyola College in Maryland (soon to be Loyola University- rock on Board of Trustees, rock on) that I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to and it was fantastic. One of the funniest people I've seen live in a long time. After the show he and a Daily Show producer (who was also very funny) offered a Q&A session which most everyone stayed for. All night the producer had been ribbing Oliver for not being American and there had been a lot of talk on what it meant to be an American versus anything else. I say that because without it someone might be offended by one of the answers to the last question of the Q&A which was, "When did you lose your virginity?" Classy LoCo... very classy. (I can say that because I don't go there anymore) Oliver blushed madly, and then responded with something along the lines of "I'm not really sure I want to talk about it," but then continued by saying that he remembers apologizing to the girl under the assumption that "That must have been terrible" for her. The producer's answer: "I lost it at age 12 on a pile of American Flags." ROCK ON! +10 for America.
   
   But seriously, it was a great show, and they we're both very funny and good humored. Definitely try to catch them live some time. I still need to get tickets to the Daily Show, or the Colbert Report to see one or the other live sometime. I think it would be a blast. Oh Politics/News...
   
   I was going to have 4 and 5 but this is getting long and I think I'll just post them tomorrow. That will be better.
   
   Have a fantastic time!!