Carry a Torch for So-Called Hipster music

Were you surprised that Arcade Fire won a Grammy last week? Or were you like me- unaware that they were even nominated, and had forgotten that the Grammy's even existed? I mean, I knew that they were still around, but I can't remember the last time I watched them, much less knew who was nominated or won.
There has been this crazy backlash- from crowds who disapprove of how "mainstream" they've become, from people who feel they weren't mainstream enough to win ("Who the hell is Arcade Fire?") - which has prompted a backlash against people who knew not only that they existed, but that they were awesome, mainstream or not. And those people got called hipsters.

The Inevitable Valentine's Post

About three weeks ago, I watched Swingers. Two weeks ago I watched Blue Valentine. This week I have a strong desire to punch love right in the weenus. These two films left me with some major problems with the whole concept of love, just in time for Valentines Day.
Let's break it down by film.

First we have Swingers, a movie about a guy who spends 95% of the film mooning over the break up with his ladylove,  with whom he had been in a relationship with for the past six years. Then, in the last ten minutes, Chesty LaRue- aka Heather Graham- bats her big blue eyes at our main character and bam! His undying love is gone. His achy breaky heart is healed. And even though his ex calls to tell him she still loves him, it doesn't matter, because Chesty is definitely an upgrade, amiright?? Instead of feeling uplifted by the message that you can get over anyone, I felt rotten. Is the love of your life replaceable? Or is the message that he never really loved her, he just loved the misery of being broken up with? Either way, it doesn't look good for love, that when someone that has that much of a hold on a person is so easily forgotten in the blinding light of Heather Graham's marvelous boobs acting.

We run into a different scenario, but similar problem in Blue Valentine. For those of you who haven't seen it, I don't want to give anything away- I've only read one review of it, but I'm assuming they all give out the basic details- you're witnessing the dissolution of a relationship, intercut with scenes of them "falling in love". But did our tragic leads ever truly love one another? Or is love not that much different than lust- brief, weak and replaceable?

I mean, geez louise. I know it's a crap shoot and there's no way to prove that love is true- but doesn't it seem awful that you never really know for sure, unless someone call it quits? Because even if that person sticks around, it very well may be (and often is) for all the wrong reasons- they're attached to the security, they don't have the balls to tell you the truth, they're trying to prove something to themselves or someone else....

If it weren't for our friends and family, it would be almost impossible to believe love even exists. Because, like it or not, at some point all romantic love is conditional. Granted, not all love between friends and family is unquestionable- but it doesn't compare to the shaky pedestals we set our romantic partners on. We seem to be happy placing all our bets on faith that love between two people can exist. And faith is dangerous. Faith can be damaging. But it is also, in a way, courageous and one of the most beautiful and mysterious parts of our being. And whether we want to be complicated or not, our make up is unfortunately complex and dependent on those crap shoots. (I hope someone inserted a poop joke here while reading that.) 

Of course, it could all just be nature's way of trying to preserve itself by creating a feeling to attach to procreation, but that law obviously doesn't work within every type of relationship.
Holy crap. Idea: Does homosexuality prove the existence of true romantic love?? Just think about it. What a marvelous notion...

Hey, look- I wasn't trying to rain on anyone's parade this Valentine's Day. I actually love this holiday, and I have been single for the majority of Vdays. What a great excuse to eat pink sugary food and drink fizzy alcohol and tell the people who are special to you how many levels of awesomeness they rock. Plus you get to craft with glitter and smell flowers or gather up your friends and celebrate your love of the day and each other by having an "anti"valentines party. My gorgeous and talented friend Nikki sums the beauty of this day on her blog, Grateful Sparrow, far more eloquently than I can.
What a great holiday*. I hope yours' is, without a doubt, the best yet.

*My apologies to anyone who is going through a break up during this holiday. You have my sympathy and understanding, because in that case, Valentine's day blows. This is where you have permission channel your over dramatic, honky bitch and take to the whiskey bottle whilst playing sad old country songs in your apartment- which, in a way, is quite a glorious way to celebrate the day as well. Happy Fuck This Shit Gimme Another Drink Don't Tell Me How I Feel Day to you, you magnificent, under appreciated gods and goddesses.

Up Up Up! Get! Up!

So let's be honest.
Have you kept your resolution to lose weight or get in shape? Or have you let that gym membership card glare up at you from your wallet for the past month and a half, wondering why it isn't as loved as, say, your Whole Foods gift card your step-aunt got you for Christmas?
Don't deny it. "To get in shape" is the most common New Year's resolution, according to Time Magazine at least, and it is also the one that is broken almost immediately. I mean, face it, we have whole  year of delicious eating ahead of us. We have two more sugar based holidays, Valentine's and Easter, and you know those Peeps are going to last forever. When the world ends, I'm fairly certain they are all that will be left of our society. Peeps and cockroaches. Anyway soon after that, you start warming up your grill because you can't wait to drown yourself in barbecue for the next 4 months and then BAM! it's fall and the holidays are upon us again.
Look, don't feel too badly. Food is awesome. If you have the strength to go out and, ugh.... run, then by all means, do it. Otherwise, you can join my exercise plan which is this:
Monday Private dance party in your apartment
Tuesday Repeat
Wednesday Repeat
Thursday Repeat
Friday Repeat
Saturday Repeat
Sunday Repeat

If you've got a yoga mat and a ton of instructional dvds lying around like I do, try and throw some yoga in there whenever you feel like it. It is actually more fun when you come up with your own positions. The Pregnant Baby, The Drunken Stegosaurus, The Flying Nun... be creative.

To help get you started, here is a mix of beats that should get your blood pumping. They can even accompany a night of drinking, in case you want to try giggling like a madwoman then later dry heaving your weight off. It may work. This is the year of miracles.

MEGAmorphosis (but not really)

When I began this blog 3 years ago, I was in the process of putting myself through therapy via an art journal. I wanted a place to post all of my doodles and poems and not worry about how they were received. As it seems, the blog has become a random rant and babblefest of sorts, with excessive youtube clips and music mixes.
Right now I am in the process of refocusing the old girl to make her a little more accessible and a little less self involved. But really, there is nothing so self serving as a blog, and god knows it is all about me- so the best I can do is to try and keep it interesting and fun.
My unfortunate lack of interweb know how is leaves me somewhat limited, but I hope to rise above it and come up with a design that divides my blog into three major parts.

Arts
Posts that focus on the theatre arts, film or music.

Farts
Posts that have no focus, but are ramble-based and mostly for fun.

Crafts
Past posts that featured all my creations, craptacular and otherwise. Although I suspect there will be additions to this category whenever the muse decides to squat in my apartment...

I hope to share with you my favorite things- Art, Music, Comedy, Film and Theatre- in a way that doesn't leave you needing a week of bourbon and Soap Dish to recover. (This is what all people turn to in times of confusion and frustration, yes?)
I feel it is fair to warn you that my writing is probably not going to improve, but Jebus- if you don't mind a grammatical nightmare, I promise I will make it up to you in pop culture presents.
As you can see, I have already made a few changes,  most noticeably the new header and two more pages up top (check them out, won't you?). There are more to come.
Fundamentally, there aren't going to be any drastic changes. The blog has never had a serious purpose, other than following the life and opinions of someone who's voice is just another in a mass of chirps and tweets and bleeps and bloops. If you need an answer for why this blog exists the answer is and will always be

JessBecause.