6.30.10

the return of Top 5 Tuesday-Oscar edition

I have decided to turn over a new leaf, quite literally. I've been spending the last few days attacking my vegetable and flower beds, plotting spots for greens and blooms, and scraping inch-thick layers of mud from my shoes. My SH has really been my motivating factor, cheerfully hoisting bags of planting mix into our trunk and ruminating on the satisfaction of sitting in the sun with a pile of begonias ready to plant. It turns out, as usual, that he's right. I find gardening to be HUGELY therapeutic. And here in California, you're rewarded for your effort practically instantaneously.

All of this talk of gardening is meant to bring me back to my main purpose-getting back to my beloved blogging routine. INCLUDING Top 5 Tuesdays. Though I'm sure no one has kept count, it's been something like 25 weeks since I've thrown together a list. I have chosen Oscar fashion for my triumphant return.

5. Maggie Gyllenhaal. I'm pretty sure that my BFF Rose would be proud of me for this selection. It's the most fashion-forward of my choices. I can see why some might recoil at the crazy pattern, but I think Maggie pulled it off. Plus, the bustle-y back should give critics pause.

4. Demi Moore. Moving on to what I would consider the most conventional of my favorite Oscar fashions. It's not so much that I think Demi's dress is spectacular, or even especially unique. It's the whole big picture that's great. The skin! The eyes! The hair! The spare but beautiful jewels! Demi has still got the elusive "it."

3. Sandra Bullock. This frock wasn't my favorite at first glance. In fact, I believe my initial reaction was "No, Sandra! No!" Upon closer scrutiny, however, and observing the way she carried herself on an evening that was bound to be all about her, I changed my mind. It's a glamourous, old-fashiond Hollywood gown, after all. A good choice for a big night.

2. Rachel McAdams. Love her, love the dress, love everything. Can Rachel McAdams lose? I don't think so.
P.S. Rachel presented with Jake Gyllenhaal, and they seemed quite smitten with each other backstage. Could the be the beginnings of a dreamy new couple?

1. Kristen Stewart. Say what you will, naysayers, about the shy, awkward presentation (which I found endearing). My girl NAILED it on the fashion front. Appropriately elegant for the occasion yet perfectly suited to her relative youth.

More to come soon on our Oscar soiree, my Valentine's day dessert, and my potentially hazardous Twilight obsession.

It's good to be back.

So very very sad...es muy tragico

I might preface this clip by saying that some will appreciate it more than others. And by "some," I am referring to my darling sister Lindy.

That said, J. Lo can hang on SNL. She's a natural, thought not quite of the Justin Timberlake caliber. I'm not the only one who thinks so, either.

winter playlist

It's time for something new.

cosmic love-florence + the machine. I cannot stop listening to this song. Yes, it's a bit quirky and alternative, what with the strumming harp and the slightly discernible sound of fireworks popping at the end, but the anthemic, passionate crescendo it builds up to is irresistible. Not surprisingly, Florence is a British import. I'm drawn like a moth to a flame to all things British. I'm an Anglophile.

i'd rather go blind-beyonce. Something deep down in my soul said, "cry girl..." SO soulful, so good. I actually haven't watched the Etta James biopic, or really listened to the original version of the song. I'm simply stuck basking in Beyonce's version.

roslyn-bon iver (feat. st. vincent). I admit, I'm including the song that accompanies the most PAINFUL moment in New Moon, the Edward and Bella break up, which inevitably always leaves me with a nauseous pit in my stomach. The song is delicate and beautiful, however, trademark Bon Iver.

why do you let me stay here?-she and him. In case you didn't know, I feel an intense adoration for Zooey Deschanel. I find her absolutely delightful. Both musically and theatrically.

molly's chambers-kings of leon. I debated quite some time about the KOL songs that I wanted to include on my winter list. I'm obviously incapable of making a playlist without them these days. It was only after watching my concert DVD for the fifth or sixth time that I was able to settle on "molly's chambers", the perfect vehicle for Caleb Followill's raspy, yet lush vocal stylings.

eet-regina spektor. Regina Spektor is the very epitome of quirky. I caught her set at Austin City Limits a few years ago and found myself completely captivated, though I worried that her wide grin and slightly goofy laughter might be drug-induced. (Yes, I know, a bit judgmental of me)

kids-MGMT. Already popular, and already used in various bits of foreign advertising. Still delicious.

destiny-mary j. blige. I think we've already established that I'm a sucker for a well-selected soundtrack or accompaniment to a movie trailer or television scene. This tune isn't new, but provides the background to the original Precious trailer, and every time I hear it, I feel uplifted and hopeful. Bonus points to the song for belonging to the same album as "Family Affair", one of my FAVORITE songs of all time.

seven nation army-white stripes. Pretty Cheap Dress will be proud when she sees this. I was inspired after reading her "Best Music of the Decade" post.

dominoes-the big pink. My beloved sister-in-law turned us on to The Big Pink, and my SH played it constantly for the first few days after our revelation. She obviously has good taste-they'll be featured in this year's Coachella lineup. By the way, they're British. Of course.

duet-rachael yamagata. A sweet, simple love song. Makes my heart break a little.

cure for this-golden smog. I was perusing ITunes one day when I stumbled upon this little gem...OK I ADMIT IT! It's what plays in the opening credits of Sunshine Cleaning! Clearly, I am easily manipulated by music and the movies!

D.O.A. (death of auto-tune)-jay-z. I had been listening to "Empire State of Mind" for quite some time, fully intending to add it to my winter playlist, when our best friend Jakob (otherwise known as our future Joey, with an apartment built over our garage), pointed me in this direction instead.

crawl-kings of leon. I realized that I have never mentioned a track from the album that has made the Kings famous, so I thought I'd add this totally rockin' one, which is one of my faves. I can't help but wish that they were still a carefully guarded secret, not the kind of HUGELY successful juggernaut that means tickets are sold out practically, and unreasonably, before concerts are announced. (I'm talking about you, Live Nation, my NEMESIS!)

no one's gonna love you-band of horses. This song may single-handedly bring me to a devotion of Band of Horses.

you only live once-the strokes. Yet another song that's not new, AT ALL, but is simply new to me. We (the song and me) were introduced via a mix lovingly gifted to me by our beloved, dear family friend Naomi.

teardrop-jose gonzalez. Haunting, melodic, and addictive. It should come with this: WARNING: Listener may find herself lost in a reverie of musings about life. May not be safe for driving.

things I don't understand-coldplay. Here's a thing I don't understand: How, as an utterly faithful, dare I say DIEHARD fan, did I not know about this B-side until approximately one month ago, YEARS after the release of Speed of Sound? It's shameful. SHAMEFUL!

follow through-hotel lights. I like this one a whole lot-it feels like a good "starting anew" song. Perfect for right now.

all these things that I've done-the killers. Don't worry. This isn't another example of being "late to the party," despite the relative age of the song. I just happened to hear it whilst listening to Pandora recently, and my appreciation was reignited. The first time my best friend (who you all now know as Pretty Cheap Dress) told me about The Killers it was in reference to this song. She, as is her charming trademark, told me about loudly singing the lines "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" so I was quick to recognize this song when I heard it. At the time, I was lounging in the backseat of my brother-in-law's car, either going to or coming from the "shore", as the beach was affectionately known in Jersey (now, due to the insane popularity of the reality show, EVERYONE knows the Jersey Shore). Such a nice, fond memory.

BONUS TRACKS:

halo/walking on sunshine and it's my life/confessions-glee cast.
I finally gave into the Glee craze one very late night as I was burning the proverbial midnight oil, toiling away at a research paper about Daniel Defoe. I was initially distracted by a single youtube video, which then turned into a night of watching Hulu clips and then a marathon of episodes. These two songs, from the Mashup episode, are my favorites from the series so far.

Fashionista

My girl KStew dressed for her weekend winnings: BAFTA Rising Star, Elle Style Woman of the Year, Best Non-Sunglass Wearing Celebrity at the Burberry Fashion Show...

Photo credits:Getty Images, Socialite Life, Kristen Stewart Fan

I'm sorry, Meryl.

Back when I composed my first Oscars prediction post, I made use of a quote from a critic viewing Precious for the first time at a festival, before it had been picked up by a major production company and begun to receive all the sought-after buzz. He aptly proposed that the plight of the heroine, Claireece "Precious" Jones is not "overly sentimental", implying that "a person's conviction is the one thing that remains when their circumstances are remarkably bleak." After having seen the movie for myself, I must acknowledge that I can't think of a better way to describe it.

Precious is an extremely powerful, gut-wrenching film. In fact, those very adjectives seem trite and insignificant, hardly enough to truly describe the tour de force that is Gabourey Sidibe's (and M'onique's) performance. The subject matter is not comfortable, not the type of thing you can discuss at a dinner party. More than once, I cringed in revulsion. At times, I had to stifle shrieks of terror. For most of the film, however, I found myself amazed by Precious. She is proof that even in the worst of situations, there is still a glimmer of hope in the human condition. Though starved of affection and real, meaningful relationships, Precious has dreams of a different life, where she walks red carpets bejeweled and glamourous, a veritable dark-haired Cordelia, adored by everyone. Rather than face one more minute of abuse at the hands of her cruel mother, she cradles her newborn baby and faces the wintry streets of Harlem alone, walking through the snow that gathers into dirty piles. She dutifully attends an alternative school, under the tutelage of a compassionate teacher, when it almost seems that it would have been easier to give up. Precious is able to exist with the merest thimble-sized amount of love to propel her, and her heart remains good, untarnished, despite the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against her. At the movie's conclusion, my mother-in-law and I sat, stunned into silence. The entirety of the credits rolled before we spoke again.

There is certainly more that can be said about the movie, more to debate and analyze, but my purpose was simply to highlight the performance of Gabourey Sidibe, an actress who in all honesty, may never reach this pinnacle of success again. The Best Actress statuette is Gabourey's to lose. If her name isn't called at the awards on March 7, it's simply proof of the political machinations of the Academy. It will be an injustice.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

2 Timothy 4:7
Cuando piensas que tu amado esta lejos es porque esta detras de la puerta-When you think your loved one is far away from you, they are just behind the door.

I love you, my brother.