Between Stars

You know, some people just aren't meant to be together.


Okay I spent way too much money at Amoeba the other day. I got some cds & vinyl & here's how I'll bitch about it. I bought the new Underworld album (of course) but forgot there was a deluxe edition out. When I got home & remembered, I was kind of pissed b/c it comes with videos for all the songs. Agh... seriously annoyed. I really want it. Especially now that I can't stop listening to this album. Soooo fucking good. Now I really want to see them on Halloween - how I can make that happen without having to pay or deal with the HARD festival?

I bought this "deluxe" cd of Interpol's new album and even though I couldn't tell the difference except it included a poster I thought, surely there must be something else on the cd for this extra $2. Nope. Just a poster. A poster that I have zero desire in owning. Ugh. Really wish I saved that $2. I somehow haven't had much time to listen to all this new music, so I've only listened to this one a little bit. It's okay so far. I'm not falling off my chair yet. We'll see how it goes b/c I love them. And now that I'm listening to it while writing this part I'm getting happier about it. That brings me to the vinyl. I didn't feel like buying their new album on vinyl but I did see a live vinyl album w/ a lovely cover so I bought that (it was clear red vinyl! Sweet!). I listened to it today & uh.... I was disappointed with it. It didn't sound that great live. Really I mean Paul Bank's voice didn't. Which is a shame b/c I love the way he sounds on their studio albums. Also he kind of looks like my friend Susie & that sort of freaks me out. I still want to go see them in October though, so here's hoping that happens.

On to Japandroids. I got a couple iTunes gift cards for my birthday & their 'No Singles' album was one I bought which I LOVED... so I thought I'll go ahead & buy their album 'Post Nothing'. Hmm. Not loving it so far. My brother & I were listening to it in the car on the way back from the store & I could see how much he wasn't into it. I am hoping for a good listen soon so I can decide, but I was really wishing I just bought it on iTunes & saved myself some space on my shelf & a couple bucks. I think I've decided to only buy albums by bands I'm nuts over & buy the rest online. I sort of like the convenience of that, but I'm still living in the cd age in my car and I really like having a physical piece of work/art in my hands. I'm also trying not to go crazy with the vinyl. I'd like to own more though. Sometimes it's hard to decide what's worth spending the extra money on.

Now that I'm not working I'm spending way less time in my car & I've been reading this book for my book club which I'm hoping to plow through so I can get it out of the way & not look back. Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to listen to music at home. It usually involves cleaning or cooking which is what happened today. Does that mean I'll have to clean more or cook more? Ha... Hopefully I'll start working on some projects soon. I have a lot to do in that regard. Then I will listen to music all day.

I also bought Autolux's new album. I haven't gotten passed the first two songs. What have I been doing with my time, really? It sounds really good so far though so I can't wait to see if the rest sounds this good.

My brother gave me a copy of the new Arcade Fire & I really like their singles but have never bothered to listen to an entire album - any of them. I'm not really sure if I'll like it. Since he gave it to me I suppose I should give it a try though, huh? People are crazy over them.

Turns out my sister is not coming to visit until next year (bummer) b/c she got a promotion (super!). And so far I have not been working on my short film... agh! I'm digging a hole here I'm sure. I have some visual ideas but no story. Great! That will be something I have to sit down & work on this week. Thankfully my friend is offering his equipment for me to borrow (yay!) and unfortunately my friend Heather is not going to be around for a couple weeks which sucks on the I really need help making this front. My new deadline is October 16th though so yay me! I figure if people can do that 24 hour film fest thing why can't I do one in 3 weeks?

I need to go somewhere or set up some sort of photo shoots for fun & for testing out some film I bought. I am anxious to get the rolls I have developed. I need some new photo adventure apparently. Things have been pretty boring on that front this year. I also really want to get out of town for a couple days but I should probably work on those projects I keep putting off...

Don't marry uh huh her... EVOL

Well neither of these were the song I had in my head when I decided to go YouTubing... but here we are.

Expectations / Reality

(500) Days of Summer - Expectations/Reality from Julius Santos on Vimeo.

Always Loved a Film

Underworld is releasing their new album this month which is currently streaming on myspace... so I'm listening to it now & it is making me soooooo happy!!! I wish I could see them when they come to town but they're playing a HARD festival & those things are an expensive mess. (Halloween night $65 - No thanks!)

So many shows next week & I don't think I'll be able to go to most of them! Grr. I'd really like to see Japandroids, who are opening for The Walkmen on Wednesday. I've been listening to them a lot. I of course will be busy Wednesday working our finale then drinking with my co-workers. Both Phoenix & Autolux are playing next Saturday the 18th, unfortunately not at the same show. We Were Promised Jetpacks are in town on the 28th who I'd love to see but they're opening for Jimmy Eat World, and I have no desire to see them. All summer I didn't care to see much of anything & now this.

I get to work on something fun Sunday. Yay! Now that work is winding down I'm feeling more like a normal person again. It's good to have something to do besides work & sleep. And speaking of working on something... looks like I have more time to make a short film - the screening has been pushed back to October. I may have a chance at actually making it now! And I get to look forward to exciting distractions like Jury Duty & possibly my sister coming to town. Plus I am clicking away on my Diana camera. Once work is done I think I'm heading out to the beach or up the coast. I need a change of scenery! I have some film & some more lenses to try out. Anyone want their picture taken? And oh yeah, I'm gonna need a new job!





The rhythm, The rhythm, The rhythm ....

The rhythm of legs moving in the sun
The rhythm of an engine deep and throating
The rhythm of a summer that you walked in

The sound of a barking dog on a loop
A plane rises in the crystal blue
The rhythm of keys swinging in your hand
The rhythm of light coming out of your fingers

Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Heaven heaven

The rhythm of wheels the rhythm of heels
That we fall into the sun
She walk on silver she walk on gold
Paints I love you on the alley walls
From the eyes that hide behind black glasses
Sunlight hits tell me what she passes

Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Heaven heaven

And I don't know if I love you more
Than the way you used to love me
And I don't know if I need you more
Than the way you used to need me
But it's

Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Heaven heaven
Can you feel it? Can you feel it?
Heaven heaven

http://www.myspace.com/underworld

Don't sweat the small stuff...

My sleep schedule is totally screwed. I can't sleep & I have to switch over to a day schedule this week. At this rate, I'm contemplating the 'staying up so long I will crash out at 6pm' method... but that sounds like a crap plan.

In the last 3 or 4 years I've been missing my parents & sister like crazy. Well, maybe not that much but enough. I think I finally got old enough to realize these are the years you really bond with your family as friends. It's funny how life works out. I never wanted to move to L.A. I never had that itch to go West. I always thought I'd settle in an East Coast city... driving distance to my family but just a few hours away so I had some privacy. I am missing out on friends & cousins getting married & having kids. Missing out on seeing people. Those people are getting old & I think I start to panic sometimes about it. Maybe it's because my parents' birthdays are this week. I know not to take them for granted & when I go for long periods of time without seeing or talking to them, I feel really bad. These are lost moments! But this is life. I don't plan on moving anytime soon. I just wish I made a shitload of money so I could visit more. Or they could visit me.

Also, I'm still supposed to make a film by next month. Thank god the screening has been extended a month. I have no idea what I want to make a film about. Can't I just do a photo project instead?

That's all she is, new ways to wear old clothes.

I finally got the 2 rolls of film developed from my Diana camera. They both have a scratch all the way across the film. Grumble grumble... Heather wants me to do a scratch test to see if it's from my camera or the lab. I really hope the lab just fucked up b/c I don't want to figure out how to fix the camera. I was already annoyed at the lab b/c they "forgot" to charge me for one of the rolls of film so I had to pay more when I went to pick them up & they fucked up the scans. One of my pictures didn't get scanned. And a bunch of my pictures weren't scanned properly so the image is like part of one picture part of another. Super annoying. I also would've just gone to the LA Lomography store to try them out but I had a weird B&W roll I couldn't just get done at Target or wherever, so I brought all the rolls to this pro lab I use. They couldn't adjust their machine to scan my Diana rolls to include the sprocket holes... which sucks, b/c that was half the fun. So I have them scanned like normal pictures & a couple of them came out cute but overall I'm a little disappointed. I can't wait to try out some more & maybe some better rolls of film too (not expired crap film I got for free). Here are some of the fun times...

There was a photo I liked off the B&W roll of film I had laying around. It's from when I went out to Linda Vista Hospital w/ some friends & people from Yelp for a photo day. I forgot it at the time & found it months later.

I also went to the Norton Simon Museum. I really like that place & hadn't been in years. They have a Hiroshige exhibit right now. They also own a ton of Degas, so if you like ballerinas & sculptures, you should go.

The title of the statue on the left is hilarious: Woman Taken Unawares

The Mulberry Tree by Van Gogh. It's really beautiful up close.

Jan van Bijilert - Mars Vigilant (Man in Armor Holding a Pike). He looks pretty awesome.

Pietro Anotonio Rotari - Young Girl Writing a Love Letter. She's giving a most sultry look.

I saw these crows at work one day. They were snuggling w/ each other & at first I didn't think they were real. I took my camera out a bit late, but the one on the left was resting its head on the other one.

I went downtown a few days ago & love how much stuff is reflected in the buildings there.

I was also a good girl & finally used all my birthday gift certificates. Which mostly meant spending time on itunes finding something I wanted to buy. I bought quite a few things actually but a couple bands I got I'm finding I like a lot. No Singles by Japandroids has 'Darkness on the Edge of Gastown' stuck in my head as well as 'Roll Up Your Sleeves' off of These Four Walls by We Were Promised Jetpacks.

http://www.myspace.com/japandroids
http://www.myspace.com/wewerepromisedjetpacks
http://www.nortonsimon.org/

You're waiting for a train.

What a busy busy week I had. I didn't get much sleep, the heat has been atrocious & I am a night owl working morning shifts w/ no a/c. I did get pretty excited when I got called to work the Inception Premiere. Woo hoo! It was not as exciting as I let my crazy imagination lead me to believe. I didn't do any red carpet stuff & didn't see any of the actors or the director. (Damn it.) But I did see Hans Zimmer & I did get to shoot one of the cameras for a live webstream of his performance at the after party. That's pretty exciting still! Hans Zimmer does this nice little added touch by spinning a top on his piano. If you've seen the movie, you understand. The broadcast is streaming at the link below. My camera is the one shooting from the left side front straight onto the stage. Yay me!

http://www.ustream.tv/inceptionpremiere


I got a bunch of friends together today & went out to the Arclight to see the movie. I was very angry at myself for getting a soda - b/c you know what that means! Pee break! I tried very hard to hold it, but with a running time of 2hr 45mins, I knew I was in trouble. Thankfully I apparently picked a really great moment to run to the bathroom - and I ran... and I'm not the only one as I seem to have lead the way for other people to think, okay... I'm going too! So here I'll warn for spoilers? I may or may not say things you don't want to know. The good pee break moment seemed to be in the snowy place w/ the fighting & Leo & Ellen Page going "under" again. There must have been a 2 minute fight sequence. Thank you!

I thought the movie was pretty interesting. It leaves off in a way that you question whether or not things are real (although I believe them to be). There were a lot more fighting scenes than I anticipated. I'd like to see it again b/c I'm not sure how I liked the pacing. I'm left curious about it & want another viewing. The list of actors is amazing - even little bonuses like Pete Postlethwaite & Lukas Haas are in it. The zero gravity scenes w/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt (looking fantastic btw, as did practically everyone - this was an eye candy movie too!) were great as well as the rotating hallway. Really the list of amazing scenes can go on. I don't know if any of the dreaming was anything like how I dream but it brings up interesting points & similarities. I also dreamed recently of walking around & being on a bridge in Paris, which was a weird feeling seeing something similar in the movie. I also like things that are incorporated from dreams I actually have - like staircases, which I am apparently very frightened of falling off of in dreams due to a lack of hand rails... and floating - wow I dream about stepping onto thin air a lot. Yes, stepping... as if the air were stairs... hmm... I wonder what that means.

http://inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com/