For no particular reason, I’ve been having a huge Renaissance with  with They Might Be Giants‘ “Particle Man.”  Everyone has that song they put on, and without fail, they feel warmer and fuzzier …at the moment, this song does that for me.  Any time my fella wants to make me laugh, he puts “Cotton Eye Joe” on.  No, I don’t regard it as a great song …it’s simply the dumbest song ever which equals hilarious to me.  However, THIS song is a prolific nostalgic song.  I dare you to not to do some sort of slow hippy dance to it while you clap your hands, I dare you.

(I’m pretty sure it’s playing some sort of role regarding mental warfare for poor Bowser…)

And THIS is what I’m going to replace it with when the day comes.  Yesss!

Hanging something over your stove or sink …well, you have to do it with the understanding that its shelf life may be shorter than other parts of your home.  I don’t mind replacing my Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster knowing this is out in the world waiting to be hung up!  Perhaps I’ve shown too much of my dark sense of humor?  Nah.  I love Holly Golightly.  The movie version more so than the book (don’t hear that very often) …too much literal hookerdom …I found it harder to want to emulate.  I don’t actually want to see Cat attack her …but yeah, it’s pretty funny.

Most people find Banksy on the over-exposed side.  I think he’s successful for a reason.  It does sort of contradict the principles of street artists in certain ways, but whatever, I love most of what the man does.  Just assume you’ll be seeing more of his work here (and in my home …prints not originals …obviously, I’m not Daddy Warbucks, geez guys).

No, seriously, I love Holly Golightly …I own a replica of the sleep mask …and I’d be sad if a cat mauled it.

]]> http://likethemermaid.com/archives/6565/feed 0 http://likethemermaid.com/archives/6481 http://likethemermaid.com/archives/6481#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:59:07 +0000 Ariel http://likethemermaid.com/?p=6481 Take that all you Dawson’s Creek hating nay-sayers…

On a less surprising note, Michelle Williams has been nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for her part as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn.  This pleases me.  The movie itself was …well, I want to call it “so-so” but that’s not fair on the grid of movies out there.  It’s better than average, but it wasn’t great. There was lovely cinematography, costumes, the cast was out of this world good BUT the story itself was (to put it eloquently) BLAH.

It was off to a disadvantage from the start.  It’s based off of some guy’s “memoir” so mediocre writing and seldom factual information is what the film makers had to work with from the beginning.  There was so much wrong information wise with the story.  The dialogue wasn’t strong.  It’s such a shame.  It could have been a fantastic movie given they were telling a story about a very interesting figure during a very interesting time for her.  They should have not based the film off that book and done a better film.  It’s that simple.  But they didn’t and we got what we got.  It’s absolutely worth a viewing and I’m quite certain I will end up owning it because I am a bit of a Marilyn buff and I’m a great fan of Williams.  Which brings me to my main point:  Michelle Williams is reason enough to watch this movie.

Though I think she could have been a little more subdued with her “Marilyn laying low and not being ‘on’” portrayal, that’s not to say she wasn’t brilliant.  I appreciate greatly what a daunting undertaking it would be to portray one of the most famous people in the world.  Marilyn was an icon, and many have played that breathy icon …but Williams played the human being.  Given all the folklore (including the book the film was based on) and taking into account her mental health/drinking and drug abuse …nobody really knows who she was.  Those closest to her with a large intellectual capacity (ie; Arthur Miller) couldn’t begin to understand her.  Take all the issues she came with along with being astronomically famous …unless you’re Elvis or one of the remaining Beatles …we can’t begin to imagine what it felt like to be in that unique and invasive position.

With all of that said, I was left incredibly impressed with Williams’ portrayal.  I didn’t feel like I was watching some cartoon of her, which is always how I’ve been left feeling in the past.  Anyone can do a caricature.  Williams fleshed her out as well as I think anyone could of such a well known, but not known woman.  I would compare watching her to last year’s Natalie Portman in Black Swan.  Do it for nothing but to see the lead performance.  In this case, the supporting cast was up to snuff as well.  Bonus.

I’ve always been a fan of Michelle Williams.  I’ll say it, I watched Dawson’s Creek in high school (and into college…cough…) I watched the shit out of it.  Alright, so her earlier work isn’t necessarily what to go off of.  But I’ve always liked her and enjoyed her personal contribution to projects.  Shutter Island.  Blue Valentine.  Need I say more?  (We won’t mention Dick because we’ve already established the earlier years are take what you can get).

Hell, some people only know her as some tragic figure who was Heath Ledger‘s great love who was left to raise their baby after he died way before he should have.  It’s nice to see that she is finally being recognized on her own accord and not “former fiance of …who’s also an actress, you might remember her from Dawson’s Creek.”  I wouldn’t necessarily bank on a win since she took home the Golden Globe in the “comedy/musical” category.  I thought that to be a very odd choice.  It hardly resembled either.  Now she’s getting thrown in the big kid pool of “acting!” against the seasoned likes of Meryl Streep and Glenn Close.  I’m rooting for Michelle.  Those other dames have had more than their share of award recognition.  Regardless, I’m just glad this vehicle has given her the legs to do whatever she chooses.  Opportunities ahoy!

Oh!  And just a suggestion from a movie nerd:  Michelle Williams was in a little known film called The Baxter (another great cast).  I consider it a little gem.  Some might not enjoy the comedic pacing of it, but you can’t please ‘em all.  I think it’s a charming twist of a romantic comedy.

AS SHE SHOULD BE!!!!  Color me surprised when I took a gander at the Oscar nominations and Melissa McCarthy got recognized for Best Supporting actress for her role in (easily) one of my very favorite movies of 2011 Bridesmaids.  While being surrounded by a strong flawless cast of comediennes, she was hands down the show stopper of the film.  The Academy Awards usually take themselves so seriously, it’s nice to see them recognize this performance.  I firmly believe, when done WELL, comedy is harder than drama.  However, I also noticed two women from The Help were nominated in that category as well.  It was a good enough movie, but Oscar nominations, really?  So really, there’s no accounting for taste.  I stand by my opinion on that event being good for nothing but a fashion show and has nothing to do with films since it’s all industry paid for anyway …but that doesn’t take away from my excitement for McCarthy -yay!  I’m happy she was nominated.  If she actually manages to take home the win I’ll be surprised, but it’ll be a really happy surprise.  I’d love to see that, but I’m guessing someone from one of the more traditional Oscar picks will take it (“The Artist” anyone?)

McCarthy has already promised to refrain from swearing or saying anything inappropriate at Glenn Close when she attends the generally stuffy ceremony.  Oh I don’t know, I think Glenn would be amused.

now this can be construed as ‘glitz and glam’ …of sorts

No, for the record I haven’t fallen off that proverbial horse of being better about keeping up with writing.  I was off having a little adventure.  COOL NEW BAND ALERT!  You might have heard it here first, and you’re welcome.

I will preface that I cringe having to be “that girl” who goes on about her boyfriend’s band.  I’d be even more embarrassed given that I have wandered into that age range of “adult …like not anywhere stuck between teen and adult …but actual adult” (as much as I don’t feel that way most of the time) …and I’m still with someone in a band.  But I’m not embarrassed about any of it. Quite the opposite.  First of all, I truly believe in the band and think they’re easily likable and great at what they do.  It’s classic with a twist.  Think if Easy Rider, The Doors and a splash of Does It Offend You, Yeah? had a baby.  That baby would be named Frankie Marathon.  Think Head Automatica before they made Popaganda (hey, we all make mistakes).

Second of all, I’m not embarrassed about being a grown ass lady with a “band guy” boyfriend because I understand what it feels like to desire something out of life that isn’t necessarily the road most traveled.  For the past six years I’ve known him, making music is all he has wanted to do.  Well, actually, there have been a lot of random things he has wanted to do …but music has been the one steadfast desire.  I admire that he never let his creative interests be fully be eclipsed by life’s more mundane requirements.  To one extent or another, he has always been working on something musical -even if it was just for himself.  Well now he has figured out how to make a healthy living for himself with the flexibility of making music he can perform and share! …and I LOVE what he is bringing to the table.

So yeah, you’ll be hearing quite a lot about Frankie Marathon from here on out.  Because I believe with every fiber that they are worth discovering.  Though it is sort of fun and hipster-cool (which I’m not, I’ve long since fallen out of touch since pop culture has taken quite a tumble in my ever so humble opinion) to feel like I’m in on an amazing band people haven’t heard of yet …good music is for sharing.

Of course everyone is prone to some level of being biased.  But, it should be well established I’m generally pretty outspoken about things I like and don’t like.  If my fella was in a band I didn’t love, I wouldn’t be going on about them (and he has been …they were good for their chosen genre, but not my cup of tea … so I supported of course, but I wasn’t exactly rushing out to sing their praises).

Friday night they put on a show at The Roxy Theatre on the infamous Sunset Strip.  It wasn’t their first show.  They’ve played other venues, and every show has been good.  But Friday night felt like a departure.  It doesn’t quite feel like the birth of a band until you see them on a classic stage taking strangers by surprise.  Most people don’t expect to get their socks rocked off anymore when they head out to a local indie show.  One of my best friends in the world took the trouble to fly down for it and I think it’s safe to say they were so great, she felt she got her money’s worth.  That explains my momentary absence from the writing.  In fact, they were so good that they were written up by Burbanklife.net and got their article on the front page of the site.  Not too shabby for the opening act.

Yes, they have a Facebook page (if you haven’t already, you should “like” them …because as much of an aversion I have to the site, there’s no denying it has a lot to do with success …after all, musical success is generally a popularity contest …how are promoters supposed to know how cool you are if you don’t have a fabulous Facebook page?)  Yes, they have their EP on iTunes.  It’s called “Enthusiasm Flags.”  The best $5.94 you’ll ever spend (quite a bargain, considering).  Pressed albums are coming in the next couple of weeks, with new material coming shortly after that.

There will be touring to come, but in the meantime, if you’re in the Southern California area there are upcoming shows in the works.  The recorded material is good stuff, but to see them live exceeds all else.  You will leave feeling like you experienced something good, really good …and refreshed by the fact that there is something so good out there to enjoy in a world full of less than interesting entertainment.  That said, they will be performing for your pleasure on Thursday February 2nd at The Doll Hut in Anaheim, Friday February 3rd at Amplify on Melrose, another show at The Roxy on Saturday February 18th (they were invited back real quick) and on Sunday February 26th at Di Piazza’s in Long Beach.  There is also a show that is just about to be confirmed for The Whiskey A Go-Go in March.

There you have it.  You have all the information.  Go, listen to them and if you like what you hear “like” them in the cyber sense on Facebook.  Then head over to a show and see what I’m talking about first hand.  If you end up not agreeing with me, feel free to write me back calling me a bold-faced liar and to print that there are opposing thoughts on the matter.  I’ll do it as penance for wasting your time.  I’m that confident in my boasting.  If I were smarter, I’d have just pressed my excitement for this “up and coming” band without mentioning it’s my fella’s project BUT what can I say?  I’m just too proud of his good work. Let a gal brag a little.

Enjoy and spread the gospel that is Frankie Marathon.

…It really takes the pressure off.  But seriously, make good goals and try your best.  Resolutions can be broken, then you shrug and don’t bother to try again until the next year.  In most cases, that’s a lot of time to say “oh well” and not self improve.  With a goal, you can drop the ball (Ha, get it? Just a little belated new years humor for you) …then just pick it up and keep trying.

Oh!  Why hello there. Yeah, I know, it has been a while.  Maintaining my blog is one of my major optimistic goals for the year that I hope to carry into future years.  For a while, I had some legitimate excuses (put all my woman hours into being sumpremely awesome at school …yes, I went back, more on that later …my lil’ old computer got tired out and died after an honorable run of service…)  But here I am with a little break between semesters and a sexy MacBook Pro powered up and ready to do my bidding.  No more excuses, time to start writing again.  Well, unless school starts taking it out of me again …but we’ll jump that bridge on a flaming motorcycle when we get there.

One of the things that was inhibiting me was that I wanted to try handling my blogging in a different way than I had in the past.  More me, less the “Perez” format.  That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy what I was doing before and that it was any less “me,” but I think I’d rather be a little more personal.  Not SUPER personal, c’mon, it’s still a Google-able entity (maybe way down on the search results…but still…).  It’ll still be pretty random; news tid bits that are of interest to me from time to time, movies that I thought may or may not have sucked …but I’d like to make more of an effort to write about the things I do, see, hear, say, etc. Essays, rambling, whatever you want to call them.  I refrained from that in the past because most people said the same thing my teachers would say when I was the only person in the class that would turn in a paper that not only hit the minimum criteria of the word count …but they’d then enforce a maximum word limit to papers.  So, if you complain about things like having to read too much (and hi, if you’re a teacher…that’s sorta your job, you just got lazy with all the two paragraph papers written with Courrier New font …1.5 or double spaced) you can just skip what you don’t like.  This isn’t required reading.  I just hope if you’re here, it’s because you enjoy what’s here. Skim as you see fit.  Besides, on my busier (or lazier) days the post(s) will probably stay on the concise side.

Let’s see, what has changed and what is still so in terms of what I have blathered on about in the past:

Lady Gaga…Yes, I do still love her.  I don’t feel the need to give updates on her as she has hit that point where she can easily do that for herself (I was still talking about her even when she got “big” but you know what I mean …no need to post something daily).  I would like her more if she stayed more cryptic and simply remained a wacky entertainer …because when she opens her mouth in magazines, etc. most of the time she sounds like a douchette.  I think that comes with the territory of being an entertainer.  In such a line of work, you have to have a screw (or more) loose and you have to have a LOT of confidence in yourself.  I mean that in a good way, I can attest. For better or worse, that’s what it takes.  I care about her ultimate message and I enjoy her as an entertainer.  …but I like her a lot more when not paying much attention to her interviews.

Glee…Nope. Not into it any more.  I know that’s crazy given how much I enjoyed the first season, and parts of season 2 …but I have to say, I haven’t watched a single episode of season 3.  I’m just not interested anymore.  They veered so far off the original path by paying all attention to guest star and “tribute” gimmicks.  Loved me some Britney tribute, but it all went downhill from that (Rocky Horror “tribute” crushed my heart …to put it in the non-dramatic sense).  No care for story at all. Meh.

Drew (Barrymore …duh)…Uh, YEAH!  She will always be my favorite.  Good or bad, always.

Gay folk and their civil rights…Yup, that’s always going to be something I fiercely have opinions about.  It feels trivial mentioning this in the same list as all the pop culture stuff mentioned above…but I have certainly brought it up a lot in the past, and I more likely than not still will. It’s because of those fierce opinions and all…

Re-makes…Still HATE them (for the most part, with rare exceptions) and will continue to rant about them even though it doesn’t do any good and they will continue to be made since dumb asses keep going to them.  The nerve.

I’m sure there’s more, but you get the gist.  Besides, like I said I plan more on writing from a more personal point of view from now on, versus the pop culture blurbs I’d been churning.

So, there’s plenty to catch up on, and we will.  Perhaps I’ll try to span it out over a few entries vs. spilling into the world’s longest “So how have you been?” response that was actually meant to be rhetorical by the other party.  But then, if you didn’t want an answer, you wouldn’t be here …I think.

This one’s for you Chiara!

Behold, Kellan Lutz (AKA “one of the several pretty people of Twilight) posing for an “adopt don’t buy” campaign with PETA (ew, but their heart is in the right place in this instance) with his own rescue pooch Kola .  AAAAAAAAAW.