Animus Collective

Deviants!

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:34:17 GMT

So, I know I'm like ten years late but I just discovered deviantart.com

I spent hours just wading through all the "apollo" entries.

Yeah.

"There Will Be Blood"

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:55:31 GMT

Spolier Alert! Do not read beyond this if you don't want some spoils!

I went into the movie theater this Saturday not knowing a thing about this movie. I'm writing this not having read any reviews although I know that the Metacritic score is in the 90s. Half way through the movie I turned to Brian to ask: "What's this movie about?" And not knowing how long the movie was I found myself thinking how lengthy it felt. We all agreed that the cinematography and acting was great but the story was not compelling. The Abel and Cain thing kept coming up but I just felt the movie didn't do anything. It's a completely forgettable movie. The most memorable thing was the Cain and Able theme:

1. Paul and Eli
2. Daniel slays his "brother"
3. Paul's father is named Abel
4. Daniel slays (martyrs?) Paul

Why did it get such praise? Am I missing something completely obvious? Was it the mood? It was certainly moody.

Belittling Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Not a Good Move

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 02:25:51 GMT

Hillary's Lowest Moment

... at 3:51 and after...

Edit: After thinking about this for a while it occurs this might be a little unfair to Hillary... it strikes me as one of those occurrences were we non-whites read something racial that was probably not there... knowwhatimean?

Congratulations Mr. Obama

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 02:38:56 GMT

Good luck Obama! I hope this luck continues, I'm excited.

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:36:44 GMT

In an earlier post I mentioned I was on the market for a desk. I have a place for the desk behind the couch (and facing the television). The idea was floated that I should make the desk myself and while this is attractive, it is not that much of a savings. Also, I have not been able to find the desk legs I want. So I now have three choices:

1. West Elm's Remsen Desk at $299 with no shipping since there is a local store. I like this desk, I wouldn't mind getting it but I can't help thinking it looks sort of disposable.

2. Room and Board's Basis Desk at $899 with a hefty shipping cost since the nearest store is in NYC. This is my favorite but the price and shipping make me think twice about buying it. I considered saving up for it but that would mean I'd be a year without a desk. This is a beautiful desk though, just beautiful.

3. Muji's Ash Desktop and Gray Desk Legs Desk at $330 with like $20 for shipping. This is a distant cousin of the Basis Desk, I don't like it anywhere near as much as the Basis though. Although, all things considered, this desk is about 1/4 of the price of that desk (including shipping). I'm leaning for this option unless I can be convinced to drop a grand on a sexy sexy sexy desk.

"Revanche" - the policy of a nation to seek the return of lost territory

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:57:56 GMT

Due to the trip to California last week my sleep pattern is still disturbed. Yesterday I forced myself to sleep around 11:30 because I had to work the next day. Today, as I walked to the bus I could tell that it was going to be a lonely commute. As I got on the bus it was only about a quarter full, seats were plentiful, on a regular day it's standing room only. I made it to work and there seem to be no supervisors and very few others. It's weird thinking that entire sections of downtown are closed, it's creepily quiet and no one was rushing anywhere. I have some work to do but I don't feel like doing it...

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 21:52:17 GMT

I'm such a fucking Taurus, I WANT things. Material possessions bring me happiness. We sort of had an early Christmas here and opened our presents already, here's what I got:
New jacket and sweater:
Cool new shoes:

But this bounty doesn't stop me, next on my list is a new record player, a hot desk and some nice pants. I have an idea for the desk and the pants:

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:06:55 GMT

Yesterday's New York Times had this woman on the front page:

"A Kurdish woman and a girl bake bread at their makeshift home, a stadium in Kirkuk, Iraq."

As much as I tried to concentrate on the article I kept looking at the picture. She reminds me of a goddess, Demeter, yes, defiantly definitely Demeter.

This post has been guilty of romanticizing the Kurds.

Bureau of Happiness

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:41:41 GMT

I'm knocking on wood every chance I get because I'm really happy. Even the small little things that were bothering my head are gone. It's amazing to me how sometimes I can psych myself out and get in a funk... but it's all gone. Even this gloomy day seems so full of possibilities.

Planned Madness

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:21:09 GMT

I took the S2 bus after work. The bus passed by the Planned Parenthood (PP) headquarters and a woman was engaging some protestors in front of PP. She would not only shout, she would punctuate her screams with slaps. I only caught a couple of slaps. The original video is much better, YouTube pixelates it. Being on the bus, I didn't get the sounds... Anyway, here it is and it made me ashamed of being pro-choice. I mean, no matter how frustrated you get, to resort to violence means you've already lost the argument. El que se enoja, pierde.

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:12:25 GMT

I promised I'd take pictures of the new place, and I've yet to follow up on that. The place gets better and better, we just need a coffee table and we should be set. I also need to get to the framing place to get the rest of the Jordan Crane prints framed.

"Pernicious Predicaments" indeed.

Everything besides the job is excellent. I'm loving the new neighborhood and loving the sweater weather.

A Moving Experience

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:43:09 GMT

So, the moving process started when I snapped pictures of our old coffee table and couch to post an ad on Craigslist. As of 11 AM this morning I sold both of the items, I did well for myself! This is going to sound horrible but I paid $10 for the coffee table and sold it for $50. It was a nice table, solid wood and all that stuff, and in great condition. The couch was one of those Klippon IKEA couches that costs $200, I've had it for three years. The couch is also in good condition and I asked for $75 thinking people would haggle down the price. The guy who bought it was coincidentally just down the hall! He paid the full price. He actually gave me $95 but I quickly let him know that he'd given me more than I asked him for. So, I'm $125 richer for stuff that I did not care about anymore.

We have a new bed and a new couch waiting to be assembled in our new place. In the morning we started throwing away stuff and packing some things. We have a truck for all of tomorrow, we will be moving the bulk of our belongings to our new place. This is so exciting!

Northern Irish Boy

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 13:07:47 GMT

Shannon is a big British humor fan, I think she'll really like Catherine Tate.

I. Cant. Stop. Watching. This.

Our future apartment!

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 00:40:48 GMT

Today we celebrate(d)! We just came back from Zaytinya. We had a great Mediterranean dinner with possibly my favorite dessert ever, Jose Andres' version of Turkish Delight. It's not your grandparent's Turkish Delight, it was walnut ice cream with goat’s milk yogurt mousse, honey-orange geleé, orange-caramel sauce and caramelized pine nuts and some sort of crispy fritter. All my favorite flavors and textures. Delicious!

We're heading out to the Brickskeller for some drinks with some friends in a few minutes.

So, why are we celebrating?

We got a sweet deal on a sweeter apartment! This was the Craig's list ad: Jorge and Brian's Future Home.

Extra! Extra! Jorge is channeling a Basque Sheep Herder!

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:59:18 GMT

So, I took to Brian's Irish newsboy cap and I now walk around DC looking like this:

Instead of looking like an Irish newsboy I prefer to think I look like a Basque sheep herder... Jorge the Basque sheep herder lives in an ancient house that his great great grandfather built. He also makes Idiazábal cheese and eats it with membrillo. Life is good for him. He does not kick his sheep when they're stubborn.

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:52:35 GMT

This is a song to listen to at night before bed and when you're expecting miracles or imagining pocket dimensions.

Always Moving

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:33:05 GMT

It seems like I'm always moving, in the past four years I've not stayed in an apartment for more than a year. Our lease is up next month and we're leisurely getting reacquainted with Craigslist. Yesterday we went to see two places and both were wrong for us for very different reasons. One place in Shaw was beautiful inside but the area left a lot to be desired. The other place was in Mt. Pleasant but the apartment was anything but pleasant.

However, it seems to us that Mt. Pleasant is just what we're looking for in terms of neighborhood and affordability so we'll be concentrating on that part of DC.

We've also decided to step up our furniture and decor, so we'll be dropping some good cash on a new couch, bed, coffee table, side tables, desk, etc.

"And sit and fart in the duck"

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:17:33 GMT

I almost lost it in the cafe. Funniest thing I've seen/heard in a long long time:

iPhone

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:54:09 GMT

8 gig iPhone for $399?

... Maybe!

Why do I lust over technology?

Animal Collective

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:44:35 GMT

Animal Collective's new album, Strawberry Jam, is coming out next week! They made my favorite song from it the single (do they still do such things nowadays?), anyway, here's the video. I think my favorite part is at 3:04!

Two Weddings and No Funerals (Knock on Wood!)

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:06:17 GMT

In the last couple of weeks I've attended two weddings. Both weddings were very similar: young savvy couples and simple weddings. It was refreshing to see that there are still people who don't buy into the Wedding/DeBeers Complex. My niece married her long-time boyfriend and all the family and friends got together and helped out. My mom and sister took care of the food, a friend of theirs brought over his DJ equipment, another brought his professional camera, etc. It was actually really touching that their friends would come and help, even to clean up. So many people spend anywhere form so much money on their weddings and get in debt when they should be saving for a house.

The second wedding was a friend of Brian's who will soon be faculty at UC Irvine. It was remarkable how similar the weddings were, from what I could gather it seemed as if friends and family also got together to ease the financial burden.

During our trip to SoCal, and during the wedding, the extended family met Brian. It's unclear to me how many of my siblings know but I have a feeling my sister Rosie and her husband know. The entire family really made Brian feel at home, my sisters hugged him and my brother-in-law told him pretty cool things.

Life is pretty good sometimes.

"I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you!"

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 02:42:29 GMT

Seeing as it's post-punk day (any other kind of day?) I thought I'd put up something quite earthy, my favorite cover I think. It's Helter Skelter but not like the Beatles did it! In my personal pantheon Siouxsie is a warrior goddess, seeing her perform live is somewhat terrifying, she can fix and audience with her cold stare. This song kicks so much ass as the Banshees perform it, fucking sinister, as it should be.

Who's Ashamed of Elizabeth Fraser?

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 19:32:45 GMT

I used to be ashamed of liking the Cocteau Twins. "Is that Enya?"

Last.fm broadcasts all the music I listen to, there's nothing sacred anymore. My friend Israel frequently checks what I'm listening to and at the moment I'm in a very heavy Cocteau Twins mood. Oh boy does he make fun of me.

I'm not sure if you're all familiar with the Cocteau Twins, here's a sample of what they sound like Download "Love's Easy Tears." This is my favorite song of the moment. Yes, it's "florid" and the music is "atmospheric" and you can just picture yourself walking in an enchanted forest full of crystal roses, talking trees, elves and all that stuff. So, yes, it's a bit airy and you can just hear the fairies swishing about, but so what! I am no longer ashamed of the Cocteau Twins!

Come back from San Francisco

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:54:10 GMT

Last Thursday I flew to San Francisco to see my chum in the Bay Area. But I also wanted to see Israel, Andrea, Sylvie and it turns out I even got to see Matan! I reconciled with Sharon (pictured below).

As soon as I got off the plane I headed to the Mission District, everyone I knew was either at work or school but it didn't matter... I went to eat tacos. I rested at Israel's place and then saw Israel and Sharon after three years! We headed to Tartine and then to Limon.

On Friday I went to Berkeley with Israel. Israel works in Berkeley, lucky bastard. I headed to the Cheeseboard for a latte and a piece of Experimental Bread. All ready for the day I headed to the Admin building and picked up my diploma! Woohoo! The lady said: "Finally! Were your parents threatening to cut you off if you didn't give them the diploma?" I went around Berkeley and bought a few things and then returned to the Cheeseboard and ordered 2.5 delicious slices of pizza. That afternoon Brian made it to San Francisco and the three of us went to Ti-couz, the Breton creperie. The crepes were yummy and affordable.

After an amazing breakfast courtesy of Israel's culinary skills, we headed to Berkeley where Sylvie and Julien picked us up. We went to Vik's for dinner and just had a good time with Sylvie and Julien. The next morning Brian left for Palo Alto and I headed to SF with Andrea and Stephen and had brunch and about three mimosas. Boy, was I tipsy! On we went to the concert to see Os Mutantes and Los Amigos Invisibles. At the concert we met with Israel and Sharon and some of their peeps.

We returned to Berkeley and I spent the evening with Julien and Sylvie we had Thai for dinner after walking miles looking for the mythical restaurant. The next day Julien drove me to the BART and I headed for the airport. Phew!

Andrea Crossing Over

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:27:05 GMT

Nothing as painful as watching Andrea walk across a steep hill. I took like twenty pictures of her progress. Once she did cross to where we were we all sat down and ate. Also, we saw Os Mutantes and Los Amigos Invisibles and it was good.