Mirrors are very useful contraptions. When you walk by one, it’s hard not to check your hair or that grossly disproportionate thing on your face that is your nose. (Maybe that’s just me) But mirrors can be awkward too. So here, now, are the three most awkward placements of mirrors. Continue reading “Mirrors and Hotels”
Month: February 2009
Ok, before this gets out of hand…
I would first like to thank Dorenka for bringing up my alleged narcissism. You really opened a can of worms with THAT.
Moving on, let’s delve into this. I started this website the second semester of my 8th grade year. It was the extension of my first website that was basically a page off of my dad’s website, which I called Bri’s Place. You know why I called it that? Because it was the very first place I could talk about whatever the heck I wanted, and I could be as strange or as serious or as funny as I wanted to. BrisPlace.com was already taken, so I named my website after a song I’d penned, entitled “My Own World”. Note: Middle School was the most depressing three years of my life. I hated it. It was terrible. My self esteem had hit rock bottom. You have no idea.
So I started the website as a regular blog, somewhere to post short stories, poems, little essays I wrote, and lyrics. It was my world, after all. Then I started feeling empowered by the internet’s anonymity. So I thought, why not enjoy myself a little? I then proceeded to create an alter ego, Vannah. She was outgoing, strong minded, and slightly narcissistic. For a while, I actually convinced people that she was her own, separate entity. But that’s not really important. What’s important was that I finally had an outlet for myself; for the first time, I didn’t have to worry about what other people thought, and I didn’t have to worry about everyone else’s problems. I figured, after all the crap I’d gone through in middle school, I deserved to be a little narcissistic.
After a while, Vannah morphed into Bri and I became much more confident. Obviously, most of the ‘narcissism’ is sarcasm, because it’s fun to act like a total self centered jerk sometimes and not mean it at all. If helped me gain confidence, and enabled me to begin making more and better friends. It was a stepping stone.
But like I said, it was all a joke. I still have self esteem issues. I still doubt myself and my abilities to function in real life. So I think that I’m entitled to be sarcastically self centered on my own website, thanks very much.
Oh, and for the record, Twitter was just a whim that I really enjoy. It’s like posting mini blogs instead of gunking up the actual website. And I can update from anywhere. I’m obsessed, and not because I want everyone to know what I’m doing EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY because I’m a narcissist. No, I just like it a lot.
And honestly, anyone who takes my narcissism on this website seriously and personally, grow the heck up and learn how to detect sarcasm. It’s a neat little device.
Coaching
Coaching is really key in sports to be perfectly honest, and most people really don’t realize this. One bad coach can ruin everything, they can take a great player and make him hate the game, it’s insane. My prior basketball coach was such an idiot and so inconsistent that it caused me to quit basketball, there was nothing that playing on the team was getting me. And coaches get mad too, they think they have nothing to do with people quitting, how could they be at fault? But the truth is that it’s almost entirely their fault, if it’s a good player at least. Why should someone play when it’s getting them absolutely nowhere?
This is the story of a girl
Who didn’t eat for 30 hours.
Although my Twitter updates may seem contrary, the 30 hour fast wasn’t actually that bad. I mean, I ate a regular size dinner (that is to say, large), and my body was like “Meh. Thanks for feeding me.” And then we were good. I woke up this morning, packed my [vegetarian] lunch, ate breakfast, and left for school. Easy peasy.
Except for lunch. That was terrible. I avoided the cafeteria by staying in my debate coach’s room, where Bart and Tessa and Mia were. Mia was also on the fast, but Tessa and Bart were not. Bart’s soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwich never smelt better, and Tessa’s popcorn filled the room with a salty, buttery scent for an hour. It. Was. Torture.
But once I stopped thinking about food, I was good. If I ignored any mention of food, I was just fine. I could have gone another thirty hours.
Survivor, here I come!
PWA: Is President’s Promise Too Good To Be True?
(Note: PWA = “Politics with Aardvarki”!)
Today’s topic: Obama vows to halve federal deficit
Today’s article: William Branigin, Obama Vows to Cut Federal Deficit in Half.
Hey there y’all! (Ugh… I can’t believe I just used that expression…) Looks like it’s that time again: politics time on Bri’s Own World!!! (Don’t all cheer at once, jeez.) Anyhoo… the topic of discussion today is the fact that President Obama just today vowed to halve our nation’s deficit by the end of his first term of office (that’s by 2013). And the current deficit is… lemme see [type type type…click…*gasp*]: $10,850,171,797,932.02. and half of that is $5,425,085,898,966.01. So this is what Obama plans to reduce our deficit to by 2013. And that’s a lot of money. (In case nobody noticed that). He plans to reduce this by cutting and trimming costly activities such as the War on Terror, tax cuts for the rich, restructuring health care policies, and taking a second look at a brand new fleet of presidential helicopters costing $400 million apiece.
To me, this seems like a lot of big talk. I’m skeptical to say the least. But I guess I’ll have to reserve my judgment until 2013 before I can decide whether or not this is “all talk and no action.” It seems like if we pull out of Iraq in the near future (which seems like an empty hope), that will contribute a lot to the deficit (it’s cost us about 600 billion so far). And I’m always for retracting those stupid tax cuts. But is this really enough to halve the massive federal deficit by 2013? For now, I am reserving judgment, but am extremely skeptical. And how about you? Is this prospect possible, or is this merely big talk?
Oscar Reactions
So it isn’t my day to blog, but this one wouldn’t fit next weekend. Last night, they completely remade the show, making it a little less formal and yet still entertaining. Jackman did a surprisingly good job as host, but I have to say, I still like Stewart and Crystal better. Another thing I didn’t like was the way they did the acting awards, making it seem like they were the biggest things of the night, while skipping quickly over the others. Acting is good, but the Oscars are supposed to celebrate all the elements of the movie together, and not just pander to the general public who don’t know anything about editing or cinematography. So, what about the winners?
I was fine for the most part, no big surprises last night. Slumdog Millionaire was easily the biggest winner, and they deserved most of those awards. My main problems are in the Original Screenplay, Supporting Actress, and Actor categories. Milk had a decent screenplay, but no where near as original and good as In Bruges. Bruges was Pulp Fictiony in a way, making it easily the best in that category. Cruz did a good job as always, but I think Marisa Tomei did an excellent job in The Wrestler, which should have been nominated for and won some of the awards. Best actor was also a little disappointing, with Penn winning yet another Oscar. While he did do a great job, I think that we kind of expect that from him, and Rourke came by surprise with the role of a lifetime, and one that is so much different from the rest of his movies.
So what do you guys think of it?
It’s been a while
For NHS (National Honors Society), I’m participating in a charity called the “30 hour famine”. That means that I can’t eat for thirty hours, starting at noon on Sunday and ending at six on Monday. I’m two hours in, and I can smell my dad’s lunch. This does not bode well.
I have other announcements:
1. Bart and I, despite our dysfunctions, made it to State in debate!! The season continues! I’m very proud of this. Two of the people we debated (on separate teams, no less) told me that I’m a really great speaker and it seems like I do all the work. Well, yes, I do all the work. So thanks!
2. I can touch my tongue to my nose. Bart and I were waiting outside a room for our debate to start, and he told me to try it. I don’t remember why exactly. So I tried… and I could! Definitely the highlight of my day.
3. I have a date! I think. His name is Dylan and it took the combined powers of his debate team and my debate team (he goes to school across the valley) to get him to ask me on a date. I gave him my number, and since I can’t eat today he’s supposed to call me with what time his choice of movie is playing so I know when he’s picking me up. It’s almost two o’clock, and he has not called. Hm. Updates on that later. If there is a later.
4. I’m hungry.
5. 1984 is an awesome book and anyone who doesn’t like it is silly.
6. I am out of interesting things to say.
My Oscar Picks
So the Oscars are tonight, and the academy has already made some horrible nominations, but lets hope they get SOME of these right. These aren’t what I think will win, these are what I think should win.
Best Picture- Slumdog Millionaire
It should be everything I hate. A cliche story, a happy ending, characters that don’t get too deep. But a movie has to be this good to have me rooting so much for the cliche ending and for the two characters to fall in love.
Best Actor- Mickey Rourke:
The Wrestler I do have to admit, this is a tough field right here, with Penn, Langella, and Pitt all giving great performances, but Rourke easily wins this in my book. Every moment, he IS Randy the Ram, for no second did I think of him as an actor, or this as a movie, but just like we were watching his life.
Best Actress- Kate Winslet: The Reader
While I haven’t seen two of the nominees in this category, I didn’t see too much from the trailers to make me doubt this choice. Winslet was great as the Nazi, and was believable the whole time. She went out of her comfort zone and still came out believable, and that’s what I think makes an Oscar winning performance.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Heath Ledger: The Dark Knight
Do I really have to explain myself? Only Brolin in this category has a chance at taking this from Heath, but I don’t think that will happen.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Marisa Tomei: The Wrestler
Again, just like Rourke, Tomei WAS Cassidy the stripper. This was easily the best performance in this category, and one of the best of the year as well. But, Cruz will probably get the Oscar.
Best Directing- David Fincher: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
While Boyle did a good job as well with Slumdog, Fincher has not made a bad movie from what I’ve seen. Button is just as good as these, and this is through the eyes of a true film genius, being able to make some of the most tense thrillers and still making this great drama.
Best Original Screenplay- In Bruges
It should win, and hopefully, it will win. The dialogue is excellent, and story interesting from beginning to end. Nothing else in this category is close to what Bruges has done.
Best Adapted Screenplay- Slumdog Millionaire
What can I say? It had me hooked until the end. This is a tough category though, and I wouldn’t be too sad if Nixon or Doubt took this one away.
Best Cinematography- Slumdog Millionaire
This was tough between Benjamin Button and Slumdog, but I had to give it to the latter. The images were beautiful in every shot, and just amazed me how well it could be done.
Best Editing- The Dark Knight
To keep a 2 1/2 hour movie go by as fast as The Dark Knight is an amazing accomplishment.
Best Art Direction- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
If you see the movie, you’ll see what I mean. Each set is meticulously done, and sets up for the cinematography.
Best Costume Design- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Again, Button is a huge feat in the production of it, and the costumes are all so realistic for the time. Duchess I haven’t seen though, but it will probably win.
Best Makeup- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Making an actor age like this is part makeup, part special effects. And both these elements worked together so well to make Pitt and Blanchett age.
Best Music- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I had the score stuck in my head for the next 3 hours, and I loved it.
Best Original Song- Slumdog Millionaire: Jai Ho
Ugh, NO “THE WRESTLER” BY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN??!? THAT was easily the best song of the year, and instead, they choose 3 mediocre ones. This is just unforgivable…
Best Sound- The Dark Knight
They did such a great job with the Batpod, explosions, and everything.
Best Sound Editing- Iron Man
This should have been nominated in both sound categories and win both.
Best Visual Effects- Iron Man
Sure, Button was good in the more subtle effects, but some of the characters looked fake (young Daisy). But Iron Man looked just as real as any of the other actors in the movie.
Best Animated Feature- Wall-E
Sure, Kung Fu Panda was more enjoyable, but Wall-E was more of an achievement in film. With little dialogue, we still knew what was going on and felt for the characters. The animation was also so great, bringing the movie to life.
The rest I haven’t seen enough of the contenders to make an accurate judgement, so I’d like to know what you guys think about them.
Why?
Why do we spend so much time on there? Why is it so addicting? What are we gaining from it?
These are my Facebook habits.
1) Although I’ve been tagged numerous times, I haven’t done that 25 Things about me or whatever. Why? Because I think it is creepy. And so fake. You spend who knows how long deciding the perfect things to say about yourself so everyone who reads it will have just the right impression of you. Is that who you really are? No, it’s edited and refined down to a list of the twenty five things that make you oh so special. Plus, I don’t flatter myself into thinking anyone is really going to care about me.
2) I don’t post pictures religiously. Who is going to look at them? Who knows what random person is going to decide to find out all about you one day? Pictures are usually for my enjoyment only.
3) I don’t put information about myself on there, because the only people who are going to look at it are my friends and if they’re my friends then they already know about me and if they want to see some pictures, all they have to do is ask.
4) Hence,I use Facebook as a tool purely to spy on other people. I AM ONE OF THOSE CREEPERS WHO COULD BE READING THROUGH EVERY SINGLE POST ON YOUR WALL AND SAVING YOUR PICTURES TO MY DESKTOP. Everyone else lives on Facebook, but I have an account only so I can see what everyone else is doing and laugh at what everyone else thinks is important enough to put on there, or how long they must’ve slaved looking for the perfect status message.
No offense to anyone who loves Facebook. I love Facebook. I can’t stay off of it. It’s great and makes you feel good about yourself. Just when you stop to really think why we are so consumed with it, it’s interesting.
Facebook is more of a popularity contest than anything. A competition to see who everyone likes the most. (I usually lose those types of things. Perhaps that is why I am so critical).
Have a good time on there. Be sure to include names and dates so I can REALLY get to know you.
First Day
Today was the first day of baseball tryouts for school ball!!! It was quite fun, a little on the chilly side though, it was extremely windy. I had a ton of fun though, baseball is a really chillaxed sport.
So we stretched, did some form running, threw, did a couple running tests (which I did beautifully in), did some intense running, then took batting practice. It was pretty exhausting but I loved it, I’ve been waiting all year.
In other news, Nate Robinson brought out the kryptonite and defeated Dwight Howard (Superman) in the Slam Dunk contest. I wanted Superman to win, however Nate Robinson won 52% to 48% in the fan voting. Well that’s about it for now, I’d better get to studying.
This is Scarface signing off.