what. the. what.

which actress would i want to play me in a movie? tina fey.
who is my celebrity crush? paul rudd.

AND THEN THEY MADE THIS FILM TOGETHER.

it's like my dream just came true.

cups of coffee:  2

mood:  time for bed

wretches and jabberers

i had the amazing privilege to watch this film, "wretches & jabberers", in my art education in museums class today. this class is held weekly at MoMA (another great privilege), and we heard from MoMA's associate educator of community and access programs as guest lecturer. in telling us about the museum's programs for visitors with disabilities, she showed us the film to help us better understand autism and dispel any misconceptions we may hold.

i was absolutely blown away by this documentary, particularly by the two witty and incredibly thoughtful protagonists, larry and tracy, two autistic men who travel the world as advocates. the film is told through the voices of those with autism, and it's absolutely inspiring and humbling. it has definitely transformed the way i view autism and reaffirmed my belief in the dignity and creativity of every human being. everyone longs for connection and communication, and every person has been endowed with great abilities even when it's not immediately apparent.

do yourselves a huge favor - watch "wretches & jabberers" and be inspired!

cups of coffee:  3

mood:  tired but inspired

dr. horrible

just watched "dr. horrible's sing-along blog" last night with the bro and sis-in-law.

one word: amazing. how did i miss this two years ago?!? oh wait. i live in china.

the soundtrack itself was worth it - pure genius. don't you wish life were like a musical? i do. a few friends and i attempted that for a day during my freshman year of college: skipping and twirling down the main thoroughfare of our campus, breaking into song and badly choreographed dance in front of a bagel shop. needless to say, only lasted a couple of hours.


cups of coffee: 2

mood: baby, it's cold outside

alice and destiny

finally watched tim burton's "alice in wonderland": WOW. besides being visually stunning and incredibly imaginative, the plot revolves around this interesting theme of destiny. in this version, according to an ancient scroll that foretells the future history of wonderland, alice is the champion who will slay the jabberwocky terrorizing the inhabitants of wonderland. alice doesn't believe she is the prophesied champion and struggles throughout the story with being "the wrong alice."

i think the storyline poses an interesting question: is destiny out of our control or do we have the free will to choose our paths? i struggle with this when pondering the will of God and my capacity for free will. if all my days are ordained, then where and how does my free will play in the midst of it?

without spoiling the ending, i found the film's approach surprisingly satisfying, holding both the forces of destiny and our freedom of choice in tandem. we see alice struggle with discovering who she is and the path to choose while simultaneously being shaped by the hand of fate. destiny is bigger than all our days and the decisions we make--and yet each thread, each moment of our lives seems to run with meaning and weave miraculously and effortlessly, without contradiction, in the fabric of the Greater Story.


cups of coffee: 1 + 2 cups of green tea

mood: relieved

steadfast

poetry reading for the day: john keats.

Bright Star

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art--
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--
No--yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever--or else swoon to death.


i watched the movie "bright star" a few months ago (it was on my list of must-see movies) and absolutely loved it. the film depicts the relationship between john keats and fanny brawne - a devoted, passionate love sadly cut short by keats' death. the film moves slowly but eloquently, their love for each other declared through poems and well-chosen prose.

after keats died, fanny cut her hair short, dressed in black, and adorned her fingers with the rings keats had given her. she came out of mourning six years later, and eventually married, more than 12 years after keats' death.

wow. imagine a love like that?

whatever happened to faithfulness? whatever happened to comparing the one you love to a star that hangs resolutely in the night sky--patient, watchful. commitment seems so dispensable today.


cups of coffee: 2 + a whole lotta green tea

mood: mopey

the things that still hold true

in turning 29 + 2 today, i realized that inside, i'm still just a big kid. and there are things that will always hold true for me, no matter how much experience, maturity or knowledge i gain through the years. par exemple:

- the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking will always be my favorite

- given the choice and the ability, if i could be anything in the world, i'd want to be a mermaid

- where there's music, there's gotta be dancing

- a grassy hill demands a nice roll or two down it

- running barefoot by the ocean will always make me happy

- there is always a story to be told and an adventure to be had

- i'm never too old to hug and kiss mom and dad, even in public

- there is always a happy ending, it's just a question of when it happens

on another note, following up on my previous movies post is this article in paste magazine about the enduring popularity of 'where the wild things are'. my favorite bit at the end of this well-written piece:

But Where the Wild Things Are has something these other books don’t have. A great secret. And here’s why it endures: Wild Things is not really a children’s book.

Oh, children unquestionably love Wild Things—what child wouldn’t gobble up a tale where the hero gets it all? Max chases the dog with a fork, threatens to eat his mom. When punished, he fantasizes an anger so profound, a vengeance so monumental, that it flattens all in its path. The most fearsome adversaries bow and scrape before his wrath. He inflicts an eyeball-to-eyeball humbling on the poor woolly behemoths … Hah! You’re not so big and bad after all, are you, my 
pussycats?

And then? Once Max’s anger is slaked, once love and loneliness begin to fill his heart again—why, he comes back home.

Don’t we all want that?

HE FOUND his supper waiting for him and it was still hot.

Well done, Max. You have your cake and rumpus, too. You got it all.

Where the Wild Things Are gives mom and dad a book that fully acknowledges the catharsis of anger and the wondrous healing power of imagination. It also shows that discipline is a requirement, even as it gives parents a way to show a child that discipline is love, too.

Even better, after misbehavior and punishment, when regret and loneliness are the last embers glowing in the black ashes of anger, when a child misses mom or dad and wants to come home, he always can.

Unconditional love reels Max back.

It’s better than any wild rumpus could ever be.

And it’s not just children who crave that promise. It’s their parents, and those hipsters, too—anyone who once was a child. It’s everyone, it’s all of us.

that's the story of the gospel itself, isn't it? we are creatures of rage and vengeance, blinded by our own desires and driven by our anger and selfishness, yet at the end of the day, we are all just scared, lonely children, desperate to be loved and longing so much to come home. and we are given the opportunity, welcomed by a heavenly Father who disciplines us but also loves us with a love that covers and heals. beautiful.


cups of coffee: 1, accompanying the nice breakfast my brother made for my birthday!

mood: ever grateful, ever joyful

movies! movies!

films currently on my must-see list....coming to a theater (or dvd vendor, in china's case) near you!

inglorious basterds - new little ditty from quentin tarantino. i've been hearing rave reviews from friends about this--one already saw it twice. brad pitt looks brilliant in this.

where the wild things are - this looks simply amazing from every vantage. i love director spike jonze's style, and the soundtrack promises to be pitch-perfect. i remember the monsters in the book from my childhood days to be a bit scary, but they look like cuddly bear-dogs in the film with wonderfully human attributes.

bright star - love story between poet john keats and fanny brawne. the passion in this film is contained in the language--poetic ecstasies, well-versed declarations of burning devotion and trascendence and so forth. the english literature major in me is getting giddy just thinking about it.

alice in wonderland - big fan of the tim burton, johnny depp and helen bonham-carter triad. this film looks like sheer creative genius, though definitely not a version of 'alice' for the kiddies.

whip it - last but not least, a fun film for girls' night. ellen page stars as a beauty pageant reject who finds herself by joining a rowdy all-girl roller derby team. drew barrymore directs and stars in it.

ah.....looking forward to staying in and getting cozy in the cold, damp shanghai winter nights coming up......


cups of coffee: 1 1/2

mood: laaaaaaazy