Paprika

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time. I mean, this movie......... I don't want to say much, because it's late and I need to go to bed. But when it was over I said "That was the best dream.... I mean movie. Ever."

When we first looked at it, I wasn't really put out when we decided on something more mainstream - it looked like the sort of thing where I would be saying "But I thought..." and "Wasn't she the one who..." and "What is going on?" every few minutes. But a couple months later we remembered it and picked it up again. And, sure enough, two minutes into the film I was completely confused (I know I know, not really that much of a statement for me, but I'm telling you: !!!). The point when I realized that I was watching something great and not something merely confusing and interesting was when not one of three (mostly conscious) people in the room had any idea what was going on, but we were all breathlessly watching a scene with very little going on in the frame.

This movie turned my mind inside out and then told a cohesive story in the form of a Mobius Strip.

When I was in Virginia

I had this secret place in my neighbor's backyard. They hadn't cleared most of it, and what remained was a wonderful, tangled forest - uninteresting for adults and hours of fun for kids. Along with the boys next door, I had created a small clearing, completed with a few logs for seats (there were fewer logs than there were in our group, but you can bet I never sat on the ground).

We would keep secret things here from time to time - a praying mantis in a jar, a candle and some matches, candy, etc. But there was something there that my friends didn't know about, something I wouldn't share even with them. Behind where our seats were arranged there was a box, disguised by leaves and scratched into the soil. It was mine - my secret box in my secret place. It was mine more than anything else - I consulted no one else about its contents, showed them to no one. Even if someone else had found it, they would have been nonplussed - odds and ends, broken dirty things, sad lonely orphaned things. Small pieces of wholes.

I haven't been there in a long time. The box is there, forgotten by those who pass over it, cobwebbed and dusty, hinges rusting. Holes appear and grow; slowly.

But I'll never forget. It's there for me still.

I'll never forget.

Pirating music

I wrote that title, and then wondered - am I setting myself up? But, oh sigh, I'm sure I do that in so many other ways I really shouldn't worry that much about it.

So, a while ago my friend and I disagreed about copying albums we owned and giving them to other people. (Among other things), she felt it was an important way to share a precious resource that might not be easily accessible - after all, CDs are pretty expensive. And then there's the fact that artists don't really make that much money off of them, anyway. When it comes to supporting an artist financially, the sale of CDs doesn't really help out much. My response was that CDs (and recording contracts) serve other purposes - visibility, advertisement, a guage of how popular the artist is. And these things truly have value.

However, I got to know many of my favorite artists throught illegal sharing of music. I have been to shows, bought CDs, and made other people fans, all directly as a result of being given music I most likely would not have found on my own. So sharing music is very important, too, and can expose us to music we might LOVE, but was prohibitively expensive (before we knew we loved it).

So, at this point in time I have decided that it's okay to give people music from bands when you also buy tickets to see them perform (I intend to buy tickets, but not always attend - I hate crowds, and music is not always good enough of a lure). And for other stuff, I have a 30% rule - I will copy or accept 30% of any album - this way I can get a good idea of the artist, and decide if I want to support them myself (and so be deserving of more of their music).

This is a really important question for me, because I think that it is really important for artists to be supported, and that their fans should be able to show them appreciation. If we want a society that supports the arts, that values them, then we need to create an environment where people can work on them - that means they need to be able to make enough money to earn a living. And I think playing music is quite a deserving way to make a living.

VOTE RESPONSIBLY OR NOT AT ALL

i will only say this once, because i'm so passionate about this i probably can't even talk to you in person about it - i may appear rude or judgemental, and that is absolutely not right of me.

as your blogger friend, as a fellow citizen, i IMPLORE you to not only vote, but to be informed about the consequences of your choices.

for example:

if the proposition you're voting for requires money, where will it come from? and should we be spending money on it when our state budget, and indeed the national economy, is in such disarray?

is what you are voting for simply a good idea, or something that is SO NECESSARY we should pursue it despite the challenges our state already faces?

do you know how the person you are considering voting for has voted/made decisions in the past? is their platform clear enough to understand and specific enough to hold them accountable for?

so far i am:

1a: no
2: yes
3: no
4: no
5: yes
8: no
11: yes

if you want to know how/why i have come to a particular decision, please ask me! i absolutely will tell you clearly. if you have opinions AND thoughts about any of the propositions, please tell me!

- your fellow citizen, who also wants a better future