11/ 17/ 2012
A couple weeks ago, I saw Monica Bill Barnes & Company perform a new work called Luster. I feel haunted by the piece, replaying what I saw in my head, and decide to share my thoughts of the work (which received mixed reviews) with you:
Enter Barnes and her partner in crime Anna Bass, not physically onstage, but via film. The two are dressed in full length parkas and tennis shoes as they carry a mini proscenium stage through the city. The stage is bright red and gold, about the size of a play theater. It’s symbolic; we’re about to witness something grand that falls just short of success.
Barnes and Bass enter the theater—carrying that play stage, still in parkas, sneakers on. The “stage” is dropped off (front and center), and we get to see what’s hiding underneath their overcoats. Gaudy, and borderline tacky, evening gowns. Barnes in gold and Bass in brown, these frumpy sequined dresses are reminiscent of the 1980s.
10/ 29/ 2012
During my last semester of college, I was driving back to school after a weekend home in central Florida. As I pulled off the highway and made my way towards campus, I turned the dial to only the best — country radio — and listened to the host talk about a new artist. “She’s only 16 and writes her own music and this is her first single called “‘Tim McGraw.'” This is when my obsession/love affair/friendship with Taylor Swift began… it was epic.
I was stocked when she released details about her new album RED over the summer. Once the singles dropped though, I started getting worried. The first time I heard “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” I thought, “This is not MY Tay-Tay!!!” I was truly anxious about the possibility of not liking her new album.
When my iPhone flashed midnight on 10/22/12, I purchased my copy of the album. Thank God it’s better than I thought it was going to be, but honestly, I’m not wowed by it.
10/ 12/ 2012
A couple months ago, I was running an errand and walking down my office’s block. It’s funny, I pass this bookstore almost everyday, and for someone who’s an avid reader, it’s sort of weird that I’ve never actually been inside it. I approached it, just as I would on any other day. But on that particular afternoon, I happened to glance over at the well-stocked used book rack. In passing, one of the book spine’s caught my eye. There it was, starring me in the face, the title that quite literally changed my life. I already have a copy, but I couldn’t just leave it there, so I grabbed it, walked inside, placed Ab Lincoln on the counter and walked out.
I have an obsession with Jonathan Safran Foer’s (JSF) Everything is Illuminated. I bought my first copy a few years ago and his words made me want to be a writer. Never had I ever experienced an author who treated his reader with such maturity and respect, letting us elucidate meaning and create an outcome based off of our interpretations of the story. It was enlightening, discovering someone who’s work made me so excited while also introducing me to a writing style that inspired me so much.
10/ 02/ 2012
By now, we’re all familiar with the trilogy that’s sending women everywhere into a frenzy. E.L. James’s tantalizing Fifty Shades of Grey series is so big that fan trailers are being made and the casting of Mr. Grey (in the upcoming film) has become one of the biggest conundrums in Hollywood.
Despite the hype, I’ve got to be honest… I’m just not that into the series. It took me nearly two months to finish Fifty Shades Darker—the second in the trio. In this installment, Mr. Grey and Miss Steele fall deeper in love despite living in a state of constant drama, lies and manipulation.
