BELLY DANCE

So, I take belly dancing classes when I am home. (Except I'm not sure how I stand with Aarin, the teacher, (who is pregnant in this video) because of a terrible happening involving her dog. God, I cannot even think about it. But she is a beautiful dancer. I wish I could dance like her, that is my goal.) Anyway, this was posted on Facebook by one of the dancers from Aarin's troupe, Sahara Moon. I think the choreography is wonderful, as is the dancing.



Enjoy.

DIANA

This is my new camera. It is another lomo, a diana. This model is exclusive to Urban, it is a dreamer. I am pretty darn excited about it. However, obtaining this love was quite difficult, and of course I'm going to share the story of how she came into my life.
I have been considering getting this camera for a while now, being a lomo lover it instantly caught my eye and captured my desire. I finally decided I was going to buy it while I was looking at the Urban site a few days ago. I first went to the site to look up the Fugi instax camera, a camera that is similar to the Polaroid but with smaller photos. While I was there I decided I might as well get the Diana and I put in the order. However, a little while later when telling Kelly that I purchased it, I reconsidered buying it online. I called Urban and canceled my order so I could go to the store and purchase it with out the shipping costs. So the following day, yesterday, I ventured out to the T and took the green line to Hynes. I got my camera and a crushed velvet Urban Renewal coat. I'm actually pretty amazed that I didn' buy anything else, they had a really great sale section and I really liked everything I tried on. Actually I kept findings things that reminded me of K. Anyway, after getting my Urban goods I hopped back on T to load the camera before class. However, when I took it out of the box I discovered that the lens of the camera was not connected.
So Kelly and I agreed to go to Urban to exchange it quickly before my class. Once we got there we started to look around and lost track of time, I got the new camera and got back just in time for class. After, I opened the new camera excited to load it with a roll of black and white 120. However this one had the same problem... the lens was not attached to this one either. This was very upsettting. After attending a presentation that Kodak put on I got back on the T and exchanged the camera again. This time I opened the box and made sure that the lens was on. I also ended up geting a lomo book that I had been eyeing Don't Look Just Shoot... it was on sale. Now I finally have my Diana.

THE BEATLES

The Beatles are the greatest. I just find them incredibly wonderful and here are a few photos why.
I was thinking about it, and how I would have loved to love a Beatle... but then I thought, I probably would have loved to be one. Maybe not. But it would be pretty amazing to be a musician like they are, just really good. And adorable. Its interesting because it is something that has never occurred to me. As a female I feel inclined to think of them romantically, which would have been fantastic and all, but I started to think that if I was a boy... I would be coming at it from a completely different angle. I would want to be them. And I'm not so objected to that concept.

I guess I just appreciate their humor. And I effing love the way they dress. There are countless photos that I love of these boys.

I also rather like these photos of the Smashing Pumpkin, they have a bunch of good ones too. I was looking at all the photos posted on here on last.fm. They really have a good bunch for all the bands, in particular the two I have mentioned here.

SUNRISE

I stayed up until sun rise yesterday. Its really weird when you do things like that and think back to the events that become foggy. The entire concept of time is stretched and shrunk, and everything is a dreamlike haze. Its so interesting to think of all the time that occurs at night that we constantly miss. Anyway, I sort of just drifted around and did weird interesting things all night. Max came by which was actually really good for me. He is really funny despite all his sometimes weirdness, I really like him. He was just making me laugh. And eventually I got over my void-like feelings. I still seem to be drifting in and out of a strange loneliness that I'm still trying to comprehend, but I just think it is one of those times. Anyway, I floated around through the night and eventually I was sitting on Kaitrin's bed talking Jenn to sleep as the sun rise leaked early morning light into the bedroom. I closed the blinds and left Jenn to sleep and went back into my own room around seven and slept in until one. It was surreal because of the nature of the night but I was glad it happened.

VERY QUICKLY

I really want to go camping. I hope I actually go once I'm home. It seems that last year I got caught up in a lot despite my desire to do so... There is something so wonderful about it that I am craving. I feel a bit trapped today. Lonely. I'm not sure why but I've actually sunk into this strange void of depressed emptiness. This is a fairly rare occurrence and I don't know exactly what has triggered it. I've tried a few things but nothing seems to actually melt away this feeling, I have simply been distracted. Its hard to understand, and to some extent, understood. A strange paradox immersed in emotion that I usually don't have to face. I guess the strangeness comes from the fact that I am just feeling like this rather than having something to be upset over. There are still things that come to mind that can contribute to it, but they are things I deal with all the time. Today I am just feeling, and stuck in my lonely emptiness. Maybe I should have gone out. I was planning to.

BOLEX CAMERAS

I've started my film one production class, I will be shooting on actual 16mm film for the first time and learning how to edit by hand. Cut the film and tape it together stylie. We started to learn and look at the camera last class. You have to wind it by hand and then you have thirty seconds to shoot, because that is how long the motor will go after you wind it... They are old but cool. You can do double exposures and cross fades by closing the iris. They also have a setting where you can shoot one frame at a time, which would be fantastic for animation, especially stop motion. I think I want to shoot one of my ideas with the Bolex. It would go along the lines of my last film, Lucy's shoes, where it would be part live action and part animation, and would feature a little girl. The idea is that see is in the bath, playing anf pretending, maybe that she is a mermaid. She puts her face under the water and opens her eyes wide to discover another underwater world in her bathtub. She puts some of her bath water in a fish bowl and brings it to school to show the other kids, they are all amazed. Eventually something happens and the fish bowl breaks. However on her way home she discovers another world. Where I am not sure yet. I think it will work out well to use a Bolex though because, well its film, and it would cut a step out of my animation process.
This is the Steenbeck where you edit the film... I'm not sure what the "early casualty" caption is all about, but I liked the photo. You run the film from one spool to another and part of it passes a little razor guillotine type thing where you chop it, and then there is a little part where you tape your two pieces together on the bottom and top. The little screen is so you can look at it, it is projected when you put it through this little passage with a lightbulb. Not the best description, but that is kinda how it works. After the Bolex class I stayed back to chat with my professor about the animation options. She is this really young woman who went to the Mueseum of Fine Arts School and was a traveling scholar, where you are given money to do artwork while you travel. It is a really cool program, she was making Super 8 films while she traveled cross country with hers. I really like her because of this. I want to travel cross country so much. I really want to do a camping road trip. Me and Kelly (my roommate) were talking about doing it this summer, but we don't have a car since mine is not really realiable (though honestly I would love to take it) and we are not old enough to rent one. Though my parents were talking about getting for me, like signing for it. But then there is all that liability and crap if something were to happen... she has also never been camping before which makes me aprehensive. And I don't know there are some other little things. I kinda just want to go with one of my friends from home, not that I don't like Kelly or anything, its just that I've wanted to do this for so long... and there is more security in friends you've known for a while. We'll see what happens. Anyway, I started chatting with my teacher, Pam, and we got all chummy. She really liked my new rings and started telling me about her weekend plans and such. This is not something I stumble across very often, most professors are kinda stand offish and don't really get social. Like my lit teacher last semester, I thought she was really kinda fabulous, and she was, but kinda awkward socially. I don't know... I am just happy with this interaction because I just really like her. Like I would hang out with her. We just talked about art and she was all for me talking her ear off... hah, she said she could sit around talking like that all day. She is just one of my kind of people. Ah so, that sums up the Bolex and company.

NEW BLING IN THE FORM OF RINGS

Today was Jen's twentieth birthday. So after class I went birthday gift shopping with Kelly. It was good I brought her along because she helped me find some very Jen items. In the end I got her a peacock green pashmina, a green and orangey stone ring, a mermaid coloring book, a giant pen, and a small box of chocolates. The last three were from the dollar section in CVS. I made her a giant card on a piece of cardboard that came in my calendar. I rather like the card, I scrunched up some bonzy gold tissue paper and then spread it over the cardboard so it looked wrinkeled, and then cut out a fantastic picture of a woman dressed in 40s garb pulling up a stocking from a magazine ad. The creme colors in the ad matched the issue paper perfectly. Then I cut out the letter J E and N from a magazine and wrote a little rhyme on strips of magazine with text to put next to it. It looked like this: While we were searching around So Good Jewlery for a ring for Jen I stumbled across two rings that I ended up purchasing. One is a big horn sheep head that has little black jewls all over it and green jewls for the eyes, the other is kinda mod shapes.Now I just really have to stop spending money for a bit. But I'm pretty satified with my purchases... and most things were for Jen. So thats a way to justify it I guess. Heh. Alright I have to go finish my script ideas and start The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World. Oh Emerson science classes.

COLLEGE KIDS GO TO CLASS

I've had my first day of class. I had Writing the Feature Film and Film One. Tomorrow I have my non film classes, Plants and People and Ethics and Justice. So far my classes are not to bad, though I do have homework to do tonight... which I am of course not doing. Its just so hard to get back into that aspect of things sometimes. I am supposed to come up with three ideas for a feature, its just really difficult. I can do short film ideas pretty good at this point... but the long ones... not so much. The one idea I do have is about my dad. He was telling me about a hitchhiking trip he took a while back and it has some great elements for a film. For example, he and his friend ended up in Mexico and made it back to the states by riding on the top of a train. Now I just have to write it up and come up with two more... I also got my first super sampler film developed today, unfortunately not all the photos came out due to me opening the camera before I knew how to wind it. I lost some potentially great photos with K and I attacking each other with things like pom poms. Oh well, its all part of figuring out the camera I guess. Tomorrow is my roommate Jenn's birthday, I'm going to have to get her a gift. Tomorrow I will venture off to Downtown Crossing once more. Or maybe Papersource. Speaking of Downtown Crossing, I found this fantastic camera shop, Bromfield Camera on Bromfield Street. There were these great old Boston men running it. I really enjoyed buying 120 film from them. I guess that is about it for now... I seem to be writing on here a lot lately. I should do my homework.

WHAT I FORGOT IN THE PILE OF PHOTOS

I really like this one as well (photo from the book) and feel entitled to add it on. Think of it as a P.S.

HOLGA

This is my Holga camera. I rather like it. Its kinda a GI Joe. I've been starting to take more holga photos lately, partially because polaroids have been discontinued. It shoots on 120 format film and can be developed as square or rectangular prints. I have to find a place in Boston that will develop and sell it. When I was in CVS today the photo guy told me about a camera place nearby that I think will be a good bet. As I said in my last post, I almost left my last two rolls in a hotel room in Denver, but lucky for me, my mom is a doll and went and got it for me. I took a bunch of photos with Keighley and of random things on my way out the door and such. I want to get more lomo cameras. As of right now I have three. A super sampler, a pop cam and my holga. The next will be the Diana dreamer I think. Me and K want to split a fantastic plastic package. That will be great. I owe her a super sampler. Below are my three cameras... though the Holga is right up there, I am a photo booth whore and cannot resist putting up extra photos sometimes.
The top is the super sampler. It takes four pictures in a row so that the picture is spilt into four sections. Like the photo below. The second is the Holga of course... and there is more about the photos Holga's take down there... and the third is the pop cam. Which takes four photos and splits the picture into four boxes with four different colors... much like the lenses look. A warhol thing. The following are pictures from my Holga book. Which I like very much because it tells you how to do things like light leaks, vignetting, overlaps, long exposures, and art things... like the two photos below.







This is a fantastic portrait of a Holga. In the midst of the examples of photos from my book...
So the moral of the story, I like my holga, taking photo booth sessions and taking lots photos of books and putting them up on here. And lomography is awesome. Quite simply.

THE TROUBLE WITH FLYING

So I've had such a ridiculous day of traveling that I felt entitled to share it. I had to get up at three thirty in the morning because I had an extremely early flight, at six in the morning, and because my mom is a little neurotic. However, it was a good thing that she gave us this extra time because no sooner than we got on the highway did we have to turn around because I had forgotten my cellular. (I hope that made sense... I'm on the fence. Oh rhyming.) So we sped back to the hotel and I had to call the front desk and make the lady get up and program a new key for me... at like four in the morning. I ran back up and grabbed it and we once more hopped onto the highway. I realized that I had forgotten my two rolls of 120 holga film on the bed as well, but I had kept the key and decided to bring it up to my mom later. There was already a bit of stress and I didn't really want to hear my dad bitch about the film. I mean I love him and all, but he can nit pick... Anyway, we made it to the airport and my dad dropped me and my mom off, we tried to do curbside but there was a problem with my reservation, so we went inside and everything went pretty smoothly from there until Chicago, where I had a layover. Once I got to Chicago I discovered that my flight to Boston had been canceled. I ended up getting re-routed to North Carolina, I had to wait an extra hour and a half, and then the plane ended up being delayed bacause they had to warm it up or something. So then I was in North Carolina. And my next flight to Boston was canceled. So I got put on yet a different flight that departed later. I had a few hours to kill. I waited around for about an hour before I discovered that my flight was going to be delayed. In the meantime I went to the bathroom to discover my little red friend had arrived and I had no supplies to deal with it... I attempted to use the dispensers only to discover that they did not work. Luckily a cleaning lady was in the bathroom and assisted me by unlocking the dispenser box. Finally a few hours later I boarded. It was a tiny little plane with a row of two seats and a row of one. I landed in Boston and went in search of the baggage claim. However, thirty minutes later all the luggage had come out, and mine was no where to be seen. I had to get into the line to talk to a man about my lost luggage. At this point I was ready to lose it as well, hormones were running high and I was tired of all the cancelations and from traveling for 13 hours. I called my mom. Which really made me want to cry. But in the end I was able to sort it out with the man and get myself into a cab and back up to my dorm. And despite my day, I had a pretty enjoyable night. Because in the end even though it was frustrating, and I didn't have any of my clothes, it was over.

IN ADDITION

Me and Keighley watched each of the Olsen twins on Letterman. Ashley talks about the book, but I like MK and her interview more. I really like her after seeing this actually.

INFLUENCE

I was just looking through Mary Kate (MK) and Ashley's Olsen's new coffee table book, Influence.I really rather like it. I was searching the web to see if there were any photos of some of the spreads that are in it... but alas there are none. So I am going to take some pictures on photo booth.
I also rather like this... it is included in MK's things... it says, "Jesus hates it when you smoke." And I especially liked that they RIPed polaroids... because seriously. (And they are in the fashion industry.)
So there is a good few photos to give an idea of the book somewhat. The whole thing is quite fantastic though I haven't read too heavily into it. I've mostly been skimming through. They have this questionnaire (inspired by survey that French writer Marcel Proust stumbled across called "An Album to Record Thoughts, Feelings etc. He did it several times throughout his life, and it eventually became refurred to as the Proust qestionnaire, according to the blurb.) that they both do that I decided to take a stab at as well. When asked how she would like to die Mary Kate said "In your arms," something I probably would never have thought of but really like. She seems to like Romeo and Juliet so I guess that is fitting. I still have a few more questions to fill in, but here is the crazy part. I wrote down these questions in my journal, which was I guess you could say folded in half (it has a spiral binding, I couldn't see one page) and when I looked on the next page there was a magazine cliping about the book that I had pasted in a while ago. Crazy stuff. Anyway I like the book and would recommend checking it out. Maybe out of the library.

CURLED

Here is what the hair looks like curly...

NEWLY CHOPPED LOCKS

So my hair is officially bobbed. Its really crazy. I think I'm going to bathe to see what it looks like curly. But here are a few piccys...There you are. I finally did it. I'm still getting used to it, but overall I like it. Hmmm, think I'm going to keep this short. (hehe how pun-y). But K, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog and so glad you made one.