Polls

I reopened three of the polls. They shall remain opened until arbitrary times during the 23rd hour of the last day of the year.

DON'T VOTE IF YOU ALREADY HAVE!!!

See Poll-ution

JEANSPAKCMO

I do not know anyone by the name of Jean Spackmo.

Highlights recently travelled to Kansas City, Missouri for the NSPA/JEA Fall Convention.

I really don't feel like going into a whole spiel about the trip; quite frankly, I'm surprised that I could even drag myself to type this paltry amount of words out.

So, bullets for now, perhaps some explorations later. Perhaps.

• We didn't place for Best in Show, but it doesn't really matter because Highlights is the bloody best it's ever been since I've been going to this school, thanks to the redesign by our EICs.
• I now see why Whamboozal is considered epic, even though its spelling goes against all instincts.
• 2010 roommates > 2009 roommates, for a variety of reasons. Nothing personal.
• Kansas City is a really pretty place, with nice people [here's NOT looking at you, Gates BBQ lady, though]. I liked the structure, with the different districts. I wish we had horse carriages.
• The Best Western exceeded all expectations, but the absence of the fabled Chuck left us all heartbroken.
• HOW MAY I HELP YOU?
• Word of advice: don't order soda pop if you notice there's only one size. Two people will not be able to finish one drink.
• Meat≠happiness
• ^^^ I'm okay with not eating any meat ('cept some chicken)- or barbeque for that matter- for a long, looong, loooooooooong time.
• Wtf is up with all the other high schools giving us snobby looks?
• Word of advice: There is such a thing as too much chili pepper in you Mongolian barbeque. Which, incidentally, was probably the best Mongolian barbeque I've ever had.
• Did you know that you actually spell barbeque 'barbecue.' I googled it to make sure my Dashboard dictionary wasn't lying to me.
• Click click? No.
• Cinnamon rolls? Yes.
• Coffee? Not unless you want to have a weird meltdown just before the afternoon awards show.
• Fran's knows it's food. And hot chocolate.

The competition itself was interesting. There were four categories of competition in one room, so it was quite packed; I competed in Editorial Writing.

Everyone else seemed to possess an air of confidence that was in no way exuded by myself. I have no idea if that sentence was grammatically correct. They were all armed with dictionaries and thesauruses [thesauri?]- even bloody tape recorders.

The panel time and subsequent writing period vanished quickly. Some-in the same competition- finished literally ten minutes after the end of questions. There was still a significant amount left, though, when I finished, ten minutes before the time limit.

I felt extremely drained after finishing. I blanched when I first saw the topic, but I felt a bit better after roughly outlining it.

I still didn't feel completely confident, though. The lead was wonky and I wondered if the concluding paragraph wa

s a bit abrupt. Most of all, I was concerned that I hadn't made a clear proposition.

Anyway, everything worked out. I was one of four to win Superior for the category, and I got lovely feedback from t

he judges-the lead was a bit off, but they liked the conclusion.

I was...shocked. And happy- VERY happy, although I guess it took a while to sink in.

In all, there were five winners from our school.

Now we want to place for Best of Show. Watch out, SM Southnortheastnorthwestwestsouth High.

:o

http://dannylicht.com/phlog/photos/12634962

^^Courtesy of

Check out Danny's website too.

"Happy" Guy Fawkes Day, Pt. II

So my friends, it seems as if we have come full circle.

Normally, people tend to reflect on the past year of their life at holidays that are by consensus viewed as significant, like New Year's or a birthday. I, however, choose Guy Fawkes day.

I shall now attempt to remember my life, month by month, in the past year. I do not care if this is profoundly boring for you.

November: Washington, D.C. At the risk of sounding melodramatic [Me? Melodramatic? haha!], a general loss of trust occurred during this month.

December: Did you know that Egg Nog+Pepsi=golden?

January: All I can remember at this point is that I got full marks on my French final. How sad is that? The memory part, not the grade, mind you.

February: The month sans meat. You can read about it. Somewhere. I'm thinking about repeating this. Albeit, when it's not Chinese New Year, so I don't have to go another year without the Firecracker Chicken of Panda Express. Priorities, man.

March: I cannot recall anything specific, but that was the era of "In the Spirit of Full Disclosure," hyperlinked for your convenience.

April: The Friday of empty classes, due to Coachella and Portland JEA. Euro review sessions.

May: AP test! And then God knows what. I discovered "Pan's Labyrinth" was actually brilliant, "The Graduate" ensured that Simon and Garfunkel trotted around my head the whole day, and most appropriately for this date and post, I finally got to see the entirety of "V for Vendetta."

June: A pretty good month. World cup! World cup! World cup! The last week was intensely stressful and very, very bittersweet. Closed out this month in Bombay.

July:Calcutta. In all sincerity, I've realized that a post on my time in Calcutta is ridiculously long overdue. This is one aspect of myself that irritates me to no end.

August: Calcutta, Dehra Dun, Delhi. Family reunions, full houses,c cold coffee, short tempers, psychopathic dogs, there's-never-such-a-thing-as-too-much-Chinese-food, and nail polish.

September: At this point, I hadn't talked to anyone my age, forget people in LA, in two months. I remember brimming with excitement to go to school and get my schedule, which actually ended up being the most glorious 1-6 schedule imaginable. School has a different vibe this year, methinks. But I think it's for the better. I have classes with people I haven't had classes with in years, whilst I have no classes with people who have been in at least one since fifth grade.

October: The busiest month of the year.

November: It's five days old. As for expectations, I can't sense anything about Kansas City next week, which is making me really impatient.

Looking back, I'm disappointed. I turned 16 one month and a day ago. It all happened so fast. There were things, some superficial, some...not, that I wanted to accomplish before I hit that mark. I need to get cracking. I turn 17 in 11 months [holy shit], and as everyone knows that means I can do magic outside of school and am therefore a legal adult.

Poll-ution

I cannot, in good conscience, call the title of the post clever, without going into elaborate tangents and stretching this post, a field that those of you who read my blog would know I'm very proficient in, but currently do not feel like getting into, as I am quite eager to get to the point, as is apparent through this brief sentence.

Let us take a look at the results of the two-month-old polls:

Do you like the changes to the blog? Comment on the post either way.

Seven of you oh-so-kind people voted on the poll. And all for the same option: "Maybe so nah nah nah." Now, I can see why I shouldn't complain about that, as I was the one who allowed it to be an option. However, my beef with you seven [or five, as you shall see] exists because of your failure to read the second part. Yeah! There were only two comments [meaning from two people] on the post about the changes, and only one of them was constructive.

However, if I perhaps quit insulting my readers, they'd do what I told them to do. That sounds sort of evil.

As for How did you find this blog?, I'd just like to know the story behind the "confusion/accident." I know of a couple people who were confused when they found it, but that was because they thought it was someone else's. Which is also an option. So, please tell me!

Choose your favourite[s]:

I have a feeling that one person chose all of them, another just chose darling Cacofonix, and another only chose the Shieldbearers, while a clueless [that is sincerely meant with no offense] fourth was honest enough to admit that they had no idea what I was talking about. Only four people voted on this, while nine voted on another, so I feel as if some of you could have been more honest. And the Shieldbearers were the scrappy underdogs [Not that I'd call Vitalstatix a dog-that's Dogmatix. Get it?!], coming behind from seriously nowhere. Seriously. I'd actually be quite interested in hearing why.

And now for the question that I saved last for a reason...

Due to bit.ly statistics that show clicks from random places...do I know you personally?

I have no friends. Well, two.

That's all I have to say. Oh, and I forgot a family option. Whoops.

I have no bloody friends. Except for two. Hmph.

Seesaw

...is infinitely preferable to teeter-totter.

A teeter-totter sounds like a teetotaler; the latter must keeps his or her balance as to not fall off the wagon.

Yikes, I am weakening!

This reminds me of the matrimonial ads I perused in India. This charmer of a man sought a "tall, fair, slim, beautiful, vegetarian" girl, while he expertly described himself as "tall, very fair, Rajasthani, 40-something, vegetarian, a teetotaler, and morbidly obese."

Points for honesty.

"Teeter-totter" also sounds like "tater-tot," my least favourite form of potato, after waffle fries. I once had the best plate of fish and chips in Sedona, but it was served with waffle fries! So, I resorted to stealing my parents'. That place had very good hot chocolate, as well.

I once got two massive bruises, in the shapes of my fists, from a seesaw. I guess my overgrown thirteen-year-old self kind of deserved that.

It's funny, though. Seesaws start to lose their appeal once you hit a certain height, as they cease to offer thrills. Yet, seesaws begin to strengthen their appeal once you hit a certain age, as you're reminded of the thrills you once got from them, when you were as tall as your bathroom sink, and not now, when the bathroom sink is as tall as your knees.

That is why I favour swings and tires. You can fly high or get really dizzy, take your pick. And then crash into the seesaw.

So, Thoughts?

As you may be able to tell, I changed the template/scheme of this blog. A lot.

I am torn between the old way and the new. Damn it. I should've taken a screenshot before I changed it!

Anyway.

I liked the simple, BLACK-ness of the old format. Images also seemed sharp against it. And it complemented my preferred Courier font.

But, I decided to change it since Blogger came out with a new way to design blogs.

It seems a bit crowded to me. I like the colours, but they're also a drawback. There are a lot, and some have trouble showing up against the various backgrounds. I tried to remedy it to the best of my ability, but I couldn't fix the 'days left to vote/how many votes' underneath the polls without changing the text colours of the whole page.

I might change it back or find a nice compromise. I miss the stark blackness. Either way, however I need to spend a lot more time with the design feature.

Thoughts, suggestions, comments, criticisms, ideas, pro/con lists are demanded! On any aspect of the blog.

And you don't have to be clever, and please please please don't post any comments here that talk about another post. Just do it there. Please, just talk to me about the layout. And vote on the polls. But do both! There's no 'or' option here.

ix

No, not nine.

I changed my display name!

No one, except Blessy ever calls me Mally, so 'twas kind of ridiculous to keep it. And it wasn't aesthetically right.

So, I have changed it. To Mallix.

See, I don't really have a nickname back home. Meaning LA. Meaning given by friends. You see, on the first day of every school year, I completely eagerly anticipate roll call, so I can hear my name mangled and then incorrectly correct the teacher. I tell 'em :"Mallika," the first syllable pronounced like a shopping mall. But in reality, the first syllable is pronounced "mull" like "I mulled it over and decided not to pronounce your name as Malleeeka." Ahem.

I don't bother giving that form of my name [Yes, I've now come to regard my true name as having two forms], as it's really hard for non-at-least-semi-Hindi speakers. People tend to overcompensate and it comes out like "Mule-ika." I'm not an ass, though you may be. I get too happy when I think of insults. Kinda ruins the effect.

The worst is when people correct subs for me, with such a disdainful attitude and like they know me so well. Yeah, it's my own fault that they use this Ikea form of my name [Digression: You know why I said Ikea even though it's not really a mall? Well, in sixth grade we had a sub called Mr. Morrisey. The first thing that greeted us when we walked in was 'The More I See, The More I Like' inscribed on the board. Uh. And then he wasted 20 minutes getting us to write 'clever' phrases to preserve our names in the collective consciousness instead of handing us the thing on Imhotep and Zsosor and the step pyramid that we were supposed to read. And I came up with something horrible like 'The Senator gave a speech next to the mall, Ikea.' But he was right. We never did forget his name]. And I don't mind it, actually, because I'm so used to it and it was of my own choosing. So please! Keep calling me that. My problem is I'm usually annoyed with whoever corrects my name and I usually mumble "I can speak for myself!" Kinda pointless. But you can correct it for me if you know I never get annoyed with you. Just not on the first day. Actually, just disregard this whole roll call business. I sound like a Mule-ika.

ANYWAY, back to the point seventy thousand paragraphs ago. There's not much you can do in terms of nicknames with the Fox Hills/Westfield Culver City version. Mally sounds like Molly. Mall sounds like, well, a mall.

So, that's why I'm broadcasting the version-that-my-parents-named-me form so you can see where my various family-given nicknames are derived from. But I'm not going to list them. But Mallix is one of them.

Pronounce it "Mull-iks."

AND the best part is that it ends in -ix. Like Goscinny and Uderzo's Gauls. I'm an Indomitable Gaul. Like Asterix and Getafix and lil Dogmatix. And let's not forget Cacofonix. 'cept only the men had -ixs, but all the women in the comics were insufferable, so I can be sufferable and thus earn the -ix.

Ironically, the Gaulish women all had names ending in -a.

Sorry, and You Should Be Ashamed

Dear Anonymice et co.,

Aren't I clever?

That's why you read my blog, right?

Unless you read it to scoff at me and my wonderful run on sentences that are absolutely okay because they make sense and are not confusing.

If your reason is the lator, quit PATRONIZING me and get off this sight.

Pffft.

On a more realistic note, since I have abandoned the notion that I should apologize in every post for my writing, I have a very serious message to convey to you. After I apologize for not updating when I say I will. But that's actually what I want to focus on. I've finally bloody updated and now I get no response. You ungrateful gits. Hmph.

With love,

Mallika

Naaah

1750 hrs

Me: We're going to Prithvi Cafe now? Isn't dinner soon?

Sai di: {incredulous expression} Soon?!

Me:...What time do you eat dinner in India?

Sai di: After 8:30?

Well it's worth the wait. It's been 10 months since the end of my last India trip, so I cannot be chastised too severely for forgetting the notion of Indian Standard Time. IST= an hour after what is conventionally normal/stated in invitation. Here follows an example:

-Arre yaar, come over at 8:30 for dinner.

{Show up at 10 pm}

-Ach, you're so early!

So, I'm back from the cafe place and from a 9:30 Italian dinner that ended at 10:45. You get the idea.

I am in India until the beginning of September and thus am able to justifiably renege on my promise to blog regularly to Anonymous on the previous post. Who is not going to love my writing style blah blah blah after this. Yo. My theory is that this person is my relative, most likely my father, as it is quite true that NO ONE reads my blog. Most of my 8 followers probably haven't ventured into this dusty attic of cyberspace in months. Feeling the love, guys.

I've been going to India at least once every year since I was a wee lass. It works out to a trip every 8 months or so. The minimum stay is 6 days, for my cousin-sister's weddings, and the max has been 7 weeks or so. OH I JUST REMEMBERED. IN YOUR FACE TEAM ITALY. HA. A-n-y-way, this trip'll be about 9-10 weeks.

And so two weeks after writing the above, lemme finish. I go on the computer every two days. I need to post something because there is a dearth of posts on this blog. So either tomorrow, since it is the weekend, or Monday, I shall write a lovely post about my adventures in Bombay NOT MUMBAI AS YOU WOULD KNOW IF YOU ARE A DEVOTED FOLLOWER. I know you're out there. Somewhere.

And I am now- well, in 2.5 hrs- going to watch the Germany-Uruguay match which is at bloody midnight. Which Germany will win. Because they're 'mazing. And because Muller {what the hell I can't find the bloody umlaut thing}is awesometastic and will definitely win the Best Young Play thingamagigy and Klose needs to beat Brazilian Ronaldo who had traumatizing teeth. Actually, the whole German starting XI is pretty awesome. I memorized them for fun. I have strange definitions.

ANYWAY, check out : twitter.com/modernoddity for my #badklosepuns tag which failed horribly. Yes, I'm slightly less ashamed of my twitter feed now. Slightly. And by the way, my apologies go out to my friend who was included in all the subsequent replies to my call for help with the tag due to the 'reply all' feature.

D-d-dare I say/I miss LA?

Technical Difficulties

The editing could certainly use some work. Twas just an experiment.

Of course I didn't write when I promised. But this time 'twas only two days off the proposed date. Progress, eh?

I have decided I shall blame this "radio" silence on my wonderfully spazzy computer. As with everything, there is a looong story behind this, which I shall attempt to coherently tell...after informing you that my writing style is converging to a hybrid state of conversational-like/way too formal so...I don't know what that point of that is. I'm also going to quit apologizing for writing quality. If you like it, you like it. If you don't...I don't like you! There! It's probably getting annoying for y'all to consistently read stupid apologies, so yup. Now to the story...

It all started on Tuesday, which I spent at home, properly sick for the first time in years. In the spirit of mundanity, let me tell you that I woke up while first period was still in progress, so way too early in my opinion. I watched way too much NBC programming, catching up on the Thursday night comedies I missed because I was studying for the APs. Well only one [hm, maybe a post later?].

Then, I felt like listening to music. But listening to it properly. Which means, good music, whole album, pure, etcetera.

I go through phases in music, but they all centre around genres of rock. Last year was my Queen and U2 phase. You should know that I never abandon an artist, as demonstrated through my attachment to ABBA, courtesy of my seven-year-old self. So I still think that Freddie Mercury and Bono are two of the greatest vocalists ever.

And the Edge is awesome and don't you dare disagree.

But lately, I've been leaning towards psychedelic/prog rock [By progressive rock I mean like the space-y, canvas-y kind]. So I decided to spend my day making YouTube playlists of Pink Floyd albums, using mon ami Wikipedia. Out of the legit albums [i.e., not Greatest Hits], I have only 'Wish You Were Here' and 'Dark Side of the Moon.'

So I made playlists for three albums I didn't have[and I'm going to quit talking about the music because I could go on], and was enjoying myself delaying my term paper very much until a little more than halfway through 'The Wall' my computer decided to rebel. The first sign of trouble came in the form of a new tab in Safari every time I clicked on something. Then when I clicked on the iChat icon in the dock, it opened up its folder in Applications. This happened with every app. So I restarted my computer. Then strange things happened with my login screen which I'm getting bored recounting. It took a goof thirty minutes, but I thought I fixed the problem with my amazing skills [I'm not joking, I've fixed everything else before]. Until it happened again a couple of hours later.

The funny part was that these tech problems forced me to pay attention to my research paper, so it was, in a way, a boon.

Until it refused to work properly for the next few days. Then, my father took matters in to his own hands and now dear old Macky's workin' just dandy. Please cross your fingers. After all, if this becomes uncooperative again, you wouldn't be able to read new posts by yours truly. And that would just be a shame.

Inspired?

I have found that it's hard to start at the beginning for anything, be it post titles or article ledes. I like that spelling.

And, subsequently, the beginning of blog posts, itself. If you are reading this for the first time, or even if you're not, you should know that I have the tendency to digress and meander. That might not seem like a good thing, but it entertains me when I reread these. I'm also stating this because I shall not write "I digress" each time now, unless 'tis for 'dramatic' effect. Nor shall I try and explain everything. See sidebar, cryptic > obvious.

I would also like to apologize [I am such a fake. A poseur *gasp* even(read other posts to comprehend the full horror of this statement). I have previously stated my affinity for the Queen's English, yet I spelled 'apologize' as 'apologize' as opposed to 'apologise'] for the currently less-than-stellar [as evidenced by that whole spiel [sp?] in brackets] writing.

Searching through old drafts, I found this gem of a post from late January, which I've decided to attempt to expand. The new stuff starts after this brief interlude.

Anyway... You know here's the other thing. People often [and dude, what's up with saying 'ofTen' instead of 'offin'] say "anyways" instead of "anyway." I'm guilty of this offense as well, but when you think about it it makes no sense to pluralize it. 'Way' refers to 'path,' so it's like if you were to say "Oh, Marion, whichever ways you choose you're never going to end up with a stupid name like John." But that makes no sense. Because young Marion chose a WAY, and ditched his name, which, by the way is my awesome fifth grade teacher's name, in favour of the supposedly manlier 'John Wayne' and see how his life turned out! He has an airport in Orange County named after him!

What was I saying?

See kids, this is why you don't drink black coffee during fifth period, let it cool to much, try and add brown sugar, and then allow Splenda packets to be within the reach of certain people who will pour more than a few into said drink. Yech.

P.S. Honestly. Expect a post tomorrow. Actually, a few. Or on Friday.

In the Spirit of Full Disclosure

With the recent crop of political scandals and resulting resignations, I felt it would be appropriate to divulge certain information that has haunted me for the past seven years, in the event that I pursue a political career.

This sordid saga has its roots in 2003, involving xanthophobia and, it pains me to say, a bribe.

Yes, a bribe. Perhaps even more ignobly, the exchange took place in a classroom setting. How can I bear myself, knowing that I allowed, even initiated, such a heinous act to permeate a room intended for the molding of our nation's youth.

It all spiraled from the christening of our table groups in the classroom, with a 'wild' or 'horror' theme. As my group was unique in that it consisted of two people, we felt naturally superior and therefore named our table after the most illustrious of supernatural creatures, the [true] vampire.

Meanwhile, a rather large group, who incidentally consisted of some good chums, gave their table a rather plebeian, rather unnecessary long [four words] name.

This drew the laughter and scorn of certain members of the class, including, I am loth to admit, myself.

How could I have participated in this breakdown of civility? Where does that leave my moral compass? How can I profess to want to help the world? This is why I take the story to you, my loyal...loyal...um. You get the point.

As we stood in line by the door, eager to escape to glorious nutrition, ahem, sorry, recess, my teacher, who was actually a very pleasant person, swooped down upon a fellow mocker, and instituted what was to me the most horrible punishment of all: "Change your card!"

He, whom I believe was no stranger to the yellow card, went off to do so, leaving me standing in line with bugged-out eyes that anyone who saw me do French dialogues in eighth grade would be familiar with.

Upon his return, I frantically begged him not to rat me out. I pegged him as one of those kids who would not consider 'niceness' as a mantra. And quite honestly, if I had done the same as him, why should I not receive the same consequences?

You have to see, a yellow card [this ain't soccer] would be an unsightly and horrific blemish on my card score sheet. I prided myself on the fact that my last changed card was in 1999. I strived to be the perfect child in school! Each day we remained green meant we could color our score card green. A month of green=teacher lunch [in school] and usually green Powerade [disgusting]. Neither may seem all that appealing to you, but it was. For some reason.

Anyway, I digress. He stood there with a smirk on his face, stubbornly refusing to cover for me. But then I realized I held immense power between my two hands.

Who could resist the power of the mighty Oreo?

I offered him two of my three Oreos in return for his silence. Perfect.

But not really. This lapse of moral judgment and character has haunted me for years. Only in 2007 did I begin to slowly come to terms with my youthful mistake. But I cannot blame it solely on my youth. What kind of monster was I, committing such evil at such an early age?

That is why I take this to you, in the spirt of full disclosure. I cannot keep this unconscionable act to myself any longer. I do not want this incident to torpedo any future career, but of course, that is definitely not the reason I'm sharing this with you. I know you may it find it hard to forgive my indiscretion, but please, in your hearts, find some room.

Mea Culpa.

'Live'blogging the BAFTAs [Attempt]

DISCLAIMER: The formatting is seriously messed up, with words broken apart without - for no reason. I apologize.

Red Carpet: I am just really happy, as they used Kasabian's "Underdog" as soundtrack.

Opening/Monologue: Jonathan Ross is funny. He was very good last year, as well. Unfortunately, I don't know if the audience comprehends his humour, like the expense report dig, as there are quite a bit of Americans there.

Montage: I like the categorization and clipping/editing. "Watchmen" came out only last year?

Duncan Jones is David Bowie's son! But he's probably sick of hearing that. "Moon" looks amazing.

-This 'live'blogging sounds quite juvenile-

Ah, a commercial break. Now, I can explain. I believe that in many respects, the BAFTAs are superior to the Oscars. They're a bit funnier. So, and considering my poseur blogspot profile, I decided that I could definitely 'live'blog this.

I shall publish the post at every commercial break. So keep checking.

I keep adding quotes around 'live,' as the telecast is anything but live, seeing as my watch tells me it's 1:18 in London. Henceforth, the quotes shall disappear. Plus, a LA Times breaking news email alert landed in my inbox hours ago [though I didn't read it. All I know is 'The Hurt Locker' won big].

There was more I was going to say, but I have currently forgot. I hope I don't completely botch this.

"Two people who've spent even less time at the gym than me" -Ross

One emaciated and one tubster walk out. Tubster? Is that even a word? Tubby+Chubster. Well, it's one now.

No really? 'Avatar' won best Special Visual Effects? What an upset!

'Avatar' montage: An American says kilo? They used real horses for the movie!

Supporting Actor: PEOPLE, LAUGH AT THE JOKES! Damn, that's a big theatre. This beard trend is amazing! The acceptance speeches here are much more eloquent/less laundry listed than the Oscars. I really hope that people take advantage of the Thank You Cam that the Oscars are introducing.

Honestly, so far, I do not believe that my blogging has been in any way insightful or interesting. It may also be confusing if you aren't/didn't watch. Or if you're not interested. I Though most blogs in general are not insightful or interesting. But I shall continue. I'd appreciate feedback throughout. I'm just curious to see what the effort produces. So feel free to mark 'Lame' under Reactions. I completely sympathize.

Why is Anil Kapoor here? No offense, man, but you were not the star of 'Slumdog Millionaire.' No offense.

This isn't working. I'm just going to comment on certain

things, not everything.

Supporting Actress: Haha, Matt Dillon! Where are Ms. Linz and Ms. Geletko with a DVD of "The Outsiders." So far, this has been a

Golden Globes repeat.

The formatting has got a bit messed up. Not going to bother to change it now.

Outstanding British Film: The differentiation is interesting. And it also highlights my ignorance and that I shouldn't be doing this. My harping is annoying, right?

'Up in the Air' montage: Awww, Sweeeeeeeet. This movie was good. And depressing-ish. SPOILED.

Original Screenplay: Robert Pattinson looks so strange. He looked so much better in "Harry Potter." I really want to see "The Hurt Locker." Gratuitous Twitter reference: #inanity

Production Design: I should have at least seen "Vanity Fair," since I couldn't finish my annotations. Oh well. Yes, that has nothing to do with the nominees, but apparently with a presenter.Especially in this category, along with the acting ones, you find that you wish certain movies could be re-nominated, or released in a different year, as there is a foregone winner["Avatar"], though many of the others are definitely deserving. A guy fell asleep?! Or was that just a bad shot.

'The Hurt Locker' montage: Dude. I have to see this.

Rising Star Award: Haha, I love the wordplay."Underdog" ain't really the right soundtrack for Kristen Stewart, as she probably wasn't, seeing as this was voted on by the public, and she was in a gigantic film. Her acceptance speech is nice and gracious.

Adapted Screenplay: I like the clip from 'Up in the Air.' Especially the end. They've never seen a male nurse? They've never seen "Meet the Parents?!" What a travesty! [That was a joke.] "Up in the Air!" I remember reading about the battle for the screenwriting credit, so the Globes and Turner's delivery of Reitman's acknowledgments are interesting.

Passings: What are you supposed to say? It is just simply sad.

Animated Film: I haven't seen a single one of these.Unfortunately.

Film Not in the English Language: Haha, I love the "translation."

'Precious' Montage: Woah, the director's changed his hairstyle dramatically since the interview. I don't think I would ever have the guts to see this movie.

Director: Clive Owen! I maintain that "Inside Man" was a fantastic movie. Oh my god, "District 9" was amazing. But I could only sit through half of it. Go Kathryn Bigelow! Haha, I want to know what James Cameron's wife just said. Probably nothing bad, but I'm just curious.

Fellowship: Prince William is a presenter?! Oh, a presenter of a presenter. Cool. Damn, pronouncements by Olivier and Tennessee Williams. That is cool. Dude, Prince William looks like he's about to start laughing aha. I think her speech is lovely.

Actor: The laptop is now running on reserve power, eeps. But it says 29 min left. On verra. Gollum in drag makeup? Yo, Colin Firth.

Actress: Sweet ponytail[?], Mickey Rooney. Haha, teleprompter love. Cool, Carey Mulligan. I wanna see the movie.

Film: Noooo, no more looks at the nominee. Ey, Dustin Hoffman! So, I was watching "Meet the Fockers" the other day, and I forgot how much I loved the movie. Yes, that is a sad reference. Moving on. Yo, 'The Hurt Locker." Cool. I've said that a lot tonight. Yo, cool.

It's over? Already?

Well, thanks for reading this if you are. I'm sorry this wasn't clever, unlike actual critics'. I will try to be better in the future. No, don't scream "noooo" silently, it will be better!

Disclaimer: I'm honestly not trying to offend or make fun of anyone. If I have made an observation about anyone or anything, it doesn't mean I don't like them.

Leafy

This is a really short, banal post. Not quite the way to start blogging after a three month absence. Miss me? Yeah, right.

Basically, I have decided that this month shall be a vegetarian month. No, I didn't pick February because it's the shortest month, but rather because I remembered I was supposed to do it in January halfway through a steak. So I'll probably compensate by extending it through- what's the month after this?- March [?]

I've mandated that no meat can be cooked in this house, since we all eat the same food, much to the chagrin of my father. However, I'll allow meat to be cooked if it's a separate dish. Kind of bossy and not my place, for someone who doesn't cook. Thanks, mom!

As for my decision to do this? I quite honestly don't know. As a younger child, I labelled myself a carnivore and shuddered in horror at the thought of vegetarianism. I liked my vegetables, but I mean, seriously? No bacon? No KFC? No bloody steak? Never mind the fact that I could count the times I've had good ol' Kentucky Fried Chicken on one, maybe one and a half, hands, but still! One never likes not having the option to do something. It's like that whole mentality of not caring about something until it's taken away.

Honestly, though, I really really love vegetables. I'll eat anything from any food group, unless it has bell peppers <---nemesis.

Veggies are inherently delicious. And good for you. So it's really no sacrifice.

Yeah, I'll miss my tempura shrimp, frozen pizza, Panda Express/other Chinese food involving chicken, prosciutto [snob, much? but spelled it right on my first try!], chicken and rice, Jack in the Box tacos [2 for 99 cents!], chili, etc. My, that doesn't sound very healthy. And it's quite a long list. However, it's not like I have meat every day.

Anyway, to close this post about something you probably don't care about, this should be interesting. I'm pretty sure I can totally handle this.

I just realized that this may seem slightly selfish, as I'm not doing this for "humane" reasons, but oh well. I love animals, but that doesn't mean I shan't eat meat. And I hate cows. Ask me about it sometime.

Meat=protein. Yes, vegetarians can use supplements, but did you know... the Dalai Lama was ordered by his doctor to quit being a vegetarian because he developed jaundice due to a lack of protein in his diet. I read this 6 years ago in a Reader's Digest, so forgive me if my memory's not crystal.

And I'm still eating eggs. Ha.