"In vacant or in pensive mood..." I am: Bekah; 24; Law Student / Favorite Things: Carbs (so there!), Johnny Damon, Smiling at babies, Grilled cheese, Comfortable silence / Favorite Supreme Court Justice: Brennan / Favorite Wilson: Owen by an inch / Today's Special: Song: Elliott Smith, "Bled White"; Quote: "You know, there's like a butt-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I'm pretty good with a bowstaff." Please love me: mmbekah@yahoo.com

 
Bekah’s Mix # 1,425,873 (approximately): “Costa’s Birthday Mix”

(Kind of spoils the surprise for her, but what the hell. Happy early birthday, Cost! Justin Timberlake made a special appearance just for you!)

1. Brand New Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
2. Pete Yorn Crystal Village
3. Sleater-Kinney One Beat
4. Bright Eyes Lover I Don’t Have to Love
5. Old 97’s Salome
6. Justin Timberlake Like I Love You
7. Spoon Someone Something
8. Ryan Adams La Cienega Just Smiled
9. Jimmy Eat World Blister
10. Built to Spill Car
11. Jurassic 5 Thin Line
12. Idlewild You Held the World in Your Arms
13. AFI The Leaving Song
14. Jayhawks Stumbling Through the Dark
15. R.E.M. Sitting Still
16. The Shins Caring is Creepy
17. Radiohead Where I End and You Begin
18. Interpol Obstacle 2
19. Elliott Speed of Film
20. Whiskeytown Inn Town

Please see my entry on Thursday, March 27, 2003, for a detailed account of my mixing guidelines and methods. I can't link to that for you because I am a moron.

Link of the Day

Thanks to Patrick for sending me this link and allowing me to discover the joys of the Creation Science Fair. I especially enjoy the projects entitled "Women Were Designed for Homemaking" and "Rocks Can't Evolve, Where Did They Come From Mr. Darwin?"

posted by Bekah at 1:45 PM :: |

 
Toothbrushes, Airbrushes, and Brushes With Greatness

There's been a growing public obsession with white teeth over the last year or so. Strips, paints, toothpastes, mouthwashes, treatments, etc. Now, I do think yellow teeth are gross, and I'm thankful for all of the dentists who have prevented me from looking like I've been living on cigars and Espresso my whole life. But I'm also not so sure that teeth are really supposed to be laser-jet-printer-paper-white. I don't think that's the color of enamel, I don't think that color occurs in nature, and I don't think a perfectly pearly white smile is an attainable goal. Which has gotten me thinking about the misconceptions we have about ourselves and others. Our air-brush culture. Like Debra Messing on the cover of whatever magazine it was, when she suddenly, thanks to remarkable (and I mean really incredible) feats of airbrush technique, grew breasts. Or a stretched-out photo of Kate Winslet in lingerie, prompting her to step up and say, "this is not what I look like." I realize that this is old news; the fact that we live in an image-controlled, touched-up society is a truism at this point. (It's a truism, at least, for most of us, but not for the 11 year old girls who starve themselves because they think Lara Flynn Boyle is the epitome of beauty. Great Simpsons exchange, by the way: "Aaah!" "What is it?" "Oh nothing, I just sat on Lara Flynn Boyle.").

All of this is really just a socially-conscious segue into something quite trivial: a short account of one of my favorite (and one of my only) brushes with fame. I begin this way merely to illustrate that the few times I have run into famous people, they have been nothing like their public selves--or at least nothing like I expected them to be. Scratch the surface, and everyone's...a little discolored.

I met Trent Reznor (NIN lead singer) last semester at a bar. I was standing with a friend about two feet away from him. We both spotted him at the same time, and looked at each other with excitement and disbelief (my friend and I looked at each other; Trent Reznor was talking to someone else at the time). I was feeling brave, so I went over to talk to Trent (yeah, we're tight like that now) and his crew. I walked up to him and said, "You aren't doing a very good job of fitting in." He responded, "Really, what am I doing wrong?" "Nothing, you're being...you." We chatted a little bit about where he lives and what he's up to these days. And then several things started to dawn on me. 1) Trent Reznor is short, probably only slightly taller than I am; 2) Trent Reznor is quite shy and awkward in conversation, and is very kind and considerate to slightly annoying fans; and 3) I honestly cannot picture the Trent Reznor I met in the bar singing some of the lyrics that I know he sings. It was refreshing. Later in the evening I introduced my friend Matt to "Trent" as if we'd been friends forever. Pretty sweet. I realized that yes, Trent Reznor looks totally hard and kick ass on the cover of Rolling Stone, and he does sing lyrics that chill middle America to its very core, but he's really just a nice guy who goes out for a drinks with his friends over the weekend. The final lesson I learned that night was something we all already know, but sometimes tend to forget: No one is magazine-ready all the time and no one is as easy to peg as we might think, but we can all be rockstars.

Ok Trent, I wrote about you like you wanted. Call me, ok?




posted by Bekah at 10:52 PM :: |

 
New Southern Bumper Sticker Favorites: (seen and/or purchased in gas stations on my way home)

1. YES LORD We Will Ride With You.
2. If 10% is enough for The Lord, it's enough for the IRS.
3. I didn't claw my way to the top of the food chain to eat VEGETABLES.
4. Heaven is Real. Do you have reservations?
5. Have you talked to the lord lately? (Written with the word "Lord" in the style of the Ford logo, as in "Have you driven a Ford lately?" Good, right?

And then, there's this one, which crosses the line from funny redneck piety and idiocy (which I appreciate and derive a great deal of pleasure from) to sheer ignorance (which saddens me greatly):
"I Have a Dream" written alongside a picture of the Rebel Flag flying on top of the Capital building.

posted by Bekah at 7:01 PM :: |