what's old is new again

The best way to shop these days seems to be in my mother's closet. These rings are amazing, and I haven't had to buy new ones in ages because I love these so much. I only hope that if I have a daughter that she will like my jewelery as much I do. It's funny to think that maybe, just maybe, my extravagant earrings and necklaces will be considered cool and vintage by later generations. I guess I'll hang on to all my stuff too, just in case.

a million little pieces

I decided I wanted to read this book after all the controversy around it came to fruition. Like they say, any press is good press right? So I just finished reading it, and it is phenomenal. James Frey is a really gifted writer, and I don't care if the entire experience is made up – the man can tell a compelling story! Wow.

I know a few people who are in AA, but prior to reading the book I didn't know anything about the 12 steps. I had no idea what a large part faith in God played. Through the entire book, counselors are telling him that the 12 steps are the only thing that work, but because he doesn't believe in God he says that he won't be able to follow the steps. I haven't read any book that is a bestseller that takes such an anti-religious standpoint. I think his view of God and his refusal to conquer his addiction by putting faith in something he does not believe in is the most riveting part of the book. Although he does want to get clean, he is not willing to compromise and feign belief in a higher power in order to try and stay sober. I think it's really admirable that after everything he's been through he listens to himself and it is his own determination to remain sober. To him it's a matter of willpower and control.

The whole time I was reading it I was expecting him to give into the 12 steps and to find God. I figured that was the reason the book was a bestseller. I'm so glad he didn't because it would have turned the book into some sort of religious propaganda, and frankly that's not what I signed up for when picked it up. I think this aspect is what made his story so successful – the fact that it doesn't get preachy, and that it is merely one man recounting his experience. Personally I got the sense while reading the book that he did not expect the book to become as popular as it did, and it seems he wrote the book more for himself than for the general public. Even if he did make most of it up, I don't care because sometimes the truth isn't nearly as interesting as fiction.

jimmy dean

I would like to take a moment to honor the beauty that is James Dean.



Ahh... they just don't make them like this anymore.

dream a little dream

So I stumbled upon Stephenie Meyer's website a few weeks ago and while perusing I read that she had a dream where a boy and a girl were talking in a forest, and that they were in love. But here's the twist, as quoted from her website:

"In my dream, two people were having an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. One of these people was just your average girl. The other person was fantastically beautiful, sparkly, and a vampire. They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the facts that:
A) they were falling in love with each other while
B) the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining himself from killing her immediately."

So this woman has made thousand and millions of dollars off of remembering her dream! Regardless of what you or I may think of the books, that's amazing. All of this from one little dream! I swear to god I'm going to start keeping a dream journal or something.

adorable stupidity

Due to the fact that yesterday's blog was rather abstract and thoughtful, here's something amusing so there's no risk of this blog taking itself too seriously. Enjoy.


Sleeping Dog Runs Into Wall - Watch more Funny Videos

exp. 7/17/2007

I am currently taking a Buddhism class, and really really enjoying it. We have talked about the basic fundamentals etc. etc., and one of the truths is that "life is suffering." At first this sounds extremely pessimistic, but when you think about it it's actually very true. We form attachments to everything around us whether it be tangible objects (ipods, cars, computers) or people. We forget that everything is impermanent and that everything will die. The buddhists view death differently from the way most western religions do; they see it as a part of life and accept it for what it is because ultimately everyone will die. This is a hard thing for us to think about, but it is true and there is nothing we can do about it.

I realize this sounds like such a downer to us because we typically don't like to think of life this way. But try taking this view of death and putting it in the mindset that we should appreciate everything around us while it's still here, and all of a sudden the thought seems very optimistic. We were talking in class how we take things for granted, and that we can't even recall little details about small things, such as our environment while walking into town.



This is what struck me. I couldn't tell you anything about the signs and buildings on the side of the 5 on my way to and from work, but I can tell you every goddamn thing about the walk from the collége in Cannes into town. I swear I remember every step, every smell, everything.

This made me ask myself why I could still recall these details so easily even thought it has been almost two years since I left for Cannes. I came to the conclusion it was because I knew I would only be there for a certain amount of time, and then it would be over. I wanted to take in as much as possible so that I could enjoy it while it lasted. This got me thinking that this must be how buddhists view life. Because everything essentially has an expiration date, everything is precious and we should enjoy every aspect of life while it lasts, because some day we will die. It sounds harsh even to me as I write this, but I like the thought of seeing everything as impermanent (like my stay in Cannes) and trying to enjoy every aspect of it while I can. I know this sounds preachy and I really don't mean for it to. It's just something that I've been thinking about and wanted to put into words so that I could better understand the idea myself.