Tuesday, September 22, 2009

fall has fallen

I am knee deep in fall ladies and gentlemen, and I love it.
The leaves are changing, the temperature is pleasant, the fashions I love are in full swing. Alexandra has 20+ happiness points.
These are the things that make me really happy:
1. it’s boots time. this is good for many reasons, primarily I am obsessed with boots. They are one of the few things that never ever ever go out of style (though there are particular boots that come and go). They keep my legs warm, they are comfortable, they look sharp and most importantly they make me look hot!!
2. Apples: so far your humble author has already bought a half a peck of orchard fresh apples with which she has made a slamming pie and hot apple cider. This was just to start humble reader, I also plan on a puff pastry apple tart, baked apple, and apple salad, with walnut, blue cheese and awesome. Plus they taste good on their own
3. As I probably eluded to above, I am a cooking fiend. Now that I can turn on my oven without cooking myself in my apartment that is similar in size to an actual oven, I am cooking like I just learned how. So far on my roster of culinary feats is a whole Asian themed dinner (in which I made the sushi and tempura), steak au poivre, apple pie, jam…to name a few. Thursday my new adventure is a roast chicken (I have made this before but it is soooo tasty) deciding now it it will have a classic seasoning, or if I will make my lemon chicken with balsamic onions.
4. I can have people over without them choking in the heat. My sushi dinner was quite good. We have wine, salmon, veggie and sweet potato tempura sushi, tempura (pepper, green bean (not my favorite) onion (awesome) and sweet potato) edemmame (peanuts) and cha sue bow (sp)thanks to chris. It was FABULOUS

In other notes: I am heading to Philadelphia in three days, not only to see if it really is always sunny but to visit my friend Kate. I haven’t seen her in some time and I am very excited. On the itinerary: have a real phillie cheese, see some museums and go out and have fun.

In other news, this Monday Chris and I are celebrating our one year anniversary…gasp. I am thrilled! He is the one. and I am thrilled! Now I’m not sentimental; ask anyone. I am cynical, and angry, and at times rude to those who ramble about love like it had the same effects of LSD because I believe such sentiments are unlikely to do anything but disappoint (see romantic comedies are ruining the world, at the bottom of the page). And I was not proved wrong. I have met someone who compliments me in every way, makes me feel good when I’m sad, hurts me when we fight, will fight anyone else for me and who I have full and total faith in.. He knows how to make me smile, he knows how to make me laugh and when we are together I am free to be more myself then I ever thought I could. So eat it romantic comedies, real love is more beautiful and more worth celebrating

RD of article I felt like writting

Romantic Comedies are Ruining the World:
By Alexandra
Cinema enlightens us. Like great works of literature, music and national geographic before us, they allow us to experience aspects of life we would normally be unable to experience. But there is a dark side. And that dark side is the romantic comedy. Giving us unrealistic portrayals of love and life, making us see the merit in personalities that are detestable and leading to rejects of love through misinformation of its true forms, they are tearing apart the beauty of modern romance.
Love is as important an aspect of the human experience as easting, sleeping and paying taxes. It is one of the traits of man we feel makes us unique. But let us look at the typical romantic comedy and its attempt to depict this evolution. To Romantic comedies the evolution of love follows a story arch that suggests more pain and humiliation then any human should be meant to endure. Take they typical story arch:
Boy meets girl, boy and girl are happy together, some unfortunate event tares the apart (premising scheme revealed, etc) boy then goes to an extreme length to get her back subjecting himself to humiliation and pain. (ex: 10 things I hate about you, say anything (phil Collins)
The message is clear, if you want someone to love you and you are a women, they have to endure a gauntlet on some kind to deserve this affection. And if you are a man, you don’t have a chance of attaining love unless you are willing to take on such a trial. In what is a rehashed fairytale princess premise, we fulfill a girls childhood fantasy of being rescued from a tower, years after her maturity when such a puerile desire should have been outgrown. Rather then furnish any idea of merit in attaining your desires at your own hand, we are asking the modern women to bypass her own initiative and reward their potential mates for their affection with a slew of near impossible obstacles. Why punish someone for liking you? why is worthiness in need of proof? And is this an accurate test? Such behavior discourages the affection our cinematic counterparts would want us to believe it furnishes, the result detrimental.
In addition to these unrealistic hurdles, romantic comedies also want us to “fall in love” with people that are repugnant. Take an example to this point. See any romantic comedy staring Meg Ryan and you will see this female character: flightily, unreliable, prone to outbursts of mania, jealous, irrational. And all of these traits are meant to be viewed as charming, when in fact the real world counterpart is just annoying. I venture to say that no truly desirable women has ever been presented in film in any other capacity then the girl you leave at the alter for Meg Ryan despite that fact that she is dependable, nice, and financially secure. In this cinematic move to demonstrate that you need excitement and that breading and other seemingly innocuous traits don’t really matter, two things are accomplished. One is that truly desirable traits are downplayed as boring, setting up the assumption that in real life they are worthless as well despite the fact that they lay the groundwork for successful interpersonal relationships. And second, in some instances they seem to wage war on the desirability of head strong grounded women, who tend to be left behind for their more flightly co-stars.
And lastly, the romantic comedy seems to present love as an enigmatic force that changes lives, is worth fighting for, worth dying for etc etc. however, there are minimal depictions of relationships that are simply satisfying. In fact these relationships seem to be an example of distaste in the romantic comedy, the kind of relationship to be avoided. End message, you are not supposed to relax in relationships. Calm = not fun =bad.
So why the open hatred. Because I feel women of the world are suffering from the images that these films present. The so called “chick flick” is actually portraying an interest contrary to the one that should be in our consciousness. And it manifests itself regularly. Women who want the fairy tale are focusing too hard on making a Dawson’s creek life for themselves, and are of the mind that the scenario presented in most romantic comedies is what they should want, or worse, expect. Movies are were we turn to experience what we don’t know, or live a life that is not ours. We look to the movies for guidance, and these films should respond by making real love in film accessible to the youth of the world so they don’t spend years of their life laboring over a false pretense or worse, in relationships dealing with relationships that fit the requirements of a ficticious ideal.

Bypass these failures and check out these films instead:
Metaphoric portrayal of the nuance of interpersonal relations see Secretary
For a film about the power of love overcoming pain see Cherry (it is nauseatingly cute but well worth it’s candy coating)
For a film about your first love see Welcome to the Dollhouse (your first loves reality in all its pimpled dork srunchie wearing glory)
For a film that depicts finding love in unlikely places see Reality Bites (just don’t look hard at the wardrobe …it was the 90’s)
For a film that shows love that is good despite its flaws Eternal Sunshine f the Spotless Mind
For a film that follows the common RC plot line and is still successful Garden State.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

new life in a season where everything dies




Ok there is good news:
- first of all I just received a coupon for feng and/or Ginza restaurants for my anniversary. I get a free entrée up to $15. woot!! I think this combines all of my favorite things it the world:
o sushi
o my boyfriend (as it is our anniversary that warranted this deal
o rewards cards
o rewards from said cards that don’t suck (I’m looking at you Boarders)
o things that are about me
o and free stuff
hurray for Ginza!!!!
- ok two: I have just learned, with glee, that Fall 2009 Runway shows, upon a careful review by me (meaning I looked up a synopsis online) has just lead me to the stunning conclusion that because both cropped jackets and collarless jackets are in for fall I can re-use ne of my few trendy purchases ever (a brown velvet(ish) cropped collarless coat. It was one of those shapeless kinds that were big like two years ago and I got it because at the time I had a lot of disposable income and a need for a light jacket to get me through the warmer days of fall….keep in mind this is all before I finally got my white trench which is timeless despite the pop-away-for-no-reason-buttons. I bought it knowing that it only had a season to live (I guess it is like a mosquito of fashion) but then shablam!! Its back) here is to new life
- and finally, my back is better after a sad turn of pain this past day. I felt like I was being punched in the back every time I did something. This sadly means I have to take a week off the exercise routine which is only half sad because…..well I’m taking a week of the exercise routine.

Anniversary (One year!!) is on the 28th. I am trying to get my butt to Philli to see an old friend the weekend before that!! And it’s almost apple season!!

On that note in fact I have just purchased my first bag of fresh apples and will be enjoying one this weekend. all you kids that live outside New England just don’t know what you’re missing.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

dear John


I am writing a letter:
Dear Joan Osborne,
I wish to address some issues you presented to me regarding a certain theological issue: what is God was one of us?.
Well ms. Osborne it’s like this…God created all man kind (presumably) and if this is true, as the creator of mankind, he cannot be his own creation, therefore not being “one of us” as you so inquisitively put it. In short, you can’t be your own creation ergo the major question of “what if god was one of us?’ is moot..

So thanks for getting it stuck in my head today you fake nose ring wearing, 90’s throwback philosophical hack bag

Kindest regards Alexandra

Another letter pending:

Dear Microwave,
I have a problem that I believe we should address. I am not sure what has happened in our past to warrant such behavior but I would like to know why you insist on burning all of my popcorn. Did the popcorn do something to offend you? Is the popcorn Racist? Sexist? Republican?
Please respond at your closest convenience as I am quite perturbed by the situation we are in
-alexandra