4-D

Over 4,000 page views forModern Girls and Old Fashioned Men!

Thanks dudes,

J+B

Happy Independence Day!

love Bailey and Jess

Reel Talk: IFC Obsession

Within the last 2 months I have discovered the joy of the Independent Film Channel. Every single day there is at least 4 things I want to watch. My Tivo overfloweth! I have become completely obsessed with the channel, but every time that I try and share this joy, no one seems to really know if they get IFC on their tv or they don't really care...EITHER WAY! I am here to enlighten on all things great about IFC

1. Rhett and Link: Commercial Kings

Best friends since the first grade in North Carolina, Rhett and Link are advertising, film, and youtube stars who have decided to use their digital savvy to help others (and get great show material in the meantime). Each episode follows the adorable boys helping two struggling businesses that need to find new customers because of the recession. Rhett and Link get to know the owners and what they want. Beyond creating epic local commercials, there are endless hilarious moments between the film makers and the entrepreneurs. Each episode is fresh and original. It is one of the greatest new shows on television.

2. Freaks and Geeks/Undeclared block

I don't think that I need to really explain the greatness of each of these shows individually, but the brilliant minds at IFC brought the two together in a wonderful rock block of Apatow-esque humor that we love. On the downside, I become completely unproductive whenever these blocks start.

3. Sunday's Best
True to their landmark dedication to film, IFC is not just great because of it's television blocks, but also because of its choice films. One of it's best film series is Sunday's Best. A wonderful mixture of classic movies and small flicks, Sunday's Best gives you and your family a great thing to do while lounging at the end of the weekend.
Examples of films offered: Pulp Fiction, Meatballs, Monty Python at the Hollywood Bowl, Tremors
Please everyone join my IFC obsession. Mostly so I can have someone to talk to and watch more tv with.

Love Bailey

Summer of Springsteen

Summer in Southern California is exactly all of the clichés you have seen on TV, plastered up on billboards and postcards, or even read in the pages of an Isherwood or Pynchon novel. It’s hotter than hell, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who would trade the magic present in those four months (yes, even May and September count as part of the summer in Los Angeles) for any other climate. With the sand filled shoes and smell of Coppertone stuck to fabrics even after a thorough wash, a Los Angeles summer is defined by what music is radiating out of your car stereo into the warm air.

While other artists have made their small mark on certain summers of our adolescents such as Sugar Ray and Girl Talk, the crown of summer will always be held by Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys sound. The combination of the subject of the surf, bikinis, fast cars, and the direct influence of the early Phil Spector sound has proven Wilson’s genius as lovely and timeless again and again. While our problems don’t actually melt away with our sunscreen, they do seem to sting less (which in itself is a miracle). It’s a fresh start that no other season can provide; the arbitrary start of each New Year in the middle of winter can’t inspire nearly as much as a drive down PCH can. The anthems of puppy love and endless sunshine has continued to represent the innocence and hope that each summer brings us.

Sometimes the tinkling sounds of Brian, Dennis, Carl, Al, and Mike just don’t cut it in the rapidly approaching “real world” that seems to encroach on even our most sugary summertime thoughts. It is when these feelings arise that we need a new summer muse; someone who understands the necessity of playfulness, but not at the expense of heavier subject matter.

Enter Bruce Springsteen.

Complete with his E Street Band of misfits, Springsteen’s song book is filled to the brim with summer anthems for kids in emotional transitions, and adults in turmoil, just desperately trying to hold on to the ideals and conviction that spurred them on years ago. While the classic “Glory Days” might come to mind when thinking of our parents and their friends listening to the Boss, we can’t simplify the need for Bruce to one perfectly compartmentalized song. His early sense of struggling hope continues to push the rest of us along with a driving beat and usually a killer sax solo from the late Big Man Clarence.


From break out hits on Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, to the quiet and introspective Nebraska, and even the semi recent The Rising, Springsteen masters the artist/audience relationship building a connection to last a music lover’s lifetime. Just listening to “Badlands” once on a failing car stereo, you feel like you immediately know who Springsteen is and you understand his driving frustration when he sings lyrics like this with such fire and brimstone:

You better get it straight darling:
Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings,
And a king aint satisfied till he rules everything.
I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got.

It seems simple and cliché, but isn’t this how everyone feels when they are down on their luck? This universal connection is what keeps Bruce in our hearts and on our radios when the hot summer months aren’t as carefree as they were in our salad days.


With the passing of Clarence Clemons—the E Street Band’s saxophone player—there is a hole in the sparkling lineup of Bruce’s band that will never be fully replaced, but never forgotten. To quote my father: “energy can neither be created nor destroyed which means that the love and actions of the dead are never gone”. Every time that you drop the needle (or press play) on a Springsteen album the magic of Clemons and the heart of Bruce continue to entertain and affect us deeply.

It is in this use of the laws of energy that a summer of Springsteen is more comforting than that of the gorgeous harmonies of Wilson and the Beach Boys; it is the connection of human struggles and the triumph of the rebellious spirit.

Reel Talk: Beastly

I know that we haven't been updating as much as usual, but now we are back and ready for action. Sorry for the delays!

As for Beastly the Vanessa Hudgens driven car crash, I saw this on an airplane yesterday and wanted to gouge my eyes out.



You might say, "Come on, it really couldn't be all bad!"
I would have to counter you by saying "Yes. It was ALL bad."

There was nothing redeeming at all about this Beauty and the Beast "kool kid update" including casting Neil Patrick Harris as a blind tutor. Don't get me wrong, I love NPH as much as the next lady, but this was just such a sad career choice.

Now that is all I am going to say about this mess of a movie, because honestly this is probably as many minutes the writers spent on the script.

Fat Girl Pro-Tip

I just bought these tights from Target for $14.00. Now I know that seems like a lot for black tights when they have 5 dollar pairs at Target, but I figured it was worth it since all my tights are basically ripped to shreds. First of all, I'd like to say that even if you are a skinny girl, you should really check out shape wear. I know a lot of shape wear is scary looking and can be pretty expensive, but it is a worthwhile investment. All I'm saying is, go buy some Spanx, or, if you can't afford Spanx like me, go to Target and get these. They're made by Spanx. I know as a proud fat girl I should be saying shit like "FUCK SHAPEWEAR, IT'S BARBARIC!" Don't get me wrong, I love letting my thunder thighs hang out, but sometimes I like to keep everything, you know, smooth and stuff.

BEEP BEEP (Future Talk) Pomp and Circumstance

This past Saturday marks the moment where I left my longest job as a student, and moved over into the world of not students. After around 18 years of my life being determined by teachers and professors, syllabi's and book lists, essays and exams, you'd think that I'd explode with excitement or die of sorrow, but neither was the case. I just feel like I need a break; maybe later I will start to feel weird, but not now.

The ceremonial changing of my definition in life came and went through 3 student speakers give their shout outs, and around 300 kids--excuse me, freshly made adults--walk across the stage of the Greek Theatre and pick up a fake diploma. While I was incredibly excited to hear my name and make my family proud for the second weekend in a row, I was more excited about stepping on the stage where I saw Arcade Fire and Wilco. Even Mario Savio got tackled and arrested on this stage! I began to wonder why this was more interesting to me, and why I couldn't fully appreciate walking across the stage to shake the hand of a very important English lady in a house of the highest public education in the country.

What was wrong with me? Was it because my family didn't bring an obnoxious air horn?

Only after the last flash bulb had blinded me in a less than flattering photo by GradImages, I realized that my lack of enthusiasm for the academic graduating was the most comforting thing in my life at this moment. I was excited about music. Getting giddy about past performances at the Greek Theatre not only jump starts my passion for music, but it also pushes me to continue to strive for my goal as a music journalist. Recently I have been doubting my dream job because of set backs and intimidation, but as I walked across that stage to grab my fake legal document I knew that I had the power of an English degree and it could help me come back to this "Athens of the West" to see more shows like Van Morrison or Daft Punk and remember that I do have a voice worth speaking.

Now for your enjoyment here are some photos of the ceremony. All photography credit goes to Julia Pennick.













(oh yeah it was also the day of the Rapture)