Watch Paper Heart, it smells like Christmas

Quick Verdict: Watch this slow paced, but heart warming mockumentary about love if you have the time. The inspiring stories are worth enduring the secondary romance between Charlyne Yi and Michael Cera. You might also enjoy the adorable soundtrack.

Movies w/ Similar Vibes: Dan in Real Life, 500 Days of Summer

It made me feel...all fuzzy and warm inside. And bored some parts.

DVD Extras: You must watch Charlyne interview comedians about the existence of love. ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!

extended plot overview & review
CHARLYNE YI DOESN'T BELIEVE IN LOVE. She doubts love's existence entirely, questions the power of love, and even worries about her capabilities to love. Seemingly radical, Charlyne manages to hit a nerve in all of us. Besides, can any one truly provide a universal definition for love? Paper Heart sets out to find the answer.

Part documentary, part typical romance, Paper Heart is the quirky indie film that you expected it to be. At first, the awkward, yet charming Charlyne travels across America to interview people ranging from scientists to the owners of a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. Each provide unique and memorable stories, illustrated by cute marionettes. Separated by location and experience, all of the interviewees passionately agree on the existence and importance of love in their lives -even the divorcee and widow. Baffled, Charlyne sticks to her stubborn "I don't believe in love" ordeal.

That is until she meets Michael. Michael Cera, that is, who plays her love interest in the fabricated storyline of the movie. The two share a genuine dorky chemistry and often exchange quick, witty dialogue. Not your typical blockbuster romance, but it secretly grows on you.

After a few dates, Charlyne admits that she really likes Michael and even misses him while she travels to interview people. One would assume that she would give in to the concept of love, but she holds her ground. "I wanna be his girlfriend, but not the girlfriend," remarks Charlyne.

Near the end of this slow paced movie, the presence of the "documentary" crew has placed strains on the relationship between Michael and Charlyne. The gawkiness of Charlyne may also place strains on you and the movie.

Ironically, Charlyne spends a few days in Paris, the city of love, confirming her worst fear. After 12 hours of filming she exclaims," I'm not said over Michael! I'm sad because I can't love him. I can't lie and say that I love him back when I don't. I can't!"

Poorly planned romance aside, Paper Heart succeeds in shedding an optimistic light on love. The interviews are sincere and are central to the power of Paper Heart. Without definitely answering the questions it sought to answer, Paper Heart leaves the audience to draw conclusions.

In the end, Charlyne goes to Canada to make amends with Michael, without the cameras rolling.
She then tops the movie off with the greatest marionette scene yet, which involves her riding a motorcyle with Michael fiercly clutching her back.

Maybe after all, Charlyne Yi does believe in love.

Taipei, Taiwan

International travel has left me BAMBOOZLED. (I wasn't aware of the present time or day until trying to write this post)
But for all the hassle of connecting flights and security checks, I finally got to settle in Taipei, Taiwan, or at least for a day. Tomorrow morning, I leave for the Philippines.

We flew on Malaysia Airlines from LAX (L.A. International Airport), which was pretty sweet for 14 hours of airtime. All kinds of Asian people, lady attendants dressed in Asian dresses (shocker), meals, leg space, and sweet monitors embedded into the seat in front of you, complete with games, recent movies, and music. All included in the ticket fare!

Taipei's airport was basically deserted when we got there. The advertisements were brightly colored, featuing cute cartoons, as one might expect an Asian country to have. There are signs about H1N1 virus and hand sanitizer everywhere - quarantine is no joke either, they had heat sensing cameras! COOL!

Fast forward 2 hours later, and we took a double decker bus to the hotel.

Mighty Fine Albums

WHAT MAKES AN ALBUM SO SPECIAL?
Vinyl, CD, or digital download, an album provides a true insight on an artist's creativity and hard work. Instead of listening to a 3 minute song on the radio, you are forced to bask in several songs from the same artist, track after track after track. Do these songs fit together? Does it bore you for a bit then finally pick up? Are you let down with the new musical direction? Or are you frantically skipping to the song you heard on the radio?

If you're lucky, you'll stumble upon a couple of mighty fine albums yourself. The albums listed below have not only heightened my respect for the artists themselves, but are solid gold from start to finish.

Take a break from our search-download-play state of mind, and just listen.

In no particular order...

Electronic-Pop
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
by Imogen Heap

DISCOVERY
by Daft Punk

ANGEL MILK
by Telepopmusik

FAME
by Lady Gaga

LIKE VINES
by The Hush Sound

BAD
by Michael Jackson

THRILLER
by Michael Jackson

R&B, Soul - Hip-Hop
DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS
by Alicia Keys

THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
by Lauryn Hill

MAMA'S GUN
by Erykah Badu

GET LIFTED
by John Legend

CORINNE BAILEY RAE
by Corinne Bailey Rae

GRADUATION
by Kanye West

Alternative - Acoustic
PARACHUTES
by Coldplay

OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SEA
by Oren Lavie

THE REMINDER
by Feist

INBETWEEN DREAMS
by Jack Johnson

MUTEMATH
by Mutemath


What are your favorite albums?

Measurements

I usually like to make my posts USEFUL to someone out there, but this drawing made me laugh. I'd say it's pretty accurate besides the too strong shoulde rs and pronounced hips. And the fact that I'm wearing heels, when the height recorded is me without shoes. Me and my mom were taking our measurements for our dresses in my grandparent's 50th anniversary.

I'm also going to play fashion blogger for a sec. Apparently, everyone thought my outfit was cute today. I felt like a comfy grandma.

BTW: these pictures are taken by my cellphone, LG Chocolate Touch (which I should write a review about) in low-light settings WITH minor touch-ups.

Where did you get your shoes?
My mom's Sporto Boots from the 90's. Found them in the garage.

you look like christmas.
comfy red sweater from thrift store, black turtleneck under summer dress.

calvin klein tights from TjMaxx, my oh my they are COMFY!

I still think the guys at lookbook.nu are the real fashionistas! I only put together outfits every once in a while.

One last thought: Gr, it's FINALLY getting colder. That means no more pretty leaves and opportunities to wear leggings. =[

super quick ! Opinion/Review: New Moon

QUICK VERDICT: Diehard fan or pressured to go, the impressive visual experience, believable acting, and of course, the complicated romance, makes New Moon worth your $9.

WHO YOU'LL SIT NEXT TO: General fans (the obsessed ones have already seen it), dates, girls, groups of teenagers, moms, boys dragged along, girls

PLOT: Bella doesn't want to age. Edward makes a clean break from Bella and leaves her devastated. Bella becomes a social recluse, has nightmares, and sees apparitions of Edward every time she does something dangerous. Bella befriends ridiculously buff, werewolf Jacob. The definition of Jacob and Bella's friendship constantly gets blurred. When Bella gets word that Edward will kill himself, she jets off to save him...and I really don't want to reveal the conclusion.

SPARE ME: Bella's pathetic depression, cheesy humor, Bella's depression (it's that annoying)

Vibes: American University

I'm a HORRIBLE blogger. There were so many things I could have ranted about, such as my first (and last) homecoming dance, my first trip to NYC, my school struggles, the pretty sights I've been seeing this fall (I swear I've seen the prettiest foliage this year...I love fall!!), the annoying college process. The list goes on and on and on...

But tonight, I will post about the vibes I got from my visit to American University, a private university in D.C., and also the only private school I'm applying to (price IS important).

Enjoy and read analytically!


Why AU? Awesome communications and study abroad program, location (beautiful suburban D.C.), size (medium sized)
I'm interested in... SOC- school of communications
Yikes ! AU estimates that the price for a full time undergrad for 1 year is about $40,000 + (tuition+room/meal+other expenses)
BUT their financial aid dept. has a good rep and they make sure their students don't run into any administrative problems (we're talking faculty and student advisors that are easily accessible)
They're so D.C... The overwhelming majority of students here are enthusiastic about politics, extremely driven, and competitive. They are also white...and rich.

Alas, another rainy day (perhaps this is a sign???). Yet the rain didn't detract from the beauty of the campus at all. Even driving there was a sight to see, as we drove by Embassy Row and the residential area of upper class D.C. Upon entering the actual campus, I was attracted to the abundance of beautiful trees and very elegant buildings. My tour guide, Nadia, described AU as the best of the worlds, and I agree. It's a college nestled in residential D.C., and a shuttle and metro ride away to the more city like D.C.

Most kids dressed casually and some girls donned colorful rain boots ( I need to get myself a pair). To sound stereotypical and shallow, the students looked like the politically oriented, studious, intellectual people they probably are. There are many more girls than guys, and there is a strong gay community. I feel a teeny bit out of place because politics confuses me (well, not the actual process itself, but the issues, which takes tons of research to truly understand). I feel like a complete slacker compared to them. In the info session alone, I was intimidated. This one senior from D.C. said his school required the completion of 1 internship - he had 5. A junior from New Hampshire volunteered on various political campaigns. Even the parents were asking questions like they were journalists on a mission. Will I rise to the challenge or blend in the background next to these ambitious students?

Why so serious?

I was surprised to see that not many people were wearing AU apparel, but the tour guide was very excited about their basketball team (they have no football team). Again, sports don't really mean much to me, but I do appreciate good school spirit. I think I'd have fun watching a basketball game here, but I do wonder how spirited AU actually is.

A view of AU's pool. Access to their nice gym is free, but it ought to be for their sticker price.

some students (mostly female) in one of the cafeterias

Dorm life here is comparable to College Park and UMBC (i.e. community bathrooms), but they have a really nice closet system/arrangement of furniture going on here.


If College Park and American were the same price, I think I'd still go to College Park. American is wonderful, but it seems...older, too refined for the state of mind I'm in right now. Maybe when I'm older.

UMBC Campus Visit

This is the second campus I've visited (first one was College Park), so I'll do a quick run down of first impressions and some comparison to College Park, since they are both part of the University of Maryland system. Think about what YOU want in a college, then form an educated opinion!

Why UMBC? Price (public state school), location (near Baltimore inner harbor), size (medium sized)
I'm interested in...media & communications ( an extremely new major to UMBC's curriculum!)
It's kind of different...there are no rolling green hills, Greek life isn't huge, and sports aren't huge (homecoming = soccer, they made it to the "Final Four" of chess last year)
BUT you are guaranteed a quality education and many support resources!

This is probably a horrible way to start off this post, but we couldn't take pics outside because it was raining all day. But as mentioned, this is not your typical green, quad based campus. I'd call it "industrious" and the buildings are very business like. Walking through the campus was refreshing because of all the diversity (both College Park and Baltimore push this aspect SO much). Most kids were casually dressed, and a lot of yellow UMBC hoodies brightened the otherwise very dreary day. This is going to sound so shaky, but it seemed like all the nerdyish kids seemed completely comfortable at UMBC. I could imagine finding a good group of friends here.

Walking's not much of a problem, seeing as most of the academic classes are conveniently placed in "Academic Row." The smaller classes have seats like traditional high schools, and the lecture halls are pretty nice (not as nearly as big as College Park). The overall atmosphere was chill (maybe because it was a rainy day??) and you really feel like as if you're in a semi-knit community.

Now on to the very few pictures my dad took...
This is the entrance to the gym. The gym facilities were not very impressive...in fact they were pretty dinky. The basketball court reminds me of North Point's gym, except bigger. If you're into physical activity, there are plenty of things to do, but the facilities aren't top notch at all.



Now on to dorm life! In my opinion, these dorms are better than College Park. The rooms are more spacious and no community bathrooms! If you're in a double room, you share a bathroom with the room next to you. Each room comes with a wardrobe since there is no closet, a microfridge, 2 twin beds, and a sink. Each floor is co-ed and has your standard commons type room.


Awh, man I forgot the name of this library. It has a coffee shop, a computer lab, areas for free tutoring/assistance, and of course books! They just added a digital photo database too. In terms of having access to materials, you're bound to find something revelent. But the library budget got cut recently (as well as College Park). Well actually, it seems like everyone's budgets are getting slashed these days.


The last stop was The Commons, a place for students to eat, play, and chill.

Beyond the campus you can take the MTA bus to the Inner Harbor or drive yourself wherever (freshmen can have cars in a satellite parking area).

Final shot:
UMBC didn't have that "wow" factor like College Park had. BUT I'm quite the introvert - the laidback atmosphere of the campus would really suit me. The size of the campus, its classes, and all the effort this school puts into making sure their students are on the right track are big plusses for me. Their Media & Communications track may be new , but I'm completely excited about the course load. They might not have the most prestigious journalism program or brand new facilities (like the Knight Building at College Park), but I don't think I'd mind going here. For now, I'm still pushing for that classic experience - feeling overwhelmed, football games, & school spirit .

My only irk is that their newspaper, The Retriever, sounds like it's written by rookies, almost like high school!