Halloween

Okay, so I have known for a while that scary movies and myself don't exactly mess well. Sometimes I try to be a good sport and partake in the, er, fun. Over the summer, I went to High Tension with Alexa. After nearly throwing up when the dad's head was whacked off and the mom's throat slashed we left for my sake. Not too long ago I watched Taking Lives (not even that scary) with Dez. I made her come home and sleep with me.

Sunday I agreed after quite a bit of persuasion to go to see Saw II for Shannon's birthday. I'm not good at handling blood and gore. I didn't even watch the opening scene of Saw II, but hearing him cut out his own eye, dig around for the key that was under it, and then the trap closing on his head was enough for me. I passed out. I went to watch In Her Shoes instead.

With scary movies you have mostly all gore or a really fucked up story line. I obviously don't do gore, and as for the fucked up plots, it disturbs me that there are people who actually think this shit up. Even though I liked Seven and actually made it through the movie, the thought of someone's entire life revovling around their elaborate plot to kill others is creepy as hell. Random acts of violence are one thing, but when a person methodically plots these murders it gets to me.

Some people will blow off my concern by saying, It's only a movie. But the fact is that real people write these things down and make movies out of them, and other real people do these things with their lives. So as a result, I am writing off scary movies for good.

Follow up

I found the link for the Flight of the Conchords' official website that they put on the internet a few months ago. Their show is back on HBO for November so there's another opportunity to see their stuff.

Flight Of The Conchords

Sexiest village people I've ever seen!

VATOS LOCOS

watch out ese, we'll f*ck a brotha up

Freedom of Speech

Some people like to say that ignorance is bliss. However, in light of the recent vandalism to this blog, I would like to argue otherwise. I can see no way in which someone could feel good about themselves after posting such hateful things on the blog of two girls just attempting to entertain themselves and their friends. So, whoever you are Mr. Azle, or wherever it is that you are from, we'd like to ask that you back up your oh-so-brazen comments by standing up and being counted. If you want to post about us like you know us or have some idea of our lives, then let us know who you are. Until you have the courage to do so, please refrain from ruining our blog with your insensitive and IGNORANT comments. I doubt that our Forefathers intended freedom of speech to be used in such a hateful manner. And by the way, you can call me a lot of things, but don't ever, EVER call me worthless. Asshole. Thanks for your time.

Best Wishes,
Mel Jay and Rachael

to cap off an otherwise dull day

I have been meaning to tell you guys about this band that Joe introduced me to, The Flight of the Conchords. I know you may be saying, Since when has Rachael liked New Zealand folk music? But these guys infuse their music with humor, and if you make me laugh, I'll most likely come to love you. If you can get your hands on their HBO One Night Stand performance, you'll laugh your ass off too. They want to deal with the issues; for them it's all about the future.

I dealt with some issues myself tonight. Although we weren't talking about Russian dolls or rogue unicorns, but did come across the topic of imaginary relationships and monkeys and imaginary relationships with monkeys, it was nice to get some of what has been bothering me lately off my chest. It's a welcome change to have a good conversation with someone who understands where I'm coming from.

IN CASE YOU MISSED HER...

Mi Familia

Ah, family. Just coming down from an amazing "Girl's Weekend" with my mom and sis. What a great reminder of the importance of the ones you love!! But, I will decline to get all sappy on your ass. Instead, I'll give you the official "Top Ten Things Seen and Heard During the Jarrett Girl's Weekend 'o Fun 2005." (Long title, I know, I'm still working on it).

10. "If you spelled Georgia like the people here say it, it would be JawwJuh." (me to my sister within ten minutes of their arrival)
9. "Does G Love still have his special sauce?" (yes mother, he does.)
8. "Oh LOOK honey, there's the Catholic Church!!" (again, my mother)
7. "That bitch. Forget about the 'honor system.'" (My mom, as she pours another glass of wine at Macaroni Grill in mock protest to our whore of a waitress.)
6. "Do they sell alcohol before noon here?" (starting to notice a trend?)
5. "Well, we'll have to leave at 5:30 am, but at least we can make it to Waffle House." (me, of course)
4. "I'm going for the Amanda Bynes, 'What I Like About You' look, but on a budget." (me to my sister while in Nordstom trying on oversized sunglasses)
3. "God, when you get to Lubbock the first thing we are doing is getting you a pedicure." (um...thanks Mom?)
2. "Do you think Beanie recognized us?" "I wonder what little Gucci is doing?" and other insipid comments such as this referring to our dogs as people, or better yet, small children.

And the number one comment overheard during the "Jarrett Girls' Weekend 'o Fun 2005"...
1. "Should we get another bottle of wine??"

Wyn Tee

Not because you asked. Just because I can.

1. You used to have a Nelly doll in the dorm room.
2. Song: Khia, My Neck My Back; and the PCD. Movie: Anchorman, duh. Oh, and Teen Witch.
3. "okRay"
4. On our official recruiting visit. Quiet but nice. But I thought you'd go to Michigan!
5. Quiet competitor. Haha. Plus, I wa so worried and nervous about making a good impression that I didn't pay too close attention. What can I say, I'm selfish!
6. No jello. Pudding baby, with Bill Cosby as the referee. "Challenge!"
7. How come I have never met your dad?!

Justin

This one is going to be extra challenging since I have known you for a week strictly through your blog!

1. You have an affinity for online quizzes.
2. Damien Rice, Volcano; Garden State.
3. I will have to get back to you on this one.
4. Reading your blog last Tuesday.
5. That you are especially witty.
6. Mystery Magical Twist.
7. Are you a bottomless pit of ideas?

Cap'n C

1. Let's play three hit.
2. Celine, It's All Coming Back to Me. Anchorman.
3. Yes, I drive a BMW.
4. Playing beer pong with you at Matt's.
5. What spontaneity.
6. Extreme green apple.
7. Would you marry Will Ferrell? For real.

Rachael Ray

1. "If I can play this, then I'm not drunk."
2. The Scabs, "Tarantula"; Kill Bill
3. The Ultimate Hangover Cure
4. We have another quaddamn recruit???
5. No way does she drink.
6. The champagne millenium edition. Duh.
7. How now brown cow?

Mel Jay

1. "I bet I can stay on for more than 30 seconds!"
2. Song: Hollaback Girl. Movie: Love Actually
3. All the gold in the sunset.
4. We were at Buffalo Wild Wings on Sixth watching the Yankee/Florida playoff game and drinking beer on my visit. You were heading a political debate.
5. What a stiff.
6. Strawberries & Creme (the kind in the snack cups, you know?).
7. Did you spend your childhood in the library?

Hit me

So if you leave your name on here I will

1. Respond with something random about you.
2. Tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. Say something that only makes sense to me and you.
4. Tell you my first memory of you.
5. Reveal what I thought of you upon first impression.
6. Chose a flavor of jello we could wrestle in.
7. Ask you something that I have always wanted to know about you.

Ask and you shall be told

A genie has granted you three wishes... what would they be and why?

1. I would wish that I could get by on about 3 hours of sleep everyday and had unlimited resources so that I could knock out some things on my "To Do" list. To have the money and time to travel the world with a few of my closest friends tops the list. During the week, I get so busy I can't tell yesterday from tomorrow. I feel like there are so many things that I just don't have time to get to that I would like to do, so those extra hours gained each day would allow for so much more productivity.

2. Several months ago my cousin sustained severe head injuries in a car accident. He is recovering and can function, but still relies on a nurse for some things. I would wish that he regain full independence and get to spend more time with his kids.

3. My last wish would be for Angelina to leave Brad for me!

What is your secret guilty pleasure, and when do you generally indulge in it?

This is no secret, but downloading music on the internet is probably my biggest guilty pleasure. I don't actually do it that often, maybe once a week or so, but I did just copy a bunch of Joe's music from him so I suppose that counts.

What is the one personal item you have that you just cannot live without and why?

This one is easy. I can't stand it when my internet is not working, or I don't have access to it. There are a few websites that I have to check everyday, and a major form of communication for me is AOL instant messenger.

What is the one regret that you wish you could go back in time and change, and what would you do differently?

The one regret that I would actually change if I had the opportunity would be last year when I let a certain person treat me really badly and take advantage of me. I was trying so hard to make our friendship work and didn't want to give up on this person, but in doing so, I opened myself up to be hurt. The friendship was a complete one way street where the other person came around and got what she wanted when she felt the need with no regard for my feelings.

What I would do differently is realize what kind of person I was dealing with sooner and not open myself up to her like that. I am to blame for not standing up for myself sooner, so I would have confronted her about the problem before she had a chance to take advantage of me.

May I help you?

Justin's blog gave me this idea, and I have writer's block. So if there's anything you want me to post about, any topics you feel should be discussed or you would like to read my opinion (or Mel's) about, or if you have any questions you would like to ask me about anything, leave a comment, and I'll get right to it.

Coming to you from Pluckers!

Dez and I are waiting on a table. We just came from Halcyon where we got next to no studying done. We are tallying major Karma points today, and God knows we'll need them. We contributed to a couple of homeless people and gave a couple of strangers some really good advice. Just wanted to convince any of you who think we are not two alright girls otherwise. But really I am just bored and killing time.

So there.

This is a copy of an e mail I just sent my dad. I think you'll appreciate the initial request for money, haha.

Dad~
Just wanted to remind you that the Charter communications bill was $93.15. I also put the two previous bills in the mail to you yesterday. In addition, was wondering your opinion on Bush's latest nomination for the Supreme Court. A woman, sure, but one with no judicial experience whatsoever? Even some of the conservative are pissed! Every day I become more saddened with our nation's choice of leadership -- and it's NOT that he's a conservative. It's that we are facing one of the most important times in our country, full of change that will impact our lives directly and forever, and we have a man who continues to make the wrong choice at every turn, driven by whatever motives he appears to be serving (I cannot discern anymore what these are). The Supreme Court during our lifetime will be faced with some of the most important decisions in our nation's history, rivaled perhaps only since the 1960's. Abortion, affirmative action, gay marriage -- and we are appointing people who might legislate based on their own personal beliefs rather than upholding the law and our own personal freedoms? It really, truly saddens me that our country is being led by this guy. Surely you cannot maintain your original faith in him? Plus, you should have seen the way he behaved in the press conference -- total ass!! I think a guy from the Washington Post was about ready to flip him off. I'd rather have Laura Bush leading the freaking country, at least our libraries would have some good books!! Just wanted to provoke some thought from you -- I'm depressed about our nation. Boooo to Bush. So there.
Love you!

your crazy liberal, sandal-wearing, tree-hugging granola of a daughter,
melzy

If you care...Dearly Beloved, thought continued

It's no different than the tell-all memoirs that are so popular right now. It's a generational thing. People raised by television are realizing how fucked up their lives are, and they're desperate to find a way to get someone to listen to them.

You said that sanity lies in the ability to completely distance yourself from reality. Take Dave Eggers, David Sedaris, and Darren Greer. They all lived in a contrived reality to find sanity. What is it though that makes them want to share that with the world when their lives look like something left in the wake of Katrina? I wonder if the few who sell millions of copies of their confessions get any satisfaction from it.

We're addicted to "Who's The Biggest Train Wreck," because we get vindication for our own miserable lives. But why are we all so broken and pissed? Is that what media does to us? Is it the same as brainwashing us to want perfect bodies and want to date people with perfect bodies? Is it the result of us hearing how bad people have it through TV, music, movies and memoirs, or are our lives really that bad? When I stop and think about mine, it's absolutely amazing, and I am a happy person, but I still become enraptured by that negativity. I think it's all a result of the dark side of things being more intriguing.

On a lighter note

On another note, but somewhat in relation to the comment about perfect bodies, I got to thinking about relationships today. A guy I know came to mind as I was driving home. He’s 29 and by no means near settling down with anyone. This seems to bother him quite a bit, probably because of the reason I’m about to talk about. It came to me that I want to be settled down with someone by the time I reach that age. Yes, this is coming from the same person you partied with this summer. After 30 you usually don’t start looking better, and it seems as if most often you have to settle for whoever is around. The result is that you get to have TV dinners over Law & Order reruns for the rest of your life with someone who you don’t really care for that much. But that’s probably just what TV wants me to believe.

Stay classy

Dearly Beloved,

I'm not doing a thesis for my master's program. But if I were, I think I would do it on the new culture of communication technology, i.e. Instant Messenger and text messaging. Think about it: How many times do you say something online or via your cell phone that you could never say in person? I once broke up with a guy through text messaging. Shitty, I know. And what about these people who put very personal information in their away messages, or even their blogs or MySpace profiles, for the entire world to see? Is that some kind of reverse voyeuristic thing? Our own personal online version of a reality show?? Let's call it, "Who's The Biggest Train Wreck." Sometimes it feels like the whole point of our culture right now is to turn everything inside out and expose the "truth," like wearing your skeleton on the outside of your skin. But half the time, it's not even real truth. I would go so far as to argue that there is no "real" truth, only your own construction of reality. Which leads me to my point (and yes, there is one). Sanity lies in the ability to completely distance yourself from reality. So go ahead, start running. I'm right behind you.

Kaiser Happy

A-mazing!

Last night was a downtown summer reunion of sorts. Wynter, Tina and I were on a rampage!

Today was so incredible. ACL. For my viewing and listening pleasure it was:
1. Rachael Yamagata
-saw the end of the show, not bad, not bad
2. Kaiser Chiefs
-camped out in front of the stage for an hour for a good view, the show was off the hook
3. The Arcade Fire
-very impressed, especially with the fact that the band lived through the show, they are from Montreal, some were in long sleeves, some were in jackets
4. The Decemberists
-right up front, loved it
5. Jack Ingram
-have yet to be impressed by his shows, I think he played the exact set list from last year
6. The Black Keys
-front and center, absofuckinglutely amazing, they finished when Cold Play came on, no one left, we begged for an encore but instead ended up booing the crew for crating the gear
7. Cold Play
-I left the Heineken Stage where The Black Keys played to find Dez and Alicia in the crowd, in the dark, in what was being called the Dust Bowl. I know that's my idea of fun. How I couldn't find them given Dez's directions is beyond me. "Go to the long row of potties. See the tree with the light? We're about 10 yards in from that." Sure, I'll be right there. Searched forever, phone wouldn't work, every orifice full of dust, gave up trying to find them, couldn't see the stage or even the screen, fuck it. I went home. At least I beat the crowd.

Some other general happenings from today:
The meat slicer at Texadelphia got the best of Matt. He nearly lost his finger. Fortunately for him, I am an expert at repairing slightly severed digits, so I saved it.
Da Crew decided on our Halloween theme. Not gonna spill the beans, but it is going to be unbelievable.
I managed to send everyone on my buddy list a really annoying virus. If you clicked on it, I am truly sorry, but cussing at me isn't necessary. If you didn't click on it, lucky you.
I continue my refusal to give in and join myspace.com.
I finally caught the baby lizard that has been sharing my apartment.

ACL

When I finally saved up money to get tickets to ACL, Saturday, the day I cared about most, was sold out. No Death Cab for Rachael. I can hear them play from my bedroom. What a tease.

Death Cab plays at Stubb's November 5. My birthday is Nov. 2. Hint, hint.

Since I neglected blogging for a few days...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEZ!
A really cute picture of a hipo is supposed to accompany this late b-day note, but for some reason blogger doesn't want to post my pictures tonight.

Don't you wish you were so lucky?

So I was supposed to pick Alicia up from the airport tomorrow, and she asked if I'd make her a sign so people would think she's a celebrity. Of course I was already planning on it, so I asked who she wanted to be. To my amazement she replied Sky Bennington, and after poking fun at her I realized she was serious. So here it is for all to enjoy. It took me 2 hours. I'm not sure what kind of celebrity people will think she is though.

Emancipating Mimi

Something has really been bothering me...in Mariah Carey's song "Shake It Off" she says in the chorus, "Just like the ___ commercial, I really gotta get up out of here and go somewhere..." That one word was driving me crazy! Cowgone? Cowgirl? Cowbell? Finally I couldn't take it any longer and Googled it. For those of you who were wondering as well, here's what I found:

"Calgon is a brand registered trademark of two different corporations.
Calgon water softener is owned by Reckitt Benckiser. Calgon beauty products are owned by Coty, Inc.
In North American Pop Culture, Calgon's advertisements have generated several popular catch phrases and/or definitions.
In one advertisement a woman is seen in a chaotic home scenario. As her tension rises she utters her famous line "Calgon, take me away!", and is then seen relaxing in a luxurious bath in a quiet room. Despite being viewed as somewhat sexist (ie. that women need to rescued from chaotic situations), the commercial is viewed as having been a success since people still remember it even though it has not been aired in many years. Even today, a difficult day or situation is often referred to as a Calgon moment.
In "Shake It Off", the third single from Mariah Carey's 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey sings "Just like the Calgon commercial, I really gotta get up out of here..."

Make sense now? Go ahead, turn it up and rejoice in your newfound knowledge.

Missing In Action

Wow...so tonight I went to see M.I.A. play a show at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. For those of you who don't know, she's some amazing mix of hip hop with socially conscious lyrics that you can literally dance your ass of to. Hails from Sri Lanka by way of London, and let me be the first to tell you she is THE NEXT BIG THING. I have been to many a concert, but this was by far one of the best. Imagine being shoved into the same club where R.E.M. got their start with hundreds of other sweaty people while this girl just GOES OFF on the mic, everyone touching, everyone dancing, everyone singing...for the sake of this blog we'll just call it two hours of communal orgasm. Seriously, I was blown away. Pull up your preferred method of illegal file sharing and immediately download the following three songs to get a taste of what's to come...I dare you not to dance!

1. Galang
2. Sunshowers
3. Bucky Done Gun

Thanks, and you're welcome.

UPDATE: Pay attention to the new Honda commercial. The song playing in the background is M.I.A.'s "Galang." Told you she's gonna be big...5 bucks it's in the next iPod commercial

Jackpot

So it had been an hour since I posted about wasting time looking at other blogs on the internet, which is what I had been doing since that post went up, but I found a really awesome blog. Very much worth your time to check it out if you are even moderately interested in photography or just like looking at beautiful photography.

Photos By Tim Halberg

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKAYLA!