Nice to meet you-duru.

I've been wanting to write again for a long time now. I just never knew how to get back into it. I guess I never really had a plan, I just wrote about stupid stuff...so that's what I'll do. Here's some stupid stuff regarding my opinions, feelings, and world view.

During October and November, I stopped exercising due to lack of time, willpower, and the fact that it got too cold to walk from my car to the gym double doors. I started up again a couple days ago. Nothing too fancy or strenuous, just 90ish minutes of light lifting and elliptical. I already feel a lot better. I feel denser and more in control of my flailing limbs. Speaking of flailing limbs, some important things to know about me: I'm a flailer. After a night of binge drinking or excessive exercise, I flail about in my bed in defiance of pain. Anyways, this seems to be the story of every New Year's resolution, so I'll go ahead and say that I'll probably stop exercising mid-February until the end of the school year.

Following will be a series of short, non-committal reviews of stuff and things.
The Butler. I watched this film because Maggie said it was sad and made her cry. I love a good induced ugly crying so it was a must. The film follows the life of a White House butler during the administrations of Eisenhower to Reagan, and finally a happy ending of meeting the first black president. My only complaint is that I wish it still expressed the current inequalities in this country despite having a black president.

A Village Called Versailles. Did you know that there were Vietnamese people in Louisiana? Did you know that they too lost their homes in addition to all the black communities in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina? This reminded me of the Korean communities in LA during the riots. Our story isn't any more or less American than yours. It is simply unheard.

Gravity. I love science. More than anything, I love when other people love it too. It makes you a better person. It gives you good parenting advice to vaccinate your children. It tells you that a woman's uterus is her physical possession and no one else's. It gives you the power to make informed decisions regarding everything in the whole damned world. Stop saying you aren't right-brained...that's not a thing as proven by science. Science is everything, so make an effort to learn from it and contribute positively to the world community. Anyways, I feel Gravity is swell. It explores the facility of letting go and the fight to hold on to life. Gravity represents many things in this film. It represents order, depression, and most importantly, a tether to life. The final scene was dope.

Battle of the Year. This film marked a low point for everyone's favorite Sawyer, Josh Holloway. Fortunately, I saw that he would make a return to television in a cop show called Intelligence. I hope it fully displays his brilliance and removes the stain that is Battle of the Year. I love a shitty dance movie as much as anyone, but this was awful. Don't see it. I don't even recall the plot.

White House Down. Not as good as Olympus Has Fallen contrary to Mel's infatuation with Channing Tatum.

Percy Jackson and the whatevers. Just as horrible as you would think. I watched it because I am a completionist, and I will watch the third movie as well.

Madam Mam's. F3 beef flat noodle with sriracha. I look at people funny when they don't order it. Why would you choose a lesser existence? You must really hate yourself.

Tam's Deli and Cafe. Go there for authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

Skyrim. Do you know why I'm still playing Skyrim 2 years beyond its release date? Mods. Mods add content to a game. You've probably heard of commercial mods called DLC or downloadable content that the publishers release. Smart game companies release a creation kit which allows for gamers to produce their own mods. This has led to a large community of amateur and professional game developers to produce revolutionary mods that completely improve or overhaul the game. This is why Skyrim performs so well on the steam sale. Like its predecessor Oblivion, Skyrim's longevity will remain strong until the release of Elder Scrolls Online, and probably even beyond that.

Gone Home. Imagine you come home from a long out of country vacation only to find that your house is empty, your family is gone, you're all alone. This 2 hour master piece had me at the cusp of an anxiety attack the entire time. This story is told through a series of journals, newspaper clippings, mix tapes, and other clues. The walls of the house are haunted by this family's memories and told the story far better than any human interaction could have done. My favorite part, without any spoilers, is when you find a message from your grandfather to your father, "you can do better," and later you find the same words on a post it on your father's office wall. You could feel a father's disappointment resonating over decades from four simple words. This reminded me of an episode of This American Life where Ira Glass describes how his father worked in radio before becoming a CPA. Ira had no idea about it until later on in life because his father simply never talked about it. He had to change careers in order to support his family because he felt there was no future in radio. Ira explains how hard it must be for a parent to watch their child pursue something that they felt wasn't worth it. I'm going to be really disappointed when my ballerina engineer daughter chooses to play softball and become a model instead. I'm going to be really really disappointed when her younger brother tells me he is straight and instead of playing piano or writing plays, he chooses to be a United States senator. BLARG!

Friday Night Lights. I love. I don't care for football. I'm glad that Connie Britton is there to express the other side of the story. The one that doesn't care how many TDs you get. The one that promotes an investment in education over a game. I loved the episode that shows the power of the word, "SLUT," and sex inequality. I love how these kids remind me of my students.

This American Life: House Rules. I've been obsessed with this episode for some time now. House rules explores the Fair Housing Act which prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, etc. It describes the generational struggle of people who simply live in a poorer neighborhood than yours. It tells how the greatest promoter of housing discrimination was not the bankers who refused loans, but the US government itself. The most powerful message was that your life is predetermined by the neighborhood you are raised. I grew up in a privileged neighborhood. My life right now is very easy. I didn't earn this life. I was simply raised in a privileged neighborhood. To my privileged friends, stop taking credit for something that was handed to you and stop thinking you are better than someone else who grew up in a less privileged neighborhood. This episode resonated with me because a couple days prior, Eshe and Kristi were discussing the current housing inequality of Austin, the self-proclaimed last bastion of freedom within the confines of the red state. Long story short, this is not a post-racial America. I repeat, this is not a post-racial America. Race permeates our lives. The more money you have, the further you can get away from it, but you'll never escape it. Later, I had a similar conversation with my sisters when they visited. It's amazing how conscious they both are on social justice. I had the privilege of brilliant mentors from camp. They must have had access to great educators as well. We all took different paths, but we're all here trying to make this world a better place. It's the same with the people with whom I surround myself. We have very different backgrounds, but we have a common goal. Isn't that nice?

Jenna Maroney claims the meanest thing you can say to someone you've already met is, "Nice to meet you."

I want to sing again.