Too many things in my head

I've got a ten page paper to write by Tuesday. Ten pages doesn't seem like enough pages and it will be a bit of a struggle not to go over. On the other hand, ten pages is a lot less pressure than the twenty pages that I thought I was going to have to write. In addition to that I have four pages to submit to a group paper and a few slides to complete for an accompanying Powerpoint presentations. My topics are film ephemera for the long paper and innovations in staff training for the short bit. Fortunately both topics have resulted in good reading including "British Film Posters: An Illustrated History," which I had a hard time not reading straight through.

And I can't focus. So, I will share with you a few things that I've been enjoying over the past week or so.

Milk - I got a preview pass from work to see the new Gus Van Sant movie. I have been anxiously waiting for this movie ever since I saw photos taken from the set (mmm, James Franco). This movie is good. I mean, really good. The performances are amazing. I love when you can watch a movie and completely forget that you're watching actors play roles. Sean Penn does an amazing job, as do the rest of the cast. I put a hold on the documentary "The Life and Times of Harvey Milk" at the library because I want to learn more about Milk (and I can't believe that I haven't seen this yet!). Needless to say, I was incredibly moved by this film to the point of tearing up (a couple of times). It opens next Wednesday, the day before the 30th anniversary of Milk's assassination.

Kath & Kim - I only made it through half of the first episode of Kath & Kim, but Sean insisted that I watch it again with him the next week. That, and Lydia posting about it on her blog were enough to make me sit through the second episode and look forward to every new episode since. Molly Shannon and Selma Blair are over-the-top hilarious. They make the greatest facial expressions and their delivery is deadpan and perfect. My friend Jen leant me her boxset of the original Australian series which I plan to watch ASAP.

Kale - I'm still loving the kale! Also, who knew that posting about a nutritious, dark green leafy vegetable would generate such a flurry of comments on my blog! I will post about vegetables more often, I guess.

MGMT - There is a part of me that thinks I should think is band is lame. It's the snobby part of me that makes funny of hippies. But I can't help myself. I really like them and I listen to their album much more than I care to admit...except to you, dear blog readers. I'll leave it up to my cousin to wear the feathers in her hair though because she's younger than me and as much as I enjoy their music I don't see myself getting all hippy-nu-rave anytime soon.

Times New Viking - Last night I wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but I'm glad that Sean convinced me to go with him to watch Times New Viking and Deerhunter (well, we left a few songs into Deerhunter but whatevs). Times New Viking were fantastic. They were a lot of fun, totally energetic and a pleasure to watch. Sean told me that they reminded him of The Clean, who we both love, and I definitely hear it. Also awesome was the guitar player's look: tall, lanky and totally 90s college rock. Amazing.

This weekend I've scheduled a few social events to break up the monotony of working on my final school projects. I don't remember it being so difficult at the end of my BA. I suppose it's because the last semester of my BA was just me and my pile of notes relating to community, commodification and the public sphere. This time around there are people counting on me for my contribution to my group project. Also looming is the job search which will immediately commence after handing in my last assignment. Jeesh!

For good measure and because they are one of the best bands ever, here's a video by The Clean to cap this post off.

Okay, another video by The Clean because I love them THAT much. Also, I think this is the first song by The Clean that I ever heard courtesy of a mixed tape from Sean.