Deep Dish Monday: A Rare Personal Note.

These past few months have been interesting to say the least. For those of you who are 'lucky' enough to know me personally, know that humor is my only way of handling uncomfortable and painful situations. This tactic is the most useful in my defense mechanism arsenal; however today, a series of bizarre and unconnected events have fallen into place that leave me scratching my head looking for a punchline that doesn't exist. 


I opened up my email this morning to find this message from a guy I dated when I as 18-years-old. I don't remember when we started dating or why we stopped. I am good at remembering names and faces; however I filter through memories quickly, so unless there is a stand out story from an encounter I have a hard time remembering details or specifics. I haven't thought about this guy since I was 18, but apparently I left an impression on him:


"So, FYI. Although by todays standards that very brief time that we hung out is considered very insignificant, I feel compelled to enlighten you on the significance at the time. You see I was only recently out of a very bad relationship in which i thought i was going to marry the girl, turns out she was cheating on me for some time and afterwards still tried to be my friend. She called and called and would tell me how great her new boyfriend was.....well anyway, it shattered my confidence in myself and meeting you was the first step in the rebuilding of that confidence. By todays standards it seems so small and unnoticeable, however it created a foundation that as I see it, at the very least owes you some verbal appreciation and acknowledgement as to the part you played all those years ago. I consider myself to be somewhat indebted to you for your inadvertent part in my recovery at the time. Should a day ever come where you find me in a position to assist you in any way, well i would be happy to repay that debt. Thank you."


I respond with as simple "That's a huge compliment. Thank you," because I have no idea what else to say. Will I ever call in a random favor...perhaps. 


A short time later I have a conversation with a co-worker whose 'boyfriends-cousins- 30-year-old wife' died this past weekend from cancer. I have no context of these people or their struggle, but she linked me to her blog at my request. I read the entirety of it which didn't take me terribly long. I won't link you to this blog because I don't think it is my place to; however her last entry before she died went as follows:


"'I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get a posting up. Luckily, I have a husband who is willing and up to doing that for me.

After 37 consecutive days in the hospitial, I am home, but unfortunately, it's not for reasons I'm stoked to share. Unfortunately, the coil that they put in my stomach did the job for one thing (like it stopped it from allowing me to bleed to death from the inside) but I can no longer be on blood thinners or ele I bleed, in which case is life threatening emergency because I am bleeding from the ulcer at the GE Junction which is where the caner started. I am stable right now, meaning I am not bleeding nor clotting, but there is nothing they can do for me. They will do no more chemo or treatment because there isn't anything treatable left..

This is the hardest think I've ever had to say, and they talk about being at "peace"with it....well I'm not there yet, but can work on getting there. It's a battle, and one I have to oercome, just like the rest of the battles I've fought until now. 

I have all of -----, and all of my own family here right now. I ask that you please respect that.. I know that this is going to bring on round of visitors #2, and I just hope everyone can respect family first. I know I've avoided my cell phone, and I hope you can see why. 

I'm not sure how long I'll be home, and it's likely I'll end up back in the hospitial. 

Love to all."

I am not sure what goes through someones head when they type out the words 'there isn't anything treatable left,' but reading them scared the living daylights out of me. My co-worker told me this woman was a long distance runner who never smoked and took amazing care of herself.

I found out an hour ago that my last remaining grandmother is dying. She's 93-years-old, smoked her whole life, and took terrible care of herself. 

I feel guilty I'm more affected by the blog of a stranger.

I will never know her, but I will never forget what I read today. 

I don't really know the guy who sent me that email this morning, but I will always remember that I helped change someones life for the better.  

When my grandmothers time on this earth comes to an end I will mourn her loss the only way I am accustomed to....

with a joke.

Make em laugh :) 

.

Little boxes on the hillside...

Hey kids! I would like to show you a series of photos and I want you to tell me the theme.

I'm not sure what is in the bottom middle cubbie but it looks like dead rodents. I wouldn't be surprised, feeding the class pet is the first internship you will ever have, and you suck at it.

P.S.-  Bonus for the awesome bike helmet.

Obviously a public school. Although sweet robot drawing.

If I were a ghost I would haunt this room. I'm not sure how they managed to make yellow look bleak.

 Privacy is for winners. You are obviously not a winner. 

Room for one more? Yeah it's a coffin. Deal with it.

If you haven't guessed the theme of these alluring photographs, it's my interpretation of the stages of middle class american growth and it's fucking bullshit. I am all for compartmentalizing feelings, but how the hell are we so OK with literally compartmentalizing ourselves. It's like we are the thermos in a shitty lunch box: we don't quite fit but with enough force those plastic latches will hold until noon...or in our case death. 

We go from a tiny space to put our stuffed animals and juice boxes in ( and don't think I don't notice the size limit starting so early on. Limit your dreams 6-year-olds). Also, learn how to color inside the lines because your parents are tired of hanging ugly drawings up on the fridge. Learning your parents are embarrassed of you and compartmentalizing the rage that their disappointment makes you feel is what growing up is all about tiny humans. 

The next 8 years or so we get lockers. Lockers are slightly larger, but only slightly, and the time frame students are given to go from class to class is a expert lesson in commuting in a city. 

Onto dorm rooms ( if you're lucky enough to get out of your parents house). The only thing I have to say about this stage is that you need to get a meningitis vaccine before living in a dorm. Nothing like the fear of epilepsy and paralysis to make life's possibilities seem endless... sweet nectar.

Welcome to your cubical. This is where you will work until you die, or retire at an age where you are too old to enjoy the freedom.  I hope you enjoy the 40 fucking years you will live in that doom box with your dying plant and a picture of your wife and kids who hate you for making them live in N.J.

Your last stop is a coffin. Congratulations, you've made it to the final box. Have fun spending the rest of eternity in it!

P.S. Don't forget kids: There is no heaven and everyone dies alone.

Have a great day!

Jealous. 

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Saturday Night Live Sucks

Dear SNL,

Fire Kristin Wig. She is truly annoying, all of her characters make me want to rub glass in my eyes, and for the last time; if I see another shitty "Gilly" sketch I am going to...cry into a carton of ice cream...but still!

What the fuck has happened to Saturday Night Live in the past 15 years? Its steady decline is depressing. Seriously, they went from have 50/50 great sketches to shit, to 10/90 tolerable sketches to cancer.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF THIS BULLSHIT! EVEN THE PHOTO MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH A BABY IN THE FACE.

Every cast member they have is either terrible or terribly used. Bill Hadar is hilarious, so give him something that he can work with. The really flamboyant gay N.Y. tourism expert...really? That shit is not only kind of offensive, but always goes on for at least 3 minutes too long.

Keenan Thompson? What indeed is up with that? STOP WITH THE REPEAT SKETCHES AND FORCE YOUR WRITERS TO COME UP WITH ORIGINAL MATERIAL!

Also, they hired on a new batch of 'talent' for this season, only one of whom is actually funny. His name is Jay Pharaoh and he is too good for SNL. His impressions are amazing. Now if only they would let him do anything besides impressions of black celebrities. 

On the newbie front there is also Vanessa Bayer. Her face invokes hatred in me. She has the same problem as Kristin Wig where every character she does feels exactly the same. Or I just hate her. I'm not 100% on that.

Ugh I just hate her face.

Also, Andy Samberg: If you can't come up with a funny digital short....DON"T DO ONE. It's frustrating seeing the SNL Digital Short logo pop up; hoping for something like 'Dick in a Box," or "Threw it on the Ground", and getting whatever the fuck happened this week.

I think the worst part is that the audience doesn't let them know how they really feel. Either that, or they are really amused by cheap ploys and celebrities that can't really act. This would be the same audience who might enjoy watching Britney Spears attempt to play checkers on a stage for 7 hours ( That's how long it would take her to get through one game versus the REALLY EASY level computer player). SNL is performed for a live audience 3 times before it actually airs on Saturday Night. That's 3 audiences who have the opportunity to get sketches that don't work pulled. I am ashamed of you audience. ASHAMED. 

The only audience photo I could find was from some douchebag who circled himself in the crowd (granted I only searched for like 20 seconds). This photo is what is wrong with the SNL audience. Seriously dude...

Revolutionary Music Video: YOU MUST WATCH THIS ( Taken From EW.com)

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Below is the article about Arcade Fire's Revolutionary "We Used to Wait" Video: Director Chris Milk Explains how it was created.

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: Arcade Fire, Music Videos, Things That Are Awesome, Things That Are Canadian

Image Credit: Eric KayneThe Wilderness Downtown, the interactive website that Arcade Fire released last week for their song “We Used To Wait,” is something very different from a typical indie-rock promotional clip. So it’s fitting that the band hired a director,Chris Milk, who despite his impressive résumé in the field — Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” and“Touch the Sky,” U2 & Green Day’s “The Saints Are Coming” — has decidedly mixed feelings about the music video medium. “I spend a lot of time thinking about how music videos could ever achieve the emotional resonance of straight music,” Milk says in an email exchange with the Music Mix. “Honestly, I’m not sure music videos can ever really touch you as deeply as music alone can. Music scores your life. You interact with it. It becomes the soundtrack to that one summer with that one girl. Music videos are very concrete and rigid because they rely on someone else’s vision. Sometimes mine.”

Cutting-edge Web elements help make The Wilderness Downtown a more personal, immersive experience. Viewers enter an address of their choice (preferably their childhood home), calling up images from Google Maps at key moments in the song. As the music goes on, viewers can also enter messages to their younger selves which are then incorporated into the presentation. “By letting the audience participate in the visuals, we allow for more of an emotional connection,” Milk says.

A friend of Arcade Fire singer Win Butler “from a while back,” Milk also works closely with Aaron Koblin of Google Creative Lab at their “micro-agency,” Milk + Koblin. “The concept really came about as a way to bring two ideas together,” Milk says. “Google wanted a creative way to showcase what was possible on the web with HTML5 and the band wanted an innovative visual that could work like a traditional music video.” After beginning discussions with Butler this past January, Milk and Koblin finished The Wilderness Downtown by August. The site’s code-writing phase took “two incredibly fast-paced months,” thanks to production company B-Reel and “coding genius” Mr.doob, who had previously worked with Milk and Koblin on another interactive music site, The Johnny Cash Project.

Google’s technology became a crucial ingredient in The Wilderness Downtown. “Google Maps and streetview provided a really good answer to a big question I had when we began the project,” says Milk. “What could we do, using the tools available, that would emotionally resonate with people, without getting them bogged down in the technology? It’s easy to lose the humanity when you start showcasing tech. Google Maps and streetview embody this contradiction of cold high-tech that can be incredibly emotional when used in the right context.”

With The Wilderness Downtown drawing near universal acclaim, Milk is already looking forward to the next step. “I’m hoping to do my first feature film soon,” he says. “I have two in development right now.”

Hipster as F***

That's Salvador Dali, and that's his ant eater.

Stolen From Cool Material. If Historical Event had Facebook Statuses.

If Historical Events had Facebook Statuses

By Wylo

Read more: If Historical Events had Facebook Statuses | Cool Material http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses/#ixzz0xjTFIwMl