Wednesday, February 28, 2007

February, We Hardly Knew Ye

I know this might not impress you, but I just did a lot of work. AFTER rehearsal, which got out at midnight, which was followed by a shorter fruit paunch rehearsal, which got out at 1. Then for an hour and a half, I read Clement Greenberg's art and culture and wrote a thing about it. Here's my thing- why hate kitsch? It's the most thoughtful twentieth century art form. I mean, I know not everything that's kitsch is KITSCH, but what about everything warhol ever did? Look, if Pollack was avant-garde and warhol was kitsch (which I'm deciding to designate as such from this point onward), why can't they both be considered high art in some respect?

And why am I throwing barbeque chips crumbs into my face at quarter-to-three when I really just want to go to sleep, not eat barbecue chips crumbs. Which spelling do you prefer? I think I like "barbeque" most, but the computer underlined it with a you-spelled-this-wrong-you-lovable-scamp line.

Look out, Late Night with Conan O'Brien - come thursday morning, one of your internships is MINE. Preferably with the Scripts, Research, or Casting departments, please.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Square Deal!

or, Fruit Paunch Does Harvard!

We drove to harvard. Staying two nights in the suites of gracious IGP members, we spent our weekend boozing, funnying, and looking in vain for their anechoic chamber. Then we drove back.

Look out for that incredibly busy week I have coming up - it's a doozy.
I have to go dry my hair.
Q: Curly or straight?
Let me put it this way: the sequel to City Slickers didn't have them looking for STRAIGHT's gold, right? RIGHT? Case closed, then!

since my life is determined by the titles of Billy Crystal movies (remember that time I forgot Paris?) (or that time my mom, uh, fell off the train?)

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Inventions Remaking Leisure

It's a week after Valentine's Day and guess what, America. I wrote that paper. The Henry James one. GREAT!

It was called "Catherine Sloper Wins!" and it explains how James's ironic narration sets up subtext for Catherine Sloper's eventual triumph (which outwardly seems like spinsterhood and poverty).

Also I wrote more of my play for playwriting class. Also I started reading for my Cultural Criticism seminar, for which I need to write a courseworks post IMMEDIATELY.

How about if instead, I let you get to know me a little better? Isn't that a nicer idea? Here goes:
a) the two dvds hanging out on my desk are Moonstruck and The First Wives Club
b) I'm drinking coffee from this morning that's been sitting out on my desk all day
c) I have two wedding disposable cameras from last summer that still need to be developed.
d) I finally got "Baker Street" on my itunes!
e) you should let me write LAO on your hand
f) my miniature detective marble notebook is falling apart
g) I bought taps to screw onto my shoes from the Columbia bookstore.

You want me to read WHAT for my seminaWHAT? I have so much planning to do.

Monday, February 19, 2007

That Girl Really Fell Just Then


for anyone who's interested in a fruit paunch video, here's

Man vs. Machine (Columbia's response trailer for IGP's improv festival at Harvard next week)

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Abrams Comma Rebecca

Write a Henry James paper. NO!

Watch the rerun of Nate Dern's Beauty and the Geek season finale. YES!

Look at the video fruit paunch made on the internet. CAN'T!
(it hasn't loaded yet)

Realize that I sweat much more than I'd like to. OH NO!


I've got some things to do. I've been going around with straight hair much more often than with curly hair these days. I found this plastic bag at work that looks just like the bag the 1950-2000 Sports Almanac comes in when Marty buys it in 2015.

Remember that time that I was all "dear prudence, my foot hurts?" Well guess what, Ladies. I hurt my right-side big toe, which I almost just called a thumb-toe. Which is DISGUSTING.

seriously though, term paper on Henry James. GO. It's about Washington Square, which is the only book I've read the whole way through for this class, so I should really write on it. I'm thinking here's the thesis:

James uses narrative irony to illuminate the characters' personalities and actions throughout Washington Square in a way remarkably similar to Jane Austen's satirical narration in Pride and Prejudice.

that's not much of a thesis. Am I proving anything? Only that I need a shower.
Which was pretty obvious to everyone from the beginning.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

It's Valentine's Day And I'm Beckatonic

first song listened to on Valentine's day 2007: "I'm Your Man" by leonard cohen

first food eaten on Valentine's day 2007: a chee-toh

first major decision of Valentine's day 2007: Maybe don't go to my seminar. (First skipped class of the semester)

first really great thing of Valentine's day 2007: I found a notebook I thought I'd lost

AND NOW:
current song listened to on Valentine's day 2007: "love me like you" by the magic numbers

current food eaten on Valentine's day 2007: the last cupcake my suitemate amanda made

current major decision of Valentine's day 2007: write in the edits for my varsity show script NOW, before I run out of time LATER

current really great thing of Valentine's day 2007: this song

AND LATER:
first truly disgusting question of Valentine's day 2007: And I wouldn't even ask this but suddenly I'm really curious: And don't feel like you even have to acknowledge that I asked this if it's really gross: have you ever number two'd without number one'ing? I only ask because that almost happened to me this morning and I got so confused that I stayed until I could calm down. Forget I asked. This is gross. OH GOD now I look like I'm trying to sarah-silverman up my blog!

rest assured, my feelings for sarah silverman remain the same. OH MY GOD ISN'T SHE SO FUNNY FOR BEING THE FIRST GIRL EVER TO USE CURSE WORDS AND TALK ABOUT DOODIES? WOW, SARAH SILVERMAN, YOUR GIRL-NEXT-DOOR LOOKS ARE THROWN INTO SUCH AN IDIOSYNCRATIC JUXTAPOSITION WITH YOUR POTTY MOUTH AND I THINK THAT'S FUNNY! SO FUNNY! THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU A SHOW ON COMEDY CENTRAL. WHAT'S THAT? THEY DID? OH THANK GOD, BECAUSE YOU TOTALLY DESERVE IT.

Who am I to talk? I'm talking about poop and listening to weird lounge music on Valentine's day.

Be mine?

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Just Call Me Angel Of Al Gorening...Right? Right?

To Catch Up:

a) the goldschlager challenge is not going well. I don't want to buy another little thing of it, so I've been rationing, and then other times I'm all "fuck it I don't want goldschlager today," which is weird, but which is something I think I should listen to myself say before I ignore it and turn into an alcoholic.

b) February 4th? Let's see, february 4th. That was the Superbowl, right? I had dinner with Ali and Grandma, and it was the first time I saw them since 2006. So that was kind of a big deal. Good call, new year's day becky!

New Year's Day Becky: Thanks. It was luck, I guess-
February 13th Becky: Take the compliment.

c) Play-a-day Challenge: here's how it went-
Jan. 7: "The Ride of your Life!" Max and Donna enjoy a ride on marta, but Max is all "seriously, are you enjoying this? because I'm having the time of my life!"
Jan. 8: "Not Not Drunk at 3am," drunk ramble
Jan. 9: "Why your hand has stopped bleeding," wherein Brad convinces Gary not to ask out his horrible ex-girlfriend, even though he's miserable.
Jan. 10: "The Harbinger," wherein a girl knocks on this guy's door pretending to be his long-lost sister, but who turns out to be a friend she made in Reno, who needs to bring news of her death to the family
Jan. 11: "Kicked in the Nuts," drunk ramble written on Varsity show's Vermont weekend
Jan. 12: "In Any Country," wherein Marguerite is silent after Juan says "could you please just forgive me?"
Jan. 13-15: "To Build a Family," wherein the son of an actress and her husband falls in love with the daughter of the actress's manager, and maybe the daughter is the product of an affair between the actress and the manager, so oh boy, I hope the main guy isn't in love with his half-sister! (he's not.)
Jan. 16: "For my First Playwriting Class," wherein two teenagers talk about a guy that died in a lab accident.
Jan. 17: "I Met the Love of my Life at TV!" Two Beauty and the Geek contestants are in love and have a love scene that was awkward to write but I figured would be a good challenge.
Jan. 18: "Why Pretend?" Two guys talk about how one of them is gay without saying it out loud.
Jan. 19: "Mom Should Know," a continuation of the idea behind the previous one, where Ivan and Harvey discuss the aftermath of Harvey's coming out.
Jan. 20: "Should've Written This While Drunk," wherein there's a drunk ramble
Jan. 21: "BOP ITâ„¢" wherein a Bop It starts making weird commands and then melts.
Jan. 22: "I Can't Help it that They Speak For Me," wherein this guy keeps talking in song lyrics to a girl who's clearly already mad at him. Ends with my playwriting trademark, a folding chair to the face followed by a salute.
Jan. 23: Another scene for playwriting class, where Louie hates girls like Janey that get to party at his bigshot brother's LA mansion after his brother cuts him off
Jan. 24: Unnamed scene wherein I planned a talk I had with somebody.
Jan. 25: "Bob Fosse Dancer," wherein Cherisse does a monologue about what it was like to be a Bob Fosse dancer
Jan. 26: didn't do one
Jan. 27: Marie and Horace have a discussion that's basically just whatever was going on in my head when I wrote it.
Jan. 28: Four lines of lame
Jan. 29: the two characters are named Fajita and Gray
Jan. 30: Barbara and Galors talk about how neither knows the way to San Jose.
Jan. 31: apparently didn't do one

So at the end of the month, I skipped two days and just basically pooped out horrible miniature scenes when I did write. Sorry!

WHAT'S MORE:
d) This wedding workout is making me so fit for my eventual wedding!

e) I wrote a play with Josh Breslow for latenite

f) I made a playlist called "today I met the boy I'm gonna marry" and it's got all the best songs I can imagine for this sort of thing (id est "and then he kissed me," "Today I met the boy I'm gonna marry," "he's a rebel," "the leader of the pack," "I only want to be with you," "angel of the morning," "downtown," and "baby, I love you"). Good, right? I'd listen to it.

g) FINALLY, an announcement:

If you're in new york, won't you please consider coming to the Varsity Show's West End Preview this saturday at 9 or 11 pm?

It's at Havana Central (at the West End), and it's got songs and scenes and some cuban food. Here's our publicity picture:

SO THINK ABOUT COMING, MAYBE!

Saturday, February 03, 2007

How Can Your Year Be So Sparse?

I can't think of anything to say. Later I'll summarize all the plays I did for January's Play-a-Day exercise. I'll also talk about the movie I'm making for the January Challenge some of my friends and I made up when we got back to school. Then later, I'll explain my February challenge of drinking a sip of goldschlager every day.

But first, before you think I forgot:

IT FELT LIKE SPRINGTIME ON THIS FEBRUARY MORNIN'
In the courtyard birds were singing your praise
I'm still recalling things you said to make me feel
Alright I carried them with me today now

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name
Into the sky
And I will wake up happy

I wonder why
I feel so high though I am not above the sorrow
Heavy hearted 'till you call my name
And it sounds like church bells or the whistle of a train
On a summer evening I'll run to meet you barefoot
Barely breathing

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name
Into the sky
And I will wake up happy (oh darling)

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name
Into the sky
And I will wake up happy

It's not too near for me
Like a flower I need the rain
Though it's not clear to me
Every season has its change
And I will see you
When the sun comes out again

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name
Into the sky
And I will wake up happy (oh oh...)

As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name
Into the sky
And I will wake up happy

I wonder why
(hmmm)
When the sun comes out again
When the sun comes out again
When the sun comes out again
When the sun comes out again (oooh)
When the sun comes out again
When the sun comes out again (hmmm)
(comes out comes out oooh)
And I will wake up happy
So I pray