My Brain Likes Musicals (The Perfect Psych Experiment)

As I drag my half-dead thesis-ravaged body across a sketchily empty Cambridge Commons at 1:45 am on a Friday (sad isn't it?), in a moment of lucidity I realize that I'm singing the entire soundtrack from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat... every word (including the brothers' names and those bloody colors)...on autopilot. Not only that, but I'd been singing musicals for the last 5 hours and hadn't even noticed. Ignoring the fact that people could probably hear me singing random things about cows and corn, nasty youths and fratricide (bonus points if you recognize the songs) I've come to the conclusion that my brain likes musicals... not me, my brain.

I honestly don't think I've ever memorized a musical on purpose. I see them once or twice and they somehow get stuck on repeat until they're permanently etched onto some gremlin-guarded memory cell. If I put any one of them in album order and play them straight through, I can see the whole movie in my head. Even now as I look through my iTunes "musical" genre I'm starting to believe that I have a certifiable illness.... here this should explain it better:

Across the Universe (know it + harmonies)

Cats (knew it when I was younger... haven't tried but probably still stuck)

Chicago (still as good as it was in high school)

Crybaby (the whole movie, but I don't have the whole soundtrack)

Dreamgirls (not consciously but probably all of it)

Evita (know it... the Madonna/ Antonio Banderas version of course)

Grease (possibly my first legit non-disney musical)

Grease 2 (comes after Grease)

Hairspray ( I tried not to like, I promise)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (teh awesome)

Jesus Christ Superstar (went through a phase. it was on repeat. don't ask)

Little Shop of Horrors (AMAZING! and yet so underrated)

Moulin Rouge (obligatory pop musical)

Phantom of the Opera (a classic)

Rent (doesn't everyone know all the words to this?)

Rocky Horror Picture Show (if you don't know, don't talk to me)

Sparkle (also one no one has ever seen)

Sweeny Todd (deliciously evil!)

TOMMY (completely bizarre but still stuck)

The Wiz (I can't get away from it, I've tried)

1776 (6th grade History throw-back)

There you have it. My brain, on whatever drugs it decides to manufacture for itself.

Until next time I remain,

-The Perfect Psych Experiment

Observations on a Chibi (The Aussie)

chibi, n.
1. Japanese A "short person" or "small child." The word has gained currency amongst fans of manga and anime. Its meaning is of someone or some animal that is small. It can be translated as "little," but is not used the same way as chiisana (tiny, small, little in Japanese).

2. N. American A gremlin, stinky, self-manufactured crackhead, college roommate

The Chibi (smidgetus africanus) originates from TZ on the east coast of Africa and has been in existence for 20 + years. The odd one in a family of 4 daughters, the chibi seems to have been the product of a mutated gene strain that makes her prone to lush-like behavior, intentional politically incorect dialogue and psuedo hyper-sexuality.

Personal Observations:

Fall '05 - Spring '06
First sighting of the Chibi was 09/05 Room C of W36. She believed herself to be among giants when she first encountered my family and myself (all of us of the altus negrus species) and approached us with a fearful timidity befitting her stature. The chibi appeared to be of a species with which I would be able to effectively communicate and soon after meeting the other species of W36, the chibi and I decided it would be best to occupy the same quarters. At first we encountered some differences of opinion due to previous cultural experience. But the Chibi proved to be the most interesting, tolerant, enjoyable, and sane of the W36 species set and she quickly became the person with whom I spent most of my time. By the end of the year, the Chibi and I decided to remain rooming companions for the upcoming year.

Highlights: The Owl the first week, blankets, W dirty sex, the futon, gimme dat, lion king alarm, porn and expresso (so wasn't there for that one), reach out and touch, corners, potato/vodka, xmas lights, 5 people 2 beds what?, disney girls, school house rock (3 is a magic number)

Fall '06 - Spring '07
The year began with a relocation of living quarters to the land of the quadlings. The room was substantially bigger and the Chibi and I were fairly satisfied. However this made waking each other from sleep exponentially difficult. Hence the practice of object throwing was invented. It started with the shoes. The Chibi and I did not have as many interactions due to scheduling conflicts, extracurricular activities and different choices of recreation activities but the love was still there...especially when finals came around.

Highlights: shoe bucket, next day recap, movie night, 300, south park, hall window, gchat, whitfield, Halloween (nun, school girl, cop, detective), new york, dreamgirls, promise video

Fall '07 - Spring '08
The first year the Chibi and I technically lived apart though we were still connected through the bathroom. Which also meant the first time we could independently control the room tempature. There was tropical storm in the bathroom everyday, apparently Chibis work best in tropical conditions. The sembiotic existence was extremely solidfied and the system of interaction became automatic. We also learned a very valueable lesson in how not to bite off more than we can chew. The second half of the year we were unfortunately (for the world) left alone to influence each other without outside guidance. 'Twas an "interesting" time in life and many boundaries were blown to bits. Was also the first year the Chibi was classified as the Chibi.

Highlights: T4, blow-out #1, boy-translation, theories, "interesting", planets, relationship book, monsoon in the bathroom, off campus, alternative taxis, barcelona, san sebastian, diseased child, gremlin, blockbuster, hostile takeover, shirts, double trouble, post-it note wall, tip shoes

Fall '08 - Spring '08
This is the last year the Chibi and I will be spending together. We have grown quite accostumed to and comfortable with each other. Somehow the strange relationship has gotten stranger and there are no signs that it will be returning to normalcy any time soon. There are doubts as to whether it will be possible to live with another species after living so long with a thing like a smidgetus africanus.

Highlights (so far): justice book, esl, respiratory, Palin, Fables, Ruby-syndrome, Aussie, rexy/lemmie, VH1 addiction, MVDVDs...

(belated) Good luck on your midterm Cheebs!
-The Aussie
Mogwai Sorry Song (stop denying your people!)
Gizmo
Gremlins

Bubble Fish Notes (The Doodler)

Jesus Saves, I Spend
St. Vincent
Marry Me

The AA Advertising Experiment (The Analyst)

What do you think of this picture? Without the context, what is your first reaction? Well I took an informal poll with my crazy...eclectic...friends and this is what came out of it. (Any updates I'll post them later

me: how?... i know it's physically possible because she's doing it but what are all the technical aspects of that body position and can it be done by an average person, hence staring for 3 min. (and the answer is yes. it can be done by an average person. i made cheche do it... even though she claims to be completely non-flexible... i got her to do a elbow triangle inversion thing too where she almost touched her head with her feet but that's another story)

chibi: ooooo pretty... can i have it as a desktop?

cheche (chibi's sister): THAT is impossible... are you sure it's not photoshopped?

isadora & alayaka (blockmates #3 & #4): this ad is pointless. nobody would ever wear that. men are stupid for thinking that's realistic.

tvu: its degradin. say its pretty messed up. why r her legs opened...but actually its becomin more common in fashion advertisin. these crazy positions. i would question whether she is a dancer. but im aware of how sexist the media is.

heartstocking: I just don't get why the leg is necsssary. haha. like it's not even sexual to me. it ruins the entire composition.

gmdbj: naturally, i feel obligated to be like "man, that's exploiting women and has nothing to do with the product"
but the ad is hot

littlebrother: instantly reminded me of this http://www.panopticist.com/graphics/hustler_june_1978.gif

Of course in Hootenanny today I overhear a whole conversation about AA taking the "sexuality" out their magazine and making their whole advertising strategy revolve more around family-friendly images to appeal to the "gap buying" demographic of yuppie mothers who would like to take their kids shopping with them.

Which, in turn, links to the entire conservative trend of advertising, media, and programming that has been steadily rising since 9/11 to provide a means to obtaining a sense of security through the image of a "wholesome" american lifestyle. Then there's the new teen image where it's cool to be the invisible, non-rebellious kid who ultimately succeeds because they play by the rules (Juno, Nick and Nora... there's more coming...just wait for it) or the "new man" who is allowed to feel and ultimately wants a stable relationship which will lead to a family (dude-flicks.. chick-flicks for guys, started with wedding crashers most recently made of honor... don't worry they're going to be getting chickier in the next few years).

Great ad. Sex sells and it definitely caught my attention. But then again, I think they should legalize prostitution.

-The Analyst
Seduce Me Tonight
Cycle V
Flashdance Soundtrack

Light Star's Light Star (The Addict)

So I did a make your own mad lib poem online... this is what I got:

light star's light star

"I dances my paints and all the killer twirls candy-coated;
I kissed my fires and all is yearn again.
(I love I dances you up inside my mars.)

The marker go liveing out in charming and drunk,
And special paint twirls in:
"I dances my killers and all the fire twirls candy-coated;

I kisseded that you yearned me into mars
And love me busy, dancesed me quite candy-coated.
(I love I dances you up inside my mars.)

sister twirls from the marker, paint's killers kissed:
Exit fire and president's mars:
"I dances my killers and all the fire twirls candy-coated;

I yearned you'd love the way you said,
But I dances old and I twirl your name.
(I love I dances you up inside my mars.)

I should have killerd a fire instead;
At least when mars kisseds they yearn back again.
"I dances my killers and all the fire twirls candy-coated;

(I love I dances you up inside my mars.)

- The Writer & Sylvia Plath

Create Your Own Madlib on LanguageIsAVirus.com


Can we say...hot mess?

Pieces of My Heart or the Random Theory of 3 (The Canvas/La Pensadora)

Earlier this summer something happened with that brought about my thoughts about love that brought about this tattoo. Somehow (I know, but you don't need to... not just yet) my theory of three came up again, I was forced to really think about what I was saying, and I decided that it was something I had to believe in to truly have faith in the undefinable concept of love.

This theory started a long time ago when I saw a very interesting movie called A Bronx Tale. Directed by Robert DeNiro with a bunch of big, bald Italian dudes that were Sopranos stars before The Sopranos even existed, A Bronx Tale is no where near the category of being one of my favorite movies. A basic story of "growing up Italian in the Bronx" without any real drama, action, or subplot with heavy-handed "morals" about staying in school, staying true to yourself, and love knows no color, this movie was one of those B-movies that got pushed to 10pm Sunday night tv slots and Walgreens shelves never to be seen or heard of again. (Yes I saw it on tv at 10pm on a Sunday. Yes I bought it at Walgreens for $7.99...on vhs...anyway) In the grander scheme of things, it's a cute movie and there was one message in it that stuck with me as soon as I heard it: there are three people you fall in love with in one lifetime. Now I don't exactly know if some Italian boss named "Sonny" actually took aside a young Robert De Niro and dropped this gem on his seventeen-year-old head or if it was just a cute plot contrivance but somewhere along the way my head made sense of it and now it's here to stay.

So here's my version of the rule of three:

There are three potential people you fall in love with within one lifetime, two of which you love more than they love you and one person who you're also one of their "three". Now, I'm not talking about the "OMG I <3 YOU!!" love, the "Yea, love you too" love, the "I think...I may be in love with you" love or any of that other nonsense people psych themselves into believing is real because they're tired of waiting for the real thing. Now my definition of love is and always will be strange (like many other things). My definition of love is painful. It involves a commitment beyond all understanding, no matter what they say, no matter what they do, no matter how bad it gets you are better with them than you are without them. That is not to say that love can't be good, fun, or happy but when the chips are down you know that's the one person that's going to make everything okay without having to do anything but exist.

So that's why I got the tattoo to remind me that there are three people out there that I'm meant to be with. The three major puzzle pieces that will make up the majority of my heart. Hopefully (hopefully) I haven't found one...or two of them yet and even if I have, then it means I still have my one or two...or three) pieces left that out of the 3 billion in the world are meant for me. Hopefully I'll meet all of them some day. Hopefully not at the same time :) On the other hand, it's a little reminder for me to not sweat the people that don't matter, the people that'll never own a piece of my heart. Now about telling my mother I got another tattoo...before I go home...

-The Canvas / La Pensadora
Ready for Love
India.Arie
Acoustic Soul

Culpable (The Poet)

i apologize...
for asking you to give in
to the indelible energy
emanating from you and me
shocking us into silence
with every encounter of
close proximity
when you were not
entirely available

for seducing your mind
presenting possibilities
of a tangible forbidden
hidden from the norm
under my tongue
where secrets begin to form
betraying the lies
that lie within

i apologize...
for giving myself so freely
tempting your senses
with the option of
"why not?"
when "why would?"
was the correct question
that you neglected
to bring with you to my doorstep

for actually
when actuality might have
surpassed our reality
of worlds colliding
sparking fireworks
burning in minute increments
springing from our origins
erasing the option of other

i apologize...
for letting go
floating on unspoken promise
reading between wishes
when you were drowning
in socially-manifested guilt
blind to the clouds above
hints falling on deaf senses
while fates laugh at human folly

for sinking into your submission
instead of saving myself
from my web of fables
spun in spite of past experience
forgetting that too often
passion's flames falter
when wells run dry

i apologize...
for adding you to my baggage
to my collection of broken dreams
paper wings pinned to my story board
serving as the latest landmark
another lesson in cold distance
applied to afflicted emotions
that continue to die a little more
killing kindness in its wake

-The Poet
Secret
Maroon 5
Songs About Jane