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Film, Pop Culture, Writing

CSI- Legoland

You’ve seen the Youtube hit Mario, right? RIGHT?! Like who hasn’t? When it premiered at SXSW 2011 it blew up the Youtube like cray-cray. Who doesn’t love a dramatization of the life and loves of an Italian-American plumber? Well, the director behind Mario is back with another delightful gem. Local director and Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” honoree Joe Nicolosibrings us CSI: Legoland.

Check it out!

*Warning- This video contains graphic images of Legos being decapitated. Viewer discretion is advised.

October 21, 2011 by
Austin, Hipstercrite Life, Writing

Beyond 6th Interview

On Sunday I was interviewed by the wonderful gang over at Beyond 6th.

Beyond 6th is a weekly love letter podcast to Austin. Hosts @EddieCantu @BriDraffen @JustinTArthur and @WadeofHonor interview local artists and talk about what is going on in this marvelous city. I had a blast meeting with them and I highly recommend subscribing to their podcast.

I met Beyond 6th in a swanky apartment above 6th Street. Did I think I would have the same fate as Paul Allen? Maybe. But that didn’t stop me from forgoing the beer they offered me before the interview and digging into the sweet, sweet sweet tea vodka. As you will notice, at some point in the interview I have difficultly finishing thoughts and sentences.

Listening to yourself is never a fun experience, but I was happy to notice that I didn’t sound like Kermit the Frog over the podcast. Not that Kermit the Frog sounds shitty, I mean, who the f doesn’t love Kermit the Frog? But Kermit is not sexy, you know? I’ve been striving for the (more…)

October 20, 2011 by
20-Something, Film, Hipstercrite Life

Under Your Spell

11:26PM 10/19/11

Watching Drive and writing that post today really got to me. The LA in Drive is the LA in so many movies and was the LA in my head when I lived there, though it’s not the LA that actually exists. I’ve written about this way too many times before, so I will not rehash it too much. Or maybe I will.

There are multiple LAs that exist in film- the glamorous 1920’s LA, the dangerous noir 40’s/50’s LA, the sunny carefree 1960’s LA, the porn/drug-riddled 70’s LA and the beautifully nihilistic 80’s LA. After that, the LA that exists now is the one we all know, but we want the other LAs, you know? The Day-Of-The-Locust-Who-Framed-Roger-Rabbit-Chinatown-LA-Confidential-Boogie Nights-Less-Than-Zero all rolled into one LA.

I just can’t stop thinking about her tonight. I can’t stop thinking about all the illusions and the dreams that weren’t real. The holding my breath, waiting for something to happen. The anticipation that anything– good or bad- would reveal itself to me. (more…)

October 20, 2011 by
Film, Hipstercrite Life, Music, Pop Culture

Songs About Los Angeles

Last night I saw the movie Drive starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and Los Angeles. A lot of buzz has been going around about this simple, yet visually and auditorily delicious film. The Michael Mann-esque qualities, Ryan Gosling’s subtle performance, the 80’s font, and moody electronic music make for a wonderful, nostalgic ride. Besides the ridiculously long shots on Ryan Gosling’s beautiful face, what made this film particularly engaging is the ominous soundtrack composed by Cliff Martinez and featuring music by Kavinsky, Lovefoxxx, Desire, College, Riz Ortolani, and Chromatics.

“Drive” is an appropriate verb for songs reminiscent of Los Angeles. Any song that reminds me of that city, also reminds me of late nights driving through Hollywood towards the beach, the blur of lights in the background, the windows down and the warm wind holding me firmly into the passenger seat. It reminds me of trips through the city to nowhere in particular, (more…)

October 19, 2011 by
Hipstercrite Life

The Great White North

My favorite time of year is here! The time of year where I no longer have to worry if my ass cheeks are hanging out of the bottom of my shorts. The time of year my frame is no longer a terrain of small bodies of sweat and dried kneetop and elbowtops. A time where I can resort back to dressing like Truman Capote. A time of cardigans and scarves and stockings and pants and soon enough I’ll be bitching about how cold it is even thought it’s only 65.

In two weeks I will be heading up to the Vermont Film Festival with my honey sweetie child (the longer you date and become more comfortable with someone, the more obnoxious nouns you add to their name) for a screening of his first film, Mars. At that time, my mother will take a carload of people including my auditorily-challenged grandmother, the cognitively-challenged Lionel, and the hyper-activelly challenged Jack Russell Terrier named Lucy and meeting us in Burlington.

This will be the first time my mother meets my boyfriend, something (more…)

October 18, 2011 by
Writing

Scoutmob Is My Jam

I’ve had the pleasure of writing for a wonderful Mobile Deals company called Scoutmob. You’ve probably heard of it, considering they’re located in 13 major U.S. cities and are about to add 7 more. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re very much missing out.

Scoutmob is not your typical daily deal website. What makes them unique (besides their kickass old-timey branding and love for mustaches) is that they really care about sharing each business’ story. Instead of someone at corporate Googling a business located in another city and writing some weirdass blurb about them that never makes any sense, they hire local writers to interview and photograph the business. They encourage the writers to discuss their personal feelings about the experience. It’s been a blast writing for them and I’ve gotten to meet and speak with so many interesting  local proprietors in Austin.

The best part of Scoutmob? Their deals are free. No catch. We’ve featured some of the best restaurants in town too: Annie’s (more…)

October 17, 2011 by
Film, Music, Pop Culture

The Driver Says…

“It’s time for Hipster Halloween Costume ideas again, you guys!”

If you’re not sure what hipstery Halloween costume you’ll be wearing this year, check out my post over at CultureMap for some ideas…

____

Halloween is just around the bend. For us hipsters, this is the cherished time of year where we can emulate our heroes or be ironic without people looking at us like we’re huge assholes.

But it’s also a challenging time. More than any other time of the year, we want to be different, irreverent. We have to out-do our peers. We can’t just walk into one of those big box Halloween stores and buy some cheap-o costume, nooo. We have to sit and think for days on what will be the most unique, most stylish, most mother f’ing hip costume Austin will ever see. We scavenge the vintage shops for just the right items. We spend hours putting our costume together nearly exploding from anticipation. Halloween arrives and we make our grand debut at a friend’s East Side party sporting our jean (more…)

October 14, 2011 by
Film, Pop Culture

She’s Got Steve Buscemi Eyes

As little girls we dreamt about sparkles and unicorns and prom night and meeting Prince Charming and beautiful weddings and looking like Steve Buscemi.

Did you know that? Did you know that most girls would kill for Steve Buscemi eyes?

Well, ladies, make your dreams come true with the Steve Buscemeyes Facebook app.

Let me tell you, it’s an instant self-esteem booster.

I was lucky enough to get myself Buscemized as a young child.

*Disclaimer- sorry if this app was big, like, 4 months ago.

October 14, 2011 by
20-Something, Pop Culture

Occupy Wall Street: The Youth Perspective Gives Mixed Messages

Watching the Occupy Wall Street movement unfold has been both fascinating and educational. It has created stimulating conversation and really challenged young Americans to think about how we feel about our Government, our economy, our financial institutions and how we make and manage our money.

There are two pieces of writing that have come out of  Occupy Wall Street that have really made me stop for a moment. They both were reportedly written by young people (one is confirmed) and they are preaching exact opposite views. One middle-class student proudly claims they are not part of the 99%, the other is a famous musician having difficulty making ends meet. Both are thought-provoking opinions but I feel miss the point of Occupy Wall Street entirely.

The first piece was written by musician JD Samson for Huffington Post and is titled “I Love My Job, But it Made Me Poorer.” Samson explains how she came from a middle class background and was fortunate enough to achieve the American (more…)

October 13, 2011 by
Fashion/Design

My Boyfriend the Style Icon

As I grew older, I began to realize that the probability of me dating a man who is smart, funny, interesting, good-looking, has a good job, is close to his family, has his head screwed on tightly AND dresses well was very unlikely. I could have maybe 3 or 4 of those things and dressing well would definitely not be one of them. I’m convinced that 50% of the male population do not know how to dress themselves. Sorry guys, but until the day you stop wearing short-sleeved piqué polo shirts that are two sizes too big for you, I will firmly keep that prior sentence in place.

Imagine my surprise when I did meet a guy who had all those qualities who wasn’t a.) gay b.) had a girlfriend that dresses him.

My boyfriend has style. It’s a style I can’t classify because it’s simply his own. If I had to pick a type I would call it “nerdy cowboy”? He always keeps a pen in the pocket of his pearl snap shirt.

My boyfriend has entire closet filled with costumes. He has another closet entirely filled (more…)

October 12, 2011 by