HOORAYFORHOLLYWOOD

(2010: huntington beach, ca. holly, femme fatale extraordinaire.)

i don't have many friends.

it's true.

hard to believe, i know, right? all this charm, grace and eloquence . . . and only a handful of friends.

fact is that it takes a special, brilliant, clever, attractive, interesting, intelligent, intellectual, witty, strong, vivacious sort of person to be friends with me.

enter holly vance of crime, thriller, horror and one bad romance.

holly is one of the fiercest women i've ever met: a devoted teacher, a loyal friend and a talented writer . . .

yesterday, she fired up her own corner of the net. if you like me, you'll LOVE her. actually, even if you hate me, you'll STILL love her. ACTUALLY, if you're breathing and have just two synapses to rub together, you'll love her 'cause she's just that fab.

word.

JUSTANOTHERDAYFORYOUANDMEINPARADISE

hi everyone!

my cousin, charlene (charlie) music, is a budding documentary director out of harvard university and now working in conjunction with stanford university. she just finished her latest short film and it has made it to the final three in an online competition against two other shorts. whoever gets the most votes airs on PBS!

the film's name is ROZ (AND JOSHUA) . . .

without wanting you to simply vote for charlie because she's my family . . . i just ask that if you have a bit of time (15 or so minutes), you check out the three films and vote. if that vote happens to be for her, then awesome!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FILMS AND MAKE YOUR VOTE!

voting ends soon!

on behalf of charlie, thank you so much for your support!

MYLIFEISBRILLIANT,MYLOVEISPURE

apparently, the chinese DID NOT GET THE MEMO:

"Chinese defend Olympic ceremony lip-synch
Parents of both girls said each felt privileged just to have taken part

BEIJING-Chinese officials defended their decision to pass off the voice of a 7-year-old songbird as that of another girl at the Olympic opening ceremony, calling it a simple casting choice. Critics said it was a step too far in China’s obsession with the perfect Olympic Games.

Beijing organizers of the games faced tough criticism Wednesday after a whistleblower revealed that the 9-year-old who performed a song during the spectacular opening ceremony was lip-synching to another girl’s vocal track.

Yang Peiyi, a 7-year-old with bright eyes and a smile made crooked by the stubs of her first grown-up teeth, was heard by an audience estimated in the billions during Friday night’s ceremony, singing “Ode to the Motherland.”

But they never saw her face."

(AP story continues here . . .)

as one writer said, "what can be cuter than buck teeth?"

i mean, it's true. gnarly teeth are beautiful. just ask the english, who brush with sugarpaste. they LOVE fucked-up teeth!

OYECOMOVAMIRITMOBUENOPA'GOZAR

WOW, A GREAT, BIG, HUGE THANKS to cassy at reach for more--aspira a mas, who gave me the arte y pico award! loosely translated from spanish, arte y pico means art and spice, but the spirit of which really translates to something like "wow. the best art. over the top!" . . . at any rate, the award is passed on to blogs that others can learn from, that inspire, that make people smile or think, and/or that are doing something special.

here's what cassy had to say: "LanaBanana, at American Fool - for her bad-ass attitude which I love, and because she is probably someone I would love to hang out with in real life. I appreciate how she says what she wants to say, sin pelo en la lengua!"

i am very, very grateful. but more than the award, what i'm most thankful to cassy for is her on-going encouragement and inspiration (seriously, people, you have to check out her blog. her poetry is moving without being pretentious. heartfelt and thought-provoking, you'd be a fool not to go read her writing).

many, many, MANY thanks, amiga . . .

if you would like to give this award, here are the rules:

1) you have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogger community, no matter what language.

2) each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) each award-winning blog has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the arte y pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) to show these rules.

again, cassy, muchisimas gracias . . .

HAVEIGOTNEWSFORYOU,I'MSOMETHING,IHOPEYOUTHINKTHATYOU'RESOMETHINGTOO

1. One movie that made you laugh:
Biloxi Blues (omg, i laughed so hard i cried.)

2. One movie that made you cry:
The Power of One (#1 should qualify, but i don't think that's what they meant . . .)

3. One movie you loved when you were a child:
Labyrinth (i STILL love it. what can i say? it has puppets AND david bowie.)

4. One movie you’ve seen more than once:
The Color Purple (it's watered-down shit compared to the book, but i'm still crazy about it.)

5. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit:
Porco Rosso (an anime film about an italian pig who's a wwI fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the adriatic . . . now you see why i was embarrassed to admit it?)

6. One movie you hated:
The English Patient (almost sent ME to the hospital.)

7. One movie that scared you:
The Shining (which i still have to watch with the lights on AND with someone by my side, who is willing to sleep over in my apartment, preferably in my bed with me . . . head-to-toe sleeping arrangement, even, if need be, so long as they don't mind me clutching tightly to their leg in the middle of the night.)

8. One movie that bored you:
The English Patient (slept through most of it and what i did see made me wish i were asleep again.)

9. One movie that made you happy:
October Sky (made me think about my brothers and school and family and just all things good . . .)

10. One movie that made you miserable:
The English Patient (see #6 and #8, above.)

11. One movie you weren’t brave enough to see:
The Exorcist (i didn't see it when i was a kid and then when i was actually old enough to see it, i still put it off because i was too chicken, and then when i finally did see it, the special effects were so laughable that i mostly, well, laughed . . . though, i will say that The Exorcism of Emily Rose did genuinely scare my pants off . . . and if you're in the UK and reading this, i mean my trousers, not my unmentionables.)

12. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with:
Gregory Peck, as Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, though, more recently, it was Russell Crow, as Maximus Decimus Meridius, in Gladiator (mmm, brains AND brawn!)

*thanks, jz (not the rapper) . . .

13. The last movie you saw:
Iron Man

14. The next movie you hope to see:
Encounters at the End of the World

15. Now tag five people:
in hopes of continuing this meme, i’ll tag anyone who happens to read this!

this cool meme is courtesy of . . .

SUPERSONIC.THE'S'ISFORSUPER,THE'U'ISFORUNIQUE. . .

a brief shout-out to KABA MODERN from UCI who was straight-up off-the-hook tonight on "america's best dance crew"! y'all made me proud to be a part of the UC system.

you guys were amazing and inspirational . . .

HERHAIRISALWAYSAMESS.YOUCATCHHERSTEALINGANDSHEWON'TCONFESS

(2007: whittier, ca. top image: teodorico quiros' oil painting "el porton rojo". bottom image: my version of "the red gate", but in watercolors.)

i don't know how flattered teodorico quiros would be to see his fellow countrywoman's version of his painting, but here it is. i did it as a project for one of my education classes at loyola a few weeks back, you know, for shits and giggles. now, though, i think i might keep trying to paint.

i'm thinking about ripping off van gogh's "starry night" next. i know, lame, but i've always loved that painting.

still have a bunch of stuff to do today, but i think i might hit the palette tonight.