One of those off days

Whitney said once to google panda pictures when you have a bad day. I'd rather google baby
SRK photos and compare them with adorable hairy chimp babies. Count me in for brown babies^max.

Genevieve and I had a great night last night hitting up a 30 minutes bday party and watching Chak De! but b/c it's impossible to turn off SRK in flat front khakis, crisp white shirts and aviators with scruff I got to bed after 1. I hadn't gotten all of my homework done, but was going to wake up early to do it, but didn't b/c there wer storms all night and I didn't sleep well. I got it done anyway, but getting out of the door was no fun b/c my cream cheese froze.

It rained all day, something I usually love, but both of my umbrellas are MIA and I have to say that today was honestly the first time I've just gotten drenched. I've never found myself walking in the rain before w/o an umbrella, unless I was 6 I guess.

We were informed when we got our group papers back in my English class that one group had tanked. Guess who's!!!

German was fine, but I talked w/ James a lot in English, which actually kind of puts me in a bad mood these days b/c I know I should talk in German more. Also, we did a worksheet and if it weren't for James I'd have been completely lost. James got a haircut, that was a nice surprise for the day I guess.

Make up class was fine, but it can be not the best b/c the bags under my eyes conceal for about .2 seconds then bust through my yellow nutralizer like there's no tomorrow which ruins any look.

And now I have to go back on campus and do a group presentation w/a girl in my English class and miss Glee >: (. After a day like this all you can do is clean the kitchen, which I have. I just wish we had more Swiffer pads b/c my socks are black.

Abhi and Ash on Oprah aka Oprah=rah-dik

I'd call Oprah a dork, but she isn't cool enough to receive that title. She's just a crazy old woman.

Abhishek und Aishwarya am Oprah:
http://tv.yahoo.com/daytime/video/oprah-the-view-divorce-court/15318054/

You tell her what for Abhi!!

The whole episode is available on YouTube.

Can I say again and enough how much I love Provo? The weather's fabulous, the air is clean, the mountains are bursting with color and my life is drama free. Oh how different from a year ago, well, all the landscape stuff was the same I guess.

Anyway, I love fall and I love this new semester if you couldn't tell. I love my job, at which I am doing well and progressing. My future at school, and career wise is looking fabulous. I'm going to try to get a research grant to work w/ Mary on the historical clothing collection again and present research at the Costume Society of America's regionals (I'll be in London for the nationals...but maybe after I graduate).

German is getting better and better. My test scores are going down...but I'm getting more comfortable. I fit in about one Hindi movie a week (Awaara most recentley, and DDLJ again), and that's fantastic. I'm in a super fun makeup class and Genevieve and I go jogging everrrrnight. My life is fabulous.

Dear SRK and disembodied hand...

To the former: Stop smoking! It will kill you, it's disgusting and we can see your nicotine stains in your films, esp in Swades and Rab Ne. Not attractive. Also, you have children, for shame.
To the former's haircut: never again, but good side burn length
To the latter: could you be any more the epitome of a stereotypical Indian gesture? I think not. Also, you freak me out.

just sayin'

Review: "Bollywood Homicide"

Everyone and their mom let me know about the Bollywood episode of Psych that was on last Friday so of course I had to trangle down to Ashley's and watch it on her wall mounted big screen.

Apparently the Indian from Heros was in it. Like I knew, I don't watch popular network television shows (The Office, Glee, cough cough). Anyway, basically this ridiculously good looking Indian man (just the way I like them) is convinced he's cursed after his girlfriend almost gets crushed by a truck. Lassie brings Sean and Gus in to freak them out about the curse. Of course they solve the case.

A GREAT episode, not so great for the Bollywood, but oh for Sean and Gus. Heralding back to the first ridiculously well written season of Psych, this, the fourth season is fantastically quotable. This episode included such gems as "No offence, but you people are just stupid for eating food this hot" and "Indian givers!!". Even though Sean is getting a tad chunky monkey and wears ridiculous man chokers I still love him. And who could forget Gus. And I have a tad crush on Lassie in all his giant crooked-nosed black Irish goodness.

As for the Bollywood, as much as I wish they had miraculously gotten Baby B or Preity, we had to settle for the guy from Heros, who, albeit is a stud muffin in a ridiculously perfect kind of way, was a little too dark and hairy for me (says the girl who's spent 5 months w/ SRK and Hrithik's wheatish bare chests). We must remember though that all Indians portrayed were Indian Americans, haha. The women were very fair, and I do wonder if they were actually Indian (although I'd never guess Preity was if I didn't know).

The costumes were pretty shabby and low-budget, but they WERE working w/ television budgets and not real Bollywood numbers. The Indian girlfriend performed to Aaja Nachle (again, I wish they would have wowed me with a ridiculous dancer a la Madhuri, but alas alack) wearing who knows what, but the backups looked great. Of course the episode ended at the Holi festival where all the costumes were painted with color and lacked the serendipitous splattering of the real deal. Also, Jules' sari was just that, sorry (ew, pun!).

The episode was in fact directed by the brother of the main desi boy character (here) and you can really tell. It had many of the melodramatic and beautiful hallmarks (imagine the scene from above as Sean's pulling the girl out of that hole beautifully shot) of Hindi cinema. The directing wasn't a masterpiece, but it fit the bill.

Overall the actual Bollywood was v. minimal, but done adequately given the resources. The episode as a whole was fantastic.

PS I've updated fashionephemera.

I had a good day today. I'm getting more confident w/ German by the day and the weather is GORGEOUS!! The leaves on the mountains are changing and it's the first day of my favorite season!! Genevieve and I watch clips from Swades everrrday, which does nothing for our homework doing, or our realistic ideas of men. We went running tonight to 9th and back (I live on 29th, grrr. Oh I guess I should tell you that 9th is really 900, and I live on 29th, and 900 is actually 9 blocks east, so is 29th a 29th from University? I don't know, but I like the grid system). So yeah, running was good. A boy talked to us for a bit. Imagine!! I love south of campus!! I'm now trying to do my homework. If when I get married any of you want to get on my good side/want a present idea, a score of white tshirts for my husband would be appreciated, as long as I was talking about Swades...Don't worry, those thoughts are connected. Um...Oh, I got a raise at work and I'm going to be the first hand for Tartuffe, for which I'm mad stoked. I updated fashionephemera and should really do an Emmys fashion/ NY fashion week review, but that would include a lot of research I don't have time right now. I'm trying to think of something costume related I can spend $1200 on so I can get this ORCA grant and do fun things. Anyway, that was a long entry, but there it is.

something that makes me happy...

I used an iTunes gift card and bought lots of Hindi music, Rab Ne, Jodhaa, Swades and other random great songs. Because I've been listening to Swades all day I had to check it out from die Bibliothek. Genevieve and I watched the best parts (the best part being "Yeh Tera Woh Tera") this afternoon and I am more agog every time I watch it that it didn't get nominated for an Oscar. Ug! It's such a fantastic movie!

I also checked out Awara w/ Raj Kapoor, for which I'm super stoked. Apparently this movie is where we get the Charlie Chaplin scene at the beginning of Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte from Rab Ne (don't even try to convince me that RK made that look up all on his own 20 years after Charles Chaplin was super successful w/ it). I'm excited to watch it for a Sunday afternoon treat.

Three more performances of Tafettas, then I'm done! Lando and I are co-designing a film project. I'm excited.

BW: Sholay (say it like T-pain)

I'ma gonna be a little inarticulate right now: OMG SHOLAY!!!

Ok, done. So Genevieve and I watched Sholay on Monday b/c I didn't have Taffetas and ignored my homework and have heard for ages that Sholay is a GREAT movie. You know what's good about watching movies from an entire genre you've hardly scratched the surface of? Discovering movies like Sholay. It's like watching a Steve McQueen movie for the first time, or discovering Gene Kelley. This movie is a Hindi classic and it's obvious to see why. It is FANTASTIC!!

Besties and petty thieves Veeru and Jai are recruited by a retired police officer Thakur, as private guns to take down bandit extraordinaire Gabbar. Veeru falls in love w/ the horse cart girl Basanti and Jai falls for Thukar's widowed daughter-in-law.

Can we just talk about the cast for a minute?..
a)Veeru, played by Dharmendra (who's apparently v. big in Bwood), wasn't my favorite, but that's probs because Big B plays Jai and come on, Big B. BUT he totally grew on me and oddly enough by the end of the film he was ridiculously attractive, in a strangely chunky but not chunky way.
b)Jai, oh Jai. Amitabh Bachchan was and is an extreme hottie. I love this man to distraction. I just wish such long hair wasn't popular back then b/c Abhishek looks so great w/ short hair and I'm sure Big B would have too.
c)Jaya Bhaduri plays the widow, beautifully. I love this woman to distraction (apparently Big B loved her while distracted...oh, cheap shot).
d)Hema Malini as Basanti was hilarious. She was great, her dancing was great, as was her horse carting.
e)Sanjeev Kumar as Thakur was super creepy and I just kept seeing Amrish Puri w/ his bug eyes.
f)Amjad Khan as Gabbar was perhaps one of the most intense, ridiculously evil in a straight up insane kind of way villain I've seen.
e)The stunts men, mad props. Seriously, some of the best work I've seen from this era of film making, or ever. Just classic horse tricks and falls.

Basically the cast is the movie. Oh so good. The story is of course a take off of every Western ever, including the Spanish (?) tiles on the roofs. It really reminded me of a Henry Fonda movie I saw once on a Saturday afternoon that I can't remember the name of. From a bandit raid on a train, shootouts at the water tower and dynamiting the village bridge, classic Western, but in a totally doesn't even need cowboys sort of way. Curry Westerns are delicious. Genevieve and I were screaming and stopped breathing and I wanted to cry, but for some reason I couldn't. Very cathartic all the same however.

Just. a. great. movie.

If you want to read about my fabric dying class w/ Jeff Lieder, I've posted an entry about it on my costumey blog...http://fashionephemera.blogspot.com/

It basically sums up what I've been doing for the past two days. More photos are on Facebook.

A minimum passport validity of 6 mos. is required to get any kind of Indian visa. Shoot!

India for New Years?

Grad friend Jaynanne drew my attention to the Costume Society of America's study tour of India this coming holiday season (Dec 26-Jan 6). The tour goes to many many major cities and visits fabric museums and so forth. Here's the agenda http://costumesocietyamerica.com/India_Agenda.pdf.
My grad student friends think I could get a grant. Field Studies is looking less and less like an option b/c they go to mostly Tibetan India, but this would be PERFECT. If I get a grant I'm totally there!

Today was much better than yesterday. Yesterday I watched Taffetas and it was great, but that meant that I didn't do my homework during the show. After the show when I got home I had no desire to do homework so I lolly gagged around until midnight, did my costume history homework then woke up early this morning to finish my German, which went better today, but I feel bad for my new friend James whom I sit next to. Whenever we discuss things auf Deutsch I suck big time and mumble, so he does most of the discussing.

Taffetas is going SO well. The women are a dream to work with. I'm almost done w/ my homework for the night. On Friday is the master class on textile dying from 9-4, and on Saturday as well. There will be a lunch break for the Taffetas' opening potluck. I'ma make dreamcicle jello, like I always do, and like the shop always loves, but of the 2 free hours I have tomorrow between classes and the show I've already scheduled one to figure out Doctor Who Club. Maybe I'll have to make a quick run after the show to Smiths, or heaven forbid hit up Wal-Mart. Anyway, I'm so STOKED for the dying class. One more thing for me to learn!!

Grrr...I have a love/hate relationship with my German class. I love doing the reading at home and thinking that I understand and get it. I hate coming to class and learning that I didn't, or coming to class and realizing my accent sucks, or coming to class and realizing I can barely form a simple sentence, or coming to class and having all my adjective ending homework be wrong. It's probably not so bad, but I'm used to things coming naturally to me and of course am frustrated that after having taken so many classes to get this far I still suck rocks at German. I feel like scheduling a time w/ my professor to explain why I suck so bad, but that's a cop out and how would it really help? I'm doing what I can, but could probably do better if I had hours more to devote to German than the already hours I spend every night. UG!!

I'm really interested in maybe doing a field study or internat'l intership in India. I popped over to the Field Study booth in the WILK today and even popped on over to the office after German this afternoon. Pretty much it'd be awesome and I could go over and study/work film (a kid just pwnd the India Film scene recently I guess) but the bottom line is that if I want to graduate in April '11 I'd have to pick between Spring in London or Field Study in India Spring/Summer. Any other options tacks on a year or so to my major. I think the best bet is still to go to London and try to find an internship on my own. Maybe the Indian Film kid has some contacts that could help me out though.

I'm going to watch the Taffetas tonight because it's the last rehearsal before an audience. I'll have to do my homework after instead of during.

At least my hair looks good today.

Labor Day Weekend

Here are some pictures of the past Labor Day weekend. I got a new camera so I told Lindsey (who came to town on her way to Rexburg/for Ashley James' wedding) to make sure I took a lot of pictures.

So yeah, we went to Ashley James' reception in Alpine on Saturday night (I didn't watch a second of the game...) then watched a Bollywood movie w/ friends(I'd already shown Lindsey Lagaan). On Monday we went up to Draper and had lunch w/ the wonderful Shelleys then stopped by the temple. Afterwards we watched Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (making Lindsey's Bollywood grand total 4 for the weekend, we watched Om Shanti Om on Sunday night :))

And so starts another week. I'm feeling more comfortable in German and am realizing that others don't feel as comfortable as I thought. Friday and Saturday is my textile dying all day masters class. I'm stoked.

First week of Classes and BW: Lagaan

The first week of my Junior year went well. I'm far enough along in this whole college thing that I kind of just get going and it doesn't even seem like it's only been a week. My class load seems to be pretty manageable.

History of Costume: The textbook is perhaps the second most beautiful book I own, after my 2 volume edition of FASHION. Mary of course is a great teacher and I've already learned a lot, mostly about Mesopotamian and Egyptian costumes, even down to the differences in the Old, Middle and New Egyptian Kingdoms.
Writing about Arts and Humanities: This I think will have a moderate work load w/ a big finish at the end. The class if full of students of the arts and it has progressively shrunk from about 30 to 10 or 12.
GERM 202: taught by a real German! He's super nice and works hard w/ us on pronunciation, but I get the feeling that the kids in my class either a)had GREAT high school teachers or b)have had this professor before because they have REALLY good accents. When I pronounce something wrong as I read aloud (like Bayern) the professor prompts the class and they all say it correctly. My bad.
1st Half Doctrine and Cov't: No homework, no tests, all assignments are done in class and the final is a paper we write in sections, in class.
TMA 360: I'm dressing for The Taffetas, where I am right now. It' great. The girls are faculty and so forth so it's a dream.
I'll be taking a master's textile dying and painting class all next Friday and Saturday. I'm excited!

I met w/ Janet and we discussed my future. It's looking good. We talked grad schools and London and all that. As for Bollywood, there's a film prof. that's been to India, and he's our only remote chance at a Bwood "in". We'll see. A field study is also possible. BYU's program places you w/ something major related. I'm going to look into it, but I don't know if I'll have time before I graduate.

I took my first trip to the BYU Music and Dance Library yesterday (not for lack of trying) and lo and behold all the Hindi films that are perpetually checked out were all there! Om Shanti Om, BOTH Dhooms and Lagaan! I checked out the latter three. I was so jazzed to get Lagaan that I started the nearly 4 hour movie at 10 o'clock last night after rehearsal.

Lagaan, the third Hindi movie ever to be nominated for an Oscar, is about a village in late Victorian India forced to pay double taxes to the British in a drought year. When the village men try to talk the British down, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) agrees to a bet with the British Captain to alleviate the tax. In three months the villagers must beat the British soldiers in a game of cricket. If they do the entire province doesn't have to pay lagaan for three years. If they lose the entire province must pay triple lagaan that year. Of course there is a beautiful villager, Gauri, and a beautiful British woman, Elizabeth who both fall for Bhuvan. The village bans together and two hours later they play cricket, which last an HOUR! of the movie, not in total. The game takes like 3 days. Oh cricket...

Bottom line, great movie. It combines the realness of my favorite Swades and the ecclectic, rural beauty of Jodhaa Akbar. Amir was magnificent and Gracy Singh as Gauri was superb, as an actress, dancer and character. Her costumes made me die with joy and want to learn Indian dying techniques real bad. And I so want three dots on my chin! The supporting cast was well balanced and I grew v. attached. The British were disgusting, of course. Capt. Russel's Hindi was painful. At times the accent wasn't so bad, but when he wanted to be a jerk his Hindi sounded like the American in the French musical Not on the Lips. Elizabeth, who miraculously learned Hindi over night, was just as bad. UG! The Hindi Hindi however seemed to have an accent. Was it just me or were the "main"s a little different?

Costumes: As far as I could tell, which isn't very yet, the Indian costumes were phenomenal. The palette was amazing and esp. the women's costumes were to dye for. The festival dance for Krishna's birthday pallete made me cry with joy. Oh, just all so good! And Gauri was so pretty!

Alright, now the British costumes....AH! 1893=serpentine skirts, leg-o-mutton sleeves, CORSETS. Oh dear. Just because a costume has a full length skirt with a doily for a top doesn't make it late Victorian. And by the same token a brimmed hat with flowers doesn't a) need to be worn everywhere b) mean it's period. And riding w/ a capelet, in India??? or wearing a felt hat w/ a pheasant feather? I just can't, UG! The ballroom scene was painful, OH OH OH! As was Elizabeth's song in English in some sort of demi-slip negligee, so bad. And she never wore her hair up and the woman's got a short neck but they insisted on poorly constructed dog collars. It was just painful. I'd say they did well w/ the military costumes, which they did, except apparently they couldn't find a supplier for enough fabric for everyone so various and sundry shades of khaki abounded, and not in a "worn and weary" kind of way. As far as I could tell the cricket uniform's worked, except they never got dirty. Which leads me to....

The fact that cricket is ridiculous. Period. That's all. Wickets and bowling and spacey oven mitts. I want to understand its appeal, I really do, and maybe someday I will. I'm not defending any American sports, but seriously, cricket?! I'm more of a ball in a goal type of girl.

And thus begins a new school year.

PS I'm going to try and find a theatre in Salt Lake that plays Hindi movies. Amodini's tipped me off to the Bollywood Twelfth Night/She's the Man (with CRICKET!!) and I really want to see it. Looks like a really colorful Punjabi explosion of ridiculousness. I'm convinced there is one field of yellow flowers in Punjab that is constantly inundated with Bollywood shoots.

grad school options

MFA-Costume Design

Theatre
UofI-UC Facilities comparable to BYU's. A good program from what I here, however their head prof is/has retired and there is a hiring freeze so the progam's kind of in limbo from what I hear.
Boston University: excellent facilities. looks good, although the grad classes look similar to some I've already taken. Boston's nice
UC-Irvine: lookin' good. has "multicultural spring" w/ visiting professors and masters classes.

Film
USC: Deborah Landis teaches here, NOT UCLA like I thought. However, they don't currently offer an MFA in design, but will in the near future
UCLA: just another good CA choice.

I'm meeting w/ Janet tomorrow to discuss my future. I'll write an entry for this week at the end of it.