Looks like I've done it again.

I made it through another year alive and well, and full of all kind of things I want to change! Hence, the resolutions. One of such resolutions is to write more, which includes this little blog space. I wanted to definitely hit it with something for the new year, but I've got nothing thought out so this is gonna be short and sweet. Happy New Year to one and all. This annual cycle always makes me think of new beginnings, fresh starts, and whatnot. Wouldn't it make more sense if the new year started in the spring? As technically winter symbolizes the end of things? Oh well, we live with the society we're dealt, but in personal affairs, it's all up to us. There's no fate but what we make. John Conner taught me that little ditty, and they are words to live by. Here's to making an awesome fate for 2012. Whether the world ends in December or not, we've got at least eleven months of endless possibilities. =)

I've missed you more than you know.

There I was, chugging along with my spiffy new blog, packed with pictures and videos and opinions and the like and then all of a sudden.... nothing. I was a blank page, no creative whimsy to keep my (3) readers inspired, no wherewithal to juggle my time correctly and keep my passion of writing alive, definitely not enough gumption to finish Script Frenzy, which my last post (done months ago) boasted was a done deal. I could blame taking on full time status at the big box retailer I call my day job, but it would just be pushing the buck around, and besides, blame is such an ugly thing. Here are some prettier things: the autumn leaves all over my apartment complex, the fact that "fall back" gave me an extra hour of sleep last week, and a new writing challenge: the return of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it's known to its good friends. Last year I came away from that little exercise a winner winner chicken dinner... did I really just write that? Okay, it's 1:30 AM and my prose isn't what it wants to be, but you get the picture. I'm baaaack.... I think. ;)

So I totally hate it when I'm typing really fast and instead of writing "the" I write "t he"

That happens a lot, but I might as well get used to it, because I've thrown my hat in the SCRIPT FRENZY ring, pledging to write a 100 page screenplay in 30 days. I'm all cocky from my November NaNoWriMo win, but a screenplay is something that I've never even fully attempted before, so I'm in virgin territory. At least I'm not complety alone this time, my PIC Alleykitten (check her blog if you haven't) is doing it with me!

So what am I writing? A psycological horror film about a bunch of people trapped in the lunchroom at work. It's The Breakfast Club meets The Shining. Sound Awesome? Let's hope so. But awesome or no, it's going to be FINISHED, which is kind of what I'm going for these days.

Do. Or do not. There is no try.

Will Britney Ever Have Fun Again?

The much hyped "Hold It Against Me" Video premiered Thursday night, and as a fan of the Blonde Wonder since she belted out Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You" on The Mickey Mouse Club ( in a duet with Justin Timberlake, no less), of course I watched. I'm not sure exactly what  expectations I had going in. The song is classic Britney: catchy chorus, thumping dance beat, obligatory spoken word moment. If fact, the first time I heard it, it stayed in my head all day after only one listen, and it has such a happy disco feel that I suppose I dared to hope that it meant the return of something we haven't seen from Britney since she canceled her Onyx Hotel tour due to an injury and ran off into the sunset with one Kevin Federline-Spears: happiness.

The video, directed by Jonas Akerlund, the genius behind Gaga and Beyonce's "Telephone" masterpiece (hey my blog, my opinions), is a full on assault of bright colors, flashing lights and hot dancing boys, which on first watching obscured the narrative of the piece for me, but on second viewing I saw it quite clearly: the struggle of the pop princess's rise and fall and subsequent rise again.

Surrounded by camera's and video screens, Britney slinks hops and grinds looking fierce in sexy hot pants, and later appears sans backup dancers in a white gown, rising higher and higher off the ground (remember Elphaba's "Defying Gravity" scene in Wicked?). It's the virgin bride being offered up to the masses via video. Out of her own hands she begins spraying ribbons of colored paint, splashing the pristine dress and surrounding video screens, some of which (most tellingly) are running footage of her debut "... Baby One More Time" video. Intermingled with this imagery is a fight scene set against a glossy black background in which a gorgeous Britney takes on her most dangerous opponent: Britney. At the climax, both fighters fall, along with the no longer pure paint-splattered bride. It's an excellent visual of a well known story: a child star who was once worshiped for perfection she never really possessed, and was torn down by her natural need to break out of those bronzed baby shoes. The fact that she was spoiled by brightly colored paint (as opposed to black or red, for instance) expresses an acknowledgement that this type of change isn't bad, it's natural. Her true colors have got to find a way to shine.

In the end, all Britneys make their way back up, and she and her backup dancers dance something fierce amongst celebratory confetti- but here's the part that's missing something for me. After surviving the loss of innocence and fighting her inner demons, I was hoping to see some joy in her eyes, some triumph and jubilation of having told her story; of being a survivor of the treacherous roads of young stardom, but it's not there. The blank stare that she has been rocking ever since a judge ordered her into her father's care for her own protection is still solidly in place, and whether it is a decisive refusal to give that much of herself or a sign of an unhappy young woman, I am not sure, but it's there. Perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious if MTV Hits hadn't been running Britney marathons leading up to the big premier of HIAM and I hadn't caught her now classic 2000 MVA performance of "Oops I Did It Again" in which her pure joy of performing comes blazing through her like a California forest fire. HIAM is a brilliant video actually, and a terrific mix of flash and commentary, but I will never really feel like Britney is back until I see her having fun again. Thoughts?

You Know What I Love In My Entertainment Media? Violence.

Which is why I am super excited at the crop of (relatively) new music videos depicting kickass (pun intended) fight scenes and all around violent mayhem. Especially great is the female empowering trend of having girls kick boys asses, like in the awesome vid I discovered yeasterday by Matt & Kim:



I enjoy it best when the fight is pretty even, because isn't the chick even more badass when the guy is giving it everything he's got? Still, there's nothing wrong with us enjoying watching Adam Levine get the crap beat out of him, especially cause he's so hott! (loving the rockabilly look btw)

And finally, if you'd rather see a girl who is not only a violent daughter-of-a-bitch but also enjoys a healthy hero complex, check out Charlize Theron saving Brandon Flowers' life in "Crossfire."

And they say that the artform of music videos is dead! I say it's still alive and kicking. Kicking ass, that is. ;)

So I Have This Thing With Birds.

I am fascinated by them and yet they often leave me ill at ease. Whenever  I'm about to choose something with birds on it (like the wallpaper for this blog, for instance) I unfailingly take pause...

what do the birds say about me? Since actual birds kind of freak me out, am I being like a poser to bird lovers? But at the same time, I love birds in a way, the way they symbolize freedom while in flight; or can be be used as excellent literary devices for oppression when caged in, so in that respect, I think I'm totally entitled to use things with birds on them...

That probably says a lot more about my neuroses than my feelings for Aves ( a fancy scientific name for birds I just looked up for the purpose of this blog so I could sound cool and educated, which I have now successfully sabotaged by telling you my process, tisk, tisk), but I suppose that is the point of this blog after all, getting a piece of me OUT THERE.... you know, there where everyone else is. So nice to meet you, people out there. My name is jaylinbee, and I like to write stuff.