Well, yesterday, we inaugurated the first African-American president of the United States. Yesterday, I woke up at 9 a.m., turned on my television, sat down on the couch with my hound dog, and didn't remove myself from that position for any length of time until about 3 p.m. Yesterday, I cried every time I saw the words "The Inauguration of Barack Obama." Yesterday, I smiled and cheered on every occasion that he and his beautiful family were pictured. Yesterday, I watched in awe as Barack Hussein Obama took his oath as our nation's highest leader with his hand on the bible of Abraham Lincoln. Yesterday, I listened to a very inspiring and moving speech from a very passionate man and couldn't stop thinking about how amazing it is to see things you desperately want to happen actually happen. Yesterday, I waved goodbye and shouted loud, inappropriate things at the TV as the asshole who has resided in the White House for the last eight years got into a helicopter and flew away as PRESIDENT Obama looked on. Yesterday, for the first time in a very, VERY long time, I felt proud of my country and the fact that I am an American citizen. Yesterday, I got to witness history and know that I have been a part of its making.
I hope I never forget how that feels.
On a different note, if you haven't seen "Slumdog Millionaire," you should give it a watch. It's still in a few theaters, but it will be out on DVD on February 24th. It won four Golden Globes, including Best Film, and was also chosen as the best film for the Critics' Choice Awards. I'm anxious to see how it does at the Academy Awards. Dev Patel, the lead character, is an 18 year-old from England that's a pretty outstanding actor, especially for this being his first big film (he's not bad looking, either...). He's really good at conveying the many diverse emotions his character is experiencing and he has really sad eyes when he needs to. Freida Pinto, the girl in the film, is pretty great, too. She's absolutely beautiful and she and Patel interact well together. It's going to sound silly, but stay through the credits at the end. There's a pretty cheesy but cool dance scene with a large group of people and the two leads up in front. It's actually pretty impressive and the song they're dancing to is really catchy. I bought the score/soundtrack Saturday night. It's by A.R. Rahman and is really well done. I feel like he knew exactly how to compose music that sounded like the characters and the parts of India being portrayed. There are also a couple of songs by M.I.A. on there. Good stuff.
I also saw Fleet Foxes on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. If you've never seen/heard them perform live, I can't stress enough how amazing they are, especially when it's not being filtered through a television screen (but that's better than nothing). Their vocal harmonies are absolutely chill inducing. They may just look like a bunch of scrawny mountain men, but with instruments in their hands and a microphone in front of their faces, they are, in my opinion, one of the best bands out there right now. I met their lead singer, Robin Pecknold, in St. Louis back in October after a concert in which they opened for Death Cab for Cutie and he was one of the most humble, soft-spoken people I think I've ever encountered. It was awesome to get to talk to him for about 5-10 minutes. Last month, he was voted as having the best new voice of 2008 by Spin magazine. I can't say that I disagree with them at all. Josh Tillman, their drummer, is pretty outstanding in his own right. If you ever get to witness them playing, watch him go to town back there. In addition to having a great voice, it's pretty impressive to watch him rotate through his collection of percussion instruments back there around his drum set. I'm telling you, the Northwest is truly the place to look for great music. These guys are yet another product of Seattle and are currently a member of Sub Pop Record's family of artists, the same record label that put out Nirvana's stuff back in the day. If you decide to check them out, listen to "Blue Ridge Mountains," "Mykonos," and "Your Protector." If you have an open mind about music and appreciate strong voices and strings, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
"Mykonos" on SNL
"Blue Ridge Mountains" on SNL
I'm going dancing this weekend for the first time in months. And Martin will be here. And with the beginning this week has had, something drastic will have to happen to make this anything but a good next few days. I like it when the world works.
I wish I could blog all day, but I actually have things I should be doing... such as reading or writing one of the many things I have to complete in order to graduate in a few months. So... to that I go.
Peace.
1 comment:
Blegh, don't bother doing those "important" things like homework and the like.
And your mountain men of Fleet Foxes... eh, to each their own.
I guess I can't say much as Britney Spears is residing on my mp3 player RIGHT NOW.
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