Check my blog out at http://www.astoriagrrrl.blogspot.com/

So, some early morning 'net hunting and book mark tidying led me, with a few swift clicks, to Will Brezsny's work. I used to read his stuff in the libertarian New York Press and always had at least a giggle if not an outright 'ephiffff' to make it all worthwhile. Anyway, from what I gather, he's telling this Aries that I'll finally have the will, aptitude, and resourcefulness to get out of my own way and make things happen in 2009. I say, it couldn't have happened to a nicer grrrl. Maybe his site will have something special to say to you. Check it out:

FreeWillAstro

Sure, I know, deep critical thinkers frown on the psuedo scientific riffs of this form of stargazing married to psychology. But you know, I really AM an Aries with the softening effect of a moon in Pisces. I'm way more interior than the so-called "typical" Aries, but I certainly have those ram-sicle, bombastic leading tendencies. What's your deal? Pretend the stuff is real and use it as an analytic gauge my friends, that's my advice to you on this still chilly morning.

I'd never embarrass my family by running down the details of Christmas craziness, so I won't—no sharing about the specific plotlines around hurt feelings, misunderstandings, sudden global meltdowns evident in thought and deed—with anxiety so high that Mel Brooks could have had material for three feature films. Use your imagination. (No, the turkey didn't burn—we are competent in the kitchen.)

Suffice to say that I loathe the holidays and events of this year did little to abate that feeling. Basically, Christmas brings up my most primal urge to find a legal (and moral) way to be filthy rich so I can travel to an island and sip cocktails from December 15 thru to January 5—at least. I'll risk a tsunami. Actually, I'd practice yoga and only sample the booze lightly—who needs the calories? :) The largest point of all is: Nevermind the carols and forced bonhomie and wishing for sugar plums that never quite drop in your lap.

Not that there's anything wrong with Christmas as a concept. It often fails in it's execution, however. If it were a business strategy, por ejemplo, it would have been shelved long ago for being 1. too stressful to execute given the payoff; 2. blatantly unprofitable (actually, that would be number 1 and there would be no need for other numbers); 3. bad for morale; 4. unrealistic; and 5. too hectic to produce clarity. Having said all that, I will admit that I began a new mental tradition: I tried to focus on the smallest detail of the holiday season that I genuinely liked. I made a few simple observations and attempted to meditate on them. In that small way, I made Christmas meaningful to me.

Good to realize I'm not the only one who's once again obsessed with an early nineties classic: TwinPeaksblogofinterest. From Audrey Horne to Leland Palmer, Bob to Agent Cooper, this carnival of genres has it all. Plus packs a punch of cool visuals and droll humor.

http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/tiles-home-de...

Stuff from Trendhunter. Very interesting stuff. Good site.

Entertained myself last night with a view of Michael Winterbottom's 24-Hour Party People, a look at the birth of the Manchester rave scene—one not-so-little corner of it anyway. Excellent flick. For more info on what it was, check out:
PrideManchester.

Interesting blog on what's going on with the economy for all those who care to try to figure it out (AK). Here's hoping knowledge is (some) power...


crisis

Written by David Hendrickson, who teaches international relations and American foreign policy at Colorado College.

Postcards from the Edge (Surprisingly good. Nicely acted.)

LoudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies (Nicely done; Love the Pixies)

Twin Peaks: Season 1: Disc 3 (A freak scene that holds up)

No Country for Old Men (Brilliant!!!)

Before Night Falls

Twin Peaks: Season 1: Disc 2

Paris, Texas (Brilliant!!!)

Jesus Camp (Compelling...creepy)

The Pianist

Twin Peaks: Season 1: Disc 1

The Onion Field

Paragraph 175 (Compelling...creepy)

There Will Be Blood

The Weather Man (Charming)

This Is England (Charming)

Rebus: Set 1: Disc 2

51 Birch Street

David and Lisa

Homicide: Life on the Street: Season 3: Vol. 3 (6-Disc Series) (I love these characters)

Waitress (touching)

Superstar in a Housedress (interesting)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (like a poem on film)

Murderball (compelling)

Derailed (not great, but I love her—see Friends with Money)

Cassandra's Dream (One of Woody's best—I don't care what the critics say)

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show (good comics; Vince is darling)

Wristcutters: A Love Story (nice looking)

A Soldier's Story (a young denzel; interesting)


Homicide: Life on the Street: Season 3: Vol. 2 (6-Disc Series)
Belle de Jour

The Wrong Man

Homicide: Life on the Street: Season 3: Vol. 1 (6-Disc Series)
In the Realms of the Unreal

Protagonist (Brilliant******)

Homicide: Life on the Street: Seasons 1 & 2: Vol. 4 (4-Disc Series)

Gone Baby Gone (Ben's project had its moments)

Homicide: Life on the Street: Seasons 1 & 2: Vol. 3 (4-Disc Series) 07/15/08
Grace Is Gone

The Serpent and the Rainbow (had to see it again to see if it held up)

Y tu mamá también (charming and poignant)

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (very f*ckin funny)

Frenzy (officially not a Hitchcock classic, but it held my interest)

The Boondock Saints

Hot Fuzz

Aurora Borealis

Homicide: Life on the Street: Seasons 1 & 2: Vol. 2 (4-Disc Series)
Homicide: Life on the Street: Seasons 1 & 2: Vol. 1 (4-Disc Series)
Control

The Sea Inside (charming and poignant)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Baadasssss!

28 Weeks Later (cool look, not much else to recommend)

The Apartment (endearing)

Charlie Wilson's War (loved this)

The Parallax View (offbeat cool; interesting 70s artifact)

Kicking and Screaming

The Business of Being Born (very intense)

All the President's Men (worthy of its rep)

Schindler's List (ditto)

Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress (fascinating guy)

Bubble

Junebug

Klute

Wild Strawberries

The Darjeeling Limited

Winter Kills

Bug

The Seventh Seal (great looking and philosophical)

Dial M for Murder

The Lives of Others

Roger Dodger (unexpectedly good)

Day for Night

Chalk

Margot at the Wedding (destined to be an indie classic)

Play Misty for Me

Once

Death Wish

Maria Full of Grace

To Catch a Thief

The Dead Girl

By chance, I got interviewed by a PR person yesterday who was preparing a report on the state of the media, and how editors work today or some such thing. (She caught me on a rare slowish day and was as surprised as I was that I wanted to chat.) We discussed how my duties as an editor had changed with the advent of the web and Social Media. (Basically, I told her we all had to do more work, posting content and writing for the print product—and salaries hadn't kept pace.)

At one point, the woman wondered if I blogged and what I thought of the practice. "Well, I did this experiment on MySpace," I told her. "For about a year, I made a series of small entries about from talk radio canard, to scandal of the day, to what I liked in film or on television—whatever. I tried for a consistent tone and tried to address an audience (as opposed to merely writing, email style to a single person)."

I told her it was really difficult to keep up. The idea of a blogger, to me, is someone with defined opinions, a distinct tone, and a willingness to craft an argument of sorts that people can follow, whether they agree or not. Anything else, is self indulgent, boring and not worth posting.

She asked if there were any corporate blogs I liked—or any that stood out. I mentioned a few in the banking space that I thought were decent. But I said "corporate speak" and blog blab were incompatible. "I can't see a CEO having time to blog, and if he delegates it to a ghostwriter, where's the personal vision and tone? I don't see the point." Of course, I could be wrong. Would love to hear of the corporate blogs (or any blogs) that mean a lot to you.