Resolutions for 2016

Ahoy-hoy!

It's been some time since I've posted on here! I wanted to do so much, but as soon as I got some free time for blogging I got sick and am still sick! But I will be well soon and back on schedule with blogging.

I wanted to share my goals for 2016. A lot has happened this year: I graduated from college, got a job at Scholastic, and many good things have happened to my family and friends as well. And while a lot of good has happened in 2015, it has also been one of the toughest years of my life. I'm going to be honest,  right after I graduated from school, I had a typical Graduate moment (I didn't have an affair with a Robinson, don't worry) but I felt very lost and sad and didn't quite know where I was going with my life. I don't want that to be this year. I want to be more confident and happy this year, working towards all the career and life goals I want and not worrying to the point where I feel uninspired and scared to do the things I want.

I feel like sharing resolutions helps make you more accountable, and so I want to share mine because I really want to stick to them this year.

Some of my 2016 goals include:

1. Write. And write and write.
2. Be happy and work hard in the temporary jobs I have as I work toward my real career.
3. Be smart with money. Save, save, save.
4. Work on my relationship with God.
5. Walk everyday. Explore new places.
6. Get a new camera and take lots of pictures.
7. Drive more.
8. Practice guitar everyday.
9. Stay clean and organized in every aspect of my life.
10. Be nicer to people.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2016. I hope you are happy and are able to accomplish all the things you want to accomplish!

CFF: Krampus (2015)

Krampus is still in theatres, which means it's too early to determine if this film will even be a cult film, but I wanted to write on it. After all, Michael Dougherty's other movies, notably Trick 'r Treat, have huge cult followings, so we may expect the same result for this creepy Christmas film.
Starring Adam Scott, David Koechner, and Toni Collette, this film centers around the Austro-Bavarian demon creature from Alpine folklore called Krampus, who is the antithesis of Santa Claus. I would consider the film to be a black comedy and it has so far received mixed reviews from critics. It wasn't a perfect film, but I liked a lot about it that I felt a blog post was necessary.

The story finds a regular suburban family preparing for the holidays. One of the children named Max still believes in Santa, even though his faith in ol' St. Nick is slipping. Emjay Anthony portrays Max and I was quite impressed by his acting in this film. His family and extended family fight so much, focus too much on work, or make fun of him for liking Santa Claus that he finally just gives up on Santa and sending him a letter. The house is then attacked by Krampus, the mythical creature who punishes unbelievers, as opposed to Santa Claus who rewards those who believe. The family must then battle Krampus and his creepy minions.

Where the plot was imperfect in parts, the design completely stole the show. Upon first reading about the movie, I heard that there were going to be "creatures" in it and I thought "ugh." More CGI nonsense, unrealistic and inartistic, that is found in so many films today. But I was pleasantly surprised. Krampus' helpers were haunted with a holly jolly twist and so many of them seemed like real, hand-made characters. Besides the rather lame computer animated evil gingerbread men, the snowmen, the elves, the teddy bear, doll/angel concoction and especially the Jack-in-the-Box monster were all designed so wonderfully. Each creature took a traditional Christmas object and made it beyond creepy. A demonic teddy bear with two rows of sharp teeth. A Christmas angel with bulging eyes and huge wings who tries to hang someone with Christmas lights. Snowmen with unsettling faces that just keep appearing outside the window. Elves with masks that were a mix between a Jack-in-the-Box and something worn at a masquerade ball. And finally, the Jack-in-the-Box itself. It reminded me so much of No Face from Spirited Away. It began in the film as just a simple toy, but it grew a gigantic mouth and it would grow bigger and bigger as it ate people. Creepy dolls, puppets, or toys really get me and this one was just about freaky as it gets.

Another design element I really liked was Grandma's story of when she first encountered Krampus. The entire scene was done in either stop-action or CGI trying to imitate stop-action. It was very different from the rest of the film; I wasn't expecting an animated sequence in an adult comedy horror film but it was so well done. It was like a mix of Tim Burton and the Deathly Hallows story scene in the next to last Harry Potter film.

I am also a huge fan of black comedies and this film takes such a dark turn on Christmas. The opening scene is simply slow motion shots of Black Friday with calm, joyous Christmas music playing. People getting trampled, kids arguing over toys, and policemen wielding tasers. There is another scene where a beautiful rendition of Silent Night is heard while three parents are sucked into the snow by one of the awful creatures, leaving the kids alone. The film uses dark comedy to satirize the commercialization of Christmas and loss of holiday spirit in the modern era. It wasn't laugh-out-loud hysterical like some other black comedies, but it still had some good moments that all added to the general spirit of the movie.

After I saw the film, I was really interested in knowing more about the "real" story of Krampus. There isn't actually too much about him that I could find, and so it makes sense that the director felt like he could take some liberties with the character. The origin story is quite unclear as well, but from my research has found (am I not Dorothy Ann from The Magic School Bus?), the film's Krampus was very similar in design. The horns, hooves, claws, sharp teeth, chains, and bells engraved with "Greetings from Krampus" in German were all present in the film. Krampus is also sent out to punish children, just like the stories say, and Krampus will take naughty children to the underworld. This was a part of the film I really thought they had just made up, but according to National Geographic, Krampus would beat misbehaving children and then throw them into hell.

This movie definitely called for discussion to determine exactly what happened and what everything meant, but sometimes that's a good thing in a film. It calls for repeated viewings and deeper thinking. It isn't the best horror film or black comedy or even Christmas film, but it is something different. And if you're looking to make Christmas just a little more twisted this year, I would definitely go and see Krampus. 

Dear Diary: Copeland/Eisley Concert

Nearly ten years ago, I, a gawky thirteen-year-old lass who had just recently been introduced to the indie music scene, had the opportunity to see Eisley in concert. Throughout the years, it had always been my favorite concert experience (yes, even better than Neutral Milk Hotel) until now. I was recently able to see Eisley and Copeland in concert and it blew my friggin' mind and I want to write about it.

*History Segment History Segment*:
Eisley was really the first indie band I ever heard. A friend introduced me to them so I went to their website and watched the music video for "I Wasn't Prepared" (which is still my fave song by theirs today). I had never heard anything like it. I immediately fell in love and I began to learn about music that just wasn't on the radio or stuff my parents had shown me. A lot of that stuff is good but I soon found out that there is more wonderful music out there that doesn't get heard by a lot of people. Because of Eisley, I then discovered a band called Copeland. I also fell in love with this band, and like Eisley, their music had such a great effect on me. Their albums kept getting better and better until they broke up. I was devastated. No more new music and certainly no chance of ever seeing them live. Then in 2014, they got back together, made a new album called Ixora, and a few months ago, decided to go on tour with Eisley. I think it's safe to say that when I found out these two incredible bands were going on tour together I crapped my pants. I bought tickets the day they went on sale in September and in December, my sister and I went to see them.

The first band that played was a small Canadian band called We Are The City that I had never heard of before. I am so glad they were able to join Copeland and Eisley on their tour because they were such an enjoyable band. They had such a great energy and were just cool, funny guys. I purchased their newest album after the show. Some of the songs they played from this album that I really liked were "Heavy as a Brick," "Keep on Dancing," and "Kiss Me, Honey."

Next was Eisley and I was stoked but a little skeptical. Immediately I realized that only two of the actual band members were playing. The others on stage was a sister of a band member and three other replacements. But they all sounded wonderful, just like the records, and were all great performers. It was actually kind of cool because the only original band members playing were Sherri and Garron, the only two members I had met when I first saw them so many years ago. When I first saw in Eisley in 2006, they had only one album to really work with. Now they had four albums to create a diverse set. They played a lot of songs from their newest album Currents, including "Shelter" and "Blue Fish." They also played songs from all of their albums. My favorite songs they played were from their first, and my personally favorite, album Room Noises: "Brightly Wound" and "I Wasn't Prepared" (my favorite song by them). I feel so lucky that I got to hear that song live twice. It's so magical and beautiful.

Finally, Copeland played and the world just seemed to become a better place. The stage was decorated so nicely and the band had a cellist, a violinist, and a violist play with them. Aaron Marsh, the lead singer, played this cute white piano for most of the show. I had been hoping for a long time that Copeland would play my favorite song, "Should You Return," but I wasn't sure how popular of a song it was for them and so I tried not to get my hopes up. But when he started singing it, I literally teared up. That song means so much to me, I still remember the first time I heard it. To hear it live was something else. It was just like when Neutral Milk Hotel played my favorite song of theirs, Two-Headed Boy Pt. II. My eyes got a bit glassy, I can't help it. Copeland played a wonderfully long set and performed a wide variety of songs from all of their albums. Some of my favorites that played were "Chin Up," "Love Affair," "Disjointed," "When You Thought You'd Never Stand Out," and "Brightest." Aaron Marsh, who in my opinion is one of the greatest vocalists in music today, was so kind and cool. And what's really weird as well is that I recognized the bassist playing with them as being in another band called New Heights that made a YouTube video with David So.

When the concert was over, I decided to go and buy merch, which I usually don't do. I got a shirt with the tour dates on it, We Are the City's newest album, and the Eisley album Currents on vinyl. Completely satisfied with the concert experience, my sister and I walked out to find Aaron Marsh meeting with people and taking pictures. I never thought I would get to meet him and I got so terribly nervous but I decided to go and talk to him. He was so nice, and there was so much more I wish I could have told him when I met him, like how his music has not only inspired me as a musician but has helped me with my anxiety and has just been some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard, but I was far too nervous. I'm still excited I just got to shake his hand and get a picture with him.

This concert was the by far the best concert I have ever gone to. I have never had such an all-around good concert experience as this one. As my anxiety had developed, it's been harder for me to do things like go to concerts. I really have decided that I can't do any big venues or go see any artists that play music that would generate something like a mosh pit, so that cuts out a lot of bands to go see live. Musicians that play more peaceful music is better for me. There are incredible bands that perform in smaller venues and you can have a more calm, intimate experience with these bands. You have more of a chance to be able to get a good view of the performance and meet the artists. This concert was perfect for me and I feel so incredibly lucky that I have been able to see two of my most favorite bands live and learn about another great group.
And if you haven't listened to any of these artists yet, go do that right now.