the oscars and a portrait of an apartment therapy house tour and other brain matter

(2014 and no posting until March! self scolding going on here)

 I know it's easy to get caught up in the "new" and "wowed" by things that are critically acclaimed (ok, maybe not for us cynics but in GENERAL just roll with this). If you think about it there is a formula and cycle for EVERYTHING under the sun:

tv, movies, fashion, decorating, diets, child rearing, ect.

The formula's or patterns start to stand out to me SO BLATANTLY that it becomes comical and I have a hard time actually liking something. I think this is pretty common for my "ironic generation".  Does any of this make sense? For example, an Oscar bait movie must have smattering of these themes:

Aids, WWII, homosexuality, slavery, extreme poverty, random Cinderella actor/actress from humble beginnings. A really famous actor playing someone ugly or an opposite gender.

Immediately everyone swoons and claps and cries and says "they deserve it!" or "this story just speaks to me on a primal level"!

So in celebration of the downtrodden heroes of life Hollywood spends MILLIONS of dollars on a show where everyone is wearing clothes they spent millions of dollars on and is basically nothing but a huge advertisement. If you watch  with a simple and trusting mind you think Hollywood is a place where everyone is friends and supports each other in their creative endeavors. You don't think of it as place where people's self worth is so inflated for merely portraying REAL people who live everyday lives. (I would be happy to make a few million to start in a dramatic tale about my life…let's get that that going). Then to dress it up and "celebrate" it. I don't know. It seems so fake and gross to me EVEN THOUGH I love movies and television and a really good story. I also love beauty and well fashioned dress or suit. But it makes me sick sometimes to think about it.

That is my first thought of today's rambling post!

Other thoughts that are vaguely tangential to that thought:

Apartment Therapy. 

Ugh, I have such a love hate relationship with that site.

On one hand it is like a dream come true that I can have many visual tours of other peoples homes to gawk at in my jammies and couch time at the end of the day. ON the other hand….

EVERY DANG APARTMENT/HOUSE IS THE SAME. It has a formula! (surprise, surprise!) And everyone says the same thing about their "style" and how they "curated" their home. (20% craigslist, 30% West Elm, 10% local stores, 10% hand me downs, 30% DIY).

The walls will be white because HELLO it's the next natural phase after all the grays that have been dominating the last few years. Everyone says "it's just so crisp and clean and breath of fresh air". I in many ways agree and have seen many a white wall I love. BUT. (Everyone is doing it so if I do it, will I be just another hack? I still like my grayish beige-y walls. I feel like I'm inside a cinnamon and sugar pop tart. I can accessorize with any colors I want and it won't clash. I know I'm not taking any "risks" by why does making a comfortable home need to be riddled with RISK TAKING????? NO one ever comes over to our house to be amazed by all the alleged risk taking!)

The area rug will be either aztec or a textured piece from West Elm (oh "but we got it on sale" everyone says…if you are living in a New York Brownstone we know you have money so don't try to be all I do things on the cheap! You don't know what doing things on the cheap means! enjoy that aspect about your life!) The couch? Mid-century. The art? Things they have diy-ed or bought on etsy and says things like "for like ever" ironically and stuff. There will be specifically placed house plants and pets looking emo and hip. AND SO MUCH NATURAL LIGHT the evils of fluorescents have need dained touched their pale pasty skin. There will be Apple products everywhere and husbands and wives who look the same with the same hair cut, body type, weight, and outfit. One of them is always vaguely asian. They are always casually photographed on their uncomfortable looking expensive  but made to look vintage couch where they probably never eat on look aloof and like skinny jeans are in fact comfortable.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of tours and ideas I absolutely love from that site and I clearly frequent it daily. I just get bogged down in minutia. I want a home I love but my taste changes because I look at different stuff each day. I need a better balance of looking at things to increase my creativity and to STOP LOOKING at things that just make me annoyed or burnt out.


ON TO MY NEXT POINT:

Every time I see a trailer for a new show or movie I cringe because there are always elements from my own story I want to write and then I feel like another hack/lame-o/lack and original thought-haver. I guess I should just hurry up and write it and let the chips fall where they may.

I keep repeating to myself "there is nothing new under the sun so deal with that and make the characters  RELATABLE and you will be proud of anything you write".


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That's just a nonsense look into the thoughts I think.

Hopefully there will be more coherent and consistent posting thorughout March.

Until next time!
-Carrie