Martyrs.

Occasionally a movie comes along that throws me off. The most recent film of this ilk is Martyrs, directed by the French Pascal Laugier and released in the US on DVD in 2009. I suppose it's strange to post a blog about a movie I can't really discuss yet, but it's so haunting that I can't let go of it. Perhaps someone will comment on their experience with this movie...or this post will inspire someone else to watch it. What I can say is that I'm glad to see that the horror genre is moving past the Scream era, and also that this is just one of many recent films that are incredibly thought-provoking (though I'd say Martyrs is #1 on that list).

Gotta love museum board members that care about their own interests instead of the care of the museum which they've been entrusted with.

I am all too familiar with museum board member politics. Fortunately, the members whom I've worked with that have gotten involved with museum programming are actually involved with the arts and their exhibits not only followed the museum's mission, but were also very successful.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum's mission statement:

The mission of the Grand Rapids Art Museum is to provide a gathering place where people of all ages and backgrounds can enrich their lives through interaction with authentic works of art of the finest quality in a thought-provoking and creative way. In order to nourish and delight the mind and spirit, the Museum collects, conserves, educates, and interprets.

Their upcoming exhibit opening in November: Diana -- a Celebration.

"The exhibition that has drawn audiences averaging 90,000 to other cities, according to Pamella DeVos, an honorary life trustee of the museum, who made the announcement Monday in the museum.

"Her charm, beauty and easy grace touched many people in her short, complex life," DeVos said.

The Grand Rapids Art Museum, which drew just under 105,000 visitors over 12 months from October 2008 to October 2009, will have the show from before Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day in February 2011.

"We believe it'll attract and inspire thousands of women from all over the state and beyond," DeVos said."

According to the article, the cost of bringing the exhibit to the museum is unknown. Is it ethical to spend so much money to bring a popular culture/historical exhibit instead of raising money for a blockbuster art exhibit? If they were able to raise that kind of money to host a great exhibit, they could surely draw equally large crowds.

I don't know Pamella DeVos's background, but she certainly does not give the impression of knowing her place in supporting an art museum.

Yeah, that's right.

I just watched Save the Last Dance, and I loved it.



And I didn't just watch it; I watched my very own copy that I purchased for $5 at Walmart last week. It's the Special Collector's Edition. What a deal.

Part of me enjoys it because I lived in Chicago and recognize a lot of the locations...but mostly I enjoy sweet teen romances. Not OMFG teen romances; sweet teen romances. He's teaching her how to loosen up and dance hip hop style! He takes her to the ballet! They get all scandalous on the L just to piss off a racist woman! He shows up at her audition despite the cries of "young man!" from the staid Julliard judges!

The only thing that makes my pleasure of this movie guilty is that the heroine needs her boyfriend to look after her. Had he not shown up at that Julliard audition, she wouldn't have finished her routine. She only reluctantly showed up after her father said he'd take her.
I don't want to imply that people shouldn't rely on their significant others for strength. But I do feel a bit ashamed when I realize that I'm swooning over a relationship that is held together solely by the man.
Last night, I watched Hellraiser with the commentary track on; it with was Clive Barker (writer/director), and lead actress Ashley Laurence. Toward the end, they mentioned that the actor who played her boyfriend didn't like the fact that he was just sort of there and not the hero. He's not even just sort of there; he's in the way. Of course, Hellraiser is not a romance film (sadistic, yes; romantic, no), but it's still interesting to hear that a man was uncomfortable playing the part of someone who needs to be taken care of. Hopefully, more female actors these days do, too.

Wigs!

As my friends can attest, I have ADD when it comes to my hair styles and colors. The result is fried, thinning hair. I'm constantly doing Facebook polls on how I should color my hair and I'm never satisfied by others' opinions.

Thus began my interest in wigs.

I started out with this one. I bought it in Hollywood which has lots of wig stores. It was only $50. I had looked at some at that giant costume shop on Milwaukee in Chicago; the woman was willing to discount the price from $150 to $100 on a wig I wasn't really sure I wanted.



I was really pleased with the one I got in Hollywood. I had red hair at the time, and I thought it would quell my desire to dye my hair black. But I loved the way it looked and so I decided to try to grow my hair to match it. But my hair is too thin and fried from all the dying, and it's really difficult to get it to grow as long as I want it to.

I need to retouch my roots, by the way.

I've been wanting to dye it red again, thanks to this photo.


However, I'd have to bleach it, which is badbadbad news. So I decided it was time to get another wig. This time, I ordered from Vogue Wigs. They have a line called "Forever Young" that has really affordable, nicely made, and trendy wigs. So I decided to get this one.

It's a bit lighter than it looks in the photos. It's really nice and long and I love it.

And of course I'm always considering going back to my natural hair color. I thought this curly wig was cute.

I will soon be out of a job (my decision...I need to focus on my thesis), so I might buy one more when I get paid on Friday; I'll be getting quite a bit of moola thanks to overtime working on the museum's exhibits that opened on Sunday. For $35, I may as well do it while I can.

I'm thinking that I'll still keep dying my hair black, but bob it. It'll be easier to keep my hair healthy, as well as make styling easier since I won't have as much hair to deal with. And no more knots!

This picture is 4 1/2 years old. Goodness gracious.

So close...

Since the staff was told yesterday, I feel that I can vocalize that I've quit my job. I'd be a lot sadder about it if I wasn't having a sudden spate of panic attacks.
So now I'm going to have to buckle down and write my thesis, as well as schmooze my ass off at gallery openings. My boss told me that I deserved something better, and I intend to make that happen.

The Bridesmaid.

Last night, I watched Claude Chabrol's 2004 film, La demoiselle d'honneur. I had to watch it again this afternoon...I skipped the middle but I needed to search for clues at the beginning and the end to make sense of it. It's the sort of film that's missing several pieces that would make it more satisfying. However, the small faults and negative spaces here and there kept me online searching for discussions of the film, continuing to think about it until I gave in and watched (most of) it for a second time.

I can relate to Benoît Magimel's character, Philippe; he's living an unfulfilling life and this mysterious and exciting woman comes along, professing her love and opening herself up to him completely...or so she says, until it's too late. I find it interesting that it is Philippe who so desperately reaches out to her; I've seen this sort of situation happen all too often with my female friends, not that any of those relationships ended in murder.

I was recently invited to join a book group. I don't know if I'll be able to read the book in time for the meeting, but I'm excited about it. However, I'd be more excited if I had the organizational skills to start a movie club so I could have people to discuss films like this with. I tried to do it over a year ago, but it just never panned out.

Uplifting.

I know that this is not an uncommon phenomenon, but I feel strange to hate someone that I've never met. I also feel strange that I both feel sorry about a different person's horrible situation, yet also am happy about it. I'm not typically a vindictive or hateful person. I rarely say that I hate someone: I usually dislike or am unhappy with someone. But no, in these cases I hate someone and am satisfied with someone's misfortune.

Happy New Year. Here's to hoping that by the end of it, I'll believe those words.