BYU International Cinema, Fall 2012

This semester I had a goal to see one International Cinema film a week-- but to also approach it in a way that wouldn't stress me out. So I did miss a couple weeks, but I'm not too worried about it. Here are the films that I saw:

Bliss (Turkish, 2007)
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (English, 1995)
Princess Mononoke (Japanese, 1997)
The Blue Eyes of Yonta (Portuguese & Kriolu, 1992)
Paris, Je T'aime (French, English, Spanish, Mandarin, & Arabic, 2006)
The First Grader (English & Kikuyu, 2010)
Never Cry Wolf (English, 1983)
Certified Copy (French & English, 2010)
Summer Interlude (Swedish, 1951)
I Have Found It (Tamil & English, 2000)
Christmas Story (Finnish, 2007)

My favorites? Bliss (I saw it twice that week) & Paris Je T'aime (note: the version they showed at BYU was edited a bit for content). I also appreciated Princess Mononoke (anime) and I Have Found It (Bollywood) for their individual styles.

A Hue & Hum Christmas

Guess whose Christmas album is on sale again?! That's right, Hue & Hum's. I'm a big fan of Hue (aka Caitlin Connolly). Not only is she a great musician and a lovely person (ok, I met her once, but that's enough to consider her a friend, right? right?), but she did the album art for my Winter War EP.

She and her husband Hum (aka Robbie Connolly of the band Fictionist) released this EP last year, and you can order it now on Etsy or iTunes. Don't want to wait to partake of the Christmas joy? Here's a video, enjoy!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

The Riverwoods are decked out in Christmas lights. Everywhere. In the trees, over the walkways. It glows, and it is wonderful. Just what my soul needed.

We originally went to hear our friends from the band Postcard Reunion back up musician Taylor Miranda, (they rocked it, by the way), but we felt the experience would be even better with a bag of candy, so to Blickenstaff's we went. New favorite? Necco Sky Bar. For about $1.50 I got chocolate with caramel, vanilla, peanut, and fudge. YUM. You know it's a good night when you come home with vanilla goop in your hair.

So, friends, if you are trying to find your holiday spirit, head over the Riverwoods and Blickenstaff's some evening, and I'm pretty sure you will find it there. And maybe loads of candy and toys to fill stockings with in a few weeks.

Top 3+ Meaningful Films (In My Opinion!)

1. Everything Is Illuminated (2005). Beautiful film. It kills me everytime, in the best way. The language is a bit rough in the beginning, mostly subtitled, so you've been warned. And the subject matter is pretty deep. Basically, teenagers and adults will benefit from it, but younger audiences should probably steer clear.

2. Bliss (2007). Oh my goodness. This film. I had to see it twice in a week just to grasp it. This film explores cross-cultural gender roles and customs, the idea of purity, and tackles tough subject matters such as rape, suicide, murder, and post traumatic stress disorder. But it ends so, so beautifully. I'm always worried about that with stories like this, but it nailed it. Life seems to much more vibrant having seen this film.

3. The Fountain (2006). I love this film. It's a bit harder to follow because there are three different story lines woven together. But have patience. It will beat you up, break your heart, but give you so much hope. I love it. Just trust me.

If you are short on time or don't want to commit to a full length right now, I'll always recommend The Butterfly Circus (2009). Short, but oh so sweet and meaningful. And perfectly appropriate for all audiences. And you can watch it on youtube. It will make your soul feel alive.

Saying "Yes" Since 2009

My awesome co-workers!

From 2008-2010 I worked at the Fine Arts Ticket Office of the college I attended. I loved this job, primarily because of my co-workers (ok, 80% because of my co-workers, 20% because I got to see free/discounted shows all the time. So good).

Every so often someone would need to get their shift covered, or switch shifts with a co-worker for a day. Whenever I was asked, I hesitated. Between work and school, I just really liked my free time. So even if my schedule was free, there was still that selfish hesitation.

But then I realized that I had a co-worker who rarely said no to requests like this. She didn't even think about it. If her schedule allowed it, she did it. No second thought. And I loved her for it.

So I decided to try it out. If my schedule was open, I'd gladly cover for that co-worker. That hesitation was gone, and I felt way good about it.

That "never say no" philosophy began seeping into other areas of my life, and has become a general rule for me since then. If I'm asked to do something-- and I'm able to do it-- I'll do it. And seriously, it is one of the best things ever. For me, and for those around me (not a lot of people know that this is a goal of mine, but one friend at least does, and she takes advantage of it-- in a good way! She knows I love being asked to serve!).

It should be noted that sometimes it's ok to say no. If you're overwhelmed, pass on the next request. It makes me so sad now when I need to say no to something, but I know that sometimes I need to, just to stay sane!

Serving others really is the best. If you are reading this, I challenge you to happily say "Yes" to service opportunities for a mere week. And if you aren't finding a lot of service opportunities automatically coming your way, then make them! Just serve others for the sake of serving others! Then let me know how it goes.

Side note: Just because surely someone will ask: I've never seen the movie "Yes Man," though I did see the end of it on TV a few weeks ago, and it looks good.

Pinterest: Words

here

here

here

here

here

"Living the good life," body+soul, December 2007

I found this article ripped out of the magazine and hidden in a folder in the depths of a forgotten shelf. It's a good one, so I'm giving you a Cliff Notes summary here. (I didn't see the whole article on the "Whole Living" website, but an excerpt is here).

Ideas on living "the good life":

feed your spirit

give thanks

break out of a food rut

get creative

make fitness fun

expand your horizons

get more energy

heal a rift

boost your mood

get greener

find time

ask for help

follow your dream

minimize your impact

break the ice

give stress a rest

stay positive

save money

maximize mealtime

The Butterfly Circus

Do you have 20 minutes to spare? If so, watch this short movie. It will soothe your heart and make you feel whole again. So beautiful. Favorite part? Around minute 12.

Happy Monday, friends!

Giving

World: 

The We Are Women Project is still selling books (for 25% off in January, use code LULUBOOK305), and will be re-releasing the book in a couple months, but expanded, and in a hardcover format. As always, all proceeds from both books go to the Campaign to End Fistula to help improve maternal healthcare in third world countries.

Local:

Knitting scarves for the Love Scarf Project. I'm just about done with #2, and I'm hoping to get 2 more done this week. The scarves will be donated to City of Hope in Los Angeles, CA to be given to cancer patients for Valentines Day. (They are collecting both knitted/crocheted caps and scarves).

Self:

I have no idea what I'm giving to myself, but in an attempt to get people thinking about it, we're asking for "I Am" statements over at the We Are Women Project. Like this:

"I am a lover, and am loved in return."

We've gotten a few, but we really want a lot more! We're collecting submissions through January, and will begin posting them in February. (I used picnik.com to edit the photo, which is way fun and easy to use). Send them to me at allison a barnes @ gmail . com (without the spaces, of course).

Knitting + Tired

I tried to take this a couple times and still look tired, so I apologize. But the point is:

I've been knitting! And for a reason!

Check out the Love Scarf Project for more info.

Good Things: Do Fun Stuff

Ryan Marshall of Pacing the Panic Room has created this sweet project to help raise funds and awareness for Smith Magenis Syndrome (SMS), a disease that his son was diagnosed with last year. Not much is known about it, but with the help of this project, hopefully progress will be made.

More info below:

The Lake Poway End Fistula 5k is tomorrow!

See you there?

Magazine Love

ReadyMade Magazine
Currently available for $6.99/year for 6 issues.

Whole Living
(formerly Body + Soul)
Currently available for $10/year for 10 issues.

And to read online...

Yoga Journal

I Made This For You.

Stephen and Shauna of "Something's Hiding In Here" are the cutest,
and I think their gifts to each other are adorable,
as are their vintage bikes.

Hint to Future-Husband:
Stephen knows how to treat his wife.
Hint. Hint.

Embroidery Patterns

The talented artist Sarah Jane (mentioned previously here) has now made embroidery patters of her calendar prints. You can order a pdf of any pattern for $4.25 here. So cute, and so tempting!