Cinderella

After church at Grace Street on Sunday night, I watched the end of Cinderella with some of the younger kids. It was great to see the story again, to a degree, through their eyes.

That night the story of Cinderella struck me in a rather particular way. As I was watching the final moments of the cartoon, I realized just how non-Hollywood the ending is. As Cinderella flees the ball at midnight, the prince runs to find her. In the Hollywood-ized version, he would catch up to her at the bottom of the steps to the main entrance, and with the entire kingdom to hear, would declare his undying love for her. They would be married the next day, and live happily ever after.

Okay, so the Hollywood version isn't that much different from what really happens in the story. But I think there's an important distinction between the two. In the real story, Cinderella runs off at midnight after changing back into her normal self (she's really no different in substance, only in appearance), returning to her life from before she ever met the prince. She has to go back to her life as a peasant, serving her cruel step-mother and step-sisters. She has to come to grips with the reality that her prince may never actually come for her. And she has to be okay with that.

The core of what I like so much about the Cinderella story is that she doesn't need him to be happy. Her circumstances may be awful, but she can be happy in spite of that - even if she never sees him again. The story is about a girl who can live without the prince, but chooses not to.

Now that's my kind of love story.

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:14 AM | Comments (4)

Tim Gilman

I'm skipping work three days next week. That's right. Next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I have no plans whatsoever to go into work.

But it's not for a vacation. Some part of me wishes it were, but not the part that eats and likes shelter. Besides, I'll be doing something even better than a vacation. A good friend from church, Tim Gilman, is a professional photographer. He just landed a huge job with Volkswagen for a new advertising campaign. And he asked me to assist him for those three days next week.

This type of photography is a whole new world for me. I have pretty much no experience in studio photography, and my lighting experience is just as lacking. So it'll be a great chance for me to learn all kinds of new stuff. And oh, how I love learning new stuff.

Guess this is my first paid photography gig.

Entry posted by byscuits at 10:41 AM | Comments (2)

Fort Awesome

Jimmy James: I wanted a house just like "Xanadu," but without a dorky name.
Lisa: So what did you call it?
Jimmy James: "Fort Awesome."

Tonight I'm starting to move in to our new place in Somerville, Fort Awesome. I'm living with three other guys in a four bedroom place with two bathrooms. It's really a pretty sweet setup, and the guys I'm living with are top-notch. Really can't speak highly enough about them.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Price

Finished the new Harry Potter book last night. If anyone else has read it, I'd love to talk about the new developments. My copy has already been passed off to one of the fellow residents of Fort Awesome, Mr. Malwitz. Maybe each of us residents needs a title... Anyways, the book is worth a read.

I really think some people overestimate JK Rowling and her writing. It's a kid's book. An enjoyable one even for adults, but I wouldn't put it up there with any other classic literature for adults. Don't get me wrong, I really like it, but it seems to me to lack a certain depth. Course, that's just me being a snob.

I recommend it.

Photography

I haven't been doing much photography lately. Partly because I've been really busy, but partly because, for some reason, I just didn't feel like it. I really started missing it again today.

Photography is and odd thing for me. I'm half decent at it in a relative sense, but compared to real photographers, I'm just not that good. My whole life I've primarily only loved doing things I was naturally good at. I only liked things where people would say, "Wow, you're really talented."

After taking a photojournalism class last semester, I found out that I'm really not that great. Public critique of your own work is never easy, especially when people aren't fond of it. But it forced me into a different place. If I was going to keep doing photography, I could no longer keep doing it just because I was good at it.

So I finally do it now because I love it. Photography is one of the first things in my life that I've ever really loved.

Entry posted by byscuits at 03:56 PM | Comments (3)

Gonzalo Silva, Again

The wait for the subway was a bit painful this morning. Usually during rush hour, a train comes every 5 minutes or less. But this morning, I must have waited 25 minutes. For the first 15 minutes, it was tremendously painful. Then the song I was listening to changed, and for a moment I could hear everything around me. I recognized a song, and it wasn't coming from my headphones. It was Gonzalo Silva.

I first heard Gonzalo Silva about three years ago in the NYC subway. I was visiting a very good friend, Ms. Fu, and as we were waiting for the train, we heard this amazing artist playing. The music was very mellow, but what sets this guy apart is his use of an electric bass guitar for his main instrument. I immediately snapped up one of his CDs, and it's been one of my best music purchases.

A few months back, while I was still working at Fidelity, I heard him playing much like this morning. I sat down and talked with him for a while, telling him how much I loved his music. I bought his newest album, Busker, and immediately started listening to it.

The new album was a bit like the old, but this one had liner notes. It told a lot of his story, and I read every page. It seems that he travels around from city to city, playing in subways. That's all he really has ambition to do. Just play in the subways.

This morning, as soon as I realized it was Gonzalo Silva playing, I took out my earbuds and walked over to listen. I had already been waiting 15 minutes for the train, so I didn't expect to listen for long. But the next train was an express, and I stayed a while longer. He even played a new song I didn't recognize.

Interesting guy. He's certainly good enough to tour, but he stays in the subways. He just loves to play.

Check him out, buy his music.

Entry posted by byscuits at 01:37 PM | Comments (5)