Resume Remix!

So sort of a down February! I've been sort of away for awhile, learning about jazz, working extra shifts and not really having time for anything but work and finding more work! TV has been on the back burner, and so has art.

That said, I haven't been getting as many call backs as I'd like and after a few weeks of grinding out cover letter re-writes and applications that haven't gone anywhere, I got pretty frustrated. This past Friday on an impulse I decided to check out the services of Resume to Interviews and wound up purchasing a Resume / Cover Letter consultation with them. They came very highly recommended and so far have been an absolute pleasure to work with.

My first revisions were available ahead of schedule with a clearly presented and detailed explanation of the process and where we'll go from there. In just one draft, I already feel like the quality and presentation of my resume has increased dramatically and that by the end, I'll be much, much better off.

Spring Break is coming up and I've decided to take a hiatus from living on the computer so much, so while that probably means more TV time, it should also hopefully mean some more time for books. I'm about 60 pages from finishing The Girl Who Played With Fire and while here in the library, I'm going to have to renew my library card so that I can check out the last one before I leave. Expect a follow up post as well as my thoughts on The Hunger Games trilogy as I work my way through those as well!

Breaking (Bad) Burts: Season 1 Diary

I've spent the last few years hearing how excellent this show has been and after finishing Twin Peaks, I was on the market for something fresh. My choices were either Downton Abbey or Breaking Bad, and I figured with the final season on the way, it wouldn't hurt to be caught up so that I could watch the final weeks as they aired and avoid being spoiled on some of the major plot points, sort of what made me give in and start watching Lost.

This show, is, AMAZING. Meena was telling me that it is crazy intense, people were telling me that I'd be saying "Oh Shit!" constantly and while I believed them, it was until I experienced a number of those moments for myself that I truly understood what had happened to everyone else.

Bryan Cranston is the man. It is hard to believe that he languished for so long on Malcom in the Middle as the goofy Dad. I honestly am in no way qualified to accurately explain or convey how phenomenal his performance has been even in just the first season. The plot has required emotion, love, fear, brilliance and even more terrifyingly, violence and anger and Cranston is flawless. Truly deserving of every award, nomination and word of praise sent his way since the show began. We are watching one man's life on the ultimate downward spiral and it is only just beginning.

The Pinkman character frustrates me, people have told me that I've grown to love him and I understand his role as Walt's foil and sidekick, but he hasn't rubbed off on me yet. I guess from my own perspective as identifying more with Walt than Pinkman, I continue to see him an as idiot who is not only failing to think his choices through most of the time, but has decided that as long as he can escape, he has no concern for the consequences. I'll be curious to see how his role develops over the next few seasons as Twin Peaks taught me that with good writing, it is difficult to truly predict where a character is going to go.

I have mixed feelings on Walt's family. I love Walt Jr. of course, portrayed with the perfect amount of charisma and sympathy. He is a boy working through his teenage years with a disability and the addition of a Father who is secretly going off the rails. Skylar, Walt's Wife though is a totalllllllllllllll ugh. The funny thing is, I can see exactly how Walt would end up with someone like her, but I do NOT like her at all. The more I see her on the screen the more frustrated I get, and it wouldn't surprise me if they try and work in some kind of plotline of her having an affair or even that the baby isn't really Walt's.

DEA Uncle reminds me a little too much of Vic from The Shield, which may or may not be intentional, given that Skylar's sister is as neurotic as she is, I sort of understand how they work as a couple with DEA Uncle being a sort of blue collar, trying to serve the community cop in the way that Walt is a blue collar, educating our youth teacher type.

While the plot hasn't been anything insanely complex, it is just masterfully written. The tension is constantly rising and falling, with crazy criminal aspects and events juxtaposed with emotionally charged family sequences leave you both drained and buzzing for more.

I can't explain to you why, but certain parts of this show caused me to spazz out so much that I had to pause and take two shots of whiskey. That is how much I love Walt White.

I also made a note that I loved how they used Gnarls Barkley's Who's Gonna Save My Soul as the finale song, and it is probably my favorite Gnarls use in television. Appropriate, poignant, and haunting.

SEASON TWO BEGINS SOON!

Coming Soon!

Power Walk With Me: My Twin Peaks Diary - Concluded

Having now wrapped up Twin Peaks, the show is definitely one of my favorites all time. I’m currently writing this without an Internet connection to refer to my last few entries, so hopefully I don’t overlap too much, but I wanted to go ahead and get my thoughts down on paper. 

So with 3 episodes to go, I absolutely loved the finale. The Miss Twin Peaks Pageant was everything I hoped for, including Windom Earle in drag as the Log Lady, Andy’s victory as the father of Lucy’s child, the inevitable repeating of Cooper vs. Earle for the life of the woman Dale loves, and more. 

Before I talk finale, I’m going to just fire off some thoughts about the various storylines:

Donna and James: I’m glad James disappeared but whoa was I not expecting the twist about Ben Horne being Donna’s real dad, especially with the cliffhanger that Doctor Hayward might have killed Ben in anger. It is too bad the show ended when it did because I was definitely curious about that plot. Especially because I don’t think they ever specified why Donna’s Mom was in a wheelchair. And do we ever really see Donna’s mythical third sister? 

The Ed/Norma/Nadine/Mike thread came to a head (lol) exactly as I thought it would with Nadine regaining her memory and being batshit crazy again. The storyline concludes with Ed hugging Nadine and Mike and Norma on the edges, so while I’d like to believe that Ed will be a grownup and go after Norma, he will probably stick with Nadine because he is a total wuss.

Audrey is truly the HBIC now having declared her love for Billy Zane and is primed to take over the Horne family business. The cliffhanger with the bomb was an absolutely mess though, leaving Pete and Audrey lost in limbo forever. :[

The finale was absolutely wild as everyone expected it to be. Once Cooper entered The Black Lodge anything could have happened and it was an interesting way to showcase how the various spirits had been participating throughout the story. Some of the visuals were absolutely maddening though, I watched it with the lights off and some of that strobe was so intense that I even I thought I might have a seizure. Cooper is the man with how damn noble he is, selflessly giving up his soul for Annie and not even to BOB, but to Earle, who then pays the price of trying to even take Coop’s soul. The final sequence with “How’s Annie?” seemed sort of obvious but was no less brilliant as Dale is a hero who will fight BOB to the very end.

The movie that everyone told me I HAD to watch, "Fire Walk With Me" I felt was absolutely disappointing though. It was nice to get a little more back story on Dale and even how he was able to call in a favor for Albert, but the parts starring Laura Palmer were.. unnecessary? And fairly boring and almost pornographic. We just got 30 episodes of having to hear about Laura being abused by BOB for years, did we really need an actual scene of it? You'd think that if they had to recast Donna and Coop barely being it in was a sign that they shouldn't have bothered. 

Overall though, I loved the show and I was pleased at how many things I was able to puzzle out on my own, both thematically and in terms of the mythology. The dwarf guy being Mike's missing arm, Laura's clothes causing Donna to act more like Laura herself, Dale's impending possession were maybe all kind of obvious things, but they make me feel good in that I was at least interacting with the show in a way that meant I was putting thought into it and giving it my attention!

I'll miss you Dale. :[

Power Walk With Me: My Twin Peaks Diary Part 3

Holy Wow! So I am now 3 episodes and the movie away with being finished and the show is blowing my mind! I know all about having to use everything you're going to show the audience, but the way some of the stuff has played out and the show has changed directions a few times has left me absolutely digging it. I was afraid I would burn out but I am still averaging 2 episodes or so a day!

Stop reading here to avoid spoilers!






I don't even know where to begin! I was expecting the reveal of Laura Palmer's killer to be revealed at the absolute ending of the show, so after writing Part 2, I was surprised to find out that not only did they reveal who it was, but that it was actually Mr. Palmer! The whole possession by Bob thing has been an interesting plotline that has been running in addition to The White Lodge, but once he died, I had no clue how they were going to keep the show going.

One of the things I love about the show is how well it positions its characters through the different plots. I knew that Leo wouldn't be a vegetable forever, but the way they sent him in the woods to become a lackey for Windom Earle and bring him back to the forefront while freeing up Shelley to return to the diner and reducing Bobby's role is just downright brilliant. Characters step forward and then back, making such an excellent use of the ensemble that shows like Lost who tried to emulate it still seem mediocre now that I'm watching.

With Laura Palmer's murder resolved, the story moved on to Jean Renault and I dug how they utilized some conspiracy to keep Cooper in Twin Peaks to keep some of the other plotlines cooking. DAVID DUCHOVNY as Denice was absolutely brilliant casting and an amazing cameo, I absolutely adored Cooper's acceptance in the face of everyone else's reactions, even when posing as the waitress to help spring Coop during the hostage situations.

Donna and James continue to just make me irate, James is just an absolute idiot in the face of everything, so even though he loves Donna, he apparently has to leave the town and go get involved with a married woman. I guess I understand the point of him being afraid that he is corrupting every woman he is involved with, but good lord just give it a break. At least he is off show for awhile and is only reporting in to Donna through postcards.

Ed and Norma! Finally together! Nadine's super strength story continues to be bizarre, but watching her wreck Hank was an absolute highlight for me. Hank was played with the perfect amount of douchebag so watching him strong arm Norma's new Step-Father was both heartbreaking and appropriate. Funny that right as I was questioning where Mike had gone, he appears as Nadine's love interest and becomes the very tool that helps bring Ed and Norma together!

I'm glad Josie is gone, her connections to the Packards were running tedious after the mill burnt down so while I'm sad to see Truman be unhappy, I'm not upset. Her performance was bizarrely unfitting of what they wanted to do with the character in my opinion. Killer but victim? Actress? Then why did she spend the last two episodes being so whiny instead of just finding a way to take care of business? I guess the whole "I think I'm going mad" works in when you factor in the Bob reveal, but now that Leland Palmer has died, I think they needed to try and explain a little better how he might have possessed her. Or maybe he has the whole time. And on a related note, I hope they explain why Jones tried to kill Truman. Revenge I guess for Josie killing Eckart, but why didn't she try and kill Packard or Kathryn instead? Someone more significant?

Ben Horne's journey through mental collapse was fun in that it allowed Bobby and Audrey to step forward a bit, one seeking fortune and the other trying to find her place in the adult world, but now that he has been "cured," I don't know if I like where they are heading with the character. A secret connection to Donna's Mom? That Mr. Hayward wouldn't have known about even after 20 years of marriage in a town that small? I do love that now that he is "cured," all of his cigaring has been replaced by similarly shaped vegetables.

Ben's quest for forgiveness has brought Audrey front and center, and almost as important to running the Great Northern as Ben had been, I am enjoying her growing into a young HBIC in spite of him, and while I make a frowny face when she looks so oblivious during her romancing by Billy Zane (BILLY ZANE, BILLY ZAAAANNNE), she is adorbs when doing it. Sort of a step back from how she could try and be an equal to Cooper earlier in the show, but she is growing up and I'm digging her much more than I was in the first season.

Some of my favorite moments have been the little tangents that don't really go anywhere but are great at showing off different characters and parts of the town. Andy and Dick investigating the potentially murderous Little Nicky and the Wedding and Subsequent Irritable Woman both stand out, in addition to the Travel Writer coming to town.

Windom Earle has been an excellent foil for Cooper, more brilliant but less grounded, playing alone while Cooper uses all the help he can get. I'm confident Cooper will emerge victorious and then retire to Twin Peaks, it is just a matter of who will be killed in the meantime.

I know there is more to discuss, but I won't remember much of it until I can review each episode. Aside from Cooper's retirement to the city, I could maybe predict more, but don't really want to. I'm ready to just go wherever the show wants to take me and hang on for the ride.

PS I love that Albert came back! And Gordon! Who is beginning a potential love affair with Shelley Johnson! Heather Graham as Norma's Sister was also brilliant casting. I'm looking forward to she and Coop finding love and a happy ending!

PSS: OMG when Leland slayed Maddy and then was almost busted by Cooper I was shouting at the TV! GET EM COOP! He has come so close to catching these villains multiple times but they always seem to elude him. Also really dug the revelation scene where Cooper pieces it all together at the Roadhouse.

Productivity Report!

Since this is a productivity blog, I guess should do a productivity report right? In the last two weeks I've fallen behind on #janphotoaday but as you can see below, I have watched a number of episodes of Twin Peaks. I've also done some art including a few requests that I'll throw up here tomorrow, and started to make a dent in some of my reading!

I also started watching House of Lies, which has made me dig Don Cheadle, something that none of his previous movies had been able to make me do. I've been watching so much television lately! Very uncharacteristic of me!

On the job front, I had an interview that from what I understand has to have been semi-positive as my references are now being contacted, I've also continued to apply for a number of positions, which I pray I'll hear back from soon! (Columbia, call me! :) ).

Power Walk With Me: My Twin Peaks Diary Part 2

So in the last few days I have gone crazy powering through this, probably the most television I have watched in a row since I caught up on Fringe and things are vastly different than they were in episode 3!

I also noticed I made a ton of errors in my other part that I'll try to acknowledge real quick to fill space before I dissuade people for spoilers!

Cooper is actually Mr. Charlotte not Mr. Miranda, Joey is actually James and the psychologist is Dr. Jacoby! Okay, time to get down to it so if you haven't seen up to Season 2, Episode 6, stay away!







My character reactions are still pretty much the same, I am loving the bromance between Truman and Cooper, they feel like genuine pals who are in the war on crime together and it is awesome watching them go on covert missions together. I have 180'd on Audrey, I like her a lot more once she got interested in the case and being more HBIC than troublemaker. The Horne Brothers still irritate the heck out of me, especially Jerry who reminds me way too much of how Dominic West and Doug Hutchinson played the Jigsaw Brothers in Punisher War Zone. Also does Ben Horne REALLY need to smoke a cigar or drink wine in EVERY, SINGLE, SCENE he is in? I'm not anti-smoking but damn.

The James/Donna plot has kind of soured for me a little bit, I like their pairing but the introduction of Maddy to make it a love triangle was frustrating, especially with the introduction of the journal collecting shut-in. Donna going all Laura Palmer when she put the sunglasses on was neat although I'm not sure if I am correct in reading it that way. The character of James definitely has women issues but understandably so. Now that Maddy is gone, I'm curious to see where their plot line goes or if it just spins wheels for awhile.

Maddy was also the bridge to Mother and Father Palmer. Their psychoses have been sort of obnoxious, especially the way Mother Palmer's screaming, but I actually thought Leland's hair turning white was an awesome touch that I think is not used often enough. The only other time I can think of someone's hair going jet white with fear was Nadine's in Stephen King's The Stand. I expect his trial to be a plot point later on down the line and that Mother Palmer's visions will bring her forward in the plot while Cooper continues his pursuit of Bob.

I'm disappointed that Nadine and Ed are back together even though she is now a super strong 18 year old girl, I was hoping that Ed and Norma would work out, although she is again falling for Hank (:().

Bobby hasn't grown on me at all but I am enjoying his storyline with Shelly and the now comatose but soon to no doubt recover Leo and their antics, like Donna and James, I'm not sure where their plot points will pick back up with the overarching narrative, although they inevitably will.

As previously mentioned, Audrey has grown on me a bit although I feel like the whole One Eyed Jack's rescue mission plot was the show spinning the wheels a bit. I guess it was necessary to bring Cooper into confrontation with Jean Renault and inevitably expose Ben Horne.

With 16 more episodes and a movie to go, I honestly don't know what to expect or how the show is going to fill the time, Jacoby isn't the killer and is now off in Hawaii, Cooper needs a break in the case to find Bob, and I'm not sure what the relevance of the influx of Japanese characters is, aside from maybe keeping Ben Horne active and the action flowing around The Great Northern.

Also where did Mike disappear to?

Andy is awesome, I hope for only good things for him and Lucy, even though she dumped him for lousy reasons. (I sympathize Andy!)

It is a shame Albert won't be coming back if Cooper's supervisor is to be believed, he was crass but enjoyable. Maybe I should take more notes when I watch, but so far so good!

Book Thoughts: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

So I finally got caught up in Steig-mania after dodging these books for a few years now. I'd occasionally walked in the room to see someone watching one of the Swedish films or have one of the books tucked in their bag or on their shelves but it wasn't until the recent release of the Finicher version and the corresponding Trent Reznor soundtrack that my curiosity was finally piqued enough to consider trying it out.

All I really knew about the book was that it was a murder mystery about a journalist investigating a cold case with the help of a bizarre autistic biker chick. I had also heard that the content was ultra-violent to the point of excess and that it had affected the quality of the novel.

So before watching either version of the movie I obtained a copy of the book and tore through it over the course of a few days and while it is fairly violent, I still found the book to be enjoyable.

The book isn't exactly high fiction, it reads quite quickly and indulges itself a bit in its love for how brilliant Lisbeth Salander is, the actual solving of the mystery is what managed to keep my attention. As hero Mikel Blomkvist is a writer and not a detective, I found his approach to be quite similar to what I imagine mine would be. With little bits of interrogation, Blomkvist relies heavily on examining archival materials, particularly photographs and tracing these materials backwards to find additional information. Intuition is replaced by hours of examination and a little bit of luck before with the help of Salander, he manages to crack the case and save the day.

I haven't viewed the movies yet, but I'd be curious to wonder how reactions to the book are tied to what portions of the story they were most interested in. I found the actual mysteries and political intrigue aspects to be entertaining and resolved quite thoroughly, Blomkvist's life also seems to find its happy ending, but I can see why those who were enamored with and cheering for Salander might be disappointed. Although from what I understand, she is the lead in the next two books, which means her story is only beginning.

I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, so if you're curious about the book, I'd definitely give it a shot, but if you've already passed on it, I don't think anything will change your mind at this point.

Power Walk With Me: My Twin Peaks Diary

So after pressure from a few people, finally getting motivated to use Netflix in my room and running out of other television to watch, I have finally started watching Twin Peaks. I've seen the Pilot and two episodes already and while I have no clue where the story goes, the 90s context or anything other than my own brain, I've decided to take notes to play along with my theories, raise questions for myself and keep myself motivated to finish the show.

You should probably stop reading here if you haven't seen the show.




Initial thoughts: I really enjoy the eccentricity of Mr. Miranda, Special Agent Dale Cooper. As the investigative lead he has the right balance of charisma, weirdness and Sherlock Holmesness to be our detective and entry into the town. I recognize that comparatively, Laura Palmer's death is probably the most minor part of the show, but watching him work has been quite entertaining. Episode 3 concludes with him having a bizarre dream involving a dancing dwarf and I'm already very interested in how he is going to interpret it all.

Character Reactions: Early Favorites are Joey the Biker, his Uncle Ed, the Sheriff, Cooper and Joey's girlfriend Donna. I'm not sure where their sudden love affair bloomed from, but I guess we have to take everything they say about it at their word so far. I'm already more than ready for Ed to ditch his crazy eye patch wearing wife, although I have a feeling she is probably going to be around awhile.

Bobby and Mike irritate me in the way they are supposed to I guess, the obnoxious, drug doing Captain of the Football team who roams the town being a total bro, acting the bully until he runs into larger bullies, who in this case is Leo. Was Leo really a character type in the 90s? Pulled back hair, and aspergers like attitude? Like the whole soap in a sock thing, I didn't realize that was actually a thing outside of prison movies? Although I guess that is supposed to put insight into his upbringing or background or whatever. I guess the whole trucker thing is just a cover for him running drug deals and the like. Also what is up with his house not being finished? Maybe it'll be worked on in future episodes.

Audrey is also a character who rubs me the wrong way. I guess we're supposed to take her attention needing as issues stemming to her upbringing and probably some genetic flaw as her brother is autistic. I could probably handle her easier if we weren't constantly being subjected to weird scenes of her dancing to music that makes me miss Amy Winehouse :[.

Doctor J I guess is my leading suspect for having killed Laura as he was her psychologist turned dude in love with her who stalked Joey and Donna out into the woods and took the other piece of the heart necklace, although him as the killer does seem too obvious. At this point it is probably far too early to say as there are characters yet to be introduced, connections yet to be made and such.

For all I've heard about the weirdness of the show, it seems pretty reserved so far, Cooper's dream was weird enough but aside from the bizarre craziness setting in on Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, nothing feels too far fetched or out of this worldy yet, just a tale of a small town that has plenty of secrets of its own.

More episodes and more feed back to come!

Photo Post Catch-ups! Days 13 - 15

Been kind of a lazy weekend, here are the photos:

A lame, "What's in my bag:"

"Something I'm Reading"

"Happiness"
(I thought this was witty, turns out it may not be)

3 episodes into Twin Peaks now, I need to talk with Meena but I'll throw something together soon!

Photo Post: #janphotoaday Days 11 and 12, Bed and Close-Up!

Being a little lazy, my interest in TV has gone up a little bit lately so while I may not be keeping up per day, I'm at least formulating ideas for what I dream are cool shots. Here is one of the bed:

This is where the magic happens~~

Also a close up:

I'm pretty close to finishing up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I've enjoyed it but I think for reasons different than most people. I want to write about it, so we'll see what I come up with in the next couple days.

Starting Twin Peaks tonight!

Rainy Day

In a perfect world, I would own these and spin professionally. But, until then, I spin for my cat in my one bedroom apartment with the wanted ads open.

"I’m ready to dance when the amp up"

Azealia Banks, ladies and gentlemen! Turn your amps up and pass me a 7and7- cause it's time to get your head bob back on!

*Blown*

The video is clean and simple. Honestly, I could take it or leave it.

But, Azealia Banks is what rap currently is missing! A bold female lyricist who doesn't feel the need to cash in on her @$$ @$$ @$$.

Minaj, love you, but a pen could do you some good, girl.

Photo Post: #janphotoaday Day 10: Childhood

Left most bear is Fuzzy Wuzzy who has been in my possession since as least Kindergarten, he passed on to my sister for a time. Not sure where the right bear is from, but he has been an occupant of this room for some years now.

*Stumbles In* Oh Hey! Happy Readings!

I'm Meena. I have my masters in visual media arts. I write, draw, and drink lattes while wearing cool hats (which is very difficult mind you and I buy them thrifty- hats that is). Anyway, I clearly love anything and everything visual from vids to fashion cat-walks.

I won't bore you further- just check out my posts. Sweet? Sweet!

Photography Post: #janphotoaday Picture Dump

As an Archivist who works primarily with visual media, I'd like to think I have an eye for picking photographs. I do not however have the steady hand for taking them. After watching how easy some people make it look, I decided that I should maybe try practicing and as such have decided to participate in the January Photo A Day (#janphotoaday), using my iPad and Instagram to hide my flaws as a photographer. As an excuse to do something, I'll be posting a little write-up and each day's photo here for fun and to see how they turn out. Just to catch up, here are the first 9 Photos and the Score Card:

22 Days to Go!

Art Post: John Bernard Smells a Meowstery!

One of my favorite things to do with my iPad is make art using the Drawing Pad application even though my pictures always come out chunky because I have to use my fingers to draw. My Mom got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and to help her, we got a stylus. I decided to try it out with the iPad and see how it works. The story is based on Meena and her husband Tom's cat and my own recently Sherlock Holmes obsession.

A work in progress!

The First Post!

Here we are! The Team Gray Sneaks Blog! So what is this blog exactly? That is a question that will hopefully answer itself in the weeks to come. Tentatively, this blog will be a journal of sorts for Meena and I to keep morale and productivity up as we wade through the Internet in hopes of landing the jobs of our dreams.

From me, you can expect to see art, photos, ranting and virtually anything that pops into my head as an activity or to get down on paper.

From Meena, well hopefully she'll tell us soon!

I'm sure the blog will be changing over the next while design wise as everything gets figured out. Here's hoping!