10 Things I Miss About Heath

If you've been living under a rock recently, you should probably sit down. I have some tragic news: Heath Ledger has died.

If you're not living under a rock, then you already know this sad fact. And you also know that his death is speculated to be a result of an accidental overdose, due to mixing prescription and over-the-counter sleeping pills. You also know that he has a sweet 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, who will never know her father. You also know that he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Ennis Del Mar in the ground-breaking Brokeback Mountain in 2006.

I will always remember Heath in his breakout role as Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You, one of the great teen movies of my time. (My 19-year-old brother has called it "one of the most underrated films in cinematic history.") He was the mysteriously sexy, but still sweet, teen heartthrob that even my mother loved. As many members of the media have pointed out, he could have been one of the great actors of our time, and his early death and career have been compared to that of the late great James Dean.

And so, in memoriam, I give you this, my favorite Heath Ledger movie moment. May he rest in peace.

News Flash: Kids are Idiots

This Australian news clip is making its way around the blogs today. Some kid had a party when his parents were out of town. Big surprise. Except this party got out of hand, with kids damaging the cars of both the neighbors and the police. But the kid feels no remorse, gives attitude to the newscaster, and claims that he would do it all again because all his friends say it was the best party ever. My favorite part is when he won't take off his sunglasses because he says "they're famous." Check out the video for yourself, it's worth a good laugh:

Dance Marathon, Part 2

Just a quick update on the aftermath of Dance Marathon.

Here are two articles in local Eugene papers about the event, if you're one of those people that likes their news unbiased and proofread. (Reporting, shmeporting.)

First, the Oregon Daily Emerald's piece is here.
Next, The Register-Guard's piece is here.

Another benefit of the articles in legit news sources is that they have pictures. But nothing can top this picture that ended the slideshow that was shown in the last minutes of the 15 hours of Dance Marathon 2008. It captures a DM dancer in all her glory: sweaty, wearing shades she found on the stage and beads she got from the Morale Director, fully experiencing a dancing delirium, and loving every minute of it.



















(Yes, that is me. And yes, it was hour 14 of dancing. Don't judge me.)

A Shameless Pat on My Back

Last night, I participated in one of my favorite philanthropic events: the University of Oregon's Dance Marathon, a 15-hour dance party to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network. This incredibly worthy cause provides funding to hospitals (in our case, Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene and Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland) to buy equipment for their neo-natal intensive care units. Local families who have benefited from the services that CMN provides came to DM and shared their incredible stories. One set of twin boys ran circles around their mother onstage as she told of their heart failure and teensy size as a result of their 3-months-too-early birth. Without the CMN-funded equipment, they would not have survived.

Here is the promotional video the DM crew made of last year's event, the first ever event of its kind on the Oregon campus.


Last year, I wore jeans and flip flops, had a great time, ended up exhausted, and helped raise $17,800.
This year, I wore workout shorts and tennis shoes, had an amazing time, ended up with blisters and a stiff back, and helped raise $32,000-- and the money is still coming in!

I woke up at 6:30 am to make it to my 7:15 check-in time, and pretty much didn't stop moving until midnight. If you think I was actually dancing uninhibited the whole time... well, you're close to correct. First, everyone learns the Morale Dance, a big line dance that is performed once an hour, partially to keep track of the hours and partially to get everyone doing the same thing at once to, you guessed it, boost morale. Here is a practice video of this year's dance:


Different DJs played sets, dance instructors taught us how to salsa and waltz, three different UO dance teams performed, a high school a capella group sang, and we played various games. But in between all of that, we were dancing and dancing and dancing. The only time I sat was when I was going to the bathroom and when I was putting Band-Aids on my feet to prevent blisters. (That didn't work.) I may be sore today, but getting together with a huge group of people for such a great cause was a blast. I felt so proud when they announced the total at the end of the night, because I know that all of that money is going directly into my community. Plus, I can never turn down a dance party.

Now where's my Advil?

Fighting Apathy

I fully believe that ignorance and apathy are diseases. Curable, but still, diseases. And with the presidential primary elections rapidly approaching, I felt myself coming down with a bit of ignorance. I knew vaguely who I wanted to vote for, but I needed to know more to feel better about my vote. But although I love researching things, I am also very lazy. I didn't want to slog through dozens of newspaper columns and heavily spun candidate websites. I wanted quick synopses, a yes or no, for or against, for every issue I cared about. I even wanted someone to look at me, take note of my beliefs, and then tell me who to vote for. (Yes, I'm that lazy.)

To my surprise, such a place exists! Glassbooth.org not only tells you, succinctly, where each candidate stands on each issue (with voting records and quotes to back it up), but--wait for it--THERE IS A QUIZ TO TELL YOU WHO TO VOTE FOR. Genius. It's a little more complex than the Cosmo quiz (thankfully). First, you assign points to how important various issues are to you, and then you answer questions as to how strongly you support or oppose various issues. Then, poof! In less than five minutes, you have a candidate to vote for. Or at least research further, if you're nerdy like me.

There. Now you have absolutely NO reason to shirk your civic duty. Learn! Vote!

Let's Go To the Movies

With a month off of school and a plethora of Oscar hopefuls flooding the multiplexes in time for the holiday season, I get a lot of good movie-watching done over the break. Some were on DVD, since I sometimes have an aversion to leaving the house, some were second viewings, and some were first-runs in the theaters. As the TV writers' strike doesn't seem to have an end in sight, these may be some acceptable substitutions.

- In the Land of Women: Starring Adam Brody (whom I miss dearly since I stopped watching The O.C. three years ago), and Meg Ryan (and her overinflated lips). Like a combination of a little bit of Garden State and a little bit of The Graduate, it features a love triangle between a mom (Ryan), her daughter (Kristen Stewart, looking somewhat like a heroin addict), and the new boy next door (Brody). Props to supporting characters of the crazy grandmother and the precocious little sister, non-props to scenes featuring Brody in a tshirt and basketball shorts... I love him, but his legs are just too skinny to wear that look. A good movie for a dreary day.







- The Simpsons Movie: I've never been an avid watcher of the TV show, but I always get a kick out of the implicit social commentary. Putting the town of Springfield under a giant dome was a good way to make the TV series expandable for the big screen. The "Spider-Pig" sequence was the only thing I was familiar with from the trailer, and even that paid off and was actually funny. Good for some mindless laughs, even if you're not intimately familiar with the characters.









- Juno: Pregnancy seems to be excessively trendy these days, even when unexpected. As my best friend put it, "Abortions are totally out." Even though this plot revolves around the unplanned pregnancy of a 16-year-old high schooler (who is NOT Jamie-Lynn Spears), the protagonist is seen as selfless, not scandalous. Michael Cera (of Superbad fame) is adorably dorkish as the "totally boss" Paulie Bleeker, and Ellen Page has a breakout performance as the title character. (Although seeing her tiny body with a pregnant belly is kind of painful.) The writing of Diablo Cody is the kind that makes me re-vow to write my own screenplay someday, and the teen dialogue is refreshingly believable. (One of my pet peeves is when writers are completely out of touch with teen and twenty-something slang.) This feel-good indie has been recognized with Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress, Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), and Best Screenplay, all of which are deserved.


- 27 Dresses: Shameless romantic comedy featuring the lovely Katherine Heigl and the very pretty James Marsden. Jane (Heigl) has been a bridesmaid 27 times, and has the closet full of ugly dresses to prove it. Kevin (Marsden) is the "Commitments" writer for the fictional New York Journal, and is assigned to cover the wedding of Jane's sister to the man that Jane secretly loves. Fairly predictable plot, but just when it starts to get a little too corny, writer Aline Brosh McKenna throws in a sarcastic line that perfectly cuts through the cheesiness. The people are pretty, Heigl's Jane is easy to root for, and I'm a sucker for wedding movies with happy endings. A great chick flick.







- Superbad: The second viewing of this member of the Judd Apatow dynasty of films is just as good as the first. Love Seth, Evan, and McLovin, could do with less of the cops. Again, the writing captures how high schoolers really speak to one another (but with considerably more swearing than in Juno), and has some very believable sequences, which doesn't always happen in high school coming-of-age comedies. Favorite lines include the infinitely repeatable "Chicka chicka yeaaaah," and the not-as-repeatable "No one's gotten a hand job in cargo shorts since 'Nam." Great for mindless entertainment, or maybe a drinking game.