Things that inspire me

Sufjan Stevens--quite possibly the most excellent singer/songwriter of this era.  He has an enchanting voice, a stillness and a gentleness that translates beautifully into his work.  Most people have heard of Chicago, his song in Little Miss Sunshine, but there is another song that is much better--"Casimir Pulaski Day".  This is off his Illinoise album.  He's doing this awesome 50-states thing where he makes a CD for each state, with specific songs to go along with it.  Can't wait until he does New York! (He's done Michigan already and took a break from this project to work on The BQE)
The lyrics to Casimir Pulaski Day:
Golden rod and the 4-H stone
The things I brought you
When I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car to the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade
I could see what you were reading

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday nights at the Bible study

 We lift our hands and pray over your body

 But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared

Oh the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing

Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes

 

 
 

I have like four minutes to write this.
I'm reading this really excellent book by Scott Westerfeld, one of his futuristic, unnamed seires called, Extras.  The book is about the meaninglessness of fame, and the gross exaggeration of life we have let it become. 
I'd like to talk about this more when I have the time, and how it relates not only directly to our society's emphasis on celebrity, but indirectly to our monetary system.
Our money is backed by nothing.  It has worth because we say it does, just like diamonds or gold.  Really, it's nothing but paper. 
Our system is based on faith.  Money is the Western religion.

Truly, madly, deeply, I would like to hear from everyone (or anyone) who reads this.  I'm trying to think of a name for a character in this book I wrote about a 15-year-old boy who's trying to make sense of it all in a manner void of pretension, condescension, and that overused Catcher In The Rye tone that fills every modern Y.A. book.  I'm pretty sure the language is fresh, and above all, honest.  The character has no specific race and his/her gender could be altered without causing any major rewrites to the story.  I want to hear your ideas! 
P.S. Comments on member blogs=trendi points!

Why is it that parents both think of you like this:

and this:
 (btw that's Maggie Gyllenhaal)

I've been doing a lot of thought lately about global warming, and the limited natural resources we have here.  I've come up with about three points on the subject which I consider to be the most pertinent.

1. Apocalypse is Inevitable.
We only have enough oil left to last about 25 years, at best (if we continue our current consumption).  Unless someone comes up with an ingenious fuel alternative or we cut back on our usage drastically--like to Dark Age-level consumption--we are looking at an end to life as we know it, very, very, soon.  Both of these suggestions would only be temporary solutions anyway, and their chance of actually being put into action is slim to none.  What does this mean?  Basically, the end is coming no matter what we do, so...

2. Party Like it's 2025
Because there is so little fuel left, and we've damaged the Earth's terrain and ozone layer beyond repair, etc. there is nothing we can do.  I say we live in utter decadence for the next 25 years, (actually, less than that even) forget about careful consumption and trying to preserve anything at all, because pretty soon we're going to be dessimated anyway and the Earth will heal itself after our species has been wiped off the planet.

3. Stop Having So Many G-Dang Children!
This is pretty self-explanatory, if we can decrease the population growth we can last (aka party, as mentioned above (: ) for longer, and if we don't last, then it's kind of cruel for you to put an innocent baby into this messed up world.  I realize this is not very pc of me, and I'm sorry to the bright-eyed new parents out there who hopes that their new baby will live in a place much better than they, and solve all our problems.  I hope this too.

So, apparently "netiquette" is now a really dorky word.  I can't believe I read that in my dad's PC World!  He's more up on slang than me.  Weird.  Also, it's somewhat weird that I was reading the magazine at all.  I saw on the cover that there was an article about the new Macbook Air, and wanted to find out if I should get it.  (the verdict: yes.)  I kept reading on to the next page, and found out all these common courtesies for e-mailing in the office.  I don't need to worry about it yet, but there was one tip that caught my interese: you do not need to reply to an fyi e-mail.  Possibly that's kind of obvious, but I guess I never thought about the fact that I was clogging up people's inoboxes.  Anyway, this is getting kind of dull, so I promise a really great post next time.  <3

just in case anyone actually read the last post and decided they DO want to help me out, here is an e-mail address where you can send your love story with an even greater subterfuge: brunettesarebetter2@yahoo.com.  I will always respect your stories and don't care about names and whatnot, I just want to write a good amd realistic screenplay--that you will be a part of if you contribute! 

Okay, so I talk about myself too much.  But before I begin I need to first give an approximately two-line backstory.  Bear with me for about three seconds.  Two days ago I finished the first, unpolished draft of a play, that will be performed January of next year.  I got into this frenzy of inspiration last night, though, and began writing another play about the fact it is impossible for even the most diplomatic of individuals to remain neutral in the face of love--you are either a cynic or admirer of the subject.  I hate cliche, which is why I'm asking anyone at all who reads this to please share their stories of unrequited love, romance, and entertaining significant others.  No anecdote is too small!  If you're embarassed you can always send it to me in message form.  Thank you!  Post pieces of the play for your critique, if you wish, as they emerge.  Until you message me,
reenibean

This movie is excellent!  It's an indie little film that never got wildly popular or was even released in theatres.  It's available on amazon.com (is there anything they DON'T have?) and in the Juno/Dead Poets Society/hot nerds vein.