Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman, columnist for the New York Times and author, came to speak at UT. The room was packed in the UTC and people sat in the aisle and against the walls. I had never heard of him before, but he has a new book out called Conscience of a Liberal (pictured below). He was a very upbeat speaker, who joked cleverly about current and past events and politics. He addressed health care, foreign affairs, and economics. Obviously he's liberal, but I didn't appreciate how he talked like everyone knew what he was talking about and/or agreed.

He discussed his hopes for the next presidential election, nostalgia for past democrat leaders, as well as criticism for current republican ones. He didn't persuade me to his way of thinking, but I liked hearing his views. In his questions and answers at the end one student asked, "So you're saying the Democrats will save us?" To which he responded, "I think the Democrats might save us." His biased optimism for the future was enlightening, though not necessarily beneficial. Though moderate/apathetic myself, my skepticism kept me from jumping in with both feet.

Eternal Sunshine/Royal Tenenbaums

Being the good little Mormon girl that I am, I don't watch rated R movies. This often presents a problem in my limited options, but also in missing some pretty cool, unique concepts. My friend Geoff Yano recently acquired a few movies edited by Clean Flix, who went out of business. I watched a couple of them and wanted to include them here.

So first off, I don't know what was cut, but things generally made sense, so I guess it wasn't necessary to plot. I really liked some of the stylistic things in Royal Tenenbaums. Directed by Wes Anderson; this movie came out in 2001. The story is about a family that kind of gets brought together by the atoning father. I loved the quirky characters and their histories. The brother/sister love thing weirded me out a bit, but I liked how all of the stories intertwined. This movie was packed with big names, but not in such a Hollywood way, which I appreciated. It's one of those movies I'm glad I saw, but isn't necessarily on my favorites list.

I thought Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was surprisingly a great role for Jim Carrey. I loved the different plot lines and how they came together. Basically two lovers break up and try to erase one another from their memories, changing their minds, and trying to find one another again. I loved the scene changes and visual clues. Even though watching this movie was kind of weird emotionally, I really liked it. I felt like looking at my life afterward, appreciating the people I care about and the memories we share.

Eisley/Mutemath

A favorite indie band of mine, Eisley, came to Austin and played at La Zona Rosa with Mutemath. They're promoting their new cd Combinations. I love their harmony, different sound, family connection, etc. and was not disappointed. They played a few of their songs from Room Noises, but because of some stylistic changes to the songs I wasn't a fan. For example, in 'Marvelous Things', one of my favorite songs, they hold out the lyric 'dark night, hold tight' way too long. I really like the new songs though; it seems like they're going for a more rock feel.

To the right is a picture of the drummer, who was sporting a bow tie. I went to meet them and have them sign my ticket. Sporting my self-made Eisley shirt, I only got a second to chat with the always friendly, though often scattered band. So last time Eisley played at La Zona Rosa, which is not my favorite venue, they were headlining and the place was packed while they played. There were still a lot of people there, but more to see Mutemath. There was a definite difference in the type of person attending, though I won't go into too much detail on that. I was skeptical about this band I'd never heard before, but was quickly won over. Their attractive and charismatic lead singer busted out a keytar; their drummer climbed as high as he could while progressively getting more energetic in his playing; and there were some acrobatics and fantastic lights. Overall, I loved the show and hope to catch both bands, when/if they visit Austin again.

This is a short video I took of Eisley playing their song Invasion.

Goodnight and Goodluck

For my History of Journalism class, we're doing coverage research papers. My topic is Murrow/McCarthy. I figured a fun resource to start with would be the movie: Goodnight and Goodluck.


This movie basically follows Edward Murrow as he reports on Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist pursuits on See It Now. The title comes from his sign out phrase. George Clooney is in it and directed it. Relased in 2005, in black and white, with many recognizable faces, this movie doesn't exaggerate to create a more dynamic plot. It's actually pretty slow, with jazz/blues music to match. It not only portrays that period of history politically, but shows some of the social aspects and even the journalistic atmosphere, with side plots involving a married couple and management interference. While Goodnight and Goodluck isn't the most entertaining, exciting film, it salutes Murrow and his colleagues' courage and gives a glimpse of a world most people are unfamiliar with.

In a quote I really liked, we, especially as journalists, are reminded to continue to try to show an apathetic public what is important and affects their lives, "To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. Good night, and good luck."

Darkness Falls

In the spirit of Halloween, the gang decided we wanted to watch a scary movie. This is difficult for Mormon kids because we don't watch rated R movies, which limits us substantially. After that, the options are either cheesy, old, or already watched. So walking around Blockbuster, we were getting very discouraged, when finally our craving changed from scary to mocking. I present our selection to you: Darkness Falls. (Just wanted to point out, on the cover, it says: 'An eye for an eye. Your life for a tooth.')


Ok, so the premise of the movie: The toothfairy kills you if you see her, but she can't go into the light. One kid escapes the city after his mother is murdered and comes back as an adult to help his childhood love's little brother and to face his demon. I loved this movie. It was terrible, but I loved it. It had completely quotable terrible dialogue, set itself up periodically for hilarious comments, had some odd effects, and pretty good for such a terrible script acting. The whole toothfairy thing is not that important to the plot, but the fact that she can't go into the light is. I'll admit there were a couple parts where I jumped, but I'm pretty bad when it comes to that sort of thing. The movie was not at all scary, not at all believable, can't take it seriously pure fun. It was released in 2003 and directed by Jonathan Liebesman. Additionally, we looked it up after and discovered that it was based on a short, which is equally entertaining and begs the question, 'Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to make this into a full-length movie?'



As an amazingly entertaining side note: This movie caught my eye at Blockbuster and I could not stop laughing, just from the cover. Though I couldn't find a picture of the same cover online, you're in luck, because I took a picture. Yes, that is the kid from Harry Potter. I didn't rent it, but just use your imagination. The possibilities are ridiculous.

Introduction, The 'Burbs

Welcome to Tina's blog- "Butterfly Reviews"

So this blog is just going to be reviews and commentary on all of the music, movies, lectures, shows, etc. I encounter in my life at UT and in Austin. It's kind of random, but I like it.

Let's start with an oldie, but a goodie: The 'Burbs


So some friends and I were bored and wanted to watch a movie. My friend Geoff Yano loves The 'Burbs, but the rest of us hadn't seen it before. It's from 1989 starring Tom Hanks, directed by Joe Dante. I now know what a classic it is. The basic story is that while taking a few days vacation, Hanks and a couple of his quirky neighbors suspect that there's something strange about the new people on the block. The weather changes, weird noises come from science experiments in the house, people disappear...

After their skeptical wives meet the odd but seemingly harmless newcomers, Hanks sneaks into the house, causing a chain of events leading to the realization that though nearly fooled, he was right all along. Sorry about the spoiler, but it's an old, old movie, you can't complain. Hanks looks really young, but is his lovable self. Carrie Fisher from Star Wars plays his wife. The clothes, hair, and jargon are all amusing. A funny side gimmick: Corey Feldman is a typical rebellious neighborhood teen (complete with pizza scarfing, mulletish, crazy hair, leather jacket, and valley girl girlfriend) who invites his friends and watches the antics of the neighborhood. I wouldn't say it was my favorite movie in the world, but it was definitely a good time; a movie everyone should see for its period and lifestyle reflection, cheesy dialogue and effects, and of course Tom Hanks.