Amber Tamblyn Official Blog

My participation in Girlfest this year was particularly gratifying.  I've been working my ass off creating this Martha character for 'House' while trying to write some new pieces, renovate my place in Venice and get the neighbor's hummingbirds to to cheat on their bird feeder with my bird feeder.  "Forget that bird feeder, Redhead!!  Mine's got agave AND Sweet 'n Low!!!"  I've also named my hummingbird (Redhead, because it's got a head.  That's red.)  What have you done, neighbor?!  Nothing!!!!!!  (disclaimer:  Sweet 'n Low was a joke.  Of course.)

The shows at Girlfest were incredible and the best so far I think.  Charlyne Yi was very funny and a perfect addition to Mindy Nettifee's and my poetry sets.  It was like 3/4ths of the Golden Girls, if the Golden Girls were drunk and into the song "Apple Bottom Jeans".  Tomorrow Mindy's and my Hawaii Women's Journal cover hits the virtual stands.  It's a fantastic interview.  Read it. 

While in Honolulu for this festival, I and my boyfriend and some friends went skydiving.  I've been once before so I knew what to expect.  I had forgotten how great it can be to be utterly terrified of something and to feel completely out of control- the power in the freedom of just letting go.  After the parachute opened, I floated to the Earth like a rare bird, thinking of all the stupid things I had complained about over the last year or the things that I was stressed about.  It was as if dropping 14,000 feet out of the sky had literally knocked all the nonsense out of my head and made me clear.  Not clear in a Scientology way, but clear in a non-cult way.  Free.  Open.  Calm.  I try to do this to myself once a year.  Force myself to do something that terrifies me.  It's a good way to live.  

After the skydiving we all went and had one of my absolute favorite dishes- shrimp from Giovanni's shrimp truck.  Incredible local dish with garlic rice and spicy shrimp.  For any foodies that might be reading this, if you are ever in Honolulu, rent a car and go find this truck on the North Shore.  It will blow your mind.   

The next day I went scuba diving for the first time, which wasn't a real dive, but something they call "Snuba" which is a combination of snorkeling and scuba diving.  You can go about 20 feet under water with a long oxygen tank line that goes up to a tank on the boat.  It's diving for beginners.  Our dive master plucked an octopus off of the coral and handed it to me after it had inked everywhere, which is something they do to look poisonous to other marine animals that might be hunting them.  The dive master rubbed his finger across it's forehead and between it's eyes, calming it down.  It was only then that I realized that it had eyes.  It blinked at me.  The dive master put it on my arm and it's tentacles clasped my fingers like we were holding hands.  It sat there on my arm, starring at me.  Blinking.  I'm not joking.  Blinking.  I swam down to the coral to let it go back to it's hiding place but it wouldn't leave my arm.  We swam around together for a good 15 minutes- it starring up at me, me starring down at it.  Finally It uncurled it's tentacles and swam off.  I told my mom I would never eat calamari again.  She informed me that calamari was made out of squid.  Who's a dumb Venice Beacher and has two thumb?!  This guy.

Lastly, while laying on the beach under some shade and trying not to burn my shin Scottish skin, I found myself really wondering why the new House Majority Leader John Boehner is so damn tan?  What part of Ohio is Jamaica?  Does he spray tan to make his baby blues stand out more?  Does he think it makes him look more alive?  Does it make him more relateable?  Or more unobtainable and exotic, like Versace was? Is John Boehner the new exotic?

Let's all contemplate these questions, get bored, then go drink a beer. 

I wanted to post something today in response to such bogus articles as this one about 127 HOURS.

While the film does have a gruesome arm cutting off scene, I wanted to let everyone know that this is merely 3 minutes of the film.  127 HOURS is a film about a man who cuts off his own arm to survive, yes, but the film is not about  cutting off an arm.  There is a difference.  If you are squeamish, look down during that part.  But don't miss the opportunity to see this film because bloggers and others are exaggerating what has happened at the screenings to make it seem like this is the 15th installment of the Saw franchise. It couldn't be any further from that.

For example, At the premiere in Los Angeles the other night, there were reports that a woman had a seizure in the audience.  This is true, but the seizure came a mere 20 minutes into the film and was caused by diabetic shock.  So to state that "People are having seizures and passing out because of the film" is just not true.

It's a beautiful film and a triumphant story that will leave you breathless and in tears.  Happy tears!  Trust me.

Happy Halloween from a montage of middle fingers.

My niece, the gothic vampire.

Me, the bipolar bear.

(And yes, that's a framed picture of Suzanne Somers' poetry book cover, "Touch Me" behind me.)

It's finally here!  My two-headed baby!!!  127 HOURS will be out in theaters on November 5th.  The premiere episode of HOUSE begins November 8th.  Mark your Hulunders. 

I also wanted to share this pretty interesting article I found about the 10 most bizzare people. 

Number two really creeped me out.  I read that more than 40% of us (humans) were born with a sibling attached somewhere on or in our body.  I don't mean a fully formed baby, but the tissue and beggining fabrics of what would have been a fetus.  (Really, Amber?  "Fabrics"?  That's what you came up with?)

Can you imagine?  Seriously?  "But doctor, are you SURE it's not a bunion!!?!?" 

I'm pretty sure one of my buttcheeks was a rare albino baby hippo that somehow got into my Mother's womb while I was being cooked in there.  Just saying.  

And now, Skippy The Whistle and I bid you adue.