Star Wars Movie Marathon Party

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Maybe it's just me, as a movie nerd/cinephile/loser who lives vicariously through movies, but I am sometimes struck with the overwhelming urge to watch an entire series of movies. (Like that time I saw the trailer for Fast Five and decided that I had to watch the entire Fast & Furious series, despite never having shown any interest in that type of movie before.)

A while ago, Star Wars just popped into my head and I just decided it was time to watch the entire series, in order, in one day. I've seen all the movies, probably a few times each, but I don't think I've ever attempted to watch them all one after another.

And, so, tomorrow in an apartment far, far away (from you, probably, wherever you are) I shall embark on an epic movie marathon. Over twelve hours straight of Jedis, Sith, aliens, and both really good and good-for-that-time special effects.

I'm embarking on this journey alone because, well, I do everything alone. But if I had friends, I would invite them all over to join me in an epic Star Wars Movie Marathon Party which would include the following.

Activities

- watch all the movies (duh)

- grab anything resembling light sabers and fight!

- have a brother & sister kiss

- encase someone in carbonite

- reveal the results of a paternity test

Food

Cinnamon Buns (Leia's hair)

Popsicles and/or freezies (Light sabers)

Pizza (Jabba/Pizza the Hut)

Easy Costumes

Jedi- Snuggie/bath robe/blanket/poncho

Han Solo- white shirt and vest

Chewbaca- don't shave

C3P0- gold body paint

Yoda- green facial mask

Storm Trooper- all white

Darth Vader or any Sith- all black

Amidala- something big & crazy

Leia- ear muffs

Clearly, it's a shame I am friendless because I could throw the best theme parties ever!

If you wish you could join me for this epic Star Wars fest, but can't (because I'm not inviting you), you can follow my epic journey to a galaxy far, far away on

Twitter

. Because as much as I love Star Wars, I have seen them all before, so I won't be so wrapped up in the story that I won't have time to make funny comments like how cute the Ewoks are or take a photo of my droid watch to prove my big nerd of an older brother was an influence on me as a kid.

May the Force be with you!

Girl I Love // Marissa A. Ross


I first discovered Marissa A. Ross and her unique comedy stylings through the website Hello Giggles for which Marissa writes and did a web series called Wine Time "in which a girl who knows nothing about wine, aside from the fact that she drinks it everyday, reviews wine."

After watching all of her Wine Time videos, I couldn't decide how I felt about her. On the one hand, I found her somewhat annoying but, on the other, I found her to be very cleverly funny and pretty much awesome.

I forgot about her for a while, until something reminded me to look her up again. I found her blog, Tangents and the Times and spent hours hitting the "random-ass tangent" button, reading her articles.


Marissa is one of those comedic writers who can write about mundane, everyday, happens-to-everyone situations but somehow make it sound hilarious by describing the situation with her creative metaphors and adding in her clever commentary.

If reading is too difficult for you, why not check out her web series, Tangents &the Times? Because Marissa isn't just a writer, she's "a writer who graduated from acting school to make a living as a blogger." Marissa plays herself, an LA girl trying to make it as a writer despite her inability to get out of bed in the morning without a bong hit. I've watched the three short episodes at least three times already. Something about it is so addictive!


Marissa A. Ross is a Girl I Love because she rocks the blunt bangs, refers to her boyfriend as "Dudefriend", drinks copiously, strives for a life of perpetual Summer, once "Captain Morgan-ed" a toilet, writes hilariously about it all on her blog and works her ass off making her web series and getting other projects off the ground.

Reasons Why I Would Be a Good Housewife

 1. I won't make you go through the insanity of actually getting engaged, planning an expensive wedding, and all that newlywed annoying nonsense. We can happily live in sin, playing house.

2. I don't cook, but I do bake. I will fatten you up like you're Hansel (or Gretel) and I'm a wicked witch living in a gingerbread house. In fact, I may even bake us a gingerbread house to live in.

3. Correction: I'll cook, if you'll clean up.

 4. I will do all this cooking and baking in a cute apron and a sexy outfit.

5. I can sew your buttons back on when they fall off and patch up the holes in your favorite jeans.

 6. I will not bother you or try to talk about important matters while you are watching the game or playing Portal 2. I will, however, make you and your friends treats, keep the beers coming, and decorate the house in theme for Superbowl Sunday or your Call of Duty tournament.

 7. I will not ask when we will be ready to have kids, because I've already decided the answer: Never.

8. We do not have to visit my family for Christmas. Or yours, if you don't want to. We can stay home alone, go to Fiji, whatever we want.


I expect the fellas to come flocking, now. ;)

Love Story is Really a Love Story for Winter

I watched Love Story again the other day and realized half of the movie is actually just montages of them being in love and enjoying Winter. I hate Winter and the cold and the snow, but apparently when you're in love, you love Winter, too. Well, someday when I'm in love and it's Wintertime, at least I'll know what to do.

Things You Can Do in the Winter When You're in Love

Go to a hockey game.

Picnic on the bleachers.

Walk in the rain.

Fall in the snow.

Make a snowman.

Play football.

Roll around in the snow.

Drive a really old car to your parents' house.

Go skating on a crowded outdoor rink while your dying wife watches.

Have a romantic walk in the snow on your way to the hospital.

SPOILER ALERT: She dies in the end.

P.S. It's not actually a spoiler because the opening line is
"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?"

P.P.S. I think the answer is "She had a lot of fun in the snow."

January Project // Super Mario World Felt Mural

My first project of 2012 is something that I've been planning on doing for probably almost a year. At least since May, because that's when I bought all the felt. It's about time I get this done! I will be making an interactive felt wall mural of a Super Mario World level.


The idea started out as an idea of what to put on my fridge. I thought of making Super Mario World characters, blocks, etc. out of foam sheets on magnets to have fun moving them around. That idea transformed into felt, since my fridge is small but I have a nice, big blank wall with lots of room for a long Super Mario World level.

The idea is that since felt will cling to felt, I can have fun moving the characters, blocks and bits around on the background without any damage. So, not only will I have a beautifully felt-recreated Super Mario World level mural on my wall, but I'll get to play with it! It's like, instead of a computer screen, it's felt and instead of a controller, you use your hands!


Now, this project will not take me an entire month of work to put together. It's only felt and glue. However, it requires a lot of planning and design before I actually get to the glue and felt. I'll have to do a lot of research (aka Google image search) of Super Mario World levels. Super Nintendo version, of course. I'm not going to recreate any specific level. What's the fun in that, when I can pick and choose backgrounds, hills, obstacles and pipes from any of the levels?

The background (sky, ground, hills) will be glued in place while the blocks, pipes, enemies, mushrooms and other collectables, and characters will be moveable. My originally planned size was 6' x 1.5', but that may change as my furniture arrangement has changed.

Stay tuned to my Twitter and Instagram this month to see my progress as I work on it. At the end of the month I'll have plenty of photos of the finished product to share on the blog, and, perhaps, a bit of a DIY and a short stop-motion animation made with it.

2012. 12 Months. 12 Projects.


It just came to me one day... It's going to be 2012. I'll do 12 things. There are 12 months. I'll do one awesome thing every month.

I have a very bad track record at going through with plans (if you've read my blog, you'll know this by all the blog features I've started and not kept up with). I love making plans, it's the doing that I don't have a firm grasp on. 

So, once again, I have come up with a system of getting things done. This one might just actually make enough sense to work for me... I hope.

I always have a million projects on the go, or that I want to start. Blog posts, crafts, videos, art, music, etc. Which, for my short attention span, means that nothing actually ever gets done because I can never choose from the long list of things to do. And if I decide to focus on one project, I feel like I'm ignoring everything else I need to do.

My solution to this problem of everything-at-once is to assign myself one major project a month. I have the entire month to work on one project that will be done by the end of the month.

I haven't decided on every project for the year (the other reason I can't follow through with long-term plans is that I change my mind so often), but I have a few ideas.

Super Mario World felt mural, learn the banjo, write & draw a comic story, make graphic t-shirts, learn French, doodle journals, short film, make an amazing Halloween costume, record Christmas songs.

Some of those will require explanation for you when that month comes. Some are projects that will have a definite finished product at the end of the month, while some are more that I'm going to take a month to focus working on one thing.

I'll still be doing more than one crafty thing a month, but this will help me keep my focus. Hopefully, I'll be able to let go of all my other ideas, knowing that I will get to them another month, and just focus (most of) my free time on one main project.

I'm excited to get long-awaited ideas done this year. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my projects and experiences along the way.

January // A Fresh Start


January's all about fresh starts, making plans, starting new activities, letting go of the old and making room for the new. In that spirit, here's what I recommend for you this month.



Watch: Yes Man
I can't think of a better movie to inspire you to make a fresh start for the new year and make some positive changes. This movie is incredibly funny and cute, thanks to stars Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel, as well as inspiring. I don't recommend trying to take the "YES" lifestyle as far as Carl does, but I definitely think we could all use a little more "yes" in our lives. While you can make a change in your life at any time, why not go with the cliché and start something new at the beginning of the year.

You cannot cheat and watch the movie instead. The movie does not even begin to cover the amazing experiences and insights this book delivers. This is definitely a must-read if you want to make some positive changes in your life this year. You don't have to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia to find yourself, like Elizabeth did. By reading the book, you will certainly learn a lot from her experiences about what changes you need to make in your life, what answers you seek, and what makes you truly happy.
Okay, this recommendation may be heavily influenced by the fact that I just downloaded her new album, Ceremonials, and am currently listening to it. But that's not the only reason. Florence's music is intense and epic and takes me to another place when I listen to it. Get your hands on both of her albums, put on some heavy-duty headphones (or blast your stereo, if you don't have annoyed neighbors) and just let the music swallow you up. Let it make you sad, make you happy, get you pumped up, or comfort you. It really can do all that.

 
Entertainment

The second season of Shameless premieres Jan. 8th. If you didn't watch season one, you have a week to get a hold of it and watch it. Based on the British series about a -pardon my language- fucked up family headed by an alcoholic father. It may make you sad at first to see a family so "down on their luck" with such a pathetic excuse of a parent, but soon you'll learn to love each of the kids and see they aren't so bad-off, after all. (This is the one time I will advocate an American remake of a British show. By some miracle, I think the American version is better. You will never hear me say that again.)

The new series, Apartment 23 (aka The Bitch in Apartment 23) premieres this month (I've read Jan. 3rd, but it's not definite). Kristen Ritter finally gets the starring role she deserves as a bitch out to ruin her small town roommate's life. And her best friend is James van der Beek, as a ladies man version of himself. It looks hilarious.

The incredible BBC series, Sherlock, begins it's second season today. It is an incredibly smart series with a unique format. Each season consists of three two-hour episodes, which makes it something between a movie trilogy and a mini-series. It stars the very talented Benedict Cumberbatch (best name ever) and Martin Freeman. Sherlock will blow you away with his brilliance and social incompetence. My fellow Doctor Who fans better check this out as it is created & written by Steven Moffat, the genius behind Doctor Who, and Sherlock will remind you a lot of The Doctor.

And, don't forget, most of your favorite network shows that started in September will be returning from their Winter breaks this month.

 

Days of Note
4th- Jacob Grimm was born 1785
The Grimm brothers are responsible for many of our favorite fairy tales. Today, you could read some of their fairy tales, watch the movie versions, The Brothers Grimm, or check out the new fairy tale series Once Upon a Time or Grimm.

The twelfth day after Christmas was known as the Twelfth Night. Get your Shakespeare on and read the play, or if you'd rather have a laugh, watch She's the Man, which is inspired by the Shakespeare play.

His music's all well and good, but, of course, I'm more interested in his movies. I recently watched my first Elvis movie, Viva Las Vegas. I loved it. I'll be watching the next Elvis movie on my list, Blue Hawaii, on his birthday. And then looking up more of his movies to get, I'm sure.

23rd- Chinese New Year
The year of the Dragon begins. 

I hope "learn to make pie" was one of your New Year's resolutions. Well, even if it wasn't, what would be a better day to learn to make a pie? Or, if you're already a seasoned piestress, use this day as an excuse try making a new kind of pie! At the very least, eat some pie.
To celebrate the life and work of Scottish poet, Robert Burns. I realize this probably means nothing to you if you're not from the UK, but you can always use it as an excuse to eat and drink like a Scot.


January art from 2011 calender by Abby Orsow for Seablanket

Christmas Movies: Love & Family

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and, if you're a character in a movie, probably falling in love. We're not all so lucky to have hilarious families or epic love stories this time of year. But, that's what movies are for: to live vicariously through.

My favorite part of this movie is the very beginning. Their relationship is my idea of my perfect relationship. They're just really happy with their lives, they like trying new things together, they don't want to get married and they don't want kids. Although, I don't think I'll ever want to avoid my family so badly that I would rather go to Fiji on Christmas than see them. Their flight gets cancelled on Christmas and they have to go to each of their parent's houses and deal with their insane families.

First of all- Steve Martin without white hair really freaked me out. Prepare yourself. This movie contains just about every comedic actor popular at that time. And some that weren't that popular then, but we know now. It's the one-calamity-after-another story of three people working at a non-profit suicide help line and some crazy friends and neighbors on Christmas eve. Everyone's upset about being alone and/or miserable for the Holidays and then some ridiculous things start happening.




The Family Stone
I watch this movie even when it isn't Christmas. It's just one of those ensemble cast, light-hearted dramedies that's sweet and cheerful but still has some guts. Each character is funny in their own way. The story is about a close-knit family welcoming a son's new girlfriend into their home for Christmas. She is an extremely uptight workaholic just trying to get everyone to like her, but they don't accept her.






Love Actually
Everyone's seen this, right? Before ensemble cast, separate-but-connected-plot-lines type movies like He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, there was Love Actually. What's better than a movie chock-full of American movie stars? A movie chock-full of British movie stars! Everybody learns a lesson and gets an ending they deserve.






Noel
This is another interconnected plots movie, but with many less characters and much more serious things going on. A cop with jealousy issues, his beautiful fiance, a woman with no one to spend Christmas with but her catatonic mother and a crazy guilt-ridden old man's lives all come together in different ways on Christmas Eve. Everyone learns their lesson and we're left pondering the miracles of Christmas.



The Holiday
"Where do I want to go on holiday at Christmas, alone?" Well, Cameron Diaz wants to go to Surrey, which means Kate Winslet gets to go to LA. Lonely women finding love and self-respect at Christmas. What a heart-warming Christmas tale. Or mildly depressing if, like these women, you are alone for Christmas. But, unlike them, you don't get to go on a nice holiday, fall in love and end it with a New Year's party. So, depending on your situation, you may or may not love this romantic comedy.

Christmas Music: Indie

Okay, not every artist on this list is "Indie" but that was a shorter title than "Songs and Artists You May Not Have Heard of, or At Least Haven't Heard Their Christmas Albums." So, here we are. While my last Christmas Music post was about popular artists, these are some not-so-popular artists who have made some definitely-awesome Christmas music.


Hey! It's Christmas - Vol. 1 & 2 
I was introduced to this Christmas album, featuring a slew of indie (see, there it is) artists on some blog or another last Christmastime. And, fortunately when you download an album from Bandcamp, you have to give them your email, so a few weeks ago I got an email to let me know that there was a Hey! It's Christmas - Vol. 2 this year! Each artist offers their own unique musical take on Christmas classics, new classics and original songs. You may be introduced to some new bands to enjoy, or, like me, you may just have some more awesome Christmas music to add to your playlist. Enjoy your free download of Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here.




Pomplamoose
You might have seen a Pomplamoose video song at some point. Quite popular on YouTube, this duo creates a video to go with each of their songs, which shows them recording each instrument and vocals for the song. Their songs are very quirky and sometimes even funny, as are their videos. Their unique, delightful musical style is perfect for Christmas music. And their original Christmas song, Always is Season, will become one of your favorites, for sure.





She & Him
Everyone loves Zooey Deschanel, but not everyone loves her band. Or is that just me? Sorry, Zooey. I love your voice and I love your adorable music videos, but your music just isn't exactly my taste. Their Christmas album, however, is a different story. I could listen Zooey's deep, smooth voice sing the Christmas classics all day. Her voice is perfect for the slow, moody songs like Blue Christmas and their music goes perfectly with some of the more cheerful songs like Little Saint Nick.






Kristin Chenoweth
You may not recognize the name, but I'm sure you've seen this adorable actress woman in something. Pushing Daisies, Glee, Bewitched, Running with Scissors, Deck the Halls? If you saw her in Pushing Daisies or Glee, you'll know this girl can sing! This tiny woman is a trained opera singer, has starred on Broadway in Wicked and now has a Christmas album. She covers all the Christmas classics with her beautiful voice and delightful musical accompaniment.





Emmy Rossum
Oh, look, another actress who happens to be an opera singer. You may remember Emmy and her angelic voice from The Phantom of the Opera, or maybe you've been watching her on the small screen, starring, but not singing, in the US remake of Shameless. Emmy only put out a 3 song Christmas EP, but they're all beautiful. One of my favorite Christmas songs is O Holy Night, for it's powerful epic-ness, and her voice does it justice.

Halloween Cake Pop Tree

This is what I spent my 22nd birthday doing...
THE CAKE POPS My first attempt at cake pops. Chocolate cake & icing. Dipped in dark chocolate. Sprinkled with Halloween sprinkles. The bats and ghosties are fondant. That eyeball is not edible. I used a big needle and twine to thread the cake pops. I tied a knot, threaded through a fake leave to create a base they couldn't slip off of, and threaded through the cake pops.

THE TREE I gathered up some branches. Secured with hot glue and twine. Decorated with real and fake leaves. There is a cardboard base beneath the leaves. The bats and ghosties have jewelry wire through them to create loops on top to tie twine to.

Christmas Movies: A Christmas Carol

It's not a Christmas season without a visit from the three spirits of Christmas past, present and future. I mean, how will you be able to properly appreciate your Christmas until you've learned your lesson of greed, selfishness and hum-buggery from our old friend Scrooge? Lucky for you, there are several movie versions of this classic story for you to choose from. (Unless, like me, you can watch several versions of the same story within one month. Then, by all means, enjoy them all!)

This is widely considered the best version of A Christmas Carol. It's one of the first films based on the Dickens novel and, until recently, was one of the few versions to stay true to the story without the addition of musical numbers or beloved children's characters. While you may find this version dull compared to today's movies, a little black and white is good for you. You may even get good Christmas spook from the scary ghost scenes. I swear, the shot of Marley's face appearing in Scrooge's doorknocker gave me nightmares as a child.



Disney somehow managed to take the epic story of A Christmas Carol and condense it into a half hour. How did they manage that? By skimming over the gruesome details, kid-translating it, and just hitting all the major plot points. But if you love yourself some classic Disney characters and the childish humor that comes with them, then enjoy your half hour show.

Thankfully, despite being aimed towards children (I mean, it's the Muppets, right?) they managed to stay true to the original story, including those specific details and dialogues we all know. However, to accomadate their original and beloved characters, they changed a few details of the story. Gonzo and Rizzo are the narrators and they gave Jacob Marley a brother, Robert, (Get it?) so the character could be shared by those two old guys that make cheesey jokes to each other. (Sorry, I'm not a Muppet connoisseur, I don't know all of their names.) Along with some more jokes and a few musical numbers, the Muppets deliver a real Christmas Carol.


Although it stars comedian Jim Carrey, this movie is not a bundle of laughs. It stays very close to the original story, which is not a cheery Christmas tale, but a serious, scary, dramatic journey through time. Carrey plays Scrooge (at every age) and each of the spirits. Each spirit is extreme in it's own way, which was always my favorite part of the story. Actually, my very favorite is the giant and jolly (but also strangely dark and twisted) Ghost of Christmas Present. If you have to choose only one A Christmas Carol movie to watch this Christmas season, go with this one. It's the real story without any gimmicks, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Christmas Music: Pop Stars

Most pop-stars will put out a Christmas album, or at least single, at some point in their career. And most of those are horrible. Just because you're singing a Christmas song doesn't mean it sounds like a Christmas song. When it comes to contemporary artists attempting Christmas music, there needs to be the perfect balance of their musical style and what we consider traditional Christmas music style.
While browsing the iTunes store for Christmas music, I found a lot of Christmas albums by our favorite 90's pop stars. N*SYNC, Destiny's Child, 98*, and Mariah Carey have all put out Christmas albums. However, they're really just their same style of pop music with familiar Christmas melodies and lyrics. Jingle Bells doesn't need a phat beat, it needs jingle bells.
Luckily, I found some Christmas albums from some well known pop artists that have managed to bring their musical style to my favorite Christmas classics, jingle bells and all.



Taylor Swift
This girl is as close to country music I'll get. She brings her unique pop-tinged-with-country-twang style to Christmas songs on her 6 song EP. While none of her Christmas covers are my favorite version of the song, I do enjoy hearing her twist on a Christmas classic when it comes up in my Christmas playlist.





Aly & AJ
Before you start mocking me for including Disney stars in any music list... Actually, go ahead. There's nothing to defend these girls against the Disney stereotype. They're blonde and cute and make delightful pop music. You've got to give them some credit, though. They've managed to put out a pop music Christmas album that actually sounds like Christmas, not just a pop album. Even better- the songs are mainly acoustic (or at least feature an acoustic guitar), hence the lovely album title; Acoustic Hearts of Winter.





NOW! Christmas 3
Uh oh, another music faux-pas. Collection albums. There are several artists on here that I'm not a fan of, and some I've never even heard of, but it also contains a few gems. Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Serena Ryder, Colbie Callait and Jewel all have songs on this album. And they all sound like Christmas songs, not just pop songs.





Glee
Whether you watch the show or not, you've probably heard a few Glee songs in your time. Some of their covers are just okay, but once in a while they do something really amazing. (I know you all heard and loved the Rumor Has It/Someone Like You mash-up.) I loved the Glee Christmas album last year, and this year's album has even more amazing Christmas songs. They cover all the classics as well as a few new songs that you'll love. From fun and dancey to beautiful classics, Glee's got your Christmas music covered.




Sarah McLachlan
She's not what we'd call a "pop star" but she is quite popular. Sarah McLachlan has one of those unique voices and musical styles that you just know will work well with Christmas music.






Note: All of these albums can be found in the iTunes store.
Another Note: I'm not trying to promote iTunes. I just find it the easiest way to browse for music and
then purchase, if you're so inclined. Or in my case, if you can't find it elsewhere for free. ;)

Christmas Movies: Santa is Real!

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There are two types of (good) Christmas movies. There are movies that warm your heart with stories of people, family, lovers at Christmastime. And, then, there are the Christmas movies that make you want to believe in Santa again. They're filled with elves, Santa, the North Pole, reindeer, and Christmas wishes coming true. These are my favorite Christmas movies in which Santa is real.

The Santa Clause

(

The Santa Clause 2

,

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

)

These are ultimate Santa-Is-Real movies. Is there any other movie with this much Santa magic, Santa's workshop, Santa belief? Why did they spell Santa Clause with an "e"? Well, as we discover, when Santa falls off your roof, and you then put on his suit, you have to become Santa. As outlined in the fine print of Santa's business card, that's the Santa Clause. Some may disagree, but I think the original movie's sequels are just as enjoyable. The stories get a little more ridiculous with each one, but they're still all fun Christmas adventures, full of Santa fun.

Santa Baby

(

Santa Baby 2

)

This Santa-filled movie is closer to falling under the made-for-TV-movie category. It's also a coming home to spend the holidays with your family movie. However, in this case, home is the North Pole and family is Santa Claus. Mary is a high-powered advertising exec. (How many times have you heard that character description?) who is determined to have a little as possible to do with her family, and the family business. That is until her dad, Santa, has a heart attack and she travels home to visit and help out with the pre-Christmas rush. Her workaholic ways take over and she takes over the elves' workshop. Her big city business style doesn't work with the childish elves and Christmas production turns into a disaster. But, don't worry, it's a Christmas movie, so it has a happy ending. Oh, and she ends up having to choose between her high school sweetheart and her New York City big shot boyfriend.

Fred Claus

Here's another movie in which Santa is not only real, but family. Imagine how ugly sibling rivalry would be if your brother was Santa Claus. I mean, he has devoted his life to making the children of the world happy and oversees the production of millions of toys every year and then delivers them all in one night. And, you're just trying to get yet another business venture off the ground. Santa agrees to lend Fred money, only if he comes to visit for a few days and help with the Christmas rush. It turns out Santa's workshop is having money troubles of its own. From there, the story is pretty standard. Fred first makes things worse, but saves the day in the end.

Elf

Is this not everyone's favorite not-just-for-kids Christmas movie? I've heard that somewhere out there, there are people who don't enjoy

Will Ferrell

movies, but that can't really be true, can it? And there certainly can't be anyone out there who doesn't love the adorable

Zooey Deschanel

.(Although, I think we all agree blonde is not her best look.) Who couldn't love a movie about a 6-foot tall "elf"? You can imagine the shenanigans a man, who grew up as an elf in Santa's workshop, would get up to trying to navigate the mean streets of New York City. Don't forget to answer your phone this holiday season with "Buddy the Elf! What's your favorite color?"

Christmas Music: The Oldies

The best way to get into the Christmas spirit (and who doesn't love getting into the Christmas spirit?) is to listen to Christmas music. I love my Christmas music. Not just because it gets me feelin' Christmassy, but because of the albums my family has listened to every Christmas for as long as I can remember. They wouldn't be music I would pick out now, but they're become a part of my Christmas tradition.
This year I went a little crazy on Christmas music. I searched "Christmas" in iTunes and perused through hundreds of Christmas albums from new releases (Justin Beiber, She & Him, Glee) to 90's popstars (Destiny's Child, N*SYNC), even bands that should never release Christmas albums (Twisted Sister?). I stocked up on oldies, oddies, and anything else that tickled my Christmas ear. And, because Christmas is all about sharing & caring, I'm going to share my favorite Christmas music with you. 

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

The Oldies


Boney M
This is one of the albums from my childhood. However, I don't like this album only for the childhood memories, it's a great Christmas album! It's like a 70's disco Christmas! Okay, so, disco doesn't sound like a genre that goes with Christmas music but, unlike when some pop stars try to make Christmas albums and just end up making a pop album with Christmas lyrics, this album manages that elusive and very sought-after musical accomplishment of combining a genre of music with Christmas music that results in a Christmas album that gives you good Christmas vibes, and also kind of makes you want to get down and boogie. Their version of Feliz Navidad is one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs.

Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley
I never would have thought to look for Christmas albums from these guys, but when I saw them in the iTunes list, it just made sense to me. They both have amazing, smooth, deep voices that I love and go perfectly with those slow, moody Christmas songs like Blue Christmas.


The Nutcracker
What's Christmas without The Nutcracker? I know Tchaikovsky may not be the type of music you expect to be recommended by a blogger, but it's The Nutcracker! Everyone knows some of The Nutcracker suite, even if you think you don't. You saw Fantasia as a kid, right? Then I'm sure you have some fond childhood memories and Disney visuals to go with Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. It's like listening to a movie soundtrack. The music reminds you of scenes of the movie and those feelings. Maybe it's just me, but listening to The Nutcrack suite makes me feel all Christmassy and brings visions of giant Christmas trees, dancing soldiers and sugar plum fairies. 


Note: I found all of these albums in the iTunes store.

Maybe I Don't Hate Wes Anderson, Afterall...

Once upon a time my friends convinced me to watch The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, saying that it was hilarious. It wasn't hilarious. To be honest, I don't know what it was because it was so boring that I stopped paying attention and remember nothing about it, except that it was one of the rare times I've actually regretting wasting my life watching a movie. (The other would be Clerks. Thanks so much for making us watch that gem, Addie.)

Since that time, I've had a hate-on for filmmaker Wes Anderson. I decided to give him another try after seeing the trailer for The Darjeeling Limited. I didn't hate the movie, but it was on the border of that "I could have done without this" feeling.

 
I have this need to see movies that everyone else has seen, because it makes me feel left out when people are constantly referencing things I don't know. So, Anderson's Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums made it to my list of movies to see.
Rushmore was another strange, not-sure-if-I-like-this kind of movie. But after watching The Royal Tenenbaums, I understand people's love of it. It has the same odd characters and almost non-plot plot lines as his other films, but something about these characters really pulls you into their strange world. They're all angry and miserable and there's a brother-sister love-thing going on that somehow does not disgust you like incestuous feelings should.




And so, Wes Anderson, was redeemed in my eyes.

Now, I can't leave out Anderson's most recent, and (I think) most loved, film, Fantastic Mr. Fox. It's very different from Anderson's previous films, and not just because it's stop-motion animation. The biggest difference would be that it's based on the Roald Dahl book, not written by Anderson himself. It had that charming strangeness of a Wes Anderson movie, but mixed with a loveable children's book.




So, even though I will never get those two hours of my life back that I wasted on The Life Aquatic, Wes Anderson, I won't hold it against you. The time spent enjoying your other films has made up for that time. And, I look forward to your next film.

(P.S. Kevin Smith fans who were appalled by my hatred of Clerks- I could write the same article for Kevin Smith. I despised Clerks with every fiber of my movie-loving being, but I absolutely loved Dogma, Chasing Amy wasn't so bad, I even watched Jersey Girl and Red State is on my to-watch list.)

Under the Tuscan Sun

in

This post is actually left over from my

Week of Italia

.

(

I am so bad at following through with plans/completing things!

)

Which is silly, because of all the movies set in Italy, this is by far my favorite. I defy you to watch this movie and not want to movie to Tuscany and buy a villa. It's so beautiful.

The story reminds me a lot of

Eat Pray Love

, in that a woman fresh from divorce goes to Italy to "find herself" and what-not. She enjoys the country, has some adventures, has some love, has some heartbreak, and in the end lives happily ever after. In Tuscany. Jealous, much?

I watched this again last night

(I'm home sick with a throat infection, unable to speak, so I thought watching some beautiful Italy movies would cheer me up)

and it genuinely makes me want to move to Italy and just... hang out. I mean, as long as I have high-speed internet, I could live very happily in a run-down villa in the middle of nowhere Tuscany.

Coming Attractions

It's time for another round-up of movies to make sure you go see!

It's like Misfits, if one of them went bad...
This is definitely not another retelling of a fairy tale...
This one makes a good, quick drinking game. Drink every time you see someone famous.
Et, voila! You're shitfaced!

I love when movies can be just about people. Nothing really has to happen, just stick four parents in a room and see what shit gets stirred up.
Make fun of me all you want, but I am looking forward to this. The last book is the best, in my opinion. I mean, don't you want to see Edward rip open Bella's womb with his teeth?
Another reluctant father story (been there, seen that), but this one has Abigail Breslin singing, so it might be worth seeing.
I like British people. I like tragic love stories. Like, crazy.

It's My Birthday

Twenty two years ago today, I pushed my way out of my mother's vagina.

In other news... I dyed my hair!




It has a long explanation of how this came about. When I dyed my hair from bleached blonde back to brown in the Spring, I still had three containers of red Manic Panic. So, I thought, well, someday when my hair is longer I'll do a red chunk/streak/piece somewhere that looks cool. But then for a while I was torn between the idea of never having to dye my hair ever again and not wasting hair dye.

When thinking of how/where to put red in my hair, I looked to Knives Chau for inspiration, since I also had a short bob with bangs. About a week ago, I Googled Knives Chau to check out her hair to decide if that's what I wanted to do, and I saw that, although she dyed it blue in the movie, all the comic and fan art of Knives had a red streak. And then I remembered that I have a black and white striped scarf and it hit me- I could be Knives Chau for Halloween. So that pretty much cemented the idea of dying my hair.

I didn't have time to do a proper photo shoot, but I snapped this shot quickly...

 "Steal my boyfriend, taste my steel!"

Another birthday tradition, other than changing my hair (remember last year? Big mistake) is to make a list of things to do that year (aka 20 Before 21, 21 Before 22).
I've learned my lesson that I am no good at living up to amibitous goals like that, so this year I decided to make some goals I'm sure I can keep. And to make it more fun for all of us, I turned that list into a lovely poem. Let me present... 

Things I'm Going to Do When I'm Twenty-Two

I make these goals
Most every year
To make the most
Of my time here

I'm ashamed to say
That every time
I don't complete
The list of mine

This year will be different
This year I'll pull through
This year I'll get it done
That's why I'm telling you

These are some things
That I plan to do
This year starting now
While I'm twenty two

Soon it will be winter
A season that I hate
But this year I want to have fun
So I'm going to go skate

Snow can be pretty
As it falls from the sky
I'll use it to make a fort
Several stories high

I've always loved music
I can play the piano, guitar and flute
This year I've got a banjo
I want to learn to play, too.

I took some French in school
But I wish I'd taken more
This year I'm going to learn
The language I adore

This year I'll finally do it
I'm going to stick it out
I'll watch the entire Godfather series
That I've heard so much about   

For two years I've wanted to visit
Ripley, my hometown
Last time my plans fell through
But this year I'll go down
  
I'll continue to do what I love
Making videos for YouTube
But this year I want to
Make videos with other people, too
This year I'm sure
I'll go through with it
I'll accomplish all these goals
And have fun doing it!


Alright, that's it. I'm twenty-two years old, now. However, I have yet to "grow up"...