Link List of the Ages

I have been collecting these links for like, two weeks.

So some of them are old.

But you know...It's a post. So quit yer whingin'.

LINKS.

First up, via Lainey I bring you...CINDERONCE.

Watch. So fucking amazing.

18 Photos Of Victorians Smiling

This is just neat.

“Something Terrible Has Happened Here”: The Crazy Story Of How “Clue” Went From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph

This is so worth a read if you're a "Clue" fan like me.

Watch This Insane Animated GIF Of A Woman Losing 88 Pounds Over The Course Of A Year

Since this is supposed to be a freaking healthy livin' blog and all.

Dog rides city buses solo, stops at shops for ham, biscuits

I mean, do you need anything beyond that headline? HE RIDES THE BUS AND STOPS FOR FOOD.

10 Incredibly Beautiful High Schools That Put Yours to Shame

I went to number four, biiiitches. Funny how they only show the one building, and not all the SUPES UGLY ONES.

Unbelievable Skeletons Unearthed From The Catacombs Of Rome

Would wear all of this. Regardless of its origins.

If Cher From "Clueless" Had Instagram

THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD EVER IN MY WHOLE LIFE TODAY  MAYBE ALSO YESTERDAY YES YES YES.

ALSO KITTY FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS.

And finally, if you have managed not to see this, you're welcome. YOU ARE WELCOME. Because this makes me believe in love. I really hope it's not face, there's speculation that it is, BUT I DON'T CARE. It's so beautiful.

Documented Mood

I got into a documentary mood this week. It was weird, I'm not usually a fan of documentaries, as a rule. I'm a fourteen year old girl at heart, honestly, if there isn't some sexytime in a movie I am less inclined to watch it. But I got this little itch, and I decided to watch some educational films.

First I watched Hungry For Change.

Overall I found it really interesting, and it had a lot of great information, but it is a big juicing commercial mostly. One of the contributors was Dr. Alejandro Junger, who created the Clean cleanse I did a few years ago that I definitely want to do again when I have the money. There were a lot of other fascinating people sharing their knowledge and opinions on nutrition and food, and while I definitely don't agree with all the hippie mumbo jumbo that was spouted I found it a really informative documentary. I definitely recommend watching it, but take it with a grain of salt.

Two things that really stuck in my head:

*"When you're upset, don't eat." Such a simple concept, and definitely in line with what I'm learning about myself, but I hadn't had it explicitly said to me in such a way. If you never try to fix an upset feeling with food you're much less likely to confuse hunger with your negative emotions.
*"I accept myself unconditionally, right now." It was suggested that you write this on your bathroom mirror, look yourself in the eyes every morning and night and say it out loud. It sounds silly, but I think I might start this.

I also watched Happy, which is about, you guessed it, happiness. Honestly, I multi-tasked while watching it and didn't give it my full attention, but it was definitely cute every time I tuned in. Happiness!

Tonight, I watched Food Matters, which is summed up with "if you eat garbage, you're gonna get garbage". What you put in your body matters. It was good, short.

I might watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead at some point this weekend. More juicing! I like the idea of it, but a juicer is so much money I don't have. We'll see.

I'm just happy to be linked.

The Fug Girls are live blogging over at Vulture!

And check out some more Oscar links. I'm tucked up on the couch watching Ryan Seacrest's hair interview people's manicures.


The 12 Best Acceptance Speeches in Oscar History

A little retrospective. Oh, Julia, your ego amuses me.

The Red Carpet Project

The New York Times archives fifteen years of Oscar fashion. So fun!

One of the worst in history.

Via NYT.com

An Oscar Voter's Brutally Honest Ballot

Bahahaha. He's so cranky. Most Academy voters are dirty old white men so this is particularly appropriate.

Four Oscar Campaign Tactics Consultants Swear Will Work (Unless They Don't)

Interesting if you like the behind the scenes drama, which I do.

And Holy Shit, Here Are The Dog Oscars

'Cause HOLY SHIT.

Oscar Sunday Rundown

I just love the Academy Awards.

The glitz, the glamour, the gossip. Pretty dresses and parties and power plays. Long winded speeches, camera shots catching eye rollers, hosts making fools of themselves.

Today is pretty much all Oscar, all the time. And puppies.

I did pretty well on my goal to see all the nominated films. Not all of them, alas, but close enough to feel confident in my opinions for the main categories!

Let's briefly assess.

2013 Oscar Nominated Films

(bold I have seen, italics I want to see, normal are ones I have little interesting in seeing.)

Amour: SO SAD. It just made my heart hurt. A beautiful, painfully realistic film. There were honestly moments I forgot I wasn't watching a documentary. There's a lot of buzz that Emmanelle Riva may slip in and snag the Best Actress statue, and she would absolutely deserve it.

Argo: Great. Truly an awesome, entertaining, suspenseful film. If it wins, I won't be mad.
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Really enjoyed it. Q was so good. Depressing subject matter and yet it didn't depress me. A little too "artistic" in spots but overall a beautiful film.

Django Unchained: You know, I liked it, and I like Tarantino, but I just love Inglorious Basterds so much that Django just wasn't as good for me. It was awesome, though, of course.

Flight: Denzel was so amazing, but the Best Actor field was so packed this year it's like he didn't even factor into the conversation.

Les Miserables: You know, as good as it was going to be and no better or worse. Anne Hathaway will win. Eh. Hugh Jackman should. Love him.

Life of Pi: I really enjoyed it and I didn't expect to. I thought I'd be bored. But it was beautifully told and while animal death movies make me sad, I did like it.

Lincoln: Yeah yeah history is important and Daniel Day Lewis is incredible in it, I know this, but I just had no desire to watch a way too long docudrama blahblah shooting slaves freedom big hat I don't know. I don't care. 

Moonrise Kingdom: Was planning on watching this last night on Netflix Instant with the Biff, but it was no longer streaming. Those stingy bastards.

Silver Linings Playbook: So, I loved it, I did. But I did think it was overrated. But with some distance from when I saw it, I think it was just built up too much for me, and I really want to see it again now. I hope Jennifer Lawrence wins. I think when I see it again I'll really relate to her character more. You know, 'cause she be crazy.

The Impossible: Awesome. Tense and gripping and amazing performances all around. Ewan McGregor should have been nominated and Naomi Watts would deserve a win. Honestly, all the Best Actress nominees could win and I wouldn't be bothered. 

The Master: I do want to see it, since I'm fascinated with that whole cult 'o Scientology nonsense, but I just never got around to it. Don't think either nominee will win.

The Sessions: Looked good, never got around to it. Don't think either nominee will win.

Zero Dark Thirty: Eh. I was one of the few who wasn't crazy about The Hurt Locker, war movies aren't really my thing, and it just didn't really interest me. I'll see it eventually, especially if Jessica Chastain wins.

For Your Consideration...

I'm not going to deny that Anne Hathaway is talented, nor will I disagree that she probably deserves the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the fifteen minutes she was in Les Miserables.

But man, she is getting on my nerves lately, and this video is pure perfection.

SBIFF Virtuoso Awards 2013

There are a lot of things to love about Santa Barbara. Even if you take the weather, the views, and that sparkling blue ocean off the table, it's still a pretty darn awesome place for more reasons than I can list. But one of them is that, as smaller towns often do, SB has a bunch of annual celebrations like Solstice or Fiesta, which of course all the locals complain about.

But not meeeee. I like festivals. I love the energy and excitement. And, you know, I don't live there, so they don't affect my daily life. And I especially like Santa Barbara's International Film Festival, which began last week and is celebrating its 28th year.

Since I first moved to SB when I was 15, I've done something for the film festival almost every year. My first year, I waited on the red carpet and shook Leonardo DiCaprio's hand and got him to sign my program, and I attended Kevin Bacon's afterparty where he winked at me, giving me something I brag about to this day. A couple of years ago my parents actually won platinum passes to the festival, which get you into every event and party for an exorbitant amount of money. That was good times.

This year, there were only a few events that I really wanted to attend, the first of which was last night. Yes, I left work at lunch, drove up to SB for dinner and a show, then drove back, crawling into bed with Tree at midnight.

Worth it!

The event was the Virtuoso Awards, which honors the year's "standout" performances. The honorees were Ann Dowd from Compliance, Elle Fanning from Ginger & Rosa, Ezra Miller from The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Eddie Redmayne from Les Miserables, Omar Sy from The Intouchables, and Quvenzhane Wallis from Beasts of the Southern Wild.

I've attended this event in the past, and this was the best one by far. Every single one of the guests was clearly thrilled to be there, funny and charming, and my mama and I were thoroughly entertained.

Ann Dowd was incredibly hilarious and self-deprecating, as the oldest honoree she mercilessly teased the host for commenting on her "toiling for decades" before getting this sort of recognition. The film looks disturbing and fascinating, and I definitely plan to see it.

Elle Fanning was adorable and sweet, and I was seriously stunned by the clip they showed from her film. She is insanely talented. Funny, I was standing at will call when a car pulled up behind me and I glance over my shoulder and see blonde hair and think, "Who is this bitch getting her car to go around the barricade? Rude." Oh, whoops, that's Elle Fanning...

Ezra Miller was pretty darn funny too, and I was expecting to be irritated by him. Based on what I've heard/read he is a very smart young man who knows he's very smart and takes every opportunity to be pretentious. But on stage he was personable and clever. He made a funny joke about how Omar and Eddie have sexier voices than he does. I still really want to see The Perks of Being A Wallflower, I read the book when I was younger and loved it.

Eddie Redmayne earned himself a place on my fuckable list. I'm sure he's more excited about that honor than the one he was receiving. He sat on his feet, just like I do, which instantly endeared him to me, and he was just sweet and witty in that ever so British way. Waaant.

Omar Sy was the main reason I wanted to attend this event. He was absolutely amazing in that incredible film, and I was so happy that he was being recognized for it. He was clearly thrilled to be there, and while his English isn't perfect he managed to crack a few great jokes. Gorgeous, gorgeous man.

As great as all the other guests were during their one-on-one interviews, Quvenzhane Wallis absolutely stole the show. Nine years old, with  more sass and personality in her pinkie than I have in my whole body. I wish I had written down half the things she said, she was just a riot. Adorable. I wanted to put her in my pocket.

 So. Much. Fun.

I was supposed to go to Leonardo DiCaprio (again!) on Friday, but the jerk cancelled. So I will be attending the Women's Panel on Saturday, then Jennifer Lawrence on Saturday night.

Yeah, you heard me. My girl crush. WOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!

And the nominees are...

Every year, I make it my goal to see every film with a major nomination for the Academy Awards. (By major, I mean best picture, director, screenplay, and all acting awards.) I've only been successful once, two years ago, but gosh darn it I do try my best.

I'm not that optimistic about this year, but I will certainly try to succeed. The nominations were announced this morning, and I've seen a good amount of the films on the list, but by no means all of them.

Let us list.

2013 Oscar Nominated Films

(bold I have seen, italics I want to see, normal are ones I have little interesting in seeing but will if I have to.)

Amour

Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Flight

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Moonrise Kingdom

Silver Linings Playbook

The Impossible

The Master

The Sessions

Zero Dark Thirty

"You know how many hot bitches I own?"

I do believe I've mentioned that my current jam is "Ni**as In Paris" by Kanye West and Jay-Z. I can rap the shit out of that song. It is awesome.

I do ball so hard motherfuckas wanna fine me.

In related Francophone news, you know what else I love? "Midnight In Paris". I'm no Woody Allen fangirl but that movie is fabulous.

And now the twain shall meet.

Twelve of 2012

I mean, there's not much to explain here.

I'm gonna make some lists.

Let's get nostalgic.



Twelve Musicians I Was Obsessed With (via last.fm)

1) Gotye
2) Alex Clare

3) Kesha
4) Dev (Fail on Sony ATV Publishing because I could not find a single song that would embed.)
5) Mumford & Sons
6) Miike Snow (Embed fail Sony faiiiiil.)
 7) Florence + The Machine
8) Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
9) Lights (Sony ATV FUCK.) 
10) Rihanna

 11) Matt Nathanson

12) Santigold (Fuckin' WMG.)

Twelve Books I Read

1) “Your Voice In My Head” by Emma Forrest
2) “You'll Never Blue Ball In This Town Again” by Heather McDonald
3) "Sloppy Firsts" by Megan McCafferty (reread)
4) “Second Helpings” by Megan McCafferty (reread)
5) "Charmed Thirds" by Megan McCafferty (reread)
6) "Fourth Comings" by Megan McCafferty (reread)
7) "Perfect Fifths" by Megan McCafferty

8) "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay
9) "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates (reread)
10) "Valley of the Dolls" by Jacqueline Susann
11) "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns" by Mindy Kaling
12) "Oh Myy!: There Goes The Internet" by George Takei

Twelve Movies I Saw In Theaters

1) This Is 40
2) Life of Pi
3) Silver Linings Playbook
4) Pitch Perfect  (x2)
5) Flight
6) Skyfall
7) Snow White and the Huntsman
8) The Dark Knight Rises
9) The Hunger Games (x2)
10) The Vow
11) Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
12) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Twelve Shows I Marathoned on Netflix This Year

1) The Vampire Diaries

2) How I Met Your Mother

3) Bones
4) White Collar
5) Greek (rewatch)

6) Freaks and Geeks

7) Parks & Rec (rewatch)

8) Dance Academy
9) Make It Or Break It
10) One Tree Hill (rewatch)

11) Gossip Girl (rewatch)

12) How I Met Your Mother (AGAIN)

Twelve People I Had Crushes On

1) Michael Fassbender

2) Joseph Gordon Levitt

3) The Ginger
4) Matt Bomer
5) Jennifer Lawrence
6) Joseph Gordon Levitt

7) Prince Harry
8) Cute Work Boy
9) Florence Welch
10) Ian Somerhalder

11) Ryan Gosling

12) Emma Stone

Twelve Most Popular Posts

1) Another little comparison.
2) A little comparison.
3) Visual Reminder
4) August Photo Challenge
5) In Betweening
6) It's not just you.
7) Interview Style Options: Take Two
8) Yogi Countdown
9) The Good and the Bad: Weight Loss Edition
10) The Time Kevin Bacon Winked At Me
11) Interview Style Options
12) The Stealth Asshole

"Make my wish come true..."

One of my very favorite films to watch during the holiday season is "Love Actually". Of course, this is not a unique choice on my part, as this movie continues to build more and more of a cult following and is mentioned in most lists of modern holiday films. I seriously don't know anyone who doesn't love "Love Actually".

My family used to own it, but our copy seems to have gone missing, and I really, really, really want to watch it. Right now.

So I just bought it on Amazon.

While I wait for it to arrive, this clip will have to do.

Wuv, twoooo wuv...

Last night, I went to see one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Princess Bride", on the big screen at the ArcLight Sherman Oaks.

This would have been awesome enough, but Cary Elwes, aka Westley, aka THE STAR OF MY PRE-PUBESCENT HEART, did a Q&A after! SWOON.

He was hilarious, and shared some great stories about the making of the movie and his friendship with Andre the Giant.

Things I remember:

• He hadn't seen the moving since the premiere in 1987, but he knew SO many quotes off the top of his head, even lines that weren't his.
• Danny DeVito was originally offered the part of Vizzini, but he turned it down. Wallace Shawn spent the whole movie worried his performance wasn't good and he was going to be fired.
• A guy asked if in the course of normal life, when his wife asks him to do something, if he ever says "As you wish". I wish I had gotten his reaction on film, but suffice it to say it was a version of "Yeeeah...noooo...that has never and will never happen. Of course, she's going to watch this now and demand it. So thaaanks." He did say he will never mind getting "as you wish" from fans, because this movie "gave him his career" and he will always be grateful. Very classy.
• He has one sexy voice.
• Um, there were little people in the R.O.U.S. costumes. WHAT?!?!
• One of them went out one night, had a few to drink, and got pulled over driving home. He tried to get out of it by saying, "I have to go, I'm in a movie, I'm a rat in a movie!"
• Andre the Giant was a big guy, and a biiig drinker. They'd go out and Cary would try to pace himself, and Andre said, "You drink like little boy!" They were out in NYC once and Cary thought they were being followed, and Andre said they were. Apparently one night he'd had a bit too much and had fallen on a fellow bar patron. After that the NYPD always had an off-duty officer follow him around when he went out drinking to protect the littler people around him.
• He came up with the "mostly dead all day" inability to walk. Amazing physical comedy.
• Mandy Patinkin would sing in between takes. Of course.
• Robin Wright is a very very funny woman, and they would goof off together doing accents.
• First day of shooting, she was lit on fire in the Fire Swamp, and totally acted like a pro.
• It was one of his first leading parts and his first role in an American film.
• He said making the film was like "capturing lightning in a bottle", and every element from the cast to the crew to the material was perfect. I agree!

There's nothing more fun than seeing a cult classic like "The Princess Bride" in a theater full of other die-hard fans. Huge laughs, line recitations, and just a feeling of absolute true childlike joy. Definitely an amazing experience!

May the odds be ever in your favor...

I went to my first midnight premiere last night for "The Hunger Games". Thank the baby Jesus for the ArcLight Dome and their assigned seating, because I could never have handled the insanity of lining up. LA traffic reared its ugly head, but I got there just in time and was settled in my dead center balcony seat at 11:55, right before the director Gary Ross introduced the film.

I do so love living near Hollywood.

As for the movie...as close to perfection as I could hope for from an adaptation of such a dense and dramatic book. My only worry before going in was that I wouldn't want to rip Peeta's clothes off his bread-baking body...but I did. So it's all good.

My father just started reading the books, so I'm SURE I'll go again, and no doubt have further thoughts after a second viewing. But ultimately, as a huge HG fan and avid critic of movie adaptations, my expectations were met and surpassed.

Cannot WAIT until Thanksgiving 2013!