Happiness is...

Oh man, this is definitely not how I'm feeling right now, but wouldn't it be great if it was? Maybe this weekend.

[via A Place to Love Dogs]

Moonrise Kingdom Meet-Cute

I'm sure Wes Anderson would think I'm being ironic when I say meet-cute but, actually, he did a really great one for his most recent (and Oscar nominated - way to go, buffalo!) film Moonrise Kingdom, which I really loved. Go Into the Story just covered in their Daily Dialogue post, so I thought I'd share it. Worth the read, for sure. Also, see the movie, too!

Also, with that and Silver Linings Playbook Hollywood (ok, indie Hollywood) had some really great films about mental illness or at least mental issues this year. Great job, Hollywood! Keep up the pace!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs...2!

Awww, this looks like so much fun! And also so appropriate for Thanksgiving.



Is it weird that it also makes me want to read and then write an animated version of The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear?

I admit I could do without the chicken-man character, but I guess he's for the kids, right? Also, I REALLY hope he's gone from wearing an actual chicken to a chicken suit (which I think is what it looks like from the trailer so phew!) because otherwise that would be intensely unsanitary.

[via Big Screen Animation]

Shrek Wedding

Ok, this is not my wedding, but I do think it's sweet that they thought up the whole theme based on their son's love for the film. Also, pretty cool to come out for your reception transformed into an ogre! I think my favorite is the guy who dressed as Puss in Boots because clearly he REALLY got into it, and I think it'd be funny if he was just some random third cousin twice removed who'd just been waiting for this day when FINALLY he could put those serious face-painting skills to work!

Wedding Flowers

There are so many, and they are all so pretty, how do you choose?

Here are some we're thinking about. What do you think? Did we do good?

Wedding colors are coral, green, and blush. Think we got them?

I do not know the name of many of these things, but I'm very excited for the daisies, as they are my favorite flower! 

Monkey tails and Succulents and Poppies, oh my!

Read "Tenth of December" NOW

Seriously, it'll only take you about four hours and it's super-worth it (you'll get that once you read the book!). It's a collection of short stories, which are one of my at least top five favorite story-mediums, and they're all really strong and not super-depressing like most short stories are (although they're not all "hey the world is so great and life is awesome!" either but at least it's not "The Lottery" am I right?). So do it! Tenth of December. George Saunders. I had a rough week and my super-amazing friend Alex lent it to me and it's really incredible. The writing is funny, emotional (but not sentimental), and so pitch-perfect to the characters and to the author's voice, which I don't totally understand how you can do when so many of the stories are written inside the protagonist's head, but still. He does it. It is amazing. Read now.

... I bet the audiobook would be really good, too. If there is an audiobook.

Hunger Games!!

Speaking of Catching Fire from three posts ago... Lionsgate debuted a few new posters for the upcoming movie, like this super Capitol-ized one:

Victory Tour indeed...

Of course, all that did was make me realize how long it would be until the next movie! November, are you kidding me? I mean, not really because it takes a long time to make a movie and especially to make a good one and they had to find a new director and they're already on a super tight timeline, but still!!

See all the posters over at /Film!

Seen It All? What about RIDE it all!?

This ad is so much fun, but also a little terrifying (you don't know them!)



My favorite, of course, is the dog sled, but wouldn't that street be too rough on their poor little paws?

[via Neatorama]

And in case you're feeling nostalgic...

Or your Oscar fever hasn't quite been quenched:



[via GITS]

Oscars Round-Up!

OMG this dress!

NY Mag does a pretty good "What you missed when you remembered that watching the Oscars and especially Seth MacFarlane is lame." Seriously, though, Jennifer Lawrence's fall is the most graceful thing I've seen in years, and her subsequent press conference responses were amazing.



Even her "sorry I forgot to thank you" statement was both charming ("brain farm") and eloquent ("your passion and unyielding support gave this film the opportunity to thrive and touch so many people").

Seriously, can I just wear this dress around the house all the time please?

Just saying, I can't wait for Catching Fire!

Not to mention the excitement over the Paperman producer kerfuffle - love that in a story about paper airplanes as an act of rebellion, rebelling with paper airplanes got producer Kristina Reed temporarily thrown out. Hilarious!

Also, gotta love Brenda Chapman and Mark Andrews' epic "OMG WE DID IT!" photo after winning for Brave:

[via Big Screen Animation]

Congratulations, Pixar!

Many congratulations to Paperman and Brave on their Oscar wins tonight!

While I loved the other Oscar short nominees, as well, Paperman was a beautiful work that certainly deserves the honor.

Similarly, although Wreck-It Ralph and Frankenweenie were both absolutely wonderful (I also enjoyed Paranorman's screenplay, though I haven't seen the full movie), and, yes, I've got my issues with Brave just as much as the rest of us, despite it's flaws it remains a powerful film about a daughter and her mother and their quest to better understand and accept each other without losing themselves in the process. Also, Brave tried so hard to be something more than just a movie, as so many Pixar films do, and while it doesn't always succeed, the attempt is truly worth something - apparently, Oscar.

In conclusion, congratulations to all the nominees - excellent work this year! Keep up the excellent animation and, most importantly, storytelling!

Leslie and Ben Tied the Knot!

This week on Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt got married! The episode was a delight (as always), and so true to their personalities, relationships, and courtship. I'm so happy that it turned out the way it did.

One of my favorite lines was when Ben asked Leslie to take his name, and you saw her conflicted face, and then he revealed he was just kidding! Ben has never asked Leslie to change who she is, but rather celebrated her, as she has celebrated him. They will have such beautiful waffle-and-Batman-loving babies (if they so choose to have babies!) together.

For more Parks wedding fun, check out this Vulture article about Leslie's dress (all of her dreams and achievements and heroes on one dress!), this HuffPo synopsis, and ThinkProgress' analysis of Leslie and Ben's relationship compared and contrasted with Liz and Criss' relationship.

[GIF via Videogum]

'Happy Endings'!!!!!!!

Friday, ABC!? March 29, ABC!? Are you TRYING to make Happy Endings fail? Remember the good ol' days when Modern Family was the show's lead-in? That's the way to make a show successful! Not dumping it for three months and then moving it to Fridays. Also, before that, not putting it on a day when half of the other good comedies on TV are airing (Tuesdays were destroying my DVR!).

Poor, Happy Endings. They just hit their stride.

Super sad face.

New 'Game of Thrones' Trailer - A Real, Proper One, Too!

This is a real trailer!! Not those "Bad things are coming and let's look at everyone's most serious faces over black with no new visuals" lame trailers.



Woo! Looks like the s is really going to hit the f and it's going to be awesome.

And did you see what was flying next to that ship!? Baddass!!!

Read 'The Extraordinary Science of Junk Food' Now!

This is one of those articles where every worst fear you've had about the food industry is proven true over and over again. It's almost painful to read, but very worth it. Recently, I had started eating dry cereal in the morning because I kept forgetting to bring in my (unsweetened!) yogurt - NEVER AGAIN. It's awful. I mean, I knew it was awful, but this is so many pages of factual awfulness.

America needs to get on the Unprocessed October train every month of the year now - RIGHT now.

Watch the Simpsons' Oscar Nominated Short, "The Longest Daycare"

The Ayn Rand School for Tots is back! Will Maggie (and her new insect friend) survive?



Do you like this more or less (or equal to!) Adam and Dog? What about Paperman? So many great shorts this year! Who knows who'll win!

[via HuffPo]

Watch the Oscar Nominated "Adam and Dog" Short!

You can see it here (couldn't find an embed code).

The animation on the dog is absolutely perfect. The settings are beautiful. The lighting is excellent. The character and arc of the dog is fantastic. My only trouble with it is that, of course, as always (in all Judeo-Christian creation myths), Eve is portrayed as the person at fault here - poor, Eve! Girl can't catch a break.

But at the least the ending is nice... ish?

And, again, the dog is perfect!

ABCinema!

Another fun 26 movies in 58 seconds quiz from Evan Seitz! Enjoy!



Did you get them all? I knew everything off the bat except for I, R (which I guessed incorrectly on), and X. Not too shabby for a Film Studies major!

[via Neatorama]

Cute Animal Supercut!

Too many favorites to list!! Simply enjoy.



What a delight.

Too Much Snow!

I just ate the fanciest meal of my life (so far!) at Del Posto in NYC, so this video is not the highlight of my day, but it's pretty close!



[via A Place to Love Dogs]

Apologizing, Ask Amy

Amy's advice here is heartfelt, a little heartbreaking, and utterly true. Apologizing is a difficult skill that takes humility, vulnerability, and courage to learn.



I wish someone had given me great advice on such a difficult subject in frank and honest terms like this when I was younger, but I'll gladly take it now, too!

[via Videogum]

Feed Me: Simon's Cat

Classic! If my fiance and I ever get a cat, I suspect that every day will be like this, and this is both his argument for and my argument against getting a cat.



[via Neatorama]

Lizzy Caplan's Fashion Film

Unfortunately, this is a commercial. Fortunately, I have no idea for what.



I know this is making fun of all those artsy fake videos (loved all the fake covers like "60s Album" and "Vintage Book" etc) but is it ok that it still made me want to live out in the forest and read book all day with a crown of flowers in my hair?

[via Gawker]

On a Lighter Note... Corgi!!!

It's been a while since I've caught The Daily Puppy featuring a corgi on their daily puppy, but the stars seemed to have aligned in order to bring us... Wilson!!

Waking up from a nap, are we?

Just got caught playing and now we're being bashful

Those ears!!!

Little ball of sleepy paws!

That face! The cutest of the faces!!

Too cute! Too cute!! I don't know about you, but he just made my evening!

A Conversation on Mental Illness and Silver Linings Playbook with Bradley Cooper

Alyssa Rosenberg over at ThinkProgress conducted a great interview with actor Bradley Cooper and mental illness advocate Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen on how mental illness is portrayed in the Oscar contender Silver Linings Playbook. Over the holidays, I watched the film with my family and was struck by the honest, brutal, but by no means condemning depiction of life with bipolar disorder and mental illness in general in the movie. Both Bradley Cooper and Dr. Van Dahlen give insightful commentary into how family, doctors, and cops treat Mr. Cooper's character Pat in the film: what works, what doesn't, and how psychological issues have often been ignored in the older generation (in this case, Pat's father) even as they are passed to a generation that does seek (or receive by court order) help. It's well worth the read!

To Fill the 30 Rock-Shaped Hole in Your Heart...

...That is, unless Surgeon General Spaceman had it removed and replaced with one of the plastic ones filled with chocolate... Anyway, here are Atlantic's "100 of the Best 30 Rock Quotes" which I think is a particularly apt name, since 30 Rock certainly has more than 100 best 30 Rock quotes! I could read this list for days... or the thirty seconds it took me to skim it and then decide I'd go back and read more later when the losing 30 Rock wound wasn't as fresh.

[via ThinkProgress]

Dog Eat Dog: A Short Film

I feel for Mr. Quinto here. I don't know how many times the fiance and I have fallen in love with a dog at our local shelter...



... until we remembered that it wasn't the right time to get a dog, etc etc and then he got scooped up by someone else. Someday!

[via Videogum]

Happy Groundhog Day!!

Punxsutawney Phil is saying Spring's right around the corner, which I would absolutely LOVE, but he was super wrong last year, so who knows?

What I do know, is how much I love the movie Groundhog Day. Here's a great scene:



Enjoy!