Happy Jack-O-Lanterns-O-Ween!

 Continue to have a Happy Halloween! HuffPo has a great round-up of pop culture pumpkins, just one of which is this excellent GoT one.

Happy Halloween!!!!

What are you all dressing as? Or are you dressing as nothing because you've either a) lost your soul or b) you misread that as "dressing in nothing" because you will be too busy being naked and having lots of intercourse. Because then you are dressed as the warm embrace of love, and that works just fine. Or c) You are misread it as "dressing as The Nothing" from The Never-Ending Story because that IS a scary costume. And what an imaginative costume for a character who is all about the end of imagination! You readers are very interesting indeed.

I am dressing as the Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones because

And my husband will be my dragons because he supports me like that. Also, because puppets are fun.

Anchorman 2: Funny on Lines, Little on Plot

Looks to be funny like the first, plus if I'm not mistaken... musical number!!!



Also - characters of color! That's neat. Hope it's good!

How to Write Good YA Fiction

I should probably read this all the way through. Seems legit!

Happy Endings' Eliza Coupe Gets a New Show!

She'll be starring in a new USA legal comedy called Benched to air hopefully at some point? As I said before, I love me some procedurals, and if this one follows the comedic lead of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it'll be totally awesome. If it's more Franklin and Bash then we'll see... But yay, Eliza! From that last weird season of Scrubs to greatness on Happy Endings and beyond!

Veronica Mars Movie: Love Triangle Update ALERT!

As a V-Mars Movie Kickstarter backer, I got the link to this (and also my awesome t-shirt which I wore all last weekend and it was awesome, and probably smells bad now) hot off the presses, but in case you haven't seen it yet, here is a fun featurette on the new Mars movie:



Oh man, I was SO not a fan of Piz. Mainly because he has the WORST NAME OF ALL TIME. Also, not because he's a nice guy - I love me some nice guys (I married me the best nice guy), but because he just didn't seem to understand Veronica. He acted like she was a person she was not. If I were to give him the benefit of the doubt, it would be that he saw her as the person she could be if she had not had grown up the way she did, but that shit went down and she couldn't change that. Also, Logan became a nice guy. That was his arc. From bad boy to tame, sweet boy in love. He was changing and growing and Veronica was totally not supportive. Again, though, the third season as a whole was a huge mess. Let's not beat around the bush. Let's also hope that Rob Thomas, genius-face that he is, understands that the third season was a mess and makes the movie align more closely, quality-wise, with the first and second season. Of course, having Piz in it at all, much less in such a prominent role, is not a good sign, but I have high hopes nonetheless!

Rant complete.

How to Not Screw Up Halloween

ThinkProgress' Alyssa Rosenberg also has a nice guide (and links to another, more comprehensive guide) on how not to be a Hallo-douche or to have a Douch-a-ween. Good to brush up on before the big night!

Lovely Interview with Michael Schur on World-Building in 'Parks an Rec' and 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'

As you know, I LOVE ME some Parks and I am super getting into Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well. Much of that is due to the diverse, unique characters on both shows, and the elaborate world-building that goes into them. For a deeper look into that process, check out Alyssa Rosenberg's interview with creator/showrunner Michael Schur over at ThinkProgress.

Barf Barf Fox Buys Rights to Turn 'The Knot' Into Wedding Movie Barf Barf

Seriously!? Fox, just give me your moneys and I will write you some delightful movies that do not need to be based on websites that admittedly I used and found very helpful while planning my wedding but the story of my wedding is FAR more interesting narratively than the website I used to plan it! Same goes for 'The Nest' and 'The Bump' - Come on! For realz! Other hyperbolic statements!! LOUD NOISES!

Playing with a Platypus!

Seriously, this is stupid cute.



Cute because it's a platypus playing. Stupid because what if it's venomous spur stings you!?!?! Playing with fire right there. Adorable, cuddly fire.

[via Neatorama]

Love Google's Halloween Doodle!

This year's Halloween Doodle's into is really fun. The actual interactive part is not super exciting, but I LOVE the stop-motion part!!!! Give me more stop-motion please!

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

Oh! I also generally like the X-Men movies, well, ok I like the first one fine, I really liked the second one, and then I thought First Class was pretty fun, too. Bryan Singer is a class act. So below is the trailer for the next in what will probably end up being a million movies, X-Men: Days of Future Past



Kind of a shit move to make Wolverine the time traveler instead of Kitty Pryde, but what can you do? People like claws, I guess?

Honest Trailer: Thor

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have seen all the superhero movies that have come out in the past few years. Actually, the reasons are knownst to me - they are 1) popcorn 2) M&Ms and 3) air conditioning (i.e. the reason why anyone sees any summer blockbuster anymore). I feel like this honest trailer wraps up a lot of the reasons why I don't generally enjoy them all that much*, try as I might:



Admittedly, the abs are excellent.

*excepting most of Iron Man and Iron Man 3.

[via /Film]

Final 'Catching Fire' Trailer is Out!

Below is the latest/last trailer for the new Hunger Games film, Catching Fire



Spoiler alert: I was not a huge fan of the second book, because it had the exact same plot as the first. I thought it would have been far more interesting in terms of character arcs and growth (seriously, I'm alerting you to the spoils here) to have Katniss and Peeta coach other innocent victims instead of having to dive back in themselves, but what can you do? Seriously, I'm wondering what the writers did to make it more interesting. I'm sure they tried very hard, and I hope they succeeded. We will see on Nov. 22nd!

Weirded Out in a Good Way by Paul Yee

I just realized my super-awesome RA from a summer NYU program I did a million years ago has been contributing to my favorite food blog, Serious Eats, for the last year. Go, Paul! He's also doing lots of interesting film stuff, but you'd expect that from a TISCH grad. You would not expect all the snappy food writing! How weird and wonderful.

OK Go! Just Crowdsourced their new music video, and it's actually really good!

The band OK Go! had a competition to see who could make the best music video for their new song, "I'm Not Through" and here is the winner:



It's really fun and right on beat. I can dig it. Sounds like this promising young director is going to have some pretty high expectations to fulfill now! Sorry, buddy.

[via HuffPo]

No Shit, Sherlock's Coming Back in January!

It's true! Sherlock's long-awaited, much-anticipated third season premiere is on January 19th!! EEEPS! Can't wait.

So Much Writing Advice, So Little Time

Haven't had a chance to read this Buzzfeed article about how to write an awesome movie because I'm too busy writing a shitty one. Hmm... maybe I should I rethink my strategy...

'Friends' Quiz!

Vulture has a fun, quick Friends famous line quiz. I got 9/10 right, and I think the one I got wrong was totally reasonable, considering it was from a later season and the freeze frame has zero context clues.

Enjoy!

Sloths Slowly Invading Your TV

One so-slow-you-don't-notice-it-moving show at a time. Animal Planet is airing an eight-part series called, for reasons unknown, Meet the Sloths starting Nov. 9th. I guess because the Animal Planet execs think of their parents as sloths? I don't know.

Better titles:
- Slothing Out
- One Toed, Two Toed, Three Toed, Blue Fish
- Sloth's (Every) Day In
- Sloth Against the Machine
- A Tisket a Sloth in a Basket Sounds Really Cute
- Sloth in Slotherderland
- Too Cute: Sleepy Sloth Edition
- Slothing Beauty

Just saying.

PSA: Stay Away from White People on Halloween

I have to be honest: I am part of the problem. I witnessed a pumpkin carving last week and did nothing to stop it. In my defense, though, I never watch scary movies. If I want to be scared out of my mind, all I have to do is go to sleep on a plane. Don't ask. Also, check out the end part where they preview clips from other sketches - seems like All Def Digital is a pretty funny group!

Aziz Ansari: Let's Treat Each Other Like Black People Treat Magicians

It's a pretty weird idea, but it just might work...



Now I really want to go see a magic show at the Apollo, because I was not aware of this stereotype and would like to see it in action (if it is truly the case). Anyone in?

'Murder, She Wrote' Starring Octavia Spencer? Yes, please!

I really hope this 'Murder, She Wrote' pilot gets a series order.

A) I love Octavia Spencer starring in anything.
B) I love procedurals with a lighthearted, drama's-version-of-comedic bent (i.e. Bones and Castle)
C) I love both together!

Plus, NBC doesn't have any fun procedurals. I should know because I watch one from every network except for NBC (Elementary is my CBS one. I definitely don't get what everyone sees in CSI: Anything or NCIS).

Octavia, do you need any up-and-coming writers for your new show? I can write jokes and also character arcs!!

New 'Catching Fire' IMAX Poster

Love this poster for Catching Fire out in a couple of weeks. It reminds me of the old '80s movies posters, like for The Neverending Story or The Labyrinth. Very cool!

[via /Film]

Simpsons' "Hobbit" Couch Gag

Very soothing, peaceful couch gag this week on 'The Simpsons'



Correct me if I'm wrong, Tolkeinites, but I thought the part with the ghost warriors was in LOTR, not The Hobbit. Other than that, I thought it was very sweet, if not crazy funny (and it doesn't always have to be, sometimes it's nice just to see the journey and homage). Solid music. Favorite joke was "Part 1 of 6"

[via /Film]

Screw You, Cancer - Glamour Series

Really awesome webseries from Glamour called "Screw You, Cancer" by comedian Caitlin Brodnick. Check it out.



And that's just the first episode. You can watch the rest on at Glamour.

[via Comic's Comic]

Comedic Hurdles

Another perspective on Kenan Thompson's comments.

As for me, I generally blame the system. From not enough encouragement, support (financially, emotionally, etc-ally) when women and people of color (and women of color) are starting out, to bad management and guidance when the lucky few finally breach the system, to executives just plain not caring all that much because if your friend or friend of a friend is a talented white guy, why not just hire him? It's way easier, and you know you'll get along well.

In the Same Vein: Be Blacker

Just in case we didn't get the point across.



Love the ending. Those clams are super important.

[via The Hairpin]

Nyima Funk is just plain not ready to be on SNL!

In response to Kenan Thompson's allegation that there aren't any black comedic actresses ready to perform on SNL:



I don't know what was so different about that last part, but I'm definitely ready to watch her on SNL now!

[via Comic's Comic]

Hell No: The Horror Movie that Makes Sense

As someone who hates scary movies, this sketch that's been making the interweb rounds this week really speaks to me:



People make smart choices and no one dies! Yes, please!

Unprocessed October!

It's that time of year again! I'm back on Unprocessed October, the month in which I avoid highly processed foods like cereal and Oreos, but am still ok with mildly processed foods like bread or ice cream from reputable vendors. It's been really fun, and I've been eating really well, including lots of delicious things (like ice cream from reputable vendors!). It's been going SO well that I actually gained weight - Oops! Anyway, I'm almost back to normal, but it does remind me that eating unprocessed doesn't necessarily mean eating more healthy in terms of weight (so much ice cream), but it does mean healthy in terms of knowing what's going into my body and feeling good about where it came from. Hooray!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is Super Fine!

I've been really digging the new comedy (from the Parks and Rec guys) Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It's very funny and has a great ensemble cast. It'll be even better when they tone down the Andy Sambergness of Andy Samberg's character, but I'm sure they'll find the balance, just like the team on New Girl did with Zooey Deschanel. So I was super excited to hear that not only was it picked up for a full season, but it (and the beloved New Girl) earned the post-Super Bowl spot!! Woo hoo!! It's a show of confidence from the network. Well deserved!