Friday, October 31, 2014

Vote!

Just a friendly reminder to early vote this weekend, or regular vote on Tuesday (November 4th)! This, like every, election is important, and your voice deserves to be heard. Try as people might to silence it. Yes, those are all individual articles discussing different issues - there are that many different kinds of attempts to suppress voters this election - not to mention future elections. If they're that scared of you voting, that means your vote is that much more important.

Vote!

Teaser for Disney Short "Feast"

I'm a sucker for both adorable puppies and delicious food (as you well know), so I'm ready to be delighted by Disney's latest short, Feast, about a puppy's food-slash-life journey. They recently released this teaser for it, which only confirms my pre-delight:



The animation style is really rich and enjoyable, as well. As /Film points out, it's reminiscent of 2012's Paperman but with color and a puppy!

[via /Film]

Worlds Collide with Amy Poehler and George R.R. Martin!

Remember how I mentioned that Amy Poehler's book and George R.R. Martin's book came out at the same time? They're both on the publicity track, and stopped by Late Night with Seth Meyers this week. Here is the silliness that followed



My favorite was the aunt who didn't get invited to the Red Wedding. That's legit.

Let's Learn About Income Inequality with Amy Poehler and Billy on the Street!

Love this super weird animated short by Adam McKay starring Amy Poehler, Billy Eichner, and a bunch of other celebs, all about income inequality and one messed-up lollipop.



Adorable, informative, and horrifying! Just like I like my cartoons!

[via HuffPo]

Mockingjay Part 1 Trailer!

Appropriate for this to come out just days before I dress as Katniss for Halloween!



Ok, I admit, J-Law rocks the look better than I do, but my bow was a broken hanger with a rubber band for the string, so, you know, work with what you've got!

Jezebel's Round-Up of Celeb Costumes

For more fun costumery, Jezebel has a great round-up of celebs doing Halloween right. My favorite is the last one. Too flippin' cute. What's yours?

Ha-puppy Howl-o-ween!

Enough dog puns? Look at this adorable pup in costume (what costume is it? Not sure. Like, he got into a triangular jack-o-lantern and also is a sweater?). And yes, I'm only posting one because I have self-restraint! But I mean, if you want to see more dogs in costumes, that's what the internet is for.


[via A Place to Love Dogs]

Happy Potterween! New Stories up on Pottermore!

Six new essays from J.K. Rowling about various Harry Potter characters (including Dolores Umbridge, thestrals, and Sybil Trelawney) are up on Pottermore as you read this! Very exciting. The telegraph has a whole live blog about it. I know what I'll be doing at work today! Ok, I'll be doing work, but hopefully I can fit a little of this in, too.

The Toast's "Fictional Characters Whose Lives Would Have Vastly Been Improved By An Abortion"

I'm really digging The Toast, the feminist/humor/smarty pants digital magazine from Mallory Ortberg and Nicole Cliffe (formerly of The Hairpin). And I just wanted to do a quick shout out to a piece I really enjoyed last week (with the above title). It's funny (because, it's supposed to be), but it's also totally true (except for Harry Potter - gotta disagree there!). It kind of shows how annoying and lame pregnancy can be as a plot device, and it also show how interesting abortion could be as a plot device, though it's so rarely used (except on Obvious Child which was obviously the super great exception that proves the rule).

Married/Work Team Sam Bee and Jason Jones Sell Comedy Pilot to TBS!

Samantha Bee and Jason Jones have to be one of my favorite long-running parts of The Daily Show - they're such a wonderful comedic pair and marriage pair. It's really great to watch! Plus, they are of course also funny on their own. Sam Bee's book, I Know I Am, But What Are You? is a total delight (Bee-light!? No). So I'm so happy that they've sold a comedy pilot to TBS! For right now, it looks like it would star Jason as the father of a family on a pretty epic family road trip (each season would cover a different family vacation). I love the concept, and those two are funny enough to make it live up to its potential. I hope if it gets ordered to series this doesn't mean they'd have to leave TDS, but of course, if it does, they've certainly earned a wonderful goodbye. They're the best (bee-st!?)!

[via Jezebel - Nice find, Maddie!]

Happy Halloween Nails!

Happy Halloween, reader(s)! Check out these spooky nails I did! We've got a jack-o-lantern, a mummy, a pensive Frankenstein, spooky eyes in the dark, and a ghost!


(based on this design)

Contribute to "Things You Didn't Know about Tiny Tim"

My packet writing teacher wants to write and direct a short film called, Things You Didn't Know about Tiny Tim. It sounds like a fun project, and if you're interested in helping you, you can contribute to her Indie GoGo page here. You can do it, Tamara!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

"Yes, Please" is SO GOOD!

Expect to see a lot of Amy Poehler love over here in the new few days, because a) she's doing a lot of press and b) I'm reading her book, Yes, Please and it's SO GOOD! There are moments I laughed out loud on the subway on the way to work this morning, and it has put me in such a great mood. This woman lifts everyone up. I love her! So, yes, I know I've already given her a shout out, but she deserves like a million more!

So for your enjoyment, Jezebel rounded up their favorite answers from Amy's Reddit AMAA. And here is the full AMAA.

Captain Marvel Casting - Who Should Play Carol Danvers?

I'm not a huge comics fan, but I did really enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy this year, and I usually have a good time at any Marvel movie I see, so I'm at least vaguely looking forward to the newly announced Captain Marvel movie - Marvel's first lady-led superhero flick. At least, I'm looking forward to it as much as you can for something that's three years away and not a Pixar movie. What made me interested enough to post about it? Angie Han over at /Film put together a great list of women who could play the Captain. It serves as a great reminder of how many talented actresses out there are ready to play interesting action heroes - though it also makes me want to see all of those women in one epic Guardians style movie together.

Tiny Disney Waistlines are More than a Tiny Bit Scary

A Buzzfeed artist adjusted the waistlines of some Disney princesses to be more realistic.

If you look at the photos on the right first, you'll think "those aren't such tiny waists" then you look at the photos on the left and realize, "Oh my God, those princesses have the rib cage of a hummingbird!" It really makes you feel like the original Disney ones are the ones that have been Photoshopped.

An excellent case of showing not telling disproportionate body standards. See them all on Buzzfeed.

Little Mermaid

Tiny Organ-less Mermaid

The Daily Show Tackles Immigration in Austin

Love this clip from TDS about immigration. I know everyone's favorite part is probably the end trailer, but mine is definitely, "DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!". I clapped right along with them!



Keep Austin weird. And keep letting immigrants into Texas.

You Ain't Cool Unless You Support Planned Parenthood*

Lena Dunham's book tour t-shirt says, "Lena [Heart] Planned Parenthood." And now tons of celebs are wearing them! It's a great way to raise awareness for Planned Parenthood (and Lena's book). Planned Parenthood is also going to be doing nine events in coordination with the book tour throughout October. You can check out them all the celeb photos at HuffPo.

*Yes that was a Billy Madison reference for some terrible reason.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

More 'Moana'!

Makes me miss Hawaii


Disney's big 2016 animated feature, Moana, is about a seafaring teen navigator from the South Pacific islands who goes on an adventure to a fabled land. Apparently there will be demi-gods and sea monsters and all kinds of mythology! Neat! You can read more about the new movie over at /Film.


Green Halloween Candy!

Halloween time = Candy time

But candy time doesn't have to be destroy the world time! Of course, the best candies are going to be ones that are organic and fancy and all that goodness, but if you want to have some nostalgic candy going on, and don't want to get caught up in the whirl that is the palm oil industry, check out all the palm oil-free candies at this list here. And another list here!

And you can read more about palm oil (which I wasn't too familiar with) at ThinkProgress.

A Whole New World... of Ice and Fire!

Big day! In addition to Yes, Please, George R.R. Martin's latest encyclopedia, A World of Ice and Fire came out today! The husb and I got our copy in the mail. Spoiler alert: it's enormous! But there are also a lot of pretty pictures in it. It's like an adult picture book combined with a fun textbook. Well, I say fun. We haven't read it yet. But I sure do hope it's fun!

Yes, Please! Start Reading "Yes, Please"!

Speaking of books that came out today, you can now read Amy Poehler's Yes, Please! What are you doing reading this blog? Go! Order it online! Grab it in a bookstore! Kindle it! iPad it! But get it in your mind-tummy!

And if you need a little extra convincing, you can read a few excerpts from the book here and here!

Let's Get Physics, Y'all!

Megan Amram has written a new book, Science... For Her! which comes out November 4th. To promote it, she's released this music video even our tiny, ladylike brains can understand!




I know what I'll be reading on the 4th and what I'll be trying to get out of my head forever!

#NewRedskinsLogo

Love this video by Hari Kondabolu re: Redskins.



Makes a pretty strong point! You can see some of the new logos here.

Sesame Street and Aziz Ansari? Ridiculous!

Grover and Aziz Ansari have a totally normal conversation on a pretty ridiculous subject:



Adorable!

[via HuffPo]

Monday, October 27, 2014

This Guy Really Needs "Racism Insurance"

I'm so bummed I haven't had a chance yet to see Dear White People (but will as soon as I am not working on the weekends!). Fortunately, in the meantime, I can enjoy this spot-on commercial parody:



Supes funny. Love that he goes through every possible cliche of "white guy talks to black woman" in about fifteen seconds.

[via HuffPo]

Amy Sedaris Joins Tinder in "Seriously Distracted"

You had me at Amy Sedaris + Tinder:



So I think it's a webseries of some kind. This episode was great! I guess I should watch the rest!

[via Jezebel]

Blackish: Physical vs. Emotional Punishment

I really loved this week's episode of Blackish. Spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the episode (go watch it! It's On Demand!).

It handled spanking in such an honest way, and the end result felt like it was right out of my own childhood. My mom spanked us kids once or twice with the dreaded "wooden spoon" (though the more common punishment was biting a bar of soap for a potty mouth), but the emotional punishment of disappointment was so much stronger and longer-lasting. I don't remember if Mom ever even really spanked me, or if I just watched my siblings once or twice, but I do remember - so keenly - each time she said she was disappointed in me. Disappointment really is the ultimate tool in the parental toolkit. Although just wait until Jack gets older and Dre can stop saying, "I'm disappointed in you," and start with, "I know you're disappointed in yourself." That's the one that sticks with you into adulthood and beyond. Forever ouch.

"Forget You" in 25 Celeb Voices

Here's singer/impressionist Christina Bianco's rendition of "Fuck You" (or, "Forget You") sung with twenty-five different celeb voices (most are singers, but some definitely aren't). I'm not a huge impressions person, so I didn't think I'd like this video too much, but once she gets warmed up, a lot of the impressions are really amusing:



Kristin Chenoweth is what really sold me, and she NAILS Zooey Deschanel. Her Streisand is pretty great, too, and I didn't even realize I knew what Streisand sounded like. A few others went over my head, but overall a fun four minutes!

Neil Patrick Harris got a Variety Show!

Our beloved NPH will host a variety show (possibly in New York!) next year based on the British series Saturday Night Takeaway. One quote says the show will be, “a real blend between comedy, game and musical variety. And it has this fast pace and irreverence to it.” Interesting!

For those curious what the British show is like, below is their Series 11 Highlight reel:



My honest reaction? God, this show (or maybe Britain in general) is white. Like, really white. Other than that, hard to get a read on it, but seems like there are plenty of explosions. Possibly, glitter explosions.

Sugar: It's In Your Dinner

I love watching John Oliver stick it to The Man. In this case, The Candy Man.



And now just because it's in your head:



He does sell it pretty dang hard.

OK Go's New Video is Mesmerizing!

I really love all the umbrellas and choreography in the new OK Go video, for their song, "I Won't Let You Down." I won't say any more, so as not to spoil it, but please enjoy:



Pretty insane, right!? I feel like I've just been hypnotized.