Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election day? Have some fun!

Alright, so I'm not that politically invested (I voted, calm down) so in honor of election day, I'm doing what I do and celebrating with a movie and by staying way off of Facebook... come on, how many people really need to post statuses saying GO VOTE! We get it, really, and many of us have probably filled out absentee ballots weeks earlier. SO, take the edge off, relax if you've got time, and have some fun. Here are some of my favorite politically themed movies.

1. The Ides of March (2011)

This movie directed by George Clooney is a quietly electric peek inside a campaign trail fraught with scandal and obstacles. Ryan Gosling shows just how good he is, as an all star who gets in over his head. The cast is basically perfect, with Clooney himself, Paul Giammatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei and it's as close to politics as I ever want to get.


2. Election (1999)

For some creepy comic relief, take Reese Witherspoon as the definition of over-ambitious, in a role as a teen running for student council president. With Matthew Broderick playing a teacher working endlessly to bring her down, this is an off-beat comedy from none other than Alexander Payne that'll make you cringe.


3. All the President's Men (1976)

This isn't directly political so much as it is history that revolves around the government, but that's close enough for me. Dusty and Rob provide stellar performances in this movie based around the Watergate scandal.



Happy voting day!

Friday, November 2, 2012

5 Awesome Things

Hi peeps - here are 5 awesome things that are on my mind! Enjoy!

1. Almost Famous

I know, it's Almost Famous so everybody should be aware of its awesomeness, but on the off chance that you have not yet experienced Kate Hudson's brilliance before she only took dumbed down romantic comedy scripts, Billy Crudup and Jason Lee and a kind-of fake band, and Patrick Fugit as, essentially, Cameron Crowe, then get on that! Also, Frances McDormand, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Zooey Deschanel, and brief cameos from Eric Stonestreet and Jimmy Fallon among others. This is one of those movies that is just everything and you don't want it to end. It's got one of the best soundtracks ever and is possibly my favorite Cameron Crowe movie (sorry Lloyd...). The style is great, the lifestyle is outrageous, and everything in between is stellar and from a perspective that you don't often think about.


2. Pushing Daisies

This show is weird, I'll be straight with you. Pushing Daisies is also charming, clever, and sometimes a tad creepy. Starring Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Chi McBride, Kristin Chenoweth, Swoosie Kurtz, and Ellen Greene, who made up one of my favorite ensembles ever (here's looking at you Arrested Development), they worked together and played off of each other perfectly. Pace is Ned, a pie-maker who wakes the dead. After 60 seconds of being alive again, someone else dies, but if Ned touches said alive again person again, they're dead forever. Friel plays his alive-again first love from childhood, the girl named Chuck. McBride plays a knitting detective who becomes partners with Pace. Chenoweth is an employee at the Pie Hole, Ned's literally pie-shaped restaurant. Kurtz and Greene play Chuck's formerly synchronized swimming duo shut-in aunts. The show has such an incredible energy infused in it. It's a fairy tale land that's halfway in between this world and some far off world of princesses and magic. Plus the dialogue is spectacular, and Jim Dale narrates! What more could you want? Great clothes? Yep, they've got those too! It's a show with the saturation turned all the way up in every sense.

Season 1 Spoilers abound!

3. hitRECord

I still have a hard time not calling it hitRECord.org all the time, but if you've got any artistic chops (or good taste) at all, head on over and start RECording... anything, everything. If you're not familiar, hitRECord is an open, collaborative production company started by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and his late brother Dan. Preferring to go by regularjoe on the website, he and many others create projects for people to work on and create things out of other people's art. Everything that you post on the site (provided it's 100% from you, or in the public domain) is fair game for any other member to REmix and add to! It's huge fun and it's amazing the things they produce and the many ways that people can get involved. Every form of art is welcomed with open arms.

One of the pieces from hitRECord

A taste of their live shows


4. Colorblocked Tights

That's right, I am talking about one color on the front, one color on the back tights! I love a black and white combo, but many color combinations make tights like these look amazing. They're an instant statement and they bring a whole bunch of 60s mod to any outfit, which I think, no matter the trends, we could all use a little more of. I'm eyeing this pair from Anthropologie:


5. Chapstick

It's getting colder which means, at least for me, I'm about to tear all the skin off of my lips. Thank god for chapstick huh? I am loyal to no one and so have tried many a chapstick and have found that I like regular old Chapstick, Burt's Bees (the one with the red cap - I think it has some pomegranate in it), and Eos lip balm, which not only works well but goes on really well because it's a little sphere!


Enjoy these 5 awesome things. Catch you on the flip flop.

Song of the Moment: (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding