Here is a sweet sweet taste of our trip to BVI. Watch the little fella (~2 ft long shell) fake me out twice!

This is for my Japanese and Japanese wanna-be readers who will get how incredible/funny/revolutionary this is! Love when the hosts ask him how he got into it and he credits his Japanese grandmother from Yokohama (1/4 Asian! What my kids will be too!) and he's asked if he thought of pursuing hip-hop and he answers in a super Japanese way, "never."

* Thanks to my bro for the link!

I love it when my friends know me well!

Unfortunately I missed Morris Day and The Time's performance!
Kanye's Mama song was heartfelt and touching.
Kanye is the posterchild for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Kanye's " it would be in good taste to stop playing the music now" was righteous and commendable.
Kanye's message to Common that he should know not to drop an album the same year as Kanye because it will surely be eclipsed was...well, see aforementioned diagnosis.
Beyonce's first outfit made her look like a rigatoni. Her second one was better.
Beyonce is an A+++++ performer.
Jay-Z and Rihanna still have something going on between them!
Jay-Z was hilarious.
Jay-Z has me smitten.
Alicia Keys moves me everytime. Love that girl.
Amy Winehouse is frighteningly fragile and young and nowhere near recovery.

The Grammys were fun this year!!

* via KO.

** Who knew Matt Damon was so funny and fantastic!

And I only read the first few paragraphs.

Patients, Patients: HBO, on the couch again by Nancy Franklin.

The short story of Clark Gable's stepson.

Trailer:

WOW. It's plain to see how the Church of Scientology has become so powerful - congrats, guys! It's brainwashed their followers into being suspicious of and antagonistic towards any non-believers. Their identities seem to be rooted in singling out dissenters who could only be such SPs (Suppressive Person - thanks, L. Ron) because they must be hiding some deep dark secret! Plus, they relentlessly spew rhetoric of how they are about positivity when all the while they are acting negatively - brilliant! Here's a depressing thought for you: Think of alllllll the money the Church of Scientology has and how it's not being spent on things like education and health care.

Definition of Enturbulate.

Wow. I first read this BBC article and watched the accompanying video in which John Sweeney, the BBC reporter investigating the Church of Scientology, loses out. Then I watched the following video and now feel immense sympathy for his wholly understandable freak-out. The steadfast refusal of Scientologists to engage in debate or even a two-way conversation is infuriating even just to watch - I can't imagine taking part in it. Their attempts to replace the authority of the field of psychiatry with their own are laughable but in fact they are pernicious. Enjoy this frightful video:

As you may know, BuzzFeed asks bloggers if they've written about trends that have been covered by BuzzFeed. Some comic relief amidst the realization that Scientologists are taking over:

YAY NICK!!!!! YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO.

You have to see this movie. Preferably with a male companion. Saw it last night and it's pretty great. Not sure why my crotch feels vulnerable but...well you'll see. Congrats to Mitchell, who is a friend of friends, for a fantastic job! And thanks to Susan for the invite - was certainly a memorable date!

You may feel the heat...from me beaming with pride at my BFF Andrea's recent accomplishment!!

* Thanks to for the tip Beth!!

In case you missed this rare slice of earnest pie, it's commendable and worth watching!

* Thanks for the tip, Mary!

My fellow blogging cousin Angelina has created these cool little Thriller drawings so in the spirit of familial teamwork I have animated them!

My fellow blogging cousin Angelina has created these cool little Thriller drawings so in the spirit of familial teamwork I have animated them!

You can hear a preview of all songs by clicking Preview All above the song list.

"You can't executive produce an executive producer!"

What a surprisingly good movie from Ben Affleck! It's nice to see when someone redeems themselves and that's what he does with this accomplishment. Show your support for Ben's makeover from Gigli and Bennifer I to talented director by seeing this! You're guaranteed to have good heavy topics to debate during dinner.

I haven't loved a New Yorker article this much in a while. It is absolutely fascinating if you love The Wire but even if you don't know The Wire but have a sociological interest in cities and institutions you will be taken by David Simon's take on his show and America.

On a muggy August afternoon in Baltimore, trash scuttled down Guilford Avenue, the breeze smelling like rain and asphalt. It was the last week of shooting for the fifth and final season of the HBO drama “The Wire,” and the crew was filming a scene in front of a boarded-up elementary school. Cast members had been joined by forty or so day players—mostly kids from the neighborhood. Earlier, the episode’s director, Clark Johnson, had been giving some of the kids the chance to say “Cut!,” and they’d bellowed it like drunks at a surprise party. Now, when Johnson yelled “Cut,” the kids swarmed around a video monitor to look at themselves in the last shot, pointing and laughing. “He just said it was good,” one kid complained. “Why we gotta do it again?” Johnson, who was wearing what he called his “lucky cowboy hat,” stepped away to talk to one of the professional actors. Another man—a bald white guy, unprepossessing in jeans and a T-shirt—remained by the monitor, and he answered the kids: “Hey. He’s the director. You don’t believe him? He kinda, sorta knows what he’s doin’.” The bald guy was David Simon, the show’s creator: a former Baltimore Sun reporter who figured that he’d spend his life at a newspaper, a print journalist who has forged an improbable career in television without ever leaving Baltimore. The kids listened politely to Simon and ran back to their places.

Each season of “The Wire” has focussed, with sociological precision, on a different facet of Baltimore. continued...

The first baseball team I loved was the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. My 11 year old BFF and I lived near Hara Tatsunori, one of the top players and borderline stalked his house one fun summer. One summer in CA in my teens I went to an As game and enjoyed a brief love affair with the As and Canseco. In my adult life I am wiser and my heart has been with the lovable Red Sox. This world series I particularly loved watching the relentlessly fierce Okajima and Papelbon!

Here's a funny photo taken by Katy at a Red Sox Rolling Rally:

* Thanks to my Mother in Law Della for this!!

* Thanks to Gemma for the tip!!

This is pretty good...pritttty good!

This is so fantastic - thanks Zee!

I am so excited to see this film (psychology and Japan - what more could I ask for?!) which will air on IFC on Monday October 22 (thanks for the tip KO!) It is a documentary on Japan and the recent upsurge of anti-depressant use and tells its story through the eyes of five Japanese people taking anti-depressants (not surprisingly but certainly sadly only two out of five are concurrently doing therapy). Check out the following trailer and if it seems interesting, come by on Monday and we'll snuggle on our new humongous couch (thanks Duncan!)

Human stories can be very sad especially because they are only a glimpse into the larger tragedy of a general decline in standard of living, education, employment and civil rights. Here's the story of two women in Iran.

This is the first part of the five part documentary as posted on YouTube. Here are the second, third, fourth and fifth and final parts.

* Thanks to my bro for the tip!

* Thanks to Mark Larson for the tip!

Her silliness is so pitch perfect and exquisitive...always and forever my favorite funny lady!

* via BuzzFeed!

I feel compelled to let everyone know that The Office (American version) is quite possibly the best television show and easily the best comedic TV show. I just watched our DVR'd one hour season opener and couldn't take a break from laughing. I think I'm in love with every single character...even Mindy.

OMG. I am desperado to see this!!!

* via BuzzFeed.

Jonah's been fortunate enough to observe me watching this treasure trove of National Geographic YouTube videos while I narrate, in my own special way, the intense dramas of the underwater world. He suggested, "maybe you should be an Aquatic Forensic Psychologist!" Hey, great idea! I'll market myself as an Aquatic in addition to a Terrestrial Forensic Psychologist!!

:-)
:-)
:-)

While watching the second of the three tests, Jonah said, "maybe it'll be smart enough to tip over the container in order to get the crabs out" and then we see that the octopus is able to squeeze in and capture the crabs. I said to Jonah, "the octopus is smarter than we imagined! Had it tipped over the container the crabs would be harder to capture and eat!" And Jonah said, "So you're saying the octopus is smarter than me?" "Yes" :-)

Check out its strategic tentacle placement - brill!

You know how I know I have good ideas? Because the few I've thought through seriously have been implemented several months later by people and companies in much better positions than I am in to do so. Case in point:

Upscale Movie Theaters

I've always said this would be a good idea anywhere there are lots of wealthy people. I'm certain that wealthy people in New York would prefer to dish out more money to guarantee a nicer movie going experience. While it may be sad for a minute to squash a democratic vestige - movie theaters - people will get over it in a quicker minute. And us plebeians can overcompensate by repeatedly mentioning how great Loews theaters are.

* via Seth Godin.

This video makes me want to wrap my spindly arms around all this cuteness and encourage better enunciation of "you can't touch this."

* via my cousin Angelina!

* MARK WILKIE, YOU ARE MY BFF FOR SENDING ME THIS.

I have been loving TV Land's Elvis programming. It has been a profound reminder of what a formidable, breathtaking, original talent Elvis was. Listening to his voice and watching him perform brings tears to my eyes more often than it doesn't. And it's not just because he was painfully hot.

LONG LIVE THE KING!!

Here are some of my favorite songs and performances:

1956 - Love Me Tender: THIS IS WORTH CLICKING ON even though I'd like instead to boycott this video uploader for not allowing embedding - he was all genius and no baggage at this point.

1970 - Suspicious Minds - his dancing is off the hook:

1972 - You're Always On My Mind:

1973 - Can't Help Falling in Love - Live from Hawaii - do rockstars kiss fans on the lips all throughout performances anymore?

1973 - Blue Hawaii - a great song and one of my favorite movies of all time - no joke!

1973 - You Gave Me A Mountain:

Six weeks before his death in 1977 - Unchained Melody - playing the piano and crooning like there's no tomorrow:

Ze showed us this last night and I almost cried. Here's the incredible backstory you should read before watching the video.

Jonah and I went to the screening of this film last night thanks to New York - Tokyo. It is a very good film and a tremendously tragic story. If you don't know about the Japanese families who lives were shattered by North Korea's abduction of their children, you must see this film. This film pays just enough attention to the big picture and all the families affected without straying from the main story which is the kidnapping of Megumi Yokota, a 13 year old girl from Niigata, Japan and her parents' continued search for her. The DVD is due out in September and hopefully the film will make it to the big screen here and receive the rave reviews its enjoyed internationally. In the meantime here's a trailer.

A few highlights [warning - spoilers below]:

- Former Prime Minister Koizumi does the right thing by withholding food and medical aid to North Korea for the acknowledgment and subsequent return of (some of) the victims they kidnapped. However he then appears less honorable when he faces the weeping father of Megumi and explains that while the abduction issue is an important one so is that of nuclear weapons. 'Abduction issue' is such dispassionate wording! I can't even begin to imagine how incredibly difficult being a politician must be.

- The sponsor of the film screening, ANA (All Nippon Airways), was also the airline that flew home five of the 13 abductees. After the film and before the Q&A session with the film directors, an ANA representative told us that his boss was on the flight with the returning abductees. His boss offered one of the abductees a cigarettes which happened to be the very popular Japanese brand Mild Seven. The abductee politely declined saying that he could only smoke cigarettes of his country - meaning North Korea. Keep in mind that this is a Japanese guy who was abducted from Japan in his twenties. More and more I believe the disturbing notion that most people can be brainwashed without too much trouble.

- According to witnesses, Megumi arrived in North Korea after a 40 hour boat ride, without fingernails. She never ceased crying for her mother nor scratching at the iron door of the tiny compartment she was locked in.

For up to date information click here.

Peggy is so awesome and Stereogum has picked up on this. I was at BuzzFeed late one night when they were practicing and I got to listen to their melodic, beautiful music all to myself...with Peggy's dog Lammy.

While catching up on my Perez Hilton studies I was reminded that Madonna had a birthday on August 16th and I fondly reminisced on the Madonna of old. I loved her. She was my greatest inspiration as a youngster. She was a true star.

The other day while singing Rihanna's Umbrella in the shower, Jonah busted in, flung open the shower curtain and shoved this umbrella at me...here's Andrea's Umbrella, photographic version:

This is such a well-made, heartfelt film. It took five years and you can tell! Very nicely sewn together and such a strong pull of a story: a son seeking to understand the father he barely knew who was both an esteemed architect and a failed family man. While I'm sure it's possible to watch this without crying I teared every 20 minutes or so. An excellent documentary worth your time!

This is a truly fantastic 23 seconds. When you're Bobby D you can have all the tood you want and you still rule. Check it!

* Thanks to Katy for the link!!

After a year and a half it is finally up! If you have 13 minutes to kill check it out!

Once in a blue moon a video so great inspires a haiku!

Puppy's exhausted expression.
Duckling forces kiss and cuddle.
TGIcuteFriday!

One more whistle and I would have died:

* Collins & 7th, South Beach.

I walked out of Sicko with an overwhelming pride for sharing a nationality with Michael Moore as he may be one of the greatest American patriots of our time. It is obvious from all his films that he is not a journalist. If you hold him to journalistic standards it is incredibly frustrating to watch his films which are about relentlessly complex problems yet that doesn't stop him from over simplifying, over romanticizing and failing to blame all culpable parties. He is however, a true patriot in the sense that he holds America to the ideals she so strongly espouses and by using the tactics he knows best and is best known for, tirelessly tries to make her live up to all of them. Even with the overstatements and oversights replete in this film, I ask you how many people are making films spotlighting our atrocious health care system and its painful consequences? Not many so I commend you, Michael Moore!

I miss Japanese TV. Thank god for the few clips left on YouTube!

This show looks so good. Can't wait!

* via BuzzFeed.

These are great points for filmmakers and people obsessed with film making like me.

* Thanks Kottke! These are more than O.K.! :-)

Prince rules so awesomely. Unfortunately his music isn't what it used to be however as an artist, performer and activist he keeps getting better and better. My religion = Princeology.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks in general, this is one of my favorite songs.

Funny Face is one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time and admit to having watched it too many times to count. Audrey Hepburn is at her best and plays a book-ish, funny looking girl who gets noticed by premier fashion magazine photographer played by Fred Astaire and whisked off to Paris for fashion week - in a word, divine. Everything about this movie from gorgeous Paris in the 50's to the funny philosophical struggle in the story line to the vibrant colors ("Think Pink!") and clothing designed by Givenchy...it's a treasure.

A gift to all of you on this special day, compliments of YouTube:

This clip captures the show nicely. In case you haven't been turned on to Big Love yet, and you care what I think, I strongly recommend that you check it out!

Ha ha ha. I am so needing to distinguish myself from my "sisters" so this will come in handy!

* via BuzzFeed.

I'm a little late in posting this but in case you missed this too, check it out. I am delighting in Hitchens, my new BFF. He said everything I've wanted to say about this topic and with a British accent to boot!

Knocked Up was great. Go see it.

NYTimes' A.O Scott: The wonder of “Knocked Up” is that it never scolds or sneers. It is sharp but not mean, sweet but not soft, and for all its rowdy obscenity it rarely feels coarse or crude. What it does feel is honest: about love, about sex, and above all about the built-in discrepancies between what men and women expect from each other and what they are likely to get..."Knocked Up" made me smile and wince; it made me laugh and almost cry. Above all it made me happy.

You have to watch until the end for the coup de grace. I screamed when I saw it - you might too.

If you're not one of the 6 million plus people who have already seen this you now have seen the best video of 2007!!

This upcoming movie reminds me of when I recently told my mom I liked playing ping-pong and she said, "I'm very good at ping-pong! Asians are very good at ping-pong!" ...and you wonder where I get my fine stereotyping skills...

This is hilarious ~ overdosing...I think we're dead...time's going by really really slow~

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Let's be compassionate here - we've all been there. Right?!

* Another treasure from Jonah via StumbleUpon!

On July 7th, me and Jonah's wedding anniversary, Prince is releasing his new perfume!!! Jonah says he commissioned it for me by sending the majesty in minneapolis smells that I like...of course I know he's kidding and that Prince concocted it from his own inspirations...for our wedding anniversary gift.

Hope it's not grose!

In spite of the fact or maybe due to the fact that Ryan Gosling looks like he's playing a 12 year old lawyer, this movie was pretty entertaining. Anthony Hopkins' awesome accent and his creepiness plus the "how is he getting away with murder?" and "where did he hide the gun?" questions keep the movie exciting. Also, Ryan Gosling is too dreamy not to fixate on.

Even though I don't love her music since Vespertine, she remains an inspiration and proof of a creative genius fairy on earth!

Thanks to Flickr for the first and second to last photo!

If only she were looking for a job in the US...working for me...

Thanks to my bro for the link!

Just in time for ~summer, summer, summertime...summertime. I'll just sit back and unwind~

* via BuzzFeed!

Awesome.

Thanks to Jason for the link!

This experiment could be very interesting...what will win? Expert superiority or the wisdom of crowds???

Happy Feet is in no way happy. It is one of the most depressing and bizarre movies I've ever seen. When Mumble returns from his quest to find out why his penguins are suffering from a fish famine to tell everyone that "no worries! it's not our wrong-doing, it's the result of humans developing our land, but our tap-dancing has endeared them to us enough to stop their development"...is so depressing. It's not even that it harkens back to the times when slaves danced for their masters, it's the image that refuses to stop torturing me, of Mumble so innocently and enthusiastically telling his fellow penguins that everything's going to be ok, all while you see the honing device implanted/attached to his back by humans. It's like a science fiction horror scene. I could cry just thinking about it. Either I'm more sensitive than most people including all children who seem to love this movie or this movie is truly one of the most depressing, environmental horror flicks of all time.

My dad was in town this weekend so we enjoyed a very rainy Sunday of shopping, tea time and movie-going! We saw The Hoax which I was excited to see because the subject matter (true story about a writer faking a Howard Hughes autobiography circa 1970) is so interesting but I was disappointed by the direction. The build-up and suspense should have been easy but it didn't quite happen. It may have had more of a chance of happening had the director imbued the lead character with more to relate to and sympathize with. What did you guys think?

Oh dear! I am definitely one of the rabbits in that scenario - the chickens are scary parental figures! Come here, you bad bunny...I'll mess you up!

* via Kottke.

Juiceboxxx was great as expected and I'm proud to state the obvious which is that this site is quickly becoming a Juiceboxxx destination!

Wow. I had never thought about how Gawker affects celebrities (that could be because I never think about Gawker) but Jimmy Kimmel made me do so for the first time and in the process, won my sympathy.

Excerpt: I spend all my time doing air sex I haven't actually had real sex.

Thanks to my bro for the link and to people in general for being so funny and inventive!!

I know that the consensus is that this film is too preachy to be good but I enjoyed it. Its depiction of real-life horrors is poignant and nearly impossible to watch, especially the child-soldiers, but just as medicine is bitter but necessary at times so is being reminded of the grave mistakes people have made. I bet you'll enjoy Djimon Hounsou and Leonardo DiCaprio's fantastic acting and that you'll have a good chunk of your heart torn out in the process. Enjoy! P.S. The director's commentary is worth watching too.

Welcome to Prince Friday!

I am in love with this time capsule of a photo:

Jonah says this was taken during his blind years, a brief, little-known period in Prince's life.

This to me, is proof of genius. That may be perplexing or just overly simplistic to many of you but it's fact to me. From the beginning Prince was a dizzying, unbound artist, unique even then when there were more true artist-musician-performers than today. Baby you're a...star!

Thanks for the link, Jason!

The phenomenon of gay hip-hop pleases me. All the drama! I dare you to find one person who's into hip-hop that doesn't know a rapper who's actually gay.

What do we think of this video?

Thanks to Peggy for this video!

What a great little profile of Prince in this week's New Yorker. My love of Prince is the closest I get to being religious (Prince would be the religion in this example) so when I read exalting things about him I just smile serenely and smugly and think, "I know that...now others will learn."

Though he’s just over five feet, lithe and pixieish, he never seems dwarfed by others onstage, and he is absolutely at ease guiding his ten-piece band. His backup dancers—Nandy and Maya McClean, twenty-six-year-old twins from Sydney, Australia—were energetic and effectively underclad, but Prince was still the most seductive presence onstage. When he simply cocked his head and smiled, it seemed like an act of public lewdness.

Anyone who's ever seen Prince perform has experienced this excerpt...and especially enjoyed the phenomenon captured in the last line. As a married woman it felt like I had just cheated on my husband and all Prince did was cock his head and smile.

I can't wait to see this film. Can you imagine making a film (not to mention a "masterpiece") and having it sit there, rotting with time because you can't clear the music rights...and then 30 years later, finally getting enough muscle (Steven Soderbergh) to do so and then to show it in theaters nationwide??!! Awesome.

* via Kottke.

The Lives of Others is an incredible movie. It takes place in East Germany in the 1980s which is an engrossing setting, both intellectually and visually. The plot incites calm captivation and the tone is serenely creepy. It also nails a pitch-perfect ending. I have nothing but high praise for this film you should see!

Truly incredible Japanese video. The inventor says it took him 10 years to achieve this. I can hardly wait for his next lightbulb above his head idea!

* via Kottke.

What oh what did we do to deserve MC Rove??

After making me and undoubtedly the entire nation suffer for weeks, thanks for finally booting off *that girl* last night. The whole experience, from the first episode until last night's, felt like a painful Chinatown massage that finally, just ended in release.

I love good documentaries which is why I loved Air Guitar Nation. My cousin Harmony suggested we see a movie and said she'd see anything that wasn't a horror flick so I chose this movie and didn't tell her what we were going to see. It's safe to say she had no idea what was in store until the first few seconds of the film when the air guitar-ness thrashed onto the scene and from that point on we as well as the whole audience were riveted and laughing for much of the movie. This doc follows the inception of the US Air Guitar Championships in 2003, the characters that bring it to life and then culminates with the US stars entering the World Air Guitar Championships in Finland. The story is incredibly well woven and I found myself feeling so happy for the filmmakers for making such a successful story and thoroughly enjoying their creation. I highly recommend you seeing this!

P.S. Asians and half-Asians will delight in and feel endeared to C-Diddy. Asian pride!!

Pretty cool talent!

Thanks to my bro for finding this guy!

There are videos and then there are videos. This is one such video - best thing you'll see all week - promise. The part where someone walks in front of the camera twice is criminal.

Thanks to my bro for the video!

Zodiac is definitely worth seeing. The 1960s through 1970s Bay Area scenery (and parts of Southern California) is striking as is the meticulous storytelling. I love the parts of the film that capture the stifling bureaucracy and tedious procedure (as is so aptly covered by The Wire) that comes with an investigation, especially of this magnitude. The fact that the killer was never actually brought to justice provides great intrigue. It was also great to see Robert Downey Jr. on screen again.

A good site for people offended by my previous post: GodTube

Found this fantastic photo on the internets of Juice, bloggerazzi, and our very own swooning Peggy:

For more Juiceboxxx photos on Flickr click here and here.

* At the BuzzFeed-Ze Frank-Juiceboxxx party at SXSW 2007.

I discovered these photos on my camera the morning after the party and really worried that I didn't remember taking these photos. Imagine my relief when Kenyatta told me he took the photos!

Photo shoot of Kenyatta by Kenyatta!

Warning: Even for this blog there are an alarming number of exclamation marks contained within this post.

!!!!!!

The line outside our party:

Cheese(s)!

BuzzFeeders Mark, Chris and Peggy!

Triple cheese!

JP!!

Jacob!

His one hour old tattoos:

My darling friend from high school, Lindsay Muse!

John, thanks for supporting our art! Wanna cig?

Susan and Ze chat about Costa Rica as a great place for detoxing:

Me and BuzzFeed's incredible designer Chris:

Me and BuzzFeed's super cool (not to mention cute!) trend editor Peggy:

Ze! Ze!! Ze!!!

Juice!

Juice!!

Juice!!!

Boxxx!

Boxxx!

Boxxx!!!

JuiceBoxxx was truly incredible - thanks so much for Cory Arcangel for the great recommendation of having Juiceboxxx perform!

Our super talent for the evening:

DJ Juiceboxxx!!

You know you're at a geek party when one of the dancers is wearing a Firefox t-shirt:

One sober BuzzFeeder and one not at all sober BuzzFeeder:

Peggy & Jonah:

What a cutie!!

Jonah-Juice:

Oh dear:

Please get off that stage:

What was I saying, I wonder... Jonah looks worried, Juice looks polite:

Anthony, a friend we made that night - apparently I teased him all night (I did? and about what I also don't remember) and he ended up carrying Juiceboxxx's records to his hotel. The next day Juice said, "oh! I thought he was with you guys - that you guys were friends from New York!" No Juice, he's just your groupie:

And the end of the night, it's always me, Jonah and our sidekicks!

Thanks to everyone who helped make the party a success!!

Oh look, there was an Asian Invasion at the party!!

Looking past the Flo-Jo nails and concentrating really hard on just the part where it falls asleep...Baby sloth gets a 5 on the cute scale*!

* modeled after the Hot or Not 1 - 10 scale with 10 being the Hottest.

** Thanks to the three people who sent me this video!

I encourage everyone to make a similar video of your two favorite things - what will yours be??

Mine: Either doggies & noodles or true crime novels & crosswords. I'm guessing the former would be the better choice, visually.

Let's party tomorrow night in Austin!!!

Check out the triumvirate!

1) BuzzFeed on Vaginal Rejuvenation, White Chicks Flashing Gang Signs, and Illegal Drugs Now Harmless.

2) Ze Frank:

3) Juiceboxxx:

Oh my god. I am laughing so hard: One of several complaints filed against Prince's Super Bowl performance.

* via Anil, a fellow Prince and the color purple (not the book!) fan!

Thanks to Hannah for the link!

...would have been a much better title then Trying to Crack the Top 100 by Mireya Navarro but who am I to judge?!

Jonah and I talked about this NYT articles at length over brunch during which time I discovered much to my surprise that Asian Americans only constitute 4% of the American population (I thought it was more like 12%). And then it was explained that my perplexity was understandable only because I live/have lived in California and New York, where most Asian Americans in this country are - aha! Anyway, I think that a few reasons are to blame for the no-Asian-American-pop-star phenomenon: 1) Asian culture doesn't encourage individuality which is a prerequisite to be a diva, 2) constituting only 4% of the population and looking so different from the majority of Americans makes Asian Americans not relateable and 3) Asian Americans haven't yet created their own sound so music made by them can't help but be seen lesser than the original sound.

Perhaps I add to this phenomenon when I earnestly ask that any reader who is interested in starting a Japanese pop cover band contact me!! :-)

P.S. Jonah, even though I agree with you that Tila Tequila is Asian and somewhat of a star, however dubious, she's really just a stripper who raps.

Unbelievable:

Here's the book about Faith the dog - check him out:

* Thanks to Jamie Rollins (and Montel) for this video!!!

Obsessed with this song right now.

~ If you ain't got no money take yo broke ass home ~

Gone!!

~ I still go to taco bell drive-thru, raw as hell, I don't care, I'm still real, no matter how many records I sell ~

Taco Bell as proof of realness!

BuzzFeed is nominated for best blog this year at SXSW so...party throwing time!!!

You may already know and love Ze Frank but you may not yet have heard of the unstoppable Wisconsin white-rapper Juiceboxxx!!!!

If you're going to be at the party, let us know here and not by being that guy or girl at the party.

Check it.

* via HuffingtonPost.

A really good point.

* via Kottke.

Answers here.

The great radio show will hopefully also be a
great TV show!

I just adore Giulietta Masina. Her expressive face completely takes a hold of me and turns me into a kid glued to the TV. The person most reminiscent of her living today is of course Amy Sedaris - clearly I have a soft soft for empathetic clowns with unusually expressive faces.

The English is weird but just watch Giulietta - from La Strada:

How did I miss this??!! Delayed gratification is great...especially when you aren't aware of what gratification you're delaying!

As per usual, thanks bro!!

I LOVED Milli Vanilli and this news makes me weep with joy and sing ~I'm in love girl, I'm so in love girl. I'm just in love girl, and this is true. Girl, you know it's true. Ooh, ooh, ooh I love you. Yes, you know it's true. Ooh, ooh, ooh I love you.~

Tip for fellow rejoicers: Get up really close to someone's face and place extra emphasis on ooh, ooh, ooh.

Wait, they can't dance for crap but their rapping is off the chain!

Thanks to my bro for the link!!

These are fantastic! Ow. Fantastic! Ow. Fantastic!

Thanks to Pete for the submission!!

One of the best songs ever - of course, written by Prince. As far as I'm concerned, Sinead should never have sung it - oh well:

Jesus Camp is mind expanding and by that I mean eyeball socket expanding. Get ready to stop blinking and to watch in incredulity. What is immediately apparent is how these kids regurgitate what their parents and ministers tell them. I know that a lot of kids do this but in the world of evangelical kids it's deeply disturbing. For instance a 9 or 10 year old girl who loves dancing to Christian rock gets very serious and says she worries that she may not always be dancing for God and that she may instead be "dancing for the flesh." WHAT???!!! Please watch this doc so we can learn how to protect ourselves against such insane ideology. And because it's extremely interesting to discuss after the flick.

Check out the trailer!

I love the Oceans movies - can't wait for June 8th - right around the corner!

* via Kottke.

Street Fight is an enjoyable and interesting documentary that follows the 2002 Newark mayoral campaign. Doesn't sound that enticing? Trust me, with the slimy, colorful character of incumbent Sharpe James and the clean cut, baby-faced Cory Booker, it's scintillating. I love political documentaries especially War Room and while this doc isn't as comprehensive and at times is very much an ad for Cory Booker, I don't mind because Cory Booker's awesome and so it our crazy democratic process - makes for an exciting film that'll stay with you.

Show I'm loving: Flip That House

Hey, don't knock the TLC channel! It's kind of awesome.

I realize I'm late with this one so for fellow online stragglers, here's the averment (GRE word!) and the refutation, pretty interestingly explained.

I am always incapable of describing in words the effect Prince's music has on me. Hopefully you all got a taste of it last night:

Thanks to Chris Liptak for the link!!

Last night we watched Devil's Playground which follows a few Amish kids during their Rumspringa which begins at 16 when they are allowed to live with the "English", aka the non-Amish and do all the things we do in the devil's playground in which we live. During that time they are supposed to get their sinning out of their systems and truly contemplate whether they are ready to join the Amish church and if so, make the lifelong commitment to living the Amish way. The main character is an insightful kid with a meth problem. Through his actions and questions we're able to see what some Amish kids battle and it's tough to say the least. This doc suffers the problem lots of docs do and perhaps so because of their nature but it doesn't satiate all your curiosities. It does successfully portray a harsh dichotomy though. As Jonah said, "I hate both these worlds!" and by that he meant the stifling Amish life and the drug-feuled, teenage life. Amidst all that it's plain and powerful to see how wonderfully community-minded the Amish culture is yet painfully clear how it's achieved at the expense of even the slightest individuality.

It has been a doc marathon around these parts! and by that I mean we watched a doc last night and another the night before that. Two nights ago we watched Stolen which investigates the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist of several prized art works especially Vermeer's The Concert. This journey is taken primarily by an older gentlemen who is himself, extremely interesting. This is juxtaposed with Blythe Danner narrating Isabella's letters to her art collector/gallerist and his responses are narrated by Campbell Scott. It is clear that her art was her greatest love and her relationship with art contained all the juicy bits of any love story including the longing, the elusiveness and finally the fulfillment. The downside of this film is that it leaves lots of questions unanswered: Why weren't the guards who were on duty the night of the heist, interviewed? What percentage of stolen art is recovered? Undoubtedly and understandably the filmmaker made choices in order to create her story about this fascinating topic. Instead of a comprehensive treatment of art crimes containing all the interesting facts, it's a story about ISG, her collection and the people who have gotten pulled into the orbit of this crime from the journalist, the art historians to the art detective. Bonus: Camera work by Albert Maysles!

Amy Sedaris, always a pleasure - a treasure...with no measure*.

* Too much wine!

I could watch this over and over. And I do. It's so cool to watch the process of Timbaland playing the beats he's come up with to Jay-Z who fishes for the big wig among them.

I saw her in concert at Radio City Music Hall during this tour!!!

Hilarious collaboration!!

Funny how much I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl this year especially the midpoint.

* via Kottke.

Poor pooch has an evil leg:

Is this real or not???!!! Sadly I think it's horrific/hilarious = real.

Warning: If you're laughing so hard you can't resist watching again and laughing more, be prepared to find yourself going about your mundane Friday, in the comfort of your colleauges and boss humming, "God hates fags."

Thanks to Jonah and Edward for sending me this video independently, knowing it was great andreaharner.com material!

Watch the left paw:

Boy are they weird. I guess the category that most excites me this year is Screenplay. It's also interesting to note the takeover of British actresses - Helen Mirren of course deserves the Oscar.

I will most definitely be watching, critiquing and worshiping the festivities though!!

Head:

Erotic City & Housequake:

I just told Jonah he should get a suit vest made :-)

This is a rad clip:

Longer, full clip:

As is usual with these awards ceremonies, it was a love fest to Jack Nicholson who I'm convinced remains seated in that front row seat all year round. A new phenomenon was the love fest for Emily Blunt. I have only seen her in Devil Wears Prada in which she stole the show - her dress was so awesome:

The other dress I adored was Cameron Diaz's and she looked radiant - you truly brought sexy back, girl:

And for the cutest girl on the planet:

Oh god, who brought the old hags?

And unfortunately there isn't a photo of Prince receiving his award because oh right...the little purple majesty was stuck in traffic.

LOVE him - here's a nice little clip of the genius you may recall - after a great acoustic medley he's interviewed by Sway during which time he gives props to Outkast & Alicia Keyes - rightfully - although no one can top the one and only Prince!

P.S. Bought the ring tone for $2.50.

I loved Volver. As with all Almodovar movies it was a visual feast of colors and colorful characters. Penelope Cruz's character must have been a dream role for her - she did it beautiful justice. American movies are so overly cliched and categorized into one genre or another. This was everything...a slice of an interesting life.

~I can have another you in a minute, matter of fact here'll be here in a minute~

Rhyming minute with minute! Pretty ballsy!

I'm fighting the urge to vomit but I still really want to see this.

* For fellow karaoke enthusiasts, here are the lyrics.

Thanks for the infuriating link, bro! :-)

I love cartoons for realz!

via Kottke.

Thanks to my bro for this video!

I am so into Nerdcore. Anything that promotes nerds is great by me. Nerds do deserve more respect!! Check out this hilarious and at times uncomfortable doc trailer:

Do you agree? I definitely agree with American Beauty (I enjoyed it but not as much as it was hyped) and the ones I could never be bothered to see such as Field of Dreams (Kevin Costner + baseball are repellents) and I forget the other but it's in there! Check it out!

via Kottke.

In keeping with the Animal Porn trend, I submit a turtle sex video that looks and sounds disturbingly like rape but then again what do I know about turtle sex? Unfortunately and surprisingly very little.

Woah. Poor harassed, disturbed cat:

Anyone else watch the angels on the runway and JT bring back sexy last night??

It's simply riveting to listen to models talk. Cool behind-the-scenes production POV though!

And so was the new James Bond - I'm a convert!

All that needs to be said about this film has been said - it's a darker, more flawed Bond who makes for a more interesting Bond! This new guy (name still unknown) did a great job and the story albeit on the long side had me riveted the whole time. Also, the nice bonus you get from James Bond movies is that you feel like you just traveled to beautiful places all over the world.

Go out and buy this album right now and play it on repeat. Just so you never have to miss a beat. Christmas music everywhere you go and then the Chipmunks when you're in your office or home.

I love Christmas music!!!!!!

It's weird - Christmas time is the only time I have fantasies of living uptown. It must be the 80s movies I watched as a kid that imprinted the Christmas music, snow and uptown New York City connection in my little brain.

~Ding, dong, ding, dong, Christmas bells are ringing!~

P.S. Only if you're a true hipster do you admit to the truth - you love Christmas music.

Don't stop. Don't you ever stop. Do it to me.

Thanks to Sally & Peggy for knowing that this would be right up my alley!

Woah. Easy there tiger panda!

Watch mom's defensive hunchback and check out her "talk to the hand" that she does with her right hind paw.

Recommended viewing style: Over and over and over again. It's the only way to ensure "getting it".

Thanks to Sally/Sal Pal/Petal Pop for the link!

As per usual, an awesome video from Japan. Makes me miss Japan even more but I'll be there soon enough - just one month to go!!

Watch this awesome animation

of this:

to this:

Thanks to KO for the link!

New York City is so awesome sometimes it's hard to believe I get to live here. This Saturday while finishing up a lovely, leisurely brunch Jonah got an email saying Jay-Z was about to give a concert on the pier at 13th Street. We walked over there and because Jay-Z's on tour promoting his new album Kingdom Come, people got in for free (your price of admission was being bombarded by aggressive and ubiquitous brand marketing). The next thing you knew we were waiting for Jay-Z to come on stage. I love Jay-Z (not as much as the girl 10 feet behind us standing on a platform screaming and crying that she loved Jay-Z) and I love outdoor concerts (even if it wasn't the warmest day) so I was very happy. After the concert, still unable to wipe the grin off my face nor quell the excited squeals, "I can't believe we just got to see Jay-Z!!", we poured out with the concert crowd into the meatpacking district where we discovered we were in the middle of a movie set. Judging by the crashed bus and blown up cabs, it was either that Will Smith movie or Speed 5.

Only in New York City. I love you New York City! I love you Jay-Z!

Diamonds in the sky!

There's my boy! He was wearing a dope white jacket with safety pin emblems all over it.

30 is the new 20! Sally's eyeballs are very shy.

Thanks to Evan for the email!

Top 3 cutest frames because you know, we have to rate and list everything.

The splayed out 'tude:

The coy paw!

The huddle - the one eye open - the other guy passed out:

Thanks to our fine furry friends at ModernPooch for letting me steal this post!

You know it's a good sign when the only photos you have from your big night that you promised yourself you'd document the crap out of, are these.

This is how to drink a car bomb - watch closely, it's complex:

Let's get in an awkward line!

The carbombed happy filmmakers - Smile, Sally! You're having fun!

Post-party involved a scenic walk through Chinatown in my Prince heels. Thanks for pointing out the giant crab, Duncan and Anne!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun will be posted soon! We're just waiting on Cyndi Lauper's approval.

His impersonations are truly awe-inspiring, especially of Snoop and Jay-Z. Mark my words, this video/Aries Spears is gonna blow up!

* via Kottke and a new undisclosed, secret site which will be launching soon!!

Updated update! I'd take 7 and my seventh would shirley be Airplane.

Update: I'd take 6 and my sixth would be Monty Python and the Holy Grail...I can't believe I almost left behind we are the knights who say ni! ni! ni ni!!!

22 comedians tell New York Times which comedies they would bring.

Mine (took me about .2 seconds to compile this list):

Annie Hall
When Harry Met Sally
Election
Curb Your Enthusiasm (any season but 5)
There's Something About Mary

Thanks to Nicole for the link!

As they say, "Our adverts are light-hearted and have a distinct South African flavour � enjoy!"

What are the top three cutest frames you ask? Ranked in order of cuteness:

1) The old foot-drag:

2) Soft-focused paw:

3) Close-up of intensely sleeping face:

I enjoyed being interviewed last night by the cool chicks Jackie and Lisa at CHRW's Broadly Speaking show. For a listen, click here!

The Prestige is great entertainment. And that's not just because ScarJo's in it. It's got magic, duplicity, revenge and David Bowie. Oh and ScarJo (AnHa's a little obsessed). It's especially fun to talk through it afterwards with your movie buddies or just your different personalities. Let me know what you think!

Compliments of the New Yorker. He's still out and about, smooth talkin' and fugitivin'!

...and to Project Runway for picking the most edgy designer!!! I did not think they would go that way but I clearly underestimated them. Jeffrey's collection was to beg for.

How do I put this dope dress on my wishlist?

We had one of the most delightful nights at the Sugar Bar a few weeks ago. It's all about great live open-mic music (but it doesn't suck, it's fantastic), mostly oldies but goodies like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder...and if you're lucky...

This lovely lady will sing Janet's What Have You Done For Me Lately? again:

You'll terrify that she'll fall during one of her dance convulsions but mostly you'll feel invigorated by her red hot energy:

Ladies of the night:

Yes, Sally and I always coordinate wearing a single, dark, luscious color plus gold earrings.

You saw it here! And you saw it here first!!

Sun's fancy fingers, freeze framed and photographed for you, courtesy of EagleEyesHarner.com

A must-see:

This is hilarious and uncomfortable, hilarious and uncomfortable...enjoy!

Thanks to my cousin Angelina for this!! Hard Gay runs in our family!

I mean it. You'll agree when you see her up close - it's creepy really - she's the kind of pretty that makes you look the other way because she's just so pretty. Meow.

Thanks Jason!

and this video helped to make it happen. Actually, this video was the deal clincher:

I LOVE THIS. I LOVE JAPANESE TV. THANK GOD FOR YOUTUBE.

Except that we really won't. We'll go a third season not knowing who The Others are, what the Dharma Initiative is and where the polar bears came from. Yet I keep watching and that's how I know Lost is a good show and I am a sucker.

The other night friends and I compared TV shows to different drinks. Well, it started by me saying that my 24 addiction was the closest I got to crystal meth addiction - it's a dirty, dirty high and barely in a good way! I've never seen Deadwood but Tim likened it to a Bordeaux. We agreed that Sex and the City was a Kir Royal at its best, a Pinot Grigio at its worst. I'd like to assert Lost as being a Zinfandel - rich, mysterious but still easy to drink. Finding an analogy for The Wire may have to bring drugs back in the equation - a high quality 8 ball?

P.S. You know you're a pathetic urban jungle dweller when you feel that time spent watching LOST is time spent in nature.

Two of my favorite people go head to head!!

This is hilarious. He's a pretty good rapper (watch out Eminem) and has some great rhymes too:

P.S. I just watched this 5 times in a row and I'm considering squaring that and watching it 25 times!!!

P.P.S. For a deservedly more in-depth treatment of Weird Al, check out my friend Cameron's post.

If you laugh at this you're a bad, bad person*

* It's not so bad being a bad person.

Be prepared to be amazed but feel sick to your stomach:

It's not surprising that he died in 1999 at age 35.

via Kottke.

The OCD terrier is my favorite:

Thanks to Nicole from Vancouver for the link!

If you move both your little eyeballs to the right, you'll notice a new kid on the block. Thanks to fun web work with Ann, I now have a section for my video projects - enjoy!

On Saturday night we got home at 1:30 and from then until 3:30 I watched Bjork videos on YouTube (I link to them to help their traffic).

Hyberballad live in Tokyo 2005 - Easily one of my favorite songs:

Interview - British TV:

Whether this is real or part of a sketch show, it's pretty funny in a mean, mean way:

Thanks to KO for this high brow piece of art!

the show with zefrank

Enjoy this teaser video from me and Sally's trip down south last year while I work with Ann to create a new Projects section on this site which will feature more vidoes. Yippee!

Metallica - Some Kind of Monster is a fantastic documentary. At times comical - seeing a serious heavy metal band sitting around talking about their feelings and frustrations with each other - it's mostly heartwarming to see such vulnerability and willingness to open up and to try making their band and their lives better. As exciting as any suspense thriller, you want to know what happens! Do they disintegrate? - it sure seems like the momentum is leading that way - or could they possibly save themselves, each other and the band? This is not a documentary about Metallica so if you're worried that you don't like them and therefore can only surmise you won't like it, think again. I only like two Metallica songs and when I say like them I mean that I don't own them, never have come close to owning them but when I hear them I can appreciate them. While there are aspects of the story that are Metallica specific, this is really a human drama about a company (not a sexy way to look at it but true)/band/family (they've been together over 20 years - imagine that for a second) that finally decides to grab the group's disfunction by its horns and to try creating new, healthy ways of interacting. Individually, they choose to grow up and take responsibility for their actions even though there are numerous times when being an irresponsible, self-absorbed, heavy metal rocker seems much more appealing. Funny sidenote: They and other bands with as much lasting power may have started out as scruffy, rebellious kids on a tourbus but they now spend time in the Ritz and are driven around in Benzes.

I came away from the film identifying with and sympethizing with Lars Ulrich most. His dad earned a little spot in my heart - you'll see what I mean. I also came away with confirmation that documentary film is a godsend of a medium.

Entourage is such a great show. The dialogue is incredibly well-written and the plotlines keep me wanting more, all the time. If you're like a lot of guys, you'll enjoy living your fantasy vicariously through these dudes. My fave characters: Ari Gold (easily the best character), Turtle and E.

Here are the DVDs for Season 1 and 2 in case you want to get me a belated birthday present:

Here are some quotes to titillate you although my favorite, which may well be the raunchiest, is not listed here.

Watching Island of the Sharks was a pure delight. You feel as though you're underwater, right there with the goat fish, hammerhead sharks, flounder, stingray, sea turtle, hermit crab, marlin, mantis shrimp, starfish, reef sharks, etc until you're reminded of how dry and comfortable you are on your couch. The Making Of is pretty good too. Be warned - it's not really a shark movie at all - it's a wonderful underwater survey of Cocos Island.

Best line narrated in the context of how much hermit crabs like to move into new homes: "There's an old saying among hermit crabs - if the shell fits, wear it." Really?! Hermit crabs have been saying that for a long time?! That's terrific.

Little Miss Sunshine is so worth seeing - I don't know how else to say it than that. It is what I consider a truly great comedy - bittersweet as all life, comic and tragic, is. At the end of the movie I wanted to pack up the whole dysfunctional family (I realize the use of that adjective is unnecessary and redundant) and bring them home with me to become a bigger, happy, miserable, dysfunctional family.

Thanks to my cousin Harmony for the recommendation!

The Staircase is a fascinating and well-done doc by the filmmaker who also made the Academy Award-winning Murder on a Sunday Morning.

This six hour, 8 part documentary originally aired on the Sundance Channel but I had the pleasure of compulsively watching it in two sittings thanks to Netflix. The filmmaker takes you behind the scenes of the defense team of Michael Peterson who is accused of murdering his wife. If you like true crime mysteries and our legal process you will love this. As Peterson's life with all its complexities and dark sides came to the surface, I wasn't any closer to deeming him guilty or innocent.

Try not to look like an elephant seal when you're in the ocean...

* YouTube is great!

As my brother has said for years, I like music that was hot a few years ago. The way I look at it and congratulate myself is that I bother only with music that's stood the test of time - way to go Dre!

Here it is. The fantastic album that came out five years ago that I have just this weekend fallen in love with. If anyone has been in a coma for several years or has exceptionally discriminating taste like yours truly, check it out now!

* date unknown

This was radical:

If you think you might enjoy this, you'll surely enjoy it. I feel exactly the way Jay-Z intended his viewers to feel - respect, awe and appreciation for him and his career.

In solidarity with Jay-Z and all who live the hip hop lifestyle I have joined the Cristal Boycott and am only stocking my sub-zero fridge with Dom P. & Krug.

Dear God, Please put an end to this Cristal boycott AESOP. I am THIRSTY!!

Wordplay was every bit as good as I imagined. A very fun movie to watch. Especially since we saw it opening night and Will Shortz was there along with the Director to answer hyper nerdy questions from self-described "beginner solvers" and "constructors".

Highlights include Will Shortz reading letters from fans and foes, a legend constructor constructing a puzzle that then Jon Stewart, Bill Clinton among others solve and the former ombudsman of the New York Times displaying his OCD.

I cannot wait to see this movie:

Watch the trailer:

I look forward to the wordnerd convention at the opening tomorrow night!

I was purple with envy that Jonah and the rest of the Huffington Post got to go to the Webby's since they won 'Best Political Blog' (CONGRATULATIONS, you guys deserve it!) and they saw Prince perform...

But I was also grateful as a purple grape that Jonah took pics for me:

The Webbys famously ask their award recipients to limit their acceptance speeches to five words so consequently some clever five words have been strung together!

Some highlights from this year:

Arianna Huffington: Darlings, make blogs not war

Bill Simmons on behalf of Mark Cuban: Mark Cuban is not here

Prince: Everything you think is true

NPG Music Club: Prince says...eliminate the middleman

Thomas Friedman: The world really is flat

For more five word acceptance speeches and more about the Webby Awards click here.

Imagining what it must be like for her, especially with kid in tow, I commend her for it.

Favorite comments from Huffington Post:

"Saw the show last night and Jon was BRILLIANT! He is knowledgable, and able to keep pressing his point/question without losing respect for his guest. Would LOVE to see him take on Coulter, and watch her melt down into a puddle of piss..." - braindeadsorry, 06.07.2006

"Wow. Somewhere Dan Savage is hugging his husband." - HopelessHeartsDept, 06.07.2006

Divorce Is Not Caused Because 50% Of Marriages End In Gayness..."Actually I belive that figure is correct... For republicans." - TrollzReviL, 06.07.2006

Thanks to a suprisingly good idea by Duncan (whether the opera was surprisingly good or whether it was surprising that Duncan came up with such a good idea is for you to decide!) to see the The Marriage of Figaro performed by Modus Opera (yes, cute name) we had a lovely night at the opera!

The cool thing about this opera company is that their mission is to revitalize opera culture in this country by getting people younger than 150 years old to enjoy the fantastic art form that is opera! $35 tickets help a lot. It was indeed splendid.

Unfortunately this was the best photo I was able to take during the four hour opera:

Look at Jonah, respectfully clapping. Little did I know it was a front...

DAMN THE SIDEKICK!!!!!

X Men 3 was quite good!! The first three quarters of the movie were the psychological part which had me riveted but then when the last quarter turned into all the action I fell asleep. But that's my issue.

If you liked the previous X Men movies, like to fantasize about being a boarding school kid with special powers, and enjoy drawing analogies between the X Men story and real life, see it!!

NYC loves you!!! and so does a cute single friend of mine...

When you open your restaurant with your winnings in the fall of 2006, don't forget your fans! Me! I'll review it for free.

Top Chef was a great show. Thanks Bravo, I owe you.

You must see this movie: An Inconvenient Truth and quick! The sooner you see it the sooner you can kill any blissful ignorance you enjoy.

Apparently there are people in couples who are more drawn to movies about suicide then others. I realized this when Jason and I ended up seeing The Bridge together and I thought, "where's Meg and Jonah?" "Oh right, less drawn to this subject matter". I have to admit I was obsessed ever since I read the New Yorker article a few years ago, that inspired this documentary.

The film was simply and successfully structured. What it did especially well was interspersing interviews with the loved ones of the jumpers with images of the actual jumpers pacing, contemplating and jumping. Visually, it was incredibly strong. Also, the tremendous struggle that loved ones had over what to do to help, to what extent to help, etc was clear and an enormously interesting and worthwhile question.

What surprised me was that I found myself not as interested in the personal stories as I thought I would be. I'm the most emotional person always interested in the human stories so I wondered why I was hoping instead to get less personal, more statistical and clinical analysis. I think it's because depression is not foreign to me and I can't help but want analysis that makes me feel like we're getting closer to understanding and perhaps lessening the problem. I wanted to know about the studies that have been done about jumpers, what percentage of jumpers are on medication when do jump?, for most people is this the first suicide attempt or the culmination of several unsuccessful attempts?, what percentage of people travel to get there? Of course these questions would only be questions to start off the more difficult questions we should ask ourselves about the state of mental health in our society.

Check out Jason's review from which you can also check out a graph detailing jump spots and an interview with a guy who survived his jump.

Economist subscribers can read about this man's completely horrifying and fascinating life here. Others, see below.

Shin Sang-Ok

Apr 27th 2006
From The Economist print edition
Shin Sang-Ok, film director and abductee, died on April 11th, aged 79

VIEWERS of the movie �Team America: World Police� will have gathered that North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Il, is a mixed-up fellow. He may be brutal�he is depicted feeding Hans Blix, the former UN weapons inspector, to a shark�but he is also a sensitive, artistic soul. After murdering Mr Blix, he sings a sad song about how lonely it is being a psychotic despot. This was supposed to be outrageous satire. But, as Shin Sang-Ok could have told the directors, no fictionalised �Dear Leader� could be weirder, or nastier, than the real one.

Mr Shin was a South Korean movie director. In 1978, Mr Kim, a movie buff, had him kidnapped and whisked to the hermit kingdom to make its revolutionary film industry less awful.

Before then, Mr Shin was best known for giving South Korean audiences their first on-screen kiss. During the 1950s and 1960s he made dozens of films, several of which depicted Korean women's struggles against patriarchal convention. His favourite leading lady was his wife, the dazzling Choi Eun-Hee. In the 1970s Mr Shin's career waned, and it came to an abrupt halt when he upset South Korea's military government by complaining about censorship. His movie company was swiftly shut down.

Mr Kim, then the unacknowledged heir apparent to the world's first hereditary communist monarchy, saw his opportunity. First, he had Ms Choi lured to Hong Kong, kidnapped and shipped to a North Korean port. Ever the gentleman, he turned up at the dock to greet her. �Thank you for coming, Madame Choi,� he said, as if she were stepping off a cruise ship.

Although they had recently divorced, Mr Shin was naturally alarmed at his ex-wife's disappearance. He followed her trail to Hong Kong, where he too was abducted. In North Korea, he was put up in a comfortable guest house, but insisted on trying to escape. One day he borrowed a car, drove to a railway station, hid among crates of explosives and crept aboard a freight train. He was caught the next day, and soon found himself in a hellish prison camp.

Even there, however, he was protected from afar. When he tried to starve himself to death, officials force-fed him through a funnel. A guard told Mr Shin that he was the first attempted suicide he'd ever seen saved�so he must be very important.

After four years, Mr Shin won his release through a series of abjectly apologetic letters to Kim Jong Il and his father, President Kim Il Sung. He was brought to a dinner party in Pyongyang, the capital, and face-to-face with his ex-wife, who had not known until that moment that he was in North Korea. �Well, go ahead and hug each other. Why are you just standing there?� said the Dear Leader, who then suggested that they re-marry. They did as they were told.

At last, Mr Shin's talents could be put to good use. Mr Kim was worried that films produced in decadent, capitalist South Korea were better than those produced in the North. Perceptively, he explained to Mr Shin that this was because North Korean film workers knew the state would feed them regardless of the quality of their output. In the South, by contrast, actors and directors had to sweat to make films the public would pay to see. Mr Kim wasn't saying that there was anything wrong with socialism, of course, but he gave Mr Shin millions of dollars, a fancy marble-lined office and more artistic freedom than any North Korean director had ever enjoyed before.

Films fit for Cannes

Mr Kim did not want Mr Shin to make crude propaganda. Oh no. He wanted films that would win awards at international festivals. And although the tubby tyrant had previously argued, in his book �On the Art of Cinema�, that good movies should glorify the party, the system, his father and himself, he realised that this was not a fail-safe formula for wowing the judges at Cannes.

So he let Mr Shin shoot some watchable films, including �Pulgasari�, a Godzilla-inspired affair about a metal-eating monster who helped 14th-century peasants overthrow their feudal lords. The director and his wife were obliged to give a press conference explaining that they had willingly defected to North Korea, but otherwise they were treated far better than most of the Kim dynasty's hapless subjects. Mr Kim must have thought that was good enough to keep them loyal, for he allowed them to travel. As soon as they saw a chance to dodge their bodyguards, during a promotional trip to Vienna in 1986, they fled to the American embassy and sought asylum.

Mr Shin was at first reluctant to go home, for fear that South Korea's security police might disbelieve his fantastic tale and suspect him of communist sympathies. Fortunately, he and his wife had made, at mortal risk, clandestine tape recordings of conversations with Mr Kim. These, and the couple's memoirs, are among the most useful accounts we have of the secretive (and now probably nuclear-armed) Dear Leader's personality: charming, shrewd, quirky, malevolent.

Mr Shin continued to make films until shortly before he died. His last years were frail; he had a liver transplant in 2004. Ms Choi survived him, and his last film, about an old man with Alzheimer's, is yet to be released.

I thought I'd be the last person to see United 93 given that when I saw the preview I recoiled in horror and thought it was much too soon and would invariably be a horrifically tasteless representation of a tragedy.

But I heard that critics were giving it rave reviews across the board so my interest was piqued. Jonah and I went to see it on opening night which we hardly ever do because it's a madhouse but I knew that there would be perhaps as many people who would boycott it as go to see it so sure enough we got good seats and enjoyed (as much as you can enjoy this sort of movie) this surpisingly good movie.

The main highlights were that they didn't emotionally manipulate you in that way that Hollywood is excellent at and it was apolitical and didn't hit you over the head with a political message. It mostly, in my opinion, demonstrated how inefficient bureacracies can be at such great expense.

As NYTimes' Manohla Dargis reviewed, "a persuasively narrated, scrupulously tasteful re-creation" of the downing of the fourth and final plane hijacked by Islamist terrorists on Sept. 11..."

Thanks to John and Susan, we (plus Duncan of course) joined them for the premiere of Jamie Johnson's new documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival called The One Percent. As you may be able to guess, this doc is about the richest one percent of Americans.

Jamie's courage and critique is commendable and I encourage him to continue in his search (because I'm sure he cares what I think) but the movie was all over the place without any semblance of structure. There were certainly entertaining parts from interviews that his wealth afforded him access to (Steve Forbes, Milton Friedman, Bill Gates Senior, the arms dealer guy from Iran Contra, etc) but it felt mostly like I was watching a young man go through therapy. And I'm pretty sure I was. I'm all for therapy so I think it's great that he's doing therapy *and* making documentaries. What I really look forward to is his becoming a better filmmaker (which I have confidence he will) while he works through tough questions about wealth in America.

Ziboy, longtime Beijing photoblogger has successfully opened a photo exhibition comprised of photos from bloggers around the world.

The exhibition site and its Flickr accompaniment leave a little something to be desired but the concept is nonetheless very cool.

Just think, this global collaboration enabled by blogs, didn't exist before! And it's happening in Red China! Radical. That's why I happily participated. If only I had been able to attend the exhibition!

We went to see Tsotsi the other night and learned that 'tsotsi' means 'thug' in the African language Sesotho. Although it was decent, interesting to see a South Africa I hadn't before and had good music, I I found myself wondering what the Sesotho word for 'dissapointing' is...

We watched Word Wars this weekend and let's just say that afterwards we stayed up until 4 am playing Scrabble, warring amongst ourselves.

Jonah really wants me to write about how he got a "bingo", the significance of which you will learn from this documentary and about how he put down "quay" on a triple word score with the "q" on a double letter score.

It's worth renting this and warring with your loved ones!

~You try to write checks your body can't cash~

*Thanks to Anil!

I was so happy to finally enjoy a Spike Lee joint again.

Inside Man was very good.

Salon's Stephanie Zacharek says, "This is a mainstream entertainment designed for that forgotten movie audience, grown-ups who have brains."

I appreciated the New York he captured, the terrific actors and tight screenplay, and the directing style of Spike Lee applied to a suspenseful heist movie.

The only disturbing part of yesterday evening's movie going experience was seeing a preview for a movie about 9/11 and Flight 93. It felt so wrong to make us New Yorkers relive it. I'm not sure when we will be ready but it seems a long ways off.

You shouv see vis movie. It's not verfect but it's vretty vowerful and devinitely vorth your time.

From the opening scene I was engrossed and completely taken by this documentary.

Trailer here.

You must watch this video now. I'd let it load and then start it at about 1/3 of the way in because it's a tad long. You won't be sorry, you'll be amazed.

And of course, I would expect nothing less.

Thanks for the link, bro!

Along Came Polly is actually funny!!

This is a great movie illustrating how ultimately and sometimes tragically we are at war with ourselves.

More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones. There is truthiness to that!!

broke me - I'm still picking up the pieces - see it.

You should go see this really good movie but be warned that you won't look like this while watching it:

Listen, I'm as comfortable with ambiguity and confusion as the next person but what exactly did I miss in the last scene?

Munich was very good:

Match Point was pretty good:

I enjoyed The Family Stone a lot so go ahead and fault me for it.

Jon Stewart to host the Oscars!!!

As a result of having low expectations of most movies and being a sucker for love stories, I enjoyed King Kong...I cried and continue to cry when recalling King Kong's plight.

Jonah said it was 1/3 Titanic, 1/3 Jurassic Park and 1/3 The Hulk...and that it's totally racist. Oopsies!

Thanks to Sally Rumble for spreading the cheer!

Saw this while in LA. It's narrated by Tupac thanks to his innumerable interviews and writings. It's good and definitely worth seeing:

In case you haven't seen this yet...

Some reinventions may be good - Mariah - but not all of them are:

MJ A:

to MJ Z:

I didn't realize how much Jonah was looking forward to this movie:

Friday night I exhibited classic signs of a supremely jaded New Yorker. I whined to poor Jonah, "I'm just boooored. I want to eat a type of food I've never eaten before and I want to see a movie I've never heard of befoooore".

Sweet Jonah asked me to leave the night up to him and he surprised me by taking me to Brothers Bar-B-Cue for yummy southern food (Tabletop items: spare ribs, pulled pork, collard greens, mashed potatoes and corn) which I hadn't had since visiting Cameron in Atlanta two summers ago and then we caught the midnight showing (technically 12:30 am) of a movie that's been out for a while now but that I hadn't but should have heard of considering how much I love old Hollywood stuff - The Last Mogul...in Times Square - a square that's hard to spend time in. I tried to stay up by gulping a large coke (Jonah's a relentless night person)...I sipped, nodded off, sipped, snored however I do know that I enjoyed the movie.

The doc started out with a voice over that said Lew Wasserman never allowed interviews nor having pictures or film taken of him and he never left anything written down so I thought ok so this'll be a 5 minute documentary! In fact it was a 103 minute documentary containing interesting people talking about Lew's life and their relationship to him and in fact there were a few little pieces of Lew - caught on camera!

Best line in film: Dress British, Think Yiddish.

And of course, the glasses, the glasses, THE GLASSES!! needed one (or three) more shout outs.

This is a great film. Well-written, truly acted, quirkily directed...perfection!

Seeing this with my friend who doesn't drink or do drugs but seemed drunk and high before the movie and who proceeded to get hopped up on brownies and other sugar during the movie was the most fun. I of course was raging drunk and stoned...not from sugar.

Frank the Philistine is my favorite...what about you?

Warning: If you have divorced parents this could be painful...I'm told it's very real.

My mother in law, Della Peretti, works with teachers to help them teach and inspire children to be creative...pretty f-ing cool right? If any of you movie buffs out there can help her with the following questions, we and all the children would be grateful.

Do you know films that show how the arts can inspire children to overcome major odds? Or ways that I can find these movies?

Update: Oh nooooooo!!!

Just saw this movie last night and it is great!!

With all the laughing, smiling and warm and fuzziness you'll let go of all that anger and hatred that otherwise defines you. JK Rowling!

If you've never experienced the joy of W & G, you can check this out first!

I MUST WARN YOU ABOUT THIS MOVIE: Tarnation. You may be able to recover from it and even appreciate the brilliance of its filmmaking but it will break you and reduce you to that person crouched in the corner, shaking and weeping.

On that note, check it out and let's discuss it! That's what my friend Mary Patterson said to me without any of the warnings I was kind enough to give and then when we got done discussing it she said, "I have a Japanese horror movie with me...should we watch that?" She was completely serious and thank god, self-aware enough to proclaim herself, then and there, the Princess of Darkness.

So really, check it out and let's share in this experience together k?! Oh and this post will seem like a hug from a long lost friend.

Bar Notegen is a great little bohemian (whatever that means) cafe nestled between fancier establishments on Via Babuino in Rome (just a stone's throw away from the Spanish Steps). Back in the day such fantastic people as Giulietta Masina (my fave actress) and husband Federico Fellini hung out there. For now, there simply hangs a cool photo of the couple. It's one of my favorite images. So glamorous, so sweet.

* Roma, Italy 07.05

Update: Is Mariah Carey becoming a Norma Desmond? According to an anonymous source (who heard from a friend of a friend of a friend), it appears so! While it's not (yet) her butler feeding her delusions by writing her fan mail, it's her entourage replacing her size 10 or 12 tags with size 6 tags! Is it wrong to be bigger than a size 6? Of course not! Is it wrong to live or facilitate a delusional life? Never! It's just really creepy.

I've always loved Mariah so I'm profoundly relieved to see that my new sister in law has come around to appreciating her...finally...

It's nothing but Mariah, Mariah, Mariah from here on out, Chels!!!

BTW, half of the rest of the album is good too...For my first venture back into cd purchasing since 1999 I feel that a CD that yields 50% solid results is pretty satisfactory. Truth is that I was (am) so obsessed with Track 2: We Belong Together that I listened to that over and over and over and occassionally got around to Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5 (Snoop's voice is like a warm blankie during an anxiety attack), 6 and 7 (Jermaine Dupri gets an A+ for enthusiasm!) and they're also good! But don't worry! Will brave exposure to the second half of the album soon...exhaustive updates to follow

As for her transition, we can all be happy for it!

2003:

2005:

This is a movie worth seeing...check out the trailers!

After this movie and key lime pie and espresso, we went home and I krumped for Jonah. No really. It's best not to imagine it.

After you see it, let me know if you're more into clowning or krumping...this choice speaks volumes.

It actually looks more like 40 doesn't it?

via kottke.org

Ok. Are you ready to hear this? Probably not. Am I a truth speaker? Always. Here it goes.

As I signed into my NetFlix account this morning to spastically make sure that slots 1 - 6 of my qeue were occupied by the remaining discs of the TV show 24's First Season (and thank the lord it was), I was met with this image and I've got to tell you, I knew I had to say something unheard of, unpopular...unprecedented!!

I DIDN'T LIKE FELLINI'S FAMOUS FLICK 8 1/2!! In fact, I STOPPED WATCHING IT AFTER AN HOUR!! I may not have been in the perfect mood for it but I LOVE TO THE Nth DEGREE Nights of Cabiria, La Strada, AND EVEN Juliet Of The Spirits but 8 1/2 JUST DIDN'T DO IT FOR ME.

There I said it. Do you still love me??

If you don't hear from me again you'll know that the Movie Police have taken me away. At that time, please at least do something like the Save Ferris campaign, ok?

Wear your passions on your sleeve or head!

Just try not to get the musical note backwards...

*Mott & Houston

Prince!!! You need me as your assistant!!

Look at how I would report to duty every morning at Paisley Park!

Passionate in purple and ruffled blouses! Just like you!

So professional!! So purple!

Don't you see it?! Don't you feel it?!

I'd always point you in the right direction!

Purple suede tassled heels!!! We're perfect for each other!!!

* Photography and therapeutic support by Jonah.

And the prize goes to...Ejike!!!

The song was in fact Mario's Let Me Love You!!

If you don't know this song, you must listen to the clip and swiftly add it to your tunes library - sensual section...

Thanks for playing this first ever hybrid pop culture/blog game!

Last night I saw a screening of Nobody Knows and all I know is that this is a beautiful, crushing movie, truly worth seeing. It opens in theaters tomorrow...I can only hope and dream of ever being involved in such a terrific film!

Oh boy...have I done it again!!...yes I have!!

This terrific site, a precious cut-out of Jonah's head and yours truly collaborated to create this masterpiece.

Jonah unlocks his grooves - click and see:

Highly recommended movie if you like movies that make you laugh, think and have fun. They are cool guys and great pranksters.

Click on Start to begin!

via EYEBEAM's ReBlog.

100 Photos that Changed the World by LIFE Magazine

via kottke.org

Laughing really hard is soooo much fun!

I do it often while watching The Daily Show and reading The Onion.

Missing an episode of The Daily Show is like getting tucked into bed by a monster. Not reading The Onion is like getting shot in the shoulder.

Daily Show clip-click on the first video please:

Onion excerpts:

What do you get when you mix therapy, movie making, rock & roll and a gift from god?

A feature length peak into Metallica's therapy sessions:

Band on the Couch, June 20, 2004 New York Times Magazine

A must see documentary:

I agree with Morgan Spurlock the writer, director and actor of the documentary on his method for instilling in his children (yet to come, as are mine) bad associations with fast food: when you and the kiddies drive by fast food joints, punch them in the face.

Ok...so...run, don't walk, to see Mean Girls now!

It's funnier and smarter than its peers....and made me want to be a mean girl. Just jokes!!

Here are two good reviews:

The Trusty Onion &

A nice pink NY Times blurb:

Thanks to a scene in this flick, I now feel confident in naming my first son, ANFERNY.

Prince gave an awesome performance last night as aired on MTV, VH1 & BET.

My favorite moments for those that care were 1) his acoustic versions of I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man and Sweet Thing (no mention of songs from his new album is intentional) and 2) MTV News Correspondent Sway's closing statement to his sweetly nervous interview with Prince, when he shook Prince's hand and said with 110% sincerity, "this is the highlight of my career."

Guess who, in the bottom right hand corner???

That's right! Prince and his junior high basketball team. They later became the Revolution and then the New Power Generation. J/K.

*thanks to my old friend Stuart for the picture and for planting the seeds of Prince love.

Prince is great. I've adored him since ~ 14 years old and fondly recall being a 16 year old, sneaking out to see a Prince concert in Tokyo in the truest nosebleed seats from where he looked so much tinier than he is in person...even in heels.

A non-fan reviews Prince's current tour

Touching the Void is a must see. Just be sure to bring a stress ball.

A quaalude would help too.

Roger Ebert sums up nicely the harrowing experience of watching this film.

It's official!! It's for real!!

We now know who fuels the tremendously talented band, Air Kiss On Mars!!

They are...

Andrea Harner!

and Paul Ohan!

Paul asks you to put on your 3-D glasses...

and listen to the best song ever:

Congrats to the cast & crew of Lost in Translation for all their recent industry accolades!!

I do however think that one prominent character was overlooked in this whole deal and that is....Tokyo...having grown up in Japan, I have a special spot in my heart for dear Tokyo...here's a good article in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article about Tokyo in Lost in Translation.

Lost Boys of Sudan is a commendable, heart-wrenching and important documentary that is well worth seeing.

For further reading:

East Bay Express

New York Times

Thanks to EYEBEAM reBlog, a new cool site by Eyebeam's R & D dept, we get web treasures like these in record time.

For those like me, who wasted perfectly fine, promise filled days playing the first Super Mario Bros for hours and days on end, tirelessly fighting to rescue the beautiful princess, you will love this.

The music is beautiful, the talent is abundantly clear and best of all, the kid's attitude is priceless.

Criticizing Hollywood movies as clich�d, formulaic and insultingly stupid has become a clich�. The frustrating fact is, however, that it's true! Even the recent, supposedly great Hollywood movies such as Mystic River and 21 Grams fall in the Hollywood trap of overacting, emotional manipulation and overly simplistic plots and one-dimensional characters resulting in emotional ranges of happy-mad-sad, to name a few problems. This is why I was excited to see Girl with a Pearl Earring which I suspected would be satisfyingly different than the majority of Hollywood movies. Of course it's not perfect, few movies are, but comparatively, it is nuanced more than heavy-handed, it is appropriately ambiguous rather than pedantic and for the finishing touch, it is laconic as opposed to cacophonous with Hollywood dialogue.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, adapted from Tracy Chevalier's bestseller of the same name is directed by Peter Webber who does an excellent job with this poised and restrained first feature film as does the cinematographer Eduardo Serra whose use of color and light successfully foregrounds Vermeer's raison d'etre. While the entire cast acts solidly, it is Scarlett Johansson, of recent Lost In Translation fame, that leaves the deepest impression. You can't help but feel privileged to watch on as a young and extremely talented actress begins her foray into what will surely be a long and fruitful career.

Continue reading "Girl with an Acting Knack" »

Update: The link is now restored, working and playing beautifully.

Watching this video, I can't help but think, "Now, this is a great product of creativity."

Also, it's RIDICULOUSLY CUTE.

Click below to see for yourself!

Beware, you may just end up jamming out like Sally, here!

People!

Listen Up!

There's a new band in town...

!

And they've recorded a fiesty, catty, bitchy, ditty so listen up!

Click on Sleep With Me.mp3

This Gay Boyfriend Anthem Video was graciously sent to me by a reader in response to my previous Gay Boyfriend post.

It is a treasure.