I think Rory should dress like this all the time.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
SNL Short: Jack Sparrow
Oh my God, I thought it was hilarious! It starts kind of slow, but then when Michael Bolton plays a film nerd (I wonder, is it true??)...that's when it's hilarious.
Kumail Nanjiani: Harry Potter
I saw this guy's act on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show. I've watched the past 6 episodes, and Kumail is probably my favorite.
The NYT wrote about a piece about him around 2 years ago.
The NYT wrote about a piece about him around 2 years ago.
EW Interview: Tina Fey + Jimmy Fallon
This article is almost 10 years old! It's an interview with Fey and Fallon while they were both doing Weekend Update. It's a bit long, but really fun.
Highlights:
"I'll tell a George Bush joke, but I don't really know who anyone in Congress is," says [Fallon]. "I read USA Today for the colors."
:)
Mention a certain YM magazine cover to Fallon, the one featuring his face and the cutesy headline "Jimmy Fallon: Hilarious and Hot," and he turns pinkish and mumbles something about being embarrassed when people talk about him.
-Adorable!
Her schedule is about to get even more insane: Paramount recently hired her to write and potentially star in a comedy based on Rosalind Wiseman's book Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence.
-Mean Girls, anyone?
[Fallon's] first comedy album, The Bathroom Wall, hits stores this fall.
http://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Wall-Jimmy-Fallon/dp/B00006GFA5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305155203&sr=8-1
-I'm going to check this out soon. If I get around to listening to it, I'll try and post some notes!
Enjoy!
Highlights:
"I'll tell a George Bush joke, but I don't really know who anyone in Congress is," says [Fallon]. "I read USA Today for the colors."
:)
Mention a certain YM magazine cover to Fallon, the one featuring his face and the cutesy headline "Jimmy Fallon: Hilarious and Hot," and he turns pinkish and mumbles something about being embarrassed when people talk about him.
-Adorable!
Her schedule is about to get even more insane: Paramount recently hired her to write and potentially star in a comedy based on Rosalind Wiseman's book Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends & Other Realities of Adolescence.
-Mean Girls, anyone?
[Fallon's] first comedy album, The Bathroom Wall, hits stores this fall.
http://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Wall-Jimmy-Fallon/dp/B00006GFA5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305155203&sr=8-1
-I'm going to check this out soon. If I get around to listening to it, I'll try and post some notes!
Enjoy!
NBC Pilot: Will Arnett + Christina Applegate
I'm so so excited! I loved Arnett in Arrested Development (GOB was, by far, my favorite character.)
I'm looking forward to this show. NBC, you can count me in (again).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/will-arnett-cast-in-nbc-pilot_n_843005.html
I'm looking forward to this show. NBC, you can count me in (again).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/will-arnett-cast-in-nbc-pilot_n_843005.html
The Metropol Parasol
 |
| Isn't that a sight? Now when you visit Spain, you can get a little bit of something old and a little bit of something new. |
This picture is of the Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain. You can read a little more about this here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/08/magazine/look-seville.html?ref=magazine
Another more modern piece that I love: The Oceanographic Park in Valencia, Spain.
http://www.cac.es/oceanografic/
As a lover of all things under the sea, I immediately fell in love with (pictures of) this place. I'm so jealous of my friend, the Knitter, who actually got to visit it!!! It looks like something from the Jetsons, but with water.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Glee Radio
For all you Gleeks out there, did you know you can listen to the Glee Radio Station online? The only drawback is the occasional commercial.
Music: Andy Grammer
This song makes me feel like summer is here already...
Brought to you by: the Songbird
Room: Excerpt
"Also when I tell her what I'm thinking and she tells me what she's thinking, our each ideas jump into our other's head, like coloring blue crayon on top of yellow that makes green."- Jack speaking about his mother, from Emma Donoghue's Room
Red Sox v. Yankees- Revisited
If I were as voracious a reader as the Night Owl, this web site would really be happenin'.
Thanks to her, here are another set of videos that are HIGH-larious. I <3 Krasinski + Baldwin's chemistry.
If you missed it last time, the two of them appeared in a New Era ad for baseball caps a whiles ago. You can check it out here.
Now, part deux of this masterpiece.
My favorite line? 'Aughh, you have the hands of a plumber.'
And for some behind the scenes action,
The two were great in 'It's Complicated.' My favorite scene between the two involves Baldwin's character rebreathing a smoking Krasinski's exhaled air. So funny! I like to think that they are genuinely laughing at the scene.
Thanks to her, here are another set of videos that are HIGH-larious. I <3 Krasinski + Baldwin's chemistry.
If you missed it last time, the two of them appeared in a New Era ad for baseball caps a whiles ago. You can check it out here.
Now, part deux of this masterpiece.
My favorite line? 'Aughh, you have the hands of a plumber.'
And for some behind the scenes action,
The two were great in 'It's Complicated.' My favorite scene between the two involves Baldwin's character rebreathing a smoking Krasinski's exhaled air. So funny! I like to think that they are genuinely laughing at the scene.
Weddings weddings weddings!
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/14/a-magical-marriage-potter-co-stars-to-tie-the-knot/?iref=obinsite
What?! Ginny is marrying...I have no idea who that is.
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/12/royal-wedding-gets-disney-treatment-on-the-web/?hpt=Sbin
Also, I think this is pretty hilarious. The doctored picture of Cinderella and the prince--not so much. However, the stepsisters being compared to her relatives? Hilarious. Only because that sister's hat totally feeds into the step-sister's vibe of ridiculosity.
What?! Ginny is marrying...I have no idea who that is.
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/12/royal-wedding-gets-disney-treatment-on-the-web/?hpt=Sbin
Also, I think this is pretty hilarious. The doctored picture of Cinderella and the prince--not so much. However, the stepsisters being compared to her relatives? Hilarious. Only because that sister's hat totally feeds into the step-sister's vibe of ridiculosity.
Dream Jobs you're glad you didn't pursue: Lawyer
This is pretty funny. My favorite part was the Timeline. Many thanks to Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame for linking a McSweeney's article on his twitter. Now I have a new site to browse!
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/dreamjobs/dreamjobs12.html
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/dreamjobs/dreamjobs12.html
The Doctor's Love Life
Steven Moffat answers questions about the Doctah's Looooooove Life.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/steven_moffat_on_sherlock_and.html
Brought to you by the Night Owl (I think)
30 Minutes or Less
I loved this trailer! I hope the movie is good. Thanks to the Panda for sending it to me!
Aziz Ansari is so funny. I love the bit he does about his cousin Harris in his stand up.
In a recent Parks & Rec episode, Tom (Ansari's character) tells us all his bizarre nicknames for different foods. It is HIGH-larious. Someone was clever enough to make up a website dedicated to Tom's gastronomic short speak. Each time you click on the site's picture, a new pairing shows up.
Some of the highlights:
Animal crackers = Mini mascots
Salads = Leaf piles
Ice cream = Milk on the rocks
http://tomhaverfoods.com/
But as amusing as the website is, you can't beat Ansari's delivery of the lines.
Pinball
Most of my pinball memories involve a much-loved Pizza Hut of my childhood, or my desktop. Every time I went to Pizza Hut, the dilemma was the same. Should my quarter go into the novelty toy machine (Who can resist those little neon sticky hands?!), or into the Pinball machine? It didn't really matter too much. Both were fleeting joys--those Sticky Hands should really be called Fuzzy Hands. However, I'd have to say that more than 80% of my pinball-related memories involve Space Pinball, the free game that used to come the older Windows system. Remember that?
Oh God, those loud clunky sounds, I forgot what they sounded like. I can feel the early 2000s washing over me.
I think though that Doctor Who pinball might be a revelatory experience.
Watch the video here. Sorry, I couldn't embed it.
http://videos.nymag.com/video/Doctor-Who-Cast-are-Pinball-Wiz
Matt Smith lost his voice in this video. I bet it was at the same time he did the panel for the Nerdist podcast.
http://www.nerdist.com/2011/04/nerdist-podcast-81-whotopia/
And yes, you can check out the virtual altar of Matt Smith's hair right here.
http://mattsmithshair.tumblr.com/
And with this picture, I would like to predict the end of McDreamy's cool coiffe and the ushering in of Matt Smith's hair.
Okay, okay, that picture really doesn't make his hair look cool. I just thought it was adorable. Here is some real cool hair.
Speaking of weird forms of admiration...before tumblrs existed for hair worship, there were gum shrines for football heads.
Okay, I'll stop before I get too Nineties Nickelodeon nostalgic (Did you like that alliteration right there?).
All that is DW related is brought to you this time by: the Night Owl
Humblebrag
I read this article from the NYT's T magazine, recently, and one part of the article in particular, I found funny.
From Ben Widdicombe's 'Poparazzi: The Fabulous Lives of Others':
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/poparazzi-the-fabulous-lives-of-others/
More recently, Twitter has given us HumbleBrag, an account dedicated to re-tweeting the false modesty of others. Like Eli Roth, the shlock-horror “Hostel” director and “Inglourious Basterds” actor, who tweeted on March 1: “Had a nice lunch w @psavone, and was joined by several paparazzi & a @TMZ camera. Glad my eating salad is still major news. #welcomehome”
Another HumbleBrag favorite is the talk-show host Piers Morgan, who recently took over from Larry King on CNN. His style is insincere self-deprecation, an odd mix of qualities that recalls an earlier Anglo-American ego, Winston Churchill.
Here is Mr. Morgan on attending a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game one night in February, as re-tweeted by HumbleBrag:
“Am courtside but worried Jay-Z and P Diddy have marginally better seats #goingtofireagent”
“Just waved @AmirKingKhan – he was happy. Think that’s because he’s going to thump me out of my courtside seat later.”
“Camera just zoomed onto my head, I got announced, and nobody booed. To be fair, nobody cheered much either. But small acorns etc”
(Mr. Morgan seems to have hit his character limit before managing to get the words “courtside seat” into that last tweet.)
I checked out the twitter account, and I didn't find the actual tweets to be as funny as Widdicombe's reactions to the tweets. Maybe you do though!
What do Fred Astaire & Joseph Gordon Levitt have in common?
Last week was Easter, and I had Easter Parade on the brain. Released in 1948, the film stars Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. It's a fun musical, with two undeniable attractions--Fred Astaire's fancy footwork and Garland's voice.
If you get impatient, skip to 2:20 for Fred Astaire's big number. It's a lot of fun!
A mental jump, hop, and skip away from this film was Fred Astaire's Royal Wedding. One of its most famous scenes involves Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in one of the set rooms. It was, I think, pretty advanced for its time (and even now, I'm still impressed by the visual fun).
The basic premise for how it works is that Fred Astaire is dancing in a rotating room, and the camera must rotate at the same angular velocity as the room. In the final filmed product, we can't see the room moving because the room's velocity relative to the camera is zero. And voila, Fred Astaire is dancing on the ceiling!
Here's a clip showing both the scene as it appears in the film, and the scene if you were an onlooker watching them film the scene.
In Christopher Nolan's Inception, a similar premise was used to film the a-MAY-zing fight scene featuring Joseph Gordon Levitt.
I've a huge behind-the-scenes fan. A big fan of minutiae and all things 'trivial,' I value the Special Features on DVDs and Blu-Rays almost as much as the film itself. (You will never catch me buying a DVD with no special features. Never.) The subdued music playing behind a director's commentary, the smooth transition between production stills--I love it all. Much to my glee, there is a clip online with commentary about Joseph Gordon Levitt's hallway acrobatics. You can check it out below. I never thought about it before, but a rotating set that has props requiring electricity poses a special problem for set designers. To find out how they solved that issue, and to hear Joseph Gordon Levitt talk about the intense training needed for the scene, watch the clip! :)
Happy Mother's Day!
Instead of being deep (or really, as 'deep' as I can get) about the power of a mother's love, I offer you some laughs.
Here's someone's piece called 'Respectful Yo Mama Jokes.'
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2011/5/6klauss.html
Also, check out the first 1 minute of this clip (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to shorten it in html) for some Mother's day-inspired indignation from the always funny Jon Stewart from 2007.
The Daily Show - Mother's Day Cads
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook
Promiscuous, foreign mushrooms
Jimmy Fallon at the Emmy's
Watching this is way funnier than listening to it on the Nerdist Podcast. Tina Fey kind of stole the bit when they were on stage as her glasses fell off. So funny! Jon Hamm is so hilarious. I think the hilarity is driven by the fact that his goofy antics clash (because if somebody else delivered the same performance, I don't think I'd find it as funny) with his suave Mad Men persona. For those interested, I highly recommend watching 'The Bubble'--an episode on 30Rock featuring Jon Hamm that is hilarious for that very reason reason.
Link from the Baker.
How to post multiple videos in Tumblr
Tumblr's preset tools allow for only single-video posts. Sometimes though, you want a continuity of thought, and you need to post more than one video in a single tumblr post. To learn how, read my simple how-to guide here on my other blog, Take a Tech Tip.
How to make a vibrating alarm for the iPhone
Ever wanted to set a silent vibrating alarm on your iPhone? You can! To learn how to customize your iPhone in this way, click here to read an instructional post on my other blog, Take a Tech Tip.
John Krasinski Interview
I do believe that John Krasinski and Emily Blunt probably are one of Hollywood's most admired and beloved couples at the moment. They both seem so earnest(ly funny) in their individual interviews, and I imagine their chemistry is probably very real (If anyone has seen an interview with the two of them, let me know!). It reminds me a lot of Paul Newman + Joanne Woodward's relationship.
Newman and Woodward had possibly one of the most famous and longest-lasting unions in Hollywood history. They met on the Long Hot Summer (a movie I highly recommend), and thanks to the fortuitous casting of the film, sparks flew both onscreen and off. Newman and Woodward would later marry, and appear in many films together. Newman would later direct Woodward in her Oscar-winning role in Rachel, Rachel.
Here they are in an interview after they had grown old together.
In this next interview about the making of the Long Hot Summer, Paul Newman plays around with Joanne Woodward. I never fail to be amused (yes, that means I've watched this whole interview more than once) when Newman pretends to bite her finger. It's too bad they didn't have more of the interview--Paul Newman gets a little fake riled up about Woodward telling this story, and it's adorable. If you want to see the whole interview, it's on the Special Features of the Long Hot Summer DVD.
And here's John Krasinski talking about how he fell in love with the very lucky Emily Blunt.
All a-twitter for Celebrity Tweets
Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the death of bin Laden. Everyone has something to say about it--and we're being bombarded by message on multiple fronts. News stations, news website, newspapers, and...Twitter! Here's a nice collection compiled by the Huffington Post.
My personal favorites:
I really hope bin laden didn't get reincarnated as one of Mariah Carey's babies.
-Jimmy Kimmel
I find this amusing mainly because I can't see Mariah Carey taking this very well.
Got Bin Laden AND interrupted Celebrity Apprentice? Win for Obama all around.
-Jimmy Fallon
Fallon's referring to the fact that Obama's telecast interrupted the broadcasting of Celebrity Apprentice. Kind of hilarious. Also, there's an interesting article about the popularity of Trump bashing.
http://media.twitter.com/1391/trump-roast
Check out more here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/celebrities-respond-to-os_n_856395.html#s272692&title=Steve_Martin_
Time for some Chocolate Chip Cookies and Arts & Crafts!
I baked cookies with M this weekend! Okay, she baked cookies while I doodled away on the kitchen counter like a 5 year old (I absolutely recommend this--if only to allow the scent of Crayola crayons to trigger major childhood memory overload.) Check out her blog entry for a really bomb-diggity (Does that word exist? It does now.) recipe from America's Test Kitchen. She entered a blogging competition that you can read about here:
http://americastestkitchen.tumblr.com/post/4959206444/americas-test-kitchen-presents-the-boston-blogger
If this were one of the 134523 reality shows airing on television, I would ask you to vote for her! But unfortunately, it is not. She will instead be accepting good wishes sent via the psychic network. ;)
You can check out her entry here:
http://bakingwithemandm.blogspot.com/2011/05/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies.html?utm_source=BP_recent
Nerdist Podcast: Jimmy Fallon
If you thinking to yourself, "Whoa. Deja vu.": (1) thank you for following me! (2) yes, you're right. This post appeared before. I'm revisiting it though to add some thoughts.
This podcast is Chris Hardwick (of Nerdist fame) interviewing his good friend, Jimmy Fallon. Now, the last time this post appeared, my feelings for Jimmy Fallon were like my feelings for the latest art exhibit at the MFA. Yeah, I wouldn't mind going to see what's up, but I don't really feel *compelled* to go. After listening to this podcast however, I believe I might actually start watching Mr. Fallon's TV show. The chemistry between Hardwick and Fallon is very real (not to the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn level, but maybe like a more verbose version of Paul Newman-Robert Redford chemistry). I always feel that the best conversations occur when there's no agenda to be had, when it's just two friends letting their attention-deficit minds wander from one lily pad to the next. And that's exactly what happens in this podcast.
Jimmy Fallon is also one funny dude. On the podcast, he performs a handful of impressions. He does an impression of Jerry Seinfeld that is hilarious, but he tops it with his impression of Jerry Seinfeld doing an impression of himself (Confused? Listen to the podcast to figure out this reference!).
Let me see if I can describe the appeal of Jimmy Fallon. On the podcast, he described a bit on his show called 'Wax on/wax off." Two friends are invited onto the show to compete with the host in a trivia competition. For every question that is answered incorrectly by Friend A, Friend B will receive a painful chest wax strip removal. Now, if I were to actually tune in and watch this, I'm positive that I would not find this entertaining in any way. But, when Jimmy Fallon was describing the setup (yes, his description is much more entertaining than mine), he had me in a giggling fit! His enthusiasm for comedy (even if his definition of comedy may differ from my own) is so unadulterated that I actually considered watching that clip and enjoying it (if only to recall Fallon's hilarious side notes about the show).
Like Tina Fey did in her book Bossypants, Jimmy Fallon referred to his obligation to the crew on his show. His days of boozy weekends are over because other people and their families financially depend on him! Hearing this sentiment (and more than once!) makes me happy.
So check out the podcast here! I think it has to be one of my favorite Nerdist podcasts.
http://www.nerdist.com/2011/04/nerdist-podcast-82-jimmy-fallon/
Here's Jimmy on the Colbert report.
Jon Stewart's cameo gave me a good laugh.
Seth Meyers at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, or Please enjoy a heaping serving of Trump Roast.
Seth Meyers is high-larious! I felt like I was watching a taping Weekend Update filmed on a different set. My favorite part of the set? Seeing President Obama overwhelmed by an uncontrollable fit of the giggles.
Colbert's Column
About a summer or two ago, Stephen Colbert was on the cover on Newsweek. On the last page of that issue, there was the article listed below. The Night Owl helped me find it again, and I'm glad to be able to share it. Colbert never fails to make me laugh out loud.
President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner (by CSPAN)
I like how this video has about 1000x more views than some of the more watched CSPAN videos. ;) I'll have to say, this is the first time I've visited the CSPAN youtube page. Well, as they say, there's a first time for everything! Maybe this will be the beginning of a new habit for me (...okay, probably not).
I liked how the camera shots of he-who-is-being-roasted (ahem, Trump), and the general lack of response seen on his face.
My favorite joke was about Michelle Obama snatching candy out of children's hands. It seemed so unexpected. I always get the feeling that nobody can (or would want to) mess with Michelle Obama, even in jest--well, except for Mr. President. ;)
I also appreciated Obama poking fun at his popularity with Hollywood folk.
Enjoy the video! It's great to see the President deliver some zingers.
Brought to you by: the Night Owl.
Nerdist: Jimmy Fallon
http://www.nerdist.com/2011/04/nerdist-podcast-82-jimmy-fallon/
Update to this post: If you think this is very deja vu, (1) thank you for following me! (2) yes, you're right. This post appeared before. I'm revisiting it though to add some thoughts.
This podcast is Chris Hardwick (of Nerdist fame) interviewing his good friend, Jimmy Fallon. Now, the last time this post appeared, my feelings for Jimmy Fallon were like my feelings for the latest art exhibit at the MFA. Yeah, I wouldn't mind going to see what's up, but I don't really feel *compelled* to go. After listening to this podcast however, I believe I might actually start watching Mr. Fallon's TV show. The chemistry between Hardwick and Fallon is very real (not to the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn level, but maybe like a more verbose version of Paul Newman-Robert Redford chemistry). I always feel that the best conversations occur when there's no agenda to be had, when it's just two friends letting their attention-deficit minds wander from one lily pad to the next. And that's exactly what happens in this podcast.
Jimmy Fallon is also one funny dude. On the podcast, he performs a handful of impressions. He does an impression of Jerry Seinfeld that is hilarious, but he tops it with his impression of Jerry Seinfeld doing an impression of himself (Confused? Listen to the podcast to figure out this reference!).
Let me see if I can describe the appeal of Jimmy Fallon. On the podcast, he described a bit on his show called 'Wax on/wax off." Two friends are invited onto the show to compete with the host in a trivia competition. For every question that is answered incorrectly by Friend A, Friend B will receive a painful chest wax strip removal. Now, if I were to actually tune in and watch this, I'm positive that I would not find this entertaining in any way. But, when Jimmy Fallon was describing the setup (yes, his description is much more entertaining than mine), he had me in a giggling fit! His enthusiasm for comedy (even if his definition of comedy may differ from my own) is so unadulterated that I actually considered watching that clip and enjoying it (if only to recall Fallon's hilarious side notes about the show).
Like Tina Fey did in her book Bossypants, Jimmy Fallon referred to his obligation to the crew on his show. His days of boozy weekends are over because other people and their families financially depend on him! Hearing this sentiment (and more than once!) makes me happy.
Here's Jimmy on the Colbert report.
Jon Stewart's cameo gave me a good laugh.
Interviews with the Doctor Who Cast
Entertainment Weekly did a series of short interviews with the cast and producer of Doctor Who. I found Steven Moffat's interview the most interesting--probably because of his mentions about other projects. I think Steven Moffat might be the British analog of Chuck Lorre. Steven Moffat has worked on The Hobbit, Doctor Who, and Tin Tin. Chuck Lorre has worked on Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, and Mike and Molly. I can't imagine how busy they are!
Interview with Steven Moffat
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/23/doctor-who-steven-moffat-sherlock-tintin/
Interview with Karen Gillan + Arthur Darvill
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/22/doctor-who-karen-gillan-arthur-darvill/
Interview with Alex Kingston
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/21/doctor-who-alex-kingston/
Interviews with Matt Smith
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/doctor-who-matt-smith/
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/24/doctor-who-matt-smith-2/
Brought to you by: the Baker
Video: Donald in Mathmagic Land
I love this video so much. I know, major nerd alert. I'm not sure why my parents bought me this VHS (well, I have my suspicions), but I'm glad they did. I'm not sure how many times I watched it as a child, but it must have been enough for me to remember the clicks of the pool balls and the musical chimes accompanying the golden ratio animations. The old school animation techniques and narration are a lot of fun.
The Awesome Column
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066584_2066582,00.html
Joel Stein is by far my favorite columnist in Time. I always look to the back first so I can read his writing.
If you're interested, the actual list he created is here:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066584_2066602,00.html
Fourteen Actors Acting
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/12/magazine/14actors.html?ref=magazine#index
Instead of using the typical actor head shot and accompanying biography, the NY Times Sunday magazine produced a compilation of 1 minute videos. Check it out. When I watched the Javier Bardem segment, I would have felt much more comfortable had he been wearing eye protection.
If you're anything like me, you probably like reading the behind-the-scenes details. You can find two articles here:
Actors create 14 Decisive Moments
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/actors-create-14-decisive-moments/
Giving a Performance a Good Score
http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/giving-a-performance-a-good-score/
Hugo Awards: Doctor Who is Nominated for 3 Eps
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/04/25/doctor-who-triple-whammy-at-hugo-awards/
The Hugo Awards are given to works of science fiction and fantasy, and pieces of various media are included--film, television, short story, novels, etc.
Previous DW winners include 'Blink' and 'The Girl in the Fireplace' (which was actually my first DW episode ever! Thanks to the Knitter and her excellent taste in television.) Both are must sees.
Now for some fun trivia. Blink features Carey Mulligan (who you may remember from Pride & Prejudice, Never Let Me Go, or An Education.
Sofia Myles, the main actress of 'The Girl in the Fireplace,' dated David Tennant for two years. Now, sad to say, David Tennant is 'off the market' and currently married to his TV daughter.
Another prior recipient of the Hugo Awards was Flowers for Algernon (the short story, which original author Daniel Keyes would later turn into the novel). The movie was also adapted into the feature film, Charly.
Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.
I love Masterpiece Theatre! The accents, the period clothing, the old school, overly formal way of speaking. I love it all. Upstairs Downstairs is the newest show on Masterpiece, and I just watched the first two episodes. The cast is big, and you can bet that with so many minor characters, the drama and scandal will flowing a-plenty.
Farfalle Pasta with Endive, Pea, and Bacon Sauce
Spring is here...I can feel it! It's the time to meet with friends and enjoy some sunshine-catalyzed conversations. I've been glancing at the recipes in this 30 Minute Suppers magazine ever since I picked it up from Barnes & Noble. The '30 Minutes' in the title and the large, gorgeous pictures were what really caught my eye. The issue has 64 recipes, and they all seem pretty doable (which means something because it comes from me--someone with almost negligible cooking experience). I think if you were very at ease in a kitchen, you could probably make these dishes in 30 minutes. However, I took around 45.
The most interesting part of this particular recipe was the endives, which is related to escarole and radicchio. It has a very bitter taste when raw; grilling it tames the flavor slightly, but the endive still gives some punch. The dish is aesthetically pleasing too, with the pretty bow ties framed by specks of bright green and some hearty chips of bacon.
Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen--30 Minute Suppers, Spring 2011 issue
Ingredients:
- 8 slices of bacon
- 4 heads of Belgian Endive, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- The juice of 1 lemon
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions:
1. Bring 4 qts water to boil in a large pot
2. Add olive oil + bacon to large skillet over medium high heat. Cook until crisp (about 2-3 minutes for each side). Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.
3. Clean skillet of lard (towel drying should suffice).
4. Add some olive oil to skillet. Place the endive (the flat side of the half down on the pan) on skillet. Cook on medium high heat for about 4 minutes. Flip endive to other side, and cook for another 4 minutes. While waiting, coarsely chop up the bacon. Set aside.
5. Place on cutting board and let it cool.
6. Clean skillet (towel drying should suffice).
7. Add the chicken broth and peas to the skillet. Put on medium high heat; let it simmer for about 4 minutes until the peas are tender bright and green.
8. While the peas and broth are heating up, prepare the endives. Cut each half-endive lengthwise into two pieces. Proceed to cut the pieces into 1 inch segments. Add the endive pieces to the skillet.
9. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to boiling water and the dried pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain and return pasta to pot. Keep the pot on medium heat.
10. Pour broth/peas/endive mixture into the pot with the pasta.
11. Add sour cream, mint, bacon, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice to the pot. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.
Behind the Scenes: The Hobbit
I'm not sure if I'm more excited for the movie to appear in theaters or for the blu-ray and its hours of behind-the-scenes features!!!!!
Nerdist: Andy Samberg
http://www.nerdist.com/2011/04/nerdist-podcast-79-andy-samberg/
Andy Samberg on Nerdist! I love this Podcast so much--I can't say I've listened to all of them, but they have quite a few that I enjoyed (specifically, the members of the cast of Community, and Matt Smith).
My favorite Andy Samberg sketch is from SNL where he plays it cool. I'll post it soon.
Tina Fey Excerpt: "A Mother's Prayer for its Daughter"
http://braiker.tumblr.com/post/4710736472/tina-feys-prayer-for-her-daughter
You can find the text at the website above. It comes from her book, Bossypants. This chapter gave me the most laughs-per-line so far! Enjoy. :)
15 inspiring ambigram logos | Logo Design Love
Ambigrams are pretty crazy. They're kind of like the visual analogues of a palindrome.
http://www.logodesignlove.com/ambigram-logos
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
http://bakingwithemandm.blogspot.com/2011/03/double-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
I believe the title speaks for itself. Go bake some! Share with others or enjoy for yourself. I won't judge.
iFont, iPhone | I love typography, the typography and fonts blog
I love this. You can take a picture of text with your iPhone, and the app featured in this article will recognize the font for you. Love it!
Doctor Who: Insider Part 4 -- The Companions 2011 Behind-the-Scenes (by BBCAmericaTV)
YAAAAYYYYYY.
Brought to you by the Night Owl.
Video :: MythBusters :: Hot Buttered Magazine
I love Mythbusters! I also love when they get things wrong more than when they get things right. Because then they have to systematically figure out why things went wrong. And that, my friends, is the best part. (Not the cars blowing up etc, as the commercials would sometimes suggest).
An Interview with Tom Geismar
http://www.logodesignlove.com/tom-geismar-interview
Very impressive. Mr. Geismar made the logos for National Geographic, PBS, Chase, and Univision. Check out this interview.
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