Best Blog Pictures of 2010

This Blog: A Pictorial Year in Review.

Here are some of the best pictures I've used

in my 66 posts this year!

I took this picture! Isn't it cute? You can get your own Pocket Buddha here.

Sad Don Draper was a meme I could get on board with.

Daniel V. is too cute!

I got gold nails for my New Years 2010 manicure.

Yeah.

And Popsicle Monkey.

Netflix Instant Recommendation #2: Defending Your Life

This is the second in a series of movie reviews where I recommend some of my favorite films and TV shows that are available to watch instantly on Netflix.

"How did you die?"

"On stage, like you."

One of my favorite films is Albert Brooks' Defending Your Life (with Meryl Streep). I first saw it as a kid on one of those weekends when you got HBO for free... you know what I mean? They would show the same three movies over and over again. I watched this one more than once.

Defending Your Life is about... well, I don't think it's a spoiler to tell you that it's about a man who dies. It basically takes place in the afterlife. I'll leave it up to you to discover what happens in this version of the afterlife, along with protagonist Daniel Miller. While it might not be what you think, the movie is a complete joy from beginning to end. I will spoil one good thing about being dead - you can eat whatever you want, as much as you want, and you don't feel bad or get fat!

This film is unlike any other film I've ever seen. When there are several movies about the afterlife, this one is actually funny and charming! Brooks is in high form and there is a cute wink wink cameo by Shirley MacLaine. Here is a picture:

This is just one of those movies you look at on the Netflix instant list and think, "Is this going to be any good?" but unlike most of the films, this one actually IS good! I promise you will not only smile, but it will also make you think. It's a great film to watch with others - have a laugh and a lively debate at the same time!

If you enjoyed this film (or not) feel free to leave comments!

Here is the IMDB page for the film and the Wikipedia page, for more information.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I got yummy vegan cupcakes from Babycakes!

The pink one is red velvet and the other is brownie! I also had a ginger-pumpkin one, but I ate it!

Netflix Instant Recommendation #1: The Fall

This is the first in a new series of movie reviews where I recommend some of my favorite films and TV shows that are available to watch instantly on Netflix.

"It was the natural order of things."

I should probably start with my favorite film, Tarsem's The Fall. I briefly mentioned this film before in my post "Life is Bigger Than You and You are Not Me." You probably have a movie like this, it is one of your favorites, but it seems like no one else has ever heard of it. You recommend it to people, but you are not able to explain it very well and they usually don't take your advice. When they do watch it, however, they LOVE it! Every time I lend it to someone who wants to watch it, they end up lending it to someone they know AND buying their own copy.

The Fall stars Lee Pace (from "Pushing Daisies") as Roy, an injured stuntman in the early days of Hollywood. Although he cannot walk, it's really his heart that is broken. He meets a girl in the hospital named Alexandria and begins to tell her a story. From that point on, the film switches between the scenes in the hospital and those where Alexandria pictures the story told by Roy.

One thing that makes this film so amazing is the visuals and the locations (OK, that was TWO things). Director Tarsem Sighn (perhaps best known for directing REM's music video "Losing My Religion") spent years taking jobs directing commericals around the world in order to finance this film, scout locations, and make connections. Just look at some of these stills:

This is by far one of the best little hidden gems available instantly on Netflix. Watch it at night, in the dark, cuddled up under a blanket with some popcorn - it will not disappoint.

If you enjoyed this film (or not) feel free to leave comments!

Here is the official website for the film and here is the IMDB and the Wikipedia page, for more information.

Paul is Back!

Yes, the big announcement came today that The Beatles are now on iTunes (I love what you see when you go to the Apple website, if only for today) - but the big news for this blog is that Paul McCartney is back on iTunes!

You can read my previous posts about this issue here and here. (Incidentally, the first one was the first post on this blog anyone ever left a comment for).

Welcome back, Paul. Now I can finally enjoy "Take it Away" on my new iPhone!

Jane Eyre 2011

The new Jane Eyre movie comes out in March of 2011, but you can see the trailer now at Yahoo Movies.

It stars the girl from Alice in Wonderland and the guy from Inglorious Bastards who was English but pretending to be German, you know? It looks good. :)

Here is my previous post about JE the book.

SNL: Jane Lynch

I love that SNL.com now offers full episodes of SNL on Sunday. They leave off the musical guest, though, which means I didn't hav to fast-forward through something called Bruno Mars.

There was a lot of Andy Samburg goodness tonight, but I didn't see a sketch about Glee... anyway, here is the football sketch. Just two weeks ago I was talking to my brother about those crazy theme songs that have lyrics that change slightly for each game and seem really long with some lady in a dress standing in a field. Anyway...