The Plural Form of You Mapped Out

Based on my own quirky usage of the varied plural forms of "you", I can assimilate pretty easily to every state... But, I think I say "you all" and"you guys"the most these days... Good, bad, ugly?

Via:  Buzzfeed

Where the Wild Things Are: VOD or DVD, your choice.

At some point in 2009,  along with the slobbering film junkies and depressive Muppet nerds,  I was eagerly anticipating the release of Spike Jonze's latest film, Where the Wild Things Are.  Dave Eggers was attached as co-writer; the trailer was lush and atmospheric; and the indie scoring had the right dose of I-tunes download appeal. If anything at all, Warner Bros. had cornered the McSweeney-reading, American Apparel-clad hipster market like nobody's business. But amid all of the excitement, reports of development and production snafus began to leak out into the blogosphere, which signaled that this beloved children's book could potentially turn into a cinematic shit-show.  The more optimistic side of me held onto the belief that Spike Jonze could actually pull it off.  After all, he successfully executed Being John Malkovich (Love!), Adaptation (Like.) and a countless number of music videos.  All required making sense of the nonsensical, or, at the very least, giving narrative form to emotional qualities in music--quite an ambitious feat for a filmmaker.

Unfortunately, despite the capable cinematography and poetic visuals, the story does not sustain one's interest for the duration of a feature length film.  Watching a monster clobber another monster, walk across the desert, or barbarically yawp over a seaside cliff, may have some impact on the audience for the first time, but the following 20 times--without empathy, believable motivation or entertaining action sequences--it all becomes a monster bore.  I suppose it was difficult to watch, because there was no emotional depth to the kinetic energy. 

The film wasn't completely flawed, the first 15-20 minutes that provided the back-story of Max, the main protagonist, and his family was lovely and competently rendered, perfectly and poignantly illustrating family dynamics (especially with the mother, played by Catherine Keener) and the psychological qualities of the characters.  Ultimately, the experience of watching Where the Wild Things Are was a bit like seeing someone's vacation photos. Lovely to look at, but not very fun because you aren't in them. 



 

More Aziz

Cardboard Cutouts

Kill a tree, save a deer!  I've seen these everywhere in New York...

Via: Trendhunter.com

New Specs

Check out my new specs and latest indulgence in eyewear. Cutler and Gross...
Do not comment, I've already had the lenses made...done deal.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Another over-priced lamp that I dig....

Made by Autoban...  Still searching for  the perfect floor lamp.  It's agonizing to get up out of bed to switch off the lights before hitting the hay.  Feel free to send suggestions.
Via: Hivemodern.com

An Education

This film is worth seeing for Carey Mulligan's praise-worthy performance of Jenny,  a 16 year old girl morphing into a woman of wisdom and sophistication.   Roguish love-interest, Peter Sarsgaard, although an actor of note, isn't quite charismatic or hunky enough to compel me to believe that Jenny would trade her scholarly ambitions for a dingy life with him in London.  Felt repetitive and slightly trite, but captures mood and place competently.  Can't offer a ringing endorsement....Off to see Bronson!

Black Trousdale Floor Lamp at Jonathan Adler

Me likey.  But really should find a reproduction....Any look alikes out there?

Retails at $995. GULP.

Via: Jonathan Adler

Glee!

If  there's a part of you that doesn't enjoy this show, then you must be clinically depressed.    

"La, la, la,la, la la....."

Glee is like the Gatorade Gum of my youth---sweet, tangy and leaving you salivating for more.  Gatorade Gum lived a a fairly long shelf life, let's hope this show does too.... 

Side Note: When I was a wee lass and a member of my own alma matter's Glee Club, we did not sing alterna-pop Top 40, as they do on the show. Sadly, no Deee-lite, The Breeders, Jesus Jones or Ned's Atomic Dustbin. In fact, the piece indelibly seared into memory is Benjamin Britten's Wolcum Yole.  

Check out this track. 

http://www.last.fm/music/Benjamin+Britten/_/Wolcum+Yole!

Yeah,  my sentiments exactly.  Snooze-a-rama. 

I don't think that we, collectively,  had the talent pull it off. Plus,  it was a bitch to sing soprano, being the the shaky mezzo-soprano/alto I am.  Our frustrated director lost all hope and gave us something easier to sing in front of the school.  Needless to say, "invitationals" and the element of competition were not part of the overall experience for our lowly choral group. 

Via: Hulu.com

  

Good Design? Sherbet colored tupperware

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Then and Now Photography - Robert Frank

I'm really drawn to "Then and Now" photography, whether it's the depiction of the decline or gentrification of a neighborhood, pre/post war photos, before-and-after  disaster images, or just simply the representation of the passage through time, like Steve McCurry's iconic photos of the Afghan woman in National Geographic:

 The most chilling (and elegant) stink-eye caught on film.

The juxtaposition of 2 images, illustrating the process of change is fascinating.

Most recently, I came across this Robert Frank photo (left) from The Americans on NPR with a recreation of the same pose (right)  that I quite like:

 Dreary, yet dreamy.

Looking forward to catching the Robert Frank exhibit at the Met!


Via: NPR.com

Thanks to Rob K. for the link to the DUMBO pics....

Twacy.org

Tracy Morgan's brilliance on NBC's 30 Rock is due to the glorious combination of  sharp writing and zany delivery. His daily musings and golden non-sequiturs must be evangelized on Twitter.  Tweet the word!

Thanks to Lina for the link!

Via: Twacy.org 

Mad Props

Effortlessly transporting viewers from modern day to the early sixties,  Mad Men's sublime set design is  unquestionably exquisite and one of the most lauded characteristics of the show.  EW has a delightful slide show featuring some of the most notable props used on set. Check out some of my faves from the photo gallery:

Via: EW.com 

Charts

Usually, charts are a wildly waving redflag for an impending snoozefest.  However, Good has been churning out instructive illustrations that are civic-minded and quite charming.  SEE???

Save the desert elephants!

Via:  Coolhunting.com
Photo Via: Flickr/Good

Black Wedge Boots: To splurge or save?

I have the snifflies this Saturday and engaging in the healing properties of online retail therapy/browsing. Came across these Lanvin wedge boots at Net-a-Porter:

Splurge?  Lanvin's $1555 Leather Wedge Boots

LOVE! But, I'll probably end up with these 80%20 boots:

Save? 80%20's $195 Jackie Hidden Wedge Pebble Grain Black Boots

Not a bad substitute, eh? The Lanvin's are sleeker and the leather looks buttery.  The 80%20 boots are more boho and casual.  Zappos had the "Jackie" on sale for $137 in a mugly putty hue.

Mad Men

Due to traveling and carousing, I've been "out of pocket" as they say in the biz (Tangent: What does that phrase really mean?),  and have missed the premieres and original airings of some of my shows, namely Top Chef, Project Runway, and, last but not least, Mad Men.  I've given up on Project Runway,  but I'm current with Top Chef, thanks to VOD. Additionally,  I managed to get my hands on  downloaded copies of all the back episodes of Mad Men, so I don't feel left out of casual conversation. (Shout out to Beershower for that!)

This current season of Mad Men is still as cryptic, moody and visually captivating as the last 2 seasons. Storylines are still strong. Nice to see that Peggy-kins is also getting some MAJOR action without getting herself preggers, albeit with Duck the divorced alkie??!!  Anyhoo, AMC is hosting a video contest to win a walk-on role for the best reinterpretation of a given character's  monologue. Check out this video entry that my darling friend, Sabina, produced--funny stuff.  Register and Vote!

Via: AMC

Wave War

Really dying for a Google Wave invite? Head over to E-bay... Bids are going as high as $5100, according to CSmonitor.com. Say what??!!!

No bids on this posting, as of 12:18 AM...

G'night Nerds.

Via: Twitter and CSmonitor.com