Creepiness in Advertising

Ok- Long overdue update.

But I felt this warranted sharing. Currently, I am convalescing from a very excellent bachelorette party. Paul is out this evening at the boy version. Since I recently busted my laptop, and blogging is nearly impossible on a tablet (this is basically also exhibit A in the case of why I haven't blogged all year), I am using Paul's computer.

I was also using earlier, to watch some videos on Youtube. As I was watching a few, I noticed a persistent pop up ad that kept coming back on each video I watched. It said "Is he cheating?" and proceeded to inform me of the personal background check service I could use to see if my husband was fixin' to cheat.

It occurred to me that creepy ass google ads probably noticed that I was going to websites this computer doesn't usually go to (AKA Disney Confessions Tumblr and Kimbra Music Videos). Could I be spying on my husband to see if he had those salacious secret website profiles the advertisement portends?

And this was no ordinary pop up either- I just noticed they're now doing this thing where the ad is more ghost like, more transparent, harder to notice right away.

Just the solid letters appear very visibly, in the corner of you vision, planting the seed. Is he cheating?

The future is crazy/creatively manipulative.

More Fitting

Today is Dr. Suess' posthumous 108th birthday. It is also the opening of the major hollywood production of "The Lorax", a film based on Seuss' environmentally conscious tale.

Even ignoring the less than stellar reviews (many written in an homage of rhyme), this movie has kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was when a tactless car company hijacked the title character to sell their wares, in spite of the crux of the story be a caution about consumerism (Is a Mazda a-fine-something-that-all-people-need?).Or maybe I just never really saw Danny Devito as the one who would speak for the trees. I don't know. I just feel like this story in particular, that focuses so much on condemning greed, doesn't really make sense as a million dollar hollywood blockbuster.

To celebrate the anniversary of our local poets birth, I think this is a much more appropriate tribute:



It captures people of all ages, celebrating life in a colorful, imaginative way. Also, take getting the pants scared off you literally!

Super Music

Right this instant, I am super in to Dr. Dog! They are a relatively new music discovery for me, so I've got about 6 albums worth of listening to catch up on. But that's a-ok. I love their video for "Shadow People"-



I also love the singers voice- so interesting! They are playing in Boston on March 22. I would love to go, but it is on a Thursday....hmmmm!

Magical

On the recommendation of a great musician, Paul and I have been watching Workaholics on Netflix.

It's a pretty awesome show, that has undeniable appeal for the millennial workforce. 3 Ridiculous Slackers living like it's college, but working as telemarketers. Though almost every single premise of this show is unrealistic and farcical, it's actually kind of strangely easy to identify with main characters.

I'm so bummed that there was only 10 episodes! It led to us going online to dig up some of their old material This is one of the gems. Wizards. Rapping. It makes perfect sense.

He's too much!

"The Year without a Santa Claus" - 1974 is one of the most beloved Rankin-Bass holiday stop motion animation cartoons. Perhaps it's not quite as ubiquitous as "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" - 1964, but it's characters are definitely more popular- Namely, the Miser Brothers.

Afterall, Yukon Cornelius and that elf who wants to be a dentist don't have people making awkward tribute videos of them, do they?

I'm not sure which one I like better. The dour pre-teen Snow Miser has better special effects, but the Heat Miser Dad has way better dance moves!

Same Old

"It is all a fake, of course; the figures in the popular art are falsely drawn; the real women in bathing suits or tights are actually pinched in and propped up to make them appear firmer and more slender and more boyish than nature allows a full-grown woman to be....As a result we are more and more directing the desires of men to something which does not exist—making the rôle of the eye in sexuality more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible. What follows you can easily forecast!" - C.S. Lewis, 1942

DIsney Confessions!

OK! My latest obsession is http://waltdisneyconfessions.tumblr.com/.

It is like the seminary confessional website Post Secret, but it is all teenagers posting their opinions about disney.

It's actually gotten me thinking about the music and movies from this media giant that I like best. OMG I should write a confession you guys!

My Top 5 Favorite Animated Disney Movies - As Depicted by Disney Confessions!

5. Lilo and Stitch

4. Hercules

 

3. Up

 

 2. Tarzan

1. Beauty and the Beast

OUCH- She doesn't even consider her a princess you guys!

Do you have a top 5?

Anticipation!

Guys guys guys guys - BIG NEWS...It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is coming back to TV in like 2 weeks and I am so excited.

But I'm also feeling kind of conflicted! Many of you probably know that this season heralds the arrival of "Fat Mac".



Rob McElhenney purportedly gained 50 lbs because "fat people are funny." But I've always thought Mac was pretty good looking! So it's weird!

It's weird though too to have a tv crush on a character who is basically a terrible person. WHATEVER. I'm looking forward to new episodes! I hope they do another musical!

Crossover Special?

The X-Files are pretty cool. Last night Paul and I watched the one where a black oil slick sludge monster/ alien body snatcher body snatches its way from the ocean floor to the American heartland so it can hop in it's top secret space ship.

I really really really like to imagine that this alien and the one below are one in the same.



OMG crossover!

Taked baby. Meet at later bar night or day, sometime

So speaking of bizarre alternate realities...We were talking about that right?

Do you think this is what the character Charlie from "It's Always Sunny" dreams of at night? Knocking up the Waitress?

Well, I guess I'm making things a little convoluted, since this is actually happening in real life, and it would only be a bizarre alternate reality if the show was the plane of reality that we all operated on.

I did not intend for this to become so existential! Good for them!

Begat Begat Begat

This is not a chicken and egg situation: The British Office came first, and inspired our American favorite. The stateside version has had great success, and the lives of characters have been far more heartily developed (given that our version has been on for 7 seasons, and the original only got 3.) Indeed, The Office is a show that has demonstrated that a remake can be more developed and popular than the original.

But dear reader, we're not the only country that is building television icons out of Ricky Gervais' creation. Did you know that Afghanistan has their own version of the Office? WELP - They do!

It's called "The Ministry!"



Man, the "jim/tim" character is kind of groveling and lame....but I doubt there was much room for a love story to make him cooler. Also, I like black the humor is in this version, the commentary on politics and terrorism - it's a weird window into another reality!

USA! USA! USA!

Patriotism! YEAH!

Stuck in my head right this instant:

Paul and I have very recently started watching "Bleach" (2004), another supernatural animated epic. It's pretty awesome, about ghosts and soul reapers who help them pass on.It sounds kind of  like "The Sixth Sense" (1999), but this has way more badassery and monsters!

It's also the first anime we've been watching that's still making new episodes. With 15+ seasons, it may take us awhile to catch up though...



Anywho, I've had the theme song (Asterisk by Orange Range)stuck in my head all day. Having a song you do not know the language of stuck in your brains is problematic, especially if you're one to sing along, like me!

Girly Guru

So, I recently discovered the cutest beauty expert in town; Madison, a 5 year old make up guru. My initial response was something along the lines of "WTF - Sexualization of girls sux!!! sdoifh."

But after watching a few of the clips, I feel like this is a really big stone's throw away from the creepiness of "Toddlers and Tiaras".  (ugh).




Madison is a cute kid, who actually really knows her stuff. She comes across like any other kindergartener with a deep interest in something (see: me age 5 and dinosaurs), where she's absorbed herself in becoming knowledgeable about it. She doesn't seem like a misguided Lolita, she's a super amazing make-up artist in training. It's also awesome that her mom clearly sets some boundaries about what is age appropriate to wear. I love her!

For my 4 dear friends who are getting married next year, Madison has advice for you:



You'll all look so pretty!

And the best Stock image goes to....

Shutterstock! For "Concept image of metrosexual male featuring a young male using a hair dryer to fix his hair nicely, isolated against a white background"!

Congratulations, You handsome devil!

5 Characters in Search of an Exit - 1961

A tale from the Twilight Zone involving an Army Major, a clown, a hobo, a Scotsman, and a Ballet dancer who are trapped in a mysterious room with no exit, and no idea of how they arrived there.

"We are in the darkness; nameless things with no memory – no knowledge of what went before, no understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be."



Can't help but wonder if it was't the inspiration for this!

Le merveilleux

Over the weekend, Paul and I saw a High School Production of the legendary Musical Les Miserables. I, like almost everybody I've mentioned this to, was super skeptical that high school kids could pull off such a demanding and intense show.

Finding boys who can sing is the stereotypical primary challenge of high school theater, and this is a show that demands a huge male cast. Paul and I were speculating about which male parts would be played by women (He guessed Mr. Thenadier, I guess Enjorals). Miraculously though, Oakmont High School found an ample supply of guys, and pretty much all of them were great singers!

All the leads were incredibly strong too. Marius and Cosette were impeccable. And especially the kid who played Jean Valjean. When naysayers point to why high-schoolers couldn't pull this off, they usually point to one song:



As I mentioned to my brother, who was running the spotlight, this kid they got to play the lead is like an x-men, whose only power is singing really really well. He sang "Bring him home" beautifully.

I felt just as moved, and excited and impressed by this production as I did when i saw it on Broadway. They even had that amazing rotating set that makes the staging of this show so memorable. It was a fun way to see one of my favorite shows ever again.

My brother's girlfriend was in it, and played Fantine. She was spectacular. I really can't say enough good things about this show, and the kids who pulled it off deserve a lot of praise. The audience cried at all the right parts and somebody even shouted out "no" in the audience when a particularly lovable character died (Can you guess who?).

Seeing it again has gotten me looking up all the songs on youtube. It's hard to pick a favorite, but I really like this one:

My hero

Bernie Sanders is the last sincere, intelligent, and passionate statesman. I don't understand how so many people can hold an opposing viewpoint. He's an independent all-star.



I do believe I'll buy this book!

This Lightening Storm, This Tidal Wave

This song by REM is a long standing favorite of mine, ever since Paul put it on a mix CD for me back in High School. Until today I had never seen the music video. It's amazing and cool. Who woulda thought 30 seconds of chaotic party footage would create the fiber for a 4 minute long music video. So Creative!




Personally, I like the bitch getting the drink thrown in her face best. But the guy catching on fire is cool too.

Too Awesome

Paul and I just finished watching "Noein: To Your Other Self" (2005), and we really really loved it. It's a 24 episode anime series about time travel, quantum physics, and all sorts of amazing cool stuff. It's the first show I've seen that really gave me that feeling I'd get when I watched "Lost", in the best way possible.

It centers around a young girl named Haruka and the sudden discovery of an inter-dimensional traveler in her sleepy hometown. The story only gets stranger when she discovers the traveler is her good friend Yuu, from 15 years in the future.

It's a show that has just the right mix of emotional plot, action, science fiction, real science, and a sprinkling of comedy.



I would say it's a truly amazing piece of animated storytelling. It's streaming on Netflix and I recommend it to all!