When I Wake Up in the Morning and the Alarm Gives Out a Warning...

I wish I had a magic house that helped me get ready in the morning.







He doesn't appreciate his magic shoes/shower/covers! He's sleeping through it!

The Coolest Kid on the Hall

I love when stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond send out their "dorm stuff" fliers. Boy do those take me back--the pop-up laundry baskets, the collapsible bookcases, the pillows with arms. But even if you throw up some posters and get a rug, it's not exactly the design aesthetic you want to have for the rest of your life.

Unless you're Maximilian Sinsteden.

This kid is an interior design wizard. His dorm room does not look like a dorm room at all. (Make sure to click through for a slideshow.) It's prep-tastic--green walls, ties as decor, overlapping rugs. He should be in a Wes Anderson movie. And with statements like "I can’t live in a minimalist world. For me, it’s all about eclecticism," and "Anything for cashmere!" this kid is the interior design Truman Capote.

Does he need a Harper Lee?

I was also surprised to find that I didn't think Maximilian was pretentious at all. Usually a kid with this much of a persona would get on my nerves. But he really is a fantastic designer. It's like Christian from Project Runway--he knows he has an image and probably courts it, but he puts out such a fantastic project that I don't care.

Maybe when I'm rich/famous enough to afford an interior decorator, I can give Maximilian a call. I bet he'd design a kick-ass office.

Channel Surfing

I'm still upset that Pushing Daisies never survived. (Even though apparently they're finally running the last three episodes, starting at the end of May, albeit on the television dead zone of Saturday night.) So I was interested to read Tim Goodman's take on what network television is doing wrong. A couple of major points:

"Keep shows on the air. Pay attention, because here's the thing that bites you in the hind parts every season: If you air a series Wednesday at 9 p.m. for five weeks, then take it off the schedule for two months without explaining why, then bring it back for the last eight episodes, you will have lost all of your momentum and all of your hope."

This is a huge one. And Pushing Daisies is a perfect example of this. When the writers' strike happened, Pushing Daisies went MIA until the next season--not reruns, even. And the marketing was terrible, so people kind of forgot about it. Viewers don't want try to remember what happened last episode because it was so long ago. They want a more consistent run.

"Have patience. The decision-making process can't merely be about overnight ratings and cost-benefit analysis. Sometimes it takes time to launch a show (especially if you're employing the shell game or flooding the market). Networks have far quicker triggers than in years past - and look what it's done for them. Time to rethink conventional network wisdom when it comes to growing a good show."

Another major problem. Sometimes it takes viewers a while to catch on, especially if your marketing sucks. (Seriously, why so many commercials for Cavemen?) The Office wasn't a hit right out of the gate. Buffy, either. And where would I be without those shows?

Goodman also mentions the importance of having a good show website, with episodes online. I would also add that you need to have a full season online. I used to watch Grey's Anatomy, but since they only run the most recent episodes online and I've missed a few this season, I've just given up. (Also, it's gotten kind of lame.) I know networks don't want to just have episodes available all the time, but it helps bring in new viewers and keep old viewers. I don't even mind the commercials. I just want to catch up on shows when it's convenient for me.

ABC/NBC/CBS, are you listening?

"What exactly are you a professor of, Prof. Logan?" "Art."

All right, Wolverine doesn't exactly teach art at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Unfortunately for him, NPR has also scratched some potential careers off his list. Some favorites:

• Balloon-animal artist
• Obstetrician
• Dental hygienist
• Ship-in-a-bottle assembler
• Attendant in library rare-books room
• Quality assurance inspector, gossamer scarves

Is NPR taking on McSweeney's in the funny lists category? I'd love to see that throwdown!

What Happened to the Shriners?

My recent favorite headline:

Police: Dutch Royals Targeted in Deadly Crash, Driver plows through barriers at celebration, killing bystanders

• Video: Horrible end to parade

Yeah. I hate when parades end that way.

Hey Jude

Not exactly a flash mob, but T-Mobile got a crowd in Trafalgar Square to sing "Hey Jude." I love Trafalgar Square and the Beatles, so I'm a little sad I wasn't there.






I kind of like that companies are resorting to fun, communal activities to getting attention.

Not that I'll be switching back to T-Mobile anytime soon. Sorry, guys. Your coverage isn't that great.

I Have a Little Shadow

Remember Katie, who got a surprise monkey costume in the mail? Now she's back with her shadow project.

"Do you ever wonder if your shadow is playing tricks on you behind your back? I mean, it could be, right? It's always walking behind you so you never know what's going on back there!"

So true!

Katie cut out a bunch of poses out of black paper and posted them on walls around Brooklyn. Then, when people walked by, Katie snapped fun shots of their "shadows" playing behind them. Check out more pictures through the link.

What a nifty idea! It reminds me of Peter Pan's shadow, except I wouldn't want Wendy to sew these back to their appropriate owners. Shadows should be allowed to play, too!

Spooky Stiches

In the last decade, knitting has turned hip. But it's been the same kind of hip for a while now. How can we save knitting from backsliding into the realm of grannies?

Mix it up with other hip things. Like zombies!

Check out these monster embroidery patterns. You know, for tote bags or samplers or the clubs. You can embroider a Frankenstein's monster, a mummy, or (of course) a zombie. The zombie has earrings and a headband, and I'm not sure why. Is he a pirate? Or is she a girl from the mall? (Very Romero.) Did she shop at Claire's?

I've got to admit--I've always wanted to learn how to do crafty-yarn-things, and this is pretty good incentive.

Goooood Morning Lady Faces!

100 Movie Quotes in 200 Seconds. I really like the fact that they break these up by genre.





Come on, you know you got chills, too. Damn you, montage!

Tilting at Windmills

Because here at Lady Faces, we love the funny things cats do.







Try to catch the air! Try with your tiny paws!

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

As a redhead named Annie, you can bet your bottom dollar that I watched the movie Annie every single day when I was little. There was that brief period in which I hated the musical, since kids would sing "Tomorrow" at me, but those days are over and I sincerely love it again. Sometimes when I'm down I'll put on the soundtrack and sing, "She's like a shine on your shoes, or hearing a blues that's great..." Except I can't sing well, so there was never a chance that this Annie could have been in Annie.

And maybe that's a good thing. Check out Life After Tomorrow, a documentary about women who played Annie (or were one of the orphans) on Broadway. Even though you can tell they all love the musical, it did kind of mess with their heads. One minute they're huge Broadway stars, and then next they're out the door because there's a more adorable kid taking their place. Also, they were kind of let run wild. (Sarah Jessica Parker mentions how they all used to run around Broadway before it got cleaned up, making fun of the prostitutes.)

Nowadays, I hope kids in theater are under a little more supervision, but there are still stage parents forcing kids to be perfect, and I'm guessing kids don't get therapy after their lose a role to kids who are younger and cuter. One person in the film makes a good point--if your kid says they want to be an astronaut, you don't send them to NASA. But if your kid says he/she wants to be a star, you can potentially make that happen. And that's not necessarily a good thing.

But it is nice to see that the women in Life After Tomorrow don't hate Annie. They all just say it was a wonderful but overwhelming time in their lives.

I can't embed the whole documentary here, but here's a taste from 20/20:

There's No Need to Fear; Underdog is Here!

It's like an eight-year-old's dream come true...sort of.






I think it's great that these people want to help make their cities a better place to live, but is this really the right way to do it? I mean, didn't they see the beginning of The Dark Knight? They are totally going to get hurt someday.

Also, I wish they had superpowers.

Good Grief

This year's inspiration on the runway? Charles Schultz, apparently. Check out the Peanuts-inspired outfits and their corresponding characters.

Push Me!

Lucky BART riders! I want a swing on the T!

Slide Fail

Pandas, you really need to work on your image.