Sunny Monday

This commercial is proof that Zooey Deschanel can do no wrong. Usually I'm not a fan of the cotton commercials, but Zooey makes me want to wear a cotton dress and play a musical instrument.





Forget the fabric of our lives. Zooey is the coolest girl of our lives!

Three Howls for Puppies!

You know how much I love The Daily Puppy? I never thought I'd find something cuter.

Oh my God, I found it.

THE DAILY BEAGLE.

Every day, it's a new beagle picture/video! My head might explode from all the cute.

Okay, I know that beagles aren't exactly good apartment dogs. They howl and bay and will run after a scent until their legs fall off. But they're also really friendly and adorable and, as this video from Animal Plant says, are everything you want in a dog.

Also, if you ever want to hunt foxes or rabbits, you already have a dog for that! They're not just a lovable companion; they're a hunting machine!

Of course, I don't tend to hunt a lot of foxes or rabbits. But maybe one could hunt for my keys?

Until the space for a beagle comes through, I'll be visiting the Daily Beagle.

Also, the Soundtrack Was Awesome

Looking back, the visuals were better than the acting, but as a seventh grader I really, really, really wanted to be Claire Danes in Romeo + Juliet.

Scary Strokes

I never watched the original show, but this seems more like what would have happened.






Looks like case for Law & Order: SVU!

This is Beyond Anything I Imagined

This might just be the best one yet.






Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

The part with Cho (?) looks so creepy!

July needs to hurry along already.

Remember My Name

A new version of Fame? By the writer of 27 Dresses?

Yeah, I'm worried.

The trailer doesn't look too bad, especially when the original trailer didn't convey a lot about the movie, either. But my guess is that this is a chance to capitalize on kids who love the High-School-Hannah-Montana-Brothers-Camp-Rock thing. In the original movie, the kids are tough and deal with a lot of really bad stuff while in school. (Molestation, abortion, being a failure at 18, etc.) It's actually one of the best 'teen' movies, since it's not really about teen issues. And the actors look like they were teenagers in New York City in 1980. (Kids of different racial backgrounds? And not just the one black friend? Holy cow!)

In the new trailer, things look a little too shiny. Of course, this is just a teaser trailer, so maybe the movie itself will be kind of gritty, but I doubt it. I just hope it won't be as lame as Center Stage.

Six (Feet) Down

Need a time waster for your Friday? Check out the Mutant Enemy--aka, Joss Whedon shows--crossword! Find the answer to clues like "'The' Xander episode" and "Maybe ate the baby?" Plus some harder ones for people who already know what those answers will be.

Whoever made this, thank you!

Can R2D2 Fix Something With a Paper Clip?

This makes Star Wars look so much cheesier.






Look at these wacky adventures we have in space!

Friday Lovely

At this point, it's no secret that Audrey Hepburn was one of the loveliest people in Hollywood--ever. Check out some beautiful pictures of her.

The caption to a few of the pictures:

"Audrey Hepburn composes a letter in a palm grove, circa 1955. Hepburn loved nature, and preferred gardening and the quiet life to the glamorous parties of Hollywood."

"'People associate me with a time when movies were pleasant, when women wore pretty dresses in films, and you heard beautiful music,' she once said."

"'I'm an introvert. Playing the extroverted girl was the hardest thing I ever did,' she said of [playing Holly Golightly]."

Audrey's an introvert, too!

Reject!

Oh Sarah Palin. We certainly had fun with you during the election. But don't worry, we haven't forgotten you now that you're back in Alaska. There's so much fun to be had with local government!

For example, Palin and the Juneau Democrats are trying to pick someone to fill a vacant senate seat. The Democrats submit names for Palin's approval. Except she doesn't seem to understand that you can't just put whoever you want in the seat instead. It's been a fun game of "Democrats submit a name, Palin rejects and submit her own name, Democrats reject her back." See it in action:

"Then, the Democratic Senators submitted another list. This time there were three names on it. And the governor chose a name that was not on that list - Joe Nelson. Now, the Dems were really starting to get irked. Had the governor completely lost her mind? This was a matter of principle. She was supposed to choose from a list of names they submitted, not make up the rules as she went along just because she didn’t get her way."

Can you imagine if this woman had made it to the White House? Thank God Joe Biden reminded her about what the vice president's job actually was.

I hope by the time the next election comes around, people will see that this woman doesn't care about how governments are actually run. And that does not make her a maverick.

We're Just Different

I love this article about introverts. The Atlantic Monthly and I have had trouble before (stupid YA-haters who are allowed to write YA reviews), but this is such a nice take on people who are actually okay with spending time on their own. I definitely consider myself an introvert. I like hanging out with people, but I also need time on my own to decompress. This is a good way of looking at it.

"Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say 'Hell is other people at breakfast.' Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: 'I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses.'

Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. As often as I have tried to explain the matter to extroverts, I have never sensed that any of them really understood. They listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping."

I've always felt like that, but no one's put it that way before. I love hanging out with friends, but often I find that it's just as nice to have a moment to oneself. And that that's okay. It doesn't mean you're lonely or sad. It means that you don't mind having a moment to yourself. Growing up, my parents always thought I was sad and lonely, because they're extremely extroverted and would go out all the time, whereas I was totally fine staying in and reading. They didn't understand the difference between loneliness and quietness.

It's like how I don't understand the people who constantly need to be on cell phones--in stores, in line, whatever. Can't you have a moment alone? Extroverts are more likely to need that constant connection. Introverts aren't necessarily scared of interaction--they just like to have the quiet of their own mind as well.

So here's to the introverts! Although we like to be invited to parties, we also like to have a night in.

Quack Attack

Weird public art is awesome. Like this giant ducky by artist Florentijn Hofman! The title of the piece is "Rubber Duck" and it was floated in the Loire, in France in 2007.

From the artist's website:

"The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn't discriminate people and doesn't have a political connotation. The friendly, floating Rubber Duck has healing properties: it can relieve tensions as well as define them. The rubber duck is soft, friendly and suitable for all ages!"

I love artists who use exclamation points in happy ways!

Stuff like this makes me so happy. It's not pretentious or obnoxious. It surprises people in their daily lives and makes them reassess their world, sure, but it's also just so delightful. Hurrah for Florentijn!

All Aboard

Sigh. Oh public transportation. No matter what city you're in, you frustrate your patrons.

Earth Rocks!

If you didn't love Paul Rudd before, you have to love him now. Who else would get so into wearing a giant earth suit on Sesame Street? I really bet the producers came up to him and said, "Okay, so we've got this song that involves you wearing a giant globe," and Paul Rudd said, "Hell yeah you do!"

Paul, if you're out there, we should totally be friends.







Earth rocks!

(Although I kept thinking of that as a pun--literal rocks. Hehehe.)

Geriatrics Rejoice!

People think it's hard to have fun when you're old. You need to get to bed earlier, you have hip replacements, you have hearing aids, your grandchildren are kind of lame. It's a lot of problems!

But old people can surprise you. Sometimes they have a lot of fun! Evidenced by photos of old people enjoying themselves.

A few favorites:

(This is my very favorite! Go, turtle, go!)