Tuesday, April 19, 2016
I Miss the Old Days
Trippy Blacklight Posters From the Psychedelic Heyday: Whoa man. Is this poster glowing? Wait. Is that a centaur?
Why Humans Start Collections of Specific Items
An Insightful History and Explanation Regarding Why Humans Start Collections of Specific Items: Just as eating food provides temporary hunger fulfillment, so does obtaining a new object. …For a collector, the satisfaction from attaining a new piece quickly subsides… and the hunt resumes. Collecting as a form of preserving the past confirms our belief that there must be an infinite truth. Life existed before me and it will exist after me, and “Here’s the proof.” …And collecting as a form of establishing one’s identity is a celebration of individuality because no two collections are the same. Your button, coin or card collection creates a conceptual circle of magic that wards off uncertainty and chaos, helps define you, and proves not only that you exist, but that you are unique. A collection is a secure micro world of order entirely controlled by you in a macro world of chaos… but that becomes a problem when the toy trains control the conductor.
Overlooked Movies: Little Miss Sunshine
A repeat from 2006, when this was a new movie.
This is a funny movie about a dysfunctional family that makes mine seem almost normal. It's essentially a road-trip movie that reminded me a lot of National Lampoon's Vacation in certain ways that it's probably best not to discuss; otherwise, I'd spoil some of the fun.
The trip ends not at Wally World but at the Little Miss Sunshine competition, an event as horrifying as anything I've seen in a movie in a long time. How Olive, the young girl in the family, ever got into such a competition in the first place is never explained. Oh, we know she won second prize in a previous competition, and that's not explained, either. I'd kind of like to know, given the way her Little Miss Sunshine bit goes.
A lot's not explained about the family, for that matter. It's more like they were assembled out of central casting and put together for the picture. Not that I cared. Every one of them is great. I especially liked Alan Arkin who talks a lot, and Paul Dano, who talks very little; but Toni Collette as the mother who tries to hold the crazy bunch together is fine, as is Greg Kinnear, the loser father who wants so much to be a winner. Steve Carell as the uncle is super. The real star of the picture, however, is Abigail Breslin, who deserves an Oscar nomination. She's just great. (Update: She's recently appeared in the Scream Queens TV series and will be playing the role of Baby in the unnecessary remake of Dirty Dancing.)
Some of the scenes go on too long, especially the climactic one, but what the heck. I got a lot of laughs. If you haven't seen this movie, check it out. Highly recommended.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Doris Roberts, R. I. P.
TMZ.com: Doris Roberts, the beloved mom from "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died ... TMZ has learned. She won 5 Emmy awards, 4 of them for 'Raymond.' She's also starred in tons of other TV shows and movies, like "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and "Grandma's Boy."
Will the Persecution Never End?
AOL: Paris Hilton, in typical Paris Hilton fashion, turned heads this week when she paired a leopard print jacket with leopard print booties that looked tacky and costume-ish. Leather leggings, a floppy hat and oversized sunnies didn't help the socialite-turned-DJ's case.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
It's raining in Alvin, too, but we're not flooded like Houston. Yet.
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