#paul cinco TAKE NOTES

[fat-fem-and-asian]

okay i know its early but s2 schmigadoon is feeling much better than s1!

my main issue w/ s1 was really wrapped up in josh and mel and how little their chemistry was actually shown -- creating sort of weak subplots since they relied on that relationship and tension! but now we have a josh and melissa who obviously care about each other and have grown! josh can interact with the plot in a more interesting way than just rolling his eyes! melissa has a true personal motivation! i care about them a lot more this time and feel like i'm rooting for them in a way that was missing during s1. i was kinda just team ariana debose.

and everyone is used so, so well. jane krakowski is rolling in solos, kristen chenowith gets a cockney accent, and dove cameron is off doing chair tricks! everyone gets something fun and cool and is put in different dynamics that really help to showcase them as performers. love love love aaron tveit who can do no wrong. plus having keegan and cecily paired together lets them show off more of their comedic strengths and like they're not just talking to camera.

also fun to reverse their main partners! who knew that keegan and aaron could have such good chemistry or that cecily would play so well off of dove.

the plot is tighter, the characters are more dynamic, and the songs are just as good. maybe even better! honestly i went in with low expectations but i have pretty high hopes for the rest of the season! i know there will be some more fun numbers and other characters to get in to, and maaaybe the plot won't be as cut and dry as we think. maybe. even if it's not i will have a damn good time watching schmicago

[adultswim2021]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job #33: “Balls” | February 16, 2009 - 12:30AM | S04E02

Opening sketch is “Pick the Nipple”, which is a little derivative of previous bits. The “success” sketch is a spiritual successor to this, and it’s funnier. Hey, though, I’m not mad. I’m having a nice time. 

The first sketch is a the Cinco Urinal Shower System, which is a disgusting product you’re supposed to use in public restrooms. You shower by harnessing the water flow of a urinal. It makes a terrible mess, and seems very inconvenient to use. The sketch devolves when a janitor comes in and screams at the pitchman for making a mess. He points out that it’s a commercial, and that they’re on a set. Something about this one doesn’t satisfy me, but it’s unique and it qualifies as experimental, so I support it. 

Next is Whoopsie Daisy, which is an all-timer. A Whoopi Goldberg impersonator is filmed everywhere she goes, eternally being messed with in various ways. The idea that a wacky prank show dedicated to being mean to Whoopsie and gleefully capturing her various reactions to “pranks” (all of which are simple harassment, like a woman who throws a glass of water in her face while she’s seated at an outdoor dining area) is real funny, and the caper is the bit of footage that is taken her very own home, capturing her taking a spill in her kitchen. She looks up at the camera, looking disturbed.

This bit is called back later with some candid footage of the actress playing Whoopsie projecting onto the water-tosser that she was somehow concerned her acting was real while she stiffly denies it. Whoopsie just wanted to go out for drinks with the water thrower. Whoopsie may be a weird woman, but I hope she got to go out for drinks.

Another notable piece: Frank Stalone singing a torch song to his young daughter that he’s going to turn her bedroom back into the computer room, relegating the poor girl to sleeping on the couch. This one’s pretty funny in an easily-digestible way. You have a campy guest star, typical comedic reaction shots, and an actual catchy song with a really clear comedic concept. I remember this one sorta rubbed me the wrong way when I first saw it, but it’s grown on me since. I'm sure plenty of people consider this a classic, and I'm being weird. 

The only left to cover now is the framing sequence. In it, Eric announces he’s had a third ball installed. The opening is on yet another cheesy “Sears photo shoot” style set, and it has its moments. The detached/dashed-off Tim & Eric style can feel a little cynical at times, but this segment won me over. The only extra on the DVD pertaining to this episode is an extended version of this sketch, which has some funny stuff in it but is also more repetitive.

The second segment is a little more substantial; it kicks off with Nite Donkey. Tim smugly telling Eric “you owe me a hundred bucks” for some Nite Donkey related bet makes me laugh. I also think the surgery bit is solid. The idea of just letting your friend operate on you is so romantic!

Eric’s third ball moves up into his stomach so they have to get it out. They barge into a Lamaze class but then just do their own thing, making the invasion completely gratuitous. They moan the partial names of Aziz Ansari, Paul Scheer, and Rob Huebel, who made up Human Giant (What, no Woliner??) It ends on sort of a nothing note, which is a shame. But overall, this episode is “pretty nice”.

[niagarawinetour2023]

Winery #5 - Lakeview

This winery is where we had our team activities last year and so I decided to return for a wine tasting again this year as we were so well taken care of by our host, Carrie Iafrate.

We tasted four wines in a building that houses all their wine barrels and huge wine fermentation tanks...

Call the wine police! Someone in my group, or maybe more than one, decides to "pour" themselves a glass of wine from one of the huge fermentation tanks. Does anyone want to own up?

Annie, in a very sexy top, and brandishing a machine gun, poses for a fun photo...

What are you looking for, Kathee?

Aside from tasting wines in here, this was a great opportunity for Sonia, our official photographer, to take team photos in their creative outfits...

"The Midnight Corkers"...

"Win or Booze"...

"The Grape Escapers"...

"The Sour Grapes"...

"The Tasting Notes"... along with two surprise visitors Fred and Natalie from previous wine tours...

"You Bet Shiraz"...

"The Grapes of Wrath"...

"The SIPranos"...

"The Sauvignon Blondes"...

"The Beauties and the Boner"...

"The Broads"... plus our driver who snuck in there...

The "Cinco de Winos"...

A very agile pose for a photo by Alan...

Oh, I wish this was a video. Ron did a face plant on the lawn while escorting Stephanie and Patti to our bus with a full case of wine. I don't think anything was broken, except maybe a dent in his pride...

Here is our driver, Paul, dressed up in "The SIPranos" team garb, brandishing a machine gun, and posing with Terri, a member of "The Broads" team...

[eastsidemags]

Free Comic Book Day 2023

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year - FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

And we’re pulling out all the stops this year with not one but TWO amazing local food vendors and an extremely talented local artist, a MASSIVE sale, give-a-ways, your favorite cosplayers & characters and a few surprises!

With over 40 different titles from almost a dozen or more different publishers to choose from, the free comics are by far the most attractive part of the day. Come by early to grab some of your favorites or take the opportunity to try out a new title or publisher that you’ve been meaning to dive into! That’s what the day is REALLY about - trying new things and embracing what you love! Check out some of these awesome comics that will be available:

Next up - the SALE!

We’re offering - for ONE DAY ONLY - 20% OFF EVERYTHING in the store like:

Graphic novels

Toys

Statues

Novelty items

Select wall books and minor keys

Comic sets

Funko POPs

and more!

Items NOT included in the sale are the following items:

New comics

Dollar comics

Supplies

Cards

Artwork by local artists

We are also offering ALL BIN BACK ISSUES at 50% OFF! If it’s in a bag & board and sits in our bins, it’s 50% off! It’s that simple!

Please note: anything on hold prior to FCBD, in pull boxes or previously reserved before May 6, 2023 are NOT eligible for FCBD discounts. Fully stamped reward cards also cannot be combined with FCBD discounts.

Hmm. What’s a good pairing with a really good read? Delicious food!

East Side Mags is proud to welcome back The Beastro! After all the wild, rave reviews from last year, we wanted you to know we HEAR YOU! We SEE YOU! And you’re right - The Beastro is the best private chef/caterer this side of the Hudson and he’s back with delicious East Side Tacos from the other side of Cinco de Mayo! Come by and try out his delectable shells filled with a variety of savory goodness!

But what’s savory without sweet to follow! That’s where we’re proud to bring you: A Butter Life! Jenny is true perfection in her craft. Cookies, scones, rice crispies treats and more - Jenny is bringing out all the stops to show you what a sweet-tooth really needs.

And what would Free Comic Book Day be without beautiful art! And geez - do we have something special for all of you! Local legend and up-and-coming artist Paul Belliveau is going to be here sketching for customers on blank cover comics and more! Got a favorite character? Or maybe an idea of a mash-up like Winnie the Pooh crossed over with Spawn? Or a motorcycle-riding Ariel the Little Mermaid? Or how about a group of 6 or 7 chipmunks all fighting it out with lightsabers? Just talk to Paul! He’ll make it work and, most importantly, he’ll make it look SPECTACULAR on paper!

And stick around because we’ve got give-a-ways for kids like stickers, lollipops and more. We’ll have exclusive FCBD stuff like the sought-after Etrigan FCBD Exclusive POP Vinyl (regular or blacklight chase; limited quantities; while supplies last). Spider-Man himself will be here and he’ll be bringing some of his web-tastic comic book friends with him throughout the day (who knows who you’ll see? pics from previous years below) and we’ve got some surprises too!

The fun starts at 9am and goes until 7pm so come hang out with us and let’s party like it’s 2023!

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 5 Episode 9: Spicy Six Time ft a disappointing elimination (Commentary & Thoughts)

Hello everybody! Welcome (or welcome back) to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every single episode of the Masked Singer. So, after a week off because of the sing-a-long episode (which I never recap because there isn’t anything new to talk about), we are into our spicy six (that’s a Cinco de Mayo thing) or should I say top 6? This is where things are getting tough because everyone is so good and tough eliminations. Anyways, let’s get into this episode because *spoiler alert* I am not very happy with the result...

Side Note: I am not including guesses here because I feel like it is a bit repetitive (if you are new, you can see some of my previous blog posts hehe... especially the last one I posted)

First, let’s begin with the elimination that I feel is the saddest of the season:

Robopine 😦😦

Commentary: He sang Water Runs Dry by Boyz II Men and it was beautiful! Like I understand I might have a bias for this guy because I love his voice and I think it’s butter... but I do gotta say the competition is stiff at this point of the show and people are really bringing it. However, come on guys, his voice is just stunning and emotional and ughhhhh why did he leave?! If you guys know my blog, you probably know that he is one of my favorites so this makes me super sad, I am now really hoping Black Swan wins it all

Having said that, he was revealed to be (as I suspected):

Tyrese Gibson

Yeah, wooo I got it right. Honestly, this was upsetting but when he said in his post show interview that Beyoncé didn’t win Star Search but she still Beyoncé made me feel a tiny bit better about this tho. Idk man these eliminations every season as the show is about to wrap, it gets sadder and more annoying every time when we reach this point. Anyways, yeah Tyrese! He sang amazing, he did THAT so like I guess it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Oh and if you wanna understand how that last clue package relates to him, the person he lost was Paul Walker and the amusement park ride he was talking about was Fast and Furious, which has a ride at Universal Studios (which I have been on... it’s cool ngl, his face is on the ride and everything)

Anyways, moving onto our remaining five or how they called it in the previews the “fiesty five”...

1. Black Swan 🦢🖤

Commentary: Ok, so now that Robopine is gone, she is the sole person I am routing for to be in the finale at least (but I have heard some rumors about her this episode coming up tonight that I hope and pray are not true.. so this makes me nervous). In my ideal world, she can win it all. She sang Do I Do by Stevie Wonder and girlll be picking insane songs wow, but she be killing every last note. Her voice really is something special, I wasn’t too sure about her first performance, but she’s really proving herself omg. She is honestly a favorite of mine as you probably know.... because 1. Girl Power ladies and gents... but most importantly 2. IT’S FREAKING JOJO... LIKE THE GIRL WHO SANG “GET OUT (LEAVE) RIGHT NOW IT’S THE END OF YOU AND ME...” (if you know it, sing along) She got them pipes and I feel the same way about her as I did Tori Kelly last season, and to refresh your mind or let the new people know.... mark my words ladies and gents.... these girls are SOME OF THE BEST VOICES OF OUR GENERATION. There, I said it, drop the imaginary mic 🎤

2. Russian Dolls 🪆

Commentary: Ok guys, so my gut feeling isn’t my favorite thing in the world... but it tells me how this show is being set up that they might win this season. I like them, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t really think they deserve to win it all (but like at the end of the day, wtf is all? A trophy? Is that it?! Just think about that before you get annoyed... also a message to myself because oof this season has tested my patience). Anyways, they sang Shallow by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and like always their harmonies are on point but this whole “let’s be 2 people and then surprise a 3rd person and then ohhh is there maybe a 4th, nope jk we are back to 2, oh wait nvm now we are 3 again thing” is getting annoying and aggravating. Let’s just be straight here: THERE ARE 3 PEOPLE UNDER THESE DOLLS... NO MORE, NO LESS... don’t let them mess with your head. It’s Hanson, point blank end of story... are they the best thing since sliced bread? Ofc not... but the show is really hyping them up and setting it up for them to win so a group can like finally win for the first time... which makes me flash back to the time Kandi won because she was a woman and they wanted a woman to win... like I am all about girl power but that was not the move. Just like if they win, this will also not be the move. Not because they are bad, but because there are better *cough* Black Swan *cough* 🤷🏻‍♀️

3. Yeti ❄️☃️

Commentary: I feel like Yeti is the most versatile of the singers, like he can sing, roller skate (still can’t get over that), dance, and now rap! I feel like he can really do it all and has a chance at being in the finale. He rapped It Takes Two and wow it was super fun to watch, it was hard to resist the urge to dance in your seat when you watch it. He really is super talented man.. he danced his little Yeti butt off and freestyled and everything wow. Everyone got super hyped, it was an awesome performance. He really brought the entertainment factor ngl. This is so Omarion, obviously, and I feel like he can do it all. He has a shot at the finals but we really gotta see what he decides to do in the next week or so.

4. Chameleon 🦎

Commentary: I am sorry to all the Wiz Khalifa fans and the rap fans in general, but he should have gone home this episode (actually, he should have gone home instead of seashell but that’s beside the point). He rapped a Busta Rhymes song (who fun fact: was also on the show last season and got eliminated 1st) and I gotta admit, it was his strongest performance, but I feel as opposed to everyone else, he isn’t as vocally strong. He can rap like nobody’s business and has got flow for days... but this ain’t the Masked Rapper... this is the Masked SINGER, guys, I can’t believe he actually has gotten this far honestly. If he doesn’t go home tonight, I am gonna be a bit upset ngl.

5. Piglet 🐷

Commentary: Alright, so Piglet reminds me so much of Crocodile, who I liked but I was very hot and cold about, because when he does certain songs, he knocks it out of the park, like the last performance he gave for the Spicy Six, where he sang Against All Odds by Phil Collins and it was one of his best performances. However, it’s only when he does love ballads that he shines, and I know it’s Nick Lachey and that’s how he is and all but like I feel like when he tries them upbeat songs, he falls flat a bit. Idk man I think ballads suits his voice more, or the upbeat songs he chooses are just not the right ones for his voice. Either way, I think he might go home next week in the semifinals.... I predict but you never know with this damn show.

Anyway, that’s it! Sorry for the late post.... it’s been an insane week for me. I am starting summer classes so I am trying to get used to this new schedule. I hope you guys enjoyed this recap and tonight is the fiesty five and I am a bit nervous ngl! Anyways bye guys and see you next week! 👋🏼

[amphtaminedreams]

Cannes Film Festival 2019: Best Dressed

Forget the Met Gala everyone, real ones know that the Cannes Film Festival is the fashion event of the year! In part because it lasts for 12 whole days so there’s more content to sit there in my pyjamas analysing but also because it’s way less hyped up and thus less likely to leave you disappointed, a fate I’ve now resigned myself to with the Met. For almost 2 weeks, the richest, most out of touch people in the world spend their days looking pretty on a red carpet and judging films; I should be grossed out, but it’s more a case of just wishing I was there. So I present to you a collection of my favourite looks! 

Winnie Harlow (left), in Jean Paul Gaultier here, was one of my stand outs this year. Yes, I remember her from America’s Next Top Model and yes, I’m going to blame the edit, because LOOK AT THAT FUCKING STANCE. I’m in awe. This is my favourite look of hers this year (mostly because of this particular moment) but it’s the first of a few I’m going to bang on about. On the right is Priyanka Chopra in Georges Hobeika, complemented by the walking accessory that is Nick Jonas.

Priyanka and Nick’s daytime looks were beautiful too (left), and if you’re not paying attention to the Cannes daytime looks YOU SHOULD. Stefanie Giesinger (right)’s outfit is sleek and crisp and effortless and everything I want to emulate but also a lot more accessible than the average red carpet look.

Similarly, here we have Izabel Goulart (left), Caroline Daur (both of the middle looks), and Chloe Sevigny (right), out and about in Cannes all looking elegant (I mentally pronounced that RuPaul saying eloquent) as fuck. I imagine a lot of these pieces cost more individually than I will ever have collectively in my bank account at one time, but there you go. I imagine they could be replicated for a lot less.

But, let’s go back to the red carpet so we can talk about Winnie Harlow again, lmao. I desperately want to know who her stylist is because her Richard Quinn dress (far left) complements her skin tone perfectly AND the accessories are PERFECT, which I’m impressed by because I feel celebrity stylists often tend to go over the top in that regard. Winnie’s Ralph and Russo look (far right) also flawed me; @ mystery stylist, I bow down. Elsa Hosk reminded us all that gloves can be subtle and looked as ethereal as ever in a white, puff sleeved Redemption dress (second to right) and the things I would do for Maya Henry’s Ralph and Russo dress (second to left) are unholy.

Of course Georges Hobeika, Zuhair Murad and Gimabattista Valli (invented the phrase Holy Trinity) dresses made an appearance, and I internally weeped as saving photos of them to my phone is the closest I’ll probably ever get to owning one. Left to right here we have Ana Beatriz Barros in Hobeika, Valery Kaufman in Zuhair Murad, Bianca Brandolini d’Adda in Giambattista Valli x H&M (more on that in a minute), and Shanina Shaik in Georges Hobeika too.

See, it was a good day for the Giambattista Valli x H&M collaboration because Kendall Jenner (far left) wore one of the dresses too, and it was probably her most iconic Cannes moment, not counting those photos of her and Bella Hadid laughing in rich on that yacht. Ultimate Victoria’s Secret model (trash company but it has given us some goddesses, let’s be real) Adriana Lima also looked phenomenal in Ester Abner, and Natasha Poly (second to left) and Josephine Skriver (far right) were born to wear Atelier Versace and Alberta Ferretti, clearly. The shade of Josephine’s lipstick is a beautiful touch.

Honestly, these were my initial 3 favourite looks of the whole festival. I’m a simple girl, I’ll pretty much lay down my life for anything blue or tulle, so obviously, Alina Baikova in Zuhair Murad (left) is one of my favourites. For the same reason, minus the blue part, I adore Araya Hargate’s Ralph and Russo dress, and CAN WE TALK ABOUT ELLE FANNING (right)!? The poor girl feinted after one of her red carpets and we could have a whole conversation about how fucked up it is that a sample size was so tight on a very slim woman that it caused her to lose consciousness, but for now, I’m just going to commend her for her services to fashion because it’s almost 1am and I need to get some bloody sleep. Regardless, the finishing touch of the flowers in the hair make this my favourite of Elle’s Cannes looks, and the dress is by Valentino.

More red carpet stand outs were, from left to right, Pixie Lott (yes, I didn’t know she was still doing her thing either but power to her, despite the fact Mama Do plays approximately 73 times a day at my work) in Yanina Couture, Madison Headrick in Ashi Studio Spring 2019 Haute Couture, and Michelle Rodriguez in Rami Kadi.

Farhana Bodi’s (far left) was stunning in a cobalt Atelier Zuhra gown, as were Hina Khan in Ziad Nakad (second to left) and Chris Lee in Gucci (far right). I kind of live for witnessing a lavender pixie cut a la vegan, marxist twitter on a stuffy red carpet, and I will also take a reprieve from this breakneck speed to congratulate DJ Kiddy Smile (second from right) for doing what Harry Styles should’ve at the Met. This is spitting in the face of toxic masculinity, men, not wearing a sheer blouse; your endless supply of pink suits can’t save you from our criticisms forever (I like Harry Styles, this is a joke, please no one hurt me).

Next we have, from left to right, Diana Penty in Nedo by Nedret Taciroglu, Elle Fanning again stepping on all our necks in Dior, and on the far right, Eva Longoria in Alberta Ferretti. Now, 3 things: firstly, I stupidly saved the 3rd photo without including a note of who she is or who her dress is by and so if anybody happens to read this and knows, HELP A GIRL OUT. Secondly, I still stan Eva Longoria for playing Gabby Solis in Desperate Housewives which is the most slept on show amongst millennials and I wanted to use this opportunity to make a passionate PSA and say EVERYONE WATCH IT so references from it (”Rex cries when he ejaculates” anyone?) can become part of our cultural zeitgeist again. Finally, Elle fucking Fanning, can you let us breathe, please? This old Hollywood inspired Dior look is so simple but probably one of my favourite looks from the whole festival because who knew it was possible to simultaneously look so glamorous and yet also so soft? It’s timeless.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Taylor Hill makes the best dressed list twice. Obviously, she could wear a bin bag and look beautiful, but her stylist knows just how to elevate the whole angelic, other worldly being thing she has going on, and she was stunning in Ines Di Santo (left) and Fendi (middle) at the Rocketman premiere. Bella Hadid brought the same divine energy in a white, tulle Dior dress (far right).

Another one of Elle Fanning’s flawless Cannes moments was courtesy of Gucci (far left). On its own, I don’t think this dress would catch my attention as much as it did BUT the cape detailing with the red lipstick and the hair pulled back makes this outfit a stand out for me. To Elle’s right are Natalia Vodianova in Atelier Versace (second from the left), and Lea Seydoux (second from right) and Stacy Martin (far right) both in Louis Vuitton.

I’m gonna take a small break from Elle Fanning to fangirl over Guan Xiao Tong in Atelier Versace (far left). The quality of the photo I saved wouldn’t be out of place on 13 year old me’s HTC phone but I also think nothing captures how beautiful the structure of Guan Xiao’s dress was better than a semi aerial shot, and the same goes for Sririta Jensen in Michael Cinco (far right). Now back to admiring Elle Fanning, in Ryan Lo (second from left) and Vivienne Westwood (second from right).

Her daytime looks are just as good. Elle wears Marc Jacobs on the left, Miu Miu on the far right, and I have no bloody idea on the middle. If you’re reading this and you know, HMU. I promise, it’s not me being lazy; Elle.com doesn’t know either.

To go back to red carpet looks, I loved Izabel Goulart in Valentino Couture (left) looking like she just killed her husband, Dracula, after a domestic that resulted from her draining the blood of his afternoon snacks (I’m coming for your gig, Stephenie Meyer). Coco Rocha looked incredible in Elie Saab (middle); I’m surprised this was the only one of her dresses that stood out to me this year because I really like her designs. God knows I have spent far too long imagining myself in one. Lastly in this photoset, there’s Leomie Anderson in Rami Kadi (right) and, like, WOW.

Now, I’m going to whizz through these last few photosets. First is Sara Sampaio in Armani, then Alina Baikova in Zuhair Murad, Charlotte Gainsbourg in Christian Dior Haute Couture, and finally Sui He on the far right. I’m not sure who she’s wearing and Harper’s Bazaar and reverse image search is giving me dust so as always, if you’re reading and you know, hmu.

From left to right here: Stella Maxwell in Atelier Versace, Martha Hunt in Monique L’Huillier, Gayle Rankin in Delpozo and Dua Lipa in Valentino.

L-R: Madison Beer in Georges Hobeika (STUNNING, and I just read on Twitter that there was a gun pulled out at one of her concerts which is insane, and how has it become so commonplace in the states that something like that doesn’t make headline news?), Chloe Sevigny (again, I stan) in Miu Miu, and Hailey Clauson in Ralph and Russo.

L-R: Elle Fanning in Reem Acra (another fucking beautiful cape!), Elsa Hosk in Alberta Ferretti (Cannes 2019 has been GREAT advertisement for Alberta and power to her, am I right?), Jasmine Tookes in Zuhair Murad (I have LOVED this dress ever since its runway debut and there are few human beings out there who would do it more justice than Jasmine), and finally Araya Hargate again in Atelier Versace.

To finish, Eva Longoria’s sleek all camel day look is more of Alberta Ferretti doing what she does best, high fashion Twitter darling Sasha Luss’s dress is couture Chanel, and so is Margot Robbie’s. It’s the delicate touch of the plaits that I love with Margot’s look and Eva looks radiant, and both are a final reminder NOT TO SLEEP ON CANNES’ DAYTIME FASHION.

All in all, Cannes produced just as many extortionately expensive fairy princess looks as ever and, as always, I lived for it. I love dark, grungy fashion but still, the little girl in me can’t beat feathers, satin and sequins; there’s no event better suited for vicariously living out my French vanilla fantasy. 

It also brings together two of my favourite things in life: films and fashion. Call me a basic bitch, but I’m very excited for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (though I am conflicted about whether to see it in cinemas considering I just found out Leonard DiCaprio has known his current girlfriend since SHE WAS 11, like, what the fuck?), Portrait of a Lady on Fire sounds incredible, and I plan on seeing Rocketman this week.

If you read all this post all the way to the end, I hope you enjoyed it!

Lauren x

[vitabenedetta-blog]

Travel Eats

Good news! Traveling has been scientifically proven to increase happiness, decrease depression, and chill you the F out. While it is important to be grounded, traveling is a big part of finding out who you are and what environment fuels your inner fire. Plus, experiencing different cultures is invigorating AF. So for all of you that want to get out and explore the borders of this world, I have put together a travel eats guide to all the fabulous food from your home base and beyond. Enjoy! 

The Guide 

$: least expensive 

$$$: most expensive 

Apothik Food Truck $ 

La Crosse, WI 

Calling all Lax residents! Apothik Food Truck is a must try during the summer and fall seasons. The lovely humans behind the truck value: supporting local businesses and farmers while serving up delicious food! The menu changes each week to reflect seasonality and availability of different ingredients, so if you see something you like on the menu, make sure to get it while you can. You can find them at the Cameron’s Park farmer’s market, affordable and in walking distance for all you fellow college students.☺ 

My go-to: CHEESY MAC! 

5 Cheese Sauce, Diced Tasso Ham, Fresh Herbs, Crispy Crumble, Diced Bacon

  CINCO DE TACO 

Chipotle Chicken, Chopped Kale, Roasted Hot Sauce, Lime Cilantro Crème, Pineapple Pico De Gallo, Melted Pepper Jack, Corn Tortilla 

The Mint $$ 

La Crosse, WI 

Oh you fancy huh? The aesthetics at The Mint are on point. Everything from the furniture, to the glassware, and to the food is practically flawless. Toto, I don’t think we are in La Crosse, WI anymore. This is truly an experience you do not want to miss out on. Teaming with The Root Note, The Mint is a farm to table restaurant serving up all the local goods right to your plate. If you are on a budget, I highly recommend taking advantage of Sunday Craft Cocktail night. The craft cocktails are only $5 and appetizers are on sale. 

My go-to: CHARCUTERIE/CHEESE 

Chef’s Daily Selections, Pickles, Mustard, Bread

A LITTLE ROSY

Letherbee Gin, Grapefruit Crema, Grapefruit, Rosemary Syrup, Peychaud’s Bitters 

NAKED AND FAMOUS  

Vida Mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, Aperitivo Select, Lime 

Howie’s On La Crosse $ 

La Crosse, WI 

A La Crosse classic (most likely right outside your door step). Howie’s has great grub, drinks, games, staff, and an awesome patio. If you have not been I am honestly concerned. Oh, and do I even need to mention the bloody mary bar. YUM! Happy Hour is the perfect time to put down your schoolwork and head over for some student deals. I mean we are only students for four years, so we might as well soak up the discounts while we can. You are bound to run into some of your classmates working at Howie’s and most likely some of your professors throwing one back at the bar. There are enough TV’s at Howie’s that you will never miss a second of your favorite games. 

My go-to: THE ALL AMERICAN 

Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Garlic Mayo, Sweet Potato Fries 

STRAWBERRY MARGARITA 

Ecker’s Apple Farm $ 

La Crosse, WI 

Because what is better than a caramel apple tossed in M&M’s? Ecker’s Apple Farm is stunning to say the least. Plan on spending the afternoon. With a beer garden, live music, apple picking, yard games, and plenty of grub you are not going to want to leave. Their mission is to bring you unique, quality craft beers from around the country and serve them up cold while you take in the view of the beautiful farm. I’M DOWN. It is a fall destination in La Crosse. 

My go-to: M&M CARAMEL APPLE 

APPLE PIE AND ICE CREAM 

Black Coffee and Waffle Bar $$ 

Minneapolis, MN

Did someone say waffles? These waffles are like no other. They are seriously FUNKY and out of this world. The interior of Black Coffee and Waffle Bar provides an awesome space for students to chillax and enjoy a drink and a waffle. I mean, what could be finer? Every month they introduce a new specialty waffle. I promise, the drive is worth the overpriced waffle and the Instagram picture that comes with it! 

My go-to: STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE 

Cheesecake, Strawberries, Graham Crackers, Whipped Cream 

Hola Arepa $$ 

Saint Paul, MN 

Started from a food truck now we here. The vibes up in this joint will take you away on a Latin destination vacation. The specialty here: Venezuelan stuffed arepas! Arepas are made from cornmeal dough, formed into patties and cooked on a griddle. Then, they are stuffed with meats, veggies, cheeses, and topped with homemade salsas! Their mission is to make food from scratch with a whole lot of love. I recommend sitting on the patio in the sunshine! 

My go-to: FRIED BRUSSEL SPROUTS 

Tamarind Vinaigrette, Housemade Chorizo Sausage, Pepitas, Caramelized Onion Jam, Manchego, Radish 

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN AREPA 

Tomato, Sweet Corn Salsa, Citrus Onion, Radish, Arugula, Chipotle Aioli, Yuca Fries 

Pig Ate My Pizza $$ 

Robbinsdale, MN 

Besides like the cutest name for a pizza place ever, Pig Ate My Pizza was named one of the best pizza places in the US by Time and Food & Wine magazines! They are serving up rotating craft pizzas and over 16 local tap brews! The atmosphere is unexplainably awesome, so you will have to go check this one out yourself. Checkout their website for a little sneak peak (the marketing is phenomenal). 

My go-to: PIGGY PIE 

Deep Dish Meat Lovers! Brioche Crust, Pork Lovers Sausage, Pepperoni, Bacon Emulsion, Toasted Black Pepper Fennel, Oregano

Velvet Taco $ 

Chicago, IL

Let’s taco bout it people! In the heart of the windy city, Velvet Taco is a counter service setting, whipping up some of the most BOMB margaritas and tacos on this planet. With over twenty varieties of tacos, they will assure that you have never had a taco like this. At Velvet Taco, food is art. Let’s go, the flavors await. 

My go-to: FISH N’ CHIPS 

Curry Mayo, Malted French Fires, House Shred, Beer Battered Atlantic Cod, Pea Tendrils, Flour Tortilla 

BUFFALO CHICKEN 

Crisp Tenders, House Buffalo Sauce, Danish Bleu Cheese, Ranch Crema, Carrots, Micro Celery, Flour Tortilla 

Real Good Juice Co. $$$ 

Chicago, IL 

Itching for something a little healthier to cure your Sunday scaries? You have found the place. Real Good Juice Co. serves up good juices and smoothies that are organic and locally sourced. The juices are cold pressed which means they retain 100% of the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. The company is a huge supporter of Chicago’s Old Town community and contributes a percentage of juice sales to local charities! They don’t stop at serving juice. They also sell bowls, a variety of toasts, salads, and shots. It’s a Win Win. 

My go-to: YUM YUM IN MY TUM TUM 

Banana, Cacao, Almond Butter, Almond Milk, Honey 

Firecakes Donuts $$

Chicago, IL

Hellzzz to the yeah! These donuts are on fire! Firecakes believes that everyone can use a sweet treat to get them through the day. With the craziest flavors, your taste buds will be wanting more. These donuts are fried in a large cast iron pot of oil over an open fire and sprinkled with all the sugar and goods one could ask for. They even have gluten free and vegan donuts! 

My go-to: DONUT ICE CREAM SANDWICH 

Summer House Santa Monica $$$ 

Chicago, IL 

An escape to the warmth and laid-back vibes of the West Coast. The atmosphere is beachy AF. They promise that no matter the season, no matter the weather, you will be transported to the warmth of California at Summer House. I felt like I was Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl, no lie. If you have ever dreamed of your bridal shower, this is that dream. To be honest I barely paid attention to my meal, I was too caught up looking around at all the VIBES. 

My go-to: RICKY BOBBY 

Hank’s Vodka, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Lime, Strawberry Air

San Giorgio Pizzeria $$ 

Milwaukee, WI 

Neapolitan pizza dough, made fresh in seconds, right before your eyes in a wood-fired oven! I have had a lot of pizza in my life, and this is by far my favorite. That is saying something people, you must go. The chef sits five feet in front of your table while throwing dough and firing up some incredible ZAA. Head Chef Gino Fazzari made this an unforgettable experience (he even bought my boyfriend and I special shots on the house). I would go back a million times. 

My go-to: MARIA CARMELLA 

San Marzano Tomato, Fresh Fior Di Latte Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Fresh Basil, Arugula, Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

Logan House Coffee Co. $ 

Denver, CO 

The vibes are too real people. This place is like an indoor farmer’s market. Make sure you give yourself enough time to really explore. The staff members are super DOPE and are jazzed about talking coffee with customers. 

My go-to: NUTELLA LATTE WITH ALMOND MILK 

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory $ 

Vail, CO 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! You will never want to get ice cream elsewhere after trying Rocky Mountain. This is mainly because of the cones. Have you ever seen something so beautiful? In the heart of Vail Village you will feel like the cutest snow bunny with one of these cones in hand and the mountains right above your head. If you are a chocoholic you NEED to check this out. 

Blue Moose Pizza $$ 

Vail, CO 

Want to eat pizza while looking out at the Vail Village Slopes? Yeah, me too. This was some of the most exotic pizza I have ever had. Flavor overload in the best way possible. If you go during off-season you won’t even have to wait for a table. 

My go-to: AUTUMN PIZZA 

Sautéed Mushrooms, Truffle Oil, Parsley, Parmesan, Garlic, Olive Oil, Mozzarella, Goat Cheese 

Finale

Now that your taste buds are basically exploding, it is time to get out and explore. Gas up your vehicle, book that plane ticket and Airbnb and be on your way. The flavors await! If you try any of my suggestions make sure to tag #vitabenedetta and let me know about the fabulous foods. 

Until next time. What are some of your favorite travel eats? Comment below.

[lifements-blog]

Reto de Lectura Rory Gilmore

Sé que llego tarde a este reto de lectura pero nunca me había animado a tomarlo, lo descubrí hace años no recuerdo donde y ahora que me topé con el de nuevo en  BlackWhite Read Books y queria intentarlo.

Gilmore Girls fue una gran parte de mi adolescencia vi todos los capítulos más de una vez y me identificaba con Rory, su amor por la lectura y su vida cotidiana, es una serie que siempre vivirá en mi corazón y es más que una serie para mí, me enseño muchas cosas y me ayudo con muchas más.

El reto de lectura consiste en leer todos los libros que Rory leyó a lo largo de la serie, los cuales son muchos, entre ellos existen muchos clásicos como Alicia en el País de las Maravillas y El Diario de Anna Frank, la mayoría de libros en esta lista no están siquiera en mi lista TBR la cual es otra de las razones por las que quiero intentarlo, la lista consiste de 339 libros por lo que no me pondré propósitos irreales como leerlos todos durante este año (2016), en dos años o en cinco, simplemente me propondré terminar esta lista algún día y divertirme con ella.

Marcare mi progreso en este post y quizá haga una reseña de ellos, los mencione en mis libros del mes o en GoodReads pero primordialmente será aquí.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Inferno by Dante

The Divine Comedy by Dante

1984 by George Orwell

A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman

A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf

A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A Streetcar Named Desiree by Tennessee Williams

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Adventures of Huckleberry by Mark Twain

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy

Babe by Dick King-Smith

Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney

Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner

Candide by Voltaire

Carrie by Stephen King

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

Christine by Stephen King

Complete Novels by Dawn Powell

Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker

Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cujo by Stephen King

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Deenie by Judy Blume

Don Quixote by Cervantes

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

Eloise by Kay Thompson

Emily the Strange by Roger Reger

Emma by Jane Austen

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Ethics by Spinoza

Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extravagance by Gary Krist

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore

Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein

Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce

Fletch by Gregory McDonald

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut

Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg

Gidget by Fredrick Kohner

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry

Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare

Henry V by William Shakespeare

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

How the Light Gets In by M. J. Hyland

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

I’m With the Band by Pamela des Barres

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy

It Takes a Village by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Marathon Man by William Goldman

Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir

Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor

Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall

My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh

My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken

My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest

Myra Waldo’s Travel and Motoring Guide to Europe, 1978 by Myra Waldo

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen

New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Night by Elie Wiesel

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell

Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Old School by Tobias Wolff

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Oracle Night by Paul Auster

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Othello by Shakespeare

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Out of Africa by Isac Dineson

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Property by Valerie Martin

Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Quattrocento by James Mckean

Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman

R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton

Rita Hayworth by Stephen King

Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert

Roman Holiday by Edith Wharton

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi

Sanctuary by William Faulkner

Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller by Henry James

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman

Selected Hotels of Europe

Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Several Biographies of Winston Churchill

Sexus by Henry Miller

Shane by Jack Shaefer

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton

Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers

Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore

Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos

Songbook by Nick Hornby

Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Stuart Little by E. B. White

Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett

Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber

Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry

Time and Again by Jack Finney

To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Archidamian War by Donald Kagan

The Art of Fiction by Henry James

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bhagava Gita

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy

The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

The Collected Stories by Eudora Welty

The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford

The Gospel According to Judy Bloom

The Graduate by Charles Webb

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Group by Mary McCarthy

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon

The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

The Iliad by Homer

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal

The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield

The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Love Story by Erich Segal

The Manticore by Robertson Davies

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

The Miracle Worker by William Gibson

The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin

The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin

The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay

The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan

The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan

The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker

The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche

The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Rough Guide to Europe, 2003 Edition

The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Shining by Stephen King

The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht

The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare

The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath

The Trial by Franz Kafka

The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson

The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

The Year of Magical Thinkinf by Joan Didion

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Ulysses by James Joyce

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Unless by Carol Shields

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker

What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles

What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

(Post original en: http://lifements.blogspot.com/2016/01/el-reto-de-lectura-rory-gilmore.html )

[aion-rsa]

MST3K Turkey Day: The Long History of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Thanksgiving

https://ift.tt/3l4KHUl

Sometimes a long-running TV show finds itself linked to a certain holiday. Community had Christmas. The Simpsons has Halloween. Brooklyn 99 had Halloween, then changed it to Cinco de Mayo for scheduling reasons. Saturday Night Live has…Election Day, I guess? I probably should have thought this through a bit more.

While Mystery Science Theater 3000 has done a handful of Christmas-themed episodes (one major one per host, at least), the series has a much deeper relationship with Thanksgiving. Turkey Day is essentially its legacy. It started on Thanksgiving and it always comes back to that one Thursday in late November, whether the show is on the air or not.

Back in 1988, Joel Hodgson created a new show idea inspired by a random image from the liner notes of an Elton John album, wherein a couple of silhouettes sit in front of a movie screen. He and some robot puppets would watch bad movies and crack jokes. While the 15-minute proof of concept footage of him watching The Green Slime never made it to air, the world would be introduced to Mystery Science Theater 3000 on November 24 as he and Crow (here voiced by J. Elvis Weinstein) sat through Invaders from the Deep.

Well, only a very small piece of the world would be introduced. The show aired on KTMA-TV in Minnesota. Regardless, the first time MST3K hit the airwaves, it was Thanksgiving night.

The episode – and really the entire KTMA-TV season – wasn’t great. The idea was there, but they hadn’t come close to hitting its potential. It still found an audience and about a year later, it was airing on the Comedy Channel. That first season, which had Joel Hodgson as Joel Robinson, Weinstein as Tom Servo, and Trace Beaulieu as Crow T. Robot, was also pretty rough. It wasn’t until the second and third seasons (where Kevin Murphy had taken over the Servo role) that MST3K really started to find its footing.

On November 28, 1991, to celebrate MST3K’s third anniversary, Comedy Central put together the very first Turkey Day marathon. Starting at midnight and ending at 6 AM on the following day (!), they would air fifteen episodes in a row, accompanied by various Thanksgiving-based bumpers and sketches.

Keep in mind, this was long before the days of The Daily Show and South Park, so Comedy Central’s pool of popular shows wasn’t the deepest. This was back when you’d turn on the channel in the middle of the day and see episodes of Soap or some ’80s movie about a mime joining a ninja academy. No really, that was a thing. They played it all the time.

In 1992, they kicked up Turkey Day a notch. While still a 15-episode marathon, it started on Wednesday, November 25 at 6 PM with the debut showing of The Beatniks. By the time they reached the home stretch at 10 PM on Thanksgiving night, they played the episode premiere for Fire Maidens of Outer Space. At midnight, to finish things off, a half-hour special called This is MST3K was aired.

They kept many of the bumpers from the first Turkey Day, added some more, and each episode was introduced with a segment where Dr. Forrester would force-feed TV’s Frank some kind of turkey dish themed to the featured movie.

1993 went even bigger by adding one more episode to the marathon, making the whole thing 32 hours long. This time, the framing bumpers took the form of clips from a party that an MST3K fan won via contest. Initially, Comedy Central wanted the guys from the show to put together some segments with a tiny budget, but it was probably for the better that they didn’t. By the time Turkey Day ’93 aired, Mike Nelson had taken over for Joel as the show’s host and that major transition was still less than a month old.

This time the marathon went from 6pm on November 24 to 2am on November 26. At 10pm on Thanksgiving night, they premiered the episode featuring Beginning of the End.

The next year’s special episode premieres were Kitten with a Whip (starting the marathon) and Zombie Nightmare (ending it). Using Zombie Nightmare worked out perfectly because that movie’s antagonist was played by none other than Adam West and who better to host the Turkey Day segments? Though in retrospect, Adam West was pretty much everywhere in the mid-90s, so it wasn’t the biggest deal ever.

Still, it was nice and even featured appearances from other MST3K targets like Robert Vaughn, Beverly Garland, and Mamie Van Doren. The main focus was Adam West cooking turkeys themed to each episode and delighting us with his smooth, tryptophan-laced voice.

The 1995 edition (officially called “MST3K Anthology” despite still airing on Thanksgiving) existed to debut the seventh season of the show, known for its meager six episodes. As Comedy Central was losing interest in the series, the marathon was shortened to fifteen hours. It also featured a rare inclusion of a Season 1 episode, The Crawling Hand.

What made MST3K Anthology so memorable was not that it was the last hurrah for Comedy Central’s annual marathons or the shortened string of episodes. It was for the premiere of Episode 701, Night of the Blood Beast and the interesting way that episode was handled. Throughout the marathon, episodes would be introduced via Dr. Forrester being forced to host an impromptu Thanksgiving party with guests including preexisting characters Jack Perkins (Mike Nelson), Mr. B Natural (Bridget Nelson), Pitch (Paul Chaplin), Kitten with a Whip (Kevin Murphy), and Michael Feinstein (also Mike Nelson). This led to the airing of Night of the Blood Beast, where not only were the host segments based on celebrating Thanksgiving, but it was shown that Forrester’s Thanksgiving party was still going on.

In later airings of that episode, the host segments were completely different and had zero connection to Thanksgiving. Everything inside the theater remained the same. They just took a holiday-themed episode and made it run-of-the-mill for the sake of easier reruns. The host segments from the MST3K Anthology version of Night of the Blood Beast are available as extras on various DVD releases.

MST3K would spend three seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel, but would only get one Thanksgiving marathon, taking place in 1997. Even then, it was a bit half-assed. The marathon aired from 7:30am on November 27 to 4am on November 28, but with a six-hour break in the middle to play a couple of Star Wars movies. It also lacked any special flavor to it, foregoing any special bumpers or segments. No episode premieres. Just a handful of Sci-Fi era episodes and a lengthy Star Wars break.

Then it was sixteen years of silence. MST3K was cancelled after its tenth season in 1999. Those involved in the show mostly split into two teams. Some followed Joel as he started his new venture Cinematic Titanic. Others followed Mike, whose failed series The Film Crew was followed by the much more successful RiffTrax. That left MST3K rights owner Jim Mallon, who tried to move forward with an animated web series starring the robots and…the less said about it the better.

Joel was seeing enough money coming to him from DVD sales to realize that despite being cancelled a long time ago, there were still people wanting MST3K. With a 25-year anniversary DVD set coming out, Joel decided to promote it with the return of Turkey Day. Turkey Day ’13 featured Joel introducing the six most popular episodes of the show, which he’d also give hints about ahead of time. Streamed online, the special ended with him at the dinner table with Servo and Crow, causing speculation amongst the fans.

Read more

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The Best Thanksgiving TV Episodes

By Alec Bojalad

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Best Thanksgiving Movies to Watch This Holiday Season

By David Crow and 3 others

There was more speculation a year later when Turkey Day ’14 had the two bots regularly appear during the host segments, voiced once again by J. Elvis Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu. There would also be segments of Joel, Trace, and Frank Conniff sitting back and reminiscing about the history of this MST3K/Thanksgiving connection.

While riding the wave of the previous year’s success, this installment of Turkey Day was also promoting a DVD set Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Turkey Day Collection. The set mainly featured four random episodes (Jungle Goddess, Painted Hills, Screaming Skull, and Squirm), but with Servo and Crow hosting intro segments to give it the illusion of a Turkey Day marathon.

By early November of 2015, shit had hit the fan. Joel had bought the rights to MST3K from Mallon and started up a Kickstarter to raise money for new episodes. Wouldn’t you know it, Turkey Day ’15 happened right during said Kickstarter. The theme of the marathon was mostly Joel hanging out with different Kickstarter employees, but it also had newly-announced Season 11 host Jonah Ray Skype his way into the broadcast to introduce one of the episodes.

The following year was pretty chill, all things considered. The new season hadn’t started yet, but it was very much on the way. Just not far along enough to show us any clips or give us any juicy news. Joel and Jonah casually hosted the six most popular episodes as polled by the fans. Nothing too crazy.

The chillness continued in 2017. This time, things were hosted by Joel, Jonah, and Felicia Day. Things seemed pedestrian with another six episodes being streamed online, but there were two important things about this marathon.

First off, everyone realized that Joel’s arms are beefier than expected, netting him the nickname Swole Hodgson.

Second, after it seemed like they were off the air, it bounced back with a special announcement that – yes, Virginia – MST3K was coming back for a twelfth season on Netflix! It’s a Turkey Day miracle! Happy Thanksgiving, you ol’ savings and loan!

Turkey Day ’18 was a bit complicated. Rather than air on Thanksgiving, the marathon streamed on the Sunday prior, once again hosted by Joel and Jonah. What made it special was that Netflix had allowed them to include the Season 11 instant classic Cry Wilderness. As for why they didn’t air the Turkey Day marathon on actual Turkey Day?

Well, Thanksgiving was when MST3K’s twelfth season debuted all at once on Netflix. Also known as MST3K: The Gauntlet, the six-episode season was based around the idea of binging the whole thing in one day. Kind of like what MST3K fans have been using Thanksgiving for for many years. While it wasn’t on the exact date as the first KTMA-TV episode in 1988, both that debut and this debut happened on the same holiday and that’s good enough as a way to celebrate the show’s 30-year anniversary.

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Unfortunately, much like the Comedy Central days, having a season of only six episodes was a bad omen. Merely a day before Thanksgiving 2019, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the show. The jerks. Any hope that Turkey Day ’19 was going to include some kind of announcement about a thirteenth season was immediately crushed and murdered like it was one of the Brute Man’s victims.

That said, the marathon that year did feature segments filmed behind-the-scenes at the third MST3K live tour. In a pre-COVID time, this was how Joel and the rest intended to keep MST3K in the minds of the public until the Netflix contract runs out and they can search out new outlets.

Up next is Turkey Day ’20. Right now, details are a little scarce, but they are figuring out the six movies via fan votes. A tournament of 24 episodes has been set up on MST3K.org, though I’m not quite sure how a tournament leads to six winners instead of just the one.

The post MST3K Turkey Day: The Long History of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Thanksgiving appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2JbZxLE

[harvardsquarekiosk]

Suggested Programming Opportunities for Harvard Square Kiosk

By the Harvard Square Business Association

The Kiosk should be staffed every day from early in the morning until and throughout the evening all year long.

These events should take place throughout the year, as appropriate.

Voter registration, Wayfinding, Maps, Public Toilet locations, Tours, Harvard Square business listings, City-wide festival and events listings, Historical information etc.

Community Partners:

Cambridge Arts Council curates art shows.

CCTV records BeLive from Harvard Square.

Alternating Museum Schedules…Harvard Art Museum, Peabody Museum, Museum of Natural History, Museum of Science, etc. (displays, information etc.)

Friday Forums – similar to TED talks….but done by Cambridge people.

Saturday night – Meet & Greets, sponsored by alternating restaurants (food sampling, mocktails, and live music).

Sunday evenings – Alternating concerts….Longy, New School of Music, Passim, Choir of St. Paul’s, Revels, Blue Heron, Cambridge Symphony, Folk New England and the CCAE.

Book readings sponsored by alternating Harvard Square book stores with book groups discussions and featured authors.

Seasonal Programmed Events at Harvard Square Kiosk

All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Winter Carnival

January

January 8 – Harvard Square’s 8th Annual month long Winter Carnival commencing with the Boston Celtic Music Festival & Club Passim – live in Harvard Square Station…..MLK’s I Have a Dream speech, recited by Cambridge public school children.

January 22-23 and 24th – Taste of Chocolate Festival in Harvard Square! Find a chocolate sponsor i.e. (Lindt) to sample at Harvard Square Station….(Lindt is a featured chocolatier at Cardullo’s and other shops in Harvard Square).

January 30th – Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade!  Parade at 3pm with a stop at Harvard Square Station ….followed by her award presentation and roast.

February

February 6 – Display the trophy and accept the ballots for the 8th Annual “Some Like it Hot Chili Cook-off” from 1pm – 2:30 pm (the day before the Super Bowl)….where the public can enjoy samples of chili from some of Harvard Square’s HOTTEST restaurants while enjoying  musical entertainment! Cast your vote for the best “Some Like it Hot” Chili in Harvard Square in the Harvard Square Station.

February 7 – Super Bowl Sunday in Harvard Square! Invite folks to come to watch the Super Bowl in various Harvard Square establishments….however, invite them to stop by Harvard Square Station to drop off canned and boxed goods to replenish Cambridge food pantries…

February 14 – 15 – 16 – Lovin’ the Square.  This year’s Valentine’s event will feature fabulous food and drinks from Harvard Square’s restaurants, romantic and fun deals from our retailers and a variety of interesting, cozy and entertaining things to do from all of our cultural icons. Meet at Harvard Square Station to create a special valentine.  (Partner with an appropriate sponsor who will provide all the necessary arts supplies.)    

February 23 - Chinese New Year.  Come celebrate Chinese New Year in Harvard Square!  2014 is the year of the Horse and the 59th Anniversary of the Hong Kong in Harvard Square.  As usual, Massachusetts Avenue from the Hong Kong to Harvard Square Station will be festooned with red and gold lanterns hanging from our wrought iron lampposts as we prepare for our grand Chinese New Year procession through Harvard Square and our cultural "Open House" at the Hong Kong!  Lion Dancers will stop at Harvard Station for a special performance.  

Early Spring

March

March 1st – Women History Month in Harvard Square.  Breakfast meet and greet at Harvard Square Station with Harvard Square’s civic, business, academic and political leaders.

March 2nd – The 86th Annual Academy Awards Oscar Sunday – Harvard Square establishments will be hosting viewing parties.  Prior to the party, please come by Harvard Square Station with your gently used gowns and evening wear…which will be donated to Belle of the Ball. Belle of the Ball/Anton’s Cleaners will clean your gowns and donate them students unable to afford Prom gowns.      

March 16th – March 21st & March 23rd – March 28th – Winter Restaurant Week in Harvard Square! Come by Harvard Square Station to sample delicious restaurant offerings.

March 17th – Harvard-Go-Brach events!  Join us in Harvard Square as we celebrate our Irish Cultural Heritage!  Come by Harvard Square Station to take an Irish step-dancing class…dance the Irish jig…and listen to live Irish music and poetry!

Spring

April

April 18th – 27th – The 9th Annual Cambridge Science Festival. Harvard Square is full of scientific surprises! Come by Harvard Square Station where science projects created by Cambridge public school children will be on display.  

April 26th – The 7th Annual Bookish Ball and Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebration!  Partnering with the Cambridge Public Library, Actors’ Shakespeare Project and Harvard Square’s bookstores, please join us for bookstore strolls, music, dancing, performances, and birthday cake which will be served in Harvard Square Station from 2:00 until 3:30 p.m. along with a fun and surprising round of POP- UP SHAKESPEARE!

May

May 1st – May 4th – The 24th Annual Harvard Arts First Festival – Join hundreds of Harvard undergraduates, graduates and faculty in Harvard’s annual celebration of the arts! Join us at Harvard Square Station where art work created by Harvard students will be on display.

May 4th – The 33rd Annual Mayfair Featuring six stages of live entertainment, dozens of restaurant vendors, hundreds of street vendors selling artwork, jewelry, vintage clothing, neighborhood sidewalk sales, and the Rotary Club of Cambridge’s Annual Chalk on the Walk!  From noon – 6pm. Harvard Square Station will be the information center of the festival. Lost and Found, Information, Command Central.

May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – Mexican heritage celebrated in the restaurants of Harvard Square.  Join us at Harvard Square Station for a performance by Mariachi’s de Veritas….a fabulous Mariachi band made up entirely of Harvard Students.

May 11th – Mother’s Day! Stop by Harvard Station to leave a post-it note message for mom. Messages will be placed on the walls of the building. Post-it notes will be provided….

May 29th –  367th Harvard Commencement.   Harvard Square Station will be the centerpiece of the activity….with plenty of outside seating, planters overflowing with flowers and street musicians playing to the crowds.

Patios in Bloom

June

June 2nd – Harvard Square’s Annual Patios in Bloom Festival.  Come celebrate as we officially open patio season with the installation of our Victorian Flower Baskets both on the lampposts….and at Harvard Square Station.  

June 6th – June 15th – Gay Pride in Harvard Square.  Public discussion held in Harvard Station led by GBLT groups from the City of Cambridge.  

June 15th – Father’s Day! A father and child(ren) walk around the Square will begin and end at Harvard Square Station.  Followed by a light breakfast sponsored by the Harvard Square Business Association.    

June 21st – 7th Annual Make Music Harvard Square, Fete de la Musique! A square wide musical celebration held in every nook and cranny, park and plaza and street and patio throughout the day and evening…with special musical performances at Harvard Square Station.

Summer

July

July 4th – Harvard Square Station, festooned with red, white and blue balloons…is a reception center for all the visitors coming in for the firework celebration on the Charles River.

July 13th – Bastille Day!  Join us on Holyoke Street for a stormin’ French street festival featuring fabulous French food, music and dance!  Harvard Square Station will feature French music and French coffee and mini croissants…(we will find a sponsor for this event.)  

August

Summer Restaurant Week in Harvard Square.  Samplings from some of Harvard Square’s finest restaurants will take place in Harvard Square Station.

September

September 1st – 30th – 6th Annual Revival Month in Harvard Square. Join us at Harvard Square Station for a 50’s style Hootenanny, and old-fashioned jam session….in partnership with Passim.  

September 21 – 4th Annual Folk Music Festival in Harvard Square.

Some of today’s hottest up and coming folk artists will be playing our free festival on Palmer Street….and in Harvard Square Station.

September 21 – 13th Annual Riversing, presented by the Revels.  Morris dancers will be on hand to give a performance at Harvard Square Station!

September 27 – The 6th Annual Americana Music Festival in Harvard Square. 3 days of music and activities…with special performances at Harvard Square Station.

Fall

October

October 9th –  38th Annual Oktoberfest and HONK Festival features six stages of 8live entertainment, dozens of international food vendors, hundreds of street vendors selling artwork, jewelry, and vintage clothing, neighborhood sidewalk sales and HONK! bands from around the country. Harvard Square Station will be the centerpiece of the event. (Information, Lost & Found, Command Central)    

October 18th – 19th – The 52th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event, brings 7,500 athletes from around the world to compete in 55 different race events.  Harvard Square Station will be the “Welcome Center”….to the thousands of visitors.  

October 31st – November 2nd – Harvard Scare!  Spooky and fun activities throughout the Square.  Costumed children of all ages are invited to join us at Harvard Square Station where we will gather to parade around the Square….and join us as we trick-or-treat at numerous Harvard Square restaurants and shops where goodies await.

November 

November 1st – 30th – 6th Annual Folk Music Month in Harvard Square.  This month-long event will feature special displays of FOLK memorabilia (think Bob Dylan, Joan Baez) at Harvard Square Station…..culminating in a very special folk music performance at the end of the month….also in the Station.

November 22nd – 13rd Harvard/Yale Game at Harvard.  Meet your friends at Harvard Square Station for complimentary hot chocolate or hot cider before the game!

November 27th – Thanksgiving!  Starting November 12th and running through November 25th, the Harvard Square Station will be set up to receive your donations of frozen turkeys, fresh veggies and thanksgiving fixings….which will be distributed to various social service agencies and food pantries throughout the city.

Sparklesfest

November 28th – Kick-off the holiday shopping season with Plaid and Black Friday events.  Get your Harvard Square recycled Holiday Shopping bag at Harvard Square Station.

November 29th – Join us at the Annual Tree Lighting at the Charles Hotel….and later on walk over to Harvard Square Station for a Victorian Caroler Sing-along!

December

December 1 – December 24th – We will hire (or get volunteers) to Christmas wrap presents in Harvard Square Station….All proceeds from the wrapping will go to Youth on Fire.

December 4th – Harvard Square Station will feature a giant community-wide “Make Our Own Cambridge Gingerbread House” which will be displayed until Christmas.

December 20th – The “Some Like it Hot” Everyone Loves Latkes Party! From 1pm – 2pm, the 8th annual Everyone Loves Latkes Party features the most delicious, most creative and best-looking latkes and condiments around!  This free event features latke donations from the fabulous restaurants of Harvard Square. There will be a very special Klezmer music performance….and a reading of the Runaway Latkes, by Leslie Kimmelman, Paul Yalowitz (Illustrator) at Harvard Square Station.

[manualstogo]

For just $3.99 Bar 20 Rides Again Released on December 6, 1935: Hopalong Cassidy and the boys from the Bar 20 ranch ride north to help a rancher who is being rustled out of his cattle by the mysterious outlaw named Nevada. Directed by: Howard Bretherton Written by: Gerald Geraghty and Doris Schroeder based on characters createc by Clarence E. Mulford The Actors: William Boyd James Ellison Johnny Nelson, Jean Rouverol Margaret Arnold, George 'Gabby' Hayes Windy, Harry Worth George Perdue, aka Nevada, Frank McGlynn Jr. Red Connors, Howard Lang Jim Arnold, Ethel Wales Clarissa 'Clary' Peters, Paul Fix henchman Gila, J.P. McGowan Buck Peters, Joe Rickson henchman Herb Layton, Al St. John henchman Cinco, John Merton henchman Carp, Frank Layton henchman Elbows, Chill Wills henchman and background singer, Chill Wills and His Avalon Boys background musicians Runtime: 1h 1m *** This item will be supplied on a quality disc and will be sent in a sleeve that is designed for posting CD's DVDs *** This item will be sent by 1st class post for quick delivery. Should you not receive your item within 12 working days of making payment, please contact us as it is unusual for any item to take this long to be delivered. Note: All my products are either my own work, licensed to me directly or supplied to me under a GPL/GNU License. No Trademarks, copyrights or rules have been violated by this item. This product complies withs rules on compilations, international media and downloadable media. All items are supplied on CD or DVD.

[wunderfilms]

Film - The Secret Life of Pets

directed by Chris Renaud & Yarrow Cheney.

produced by Chris Meledandri & Janet Healy.

written by Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio.

starring Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan & Albert Brooks.

music by Alexandre Desplat.

edited by Ken Schretzmann.

production company: Illumination Entertainment.

summary: “The quiet life of a terrier named Max is upended when his owner takes in Duke, a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.”

wunder’s review: The Secret Life of Pets is not a good movie, but it's not a bad movie either. To its credit, this movie is well animated and is not a boring movie. The problem with this movie is that the story just doesn’t really entice the audience and there’s no real emotional weight to anything that happens. Unlike many great animated movies that come out nowadays, this movie doesn’t really have a moral to its story. For older audiences, this movie doesn’t offer much since the comedy is clearly intended for children, which I do not fault it for, but it does keep it from being anything better than a fun movie you or your kids won’t remember in a matter of weeks. The story wasn’t compelling, the characters weren’t very interesting, and the comedy just didn’t hit for me. One other thing to note is that, as it was pointed out to me after I saw the movie, the plot of this movie seems to be a complete rip-off of Toy Story, but with less heart.

wunder’s score: 1.5 stars out of 4.