Saturday, January 31, 2015

LOVELIST: January Edition...




Thanks to Netflix you can now reconnect with The One With...  Smelly Cat, Oh-My-Gawd. Pivot.  Central Perk. We Were On a Break.  Ugly Naked Guy. How You Doin'?. Pottery Barn.  Friend Zone.   Marcel.  Unagi. Turkey Head.  Hot. Leather Pants.  I Know!. The Holiday Armadillo.  Las Vegas. The Routine.  Could I BE any more...? Regina Phalange. Will Corbett.  Ben. Emma.  Frank Jr Jr.  Leslie.  Girl Chandler. Gunther.  The Gellar Cup. Cheesecake.  He's Her Lobster.  London.  The Prom VHS. Monica bang!.  VD. Days of Our Lives. The Duck and the Chick...  and all the other great episodes from a decade of Phoebe, Monica, Rachel, Joey, Chandler and Ross.   One of my favorite shows from the 90's, now in convenient binge format. They'll be there you. Clap. clap. clap. clap. clap.


In 2002 Richard Linklater cast a six-year-old boy.  
Over the next 12 years they made film history. 
Here's just a sampling of some of it's stellar reviews:  

"There has simply never been anything like this movie." -Rolling Stone  
"A one-of-a-kind movie.  It touches something deep and true"  Entertainment Weekly  
"A Masterpiece that isn't quite like anything else in the history of cinema."  - Salon

But my favorite review, sums my thoughts up perfectly:

To sit with this movie and witness the concentrated passage of time is to watch, 
in a true, moving way, your life unspool before your eyes" - Huffington Post

I'll definitely be rooting for Boyhood on Oscar night


You may think it's 'boring.'  But I love it.
Here's looking at you Patrick, Richie, Kevin, Dom, Augustine and Doris. 
Bring on Season 2!



It's time to take one last trip to Pawnee for Parks and Rec's final season.

Don't cry because it's over, just be happy we enjoyed six more seasons than you and I thought/feared it would last!   Besides it's going out on top, leaving me wanting more (ala 30 Rock) and I can't think of a better way for a series to wrap up as opposed to over staying it's welcome and loosing all charm. (See: The Office).  Farewell Parks Department. Thanks for the years of laughter!




By now you know I've long fancied myself an honorary Brit. The fact that I got bloody sucked into one of it's most popular reality telly contests only confirms it.  I originally tuned in online to root for our girl Michelle (Ms. Visage if you're nasty) but I quickly fell for Calum Best, naturally. I was also entertained by Katie Hopkins(!) and enjoyed beautiful 'glamour model' Katie Price as well.  And chant along. GET PEREZ OUT.  GET PEREZ OUT!   Vile trash.  Have I earned my dual citizenship already yet?!


When I compiled my 101 Songs of 2014 playlist last month, I included amazing singles from indie artists MØ, Broods, Gorgon City and Blondfire.  I decided to delve in and explore more of their recent work this month.  Favorite tracks include:  


"Who is Vivian Maier? Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Since buying her work by chance at auction, amateur historian John Maloof has crusaded to put this prolific photographer in the history books. Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her. Narratively gripping, visually striking, and ultimately thought-provoking, Finding Vivian Maier shines an overdue spotlight on its subject's long-hidden brilliance."- RT   (Thanks for the suggestion Ryan!)


After hearing about the revamp and creative epic new direction it was taking (focusing each episode on our favorite Portland characters) I was in.  Bring on Season 5-- Oregon or Bust!


Gorgeous.
Intense.
Chills.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Watch it HERE.



Joan may be gone... but her legacy lives on as a fabulous sassy red-head has inherited her throne. I was a bit nervous at the thought of a revamped Fashion Police panel.  But I always had faith in Kathy.  Luckily, it's still great and they're all doing Ms. Rivers proud.  


"Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei boldly journeyed from a WWII internment camp, to the helm of the starship Enterprise, to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband Brad on this star's playful and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.  To Be Takei rests almost entirely on its subject's inherent likability -- and, for the most part, that's more than enough." -RT


When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.  Boasting an impressive, talented cast, This is: This Is Where I Leave You.


After four decades together, Ben and George get married. George is consequentially fired from his teaching post, forcing them to stay with friends separately while they sell their place and look for cheaper housing -- a situation that weighs heavily on all involved.  "Held aloft by remarkable performances from John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, Love Is Strange serves as a graceful tribute to the beauty of commitment in the face of adversity." - RT



So what if you can't find any wall calendar that suit your fancy? (See: Paradise Beach fatigue.)  Simple,  just make your own!  Thanks Shutterfly for the upcoming 365 days of Yum!  It's going to be a great 2015... at least calendarly speaking.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Uncle Casey Watch | January '15...


A month's worth of cute kiddos.  
January photo dump: Complete












Thursday, January 15, 2015

So I Think She Can Dance...

Watch a snippet of Bry's mad dance skills.  (i.e. all my iPhone battery would allow!)
#Proud Uncle

Uncle Casey Watch | Just Dance!...


Bubba's dance group performed at the hometown Jr. High School and me and Benz went to support her. She did fantastic, she's got some major talent!  

(It was really weird being in my old gymnasium that I haven't been inside for a couple decades!)



Cowboys Pride...



I grew up in a very small conservative mormon Utah town. Today I visited my old Middle School for the first time in [Large Number Omitted] years to watch my niece’s dance team's performance. I sat in the bleachers in the school’s gymnasium, right next to the boy’s locker room entrance; probably my least favorite room on campus. I’m not going to lie, a bit of anxiety started to creep up as I had flashbacks of the shy, often-scared, non-athletic boy, who Hated PE, was hitting puberty, who knew he was ‘different’ and never wanted to stand out in the crowd. 
As the assembly was coming to a close the High School cheerleaders came out to preform a routine. Something caught my eye. There was a black uniform in the center of all the short red skirts and pony tails. A boy with fabulous purple streaks in his hair was actually a member of the squad in my small conservative mormon hometown alma mater And in that moment I wanted to cry, but for another totally different reason. I don’t know who he is, and I don’t want to assume anything about his sexuality. But the fact alone that he had the courage to try out and make the team, be a proud cheerleader and live his truth. Wow. That was the highlight of my day. Give me an H. Give me an E. Give me an R. Give me an O. Kids these days. 
And yes. He was absolutely fantastic!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Monday, January 5, 2015

Just Like New...



After four weeks with that annoying (and heavy) neon green cast, it's finally gone and Benz's leg is all better.  Now rock those skinny jeans lil' stud!! 

*Outfit provided by a pretty rad uncle.