In Defense of the Oscars

Have you ever loved something, but felt like you were the only one? In the last few years that's how I've felt about the Oscars. I call it my Super Bowl, as on the night most Americans gather around the TV to cheer on their favorites I watch movies breaking only for the half time show.

True, this year's production of the Academy Awards didn't go unnoticed. Approximately 40 million people watched and are still talking about the winners days later. However, for me it still feels like I know no one who embraces the event as much as I do. I'm not saying no one else cares, I know many of you do, but I keep my love for it in check. I get REAL excited you guys. On the inside, I'm beaming.

In the last few years I've attempted to watch every Best Picture nominee before the big night. This year I was unsuccessful (blame my fabulous social life I suppose). Thanks to reading and research I figured Argo would take home the prize so I made sur to at least watch it. Three hours before the main event Sunday night I curled up on my couch and pressed play.

Argo really is a great film and deserves all the accolades it received this year. At the end, though, a thought crossed my mind. The name associated with the film is, of course, Ben Affleck. Again, he and his team deserved the award they were given - an award for a film. But still watching the movie I couldn't help but think that the man Affleck portrays in the film, CIA Officer Tony Mendez, deserves praise of his own.

And then I realized that if Argo the film hadn't been made, I would not know who Mendez was, nor the impact he's made on our country's history. That got me thinking of all the other characters portrayed in the Oscar films this year and I came to the conclusion that the Oscars is more than a celebration of the year in movies. It's also a celebration of incredible people.

IMO: The Most Romantic Movie Scene EVER

In case you haven't noticed, nerds, it's Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate than with a love story played out on a screen by professional actors?

In cinematic history there have been many romantic moments: Rhett & Scarlet, Rick & Ilsa, Harry & Sally, Jack & Rose. Ask someone what scene is the most romantic they might suggest the moment Noah tells Allie it's not over. Or possibly one of my favorites when Darcy confesses, again, his love for Elizabeth. But it may surprise you to learn that neither of these takes the cake for me.

The scene that does isn't very famous. The movie itself, truth be told, isn't all that great. Time and time again, however I'll watch just this scene and the magic never goes away. Donald O'Connor and Mitzi Gaynor are serenading each other in 1956's Anything Goes. I don't know what it is. The song maybe? The chemistry perhaps? Maybe I just really like Donald O'Connor? Either way I can't watch this and not feel swoony.

So, I hope your holiday has been delovely, nerds. And tell me what do you think is the most romantic movie scene?

Literally a Literary Crush

A post over at one of our favorites HelloGiggles inspired me to write of my own devotions to literary characters.  I wasn't too much of a reader growing up, and females weren't a heavy presence in many of the books I was reading.  T.A. Barron perhaps wrote them more than any other popular young adult/children's fantasy author.  And I found myself reading Louis L'Amour books just to have a quick read so I could meet my quota.  We didn't have a great selection at our school's library.  Books were very much directed towards boys or girls.  It was westerns and sports books geared towards boys and romances and babysitting adventures with girls.  So I typically found my literary crushes in X-Men, because that's where strong females were most present!  Thankfully I met good taste in books at college, where I fell in love with so many great characters.  It's strange that someone who went into college as an English Education major didn't fall in love with books until college, right?

STORM (X-MEN)

My first literary crush would most definitely be Storm from the X-Men.  Bold, rational by heart, and incredibly strong as a person and a leader, Ororo Munroe ripped out my heart (not co much like she did Marrow's though) with every panel.  Whether she was fighting her possessed friends (it's best when it's Cyclops) or comforting her friends like the beautiful scene between her and Iceman while his dad was in the hospital, Storm blew me away.  Her ties to nature, love of plants, and claustrophobia were aspects of her personality I could admire and relate to.  (I couldn't relate to her goddess complex, though.)  She was a nurturing individual, yet could be ruthless if called for.  I couldn't get enough of her, even with her weird-ass lines in the animated series.  ("I shall meet you at the monorail!")

Geek Chic: Pants A La Petrie

The year was 1961. A new television sitcom was premiering: The Dick Van Dyke Show. Like others before it, this black and white comedy focused on an average family — Dad has his job, Mom has her home. Just your standard, happy wholesome family television show. And then... scandal!

The wife wore pants!

It's true, Laura Petrie, the character Mary Tyler Moore played from 1961 until 1965 was a trailblazer. Until her, the traditional TV housewife stuck to her uniform of dresses and heels. From the beginning, though, Moore insisted Laura wear pants, arguing that all the housewives she knew wore them. Finally, TV housewives were set free! 

We've been through a lot since Laura. There were the flowing peasant skirts of the late 60s, high-waisted bell bottoms of the 70s, acid-washed jeans of the 80s and baggy carpenter jeans of the 90s (oh, how fashion was unkind to me in middle school). Which brings us to today when we find me flipping through the March issues of fashion magazines and I see ads for these:

Yes, they're jeans, but still don't these look familiar? The bright colors. The high hem. Hello stranger.