MamaPop™

LOST, We Miss You

Yep. That pretty much covers it.

Fix You

As covered by the Young At Heart Chorus.

Never been a big fan of Coldplay overall (liked a few songs, disliked a few songs, whatever), but I have to say, I found this just incredibly moving.

More GG Whining, Yes, Whatever

Overhead during last night's Gilmore Girls episode:

Amy: I hate this show.

Amy: Shut up, show.

Amy: Shut up, Rory.

Amy: Shut up, April.

Amy: Shut up, Christopher McMoneybags.

Amy: Shut up, Rory's Friend. I refuse to even learn your name! Stop calling him "Boyfriend!" That is not cute! Shut up! Shut up! I hate this show!

Jason: I really hate the way they talk.

Amy: stunned silence

Jason: What?

Amy: You are not allowed to say things like that about my show.

Jason: But...

Amy: Shut up, Jason.

(Thanks to Richard & Emily & Wolfgirl & Paris & Doyle & the 10 goopy seconds of Luke holding the baby, I thought this episode wasn't as horrible as the past few? Is there hope after all? Or am I perhaps demonstrating signs of Battered Viewer Syndrome?)

Links

A Brief History Of Pop Music (In Four Chords)

An extraordinarily cool video demonstrating just how simple (and repetitive) the chord progression of most pop music is:

RAD.

[via]

EDIT: Go here to see a the list of the specific songs used.

This is not the comeback you are looking for

BRITNEY!

BRIT BRIT!

BABY GIRL!

HONEYBUNS! SUGARLIPS! CHEETOCHEEKS!

Look, I know life is kind of crazy for you right now, what with the divorce and the two babies and those sex tape rumors and all, and I know you think a week of non-stop partying is like, so totally what you need right now, y'all, but...seriously.

SERIOUSLY.

Comb your hair weave! Buy a bra! Put your pants back on! Wear some underwear! No, seriously, wear some underwear! Stop drinking so damn much! Get that thing away from your baby!

Jesus H. Christ. Leave it to Britney to rebound with perhaps the one person on earth who makes Kevin Federline seem like a nice young man of fine moral fiber and well-mannered upbringing.

Poll Smokin'

[In the voice of Beavis:] Heh-heh. She just said "Poll."

Okay! Entirely unscientific and possibly irrelevant Poll time for the MamaPop braintrust! Woot!

Question One: What's the best CD of Xmas music money can buy?

Question Two: (And please pardon my ignorance here) Is there a CD of Hanukkah music anyone can recommend?

Question Three: (Which is totally unrelated to questions One and Two, but I have a personal need to know here, people) At what age do you suppose a child can handle the potentially nightmare-inducing content of The Wizard Of Oz?

Alrighty then... GO!

I Totally Saw a Movie This Weekend!

I did! In the theater and everything! Just like a big girl!

It was the first movie Jason and I have been to since Noah was born 14 months ago. And probably longer than that, since I never wanted to see movies when I was pregnant, what with the constant peeing and complaining about any seat that was not my couch.

We saw Stranger Than Fiction. It was...hmm. Will Ferrell is definitely going through his own personal Jim Carrey/Truman Show/Eternal Sunshine/I Am A Serious Actor Phase right now, and while this movie was definitely nowhere near as awesome as Eternal Sunshine, it was infinitely better and infinitely shorter than Jim's other High-Minded Movies About The Struggle Of The Everyman That Require Massive Suspension of Disbelief. (That's totally a real film classification now, by the way. Look for it at your local Blockbuster, right next to the Artistic European Softcore.)
Anyway, I'm certainly no film critic and really don't have anything else to say about the film, and really only wrote this entry because I TOTALLY SAW A MOVIE THIS WEEKEND.

From My Ongoing Series, "Reasons You Should Be Watching HBO's The Wire"

Here's this season's opening scene, introducing the new female character of Snoop, played brilliantly by actress Felicia Pearson (perhaps the most terrifying female villain to ever appear in a television series" according to horror writer Stephen King). Just a small taste of the high-level character complexity the show offers every week:

Also, this is just frickin' GENIUS -- a take on how kids (or at least these inner city kids of The Wire) learn:

Dinks, man. DINKS.

Blue Christmas

Just to hep ya'll to the awesome: Sufjan Stevens just released a boxed set of christmas music CDs he privately recorded over the past six years. Its lovely.

In December 2001, Sufjan set out to create a Christmas gift for his friends and family. The result was a seven-song recording that he called "Noel Vol. 1". Over the next several years, he created new EPs to add to the collection. This 5-CD box set includes all five volumes, plus a 42-page booklet with an original Christmas essay by acclaimed American novelist Ricky Moody, two essays, a short story by Stevens, a holiday sticker, chord charts, lyrics, comic strip, family portrait poster, photos, and an animated video.

FIVE CDs, PEOPLE. And for under $20, you can't beat it with a stick. Go. Buy. Now.

Don't Cry For Me, CGI Spiders

Something is very seriously wrong with me, because I cannot even watch the TRAILER for the new Charlotte's Web movie without going all Precious-Moments-eyeballs and tearing up a little bit.

Oh Jesus God. I just started thinking about the book and I'm sniffling again. Somebody take me out back behind the barn and shoot me. I'm done.

Top That

The following 80s hip-hop embarrassment is brought to you by the seriously misguided makers of the film "Teen Witch":

Oh, WOW.

I Love To Laaaaaaff

Ha Ha Ha Ha... Loud, and long and clear...

Ahem. Sorry, sorry. HI INTERWEB! I'm here to present you with your pre-made, pre-packaged feel good moments of the day, my friends. Because I for one could certainly use many, many more feel good moments, particularly after spending the lion's share of the day today out holiday shopping with a 4-year-old in tow. Need I say more?

I thought not. You feel my pain, yes?

Okay! So first, this just never fails to make me almost pee my pants laughing:

And second, I just stumbled on this gem last night: its a compilation of Ali G Show endings that indeed do deserve to be showcased all by themselves (watch, you'll see):

Ahh... that makes everything just a teeny-weeny bit better, doesn't it?

Real Estate Has Eaten My Brain

While watching Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire on HBO last night:

Jason: Come on, seriously, just because Harry's name came out of the goblet he HAS to compete? Why?

Amy: Didn't you hear? It's a BINDING MAGICAL CONTRACT. If Harry backs out he totally won't get his security deposit back.

(For all you hardcore Potter geeks out there, the official site for the next movie [Order of the Phoenix] went live over the weekend. Um. Woo? Yeah. I know. Not as exciting as the book 7 title or anything, but the good news is that Rupert Grint appears to have gotten a damn haircut. Although he still isn't standing up straight OR turning down that infernal racket, what, you call that music? Also tuck in your shirt. Kids today! Go read a book! About wizards and fairies and magic and did you hear, Harry totally kisses Cho in the next movie OMG.)

ANTM: The Girl Who Can't Act

Oh jesus lord, did you guys see this week's episode? With the, umm, "acting"? If I may be so bold as to call it that? May I? ARE YOU SURE?

PAINFUL. Besides Melrose, who by the by ANNOYS THE CRAP OUT OF ME, the girls were varying shades of sucktastic. And Caridee? The one I love? THE WORST. AWFUL. And I loved how when she read from the cue cards off-camera it appeared as though her eyes were rolling back in her head, like a shark chompin' on a big ol' bloody tuna.

Frankly I don't know who should win anymore, because they're all pissing me off.

Deep Breath

Okay.

I guess it's time. I guess I'm ready.

We need to talk some Gilmore Girls, people. I know. I'm still hurting too.

We need to talk about Lane having (gag) TWINS. We need to talk about how (gag) Rory is suddenly all adrift and unsure of herself again yet claiming she's never felt like this before (see: yacht, grand theft). And suddenly friends with the two most annoying female characters ever, whose every stitch of dialogue makes me want to fork my eardrums.

We need to talk about Lorelai marrying Christopher, and oh my God, she married CHRISTOPHER (gag gag gag).

Mostly, we need to talk about why the writers seem to think one season of Luke character assassination and one half-season of half-hearted Christopher-was-not-such-a-dickwad-in-highschool backstory will make us, The World's Most Overly-Invested Fans This Side Of Sci-FI, completely forget that CHRISTOPHER IS A BIG FAT DICKWAD AND LUKE LOVES LORELAI.

We never SAW Christopher in high school. You can TELL us about how he brought pizza that one time to Lorelai, but the fact is we SAW Luke pour Lorelai's coffee and serve her a cheeseburger every day. We SAW Christopher break her heart repeatedly. We SAW Christopher be a lousy damn dad to Rory. We SAW Luke pine for Lorelai and burst with pride over Rory's accomplishments. Yes, we also saw the lack of chemistry between the actors, but still. Reversing course this late in the game by turning Luke into an asshole and Christopher into...um...a rich asshole? And expecting us all to be charmed with stories about...I don't know...French benches? Not cool.

NOT COOL.

Ahem.

I'm going to have some wine now and calm down a little and maybe watch The Office.

(And if that series ever fucks with my beloved Jim and Pam story arc? I am done with television. DONE.)

EDITED TO ADD: Here's how the series should end. Amen.

Love, Scientology Style

OMG YOU GUYS, the NY Times has somehow accessed the super-duper-top-secret traditional Scientology marriage vows, and they are every bit as ludicrously cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs-sounding as you might imagine:

Now, Tom, girls need clothes and food and tender happiness and frills, a pan, a comb, perhaps a cat. All caprice if you will, but still they need them.

Which sounds like a buncha sexist Body-Thetan bullshit if you ask me. Snort.

See also: A fine, humorous translation via BWE.

And now the obligatory: POOR KATIE!