Notes of nostalgia

Happy Easter weekend! Here are some things online that I found interesting this Spring Break week, including…

Ο … this vintage Cosmo cover illustration that looks exactly like Amy Poehler. So Amy now joins Nicolas Cage in the illustrious (?) group of rumored celebrity vampires.

Ο … speaking of creepy, check out these series of photos from abandoned theme parks. There’s always something so majestically sad and soul-stirring about photos like these, especially from places that have been hit by natural disasters, like the theme park near Chernobyl or the New Orleans Six Flags destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Ο … and hitting another note of nostalgia, here’s an interesting analysis of the Japanese pop album Alyssa Milano made as a teenager. “[S]he flew in and recorded her parts in five days.” Yes, one can tell.

Ο … more vintage goodness with this essay on the “delightfully sinful history” of canoes. Puts a whole new spin on ”canoedling,” right?!

Ο … and finally, an intriguing perspective on ghostwriting from a former ghostwriter of the Sweet Valley High series. Yes, I read and loved that series, so this was another personal flashback moment for me!

Cosby sweaters and obsolete words

Bill Cosby’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Wikipedia)

♥ A couple of weeks ago, I highlighted this article about Cosby sweaters. And now, Bill Cosby’s asking us to vote for our personal faves. Yes!

♥ Cosby sweaters are awesome, as we have already determined. So are these 18 obsolete words, which never should have gone out of style. Who knew that I have been a California widow, as well as married to man who’s both a snoutfair and a bookwright?! ;)

♥ This headline reads: “People Seem Really Excited About Tilda Swinton Sleeping in a Box at MoMA.” I am one of those people. SWINTON!

♥ And last, but not least, every day is a little bit better with a bit of Tina Fey in it. You’re welcome.

I concur, dear sir

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

♥ This blog post about these mysterious beach huts along the Dubai beaches definitely intrigued me. I was born in Dubai, and my husband and I lived and worked in Abu Dhabi from 2008-2011. And y’all know how I love a good mystery…

♥ Which Wes Anderson character are you? Follow this infographic to find out! Turns out I’m a character from a West Anderson film I haven’t yet seen. Can you guess which one?

♥ Why this man thinks you should read Jane Austen (and everyone else). I concur, dear sir.

♥ You know those Proust-inspired questionnaires that James Lipton asks every guest on Inside the Actors Studio (whose title really should have an apostrophe)? They were all the rage in the late 1800s. And Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s droll, taciturn responses to this questionnaire are hilarious.

When asked “If not yourself, who would you be?” Doyle contributed an answer, crossed it out elaborately, then puckishly noted in a parenthetical: “Hope this is clear.”

You had me at ‘Yeti’

The end of a term is crunch time for everyone — students, faculty, staff, everyone. And I’m still getting used to the four-terms-a-year structure of colleges and universities here in Oregon, versus the semesters I was used to everywhere else. Ten or eleven weeks for a term just feels too short.

Anyway, here are some things on the interwebs that have been making me smile, or laugh, or cry, or sometimes all three.

♥ Love, reunited. So simple. So silent. So moving.

♥ The American Government’s Advice for Yeti Hunters, 1959. You had me at “Yeti.”

♥ In this article, Bill Cosby dismisses the influence of all those Cosby sweaters, but the author makes some interesting observations about the deeper meaning stitched into all those crazy-quilt patterns.

♥ I am finding Mila Kunis simultaneously funny, smart, charming, and relatable. All of which is on display in this hilarious interview clip!

Oscar, Oscar

It’s Oscars weekend! This excitement is definitely reflected in my interwebs-round-up below. You know where I’ll be this Sunday!

♥ This article — with charts! — raises an interesting question:  When box-office hits get nominated, do Oscar ratings go up?

♥ Poor Greer Garson and her oft-maligned record for longest Oscar acceptance speech (clocking in at reported times ranging from 5 1/2 – 7 mins), for her Best Actress win for 1942′s Mrs. Miniver. You can catch a clip of her speech by clicking here or watching below.

♥ For Oscar acceptance speeches that are memorable in a more positive way, there’s a list here of the top 20 of the last 20 years, and a list here featuring the top 12 in Oscar history. Any crossovers? (Hint:  Emma Thompson, I ♥ you.) Do you agree or disagree?

♥ This inside look at an Oscar voter’s ballot is brutally honest and quite illuminating.

♥ I suspect Argo will win Best Picture tomorrow night, and this essay muses what that triumph really reveals about Hollywood and the popular reception to this film. My fave line:

It reignited the notion that serious movies for adults could be popular again.

♥ And last, but not least, I had a big smile on my face going through this delightful menu of Oscar-themed foods. Spiced ceviche boats with tiger’s milk to celebrate Life of Pi? Wild boar hush puppies for Beasts of the Southern Wild? Genius!

Related articles:

• Oscars: Best since ’39? (guidingstarcinema-blog.com)
• Website reveals trends in Oscar acceptance speeches (popwatch.ew.com)
• The Do’s and Don’ts of the Oscar Acceptance Speech (fox4kc.com)
• Top 10 Interesting Facts About The Oscars (toptenz.net)
• What’s an Oscar Worth at the Box Office? (business.time.com)
• Learn Every Oscar Acceptance Speech Stat Imaginable (vulture.com)