the Blondish

I love it when the sky is white. It’s like seeing the...

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:01:00 -0700

I love it when the sky is white. It’s like seeing the world on a blank canvas.

Matthew Bogarts Tumblr: The Brave and the Bold

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:09:50 -0700

Matthew Bogarts Tumblr: The Brave and the Bold:

matthewbogart:

I recently posted a link on Facebook to this petition regarding the redesign of Merida from “Brave” that Disney is reportedly doing to include her in the Disney Princess line and I got this response.

> “I don’t get the hoopla over this. Apart from wearing a different outfit and being…

READ.

Frankly, I hate the entire theme that all female leads in Disney films tend toward being princesses, but this just adds fuel to the fire.

frogbillgo: Traveler 1 by *frogbillgo My boyfriend’s...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 11:43:56 -0700

frogbillgo:

Traveler 1 by *frogbillgo

My boyfriend’s bad-ass short comic is finally finished! If you want to see all of it click on the image and it will take you to Deviant art where you can see each final page :)

SPOILER ALERT - Don’t ‘read more’ if you haven’t seen the latest episode...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:29:00 -0800

*SPOILER ALERT* - Don’t ‘read more’ if you haven’t seen the latest episode of Downton Abbey.

How could they kill off Lady Sybil that way?!

I knew it was coming as soon as Sybil gave the speech to her mother about Tom, and making sure that Cora would stand up for him against Robert… who is continually falling down a slippery slope to loathe-dom.

Sybil and Tom were the only two characters whose story-line actually seemed genuine. All the other stories seem farcical in comparison.

Congratulations Downton Abbey, you’ve officially made me cry more than I’ve ever cried for a TV show character ever! Are you happy now? I bet you are. Here’s your damned SAG.

Inspired by this photo from Vanessa Jackman’s blog.

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:08:00 -0800

Inspired by this photo from Vanessa Jackman’s blog.

I don’t always love Bill Maher, but I usually love Bill Maher, and I especially love Bill...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:31:20 -0800

I don’t always love Bill Maher, but I usually love Bill Maher, and I especially love Bill Maher in this clip. Shlamiel, shlamazel, blurbes mumbo jumbo, expecto patronum, susuiyo, yo mama!

frogbillgo: Jellyfish by *frogbillgo My boyfriend is a pretty...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:30:09 -0800

frogbillgo:

Jellyfish by *frogbillgo

My boyfriend is a pretty fucking amazing artist… this was inspired by the jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. :)

Vintage Sally Field looking very earthy.

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:42:00 -0800

Vintage Sally Field looking very earthy.

This feels like a break-up letter to Peter Jackson.

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:16:00 -0800

I just can’t get that feeling out of my stomach that I was right all along about the results of using 48fps for ‘The Hobbit’. The higher frame-rate may have worked well for action scenes, but most of the time it just made the film feel as if I were watching a huge-screen version of a made-for-TV film. To all the people out there who are acting as if 48fps is something new and divine, one must remember that television is most commonly viewed on 29.9 or 30fps which is why it often conveys a “cheap” look. The standard for films is 24fps because it is the threshold for our eyes to convey constant motion. For The Hobbit, the damage caused by the smoother frame rate simply destroyed the magical feeling of Middle-Earth that ‘Lord of the Rings’ conveyed so, so, so, so well.

It hurts my heart to say it but I just didn’t fall in love again last night; the only bit reminiscent of the ‘LotR’ was Ian McKellen as Gandalf. Just hearing his voice made me imagine that I was watching those films again, even for a few seconds - and then a terrible pan across the screen and it looked like I was watching some cheap TV movie with an amazingly high budget for set and costumes, and I was back to a breaking heart. The only scene in the film that made me forget about the trainwreck preceding it (and veiling the trainwreck ahead) was the game of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum (fantastic Andy Serkis). Although it wasn’t nearly as creepy and frightening as it is in the book, it was still well done and we got to see another spark of magic left over from the previous trilogy. Martin Freeman was the perfect Bilbo Baggins, and I think I had always imagined him as playing the part, far before any film was ever being discussed.

For the disappointment of the film, I cannot blame any of the actors; they were spot-on perfect for every role, even though Thorin’s character was muddling up the story by being too much of a drama queen. I love, love, loved watching Aiden Turner as Killi, being something other than a grungy vampire in ‘Being Human’, and James Nesbitt was charming and sweet as Bofur with his quick wit and adorable hat. Ken Stott as Balin also stood out in the gaggle of dwarves as the wise and experienced warrior.

I have a few friends who work for WETA in the props and visual FX departments and I know they did amazing jobs on their work for the movie. I would say the FX were the best of any film I have ever seen, but sadly, the movie was overpowered by CG. Of course the props and sets were seamless with the real world and you couldn’t ask for more talented people in that department. Howard Shore’s music was heartwrenchingly good, as always, and I couldn’t help but feel choked up when the themes from ‘LotR’ echoed through the theater. But that was where the magic ended.

The story was bogged down with dramatic battles that seemed a bit overblown for how little we had invested in the characters, while memories of dwarf and orc battles, seemed to draw heavily from ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’s’ confrontation between Sauron and Isildur. And much of the time, one would almost forget that we were watching Thorin and not Aragorn rising up in battle.

The only salvation I can find for this film is that it be released on DVD with a 24fps option, or I will probably never be able to watch it again. It breaks the wall between reality and fantasy, and if a film is fantasy, it seems pertinent that it remains that way.

I want to feel as if I’m in a world that doesn’t exist within this one. I want to feel as if the characters in the film aren’t people dressed up in costumes, but people who exist in another time and realm. Simply put, I just want to feel. And throughout watching ‘The Hobbit’, I felt… empty.

PJ, it’s not too late; you can make the next one a masterpiece. Stop bogging down your films with too many flashy VFX, and too much melodrama. Bring back the quiet brooding of moments that you had in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Do you remember when you filmed Gandalf talking to Frodo in Moria? Do you remember how there was quiet and buildup before the scene with the cave troll? Before Gandalf fought the Balrog and fell? When Frodo said to Gandalf, “I wish the ring had never come to me, I wish none of this had happened!”

And so Gandalf replied, “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide; all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” And unfortunately, that “time” in the future, for many people may not include watching the next two “Hobbit” films.

But hope remains while the company is true; give characters back their common sense, exercise good pacing between action scenes and quiet ones and most importantly of all, please give us back Middle-Earth by going back to 24fps. I know you can do this. You made the Lord of the Rings trilogy; three films that have me in tears by the end no matter how many times I watch them. So please… please, please, please, please, please, I’m begging you, change from this path down commercialism, or this trial separation may become permanent.

Wishing you all the best,

J Tillman + good beats + Aubrey Plaza = Fanfuckingtastic tunage.

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:53:18 -0800

J Tillman + good beats + Aubrey Plaza = Fanfuckingtastic tunage.

Under $50 Gift Guide for the Guys

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:42:21 -0800

…because they can be so freakin’ hard to shop for, sometimes you need a little help! (For prices and links click ‘read more’!)

1.Teak Wood Coasters - $24

2. Leather Billfold - $45

3. Wrap-around Leather Watch - $44

4. Explorer Gloves - $42

5. Beer-Making Kit Brown Ale - $45

6. Tea Guys Earl Grey - $12

7. Venn Diagram T-Shirt - $22

8. Muji Folding Speakers - $38

9. Death Star Tea Infuser - $20

10. Dark Grey Scarf - $28

11. Siskiyou Cedar Sachet - $10

12. Two-Tone Leather iPad Case - $38

12am, December 14th… i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:42:00 -0800

12am, December 14th… i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait i can’t wait….

Have you ever had a day when you hear a song for the first time and you know that you are listening...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:38:12 -0800

Have you ever had a day when you hear a song for the first time and you know that you are listening to something so, so special it will stay with you forever? I haven’t had one of those musical days in a long time. Please music, come back to me!

For now I will just post some of the songs that will stay with me always:

Flume by Bon Iver on Grooveshark

Waltz #2 (XO) by Elliott Smith on Grooveshark

Yellow by Coldplay on Grooveshark

04 Edmonton by The Rural Alberta Advantage on Grooveshark

Liztomania by Phoenix on Grooveshark

Age of Consent by New Order on Grooveshark

Pink Moon by Nick Drake on Grooveshark

Navy Taxi by Kate Nash on Grooveshark

Barrel of a Gun by Guster on Grooveshark

The Captain And Hourglass by Laura Marling on Grooveshark

Lakes of Canada by Sufjan Stevens on Grooveshark