Here is a sweet sweet taste of our trip to BVI. Watch the little fella (~2 ft long shell) fake me out twice!

This is for my Japanese and Japanese wanna-be readers who will get how incredible/funny/revolutionary this is! Love when the hosts ask him how he got into it and he credits his Japanese grandmother from Yokohama (1/4 Asian! What my kids will be too!) and he's asked if he thought of pursuing hip-hop and he answers in a super Japanese way, "never."

* Thanks to my bro for the link!

I love it when my friends know me well!

Unfortunately I missed Morris Day and The Time's performance!
Kanye's Mama song was heartfelt and touching.
Kanye is the posterchild for Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Kanye's " it would be in good taste to stop playing the music now" was righteous and commendable.
Kanye's message to Common that he should know not to drop an album the same year as Kanye because it will surely be eclipsed was...well, see aforementioned diagnosis.
Beyonce's first outfit made her look like a rigatoni. Her second one was better.
Beyonce is an A+++++ performer.
Jay-Z and Rihanna still have something going on between them!
Jay-Z was hilarious.
Jay-Z has me smitten.
Alicia Keys moves me everytime. Love that girl.
Amy Winehouse is frighteningly fragile and young and nowhere near recovery.

The Grammys were fun this year!!

* via KO.

** Who knew Matt Damon was so funny and fantastic!

And I only read the first few paragraphs.

Patients, Patients: HBO, on the couch again by Nancy Franklin.

The short story of Clark Gable's stepson.

Trailer:

WOW. It's plain to see how the Church of Scientology has become so powerful - congrats, guys! It's brainwashed their followers into being suspicious of and antagonistic towards any non-believers. Their identities seem to be rooted in singling out dissenters who could only be such SPs (Suppressive Person - thanks, L. Ron) because they must be hiding some deep dark secret! Plus, they relentlessly spew rhetoric of how they are about positivity when all the while they are acting negatively - brilliant! Here's a depressing thought for you: Think of alllllll the money the Church of Scientology has and how it's not being spent on things like education and health care.

Definition of Enturbulate.

Wow. I first read this BBC article and watched the accompanying video in which John Sweeney, the BBC reporter investigating the Church of Scientology, loses out. Then I watched the following video and now feel immense sympathy for his wholly understandable freak-out. The steadfast refusal of Scientologists to engage in debate or even a two-way conversation is infuriating even just to watch - I can't imagine taking part in it. Their attempts to replace the authority of the field of psychiatry with their own are laughable but in fact they are pernicious. Enjoy this frightful video:

As you may know, BuzzFeed asks bloggers if they've written about trends that have been covered by BuzzFeed. Some comic relief amidst the realization that Scientologists are taking over:

YAY NICK!!!!! YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO.

You have to see this movie. Preferably with a male companion. Saw it last night and it's pretty great. Not sure why my crotch feels vulnerable but...well you'll see. Congrats to Mitchell, who is a friend of friends, for a fantastic job! And thanks to Susan for the invite - was certainly a memorable date!

You may feel the heat...from me beaming with pride at my BFF Andrea's recent accomplishment!!

* Thanks to for the tip Beth!!

In case you missed this rare slice of earnest pie, it's commendable and worth watching!

* Thanks for the tip, Mary!

My fellow blogging cousin Angelina has created these cool little Thriller drawings so in the spirit of familial teamwork I have animated them!

My fellow blogging cousin Angelina has created these cool little Thriller drawings so in the spirit of familial teamwork I have animated them!

You can hear a preview of all songs by clicking Preview All above the song list.

"You can't executive produce an executive producer!"

What a surprisingly good movie from Ben Affleck! It's nice to see when someone redeems themselves and that's what he does with this accomplishment. Show your support for Ben's makeover from Gigli and Bennifer I to talented director by seeing this! You're guaranteed to have good heavy topics to debate during dinner.

I haven't loved a New Yorker article this much in a while. It is absolutely fascinating if you love The Wire but even if you don't know The Wire but have a sociological interest in cities and institutions you will be taken by David Simon's take on his show and America.

On a muggy August afternoon in Baltimore, trash scuttled down Guilford Avenue, the breeze smelling like rain and asphalt. It was the last week of shooting for the fifth and final season of the HBO drama “The Wire,” and the crew was filming a scene in front of a boarded-up elementary school. Cast members had been joined by forty or so day players—mostly kids from the neighborhood. Earlier, the episode’s director, Clark Johnson, had been giving some of the kids the chance to say “Cut!,” and they’d bellowed it like drunks at a surprise party. Now, when Johnson yelled “Cut,” the kids swarmed around a video monitor to look at themselves in the last shot, pointing and laughing. “He just said it was good,” one kid complained. “Why we gotta do it again?” Johnson, who was wearing what he called his “lucky cowboy hat,” stepped away to talk to one of the professional actors. Another man—a bald white guy, unprepossessing in jeans and a T-shirt—remained by the monitor, and he answered the kids: “Hey. He’s the director. You don’t believe him? He kinda, sorta knows what he’s doin’.” The bald guy was David Simon, the show’s creator: a former Baltimore Sun reporter who figured that he’d spend his life at a newspaper, a print journalist who has forged an improbable career in television without ever leaving Baltimore. The kids listened politely to Simon and ran back to their places.

Each season of “The Wire” has focussed, with sociological precision, on a different facet of Baltimore. continued...

The first baseball team I loved was the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. My 11 year old BFF and I lived near Hara Tatsunori, one of the top players and borderline stalked his house one fun summer. One summer in CA in my teens I went to an As game and enjoyed a brief love affair with the As and Canseco. In my adult life I am wiser and my heart has been with the lovable Red Sox. This world series I particularly loved watching the relentlessly fierce Okajima and Papelbon!

Here's a funny photo taken by Katy at a Red Sox Rolling Rally:

* Thanks to my Mother in Law Della for this!!

* Thanks to Gemma for the tip!!

This is pretty good...pritttty good!

This is so fantastic - thanks Zee!

I am so excited to see this film (psychology and Japan - what more could I ask for?!) which will air on IFC on Monday October 22 (thanks for the tip KO!) It is a documentary on Japan and the recent upsurge of anti-depressant use and tells its story through the eyes of five Japanese people taking anti-depressants (not surprisingly but certainly sadly only two out of five are concurrently doing therapy). Check out the following trailer and if it seems interesting, come by on Monday and we'll snuggle on our new humongous couch (thanks Duncan!)

Human stories can be very sad especially because they are only a glimpse into the larger tragedy of a general decline in standard of living, education, employment and civil rights. Here's the story of two women in Iran.

This is the first part of the five part documentary as posted on YouTube. Here are the second, third, fourth and fifth and final parts.

* Thanks to my bro for the tip!

* Thanks to Mark Larson for the tip!

Her silliness is so pitch perfect and exquisitive...always and forever my favorite funny lady!

* via BuzzFeed!

I feel compelled to let everyone know that The Office (American version) is quite possibly the best television show and easily the best comedic TV show. I just watched our DVR'd one hour season opener and couldn't take a break from laughing. I think I'm in love with every single character...even Mindy.

OMG. I am desperado to see this!!!

* via BuzzFeed.

Jonah's been fortunate enough to observe me watching this treasure trove of National Geographic YouTube videos while I narrate, in my own special way, the intense dramas of the underwater world. He suggested, "maybe you should be an Aquatic Forensic Psychologist!" Hey, great idea! I'll market myself as an Aquatic in addition to a Terrestrial Forensic Psychologist!!

:-)
:-)
:-)

While watching the second of the three tests, Jonah said, "maybe it'll be smart enough to tip over the container in order to get the crabs out" and then we see that the octopus is able to squeeze in and capture the crabs. I said to Jonah, "the octopus is smarter than we imagined! Had it tipped over the container the crabs would be harder to capture and eat!" And Jonah said, "So you're saying the octopus is smarter than me?" "Yes" :-)

Check out its strategic tentacle placement - brill!

You know how I know I have good ideas? Because the few I've thought through seriously have been implemented several months later by people and companies in much better positions than I am in to do so. Case in point:

Upscale Movie Theaters

I've always said this would be a good idea anywhere there are lots of wealthy people. I'm certain that wealthy people in New York would prefer to dish out more money to guarantee a nicer movie going experience. While it may be sad for a minute to squash a democratic vestige - movie theaters - people will get over it in a quicker minute. And us plebeians can overcompensate by repeatedly mentioning how great Loews theaters are.

* via Seth Godin.

This video makes me want to wrap my spindly arms around all this cuteness and encourage better enunciation of "you can't touch this."

* via my cousin Angelina!

* MARK WILKIE, YOU ARE MY BFF FOR SENDING ME THIS.

I have been loving TV Land's Elvis programming. It has been a profound reminder of what a formidable, breathtaking, original talent Elvis was. Listening to his voice and watching him perform brings tears to my eyes more often than it doesn't. And it's not just because he was painfully hot.

LONG LIVE THE KING!!

Here are some of my favorite songs and performances:

1956 - Love Me Tender: THIS IS WORTH CLICKING ON even though I'd like instead to boycott this video uploader for not allowing embedding - he was all genius and no baggage at this point.

1970 - Suspicious Minds - his dancing is off the hook:

1972 - You're Always On My Mind:

1973 - Can't Help Falling in Love - Live from Hawaii - do rockstars kiss fans on the lips all throughout performances anymore?

1973 - Blue Hawaii - a great song and one of my favorite movies of all time - no joke!

1973 - You Gave Me A Mountain:

Six weeks before his death in 1977 - Unchained Melody - playing the piano and crooning like there's no tomorrow:

Ze showed us this last night and I almost cried. Here's the incredible backstory you should read before watching the video.

Jonah and I went to the screening of this film last night thanks to New York - Tokyo. It is a very good film and a tremendously tragic story. If you don't know about the Japanese families who lives were shattered by North Korea's abduction of their children, you must see this film. This film pays just enough attention to the big picture and all the families affected without straying from the main story which is the kidnapping of Megumi Yokota, a 13 year old girl from Niigata, Japan and her parents' continued search for her. The DVD is due out in September and hopefully the film will make it to the big screen here and receive the rave reviews its enjoyed internationally. In the meantime here's a trailer.

A few highlights [warning - spoilers below]:

- Former Prime Minister Koizumi does the right thing by withholding food and medical aid to North Korea for the acknowledgment and subsequent return of (some of) the victims they kidnapped. However he then appears less honorable when he faces the weeping father of Megumi and explains that while the abduction issue is an important one so is that of nuclear weapons. 'Abduction issue' is such dispassionate wording! I can't even begin to imagine how incredibly difficult being a politician must be.

- The sponsor of the film screening, ANA (All Nippon Airways), was also the airline that flew home five of the 13 abductees. After the film and before the Q&A session with the film directors, an ANA representative told us that his boss was on the flight with the returning abductees. His boss offered one of the abductees a cigarettes which happened to be the very popular Japanese brand Mild Seven. The abductee politely declined saying that he could only smoke cigarettes of his country - meaning North Korea. Keep in mind that this is a Japanese guy who was abducted from Japan in his twenties. More and more I believe the disturbing notion that most people can be brainwashed without too much trouble.

- According to witnesses, Megumi arrived in North Korea after a 40 hour boat ride, without fingernails. She never ceased crying for her mother nor scratching at the iron door of the tiny compartment she was locked in.

For up to date information click here.

Peggy is so awesome and Stereogum has picked up on this. I was at BuzzFeed late one night when they were practicing and I got to listen to their melodic, beautiful music all to myself...with Peggy's dog Lammy.

While catching up on my Perez Hilton studies I was reminded that Madonna had a birthday on August 16th and I fondly reminisced on the Madonna of old. I loved her. She was my greatest inspiration as a youngster. She was a true star.

The other day while singing Rihanna's Umbrella in the shower, Jonah busted in, flung open the shower curtain and shoved this umbrella at me...here's Andrea's Umbrella, photographic version:

This is such a well-made, heartfelt film. It took five years and you can tell! Very nicely sewn together and such a strong pull of a story: a son seeking to understand the father he barely knew who was both an esteemed architect and a failed family man. While I'm sure it's possible to watch this without crying I teared every 20 minutes or so. An excellent documentary worth your time!

This is a truly fantastic 23 seconds. When you're Bobby D you can have all the tood you want and you still rule. Check it!

* Thanks to Katy for the link!!

After a year and a half it is finally up! If you have 13 minutes to kill check it out!

Once in a blue moon a video so great inspires a haiku!

Puppy's exhausted expression.
Duckling forces kiss and cuddle.
TGIcuteFriday!

One more whistle and I would have died: