Shared posts

11 Dec 16:45

Bingeworthy TV series

by joffaboy
Wondering what series to binge next? Try Bingeworthy.io This listing shows the Top 100 Shows as nominated by users of Bingeworthy.IO with at least 25 ratings. 4/4 is the best you can get. This site was created by Dave Winer (of RSS fame), and built by site users. If you login (linking your Twitter account) you can vote for shows. You can also add new shows via Metacritic. Some of the title names are a bit dodgy, and there's little granularity (eg. all seasons of Dr Who are listed as one title, but Battlestar Galactica series are listed twice (1978 and 2003)). Could be useful if you think you've seen all the good shows...

You can (once logged in) rate shows from Best to Worst, and look for other site users with similar taste to your (and see their choices).
20 May 05:17

Saving Tweets to Evernote?

by star gentle uterus
I'm having some issues saving Tweets to Evernote and am looking for a fix, or an alternate way of doing it.

While browsing Twitter on the iPhone app there is a "Share Tweet via..." option in the Share Tweet menu for each Tweet. This brings up another menu containing options for sharing to text messages, email, and various apps. You can enable Evernote as one of these options, which I have done. Selecting this option brings up this prompt, which lets you edit the Evernote note and choose which Notebook to put it in.

However, when you save the note and go to look at it in the Evernote app, you just see this. No content from the Tweet, just an error message asking you to log in to Twitter. But when I click on Log In, successfully log in when the prompt opens, and return to the note, it still shows the same error content.

I've tried updating and reinstalling both the Evernote and Twitter apps and restarting the phone, but the problem persists. Is there a fix for this, or another way to let me easily save individuals Tweets as individual Evernote notes? Any help or insight on this problem is much appreciated.
22 Dec 20:38

Employee deprives gentleman from liberating merchandise from department store

by Mark Frauenfelder

A customer who chose the no-payment option for a store item was pursued out the door by a relentless employee who apparently holds the quaint notion that transactions involving the exchange of goods should be beneficial to both parties. The ideologically rigid employee got his way this time, but I'm sure the gentleman with the big pickup will be back again before Christmas.

UPDATE: It looks like the employee was fired for not letting the  thief get away with it. (Thanks WCityMike in comments)

A terrible attempt at stealing from r/funny

02 Aug 20:26

The Price is Wrong!

The Price is Wrong!

Submitted by: (via Dump a Day)

Tagged: Grumpy Cat , signs , coffee , funny
14 Jul 00:25

We Try All 18 Kinds of Trader Joe's Trail Mix

by Brooke Porter Katz
Trader Joe's extensive line of trail mix runs the gamut from simple nuts and dried fruit to wasabi flavored to a sweet-and-salty combo. Here's how they all stack up. Read More
03 Jul 14:28

4th of July Concert and Ice Cream Social in Walnut Creek on Friday

by Beyond the Creek
James Kew

This has quite a Village-y vibe to it.

4th-july-walnut-creek-gazebo

4th of July Concert and Ice Cream Social:

Civic Park Gazebo
1375 Civic Dr, Walnut Creek
Friday, July 4th, 2014
3:00pm – 7:30pm | Free

Walnut Creek continues its Centennial Celebrations with an Independence Day Concert and Ice Cream Social. The family friendly evening includes performances by the acclaimed Walnut Creek Band and free root beer floats served by the city’s current and former Mayors. The Valley Art Gallery is hosting a “Walnut Creek Paint-Out” project, a display of plein aire art scenes of Walnut Creek created by local artists. People attending the social will be able to view the works of art and vote for their favorite painting at www.valleyartgallery.org.

30 Jun 19:31

Hobby Lobby

by leotrotsky
James Kew

WELL FUCK THEM TOO.

The Supreme Court holds closely held corporations cannot be required to provide contraception coverage with Justice Alito authoring the majority decision. Justice Ginsburg, in her dissent, calls it a "decision of startling breadth." SCOTUSBlog has a live blog of todays' decisions, which also includes Harris v. Quinn, on the ability of unions to require certain types of employees to contribute.
23 Jun 05:34

The Work Of The Devil

The Work Of The Devil

Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson and Bob Odenkirk as Bill Oswalt in Fargo.i i

Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson and Bob Odenkirk as Bill Oswalt in Fargo.

Chris Large/FX

[This piece about the first season of the TV show Fargo will discuss events that took place on the first season of the TV show Fargo.]

The biggest difference between the movie Fargo and the TV show Fargo (which ended its first season Tuesday night) is the devil. One of the charms of Fargo the film is that it has no devil — it focuses on the follies of the weak, the empty, those who have stuffing where a conscience ought to be.

Fargo the show, on the other hand, introduced us to the devil — Lorne Malvo, played by Billy Bob Thornton, is a manipulative, interrogating thing that goes spelunking in the hearts of those whose inhuman tendencies are hidden in the shallowest of caverns and chases them to the surface. In the film, Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is animated by sheer cowardice and resentment; in the movie, Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) has far greater malice and cunning waiting to be awakened by his encounter with Malvo.

The film's greatest scene may be Jerry's return to his home after the arranged kidnapping of his wife; his shame is palpable as he looks on the mundane remnants of her terror, like the torn shower curtain she fruitlessly tried to hide behind. It takes a scene that the film plays for slapstick and instantly illuminates its genuine awfulness — the way a woman in that situation would not find it funny or wacky, but terrifying and later fatal.

Lester, by contrast, gets worse after realizing what he's done to his wife. He is emboldened, not shamed. He later kills another wife — this one a loving innocent, not that killing a nasty piece of work by bludgeoning her with a hammer isn't an act of evil. His second wife dies because he sends her off to be murdered by Malvo in his coat, in his place. It is perhaps the purest distillation of cowardice he could have conceived, making his undignified, inglorious exit all the more appropriate.

[I should note here, as a former Minnesotan, that there is a special sort of eye-rolling that people, fairly or unfairly, often direct at grown adults who through carelessness alone fall through the ice of a frozen lake, particularly after running past the "DANGER: THIN ICE" sign. It is a thing that happens not infrequently and is presumed to be, in those cases, the work of a fool and, worse, an amateur at the business of navigating the terrain. A snowmobile enthusiast who was a dear friend of mine used to shake his head at the way snowmobiling was so often ruined for everyone by, as he put it, "some idiot who dunks his sled."]

It is perhaps the most surprising thing about the show Fargo, given the current state of dramatic television, that Molly (Alison Tolman) did not die. Gus (Colin Hanks) did not die. Molly's father (Keith Carradine), shown in agonizing, brilliantly executed peril in the previous episode as Malvo sat in his diner, did not die, and neither did Gus' daughter Greta (Joey King) or Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk), the man who learned he was not cut out to be chief. We did lose FBI agents Pepper and Budge (played by comedy duo Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele), but our core team of decent folks made it, once we cleared that first episode.

So it reads, on the surface, as a happy ending. Molly and Gus are married, she's roundly pregnant, Malvo is dead, Lester is dead and humiliated.

But it's not a happy ending; it's the work of the devil. The devil — not just in a literal religious sense, but in the nebulous sense in which we can loosely personify temptation and wickedness — works in ways more complex than blowing your head off. Gus effectively executed Malvo, on his own initiative, in part to assuage his guilt at letting Malvo go the first time. He lied to Molly, appealing to her love of him, Greta and their unborn child (not to mention her feeling of responsibility to the memory of Greta's dead mother) to persuade her to stand down and not chase Malvo, when really, he wanted to do it himself, for his own reasons. It was not really a selfless desire to keep Greta from "another funeral," or he couldn't have gone either. It was shame, and guilt, and pride, and fear, and the weight of an unfinished obligation.

Gus killed Malvo himself because he decided at some point, "I will kill him myself." He'd seen Malvo slip out of police custody before, but perhaps more than that, he was angry at being taunted — at losing. He is a decent person and a good man and a good husband and father, but he too has a dash of Jerry Lundegaard's fear of being ineffectual.

And yes, Molly was denied the confrontation with Malvo that many of us assumed was inevitable. Willa Paskin at Slate reads this as the show being less interested in her than in Gus; similarly, Tara Ariano at Previously.TV was left unsatisfied by Molly's decision to let Gus take the wheel at the end.

But to me, the ending reads as far more ambiguous than it did to many. Yes, Gus and Molly are together, they are snuggled up with Greta, they are going on. But her affect still seems shot through with melancholy. She isn't really satisfied with all this, with how it ended. She feels the imperfection of it, and she knows — she must — that Gus misled her and took this from her.

When he says she deserves the commendation he got for filling Malvo with bullets and she says, "That's your deal; I get to be chief"? You can read into that a sense of peace, but you can also read into it a desire on her part not to be involved in the way he chose to end that story, despite the fact that she says she's proud of him. She says that out of love for him, because she knows he's not happy about having done it, either. But she's not happy — she's just learned that she will not have the satisfaction of catching Lester either. She has missed her chance at a traditional hero's ending, and at her chance to avenge her friend and mentor. She has missed her chance to look Lester in the eye, or look Malvo in the eye, and say, "Got you." She beat them. Neither of them would have been taken without her. But she didn't get to see them know she beat them, which is fundamental to essentially every hero's ending.

We have watched Molly long enough to know that what Gus did is not what she would have done. She would not have shot Malvo as he sat, wounded, in a chair. She was not frightened enough of Malvo to give up that much of herself. Gus was less brave than she is, and they both know it. They both know his decision to shoot Malvo was one made out of fear, not courage. The finale isn't about how macho he is, but about how afraid he is.

There is a deep indentation on this couple, on this family, in that last scene. The easy way out of a story — the easy way to give it weight — is to put a bunch of good and decent people down in a hail of bullets. The hard way to give it weight is to acknowledge that the devil doesn't do anything so simple as blow your head off. The devil, in the worst sense of a devil, burrows in and makes you do things you wouldn't do otherwise. Malvo could never have gotten Gus to do what Lester did, but he got Gus to do something Gus and Molly now will have to live with. They have escaped with their family, with their kids, with her father. Lester and Malvo won't kill anybody else. It's a victory.

But it's a flawed victory at best, and that's by design. Battles with monsters in stories often end with a one-sided slaying; battles with monsters in life often involve walking away scarred but still walking. What made Fargo thoughtful and terrifying (it's one of the few shows the tension of which I've ever been physically unable to tolerate to the point where I jumped ahead at one point and then looped back) was its willingness to engage deeply human and decent people in encounters with real evil — not to show how they then became evil and corrupted by it, but to show how it forced them into combat on terms that they didn't want. Molly and Gus escaped with their souls, I think, but they're not fine. Everything is not fine.

But then, everything is rarely fine; that's why you snuggle on the couch in the first place.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
21 Jun 04:47

Birthday Celebration for Lord Richard, the Turkey Vulture at Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek this Weekend

by Beyond the Creek

lindsay-wildlife-turkey-vulture-paul-hara
Photo by Paul Hara

Birthday Celebration for Lord Richard, the Turkey Vulture:

Lindsay Wildlife Museum
1931 1st Ave, Walnut Creek
Saturday, June 21st & SUnday, June 22nd, 2014
11:00am – 4:00pm | $8.50

Lindsay Wildlife Museum hosts two days of celebrations honoring the 40th birthday of Lord Richard, the turkey vulture who greets and delights museum visitors from her al fresco aviary at the Walnut Creek Museum’s entrance. The parties include birthday cake specially baked for Richard, arts and crafts, learning the turkey vulture dance, storytelling and animal keeper talks about these magnificent birds. Guests will even learn to smell like a turkey vulture. The Museum’s longest resident, Richard was first raised by a San Francisco family after she was orphaned. When she came to the Museum in 1974, she was assumed to be male because, without more intimate examination, female and male turkey vultures look identical. Then, in late 1980, Richard laid an egg.

18 Jun 00:53

Ice Monster Opening July 1st in Walnut Creek

by Beyond the Creek
James Kew

"ice cream bread house"?

ice-monster-walnut-creek-outside-dev
2230 Oak Grove Rd. Walnut Creek

Yesterday I noted that a new dessert shop called Ice Monster is planning to open in the Nob Hill Shopping Center in Walnut Creek and I have some more information from the owner on what will be offered and a planned opening day of July 1st. The main offering will be shaved ice which is very exciting. I love snow cones so I’m sure I’m going to love this. Just in time for summer!

Email from the owner:

We are selling many kinds of desserts such as: ice cream, Belgian waffles, crepes, ice cream bread house (special), and shaved snow. Shave snow is our main product and it’s a new dessert that has been trending, but there are none in Walnut Creek. We are making flavored blocks of ice and we have a machine that will shave the block of ice into thin layers that drops down into a bowl. The layers become a snowy texture and we add toppings on it such as: condensed milk, fresh fruits, etc. It is much more healthier compared to ice cream and has a unique smooth texture. We are also selling many kinds of beverages such as: milk shakes, smoothies, and milk tea.

 

 

17 Jun 01:52

Ice Monster Coming Soon to Nob Hill Shopping Center in Walnut Creek

by Beyond the Creek
James Kew

was this you?

ice-monster-walnut-creek-outside-dev
2230 Oak Grove Rd. Walnut Creek

Thanks to a reader for sending word about a cold desserts place called Ice Monster opening up in Citrus Marketplace on Oak Grove Rd. next to the recently opened Mexican restaurant Taqueria el Molino. Based on signs in the windows they’ll be offering bubble milk tea and “flavored snow ice cream”. Not sure whether that’ll include shaved ice but that would great if it does. Stay tuned…

ice-monster-walnut-creek-sign-coming-soon

 

05 Jun 14:07

We recently got Linney something called a...

James Kew

Long-haired cat problem.



We recently got Linney something called a “Sanitary,” which is when a groomer shaves the underbelly and toilet region of the cat. We were driven to do this by a fluffybutt/dingle situation which happens to result in the summertime. Anyway, it’s hilarious and now you all know what it looks like. 

14 May 16:24

Wh...Why Did He Just Poke Me?

Wh...Why Did He Just Poke Me?

Submitted by: (via woodykalawatski)

Tagged: kittens , gifs , cute , confused , Cats
02 May 16:08

Help me find Game of Thrones theme song parodies

by griseus
I'm looking for a good collection of parodies/novelty versions of the Game of Thrones theme song. I've googled around, but am afraid to click on random ones because I don't want the story spoiled beyond what's been portrayed on the TV show so far. I've found the brilliant Game of Phones and the, uh, inimitable Peter Dinklage. I've also suffered through the smooth jazz cover. What else is there?

Obviously, I can google, but there's lots of noise...have you found any that are particularly good (or "good")?
01 May 18:14

Uniqlo Opening in Walnut Creek will be 2nd Largest in Northern California

by Beyond the Creek

uniqlo-rendering-1
1259 S. Main St, Walnut Creek

Back last December I posted some scuttlebutt that Uniqlo would be opening in downtown Walnut Creek where The Children’s Place used to be and it turns out it’s going to be a big one at over 13,000 square feet, making it the second largest Uniqlo in Northern California after their San Francisco flagship location. Thanks to a reader for pointing this out and based on the renderings it’s going to look great, can’t wait to check it out!

uniqlo-rendering-2

30 Apr 00:09

McDonalds Closing Mid July in Downtown Walnut Creek

by Beyond the Creek
James Kew

what nooooooo.

mcdonalds-walnut-creek-coutside
1380 N. California Blvd, Walnut Creek

Thanks to a reader for sending word that the McDonalds in downtown Walnut Creek at the corner of N. California Blvd. and Cypress St. will be closing in July. I dropped by recently and a manager there did say that they would be closing in mid-July.

30 Apr 00:08

Gotta Eatta Pita Opens in Pleasant Hill

by Beyond the Creek

gotta-eatta-pita-pleasant-hill-outside
35 Crescent Dr, Pleasant Hill

Earlier this month we learned that Gotta Eatta Pita was opening their second location in downtown Pleasant Hill and they are now open. (Their first location, in Danville, opened last December.) I had a chance to stop by for dinner recently and was impressed with the offerings and reasonable pricing. This seems to have hit a chord with locals as they plan on opening more Gotta Eatta Pita locations (one per month!) throughout the Bay Area including San Francisco. Next up, Pleasanton, on Owens Drive.

The ordering reminds me of Chipotle. After choosing between salad/pita, and shawarma, falafel or the combo, you walk down the line towards the register adding various sides and toppings such as eggplant, purple cabbage, hummus, cous cous and tahini sauce. They kept stuffing more and more that I was getting nervous how I was going to eat it and on top of that at the end they went back and stuffed more falafels on top. They place it in a cardboard box in which the top half can be ripped opened allowing for easy eating. Check out their menu here.

Check out the pita combo:
gotta-eatta-pita-pleasant-hill-pita

More photos of the inside after the jump…

Start ordering at right:
gotta-eatta-pita-pleasant-hill-inside-main

Bar seating inside:
gotta-eatta-pita-pleasant-hill-inside-side

Plenty more outdoor seating:
gotta-eatta-pita-pleasant-hill-pita-holder

20 Apr 04:50

We Try Everything On Taco Bell's New Breakfast Menu

by Dennis Lee
Slideshow

VIEW SLIDESHOW: We Try Everything On Taco Bell's New Breakfast Menu

Nobody loves Taco Bell more than I do. Taco Bell is my favorite fast food restaurant, and if Taco Bell were a person, we'd be married right now, with 2.5 horrific taco-human hybrid babies. If you're listening, Taco Bell, please marry me! I'm not getting paid to say this, just so you guys know. Every chance I get to talk about Taco Bell, I extoll its virtues to anyone who will listen. Most of the time, nobody believes me. But I can carry this torch alone.

When I heard that the Bell was coming out with breakfast, angels sang a chorus in my direction. I was both excited and scared. What if...what if it wasn't any good? What if...it was amazing?

The photos you are about to see are shocking. Just kidding. Click through the slideshow to find out.

27 Mar 18:22

I Can't...Stop!

James Kew

It's a social paper-batter.

This funny cat is completely obsessed with batting at paper. Is it just me or is there something oddly satisfying about watching this kitty. I understand you, little guy...I understand.

Submitted by: (via tamaonyada)

Tagged: Cats , cute , paper , Video , obsessed
23 Mar 00:34

The New Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich from Carl's Jr. is Shockingly Delicious

by Erin Jackson
James Kew

WAIT THE WHAT NOW?

From Sweets

284769-carls-jr-snickerdoodle-ice-cream-sandwich-top.jpg

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

When it comes to writing fast food reviews, there's no greater joy than having any preconceived, negative notions proven completely wrong. That's exactly what happened when I tried the Snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich ($1.49) at Carl's Jr.

I'm here to tell you that it's good. Really good. Initially, I thought the use of Snickerdoodle cookies was ill-advised (bad Snickerdoodles can be flavorless and/or overly sandy), but I couldn't have been more wrong. This ice cream sandwich may look a little boring, but flavor-wise, it's awesome. That's because the combination of the ice cream and the crumbly cookie (which is coated with a generous dusting of cinnamon-sugar on both sides) makes this bargain treat taste a lot like fried ice cream (truly one of the most delicious desserts in the universe).

284769-carls-jr-snickerdoodle-ice-cream-sandwich-2.jpg

It's not the perfect dessert. The ice cream itself doesn't have a strong vanilla flavor, and eating it gets a little messy since, past the first few bites, the ice cream ploops out the sides a bit. But for a fast food restaurant, it's solid (and much better than the Pop-Tart ice cream sandwich).

284769-carls-jr-snickerdoodle-ice-cream-sandwich-3.jpg

I finished mine in under two minutes, so there was no real worry of ice cream meltage. If you're a fan of fried ice cream or churros, my bet is you will too.

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

Want more of the sweet stuff? Follow us on Twitter @SeriousSweets

14 Mar 22:41

This Stair Master has One Setting: Cute

This Stair Master has One Setting: Cute

Submitted by: beernbiccies

Tagged: Cats , cute , gifs , stairs
03 Mar 16:31

So...What's on the Menu?

03 Mar 16:28

Oscars 2014: Low On Laughs, But A Great Speech Or Two

Oscars 2014: Low On Laughs, But A Great Speech Or Two

At Sunday's Oscar ceremony, the feel-good win of the night came when 12 Years a Slave star Lupita Nyong'o took home the supporting-actress trophy.i i

At Sunday's Oscar ceremony, the feel-good win of the night came when 12 Years a Slave star Lupita Nyong'o took home the supporting-actress trophy.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The big winner was 12 Years a Slave, but there was quite a bit of love to go around at Sunday night's Oscars. What there wasn't, as usual, was a lot of riveting television.

Sure, there was John Travolta squinting at the teleprompter and introducing Idina Menzel (to sing the Oscar-winning Best Original Song "Let It Go," from Frozen) as — no kidding — "Adele Dazeem." And there was a fun dance number featuring Pharrell Williams and his own Oscar-nominated "Happy," which he wore a formal black version of his Grammys hat to perform.

But on the whole? It was a little flat. (You can see a full list of winners here.)

The Oscars have, as a telecast, been trying to right themselves ever since the Great Hathaway Franco Awkward-Off Of 2011. They went to the incredibly safe Billy Crystal, who did exactly what he always had done, exactly the way he always had done it.

Then they tried to go the other way and get cool, and they got a vulgar, obnoxious performance from Seth MacFarlane, who violated the first rule of hosting by making the telecast a referendum on himself. Everybody knows you're supposed to walk out of the Oscars, after all, loving The Movies, not squabbling about the host.

So this year, they returned to Ellen DeGeneres, who hosted in 2007 and has turned into one of America's most genial, least objectionable personalities, which isn't a dig at all. It's just a fact, and a bit of an ironic one at that, given her career ups and downs — and the angst they have sometimes caused people who wear suits and make a lot of money.

DeGeneres opened the show with a monologue that seemed a little too caustic for her style, spending an awful lot of time on June Squibb's being old, Barkhad Abdi's being Somali (which she pretended was "sommelier"), and Liza Minnelli's being a Liza Minnelli impersonator DeGeneres addressed as "sir." She got to her second "You get to see Jonah Hill's [um, penny stock] in Wolf of Wall Street" joke before the show got to its second award.

It was a little weird, and off, and she didn't seem to quite have her sea legs yet.

Over the course of the evening, we learned that the Academy has apparently regained its fondness for Don't You Just Love The Movies? montages, which here included separate salutes to animation, real-life heroes, other heroes and ... maybe something else. It was a long night, and they really, really want you to say you love the movies.

There was also, as always, the In Memoriam segment, which is the one that always seems like it should have Bette Midler singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" right after it, and this year it did. With the great, great Darlene Love (whom Midler inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame) also in the building to, as it turned out, help accept in song the Best Documentary Feature award for the music documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, it seemed an awful shame that singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" again was the best musical idea anyone came up with for Midler. Why not put those two on stage and do something fun?

These Oscars were, more than anything, sorely missing a sense of fun. DeGeneres tried an endless running joke where she ordered pizza from the stage; it was OK, but it didn't really work. The montages were kind of leaden, the bits weren't great, and the show felt sort of ... like it was going for majesty and a certain gravity (sorry, it's true!), perhaps in recognition of the subject matter of some of the nominated films. I mean, the show was competent. It wasn't bad. It was the Oscars.

But it needed rather desperately an injection of energy that it had only in the smallest moments — as when Bill Murray seemingly went rogue while announcing Best Cinematography, just long enough to shout out writer and director Harold Ramis, who had died a few days earlier.

As is always the case, though, where the show founders, the awards themselves sometimes take up the slack. The first winner of the evening was Jared Leto, who won Best Supporting Actor (as was widely expected) for Dallas Buyers Club and gave a really long speech in which he mentioned Ukraine, his band and a whole lot of other things.

But Lupita Nyong'o, who has been making her way around Hollywood being unerringly delightful for this entire awards season — and, it must be said, looking like a million dollars everywhere she goes — gave an absolutely lovely speech accepting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave.

"It doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's," she said. "And so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey [Nyong'o's character in the film] for her guidance."

Nyong'o talked about her family and her training, and she closed: "When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you're from, your dreams are valid." That's about as good and appealing as an acceptance speech is going to get.

Cate Blanchett's acceptance for Best Actress in Blue Jasmine spared some time to chastise Hollywood at large for treating movies about women as niche pictures, while Matthew McConaughey, in accepting for Dallas Buyers Club, seemed to put his emphasis on his admiration of (1) God and (2) himself. He's had a huge, huge run, not just this year (Mud, Wolf of Wall Street) but in recent years (Bernie, Magic Mike). As an actor, he's got all the goodwill in the world, but his persona when accepting awards could definitely use a little work; as it is, he skirts the line between the good-natured and less good-natured brands of swagger.

As for other Best Picture nominees, Gravity took nothing in the acting categories, and its screenplay wasn't nominated, but it won a boatload of recognition for its sound, score and visuals, awards for its editing and cinematography, and one very big one: Best Director, for Alfonso Cuaron — apparently the first Latino director to win.

In addition to Best Picture, 12 Years won an Adapted Screenplay award for John Ridley, a sometime NPR commentator. The Best Original Screenplay went to Spike Jonze's Her, which didn't get the nomination for Joaquin Phoenix that many would have liked to see, meaning it was likely to be this award or nothing — and it was encouraging to see such a heartfelt film share in the prizes.

The biggest disappointments may have been in the American Hustle camp, which went into the evening with 10 nominations and walked out with no awards. In part, this is the result of David O. Russell landing a lot of nominations for a movie that a lot of people were kind of lukewarm about when you got deeper than how stylish it was. But losing in four acting categories, plus the awards for the director, screenplay, production design, costume design, editing and — oh, right — Best Picture, that's got to be disappointing.

Of course, of all the films that took home major awards Sunday night, which one made the most money domestically? Well, that would be Frozen, which was named Best Animated Feature and won for Original Song. (Great job, Adele Dazeem!) Made more than American Hustle, even more than Gravity. Two sisters and a snowman beat a pack of scam artists and a couple of hours of space peril to be, by at least one measure, the best example of a terrific movie a lot of people actually saw.

The Oscars will probably never be a fantastically satisfying show, and that's perhaps OK. It's at least an opportunity to see some good actors and filmmakers be really gracious (or less so in some cases), and to recommend once again the slate of nominated films which, while they are in no way fully representative of the moviemaking world, are a pretty good crop of movies.

Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
26 Feb 03:17

Remembering Harold Ramis

by Stephen Tobolowsky

I didn’t know Harold Ramis well. Our main point of contact was that we worked together for a few weeks in 1992 on the movie Groundhog Day. However, that was no ordinary film. The experience was like walking on a rope bridge in the Himalayas. Every gust of wind was memorable. I would like to share the essential shapes I saw and the impression he made on me.

22 Feb 21:17

We Try the New Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Frappé From McDonald's

by Erin Jackson

From Drinks

283248-mcdonalds-chocolate-covered-strawberry-frappe-main.jpg

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

If you've been watching the Olympics, you've probably seen the ad for the new chocolate-covered strawberry frappé (small size, $3.19) from McDonald's (many times). Made from a mocha base that's buzzed up with ice, strawberry-flavored syrup, and chocolate chips, then topped with whipped cream and strawberry drizzle, it packs a sweet punch, with a nutritional profile similar to a strawberry milkshake.

Sometimes these things have bizarre textures, but the new frappé is thick and creamy, with a smoothie-like consistency that's broken up by microscopic bits of semi-sweet chocolate that bring some extra dimension. I was bracing myself for the sugar impact (there's 79 grams of the sweet stuff in the 12 ounce size), but the frappé went down surprisingly easy. That being said, I didn't come close to finishing it because flavor-wise, something is wrong with this drink.

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The strawberry syrup hit me first. It's sweet and tasty, like strawberry-flavored milk. Unfortunately, right behind the sweet berry flavor is the mocha base, which tastes bitter, like burnt coffee beans or the blackened bottom of an over-baked chocolate chip cookie. You can get some relief by crunching down on the bits of chocolate chips, but it's not enough to save the drink. Even when I mixed in the whipped cream and strawberry drizzle, hoping the extra fat and sugar would mellow out the bitterness, it didn't make any noticeable difference. In the drink I tried, the burnt flavor dominated the beverage, and there was just no getting away from it.

If you're tempted to try the new chocolate-covered strawberry frappé, go with McDonald's classic strawberry milkshake instead.

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

14 Feb 21:04

You're Next

You're Next

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: poop , birds , grumpy , funny
11 Feb 06:20

Must Not...Move...Head

Must Not...Move...Head

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: gifs , wiggle , Cats , pounce
03 Feb 02:56

How good is your English vocabulary, really?

by grumpybear69
In a move sure to delight MeFites everywhere, Ghent University in Belgium has created an online, almost arcade-game-like test of word knowledge which is almost BS-proof. Know the word? Press J. Don't? Press F. But don't lie! You will be punished.
02 Feb 00:21

Sometimes You Need a Microwave, or Lessons Learned From Taco Bell's Latest Desserts

by Todd Brock

From Sweets

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[Photographs: Todd Brock]

The last time I got talked into trying some new dessert items from Taco Bell, I came away pleasantly surprised by two out of three. And as we all know, two out of three ain't bad.*

*Note: Anytime I get the chance to work in a Meat Loaf reference, I take it. And good luck with getting that chorus out of your head for the rest of the day.

Now the Bell is back with two add-ons to their after dinner menu. Each is a little head-scratching in its own way. And while one of them is an utter waste of time, money, and calories, the other has me secretly plotting my next run for the border.

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The Brownie Sandwich ($1.29) is a clone of the Cookie Sandwich that the chain tried out in late 2012. (I see management once again waited until they were actually filling out the patent office paperwork to come up with a name...) Only now instead of chocolate chip cookies, they're BROWNIES! And instead of vanilla frosting, IT'S CHOCOLATE! (Oh, the months and months of R&D that must have gone into this.)

Just as with the cookie version, this thing is unceremoniously pre-packaged in a cellophane sack with a sticker sealing it shut. Still looks like it came off an end cap at your local Gas-N-Sip. Out of the bag, it's no better. The "creamy fudge frosting filling" (so dry mine was cracked) can't even glue the two wedges of brownie together; the whole room-temperature thing can be picked apart cleanly.

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Tastewise, the brownies were chalky and bland and thoroughly uninspired. The frosting wasn't terrible—but is frosting ever terrible? The Brownie Sandwich's only saving grace was the ice-cold glass of milk I used to wash it down with.*

*Thankfully, this was a to-go order and I was at home. No telling what I would have done at the restaurant had my only option been whatever radioactive-rad-dude flavor of Mountain Dew slushee they're pushing these days. Remember when Mountain Dew looked and tasted like Mountain Dew and wasn't also called something ridiculous like Midnight Glacier Avalanche?

I ate the Brownie Sandwich, but I didn't feel good about it. Right about now, you're saying, "But, Todd... It's Taco Bell. That's not where I would go for a dessert I expected to be any good." To which Meat Loaf and I both would reply, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

And then I would add, "I wish you had taken the Brownie Sandwich, too."

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Taco Bell's second new dessert is a four-pack ($1.49) of something called Cinnabon Delights. Wait, what?! Yeah, the two brands have teamed up (or, more accurately, one is totally co-opting the other) on donut-hole sized pastry balls.

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They're dusted with Cinnabon's "famous" Makara cinnamon sugar and filled with the chain's telltale frosting right from the mall food court. After their recent let's-mix-things-up-and-do-something-wacky menu items, I was admittedly skeptical about liking any Cinnabon item that actually came from Taco Bell.

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Dear God, was I wrong. Now to be fair, if you're hoping to bite in and see an overflowing gush of that heavenly white cream cheese, you'll be disappointed. I'd suggest just popping these in your mouth—the trademark Cinnabon flavor is all there. Best of all, they're served warm. And there are four of them per order, making them the perfect guilty-pleasure chaser to that Extreme Steak Nacho Gordita Crunch that seemed like such a good idea at the time.

After posing for photos, my Cinnabon Delights had become less than lukewarm. In what I knew would be a brilliant idea even as it was still formulating in my head, I nuked them for 8 seconds. This is how they were meant to be enjoyed: almost dangerously hot to the touch and with a molten lava middle, mindlessly munched in rapid-fire succession while sprawled on the couch wearing fuzzy bear slippers watching late-night HBO and half-thinking about all the productive things you should be doing instead.

Cinnabon Delights from Taco Bell... for crying out loud, you know I love you.

About the Author: Todd Brock lives the glamorous life of a stay-at-home freelance writer in the suburbs of Atlanta. Besides being paid to eat cheeseburgers for AHT, pizzas for Slice, and desserts for Sweets, he's written and produced over 1,000 hours of television and penned Building Chicken Coops for Dummies. When he grows up, he wants to be either the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the drummer for The Gaslight Anthem. Or both.

22 Jan 19:46

How to draw Adventure Time characters

by Mark Frauenfelder

Cartoon producer Fred Seibert posted this fun and informative sixteen-page manual with tips for drawing Finn & Jake from Pendleton Ward's Adventure Time series. Ward is one of the best character designers around! (Via Super Punch)