Monday, November 23, 2009

Pixar Short: George & AJ

In a recent dinner conversation with friends, we were discussing what the last actual Disney film was, besides ones collaborated with Pixar AND WE STILL COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT! Any help?

Anyway, with the success of Up and how everyone from your neighbor to your grandmother saying how much they loved it, the folks at Pixar have come out with a Pixar short to accompany the DVD release - aptly titled "George & AJ" - featuring the two orderlies who get the surprise of their life when they do a routine pickup for Shady Oaks Retirement Home:

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Friday, November 20, 2009

R.I.P. Daul Kim

Celebrity deaths (ok fine, deaths in general) make me sad, but this one is especially hitting me hard. Yesterday NY Mag reported that Korean-born international supermodel Daul Kim was found dead in her Paris apartment. She was only 20 years old. Details of her death are still being processed, but police believe it was a suicide. I don't follow the fashion industry as closely as I do with the rest of pop culture, but I did know who Daul was and I did really like her. She managed to make a name for herself so young with her very interesting look, and I liked reading her blog from time to time. I think we're all under the impression that a jet-setting life of fame and fortune is glamorous, and all too often never realize the pressures that come with that kind of life. I'm sad we won't get to see more of her modeling in the future. Daul's suicide also hits on an alarming trend in Korea, where so many famous people (including the ex-president) have committed suicides on a fairly regular basis in the past couple of years. High profile suicides aside, South Korea now has the highest suicide rate among the 30 nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Sad sad sad.

Daul's Blog: I Like to Fork Myself
Daul's Career Highlights

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The Search for the World's Biggest OXOniac

I love OXO products. What? What's an OXO product, you ask?? Take a look in your kitchen. Chances are that you most likely own at least OXO product. And I'm betting that it's your trusty, rubber handle peeler.


Anyway, OXO is currently having this cute video contest, in which you demo your kitchen skillz in a 30 to 90 second video, using any kitchen tool you may have. 5 winners will be chosen by OXO judges, and there will be 3 Grand Prize Winners who not only become a spokesperson for OXO, but they will win $1,000 in OXO products (ch-ch-check 'em out here) AND a trip to NYC. Sounds kind of awesome, no?

Well, it gets even better: just for submitting your video entry, OXO will send you a 30% discount code for their products along with your entry confirmation email.

Entering is easy, you have nothing to lose, and a discount code to gain. DO AHTT!

Check out loyal Life in Boxes reader Jonathan's entry:

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

People's Sexiest Man Alive 2009


Aaaand the coveted title goes to.. Johnny Depp?? Do not get me wrong, I too am a fan of Mr. Depp, but.. he hasn't really done much in the past year, no? The title usually goes to someone who is HOT as well as been in the spotlight for the year. But.. Whatever. My pick for Sexiest Man (ever...) Robert Pattinson, made the cut, as well as Ryan Reynolds, the cast of Glee (gleeeeee!!!), and uber hottie John Cho. YES. As a hot blooded female I love this annual issue of People.

Over at Best Week Ever, my favorite blogger Michelle Collins analyzes the Top 15 in her usual hilarious way. She laments the fact that her favorite, Mad Men's Jon Hamm, failed to make the cut, so she rates each of People's picks with... Hamms. It's pretty hilarious. She also gets major points from me for acknowledging the HOTNESS of Daniel Henney, who didn't make People's cut, but we both think he is a Hottie McHottie. Yeaaaa boyeeee!

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The Most Creepy, Disgusting, Horrifying Video Ever

Growing up as a kid, I never liked fish. I hated them as pets and I refused to eat fish. Something about them freaked me out (also doesn't help that I have a slight case of thalassophobia). But within the past year, I decided to give it a go and try fish. Not too bad, but if the fish is served in its entirety (head, tail, and all), then no thanks.

That's why the following video really truly disgusted me. Apparently some chef in China discovered a way to deep fry fish without killing it.

Um, first off, WTF? Why would you even want to know how to cook a fish while keeping it alive? What would make someone think that it's a cool idea to have people dine on fish, while the poor thing is still gasping for air?? Freaking disgusting and twisted.

Anyway, click 'Read More' below if you think you can handle watching the video. I do warn you that it's truly creepy, disgusting, and horrifying .. I couldn't even make it past the first 10 seconds of it. And now I probably won't be able to eat fish ever again.


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Friday, November 13, 2009

J.Crew Holiday Guide

I think most of you know I LOOOOOVE J.Crew. I love everything about it, and I always joke that half my paycheck goes to it. But as with anything else I love, I do have my reservations with the brand. I mean, first thing being price of course. Tis why I never really buy anything full price from the Crew, though honestly, things go on sale so fast anyway that seriously guys, you should just wait for that to happen. I just like looking at the catalog and making mental notes of the things I want.

Anyways, their Very Best Gift Guide for 2009 is out, and I love it cause I like looking at all the pretty shiny stuff. Also, AHEM I LOVE JCREW, GUYS. They've added more stuff to the guide since it was first released earlier this week, and when I first saw it, I cracked up. In the $25 and Under (for women), there were originally only like 8 items (as opposed to 20+), with one being a gift card and one being a flower belt that was.. $35. Uh huh. Definitely not a budget friendly place, that J.Crew. But it seems there is a wider selection now, and of course, their sales are always amazing! CHECK IT.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Coming Soon to a TV Near You: Sh*t My Dad Says


I love finding hilarious Twitter accounts to follow .. because sometimes, seeing your friends update about what a crappy day that they're having just plain sucks (side note: sorry to all my Twitter followers -_-). And so when my coworker introduced me to ShitMyDadSays a couple months back, I was totally stoked. But apparently, so were some TV execs:

CBS has picked up a comedy project based on the Twitter account, which has enlisted more than 700,000 followers since launching in August and has made its creator, Justin Halpern, an Internet star. Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick are on board to executive produce and supervise the writing for the multicamera family comedy, which Halpern will co-pen with Patrick Schumacker (The Hollywood Reporter)
Alright! Time for me to go and create a Twitter account to get discovered..

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Happy 40th Birthday, Sesame Street!

By now you may have noticed the iconic Sesame Street muppets take over Google in the past couple of days. Big Bird, Cookie, Bert & Ernie, Oscar, Elmo, The Count, and the whole gang have drawn attention for being the featured Google Doodles, and in addition to that, they have been EVERYWHERE in the press. The reason for all of the hooplah is that Sesame Street is turning 40 years old today! November 10, 1969 was when the first episode aired, and so the 40th season kicks off today with the much publicized Michelle Obama appearance. Technically, Big Bird has been 6 for 40 years and Elmo is a forever 3 year old, but logic aside, the "World's Longest Street" has been entertaining and educating kids for 40 years, in more than 120 countries (some of them with their own versions of the show), with millions of people who are "Sesame graduates."

In addition to the Google Doodles, the celebrations roll on. Yesterday 64th and Columbus (right outside the Sesame Workshop offices) was named '123 Sesame Street,' and November 10 is now Sesame Street Day. Here's to another 40 years (and more) of making a difference in children's lives!

Some fun links:

Google blog's post on the creation of the Google Doodles, love the behind the scenes photo shoot!

Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street A giant coffee table book is a treasure trove of everything Sesame. We got this in the office yesterday, and I have to say the book is pretty amazing. And really heavy.

25 Classic Sesame Street Visits Celebrities love the Street: this season will feature celebrities such as Jason Mraz (HOORAH), Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ricky Gervais, Kobe Bryant, Adam Sandler, etc.

Sesame Street's official YouTube channel: I'm LOVING the Mad Men parody!

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Monday, November 9, 2009

I Tech You To School: The Droid

So I woke up on Friday morning at 6:30am to my brother gently whispering in my ear. Why 6:30am and why my brother? Friday was the day that Verizon launched the Motorola Droid and HTC Eris to the masses. More importantly, Friday was the day that Verizon took its first steps into their new relationship with Google in bringing all the latest and greatest "Droid" phones to the public. Yes... all of VZWs android phones will now be called "Droid" as "Droid" is not a phone but instead a chain of Google phones they will be releasing... but I digress.

So I bought the Droid on Friday. My brother bought the HTC Eris on Friday. And its sweet.

Here's the quick and dirty. Both phones (one made by Motorola and the other by HTC) run the new Android OS. Android is an open source operating system, meaning anyone or any company can take it and make it their own. And it shows as my brother's HTC looks nothing like my Motorola. Both are highly polished and work just like you would expect it to.

What makes Android special? Well, for one, think of it like a computer. You have your Start Menu with all your apps but then you also have a desktop that you can customize, and this is how Android works. You have your sliding dock with all your apps but your life will revolve around your three desktops. Shortcuts to contacts, websites, or whatever else you can think of can be placed on this desktop. Additionally, Android revolves around widgets. Widgets are mini programs that sit on your desktop and does everything from stocks to weather, giving you instant info updated to your liking. It's a great little system that really takes some getting used to, but once you set it up, it's great.

Like many of you, my life revolves around Google. My email, calendar, Google Reader etc., so it's really nice that once I entered my gmail info, everything was right there on my phone. Now I know many of you are iPhone fans and if you MUST compare it to the iPhone, I'll admit that I bought the BlackBerry Storm thinking it would quiet all the iPhone snobs out there. It didn't. These new Android phones do.
If you're a die hard iPhone fan, you should stick with the iPhone and you won't lose any sleep over not having a Droid because the iPhone is a great phone. If you've been on Verizon, are addicted to the network, and have been looking for a phone that's comparable, this is it. In most aspects, it matches the iPhone and in some, even excels.

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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Korean Drama Review: You're Beautiful

It's been a while, but I'M BACK, and with a new Korean drama to obsess with!


The new drama in question is 미남이시네요, otherwise known as You're Beautiful. The drama stars Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, and is another one of those girl-dresses-as-a-guy-but-falls-in-love-with-guy-that-another-girl-also-likes-so-love-triangle-and-drama-oh-my! And since I LOVED Coffee Prince, You're Beautiful seemed worth a watch.

The series focuses on the life of a Kpop group: Go Mi Nyu and Go Mi Nam are twins raised in an orphanage. She and her brother have parted ways (he aspires to be a pop star and she is on track to become a nun), until one day, Mi Nam's manager comes to Min Nyu and asks that she fills in for her brother - Mi Nam had just signed on to become a member of the Korean pop idol group, AN.JELL (yeah yeah, I don't understand Koreans and their obsession with weird acronyms -_-), but due to an unexplained injury, is unable to make his debut - hence, the reason why Mi Nyu has to cross-dress as her twin. Hwang Tae Kyung, the leader of AN.JELL finds out early on that the Mi Nam he is presented with is really Mi Nyu, but agrees to follow along with her act (until Mi Nyu's brother recovers from his injury). But love happens (cheesy, I know), a love triangle-rectangle forms, and Mi Nyu digs herself deeper into the lie. (There's also a side story about Hwang Tae Kyung's birth secret, as well as the twins' .. oh my!)

Sure, it sounds like another messy, complicated Korean drama .. but You're Beautiful works. Or rather, at least it works for me :P

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Art Deco-ed UP


I highly enjoy art deco stuff, so I am totally digging these retro UP posters released by Disney to celebrate the release of UP on DVD (next Tuesday, 11/10). Look how cute retro-fied Russell is! Most of these posters were created by the artist Eric Tan, and you can check out more of his cool art at his blog. Love!

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Empire State of Mind

My favorite song on Jay-Z's recent The Blueprint 3 album, Empire State of Mind, has quickly become New York City's unofficial anthem. And with good reason- Jay-Z's ode to the city is hopeful and inspiring, and just a really solid song. I have yet to get tired of it, and as cliche as this sounds, I love listening to it when I'm actually in the city. And so do a lot of people apparently, I have witnessed quite a few cars driving around in the city with the song blasting from their cars. Nice.

Anyways, here is the newly released music video for Empire State of Mind. You know I love music videos! It's a little bit of Jay-Z, a little bit of Alicia Keys, a whole lot of what makes New York.. concrete jungles where dreams are made of.


Jay-Z - "Empire State Of Mind" ft. Alicia Keys

Jay-Z | MySpace Video

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