louise on the left (coast)

Those wacky, romantic French (Okay, European) filmmakers do it again -- in this very gripping short film, from Kamel Films Talk about on the edge of your seat...

And it's pretty great. Watch:

The "Firehouse 5 + 2"  Best Video Christmas Cards Ever! -- -- Thanks to the great website, Dangerous Minds for inspiring me to explore this subject further.   And more vintage Disney Christmas fun *Disclaimer*  There are several  non-PC "retro" ideas found in some of these videos. Try to rise above the past's inability to live in our current Obama-world and tap into the joy aspect of it. CHECK OUT BELOW LINK TO AMAZING VINTAGE MEDLEY  OF CHRISTMAS ANIMATION GEMS: And a link to one of the best Christmas, holiday themed Disney retro and vintage animated loops, ever .

Race To Nowhere: A documentary about schools and our children: Today's students are simply being pushed too hard, too far, too fast, too much. It's insane to expect HS students to pull off the amount of responsibility and productivity that schools expect of them, especially in junior year. I'm disgusted that year after year people say this, but nobody does anything about changing this problem! There are just too, too many kids out there who are completely stressed out, exhausted, overwhelmed, demoralized, defeated, depressed. And schools tell us it's the college's fault because colleges reward the kids with the "best grades." Well, what about schools -- ALL schools, high schools and colleges figuring out what education really is: A chance to learn, to absorb, to creatively problem solve. Not memorize and churn out senseless junk that has no emotional resonance with the youth of today. Frankly, I'm totally fed up with the school system righ

Newsflash: Two of my fav rock heroes, LCD Soundsytem's James Murphy and David Bowie, collaborate and come up with one very sexy, hypnotic, electrifying, meditation on the loss of love, in their music video not surprisingly called..."Love Is Lost." After watching, I'm thinking would could also be titled,  "This is your brain -- on love." -- Many thanks to that guy at Orange County Register for sending this to me.  (He knows me so well.) <3 "And this is your brain on loss of love..." Only these guys could make love-withdrawal seem as uber sexy and NWFW as they do, making me want to play it on a loop for the rest of the day.  Or night. For more insight into this collaboration read the Rolling Stone article, here. Music video by David Bowie performing Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy for the DFA). (C) 2013 ISO Records, under exclusive license to Columbia Records, a Division of Sony Music Entertainment

LCD Soundsystem "Home" from FUNWUNCE on Vimeo . Tonight I jump in the car to pick up my kid from a play date. I flip on KCRW to catch what turned out to be the final song in Travis's dj set: "Home" by lcd soundsystem. HOME Home Home Home Home Home Home Take me home Just do it right Make it perfect and real Because it's everything No everything was never the deal So grab your things and stumble into the night So we can shut the door Oh, shut the door on terrible times Yeah, do it right And head again into space So you can carry on And carry on, and fall all over the place This is the trick, forget a terrible year That we can break the laws Until it gets weird And this is what you waited for But under lights, we're all unsure So tell me What would make you feel better? As night has such a local ring And love and rock are pick-up things And you know it Yeah, you know it Yeah, you know Take Forget your past

The first in a series of "Best Scenes from Holiday Movies" -- written by screenwriters who truly understand the meaning of Christmas... ...What? You thought I'd seriously make you watch Jimmy Stewart crying in the snow again? Well, all I have to say to that is... "...Not tonight, Berta. Not tonight."

Yes, if you're totally not into that tiresome Christian-thing and actually feel pretty dang bitter about having to tolerate one more redundant Merry-Whatever crap, have I got a song for you! (NSFW) Yes, meet another form of Scrooge, Cynthia Kaplan. And I actually feel I should preface the message of this post along with a bit of personal history that in fact Ms. Kaplan is not always the cranky-pants you might think she is from this video. (Lie. Sometimes she is.) Actually, I personally know and love this woman very much. And the fact that she endured my wedding as one of my bridesmaids means she's a pretty tolerant person, trust me. . However, she's also wickedly smart and extremely funny so when she has a hankering to make her creative side known, I just duck and cover and say, "Hey! Cy Kap's got a Christmas Song for ya!"  (NSFW) And so without any more holiday ado, here's the holiday comedy music video from the one and only Cynthia Kaplan:

Thank you Improve Everywhere .

If you ask me, this is the only kind of cliff-jumping I'd recommend and Lorde's got it down. This is who this amazing child is: Check it out:

Man, I knew there was a really good reason not to jump off cliffs. I think I'll continue to taking risks in ways which don't include gravity.

How do you define " an a$#h*@l "? I thought about it but nothing can better this musical definition by Dennis Leary's "I'm An As $#h*@le ." (I actually almost deleted this song but, once you get to about 1/3 of the way into it Leary's AWESOME.  I can't take it down.  It's too good to take down.) for more....click here

Rise and shine: the daily routines of history's most creative minds Oliver Burkeman The Guardian ,  Friday 4 October 2013 ) Benjamin Franklin spent his mornings naked. Patricia Highsmith ate only bacon and eggs. Marcel Proust breakfasted on opium and croissants. The path to greatness is paved with a thousand tiny rituals (and a fair bit of substance abuse) – but six key rules emerge Daily Rituals by Mason Currey  Click on image for full illustration. Illustration: Jean Julien for the Guardian One morning this summer, I got up at first light – I'd left the blinds open the night before – then drank a strong cup of coffee, sat near-naked by an open window for an hour, worked all morning, then had a martini with lunch. I took a long afternoon walk, and for the rest of the week experimented with never working for more than three hours at a stretch. Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration, and Get to Work: How Artists Work by Mason Currey

Advice I wish I'd been given a long, long time ago. Advice to pass along those who might be about to "give up" on their dream. Never say "die." Never! Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo .

Very beautiful Vimeo staff video pick about how creatures play such important, vitally needed roles in our lives. This holiday, this Christmas, won't you please consider adopting from an animal shelter, or the pound some kind, loving soul who will be so forever grateful for your friendship, your special companionship? Forget the pet store: Adopt those who need your love and gain an angel in your life. The love of the right pet will change your life forever. Where can you find an animal shelter near you? Click here to find your new pet to share your life with . Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch on Vimeo .