“Amber beads, worn as a necklace, can protect against illness or cure colds.”
Buds
“The thing about trains - it doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.”
The Top 9 Wintery, Snowy Movies
Apparently some people can get sick of Christmas movies (What kind of people, you ask? I don't know... jerks without souls? Criminals with no sense of joy? Mutants who hate hugs?) around this time of year. I understand that to an extent (I guess). So what should they watch instead? Winter movies, of course! Here are some favourites.
- Batman Returns
- Everything about this movie is great. It's become a little corny over time, but it's absolutely still a great movie. I promise you. It's not an overly wintery movie, but it does take place at Christmastime (with no real mention of Christmas itself) and the final scene is snowy as hell.
- Krampus
- Nope, I will not shut up about this movie. It's too fun. Honestly, this is the movie that inspired this list in the first place. After I first saw it, I thought about it more and realized that one of my favourite things about the movie was the snow. It made you feel like you were in it. Literally a perfect winter movie.
- The Shining
- Umm, do you remember the final scenes of this movie? So much snow! And fear. Snow and fear are kind of a neat combination, I think. All that silence? I don't know, man, I'm into it.
- Snow Day
- Maybe this movie is too wholesome to be on this list. MAYBE. But I'm still very much a fan of it. I remember seeing it when it came out, so perhaps that's why I remember it fondly. However, it holds up over time.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- I cannot and will not tell you the amount of times I've thought of the bed-on-the-snowy-beach scene. Won't do it. SO ROMANTIC. Sometimes I'll see a certain kind of snow falling and this movie will immediately come to mind.
- A Simple Plan
- You probably haven't seen this movie and it's really good. Bill Paxton is probably the sexiest, underrated actor of our generation.
- Alive
- Super snowy movie, this one. And pretty depressing, really. But, like, in a good way. In a very nineties way.
- Grumpy Old Men
- I love these men and I love this movie. Personally, I prefer this one to Grumpier Old Men but to each his own.
- Edward Scissorhands
- I'm putting this one on the list mainly for this scene right here. Good God, I love that scene.
Didn't think I could come up with nine, did you? Ha!
Love
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - Review
Available on Amazon
Available on Amazon
(Of course Mindy Kaling names this book after the thought that I often have when comparing myself constantly to this wonder of a woman: Why Not Me?)
All right, obvously I enjoyed it - just not as much as I thought I would, but a pretty decent amount. Her first book was so alarmingly charming and great, so it makes sense that it would be hard to top. Don't get me wrong, though, this one's definitely a great read. The main different between this one and her first one? Why Not Me? felt way more intimate, if that makes any sense. I know that both books are about her and her life, but this one just felt way more personal in terms of her day-to-day life. Here were my favourite parts:
"I'm the kind of person who becomes silent when I get scared, because I hope Death will not notice me if I am very still and very quiet."
"A heartfelt hug coming from a straight man who has spent the evening drinking with you is like him buying a billboard in Times Square that says I AM NOT ATTRACTED TO YOU."
The whole chapter (around page 192) concerning her body image comments is fantastic. I loved it all. I could list some great lines here, but I started to and they were a' plenty. So just go read that chapter (like, at the book store, if you're too cheap to get it).
"No food is as delicious as food you can eat standing a foot away from a trash can."
Maybe the best paragraph of the book: "If you've got it, flaunt it. And if you don't got it? Flaunt it. 'Cause what are we even doing here if we're not flaunting it?"
In the paragraph about the thoughts that keep her awake at night, one thought listed made me laugh a lot: "What if that commenter on the message boards who posts constantly that I'm an "ugly fat Indian girl who looks like a turd" is someone I know socially?" and another one listed that was so sweet: "Is my father lonely? Would he tell me if he was?"
Everyone Is Fun
I really haven't enjoyed the last season of Park & Rec but this scene is too great.
“If you’re not measuring out how much maple syrup you use on your pancakes, you should be. It’s crazy easy to overindulge constantly.”
Krampus
That image above is the only thing I saw about the movie Krampus before seeing it earlier this week. And honestly, I should do that with movies from now on - go in completely unaffected by any kind of trailer, review or ad. Every single trailer on earth these days shows way too much and I can't stand that. Give me a little taste! That's all I want!
In any case, the movie was great. The ending sucked and was the worst part of the whole movie, but I can't really be mad at that. It just felt like the last fifteen minutes were very... studio-encouraged (that's the best way I can think to put it). And that's fine since the movie as a whole was great. Just a fun time. And maybe this is a dumb thing to note, but my favourite parts were the scenes shot out in the snow. They're gorgeously done and the blizzard throughout the whole movie just made me seethe with envy. See it! Not with kids, but see it!