Taking advice from the media: How to find the love of your life

So I've managed to make some friends with some of the neato techniques I picked up from film and television (parts 1 and 2), but now I feel compelled by the media to find the love of my life. After all, the only way I'm going to be content in life is if I find a man to share it with, amirite? So anyway, here's part 1 of 3 of how to find the love of your life based on movies in my roommates' and my own DVD collections.

1. Adopt a helpful--although perhaps conniving--stranger as your travel companion. (It Happened One Night)

2. Be flirtatiously caustic. (Love Story)

3. Spend time with your neurotic neighbor. (Breakfast at Tiffany's)

4. Force your way into the life of exactly the wrong person. (The Way We Were)

5. Private dancing lessons. (Dirty Dancing)

6. Become a casebook example of Stockholm Syndrome. (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

7. Fall for the savior of mankind. (Titan A.E.)

8. Give your number to a closeted genius. (Good Will Hunting)

9. Recruit a hot, young thing for your money-making scheme. (Anastasia)

10. Fall for the subject of your big news article. (Roman Holiday)

Some great beards 5

Great beards for everyone.

1. LeVar Burton. His beard makes him child-friendly.

2. Heath Ledger. Fact: The beginning of A Knight's Tale is possibly the only time I find Heath Ledger attractive because of his looks. Somehow the beard outweighs the white-man dreads.

3. Jean Reno. Sporting a barely-there beard and gun holsters in The Professional--great choice.

4. Kyle Howard. It's from My Boys episode 1 of season 3. It's adorable.

5. Christian Bale. Reign of Fire reminds me that I like my Christian Bale skinny with a struggling beard.

I was going to do an album review,

and then I discovered this gem of a special recounting The Band's eponymous 2nd album from 1969. The surviving members of the Band talk about each other and the creation of the music, and it makes me so, so happy seeing as how I can't stop listening to the album. It's glorious and sounds like the 19th Century South I find so fascinating. Enjoy:

I would give this special a hug if I could.

A Room With a View review

Because I now have a venue to write about movies I love:

Comfort Food: A Room With a View

The Band > Hipsters

Until hipsters start playing blues-based rock with a heavy streak of nostalgia for the South*, their beards can't even compete with the early era of the Band.

For your viewing pleasure:

So many delicious facial hair options.

And again:

So many delicious hat options.

Here: watch them jam "King Harvest" and "Long Black Veil" from 1970:


Piano and an organ? The best. Drummer-singer? Impressive. What can I say, I'm mildly obsessed with their first two albums. The late 60s/70s rockapalooza continues.

*Fun fact: 4/5 members of the Band are Canadian!