A Wacky, Wonderful Miss Jane: _Austenland_ Both Skewers and Honors the Jane Austen Aficionado

A wonderfully breezy Keri Russell in _Austenland_.

As I looked around the movie theater last weekend in Scottsdale, AZ, it was pristinely clear that Austenland had attracted its target audience. The estrogen in the theater was potent, with only a few sparse men present, attached to girlfriends or husbands. I was definitely the only man there who wasn’t with his female significant other. Despite that fact, I couldn’t have been happier to be there.

Now, granted, my wife Anne was originally supposed to come with me, but she ended up not being able to come (and will instead be attending this weekend with a group of women). But it says something about me that, despite that hiccup, I was still intent to go to the film by myself (not just so I could write the review, but because I was super excited to see it).  Blame it on my seven sisters, but, in my heart of hearts, I’d much rather watch Downton Abbey than the Superbowl. As a result of that brainwashing at the hands of my sisters, I’m very affectionate towards Regency/Victorian literature, BBC period dramas, black and white Jimmy Stewart films, and even a well made rom-com. Thus the new film Austenland, a tongue in cheek love letter to the hordes of Jane Austen fans that span the globe… well, it was right up my alley.

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Reasons My Son Is Crying Or: My Wife’s New Calling

When my wife saw this tumblr: Reasons My Son is Crying (and especially when she saw that they were talking submissions), she knew that she had found a new calling in life. The theme is simple:

A – Pic of child crying
B – Explanation of perfectly mundane, non-tragic thing that triggered the tears

The most recent pic (at the time I wrote this) is a perfect example:

“We showed him a bonsai.”

And yet, despite the simplicity, an infinite variety of hilarity ensues.

“She didn’t want to be in our family photo.”

Check out the site, ’cause there’s more where these come from! Oh, and if you submit one yourself, could you drop a line? I’d love to see ’em!

Beware the Healthy Eating Internet Education!

2013-06-05 Close Enough Food Pyramid

Hilarious article on the perils of trying to eat healthy in a world saturated with (mis)information. Favorite line?

Some people say it’s a little fringe, but you are committed to live a healthy lifestyle. “Okay,” you say, “let’s do this shit,” as you fry your caribou steak and seal liver in rendered whale blubber. You lose some weight which is good, but it costs $147.99 a pound for frozen seal liver out of the back of an unmarked van at the Canadian border.

There’s plenty more, though. Read the whole thing!