PopBetty

A Love Letter to Pop Culture

Oscars Party Links

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Things have been a little dreary here, so we’re throwing a mini-Oscars celebration Sunday, complete with ancho chili cake & sparkling wine (any excuse). Good Oscars links to get you in the mood:

  • Finally, check out Project Rungay for fashion commentary leading up to & after the awards.

Pop Culture Round-up: 02/14/09

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Happy Saturday! A few good links:

MANGA

Tatsuyuki Tanaka fifth dimension
DRAMAS & FILM

  • Lee Min Ki’s new film Oishii Man, a Japanese-Korean production, looks charming. Lee plays musician who’s developed hearing problems, and ends up falling in love with a local in Hokkaido. Official release date is February 19th.
  • Finally, someone Simpson-ized the leads:

boys before flowers simpsons

To See: Persuasion

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Persuasion - 1995 FilmI’m deep in Austenland again, after discovering the 1995 adaptation of Persuasion. Why did no one tell me it was so good? I mean, Emma Thompson’s Sense & Sensibility level of good.

If you’re a Jane Austen fan and haven’t seen it, watch it asap. It’s even on YouTube, so you’ve no excuses (I watched it there first, then promptly bought the DVD & the book).

That said, I wouldn’t recommend it for people who preferred the Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice to the BBC version with Colin Firth (I like to pretend these people do not exist, but I know they must). It’s exquisite, but in a subtle, quiet (that is, very Jane Austen) way.

Music Finds: The Jazz Age

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French Flappers, Parisian Cafe 1920's-001

Image via Vintage Lulu, found in Flappers & the Jazz Era photo pool.

Jazz Era music is fun. A little goes a long way (some songs were only meant for dog’s ears), but when it’s good, it’s really good–and the lyrics can be v. amusing (e.g. “You Gonna Look Like a Monkey When You Get Old“). Four online sources for Jazz Age swing:

  1. One good bet is the WFUV’s The Big Broadcast, a weekly radio show featuring music from the ’20s & ’30s. Hosted by Rich Conaty, the show plays every Sunday from 8 pm to midnight; the last two broadcasts are available online as streaming audio. Conaty also has a nice set of web recommendations (via getTRIO).
  2. One commenter recommended the similar WAMU 88.5’s Hot Jazz Saturday Night, which features jazz from the 1920s through ’40s.
  3. Fans of Bertie Wooster’s singing will appreciate this set of links. Unfortunately, the official Jeeves & Wooster soundtrack has been removed, but you can still catch some of the songs on YouTube (e.g. “47 Ginger Headed Sailors“).
  4. Metafilter also has a good set of pre-1950s music links.