Blame It On The Pop

Carly just sent this to me- A mashup of 2009's Top 25 Billboard Pop Hits,



If I remember this otherwise drabby year in terms of music-maybe things won't seem so bad when I look back.

Don't worry guys, I'm plotting revenge on 2009 by having an incredibly awesome 2010.

You should do the same.

Love,
Me

some other summer time

Are you escaping the freezing cold for a warm weather vacation any time soon?

Scoop-Necked Sleeveless Dress (Stripe) Express

Cruisewear collections are just cruel to those of us who have no escape into sunshine any time soon.

it's gonna get you

Now that I've moved on from obsessing over Christmas music, I've had the time to really get into Gaga's "The Fame Monster", today's picks:
 

Teeth


Speechless (*the melody reminds me of NSYNCS Bye,Bye,Bye and I keep expecting her to go into 'I know that I can't take no more...')

 

granting wishes

A while back, I promised to use the strong community of Everday Sassypants as an advantage to contribute to a charitable cause and today I am happy to announce that I will be participating in the 2010 Long Beach Polar Bear Swim.

The Long Beach Polar Bear Swim is an annual dip in the chilly ocean in the early afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday, all money raised is donated to The Make A Wish Foundation-  you can learn more about the history of the swim here. This year is the 10th Annual Swim and I am happy to say that this will be my first year of involvement. I have set a goal of my team $7,000 and I hope we can exceed that benchmark. Keep in mind the first year it was done they raised $7,000 and they granted one child's wish with that money. Last year they raised $370,000 and granted 47 wishes. As you know- any amount of money will make a difference in someone's life, but ultimately I'd love if our team alone could grant one wish!

I've recruited a bunch of friends to join my Polar Bear Swim team. If you would like to join team Everyday Wet Your Pants on Sunday February 7th for the swim, please sign up HERE. If you do join my team I ask that you reach out to your friends and family in recruiting donations for the cause, while it will be a blast to participate in the swim itself- what's most important is that we raise money to make children's wishes come true.

Some of you may not be able to make it to New York- or you might not want to jump into the Atlantic Ocean in freezing temperatures- either way, you can still support my team by making a kind donation to the Make A Wish Foundation in the name of team Everyday Wet Your Pants HERE.

You can also purchase Polar Wear (fun hoodies/sweats/etc.)on this webpage

I'll keep you posted on the progress of our team and I am looking forward to making our goal!
Much Love,
 Jaci

not happening

New Year's Resolutions I should make:

• Stop eating pizza like I don't live in New York and while we're at it, I should probably accept the fact that the excuse of "just moved back" for over-consuming Pizza stopped being valid in March.
• Have cash on me at all times, that being said I lost the embarrassing Hello Kitty credit card about 2 months ago so I think I deserve some slack when it comes to banking & me.
• When the subway doors open right in front of me, do not take it as a personal victory that you are fully responsible for. That was luck Jaci, not the precision that you think you have artfully mastered. (btw: if there is a NYC insider precision to artfully master then I swear I don't know about it and really seem to think that God is on my side when this happens to me)
• Give myself enough time to get ready in the morning- because that moment when you realize your underwear is on inside out is always an eye opener in terms of re-evaluating your morning routine. 
• Be nice to people before 11 a.m. "Coffee hasn't kicked in" is not helping you make friends in the workplace.
• Give up on the squat being your 'signature dance move.' While your flexibility is impressive- this does not qualify as a dance move what so ever- just because Beyonce is telling you to "drop down and almost hit the floor with it" doesn't mean you have to do it.
• Self-Edit
  
• While walking like a mad women down 5th avenue to/from work, control your wild hand gestures  enough to keep your iPod from changing the song on you- because that pump me up AM session of  Hairyspray's "Good Morning Baltimore" should go un interrupted. Damn the shake to shuffle feature. I'd turn it off but sometimes flicking my wrist to make magic happen is just way too fun. that's what she said... couldn't resist!!!!! ....
  
• On that note, don't ever channel Michael Scott. People really wouldn't like him in the real world.
• stop having inside jokes with myself. and if they're so important to have then make sure they stay inside...because telling someone you have an inside joke with yourself makes it seem like you should really just stay inside. at all times. day. night. forever.

I'll give you the resolutions that I think I can actually keep sometime later this week,
-Jac

monogram mam

I have been dying to blog about these since I first saw them, but had to hold off because I got them for many many people as Christmas gifts,

Monogrammed Mugs, Anthropologie

Carly gave a pair to Liz and her boyfriend as a housewarming gift and upon seeing them I knew they'd be perfect little holiday gifts for my sisters and some other special people! Everyone was really happy with their mug- I'll be buying more this week because my Mother was jealous that she didn't get one and I suppose I should pick one up for myself while I'm there...

let your heart be light

Happy Holidays Everyone! I'm on a mini-break from blogging through the weekend, as you can bet I'll be consumed with Christmas. I return on Monday in full force!!! I want to really thank my friends and family for making these past few weeks as special as they have been, it has been so nice to be at home for Christmas preparations for the first time in years- and this past weekend was incredible, as I was able to celebrate the season with some of my closest friends. I know these next 24 hours will be a great conclusion to what has been a magical Christmas season- I  hope you have a wonderful next few days as well!

Much Love,

Jaclyn

little kids, big talent

Cara has been urging me to check out P.S. 22's YouTube Video's for a while now,  I finally got around to checking out this 5th grade chorus and ... wow- no wonder they were asked to sing at this years National Tree Lighting in D.C.

If I could I would embed every single on of their videos, but I'll choose just a handful- check out their website here.


"Pictures of You"


They sang on a few of Passion Pit's songs and in turn did a cover of their "Seaweed Song"


"Run This Town"


I love all of their moves in "Just Dance"


and let's finish off the obsession fest in spirit of the holidays- their take on Sarah McLachlan's "Wintersong"

big lights, big dreams, all looking pretty

Carly sent me an early morning inbox treat,



2010 is already starting to look awesome.

solemates

I accidentally stumbled into the Nine West store last week and came across an excellent find:  decent work-day heel, extremely great price and available in a variety of colors and textures...

Ambelu, Nine West

If you like them buy your pair ASAP as they are quickly running out of colors and sizes

- they are already off the shelves in stores!

(*trust me I went back to get a pair last week the day after I saw them and they were already gone! Luckily got a black suede pair online- I know you are shocked that I didn't go for the purple but I needed a reasonable black pump anyways)

could not be happier

dare i say this made me tear up?! Judge me, whatever. It's awesome. I love this song so much and have been anticipating this ever since I heard Julian did his own cover- and guess what guys....

Christmas Time is Near!!!!!!!!

and at Christmas, you tell the truth

Mindy Kaling: be my pen pal

Mindy Kaling from The Office is awesome. Originally slated as a writer, now a star of the show and regular producer of episodes- her rise to fame has been incredible.(fun fact: she writes dancing into every episode she produces) For a while I followed her extremely witty blog and I agree with Mark that she is one of the best celebrity tweeters (probs tied with Neil Patrick Harris in my book.)

This afternoon Laura sent me a New York Time's Article Mindy wrote for their Unbelievable Holiday Tales feature, you have to read her story "Scripting A Fantasy of a Family."

So funny. Plus I completely agree with her Harry/Sally and You've Got Mail nods. She def just inspired me to write more comedic stories here and there. Let's hope- it would be fun right?

makin calls, makin news

My boy Jason contributed to an excellent Huffington Post article,

America's Health Care System is Failing LGBT Citizens: Learning From Reagan's Mistakes

Congrats Jase- it's well written and informative, I'm so proud of you!

you're a virgin who can't drive

As an ambitious funny girl myself, I could only dream of playing a part that well. Tai has always been my favorite character in Clueless- and I have always felt that Brittany Murphy was a funny, talented, gorgeous actress...this is such a tragic loss.  At least we have these immortalized memories of her that can always make us smile...

letter of resignation

Yesterday Aaron shared this Personality Test  with me-

They measure you on the following
Extraverted vs. Inoverted
Sensing v. Intuitive
Feeling v. Thinking
Judging v. Perceiving

and my results kinda made me laugh,

Extraverted (E) 96%     v.    Introverted (I) 4%
Sensing (S) 50%      v.    Intuitive (N) 50%
Feeling (F) 70%    v .    Thinking (T) 30%
Judging (J) 59%      v.   Perceiving (P) 41%

96% extraverted?  
maybe I should start keeping some stuff to myself... 

Take it and see how you measure up here

frostproof fashion

These past two days it's  been 30 degrees here in New York- luckily I've had my earmuffs on to keep me warm. I mentioned last winter that I was searching for a great pair to sport as an alternative to winter hats on my ponytail days- and luckily last month I found mine right on a NYC corner from a street vendor,

($5 on a corner in this lovely city- and check out the gloves, they were five bucks too)

For those of you who don't have the option of shopping on your walk from the subway to work, I have some great online finds here:

Earmuffs, Avon

Furry Earmuffs, Victoria's Secret PINK

Jacquard Earmuffs, Jessica Simpson

Sonoma Life Fur Earmuffs, Kohls

tumbling

My brother posted a link to this website on my Facebook wall and I had to share it here:

When I Had Braces... - a very witty and entertaining tumblr blog

in the same realm, another great tumblr if you haven't seen it is My Parents Were Awesome, I really need to get on this and submit some vintage Lo & To photos because my Mom wore hotpants and Tony thought he was the Italian Travolta-Saturday Night Fever when they were young and on the town.

and last but not least, to keep the holidays in check: CreepySantaPhotos.com

more later,
jac

making it

I am continually boasting the merits of  the online craft market website ETSY- as a matter of fact, it's where I purchased this years Holiday Party Dress*. Today The New York Times has a a great article on people who quit their full time jobs to pursue their crafting full time and sell on Etsy:

Read: Hobbyists Use Etsy to Trade Day Job For Hard Work

Do you think I can make a decent living crafting those origami fortune tellers we made during rec time in elementary school?

*(Confessions of an Excessive Individual: I actually bought two holiday party dresses. The first one was purchased  on EBay but then while perusing for Cara's dress on Etsy, I fell in LOVE with one and needed to have it. My logic was that I will always have a Holiday Party to go to every year and that if anything I can wear the first one next year. Luckily, Cara needed a dress and liked my original one so much that she took it!)

pants yourself: Best of 2009 Pop Culture

Before I tackle the decade, I think it's important that I give some energy to 2009 as a year. After an intensive study of the past 349 days (or more so the list I decided in my head as I was drifting off to sleep last night) I think that I have a concrete "Best of 2009 Pop Culture List."

Now first we need to get a grasp on what I define 'pop culture' to be- luckily I agree with the first paragraph on it's Wikipedia page:

"Popular culture (commonly known as pop culture) is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes,^[1] images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensusmainstream of a given culture. Heavily influenced by mass media (at least from the early 20th century onward) and perpetuated by that culture's vernacular language, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society. Popular culture is often viewed as being trivial and "dumbed-down" in order to find consensual acceptance throughout the mainstream. As a result, it comes under heavy criticism from various scientific^{[citation needed]} and non-mainstream sources (most notably religious groups and countercultural groups) which deem it superficial, consumerist, sensationalist, and corrupted."

Every Day LIVES of Society- or Every Day SASSYPANTS' of Society? Just saying... let my countdown begin:

20. The Whitney Houston/Oprah Winfrey Interview. This inspired at least 48 hours of Whitney impersonations from me.

19. "I Got A Feeling" from The Black Eyed Peas. J.E. declared it the song of the summer... but I'm pretty sure it's the song of the year.

18. The demise of the Gosselin family: Jon and Kate's Tabloid take over. It's on the record that upon viewing an episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 that I couldn't stand Kate Gosselin for the life of me. So you have to be a pretty huge tool to make me take her side. Luckily Jon went all Ed Hardy on us and takes the top prize in terms of 'famous people who nauseate me.' I wish him and 2008's winners (Speidi) would just disappear.

17. Speaking of Ed Hardy... how long will it be until Tiger Woods starts wearing it? He's on the fast track to slimeball hall of fame. In terms of athletes with power- he is making Michael Phelps look like America's golden boy. Way to go Tiger. 

16. The Hangover gave us the comedy blockbuster we needed. 

Everyone was losing their jobs, something had to make us smile. 

15. Inauguration. There were some real golden moments, with Beyonce singing "At Last," Aretha wearing that monstrosity of a hat and tons of our most talented musicians taking the stage at the national mall. That being said, during this whole time period I think Will.I.Am. was every where and in an annoying way- like he thought he was vice president or Desiree Rogers.

14.  Lost Season Five Finale. It was incredible. Watching it in my house on our giant flat screen tv in hi-def was just awesome. Oh wait- that's not what happened. I was super busy the night the finale aired- not only was Grant visiting NYC but I had an improv rehearsal for my level 1 graduation show. My family relied on the DVR and we planned to watch it when I got home from the city that night. And on this one night- our DVR was so full that it didn't record LOST. A big blame-game argument went down and I naturally threw a grade-A tantrum. How was I going to avoid the rest of the world while waiting for the episode to be available on iTunes? Not to mention, I had improv again the next night and no real window of time to watch the episode that day. So- that Friday, two days after the finale aired: I did the impossible. I watched the 2 hour episode on my iPhone, throughout the course of that morning. I got a good 40 minutes in on my commute- but the second half was staggered: a few minutes here at my desk and admittedly in the bathroom stall. I finally took a lunch break and watched the last of it in a Subway on 57th. Not the most ideal circumstances at all- plus I definitely looked crazy, sitting there in Subway- reacting with tears, gasps, "shits" and all of the other emotions that LOST is capable of bringing on. That being said- it was an awesome finale- and I'm counting down the days until February 2nd.

13. Online shopping 24 hour sale sites like Gilt, Rue La La and Hautelook exploded. Not to mention the recent introduction to Rent The Runway. Otherwise high ticket items are suddenly affordable and attainable- it's a sign of the times. Yes I got Hunter Wellies for $50 dollars and the best dressed girl at the party probably didn't buy  the Herve Leger she was wearing, she chose a $200 rental fee over a $1,690 price tag. 

12. Everyone wanted to live in the era of Mad Men when it returned for it's third season.  

Way to finally catch on mainstream. We saw integrated campaigns with major retail chain stores and facebook exploded with "Mad Men" yourself photos 

* authors note:mine was super unattractive that's why I never shared it

11. UP- an instant classic in my opinion. 

10. Just very recently, Paste Magazine named their Album of The Year and it is I and Love and You, from The Avett Brothers. I've mentioned before that Cara says that Sassypants is 60% me blogging about The Avetts- and you know what? If it's helped them get even 1.5 new listeners then I'm happy with it. ( Don't you love when people are referred to with 1/2s? Like the average household has 2.5 children? It's visually funny to me. I just picture a family portrait with two toothy, cute, grinning little kids and then a lower torso with dangling legs seated beside them.)

9.  The cheap thrills via Grey's Anatomy were so entertaining and the season finale in May was the epitome of tearjerker. Sure they pulled the terminal illness card on us- and killed off two major characters (well kinda killed one of them... though I really hope to never see Dr. Izzie Stevens again.) so the whole 'let's make them cry forever' thing was very transparent; that being said; that last episode was brilliant. And then everyone gave up on Grey's this season, when the firsts few episodes weren't so great- BUT man have they come back- so glad I stuck with it. They're standing strong and proving themselves to survive what could have been 'jumping the shark.'

8. And while we're talking about the boob-tube let's head over to NBC and talk about Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office. Who didn't save that on their DVR to be re-played for weeks and weeks after? Some felt that their mockery of the JK Wedding Entrance came too late but I think it was done so well, made so much sense that those people would do that and the editing/split of Pam and Jim's actual nuptials was beautiful. Ugh... let's all watch it again, together:

7. It's only fair to give credit where credit is due- Jill and Kevin's Wedding Entrance was this year's YouTube phenomenon and so worthy of the title:

6. 500 Days Of Summer. It could have been titled "She's Just Not That Into You" but it didn't need a catchphrase. It delivered the message of unrequited love that movies so often try to sugar coat or market and instead of doing that in a cliche manner it artistically conveyed the expectations, misunderstandings and ultimately the frustrations that come with failed relationships. It's also a 'thinking mans' movie- something you see that has the power to permeate in your brain for weeks and months later. Plus it had this scene, which you really can't beat:




5. Whether you hate him or love him, you can't deny the fact that Adam Lambert was one of 2009's most talked about celebrities. 

His voice, his hair, his costumes,  his not winning-American Idol-but really kinda winning, his recent simulated sexual behavior on stage- need we say more?

4. Speaking of eccentric performers...

Hey, Lady Gaga: I want your ugly. I want your disease. 


3. Kanye/Beyonce/Taylor Swift at the VMA's- Kanye made more people dislike him-who knew that was possible. Beyonce was deemed for her grace and beautiful heart. And Taylor Swift was thrust into the most sympathetic of wishes and kindest compliments from every musician ever - then to top it all off she then won a lot of awards, received multiple Grammy nods, dates a super hot manwolf and she gets to wear long, big, sparkly,  dresses everywhere. 

For someone who sings so much about fairtytales she should write one about this 2009 incident and how she was the princess needing to be rescued, Kanye was the temperamental villain preying on the innocent and  Beyonce was the fairy godmother...or really just a guardian angel, because we can see her halo-halo- halo--- haloooo. Sorry. I love Beyonce. End of Story. Okay, back to T.Swift- she really did have her best year ever. I kind of thought she'd go into 'one hit wonder' obscurity but this year secured her as one of music's biggest stars:

(Taylor's Next Big Headline: Crazed Blogger Breaks Into Her Home and Steals This Dress)

2. GLEE, just trying to type about how much I love this show is getting me emotional. At face value, its' entertainment is awesome. I'm a sucker for any form of entertainment where people burst into song during every day life (see #6.) The characters and comedy are incredible- just log onto facebook at 10:00pm on any given Wednesday night and see how many people are quoting Sue Sylvester. And I love that ultimately it's a show where people are singing to distract us from the fact that it's a show that's really about sexuality, sexual desire, sexual taboos and just plain sex. Just saying.

Also in the beginning I kind of got irked when people drew comparisons between me and Rachel but the truth is, I'm honored. I LOVE HER. There, I said it- I want to be her- well her without the obvious psychosis issues- so really I'm just taking her talent and dorky wardrobe... either way I often re-create this performance of hers:

So happy for their Golden Globe nods yesterday, can't wait for GLEE to return on 4/13/10- yep, my 25th Birthday- it will be a gift that's hard to beat.

and now, to my top pop culture milestone of 2009....

#1 The King of Pop is Dead

Where were you when you found out Michael Jackson had died? It was June 25th 2009- and I had spent the morning taking a bus back from Washington D.C.- I went there on a 24 hour stint to see Beyonce in concert, but that's another story.  When I got off the bus that afternoon I went to work and later on met up with Laura to take the LIRR home to Long Island. I was sitting with her on the train and went to Facebook on my iPhone so she could show me a picture or something- suddenly I saw a status update... I would share with you what happened from there but I think it's best if I let Laura tell the story, so without further ado- a mini guest blog that truly captures my feelings about the loss of MJ:

"When Jaci found out Michael Jackson died, you would have thought her own flesh and blood had passed on. We were on the LIRR, where conversation of any kind is frowned upon, let alone shouting about pop culture tragedies, but this didn't stop Jaci from announcing it to Long Island's finest. She then proceeded to call her mother who was most likely mid-haircut, to make sure she was the one to break the news. As I lowered my eyes in embarrassment to be sharing a seat with the silence-disturber, I was yelled at by none other than Jaci herself who could not understand why I wasn't reacting as strongly as she was to this (not that unsurprising) news, and for having the nerve to laugh at her reaction. I'm pretty sure she was also yelling about the fact that no one else on the train seemed bothered by the news, but at that point I had blacked out from embarrassment."

So umm yea- that kinda sums up how I feel about that.

Friends, it seems my 2009 in review has come to an end- what did I leave off?

thoughts on the order? care to argue an opinion or two?

Please contribute!

Love,

me

currently going bananas

Calandra, Betsey Johnson

These are awesome.

Just one of the many items featured on Rachel Zoe's Piperlime "Picks List," they are in  the company of many great buys: check the list out here

homes with benefits

a few months back I was introduced to both of these songs when visiting d.c. by both of the houses I regularly stay at- they each kind of reflect the respective houses/vibes of what goes down:


Karina, Ryan Adams
(thanks to the boys of the Kenyon Castle for the introduction- a place where magical acoustic guitar sing-a-longs and Avett fests occur)


 
I You Were A Boy/If I Were A Boy, R.Kelly/Beyonce

(thanks to the boys of Pierce Mill for the introduction- a place where we dance so hard that the porch breaks.... or something like that)

would you please put some pants on?

Available on DVD tomorrow

"You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!"- Alan

oh so delicious

It has been baking madness at Casa di Pulice. This past week we scrambled to make an assortment of cookies to send to my brother in Scotland. A few Amelia Bedelia moments occurred early in the process, when I mistakenly used a 1/2 stick of butter for 1/2 a cup (it actually is the whole stick)and when my Mom accidentally used sea salt in her chocolate chip cookies instead of regular salt. By the way, I am such a phene for chocolate and salty that I actually liked the sea-salt cookies but don't be fooled everyone else seemed to disagree.

Mistakes aside, I love baking- especially during the holidays. One of my favorites to bake (and eat) is the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie, (we have discussed this before) and I am always on the quest for a better recipe or variation. Two years ago, I bought a vintage magazine and saw a recipe for them from the 60's. I've mentioned this before but allow me to reiterate:  don't use recipes from the sixties. The cookies didn't even rise and came out like sad lumpy discs of ingredients. I suppose the science of baking is always advancing. Who knew?

A few months ago I saw these "Cowgirl Cookie" jars on Bakerella.com and immediately saved the link to be kept in mind for the holidays,

Yes these are a variation of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (with pecans) and yes they are a simple and fun holiday gift! Learn how to make your own HERE

be a hit at cocktail parties with 6 year olds

Because I believe random knowledge is important, I often kill time checking out trivia on IMDB.com. Every time I see a movie, I immediately head over there to soak up some pointless facts. Some of the best "little knowns" I've ever come across have been ones about Disney Movies. Forget "all good girls taking off their clothes" and male genitalia in artwork- let's get down to the Disney secrets that not everyone knows. In honor of today's release of The Princess and The Frog, we shall visit some of Disney's most famous animated classics and make you the most fabulous "Did you know that....." tidbit-giver ever:

The Little Mermaid (1989)

•  In the opening scene when King Triton arrives at the arena, you can briefly see Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck in the crowd of sea-people as mermen when he passes over them.
• This was the first Disney film to receive an Academy Award since Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), though other films had been nominated.
• Originally, Sebastian was to have an English accent. It was lyricist/producer Howard Ashman who suggested he be Jamaican. This opened the door to calypso style numbers like "Under the Sea", which won the Academy Award.
• 'Jodi Benson (Ariel) sang 'Part of Your World' in the dark to get that 'under the sea' feeling.
• Ariel was quite deliberately made a redhead in order to distinguish her from Daryl Hannah's character in Splash (1984).
• Scheduling conflicts with "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) forced Patrick Stewart to turn down the role of King Triton.

Beauty and The Beast (1991)

• Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, losing to The Silence of the Lambs (1991). It was, however, the first full length animated feature to win the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy)
• Art director Brian McEntee color keyed Belle so that she is the only person in her town who wears blue. This is symbolic of how different she is from everyone else around. Later, she encounters the Beast, another misfit, also wearing blue.
• While songwriters are writing the melody to a song they often use dummy lyrics to help with writing the melody. In the song "Gaston" the writers liked the dummy lyrics so much that they used those in the final production. (*sassypants note in song form: sing it with me- 'no one's neck is incredibly thick as Gaston's')
• The dance between Belle and her Prince in the finale is actually reused animation of the dance between Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty (1959). The original Sleeping Beauty (1959) pair had been drawn over to become the new Beauty and the Beast (1991) pair, and this was done because they were running out of time during the production of the movie.
• Many of paintings on the walls of the castle are undetailed versions of famous paintings by such artists as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Goya.
• This was the first Disney animated feature to have a pop version of the film's main song play over the end credits.
• Though the Beast/Prince is never mentioned by name in the film, it is revealed by the CD-ROM game The D Show that his name is Adam. 

Aladdin (1992)

• Robin Williams provided the voice for the Genie, at union scale rate (the lowest legal pay rate a studio can give an actor), on the provisos that his voice was not used for merchandising (i.e. toys and such) and that the Genie character not take up more than 25% of the space of a poster, ad, billboard, or trailer. When these wishes were not granted, he withdrew his support for Disney and the film.
  
• The opening scene with the street merchant was completely unscripted. Robin Williams was brought into the sound stage and was asked to stand behind a table that had several objects on it and a bed sheet covering them all. The animators asked him to lift the sheet, and without looking take an object from the table and describe it in character. Much of the material in that recording session was not appropriate for a Disney film.
• To capture the movement of Aladdin's low-cut baggy pants, animator Glen Keane looked at videos of rap star M.C. Hammer.
• The most successful film of 1992, earning over $217 million at the US box office and over $504 million worldwide.
• In early visual development, Aladdin resembled Michael J. Fox. As the film developed, Jeffrey Katzenberg didn't think Aladdin had enough appeal to women, so he asked that Aladdin be beefed up a bit to resemble Tom Cruise.
• During the course of recording the voices, Robin Williams improvised so much they had almost 16 hours of material.
• Originally, the peddler who introduces the movie would be revealed to be the Genie at the end - hence the fact that Robin Williams voiced him, too. Notice the similarities in the design of the two, especially the eyebrows, the beard and the four-fingered hands. (All the other human characters have five fingers.)
• Scheduling conflicts with "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) forced Patrick Stewart to turn down the role of Jafar. He has said in interviews that this is his biggest regret.
• In the preview screenings for the movie, nobody applauded after the big song numbers. The animators wanted applause and so somebody stuck the Genie with an "Applause" sign at the end of "Friend Like Me". The joke worked and the sign was kept for the movie.

The Lion King (1994)

•  There have been rumors that when Simba collapses on the cliff after talking with Timon and Pumbaa about stars, the dust that flies off the cliff forms the letters SEX. In fact it forms the letters SFX, the abbreviation of the special-effects team that worked on that portion of the film.
• A new computer program had to be written for the CG wildebeest stampede that allowed hundreds of computer generated animals to run but without colliding into each other.
• The plot-line is loosely based upon William Shakespeare's Hamlet; a story of a young prince whose uncle takes over the kingdom and marries the queen after killing the king/prince's father. After being away from home for a period of time, these events lead to the prince's plans for revenge. The prince receives some advice from his father's ghost. Also, during the scene where Zazu sings I've got a lovely bunch of Coconuts, Scar Has a skull in his hand.
• Pumbaa the Warthog was the first character in Disney films to exhibit flatulence.
• A few weeks before the film opened, Elton John was given a special screening. Noticing that the film's love song had been left out, he lobbied to put the song back in. Later, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won him an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
• The lyric for the opening chant of "The Circle of Life" is: "Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama / Nants ingonyama bagithi baba / Sithi uhhmm ingonyama / Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba / Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw enamabala". This translates as: "Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it's a lion / Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it's a lion / A lion We're going to conquer / A lion A lion and a leopard come to this open place". 
• John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Patrick Stewart were all considered for the role of Zazu. The role was finally given to Rowan Atkinson after the animators watched some episodes of "Mr. Bean" (1990).
  

*All facts are from imdb.com  

Patrick Stewart was really itching to voice an animated character. I was concerned to see if the dream was ever fulfilled and no worries- he has since voiced characters in Jimmy Neutron, Bambi II, The Prince of Egypt, Chicken Little, Family Guy and the upcoming Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage.

Phew.
-jac

A Great Big Sled

" I want to roll around like a kid in the snow,
I want to re-learn what I already know,
Just let me take pride,
Just to rev through the night,
On a great big sled.

I want to wish you merry Christmas,"

My newest Christmas song discovery: A Great Big Sled from The Killers. First and foremost, I'd like to thank Shazam on my iPhone and  Express for blasting this song in your store last night. Sadly I can't embed the real music video but check it out here- and of course it has been added to the international hit that is my Christmas Favorites playlist.

A Childhood Christmas Tale (re-visited)

My older cousin has a daughter that is approaching the age where you start to question if Santa is real. When we were Christmas shopping together last week, she asked me how I found out about the hoax that is Old St.Nick- and I shared my tale with her.

I know this year I've gotten new readers so some of you may have missed this post last December; it is my story of finding out that Santa isn't real. Read it here- and while we're on the topic comment with your own experience!

popped

More "end of the decade" re-caps

Best One Hit Wonders of the 2000s, Billboard

Because I'm too obsessed with Christmas to come up with original content. (at least I'm honest about it right?)

The Holiday

"Say a man and a woman both need something to sleep in and both go to the same men's pajama department. The man says to the salesman, "I just need bottoms," and the woman says, "I just need a top." They look at each other and that's the 'meet cute.'  "- Arthur Abbott, The Holiday

*more Christmas movie scores have been added to the playlist!

you make me feel like dancing

I'd like to brag that I was completely on point in Early October when I recommended you buy the Top Shop Sequin Cropped Jacket. Since then, sequins have exploded EVERYWHERE- detailing dresses, skirts, tanks, sweaters, accessories and basically anything else you could possibly wear. With the holiday season in full force- there is definitely potential for a sequin outfit in your future. I was looking forward to attending a sequin party downtown this weekend, but sadly it's been canceled. I'll have to find another occasion to wear this sequin gold mini-skirt to:

I'm sure it won't be an issue for me. If anything- I'll wear it on Christmas morning, open my presents in style- why not?

Just this weekend, I attended Carly's Bridal Shower in Florida- and she wore a sequin skirt from J.Crew:

Hers was silver but you can find the copper one here

Cara recently bought an awesome retro inspired sequin dress to wear for her upcoming 25th birthday and she also purchased a simple black sequin vest,

Hers is from H&M but you can find one at a similar price point from Forever 21

and if something completely sequined is too intimidating to you- try a basic top with sequin embellishment,

I wore this out on Saturday night in Florida, paired with a basic black skirt- also from Forever 21

I searched for more sequin items- all under $100 because this is a trend and there is no need to spend a lot of money on something you may not wear next season, take a look at my additional finds below:

Halogen Sequin Cardigan , Nordstrom

Sequin Fingerless Gloves , Top Shop

Silk Beaded Cardigan, White House Black Market

Sequin Pattern Tunic, Arden B.

 Knit Hat, Newport News

Cardinal Rule of Sequin Dressing: Pair with simple and minimal. I'll be wearing my gold sequin skirt with a black tee, Carly paired hers with a long tank and Cara plans to wear her vest over a scoop neck basic top. Let your sequins be the leading lady and have everything else act as the supporting cast.

One last thing to inspire you, a dream sequin item, to make you drool and fully commit you to sequin inspiration....

Sheldon, Kate Spade

Time to shine,

-jac

dj pants

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying the Christmas Playlist- just a quick note, I've added a slew of new songs: there were some songs that I had originally forgotten, some recent discoveries and of course all of your suggestions. I wish there was a shuffle option on the widget-sadly there isn't!

For those of you who want that option or who don't want to stay on ESP's page all day (who wouldn't want that?) you can now upload the playlist on Grooveshark using the link I've provided below:

Christmas Favorites

Keep up the suggestions and be on the look out for more new songs every day,

Much Love,
Jaci

Dress For Success

readers in the greater nyc area- do you consider yourself to be a kind, charitable person? yes- I thought so- keep reading please,

Yesterday I received an e-mail from my friend Leigh, informing me that she is running a clothing drive for Dress For Success. I did a huge closet clean-out/good-will donation a few months back and thus have nothing to contribute this time around. Since I don't have anything to give this time around, I am going to do my part by encouraging you guys to donate some of your old professional clothing:

"Dress For Success is a great organization whose mission is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. I think that this organization truly offers a way for everyone to be able to help regardless of your financial situation or your social calendar

What type of clothing and products does Dress for Success accept? A list of the items that we need appears below.  To ensure that an article of clothing or suit is appropriate for our clients, ask yourself if you would feel comfortable wearing it on an interview.  If the answer is yes, then it is right for our clients.   

• Interview-appropriate suits and related separates (the greatest need is for items size 14 and up)
• Solid color blouses
• Shoes that are suitable for the workplace. Our clients receive brown, black or navy shoes most frequently. Please no heels higher than 3 inches and no open-toed shoes.
• Unopened hosiery
• Unused undergarments (Note: Not all locations accept such items; please check with the affiliate closest to you before making this type of donation.)
• Black tote bags, attaché bags or briefcases
• Basic professional accessories (including jewelry, scarves, belts and handbags)
• Unopened cosmetics
• Coats and outerwear (Note: Not all locations accept such items; please check with the affiliate closest to you before making this type of donation.)"

Leigh is willing to pick up the clothing from you (in the  NYC area) and her goal is to make the donation by the end of January. If you have any questions or would like to contribute, please e-mail sassypants@everydaysassypants.com and I will pass your information through to Leigh!

the art of gifting

The Art of Accessories has an awesome 2009 Gift Guide- Dana worked really hard on it and it shows. She has great suggestions for all of the special people in your life! Thanks to Dana's guide, my godson will be receiving this bear one piece- it's so cute, it will seriously take a lot of restraint for me to not give this to him before Christmas. (case and point: I already showed Cali her gift and gave my Mom the shirt I bought her for Christmas on Black Friday. Gift Giving over-excites me and I have trouble keeping secrets)

Check out the full guide here

can't wait for some schweddy balls

Exciting news- particularly because my DVR didn't catch the Blake Lively episode this weekend- on Dec 17th SNL is going to air their first Holiday Special since 2002!

More info via Perez Hilton here

Hopefully there will be a reprise of "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"

post script

Alec just sent me a link to Paste Magazine's Best of The Decade - in case you're extra bored.

Not to mention they put The Avett Brother's "I and Love and You" as the #9 Best Album of The Decade (of 50)

so proud of the brothers, and feeling some guilt for neglecting them on my iTunes as I over obsess with Christmas Music... I'll be back soon boys, I promise.

baby you the best

EW tackles everything 00's in their BEST OF THE DECADE series,

10 Best Movies of The Decade (top honor going to a trilogy that I could care less about....)


10 Best TV Show of The Decade (my allegiance lies with the #2 slot)

10 Best Albums of The Decade (Sadly the winner has fallen out of America's good graces in the past two years or so)

more important than any of that is my very own BEST OF THE DECADE SERIES- coming soon to ESP!

Be on the watch,

More Later,

Jac

children of all ages

Watching Elf and The Family Stone last week has put me in serious Christmas Movie mode. At some point during the season I will certainly watch Santa Claus Is Coming To Town- in last year's Christmas Survey I mentioned that this movie is an all time holiday favorite,

In my house we have The Original Christmas Classics box set (Santa Claus is Coming To Town is one of the 7 movies in the set), I definitely think this is a great gift for anyone who has the holiday spirit.

 

I also think the Peanuts Holiday Collection is a safe bet, who doesn't love Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree?

eye spy

I stopped into Anthropologie last week to do some Christmas Shopping and within minutes I regretted the decision. As you know from previous posts, I always seem to fall in love there. I made a vow that I would only walk in the direction of the gifts I was buying but of course I spotted some temptation along the way- - - take a look at some of the scenery that stole my eye:

Cold Blooming Hat

Tiree Beret

Lerwick Jewelry Box

 

Upsy Daisy Mug

Great & Small Coin Purse

filled with joy and GLEE

The cast of GLEE's rendition of LAST CHRISTMAS:

from me to you, with holiday cheer

Speaking of Christmas Music- for the rest of the month, on the right side of the blog I present to you my Everyday Sassypants Christmas Favorites Playlist! Take a listen- if you think I'm missing something awesome, let me know and I'll add it. (subject to approval. aka: try to impress me)

Happy Holidays!

ps- you most likely know all of these songs with the exception of a Neil Diamond one that Kaitlin and I thoroughly enjoy, it was on some Hallmark freebie cd my Mom got one year. The boys in Saving Silverman would be proud. 

never leave her

Early this week, Aaron sent me a Grooveshark playlist of Christmas music that has added some nice variety to what I already have uploaded on my iPhone. Chris Brown's version of Try A Little Tenderness from This Christmas is on the playlist and it was my first time hearing it, take a listen here:



This song is no stranger to the big screen, it is best known for Duckie's performance in Pretty in Pink,


But really- in my opinion, nothing is better than just Otis doing his thing- oh man, I love this song--- my friends can vouch that just this Halloween weekend I got back into it and insisted we have a group listen- it makes me want to explode. Seriously. That's the only way I can describe it. ahhhhhhhhhhh, listen:

instant gratification

There was a lot of general upset earlier this year when Polaroid ended it's regime as America's leading instant-photo brand. So much upset, that Urban Outfitter's revived their comeback. Fujifilm also took note of the whole ordeal and created an item to meet the public's cries for instant photos, the Instax Mini 75 Instant Film Camera:

I've always had great affection for instant photos (I single handedly brought the Polaroid craze back to Student Government in '06 with my Photos with Clawd event!) and I immediately bought into the idea of this Fujifilm camera upon hearing about it. I envisioned the great times that I could have with it at parties and the awesome collages that could be made afterward. It was definitely a big Christmas Wishlist item until recently when I gave owning this camera some more thought...

If I own the instant camera- then I really can't share my photos. So much of photo culture revolves around sharing now- and I almost fear, "what if that great shot I snap of my friends and I can't be shared via e-mail or tagged on Facebook?" Plus I'll be so busy snapping away with my instant camera that I'll be too busy to take pictures the newly old fashioned way of digital. ( Newly Old-Fashioned: Think about it. It makes sense in the circumstance.)

So now I'm going back of my verdict of "want" and wavering more toward "what do you think?" Is it completely wasteful to get the camera? Will it's novelty wear off after one awesome dance party? Will I neglect my Canon Powershot that I love so dearly? Should I just hire an "assistant" to accompany me to all social events and be in charge of using this camera while I handle the digital one? Should I just hire TWO "assistants" and neglect all photography responsibility what so ever? Should I stop running my mouth because really it's just a stupid camera and the craze will die out as quickly as Polaroid's i-Zone camera did?

Advise. Please.

love,

me