crooked house

The Joy of Books

Just watch: The Joy of Books, via Sara O'Leary and Nathalie Foy on facebook. Gorgeous. Someone commented "I want to like this more than once." Yes.

Sylvie and The Wizard of Oz

Sylvie discovered The Wizard of Oz a few days ago and the movie has been on constant replay in the crooked house ever since. She identifies very strongly with Dorothy and often refers to her as "Sylvie." This morning she was wearing her (too-large) "ruby slippers" -- she has taken to calling them that -- with her night gown when I remembered that the dress I bought her this summer for her second birthday looks a lot like Dorothy's. Up till now, she has absolutely hated this dress and refused ever to put it on. I think we're going to be seeing a lot of it from now on.

Arthur Recreates Scenes from Classic Movies

Arthur recreates 12 Angry Men.

Arthur recreates American Beauty.

Arthur recreates Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There are more at Studio Arthur. Thanks @sue_oz!

Jim Gillian: The Internet is My Religion

This is an extremely moving speech.

Stormtrooper Father and Son

Even stormtroopers love their children. Check out more photographs by Kristina Alexanderson. (It's' all minifigs, all the time around here lately.)

Being Elmo

Can't wait to see the well-reviewed documentary Being Elmo. Whatever you think of him, Elmo's hypnotic appeal to toddlers is remarkable and his inventor (alter ego?) Kevin Clash is a kind of genius.

"Hello, My Name Is Inigo Montoya" T-shirt

See how it's made from little "Hello my name is..." stickers? Brilliant. Via not martha.

Dot. The World's Smallest Stop Motion Animation Character.

I have cross-posted this over at spots and stripes. I've been posting there regularly -- go take a look.

What We Found When We Went Looking for Wild Things

Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez perform his hit song.

Luke and his dad saw the movie on Sunday. They loved it. We finished the book (wow, check out that price) last night. We loved it. Now we're in search of more, more, more. I'm really excited about the fact we were able to read a novel together at bedtime -- and open to suggestions for the next one we should try.

Luke has added a Wild Things stuffed animal to his Christmas list. He wants Alexander, the goat boy creature. Unfortunately, I don't think that there is such a thing. The child is very persistent in these matters, insisting that, if I would just agree to telephone Santa and ask nicely, surely he would direct his elves to make one.

Annie Leibovitz's Hansel and Gretel and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Annie Leibovitz does a series of Hansel and Gretel photographs for Vogue. Lady Gaga is the witch. Via Marina Tatar's blog Breezes from Wonderland.

And, speaking of Wonderland, here are some amazing posters from Tim Burton's movie version of the classic. Alice has inspired so many beautiful images, I have half a mind to start collecting both the books and the films.