December 19th's Warm and Fuzzy Why is it Not Snowing Dammit! Vspot

by B Condon 3:13 PM

Happy Merry, Merry Christmas, Gary Crimble (as Lennon says), Happy Yule, Y Nadolig (as I say), and other assorted winter holiday wishes inserted here. 

 

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Fashion

Despite being under fire recently for being pro-rape through fashion by way of edgy punk style (which found its way into my heart via E! News... surprise surprise), H & M has officially put out a 30 piece collection inspired by Larsson's heroine Lisbeth Salander. Which is exactly why why all feminists would be up in arms, like blogger Natalie Karneef in her Open Letter to H&M from Rape Survivor which she makes good points. 

"And now, H&M, you have created a line of clothing based on her character: a woman who has suffered a lifetime of abuse, who is violently raped, and who is hunting down a man who violently rapes and kills other women.  Lisbeth has been through hell, and her clothing is her armor.  That's her choice, and it's an understandable choice.  But you glamorize it, putting a glossy, trendy finish on the face of sexual violence and the rage and fear it leaves behind."  

To which H&M says to the Wall Street Journal.

“The collection is based on and inspired by the film and character Lisbeth Salander and though we think Lisbeth is a strong woman who stands up for her ideal, we are not trying to represent her specifically. Our goal is to rather offer a collection that we see in today’s trend picture that will appeal to many customers.”

I love these clothes, it's hard and tough and should have no bearing on the character. If anything this clothing is represented from, it's the plot. That's what so many complainers (yes I will go under fire for this, but this is outside of the feminist/rape issue) mean, people focus too much on the character itself, modern day movie viewers want to identify with a character versus seeing analytical rights and wrongs of the plot and how pop culture adapts this. Karneef, you can be annoyed as much as you want, some of us look at this stuff as simply fashion and it's not a big deal.But then what do I know? I've never been raped.

What piece am I most in love with? It was love at first sight when I saw the collage American and Swedish flag shirt (also available in black and gray) representing some Scandinavian love. For a closer look of the individual pieces, Fabsugar has you covered there.

Mission Creek 2012 Lineup

March 27th to April 1st is a magical time in Iowa City, spring is at large (at the risk of snow at any given second, cue eyeroll), the students more annoying than ever on a Friday night, and Mission Creek is underway. What is Mission Creek Festival? It is a magical time of the year where all Indie acts the festival can get their hands on performs once or maybe twice (via Little Village or Java Blend) during the week depending on their schedules. It's not just one venue either, the whole town is on it and that is the beauty of this music festival. 

The Lineup this year had the ability to make me cry like a little girl. The Magnetic Fields, William Fitzsimmons, The War on Drugs, David Cross of Arrested Development fame, Rhys Chatham, Dirty Beaches, Bowerbirds and wait for it... SHARON VAN FUCKIN' ETTEN! Yes, folks, the woman that turns my ears into butter will be ten feet from me from either Gabes or The Mill (I have a gut feeling it's one of the two) as I tremble like a total girl and attempting to come up with something witty and unsexual to say to her that doesn't sound creepy when she signs her new CD for me at the end of the concert. Oh be still my beating heart, even typing this caused tears. *flutter*

Dressy Bessy does Christmas Again 

Tammy Ealom and crew must really love Christmas from their first original carol, All the Right Reasons, back in 1999 for the record label Kindercore's Christmas album. Twee perfection. Then last year it was the witty electro Hopped Up (on Xmas) [Which I commented on the first link on December 3rd "Oh my God, this is the best birthday present to me, which is tomorrow" and Tammy, on her personal account graciously wished me a happy birthday and called me by my nickname which only meant she remembered me when we met about 2 or 3 years prior. What a moment and seriously, it made my entire year.]  What more can the DB gang do to completely rock Christmas this year? How about slowing it down a little Zooey Deschanel style and being totally adorable in Mister Kringle? Yes, Dressy Bessy continues to inch towards making a Christmas album in which Tammy is signing when they come back to town.They are also giving away Mister Kringle for free on their facebook.

Sleigh Bells New Single

 Alexis Krauss got some rest in the past year of hipster hibernation and looks more sexier and beautiful than before both in their promo and new single exclusively on Spin.com "Born to Lose" but in the negative title, they are so completely winning in a non-Charlie Sheen kind of way. Still in the similar vein of "Treats" where it was all sound and blast your eardrums into deafness, it's still the same on Born to Lose but definitely more polished. Perfection.

HFPA's Golden Picks for the Golden Globes

Always saving the awards for last, for I get long winded -- The Hollywood Foreign Press Association finally picked the nominations for the Golden Globes last Thursday and apparently it's the most snubbery season, according to closed-minded critics who wished Melissa McCarthy got it for "Mike and Molly" or at least "Bridesmaids" or Kirsten Dunst for "Melancholia". But one snub I have to agree with is why the hell Elizabeth Olsen didn't get nominated for "Martha Marcy May Marlene" but she'll get hers in time. So for now, here's a watered down score card with my predictions.

Movies

Best Motion Picture - Hugo (obvious win, The Help)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Tie between Meryl Streep for "Iron Lady" and Tilda Swinton for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (obvious win, Viola Davis for "The Help")

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Tie between Leonardo DiCaprio for "J. Edgar" and Michael Fassbender for "Shame" (although I lean more heavily on Leo) (obvious win, George Clooney for "The Descendants")

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical - No competition, The Artist, The Artist, the Artist. Suck on that Bridesmaids.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical - Maybe I'm biased but Charlize Theron for "Young Adult" (obvious win, Kristen Wiig for "Bridesmaids")

Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical - Tie between Jean Dujardin for "The Artist" and Ryan Gosling (you may die of shock) for "Crazy Stupid Love" (obvious win, Ryan Gosling

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Berenice Bejo for "The Arist" (obvious win, Jessica Chastain or Octavia Spencer for "The Help")

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Tie between Christopher Plummer for "Beginners" and Kenneth Branagh for "My Week with Marilyn" (but my money is more on Plummer) (obvious win, Christopher Plummer)

Best Director - Tie between Marty Scorsese for "Hugo" or Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist" (but a little more for Hazanavicius) 

Best Screen Play - Motion Picture - Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist (obvious win, George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon for "The Ides of March")

Television

Best Television Series - Drama - American Horror Story (obvious win, Boardwalk Empire or Game of Thrones)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Julianna Marguiles for "The Good Wife" (obvious win, Julianna Marguiles)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama - Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (obvious win, Buscemi)

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical - NEW GIRL NEW GIRL NEW GIRL! (obvious wins, Glee or Modern Family)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Tie between Zooey Deschanel for "New Girl" or Amy Poehler for "Parks and Recreation") (obvious win, Tina Fey for "30 Rock" or Amy Poehler)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical - Johnny Galecki for "The Big Bang Theory" (obvious win, Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock") 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - 

Tie between Jessica Lange for "American Horror Story" and Sofia Vegara for "Modern Family" (obvious wins, Vergara and Maggie Smith for "Downton Abbey") 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television -

Eric Stonestreet for "Modern Family" (obvious win, Stonestreet and Peter Dinklage for "Game of Thrones"