Wes Anderson Art Show in NYC

For five years, I have been watching San Francisco’s Spoke Art Gallery put on annual Wes Anderson-themed art shows enviously. My favourite director PLUS really great art! When would I get the chance to see one??

Finally this weekend, they brought their sixth annual Wes Anderson art show to NYC at the Joseph Gross Gallery.

Needless to say, a babysitter was booked and I went to town on that show.

Such good company.

So many different mediums for appreciating the art in Wes Anderson’s movies!

I really wanted this fantastic print, but alas, it was sold out already. No matter… I bought these three instead! Also a “Deep Search” Life Aquatic ring.

I could have just moved in to this space and lived there, surrounded by so many of my favourite things.

Thanks, Spoke Art, for finally bringing your Bad Dads show to New York and giving me an indisputable reason to go out on a Friday night!

The Wes Anderson Collection

Although I was invited to watch a black metal band with my husband last night in Manhattan, I opted for something much more suited to my interests, and right down the street. I went to a book launch and discussion with Matt Zoller Seitz, who just released a huge and beautiful hardcover book on Wes Anderson‘s movies at my favourite neighbourhood bookstore.

It was simply an hour of listening to his in-depth observations on Wes’ super detailed movies and then a Q&A after where he knew the answer to every question. He said he could have spoken about the music chosen for the movies for an hour alone (and I wish he would have!).

Matt was one of the first journalists/critics to embrace Wes Anderson’s movies, back when Bottle Rocket was struggling to find a distributor and couldn’t get into any film festivals. Since then, they’ve run into each other throughout their lives many times, including one morning in Brooklyn while on his way to work, Matt realized The Royal Tenenbaums was being filmed on his street.

Although the book was Matt’s project, Wes worked on it with him, providing him with a ton of behind the scenes photos, storyboards, sketches, and lengthy interviews about each movie. Here’s a peek inside…

This was the perfect birthday gift to me, from me :) Highly suggested for any Wes Anderson nuts out there!

Wes Anderson’s Best Commercials

Wes Anderson may be known for his quirky, stylized movies, but did you know he’s directed commercials as well? Those quick camera pans, cartoonish characters, and fast, funny dialogue work well in short form too!  Ad Week takes a look at his best, including spots for American Express, Stella Artois, Hyundai, and more. Here’s my favourite:

See all of his commercials here. Get more Wes Anderson here.

Wes Anderson from above

I thoroughly enjoyed this mash up of Wes Anderson scenes, all shot from above in the characters’ first person views. Do you recognize them all?

Also: Did you know there’s a new Wes Anderson movie coming?

Henry is 18 Months Old!

As of this weekend, our little dude is officially a year and a half!

Since trucks are pretty much Henry’s favourite thing in the world, we celebrated by taking him on a subway ride to Touch A Truck in Prospect Park on Saturday.

There was a fire truck, tow truck, police car, ambulance, garbage truck, school bus, and more of Henry’s favourites. There was also a ton of kids so we only spent about an hour there before heading to a nearby park for a snack, then riding the subway back home (where Henry smiled at ladies during his journey).

Our 18 month old is a very funny, fun, and sweet ball of cuteness. He’s recently started to regularly give Nick and I kisses and hugs. There’s nothing better.

Since Spring arrived in Brooklyn, Henry’s been going on long walks daily using his feet, not his stroller. It has made a huge difference in his sleep and appetite. It’s also a ton of fun to watch him take in the world around him now that he can experience it more closely.

He has this adorable noise he makes when he thinks an animal is cute which he pairs with lifting one shoulder to his ear, as if he’s imagining hugging it. He’s working his way up to petting dogs with friendly owners who stop to say hi on the street and is perplexed by cats who want to hide behind fences rather than play with him.

Henry’s favourite foods at the moment are apples, raspberries, grapes, oranges, Cheerios, chicken nuggets, fish, crackers, and lentil soup from our local Eagle Trading Co., where we have started taking him out to lunch on the weekends. He’s pretty amazing at using forks and spoons. The best way to get him to eat a container of yogurt, apple sauce, or bowl of cereal and milk is to just give him the spoon and let him go for it!

I am still nursing, but just (finally) successfully eliminated one session. He now gets “a cuddle” first thing in the morning, before his nap, and before bed.

Henry has great taste in music. We still listen to The Beatles every morning at breakfast and I’ll turn on songs for him to dance to in the evening. His favourites are off a Wes Anderson soundtrack collection I found on Spotify (including songs from Fantastic Mr. Fox, Darjeeling Limited, and Royal Tennenbaums – he makes me so proud!) and really shakes his booty to the Dirtbombs. Above is a picture of him trying to turn up the volume all the way during lunch.

Henry’s not really talking yet, but is very expressive. He’s started miming and making noises to communicate including going “mmmmmmmm!” when he wants to eat, or grabbing his shoes and hoodie and sometimes even my shoes when he wants to go outside. He shakes his head yes and no. He makes a ton of different noises and has said things like “moo” for a cow, “mom” and “dadad”. No rush, Henry, I’m sure you’ll speak soon enough!

That’s our update for now. See you on Instagram for your daily dose of #dailyhank!

2013: Year in Review

Happy New Year!

2013 was an incredible year for Nick and I for one very obvious reason: we had a son at the end of it. I got to experience pregnancy, and all the changes, compromises, preparedness, and the well-meaning funny/strange/weird advice that comes along with it. While this definitely dominated the year, there were still some great events that happened and memories made. Let’s review, if you’re interested.

JANUARY

Nick and I began 2013 in Paris!

30 Rock (this blog’s namesake) had its final episode :(

I dealt with a painful and annoying arm injury from yoga, but after many chiropractor appointments and changes made to some poses in my practice, I got it under control.

FEBRUARY

Julia and Jay came to visit from Toronto. Julia was nearly 3 months pregnant and knew we had been trying as well, but she didn’t realize that she’d be here the morning I had my positive pregnancy test! (Which was actually Family Day, for you Canadians. What a coincidence!)

My family celebrated my nephew Everett’s first Angel Day.

I got really into animating my friends.

I finally got to see Desaparecidos play. (They were great.)

MARCH

I went for a very frigid visit up North to visit my family and friends – and waited a few days later until Nick joined me to tell them I was pregnant. It was hard to not tell my parents as soon as they picked me up from the airport, but I kind of just convinced myself I wasn’t pregnant and just lived the lie for two days to make things a bigger surprise when everyone was all together!

Saw a hilarious comedy show by Jim Jefferies.

APRIL

The tragic Boston Marathon bombing happened.

Saw another great comedy show – Jim Norton at Caroline’s in Times Square.

Nick and I attended a very interesting and informative Choices In Childbirth meeting. It definitely inspired us to learn all we could about the birthing process so we could make the right decisions for us.

I tried acupuncture for the first time after my arm started flaring up again. It was actually very relaxing!

I went with Nick to Lancaster, PA’s Launch Music Festival and had a great time. (It’s also always pretty sexy to see your husband speaking as an expert on a panel ;)

Once we finally got past the first trimester, we announced our pregnancy to the world!

MAY

My wonderful parents came to visit us in Brooklyn.

Canada’s music industry lost an agent and the world lost an amazing guy – Paul Gourlie passed away.

The Banana Stand came to New York!

I saw an exceptionally great – and very exclusive – Creative Mornings talk by Seth Godin.

Super fun Toronto friends Jana, Mike, Amy, and Bettie came to town. Bettie was part of a very impressive furniture show in Chelsea!

Nick and I found out we were having a boy!

I got rid of my trademark platinum blonde hair.

JUNE

My good friend Kate’s adorable son was born!

I hit the halfway mark of my pregnancy and started to feel Henry move and kick.

My mom and sister threw me a baby shower during my Toronto visit.

Saw Postal Service perform at Barclay’s Center. What a fun show!

Finally made use of my building’s party room and threw Kate a baby shower.

JULY

I visited Toronto again, this time with Nick, and it would be my last plane ride until Christmas. We attended the first ever TURF Festival.

6 months pregnant! Things were getting real. I started prenatal yoga and officially made the decision to give myself a Canadian maternity leave and take a year off once Henry was born.

Nick and I had our Babymoon in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island.

We also celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a steak dinner.

AUGUST

The third trimester began! We started to clear out a lot of records, books, and random stuff we didn’t really need to make room for Henry in the office. Nick started nesting enough for the both of us. A crib and stroller were chosen!

My Grandpa turned 80.

Nick and I played hooky one Friday to thoroughly enjoy each other’s company before there were three of us. We visited the Museum of Natural History and Central Park.

I had a great Brooklyn baby shower, hosted by my yoga studio!

Julia gave birth to her son Blake just 2 hours after her due date!

SEPTEMBER

8 months pregnant! Doing more prenatal yoga than Ashtanga, walking slowly, toured our hospital, and Nick started reading to my belly nightly.

Was thrilled to be featured on Well Rounded NY’s Bump Envy series.

Two of my favourite Canadian girls came to visit me.

OCTOBER

My due date month! All I want to eat is blueberry pancakes and I don’t care about my birthday. Nick was even out of town for it, so I just went for an indulgent Italian lunch with Kate that day.

Nerded out big time at the Wes Anderson Collection book launch.

Had a short and sweet visit from Angela in Williamsburg.

Did yoga and rode my bike up until my 38th week of pregnancy. Had to stop when I got painful sciatica in my right hip.

I thought I could just stay pregnant forever, but by my due date, I was so ready to have this baby!

NOVEMBER

It was like November 1st didn’t even happen. I went into labour on Halloween and 35 hours later, Henry Nichols was born!

We spent two nights in the hospital and about 20 minutes after we got home, my parents arrived to meet their new grandson. My Mom was a superhero and stayed to help us for two whole weeks. Best gift ever.

DECEMBER

Our first night out as a family happened December 14th at Annie’s Christmas party. Henry slept in the Baby Bjorn the whole time, despite the party being so loud we had to shout to talk to each other. What a trooper!

After applying for a passport for Henry when he was just two weeks old, it arrived in time for us to all go to Canada for Christmas.

…And that brings us up to date! I hope your year was as fantastic as mine and that 2014 is even better!

The Grand Budapest Hotel

After the sad news yesterday that Kumar Pallana had passed away at the age of 94, we get some good Wes Anderson-related news today. The gorgeous movie poster for Anderson’s next film is here and so is the trailer! Watch it NOW! My eyes are already salivating for its 2014 release.

And if you have a moment, read about Kumar Pallana’s amazing life. I only knew that he worked at a coffee shop in Texas and that’s where he was befriended and cast in movies by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, but there’s so much more!

 

This Week In Links

Happy Friday – but more importantly – happy birthday to my husband Nick who astounds me with his amazingness everyday. To celebrate, we’re going to see Machete Kills at Nitehawk Cinemas tonight. Can’t wait!

Here’s what’s been happening online this week:

Have you seen any of Banksy’s art show taking place on the streets of NYC? (There was one in Greenpoint, but it was removed already – probably to be sold on eBay!)

America slowly adds colour to its money.

A vampire cemetery has been found in Poland.

As I get ready to enter mom-dom, I really appreciate this rant by an amazing husband.

Dolphins prefer Radiohead.

Watch a 3 1/2 minute trailer for the Wes Anderson Collection book.

Get your sh*t together, America.

“New York is the only place in the world where people might say they like your work but they don’t ask you for anything.”

If you’re a Canadian musician, here’s how to take the train across the country for free.

My Favourite Movies Of 2012

Ahhhh! It’s already 2013 and I have one lingering Top List of 2012 left! I’ve also had just four hours of sleep and just flew in from Paris, so without too much witty banter and commentary, here is my list of favourite movies of the past year.

The Dark Knight Rises

Nick and I have been waiting for this movie for four years. FOUR YEARS. Although it wasn’t quite as good as The Dark Knight, it was really good with the best ending of a movie I can remember.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

I loved this book so much that I was a bit nervous to watch the movie. (After last year’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close disaster, I had every right to be weary!) But happily, they did a great job turning this story into a film. It also helped that I went with two great girls who were also fans of the book.

Moonrise Kingdom

I love everything and anything Wes Anderson does. I practically have an entire part of my blog dedicated to his work. While Moonrise Kingdom didn’t compare to his last movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox, it was still a great departure into a beautiful vintage island world.

Argo

There’s a reason this post was late – I was waiting to see all of the movies I had a feeling would be fantastic and Nick and I just saw Argo last night in Paris! While Argo made me so anxious I had to remember to breathe during the more suspenseful scenes, it was thoroughly enjoyable and a seriously interesting true story with a great shout out to Canadians. I wish I would have learned about this in school!

Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino is another one of my favourite directors who I think can do no wrong. Django is seriously violent, with paying homage to his older movies like Kill Bill (swoon), but with a bit less exaggerated long dialogue (unlike Death Proof). I’m so glad he gave Christoph Waltz another role so he could play the good guy this time.

Goon

Definitely the oddball of my movie picks this year. Nick and I got tickets to the opening of this in NYC, which sounds like a big deal, but was pretty small and intimate. A few of the actors were there, along with parents of the producer who actually helped pay for the movie. They spoke about shooting it in Manitoba before the movie and Nick got to have a fanboy moment over Seann William Scott. Really though, this one is just great for some dumb laughs, while also feeling very patriotic ;)

Also:

• My Favourite TV Shows of 2012
• My Favourite Books of 2012
• My Favourite Records of 2012

Bad Dads 2012

The Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco is holding their third Bad Dads art show, featuring the works of many talented artists inspired by Wes Anderson‘s films. Here are some of my favourites from this year:

There are a ton of prints and originals to choose from in this show, unfortunately, a lot of the prints have already sold out. Have a look and see if your favourite is still available here.

Who else would love to decorate their entire apartment with these fantastic movie posters?

Also: Bad Dads 2011 and 2010.