This Month in Pop Culture: Christmas Edition

If you know me at all, then you know that this is one of my favorite times of year. Holiday movies, specials, music,  lights, decorations--I unironically love all of it. Although I do love some of it more than others, and thought I'd share with you my Christmas pop culture favorites. You have three days to make sure you're up to speed with all of this. Enjoy and have a happy holidays!

Top 10 Christmas Movies (All-time)

*Don't know if I can take the stress of ranking these, so I'm just going chronologically here.

Holiday Inn/White Christmas (1942, 1954)

I adore Bing Crosby's deep dulcet tones, and these movies, despite their length and kitsch, just make me so happy. The songs stay in your head and who doesn't love a good Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby dance number? No one with a heart, that's for sure. 

Favorite Quote: "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

This one doesn't really need much explanation. Despite the endless parodies and plot-riffs it's experienced over the years, this Jimmy Stewart classic tells a beautiful story about life and the things we take for granted. 
Favorite Quote: "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
This melancholic film is the one that sobers me up the most to the true meaning of Christmas: remembering a special baby boy and being with the ones you love on a night where anything seems possible. It's also scored by Vince Guaraldi, which elevates it a whole level right there. 
Favorite Quote: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

I loathe the Jim Carrey version of this story so much. Luckily Boris Karloff does Dr. Seuss proud the first time around with his deep-voiced, humorous songs, putting me in a state of pure bliss the entire 30 minutes. The film's beautiful simplicity makes it something I have to catch every year, especially for that emotional ending. 

Favorite Quote: "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

A Christmas Story (1983)

Despite being insanely quotable and the movie my family chooses to leave on the background while we make Christmas cookies (on that TLC marathon loop), I think I adore this movie because of how relatable it is. What kid hasn't plotted the ways to convince his parents to get them the perfect gift? Or had that moment of realization that their parents weren't perfect, yet perhaps perfect for them? Just a perfect coming-of-age story. And that lie about the icicle--I can relate, Ralphie.

Favorite Quote: "In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenity that, as far as we know, is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan."

Scrooged (1988)
It's Bill Murray being his Bill Murray-ist and I wouldn't have it any other way. Not when Dickens is involved. 

Favorite Quote: "I never liked a girl well enough to give her twelve sharp knives."

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

It's the Muppets + Charles Dickens. Definitely the best way to go about adapting this classic story. It was also my first introduction to the Muppets, so it wins nostalgia points for that. 

Favorite Quote: "Rizzo the Rat: Boy, that's scary stuff! Should we be worried about the kids in the audience? Gonzo: Nah, it's all right. This is culture!"

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The movie developed my love for Henry Selick and his brand of dark humor. It's deeply original, visually stunning, the songs are catchy, and you can't helped but be both charmed and creeped out by Jack Skellington's desire to experience the warmth and joy that Christmas brings. It combines my two favorite holidays; what more can I ask for?

Favorite Quote: "There's children throwing snowballs, instead of throwing heads. They're busy building toys and absolutely no one's dead!"

Elf (2003)

This movie could easily become overbearing and into stupid territory, but Will Ferrell makes Buddy the Elf charming and cheerful enough that you can't help but be pulled into the Christmas spirit along with him. And it's just so dang funny.
Favorite Quote: "You sit on a throne of lies."

Arthur Christmas (2011)

My favorite Christmas movie of this decade, Arthur Christmas is another wonderful and hilarious movie from Aardman Animations. It cleverly answers the question of how Santa is able to put presents under each tree in one night with a strong plot and emotional arc for its titular character. 

Favorite Quote: "They can't kill me! I'm Santa!"

Top 10 Christmas TV Episodes/Specials (All-Time)

*No particular order

"Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas," Community (Season 2)

One of my favorite episodes from one of my favorite comedies, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas" exemplifies everything I love about Community: the hilarious jokes, clever parodies, and the heart and sentimentality underneath all that. The episode parodies classic Christmas specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while exploring the psyche of one of its most complex characters and giving an honest examination of what Christmas really means.  It's a gorgeously animated episode that features Christmas pterodactyls and Chevy Chase as a teddy bear. No wonder I find myself watching it several times a season. 

"LudaChristmas," 30 Rock (Season 2)

Jack, with the terrifying Colleen as a mother, says there's no such thing as a perfect family, despite seeing the seemingly perfect Lemon clan lovingly together. The Donaghy's plot to turn the Lemons against each other at Christmas dinner is one of the funniest scenes of all time. I'm just glad no one in my family suffers from "Trauma Induced Nivea Aphasia." No amount of Christmas sweater-wearing could make me pretend like it was always 1985. Oh, Kenneth also accidentally inspires everyone to tear down the Rockefeller Center tree. I just love this episode.   

"The One With the Routine," Friends (Season 6)

Friends has a lot of great holiday episodes, but this one wins my favorite solely because of Ross and Monica's routine at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Kills me every single time.

"The Strike," Seinfeld (Season 9)

It's the episode that made Festivus a thing. It also features The Human Fund and the reveal of Kramer's job, but let's not forget that Festivus is now a thing on Dec. 23 featuring feats of strength, airing of grievances, and a Festivus pole. Long live Festivus!  

"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," The Simpsons (Season 1)

I just learned that this classic was apparantly the show's first full episode. That makes it special in and of itself, but I just always loved it for that darned Santa's Little Helper. 

"An Echoll's Family Christmas," Veronica Mars (Season 1) 

This episode is probably my favorite all-time Veronica Mars episode, not to mention one of my favorite Christmas episodes. Logan Echolls was just a jerky antagonist to our heroine up until this episode--which takes a look at his truly messed up home life and gives him some real emotional depth. From this episode on, Logan became my favorite character. Also, he plays a mean game of poker.

"A Christmas Carol," Doctor Who (Season 5) 

Doctor Who's Christmas Specials are hit-and-miss, but "A Christmas Carol" is perhaps the biggest hit of them all. Featuring Michael Gambon as the Scrooge character, it embraces the essence of the original Dickens story while subverting its cliches using time travel and sharks that pull sleighs. Funny, clever, and moving, this is one of my favorite Who episodes. I might change my mind following the upcoming Christmas special (I miss you already Matt Smith), but for me this is the peak of them so far.

"Afternoon Delight," Arrested Development (Season 2)

Christmas with the Bluth family; what could possibly go wrong? This brilliant, hilarious episode just doesn't stop with the jokes, from the misunderstanding of the meaning of the titular song, to Gob trying to be a company man, to Buster becoming addicted to the claw game. It's an episode I watch multiple times a year while wearing my $4,000 suit.

"Benihana Christmas," The Office (Season 3)

It's a tie between this and season 2's "Christmas Party" as my favorite The Office holiday episode, but I think "Benihana Christmas" wins out due to Kevin's karoake, Dwight running over a goose, and the hilarious yet sad "bros before ho's" speech. I miss you Michael Scott. 

"Amends," Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 3)

Yes, it's the one where the snow makes Angel have faith and stop wanting to kill himself. But it also tells a beautiful story of forgiveness and redemption, and learning to believe in the impossible, even in a world where most of the impossible is already possible. And it brings a whole new meaning to the words "Tree. Nog. Roast beast."

Music (2013)

*Cheating here because it would be literally impossible to choose my favorite Christmas tunes (and then my favorite versions of those songs) of all time. I mean, my Spotify Christmas playlist is 700 songs long. So here are the ones released this season I've been putting on repeat. 

Kelly Clarkson - "Underneath the Tree"

Pentatonix - "Little Drummer Boy"

The Killers & Dawes - "Christmas in L.A."

Kate Nash - "I Hate You This Christmas"

Mary J. Blige - "This Christmas"

Leona Lewis - "One More Sleep"

Erasure - "Bells of Love (Isabelle's of Love)"

Ariana Grande - "Snow in California"

Toni Braxton & Babyface - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Never Shout Never & Dia Frampton - "Under the Mistletoe"

This Week in Pop Culture

That's right, I'm bringing it back.

Movies

Ok, so I've totally been slacking in this particular department. The last film I saw was Sharknado, which was everything and more, but that was like three weeks ago. I can tell you that I hope to see Fruitvale Station this week, and I already saw The Spectacular Now and Austenland, which premiere this week, at Sundance. I feel like that counts, right? Anyway, everyone should go and see The Spectacular Now (and see that Shailene Woodley is not a fluke and is here to stay) and girls who love Jane Austen should see Austenland. I talk about them in more detail here.

Television

I'm currently cycling through season two of Parenthood, season three of Doctor Who, Orange is the New Black, and Orphan Black (seriously, how does Tatiana Maslany play ALL THOSE CHARACTERS??). What I watch depends on my mood, but they are all brilliant for very different reasons. Here are these reasons, in five words or less:

Parenthood: Real life emotions. Tears. (Sidenote: A mix of Adam Braverman and Nick Miller would make the perfect man. Just saying.)
Doctor Who: David Tennant. Blink.
Orange is the New Black: Strong females. Of all races.
Orphan Black. Tatiana Maslany. Crazy clone shenanigans.

And of course, SYTYCD every Tuesday. We're finally at the Top 10 and can I just say, DAAAANG Aaron and Jasmine. Holy crap.

Books

I actually get a lot of reading done now that I have a long commute on public transportation. I recently read the entire Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. What a brilliant series. You instantly fall in love with Eugenides, the clever and complaining Thief with a million tricks up his sleeve, and his complicated relationship with Attolia, the Ice Queen with Issues, is so subtle and delicious. I honestly didn't see most of the plot twists coming (especially in the first two books). The only issue I have with it is that at the end things only seem to get done with violence, a moral I don't entirely agree with. But there's enough mind trickery to make up for it.

I've also started JK Rowling's  Robert Galbraith's  The Cuckoo's Calling, which has been enjoyable so far. I'd like to see more of Robin, but the mystery of supermodel Lulu Landry's death has kept me intrigued. I'm about 35% through it.

Music

Jay-Z and JT's "Holy Grail."

YouTube

I recently plowed through the whole series of Your Dad's Friends, which was hilarious and perhaps hit a little too close to home. I've also been obsessed with Miranda Sings, the absolutely hysterical, egotistical character played by Colleen Ballinger who thinks she is the best singer to grace the Internets. Check them out now.

News

1. If you haven't seen Steven Colbert's triumphant reaction to Daft Punk's snubbing, then you're living life wrong.

2. ComicCon and VidCon recently happened and I'm still jealous that I wasn't there.

3. Comedic geniuses literally playing our feelings in the upcoming Pixar movie, Inside Out.

4. And of course, the existence of Orson Welles' Too Much Johnson.


That's it for this last week! What are your recommendations?

Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2013: Pop Culture Edition

So I've already listed what I'm looking forward to in 2013 in regards to my personal life, but I couldn't forget the wealth of entertainment goodies that will come out this year. Here's the top 10 things I'm looking forward to, in list of when they'll occur. Hopefully they live up to expectations.

1. 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards (tomorrow at 6 p.m., NBC)

Usually the Golden Globes, aka the poor man's Academy Awards, would never make this list. But this year Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are hosting. These two comedic goddesses can make anything thing shine, including my desire to see a three-hour awards show.

2. The Following (January 21, FOX) and Cult (February 19, CW)

I have a weird fascination with cults. Not that I'll ever join one (although some would say otherwise regarding my particular religion), but I think the psychology behind them is really interesting. When TV shows do a cult episode (Veronica Mars, Dollhouse) most people find them hacky, but I actually quite enjoy them. So two TV shows based around the twisted aspects of cult mentality sound right up my alley. The Following was created by Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek, The Vampire Diaries) and has been getting rave reviews so far. Not much has been said about Cult, but the trailers for it look creepy and fun and it stars the wonderful Matt Davis. So we'll see how both of these turn out.

3. Series finales of The Office (May, NBC) and 30 Rock (January 31, NBC)

"In five years we'll all either be working for him, or dead by his hand" - Jack Donaghy, speaking of Kenneth Parcell in a 2007 episode of 30 Rock.

With the end of 30 Rock, The Office, and most likely Community, the great NBC Thursday night comedy block as we know it will end. 30 Rock has always been one of my favorite shows, and this last season has been one of its best. I'll be very sad to see Jack, Liz, Kenneth, and the others go. The Office, let's face it, should have ended two seasons ago, but it's been such a big part of my life that I feel like I'll be losing an old friend when Dunder Mifflin closes its doors for good.

RIP NBC Comedy.

4. Community season 4 (February 4, aka October 19)

I don't really need an explanation for this, do I?

5. Frightened Rabbit's new album, Pedestrian Verse (February 5)

Ever since Syd took me to their concert down in Newport four years ago, I've become a big fan of these Scottish sad-sacks. Their past two albums have been great and I really enjoyed their recent EP, "State Hospital." So I have no worries that this new album will be fantastic as well.

6. Arrested Development's 4th season. (May sometime, Netflix)

Don't really need an explanation for this one either. Although the news that season 4 will be less a season than a string of character studies does make me more cautiously optimistic. Let's just hope they haven't made a huge mistake or blue themselves with this one.

7. Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (June 7)

Joss Whedon. My favorite Shakespeare comedy. Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, and Nathan Fillion. Enough said.

8. Monsters University (June 21)

I LOVED Monsters Inc. And Pixar needs its comeback movie, as much as it shames me to say it (Let me work for you and I won't ever say those things again, Pixar! I love you!). The trailer for it looks promising, and it will be fun, if nothing else, to hang with Mike and Sully again for a couple of hours.

9. Finding out the name of Kim Kardashian's baby (June-ish)

Pure schadenfreude. Jay-Z is Kanye's rival after all, so I'm really looking forward to how they're going to top Blue Ivy...

10. Catching Fire (November 22)

I really liked The Hunger Games movie, probably more so than the book (I liked Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss more than the whiner in the book). Catching Fire is mostly just a rehash of The Hunger Games, but I like pretty much everyone involved with it and could think of worse ways to spend two hours.

Best of 2012: Pop Culture Edition

And of course, we have my obligatory pop culture "Best Of" lists. It was actually harder than I thought to narrow these down, but Top 10 lists require ruthlessness. So here it is.

Best Albums of 2012

10. The Heavy, The Glorious Dead

9. Passion Pit, Gossamer

8. Japandroids, Celebration Rock

7. Two Door Cinema Club, Beacon

6. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

5. Of Monsters and Men, My Head Is An Animal

4. Fun., Some Nights

3. The Killers, Battle Born

2. Mumford and Sons, Babel

1. Imagine Dragons, Night Visions/Continued Silence EP
     - Imagine Dragons wins number one since they were my most played artist this year by far. Definitely my go-to band when I wanted to de-stress or needed a pick-me-up, which was like, all the time.

Best Films of 2012

10. Looper
9. The Hunger Games
8. Lincoln
7. The Queen of Versailles
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
5. Life of Pi
4. Wreck-It Ralph
3. Silver Linings Playbook
2. The Avengers
1. Moonrise Kingdom

Best TV Shows of 2012

10. Bunheads
9. Louie
8. Breaking Bad
7. Revenge
6. New Girl
5. The Legend of Korra
4. Parenthood
3. Parks and Recreation
2. The Vampire Diaries
1. Community

Best Books I Read This Year

I didn't read that many books this year, but luckily the ones I did read were pretty good. 

7. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
6. The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier
5. Son by Lois Lowry
4. The Diviners by Libba Bray
3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling
2. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
    - Deserves every award it will win this next year. It's a book about cancer, yet not overly sentimental. But it still had me in tears. Just a really real book about kids in a situation they can't control. Just stellar.

Crazy Beautiful Life

Wow, I just realized I didn't post at all in October and pretty much all of November. Sorry about that? I've just been pretty crazy. Crazy busy, that is. For real, I think I've been out of Provo more than I've been in it this semester. And I've definitely only gotten about 30 hours of sleep a week. Senior year, baby.

Here's a quick recap of my life:

I turned 21! I didn't do much for my birthday (it's not a big deal in Mormontown) but I did have friends over for some delicious ice cream cake. My phone's camera pooped out at the very beginning of the party so I didn't get to take many pictures. But people did come, I swear.

In mid October I went to the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference in San Francisco. It was seriously so much fun. I kind of love my major and loved the opportunity to hear from the best in the biz and to network with the PR crazies at other schools.

I also enjoyed hanging out with these thugs. The people in my major are the best. We're all one big, happy, Twitter-obsessed family.

The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Photo credits all due to Alyssa Call. She's amazing.

No joke - the BYU kids brought the party to the dance floor. Said one kid from UCLA, "No way you guys are sober and dancing like that..."

The Full House house! Preston had the biggest fangirl moment of us all.

Love these girls. #winning

We won the Teahan Award for best newsletter! Woo. #nickbarnesego

Public Relations has been crazy in general. As Account Director for Bradley, I'm in charge of  several awesome accounts, including Dixie State College. We got to travel down to their campus in St. George to conduct focus groups and interviews about the potential name change as they transition to a university. The opinions we heard were...enlightening. People are certainly passionate about the issue.

The awesome Dixie State team, including my estimable British boss and Michael Cane impersonator, Lincoln.

Other news: Kristen finally left to Brazil for her mission! I MISS YOU K-HOOPES.

Halloween! At school I dressed up as Annie Edison...

...and a West Coast thug for the parties. Also pictured are my baby roommates as a horrifying clown and Chihiro from Spirited Away. They're pretty cool too, I guess.

I'm still angry at the punk that did this to my pumpkin. I will find you. And bad things will happen!

Basketball season's finally begun! I'm on the 6th row or so in this picture I think. Also, I called dibs on Zylstra. And no I will not hear reason, such as "He's already married," or "He's not as good as Tyler Haws." He has a brilliantly adorable smile, so all other arguments are invalid.

Two weeks ago I had my very first big girl job interview in Madison, Wisconsin. I haven't heard from them yet, so I don't want to say too much, but I think it went pretty well! If anything it was good experience. And free food.

Also this year I got to go home for Thanksgiving! We traveled to Chicago for the actual day of thanks, and I saw a lot of extended family I haven't seen in a while. Here's my awesome cousin Jonathan. I'll add more pictures once Aunt Christine uploads them :)

Other things:

• Per usual, I've seen a lot of movies lately. In order of preference, I've seen Wreck-It Ralph, Lincoln, Pitch Perfect, Argo, and Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Who wants to see Life of Pi, Skyfall, or Silver Linings Playbook with me? Also taking applications for someone to snarkily tag-team it with me to Breaking Dawn Part II. 
• The Vampire Diaries has been so good this season, you guys. 
• February 7 is the new October 19. 
• Cyber Monday: just purchased Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series for $85. Totally worth it.
• Yes, the title of this post is based off a Ke$ha song. A pretty good one too. 
• Songs I've been obsessed with:
• Kill Your Heroes by AWOLNATION
  
• Stubborn Love by The Lumineers
 
•  Pretty much the entirety of Mumford and Sons new album, Babel
• Killers concert on Friday. I've only been waiting six years for this. 
• Oh yeah, this thing called the national election happened. Billions of dollars spent and nothing really changed. Still not saying who I voted for. 
• Books I'm currently reading and loving:
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling. Girl is seriously my soul sister. She gets me.
• Son by Lois Lowry. Final book in The Giver series, and probably the best one after The Giver.
• The Diviners by Libba Bray

I probably won't post again until Christmas break. But just know that I will be going crazy with finals and with Christmas decorating and cheer. If you come over to my apartment and catch me hanging stockings and jamming to the Justin Beiber Christmas album, you are not allowed to judge me.

xoxo,

chelsaat 

"There is no sunset so beautiful that it is worth waking me up for."  - Mindy Kaling