Friday, January 30, 2015

18 Reasons to Support Classic Alice

I've been tweeting and talking and Facebooking a lot about Classic Alice recently, and I figured it was past time to stop and explain why, and why I think this show deserves your support. I wrote a more formal review over at Read the Screen, but here's a more personal list of reasons why the show is important to me.

1. In the first episode, main character Alice says she "failed" an assignment when she in fact got a B-, and this is the moment at which I knew I'd LOVE HER FOREVER.

2. Alice isn't only a reader, but she reads classics.

3. So, yes, part of the point of the show is to encourage teens and young adults to read, and to read classics, and to think about what they're reading.

4. The fact that it deals with multiple books means the plot is much less predictable than on many book-related web series.

5. It's made by a young independent female creator/writer, and given the state of Hollywood, that's really important.

6. As she explains in the pitch video, showrunner/creator Kate Hackett is trying to actually pay her people fairly for their work, which is rarer than it should be in the world of online video.

7. There's a lot of plaid. I love plaid.

8. There's LGBT representation, including a coming out story presented in a way I haven't seen very often in media, and an awesome character who happens to be gay without that being their only important character trait.

9. There aren't just videos and tweets from the characters - there are PODCASTS too.

10. Also, could I interest you in an episode acted out by cats?

11. It understands the truly important thing about dresses.


12. Anyone for a Game of Thrones sock puppet show?

13. Alice loves lists and graphs and plans.

14. It's feminist.

15. Alice's career aspirations and development are an important part of the story.

16. It's not all about a boy.


17. But trust me, shippers, there's PLENTY of slow-burn swoony romance here. PLENTY. No, really.

18. And yet! THIS IS IMPORTANT:


So please. Don't let this be the end of the story. Give it a look, and if any of these factors I've described are important to YOU, support the show. Every dollar helps.

Morning Coffee (1/30/15)

Happy Friday!

This Is How You Get A Busy Person To Respond To Your Email (Or, 5 Rules For Good Email Etiquette)

Listen To NYC's Mayor Do A Dramatic Reading Of 'The Onion'

Oh my gosh, POMPEII IN LEGO.

Ha, look at this modern reimagination of Busytown.

This is great: Ten Things I Learned from Loving Anne of Green Gables

Amber Benson talks books, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and being hit on by teenage boys

More Cool Maps of Fictional Literary Places

Princess Estelle watches figure skating!

"Something has gone terribly wrong with the earth’s orbit, but modern gender roles are still pretty much intact."

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Morning Coffee (1/20/15)

Hey! My friend Susan Adrian's book Tunnel Vision is out today and it's awesome! And if you post a picture of your Chucks and tag it #TunnelVision you may win a free copy!

Bored with cheap books you can keep forever? For just $300k you can get one that explodes!

Or if you give a FRACTION of that to Save Alice, Tony will get a tattoo of the show's logo (at $120k) and, you know, we get more of an awesome show and FEWER BOOKS WILL BE HARMED. I think.

Speaking of: 10 Ways Classic Alice Taught Us How to Kiss

Come choose the February book for Brain Soup Goes Gilmore!

Aww: Yoko Nagae Ceschina, Countess and Fairy Godmother to the Arts, Dies at 82

This list is PERFECT: 24 Things No One Tells You About Book Publishing

If Hermione Were The Main Character In “Harry Potter”

Friday, January 16, 2015

Morning Coffee (1/16/15)

Yesterday at Read the Screen, I wrote a review of Classic Alice. It's approximately a million words long (okay, 800) and uses fancy phrases like "interrogate the text," so you know I care a lot about this. SO you can go read it all AND/OR just accept that this is really important to me and go pitch in a bit just because you like me. ($5! $2! Anything helps!)

The Oscar nominations mean I'm going to give you a few links that are NOT Happy Friday:

Selma was snubbed because the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white man

This Is What The Oscar Nominations Look Like Without All The Men

Moving on! It Is One Thing To Date Your Father But There Is No Excuse For Not Knowing The Difference Between The Tudors And The Hapsburgs. (Seriously, I read that whole incest interview and it was insane, but I too was most struck by the ridiculous misinformation about Henry VIII, so I'm glad Mallory is on this.)

Princess Michael of Kent's 70th birthday portrait involves a tiara and a cat.

Tom Hanks: I Owe It All to Community College

Whoa: Ben & Jerry's Just Released Cookie Butter Core Ice Cream

Aah! The Princess Bride Is Now a Mobile Game as You Wish(ed)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Morning Coffee (1/13/15)

I'm running late but SO MUCH EXCITEMENT today. Okay.

First: New Avengers trailer!

Second: Holly Black's The Darkest Part of the Forest is out today and it's incredible and you should go read it immediately.

Third: Robin Wasserman's first adult book is coming out next year and I am already beside myself with excitement.

Fourth: Get your Converse ready to win a copy of Susan Adrian's awesome debut novel Tunnel Vision next Tuesday!

Fifth: Colbert's Late Show will premiere on September 8th!

Sixth: New Kelly Clarkson song!

Seventh: Arthur is doing Downton Abbey!!

Eighth: Don't forget to save Alice!!!