Best In Entertainment 12/8–12/14

Every Sunday, Literally, Darling brings you “Best In Entertainment,” where you’ll find links to interesting articles, funny websites and the occasional subreddit. We bring you the music we’ve been turning up too loud in our headphones that week; reviews for movies, books, TV shows, and games, both classics and new releases; and the best apps we’ve tried out in the past few days. Tired of being bored online? Have no fear—LD’s “Best In Entertainment” is here.

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Best of the Internet

My Friends Are Married… and I’m just 25 and drunk: If you haven’t seen this tumblr site and you’re single, then you have been missing out! This 25-year-old woman provides a cynical (jaded) and hilarious perspective to being single while everyone around her is engaged, married, and/or popping out kiddos. All the single ladies, prepare to laugh.

If “Harry Potter” Was Made By Disney: In which a brilliant individual on Quickmeme speculates what the “Harry Potter” characters would have looked like if the movies were made by Disney. For example: Eric, Hercules, and Belle instead of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It’s both hilarious and outright sacrilege at the same time.

Pope Francis is TIME’s 2013 Person of the Year: In a time of hatred and judgment by many Christians, Pope Francis is taking the Church by storm by talking compassion, mercy and forgiveness. And people are starting to take notice. Read editor Hope’s take on it here.

HandUp: After the comments AngelHack founder Greg Gopman made about how all those pesky homeless people in downtown San Francisco make life so much worse for him, I found this charity, which seems like a really great idea and gives the homeless a voice. You can read their stories and donate to a specific person, who uses the credit to redeem food, clothing, or medical care at Project Homeless Connect. Right now it’s only in San Francisco, but they are looking to expand!

Pantene’s “Labels Against Women” Commercial: Pantene Philippines recently launched a new ad campaign called #WhipIt. In this commercial, men and women are shown in identical situations but given labels with very different connotations. It’s not every day you see an ad this fresh and thought-provoking.

It’s Hard to be a Cat at Christmas: Friskies made this video to benefit shelter cats during the Christmas season. It features the real Grumpy Cat, Oskar the blind cat, and more famous felines. For every view, Friskies is donating one can of cat food to cats in need (up to 500,000 cans).

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Best in Movies

“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” (2004): This is the fourth film by famously whimsical director Wes Anderson. If you’re looking to lose yourself in charming cinematography and a rambling storyline for a few hours while taking a break from studying, this film might be perfect for you. Although it received mixed critical reviews, the cast (including Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Cate Blanchett) has chemistry that’s as delightful as the David Bowie covers that underscore half of the film. Did we mention that those covers are performed live and in Portuguese? Watch it.

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Best in Books

“Uglies”—Scott Westerfield: The author paints a future dystopian society “where a compulsory operation at 16 wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty.” The main character, Tally, was always an adventurous Ugly, and when Shay becomes her friend the summer before her operation she learns some new information about what it means to become pretty and is faced with a difficult decision. It’s a young adult book worth looking into, especially if you like other dystopian book series, like “The Hunger Games.”

“The Book Thief”—Markus Zusak: It tells the story of a girl in Nazi Germany who is sent to a foster home and finds relief in books and words. The story is told from the point of view of Death and his inserts about how busy he is during World War II is heartbreaking and shocking. This is a great read for anybody who likes historical fiction, books, and adventure.

“At Swim-Two-Birds”—Flann O’Brien: Hailed by some as the first postmodern novel, O’Brien weaves a complex tale about an undergraduate student who is writing a novel about a man who is writing a novel. In the depths of this nested structure, the fictional writer’s characters become aware that he is controlling their lives and take matters into their own hands. The result is an often hilarious, sometimes baffling collage of allusions and overlapping narratives. Dylan Thomas even famously remarked that “At Swim-Two-Birds” is “just the book to give your sister, if she’s a loud, dirty, boozy girl.”