Belle’s Weekly Roundup: April 5, 2013

“Hello, this is Belle with today’s inspirational quote,” filed under the heading: Things to be improved upon. (If you can tell me which TV show inspired the phrasing of this line, you win a prize. Leave your guesses in the comments!)

On Monday, I tricked a few of you into thinking that I endorse the wearing of wedge, high-top sneakers as an April Fool’s joke.  But if you’re looking for an epic prank, check out this jaw-dropping videoof 2,000 men and women walking backwards through Times Square to give people the impression the world was in rewind.

Want cute, fashionable shoes for under-$75?  Don’t mind if they’re designed by a woman who dared Ryan Seacrest?  (I know, it’s a lot to forgive.)  Check out these cool flats and cute sandals from Sole Society.  That’s a lot of style for the price.

Speaking of shoes, Corporette has some advice on how to look professional in flats all the time.

Last week, we talked about the importance of organ donation.  Afterwards, a reader in Washington sent me this article about the story of a teenage girl killed in a car accident who instructed that organs be donated to people in need and her mother’s subsequent search for the people who received them.  (Get tissues.)

I’m always looking to sample new beauty products, so I was excited to find Ulta has a great selection of trial kits for everything from skincare to hair care.  My personal favorite?  The Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging kit.  And my neighbor S fell in love with this kit from DevaCurl designed for curly haired ladies.

Thai Pork Sliders with Pickled Cucumber and Sriracha Aioli?  Sold!

This dress from ASOS somehow makes tie-dye work appropriate.  A feat I would not have previously dreamed possible.

Lastly, the famed movie critic Roger Ebert passed away yesterday.  Remembered by most in my generation as one of the thumbs that determined whether a movie would do well at the box office, Ebert was also an exceptional writer who came from a generation of journalists who were damn proud to be “newspaper men.”  If you’ve never read any of his reviews, I highly encourage you to do so.  I might even suggest that you start with the reviews of two of my favorite movies.

12 Angry Men, a classic black and white, which Ebert notes, “is [in form] a courtroom drama. In purpose, it’s a crash course in those passages of the Constitution that promise defendants a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.”  The film is superbly acted, and made all the more incredible by the fact that the entire picture takes place in one small jury room with no fancy sets or special effects.

I chose the first foreign film I ever watched because Ebert said it was superb.  So I can thank him for introducing me to Raise the Red Lantern, the story of a woman whose mother sells her to a millionaire and all the intrigue that ensues in a house run by four wives competing for one man’s affection.  As Ebert put it, “If you are only given one game to play, it is human nature to try to win it.”