I’m not a fan.

But the ladybug?  That’s one very different beetle.  It’s cute, it eats a lot of harmful insects and it’s lucky.  (That’s a scientific fact.)

If you like ladybugs too, you might consider this Ladybug Nightlight that my friend Stephanie sells at Stoopher & Boots on the Upper West Side.

Look at that face.

And you might stop reading right now.  Because the rest of this post on ladybugs will freak you out.  It did me.

Hungarian Artist Gabor Fulop also likes ladybugs.  A lot. So much so that he created 20,000 and hand-painted them.

He then applied his ladybug creations to a  sculpture of the human form, forcing viewers to imagine what it would feel like to have ladybugs crawling over every inch of their bodies.

Me?  I wouldn’t feel lucky at all.

Surly little devil.

And rumor has it he plans to hang around all day.

Uninvited.

Now, I have two possible responses to my unwelcome guest.

First, I can let him ruin my day.  Get nothing accomplished.  Eat too much.  Get depressed. Perhaps shed a tear or two for no particular reason.

Or I can chose the far healthier response…

Go see a movie.

I still may not get as much work done as originally planned.  I may — okay, I will — eat junk food.  And if I end up crying, that simply means…

It was another great day at the theatre.

“It’s so Dickensian!”

And we had our catchphrase.

It did feel like we had stepped back in time, into one of the classic novels we had all read in school.  The snow didn’t last, but the memory of that brief interlude has to this day.

Stateside in 2012, ‘Dickensian’ has an entirely different vibe.

StrangeBeautiful just launched their Dickensian Edition of nail colors, which is roughly 10 different shades…of black.

(Only true New Yorkers can discern the difference.)

Creator Jane Schub said her interpretation of Dickens for the collection was inspired by photography, literature, art, coal and broken shale.

Geez, Jane — did you even read the novels?

They have happy endings.

He proposed to his girlfriend while they were making dinner at his apartment.  They texted me the news, including photos of the ring.  A few days later they made the announcement on Facebook.

A modern love story.

I couldn’t help but compare that to Mr. Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.  (I watched it again last night when my cable box was on the fritz.)

He proposed the first time in the rain.  They argued, and she rejected him.

The second time (pictured here) they met in the middle of a field — in the middle of the night — in their night clothes. 

Then Mr. Darcy asked Elizabeth’s father for her hand in marriage before the family had even eaten breakfast.

For such a proper time in history, that whole thing seems a bit scandalous in comparison….don’t you think?   Imagine your own son or daughter wandering into your front lawn at dawn in their PJs talking weddings.  You’d think they were drunk.

Of course, it would make a good story.

It’s like having to work on Christmas Day.

Since I missed the entertainment editors’ reactions immediately following the event, I feel compelled to add my own.  As always, it’s a mixed bag of relief and regret.

(Feel free to add your own.)

I’M SO HAPPY TO SEE…

• All the Oscar love for Moneyball (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing).  It’s one of the year’s best.  Understated.  Over-delivers.
• Bridesmaids’ recognition come in the two categories where it is deserved — Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay.  It was a funny comedy, but I think we all got a bit overly excited about just how good it was.
• The head-to-head competition between Brad Pitt and George Clooney, both in the Best Actor category and in other categories where their films are nominated together.  No two friends enjoy going at each other so much or do it as well.  Bodes well for the ceremony itself.

I’M SAD TO SEE…

• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was not given a Best Picture nod.  If you’re going to nominate 10 films, why not the most successful franchise in motion picture history — and its most critically acclaimed final installment?  Nods for Art Direction, Makeup and Visual Effects don’t seem near enough.
• Michael Fassbender was robbed of the Best Actor nomination for Shame. I should also complain about Ryan Gosling’s omission from the list, but Fassbender alone is a crime.  A crime.
• And, on the flip side, should a movie have to have a certain life in the theatre to earn a Best Picture nod?  The Tree of Life was barely there.  Try to see it now.  Try to remember it if you did.

Okay.  That’s all I have right now.

What do you think?

That’s so hot.

But I have to wonder – what kind of dragon will 2012 be?

Will it be like the dragon in the first Shrek movie — ferocious and fire-breathing one moment, then a puddle of mush the next, all because of the attentions of a wise-cracking yet lovable Donkey?

(And how many months of the year will be fire-like, and how many mush?)

Or will 2012 be a dragon with a temperament more in keeping with the three beasts in the Tri-Wizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?  They also breathed fire and brimstone, but were initially restrained by bars and chains.  When they finally broke free, they fought till the death to vanquish their enemies.

Not sure I want to go up against a year like that.

No, I would prefer the Year of the Dragon to be more like Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon.  He was first misunderstood and underestimated, but man oh man — didn’t he end up being exactly the kind of dragon you wanted on your team when the going got tough.

Yep.  That’s the 2012 I’d like to see.

We’re all human, so I would guess…too many times to count.

It appears Anthony Burrill agrees. The English illustrator and designer is well-known for his posters, videos and 3-D pieces.

Check out his print below.

I love this.

(What is it?)

Hint: it’s not a pill, an exercise routine or the now ubiquitous green smoothie.

It’s the hug — that simple (and simply wonderful) one-on-one human contact between friends and loved ones.

Fantastic, huh?

Lucky for all of us, today is National Hug Day!  The holiday was established in 1986 to encourage PDA-phobic Americans to ‘reach out, reach out and touch someone.’ So now’s your chance to get out there and improve your health, your happiness and your overall state of being.

You’ll probably freak out a few people along the way, but hey — that’s just a bonus for feeling so gosh darn happy!

(See you out there.)

THINK BIG.

Play the World’s Biggest Pac-Man game right on your computer!

It’s going on now online, and is being played by people around the world.

The mazes are interconnected and go on and on and on.  You can start wherever you want and play as long and as far as your skill will take you.  You can also play alone or challenge competitors online, and check your stats against…

THE WORLD

There now.  Doesn’t that sound like a whole lot more fun than work??

ME!

That’s right.  The Sticky Egg has won its second Versatile Blogger Award, courtesy of fellow blogger — and no doubt awesome human being — Hyperactive Inefficiency.

Thanks so much!

When I received my first nod last year from The Word Nymph, I didn’t pay it forward as is every winner’s prerogative.

Not this year.

Therefore, I hereby bestow The Versatile Blogger Award on the following blogs that I have recently discovered and find interesting and fresh:

1. http://justachitowngirl.com/
2. http://purecomplex.com/
3. http://blackcrowwhiteowl.com/
4. http://larasbookclub.wordpress.com/
5. http://ratedyoung.com/

Congratulations!

And, in keeping with another awards rule, here are a few things about me that you might not know:

1. I once had a dog named Booger.  And my best friend in college?  Had a dog named Booger.
2. I was a member of the original Steve Martin Fan Club — arrow-through-the-head, certificate, you name it.
3. I keep three calendars.
4. I love buying purses but hate carrying them.
5. I have a habit of living in cities for seven years, then moving.  (What’s that about?)

I’m also supposed to write a blog post about at least one of these facts in the near future, so stay tuned.

And thanks, as always, for reading The Egg!