Learning Through Words

I admit it, I wasn’t really all that into seeing this movie. I’m not too sure why, I guess it’s just because I was kind of Tudor-ed out. However, it was next up in my Netflix list, and I figured, I would watch it and get it over with. As soon as I started watching the movie, I was hooked. It’s a literal work of art - the costumes, the scenery, the acting…it really was amazing, and has catapulted onto my list of favorite films.

So, what’s this movie about? Well, it’s a sequel to the 1998 film Elizabeth, with Cate Blanchett reprising her role as Queen Elizabeth I. Of course, her performance was brilliant, and I thought she should have won the Oscar for Best Actress. The film picks up with Elizabeth facing pressure from Spain, and from her own country. It deals with her struggle to define herself as a force to be reckoned with on the world stage, and that she does. With the defeat of the Spanish Armada, she brings England into a Golden Age of peace. This film isn’t all about politics, however. It also includes her relationship with Walter Raleigh (the sexy Clive Owen), and Walter’s subsequent relationship with her trusted lady-in-waiting, Beth Throckmorton (Abbie Cornish).

Now, if you’re a big history buff, you’ll probably hate this movie. Like it’s predecessor, this move is far from being historically accurate. Ages are manipulated, as well as timelines of events. Usually, I’m a stickler for accuracy too, but this movie was so entertaining that I forgot about it. Another thing that’s really awesome about this film is its soundtrack. Luckily, I found an example of it here and am including it below. I liked this movie so much that I actually purchased it! Bottom line: This is a must-see movie.

I’ve been really busy lately with a myriad of writing projects, so I haven’t gotten to the Netflix list lately. I am in the midst of reading a new book, however, but who knows when I’ll actually be finishing it! But I digress. Last night I saw a production of William Finn’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and really enjoyed it. For a detailed synopis of all the characters, you can check this page out (and yes, it might be Wikipedia, but it’s actually accurate).

I love musicals, and am just starting to get into the more modern ones such as this one. I really like how the actors broke down that “fourth wall” and interacted with the audience. Some particularly memorable moments:

• “Rona Lisa Peretti” talking to a woman in the audience: “Oh, hi! I saw you at the Curves class this morning! [To the audience] This woman can do things with her legs that you just wouldn’t believe! [To the man sitting next to her that might or might not have been her husband] You’re a very lucky man.
• “Chip” singing a song about erections to a stodgy old man in an aisle seat.
• “Chip” throwing candy to the audience (I got a lemon Sunkist), pelting candy at one middle-aged woman, and dumping the rest of the candy onto another older woman’s lap.

Bottom line: If you’re not into the audience participation thing, sit in the middle of a row in the back.  However, they do an awesome job of integrating everyone (provided that it’s a small theatre like the one I was at). It’s a really fun show that I highly recommend for adult audiences.

Laurence Olivier was, without a doubt, the greatest stage and film actor of his generation. To this day (he died in 1989) no actor in Hollywood has been able to transform himself into so many different characters. So, I finally got around to purchasing the biography that Terry Coleman wrote - the only official biography at that. Well, suffice to say, I both loved and hated this book. I loved it for all of its detail (over 400 pages of it in all - although I skimmed over the time in which Olivier was director of England’s National Theatre, because that was so detailed as to the point of monotony), especially about the great passion that he and Vivien Leigh shared until her manic depression forced them apart.

However, I hated the book for skipping an important movie he made with Katharine Hepburn - Love Among the Ruins. Neither is it mentioned in the book, or in the filmography. What irked me more is that thr filmography is siad by Coleman to be completely accurate. WRONG. While Coleman got to interview Olivier’s widow Joan Plowright, his children, as well as a couple of associates, he takes on this superior tone throughout the book. This blatant mistake of his, as well as a few other grammatical errors, equals poor editing, and an author who should be eating his pompous words. After all, he wasn’t a friend of Olivier’s, and didn’t know him personally.

I was also annoyed with Coleman’s fascination as to whether Olivier was bisexual or not. Pardon my latin, but who the fuck cares? We should be focusing on the man’s legendary body of acting, not who he fooled around with. Coleman goes so far as to devote an extra chapter after the book’s finale to whether or not he thinks that Olivier was bisexual. I found that to be very disrespectful.

Also, the book makes mention of the fact that he gave few, if any, interviews, which led me to believe that there weren’t any that could be seen. How wrong that was. Search amongst EuropeCinema’s films on YouTube, and you will see that, upon his 75th birthday he gave an extended interview. Actually, I’m going to go ahead and post the first of a 16-part documentary (each part’s about 10 minutes long) on EuropeCinema’s YouTube page. Note that Olivier is charmingly self-deprecating, witty, intelligent, and just a remarkable human being. After watching the entire thing I noticed that he had no one identity, but rather his personality was a composite of all the characters he played. The man was theatre, and theatre was the man.

Back when this movie was still in the theatres, a funny thing happened. I was watching television, saw the trailer, and actually became interested. That takes quite a lot for me, as after a while one action movie tends to look much like the next. I have always had an interest in Russian history, so I’m sure the fact that it was about Russia, specifically a subject that I knew very little about (the Russian mafia), that made me finally rent it on Netflix.

The basic plot is as follows: A midwife (Naomi Watts) finds a diary on the body of a young mother who died in the ward, but not before giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. The diary is in Russian, so Naomi (I forget her character’s name!) looks to have it translated, and ends up entangled in a mystery surrounding a London-based Russian mafia group, of which Viggo Mortensen’s character is a part.

To say anything else about the movie is to reveal important plot mysteries. There is a twist at the end which is slightly intriguing, but I kind of saw it coming. I also liked the discussion of tattoos and how they were used within the Russian mafia. Check out the DVD extra documentary about that for more information.

Above all, see this movie for Viggo Mortensen - he’s amazing in it. And, you don’t only get to see his acting skills, you get to see his entire body (yes, really) in a sauna fight that, I admit, I paused a couple of times

This week has really been all about changes in terms of what I want to focus on with my writing. When I was really just getting my “foot in the door” so to speak, I was looking for opportunities anywhere and everywhere online. Now that I’m established, I can get rid of those extra projects that I once worked on with great diligence, in favor of bigger and better things. Here’s the rundown:

Suite 101 : This was the first site I decided to say sayonara too. However, I do like the fact that I still continue to get revenue from the articles that I wrote for them, and my profile remains up. It’s a good deal all the way around, as they sell advertisements on my articles for their benefit, and my work gets continued exposure. I stopped writing for them because I ran out of things to write about, plus it’s not really much of an income for all of the stringent guidelines you have to follow.

Demand Studios: I still do transcription work via the Expert Village part of this company from time to time, but I really got tired of writing “How To” articles step-by-step. The pay was decent, but the available assignments became increasingly more bizarre. When I saw that articles like “How to Skin a Squirrel” were becoming offered, I said buh-bye.

451 Press: Yes, it’s true, I gave up writing for the We Heart Cats blog. It got tons of page views, I had fun writing, but the revenue was very very very small. Also, I had to come up with 5 posts a week, and after a couple of months, I really couldn’t think of anything else to say. So, in essence, it just didn’t become fun anymore!

So, I got rid of three freelancing projects, and took on a new high-paying job for an international online magazine that is set to launch in September. Ironically, I was sought out after the representative of the company, located in Budapest, saw my writing over at Suite101. After weeks of negotiations over pay and whatnot, it was finalized last Friday. Originally I had turned the job down, but the representative offered me more money in the hopes I’d take the job. Needless to say, I’m very happy!

This past Tuesday, I finally finished watching (via Netflix of course) the HBO miniseries that was recently released on DVD, John Adams. I can’t say enough things about this BRILLIANT adaptation. Really, I can’t. Paul Giamatti was amazing as the opinionated, determined second president of the United States. Laura Linney was a wonderfully understated Abigail in appearance, but fierce in intellect. I always enjoy Tom Wilkinson’s performances, and he certainly does not disappoint as Benjamin Franklin. David Morse, an actor I’m not really familiar with, looked EXACTLY like the George Washington we’ve seen in paintings.

I’m a history lover, and it has always fascinated me how the decisions were made by the Continental Congress to separate from Britain. This minseries, produced by Tom Hanks,  details that, but it isn’t boring - rather, it is exquisitely illuminating. Indeed, our founding fathers (as David McCullough, my literary hero and author of the book that the miniseries was based upon) weren’t perfect, and this miniseries shows that.

The long life (90 years) of John Adams was one of triumph, failure, love, and loss. This minseries shows all of that and more. Fact: John Adams and Thomas Jeferson both died on July 4, 1826 - the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence!

Of course, what is most remembered is the great love story between John and Abigail. Abigail was his advisor in everything, and their partnership was one of true strength. David McCullough said in the American Experience story of John and Abigail Adams the following: “There’s a saying that ‘True love is not gazing into each other’s eyes, but but looking out together in the same direction’. If ever there was a couple who looked out in the same direction, it was John and Abigail Adams.” I intend to visit the Adams National Historical Park this summer, and I definitely plan on buying the HBO miniseries.

Thanks to the YouTube user mev186, you can see the ending (not a spoiler!) of this miniseries which features the actual words that John and Abigail wrote to each other. This actually made me cry, and here it is:

This morning, while checking my myriad of accounts, I was quite pleased to see that I’m currently a featured columnist over at EnterTo. I actually just started a blog for them in which I review what works and what doesn’t work in terms of online money opportunities. My featured listing can be seen here. Really, I’m so very grateful to Jay Fink, the marketing director for EnterTo, for the opportunity to be featured on a site with such excellent Alexa rankings!

I should start by saying that I’m not really a fan of historical fiction when it comes to my choice in novels. Most of the time I’ve found that actual events are far better than fiction anyway. So it comes as no surprise to me that I found The Other Boleyn Girl to be disappointing. However, the cinematography and costumes were quite beautiful.

To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting much out of this movie, anyway. I haven’t read any of Philippa Gregory’s books, but if they’re anything like this movie then I don’t think ever will either. To summarize: Henry VIII (Eric Bana in all of his muscular glory) takes Mary Boleyn (Scarlett Johannson - boring as ever) as his mistress, then is seduced by the other sister, Anne (Natalie Portman, kick-ass awesome as usual!). This causes a rift between the two sisters that is only repaired when it is too late.

I did something that I don’t usually do when I watch DVDs: I started with the Special Features first. It’s a good thing I did, because that’s where some of the best parts of the movie have been exiled. Honestly! Majorly important plot exposition was cut out of the main movie. What’s left is a lot of cinematic fluff.

The performances? Well, although I touched briefly upon them above, I will go into more detail here - focusing only on the three main characters. I should mention that the supporting cast, though, was very good.

Eric Bana: He was neither good, nor bad. I haven’t seen any of his movies to compare performances, but a memorable Henry VIII he was not. I don’t find his face particularly attractive, but his torso was a very nice thing to look at:)

Scarlett Johannson: Well, once again Scarlett disappoints. Honestly, she’s pretty much without talent. Her lines are delivered flatly, and I don’t sympathize with her portrayal of Mary Boleyn at all. That girl needs to get herself some emotion!

Natalie Portman: The best thing about this movie was her performance. Her last scene of the movie was spectacularly acted. Luckily, the YouTube user christiecamelot made the ending available, so I’m including it here. Be sure to watch the entire clip, but I obviously don’t recommend watching the entire movie.

So, as an avid lover of the arts and especially theatre, I am always excited to see the Tony Awards. However, this year’s was the worst one yet, when it promised to be so much better! The night started off with a montage of performances from The Lion King. Excellent start, I was happy. Then, Whoopi Goldberg comes out in a ridiculous crab costume and is like, “Oops, wrong musical!” Yeah, that was marginally funny, but the rest of it wasn’t. It seems that derogatory remarks about how black people are perceived is the only thing in her repertoire. The days of slavery are over, so please get over it.As the night wore on, the only thing that really was fun were the performances from the different musicals.

I was also very surprised to see that Arthur Laurents is still alive. I loved how Mandy Patinkin, barely recognizable in a bushy beard, randomly came on the stage to read Stephen Sondheim’s eloquent acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award that he didn’t come to accept in person. I wonder why - hopefully he’s well - because this is a man who has fought for years to become recognized in musical theatre, he finally gets the highest award, and he doesn’t come.

Okay, I strongly dislike Patti Lupone. She’s always been a diva. She won the Tony Award for Gypsy, and gave a speech that basically was highly embittered, and was delivered with a “it’s-about-time-because-you-owe-me-this-after-thirty-years-since-I’ve-only-gotten-one-other-Tony-before” feeling.

Well, let me tell you something: Ethel Merman (who originated the role that Lupone won for this time) might have been tone-deaf, but she was twice the lady that Lupone is and will ever be. I had the immense privilege of studying with a man in college who’s behind the scenes in musical theatre, but has been there for all of the great theatre moments as a stage manager and director. He was there when, in Boston, Ethel Merman was informed that she would not be given the movie role of Gypsy - that would go to Rosalind Russell, who was married to the director of the film. 

Ethel was, of course, very upset, and ran to her dressing room, where she stayed for the rest of the day (she had been informed during rehearsals). If this had been Patti Lupone, she probably would have thrown a hissy fit and not performed that night. Indeed, no one knew if Ethel would go on, but go on she did, and gave a brilliant performance. Later, she told my college professor that she did it because it was her duty to give people what they wanted to see, and she would give it to them no matter what. Ethel Merman was a true lady, and a true professional. People like this, the legends, are what made Broadway what it is today. 

Well friends, it’s been another busy couple of weeks of writing and planning the next issue of the magazine (which, coincidentally, comes out at the end of this month!). However, I’m never too busy for Netflix, and recently watched Lars and the Real Girl.

 The movie is basically about a troubled young guy (Ryan Gosling) who falls in love with one of those Real Dolls. Don’t know what a Real Doll is? Well, you certainly will after you see this movie. In fact, it’s kind of like a giant marketing campaign for the (no pun intended) real-life website.

This movie was heartwarming at parts, but it left me feeling kind of nonchalant. Again, because I’m a writer I can see plot points coming, and the screenplay definitely followed suit in that respect. What really stood out to me were the performances of Emily Mortimer and Ryan Gosling. Health Ledger was definitely the best young actor in Hollywood before his untimely demise, but now that place has been captured by Gosling.

This movie is full of oxymorons. For example, it’s simple, yet complicated. The way the community reacts to “Bianca” (the Real Doll) is humorous. In essence, this is a movie about the human character, and it’s worth watching.

Well, for the first time in a long time, I actually went to the movies to see something. I kind of had to, since one of my friends was visiting me and wanted to go see it. Of course, the movie I’m referring to is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

 It seems hard to believe that Indy hasn’t been updated since 1989. That movie remains my favorite of the series, mainly because of the witty repore between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. Alas, Sean Connery has retired from acting, and as a result, a moment is given in the film where Indy laments the death of his father. Don’t look for Marcus, either; the original actor who played him died of AIDS not too long after the movi’e’s release, and as a result, Marcus is also mentioned as having passed away.

But, Harrison Ford continues to light up the screen with his expert comic timing. Yes, he’s aged, but he looks pretty damn good. Had he dyed his hair, he would look much the same as he did in the earlier films. Shia LeBouf plays Indy’s son, which is not a spoiler because everyone could tell that was coming, except of course the main characters.

Karen Allen reprises her role as Marianne, and she’s quite good. However, she’s the one who has really aged the most. Cate Blanchett dazzles as the Russian bad girl who’s looking for the missing Crystal Skull - a key to something metaphysical. Speaking of that, this movie definitely is more sci-fi than the other ones, which kind of turned me off a bit.

Regardless, this is a great way to end the series (if it is, in fact, the last one). So, this is a fun movie to see for laughs and adventure.

Lately, some of the books I’ve been reading have been only so-so (please refer to my previous book reviews). However, last night I finished reading a book that was compeltely delightful. The book I’m referring to is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

The main character of the book is a detective named Thursday Next. She lives in a futuristic version of 1985 (already a parody!) where people travel through time, and extinct creatures like Dodos have been resurrected as pets. Thursday is, specifically, a literary detective. In this, the first book of the Thursday Next series, she has to catch a villian named Archeron Hades. Hades has taken his despicable acts too far when he abducts Jane Eyre from her novel. Thursday has to enter the book and stop him, while at the same time saving a classic piece of literature.

What makes this book so excellent is because it makes what would be an otherwise implausible situation compeltely plausible. Wordplay and literary allusions make this book especially notable. This is one brilliant book!

Of course I’ve been busy with my writing as usual, and even more so since I’m heading off on vacation for the next week. I’m so excited to be spending time with my best friends! It’ll be nice to have a change of scenery too. Alas, why do jobs have to get in the way of travel? Hahaha!

Meanwhile, last night I was watching a show on The Biography Channel entitled “Haunted Key West”. I have been to Key West, and I had no idea that so many strange things happened there! One story in particular that freaked me out was a story about a man who went by the name Count von Cosel. He fell in love with a young woman named Elena, who subsequently died of tuberculosis. So, what did he do? He lived with her corpse for years. Instead of people denouncing him, they actually regarded it as a great love story. This is both repulsive and fascinating. There was a book written about it that I just ordered from Amazon, so obviously I’ll be writing a review about it in the future!

Hello everyone! Well, it’s been busy, of course, but I did manage to finally get around to the Netflix movies I had rented almost a month ago. I feel proud that I didn’t wait as long as I did to watch the last bunch, seeing as that was almost two months! Anyway, in this batch, I got There Will Be Blood (see the earlier review I did on it), Transamerica, and Juno. I decided that I’ll just give some basic thoughts on both:

When it came to Transamerica, I was, of course, really impressed by Felicity Huffman’s performance. This was certainly a performance worthy of the Oscar nomination that she received. Basically, it’s one of those movies where a parent and child bond during a roadtrip. Of course, the gender roles have been switched a bit, and the child doesn’t actually know that the person he’s travelling with is his father. To be honest, this movie made me uncomfortable, which might very well have been the point - to make the audience understand how awkward it is for a transgendered person to make their way in the world. But honestly, watching Felicity Huffman urinate on a lawn with a prosthetic penis, and watching her son(played by cutie Kevin Zegers) try to make out with her (without knowing she was his father, but still knowing she was transgendered) was a little too much for me. This is a raw movie, nudity galore, but it also is a thought-provoking movie for those, like myself, who have no idea what it’s like to want to change their gender. Graham Greene, my favorite Native American actor, makes a refeshing cameo.

Juno was such a great movie. Kudos to writer Diablo Cody for such a funny, poignant, and smart movie. Ellen Page was jipped, JIPPED I TELL YOU! by not getting the Oscar for her perfomance. This is as much a coming-of-age story, as it is a commentary on the adoption process. Jennifer Garner is, as always, adorable. Jason Bateman was quite good too, except I didn’t like the twist involving him. Allison Janney is fabulous as Juno’s stepmom - my favorite scene with her is when she tells off the ultrasound technician. Really, the only thing that kind of made me sad and say “Wait, what?!” was the way that Juno and her boyfriend kind of dismiss the pregnancy, and give the child up for adoption readily. However, this might have been indicative of their immaturity. Regardless, see this movie!

Well friends, it’s been yet another busy week in the time since last I posted. I began investigating additional job leads, and found a bunch of interesting ones. I began writing for 451 Press this week, and am now in charge of a blog all about cats! Check out my link over on the right for more information. Also, I began doing some freelance writing for Demand Studios. I believe they are a division of PageWise, Inc - I wrote for them when I was in high school. The magazine is coming along quite well - just landed a great interview for the June issue, and have some artist submissions already for the September issue!

I finally got around to seeing this movie. I’ve always been a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis, and of course I’d hear excellent things about this movie, so of course I had no other choice but to watch it! Based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil , the movie is, essentially, about greed, and how it affects people of varying backgrounds. I never really knew much about the oil business, so this was illuminating to me. Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) is an oil tycoon, who buys up a large amount of land in California when given a tip. He bills himself as a family man, when the truth of the matter is that the boy he calls his son is actually an orphaned child of one of his workers, who is killed in an oil well explosion.

Along the way, Plainview is tested by various events, including the explosion of a well, which results in his adopted son becoming deaf. A greedy “preacher” names Eli frequently tries to extort money from him as well. Of course, Day-Lewis is brilliant in his Oscar-winning role, and if you aren’t interested in the plot, you’ll be captivated by his ability to completely morph into Daniel Plainview.

Speaking of Daniel Plainview, I couldn’t help but be left with questions about him. Why was he so cold? Why was greed such a motivation for him? Perhaps these questions, mixed with a bit of shock over his actions, are what the viewer is meant to feel. Regardless, Day-Lewis’s perfomance will be talked about for years to come.

I’m the kind of person who, rather than watching it directly every week, prefers to get the DVD box sets of any shows that I like to catch up on. However, I haven’t done that since Season 1 of LOST, so naturally I have some catching up to do. However, a chance encounter with On Demand left me curious about Showtime’s The Tudors, and after purchasing Season 1 for a very reasonable price on eBay, I started watching it last weekend.

If I had to describe this series in one word, it would be: sultry. Johnathan Rhys-Meyers makes a sexy Henry VIII. At first I couldn’t get past the fact that he was Elvis in a biopic, but I put that aside and focused on his dreamy eyes. Sam Neill stands out also, playing Cardinal Wolsey. Jeremy Northam is also quite good as Sire Thomas Moore.

So, how closely does this series follow true life? Well, it is said that the youthful Henry was indeed quite handsome, and only after an injury did he start morphing into the obese version that is most often depicted. I’m not an expert on Tudor history, but even I could notice that some dates were fudged to allow for time sequencing. But really, that’s not the point of this series. The life of Henry VIII was an astounding one (oh, and so were the lives of his many wives), so it makes for a good soap opera. Speaking of soap operas, the one thing that makes this series stand out the most (no pun intended) are the rather graphic sex scenes. However, they aren’t gratutitous, they’re actually necessary to the plot. So for some hot-though-not-entirely-correct history, check out this series!

I recently watched a touching Scottish film named Dear Frankie. I admit, I originally got the movie on Netflix because of Gerard Butler, who I must say looks mighty fine in a leather jacket, but the movie really is so much more than that! Something I, as a writer, look for is a complete plot. I can easily tell when a screenplay has a lot of loose threads, and this one didn’t have any.

A young mother (Emily Mortimer) leaves her abusive husband (Cal Macaninch) and starts moving from place to place with her young son, Frankie (Jack McElhone) to avoid him. She wants to protect Frankie from finding out about him, so she pretends that his father’s a sailor on a cargo ship. She also writes letters to Frankie as if she was his father as well. Frankie diligently writes back, although his mother had thought that he’d give it up after a while. Nevertheless, she treasures these letters, because since Frankie is deaf, this is, as she says, “The only way I can hear his voice.”

When a cargo ship that, much to Frankie’s mother’s shock, shows up in the port of the small town they’re currently living in, Frankie’s mother must act quickly. She hires a stranger (Gerard Butler) to pose as Frankie father for a day. However, things become a bit more complicated…

This movie is so mezmerizing, but be sure that you get used to everyone’s thick Scottish accents right from the beginning so you don’t miss anything. There are a number of twists in the plot, twists let left me literally saying aloud, “Oh!” The ending is a bit ambiguous, but it, like the entire movie, is all about emotion, and is beautifully done.

I have a lot of writing work to do today, but I just had to come over here and admit that I’m completely in love with Netflix. Why? Well, it all has to do with it being convenient. I used to belong to Blockbuster, and they often didn’t have the independent movies and documentaries that I’d want to watch. Netflix has all of that, and so much more. It’s very refreshing to log in and see bunches of movies all clamoring to get into my queue (which is currently at *gasp* over 80 movies). I like how I can reorder my queue whenever I want, and I especially like how I can keep movies for as long as I want. This fact was proven just yesterday, when I returned my three movies after more than a month!

Something else that I love about Netflix? The user recommendations in the form of top 10 or 20 lists. I love watching Native American movies, and since they’re rather hard to come by, I need suggestions. Last week I proudly added a few more movies from that genre into my queue that I wouldn’t ever have known about otherwise.

So people, save yourself the aggravation and join Netflix. Heck, you can even watch movies directly online!

This week, the focus hasn’t been on writing and editing so much as it has been on gardening. The beautiful weather is upon us, which means that I have to get my butt in gear and get my garden ready. I’m still waiting for some flowers to arrive by mail (because of the gardening zone I’m in it takes a while before they’ll ship), but I did get a couple of plants from eBay. My blue Passion Flower plant is growing quite nicely; it still remains to be seen whether my ivy, which I planted in a feeble attempt to block out my horrendous neighbors, will actually grow. However, what I’m most pleased about are my cotton plants. They (well, all except one) are growing beautifully - like an inch a night!

I haven’t had much time to read this week; I’m still working on The Eyre Affair, and have two books in line after that. Needless to say, it’s been a hectic, yet productive, week!

My apologies for the lack of updates, but I’ve been extra busy. Ever since being given more days for editing, I’ve been occupied with that. Luckily, I found some time to get back to writing (and reading) this week. I was given The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fford, and have just begun reading that. I also got two additional books to add to the queue on eBay. It’s funny, because I went to Barnes & Noble last week looking for a book. Not only was it not there, but it was triple (yes, really!) the price of the same book on eBay. That included thle shipping, too! Apparently there are a lot of bookstores on eBay that have surplus stock, hence the more-than-reasonable prices.

And now, for my review of Atonement, by Ian McEwan. I began this book with high hopes, since everyone loved the movie (which I haven’t seen) and the book. Alas, I often go against public opinion, and I was no different with this book. It basically is the story of a girl, Briony Tallis, who has an over-active imagination that ruins the life of Robbie, son of a servant to the Tallis family. It certainly doesn’t help that Robbie and Briony’s sister Cecilia have fallen in love.

What follows are pages and pages and some more pages of straight exposition. I haven’t seen so much of that since Henry James! The difference between James and McEwan is that James actually did it well. McEwan’s is very flat, with little emotion. Was I supposed to be shocked by Briony’s actions? Because I certainly wasn’t. This story wasn’t unoriginal, it was just boring. After reading this I promptly took the movie version off my Netflix list.

So, this year one of my resolutions was to get back into the reading mode. Having recently graduated from college (and being a Writing, Literature, and Publishing major to boot) I had to read endless amounts of books. Some books I loved, while others I wanted to burn and/or toss out a window. I’ve found as a writer and editor that it’s hard for me get into a book, because I’m always subconsciously proofreading, and predicting where the story goes. Nevertheless, I’m determined to approach my reading with an open mind, so here’s my thoughts on the books I’ve read this year so far, in the order that they were read:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling  - I will readily admit that I loved the fourth book in this series. I liked the first through third books well enough, and hated (not even strongly disliked, flat-out hated) the fifth through seventh books. As I read the seventh book, I couldn’t help but silently criticize Rowling. It has become evident to me (and to many other people) that she is not, in fact, a good writer at all. Rather, she has a good editor, and a penchant for lifting material from other fantasy novels. The plotlines throughout the series became more and more contrived, and I still am annoyed at thinking how much money she continues to make.

The one thing that she does remain good at is dialogue. I readily admit that dialogue is not my strong suit in writing, and envy her witty colloquialisms and ability to keep the dialogue interesting. However (and this is a plot spoiler of sorts here) , the way she chooses to end this last book is awful. I was hoping for twists and surprises, and instead I got none of either. She took the safest route, and the book suffered because of it.

The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here by Felicia Sullivan

So far, this is my favorite read of the year, and I’m not just saying that because Felicia’s a friend. This book is painfully real, but beautifully written. Her memoir is one of struggle, self-realization, and questions that might never be answered for her. I loved how it wasn’t written in a linear plotline either; it’s various vignettes from her life woven together. The ending left me in tears. I can’t recommend this book enough!

Ace of Spades by David Matthews

The premise behind this memoir is an interesting one: a man (David) has a black father who was a friend of Malcolm X, and the editor of a black newspaper. David’s mother was a white Jewish woman who kidnapped David as a baby and took him to Israel. David was returned home, but his mother disappeared. Never having known a real mother figure, aside from his grandmother, David’s adolescence in Baltimore was one of racial confusion, and hiding who he really was. I’m on the fence with this book. David’s life is an interesting one, but he has an elitist way of writing that kind of left me cold. This might have been deliberate, as he peppers the text with “big words” that even I, a well-read and educated person, couldn’t understand. However, this book is a real eye-opener when it comes to learning about race relations.

 I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

Such a witty, fun read, although very poignant at the same time. This is a memoir, but the author mentions that it’s “The truth in drag.” This is an interesting look into the period of Josh’s life when he was a NYC drag queen dating a drug addicted male escort. Josh’s writing is very reminiscent of David Sedaris, although less neurotic. It’s graphic, however, so be prepared. I definitely recommend this book as a beach read!

Another busy week - I think I shall name this week “Crunch Week”. The fifth issue of my magazine was set to be released today (yes, really!) and I hadn’t even started designing it until Monday. Also on Monday, the AC adapter to my laptop decided to fizzle out. I use QuarkXPress for desigining, and the version I have isn’t compatible with Windows Vista, so that left my Vaio out of the picture. Luckily, I have another laptop that I use as a backup, so I transferred my files over through the FTP server I had in college. I think that FTP server will become extinct for me in a couple of months, since they only keep it just so long after people graduate.

With diligence, I managed to finish designing last night, uploaded everything to Lulu, and made it available immediately. Look it over, I must say that I design rather well under pressure! I gave the featured artists more pages, and it all looks very cool

In other news, I’ve discovered a new love, Showtime’s The Tudors. I call it sultry education. I just bought Season 1 on DVD, so after I watch the entire thing I will post a review!

What’s next on the agenda? Hopefully writing more articles, although I’ve been busy with editing this week. I also am going to be thinking up various page outlines for two websites that I purchased domains for.

Well, yet another week has passed, one in which I feel, yet again, quite accomplished. I just received an e-mail from my boss at Content Gurus asking me if I would add a day or two to my editing schedule with them, an opportunity that I, of course, accepted! 

I got digital cable this week as a birthday present from my fabulous mom, and nearly cried when I got to watch BBC America. To those who might be smirking, I say whatever. I adore British things I can’t believe that in two short days I’m going to be 23. Yikes. 23 on the 23rd, which also happens to be Easter!

Let’s see, what else…Oh yes, I still have to format the magazine, the fifth issue of which is coming out next Friday! I also am going to attempt to not go on my laptop or Vaio for a full 24 hours tomorrow. I’ve tried before, but always ended up going  anyway. This is mostly because I have the Internet on my phone too, so the temptation is always there.

I have no idea how many of you actually subscribe to my blog (I had a plugin that was supposed to tell me, but it, alas, didn’t work) so if you could also join my mailing list that would be awesome Happy Spring/Easter/Passover everyone!

Jane Austen is considered the definitive English romance novelist. However, for current and former students of literature, it has often been wondered how she wrote of love without ever having experienced it for herself. A recent non-fiction novel uncovers the revelation that she did indeed experience love as a teenager, and Becoming Jane is the movie adaptation of said novel.

This movie is breathtaking. I can’t expound upon the plot too much, because that would be giving pretty much the entire movie away. The settings and the music are both beautiful. The actors and actresses are not stunningly beautiful or handsome, just normal-looking, which adds legitimacy to the movie as well.

Speaking of the acting, of course the two main stars, Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy, are excellent - Hathaway particularly so, because she deftly maneuvers her way around an English accent, and makes you believe that she really is Jane Austen.

James McAvoy as Jane’s love interest Mr. LeFroy is also quite good, but apparently I’m in the minority of people in that I don’t find him particularly attractive. To be shockingly critical, I couldn’t get past his rather prominent nose. Also, I couldn’t get the picture of him as Mr. Tumnus from The Chronicles of Narnia out of my head.

Nevertheless, this movie deftly weaves in various plotlines from Austen’s novels, suggesting that the events of her life served as insipration. I haven’t seen a script do such a good job of using that technique since Shakespeare in Love.

I will readily admit that I cried at the end of this movie. Indeed, for Austen fans, as well as the incurable romantics in all of us, this is a must-see movie.

Well, it’s certainly been a busy week for me! It is usually anyway, but I feel particularly accomplished this week in terms of my writing. My articles on Suite101 have gotten nearly 1,000 hits, I got 10 articles done for Content Gurus, and I edited about 70 articles!

It’s funny, I was clearing out some old files on my Vaio last night, and in the almost seven years that I’ve been freelancing, I estimate that I’ve had at least 500 articles published on the Internet. About 90% of those have been ghostwritten, 5% have been written under my pseudonym, and the other 5% written under my real name. Interesting!

Truth be told, it sometimes is rather frustrating to ghostwrite, simply because I sign away all rights to that work, and can’t include it in my portfolio. However, I must honestly admit that I justify my ghostwriting by writing articles that are good, but not so good as that I wish I could have had a byline on them.

I started a novel over a year ago, and have yet to return to it. I don’t know, I haven’t really been all that motivated to return to that particular story as of yet. When I feel my writing is heading in that direction, I shall work on it again. I also have two other ideas: one for a novel about college life (slightly fictionalized to protect the guilty!) and a children’s book of short stories. I got the idea for one yesterday, while I was telling the baby I take care of a story.

So, this weekend I intend to pursue additional freelancing writing leads, and basically just see where my writing takes me

Hollywood seems determined to rejuvenate old genres, as I discussed briefly in my last movie review. This time they took two of Hollywood’s best actors (in talent and in looks) and placed them in a Western.

Of course, the two I’m referring to is Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Bale (my personal favorite) is down-and-out rancher Dan Evans, who is offered $200.00 to help transport no-good Ben Wade (Crowe) to a place called Contention, so that he can be put on the 3:10 train to the prison in Yuma, Arizona. Along the way, the two develop an unexpected comraderie.

To discuss the plot any further is to give the movie away. All I will say is that you should really pay attention to the plot (which is hard to do when Christian Bale is around, I admit this) because everything ties in together.

I’m still kind of up in the air about the movie. At the same time, I acknowledge the brilliant acting skills of Bale and Crowe. I really wish they were in more movies together. This movie really kept me on my toes the entire time, and I was thisclose to declaring it the best Western I’ve seen in a while, when the ending came quickly, and all too suddenly.

So, did I think this was a good movie? I did, for pure entertainment, and I’m usually not one for action movies. However, it lacks the overall cohesion of a brilliant screenplay. In my opinion, the best screenplay ever is the one from Gladiator, because literally almost every line can stand on its own as a poignant quote. I kept expecting to feel something by the end of this movie, but I ended up feeling detached from the characters. Actually, this might have been what the director wanted the audience to feel, in which case, this was an excellent movie! So, if nothing else, see 3:10 to Yuma for the acting.

In the past few years, there has certainly been a resurgence of movie musicals. Some, like Chicago, are adaptations of classics, while others, like Moulin Rouge, are musicals that incorporate classic songs into their new storyline. Across the Universe is the latter, and it’s a mix of fresh and trite.

This movie reminded me of a hybrid of RENT and Hair. RENT in that it takes place mainly in New York City, and Hair in that it has a strong hippe/anti-war protest theme, the latter of which is certainly still applicable today.

The storyline is typical of many musical plotlines. Boy is frustrated with life at home, decides to take a journey of sel-discovery in which he meets up with a beautiful girl, and falls in love. Well, that would be a basic synopsis.

The musical is based on mostly Beatles songs (which are always awesome!) so it only makes sense, and comically so, that the main characters are named Jude (played by hunky Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (played by Evan Rachel Wood). Obviously their namesake songs are incorporated into movie, though “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” actually only shows up in the credits..

While Sturgess and Wood are excellent actors and singers, I was especially impressed by the supporting cast. Dana Fuchs dominates as Sadie, her voice amazing and soulful. Martin Luther McCoy adds extra soul as JoJo, and he isn’t too bad to look at either I would buy the soundtrack based on their two voices alone.

Two supporting actors I was annoyed with were Joe Anderson as Max, and T.V. Carpio as Prudence. Anderson is trying too hard to be like Owen Wilson in both looks and comedic skills. Carpio is a great singer (I loved her rendition of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”), but her character is randomly in the movie, showing up at odd times and pining after various women.

There were two notable cameos: Bono as a guru-like doctor, and Eddie Izzard as a cicus show ringmaster. They appear about midway through the movie, and neither cameo makes any sense at all to me. However, they were good for a laugh, and to point at and go “Look, there’s Bono! There’s Eddie Izzard!”

The standout feature (aside from the music, of course) was the cinematography. Psychedelic tones and dark contrasts made this, for me, the most innovative movie to watch in quite some time. The choreography, by the renowned Julie Taymor, is also quite unique.

So, definitely check out this movie if you’re a Beatles fan, or if you love the ’60s. The movie, at a little more than 2 hrs, is kind of long, however. Regardless, this movie is a thought-provoking work of art.

Are you interested in getting a cat? If you are, the Russian Blue is an excellent choice. These cats are exceptional in both personality and appearance. Their silver fur, lithe frame, and almond-shaped eyes are truly unsurpassed.

What is perhaps the most intriguing is the fact that the Russian Blue is a naturally occurring breed. This means that it is not a mixture of any other breed. However, it should be noted that at one point Siamese cats were introduced into the breeding process (they have largely been bred out now though) when the demand for Russian Blues outweighed the actual amount that was available.

Something else that is fascinating about Russian Blue cats is that they are water cats by heritage. Their primary function in Russian ports was to rid the docks of rats. Even today, Russian Blues love playing in a kitchen sink with the tap running! You will notice that their coat will just allow the water to slide off.

Russian Blues are devoted and intelligent pets. They typically bond with one owner. Also, they are adept at alerting against intruders. You will find that they are very much like dogs in this respect. However, it is important to note that they are typically aloof if you have guests over. Tne thing that they can get in trouble for is their nosiness. They will get into everything if allowed to do so!

If you find this is the case, then it is best to kitty-proof your house so that your Russian Blue will not injure itself. Do not be too concerned about the energy lasting forever, because Russian Blues, like all cats, tend to start settling down after they reach two years old.

If you are interested in purchasing a Russian Blue, make sure you do so from a reputable breeder. There are many breeders available online, but make sure that they do not try to sell you a kitten any less than two months old. Otherwise, the result will be an improperly weaned kitten.

Something else to think about is the price. A true Russian Blue will cost several hundred dollars, and even more if you intend to breed it. However, with research and patience, you will find an excellent Russian Blue friend that you can enjoy for many years.

There are many actors in Hollywood, but can they all act and look as good as Johnny Depp? Certainly not! Indeed, Johnny Depp has all the makings of a star, and that is why he has become one.

Born Christopher John Depp, Depp had always been a rebel, having quit high school to start a rock band. His friend, actor Nicolas Cage, suggested that Depp try acting to earn some money. Johnny Depp’s first role was actually a very small one in one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. After that he made such films as Cry Baby, and landed a role on the television series 21 Jump Street. He wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of being a teen idol, so he left 21 Jump Street and started looking for edgier roles.

In 1990, Depp partnered with director Tim Burton to star in Edward Scissorhands. It would be the first of several movies they have made together since. During the filming of that movie, Depp and his co-star Winona Ryder became an item. They also became engaged, but broke up. Depp’s tattoo that says “Wino Forever,” originally said “Winona Forever.”

Depp continued seeking offbeat roles over the following years, in such films as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and Don Juan DeMarco in which he starred with film legend Marlon Brando.

However, Depp’s real success came when he made a more mainstream move, and signed up to play pirate Jack Sparrow in the Disney blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Taking elements from, as Depp said, Pepe le Pieu and rocker Keith Richards (who made an excellent cameo in the third Pirates movie as Jack Sparrow’s father), Depp created a character that was so unique and hilarious, that he was nominated for an Academy Award.

He also has continued to work with Tim Burton. In The Corpse Bride, Depp contributed his voice. He also amazed moviegoers with his singing voice in his most ambitious project to date: Sweeney Todd. In this rendering of the Stephen Sondheim musical, Depp plays the title character, a demon barber who murders his victims in unspeakable ways.

So, what does the future have in store for this excellent actor who spends most of his time in France with girlfriend Vanessa Paradis and children Lily Rose Melody and Jack? Who knows, but it is bound to be intruguing, because Johnny Depp is a true star!