So recently I have started following the blog Tea and Meand they posted on other things you can do with your tea/teabags after you have made tea. There are some interesting suggestions that I plan to try out.
But after reading the post, it reminded me of something I’ve done with tea before.
I remember…
Now I have horrible skin. I think I’ve said before. It is dry and oily-making it so hard to try to figure out what skin care/products to use.
Besides that I have very sensitive skin. It is so sensitive I don’t even know half the things I am allergic to. Sometimes I am just going about my life and my skin gets irritated, hives break out, and next thing you know I’m scratching and breaking the skin.
Ugh!!
The worst is when my skin gets abnormally dry, typically when the seasons change. My skin becomes so dry it hurts. Lotion doesn’t help-it seems to just make it worse and more painful.
Ouch!
Somewhere online I read to use green tea to soothe irritated skin. I tried it and loved it! It made my skin feel great as it was so cooling and excellent.
And I feel happy when my skin feels good!
Here is what you do:
Boil water.
Prepare a cup of Green tea.
Let the tea cool.
Once the tea has cooled, dip a washcloth in the cooled tea and lay on the affected area.
Repeat as much as needed.
It was amazing. I have never had anything so calming and soothing! I highly recommend it for any with dry or irritated skin. (Especially those who may have a significant other who’s unshaved skin upsets your skin).
And I promise to try out Tea and Me’s tea care suggestions and let you know what I think of them afterward.
I am completely inadequate, I mean most of the time I feel like Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality.
I mean I know foundation, eyeshadow, lipstick, eyeliner, mascara; but once they get into priming, contouring, etc-you lose me.
Help me! I’m confused!
In fact my sister bought me a full set of like 20 brushes, and I am completely confused as to what to use them a for. I mean four are easily identifiable, but the rest? What do you need them for?
Huh?
Or I went to buy lipgloss from the store, and when I got there, there was over fifty shades. How am I supposed to know which one to choose? Which is my color?
In fact I am going to have to get help from a friend to figure it out. but I guess that is life-this is how it will always be:
it is something that every person in public school in the United States encounters in their lifetime.
It’s true.
For me, I enjoyed prom. I tried to spend as little money as possible on everything and did extremely well. I had a beautiful blue gown, cost $2.50 at a thrift store sale, $8 to get it dry cleaned.
Oh yeah!
My shoes? Beautiful silver heels, extremely comfortable, and free-with the purchase of a bracelet for $8 (Kohl’s cash buy something $8-10, get something $8-10 free).
I like it.
Make-up? Free, my sister did it.
Yep!
Hair? Only $16 as I knew a hairstylist.
Limo? Free, my friend’s date father owned a limousine rental.
Sweet!
Dinner? Free, my friend had coupon that covered everything.
Awesome!
The most expensive thing? $25 tickets. So a total of $59.50, not bad.
But we don’t want to just hear about my experience. Oh no, this is a book review post:
Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
**Contains Spoilers**
Yes, if we go through prom, why not the Austen characters? (Or at least Pride & Prejudice Austen characters.)
In Eulberg’s book Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Caroline, Mr. Darcy, Charlotte, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Bingley all get an opportunity to go to prom.
Why not?
This book came out when I was a young adult and I just happened on to it accidentally, started reading and LOVED it! In fact I think it is one of the best modern adaptions.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet is a scholarship student at the elite prep school, Longbourn. She was recruited for her musical talent, as she is an accomplished piano player.
Sadly, piano playing is the only nice thing about being there at the school. Everyone treats her horribly as they want her to “know her place.” They dump drinks on her, call her names, give her the wrong room when she asks for directions, etc.
She does have two friends in the school, one is a fellow scholarship student, Charlotte, and the other is the incredibly nice Jane.
So Lizzie has just returned from Hoboken, New Jersey to the school from winter break. While she is thinking about the spring concert and her studies; every other girl at Longbourn and every boy at Pemberley (school for boys) have only one thing on the brain: prom.
To not have a date would be the biggest faux pas; so all are prepping and conniving to have the best date.
While Jane is excited for prom, she is also thrilled that Charles Bingley will be returning from England where he spent the previous semester. Before he left the two had been heading toward something, and spent the whole summer emailing and writing; so Jane is eager to see if they will become more.
At the welcome back dance Lizzie is pleased to meet Charles as he is extremely nice and appears to be perfect for her friend Jane. Unfortunately, his twin sister Caroline is a real jerk.
Charles also brought his best friend Will Darcy, who is attractive and seems like a good guy, that is until he finds out Elizabeth is a scholarship student and just takes off, major diss.
What a jerk
Later she overhears him saying how he spent a year in London to try and get away from those kinds of people.
Ugh
Elizabeth tries to leave, but is stopped by Colin Williams (Mr. Collins) the only other person nice to her and the most boring person she has ever met.
Blah, blah
Oh, Mr. Collins:
While her way at school is paid, she still needs money to fund everything else and works at the local coffee shop as a barista. She runs into Darcy there, but the fate is sealed. She is not going to like him for anything.
Charles invites Jane and Lizzie to come with him, Caroline, and Darcy as they are headed to Vermont to ski. Lizzie agrees to support Jane although she has no clue about skiing. She decides to just wait inside playing the steinway (piano), doing homework, and sipping hot tea.
The next day everyone heads out to the slopes while Lizzie decides to head to the bookstore to pick up a book for school. Darcy offers her a ride, but Lizzie doesn’t want help. She finally agrees and the two talk on the drive. Darcy doesn’t get why she is being so snobby and down about school, while Lizzie lets everything out about how people are treating her.
That night things go a bit sour as Charles is taking Jane out and Lizzie is to be stuck at the house with her two favorite people, Caroline and Darcy.
Those guys
Darcy isn’t so bad, but Elizabeth Lizzie has to be there while Caroline tries to impress him. She starts with commenting on his email writing, then doing yoga moves, etc. The conversation moves to involve only Lizzie and Darcy, but Caroline doesn’t like that.
They all return to school, and in Lizzie’s case work, and things are back to normal. However, Lizzie meets George “Wick” Wickham who is handsome, charming, and hates Longbourn and Pemberley as much as she does. Wick tells her that Darcy and he became very good friends, but when Darcy’s father was paying too close attention to him Darcy got jealous and had him kicked out.
Charles is having a party and invites all kinds of people. Jane and Lizzie are going of course, and because Jane is going, her sister Lydia squeezes her way in. Jane’s father recently lost his job and that has downgraded her status at the school. It doesn’t help that Lydia is all kids of crazy and embarrassing and can’t stop about prom or boys.
If only she followed this advice.
Wick was supposed to come to the party but changed his mind, leaving Lizzie sad and upset as she wanted to spend the time with him. However, Darcy pays quite a bit attention to her and even asks her to dance.
The night ends even worse with nonstop attention from Colin, Lydia doing a bad dance/rockette/cheerleader routine, and her coat getting stolen. Could things get worse?
The next day things get even worse, as Colin asks her to prom and doesn’t want to take no for an answer. He then insults her and says that she will have no one else ask her poverty-stricken patootie (I added that).
When Elizabeth gets home, she is surprised with a new coat. Life seem to be brightening up, but then the dark cloud comes back as Charles just breaks off contact with Jane as “things came up.”
Two weeks pass and no Charles. He just drops off the face of the earth and poor Jane is heartbroken.
Noooo!
To add to that, it turns out that Wick didn’t consider he and Lizzie a couple, but has been dating a wealthy Longbourn girl who’s family has great connections. What a jerk!
But strangely enough, who should come every day to the coffee shop? Mr Darcy. And not only does he see her every day bit he leaves a big tip.
One day as she was walking, she runs into him and his cousin Fitzpatrick, and discovers that he broke up his friend’s relationship as the girl wasn’t right. Lizzie hooks on that it must be Jane and Charles. She is furious!
She tells Darcy her hours and hopes that he will avoid her. It is the opposite as Darcy seens to come more than ever.
And out of nowhere he drops the bomb:
And he asks her to prom. Elizabeth Lizzie’s reaction?
She is furious with him for Jane, Charles, Wick, Longbourn, everything!
She goes to write an email to her New Jersey friends, but finds one from Darcy instead! His letter contains the following:
He’s had scholarship kids in the past try and get things from him-money, connections, social status, etc.-so now he avoids them. He’s sorry to have been so rude to Elizabeth, but that has became his instant reaction.
He wasn’t the one who really pushed Jane and Charles apart, although he didn’t try and have them be together either.
The guy and girl he was talking about? It was Colin who wanted to ask Lizzie out again and Darcy thought it was a bad idea.
He had Wick kicked out of school because of two reasons:
He got Darcy’s young sister, Georgiana drunk to try to get her to have sex with him.
He broke into their house and stole a bunch of things.
Elizabeth realizes that she thought Darcy was the prejudiced and prideful one, but it turns out that she was as well. Because he was rich she thought the worse of him, and because he hurt her pride she was willing to believe anything horrible that was said of him.
They both are.
Things get weirder as it turns out that Wick and Lydia are “together”.
I guess his rich girlfriend didn’t work out.
Lizzie sees this and is horrified as she now knows that Wick is a sexual predator, looking for young, freshmen girls. She goes to Jane and lets everything out. She is just as shocked when she hears it all.
They keep a tight leash on Lydia and argue whether or not to reveal what happened to Darcy’s sister to keep Lydia away from Wickham. They decide to wait as it isn’t their story to tell.
They are both pleasantly surprised when Charles comes with a bouquet and begs Jane’s forgiveness. And as she is so sweet and adorable, she forgives him.
Midterms end and Lizzie heads home for break, but she gets an even better surprise. Her piano teacher, Mrs. Gardiner, gives her two tickets to see her favorite pianist, Claudia Reynolds.
When Lizzie and her mother go to the concert they are thrilled with the amazing music, and Elizabeth is floored when she discovers that Claudia Reynolds is Darcy’s mother.
She meets Darcy in his own setting and sees all pretense gone. She also meets his adorable sister and sees how cute their little family is.
The have a great time and even make plans for Darcy and Georgiana to visit her in New Jersey. Their fun trip is cut short when Lydia goes missing with Wick and Lizzie and Darcy set out to find her.
Darcy goes through everywhere that Wick would want to stay at and finds the two utterly wasted in a trashed hotel room. He uses his father’s money and influence to remove Wick and settle the bill.
The rest of the break is uneventful and quiet, with no calls from Darcy. It seems that now that she wants him, nothing is heard from him. Don’t you just hate that? When they return to school Charles has a big dinner party for their friends, but Darcy doesn’t sit with Elizabeth Lizzie or talk to her, no matter how hard she tries to get his attention.
Soon Lizzie’s recital comes up and she rocks (figuratively). Afterwards Darcy asks her out, telling her he was waiting as he didn’t want to break her concentration.
Aw!
However, they will not be going to prom but be going out to enjoy their night together.
I loved this book.
Even though they didn’t follow the book exactly I thought Eulberg was able to capture the life of the characters and bring across what Jane wanted.
The only thing I din’t like was Darcy didn’t take her to prom. Come on, you guys could have just dressed casual or not spent a lot of money. I mean seriously.
Totally!
But there is something that really surprised me. I spotted this in the acknowledgements:
“I’d especially like to thank Stephanie Meyer for being so enthusiastic for my writer life and having that conversation about Pride and Prejudice that led me to the idea for this book.
Stephanie Meyer?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Stephanie Meyer who wrote Twilight?
The horror!
I can’t believe I have to thank her for something good!
Well that aside, it is a fantastic book and I recommend it for any Austen fan.
And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver. For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller.
So I know you are probably thinking, a music video? That’s not a horror film.
This music video is almost 14 mins and a recommended length for a short film, by the New York Film Academy, is 10-15 mins. That makes this “music video” a short film, and perfect for our countdown.
It was directed by John Landis, most known for his film An American Werewolf in London, and he made the film because he wanted to bring back the theatrical short, you know the short film before the movie. Like Pixar and Disney used to do.
“I saw it as a chance to resurrect a genre that had once been a Hollywood staple. Music videos were new in 1983, and MTV was just two years old.”
They even tried to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Live Action, but the Academy didn’t have the same love for it as the rest of the world did. However in 2009 it was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being the first music video in history to receive that honor.
It takes place in the 1950s and starts off with Michael and his date (Ola Ray) are driving and the car runs out of gas. They get out to walk through the creepy forest:
Stay out of the forest!
Michael wears a red letterman that looks a lot like a certain jacket from a certain horror film:
He asks his date to be his girlfriend, and she agrees him giving her a ring to symbolize it.
How sweet.
But then he warns her:
Michael: There’s something I’ve got to tell you.
Michael’s Girl: Yes, Michael?
Michael: I’m not like other guys.
Michael’s Girl: Of course you’re not. That’s why I love you.
Michael: No, I mean I’m different.
Michael’s Girl: What are you talking about?
Nothing good is going to come of this.
And then the moon comes out:
And he changes into a Werecat!
And the makeup is pretty creepy. You can thank Rick Baker for that. Even though CGI is probably cheaper, I love seeing what people were able to make with such limited supplies and technology. It is unbelievable.
Back to the video. So Michael the werecat os chasing his date through the forest. Run girl, run!
Just as the werecat is about to grab her, we cut to a movie theater. Yes this is a film that Michael and his girlfriend are watching.
Michael loves the film but his date (Ola Ray) is not into horror films. Such a pity.
She walks out and Michael, being a good date, follows. As they are outside the music starts up and we get those perfect lyrics that are impossible to hate.
It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking
In the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops
Your heart
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before
You make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between
The eyes
You’re paralyzed
Now at first this is Michael just joking around with his girlfriend, teasing her. But it will soon change.
You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination
But all the while you hear the creature creepin’up behind
You’re out of time
I like how in his dance Michael Jackson throws in a Frankenstein monster move and hints at famous “thrillers”.
Night creatures call
And the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There’s no escapin’ the jaws of the alien this time (they’re open wide)
This is the end of your life
They’re out to get you, there’s demons closing in on every side
They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together
All thru the night I’ll save you from the terrors on the screen,
I’ll make you see
Now in this scene it is very apparent that they are taking there time walking home in not the best conditions. There are no streetlights and a ton of fog. You know what’s coming, something bad.
I’m getting shivers
And then we have the best thing in the world. Just as Michael and his girlfriend go by the cemetery, we hear Vincent Price’s voice. Bringing us:
And then things begin to rise in the graveyard.
Darkness falls across the land
The midnite hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’awl’s neighbourhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell
It’s funny to think that this music video never would have had such an amazing voice in it, I mean aside from Michael Jackson, if it wasn’t for writer Rod Temperton’s wife, Peggy Lipton. Temperton had wanted talking at one part and needed a classic horror actor to give the music the edge he desired. Lipton was a good friend of Price, asked him and he agreed.
So the rest of the dead are waking up; out of every grave, tomb, and casket.
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Can you dig it?!
And of course, they head after Michael.
They are surrounded! Oh no! Michael’s girlfriend looks to Michael for help, but it is too late:
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And then we have one of the most engaging dances ever to be created/performed.
They actually had to think long and hard how to create the scene where they dance that wasn’t childish or silly, but kept to the mood of the previous scenes; and I have to say they accomplished it. In fact, before Landis agreed to direct, he made it mandatory that all extras spend two weeks in rehearsals with the choreographer; something that had never been done before. This dance has been such a big part of our culture from Thrill Around the World to being referenced in numerous films and TV shows.
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike
You know it’s thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
That it’s a thriller, thriller night
‘Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would dare to try
Girl, this is thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, diller, chiller
Thriller here tonight
Michael’s date is horrified and runs into a creepy old house, with the zombies surrounding her on every side. Very Night of the Living Dead.
Too bad she doesn’t have a Ben to save her as they start destroying the house to get her.
Michael grabs her and bam. It turns out they are just in a home, Michael isn’t a zombie….Or is he? We close on Vincent Price’s amazing laugh with frozen still of Michael’s yellow werecat eyes.
That was Michael Jackson’s Thriller and it is amazing. From the song, to Jackson, to Price, to Ray, to the dancing, the makeup- I could go on and on but it is just perfect. I mean it gives you everything you want
Plus a fun dance to do. Check it out for yourself!
While in BTTF II future, we actually control the weather, which of course is not happening now, there are two things that BTTD II was spot on about. First, that we would be able to get weather information instantaneous (which we do on the internet/phones) and that we could actually get that information from our watches.
Laserdisc Losers
Record not a laserdisc, I know.
When Marty and Doc first settle down the alley in the future you can see a bunch of laserdiscs wrapped up and ready to picked up by the trash men. Back in the ’80s, laserdisc weren’t super popular, but still seen as the way of the future. However, BTTF II knew they wouldn’t go far and now most of the people alive today have no clue what they are.
Self-Lacing Nike Shoes
One of those self-fulling prophecy’s. Nike saw it and decided to make it.
2015 Fashion
I was going to make these all separate, but decided it would be easier to put them all together.
*One Size Fits All*
While we don’t have the awesomeness of buying clothes and pulling just one tab to make it fit us perfecctly, BTTF II did get one thing right; the one-size-fits all craze. Now I don’t know how popular this was in the ’80s, but in today’s world it has become a thing.
*Caps Lock*
Now what is it called when you do something before it was cool, in a future before it happened? I don’t know, but that rainbow dipped cap Marty wears in 2015, it is something you see in stores today, that the hipsters would be wearing all over. If you took that and added a triangle or a quote, someone would even use it as their phone’s wallpaper
*Workout Wear as Regular Clothes*
Everywhere you look in this film people are wearing workout wear as they do their regular thing. This was happening in the ’80s, but not by people of all ages like today. Yep, from older men and women; to middle aged mothers, teens, preteens, and kids; wearing workout wear when you have intention of actually working out has become a thing. It is acceptable and BTTF II caught onto it way before we thought it was okay.
*Eye Makeup*
BTTF II really tried to go spacey on their mkeup, but they actually hit the nail on the head. For some reason I am signed up for Teen Vogue, and what they keep perpetuating is crazy makeup.
*Two Tone **
One of Griff’s gang sports a highlighted pompadour, something all the guys are doing these days.
While remakes and sequels were happening in the ’80s it was nothing like it is today. I mean look at the Spider-man series; made in the 2000s, remade in 2010s, going to be remade again?
Or what about the Halloween series? There is like 9 already! Or Friday the 13th
Annoying Ads & Persevering Pop Ups
So as Marty is walking along, everywhere he goes ads appear; Jaws 19, Vote For Mayor, etc. Sound familiar? It seems like today we are being constantly hit by them; going beyond TV and radio, to the internet, youtube, and even Amazon.
I Love the ’80s
When Marty steps into the Cafe ’80s he sees a palozza of ’80s love, which has defintely been going on today. Part of it has to do with the fact that 1985 turned 30 this year, but the 2015 has had some serious ’80s love in film; fashion, & more; it is clear we are just as gaga as they thought we would be. Although no Cafe ’80s yet, sadly.
“You Have To Use Your Hands”
BTTF II called it when they said 2015 would be world in which you didn’t have to use your hands to play video games. While some still require it, BTTF II dreamed up the Wii and Kinect long before those companies did.
Hoverboards
While they aren’t really like the ones in the film, more along the lines of a skateboard, we still technically have them. For me, https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbOWr7y0cT4” target=”_blank”>I’m waiting until we actually levitate.
News in a Nanosecond
When Griff & Gang crash into the clock tower, you see a flying computer with the words USA Today on the side that captures the event. Boy was that prophetic! First today most newspapers aren’t run as they used to. They don’t have as many reporters, choosing to pay for the associated press and get their stories that way, outmoding people. Also news is now instantaneous. Things happen, and they are posted on the web, pics and videos. Also computers are the way most get their news, a lot of papers don’t hand out physical copies as much as they used to.
Not to mention that with vlogging and blogging, the news is taking a very different form.
Books No Longer Paper
So when Marty purchases the almanac in order to place all those bets, the saeslady mentions “back when books were printed on paper.” Now it is true that in almost every science fiction book or film you read/see, they get rid of paper books, it still is eerily to see them talk about it, knowing that in 2015 books will be available in another format.
A Delorean? Haven’t Seen One of Those In…
Sadly the Delorean went out of business in the early ’80s, before this film was made. And because of that, you didn’t see them anywhere. However, in the ’90s the DeLorean company was made to bring it back, but it still is a rare sight.
Check Out the Telly
Let’s talk about the TV they show in BTTF II. First did you notice they have large flat screen TVs that you in today’s stores? Yep, back in the day of the bulky square TVs, BTTF II saw a thiner, wider, version coming along the horizon.
They have the ability to watch relaxing scenes of scenery, just like you can today. Think of Netflix’s Christmas log/fireplace.
They also have the ability to watch six different channels/screen at once. Just like Direct TV is always showing in their ads.
Google Glasses
At the table eating, you’ll see that both Marty Jr. and Marlene both have glasses that give them the ability to search the web, receive phone calls, and they have to do voice commands. Sound like anything you’ve heard of? Like Google Glasses.
Phone More Interesting Than People
When you watch the film you’ll see that as the McFly clan gathers around to eat their rehydrated pizza, the kids are all focused on their google glasses not caring about actually conversing with anyone. The only ones who are talking, are those that were young in the ’50s and ’80s, the older generation. Sound familiar? I see that everyday.
Skype You Later
While it is true that most future films, books, and TV shows tend to have these kind of communication; BTTF II was spot on when it said we would have the technology to communicate with people face to face when we call. Whether you use Skype, Facetime, Snapchat, etc.; BTTF II knew what was what.
For me 2015 was a great year as I was finally able to live one of my dreams, see all three Back to the Futures on the big screen. But whether it was all that you wished or not exactly a dream year, I wish you all a happy new year, and may this one be a great new start!
janeaustenrunsmylife 