So this was a hard thing to do. Pick one of my favorite books? So impossible.
So I thought on this and decided that I wouldn’t talk about Jane Austen. I’m pretty sure you already know how much I love Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, & Persuasion.
So then I thought, what is a book I really, really liked as a child; and still love today?
Then I thought:
I first read this book as a kid when I was going through the Great Illustrated Classics at the library. It was my first introduction to English 19th century fiction.
I love this book a lot. I just loved Heathcliff.
You feel for this orphan man, always mistreated with everyone who ever loved him dying or betraying him. Yep, you know my type:
So in the story we are given the picture of a cruel man, and then go through the rest of his journey in a flashback. He was orphaned with no name and speaking some other language. Mr. Earnshaw found him on his trip to London, and brought him back to his home. He had bratty two children: Hindley and Catherine, who are cruel to Heathcliff. Hindley hates him because his dad likes him better than him. Catherine hates everything, but to her and everyone’s surprise she and Heathcliff become best friends.
When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley becomes man of the house and is incredibly cruel to Heathcliff, demoting him to dog status. He and Catherine fall in love, but she marries the wealthy Edgar Linton, as Heathcliff is too lowborn.
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
Breaking Heathcliff’s heart.
He leaves, bent on becoming rich and getting his revenge.
So I won’t ruin the rest of the story as it is dramatic, gothic, supernatural, and thoroughly amazing.
Or 10th, 50th, 100th….
And as the extremely handsome Laurence Olivier player Heathcliff in the movie, as you read the book imagine a man just as handsome as him…or him. 🙂
To start the 30 Day Challenge from the beginning, go to Musical Madness
So here we are on post five of my fandom posts. And with each post I write, I realize how I must sound absolutely boring with all the books and TV shows I spend my time watching.
Pretty much
Oh Well.
So here is the next few on my list. I hope you enjoy it and that it strikes your interest in some of these things.
4400
This was a show my sister and I were huge fans of. We started watching it when it first came out and faithfully continued even through the horrible seasons.
So one day 4400 people are just dropped out in Washington. They had disappeared from all throughout time. None of them remember what happened in the years that they were gone or where they had traveled to.
Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris are the two from Homeland Security that are in charge of figuring this out and monitoring the 4400. The both end up having personal connections, as Tom’s nephew was one that was taken and returned, and Diana ends up adopting a girl from the far, far past.
The show is really interesting as it deals with a lot of different issues. First of all, to those taken it feels as if no time has passed, but they have to come to grips that loved ones may have moved on or died. For many years have passed and everything is completely different, technology, social cues, etc. Plus they have to deal with all the questions about what happened and who they are.
But what’s even more interesting, every person brought back has some kind of power or ability. This makes things much harder on Baldwin and Skouris, as not all use their powers for good.
Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights was a show my mother and friends were all SUPER into, and I had seen a few episodes but wasn’t hooked (mostly as I had seen them out of order). But once I had some free time I decided why not try this show out? And burned through the episodes.
I’m on season 5 right now, and slowly going through it.
So the show is about a family that moves to Dillon, Texas. Coach Eric Taylor is the new football coach for the team, his wife becomes the guidance counselor, and they brought their daughter Juliet (vegetarian and a culture snob). They find the town a little suffocating as football means EVERYTHING to the people of Dillon. Coach Taylor also ends up with his star quarterback, Jason, getting injured and paralyzed. He has everyone judging him and giving him advice. It can be hard.
Duh!
He gets through that, but faces more issues in the years to come. He becomes a college coach, but ends up going back to Dillon as he doesn’t want to be away from his family. Then he has a young kid (Jeremy Sumpter) who’s parents try to takeover the team. Coach Taylor eventually gets wedged out and sent to the rival team, in a poorer district.
Besides the awesome football, the great thing about this show is that it deals with real life issues. Sometimes you watch the angst and you are ah, too realistic.
So first of all Coach Taylor is awesome.
He becomes a father figure to all the boys on the team and helps them as much as he possibly can. He has a great no-nonsense attitude, getting the job done. I just love him.
Then we have Matt Saracen.
The sweetest boy ever. His father is in the military and his mom ran away. His grandma is supposed to be raising him, but in actually, he takes care of her as dementia is settling in. He goes to school and gets great grades, works after-school to pay for the bills, and strives hard to be a great quarterback for the football team.
And then we have his relationship with Julie Taylor. He first tries all he can to be nice and be seen as more than just a football freak. And he always lets Julie run the show. If she wants to do this okay, if not then he’s fine doing nothing. He just so romantic.
In season 2, Julie dumps him for a Swedish lifeguard, who sings in a band, and SUCKS. He is not cute, untalented, and stupid. I mean the things he says. Plus he likes getting it on with as many ladies as possible. How could you ever trade Matt in for anyone?
She comes to her senses and gets back with him. And she’s lucky she managed to get him, men like that get snapped up in two seconds.
And then we have Tim Riggins.
Tim oh Tim. My absolute favorite. I LOVE HIM! He is just so dreamy!
First of all, look at him. Taylor Kitsch is a great looking man and a great actor. He really got the shaft on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, barely having any screentime. And his other movies bombed, which is such a shame. But besides that, let’s move onto his personality.
So at first Tim appears to be just a dumb jock, but there is a whole lot more to him than meets the eye. He may not be book smart but he is one savy buisnessman. He knows how to create a proposal, bargain, etc. Plus he’s super handy; coaching, construction, mechanics, etc. Anything physical he can do it. And to top that all off, he has perseverance. Once he gets the drive to do something, nothing will get in his way.
And then we have his sweet heart. Tim is the most caring guy ever! He is great with mentoring kids, helping people out with their problems, and never ever takes advantage of a situation. What can I say? He’s AWESOME!
NOw this series isn’t perfect. The first season is probably the best of all. After that the writer’s do some strange things, like certain characters are missing and NOBODY comments on it! It’s like what happened to that person? For instance Brain “Smash” Williams has a girlfriend in season 1, and then in season 2 she’s not there. No explanation, no nothing.
Otherwise this show is awesome! And you should definitely give it a view.
Game of Thrones
There is no middle ground.
So I did not want to watch this series when it first came out. I knew of George R. R. Martin’s history of killing off the characters and I didn’t want to become another mourner.
But I should have realized that it was only a matter of time until it happened.
So it all started after I finished my finals this past spring. I had free time and saw the DVD for season 1 in the library. I thought I’ll just check this out, and, of course, found myself hooked!
Go here to see which one you should live in.
In fact my roommate (she was already a fan) and I just blew through the first season.
It’s kind of confusing to describe, but I’ll try. So the country Westoros is made up of seven kingdoms, each with a ruler that is united under a High King, kinda like The Black Cauldron. The Targaryens used to rule, as they had dragons, but due to so much inbreeding, the last king went crazy and was thus dethroned. His son and daughter were able to escape and hope to gain back the kingdom. Now Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark were leaders in the rebellion and the people really wanted Eddard to rule, but he didn’t want to be the High King. So he went back home and Robert became ruler. Robert married Cersei Lannister, of the rich Lannister family. The actual series starts 20 years after these events with Robert needing Eddard’s help. His main advisor was on the scent of something and was murdered. Eddard goes into court and discovers one huge secret many would kill to keep quiet. Meanwhile, the princess Daenerys Targaryen is trying to get her kingdom back. Wars begin with all trying to get the iron throne. It is an AWESOME show! But grab those tissues!
So I have a few favorite characters. I try not to love anyone, as I know as soon as you start loving one, it signs their death warrant. However, that of course is impossible to do as the characters are just so amazing. This pretty much describes my watching experiences.
Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) is the patriarch and one of the most honorable men there has ever been. He is kind, caring, sweet, and one of the best fictional dads. Of course as I’m sure you all know from the countless memes, he doesn’t stay long in the series. Oh why? Why George R. R.? Why!?
Then we have Jon Snow (Kit Harrington).
He’s been my favorite from the begining as he is:
And I have such a soft spot for people who are mistreated by others. Love him! And he is such a great older brother, I am so sad that he joined the Wall and doomed to be in that icy tundra.
Robb and the other Stark sons are cool too, but Arya is super awesome!
Swordswoman, and intent on righting all the wrongs in her family.
Now outside the Stark family I only have two characters I love. I once loved Khal Drogo
But George R.R. killed him off
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
So now I only care for Daenerys Targaryen, the one trying to reclaim her throne. She is strong, powerful, and has dragons.
The other is Tyrion Lannister. Mostly for this:
But besides that he is one awesome dude. If you haven’t jumped on the Game of Thrones train, check it out. If you have, then stay strong fellow fan.
Garfield
I have always loved orange, striped cats. Until I was able to have one of my own I was obsessed with them: coloring them, cutting pictures out of magazines, and of course loving Garfield.
This sarcastic cool cat will always be one of my absolute favorite comic strips as he is hilarious, fun, and describes my own orange cat perfectly. I have a ton of his comic books, stuffed Garfields, other Garfield memorabilia. And I’m always collecting more. Besides the books, I grew up watching his TV series and holiday specials.
So this was a show I grew up watching. I absolutely love it.
So Lorelei Gilmore (Lauren Graham) was born in a super wealthy family, but instead of fitting the “proper” mold she was an extreme wild child. She got pregnant at 16 and ran awau to nearby (but not too close) small town, Stars Hollow. There she raised her daughter Lorelei (Alexis Bledel), more commonly known as Rory. The show is about mother and daughter relationships, as Lorelei and her mother are always on the outs trying to understand each other; while Lorelei and Rory are best friends, making it hard for Lorelei when she should be parenting.The characters are amazing, the references hilarious, and this show makes you wish you could hang out with the crew at Luke’s Diner.
Now my all-time favorite character was Dean Forester, played by none other than Jared Padalecki. Yep, he was just perfect!
Dean was Rory’s first boyfriend and I always wished he were mine.
He was sweet, kind, caring, totally got her, wore a leather jacket…need I really go on?
Rory screwed it up by cheating on him with another guy. That about broke my heart as Dean was just so perfect! Eventually the writers tried to bring them back together, but the way they did it with Dean being a cheater and Rory the “other woman”, just ruined the romance and ended his time on the show. Although I can’t be too mad or sad at his leaving. Because after that he moved on to Supernatural, and you all know how I love that.
Loved the series, but the truth is; the Dean moments are my absolute favorite.
Words can not describe how much I love this film. It is just one truly amazing work.
So anyone who knows me, knows that there is no meme as true as this.
I am always peppering my conversations with movie quotes, and most of the time it’s The Godfather.
And why not? It IS the sum of all wisdom:
Every life lesson you need to know is in there, and one day I will do a huge post on it. But today, is not that day.
So The Godfather, as I mentioned in an earlier post is a fav film of my family. We used to watch it every Thanksgiving together. Now when I went away to school, I was mentioning how amazing this film is to my friend Aylin, and it turned out she had never seen the films. We decided to watch it together, and after the first one she was obsessed. Even more than me.
We watched them all, over and over again. We even traveled over an hour away to see the rerelease in theaters. And let me tell you that was awesome! As we watched the movie so many times, each one of us was given a character as to who we thought was the most similar. I got Michael.
Don’t mess with me!
That should tell you a lot about the type of person I am. 🙂
So the first film is the absolute best.
Such an awesome film! The Godfather is a story about the Italian mafia in the 1940-50s. This specific sect is overseen by Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). He has three sons; Alfredo (played by John Cazale), Santino (James Caan), and Michael (Al Pacino); and one daughter, Connie (Talia Shire). Santino is next in line to be godfather. Unlike his siblings, Michael wants nothing to do with his father’s business, instead wanting to live a “legal” life. When Don Corleone is shot by a rival, it changes everyone’s plans as they are all spiraled down a new path. You really feel for Michael as he ends up becoming someone he never wanted to ever be.
Now the second film was great, but not as good as the first. In this we have two storylines interweaving. We switch between the flashback of Don Vito Corleone and present day Michael Corleone. In Vito’s storyline we his immigration and early start in America; ending with his completion of becoming “The Godfather.” In the present, we have Michael: now moved to Nevada in hopes of being legitimate, his interests in Cuba, and FBI hearings.
The third movies was horrible don’t watch it. TRUST ME! Don’t watch it! The first & second, but the third is just—it really shouldn’t have been made.
No I’m talking about Neil Gaiman’s series TheSandman Chronicles.
Yeah? Pretty good looking. So the series is really interesting. Gaiman actually melds together different things to create his stories. Christianity, Greek mythology, Shakespeare, fairy tales, Egyptian mythology, fantasy, science fiction, retelling of classic literature, etc. And what comes out of this is AMAZING.
As my friend described it, you fall in love with Neil Gaiman’s brain, and his creation, Dream.
So Dream is one of the Endless, those who were in the beginning and will last until the last human dies. First there was his older sister Death, then his brother Destruction, Dream, the twins Despair and Desire, and lastly Delight who became Delirium.
At the beginning of the series, Dream has been captured by a man. The man was afraid of dying and had attempted to capture Death, but accidentally captures Dream. He traps him for years and causes his son to as well. Eventually, Dream escapes and find his kingdom and all the the dreaming places in ruin. He has to repair it along with dealing with the issues that were caused by his imprisonment.
It is really interesting as Dream’s story and his siblings are told in present day, along with flashbacks. You see how he was, but then how he has changed due to his imprisonment. And that’s not the only thing that is attractive about him.
He’s so eloquent. How he speaks, sigh. It is beautiful.
He himself is just so, sorry couldn’t help it, dreamy! He’s one of those tall, dark, handsome, broody types you all know I love and adore.
Now let me warn you. I wouldn’t go farther than book 8. It just, well I don’t want to give anything away but his reigns ends.
So this does not apply to just food, it applies even more to TV shows
Oh yeah!!!
My friend got me really into it. I recommend it as it is a great show and it has something for everyone:
Fair warning though, it will take you on a real ride of heartbreak:
Oh yeah, it will be hard and extremely difficult but just push through, you’ll be able to do it. And for the rough patches, there is always this to help you get through
So let’s talk about Mr. Darcy’s first meeting. He made several mistakes.
Yes, you did. You made a ton of blunders that really led to you demise in the public’s eye.
So we see that when Darcy is first introduced as being one hot guy.
“Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mein, and…having ten thousand a year…the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration…”
That is until he showed how prideful he is
“[Mr. Darcy] was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could save him…”
1. Not Dancing
Now I am not big on dancing, I’m like William H. Macy in Wild Hogs
But to people in Regency era dancing was an important thing. As a woman to be dancing it spoke of your beauty and possibility of marriage. Therefore Darcy giving a huge slight on the town and the women as he danced with no one. It was like saying no one there was good enough for him.
It also told everyone that they had no chance at all at gaining his heart as
“To be found of dancing was a certain step toward falling in love…”
Not good Mr. Darcy, not good at all.
Ouch
But in his defense he only knows a few people, and it can be hard to dance in front of strangers, especially if you are dancing with a stranger.
“You know how I detest it [dancing], unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner.”
I know I couldn’t do it. Mr. Bingley tries to introduce him to people, but Darcy just shuts him down. True it sounds rude, but I believe that Darcy is just socially awkward.
2. Pride
Yep, Darcy comes off as a regular tool, the way he acts above everybody else.
“he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased…”
He only dances two dances, one with Mrs. Hurst (Bingley’s sister) and Miss Caroline Bingley. He also only talked to the people within his party, declining to be introduced to anyone else.
“His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped he would never come there again.”
Good riddance
However, I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. It can be hard when you are in a new area. Sometimes you can come off being ruder than you mean to be.
I used to be like that a lot. People would tell me they thought I was a snob before, and glad that they were mistaken. I never realized that my self-consciousness was giving off that kind of vibe. In fact I feel bad for Darcy, as for him it was the same way. He never realizes the way he may portray himself or the attitude he gives off until Elizabeth tells him.
3. Slighting Elizabeth
Ooooh Darcy, this is where you really dig yourself into a hole.
“She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”
Ouch
Sorry Darcy, I have nothing to say to defend you. You said such a cruel thing and she tells her friend and family. Her mother spreads the story around and Darcy, you’re coffin is sealed.
Good riddance
So this clearly shows that we need to watch our actions and how we present ourselves to people. First impressions last a long time and take forever to overcome.
Also that even though Darcy is hot and rich, its personality that will always win over as everyone was willing to forget trying to win his heart, once they felt his personality was a huge zero.
Yep personality will always win out:
And it’s a good thing for us that Darcy has a beautiful soul to go with his body. It just takes a bit of time for us and Elizabeth to see it.
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