BTW: It's actually really difficult to take a picture with a large hard bound novel, from any angle.
Anywho, I pretty much love Goodreads.com and they have a nifty little program where you can enter to win giveaways for free books. There are literally hundreds of books. You have to pick and choose though, because a lot of them sound terrible.
However, there are some really great ones like books by the majestic Terry Pratchett, who is one of my favorite authors ever.
And then sometimes, really great things happen to you and you win giveaways and Mondays become more bearable.
And you can be sure that I will let you know how good the book is!
I came across this article on my newsreader iPad app, Zite. It's beautiful because you get to customize your feed and it will automatically bring you more stories with the stuff you like or are interested in. Of course, anything by Mindy Kaling, I'm a big fan of.
Hence, this article by Alexandra Pusateri. Since I talked about my overwhelming love here, I think this article does an excellent job of summarizing The Mindy Project and also pointing about what it does well.
"Instead of taking cues from some other female-driven television shows where women in leadership have to exude masculinity or coldness, The Mindy Project is a lesson to the contrary. Bubbly and quirky, Mindy can come off as ditzy to some viewers' eyes, but looking a bit deeper, there's a lot more to her. Sure, she's a pop culture aficionado, but she's also incredibly intelligent and quick-witted."
I think that is part of my fascination with Mindy Lahiri (the character on the show). Yes, she is a hot mess sometimes, but she is a highly educated, successful professional woman. So what if she loves reality TV? So what if she hates exercising and can't cook with anything beyond a microwave? She's realistic and I love that.
The article gives a shout-out to Adam Pally, who plays Dr. Peter Prentice. "When Dr. Peter Prentice (Adam Pally from the nixed Happy Endings) is hired to replace Franco's character, he brings a raunchy, bro vibe to the show to contrast Mindy — and it fits. Peter's single-guy take on dating, girls, and guy stuff adds a dimension to The MindyProject that makes everyone even more likable." Believe it or not, I love Peter's character on the show. He is a bit much too handle sometimes, but just roll your eyes and look for the times when he is completely charming.
Entertainment Wednesday: Once a week, I will highlight some pop culture element that I'm currently enjoying at the moment. Sound off in the comments if there is something that I need to see.
The Mindy Project on Fox: I love, love, love The Mindy Project! And tonight it's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack! (And since I don't have regular TV, when I say tonight, I mean Wednesday after school on Hulu) After a mid-season hiatus, Mindy and her crew are back and I'm thrilled.
What is it about: Mindy Lahiri (played by Mindy Kaling) is a 30-something OBGYN in New York who is an eternal romantic and is trying to figure her life out, still.
Why I Like it: Daniel Castellano (he is a significant part of why I love this show), Mindy Lahiri's fashion sense, and it's basically a weekly rom-com.
Usually my sister and I have similar tastes in entertainment, so it bums me out that she hates this show with such a violent passion. She just can't get past the idea of Mindy as Kelly Kapoor from The Office. I've previously mentioned that I dislike The Office, (Ugh, SO MUCH) so I didn't mind it at all. Fortunately, I have friends that have fantastic taste and who I can gush over new developments with.
And there is always something new. Part of the genre of rom-coms are romantic story lines, and Mindy really plays with the concept. The Mindy on the show is an expert on all the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan-esque films and tries (and fails) to make her life like one. Mindy has had SO many love interests and yummy guest starring men from James Franco, to BJ Novak, to Ben Feldman, to Seth Rogen. Oh it is glorious.
Mindy is a realistic character. You can totally see her functioning in the real world, unlike Jess from New Girl who is too Manic-Pixie-Dream-Girl to handle sometimes. While I loooooved New Girl the first two seasons, season three was truly terrible (although Jess's b-day party from Nick was adorbs). Mindy is realistic in tone, her observations on social expectations are ON POINT, and her fashion is to die for. Seriously, I would drool over almost every piece her closet.
So, if you haven't yet, give Mindy a chance. (I'm looking at you, Denay). And rejoice because it's back on tonight (Tuesday) and I will finally get to see what happens after this:
If you are still reading, this fan-vid will give you a glimpse why I absolutely ADORE Danny Castellano:
If you've spent any time around me, you will pick up on the fact that I love history. More than that, I have illogical romantic attachments to historical figures.
Particularly, Alexander Hamilton.
Oooooo. So much looooooove.
This fact was so apparent that at one point, my roommate painted me a portrait of A.H. for a birthday present. This crush is real and ongoing, 7 years strong, I'm telling you people.
However, this post is not solely dedicated to A.H. even though the man fully deserves his own post. And will probably get one at one point. This is to show you this slightly inappropriate blog that I just discovered thanks to a friend.
Mostly historical facts with some snark and pictures of attractive dudes, what more can you ask for? I love learning things that I didn't know before and this blog has it all. Random facts about pretty famous people. And the best part?! A.H. was the very first post. BOOOYA! Apparently, Alexander is a pretty popular choice. Why not?! The man was brilliant, founding father and duel-to-the-death type of guy.
No really, he died in a duel. Stupid Aaron Burr.
I will leave you with a rap about Alexander Hamilton that was sung in the White House. No joke, it's quite good and IT'S ABOUT ALEXANDER HAMILTON. What more do you people need?! ;)
I can't help it.
I love him so much.
I had no idea what I was missing.
It's an odd sort of attraction.
He's enchanting; in a strange bookish way.
And as the Doctor he's brilliant, obtuse, adorable, vengeful, generous, awkward, hilarious and sweet all at once. It's quite an accomplishment being all those things at once.
Oh I love him, I love him, I love him, I do.
Any other Doctor Who aficionados out there??
I love making lists, especially top ten lists. Since Bollywood is a recent obsession, I've decided to compile one long blog post dedicated to that which I love most. Aaaaand, I had some time on my hands when I finished taking a test and couldn't leave...
So, the rating is purely of my own devising.Expect a lot of personal opinion here and not a lot of legitimate movie criticism. There will be five categories. Music, Characters, Plot, Costuming, and Overall rating, out of five stars, the stars being this * symbol.
*= No bueno
**=Meh, could have been better
***=I liked it while I watched it
****=I loved it and showed it to friends and family
*****=Loved it, spread it around, and was still talking about it even after I returned the movie
/=half rating
To make it musically, the songs have to be memorable or catchy. Characters means that I like the characters portrayed or the actors that play them. Plot basically judges whether or not the story makes sense. I mean, some story-lines are ridiculous, but they still are good. Some story-lines are just dumb (and probably didn't make the list. Believe it or not, I have seen more than 10 Bollywood movies, so that makes me qualified to even make a top ten. Obviously.) Costuming! This is one of my most favorite parts of Bollywood films; the costuming. There was a rough patch there, in the late nineties, early 2000's where the costumes were really, just awful. But then again, fashion was awful everywhere...I mean, Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys were the trend-setters then...Yup. Not a great time for fashion. Lastly, there is the overall rating, which is the order of the list.
Let's start from the bottom and work our way to the top, shall we?
10. Saawariya
This was my very, very first Bollywood film, way back in the days when my family used to get movie rentals every couple of weeks. (I guess this fever was a long time coming.) It has been ages since I've seen it, but it has stuck with me. It has also served as a sort of litmus test for friendships. I knew when one of my then new college roommates had seen it that we were going to BFFs. I mean, when you live in the USA and have both seen a movie than is only marginally available, along with a handful of other strange or rare movies, then you know you have to be friends.
Anyways, back to the movie. It had a strange, unreal, poetic dreamlike flavor to it. Kind of reminds me of Moulin Rouge. I love movies that really take me to another time and place, and this movie was ambiguous enough, that you weren't sure if it was a fairytale or not. Needless to say, I wouldn't mind seeing this one again. The title links to the IMDb page, so you can find a summary because I am afraid that I would give too much away. Here is my opinion though: The story wasn't quite what I expected and I enjoyed it even more so because of that. The main character was adorable and a heart-stealer. The costuming gets the rating it does because of the whole feel of the movie; it was all so magical.
Music: **/ (Three and a half because one song was particularly memorable, even after all these years.)
Characters:**/
Plot: ***
Costuming:***/
Overall:**/
9. Bride and Prejudice
Just kidding guys, this might have been my very first "Bollywood" film. I put Bollywood in quotations because I am still not quite sure if I would classify this as Bollywood, mostly because there is just so much English! Haha, you get so used to hearing Hindi that listening to the movie in English is just odd. But it does have the typical song and dance. Aaand I love the wedding dance. I recommended this movie to a friend, except I forgot to mention that it was a musical, and it threw them for a loop when the first song happened. But I do love the storyline. I mean, it's Jane Austen's classic tale! Everyone loves a good love/hate relationship story that ends in marriage.
Music:****
Characters:**/ (Love Aishwarya Rai as Elizabeth, but not so sure I like Martin Henderson as Darcy.)
Plot:****
Costuming: *** (Really appreciate traditional Indian dress. It's so bright and colorful!)
Overall:***/
8. Pardes
Beautiful Shak Rukh Khan plays the best friend. He was basically adopted by a rich Indian businessman in American, and when his adopted father wants to arrange a marriage for his jerk of a (biological) son, he asks Shak Rukh Khan to make it happen. Besides the romance of the story, this story really made me think about the culture shock that Indian brides can go through. India is unique because of the tradition of arranged marriages but as India becomes more and more integrated with the world, they have to find a way to adjust their unique traditions with other cultures.
Music:**/
Characters:**** (Oh-my-freaking-goodness...so Shak Rukh Khan's character does the stupidest, most dramatic, possibly most romantic thing ever, potentially suffering severe nerve damage. We all screamed, like seriously screamed when it happened.)
Plot:***
Costuming: ***
Overall:***
7. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
This is the most recent one. We watched it last night. Since I cannot pronounce all the different k-words, I use its shortened nickname: K3G. So much simpler. The best part of this movie? So much eye-candy. I also loved the relationship between the brothers, and the portrayal of a mother's love. So touching.
Music:**/
Characters:*** (Kajol's character was slightly annoying, but her younger sister was even more so. I wouldn't mind just watching Shak Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan the whole movie, but having better female characters would have made the movie that much better.)
Plot:****
Costuming:** (One of the characters has NO fashion sense. She wears bell-bottoms with the front cut out, so it's capris in the front, bell-bottoms in the back. Ulghhh)
Overall: ***/ (I wanted to love this one more than I did. I mean, it has Hrithik Roshan aaaaand Shak Rukh Khan. But I didn't absolutely love it, which made me sad inside.)
6. Vivah
Super sweet movie detailing the growth of relationship between a recently (arranged) engaged couple. The girl is sweet and loyal. The boy is super cute and is head-over-heels in love. The plot took a completely unforeseen turn towards the last hour or so of the movie. It was interesting, but I don't think it was completely necessary. It could have ended much sooner, still with the same ending! But still, I like it. This movie made me want even more than ever that arranged marriages were acceptable in LDS culture. ;)
Music:***/
Characters:****
Plot:***
Costuming:***
Overall:***/
5. Dhoom 2
If you recall, I shared a video from this movie previously here. This is an action/romance/buddy-cop/heist/thriller movie. Can you believe it, all in one?! Mr. A (Hrithik Roshan) is the world's most successful thief and a cop and his sidekick have decided to take him down. The movie goes from India to Rio, with music and dancing included. Aishwarya Rai is a girl thief who intrigues Mr. A, so he takes her on as a protege (that's the romance part). I watched the songs over and over again. :) Have yet to see the first Dhoom...
Music:****
Characters:***/ (Just because I love Hrithik Roshan sooo much)
Plot:****
Costuming:***
Overall:****
4.Om Shanti Om
This was my first Shak Rukh Khan movie. I love, love, love him. I remember a girl telling me about this movie like last year, and I was like, 'yah, yeh, whatever'. Little did I know what joy this movie beholds! This movie has it all: reincarnation, character growth, bad guys, 70's parody, aaaand Shak Rukh Khan. Seriously, he is so so beautiful. At first, the movie starts out in 70's Bollywood and Shak Rukh Khan is hidden under hideous polyester and 70's mustache. Just wait though. Wait. He comes back. Modern day and BUILT. Based solely on Shak Rukh Khan's presence, he puts this movie into the top five. The plot isn't that bad either. It's also somewhat a parody of modern Bollywood with a lot of special appearances from lots of big names. It's funny cause the more I see, the more people I begin to recognize.
3. Jodhaa Akbar
I already posted about this movie here, so I won't go through my rave review again, but just to let you know, this is what started it all. This is also really the only historical one I've seen so far. I have started watching Lagaan (another historical Bollywood, but this time about British India) but haven't finished it yet, so I am not sure where it will fit in this whole list thing. Keep an eye out.
Music:****
Characters:****
Plot:*****
Costuming:**** (The mustache was a little weird, not going to lie...)
Overall:*****
2. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ)
I want you to know that this is the longest running film in Indian cinema. It's been playing constantly for something like 15 years! I hope it keeps playing long enough that I can actually see it in India, someday (new life goal, yes indeed.) This movie also set the bar in Bollywood for romance. In another film, its entire premise was based on DDLJ. The main couple, Raj and Simran, have become synonymous with true love. True love, I tell you.
Music:****
Characters:*****
Plot:*****
Costuming:***
Overall:*****
And now, ladies and gentlemen, here is my top choice. Ready?
I don't know what it is, but the whole story of best friends who fall in love gets me every time. Well, this is really two, almost three, love stories, but only one broke my heart. Seriously, I was simply in tears at intermission. I loved Shak Rukh Khan (Rahul) and Kajol (Anjali). They have this sweet handshake thing that they do, between them. It's a sign of true friendship. And Rahul's little girl is quite adorable. AND his HAIR. I don't know how he does it, but his hair is absolutely beautiful every time!
Music:****
Characters:*****
Plot:*****
Costuming:**/ (It was hideous at the beginning, but got better as time went on.)
Overall:*****
Honorable Mentions: Jaane tu--ya Jaane na; includes the three requirements for a boy to become a man. Plus some great quotables. "Uh, sir, the terrorist is meowing..." Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani; interesting look at the role of media in the govt., especially where corruption is concerned. However, some awful costumes and some silly moments.
Well, there is it. My top ten list. As you can tell, Shak Rukh Khan is slightly over-represented (5/10 movies!) but I can't help it! I just adore him so much. Next most represented, Hrithik Roshan, of course. Believe it or not, there were actually some SRK (Shak Rukh Khan) movies I've seen that didn't make the list. Sometimes he does make silly ones.
Oo, what I'm looking forward to? The first superhero Bollywood film. Hmmmmmmmm. :)
Yes, I know. I am behind the times. But hey, at least I am on the bandwagon now!
This girl has talent. And lungs. She can belt it out like it's nobody's business.
I think that I have probably listened to this song dozens of times in the last 24 hrs. It's that good.
Enjoy!
It's official!
Study Abroad in Norway, Summer 2011.
I am so excited. So nervous. But mostly, excited.
Norway is probably one of the coolest places in the world. Studying it for four years and now finally getting to go?! It's like a dream come true. I hope we can get a couple more people on board, so that it will make it easier (aka cheaper) to go. So, if you know anyone who is interested, tell them about it.
You don't have the know the language. It's cheaper than other BYU study abroad programs. And it's NORWAY .
Or better yet. Go here: http://kennedy.byu.edu/isp/pdfs/SAnorway_sum11.pdf
The deadline has been extended to February 22, 2011. So time's ticking! Pass the word!
I found this picture in my camera. Utah may be frigid for months but it sure knows how to paint a mountain.
Stunning.
I can only imagine how it must have looked two hundred years ago before parking lots and all-night lighting. Can you imagine being the first person to have ever seen anything like this?
It's like physical poetry. If I was more creatively motivated, I'd compose a verse in honor of the mountains. But I am not that confident in my poetic soul. You will have to fill in where I have failed.
But seriously, what better muse could you have asked for?
Normally, I don't get a whole lot of time during the school year to watch TV. (This is what is known as a good thing, because if I started watching a lot of TV, NOTHING would get done, I promise you. I have enough to do as it is, and I excel at procrastination well enough that I don't need anything else to add to my delaying tactics.)
BUT
Over Christmas break, however, it is a different story. What does one do with all the time in the world? Watch TV. Good TV, not lame ones. Ok, I know I have been guilty of fascination with iCarly...and Victorious...Dang Nickelodeon...
The point of the post is, I found Leverage.
A modern day Robin Hood and his band. They are thieves who are talented in their own special ways, who come together to help those who can't help themselves against the rich, powerful, and morally corrupt. "Sometimes the best bad guys make the best good guys." Or something like that.
And this ^ this is the beautiful man that is just the cherry on top of a good TV show. He's so beautiful, with his long hair and angry-ness. La! Love, love, love.
Thus, sharing time ends.
Have a darling day!
"Know all the books in your local library better than the librarian. Go there every night. Livethere. Educated yourself. Know all the stock in the local book store. I do. There is no day in my life I do not go to at least one book store. Go to art galleries. Look. Fill up. See every film ever made. Fill up on that medium. Know everything that is bad. Only by knowing what is bad can you avoid badness. The snob who refuses knowledge in mediocrities remains always second-rate himself. I have collected Prince Valiant for 30 years. Listen to bad music and good music and great music. Study architecture. Read science-fiction, because it is the one fiction which is curious about ALL the above, all and everything, on every level. In sum: run, shout, search, be puzzled, go on, from day to day, with high enthusiasm."
~Ray Bradbury
Source: Witkin, Mitzi. "A Defense of Using Pop Media in the Middle-School Classroom." The English Journal 83.1 (1994): 30-33. Print.
I don't know how many of you heard, but off the coast of southern California, a massive Carnival cruise liner has been stranded some 200 miles San Diego. There was an engine fire which knocked out power to basically the whole ship, also cutting hot water and electricity off. (There is a link to the article here.)
No crew or passengers were injured.
You would think, out of all the sea-going vessels, cruise ships would be some of the safest (Poseidon Adventure aside), especially with all that food. I never really thought about this problem, but with no electricity, the is NO REFRIGERATION. All that food, gone to waste. The US coast guard had to actually fly in emergency food supplies until the ship can make it back to land.
Which, bring me to the purpose of this post.
How is a powerless, broken 113,000 ton (that means it's BIG) cruise ship going to make it back to land?
The answer, my friends, is tugboats.
Can you imagine it? These hearty little things are pulling that monstrosity all 200 miles back to safety.
My admiration level for these little boats has gone up immeasurably these past couple of days. I sure hope those passengers appreciate what is going in to save them, although I can pretty much assure that they are probably furious right now.
Scared, maybe; furious, most definitely.
Anyways, as I was trying to find a picture of these brave little engines, these engines that could, I came across this delightful gem.
(...also, the style is very old school internet...the kind I remember learning about in elementary school. It kind of warms the cockles of your heart to see such nostalgia.)
Anyways, I'd thought I'd share what I've been following the past couple of days. Knock on wood that it turns out OK, and that everyone gets home safe.
Except poor Carnival...they are going to lose a boatload* of money.
If you follow this blog, you have probably already seen this stuff on Facebook, but I couldn't help myself. This movie needs to be known.
Here's the story:
There is this thing called the Lost Media Archive. I can't find the website right now, but I will update it when I can get to it.
Shannon goes sometimes because she is cool like that and has unique friends. So anyway, it's a group that collects old and out-of-print things. Like things that you have never, ever heard of. Last night was the showing of this movie, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit.
BEST. MOVIE. EVER.
Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451 and who is most well-known for his suspense/sci fi stuff, wrote this screenplay. It was actually a short story of his and it has actually been turned into a musical. A musical that still plays, like on stage. I am constantly amazed by what I don't know.
I can't believe I lived my whole life without this gem!
It was a slight shock to me to see someone who knew more obscure stuff than me. I'm usually the one showing people true film treasures. If The Shoe Fits, anyone? Who can forget Rob Lowe, Jennifer Grey, France, 80's fashion? It's the best. Apparently, it's hard to find online too, so I can't show you a picture. Boo. But if you are interested, give me a holler and we will watch it. I am only too happy to oblige (I have a VHS, yes, I am that cool).
Anyways, back to the Wonderful Ice Cream Suit!
It's about five Latino men in East LA who are down on their luck in various ways. They all come together and pitch in 20 bucks and buy a fantastic electric white suit.
Like, burn your retinas white.
...I can still see the suit dancing in front of my eyes...
Anyways, each of the men share the suit for one hour and each of their wildest dreams come true, thanks to the suit. Kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but BETTER.
There is mariachi music, Latin accents (in various degrees of awfulness) and superb quotable lines, i.e. the title of this here post. It's like, gooood stuff. If you manage to get your hands on it, again, give me a holler and we will have a party. There is nothing like good Latin movies and 80's.
Gosh. I love the 80's.
I have these moments All steady and strong I’m feeling so holy and humble The next thing I know I’m all worried and weak And I feel myself Starting to crumble.
The meanings get lost And the teachings get tossed And you don’t know what you’re Going to do next. You wait for the sun But it never quite comes Some kind of message comes Through to you. Some kind of message comes through.
And it says to you...
Love when you can Cry when you have to... Be who you must That’s a part of the plan Await your arrival With simple survival And one day we’ll all understand...
I had a woman Who gave me her soul But I wasn’t ready to Take it. Her heart was so fragile And heavy to hold And I was afraid I might Break it.
Your conscience awakes And you see your mistakes And you wish someone Would buy your confessions. The days miss their mark And the night gets so dark And some kind of message Comes through to you Some kind of message Shoots through --
There is no Eden or Heavenly gates That you’re gonna make it to One day But all of the answers you seek Can be found In the dreams that you dream On the way.
This is my new favorite song. At the moment. Anyways, I realize that I am a little behind everything...I just don't like doing something that everyone else is doing. So if you are wondering why I am paying attention to the World Cup two months after it's over, you must realize that it is a pride issue. I'm working on it, ok? Anyways, can I just say how much I love Shakira? Not because everyone, upon hearing my name says "Like Shakira, huh?" (I can't tell you HOW many times that has happened. Let's have some originality here, please people!) Anyways, I totally want to learn how to dance like this. I think it's going to take some practice...
I am not kidding. When I am not playing it over and over again on my ipod, I am watching it on youtube. I am fairly certain that a big portion of the views have come from me, but I feel very strongly that it needs to be watched a lot more by more people. So watch it people!
I love their sound. I love the mixture of strings and guitars and drums. It's so delicious. And soothing.
And if you are interested, Amazon mp3 has the "Long Goodbye" for free as well as all of their other songs for a price.
I know this show is aimed for eleven year olds, otherwise known as "tweens". But it makes me SO happy. Freddie is adorable And Carly's older brother/guardian Spencer is hilarious. It is one of my secret pleasures, that now is not so secret... Check it out! Bon Appetit!
This weekend has been marvelous. Dancing, parties, movies and homework. It is almost done and that makes me drowsily relaxed. The rain helps too. I love the cold, rainy weather, with the mountains all foggy and mysterious. Rain in the desert is always a miracle. I don't care how many times it rains in Utah, I am always surprised. And pleased. One of my most cherished memories happened one time in the rain. I used to go on walks around the neighborhood with a good, good friend of mine. We would just walk and talk. About anything and everything. That is one of the dearest things you could do, is honestly spend time with someone. It is the easiest, simplest way to get to my heart. It means you really care because out of all the million and one things you could be doing, you are spending time with me. It's true affection. Anyways, we were walking and talking as was our tradition when the heavens opened and poured down buckets of rain.
Like this. There was nothing left to do but run home, laughing. Which we did. Rain makes me think of that.
Besides the rain, this weekend, I went to the BYU Ballroom Dance Company Concert with a friend of mine. The concert was amazing. I love dancing. I love watching it, I love participating in it. Not just any kind of dancing, although that can be fun. I mean real dancing. Dancing is a blend of movement, music, art and emotion used to create whatever you want. Beautiful.
Someday I will dance without reservation or inhibition. Until then, I will dance when no one is looking and bide my time, waiting for the chance.
