I want to marry this video...

Don't you?

All the ladies...

I like to watch a lot of TCM and AMC, it's part of what gave me my inspiration for the story I've been working on. A lot of times when I'm watching these old movies I'll see an actress and think "Oh she would make a great Jane, if I were filming this story in 1948." I know, I need a life. Thank you.

Here are just a few of said inspirations, enjoy!

Lizzy - Hedy Lamarr

She's got a wholesome, sort of good-girl vibe, but looks like she'd have a great sense of humor.

Jane - Carole Landis

This is one of the few actresses I came across that was smiling in most of her photos. It seems that pouting was very popular in the Golden Age of Cinema.

Caroline - Ella Raines

She's gonna get you! 

Claire Connelly - Anna Neagle

She looks sweet, doesn't she? Like the popular girl in school that you wanted to hate but just couldn't.



Anne - Gene Tierney

To me, Anne is sort of perpetually sad.


Georgiana - Janet Blair
It's almost impossible to find photos of young, brunette actresses from the 1940's. Janet definitely has the face though, she looks innocent and good-natured.


Kitty and Lydia - Joan and Constance Bennet

 These two look like trouble, don't they?

Mrs. Bennet - Barbara Stanwyck

She's got the vapors! Quick, grab her smelling salts!


Catherine - Marlene Dietrich

Oh Marlene. I could only find about 2 photos of the woman where she doesn't have a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. I've always thought she looked very forbidding, much like Lady C!

Photo Friday: The Host, Video Edition

I came across the below fan video for Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host' yesterday. I know that it's going to be adapted to a movie, imdb shows the release date as 2011. If you are rolling your eyes and groaning about sparkly vampires, you can cut it out this instant. Meyer's website calls The Host 'science fiction for people who don't like science fiction'. Well, I do like science fiction, and The Host is still pretty damned good.

What makes this story different is that as soon as you open it, you see that we've already lost. Earth has been successfully invaded. Sound familiar? Like...Twelve Colonies familiar? Though the Host invaders are actually aliens and not robots, the premise works for the exact same reason Battlestar Galactica worked. The human race is reduced to almost nothing, hiding and scavenging while trying to keep a Resistance going. And while the invaders (who call themselves 'Souls') don't have a great agenda like the Cylons did, other than bringing 'peace' to our world, we are nevertheless used as pods for their peas.

The story is about Melanie Stryder, a human woman who is part of the resistance gets captured and implanted with Wanderer, who is sort of the Steve Irwin of Souls, but female. Wanderer has access to Melanie's memories, and is tasked with trying to use those memories to root out the human resistance. But instead of turning them over, Wanderer seeks them out. Melanie is still partially at the wheel, and what follows is one of the most unexpected and surprisingly intelligent stories I've ever read. I can't really do it justice here, and besides this isn't 'Windbag Friday', it's 'Photo Friday', so Here is a great review of the book. Read it, it's good, that's all.

I've been looking around, and apparently a lot (a LOT) of people are loving Jensen Ackles as Melanie's lover Jared. I have to confess, he'd never even entered my mind (I'd always thought more along the lines of Charlie Hunam) but as soon as I saw this video, it clicked for me. I can't really picture anyone else as him now. It looks as though Ian Somerhalder is being rumored to play Ian O'Shea, the human man who begins to fall for Wanderer (not Melanie, it's a regular love quadrangle and very well done). I don't have a problem with that, but I do like the idea of Jared Padalecki better. Ian and Kyle (twins) are suppossed to be big guys, and Jared's definitely got the range it would take to play both parts. Here's hoping!

As Promised...

Here the bit of writing I've been working on. I've only posted the first 3 chapters, when I got up from my computer today I had just finished 12.

It is a Pride & Prejudice story (naturally, you didn't think I was reading all of those Darcy books for the hell of it, did you?).

IF you are interested I will give you a little backstory. Just after WWII, Lt. Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam meets a young Elizabeth Bennet while on vacation in Charleston, SC. Three years later, Elizabeth is home from college when a young wealthy bachelor named Mr. Bingley buys the property closest to her family's home, Longbourn Farm.

I've stuck with the basics of the P&P plot, with a few changes. It's relatively easy to transplant the characters into the south, a lot southern people (sorry, but especially older folks) still use a very proper way of speaking so that helps.

In any case, I'm trying to get more chapters ready for upload, if anyone cares. In the meantime, here are a couple of exchanges that I was kind of proud of. The first is between Lizzy and Jane, and the second between Lizzy and Darcy. Feedback is welcome, but be gentle, I'm fragile in the region of my Ego.

::Mr. Bingley Stuffs His Face::
 Elizabeth, smiling at Jane said, “You would think that your Mr. Bingley had never had eaten before the way he inhaled that food.” Jane blushed, thinking she’d barely touched her food for watching Mr. Bingley eat.

“He did tell me that neither of his sisters ever learned to cook. They have a cook but Mr. Bingley gave her a month off to visit her daughter in Raleigh. I think he’s been having to make do with Caroline’s cooking for the past few weeks.”

“Ah, that explains it then. I think Mama took it as a great compliment to you. Though how she figures a man stuffing eight pieces of chicken in his mouth is a compliment to a lady, I’ll never understand.”

“It was hardly eight pieces, but I understand your point.” Jane sighed dreamily, as if stuffing his face with fried chicken was the most romantic thing she’d ever seen. Elizabeth was determined, however, to be diplomatic.


::Mr. Darcy is tricked into helping Elizabeth in her garden::
Bent to her work, she didn’t speak, and he decided to break the silence first.
 
“Can I help you with that, Miss Elizabeth?”
Without looking up she said, “And muss that fine crease? How could I live with myself, Mr. Darcy? No, if you don’t mind your current employment, this’ll be but a moment’s work.” He shook his head, surprised to find himself enjoying her teasing barbs. Something else occurred to him and he broke the silence again.

“May I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“Your father mentioned you went to college.”

“That, Mr. Darcy, was not a question, as any college-educated lady could tell you.”

“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. I was going to ask what you studied.”

Photo Friday: Peter Bishop

 Math never looked so good.

Peter is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on TV. He always seems so calm and collected. Joshua Jackson plays him with such intensity you get the impression that he's not calm, only tightly coiled and ready to spring any second. He's got a brilliant mind, and a charm that only comes with being slightly vague and rather mysterious, but he also seems to have this sweet, sunny innocence too.

It doesn't hurt that Jackson, who was always a decent actor (you know he was the only reason you watched The Creek) has come into his own over the past few years. Not to mention he is certifiably gorgeous. Even if inter-dimensional scientific espionage isn't your thing, isn't this reason enough to watch Fringe?

 I love a good scowl. Seriously, I do.

Peter and Olivia, this picture is smokin' hot!

Team Free Will Triumphs (Sort of) Again

I have calmed down enough now to have a few thought's on last night's Lost.  I plan to be liberal with spoilers after the jump...

Relations Such As These

 

 I have come across some fairly horrid and fairly excellent self-published books based on Pride & Prejudice lately, I think this one falls somewhere in the middle. Plot aside, never have I seen a book so  badly in need of an editor!!! I've never seen so many spelling mistakes and quotation crimes in my life! After about four pages, I had to grab my sharpie ultrafine and start adding quotations myself, in case I decide to re-read this book in the future. More about this book after le saut...

Casting a Project That Will Probably Never Happen, Even Though It Would Kick Ass

There has been some back and forth, some "Will he or won't he" talk about JJ Abrams and Daniel Lindelof adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower Series for film or television. The last word on this was that it wasn't going to be adapted anytime soon, with Lindelof just wrapping up Lost it would probably be a pretty huge feat to pull off something with such a big mythology as DT. However, the speculations still abound and a few days ago I came across This Site with their ideas for DT Casting. Some of them I have no Problem with...others I'm not so sure. And since I think I rock at this sort of thing, I'm going to give it a shot myself. I'm putting in a jump since this is an image-heavy post...Click Images to Enlarge...

The Young Victoria

Emily Blunt? Good. Paul Bettany? Good. Rupert Friend? Gooooooooooood. Watch it. That's all.

Jane Eyre 1997: Robots, Mustaches and Rupert Penry-Jones!

So I finally got over my wariness of Ciarán Hinds' mustache and watched the 1997 A&E version of Jane Eyre starring Mr. Hinds as Rochester and Samantha Morton as Jane. I did enjoy it, for the most part, and I realize that not every version has the benefit of a good budget the way the 2006 miniseries undoubtedly did. Taking that into account I still get incredibly frustrated when they gloss over the last part of the story (the events that take place after Jane leaves Thornfield). I really don't care all that much about young orphan Jane and Mr. Brocklehurst, etc. I want to dive right in to the juicy Rochester parts! This was my biggest complaint, other than that I found myself pleasantly surprised by this version.

Samantha Morton is a fine actress, and she plays Jane very well, though at times I found her voice a little (no, very) Robotic. Her interpretation of Jane didn't seem to be terribly self-possessed or self-assured the way Jane is. At times it seems like she has "been trampled on". I wish she could have played her with a little more backbone, watching the proposal scene she seemed more terrified of Rochester than anything. That being said, she still was perfectly capable of the material, I just wish she had done a bit more with it. That, and the voice-overs were unnecessary and sometimes confusing.

The green frock coat and the top hat makes me want cereal for some reason...

On the other hand, Ciarán Hinds (who I also love) almost did a little too much with Edward Rochester. He was certainly the crankiest, surliest version of Rochester I've ever seen! Maybe it's the timbre of his voice that gives it that rough edge. Though, oddly enough he was nicer to Adele in this film. In any event, I really came to love this version of Rochester. Hinds played him with a passionate, wild and unapologetic desperation. He might be the closest an actor has come to Brontë's character. I love Toby Stephens and his portrayal will always be first place (unless Michael Fassbender knocks it out of the park) but he did seem to be a gentler and more sensual Rochester than the character from the book. And Hinds deftly handles the very changeable moods of Mr. Rochester. I think if not for his performance this would have been an ultimately forgettable movie.

 The Moor House part of the story, as I mentioned, was very much pared down. It's never mentioned that Jane is related to St. John and Diana (no Mary or Hannah is this one) but at one point they are calling each other "brother" and "sister" out of the blue. Huh? St. John was played by certified dreamboat Rupert Penry-Jones, who you might know as playing a very foxy (though slightly wooden) Captain Wentworth in the BBC's 2007 remake of Jane Austen's Persuasion. All I want to know is why is St. John Rivers suddenly so happy and bubbly? There was none of the religious fire and cold manipulation of the character in this portrayal. To me, it's one of the most important aspects of the story! St. John's "proposal" is bitterly, sharply different from Rochester's, who actually loves Jane.  Reading those scenes in the book, he seems to almost haunt Jane like a ghost in order to bend her to his will. If I could describe the character of St. John in a word, it would be "suffocating". Not so here. Here he's just a cute, affable guy who says "Hey! We both love God! Let's get married and go somewhere really hot!" Despite the cuteness of it's actor, this St. John Rivers did not answer for me.

 And what the hell is up with that hair?!?!

 I had some other minor issues, Gemma Jones is great but she seemed a little more abrupt than Mrs. Fairfax is usually portrayed, and Blance Ingram was kind of Fug. I also thought Thornfield Hall was more bright and cheerful than usual. I do have to applaud them for the great job they did with Bertha, from her mattress-lined room to how large she seemed (she was a large woman in the book).

If you are a Jane Eyre enthusiast like I am, it's certainly worth a watch, if only to laugh at the line "Mrs. Faifax got a letter. Sophie got a letter. Even Pilot got a letter!"

[Edit] Has anyone gotten a chance to read This yet? If you have, what did you think?

Cleaning up the Camera...

Just some photos I took a good while back...

 

More after das wechseln...

North and South and OMG my knees don't work!

So I had never seen North & South, nor read the book by Elizabeth Gaskell, but It was on my "Amazon Recommends" list and so I put it in my Netflix queue and forgot all about it. And then I started frequenting over here and got curious as to who this Richard Armitage guy is I kept reading so much about, so I finally got around to watching North & South.

Oh. My. God. Why have I never seen this? I've seen several versions of like, every Jane Austen adaptation and a small Army of Jane Eyres and this is one of the better shows I've ever seen in terms of story, production value, superior acting, and pure unrelenting hotness. RA can do more with a well-aimed glance that the majority of actors can do with some of the best dialog to be had. I was swooning for hours after watching this, and I'm afraid all of my friends on Stumbleupon were probably ready to delete me by the end of the day.

Now that I've gotten most of my fangirl squeals out of the way, I can talk about the movie. And only the movie, when I read the book I'll probably have more or otherwise to say.

Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) is a character I definitely like and relate to, she's smart and witty (though not quite as witty as Elizabeth Bennett) and she's kind and understanding (though not quite as understanding as Jane Eyre). It's her flaws that make me like her even more, from one stubborn girl to another...I salute you. But what I love about Margaret is how really terrible crap just keeps getting piled on her, heap after heap and she keeps her back straight and takes it for the sake of those that depend on her. She doesn't apologize for the things she has to do...though she does try to make people, sometimes unsuccessfully, understand. And girlfriend is Courageous! She jumps on a man to save him from an angry mob, that takes some serious backbone (especially after watching Gangs of New York, where I learned to be truly afraid of Angry Mobs).

The other main character, Mr. John Thornton (RA) is a born survivor, smart, fiercely temperamental but also truly tender. I know most people might say his angry outbursts or scathing criticisms would be his biggest flaw, but I would say it's being a total Mama's Boy.

There are some misunderstandings and a lot of the story is dedicated to the struggle between union and industry during the industrial revolution. I love that it was more than just a love story. There is a lot of commentary on Society, Class and Gender, and Margaret and Thornton are both in the unique position of having lived both well-off (or at least comfortable) and poor at various points in their lives.

I also enjoyed that so much of the movie talked about Cotton, and where I'm from in South Carolina it's all cotton, all the time. Stuff is NASTAY. 

In any case, here is a pretty good fan-made trailer that I sent everyone with an internet connection along with the message "EEEEEEE!" So do yourself and me a favor and give it a go, will you?

Remembrance of the Past*

*I stayed up like all night reading this book and am so tired that I didn't notice at first that I typed "Remembrance of the Spats". Seems kind of redundant, no? You would definitely remember If you saw someone wearing Spats.

What I have to say about this book will be brief as I am super tired and want nothing more than to be eating a cheeseburger in bed. Possibly a milkshake too.

I'd like to start by talking about the first half of this book. It's a "What If" P&P retelling, with a coda and some extras thrown in. Two months after his first disaster of a proposal, Darcy, Col. Fitzwilliam and Georgiana bump in to Lizzie and Mrs. Gardiner in Hyde Park. This would be about a month before Elizabeth and the Gardiners go on their tour of the Peak District. It's a clever scenairo, and is very well done. I was so in love with this story and the writing and was already wondering how I could have found two excellent fan-based P&P books back to back. I began to like it so much that I started thinking of it as "Alternate Universe Pride & Prejudice", which goes to show how much of a nerd I am, and that I probably watch too much Fringe, but whatever...Joshua Jackson is hot now so it's all good.

In the first chapter, we can already see that Mr. D has forgiven Lizzie and is trying to soften her opinion of him. Her reaction goes along swimmingly with the original book, though there is a bit of a monkey wrench in the form of a new character, Lady Cassandra. She's a close personal friend of both Mr. and Miss D and Elizabeth finds herself confused and even mortified when she realizes that she's jealous of Cassandra. I have to say, I'm usually not overly thrilled with new characters, but I did rather like this one. She's sort of a younger, hotter, funnier Lady Catherine. There is also a new character by way of a villain, and it's not Wickham! (Though that guy is pretty much the same) We also get glimpses into the narratives of some of the characters that are always on the sidelines in P&P. There is a good deal of time spent of Colonel Fitzwilliam (who I am now officially labeling a Dreamboat), and some of the story we get through the eyes of Bingley, Caroline, Mr. Bennett and even Jane! I also have to note that this is the least annoying version of Georgiana I've read since the original. A lot of these books make her overly sweet or crying every 2 seconds (though she does cry more than once in this book I let it go because she's SIXTEEN).

After a fortnight of bumping in to each other at the theater and making calls between Grosvenor and Gracechurch Streets, Darcy invites the Gardiners (but mostly Elizabeth) to visit Pemberly during their stay in Derbyshire. Some serious wooing takes place at Pemberly, and Elizabeth and Darcy find themselves in one awkward situation after another. And by Awkward, I mean "hot". A lot of small bits and pieces get moved around but the story flows so well I honestly never minded. We go through the whole Wickham/Lydia debacle, but this time Lady Cassandra and Col. Fitzwillaim lend a hand as well, the former scaring the crap out of Wickham and making me laugh with delight. After the return to Longbourn and a very awkward conversation with Mr. Bennett (who is far more observant that Darcy ever gave him credit for) everything seems peachy for (almost) everyone involved.

And Then...

When I read these books, and the second proposal and/or wedding happens only in the middle, I've learned to be seriously skeptical at what else the author has to offer. No one of course can match Austen's wit or style, and a lot of the books seem to suffer from the lack of source material. I won't say that's what happened in the second half of this book, it was still a compelling read and a good story, it just became a completely different story. It became a total Romance Novel.

For one, it had "the Sex", and that wasn't too badly done. In fact the first instance of "the sex" in this book was actually pretty steamy , and it wasn't Lizzie & Darcy, though there was plenty enough of that later. My philosophy when it comes to Sex with these P&P books is "less is more", and this book just suddenly became a bodice-ripper, albeit a very entertaining one. I really think the author should have split this in to two volumes, or two completely separate books. There was more villain action, another love story besides the Darcys, and some frustrating moments where I was ready for the pace of the story to pick up a bit. The very last chapter was very sweet and rewarding and should have capped off the first half of the book and left out the rest (or consigned the rest to a separate book). If it had, it would have gotten 9 & 1/2 or even 10 out of 10 stars, but as it is it sits at a strong 8.

One more thing, and this is just a peeve I have....whenever the subject of Sex would come up between ANY of the characters, they all referred to it as "...you know." At first it was cute. But after a while I was just wishing she had slipped in a mention of "dirty monkey sex", just to liven things up a bit.

Remembrance of the Past by Lory Lillian.

My Top 10 TV Tearjerkers

It occoured to me when watching this past week's episode of Lost, the room "got a bit dusty" as it usually does with Desmond episodes.  I really thought about the television moments that have made me openly weep, and because I love inflicting on others, I thought I'd provide a list...

10. Sid's Back and She's Pissed - Alias
Imagine waking up in Hong Kong, with no idea as to how you got there, only to discover that you've been missing for two years, your Daddy is in Federal Prison and the man you love is now married to someone else. That's gotta hurt! Sid let's Vaughn have it in a way that makes you feel like you've been punched in the gut. And when she finally lets it all out with "You want to know how I am? I am Horrible! I am ripped apart!" my waterworks start.




9. 'I Will Always Love You' - Gilmore Girls
This little gem was from the Gilmore Girls finale, where Lorelai starts singing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" to her Daughter Rory, but then Luke walks in and after some very emotional pauses the meaning changes entirely. It's a very sweet moment. Her little shrug mid-song as she looks at Luke just gets me every time!



8. A Hole in the World - Angel
Oh Fred. You were sort of annoying, then sort of endearing, then we really loved you, and then you died only to become the no less awesome, time-bending Illyria. Between her death throes and Wesley's desperation, this is a moment so sad and so touching, It makes me want to go to bed for about a week.



7. Heart - Supernatural
I'm thinking now that it's a rule for this show that the characters are never, ever allowed to be happy. Especially not when it comes to Love. Poor Sam has just found a woman he could love in Madison, except for the teensy problem of her being a werewolf. Sam and Dean race to find a way to save her, but alas, as it is Supernatural such is not to be had, and Madison asks Sam to take her out of the picture before she can hurt anyone else.



6.  Ellen Tigh drinks the Kool-Aid - Battlestar Galactica
Well, finding a video clip with this one scene is impossible (or rather was taking too long) so here is the 'What the Frak' video which has the aforementioned clip in it. As they say..."Very Sad".




5.  Gemma's Confession - Sons of Anarchy
This entire episode was something of a masterpiece. All season there had been this slow tension building, and just when everything was about to explode, Gemma the Matriarch steps forward with the painful confession of being brutally attacked, knowing that this is the only thing that can bring her family back and keep them together. Katey Sagal is one of the most incredible actresses I've ever seen, and she plays that scene so quietly and so understated that Jax and Clay's reactions, more than her confession, moves me to tears.



4. The Body - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This episode is truly set apart from all others Buffy eps, for it's stark look at the death of a parent. Buffy comes home to find her mother dead of a Brain hemorrhage, and even though the first half hour of this episode is so difficult to watch, it's Anya's speech that makes it Brutal. I couldn't find a clip without some crappy song playing over the actors so I'll just paste the quote:

Anya: But I don't understand! I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean I knew her and then she's , .. there's just a body and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore! It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And Xander's crying and not talking and I was having fruit punch and I thought well Joyce will never have anymore fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs or yawn or brush her hair, not ever and no one will explain to me why..


3. The Final Montage - Six Feet Under
The last part of this wonderful, beautiful mess of a show gave us a glimpse into the future. After five years of watching a stranger die at the beginning of each episode, we got to see how the end comes (as it must come for all of us) to the Fishers and their circle of friends and family. It begins with Claire, truly beginning her life at 22 years old, and ends with her lying in bed at 108. But it's really the moment when David sees Keith again that really gets me going. I know it's kind of long, but it so worth it! And damn if watching this clip doesn't make me miss the hell out of Ruth Fisher.





2. Godric Meets the Sun - True Blood
I had a really tough time trying to decide between the previous video and this one as #2, but in the end this one won out. Between Eric's emotional breakdown and Sookie's line "I'm afraid for you" my eyes didn't stand a chance!



1. The Constant - Lost


You would have to be made of stone to not cry at the beautiful phone call between Desmond and his true love Penny. It's a matter of life and death, and no less moving. Unfortunately, I can't find any embed code so Here is the link. Grab your tissues and enjoy this display of the purest, truest love.

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman.

Wearer of fine waistcoats and neckcloths, rider of cranky horses, trainer of adorable doggies, war story enthusiast,  devoted brother and friend. Pamela Aidan's version of Fitzwilliam Darcy is all these things, along with the things we already knew. Darcy is a self-imposed outsider, according to his BFF Bingley "determined to be displeased with the world and everyone in it."  Or is he?  Maybe he's just a man who never knew himself, as it were.

My project has been to read as many of these P&P retellings (not sequals) as possible. And while some of them have been clever and engaging (and some have been insipid and enraging) these are the first ones I have read that I can honestly say "I love it!". And Love it I do. Aidan's writing is beautiful and engaging, she made Darcy come alive as he never has in any other fan-penned book.

Aidan's first volume of the Darcy trilogy, An Assembly Such as This introduces us to our cast of players and goes as far as London, just after The Bingleys and Darcy have left Netherfield. There are a few new characters, such as Darcy's Shakespeare-quoting Valet Fletcher and his old University friend Lord Dyfed 'Dy' Brougham. Rather than retract from the original story, I found that we get a larger picture on the rules of Society, Caste and Class than we did in Pride & Prejudice. There are also some cameos in the book from Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord Byron (very briefly) and a hilarious run-in with Beau Brummell*. (See above, Re: Neckcloths)

The characters shine with Aidan's retelling. Here Charles Bingley has little patience for his sisters' jealous gossip as well as a quick sense of humor, and he often makes his good friend Darcy the butt of his jokes. Bingley, Fletcher and Dy provide most of the humor in this book, though I was surprised to find myself laughing at Darcy himself from time to time.

As he begins to realize his attraction to Elizabeth, his painful efforts at trying to win her favor are so awkward and so opposite of what we know Elizabeth sees that it becomes (as Fletcher dubs it) "A Comedy of Errors". Darcy is constantly criticizing himself, and so many of his inner dialogues being with "Idoit!" that I can't help but feel for the poor guy. We learn though the book of how painful the loss of his Father was, and that his aloofness is admittedly a "suit of armor" he wears to protect himself from feeling that pain again.  And this works for him, though it's not until he begins getting to know Elizabeth that he realizes that not only has he not felt pain since his father's death, he's also been completely devoid of happiness as well. Darcy is calm seas on the outside, a raging storm of emotions on the inside.

With nothing but cold regard for the ladies of Society who would ultimately be more 'suitable' in his eyes, Darcy seems to become more awake and alive in Elizabeth's presence than he ever has been in his life.  He obviously hates the weakness, but can't seem to help himself. We get all the lovely, often painful parts of real true first love. One of my favorite parts of the book is his internal debate over what makes a better wife, one who is "accomplished", or one who is "True and pure and lovely".

In all honesty, what better prerequisites were there for the woman one spent one's life with? His memory harkened back to Miss Bingley's long list of talents for the accomplished woman and his added requirement that she be well read. Would the embodiment of that list offer a better surety of his future happiness than a woman who was true, pure, and lovely?
 
With that thought to chew on, the book ends with Darcy vowing to himself to put Elizabeth behind him, fat lot of good it will do him!
 
I'll probably only touch on book 2 since it had the least to do with the events in P&P before plowing on to book 3, and since the bulk of the story happens there it'll probably take a while. 

In the meantime, please feel free to admire my new banner.

*A Wiki search revealed that there was a 2006 BBC production called "Beau Brummell: This Charming Man" starring the oft-mentioned but no less deserving James Purefoy! Sweet Victory!

Oh THANK YOU, BBC!!!

The Peep Allegory

Tomorrow, I will have lots to say because doubtless by then I will have finished Pamela Aidan's Darcy Trilogy (Preliminary thoughts? Love it!) but for now please do what is best for you and click the below link.

Later tater!

The Most Amazing Easter Story. Ever!

Books I Can't Live Without: The Changeover

I have no hope of any current young adult fiction authors reading this, alas. If they did I would tell them to sit up, pay attention and take note. I'm talking about a piece of genius in their genre.

I have read a lot of YA fiction recently (see my goodreads list if you don't believe me) and while it's entertaining, it very seldom has any resonance or meaning. Not so with The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance. I will come right out and say that the only issue I've ever had with this book is that the title might lead people to believe the book is more frilly and superfluous than it actually is.

I came across this gem when I was about 14 or 15, right around the same age as our protagonist, Laura Chant. Rather than trying to sum up the whole plot, I'll let the back of the book do that for me...

"One Morning, Laura Chant wakes with the knowledge that something terrible is about to happen.
 Laura has belt this way before, for she has the ability to see and sense things that other people can'. But this time the worst happens: Laura's little brother Jacko becomes the victim of a creature who wants to destroy him. The only way Laura can save Jacko is to join forces with her mysterious classmate Sorensen Carlisle, who is able to help her "change over" and use her supernatural powers to their fullest. Together, will they have enough power to confront the dark forces that loom over them?"


Laura has a lot going on in her life. She and her little brother have been estranged from their father for years, their mother makes little money and they always seem to be broke, and Laura is beginning to become self-aware in the way that only developing teenage girls are. She recognizes these natural changes for their strangeness and power, and at the same time is puzzled by them. What teenage girl has NOT felt that way? Even better, Sorensen or "Sorry" as they call him, is too becoming aware of her body in a way that is totally natural for teenage boys. Stephanie Meyer really messed up YA fiction by making it so damned chaste. This book is very frank about sexual attraction. One such exchange goes...

"So take a deep breath, Chant. You're no worse off and you might be better off...and at least you're not quite on your own with it anymore."
     This was true. Laura did take a deep breath and realized as she did that Sorry was not watching her face, but the rise and fall of the breath under her old pajama jacket. He sighed himself, met her eyes, and gave her a smile both deprecating and conciliatory. "You did invite me in," he pointed out, "even though you knew I was a mixed blessing."

You never catch Edward Cullen (or even Jacob!) staring at Bella's boobs, and I think the book suffers for it!

Sorry is not the typical love interest. He's a bit lost, loves romance novels (for "research") and drives a Vespa. His efforts to win Laura are so confused and at the same time earnest, we know he's in love with her before he realizes it himself.

I've read a lot of books, I was reading Pet Cemetary and IT before I was 12 and I will tell you that there has seldom been a character as creepy as Carmody Braque. When I read the young adult fiction now and see their ideas of bad guys I have to laugh. They have no faith in their audience! In most cases, the bad guy turns out to be another Hot Guy with Strange Specialness just like the Hero. The girl in the story will either get beat up a little or will cower in a corner while someone else rescues her. "Stop fighting! I'm FRAIL!"

Margaret Mahy was not afraid to deliver a good villain, though he's absent for a good part of the book. Nor was she afraid to deliver a good Hero. In this case, Laura is more the hero than Sorry. Girlfriend is not afraid to get the job done!

But you don't have to totally take my word for it, check out the reader reviews at Amazon.com.

Hornfield Hall...get it? Get it?

As promised, I want to say a few words about this book. I discovered after reading it that this was yet another book that began it's life as Fanfic and ended up getting published as part of a trilogy. I had little hints here and there but for the most part it was written fairly well that it didn't bother me.

The part I feel like the writer got right was Rochester's self-loathing and internal struggle. Part of the appeal of this character has always been his dark, thoughtful, somewhat obsessive nature. And for the first part of the book it goes along swimmingly with the original text. Our hero is brooding, haunted by his past and despairing for his future. The first few chapters were so well written I was ready to sit down and call this one of the best books ever. I thought the fact that he was immediately attracted to Jane was a little bit of a break from the text, but was willing to go along with it. UNTIL...

**spoiler alert**

There is a superfluous scene in which he spies on Jane playing piano and writing a song about him, and they sort of make out by the fire. Call it "intense hugging". I was a bit taken aback and think I said "Okaaaaaay" before reading on. Then comes the night when she saves him from the fire. Rather than going back to her room like a good Victorian governess would, they MAKE OUT!  And the making out and "close calls" continue throughout the book. Don't get me wrong, they aren't quite as smutty as they could be, but at the same time...no! The great thing about Jane Eyre is that Jane does the right thing, the hard thing, in spite of her passionate nature. Our Jane would never be making out on a bearskin rug with her Employer if she happens to love him or not!

Then comes the confusing, and I think a tad unnecessary derivations from the time line and original plot of Jane Eyre.  When Mason shows up at the Thornfield house party, Jane is already gone to Gateshead Hall. Instead of finding St. John, Mary & Diana Rivers by providence, Jane is introduced to them through a lawyer. There are a lot of instances like this where I finally came to peace with the notion that this book was not for the Jane Eyre purist (or even the diehard fan).

I did enjoy Mr. Rochester's sensual side, his darkly romantic musings, and his heart-to-heart conversations with his good friend Eshton. I also was more interested in the book's take on Bertha, showing her and Edward as both being victims of their father's greed. The Squee noted that there was a definite nod to Wide Sargasso Sea in this book, and I agree as far as the portrayal of Bertha goes there was. Also shown in a different light is Blanche Ingram. Instead of being a puppet for Rochester to inspire Jealousy, she is a coldly calculating woman with a total absence of heart or conscience. And her Dad is super creepy. 

The book is peppered with descriptions of food, and at one point Rochester and Eshton are comparing women to food and one of them remarks "Now I'm Hungry". I had to laugh out loud at that.  They eat, smoke, and Drink (capital 'd' because that's how much they drink) in such excess I felt like I had a hangover just from reading about it.

Would I recommend this book? Sure, if you can look at it as an alternative story from the original. It's definitely sexy, and I probably will read the next 2 books because even a slightly different Rochester is still pretty hot.

That's what she said?

Am tired from a busy day of food, shopping and driving so this won't be a very long post. I did want to mention (and I will go in to further detail on this later - maybe tomorrow) that I just finished reading what I now realize is book one of a trilogy: Rochester: A Novel Inspired by Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" by J. L. Niemann. It's not as heinous as a lot of the Darcy books I've read lately (the two 'Diaries' were really the best out of the bunch, I am currently compiling a list of the worst offenders) all I'm going to say for now is that he was actually living at Hornfield.

Oh an also...my future sister-in-law just started blogging her little heart out. She is hilarious and wry and all things delightful, see for yourself here.

Robin Hood, my Arse...

Can I just come right out and say how much I hate the idea of Russell Crowe playing Robin Hood? To me, Robin Hood should be mature, but not above 40. (As I'm sure at that time 40 was probably considered pretty well aged) He should also not be all doughy. UGH. This is not just my personal dislike for R.C. here, I really am not in love with his acting either. And why can't they get an English guy to play him?

My picks are...

1. James Purefoy

I realize that James is probably the same approximate age as Russell Crowe, but what a difference! He has a roguish charm that would definitely suit the role.

2. Matthew Macfadyn

I know that  Mr. Macfadyn will be playing the Sheriff of Nottingham, who the movie was suppossed to be about originally. Too bad we will not be getting THAT movie.

3. Henry Cavill

This guy deserves a feature role! Not only is he the hottest and most compelling character on The Tudors (sorry, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) but he was beaten out of playing not one but two roles by Robert Pattison.  Henry auditioned for the role of Cedric Diggory for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Stephanie Meyer pretty much wrote the character of Edward Cullen with Henry in mind, saying "The only actor I've ever seen who I think could come close to pulling off Edward Cullen is....(drumroll)...Henry Cavill". But by the time they were able to cast the movie, Pattison looked closer to Edward Cullen's 17 than Cavill. O, what might have been!  Imagine a world without RPatz mania...seems peaceful, no?

 4. Jeremy Northam

Loved him in Emma.  Loved him even more in Gosford Park and Possession. Played Sir Thomas Moore on The Tudors. It's time to give this man a weapon. 

 

 5. Kevin McKidd 

I realize I'm contradicting myself, Kevin McKidd is not English but Scots. However, anyone who has seen Rome knows he can put on an English accent no problem. He's mature but still has a boyish charm that I find appealing. Not only that but the guy is a hell of an actor (way better than R.C., IMO) and can shoot daggers with his eyes better than anyone I've ever seen.

What do you guys think? Am I being too harsh on Mr. Crowe or are you as disturbed as I am? Who would YOU see as Robin Hood?

I want to go to there...

Found these over at Mental Floss today.

In honor of the warmer weather, here are more T-shirts that want me to wear them...

From Cafepress.

From Threadless.

Married to the Sea T-shirts available from Sharing Machine. Married to the Sea is, by the way, one of the most hilarious sites you will ever want to waste time at, I promise.

Am currently halfway through Amanda Grange's Colonel Brandon's Diary. More thoughts on that later.

The Two Diaries of Darcy

After a good six months of reading (almost exclusively) Young Adult Fiction, I decided a few weeks ago that I would plunge back into the classics, and I did so with a vengeance. I finished with Pride & Prejudice, and then decided to listen to my buddies at Amazon.com and try some of the novels that were P&P retold from Darcy's point of view. I decided to make an experiment out of it and read them back-to-back after glossing over P&P one more time.

The first one was Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange. I liked this one, though at times thought it was kind of 'Darcy for Dummies'. More of a Romance than P&P, but was nonetheless an enjoyable read. I think I might prefer this version of our hero to the other book (though not to the original). At first it started off a bit dull, but I quickly found myself enjoying the narrative, particularly his mixed delight and wariness at Lizzy's sharp wit and laughing manners. Amanda Grange knows her audience, and gives them exactly what they want. She never pretends to be Austen, but is pretty adept nonetheless. One of the things I liked best was the few pages which chronicle events that happened after the wedding, up to the Darcy's first Christmas. It flowed seamlessly from the previous narrative, and seemed like it could have been a feasible end even for Jane Austen. It's not as meaningful or layered as P&P, but definitely sweet and may cause you to get a case of the warm fuzzies. My largest complaint: In a letter to his friend Darcy, Bingley calls Jane "an adorable angel". That's a little blech-worthy, even for Mister Bingley.

The second book was The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater. Now this was a clever concept, a diary found in a hidden drawer of a desk two hundred years from the time it was written by none other than our Mr. Darcy (the "afterword" claims that it was written by the man they believed Austen based the character on). This book was a rich, often disturbing, and sometimes dry look at the life of a Regency-Era gentleman. He engages in fisticuffs, he fences, he goes to bordellos and dallies with housemaids, he talks war and politics (Napolean Bonaparte is referred to, amusingly, as 'Boney'). And of course, he and his good friend Charles Bingley hang out with none other than the infamous Lord Byron, rock star of his day. There are so many things I disliked about the portrayal of Darcy in this book, and so many things I liked about it at the same time. In the beginning he is just as he was first portrayed in P&P...stiff, arrogant, rude. Not to mention a man with a healthy appetite for the ladies. Though at first the only ladies he is interested in are the prostitutes and the maids, he seems to show no interest in the ladies of society (such as the ever-scheming Caroline Bingley, whose overtures have never been more pathetic as they are portrayed here). Unlike Mr. Darcy's Diary, this version of Darcy at first seems more disturbed than delighted by Elizabeth, and the attraction (though not the admiration) is almost immediate. He makes a valiant attempt at denying it, but can't fool us or himself. On her last day at Netherfield attending to Jane, Darcy prides himself on having ignored Elizabeth for the entire day, but still notes that while he ignored her for his book, "she pricked herself while sewing, and lifted her finger to her lips". He thinks he's doing such a good job of ignoring her, but by this he gives the game away.

Much of the parts that take place between the Netherfield Ball and Darcy's visit to Rosings have only brief mentions of "E", and is much more occupied with keeping a sunken, heartbroken Bingley from despair (and from the clutches of a crafty courtesan) and trying to help frail Georgiana recover from a much more violent version of events that took place between herself and the perfidious Mister Wickham. As to the character of Georgiana, I could have done without so much of her. I felt that she was written very contrary to what Austen portrayed, a shy sweet girl becomes a willful, sometimes bratty kid sister. Charles Bingley, however, has never been more interesting than this bitter, heartbroken version. I found myself liking his character at times more than Darcy's!

The Meat of the story takes places in describing the events from Darcy and *Col. Fitzwilliam's arrival at Rosings to months later when he stumbles across Elizabeth taking in the view at Pemberly. To myself, the best part of the book is his self-delusion that Elizabeth Bennett is nothing more than a pretty face, to the realization that he can't stay away from her and is in the middle of a full-blown obsession. His desperation as he observes her, the constant need to be near her to see her is in fact an overwhelming difference from the former, slightly disturbed and put-out regard he had for Elizabeth. Darcy describes himself as desperate and half-crazed. And the events that take place after her resounding rejection show our hero in such a state of despair, anger, and self-loathing that we can't help but feel for him. All in all I would have been happy if they had omitted the debauchery provided to them by Byron, I felt that the events that took place at Byron's estate dragged on and lost all of their shock value. Of course, as he must, our Hero emerges "properly humbled" and hopefully forever faithful to his Elizabeth. I can't say I loved this book in context with P&P, but as a stand-alone story it was a solid, entertaining read. But proceed with caution, if you do not want your image of the Mr. Darcy in anyway tarnished, than this is not the book for you.

*One thing I found of interest was in both of these books, Col. Fitzwilliam had more than a passing fancy for Elizabeth. In fact both versions lamented to Darcy that she was "the perfect woman but for want of fortune" and both versions seemed to consider actually offering to her during the visit at Rosings, giving both versions of Darcy a "close call" that they did not, she undoubtedly would have accepted.

Poor and Plain, Obscure and Little

I just finished re-watching the 2006 BBC version of Jane Eyre and was once again blown away by how perfectly it captures the book. And I would know, as a nerdy teenager I carried my battered, dog-eared copy everywhere. I read it and re-read it until I could dream at night about being in Thornfield Hall. If you have never read it, here is an excellent reader review that touches on Jane's Feminism and Rochester as the ultimate romantic hero. (He definitely had my vote!)

So, in honor of that, I briefly considered listing my favorite Edwards from Literature, but all I could come up with was Rochester, Ferrars, and (recluctantly) Cullen. Instead, I'd like to stick with Jane Eyre and list my top 5 favorite movie versions of Charlotte Bronte's classic. And before you comment, I have yet to see any of the versions from Mexico, Hong Kong, India, or the 1997 one with Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton. Not to say I won't get around to it.

5. 1996. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

Starring a practically unknown at the time Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, a definitely phoning-it-in William Hurt as Rochester, and a teeny Anna Paquin as young Jane.

I liked it when it first came out (in my senior year of high school and at the peak of my Bronte-mania), in fact I had an enormous version of the movie poster on my wall. This movie would have been so much better if not for William Hurt. He dosen't have the edge or the fire that Rochester has. He's Blandy McBlanderson. And I know I'm just nitpicking here, but dammit...Rochester is not a blond guy. Gainsbourg is okay, but to be honest when I went back and rewatched some of the clips she comes off as dry as toast. I'm not saying it's not worth a watch, Elle McPherson makes a cameo as Blanche Ingram, though she spends her scenes looking confused as to what she is doing there. So was I! All in all it's a very decent effort, though it leaves out a lot of the book (which is usually my biggest complaint).




4. 1970. Directed by Delbert Mann.

I don't have much to say about this version other than I've seen it, sorta. I watched it when I was sick with Mono, Thrush, and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff. I had a 104 degree fever at the time and can't remember anything about it other than the colors were really, really weird (though that was probably just the fever) and the music was very eerie. My future mother-in-law loves it though. I'm not sure if it's still her favorite since the BBC version, if not it's a definite second.

3.1983.. Directed by
Julian Amyes.

This is the one I refer to as "the one with Timothy Dalton". It's good, if a bit (really) sound-stagey. Dalton turns in a solid performance (even if at times he flourishes his words a bit too much. ACTING!). Zelah Clarke plays Jane so understated she's practically on mute through most of the film, with exception of the scene when Rochester proposes. It's been a while since I've seen this version, but I remember watching that scene and thinking "She's Fiesty! Where has she been this whole time?"

2.1944. Directed by Robert Stevenson.

This was the first film adaptation of the book I ever saw, and I guess it's stuck with me quite a bit over the years. Starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine (who I always adored), and a very young Elizabeth Taylor as the (spoiler!) doomed Helen Burns. Orson Welles, not surprisingly, was brilliant at capturing Rochester's restless, cynical, and somewhat obsessive side. I thought (and still believe) that Joan Fontaine was way too gorgeous to have ever played a character who is by and large known as plain, but her acting is up to the challenge and she plays the part well. The sets are stark and spooky, and the recreation of the Yorkshire Moors is something to see. This is a dark and beautiful version, even if it is a bit choppy and cut short in places.

1.2006. Directed by Susanna White.

I really can't stop singing the praises of this one. The music is beautiful, the sets are gorgeous, the costuming perfect, the acting superb.
I do have to say (and give credit to the director & actors) this version was quite a bit sexier than the very chaste book. Toby Stephens' Rochester practically smolders his way through the first half of the film. And Ruth Wilson has done the best job of any of her predecessors with Jane's independence, virtue and passion. Both actors are quite a bit hotter than the characters they are playing, but you will never hear me phrase that as a complaint. And MAJOR points for this being the only version that gets the Moor House part of the story right! St. John Rivers is as cool and hard-nosed as he was in the book, yet I found myself liking his character in the movie more than on the page. And I have to give props to the casting director for casting Claudia Coulter as Bertha Mason. If you have seen Wide Sargasso Sea*, (a prequel to Jane Eyre about young Edward Rochester's exploits in Jamaica) you will know that Coulter is almost a dead ringer for Karina Lombard, who plays the Bertha in Sea.

*I just looked up the IMdb page for Wide Sargasso Sea and saw that Rochester is played in that movie by Nathaniel Parker, who I had the hots for as the Dunstan Thorn, a.k.a. the Dad in Stardust. That explains it, I knew I'd seen him nekkid before.

In any case, I've added my favorite clips below. The first one is the scene that takes place after Jane saves Mr. Rochester from the fire that was set in his room. This scene makes me SWOON.

A Beautiful Solution

I love the Vivienne Westwood Union Jack Pillow, but could never justify paying $495 for one.

Enter Helkatdesign. I found myself loving these far more than the original, and they are a fraction of the cost. Here are a few of my favorites...

Handprinted rustic unionjack flag in muted brown and blue on a hessian cushion $42

Welsh Dragon $54. Which is like beloved little Teapot...

The whole shop is delightful, and she offers a discount if you want the cover only. Who could ask for more?