The Twenty-Second One

Three movies I can watch and watch and watch and never tire of (aka. the default movie list):

The Princess Bride

The best thing about this movie: it's absolutely, perfectly cast. The actors and actresses truly inhabit the characters they portray. Everything about this movie is delightful. Including the book it's based on. Reading the book only made me appreciate the movie more.

Pride and Prejudice

I know some of you are thinking, "But wait! That's not the BBC miniseries!" And you would be correct. I love this movie even more than the miniseries. It includes all the best dialogue (the only part of Jane Austen's books I like) with some of the most beautiful cinematography I have ever seen. It is beautiful and fun and entirely charming.

Die Hard

If this wasn't a list of three, I would go ahead and add all (even Live Free or Die Hard) to the list as well. Love this movie. John McClane doesn't get old, ever.

The Twenty-First One

Or, the one where I finally succumb and post this on a blog instead of sending it out via email.

Or, the one with SPAIN!!!

Once upon a time, in January 2010, I made my first trek to Europe; specifically I visited Spain: Toledo and Madrid. And it was wonderful and beautiful and educational. I was fortunate enough to not have to pay for my hotel room (which was great) or my food (which was the very best part of the trip) and everywhere I went I had someone who knew the history of the area I was in. Let this blog serve as a record of my time there. You will see a lot of pictures of architecture, but not a lot of pictures of me. Here we go.

Welcome to Toledo: the first capital of Spain.

Toledo's location was chosen because of the excellent geographic location. As I asked my students: what did cities of old have to do to protect themselves? Answer: build walls. Toledo was built where it was built because of the river and gorges that surround it, providing natural protection. Consequently, they did not have to build a great big wall all the way around and yet there is still only one way in and out of the city.

No history lesson would be complete without some dates, so here's the one that I remember: 711. This is when the Moors conquered Spain. What does this mean for Toledo? Nothing bad actually. In fact, during this time, before the Christians took over again, Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived in relative peace and harmony together. So much so that this time period was called La Convivencia. You can see this coexistence in the architecture of the city. The Moors/Muslims used a lot of brickwork, the Christians used stones and the Jews didn't contribute a whole lot architecturally speaking, but they are responsible for the crazy, winding streets of the city. If you ever visit Toledo you must a) know where you are going, b) be with someone who knows where they are going, or c) not be afraid of getting lost. Because chances are you will.

As you look at the pictures of Toledo you may start asking yourself, "How many pictures of alleyways can one person take?" The answer to this is, of course, a lot. Way more than I am showing you here. You get the cream of the crop. Also, that tall spire you see in the background of some of the pictures is a beautiful cathedral that was a mosque that now is a cathedral again. It has the most amazing art and is a combination of many different styles of architecture because it is old. Something we don't know much about here in the United States: when a building is old enough to survive thousands of years, the building and art will reflect that history. I also was privileged to see many works by El Greco, who was not Spanish, but has since been adopted by the Spaniards because he was rejected by his own people. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures inside the cathedral. This worked out in my favor I think, because it meant all I had to do was listen and look and absorb. The world is a different place when you look at it through a lens, or in my case, an lcd viewscreen.

Welcome to Madrid: the current capital of Spain.

Otherwise known as the place where my eyes were opened to a history I never knew. It's not a history of a thousand years ago, but rather history from only 30 years ago. For me, this history was told best as I toured El Museo Sofia Reina and learned about the life and work of Pablo Picasso. Picasso lived in a time of amazing achievement. He was born when people were still using horses and buggies to get around and by the time he died man had made his way to the moon. His greatest work La Guernica was painted during a time in his country when the arts were as oppressed as the people. Learning about Picasso's life and what the Spanish people went through in such recent times almost, almost made me like his paintings. It certainly made me appreciate them anyway.

The museum didn't have the most extensive Picasso collection in the world. It was built for the sole reason to house La Guernica which Picasso vowed would never come back to Spain until his country was no longer under the rule of a dictator, until his people were free. La Guernica was kept in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City until 1992.

This is a contraband picture of La Guernica. Throughout the entire museum you could take pictures so long as you weren't using flash photography. In THIS room, which housed only the one painting (and some photographs of it while it was in-progress), you weren't allowed to take pictures at all. Unfortunately, they told us this by posting a small sign on the wall as you were coming into the room. A sign that is easily hidden by the bodies of people as they walk through the entryway. Long story short, I was yelled at, in Spanish, by a woman who took her job very, very seriously. It was very, very embarassing.

In case that's not enough art for you, I also went to the Prado where I was not allowed to take any photographs at all. Please enjoy a picture of the outside of the museum. It's in the top left corner.

I would also like to direct your attention to the building in the bottom right. This building, during Frando's rule, was a prison. Our tour guide said that her parents and grandparents can still remember walking in front of the building and hearing screams coming from the basement, from the prisoners who were being tortured. This is something the youth of Spain know nothing about. Talk about a generation gap.

And finally. The view of Madrid as seen from the window of my hotel room.

The End.

The Twentieth One

Or how Slylock Fox trumps Psych.

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I would read all about Slylock Fox and the mysteries that he solved with his little mouse friend, Max. Slylock and Max taught me many things.

Now that I am older, I get my mystery fix in other ways: books, movies, television. Television like: Psych. Psych is a wonderful show, one of the best out there. I love it dearly. But as I was watching it this past week there was an unfortunate, glaring mistake. [SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD]

At one point Gus and Sean were searching for a bullet in the woods. The bullet was shot many years ago and they just assumed it hit one of the trees. Gus proceeded to lecture Sean that he was looking too low and not accounting for tree growth.

Well, immediately I was aghast, for Slylock had taught me years ago that trees do not grow like that. They grow upward from the tips of their branches, downward from the tips of their roots, and outward from the outside of their... bark. Meaning any mark you make on a tree now will be at the same height years from now. It's how Slylock and Max knew Count Weirdly was lying about... something.

Having the information that I had, I instantly googled (Googled?) "How trees grow" to see who was correct. Turns out, Slylock was right all along and Sean and Gus were completely and utterly wrong.

I still love Psych, Sean, Gus and the whole gang. But apparently the writers did not do their research well enough, nor did they read the Slylock Fox section of their Sunday newspapers as thoroughly as they should have. They should have paid better attention to that wiley fox detective.

That said, my brother and I successfully dominated at Trivial Pursuit on the Wii last night, coming back from behind during normal play to WIN IT ALL and awesoming it up during the movie version to win by, oh I don't know, THREE WEDGES. Thank you, thank you very much. And a special thanks to imdb for making that last one possible.

For more Psych
For more Slylock

The Nineteenth One

As anyone who could possibly be reading this blog knows, I have a problem holding myself accountable. This is why, even though I have had the blog for years, I only have 19 posts. It's also why I didn't make my summer reading goal.

Always in an attempt to hold myself more accountable, I make lists. To-do lists, to-read lists, to-watch lists, it doesn't matter. Up until this point (this point right here, right now) I have refrained from making any virtual lists. Naturally, it's because I am afraid if it is published in cyberspace and I don't complete the list, then I will be judged by the few, faceless individuals that might occasionally visit. But then I figured you were all judging me anyway, so I am throwing caution to the wind and actually (gasp!) writing a list right here, right now.

I call this list the "Books-owned-but-not-read-until-year-2010" list. These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head, I am sure there's more. (The ones with asterisks are partially read.)

• Fluke* by Christopher Moore
• Lullaby* by Chuck Palahniuk
• What-the-Dickens* by Gregory Maguire
• Book Thief* by Markus Zusak
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• Dracula* by Bram Stoker
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies* by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

There are more, I know there are more, I simply cannot think of them. I will republish this as I am able to cross them out. Maybe somday I will learn how to cross things out virtually. Or maybe I'll put them in another color. We will see.

The Eighteenth One

My book list for the upcoming year is a long one, but then it always is. Coming off the holiday season, however, I am turning my attention away from literature to the wonderful world of cinema.

Holiday Movie Treat #1: Nine.

This movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, and Judi Dench. Every one of them delivers.

It is a musical from the director of Chicago, but don't go expecting to see another Chicago. There are two musical numbers that are reminiscent of the other musicals. They are big, choreographed scenes, but for the most part Nine is a more intimate and introspective movie. Almost all the songs are sung by one person to another person, or one person to himself as the case may be. Even the songs with a larger chorus really only have the intended audience of a single person. It is a musical about the Italian director Guido Contini and the characters, settings, events, and songs almost literally revolve around him.

Contini is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who continues to be unrecognizable to me. Every movie I see him in I have to look twice because he never looks the same or sounds the same or acts the same. He plays a conceited, self-centered jerk in the film, but the way he plays Contini, the audience doesn't end up judging him as much as they pity him.

All the women are wonderful. All of them. But the standout actress of the film: Cotillard. This is the first movie I have seen her in and I found her captivating. I can't wait to see her other roles.

Holiday Movie Treat #2: The Blind Side

What a sweet, heart-warming movie. Who new Hollywood could make such a family-friendly movie with a good story AND good acting. Sandra Bullock is totally believable in her role as a confident, pushy Southern belle, who takes in a struggling kid from "the other side of town." I know that it's based on a true story, and if the real Mrs. Tuohy is half the woman Bullock portrays (and I am sure that she is probably twice the woman) then she is a force to be reckoned with.

As a final note: Before I saw the movie I doubted there was any actress out there I believed would walk out on a football field and tell those football players how it's done. With Sandra Bullock, I totally bought it.

Holiday Movie Treat #3: Sherlock Holmes

At first I was apprehensive about the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes with so many explosions and fist fights, but then I re-read some of the stories, and decided that Holmes lends himself easily as an action hero. Plus, he really was a pugilist. So there's that.

Robert Downey Jr. has be a favorite of mine since I first saw American Air with Mel Gibson, so I am very excited about his recent "come back." He is as wonderful here as I expected he would be. The real surprise for me was Jude Law, whose performances have never particularly impressed me. He gave a depth and appeal to Watson that I had never considered.

The movie was enjoyable and entertaining and bears owning someday. Of course I have always been a sucker for stories about best friends, and despite the love interests for both Sherlock and Watson, this is at its core a story about SherlockandWatson. I have a friend who firmly believes that "soul mate" does not have to refer to a romantic love, but rather an enduring love in an enduring relationship, whether or not the two people involved are romantically involved. I have always been inclined to agree with her; this movie clinched it for me.

The Seventeenth One

Seventeen is my favorite number. It's also my default number; if I can't remember how many there actually were, you can bet I'll say there were seventeen.

So, on this, my favorite number post, I am pleased to add two more books to my "done-and-done" list: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist.

Neverwhere is the story of an average joe who gets lost in a world that exists in the same time and place as his own, but is unrecognizable to him. After helping what seemed like an injured, homeless girl, Richard Mayhew was thrown into a world he never knew existed. No longer recognized or remembered, Richard had no choice but to join the girl, Door, on her adventure in "London Below."

Gaiman does an excellent job creating his fictional world. Instead of being only a world of magic and mystery, London Below is also full of people passed over by London Above. There are magical and mystical elements, but for the most part it is made up of the ignored people of our own world, whose lives are richer, more interesting and more adventurous than those lived by the people of London Above.

I am beginning to wonder if Neil Gaiman is capable of writing something I won't love. I have read Stardust, Coraline, and a collection of his short stories and I have loved them all. His ability to combine the mundane elements of the contemporary world with the magic and intrigue of a fairytale. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of his stories is that instead of the campy, happy (and, admittedly, delightful) fairy tales a la Disney, Gaiman seems to draw more inspiration from the darker and richer fairy tales of the brothers Grimm.

I rarely listen to recommendations, mostly because it is a small way for me to rebel against "the man." Seriously, if you ever really want me to watch/read anything, feel free to casually mention it to me, but it would be better if you did not outright tell me I absolutely HAVE to see/read it. If you do the latter, I probably will never get around to seeing/reading it. However, this trait of mine is particularly annoying to my mom, and so in an effort to prove to her that YES I CAN read something she read first, I read The Alchemist.

I would not say that I liked this book and I would not say I disliked it either. It reminded me of the books I read in my World Literature class in college. In fact I would not be at all surprised if college student are currently reading it in their own World Literature classes. It is well-written and interesting enough. It is not a difficult read, nor is it tedious, so you can read it quickly. It also has great value intellectually. I did not find myself agreeing with Coelho, but I found myself thinking about what he was saying. I love to make notes in my books, in the margins. Sometimes I just read to read, but there are certain books where I find myself without a book friendly pen/pencil and I lament it. This is why I dislike borrowing books, certain types of books anyway. I borrowed this book from my mother and regretted it almost immediately. If ever there was a book made for notes in the margins, it was this one.

My main problem with book, or rather with the content of the book, is the questionable message that it sends. Essentially Coelho is telling his readers that everyone has to identify their own "Personal Legend," what is it that that person is supposed to be doing with their life. What do they desire most out of life, what do they want most. Once this "Personal Legend" is identified, they must then stop at nothing to accomplish it. There can be no compromise, everything must be done with the intent to succeed. If you work long enough and hard enough toward your single goal you will not fail. Those that fail simply stopped believing or working toward their goal. If they had continued on they would have gotten what they wanted.

This sounds good. Much like telling little children they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. They can do anything they want to do, they just can't give up.

Let's be honest. Sometimes people work hard their entire lives and never realize their ultimate dreams. You really want to be the one telling them it's because they didn't work hard enough? They gave up too soon? They didn't want it badly enough? Sometimes you don't get what you want. Sometimes you don't realize all your dreams. Sometimes you try and try and work and work and still fail. Telling people that if they work hard enough they'll get whatever they want is like telling people if you pray the right prayer God will give you whatever you want. What happens when a person prays and prays and prays for something and doesn't get it? You want to tell that person it's because they prayed wrong? No. Because sometimes you can pray and pray and pray and the answer will still be "no." Sometimes Mr. Coelho, you can work your ass off to get a certain goal and you still won't reach that goal. Sometimes the real treasure is not at the end of the rainbow, but it's the people you meet and the things that you learn as you're walking to the end of the rainbow.

16/25 :-)

The Sixteenth One

Well, I think we can officially call the Reading Goal of 2009 an epic failure. That's okay. My reading list is still several pages long, I'll simply have to update as I go. Oh well.

On another note, I love Season Premiers. It doesn't even matter if I watch the show regularly, I love to watch the first episode of the season. I love Premiers almost as much as I love the Finales. They are usually the best and most interesting episodes of the season. So today I bring you the shows I am looking forward to the most:

America's Next Top Model: And this year, there's twist! That's right Team Tyra is giving petite models a chance this year. Yes, short models have invaded. And by short, I mean my height. This is the one and only season I could have been on ANTM. You know, if I only ate apples for a year, maybe.

I suppose you could label this show a guilty pleasure of mine, except I don't feel guilty at all about watching. Perhaps indulgence is a better word. At any rate, I adore this show. Nigel is dreamy and Ms. J is fabulous and Jay is awesome as he directs the girls in their shoots. Tyra's good too, but she's also a little crazy, and at times truly weirds me out.

Favorite part of the show: the pictures. No matter how strangely they are dressed or ridiculous the circumstances are, even the bad photos end up looking cool.

Least favorite part: I hardly ever agree with the judges. They tend to play favorites which means sometimes they choose girls they like because they like them, not because they're, you know, good at what they do. Also, the show seems more and more commercial. It used to be the model who did the best in the final fashion show was the winner, now they choose more for the cover of Seventeen and the face of CoverGirl instead.

Even with these problems, I like it. I like it a lot. It's taught me a lot about myself. Mostly, it's taught me that I never, ever, ever want to live in a loft with a dozen other girls who hate me because I'm beautiful.

Glee: This show delights me as much as it horrifies me. I watch it and laugh while at the same time I wonder, "What in the name of Josh Groban did I just watch." Fox does a good job making interesting, different, hilarious shows (see: Arrested Development) Let's just hope it sticks with this one.

Best part: the adults. Matthew Morrison is delightful as the enthusiastic teacher who takes over the Glee Club at the school where he teaches. Jessalyn Gilsig is his over-bearing wife. Jayma Mays is the screwy school counselor with a crush on Morrison's character. The list goes on and on. The best part, however, and I mean the VERY BEST PART is Jane Lynch who plays the evil coach of the cheerleading squad. She's fantastic. Everything out of her mouth is hateful, but precious, comedic gem. And it's not just about the words she uses, most of it is in her delivery.

How I Met Your Mother premiers next week. The Office premiers tonight along with a new show, Community that looks intriguing.