Christmas

I arrived home today a few days early for Christmas. The house is decorated to the nines for the season and immediately put me into the Christmas spirit. I had been trying hard to get into holiday mode, listening to tones of Christmas music and watching all the Christmas related movies that I own, but somehow it just didn’t feel like Christmas yet.

However, as I walked in the door and saw the Christmas tree with gifts piled underneath I felt like it was finally Christmas. I spent the afternoon knitting while my Mom baked cookies and we listened to Christmas music. Later on we are going to watch one of favourite Christmas movies, Christmas Vacation. I’m excited to get to spend the rest of the week preparing for the big day. I have knitting to finish, and lots of wrapping to do. I look forward to visiting family, and the arrival of my brother and sister-in-laws arrival on Friday, Christmas eve eve as my family would say.

The other night as I watched an old Christmas play that my brother and I were in when we were kids I got to thinking about how different Christmas is and how our traditions have changed. When we were kids we use to stay at one of my grandparents house over night on Christmas eve so that we could Christmas morning with them. Now we stay at home, and make the short 10 minute drive to each Grandparent’s house later in the day.

This year marks the first year since my brother and sister-in-law got married that they will be at our house for Christmas. They usually travel to Saskatchewan to visit my sister-in-law’s family, but this year decided to spend the holiday with us. I’m excited to introduce her to some of our traditions. The house will be full of people and I think that it will be an extra special Christmas this year.

Although some of traditions have changed I still really enjoy Christmas. I think that as you grow up it’s natural for traditions to grow along with you, and I’m sure that this year they will change once more. I look forward to see what this Christmas holds for my family, and I hope that your holiday is full of laughter, smiles, warmth and love.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

There is a quote from Tolkien that goes: “Not all who wander are lost”. And I don’t feel that I am lost, I just don’t have a plan. I’m not lost, I just feel like I am wondering around trying to figure things out. The quote describes Aragorn, and if you really take the time to think about his story it really makes sense. I do identify with Aragorn; he wandered, but always knew that he was destined for greater things. I hope that this makes sense. If you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings it might not.

Lately I’ve been looking for inspiration to get me through the hard times. I know that there is the “it gets better” campaign out there, but over all I think that it is crap. It’s all well and good to tell people that it gets better, but when you’re living through some tough times that really does not help much. I think that tips for making it through would be more helpful.

Last week I started a job at a movie theatre. It’s not really where I want to be but I needed the job. Things in my life never really seem to go the way I actually want them too. Over all I’m ok with it, but for once I would like things to go my way. I would like to get the job of my dreams…the one that makes me excited to get up and go to work in the morning.

I wish that I had some tips for others just trying to get through, but I really don’t have any. I’m still trying to figure it all out. That’s why I don’t think that I am lost so much as I’m just trying to figure things out. It’s hard to know where you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to do. I honestly don’t think that I am wondering, I think I am figuring out the path that I suppose to be on. My path might just be taking longer to figure out then someone else’s path.

I was listening to Rachael Yamagata durint the writing of this post please check her out, here is the video for her song Elephants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea4E-XYLStw&feature=relmfu

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Review

I just finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I guess that I am still processing it, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. The book is about a boy named Charlie whose friend committed suicide just before his freshman year of high school. The story then takes place during that year, and deals with how Charlie copes with his life.

I love the way that this book is written. It is written from Charlie’s point of view in letter form. He writes all his thoughts down to an unknown friend. You never find out who this friend is or where Charlie met him/her, but it does make it seem like he really is writing to you personally which I find to be really cool. I really love this style of writing. I’ve other books before that where written as diaries/journals and I always thought that it gave the story a sort of reality and intimacy.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a very compelling story about what it is like to be a teenager. Stephen Chbosky paints a great picture of what it’s like to be a teen trying to deal with difficult situations, while still wanting to be “normal” and accepted. I was so interested in the story that there were nights when I stayed up late just to see what would happen next. Charlie learns a lot about himself during the year that the story takes place, and in the end I just feel sad for him. In the way of coming of age stories this one does not have that happy life affirming moment. It leaves you feeling sad, and yet at the same time you do know that Charlie will be alright.

Despite that The Perks of Being a Wallflower was slightly depressing I would definitely recommend it. It was such intriguing read, and I really didn’t know how it was going to end, and it ended with a twist. Now all I have I do is wait for the movie to come out!

The Wizard of Oz

I’m watching the Wizard of Oz right now; I’ve seen this movie so much that I stopped watching it, but tonight I thought that I’d put it on. I’ve always had a love and hate relationship with this movie. It is a classic and I do really love the songs, but there is something about it that makes me not want to watch it. It’s probably because when you’re a kid it is kind of creepy. I think that the first time I ever watched it I was alone in my basement. The flying monkeys are really weird. However, I think it’s more that in University in my Filming Literature class we studied The Wizard of Oz, and it was just to in depth to really enjoy it much after that.

One of the first things that I noticed is when Dorothy walked into Oz was that there is a second road. There is the Yellow Brick road that leads to the Emerald City, but there is also a Red Brick Road. I wonder were the red brick road goes. Also, why do both roads start in Munchkin land? Is Munchkin Land like a port or do the roads just happen to meet there so they built a city there? Ok and why does the Yellow Brick Road split? If there are two roads at the start shouldn’t they just continue on in one line and not split? Also, if the scarecrow isn’t smart how is it that he knows which way to go to get the Emerald City?  Man, the road system is in Oz is confusing.

Now here is something that I have always wondered. What do the ruby slippers do? I know that they able to send Dorothy home, but what other magic do they have? The Wicked Witch of the West wants them so bad, but do we ever find out why. Do they protect Dorothy? She gets into a lot of trouble, but never gets hurt. You could say it has to do with the fact that the movie is a dream, but let’s not get into that. This just occurred to me, but how weird would the Wicked Witch look wearing the ruby slippers? I don’t think that those shoes would suit her.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My! I wonder how much this movie is quoted in other movies, and TV shows, and life, Oh My!

I was sitting here wondering how they made the lion’s tail move like that, and then I noticed the string. Way to ruin the magic guys, thanks. I honestly had never noticed it before.

The scarecrow has a gun…this just made me laugh. And there go the creepy flying monkeys.

Why doesn’t the Wicked Witch just kill Dorothy instead of giving her time with the hour glass? And why does it seem like a lot more sand then the Witch thinks?

I really love the moral of the story where even though you don’t think that you are something it is there all along. With the Scarecrow, Tin man and Lion they each think that they are lacking something, brains, heart, courage, but they prove throughout the movie that they already have those things. I love that. Even if you don’t think that you have a certain quality, if you look deep down, you actually do.

Why do witches melt? What are they made of? And why did she steam? When you melt, is it with hot water? So many things that I don’t understand, why is this movie bringing up so many questions?

I love that you have to fly in or out of Oz. It makes it so far away that it could be a believable place.

All in all, I do love The Wizard of Oz. It really is a classic movie. I love the songs, but it still is creepy. Over all if someone hadn’t seen this movie I would recommend that they see it. The Wizard of Oz id definitely one movie that everyone should see, they would for sure understand some quotes better. I think that in the end it is one of those movies that despite it all it is a movie that makes you think about yourself and what you want about from life. Each character thinks that they need one thing from their lives that they are missing. In the end you find out that they had that thing all along which, a lesson that everyone could learn.

Thoughts on Being Single

I was just thinking about my grandparents, I love them all so much, and how different my life is to theirs. By my age they were married and they had babies. I can’t even imagine being married, or even having a baby. I’m not ready for that stuff; sometimes I wonder if my Grandparents were, or if that was just expected of them. No, I know that my all of Grandparents were so in love with the person that they married. I can’t believe that I could question that.

It was such a different time when my Grandparents were meeting and falling in love. I can’t even imagine it, no internet, no cell phones, just…life. Sometimes I think that simpler would be better. Maybe then I might actually meet someone, have some sort of romance. But really when it comes down to it, I don’t really want a relationship right now. Back then they it was normal to want to get married and have a family, but I don’t really care if that happens. Yes, I would like someone to be there for me, but it’s not high on my priority list.

In my life I have seem women who have been single their whole lives and they live really great fulfilling lives. I use them as role models. I don’t need a man to happy; there are too many women who seem so need a man in their lives and I’m just not interested in relationship after relationship. I believe that if there is a man out there then he will find me. I’m going to use the internet, and I’m not going to hang out in bars or clubs hoping that a guy talks to me. I’m ok with being single.

As for being lonely, it is something that I deal with. I like my freedom, and I’d rather have freedom then a relationship. The one thing that people don’t tell you is that relationships change you. It’s not always in a bad way, but you do change. Right now I don’t want to change. I want to continue to figure out who I really am, and what I really want without someone getting in the way influencing my thoughts.

One thing at a time right?

Late Night Thoughts

This is something that I wrote late one night while thinking about my life.

It’s going to sound strange for me to say this, but sometimes my apartment feels almost too big. Not to say that apartment is large in anyway, because believe me it is really small. I think that it has something to do with being alone all the time. When you are alone it’s a lot quieter, and there is only one person to take up space. I don’t take up much space; I usually stay in one area, no if I need more space it would be because of my stuff. I have a lot of stuff.

Right now this place seems too big, but it quite late and that usually means that I am feeling lonely. I don’t like to feel lonely, I don’t like it all, but at least I can be up late and not worry about waking someone else up.

I do enjoy the freedom that I have to due to the fact that I am alone. I can be messy, I can eat whatever I want, I can listen to what I want how loud I want, and many other things without worrying about the person I live with will think.

You know it’s funny when I lived with my parents I never once worried about what they thought about what I was doing, but I guess we were just use to each other. I guess that if I had to choose I would either live alone or with my parents. At least if I lived with my parents it would solve the lonely thing; and the house never once felt too big. It was always just right, and sometimes I miss the sounds of my parents walking around. Oh great, now I’m home sick.

I guess living with someone would be alright if they just let you be, and it didn’t feel like they were judging you all the time. I guess that if I can’t live with my parents, and I am 25 so I really shouldn’t, then I’d much rather live alone. I think that I prefer the tiny apartment feeling too big, then the big apartment feeling too small.

The Name of the Star - Review

The Name of Star by Maureen Johnson is set in present day London, England during a particular turbulent time for the city. There is a copy cat Jack the Ripper on the loose, one that is has incredible attention to detail; copying the manner and locations of each murder. It is at this time that Rory arrives at Wexford, from New Orleans, to start her senior year of High School and first year at boarding school. Wexford is right in the middle of Ripper territory and Rory and her friends begin to speculate about the murders, but no one could have guessed that Rory would become an integral part of the Ripper case.

The Name of Star is such an amazing book. I had a hard time putting it down; I needed to know what was going to happen to Rory. Maureen Johnson did a wonderful job writing this story. The plot is intriguing with many twists that, I admit, I could not even dream were coming. I love the way that Maureen was able to weave the trials of being a teenager with the terrors of having a Ripper on the loose. And it is also great the way that she is able to convey the feelings of a teenage girl in this situation without going over the top.

It is fitting that I read this book leading up to Halloween, as The Name of Star is thrilling and frightening. However, this is a young adult novel and never once was I creeped out enough to lose sleep over this story. I feel like I have learned something new about London and its history, and I also really want to visit the city in this story even more after reading about it. I definitely recommend The Name of the Star to youth and adults alike, it’s story is one that, I believe, anyone will find interesting. Please support Maureen Johnson; she truly is an amazing author.

~~~

Sorry, I’ve watching Canada’s Walk of Fame ceremony as I write, and they just presented the award for Dr. Roberta Bondar. I was, honestly, almost in tears. If you don’t already know Dr. Roberta Bondar is the first Canadian woman to travel into space, and you really should look up her story, it’s amazing! Dr. Bondar is such an inspiration, and after listening to her acceptance speech I feel like I could do anything. Now this is someone who deserves a star on the walk of fame.

Pride and Prejudice

Today I have spent most of the day watching Pride and Prejudice. Not the one with Kira Knightly, the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. I love this version, it might be long, but it is very well done. It tells the story very well, and I’m sure close to the book…I really must read it. Whenever I watch Pride and Prejudice I think to myself that I would have done well during this time period.

At this time women did many of the things that I enjoy doing; reading, writing letters, knitting, walking, and drinking tea. I just need to learn to needle point and play piano, and then I would have all the skills of a desirable young woman. It would also be fun to go visiting, and to attend balls; with nothing to worry about but how to get a husband. Then again this life could also be very dull.

I’m sure that during this time days were long, and in between the visiting a balls it must have been quite boring. I think that I would spend most of my days reading, and walking about the country side. I just thought to myself, quite seriously, that I really should learn to needlepoint because it is a dying art. Another thing to keep myself busy I suppose.

The one thing that I don’t think that I would enjoy is the whole finding a husband business. I currently am single and don’t really wish to find a husband. At this moment I am quite content to be single. I suppose that is the advantage of living in the present time, I am able to live on my own and take care of myself. Although, I might be persuaded to take a husband if he look like Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice that is for sure.

One thing that I’m really happy about is that my mother is nothing like Mrs. Bennett. Mrs Bennett is very over the top; she works herself into a tizzy over the smallest of things. Mrs Bennett’s primary concern is to marry off all five of her daughters, and she will stop at nothing to make sure that they all do. I suppose that she is justified, as the girls need husbands to take care of them, but she does not seem to care about her daughter’s happiness at all. That is where I win; my mom is only concerned about my being happy instead of my being married.

In the end I think that my situation is better than that of the girls in Pride and Prejudice, at least I am able to do with my life as I wish. I also can add to the list of things that I am able to spend my time doing, playing guitar, watching TV and movies, playing video games, and going on the internet. It is nice to be able to fill my time with these things and to not become bored, but I wouldn’t mind the visiting and the balls.

Walk of Fame

I am feeling so uninspired today. I blame the weather. It has been cloudy and rainy for far too many days now. When the weather is crappy I tend to feel blah and, well, kind of lazy. This was how I was feeling today. I just didn’t end up doing much of anything. Well, anything of importance, like my laundry, but I did watch TV, read, and go online. I checked the weather network and it is suppose to continue for next couple of days! How can I snap myself out of this funk if there is going to be more clouds and rain!

Anyway, last night I saw a commercial of this year’s Canada’s Walk of Fame, and I became outraged. They were listing off who was getting a star this year, Sandra Oh, Burton Cummings, and then they said Drake. All I ask is are they serious? The whole thing about getting a star of the walk of fame is that the person has been around for a long time and has contributed greatly to Canada’s entertainment industry. I just find it hard to believe that Drake is there yet.

I’m not saying that Drake isn’t going to eventually deserve this award, but I just think that it is a little early in his career to be getting a star. To put this in perspective Burton Cummings, one of Canada’s most celebrated singer/songwriters is only getting his star this year. Does that not just blow your mind? It honestly blows my mind. I don’t care how many albums Drake has sold, he is no Burton Cummings.

Drake got his start on Degrassi. Now, before I continue, I can make fun of Degrassi because I have seen every episode, some more than once. Degrassi not exactly the best show on TV, it is poorly written, poorly acted and overly dramatic. In short Degrassi is a soap opera for teenagers. Next up is Drake’s music career; so far he has released one album. Call you call it a music career if you have only one album out? Overall I feel like Drake hasn’t been around long enough to warrant a star on the walk of fame, and I wonder what the decision behind including him with this year’s recipients was.  

The following links are two songs to show you how great Burton Cummings really is, incase you didn't already know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiIqyF6RnzU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CANaDWMYGAM

Food - Shopping and Eating

I love grocery stores. They are full of possibilities, you walk it the front door and there is a varied selection of vegetables staring you in the face. I love to think about food and what I am going to buy when I go shopping for food. I love picking out groceries and finding where what I need is located. If I could I would spend a lot more on trips to the grocery store, but I don’t have a car and therefore can only buy what I can carry. I miss filling up shopping carts, and I hate having to restrict myself to one basket full. It’s a strange thought to have when you see something that you think you could use, but wonder how heavy it is because you still have to carry your groceries home. Sometimes I dream about having a fully stocked kitchen in which I can look up a recipe and know that I have the ingredients, instead I have to plan ahead and make a special trip. Now if only I was a better cook.

Alright, alright, I can cook. I’m not the best cook, but I can follow a recipe pretty good. Ok sometimes I fail miserably at the things I try to cook, but that is usually when I get experimental. I do have a few things that I can cook really well, and I do actually enjoy cooking. Well, I really enjoy eating. If I could hire a cook to make me amazing dinners every day I think that I would enjoy that a lot, and get really fat.

I think that my love of food is the reason that I want to learn to cook better. I have started to try to cook better, and a big help so far has been Jamie Oliver. His cooking shows make me excited to cook, and his cookbooks are easy to follow and, man, they have excellent recipes in them. I have four of Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks and I have learned to cook at least one thing out of each of them really well. For any beginning cooks I recommend Jamie Oliver’s books because they explain things that most cookbook authors just assume that everyone knows, and let me tell you I did not know some of these things before I started to cook. Jamie’s books have really made me enjoy cooking, and also be really proud of the things that I can now cook.

I have come up with a few things on my own, and one of my favourite things to make for lunch is a bagel sandwich. First thing that you do is toast the bagel in the frying pan, and then you fry some bacon until it is crispy, and then you fry an egg in the grease. You put the egg, bacon, a slice of Swiss cheese, and some mayonnaise on the bagel cut it down the middle and there you go! It is such a good sandwich, and really easy to do.

Here is a link to Jamie Oliver’s website where you can find a lot of really great recipes and tips to help you become a better a cook!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/

The First of the Random Blogs

I just spent a little bit of time being girly. I’m usually not a very girly girl, but I do enjoy painting my nails even once and a while and tonight that is what I did. I bought a new type/colour today from Jacob. I know right! Who would have thought that Jacob would make an awesome nail polish? I really love it, it is a dark blue called skinny jean, and it went on in one coat. I really like the shade of blue, I have looked around for a nice dark blue before and I’ve never found a shade that I’ve actually liked. I definitely recommend this Jacob nail polish. Ok enough girly talk.

My phone died today. I had charged it last night before I went to bed, but this afternoon it wouldn’t turn on. I had to stop what I was doing, which was heading out to the grocery store to buy food, and go to the Bell store to get my phone situation figured out. I ended up having to send my phone away to get it fixed, and I am now using an old phone that I had in my apartment. It’s not really that old of a phone, I think that they still selling it, and I’m really happy that I had it as a back up so I didn’t have to get a gross loaner phone. I always seem to have problems with my cell phones; I should’ve gotten a Blackberry.

While I painted my nails tonight I watched How I Met Your Mother and Two Broke Girls. I’ve been watching HIMYM for quite a few years now and I really enjoy it, tonight’s episode was no exception, but I think that it is starting to run its course. I just wish that Ted would meet the mother already; I will miss the show when it is done, but I don’t want to get old or stale before the end. Two Broke Girls is new, and I really like it. It is different from many shows on TV, and I think that I can relate to a bit being a broke girl myself. I like the characters and I like the situations that they get themselves into. I hope that it continues to be good.

Well, that is basically the exciting points on my day, sad isn’t it? I did pick up Super Paper Mario today, so look forward to a review sometime soon! And, because I like leaving videos at the end of this blog, here is a video by Meekakitty for the song When We First Met by HelloGoodbye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05VaUDa6k9A&list=FLIiNIT3Fu7YZHhK1GCFZ2Vw&index=2

The Fox and the Hound

Last night I watched The Fox and the Hound for the first time since I was a kid. Of all the classic Disney movies this was not one of favourites and I think I finally figured out why. This movie is really sad. I don’t remember it being so sad, I know that it is about a fox and hound who are friends but because of the circumstance, being natural enemies, they are unable to remain friends, but it really is a downer.

The friendship between Copper and Todd only really happens during the length of song, The Best of Friends, and then Copper goes off to be trained as a hunting dog. When Copper returns both him and Todd have grown up, and soon because Copper’s mentor Chief gets injured do to an accident caused by Todd, Copper becomes fixated on hunting down Todd. This is the first thing that is really sad, how quickly Copper changes his mind on the friendship between him and Todd. I understand that he had to choose a side and the natural side he would take would be that of the dog that helped him to become a better hunting dog, but Copper chooses to hunt Todd all the while knowing that his master, the hunter, planned on killing Todd. It truly is disheartening to think that someone’s affection could change in such a dramatic way, but I suppose that is actually something that happens in real life; maybe that is why it makes this story so sad.

I think that the saddest part of this movie is by far the scene when the widow drops Todd off in the reserve to save him from the hunter. Over the scene plays a voice over by the widow which says: “Goodbye may seem forever, farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you’ll always be”. The combination of the sad images and this line actually had me tearing up, which is something of an accomplishment considering I rarely ever cry during movies.

Soon after the widow drops Todd off the hunter and Copper come looking for him. They finally find Todd and chase him all through the forest. Finally, they stumble upon a bear, and while Todd gets past the bear, the hunter and Copper do not. Todd hears the fight between the bear and Copper and rushes back to help. Todd defeats the bear, but in doing so falls from a great height into a pool of water. Todd is alive, but injured, and the hunter comes upon him readying his shot. Just then Copper appears and stands in front of Todd protecting him from the hunter. These are the last acts of friendship and from here they part ways never to see each other again. It is nice to think that there was still enough friendship and feelings between the fox and the hound to save each other from harm. I honestly am not sure how to feel about this, because it could be heart-warming to think that they both still cared for each other enough to save the other; but it’s is sad to think that even if they do both have some sort of friendly feeling toward the other, they cannot be friends.

I guess that not every story can have a happy ending, but this ending just leaves me feeling a bit depressed. The Fox and the Hound is an interesting story, and one that should be told, it makes me remember just how important friendships are. You never know who will be there for you in the end, and I suppose that in this case this may demonstrate what a true friendship is; caring for someone so much that you would risk your own life for that person or fox or hound.

Just incase you want to cry here is the scene when the widow drops of Todd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UIc6o5Z8SU

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, takes place in the future America, now called Panem. However, the world is completely different from what we know or any idea that has been conceived of the future. There are now twelve districts that are ruled by the oppressive capital. The capital has two ways to remind the districts that they are still in control and there is no point of rebellion. The first way is to continue to show footage of the now extinct district thirteen which was bombed during the war between the districts and the capital seventy-four years ago. The second way is the worst; the capital makes each district send two tributes, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to fight against each other to the death in The Hunger Games. The story follows the 17 year old, Katniss, who gets chosen as the girl tribute for district 12 for the seventy-fourth Hunger Games.

This is the second time that I have read The Hunger Games; including the other two books in the trilogy, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Even for my second time through these books I found them just as engaging and thrilling as I did the first time. The story is incredibly unique, in all the time I have spent reading books and watching movies I have not come across anything that is like The Hunger Games. I also really appericate the way that Collins deals with the subject of war, these books could have been a disaster if this subject had not been dealt with correctly. War and rebellion is not glorified, but is instead something that is nesscary to end the oppression of the capital. War is not something that Katniss enjoys and she always feels grief and remorse when someone gets killed, even if it is someone on the opposing side. The themes that are in this story are thought provoking and meaningful. The themes are things that everyone should think about at some point and these three books help to guide your thought in a productive way.

I want to take a moment to talk about how perfectly these three books are titled. The titles each give hints about what the books are about without giving away anything to do with the plot. The Hunger Games deals with the history of Panem, why The Hunger Games started, and what it is like if you are selected as a tribute in The Games; it really lays the groundwork for what is to happen in the following two books. Catching Fire deals with the spark that ignites the beginning of the rebellion within the 12 districts; it literary is like a fire starting and you get to watch it build up until it is a full out fire. Finally, Mockingjay deals with Katniss becoming the symbol of resistance for the districts, or the Mockingjay, and deals the most with the concept of war. I don’t think that I have read any book that has been better titled than these books. It is often the title the of book that draws me in and the titles in this trilogy work perfectly to accomplish just that, they draw the read in and create interest in what story these titles could hold.

I don’t think that I can give enough praise for The Hunger Games Trilogy. They are brilliantly written thought provoking books that I believe that everyone, teen or adult, should read. I really believe that everyone should take some time to think about the themes that are presented within the story and that in doing so the world might become a little bit of a better place.

In closing I leave you with two videos. First the trailer for The Hunger Games movie, which is to come out next year, and second the video for Alex Carpenter’s song “In The Hunger Games”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAWODq_dMFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRA7_MnRKmk&list=FLIiNIT3Fu7YZHhK1GCFZ2Vw&index=26

Thursday Night TV

Every Thursday night for the past few years I have watched Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. This year they added another show that I watch to that line up, The Big Bang Theory. I have to say this right now that at some point I have loved each one of these shows at one time or another, but this year, well, I’m just not feeling them.

First up was The Big Bang Theory. The show last night opened up with a classic Sheldon and Lenard scene. I enjoyed this scene because we haven’t really seen much of the relationship between these two characters much in recent episodes, and I feel like it the show needs to bring it back to them to make it interesting. I loved the story line with Howard and Bernadette; I think that they are a really awesome couple. I also really like that they have made Bernadette resemble Howard’s mother, it makes sense that Howard would pick someone like his mother since he is such a mama’s boy. I found the storyline with Will Wheaton to be underwhelming. I don’t believe that Wheaton would have given in on the feud so easily, and Sheldon didn’t freak out enough when the mint action figure got ripped opened. Over all this episode was fine, it held my attention and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Next up was Grey’s Anatomy. I have been having a love hate relationship with Grey’s since the beginning of the last season. I find that the writing is not as good as it used to be, and that the plots are lacking the interesting twists and learning experiences that they used to have. Last night’s plot revolved around two cases; the first was the “shocking” penis transplant. Yes, you heard me a penis transplant, if that isn’t grasping for straws then I don’t know what is. The only part of this case that I enjoyed was that Debbie Allen guest stared as Jackson Avery’s mother and was the head surgeon on the case. Debbie Allen is so cool, such a great actor and I really enjoyed seeing her as Katharine Avery. I liked that the mother-and-son relationship was believable, but didn’t really understand why Jackson felt that he had to ship Lexi off to save her from the crazy mother. Katherine Avery was cool, under control, driven, and definitely not crazy. The Jackson worrying about the impression she would make was overdone. The other case was one that involved Zola the baby that Meredith and Derek want to adopt. She had a seizure and was brought to the hospital to be treated by Alex and Arizona. Of course, they weren’t to tell Meredith and Derek that Zola was being treated because it would put the adoption in jeopardy, but of course Alex told they anyway. In the end Zola was fine, and the adoption agent saw Meredith and Derek holding hands in the elevator looking upset at the end of the episode. It’s obvious that they will get custody of Zola in the end, but I guess they really need to drag it out. The one thing that I wondered throughout this episode is why Kristina always steps up and helps out with Zola, but she doesn’t want to have a child of her own. It’s nice to see the writers move the plot along, and making it seem possible that reconciliation between Meredith and Derek might be coming soon. Unfortunately, it was sort of slow and predictable. I miss old Grey’s Anatomy.

Then we get to Private Practice, and the uterus transplant. I am not kidding you one bit, it was a penis transplant followed by a uterus transplant. I honestly let out a sigh when they said uterus transplant; either the two shows planned to much or not enough, but it was overkill. I really didn’t enjoy this episode; I was bored and didn’t really pay close attention to the plot. It seems that Private Practice is just trying to outdo Grey’s Anatomy in shock factor, and it is failing painfully. I think that the writers need to bring Private Practice back to what it was originally, a show that focused on a small practice and its patients.

I hope that The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice get better as the seasons move on. The writers of all three shows need to step it up this year. I’m looking for interesting plots, twist that I don’t see coming, and more emotion. I’m not going to stop watching these shows, let’s face it, I’m too curious to see what is going to happen next.

Modern Family

Television has always been a part of what brings my family together. It sounds strange to give TV that much importance, but I have fond memories of my family gathering around the TV every Sunday night to watch Road to Avonlea. Things are different now that my brother and I have grown up and live on our own. We aren’t able to gather around the same TV as a family anymore, but we still watch some of the same shows and when we do get together we talk about the most current episodes.

One show that we all love is Modern Family. My whole family watches it weekly and my parents even own the first two seasons on DVD. Even if this show wasn’t critically acclaimed I think that we would love it. Modern Family is incredibly well written, and my family always finds ways to add quotes from the show into everyday conversation.  I love the way the writers take the different predicaments that the characters get themselves into and make them seem like a heightened form of reality. I think that it is probably what makes Modern Family so funny; that you could see those situations happening in real life.

The other amazing thing that the writers have done is to make the characters lovable. There is not one character on Modern Family that I don’t love. Despite the, sometimes stupid, things that they do I just end up shaking my head, laughing, and saying “oh (insert character name here).” None of the characters get on my nerves and I don’t wish that they had left out a certain character when developing the show. The best part is that even though each character is different from each other they make a believable family, and you can see how much they love and care for each other.

I suppose that it is the family quality of Modern Family that really makes my family love it. We all enjoy watching a family that cares about each other even if they have their differences. Although, it sure is entertaining to over hear your parents imitating Jay and Gloria in the next room too.

Wild Flag

Last night I was fortunate enough to see the band Wild Flag at Lee’s Palace here in Toronto. Wild Flag is a new band from Portland comprised of members from Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders. Being a huge Sleater-Kinney fan, I think that I have everyone of their albums in one form or another, I couldn’t wait to see what Wild Flag would have to offer.  About a month ago Wild Flag released their self-titled-debut album, one that I had been waiting the entire summer to hear. It did not disappoint. Right from the opening song “Romance” I was hooked. I have listened to Wild Flag for basically the entire past month straight. It has lived on my record player, and was always the last album I had listened to when I switched on my iPod. So, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that Wild Flag had a stop on their tour in Toronto. I bought my ticket and then I waited for the show to finally arrive.

That brings us to last night. Lees’s Palace is a pretty good venue. I’ve seen quite a few bands there and have never been disappointed with the sound. The only drawback is that I have a hard time seeing above the crowd…I’m only 5’ 2’’. However, last night this didn’t matter. I, at first, was sitting off to the side with a couple of friends where I would be able to see the whole stage, but about ten seconds into Wild Flag’s first song I knew that I couldn’t sit still for this show. I jumped up and headed over to where my brother and sister-in-law where standing. From that moment until the final chord was strummed, I danced.

Wild Flag was amazing. I honestly don’t think that I can accurately describe how good they were. My best bet might be to tell you listen to their album and then image that live only better. I’ve never seen a band live before that only has one album out, so it was a really cool experience to get to see Wild Flag play all the songs from their album. Each member had high energy and there wasn’t any messing around telling stories, they thanked the audience and continued to play. It was solid rock for an hour and I loved every minute of it.

As a fan of Sleater-Kinney I have to take a moment to say how awesome it was to get the chance to see Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss live. I only had the opportunity to see Sleater-Kinney once. They opened for Pearl Jam back in 2005, but I had really only just heard of them and hadn’t yet fully developed my love for them. It was so cool to finally get to see the erratic way that Carrie plays live, complete with leg kicks and the occasional windmill. Janet is probably one of the best drummers out there today, something that was proven last night, and it was awesome getting to watch her look like something out of an 80’s music video with the fan blowing her hair and the red light shining on her.

To wrap things up Wild Flag puts on one great show, and if you ever get the chance to see them live you definitely should. Until then click on the link below to see the music video for one my favourite songs “Romance”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J8n9R8rnB8&ob=av2e