The Muppets

Everyone loves the Muppets! Well, I guess except for Fox News. But they like to rain on everyone’s parade, so let’s forget about them! I loved it! It was an adorable movie full of heart. I thought the songs were fun, and I especially liked the one about having a party for one. I don’t know if it was a must see for theaters, but it is definitely a movie that you must see at some point!

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

Let me first say that I really love Allan Tudyk. How could I not after his amazing performances in Firefly and Dollhouse? So I was pretty excited for this one. And it was good. Here’s the concept: two hillbillies go to their vacation house in the woods for a relaxing weekend. Some college kids get freaked out by them and in a series of accidents end up dying in horrible ways. They think that they must be trapped in a horror movie scenario, but really, Tucker and Dale are just some nice guys who want a relaxing vacation.

It was pretty funny, and I really enjoyed how they turned the whole horror movie thing around. But while it was good… it wasn’t great. I would have liked to see some better directing…. As Steve said while we were watching it… “Wouldn’t it have been great if Edgar Wright directed this?”

Melancholia

Where do I even begin with this one? I watched this on Sunday and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It moved me, and it’s been haunting me. I couldn’t sleep after watching this movie without seeing Melancholia in my head, slowly moving towards Earth. The movie follows Justine and Clare, sisters, as the rogue planet Melancholia heads towards a violent collision with Earth. Justine suffers from depression and we see her on her wedding day, sadly taking a bath instead of cutting the cake. Clare, the dependable sister, tries her best to take care of her, but there’s only so much that can be done.

Melancholia moves closer and closer to Earth. Clare is terrified of it, but her scientist husband and young son are both thrilled to watch it pass the Earth. They’re convinced it won’t hit. We, as the audience, know better. The opening sequence of the movie shows us in beautiful slow motion the collision.

I guess I shouldn’t say too much more, although I don’t think this is the kind of movie where spoilers are an issue. It’s a beautiful and haunting film.  Like I said, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Did I like it? Did I love it? Whatever my feelings on it are, it haunts me, and you should see it.

I want to start blogging more regularly again. What better way to start than with a report about our Christmas Tree?

Here it is! It’s our first tree together as a couple and we’re both thrilled about it. I’m not sure if you can make out many of the individual ornaments, but let me give you a run down on my favorites! There is a TARDIS, a tiny Jameson bottle, various Lego Harry Potter and Lego Star Wars toys that we tied string to, and a golden Wii Remote. Really, I don’t think this tree could be more US!

My favorite part might just be the Lego Hogwarts Express that goes around the tree! We bought it months ago and Steve motorized it just so it could go around your tree. We also have a flying Ford Anglia and Hargrid’s Hut. Hagrid, of course, has his own Christmas trees!

So there it is folks! Our very geeky Christmas. Now I’m off to make some hot chocolate and watch some Elf!

Happy Holidays!

I really enjoyed this one. One of my favorite classes in college was about England and we spent a lot of time talking about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It was a great, entertaining refresher.

After reading about Victoria I went straight to reading about her granddaughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth married into the Russian royal family and was killed around the same time as the tsar and his family. She lived a fascinating and holy life, becoming a nun after her husband’s death. It was a great read about an important historical figure I had never heard of!

To be honest, I haven’t quite finished this one yet. While it is really interesting to read about the beginnings of electricity, I keep getting distracted by other books. Some of the discussion about AC vs DC current were a little hard to follow for a non-science minded person like myself, but there were plenty of diagrams to try and help explain things.

And here begins the fiction portion of my list! I read this book in about an hour and loved it. It’s the story of a relationship told in dictionary format. The story doesn’t follow a linear pattern at all, and bits and pieces of their story are revealed throughout the book. It’s beautifully written and short enough that most people should be able to find time to check it out!

Yeah, yeah, I’m reading a Star Wars book. I love the movies and when Steve decided to check out the book I wanted to join in the fun! It’s pretty cool to see some of the expanded universe. Not quite as much fun as watching the movies, but still pretty entertaining!

This morning I was packing up all my books here and discovered that my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban has some mold in it! I was crushed, since it’s the copy I read as a child. But then I thought about it and realized… I could do awesome things with the parts of the book that aren’t moldy! My first project was paper flowers.

I followed the instructions here: http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-kusudama-flower.html.

Even though my flower doesn’t look quite like theirs, I’m very pleased with the result! Here are some more pictures, for your viewing pleasure!

Monsters

This movie. THIS MOVIE. Oh man, it blew me away. It was made on an incredibly low budget with just a few people working on it. Most of the effects were done on Photoshop. Knowing that going in, you would expect a campy movie with some lame monsters, or monsters that you don’t really see. No. You see everything. If you like aliens, survival stories, or really good movies you want to check this out.

Doctor Who

I’ve finally found my way to Doctor Who. I should have gotten into it years ago, but better late then never, right? For the past few weeks Steve and I have been watching so much Doctor Who… and we’re finally caught up. I love love LOVE this show. A funny mysterious tragic main character? Fun adventures into history? Science fiction all over the place? Yes, I am a happy camper.

The Name of the Wind

This book, and it’s sequel The Wise Man’s Fear are two of the best books I’ve read in while. It’s a fantasy story about a powerful wizard-like man named Kvothe. After some disaster or misfortune Kvothe becomes an innkeeper out in the middle of nowhere. A famous storyteller tracks him down to record the real story of his life. We get the story straight from Kvothe as he tells it to the storyteller.  And what a story it is! Magic, love, danger, monsters… It’s pretty typical stuff, but Kvothe’s voice is compelling and makes the story enthralling. If you liked Game of Thrones you should probably check this out!

The Kids Are Alright

Not everything I’ve watched lately has been awesome. Last night Steve and I watched The Kids are Alright. For some reason I thought it was going to be good. I was wrong. It was boring, awkward, and forgettable. Enough said!

When I picked up Watermark at the bookstore a few weeks ago I was hesitant, excited, and anticipating a lot of disappointment. At first glance Watermark was everything I love in a book–historical fiction, a love story with strong characters, and most excitingly of all…. it is about making paper. I was convinced that somehow the author would take all these marvelous elements and ruin them.

I was wrong.

I am so, so glad I was wrong!

Watermark turned out to be exactly what I wanted it to be and more. As far as I can tell the historical details of the book including the papermaking are accurate, and maybe it’s just because I’m a huge paper nerd but I also found them entertaining. Looking over the bibliography in the back I was very impressed to see that she cited Dard Hunter, an American paper scholar that the professor who taught the class I took on paper thought of very highly.

Beyond all the geeky historical and papery stuff, the book was also well written and full of interesting characters. Auda, the protagonist, comes to life on the page as we see her face the struggles of being different in the middle ages. She is an albino, a mute, and an educated woman. When the inquisitors come to town she must hide and seek protection from those more powerful than herself.

I had a really hard time putting this book down–to the point where when I woke up in the middle of the night last night I sat up reading until I had finished.What a joy it is to find a good book!

For as much of a nerdfighter as I am, I had never actually read any of John Green’s books. I know, it’s a terrible thing. But the other day I was checking in books at the library and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan came across the desk. Naturally, I took the opportunity to add it to my very high to read pile.

And…. I fell in love. On page 8 they bring in Neutral Milk Hotel. As most of you know, I’ve been completely enthralled with NMH since high school. So, getting to read a book where one of the main characters is a huge fan? Yeah, I’m on board for that!

Apart from that the book was great. John Green and David Levithan have alternating sections, each of them told in the voice of a Will Grayson. Both Will Grayson’s have their fair share of problems, and friends with problems. The book deals with issues of sexuality, friendship, online interactions,  mental illness and weight. Despite all of those heavy topics, it’s still a fun and at times funny book.  For as much as I loved John Green’s sections, I think it was Levithan’s writing that really shone in this book. Both Will Grayson’s are well-rounded characters, but I felt there was just something extra in Levithan’s Grayson. I also love that he chose to write it without any capital letters!

I won’t spoil anything, but I wasn’t as happy with the end as I was with the rest of the book. It felt a bit like it was trying too hard, and I didn’t feel satisfied when it was over.

Overall, a great YA book. Funny, yet touching, and perhaps most importantly, thoughtful.

1) Work!!

I got a job!! In a library! Finally, after years of trying to get a library job and a year of library school I can finally say that I work in a library. Today was my first day and it was fantastic! I’m absolutely thrilled and incredibly grateful to have found a library job.

2) Acacia

Steve always picks the best book presents for me, and this is no exception. I’m only about halfway through, but so far I would say it is just as good as Game  of Thrones! I love finding new (to me) fantasy series, and once I’m done I’ll be sure to post a full review!

3) The Big Book of Science

No picture for this one as it’s still incomplete! I’m working on making Steve his very own copy of The Big Book of Science, one of the main readable books in the Fallout video games. My version of the Big Book of Science will be filled with old science fiction magazines. Hopefully I’ll get it done in the next week or so, when of course you will get a post!

4) The Six Week Body Makeover

After talking to a friend about her positive experiences on the program I decided to make the commitment and do it! So far it has been going great. Despite not sticking to it quite as closely as I should be I’ve still lost 13lbs since Christmas! I’ve still got a long way to go, but it’s nice to have a set plan that I know is working for me.

So that’s what I’ve been up to! Hopefully soon I’ll have some book reviews and bookbinding experiments to share with you.

Kelly’s Book:

My friend Kelly loves to travel and write, and she’s currently stationed in Louisiana with Americorps. For her book I used some lovely paper I had that was covered in travel stamps, a red ribbon, and a map of the southern USA.

Lily’s Book:

My sister Lily just started high school. She’s recently started writing for a local teen paper. I made her book with earthy green paper (you can see some leaves in the paper!) and a map of Pennsylvania. Her book is a bit smaller than the ones I usually make so she can easily carry it around with her.

Maggie’s Book:

I was so excited when I drew my cousin Maggie in our family gift exchange this year! Maggie reminds me a lot of myself when I was ten, what with all the reading and writing, and I was thrilled to get to make her something special. When I was younger her parents would often give me journals as gifts, so it seemed very appropriate to make her one this year! My mom helped me pick out the fun, colorful paper I used to bind her book!

Jessie’s Book:

Jessie’s book was one of the first I made and also one of my favorites. I made her a dos-a-dos and I think it turned out beautifully! She’s a busy senior in high school, so I’m sure she can find plenty of things to fill up both sides of the book!

Mom’s Book:

For my mom’s book I tracked down some old family photos and put them together for her. She’s really into family history, so some of them were very old! Others were from when I was a child. There are plenty of blank pages in the back for her to fill up with other photos or family information she finds. Of all the books I made for Christmas, this one might be my favorite, if only for the content!

“Life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion: to refuse to tape yourself to rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge – and then you are going to live your life on a tightrope.” Philippe Petit

In 1974 Philippe Petit strung a wire between the Twin Towers and walked across it.

That’s right. He walked. On a wire. With no safety net. Between the Twin Towers. The mere idea of it makes me shiver with terror– I can’t even imagine someone wanting to actually do it! But he saw it as his destiny. He worked and planned and convinced people to help him until his dream came true.

Man on Wire is a documentary of his story. They go through from the spark of inspiration that made Philippe want to do this to the end, and it is a beautiful, beautiful story. He was so determined to walk that wire, no matter the cost… and he really had no clear reason for doing it. He just wanted to do something fun, adventurous,and beautiful. Watching his story unfold as he and his co-conspirators tell the tale is an intense viewing experience. You know he doesn’t fall since he’s clearly telling the story himself, but there’s still the breathless anticipation of what will happen once he’s up there.

For me, the most powerful moments were when his friend broke down and couldn’t continue talking. Thinking back on that day was so powerful for him, even this many years later.

If you want a thrilling documentary to watch, watch this one. I can promise you that it won’t be a waste of your time.