Let the 20s Roar! (Part 2)

I'm not going to the other Great Gatsby movie party tonight.  I'm just too worn out!
But here's the stuff from last night.

So basically, my thought process was "Have been invited to cool 1920s party and asked to wear costume.  ... I don't do 20th C.  What on earth am I going to wear?!?"

Finally in a desperate fit of win or die trying, I rummaged through my closet and came up with a black tank top and a swishy old favorite swing skirt that no longer fits because I lost 20 lbs last summer and it falls off.  (But being the sappy thing that I am, I couldn't bear to part with it, hence it being there waiting for me to pick it up again.)

The flash makes the top look faded, but they are actually pretty
close to being the same shade of black.

Convinced that I had at long last gone completely round the twist, I stood in front of the full length mirror and hiked the skirt up to my armpits to see whether my bust would hold it up and whether it became the right length and GIGGLING GUARDS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE, IT WORKED PERFECTLY! I set about pinning it in place, using the tank top as a base:

I top stitched a half a yard of fringe on along the edge to make it look "flapper"- esque.  A length of stretchy sequin trim and a feather pouf made a headband.  I had a pink feather boa from a photo shoot I did a few years ago.  Done and done.

Gratuitous, if grainy, iPhone photo that went on my Facebook.

Unfortunately, the only {full length} photo I got of me is a little out of focus.  But who cares.  I clean up cute!  If a little awkward... I'm not used to wearing heels all that much.  I didn't even keep them on once I got to the venue.  I changed into my Bleyer dance shoes so I wouldn't break an ankle.

I only got a few pics at the actual event, of course, because I was too busy dancing and having fun to be snapping photos and blinding everyone with the flash!
Here's me with one my new friends from the venue.  We only met officially on Tuesday, but I've seen him there before, and he's planning on learning Lindy soon.  And all of the follows smirk with glee and go "Muahahahaha!" because we LOVE converting guys to swing dancing, because ultimately it means more dances for US!

Most of the other pics I got were of more friends dancing with each other, and I'm not sure if they would be comfortable with me posting pics of them on the internet without asking, so I won't.

All in all, it was a spectacular night, and I wish I had the energy to go out again.  But I'll spend a quiet night at home, rest up, and (as always) look forward to Tuesday when I get to dance again.  :)

Keep Swinging, readers.  You are fabulous!

"Storm": Appropriate Background Music

I heard this on the "Man of Steel" trailer recently.  While I love Marvel more than DC, I'm looking forward to seeing it (if only because it is Hans Zimmer's newest score- even if he didn't write this piece I'm featuring today).

This Music Monday brings you "Storm", a GORGEOUS track from the OST of "Elizabeth: The Golden Age", starring the amazing and ethereally beautiful Kate Blanchett.  I didn't get to see the film in its entirety, but I got to see enough clips to know that she more than deserved the awards she garnered for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I.

This is some of what is playing in the background for me today as I tackle laundry, paperwork, sewing, housework, errands, and life in general.  I hope it inspires you as it does me.

Enjoy. :)

Zip Codes

Finally!  An A-Z Challenge where "Z" was an easy one! :)
According to the USPS, Zip codes were developed in the early 1960s as a way to more accurately and specifically sort mail for delivery.  ("Zip" stands for "Zoning Improvement Plan") July 1 will be the 50th anniversary of the Zip Code system!
My first digit (3) represents the Southeast region.  The second two numbers (01), represent the main population area within that region- in my case, Georgia, followed by the beautiful city of Atlanta.  The final two numbers (87) zero in on my local post office.

Maybe I was drilled very well in how to address an envelope when I was in school, but it has always astounded me that people forget to include the zip code sometimes.  To me that's like not addressing it at all! LOL

Here are some interesting Zip Codes I found:

• General Electric in Schenectady, NY has a unique zip code in sequential order: 12345
• Detroit, MI has a mail boat called the JW Westcott that delivers to ships in the Detroit River.  It has its own zip code of 48222.
• The public knows the White House zip code to be 20500, but there is actually a secret zip + 4 for the President and First Family to get private mail.
• New York's World Trade Center complex had its own zip code of 10048 before it was destroyed on 9/11/2001
• My own beloved city of Savannah, GA's zip code is the first few numbers of Pi: 31415

Character Post

During the LetterMo challenge, the participants could earn different "achievement badges".  If you ventured to a new postbox drop-off location, for example, or sent a birthday or valentine greeting, you'd get to display your achievement for the rest of the LetterMo community to admire/envy/mirror with their own.

 One such achievement that I couldn't stand to NOT earn was the "Austen Style" badge.  This puppy could only be earned if you emulated Jane Austen herself and broke out the parchment, quill, ink bottle and wax seal, finally sending the letter folded up as its own envelope.  Bonus points if you wrote it in early 19th C language/subject matter.  I sent out a few- three, to be precise- but none of them as Lucy Jane or in 19th C character.  I just couldn't break into the time travel for some reason.  (Where's a Tardis when you really need one?  I ask you.)  But my usual vocabulary/style of writing leans to the old fashioned as a habit, so they really weren't that bad.

One of the three was replied to, in Regency character!  How could I not answer it back in kind*??  Finally, with her help, I had unlocked whatever the previous thing was that had blocked my writer's imagination.  Using this fantastic resource on my hometown area in the late 1700s/early 1800s, I was able to flesh out Lucy Jane more than I have ever done, and really develop her backstory and history.  It was marvelous fun to blend historical fact with fiction!  My creative brain, rather starved for that sort of exercise and entertainment of late, just bloomed with one scene and timeline possibility after another until I think I may have enough to write a novel if I get it all down on paper. (NaNoWriMo, anyone?!)  I always told myself I would never be a writer.  I'm a terrible liar to myself.  I'm not saying it will get published or make it to the NY Best Seller list, but who says it has to?  I'm enjoying it. :)

Here are a couple of photos of my "Austen Style" offerings.  I can't wait for Charlotte's next letter!

Have you ever sent a letter as a character? I'd love to hear about it!

*Although I have been SUPER busy lately and have not updated the website and/or blog in a few months, most of you know that I have a creative outlet under a pseudonym/character called Lucy Jane.  If you are new here, follow the link to see "her" wares. :)

Finally Found That Thing About Jane Austen...

So years and years ago, I was talking in a post about how I had found my ancestral link to Jane Austen herself and how tickled I was over it.  But I couldn't explain it in the post, because the format was all wonky and other reasons, so I kinda gave it up for lost and told you all that you'd just have to take my word for it.

Well, the other day I was going through some papers and I found my big ole stacks of genealogy research (did you know that before I had kids, I filled in 1,000 names on my family tree in less than 2 years?!).  So I converted the document I had been looking for into an image file so that you could finally see the lineage.

Voila!

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

Jane Austen (had she possessed some secret to endless longevity and not died in 1817) would have been 237 years old today!  To celebrate her birthday, I'm having a good cup of tea, a slice of angel food cake, and am cozied up watching the 2005 Kiera Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice.

I'm also posting conversations on the Facebook group I recently created to kick off a project called "A Year With Jane Austen".  A group of friends, who are fellow Janeites, and I are going to season each month of 2013 with reading her works together and discussing them, watching the movie adaptations and discussing/comparing them, sharing recipes and swapping baked goodies like scones and tea recommendations, discussing and sharing stuff on the culture and fashion of the Regency Era, and all sorts of other things related to Jane.  (If you are a fellow Janeite and want to join in the fun, friend request me on Facebook (Jenny Wallace Ray) with a message, and I will add you to the group!  Our "event" for January will be reading "Emma" and discussing it.  I've never facilitated a group or a book club or anything like that before, so I'm sure I won't be perfect, but it's nothing "official".  Just a bunch of Jane Austen fans letting our geek show. :)

I'm going to get back to my movie, but before I do, I thought I would share 10 of my favorite character quotes from film versions of her works with you.  (These are in no particular order, as the movies rotate through my DVD player as though it had a revolving door on it.  I love the books in their entireties far too much to pull any one quote from them.)  Enjoy!

1.  Knightly: "You didn't ask me to contribute a riddle, Emma."
     Emma: "Your entire personality is a riddle, Mr. Knightly; I thought you overqualified."
     (From Emma)

2.  Mrs. Bennett: "He danced the fourth with a Miss King, of little standing, and the fifth again with Jane."
    Mr. Bennett:  "If he'd had any compassion for me, he would have sprained his ankle in the first set."
     (From Pride and Prejudice)

3.  Charlotte Lucas: "Count your blessings, Lizzie!  If he liked you, you'd have to talk to him."
     Elizabeth: "Precisely.  As it is, I would not dance with him for all of Darbyshire, let alone the miserable half."
     (From Pride and Prejudice)

4.  Elinor: "Thank you for your help with Margaret.  She's much changed since you've arrived."
     Edward Ferrars: "Not at all; I enjoy her company.  She's planning an expedition to China shortly, and I'm to go along as her servant.  But only on the understanding that I'm to be very badly treated."
     (Elinor laughs) "And what will your duties be?"
     Edward: "Sword-fighting, obviously; administering rum, and swabbing."
     (From Sense and Sensibility)

5.   Sir Walter Elliot: "I must say, though, the worst of Bath is the number of plain women.  I frequently observe that one pretty face would be followed by five and thirty frights."
     (From Persuasion)

6.  Marianne: "When is a man to be safe from such wit, if age and infirmity do not protect him?"
     Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood together: "Infirmity?!"
     Marianne: "Did you not hear him complain of rheumatism in his shoulder?"
     Elinor: "'A slight ache' I believe was his phrase."
     Mrs. Dashwood: "If Colonel Brandon is infirm, then I am at death's door!"
     Elinor: "It is a miracle your life has extended this far."
     (From Sense and Sensibility)

7.  Fanny Price: "Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint!"
    (From Mansfield Park)*

8.  Knightly: "I have some news. (slyly) And I know how you like news!"
     Emma (conspiratorially): "Oh, yes, I always like news!"
     (From Emma)

9.   Edmund: "Oh, don't be an imbecile."
      Fanny: "Oh, but imbecility in women is a great enhancement to their personal charms."
      Edmund: "Fanny, you're being irrational!"
      Fanny: "Yet another adornment!  I must be ravishing."
     (From Mansfield Park)

10.  Elizabeth: "Shall I call for some tea?"
       Darcy: "No, thank you."
       (incredibly awkward silence as neither one knows what to say next)
       Darcy (finally rushing out the door): "Good day, Miss Elizabeth.  It's been a pleasure."
       Charlotte (coming in): "What on earth have you done to poor Mr. Darcy?!"
       Elizabeth: "... I have no idea!"
      (From Pride and Prejudice)


*This quote was used in the film version of Mansfield Park, but is actually from a piece of Jane's Juvenilia work called Love and Friendship, written in 1790.

PS- I am (distantly) genealogically related to Jane Austen!  I should find that chart I finally finished that shows the connection and post it soon.... :)

Meanwhile, In The Late Cretaceous...

The score of this could have passed for a Music Monday, but the graphics and imagery are so lovely, I decided to land it on a Video Wednesday.  I adored this when the trailer came out and then was greatly disappointed the moment the dinosaur characters started talking.  Ruined everything.  Oh, well.  There's none of that in this clip, so sit back and enjoy the scene!

He Who Would Pun...

I hadn't seen this in a while and a friend happened to share it on my social streams.  So now I'm sharing it with you.  *Raises glass* To Lord Nelson! (And Russell Crowe.  And Paul Bettany.)

Ahoy, Matey!

Arrrrr!!!! Avast, me Hearties!  Today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day!  Whether ye be chartin' a course through the perilous sea o' traffic on the interstates, or swabbing the decks and spit shinin' yer vessel at home port (translation: housework and laundry at home. Though with very young buccaneers underfoot, it may well be more "spit" and less "shine".), raise yer glass o' grog and enjoy the spirit of the day!  As it be Wednesday, I thought this series of High Seas Hijinks were in order.  Hoist the Colors and weigh anchor!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!!

Sometimes my train of thought derails at the speed of light (usually with no survivors).  Every once in a while though, one of of those tangents leads to a phenomenal discovery of which I had been previously ignorant, and the newly unearthed epiphany thereof leaves me squealing with glee and/or babbling incoherently about aforementioned phenomenal discovery to anyone and everyone who is brave enough to stick around and attempt to decipher what I'm saying.  (Such event is happening even as my fingers fly over the keyboard now, so if you've managed to follow the content of what I've just written thus far, CONGRATULATIONS!  You win! :D)

For those of you who are looking around for the evidence of a caffeine overdose, relax.  You won't find anything.  Blame my iTunes for this latest bouncing around the room like a ping pong ball in a hurricane effect.  I had it on shuffle.  It came to "Seize The Day" from the movie Newsies.  I Googled Newsies just to see what came up.  It's not caffeine.  It's the music!  Music does this to me!  Phenomenal discoveries of music I love being turned into better versions of themselves in the form of BROADWAY MUSICALS!!!

THIS

IS NOW THIS!!!!

***Somebody pass me a paper bag before I hyperventilate! :D :D :D :D :D :D***

Links, Jenny.  Give the readers the links!  Focus!

Here is the official WEBSITE.  Here is where you can get the collector's edition DVD of the 1992 movie, if you have $50 bucks to burn. (I do not.  I will have to pray my VCR and/or VHS copy of it do not die on me.)  Here is a wikipedia article on the real life Newsboys Strike of 1899 that inspired the story.  Here is a photo from this NY Times article that I was going to link anyway (see!  I sourced!!) showing the main group of the Newsies cast.  

D'aww!  Cutie Pies!  :)

Now, the only down side to all of this is that it's running on Broadway.  You know, in NYC.  Which, according to Google maps, is 916 miles (15 hours and 35 minutes) from here, straight up I-85 N and passing through 6 states.  Hmmm.  Current circumstances afford me neither gasoline nor airfare for such an endeavor.  POUT.

So I guess I will have to sit tight until either a) somehow I miraculously get together an all expenses paid trip up to NY to see it on Broadway, or, b) stalk Ticketmaster/The Fox Theatre/Broadway Across America's websites and figure out a way to snag tickets if when it comes to Atlanta.  Sigh.  So much of my life recently seems to be made up of having to wait for things.

Until I find a solution, I'll be listening to the new OCR album.  In between Steam Powered Giraffe songs.  (Because I'm nowhere near finished being addicted to their music.  Probably ever.)  But yeah, pretty sure I can make room for the Newsies soundtrack!!!

Did you think I was going to tag a Music Mondays post and not leave you with a song?? :)

Here is my favorite song and dance number from the '92 movie, "The World Will Know":

And here it is given new life and amazing sound by the Broadway Cast!

And just because I can't stop, here are two more that I adore and will be singing at the top of my lungs for the next few months. :)  GORGEOUS!  Enjoy!

"Seize The Day"

"Once And For All"

Potter, Beatrix: Peter Rabbit and Friends

As I mentioned in yesterday's Music Monday post, Beatrix Potter has long been one of my favorite author/illustrators.  A large book of her lovely stories and pictures was added to my bookcase when I was but three and one half years of age:

It has stayed a favorite, and been through half a dozen moves, my college years, and now I am reading it to my own children.  Here are a few of my favorite illustrations...

From "The Tailor of Gloucester"

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle was my absolute favorite

Mr. Jeremy Fisher

There are other of her illustrations that I love, but do not yet own.  Like this one of Jemima Puddle-Duck:

Do you have a favorite Beatrix Potter character or scene?

My Own "Steamboat Shenanigans"...Sorta. (Part 1)

     PART THE FIRST: An Evening With My Friend's Friends and Tea For One.

Yes, "Steamboat Shenanigans" is a Steam Powered Giraffe song!  Did you even have to ask?!  I haven't listened to the radio in a little over a month.  SPGs 3 CDs are just in constant rotation, streaming through my headphones/car speakers/iTunes.

     There has been a LOT going on here in the last couple of weeks; it's been difficult to juggle everything, and blogging has had to take a little bit of a backseat while I get stuff sorted.  But I did want to share my recent trip to Savannah with you...
   
     About 5 minutes after I published the Wed, June 6 post, I packed a bag and drove down I-75 South and 116 East to go visit my good friends Bobby and Nikki.  They live within about a 20 minute drive of Historic Savannah Proper.  (I am 14 shades of green over this!! LOL)

Isn't it pretty! (Source)

     Nearly the moment I arrived, Nikki whisked me away to a get-together with some of her colleagues for an end-of-the-school-year celebration (she's a science teacher).  It was so much fun!  They had a "Wine and Whine" bit, where everyone gets a glass of wine (I don't drink alcohol, so I had a glass of Glaceau Vitamin Water) and you write your gripes on strips of paper and put them in a bucket.  They get mixed up and the bucket gets passed around and people randomly read them out loud, find out who wrote it, commiserate sympathetically and then raise a toast to dealing with the issue in a positive way with good wishes for better days to come.  It was so funny when my few were read, because I was the only non-teacher there and everyone knew instantly which belonged to me ("19th Century corsets are bloody difficult to sew and even harder to wear" and "Don't you love when the sleeves won't set in properly?!" etc, etc).  Everyone was very nice, and we had a great time. :)

     Thursday morning dawned humid and rainy, but that didn't dampen my spirits any.  I dressed in a flowy skirt and ruffled top (I get tired of jeans and "Mommy clothes"!), and set out for Savannah proper.  From Nikki's, it's more or less a straight shot, and very soon I found myself searching for parking along Bay Street.  I parked in the horseshoe curve behind Emmet Park, fed the time-keeping machine to ensure my van would still be there when I returned (by legal means, at any rate), and set off with my iPhone Maps App in hand.  The little blue tracking dot glowed cheerfully through the drizzle as it directed me up and over a few blocks to a place I've been wanting to visit for well over 5 years now:

The Savannah Tea Room

(Sorry for the bad iPhone pic- was trying to
juggle an umbrella and my purse too!)

     Every time before now that I've wanted to visit, either we didn't have time, or they were closed, or something.  Finally, I was marking it off my bucket list and treating myself to an early birthday brunch.  I was seated in a comfy wingback chair at the fireplace.  Being as it's summertime, there was a wrought iron tea light holder in the fireplace rather than an actual fire.  (Though I bet that's cozy in winter!!)  I was asked whether I had a favorite tea and upon my answer of Earl Grey, the server recommended their specialty house blend called "Savannah Grey".  It has a double helping of bergamot and a hint of lavender.  I readily agreed, adding an order of crumpets and fresh fruit to it.  In a few moments, everything arrived and it was just scrumptious!  The crumpets were especially lovely, since Publix stopped carrying them and I can't find ANY close to home!

Lovely blue and white china and a darling
mini white cow cream pitcher.

The lighting was terrible, so it's all grainy, but
here I am in the cozy chair! :)

My view opposite.

     After tea, I purchased 2 ounces of the Savannah Grey blend to take home, and a few postcards that featured an artist's rendering of the front entrance.  Two of them I know will definitely be going to friends in England.  The other couple... not sure yet. :)  

Stay tuned for part 2 (which actually features the "steamboat" reference)!

Just The Forty

I've been studying the costumes from the Three Musketeers film that came out at the end of last year.  Matthew MacFadyen has already made me swoony in turns as Mr. Darcy and Arthur Clennam, and now we get to add Athos to that list.  Yes, please!  (Oh, and the Queen's dresses are all pretty and stuff.  Lucy Jane'll get around to recreating one of those.  One day.  When she's had more education on 18th C construction techniques...)

JASNA

JASNA is short for the Jane Austen Society of North America.  I plan on officially joining when I have gotten more Lucy Jane things nailed down and in order.  As it involves costuming, I was going to use it on Lucy's blog, but I decided to go with my Janome sewing machine for that, since it spans more of what she does than just Regency.

As it's Video Wednesday, here is a series from YouTube about the 2011 JASNA AGM.  (Warning: anachronisms abound, but I think the idea is for people to gather and have a good time.)

Enjoy!

March, Mars and Music Monday

March is here.  It is the third month of the year, which means that 2012 is a quarter of the way over.  (YIPES.  I have to step up my working pace...!)  March is the third month in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and derives its name from Mars.  But not actually this Mars:

4th planet from the sun and one of planet
Earth's closest neighbors (as compared to,
say, Neptune.)

It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war.*

This dude.

But I was never much interested in Roman and Greek mythology, so it may as well be the planet Mars.  Planet Mars brings to mind a piece we played in band these 15 years ago.**  For your Music Monday entertainment, I give you the "Mars" movement from The Planets by Gustav Holst.  Turn up the volume and enjoy!

*According to bits and pieces from Wikipedia and the Internets

** It also brings to mind one of these:

Come and Visit the Other Me!

As some of you know, I have an Alter Ego that is picking up steam as a business venture.  A lot of good developments are falling into place, so I want to shamelessly beg you to show some blog love and check out

from time to time.  Especially in the next 6 months, there are going to be all kinds of posts relating to costumes being constructed, Douglasville's Hydrangea Festival in June, and other various and sundry lovely things.  I'll be scheduling a photo shoot or two when the weather decides to cooperate, so you can see me in my natural habitat. (In clothing that went out of style at least 100 years ago!) :)

Dickens is still as popular as... well, the Dickens!

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, arguably the greatest fiction author of the mid 19th century.  Some of us were forced to read Dickens in school whether we liked it or not (most of my peers), but some of us not only read it willingly, SOME of us had voluntarily read it years before that and were re-reading them like letters from an old friend. (ME!!!)  Some of us also found out today that the phrase "like the Dickens" is of Shakespearean origin and has nothing to do with Charles Dickens whatsoever.  (Me again!  Who knew?)

I read and loved A Christmas Carol at the age of 9, after loving the "Mickey's Christmas Carol" movie  year after year until I learned to read fluently (hey, the exposure has to come from somewhere!).  I moved on from there to Oliver Twist around 10 or 11, and by the time we were collectively studying A Tale of Two Cities in high school, I'd already finished Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations.  (Yes, I was teased mercilessly by my peers for being a bookworm and an introvert.  Such is the social structure and pecking order of the public school system.)

Dickens has a way with the details of the scene that I love.  His minute descriptions draw me into England the way he saw it.  Every house, every carriage, every article of clothing is depicted to me in words that leave my mind's eye in no doubt as to the existence of every item and every action involved with them and the movement of the plot.  His characters are introduced in such a way as though you are sure you are in the room along side them all.

I have been a life long Dickens reader, although I did not read Little Dorrit, The Pickwick Papers, The Life of Our Lord, and A Child's History of England until I was in my 20s, the latter two appearing in my personal library in handsome hard back covers as a Christmas gift from my dad's mom.  Little Dorrit is perhaps my favorite curl-up-by-a-winter-fire read, excepting maybe David Copperfield.  

I will confess readily that Pickwick Papers was a HARD read, in that it had perhaps more to do with the differing social classes and customs and phrases of the day than any of his later works.  I got through it, but it was an arduous process that took several weeks (ages, in relation to my natural reading speed) and I was forever marking my place and having to Google something I didn't understand (Sam Weller's cockney speech, among others).  And although Pickwick Papers is praised for its accurate descriptions of the old coaching inns of England during that time*, not only have two full centuries passed and rendered such establishments a bit archaic, Georgia and its history bear so little resemblance to the England of Dickens' time, I have no reference point from which to understand the events of the plot which happen in the coaching inns, except what I learn about online and by asking my British friends who love and study the history of their own country.

On the whole, however, Dickens is beloved and cherished in our house, and many volumes of his work take their place on my bookshelf along side Jane Austen, Mark Twain, and various and sundry other favorite literary greats.

Also in my list of favorite things are several film versions of Dickens titles, produced by BBC and available either in their shop to order, or on Youtube if one doesn't mind the interruption of moving from one episode segment to the next.  They employ the top of my list of favorite British screen stars: Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins, Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew Macfadyen, Alun Armstrong, Andy Serkis, and James Fleet (to name only a few).  Stellar writing combined with stellar acting performances = excellent entertainment for this grown up bookworm. :)

*taken from the first paragraph in the summary of Pickwick papers on Wikipedia article here.

Related links of interest:
Little Dorrit miniseries by BBC on Youtube, first part here.
Little Dorrit for purchase at BBC website here. Or on Amazon here.

David Copperfield miniseries by BBC on Youtube, first part here.
David Copperfield for purchase at BBC website here.  Or on Amazon here.

(Interesting note, both of these star Alun Armstrong in vastly different roles!)

My favorite versions of A Christmas Carol:
George C. Scott classic, on Youtube, first part here.  Buy at Amazon here.
A Muppet Christmas Carol, on Youtube first part here.  Buy at Amazon here
Jim Carey's version is too new to be on Youtube, but watch the trailer here. Buy at Amazon here.

I'm sure there are more great movie links, but that will have to keep you happy for now! ;)

I Will Never Forget

I didn't write about the 10th anniversary remembrance of the 9/11/01 Attack on America yesterday for a number of reasons.  I got up earlier than I usually would to get ready for church.  Jake had come home from the Birmingham job late Saturday night so that he could attend the memorial service with his family.  A most welcome change, since this job has dragged on and on, leaving us both frustrated and annoyed at not being able to have a normal family life at all.  I got the kids up and we all got ready to go.  At 8:50, we left the house.  Jake and I began to talk about it a little in the car.  

"What time of day did it actually happen?" he asked me. "I heard about it at work that night, but didn't have phone or TV at the time.  So I never saw the footage, or wanted to."

I glanced at the clock on the dash.  9:02.  Really?

"The second plane hit the towers 10 years ago right now."  

I told him where I had been when it happened:

I was 20 years old and a student at American Intercontinental University in Atlanta, where my dad had taught before (and when) he died.  I was majoring in Graphic Design.  Not because I wanted to, but because that was the closest thing to "Art" they had to offer, being mainly a business degree school.  I was sort of floating aimlessly about, since Dad had died so suddenly and my world flipped upside down.  We had no money for me to attend anywhere else and I was more or less winging it, every day.  

I did enjoy my classes, though, and as I've never been a "morning person", I scheduled as many later classes as I could.  One ran until 10 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, putting me home somewhere around 11 or 11:30.  Homework after that left my bedtime hovering consistently between 1 and 3 a.m. most nights.  I had endured such a night on Monday, the 10th of September, and at 8:45 a.m. on the morning of the 11th, I was blissfully snuggled in my covers, not having to force myself up until an afternoon work shift at Michael's.

My mom called my phone and woke me up.  "You really need to come in my room and see the news." she said.  "Something weird is going on.  You should call Jennifer Tomassini right now." Jennifer was my best friend of 10 years and she lived in New York, attending the USMMA and setting up the first of what would turn into many years of school to become a pharmacist.  

New York.  909 miles away (says Google Maps), it may as well have been on the other side of the world to me.  I've always wanted to visit NYC, but stuff got in the way.  School. Work. Airfare prices.  (That much hasn't changed in the last 10 years.  I still haven't been, and for all the same reasons.)  As I stood in front of mom's TV dialing Jennifer's number, two things happened.  It was 9:02 and mom and I watched in horror as the second plane came careening in on the right side of the screen and exploded into the second tower.  My brain just wouldn't process what I was seeing.  This was a live TV feed and it was 100% for real.  

As the buzzing in my head slowly faded away, I realized that there was noise coming from my phone, which I was holding dumbly near my ear.  It was a busy signal.  Every phone line to New York was jammed for hours.  I didn't really know where Jennifer worked or what she did all day.  For all I knew, she was in or near those towers that I was watching crash to the ground.  I couldn't breathe.  When I finally got hold of her, I remember feeling my heart start beating again.  I was so relieved to know she was ok.  She had been some miles away, but it still freaked me out that she was in the general area of this horrible thing.  She called every couple of days after that to help keep us updated on what she knew, but it was more or less the same things we heard on the news.

I still had to go to work later that afternoon, but there weren't many people out.  Most stayed fairly near a TV or radio.  I remember that there were no planes in the sky at all.  Very odd for a suburb of Atlanta, and one of the busiest airports in the world.  Nothing, for days.  It was very eerie.

Life for me went on, though, and I went to school, work, got married and had children.  Time marched on, and here we are 10 years down the road.  While I didn't know anyone personally that died that day, I know that many of my freedoms had been taken away or limited in the aftermath.  Words I had never considered before have now become part of my regular vocabulary.  "Homeland Security".  "Al Qaeda".  "Terrorist".  My world, once small and neat, has been broadened, shaken, and altered.

My stepchildren were 1 and 3 when it happened.  Yesterday, at 11 and almost 13, they watched memorial videos with footage from that day and just sat in the pew with their mouths open and eyes wide.  This is the kind of thing I am fighting to keep out of the world I pass along to you, my loves.  I'm sorry.  I wish those things didn't happen, but they do.  Did.  Are.  Old enough now to understand what happened and (partially) why, they are appalled.

My husband's Aunt had this on her blog, and as it's Monday I am sharing it for Music Monday.  It gave me chills to watch.  I won't ever forget what that day means for me as an American citizen.  It's sobering, but not defeating.  Turn up the sound and pray for America.  She needs it now, more than ever.

"Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be..."

Source

For today's Poetry Wednesday, I thought I would deviate from rhyming/metered verse and give you a treat from Mr. Shakespeare.  Here is an excerpt of my favorite scene from within my favorite Shakespearean work, "A Midsummer Night's Dream".  There is a specific reason of personal circumstance that made me think to choose this section, but that's for another time, perhaps.  Grab you a bench seat and a flagon of ale (if you are temperance like me, it can be ginger ale!) and enjoy. ;)

(Middle of) Act 3, Scene 2



  OBERON
102         Flower of this purple dye,
103         Hit with Cupid's archery,
104         Sink in apple of his eye.
105         When his love he doth espy,
106         Let her shine as gloriously
107         As the Venus of the sky.
108         When thou wakest, if she be by,
109         Beg of her for remedy.
           Enter PUCK.
      PUCK
110         Captain of our fairy band,
111         Helena is here at hand;
112         And the youth, mistook by me,
113         Pleading for a lover's fee.
114         Shall we their fond pageant see?
115         Lord, what fools these mortals be!
      OBERON
116         Stand aside: the noise they make
117         Will cause Demetrius to awake.
      PUCK
118         Then will two at once woo one;
119         That must needs be sport alone;
120         And those things do best please me
121         That befall prepost'rously.
           Enter LYSANDER and HELENA.
      LYSANDER
122   Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?
123   Scorn and derision never come in tears:
124   Look, when I vow, I weep; and vows so born,
125   In their nativity all truth appears.
126   How can these things in me seem scorn to you,
127   Bearing the badge of faith, to prove them true?
      HELENA
128   You do advance your cunning more and more.
129   When truth kills truth, O devilish-holy fray!
130   These vows are Hermia's: will you give her o'er?
131   Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh:
132   Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,
133   Will even weigh, and both as light as tales.
      LYSANDER
134   I had no judgment when to her I swore.
      HELENA
135   Nor none, in my mind, now you give her o'er.
      LYSANDER
136   Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you.
      DEMETRIUS  [Awaking.]
137   O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!
138   To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?
139   Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show
140   Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!
141   That pure congealed white, high Taurus snow,
142   Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
143   When thou hold'st up thy hand: O, let me kiss
144   This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss!
      HELENA
145   O spite! O hell! I see you all are bent
146   To set against me for your merriment:
147   If you we re civil and knew courtesy,
148   You would not do me thus much injury.
149   Can you not hate me, as I know you do,
150   But you must join in souls to mock me too?
151   If you were men, as men you are in show,
152   You would not use a gentle lady so;
153   To vow, and swear, and superpraise my parts,
154   When I am sure you hate me with your hearts.
155   You both are rivals, and love Hermia;
156   And now both rivals, to mock Helena:
157   A trim exploit, a manly enterprise,
158   To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes
159   With your derision! none of noble sort
160   Would so offend a virgin, and extort
161   A poor soul's patience, all to make you sport.
      LYSANDER
162   You are unkind, Demetrius; be not so;
163   For you love Hermia; this you know I know:
164   And here, with all good will, with all my heart,
165   In Hermia's love I yield you up my part;
166   And yours of Helena to me bequeath,
167   Whom I do love and will do till my death.
      HELENA
168   Never did mockers waste more idle breath.
      DEMETRIUS
169   Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none:
170   If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone.
171   My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourn'd,
172   And now to Helen is it home return'd,
173   There to remain.
      LYSANDER
173                          Helen, it is not so.
      DEMETRIUS
174   Disparage not the faith thou dost not know,
175   Lest, to thy peril, thou aby it dear.
176   Look, where thy love comes; yonder is thy dear.
           Enter HERMIA.
      HERMIA
177   Dark night, that from the eye his function takes,
178   The ear more quick of apprehension makes;
179   Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense,
180   It pays the hearing double recompense.
181   Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found;
182   Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound
183   But why unkindly didst thou leave me so?
      LYSANDER
184   Why should he stay, whom love doth press to go?
      HERMIA
185   What love could press Lysander from my side?
      LYSANDER
186   Lysander's love, that would not let him bide,
187   Fair Helena, who more engilds the night
188   Than all you fiery oes and eyes of light.
189   Why seek'st thou me? could not this make thee know,
190   The hate I bear thee made me leave thee so?
      HERMIA
191   You speak not as you think: it cannot be.
      HELENA
192   Lo, she is one of this confederacy!
193   Now I perceive they have conjoin'd all three
194   To fashion this false sport, in spite of me.
195   Injurious Hermia! most ungrateful maid!
196   Have you conspired, have you with these contriv'd
197   To bait me with this foul derision?
198   Is all the counsel that we two have shared,
199   The sisters' vows, the hours that we have spent,
200   When we have chid the hasty-footed time
201   For parting us,—O, is it all forgot?
202   All school-days' friendship, childhood innocence?
203   We, Hermia, like two artificial gods,
204   Have with our needles created both one flower,
205   Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion,
206   Both warbling of one song, both in one key,
207   As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds,
208   Had been incorporate. So we grow together,
209   Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
210   But yet an union in partition;
211   Two lovely berries moulded on one stem;
212   So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart;
213   Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,
214   Due but to one and crowned with one crest.
215   And will you rent our ancient love asunder,
216   To join with men in scorning your poor friend?
217   It is not friendly, 'tis not maidenly:
218   Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it,
219   Though I alone do feel the injury.
      HERMIA
220   I am amazed at your passionate words.
221   I scorn you not: it seems that you scorn me.
      HELENA
222   Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn,
223   To follow me and praise my eyes and face?
224   And made your other love, Demetrius,
225   Who even but now did spurn me with his foot,
226   To call me goddess, nymph, divine and rare,
227   Precious, celestial? Wherefore speaks he this
228   To her he hates? and wherefore doth Lysander
229   Deny your love, so rich within his soul,
230   And tender me, forsooth, affection,
231   But by your setting on, by your consent?
232   What though I be not so in grace as you,
233   So hung upon with love, so fortunate,
234   But miserable most, to love unloved?
235   This you should pity rather than despise.
      HERMIA
236   I understand not what you mean by this.
      HELENA
237   Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks,
238   Make mouths upon me when I turn my back;
239   Wink each at other; hold the sweet jest up:
240   This sport, well carried, shall be chronicled.
241   If you have any pity, grace, or manners,
242   You would not make me such an argument.
243   But fare ye well: 'tis partly my own fault;
244   Which death or absence soon shall remedy.
      LYSANDER
245   Stay, gentle Helena; hear my excuse:
246   My love, my life my soul, fair Helena!
      HELENA
247   O excellent!
      HERMIA
247                          Sweet, do not scorn her so.
      DEMETRIUS
248   If she cannot entreat, I can compel.
      LYSANDER
249   Thou canst compel no more than she entreat:
250   Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers.
251   Helen, I love thee; by my life, I do:
252   I swear by that which I will lose for thee,
253   To prove him false that says I love thee not.
      DEMETRIUS
254   I say I love thee more than he can do.
      LYSANDER
255   If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too.
      DEMETRIUS
256   Quick, come!
      HERMIA
256                          Lysander, whereto tends all this?
      LYSANDER
257   Away, you Ethiope!
      DEMETRIUS
257                                 No, no; he'll
258   Seem to break loose; take on as you would follow,
259   But yet come not: you are a tame man, go!
      LYSANDER
260   Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! vile thing, let loose,
261   Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent!
      HERMIA
262   Why are you grown so rude? what change is this?
263   Sweet love?
      LYSANDER
263                      Thy love! out, tawny Tartar, out!
264   Out, loathed med'cine! hated potion, hence!
      HERMIA
265   Do you not jest?
      HELENA
265                              Yes, sooth; and so do you.
      LYSANDER
266   Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.
      DEMETRIUS
267   I would I had your bond, for I perceive
268   A weak bond holds you: I'll not trust your word.
      LYSANDER
269   What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead?
270   Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so.
      HERMIA
271   What, can you do me greater harm than hate?
272   Hate me! wherefore? O me! what news, my love!
273   Am not I Hermia? are not you Lysander?
274   I am as fair now as I was erewhile.
275   Since night you loved me; yet since night you left me:
276   Why, then you left me—O, the gods forbid!—
277   In earnest, shall I say?
      LYSANDER
277                                      Ay, by my life;
278   And never did desire to see thee more.
279   Therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt;
280   Be certain, nothing truer; 'tis no jest
281   That I do hate thee and love Helena.
      HERMIA
282   O me! you juggler! you canker-blossom!
283   You thief of love! what, have you come by night
284   And stolen my love's heart from him?
      HELENA
284                                                               Fine, i'faith!
285   Have you no modesty, no maiden shame,
286   No touch of bashfulness? What, will you tear
287   Impatient answers from my gentle tongue?
288   Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you!
      HERMIA
289   Puppet? why so? ay, that way goes the game.
290   Now I perceive that she hath made compare
291   Between our statures; she hath urged her height;
292   And with her personage, her tall personage,
293   Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him.
294   And are you grown so high in his esteem;
295   Because I am so dwarfish and so low?
296   How low am I, thou painted maypole? speak;
297   How low am I? I am not yet so low
298   But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.
      HELENA
299   I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,
300   Let her not hurt me: I was never curst;
301   I have no gift at all in shrewishness;
302   I am a right maid for my cowardice:
303   Let her not strike me. You perhaps may think,
304   Because she is something lower than myself,
305   That I can match her.
      HERMIA
305                                     "Lower"? hark, again.
      HELENA
306   Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me.
307   I evermore did love you, Hermia,
308   Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you;
309   Save that, in love unto Demetrius,
310   I told him of your stealth unto this wood.
311   He follow'd you; for love I follow'd him;
312   But he hath chid me hence and threaten'd me
313   To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too:
314   And now, so you will let me quiet go,
315   To Athens will I bear my folly back
316   And follow you no further: let me go:
317   You see how simple and how fond I am.
      HERMIA
318   Why, get you gone: who is't that hinders you?
      HELENA
319   A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.
      HERMIA
320   What, with Lysander?
      HELENA
320                                 With Demetrius.
      LYSANDER
321   Be not afraid; she shall not harm thee, Helena.
      DEMETRIUS
322   No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part.
      HELENA
323   O, when she's angry, she is keen and shrewd!
324   She was a vixen when she went to school;
325   And though she be but little, she is fierce.
      HERMIA
326   "Little" again! nothing but "low" and "little"!
327   Why will you suffer her to flout me thus?
328   Let me come to her.
      LYSANDER
328                                 Get you gone, you dwarf;
329   You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made;
330   You bead, you acorn.
      DEMETRIUS
330                                  You are too officious
331   In her behalf that scorns your services.
332   Let her alone: speak not of Helena;
333   Take not her part; for, if thou dost intend
334   Never so little show of love to her,
335   Thou shalt aby it.
      LYSANDER
335                              Now she holds me not;
336   Now follow, if thou darest, to try whose right,
337   Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.
      DEMETRIUS
338   Follow! nay, I'll go with thee, cheek by jowl.
           [Exeunt LYSANDER and DEMETRIUS.]
      HERMIA
339   You, mistress, all this coil is 'long of you:
340   Nay, go not back.
      HELENA
340                               I will not trust you, I,
341   Nor longer stay in your curst company.
342   Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray,
343   My legs are longer though, to run away.
           [Exit.]
      HERMIA
344   I am amazed, and know not what to say.
           Exit.

[For the entire play, click here.]