Bella Swan- 19th Century Girl

I have never understood the obsession with the Twilight Saga. When the first movie was coming out and the books starting becoming more popular, I read the first book. I got through it and liked it but wasn’t interested enough to read the second one. But after my friends bugged me for several months I finally decided to read it. Not only did it take me forever to wade through the book, but I absolutely hated the story line. The main character, Bella, is so whiney and dependent on her boyfriend that it makes me sick. Bella Swan reads like a character that would have been written in the 19^th century, not the 21^st.

 

It sickens me to think that millions of teenage girls are reading these novels and reading about “heroines” like Bella Swan. I don’t really understand why these novels have become as popular as they are. And of the movies that I have seen, none of them were done well. Young girls should be reading stories and watching movies with strong female characters that they can look up to. With teenagers reading Twilight, we are going back in time, not moving forward. I understand that as a writer not all your characters can be morally strong individuals, but if you’re going to have one that is morally weak, don’t make them the main character of the story.

Les Miserables

I have always loved the musical Les Miserables, but with this new movie coming out in less than a month I have been reading as much as I can about it. Upon reading I found that not only are all of the actors/actresses singing, they are singing their songs live every scene.  The actors claim that this gives them more freedom with their scenes and allows them to really act out what they are singing.

 

I have never seen a movie/ musical done this way and I’m excited to see how it works. With an all-star cast using this new technique, I don’t see how the movie could be anything less than excellent. I have always been so annoyed in the past when I watched musicals where the actors where obviously lip-syncing but with this film not only will their acting be more realistic, but so will their singing.

Black Friday Mania

Its days like Black Friday when I am so thankful to live in a small town.

 

Yes I did go black Friday shopping but I surprisingly did not have to wait in line, at all.

I got to Wal-Mart at about 11:30 Thanksgiving night and surprisingly did not run into a crowd at all. I had never really been Black Friday shopping so I was eager to find out what all the fuss was about. I wasn’t too impressed by the sales at Wal-Mart so we moved on to Target where we lucked out again with the crowd. There I was amazed with some of the deals I found. I bought my mom two complete season of the show Bones for $16. And if I wouldn’t have limited myself to strictly Christmas shopping I would have purchased some of their new releases that were being sold for only $9. After that we went to the mall where multiple stores had all merchandise on sale for 40% off.

 

Now having officially gone Black Friday shopping I do understand why people do it, though I’m not sure I could year after year. Luckily I went shopping in my hometown rather than STL so I could avoid the crazy lines and the crazy drivers. Although I didn’t arrive at any of the stores when they first opened, I did not witness any unnecessary roughness between shoppers. But I’m sure if I would have done my shopping in a bigger city, my tentative nature would have been taken advantage of a pushed aside by more serious shoppers.

Election Rant #3

Sometimes it truly amazes me the things people will write on the internet. Maybe it’s just the friends I have on Facebook but I often feel that in reading some of the posts from my Facebook friends on election night, you have proof of what has gone wrong with Americans today. After Obama was declared the projected winner for the 2012 presidential election the tweets/posts began; thus went my sanity. I know what I should’ve done is just stayed of the internet for the night so I couldn’t read the obnoxious posts, but I just couldn’t help myself.

 I read comments such as “I was really disappointed in America tonight,” “Well this country is doomed no matter who wins,” and “These candidates are such idiots.” –Are you kidding me?

 

First off, No one, and I mean no one that is friends with me on Facebook, has the right to say the Barack Obama or Mitt Romney is stupid. Maybe you don’t agree with their politics which is totally fine, but neither of them are stupid individuals.

 

Second, you’re disappointed in America? What kind of statement is that? I mean how selfish are you to say that the people that differ from you are wrong because they don’t share your same beliefs.

 

And Third, how is saying that both candidates suck going to make this country better in any way shape or form? Maybe you don’t like either candidate which is fine but don’t you think it would be better to try and stay positive during a time like this, when our country needs to support our leader now more than ever?

 

Sorry for the rant, thank God this election is over.

Don’t Forget Thanksgiving

 

Don’t get me wrong, I do love Christmas, but when did Thanksgiving become non-existent? It seems like as soon as Halloween was over the media moved on to Christmas. Like I said, I do love Christmas and it is probably my favorite holiday but why must the media insist on cutting out Thanksgiving? When I was younger I kind of thought Thanksgiving was pointless and it was just another break that I was glad to get from school. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really started to appreciate it more.

 

I mean I guess I understand why Thanksgiving is often overlooked. It’s not like Halloween or Christmas where you can set aside aisle after aisle full of its decorations. But still you would think they would be able to find some way to slowy transition into the Christmas season without totally over-looking Turkey Day. But with Black Friday shopping getting bigger each and every year I feel like Thanksgiving will continue to be skipped.

Catfish

Recently I have started watching this new show called Catfish. It is a reality show that shows  the relationship of people that have never met in person and only know each other by the conversations they have via Facebook/ texting. The creator of the show, Nev Schulman, started the show because he had an online relationship with a girl and after talking to her for almost a year he decided they should meet. But upon meeting her he found out that she was not the single, 23 year-old she said she was. Not only was she married with kids, but she was 40 years old. Despite is experience he stills claims this to be his most life-changing experience, which is what sparked his idea for the show.

 

Normally I find reality TV stupid, but with the number of friends I have that have relationships like this, I think this reality TV show my have a positive effect on society. Sometimes when people are in relationships they are completely blind to the stupid decisions they are making. So by recording these people and their feelings and showing it on national television, viewers witness the mistakes as they're happening. This is the type of show where not only do the reality stars learn a lesson, but viewers learn a lesson as well. The best thing about the show is that each relationship is so different and you honestly never know what is going to happen in the end. After watching it, I am always torn as to how I feel about the characters relationship and whether or not one was more at fault than the other. If you haven’t seen it yet I strongly urge you to watch it, at least one episode.

Bochy's Fail

Also at the World Series parade on Thursday, Bruce Bochy, manager of the World Series Champions, lead of the parade in his Rolls Royce which he conveiniently forgot to fill up with gas.  During the parade Bochy's car died which was then pushed by "good Samaritans" throughout the remainder of the parade.

At least Bochy had a good humor about this. He laughed it off and continued to hold the World Series trophy over his head throughout the entire parade route. Not only did it give Bochy and his family a laugh but the fans and players as well. I understand Bochy is a fairly busy man but seriously? You forgot to put gas in a car that you probably haven't driven in 6 months? I'm sure his embarrasment for that act with carry with him throughout his career.