Here Comes the Bride...well, not yet

It's 4 in the morning on a day that is going to make history...and I get to watch (on my TV that is)! So far it's been pretty slow. Of the many channels that are showing this wedding, I have chosen to watch the Today shows channel and I am recording the coverage of the wedding on BBC.
 The main newscasters are spread out and located in various parts where the wedding will take place. Matt, Al, and Laura are outside Buckingham Palace, Michelle is outside the hotel where Catherine Middleton and her father will leave in a very fancy car and drive to Westminster Abbey, and
  The one thing on every one's mind is what will Catherine's dress look like? People everywhere are trying to guess just what her dress will look like. Some think she will wear something sweet and conservative while others think she will become a fashion icon and wear something more flashy and modern. Also, others wonder if Queen Elizabeth will offer to let Catherine wear a tiara, a lot of the women want Catherine to wear a tiara (I want her to wear a tiara!)
  Another thing that I've noticed is that everyone has seemed to stop calling Kate Middleton Kate. They all refer to her as Catherine now. I just thought it was interesting :) Now that she is about to become a princess, everyone has gotten so formal.

  Well, the ceremony starts at 6am so I am going to have to record most of it (stupid school), but I am so so excited! :D

This is West minister Abbey, the place that is holding hundreds
of guests awaiting the arrival of Prince William and then
princess to be Catherine

This is Buckingham palace, the place where Prince William and
Princess Kate will share their first public kiss as husband and
wife.

The Twilight Saga: the official guide pgs. 32-65

by: Stephanie Meyer

Stephanie's interview continues with her thoughts on how she handles readers and critics critisms. I learned from this that Stephanie is actually pretty self-concious about her writing and it pained her to know that there are people out there who do not like her series. She said that it really bothered her in the beginning, but as she wrote more of the novels she stated to accept that some people are just not going to like her books and that she can't impress everyone.
  Another major thing that was talked about in this interview was how Stephanie Meyer took themes and concepts from books that she loves and incorporated them into her own story...I guess they're kind of like allusions. Some of the specific books she used and talked about incude: Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, Merchant of Venice, and A Midsummer's Night Dream. It was really interesting to hear how these books inspired her and how hse hopes that her novels will inspire others. As she was talking she started talking about she kind of used the novel Jane Eyre in the Twilight Saga.
  Stephanie Meyer also discussed how much her life has changed since her books became a worldwide phenomenon. One thing that she found hard to do was how she had to create two different personalities. She said that there was Stephanie: the loving mother and wife, and then there was Stephanie Meyer: the author of these really popular books. The one who has to go to book signings and do interviews. She als says in the interview that in the beginning she had a pretty hard time balancing life and writing. She said that when her children were little she would put everyone in a room and the kids would play while she wrote, but they were all together so if anything happened she was there. One thing that Stephanie Meyer said she is grateful is the support that she gets from her kids, husband, and friends. She said that her kids know that if she's working on a novel they aren't allowed to bother her unless someone is bleeding.

Response:
I am learning so much about Stephanie Meyer as an author by reading this...I'm also learning a bit of information about writing novels. I want to be a published children's book author when I get older (along with being a teacher), and even though Meyer does chapter books for teenagers, the writing process is pretty much th same. I have been getting some great tips on how to write good things! :D

A Royal Wedding is only days away!

aren't they just the cutest?!?!

Yes, Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton are getting married on Friday! A lot of you guys probably don't really care about what is about to happen in only two days, I mean they live in a whole different country, but I don't really care what you think, I'm excited!. I am so so so into weddings in general, but can you imagine how amazingly beautiful this ROYAL wedding is going to be!! I have been keeping up with the royal couple for a few weeks now, and I must say, I have learned a lot about the royal family and their history.
 The other day lifetime did a 5 part documentary that talked about how William and Kate's relationship went from college friends to the most talked about couple in the world. I did in fact watch his whole thing, it was so good :) Lifetime also made an original movie that was about how the pair met, became friends, and eventually fell in love. The actors that played both Kate and William did a great job of portraying the royal couple :D

   Be sure to DVR the wedding on Friday...it will be on like every major news channel and it starts at 4a.m!!!!

this is the trailer for the lifetime movie...check it out! I also suggest watching the movie (you can find it on lifetime.com...it's only like an hour and a half long)

Vote for Tales of a Bibliophile!

I voted for the blog Tales of a Bibliophile. http://123tidbit.blogspot.com/2011/04/neato.html <--- this link goes to one of her posts where she has a few really cool pictures. these pictures were both cute and gave me a good little laugh. I love the variety of each of this person's posts. Keep up the good Work!! 

The Twilight Saga: The official illustrated guide pgs. 1-31

By: Stephanie Meyer

  The first part of the book is an interview with Stephanie Meyer. I learned a lot of new stuff in this interview (and I though I knew everything there is to know about Twilight). The first topic that was discussed was How it all began. Now this was not new to me, I think everyone in the entire Universe knows that the Twilight saga began with a dream...Stephanie Meyer's dream to be exact. She had a dream about this guy who was not human, and a girl talking in a meadow. When Meyer woke up, she started writing...and BOOM! Twilight hit. The new stuff that I read was when Stephanie Meyer was talking about how afraid she was to write the series. She said that as she was writing she couldn't even think about selling it to a publisher because she was afraid that everyone would hate it. Originally, she wasn't even oing to get the book published at all. (Can you imagine how tragic that would have been?!?! Thank goodness she got the courage to publish the book!)
  The second part of the interview was about her characters coming to life. The first character she talked about was Jacob, good `ole annoying Jacob. I have to say I liked what I read though...Stephanie said that her first draft of Twilight didn't even have Jacob in it. Apparantly Jacob wasn't even supposed to have existed, but Meyer said that she had to add him when she hit a wall because she couldn't make Edward say the words "I am a vampire" to Bella. So, she created a sub character that could help Bella figure it out on her own. Stephanie Meyer also said that when her editor read the version of Twilight that had Jacob's character in it, she wanted to know more about him. That's why Meyer created the werewolf storyline. Stephanie Meyer also talked about how if she had to go back and re-write the entire series she doesn't think that she could make her characters make different choices. Bella is always going to choose Edward, Edward is always going to leave, and Jacob is always going to fall in love with Bella. She talked about how each of her characters have a mind of their own and how they in a sense wrote the story.

I have been waiting to read this book forever!! The coolest part about this book is that it's written in book form so it feels like I am actually reading another one of Stephanie Meyer's novels :)

Water for Elephants....my movie review



Water for Elephants was such an amazing movie! I love love loved it!! The crew did such an awesome job of making sure that it was like the book. The only parts that weren't put on the screen exaclty were the pretty gruesome parts...and I was definately ok with that. Now many people are not fans of Robert Pattinson because he plays Edward in Twilight (not me though I LOVE HIM), but all I want to say to those people is this: you need to give him a chance and go see this movie. He does such an amazing job, and I am not just saying this from a fan girl's perspective. He really was great, it was nice to see him in a role other thn Edward, he is growing as an actor and that is just so awesome :) The other stand out character for me was the man who played August. Man, did he nail his role right down to every minor detail. He was nice when he was supposed to be, and he was a jerk when he was supposed to be. It was so good.
  I recommend this movie to all types of movie goers because it has a little bit of everything in it. There is the romance between Jacob and Marlena, the action when people get beat up and an animal stampede, and there is even a little bit of history on what circus life was like in 1930's. Such a great and well rounded film!!

Wicked...a condensed summary

by: Gragory Maguire

So I kinda went reading crazy and finiashed the rest of Wicked today. I am going to do a super condensed summary, so bear with me!

Years after they graduate Shiz (not Elfie remember, she dropped out), Fieyro finds Elphaba in the Emerald City. She is reluctant to be with him at first, but they soon have this crazy love affair that lasts until he gets captured by the Wizards guards. After hearing about Fiyero's death Elfie goes into a state of shock that lasts for seven years, during she may or may not have given birth to a son named Liir (this kid follows her around throughout the rest of the book). She fianlly comes to and decides to go to Kiamo Ko castle and get Sarmia (Fiyero's wife) to forgive her for comtitting adultry. At Kiamo Ko Elfie becomes a part of Sarima's family and lives somewhat happily with them until she must go see Nessa. During this time, she discovers her flying broomstick, the Grimmerie, and Chistery (he's not a flying monkey yet). She gets a message from her father asking to go to mucnhkinland and talk to Nessa, and while there Elpfie realizes that her sisiter is considered the "Wicked Witch of the East" and all the munchkins hater her. She leaves Munchkinland and does not return for twelve years...for Nessa's funeral.
  After the infamous Cyclone that brought Dorothy to Oz, Elfie sees Glinda for the first time and learns that she gave Dorothy her sisters magical shoes. She sets out to find Dorothy before she gets to the Emaerald city and gives the Wizard the shoes. During her hunt for Dorothy, Elphaba becomes a little crazy, and by the time Dorothy is sent to Kiamo Ko by the Wizard to murder Elpfie, she considers herself the "Wicked Witch of the West." When Dorothy arives at Kiamo Ko, Elfie is initally very kind to Dorothy. She only gets upset when Dorothy tells her that she literally cannot take of the shoes...Dorothy was willing to give them to her. Anyway, somehow Elfie's dress gets caught on fire, and Dorothy throws the bucket of water onto Elfie to try and estinguish the fire. She didn't know it was going to kill the Witch. After Elfie dies, all of Oz celebrates and the Wizard finally realizes that he sent a little girl to murder his own daughter....so, discusted with himself, he leavfes Oz forever.

Response:
This book was...different. That's what I would say if I had to describe it in one word. I really admire Gragory Maguire's style of writing and the diction he uses. Too bad I hadn't read this for the around the world essay because it would have been so fun to do an analytical paragraph for a passage from the book. I really loved Mr. Maguires take on how he thought the events in Oz really happened....he is definately a very creative person. The only thing that bothered me was the end, and if you've seen the musical, you will know what I'm talking about :)

Beastly: My Movie Review

Last Saturday I went to see Beastly at the cheap theater with my friend Melanie (it was a pretty spur of the moment idea...but those plans are always the best!). Anyway, we both LOVED it! It was so very different from the book, like there were basically no similarities what so ever. So that was kind of disappointing, but I still thought it was a good movie. It is one of those movies that you rent when you're hanging out with a couple of girlie friends and gush over how extremely HOT the lead actor is. (and he is so scrumtous!)

  Vanessa Hudgens really surprised me in this role. Personally, I didn't think she was all that great in High School Musical so I was a little worried about how she would portray Lindy. She did such a good job. My favorite scene was one where she was talking to Kyle (in beast form) and they were so awkward around each other. It was great :)

   The best part of the entire movie had to have been in the very last scene (don't worry, I won't spoil anything). Vanessa Hudgen was wearing TOMS! It was so funny becasue me and my friend noticed at the exact same time so we both kinda loud whipsered it and then we started cracking up. This guy behind us got all made was was like "SHHH!!!", but I don't really know why he got so mad because the movie was over....oh well :)

Wicked Part II: The Charmed Circle (pgs. 167-228)

By: Gregory Maguire

Dr. Dillamond and Elphaba :)

Summary:
Glinda's Ama did not handle Dr. Dillamond's death very well and went into a state of craziness and had to be hospitalized. Madame Morrible told Glinda and Elphaba that they could not attend Shiz unchaperoned. So, she sent for Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, and Nanny to come to Shiz. Nessa, is 3 years younger than Elphaba and has a deformity...she has no arms and has trouble keeping her balance. Nessa is also exceptionally beautiful...quite the opposite of Elphie. Glinda is starting to realize that she has changed since her arrival at Shiz. Dr. Dillamond's death seemed to have changed the way she looks at life. She is no longer the vain girl who cared only about her looks and treated Eplhie poorly, in fact, she now considers Elphaba as a friend.
  A few days after Dr. Dillamond's death, a new teacher was assigned his position and started teaching the class about the new techniques used to prevent Animals from gainig the ability to speak. During a lesson, a new student enters th class. His name is Fieyro and he is a Winki prince. Elphie, Glinda and crew immediately accept Fieyro and imclude him in all of their shennaniggans. Nessa gets a package from their father and is surprised to see that got her a pair of beautiful and dazzling shoes. Glinda asked Eplhie wht she did not receive a gift and Elphie explained that Nessa had always been the favorite.
  A few days later, Glinda's Ama passes away and after her funeral, Elphie tells Glinda that they are going to the Emerald City to speak to the Wizard. they travel to the Emerald City and are very frightnened by the Great and Terrible Oz. Elphie tried to explain about the issue with the Animals and gets extremely upset when the Wizard does not agree to help her. After their meeting with the Wizard, Elphie tells Glinda that she will not be returning back to Shiz with her....

Response:

So in this little section, there were basically NO similiarites. First of all, in the musical Dr. Dillamond does not die...I mean that's so depressing! Another descrpiton that is not similar is their trip to Oz....basically that whole part of the story is so confusinmg to me. Oh well, if I try not to compare the book the the musical, I am finding that I really enjoy the stroy :) I especilly like how everyone is like best friends....I hope I can have close friends like this when I'm away at college!

This is the scene after Dr. Dillamond gets fired, and Elphie and G(a)linda's trip to the Emerald City.

And this is their encounter with the not so Wonderful Wizard of Oz I have two fun facts for you: This Elphaba is the FIRST Elphaba that I saw live...and when I watched her perfom Defying Gravity the first time my jaw dropped and it brought tears to my eyes...she is amazing.)

OMMMGGGG!!!

So my favorite teen author is Sarah Desson. I have read every single one of her books and love them all except for Keeping the Moon, but that was her fist book so I have to cut her some slack. Anyways, I visit her website a lot because I enjoy reading her blog, she seems like a pretty cool person and has a great sense of humor. Well, I was just visiting her site and the first thing I saw was that she has a new book coming out in May! I am so excited!!! The book is called What Happened to Goodbye; it looks really good based on the little summary she wrote about the book. I am looking forward to May 10! :D (we will still be in school so I will get to blog about it!!)

<----- This is what the cover looks like!

Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night

Today is the day! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is out on DVD TODAY. MY little sister and I have been waiting all week to get this movie. So, Today right after she gets home from school we are going to go out and buy it. She is just a little upset with me because we can't watch it right away. I am in National Honor Society and signed up to work at the coffee house tonight. So we won't be able to actually watch the movie until like 9:00 tonight. But that's ok cuz I promised her that we would have a movie night, just us two :) We are going to put it on our big TV with surround sound, make some popcorn, and reeelllaaaxxxxx. My little sister is also pretty excited because when I was in Orlando for Spring break, I found a necklace that had the deathly hallows on it...you know the symbol right? Well, she is going to wear it while we're watching the movie tonight...she is just so adorable! :)

this is what my sister's necklace looks like,
just in case you were curious ;)

Wicked Part II: Gilikin-Boq (pgs. 120-166)

By: Gregory Maguire

Summary:

This is Boq in his Shiz outfit :)

Boq is a munckin from...you guessed it...Munchkinland. His section of the story begins while he is studying in his dorm. His friend Avaric and a few other guys at Shiz are going to the Philosophy club for some fun (basically it's a bar). Boq turns down the offer and instead goes to Craige hall to see if he can talk to Galinda. He gets caught peering into the window by Elphaba who tells him that he shouldn't love Galinda because she is never going to want to be with him, but she agrees to meet with him and Galinda in a few days. A few days later Boq returns to the park outside Craige Hall and tries to convince Galinda that if they can't be together, than to just be freinds. Galinda reluctanly agrees to "pay notice" to Boq whenever she passes by him in public.

   The story jumps to the summer holiday after the meeting with Galinda and Elphaba. Boq has gotten a job working in the library. He soon discovers that Elphaba is helping Doctor Dillamond research and prove to the Wizard that Animals are no different than humans. Boq is inspired by Elphaba's passion for the Animals and offers to help her gather information to help Doctor Dillamond. They spend most of their summer doing this research. At the end of the summer Elphie gets a letter from Galinda asking to come stay up at her cottage. Elphie doesn't want to go, but Boq makes her (and he accompanies her). It turns out that one of Galinda's friends sent the invitation as a joke. Galinda was humiliated and Elphie didn't eve nact embarrassed.
  The second year at Shiz certainly started with a bang. A  few weeks after the begginning of the new term, Boq went out into the courtyard to find all of the students crowded around a dead doctor Dillamond....

Response:
Things are starting to come together in the story and that makes me happy :) I'm starting to pick out a plot that I'm pretty sure will be focused on a lot throughout the story....The whole idea about Elphaba fighting for the rights of the Animals. This is one plot point that is like the musical!!! In the musical, Elphaba does all that she can to help the Animals, annndd the Elphaba in the story is doing the exact same thing! It makes me so excited to keep reading...maybe there are some similiarites after all :)

The begginning of this video shows kind of how Boq is in love with Galinda and how Galinda definately is NOT!

Wicked part II: Gilikin-Galinda's part (pgs.83-119)

by: Gregory Maguire

Summary:
Galinda is 17 years old and is off to spend four years at Oz's most renound college...Shiz university. She is traveling alone because her Ama (they are like nannies...all the elite socialites in oz have one) had stepped on a rusted nail and needed to spend time in the hospital. Next to her on the train was a professor that teaches at Shiz...an Animal named Doctor Dillamond. (the word Animal is capitolized because in Oz there are Animals and animals. The animals are just like the animals in our world, but the Animals have developed spirits and are basically humans in animal form. meaning that they can speak, walk like humans, and have the ability to learn.)
  Once at Shiz, Galinda was put into a dorm with none other that the green girl...Miss Elphaba. Galinda missed her chance to room with the other socialites because her Ama was not their to pick out a good roomie. The next day, Galinda's Ama came to Shiz fully recovered from her injury. She was very kind to Elphaba even though Galinda had no idea why because she personally found Elphaba repulsive and antisocial. Galinda had no idea why Elphaba was so addicted to reading books and learning and thought of her as a green freak.
  Galinda didn't really want to go to college to learn, she really was there for the social reasons, but she soon found that to succeed and impress Madame Morrible she actually had to study and learn. One night at a poetry reading led by Madame Morrible, Galinda was introduced to a munchkin that apparently grew up with Elphaba, only Elphaba did not rememeber him. Little did Galinda know that he would soon fall in love with her....

Response:


this is what Galinda wears to Shiz in
the Musical  



Now that the main characters are old enough to speak for themselves, I am finding that I enjoy the book a lot more now :) I still haven't run into many similarities between the two versions, but I'm no longer quite as confused as I was when I was reading part I. I really like how the characters that are going to play crucial roles later in the story are all starting to meet each other and interact with each other. A specific plot hasn't really been set up yet but I think I'm getting close :) Right now it's mainly just talking about the life of each character and developing their personalities and qualities...

This video is the Shiz university school song....it highlights Galinda's entrance and demonstrates how people automatically despise Elphaba just because her skin is green. It also shows how she is rejected by her family (her sister Nessarose hasn't been introduced yet) and then ends with Elphaba singing a song about her hopes and dreams :) Enjoy! (oh and by the way, the woman who plays Elphaba is Stephanie J. Block....she is my favorite Broadway actress. I have never actually seen her live, but I think the countless number of youtube videos and songs I;ve listened that are by her make up for it...I want to meet her someday!)

One eccentric couple and their home

Jaime and Anthony's retro home which is filled with numerous antiques and vintage décor enhances their vivacious personalities. Jaime and Anthony's love for vintage is shown in every room of their Brooklyn apartment, but it is most present in their living room. The cream colored walls are barely noticeable because almost every inch of space is covered with vintage mirros of a multidue of sorts and frames with exotic portraits. The varying accessories that are sprinkled throughout the room symbolize how Jaime and Anthony are fascinated with the crazier parts of life.

Wicked Part I: Muchkinlanders (pgs 1-80)

By: Gregory Maguire

 

Summary:

Melena's husband, Frex, is getting ready to leave to go see what all the commotion is about the "Time-Dragon Clock". Melena thinks that their baby is going to be born in the evening so she tries to protest and keep Frex from leaving, but he does anyway. On his way to Rush Margins, Frex wonders why the people of Oz enjoy watching the predictions that the Time Dragon clock makes. See, Frex is a religious minister of Munchkinland and does not think the ways of the Time-dragon clock are right. Once in Rush Margins, Frex views the clock for himslef and the prediction that is made that night is one that invloves himself, Melena, and their baby. He has to escape the town becasue the people of Rush margins did not approve of the prediction and set off to kill Frex and his family. Back in Munchkinland, Melena is about to give birth when some neighboors come to help her escape the killers. They sit with her during her birth, but when the baby is born they run away in terror because Melena's new daughter is green...

Melena and Frex do not love baby Elphaba and call for their Nany to return and help take care of Elphaba. Elphaba is an unantural baby, she not only is green but also has a full set of teeth and can comprehend what people are saying even though she cannot talk. For the first few years of Elphaba's lifeher Nanny tries to figure out why she is green. She suspects that Melena was "close" to men other than Frex and that Elphaba may not indeed be gis, but when Nanny confronts Melena about this she ignores her and denies anything Nanny mentions.

When Elphaba has reached age two, Melena starts to act a tad more motherly to her daughter, but not much. One afternoon the two girls are outside eating lunch when a stranger appears. Melena is eleated by the idea of having a male guest in the house, you see, Frex has been away for a long time for work and she needs company of another "normal" person. She offers the man, whose name is Turtle heart, something to eat and drink. They chat for a while and the Melena lures him into her bedroom for a bit of "fun". When frex returns home, he doesn't suspect a thing and welcomes Turtle heart into the family. Turtle heart is the only one in the house who actualyl likes Elphaba. He blows glass toys for her to play with, Toys that she won't break easily. Turtle Heart gets along well with the family, but things change when Melena announces that she is pregnent because no one knows wo baby this is...

Response:

I am really enjoying this story even though I tend to get confused quite a bit. I am starting to realize that this book really is othing like the musical at all....I am having difficulty picking things out that relate to the book (like scenes). I mean I can tell which parts are in the musical, but they are so different that it's hard to pick them out. I can't wait to start reading when Elphaba grows up and meets GAlinda and all the other people she knows :)

Hello Again :)

I took this picture :)

This past week I was not able to do any blogging because of Spring Break (which I'm pretty sure is the same for all of you guys too). I thought I would share a bit of what I did on my break as a way to get the hang of blogging again :) Well, I went to Orlando, Florida for Spring break and let me just say that I had SO MUCH FUN! I have never been to Florida before, so this was a completely new experience for me :) I got to fulfill my childhood dreams of going to Disney world. I went with the Band so we had a very structured schedule. Here's a sample of what our trip was like:

• Friday we boarded our charter buses and drove all stinking day (we had to sleep on the bus that night, it was terrible)
• Saturday we went to Hollywood Studios (I got to meet Mary Poppins, the incredibles, Lotso, Minnie, Pluto, and Mickey Mouse)
• Sunday we had breakfast at the rainforest Cafe and then spent all day at Epcot (My friend and I met this really cute guy while ordering frozen snacks...it was nice :D)
• Monday we spent the day at Magic Kingdom and then marched i the electrical lights parade that night
• Tuesday (it was rainy boo hoo) we went to Ron Jon's surf shop and then spent the afternoon at Cocoa Beach. In the evening we had a buffet style dinner and had a party (our DJ was pretty cute too)
• Wednesday we went to Typhoon Lagoon water park. That night we saw Cirque Du Soleil: La Nouba (it was amazing!!)
• Thursday we ended our trip by going to Universal Studios: Islands of Adventure (um..Harry Potter...I think YES!)
• We got home around 6pm Friday

As You can see, We had a pretty jam packed week, and by the time I got home on Friday I was sun burned and exhausted. But, I still had an awesome time :) It was kind of a bummer getting up this morning knowing that Spring Break is officially over and I had to go back to school, but now I get to look forward to Summer Vacation and preparing for Senior Year! :D

yes, this is Hogwarts, and Yes I did get to go inside :)