Cupcakes are So Hot Now

You Are a Pistachio Rose Cupcake

You are multi-talented and constantly adding new talents. You are very gifted. You are hyperactive and tireless. You've got more than enough energy to pursue all your passions. You are joyfully curious about the world. There's so much to explore and learn. You try not to spend too much time examining yourself. You don't believe in second guessing.

What Exotic Cupcake Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

Americanizing Shelley

I am reading Shaw's Pygmalion for my online book club and thought I'd be adventurous and get a film adaptation other than My Fair Lady. So I chose Americanizing Shelley. It's loosely based on Pygmalion and shows the story of a young Indian woman who was betrothed at an early age to a boy. Now she plans to marry him since she finished Home Ec College. He's been in the U.S. for years and has his sights on another.

I started the DVD and after a couple minutes the stilted dialog and low production values got the best of me. There's just too much that's good on TV that this "Let's make a film!" just doesn't cut it. Unless you're connected to someone in the production, choose something else.

Jane's House

You can visit one of the houses Miss Austen lived in and take writing workshops there.

Carefree, Wild, and Irresponsible? Really?

Your Love Sign is Sagittarius

You have a very philosophical perspective on romance. You don't take any of it too personalty. People fall in love. People fall out of love. That's life. You tend to be an honest and flighty partner. You get bored easily, and you don't mind if your sweetie knows it. Your heart is carefree, wild, and irresponsible. You tend to get in trouble with love, but it's always been a fun ride.

What's Your Love Sign?

Doctor Zhivago, the Novel

Last fall my EFL students read a simplified version of Doctor Zhivago and then we saw the movie. Our discussions were quite lively and it was interesting to delve into Russian history and literature. Thus I decided to read the novel this summer.

Both the movie and the graded reader leave out quite a bit from this hefty classic. I enjoyed getting every detail and event. A thoughtfully written novel is one of my favorite ways to come to know history. This novel, published in 1960, gives readers a close up at the enthusiasm, chaos, and violence surrounding the Russian Revolution.

Yes, the names are long and everyone's got a nickname, but I got a sense of who's who without a chart, maybe because I saw the movie first.

Most of the Russian literature, I've read has taken place before the Revolution, while Doctor Zhivago takes place before, during and after. What a time that was! Pasternak's novel reminds me of Dickens because not only do readers see the hero's journey, but we see so much of what happens throughout the society. I found that fascinating. So many people had so many struggles and tragedies.

The hero is Yurii . At the beginning of the story he's a young boy who witnesses his father's suicide. He's adopted by relatives and marries his cousin Tonia, a lovely, smart woman. The sort of girl people think he should marry. (And he does agree.)

As a young man in Moscow and later after the revolution when Yurii's out in the Ural Mountains, his path crosses that of Lara, an enigmatic, alluring, albeit troubled woman. Her father died when she was young and her mother becomes beholden to Komarovsky, a rich, powerful man who wants Lara when she's in high school. Lara picks up on her mother's implicit message that she should do what she needs to for the family. This action defines Lara making her feel a guilt she never completely overcomes. It taints her marriage to Pasha, an intelligent, innocent promising student she meets in university.

All the characters cross paths and influence each other as they strive to make sense of the confusion of the revolution that steamrolls over so many Russians back then. Pasternak constructs a masterful story full of drama and insight.

If you're not sure about reading the book, try the film or the BBC miniseries.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Once again, true love triumphs over adversity.

It's difficult for me to be objective about Austen. I struggle to filter my reactions to her unfamiliar language, her unfamiliar time and class based society, and my aversion to Harlequin romance type sagas. All of that poses obstacles to my unfettered enjoyment of her prose.

On an intellectual level, the eighteenth century English preoccupation with class and breeding that is so central to Austen's tales captures my interest even while it engenders a certain amount of disdain.

And yet, on an emotional level, I can't help myself. I like her happy endings, her accounts of triumphal love.

So, I'm off to read yet another . . .

Guest blogger: Bridget

Do We Need a Third Bridget Jones?

As much as I love romantic comedies and I did see the first two Bridget Jones films, I just don't need a third. If as this article suggests Bridget is stupid enough to have an affair, however fleeting, she deserves divorce court.

Where's the originality in the film business? Can't someone invent some new characters and situations?

Someone to Watch Over Me

Ella Fitzgerald sings Gershwin's classic.

Summertime and the livin' is easy

Your Summer Love Style is Serious

While others may be into a summer fling, you're about the real thing. And there's a good chance you're already serious with someone already. For you, the summer is about getting closer and more committed. Just don't get tempted by any of that hot weather eye candy!

What's Your Summer Love Style?

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

Director Mikio Naruse focuses middle-aged (i.e. 30 year old) "Mama" who navigates the "water trade" of Tokyo's Ginza bars and their elegant hostesses in When a Woman Ascends the Stairs. Acutely aware that her looks are fading, Mama's at a crossroads. She must either find a husband or buy her own bar if she's going to survive. Because of a strong devotion to her late husband, Mama doesn't want to marry again. Yet she doesn't have the funds to buy a bar. Thus she must convince wealthy customers to back her. It's a delicate balance as relying on one man too heavily comes with too many obligations.

These bars, with their doting hostesses, are fascinating aspect of Japanese culture. The relationship between the rich business men and the women, all of whom have different objectives and desires and the attitude people have towards them is complex. The women aren't shunned as they would be in the West. Yet they aren't revered. These women aren't Geishas. They aren't trained in dance and singing. Some can be bought for after hours entertainment, but not all. Mama is one who doesn't sell out.

While it's a good idea, buying a bar is far from easy, as Mama learns through her friend and former, younger colleague, Yuri whose new bar siphons off several of Mama's customers. The new bar appears to be a success, but Yuri's been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Yuri stages suicide which she hoped would force her creditors to back down. That plan fails miserably.

Like Kabei: Our Mother I enjoyed the little glimpses into Japan of an earlier time (here 1960). When Mama visits her mother I was surprised to see her traditional kimono-wearing mother light up a cigarette. I was surprised that Mama's apartment's decor was so Western. This milieu has its downsides, but it's more civilized and in its own way proper than what we'd have in the U.S. in 1960.

I highly recommend When a Woman Ascends the Stairs to anyone interested in Japanese culture.

Ten movies I can watch again and again

1. When Harry Met Sally
2. You've Got Mail
3. About A Boy
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Casablanca
6. Rain Man
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. Network
9. The Sting
10. Yi Yi
    

i carry your heart with me

poem by e.e. cummings.

The Glee Project: Sexuality

**SPOILER ALERT**

This week's challenge involved the theme Sexuality and resulted in a great music video with the six remaining contestants performing "Teenage Dream."

The pairings were interesting: Sam and Alex, Hannah and Cameron, and Lindsay and Damien. While a few of them were troubled with the theme of sexuality, which made the episode interesting to watch.

I figured that Hannah and Lindsay would be rather safe. They can't just have one girl and four boys left at this stage. Both were good, but everyone was good last night.

Sam was saved too, though I don't think his performance was all that nuanced. So the three who had to sing to stay were Alex, Damien and Cameron, who were assigned to sing "I will Survive," "Danny Boy," and "Blackbird" respectively. I still see Alex as one-dimensional. I'm sure the writers could put together a good character for him, but I don't see the depth in him. He hasn't shared much that's personal as the others have. He alludes to his life and family, but I don't have much of a picture and considering that he's been in the bottom three several weeks in a row, I feel I should know him much better.

Damien's performance seemed good to me, but "Danny Boy" usually gets to me like "Amazing Grace" does. So that bias was in play. I'm finding Damien more and more likable. In his recording, he did well, better than say Lindsay or Damien.



Cameron took the spotlight as he struggled the most with this week's challenge. Hannah also struggled and that was interesting, but Cameron's struggle with kissing a girl he's not dating, was unique and real. Executive Producer Ryan Murphy brought this up and the result was a very heartfelt exchange about Cameron's faith and Murphy's respect of it and his desire to write for a character who holds these kinds of beliefs. Cameron admitted that he's been unable to sleep due to this dilemma. He didn't think it would be right for him to stay and send home someone who didn't have these kinds of qualms. It was a first, a rarity in reality TV, a popular contestant dropping out.

I thought Murphy would let Cameron go when he voiced a desire to quit, but that also raised some issues and heightened the producers' interest in him. In fact, Murphy took the unusual step of going back to the dressing rooms to talk to Cameron candidly and actually encourage him to stay. This was something as Murphy hasn't been all that impressed with Cameron.

I will say Cameron's Blackbird was my favorite performance. Just perfect, I thought as the song showed the vulnerability, heart and talent, that makes Cameron popular. In the end he decided to quit believing that he was lucky to come this far and that another door would open. I'm sure it will. I can say most of these kids could record and sell a good number of CDs right now. I really wanted him to stay. With just a bit of maturity, I think he could handle these situations morally and professionally.

Murphy had thought that Cameron could have made it till the end, which confirms my hunch. I think Hannah and Sam with Damien as a third place contender have the best chances.

Next week's theme is True Colors.

Famous Movie Kisses

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Romeo + Juliet

"Has my heart loved 'till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw a true beauty 'till this night."

What Famous Movie Kiss Are You?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

And what movie kisses are most memorable?

Glee Project: Duets

I've gotten hooked on The Glee Project, a reality show in which performers compete for a 7 episode role on Glee. There are a lot of talented young people out there. A couple weeks ago they paired off and did duets. These were my favorites:





As far as that episode's backstage dynamics, I thought it was quite endearing and refreshing that Cameron reacted so strongly about Lindsay kissing him. It was real. Nice to see that a guy, an attractive young guy, thinks seriously about these matters.

Tonight's episode focuses on Sexuality. Should be good.

I'll weigh in on my hopes for tomorrow's eliminations. I hope Cameron stays and I wouldn't mind if Alex left. He's narcissistic. I've warmed up to Lindsay, who's got a terrific voice, but Glee's got a surfeit of pretty girls. I hope Hannah stays. I like both Damien and Sam, but I have a feeling Sam will go soon unless he reveals more of his personality. I don't have a sense of who he is.

North and South

The scene above takes place in the first half of North and South. This couple just seems like oil and water, right. Considering how they first met when Margaret sees Mr. Thornton yelling and about to thrash one of his workers, this is something of an improvement.

The genre requires that halfway through the story the main characters be x, yet these two do seem like they'll never get together.

North and South lacks the romance of great architecture or lovely gardens one expects in a British series. No one seems allowed to wear a cheerful color in Milton. That actually works in this story; it's the point of difference that hooked me. Margaret wasn't the most beautiful woman. She couldn't be a model, but that also works in the favor of the story as you believe that she'd be down to earth and would befriend factory workers.



I expected a "two star" pretty good experience, but the more I think of it, the more I like North and South and the more I'd like to read the novel. I'd give this three and a half stars.

A Musical

Seems there's a musical version of North and South. Who knew?

North and South

I’m half way through the four episodes of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South produced by the BBC. Darker than Downton Abbey or an Austen adaptation, North and South is set in a mill town in northern England during the Industrial Revolution. Margaret Hale moves with her parents from the countryside in the south because her father, a vicar, won’t sign a paper stating he believes in the Common Prayer. So they’re uprooted to the sooty, depressing North.

They encounter Mr. Thornton, a strict factory owner, takes lessons from Mr. Hale. Margeret befriends a working class family, headed by a union organizer, preferring them to the snooty Thorntons. The series provides great visuals of work in the factories with cotton floating through the air like snow that chokes and sickens the workers. Though philosophic and ethical adversaries Mr. Thornton admires Margaret and proposes to her. He’s flatly refused. It’s not hard to guess how that relationship will fare, but I am intrigued and wonder about the workers.

It’s a fascinating drama capturing life in the Industrial Revolution.

Gaskell wrote the lighter Cranston, which I read and reviewed last fall.

More - Lisa Ono

Downton Abbey

Think Sense and Sensibility meets Upstairs Downstairs and you can imagine Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey. Set before WWI, the heir to a magnificent estate dies when the Titanic sinks. Currently, a family with three daughters of marriageable age and no sons lives in the castle. The plan had been for the oldest daughter Mary, who's a bit wild or spirited, to marry the former heir.

Enter Matthew, the third cousin who really doesn't care to take over Downton Abbey. During the course of the seven episodes of season one, we see Matthew and his mother establish themselves in the village, often in conflict with the current occupants of the house.

OF equal interest is the lives of the servants, led by a dignified butler Mr. Carson who needs to keep a close on on some of the less scrupulous members of the staff.

There's plenty of honor, dignity, backbiting, and intrigue. Oh, as for the romance, the mother and father have a sweet relationship which did start with an attraction for Mrs. Grantham's fortune. Both the family and the servants have budding romance in their midst, but no one is lucky in love.

Season two should be broadcast in the winter of 2012.

Husbands and Wives

Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, is witty and fresh, though it was made in 1992. It's fresher than his recent films that I've seen (N.B. I haven't yet seen Midnight in Paris, and many have said that's good.) With a great cast including Judy Davis, Sydney Pollack, Mia Farrow, Liam Nielsen, Juliette Lewis and Allen, Husbands and Wives begins with Allen's two friends announcing they're divorcing after 15 years. As the plot develops, all the characters question marriage, their wants and needs, their partner's personalities and ticks, with various degrees of accuracy as the bungle along searching for authentic relationships. Allen plays a writing teacher who, surprise, surprise, falls for the most promising student in his college writing class.

Rather than dealing with the beginning of a romance, this film chronicles the end of two marriages, I won't reveal who reunites and who doesn't. This is part of life and should be explored intelligently in film. I think because Allen's able to show the couples being so real and open with each other, it's all the more sad that the relationships fail.

The film was absorbing so it wasn't till the end, where thoughts of Allen's own choices in his marriage with Farrow, diverted my attention. Guess that's bound to happen. Still it's a well acted film with a natural plot rhythm (i.e. not glaringly influenced by Syd Field et al's formula). This film stands the sands of time.

If I ever sell a script

If this romantic comedy, I'm working on gets made, I'd love Lisa Ono to sing on the soundtrack.

Seems "En vie en rose" has an English version, not an English translation.

A Walk with Jane Austen

As an Austen fan inspired by Bridget's recent reading of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith,I had to grab this off the new books shelf at the library. Lori Smith embarks of a month long trip to England and chronicles the experience from the first week at a class in Oxford to her rambling through the countryside where Jane lived or traveled. All the while Smith ponders how Jane's writings, books and letters, shed light on her own life as she ruminates over her own single status, the possibilities of a relationship with a charming man she met in Oxford, and all her foibles and desires.

I didn't notice the word Faith in the title. The idea of adventure called to me. Yet the faith (Christian) aspects interested me. She humbly examines and explains how her faith has changed and how she has uncertainties about the hows and whys of things yet she still believes. Her fairness when writing about a tough period working at a Christian non-profit that had a lot of bad office politics and difficult, disrespectful supervisors showed someone one able to tell the truth and take the high road at the same time.
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I liked that Smith was sincere and fair in expressing her feelings throughout the book. She's going through a tough time, full of uncertainty and weakness. She's had health problems but doesn't know the cause (she does learn that a year later). She's worried and keeping her weaknesses at bay is a fight. Unlike say Eat, Pray, Love the story doesn't end with the expected bow. Not everything is tied up. I'll leave it at that. I think the honesty and willingness to accept difficulty and imperfection with matruity make this all the more worth reading.

Here's an interview with Lori Smith.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

by Christopher Marlowe

COME live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.

There will we sit upon the rocks
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,
Fair linèd slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my Love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my Love.

"The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe. Public Domain.

As Time Goes By

The British As Time Goes By shows that romance doesn't end when a person turns say 40. With Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, As Time Goes By, delights with witty repartee as the sitcom shows a couple who met in their youth during Korean war. They were engaged, but a letter never reaches her and their relationship ends.

Fast forward to our current era and they meet again and rekindle their love while trading witticisms.

In recent times they reunite due to happy coincidence. Each episode is full of wit and a British level of heart. My PBS station features As Time Goes By on Saturdays at 7pm.

Brooke's Toast

I've become a fan of the CW drama One Tree Hill, a fan with some some reservations, when the show gets too far fetched. (Where are Jake's parents when he needs them? Peyton's dad when she was stalked?)

Yet I must commend the show for it's high's. It's bold to have a married high school couple stay married as Nathan and Haley have. I sure didn't expect that, but it is believable. The premise of Lucas and Nathan being half brothers, one shunned, the other beloved - in the beginning - works.

There have been several good scenes including this one, in which despite having her own heart broken when she learns her best friend loves her boyfriend, Brooke has the selflessness and grace under pressure to offer this.

* It's a shame I can't embed this video. That capability was disabled.

You've Got Mail

Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in a perfect movie in my book. It's smart and witty. I love the banter between Ryan and Hanks. Every plot development is completely natural. I not only cared about this opposites-attract couple getting together, I really cared about the little bookstore. I hate seeing it close down each time I watch this modern classic.

The supporting cast is strong; each character is unique, real. Everyone's playing at the top of their game. I wish they'd reunite for some project, not necessarily a sequel.

I really miss this level of quality in film. Where are the new romantic comedies of this ilk?

She Stoops to Conquer

I finished my May classic for my book club. We're reading Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer, an 18th century comedy. Well, it was pretty good, though I think dated. The plot hinges on mistaken identities and there's some romance, but really if the couple hadn't gotten together that would have been fine and the humor wasn't that great. I liked it better than Misanthrope, but that's not a ringing endorsement. If I were giving a course on British drama or even 18th century literature, this would not be required reading. Perhaps I'm change my mind after the online discussion.

Actually, I doubt it. The plot is so contrived.

Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

I'm memorizing this Shakespearean sonnet. It appears in several films and TV shows like Sense & Sensibility and One Tree Hill.

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz

by Pablo Naruda

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

I saw the part I've put in bold on a subway sigh.

Much Ado About Nothing

A strong ensemble cast make this Shakespearean comedy a delight. Well, the only weak link was Keanu Reeves, who was wooden throughout. Otherwise I enjoyed this story and especially relished how merry everyone was. I have to use that word "merry" as the people in the story were so happy, in a way that we just aren't nowadays.

I hadn't seen or read this play before and liked the language, as one would expect. Denzel Washington was great as were Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branaugh. Michael Keaton was kind of odd in his role, but not as bad as Reeves. I know he was the villian, but Keanu just seemed so constipated throughout the story.

I liked the costumes and the setting in the summer at an Italian villa. The pretend horses the nobles and guards rode were taken from Monty Python, but I didn't think that worked. Yet there was enough that was good to keep watching.

I was surprised at how serious things got at the climax. We just don't go that far in comedies. All seemed lost for a while.

It's a fun way to check a classic off one's bucket list.

Sandra Found This

Sandra found this gem on YouTube. It's Matthew MacFayden reading Shakespeare's Sonnet 29.

Favorite Films

Off the top of my head my favorite Romantic Comedy films are:

• You've Got Mail
• When Harry Met Sally
• Sabrina, the original with Audrey Hepburn
  
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Philadelphia Story
• Emma
  
• Once, though it's not quite a comedy
• About a Boy
• Sense and Sensibility
• French Kiss, I'm quite a Meg Ryan fan
• Breakfast at Tiffany's, I'm a big Audrey Hepburn fan
  

Mission

I love Romantic Comedies and this blog will serve to share my opinions, my pics and pans on the genre.

I'll feature films, TV programs, novels and YouTube finds, from classic to modern stories.