Am I Persuaded?

Last night was the kick off of the new Masterpiece Theatre series "The Complete Jane Austen". From now until April PBS will be showing a film or miniseries for each of the six novels of Miss Austen. If you know me at all, you know that I am SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!! My love for Jane knows no bounds and I've been looking forward to this. That being said, it goes without saying (but here I am saying it) I sat down last night wanting to love the new version of Persuasion.

The question is, did I love it? No. I liked it very much, and I love me some Rupert Penry-Jones (see exhibit A, below). As Captain Wentworth he's charming and dashing in a quiet and smoldering kind of way. I don't usually love blondes, but he's YUMMMMMMMMY, and I thought he did an admirable (wink wink. . .'cause he's in the NAVY, get it?) job, especially considering the very large boots he has to fill. I will still think of Ciaran Hinds (see exhibit B, below) from the 1995 film as THE Captain Wentworth, much in the way that Colin Firth will always be the Mr. Darcy of my heart, but I did like him.

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:


Like Ciaran Hinds, Amanda Root who played Anne in the earlier film created an unforgettable and multilayered character. To try to step into that bonnet and corset is nearly impossible. That being said, I think that Sally Hawkins was a believably fragile Anne, barely hanging on emotionally when confronted with the lost love of her life. I understood her pain, and she made me cry along with her when she gazed right into the camera, tears streaming down her face, believing all hope is lost.

Amanda:


Sally:


Here's my problem. . . For some reason, the screenwriter chose to have Anne running like a maniac for many scenes, including the pivotal engagement scene in Bath. After running for what seems to be 20 minutes straight, she finds Captain Wentworth, accepts his proposal, and then KISSES HIM IN FULL VIEW OF EVERYONE ON A VERY BUSY STREET. I know that this seems very reasonable to those of you who don't visit the Republic of Pemberly on a regular basis, but... Jane Austen's heroines don't forget their manners, they don't gallop through the streets of Bath like lunatics, and they most certainly don't make out with men on the street in front of passers-by! I know that this is a Persuasion for modern audiences, but it's also MASTERPIECE THEATRE for heaven's sake. This film wasn't made for general audiences. It doesn't have Keira Knightly in the lead (so there's very little chance my brother will be caught dead watching!). It was made for Masterpiece Theatre watchers: we're purists, we understand the way these things are supposed to work!

Ok, rant over. I don't think I'll care as much if they mess up parts of Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park, but don't mess with my Persuasion!

Chewy Sweet Fiber-Filled Goodness

A couple of months ago I visited my friend Jill (who at last glance was 29 years old. . . and counting :))during my long weekend Nevada Day extravaganza. As always, Jill was a veritable font of knowledge about foodstuffs. She introduced me to several delicious foods in bar form, but my favorite has to be Fiber One Oats and Chocolate granola bars.
They are sweet, but not too sweet, chewy, and have fiber coming out of their ears (errr if they had ears, but then it would look like a face and then I could NOT eat them.) I was so in love with the Oats and Chocolate variety of these bars that I didn't even look at the other kinds. I'm kinda a one bar woman if you know what I mean. But, yesterday I went to Target as I am wont to do and on a whim I bought not only the Oats and Chocolate but also the Oats and Peanut Butter variety.



Oh. My. Goodness.
They are delicicous.

So delicious, in fact that the chocolate ones and I are breaking up. They are, in fact a dim memory if one walked past me on the street it would only look vaguely familiar. So if you haven't yet, check them out.

A Heroic Evening

So, my brother and sister-in-law gave me season one of Heroes to watch a couple of days ago. I knew that I should never never never start watching this show, and I was right. I have a highly addictive personality, and the last thing I need is another addiction. Well, thank you very much David and Jena, 'cause now I'm totally addicted. It has everything I love in a show: humor, action, clever writing, strong characters, and eye candy.

A few months ago I was listening to a podcast where a person asked the question "Sayid or Mohinder?" At the time I only watched LOST so I thought "Sayid, of course!" Now I'm not so sure. Judge for yourself:

(Sayid is in the tank top, Mohinder in the longsleeved shirt)


(note to non-LOST viewers, no picture formed by man can show the breadth of Sayid's hunkiness. He's manly and dangerous and this picture just doesn't convey that.)

Whoo hooo it's 2008.

Ummm Yeah. It's 2008. I'll be 34 in less than 2 months. I don't know how I feel about that. Wait. Yes I do. I don't like it. In my head I'm still about 25 years old and just getting started in teaching etc. 34 just feels so, well, OLD.

So, I guess I'll leave on that note. I'll be back with updates soon. . . I'll be back at work on Monday and life as usual. Right now I need to take a nap.

Thankful...

I've decided that for the last few weeks of 2007 I'm going to post about the things that I'm thankful for. I'm not going to rank them, 'cause I'm not actually a ranking kind of person. Really. Just ask me what my favorite book, song, or movie is and you'll get a lot of hemming and hawing and then a list. I just can't narrow these things down. So, ahem. . .

Things I am thankful for 2007 edition:

*I was born into a family of spectacularly witty and intelligent people. Really. You should read our emails some time.

*My parents live within easy driving distance and have a REALLY comfortable guest bed. That bed is better than my own.

*Toby Stephens is alive and decided to be an actor so that I can see him whenever
I want!


* I have friends who love me enough to create "The Man Plan"

* I teach some of the most spectacular people on the planet.

* I don't have to pretend that my nieces and nephews are cute.
See exhibits A, B,and C:


(I could go on and on, as I have 10 nieces and nephews, but I don't want you to be jealous)

Don't you just love it

When your boss doesn't do his job and then screams at you as if it's your fault? No? Me either.

Also, don't you love it when your boss sends you a nasty email, but thoughtfully copies it to other people so they also know what a jerk he is? Yes? Me too.

It's been a rough day.

I wonder why she didn't win. . .

Hey, if you haven't seen this yet. . . check it out:



The part I like best is when she's dodging the laser beams, or the part where she's playing the trumpet really badly, or the part where she has tinsel on her arms. . . Oh heck I just love the whole darn thing.