Books N' Movies & Books That Turn Into Movies

That title is kind of a mouthful.

Anyway, I was watching the Bounty Hunter a couple nights ago (wait till it comes out on DVD, not worth the theater price), and they had theeeeee trailer I have been anticipating. Or fearing.

It was for Eat, Pray, Love.

Now...here's the thing: the trailer looked all well and good. It really did. It's hard to go too wrong with Juila Roberts. BUT. I absolutely adore that book! Seriously, that book has occupied a little space in my little heart, because I love it so. Therefore, I cringe at the thought of it being turned into a movie because:

1. They (and when I say "they," I mean Hollywood) could mess up the premise completely. This book is about spirituality. Make no mistake. If they somehow turn the plot into Elizabeth Gilbert (the author) going on a glorified vacation and encountering romantic mishaps, then they've missed the whole lesson of the book.
2. I'm afraid people will go see the movie instead of reading the book. Which, they will. That saddens me. There's something magical about this book, in BOOK form. There's something magical about reading in general.
3. I'm afraid this memoir won't translate well into movie form. I wonder if they've kept her keen sense of humor in the script. Hopefully there is some narration to incorporate that. It makes me wonder what they may have changed in the plot to make it a movie.

With that said, I'll probably go see it, cursing at every scene that they get wrong. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, some movie-goers will we prompted to read the book after they see the film. Let's hope they do justice to the book.

***

While we are on the subject of movies, I just wanted to tell you that I have finally watched Breakfast at Tiffany's. I loved it. Audrey Hepburn embodies everything classic, beautiful and stunning to me. She didn't have to fake-tan or bare her breasts to prove that she was gorgeous.

I am disgusted at what our society finds beautiful today. I wish we could go back in time to where Holly GoLightly reigned supreme in the beauty realm--where personality, brains and grace still fit into the equation of what's "hot."

Keepin' the Sabbath Holy

No beach day,

no margarita,

no ocean-swim,

no vicodin,

no sunset,

no island getaway

or pay day...

...gives me MORE REST

than when I kneel to my Lord, and pray.

No need to fret when I've got the divine on my side.

Well what a funny little joke, Doc.

I like how the medicine I got prescribed for dizziness says:

MAY CAUSE DIZZINESS

as a side effect.

Hmmm...

Guess I'm Not a Pirate

I always liked ninjas better, anyway.

Ever since my cruise, I've had a case of sea legs. As in, I feel disoriented/dizzy...and it is REALLY GETTING ON MY NERVES.

It feels like I've taken a shot or three, and have kept it up all day long. Not. Fun.

It's been making it hard to focus at work, and it's starting to give me headaches. Sooooo, anyone who has been on a cruise: have you experienced this before??

I'm going to the doc tomorrow (I looooooaaaattthhhhe going to the doctor) to see if it's a possible ear infection. I just wanna feel normal!!

I felt this way 2 years ago when I got some virus.

Any suggestions on something that may help?

Bulletproof

I am a bit obsessed with this song at the moment. heh heh.

Maybe because it reminds me of being in Turkey and watching Euro Pop videos (love that!). I have a *thing* for quirky, off-beat pop. And I cannot deny the enormous desire to DANCE MY ASS OFF when this song comes on!! Plus, I was born in the 80s, so I gotta love this 80s sound :D

I must look into this artist; I'm sure of you already know her...

LA ROUX 'BULLETPROOF' from soyo on Vimeo.

*and I was just reading up that this is a duo act, actually. One that sings, one that does the synthesizing.

A Thriller and A Classic

Review Time!!

Reviews on the:

1. Thriller: Shutter Island. Visually beautiful, with a little bit of darkness and uneasiness thrown into the mix. It wasn't hard to figure out the end. If you're the kind of person that really picks up on foreshadowing, then you're likely to figure out the ending as well.

However, that won't change the quality of the film. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was intriguingly dark and well put together, the way a good book is bound together. I'm still wondering why Leo doesn't have an Oscar by now.

My Rating: ★★★½

1. Classic: Alice in Wonderland. It would have been easy to mess up this classic, and some people might tell you that Tim Burton did mess it up. I would have to disagree.

I thought it was compelling and playful with the right amount of Tim Burton-strangeness sprinkled into the mix. It's his signature, after all. While I think he did a disservice trying to remake Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I think he has redeemed himself with Alice.

The movie is a little slow-moving at times, which doesn't bug me, but it may bug some people. Like Shutter Island, it reminds me of a book, and reads like a book. Each scene is a turn of a page--there is no instant gratification there, but the whole effect is outstanding. And that's how you have to take both movies, as a whole.

Rating for Alice: ★★★

I ♥ it when we're Cruisin' together...

^

^

The Smokey version, not the Gwyneth Paltrow/Huey Lewis version. Cause Smokey is just better.

I feel like normally I would write more about the cruise, but I'm not in a writing mood. I'm in more of a woozy mood, and kinda out of it...hoping I didn't pick something up from the ship!

But here are some pictures, so you can get the gist:

Dancing to an "all MJ hour" in the most horrendously decorated club ever (on the ship). I know you can't see the club, but believe me, it's better that way.

Colleen and me with our Ensenada tour guide, Mariana (beautiful name!)

Colleen insisted taking a pic with weird monkey statue. Colleen had also had two margaritas.

Carnival Elation Cruise ship!

You didn't know I was a Mexican Wrestler on the weekends?

Don't mind if I do :)

I just thought this was beautiful. I happen to love a lot of mexican art.

Colleen and I are giants.

Where we laid out a bit.

Alrighty, that's all I gots to show, folks. Overall, a good time. Although, my favorite way to travel is by plane. It was extremely hard for me to get used to the swaying!!

Bon Voyage!

Going on a cruise tomorrow. Did I forget to mention that?

It's a small little cruise (3 days), but it's needed FOR SURE!

Have a good weekend, all :)

Why Rainy Days Are Necessary

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring." ~George Santayana

"Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella." ~Pepper Giardino

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Don't worry, they're just insightful tears...

How did I spend my Saturday night?

Crying at a bar.

But as the title suggests, it wasn't a bad thing. Not in slightest, actually. It's what happens when you have a psychologist friend who decides to poke at a wound that you try and try and TRY to keep hidden.

On top of that, I HATE crying in public. I would rather DIE than show vulnerability, which demonstrates the sometimes intensely private person that I can be. But when I do cry in public, when I finally let it all out, it actually feels refreshing and cathartic; as opposed to crying alone, where the only support system is a bathroom towel, or a pillow.

I guess this is all in attempt to surround myself with more community. And, I'm doing a bit of "spring cleaning" from my past, throwing out all the baggage I've carried with me for the past two years.

In case you're wondering, this convo was in fact about J, and how much he affected me and the way I see relationships, love, and...the kicker...myself. That's what made me cry, when my little therapist friend, Beth, pointed out how I saw myself as inferior. The lack of love I received from him translated to "Ashley, something is wrong with you." Well, in my mind it did.

It's been two years, and I still carry that with me. Although I've made such progress (seriously though), I've also been holding on to this horrible baggage that has kept me moving forward in the love realm.

It's the whole idea of having a wound you can't stop touching. I poke my bruises all the time.

"When we are broken and damaged, we somehow convince ourselves that we deserve that pain." (a quote from a pastor from Mosaic Church in LA).

That's when the only thing I can do is turn to God when I just...can't...let...go. There's this Christian fallacy that believing in God means that you can let go of things over night. I'm not sure that's always possible.

Letting go of the past has been a loooonnnnngggg process for me, but a process that I am supposed to go through. It works with my personality. I am over-analytical and sorta shy, and it takes me eons to open up to a person. It only makes sense that it would take me a long ASS time to let go of the past.

I don't feel bad about that. I'm just working on not looking back as much as I do. I'll be placing a band-aid on the wound, knowing it's still there, but resisting the urge to poke.

Dancing to Fight Aliens!!!

You wanna know what the HIGHLIGHT of my day was yesterday?

Do ya? Do ya? Do ya? (sorry, I had too much coffee, I can hardly type).

...So I went on all these rides on Disneyland. And do you know what I come across?

CAPTAIN E.O.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot add enough exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw Captain E.O. when I was about 4 and adored it. And yesterday, seeing it at 25 (yep, 25), I still adored it. I think you all know how much I love MJ, and have always loved MJ...it didn't take his death to make me appreciate him.

But it did take his death to prompt Disneyland to bring back the attraction. I thought it was just a rumor. I. WAS. ECSTATIC.

Ohhhhhh man. One of the best birthdays ever because of it.

Wait? I'm 25? Shoot.

My Girl Crush

I've loved Alicia Keys for, um, forever.

To clarify, a girl crush is "feelings of admiration and adoration which a girl has for another girl, without wanting to shag said girl. a nonsexual attraction, usually based on veneration at some level" according to the oh-so-insightful urbandictionary.com.

But then again, urban dictionary defines the name Ashley as "a bad ass motherfucker who won't take no shit off of nobody."

Yeah. Um, moving on.

So back to Alicia. I love her and I'm gonna try to see her in concert if possible (in Vegas!). Anyway, here's a video of her, not that you don't know who she is...but I felt like paying homage to her anyway.

P.S. If you didn't notice, a.k.a. you are blind, I changed the background color of my blog off of the advice of D. Cause one, purple is my favorite color (DUH) and two, it will make things a little less somber. Good idea D!