F is for Furiously (Happy)

What do you get when you find a book with a doofy looking 'stuffed' raccoon on the cover? If I didn't know who had written it, I would probably stop and look at it, at least. What if I knew it was written by Jenny Lawson. Then I would snap it off awfully fast.

Furiously Happy is the second book of Jenny Lawson, AKA The Bloggess. If you don't know, Jenny is a super, uber popular blogger and writer who writes about her struggles with mental illness and continues with stories from her unusually weird and delightfully family. There are stories of taxidermy, metal illness and hiding under desk at conventions, adventures in being a writer with dogs being a prime case of writer's block (see Jenny's Instagram), and everything else in between.

I first encountered Jenny Lawson when a really good friend suggested I read Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir. Jenny's speak about her daily struggles with anxiety, depression, and OCD in such a way that I was  hooked. Naturally, I found I couldn't put it down and read it in about two or three days, which is fast for me. The same was true of Furiously Happy, I read and read until I was done. In a time when I needed a reminder that there are others as f*cked up than me, and because they are as f*cked up than me I could laugh at the absurdity of everything. Jenny Lawson taught me to not be afraid of myself, even when it was so easy to be afraid of myself.

She certainly isn't afraid of me, or maybe she is and just hasn't told me.

Damn it, Jenny! Why didn't you tell me this...

Maybe I need to tell her thanks for being honest and real. "THANK YOU JENNY!" I scream to the heavens. Okay maybe the heavens aren't awake at 5:30 in the morning; and maybe they first want a good, strong cup of coffee before taking visitor, especially one so loud and early.

That is what I learned from Jenny Lawson is that you can be silly and it is okay. You can be afraid and it is okay. You can be true to you, and learn something that'll make you stronger. Thank you Jenny. I mean that. Although I would scream to the heaven for you to. I want you to know that.

And because of that, I can be honest and real. I am not as afraid of myself.  Still a little afraid of the word though. I mean, have you seen what's outside. There is a giant Dorito in the White House and it is STILL SNOWING in April (in southern central New York anyway).

Yeah, it is a little weird outside, but it is warm and wonderfully weird in here with Rory the Raccoon, Ferris Mewler and Dorothy Barker. Stay proud! Stay weird! (Make Good Art and even Better Trouble). And be Furiously Happy that you are Alive!

Did This Happen?

"Tell me a weird story, Mom."

"Like what? About Grandpa's dead animal collection?"

It is a common request in this house,

of taxidermy and backpacks for cats.

Like what? About Grandpa's dead animal collection?

How did Rory come to be?

of taxidermy and backpacks for cats,

except for the dog, who much prefers it.

How did Rory come to be?

A story for all the ages,

except for the dog, who much prefers it

when you have hot dawgs for dinner.

A story for all ages,

when Victor got me a giant stuffed squid and

when you have hot dawgs for dinner;

this is my actually life.

When Victor got me a giant stuffed squid and

I argued over semantics of vampire diets.

This is my actually life--

no one else would dare claim it.

I argued over semantics of vampire diets,

it is a common request in this house.

No one would dare claim it,

"Tell me a weird story, Mom."

What is your weirdest memory, Dear Reader? Best memory? Leave me a comment and some love below. 

My best memory was meeting my mentor in 2013. I was really nervous and excited, all at the same time. Was TOTALLY worth it. And he is a good friend to this day. My weirdest memory, that is tough for so early in the morning. I'll go with playing myself in a show written in 8 hours, and confusing one of my best friends all day because one of my lines actually was, "Where's the coffee? Sara said there would be coffee."

Cheers!

D is for Divergent

It comes to this, doesn't it? I have to make a choice.

Either Hunger Games or Divergent?

It is actually a pretty easy decision. I choose, Divergent!

What faction would I be? That is tougher, probably a mixture of Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity (if that were possible).

Divergent takes places in a post apocalyptic Chicago where the people live in factions that are based on their personalities; Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Dauntless (fearless), and Erudite (intelligent). It is at the Choosing Ceremony where they can pick a different faction, but that means leaving their families.

This is the story of Tris (Beatrice Prior) of Abnegation, who chooses to becomes Dauntless. The only problem is she marked as Divergent, because of she scored high in three different factions. She is warned, and Tris must fit into Dauntless and remain undiscovered. Hers is a dark and difficult road, and incidentally made the pantoum for NaPoWriMo a lot easier to write.

I really enjoy darker stories, with flawed or broken characters. It gives the story a deeper feel, there is more that can happen within the story, and sometimes I relate more to the broken characters.

And for a world that was so broken it feels like one I could actually survive in. I am not sure why, actually. Maybe because my own life seems dull, or maybe feel that I could successfully fit in. Although, if you've read the whole series you know it gets far more interesting.

I don't have much else prepared that is super awesome and uniquely hard to attain information, so, Dear Readers I will say this. I like the Divergent series better than Hunger Games. I haven't seen ANY of the Divergent movies (yet). That is for a another blog post later.

Here is a pantoum, written in the voice of Tris. Enjoy!

Choose Your Fate

When from the world you know,

a graduation, of sorts, to change factions

when you must leave all that you know

and chart a new path.

A graduation, of sorts, to change factions,

from the meek you cast away to daring

and chart a new path

where death meets you at every corner.

From the meek you cast away to daring--

hop a ride upon a silver dart line,

where death meets you at every corner,

but you are no longer afraid.

Hop a ride upon a silver dart line

and catch your future in a dizzying display,

but you are no longer afraid

and leather feels better than dull grey cotton.

And catch your future in a dizzying display,

flying through the air, as if a bird of prey

and leather feels better than dull grey cotton,

after far too long held in chains.

Flying through the air, as if a bird of prey

when you must leave all that you know,

after far too long held in chains,

when from the world you know.

Inkheart: A Review

I watched the movie. I did.

Inkheart. It was a movie. A movie that I watched.

Oh, Brendan Fraser... ~shakes head~

I don't really know where to start.

Okay, there are SPOILERS! You have been warned...

Usually when I do these book to movie reviews I have a long list of things that were incorrect, misrepresented, poorly done, or were actually done right that needs to be recognized. I get a thrill out of pointing out the obviously incorrect stuff, pausing the movie and yelling at the TV screen (often) because they glossed over this point or that point.

I am not saying the Inkheart is guilt free. But I actually looked at it from a movie perspective first. And then I considered the gross inconsistencies. First, it had Brendan Fraser. I am not generally a Brendan Fraser fan. It wasn't that he acting was terrible, oddly enough he was entertaining. My biggest beef  is that he wasn't British sounding enough. His daughter, Meggie, Elinor, Fenoglio, even Capricorn was British (or at least British sounding). It was a bit distracting to have one person without some form of an accent. Was it enough to ruin the movie? Eh, probably not. But is was distracting.

Looking at it from the book perspective there were a number of things that were glossed over from the book, or not even touched. This is usually what makes me loathe or gently despise a movie made from a boo. When I looked at the story as a movie it was actually entertaining. I missed a lot of the subtle character work the Cornelia Funke included in her book with Dustfinger and Resa, as in the book he did not know she was Meggie mother and Mo's wife. There was also this attraction Dustfinger had for her and made Dustfinger a stronger character. They skipped a lot of those bit and a shame too.

Okay fine, I can believe the characters were real in the movie. Sort of...Resa got shafted, as she had less build up, less vested in her character, except that she was Meggie's lost mother.

There was the ending. It was not he same. Where do you want me to begin? Mo reads Dustfinger back into Inkheart, end of story. That definitely a cop out, happy ending bull crap. There's the Shadow, when he died and not quite in the same way did not produce the creatures that the Shadow had killed who survived in the book to live  with Elinor. And of course everyone else who was alive, the beast and Black Jackets whom had been read out of the books returned to their origins. More cop out it seems.

~Shrug~

Not a bad ending, but it felt like a typical Hollywood happy ending where they wrapped everything up in a pretty package with a bow on top.

As for content, it was inconsistent for my tastes. I wanted more of the bits with Basta, his back story and character. I also felt they rushed to name drop Resa and her story, as mentioned above. Paul Bettany was an amazing Dustfinger, though and Eliza Hope Bennett as Meggie was a really good choice. Although they made she a bit older in the movie than in the book, a small gripe if you please. Capricorn wasn't as much of a dick as he was in the book, but seeing as they made a family friendly kids fantasy movie, you can only make a villain so much of a dick. As for location and even cinematography , the whole movie was gorgeous.

The best I can say is it was a so-so family friendly fantasy movie (here Dear Readers, have some alliteration). To compare it to the book, you will find yourself disappointed. The book was over 500 pages, there's a lot to cover there. Yes, the movie is going to gloss over much of it. Will I watch it again, maybe? (if there's a Rifftrax available or booze. Maybe both) If you prefer a good story, read the book. If you  like a fun fantasy movie and can handle a non-British Brendan Fraser, then watch the movie. Did I expect anything less from Hollywood? Not really. I kinda was hoping it would have been terrible to watch, because then I could have laughed and mocked it. Oh well! It was still entertaining.

My recommendation is to read the books, all three of them. You will enjoy them if you like fantasy. I am currently working on a re-read Inkspell!

Have a fantastic day, Dear Readers!!!