Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

It's rather embarrassing, really, how long it took me to come up with a suitable selection for  this month's Inkling Explorations .  I simply couldn't think of a good choice for quite a while, but now, at last, I'm ready to share :) This month's prompt is: ~ a New Year or "new beginnings" passage in literature ~ I'm going with the new beginnings theme, and the excerpt I'm posting is from one of my favorite books, Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis (btw, you can read my review of it  here , if you're so inclined).  This will contain spoilers, because it's practically the last few pages of the book.  Orual has finally come face-to-face with the gods, and is having her questions answered (that's a lame explanation; Lewis does it better).  She is ready to love Psyche truly, instead of with the obsessive and possessive passion with which she has hitherto treated her.  She is at last about to let go of her bitterness and resentment an...

You know those (beautiful) moments when you're watching a movie, and something happens that just fills you with this deep joy ?  Usually (at least, in my experience) they happen at the end of a movie and just make you want to cry from the beauty.  Maybe it's a quiet exhilaration that you know is nonetheless rooted deep in your soul, or maybe it's a wild, unreasoning jubilation that makes you feel like jumping up and down and waving your arms in the air. Anyway, I thought I'd share five random movie moments that elicit that kind of a response from me!  (And this will contain spoilers for these movies, you've been warned.) "The music is all around us.  All you have to do is listen." GAH THIS PART.  This movie.  Have you watched this movie?  'Cause you need to watch this movie.  It's so ridiculously amazing, you won't know what hit you.  It's one of those that you have to just let yourself feel , not try to reason out.  It's gri...

Hiya, people!  WELL, I finally got around to replying to y'all's lovely comments (actually, I'll be doing that as I write this, hehe). Coming off of Cinderella Week, I thought p'raps a nice new commentary on some lovely red carpet dresses might be in order.  Shall we? Sadly, I'm not a huge fan of most of what Hailee Steinfeld wears for the red carpet, but THIS DRESS.  Phew.  T'is beautiful:  a gorgeous color for her, the accents seem to fit her personality well, and the styling is also awesome. I usually prefer a full-on, floor-length gown for the red carpet, but this is adorable.  Well done, Bailey, well done!  (Also, did you guys know that Hailee Steinfeld and Bailey Madison are friends?  The pictures of the premiere of Romeo and Juliet are rather precious.)  Anyway, I love the detail at the top of the dress, and the twist the mini cape puts on it. Beautiful!  I love the styling choices Cate Blanchett made. ...

*wherein Olivia will insert many pictures of various Cinderellas staring thoughtfully off into the middle distance* I never really considered Cinderella to be one of my favorite princesses, so I've been a little surprised at my own enthusiasm for this Cinderella Week.  It got me thinking, what is it about the story of Cinderella that so appeals to us?  What is it about it that so appeals to me ?   So here I am to importune you further with farfetched, rambling philosophic conjectures, lovely pictures, and hopefully some fun :) One thing I've realized that I love about the story of Cinderella (at least, in some of the versions) is how imaginative she is.  She daydreams a lot, and she lets herself!  She knows it doesn't keep her from faithfully and thoroughly performing her duties, so where's the harm?  As someone who spends quite a lot of time inside my own head, I like that :D  Isn't it fun to let your mind ponder the intricacies of Pauline ...

Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island, not far from New York, there was a very, very large mansion--almost a castle... I first stumbled into watching this movie rather casually.  I vaguely remembered having seen pictures of it in random places, so, since I was babysitting, had neglected to bring any movies of my own, and now  had an hour or so to kill before the parents got back, this movie in their collection caught my eye.  I gave it a quick Internet check-up (because I had heard funny rumormongerings--that's not a word--of it being about a witch, and ain't nobody got time for dat), received the all-clear, and decided to give it a try.  And since it's a sort of Cinderella tale, it works for this week ;)  Oh, and another thing:  yes, this is a remake of the black-and-white Audrey Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart film of the same name.  I haven't seen the original yet, so I don't know how it compares. Here's the synopsis, taken from the ...

Here are my answers to  the tag Heidi has posted !  Be sure to check out the post in the link--Cinderella Week has officially begun !!! :) 1. In the vast array of fairytale heroines, what particular character qualities most define Cinderella? I would say hope, kindness and imagination. 2. What are some of the deeper, big picture differences you see between retellings where both stepsisters are nasty and others where one is nasty and one is kind? How do you think the two takes differently develop/illuminate/affect Cinderella’s character and also the overarching story itself?   I prefer retellings where one stepsister is kind ( Ever After for the win!).  For one thing, I rather feel that this balance between nastiness and kindness is more realistic--isn't there a good chance that an exacting mother's personality wouldn't have affected at least one sister?  When both stepsisters are awful, frivolous wretches, we have no choice but to dislike the entiret...

Hello, lovelies!  Here is a contribution to Heidi's epic Cinderella Week--I'm here to talk about the story of Ella Enchanted . Let us jump right in, shall we?  Comparing the book and the movie, dontcha know.  Oh, and I watched the movie before I read the book.  (The order in which you experienced a story can have a great bearing on your opinions about it, can't it?)   Spoilers will be given free reign!!! Now, Ella is not my favorite character, to be blunt.  She's okay, but she's a bit too…oh, what's the word…feisty isn't quite the thing…she's just a bit too-- much for me.  Her personality doesn't jibe well with mine, and all that.  And she says practically everything she thinks (rather lacking in tact, what), which bothers me.  For instance, I know she sensed immediately that Hattie was insincere, and I know she was going through a lot at the reception to her mother's funeral (well, duh), but was it really necessary to say some of ...

Sooooo. Remember how I  made all those great promises I apparently didn't intend to keep about posting and commenting and all that ?  'Hem, yes, well, it appears that I really oughtn't do that, since I seem to be so incapable of seeing it through.  It appears I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was going to have four teeth cut out of my head on the 29th, which did happen, and from which I am still recovering.  (Seriously.  Wisdom teeth.  JUST WHY?!?!?!)  I can hardly describe to you all the sheer thrill of both you and your mom having to get up at unholy hours of the wee sma's so you can take medicine.  ("So, you're waking me up to give me medicine to help me sleep."  Thank you, Wilby, for having a quote for everything.) But I'm getting there… slowly …with the help of Disney, solitaire, Youtube, and various other film delicacies, like Legally Blonde ,  Bringing Up Baby , We Bought a Zoo  and Hidalgo.   I also persuad...