Tags

I've been tagged by three people in the last week or so! Thanks, everyone. :-)

First up, the 8 Question Meme. Anna Maria tagged me for this.

1. Six names you go by:

Elise
Teebie
Miss Lovely (my grandfather has called me this since I was about four years old. . .) 
"Zha-zha" (what my baby sister calls me - she can't pronounce my name yet),
"Elii-i-iise" (what my siblings call me when they're annoyed with me).

2. Three things you are wearing right now: 

Long skirt
Cotton top
Uhhh. . . a smile! :-)

3. Three things you want to do very badly at the moment:

-Finish reading Lorna Doone
-Re-read The Lord of the Rings
-Read ALLLL of Dickens

4. Three things you did last night/yesterday/today:

-Watched Monsters vs. Aliens
-Wrote some more of my story (11000 words now)
-Played some U2 songs on guitar (badly, I might add :P)

5. Two things you ate today:

LOL, I just got out of bed, so: cereal and milk. That counts as two things, right?

6. Two people you last talked to one the phone:

Not sure. I don't talk on the phone much. . .

7. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:

-Write some more of my story
-Read some more of Lorna Doone

8. Your three favourite beverages:

-Water
-Fruit juice
-Chai

* * * * *

Now, Siminy tagged me for this next one (not sure what it's called).

~Do you like to write? Sort of. . . it's hard work though, as I have discovered this month! I always love writing on my blog, though. :-)

~Favourite books: Haha, you're asking for it here. For a fairly comprehensive (but by no means exhaustive) list of my favourite books, see my profile.

~Do you compose music/write songs? Sort of, not really.

~Do you like poetry? Sometimes. I haven't read much poetry, I should probably read some more.

~Loved someone so much who made you cry? No, thank goodness! (Which, however is a disadvantage when it comes to story-writing. How are you supposed to write a romance novel if you've never been in love? :P)

~Broken a bone? Thankfully, no!

~Been in a police car? No. . .

~Been on a boat? Yes

~Fallen asleep at school? LOL, that would be kind of impossible. . .

~Did you sing today? No

~KFC, Popeyes, or Church's? None!

~Chick-a-flick or What-a-Burger? Huh?

~Starbucks or McCafe? Neither

~What's your favourite time of year? Autumn, but I love all of the seasons.

~Do you ever talk to yourself? All the time - though not necessarily aloud.

~Do you have a favourite treat you like to buy on occasions? Haha, I have to agree with Siminy - a new book! Or a period drama DVD. :-D

~Do you believe the Bible is the literal word of God and is infallible? Yes.

~What's your favourite sport? Cricket!! But I love Aussie Rules, too. And Rugby. And tennis. And pretty much any sport, though I'm not a big fan of soccer.

~What colour is your ipod? I don't have one.

~If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Europe

~If you could go to any fictional place, where would you go? Narnia

~Do you love to write or do you just like writing? Or do you write at all? Depends. But for the most part I love it.

~What do you want to be when you a grown-up? A wife and mother! But career-wise, I have no idea.

~Favourite animal? Hmmm. . . almost any Australian bird species.

~Favourite song? Impossible to say, there are so many. . .

~Do you like school? I like homeschooling, but to be completely honest, I don't like schoolwork, no matter where it's done. . .

~Are you a people person? Because I'm getting the idea that you are! Uhh. . . well, I like people, but I'm very shy. . .

~Do you like to talk? Not generally, no.

~Favourite food? Anything Indian - as long as it's not fiery hot.

~Hobbies? Reading, writing, playing guitar, baking, knitting, crocheting

~Favourite author? Jane Austen, and C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Dickens, and Charlotte Bronte, and Elizabeth Gaskell, and etc. etc.

~Favourite weapon? Uhhh. . .

~Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored? It's fun, but it's long!

~Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like high school musical? No way! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Miley Cyrus-hater, but I'm not a fan either. . .

~What are you scared of? Public speaking, trying to make conversation with strangers. . .

~Favourite flower? Too many to name

~Colour of your eyes? Green

* * * * *

And this last tag was given to me by Jo March. Do any of you remember this post? Well, the ginormous long post that I wrote and then lost was this very same tag! But I'll have another go at it now. It's a really fun tag, unfortunately I don't have the wit or brains to do it justice! Someone clever could make something really hilarious out of this. (If you're clever, and you're reading this, do this tag!)

List twelve fictional characters that you love from any fandom, and then answer the following questions.

1. Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)

2. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

3. Mr. Collins (Pride and Prejudice)

4. Cinderella

5. Mrs. Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

6. Legolas (The Lord of the Rings)

7. Reepicheep (The Chronicles of Narnia)

8. Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)

9. Bilbo Baggins (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit)

10. Maleficent (Disney's Sleeping Beauty)

11. Prince Charming

12. R2-D2 (Star Wars)

~~~~~

1. Who would make a better college prof, 6 or 11? (Legolas or Prince Charming)

Hmmm. . . that's a tough one. These two characters have quite a bit in common. I'm going to say Legolas.

2. 12 sends 8 out on a mission. What is it? Does it succeed? (R2-D2 and Buzz Lightyear) I'm don't know what the mission was, but I'm sure it succeeded.

3. What is or would be 9's favorite book? (Bilbo Baggins) His own book, of course!

4. For some reason, 5 is looking for a roommate. Should (s)he share a studio apartment with 9 or 10? (Mrs. Bennet and Bilbo Baggins or Maleficent) Maleficent.

5. 2, 7, and 12 have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss? (Darth Vader, Reepicheep, and R2-D2) Hmm, what would those three talk about? It would certainly be a very interesting dinner party. . .

6. 3 challenges 10 to a duel. What happens? (Mr. Collins and Maleficent) ROFL! Maleficent would win, of course.

7. If 1 stole 8's most precious possession, how would she/he get it back? (Inigo Montoya and Buzz Lightyear) Haha! What a duel that would be. :-D

8. Suggest a title for a story in which 7 and 12 both attain what they most desire. (Reepicheep and R2-D2) "Rodents and Robots"

9. What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4 and 1 to work together? (Cinderella and Inigo Montoya)

10. If 7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along? (Reepicheep) Splendidly! I'd love to meet Reepicheep!

11. If you could command 3 to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be? (Mr. Collins) Marry Mary Bennet, not Charlotte Lucas! Get married to someone who will appreciate your intelligence and talent for letter-writing!

12. Does anyone on your friends list write or draw 11? (Prince Charming) Hmm, maybe. . .

13. If 2 had to choose sides between 4 and 5, which would it be? (Darth Vader and Cinderella or Mrs. Bennet) Probably Cinderella. She's got marginally more brains thatn Mrs. Bennet.

14. What might 10 shout while charging into battle? (Maleficent) I don't know. . . maybe she'd do her cool evil villainess laugh.

15. If you chose a song to represent 8, which song would you choose? (Buzz Lightyear) The West Coast Eagles club anthem. Non-Australian readers won't get that. . . oh well. . .

16. 1, 6, and 12 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it? (Inigo Montoya, Legolas, and R2-D2) I've got a feeling it would be Legolas.

17. What might be a good pick-up line for 2 to use on 10? (Darth Vader and Maleficent) ROFL! Those two would suit each other really well.

18. What would 5 most likely be arrested for? (Mrs. Bennet) Uhhh. . .

19. What is 6's secret? (Legolas) Contrary to what he told Gimli, he actually only reached a count of 41 orcs in the battle for Helm's Deep

20. If 11 and 9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first? (Prince Charming and Bilbo Baggins) Bilbo! He's a much more seasoned traveller than Prince Charming.

21. If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, would you feel safer in the company of 7 or 8? (Reepicheep or Buzz Lightyear) Reepicheep.

1 (Inigo Montoya) and 9 (Bilbo Baggins) reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's (Cinderella's) sinister secret organization. 11 (Maleficent) volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that s/he is actually a spy for 4 (Cinderella). Meanwhile, 4 (Cinderella) has kidnapped 12 (R2-D2) in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5 (Mrs. Bennet), they seek out 3 (Mr. Collins), who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fic?

*Is laughing so hard she can't think of a title*

Well, I'm not going to officially tag anyone, but if you'd like to do one or more of these tags, please go right ahead!

Arwen's wardrobe: Part I

Reasons why to do this post:

1. I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. A female LOTR fan. I mean, how many guys would write long blog posts discussing the various qualities of x character's costumes?

2. I love the costumes in LOTR. Why can't we dress like that today?? 

3. It's a good excuse to share some gorgeous LOTR pictures.

So, let's begin. I am no costume expert, but that doesn't mean I can't admire, even though I know nothing about sewing and costume design!

~Arwen Arrives~

~Fleeing from the Ring Wraiths~

This is one of the more subdued outfits worn by Arwen (played by the gorgeous Liv Tyler) in the trilogy, but it is nonetheless beautiful. Check out the unique egg-shell/spiderweb (which do you think it looks like?) lace trim on the collar.

~The Green Dress!~

Okay, so I guess I'm not doing this in chronological order, LOL. This is the dress worn by Arwen near the very end of The Return of the King, at Aragorn's coronation. 

A detail of the beautiful beadwork in the sleeves and trim around the neckline.

~The Fellowship's Departure~

This gown is made from an exquisite patterned fabric. The large sash adds a slightly oriental, kimono-like feel to the outfit. Speaking of oriental - some of these fabrics and colours remind me very much of India! :-)

Well, that was fun. Part II to come soon, hopefully.

Most of my pictures are from this website.

Emma 2009: my verdict

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty much all Austened-up and Austened-out for now. I think this will be the last Austen-themed post for a while.

I've been a bit hesitant to write this post, partly because my opinions of new Austen adaptations inevitably change over time. . . I suppose all I can do is write down what I think of Emma '09 now, even though (like I said) my opinion is bound to change. Ideally, I would have liked to have watched it a second time before writing my verdict, but I don't really have four hours to spare right now. . . 

The cast: I thought about 70% of the actors in this series were well-cast. 10% were hopelessly miscast, and the remaining 20% were not exactly miscast, but. . . but - they didn't seem perfect for their roles, either. I'm thinking of the two leads in particular - Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller. In spite of my early misgivings , JLM was really pretty good as Mr. Knightley, but I think most of you will agree he didn't look like Mr. Knightley. . . even though his acting was good, he just wasn't the Knightley that I imagine when I read the book. 

Romola Garai is a good actress, and she did well as Emma, but her gestures and mannerisms really bothered me! She went over-the-top with her facial expressions, and her posture was so bad - she had this annoying habit of hunching her shoulders forward, giving her an awkward, ungainly appearance. I know they were aiming for a "modern" feel with this production, but I would have been very grateful if they could had the cast's deportment a little more accurate for the period. . . maybe it sounds like I'm nitpicking here, but it was just something that annoyed me throughout the series.

The rest of the cast were mostly good - though I wasn't entirely convinced by Laura Pyper's Jane Fairfax. She was very sweet, but she seemed too small and mousy - more like a Harriet Smith than a Jane Fairfax. Rupert Evans was okay as Frank Churchill. . . better than Ewan McGregor, anyway. 

I really loved Mr. and Mrs. John Knightley in this adaptation. This is the only version in which we get to see much of them. The other real stand-out was Christina Cole as Mrs. Elton - she played this part almost to perfection, snobby and obnoxious and unwittingly hilarious. Blake Ritson was excellent as Mr. Elton. Michael Gambon was good as Mr. Woodhouse, but this certainly wasn't his most memorable role in a BBC costume drama (think Wives and Daughters or Cranford). 

I admit I was quite disappointed by Sandy Welch's screenplay. After her brilliant scripts for Our Mutual Friend and North and South (and an okay one for Jane Eyre) I was expecting something really special. . . I mean, a screenplay for a Jane Austen movie written by someone other than Andrew Davies? Of course I was looking forward to seeing what the translation from novel to screen would be like. Like I said, I was disappointed. Only a relatively small amount of Austen's dialogue was retained, and I was also disappointed by the proposal scene and the "badly done, Emma" scene. They didn't seem nearly as powerful or as poignant as they were in the two 1996 adaptations.

It's a big-budget BBC costume drama, so of course the production values were high. Costumes, music, filming locations. . . all were gorgeous, but. . . it just seemed a bit too sanitized, too flawless. Would Mrs. Goddard's school really have been as vast or as beautiful as it is in this production? I don't know, I just found all of the perfect gardens and perfect country homes to be a bit stifling after a while. . . I was crying out for some dirt, some disorder, some brooding skies. I guess it's the Bronte side of me coming out, LOL. . . 

But in spite of all of my quibbles, I really did enjoy it. It may not be the definitive Emma we were hoping for, but it is still definitely worth watching, particularly since it includes quite a few scenes from the book that weren't in the 1996 adaptations. My prediction was correct - sort of. Like Sense and Sensibility 2008, it's not brilliant, but it's good. I'll probably end up buying the DVD in spite of myself.