Round Robin Challenge: Fun, Fun, Fun + APAD: Day~10

“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."


~Alfred Hitchcock

Killing two projects with one photo...


Round Robin Challenge, and Day 10 of APAD For 6 Months


Movie Review: Dark Shadows (Spoiler Alert)

The new Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows is finally here. Yes, I know it came out a week ago, and if I could have gone to see it sooner I would have, as I have been eagerly awaiting the movie's release for a long time. 40 years to be exact. So when Hollywood began doing do-overs of old movies and TV, I knew it was just a matter of time before I got to see my old friend Barnabus Collins, and the whole crazy Collins clan once again. When I was a kid, I ran home from school every day to watch Dark Shadows... who didn't? And when it was cancelled it left a huge hole in my afternoons. It was a delicious distraction from the craziness of my own family, and a nice escape from the deep heartache of watching my big brother go off to Vietnam.

Rather than thinking about my brother's absence, I plunged into all the wonderful characters of Dark Shadows. My favorite character was the witch Angelique Bouchard. Actress Lara Parker was so beautiful and glamorous to me, and her portrayal of Angelique gave me nightmares. Delicious, scary, creepy nightmares, but I always preferred them to the nightmares of my family's constant fighting, and my brother's absence. My mother fell into a deep depression after he left, and my father became quiet distant, and at times downright hostile. My sister being 10 years older than I, had her own interests, which is normal, but it left me lonely. Dark Shadows was there every day to keep me not just entertained, but served to stimulate and inspire my imagination as well. I used to wonder what it would be like to walk through the town of Collinsport, Maine. What would it be like to actually talk to Barnabus Collins. Scary? Nah... he was a good guy deep down, but he was also a tortured soul to be sure.

When I found out that Johnny Depp was to play Barnabus, I thought it was strange casting. Barnabus was a bit older, and Johnny Depp is usually a bit... well... goofy. Could he do the part justice? You bet he did! He bought a dimension to Barnabus that hadn't occurred to me before. Depp's Barnabus was indeed a bit goofy, but frankly, it was the part of Barnabus should have been there from the start. A bit of a fish out of water, his transition into modern times was a wonderful flight of fancy. The original Barnabus seemed to fit in rather easily, in fact a bit too easily. I enjoyed watching Depp's Barnabus become accustomed to life in 1972. Everything was different, music, fashion, culture, values, mode of transportation, even food had changed, but what was a vampire to do? It was time to sink or swim. And swim he did!

I kinda had to admire the modern day Barnabus for his courage. He was a man...a vampire with a mission. The marvelous choices of music from the time, kept the movie funky, while we watched Barnabus strive to fit into the new world he had found himself in. I loved the use of every piece of music, and cultural references were spot on. So, while I really thoroughly enjoyed the movie, there were things it lacked. While it did deliver some wonderfully campy thrills, and stuck fairly close to the original story, I missed some of the most quaint elements of the original. Where was Josette's theme? Her music box was a HUGE part of the original storytelling. And I would have loved to have seen the movie do more flashbacks in time, to show the great romance that was Barnabus and Josette. I think it would have been good to have seen Barnabus's dalliance with Angelique, and the heartbreak his rejection brought her. She was a woman scorned, and it would have been good to have seen why. Angelique had cursed Barnabus for a reason, and it was an all too common reason, good old fashioned heartbreak. And that is what made the whole situation so relatable. Who can't identify with heartbreak?

The rest of the movie was well cast, especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, but over all the actors and the characters seemed to lack the same amazing chemistry of the original cast.

So, while I enjoyed the new movie, which completely stands on it's own, I will always love the original more.

I give it **** kernels of popcorn out of ***** Seriously... go see it!

Me :)

Okie Doke, That's my posting for both the Round Robin Photo Challenge and my new project APAD For 6 Months. If you would like to join in either meme, you are more than welcome to do so. Click here to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog where you will find all you need to know about playing along. As for my project, just post a photo and come back to the comment thread of this entry with the direct link back to it. I will post your link with tomorrow's posting.


 See you tomorrow!

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 9~ Cinnamon

"Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like."

 ~ David Alan Harvey

Gardening gives me a good bit of happiness. Alan and I live in a small cottage, that sits on a large property. Our back yard is three times the size of the house itself, and so there is ample room to grow not just delicious vegetables, but to also grow some flowers. I have claimed an area to the side of the yard, where I have put in what will eventually be our zen garden.

It is a constant work in progress. I add a little more to it each year. To begin with I put in a Japanese maple, the leaves of which you see above. It's an easy tree to grow, and gives me a little taste of autumn with those lovely red leaves, that are actually the color of cinnamon red hot candies. It brings me a lot of happiness. I planted the maple after our friend, Paul, passed away. He was a nice man, and he was always good to us.


Surrounding the maple are my roses. I have a nice variety of peach, pink, deep red, deep lavender and two different ones that are varigated colors. One of bright yellow/bright pink, and the other one is white with soft pink around the edges. Their scent ranges from a deep spicy rose scent to a soft, slightly citrus aroma. To guard against ants and aphids, I sprinkle a lot of cinnamon between the roses, and around the edge of the Cape Cod fencing.


It's the scent of cinnamon, mixed with the scent of all the spicy roses that keeps me blissfully in autumn. When I sit in that area of the garden, I am instantly back in my favorite season, and all is right with the world. Well... almost. There is no such thing as a perfect place. A perfect garden. A perfect world. A perfect moment. A perfect season...


But when I see what I have accomplished with the roses and the tree, and I think about how lovely it all is it feels like nothing really bad could happen outside that little Cape Cod fence. It's just home to me. My safe place. And it doesn't hurt if a couple of cats, namely Dylan and Hendrix, come and sit with me. Even if Hendrix's favorite snack is rose petals. You see, he eats them like potato chips. LOL. No worries... it's all good!

~Me :)


If would like to join me on my A Photo A Day For 6 Months challenge, please feel free to do so. It's just my way of getting back into the swing of blogging regularly. Just get your photo, post it, and come back here with the direct link back to it. I will list your link with the photo for the following day. There's NO subject, just photograph what you want and share it with me.


Now, go see what yesterday's participants came up with...


Duane
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdtate/7213752826/in/photostream 


JR
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/05/apadf6-8.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 8~ Doing Lunch

"Ask not what you can do for your country... ask for lunch."

~Orson Welles

Aren't they a cute? Are they just friends, or are they best friends? Do they have the economy on their mind? Well, doesn't everyone? Perhaps they are more interested in who will win the mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars. Or maybe the couldn't care less about that, but they find themselves talking for hours about the economic crisis in Greece. Maybe one speaks about how taxes are way to high, while the other one tries to reason with their friend that it's time that the 1% finally pay their share.

Maybe they are just enjoying their lunch.

Sometimes there is just nothing like setting a nice table, fixing something to eat that's really delicious and slightly decadent, and enjoying the company of someone whose really nice.

Simple. Pleasant. Elegant.

There's nothing like it.

:)

~Me

If you would like to join me in my quest to post a Photo A Day For 6 Months, please, grab your camera and post your photo! Come back here after you do, and leave me a direct link back to it. Everyone is welcome, and you don't have to post every day if you don't want. Also, there is no subject to follow, just take your photo and share what you find. It's that easy. Now, go check out what my friend Duane came up with!

Duane
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdtate/7207868088/

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 7: Sponges

“Sponges grow in the ocean. That just 'gets' me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen."

~Stephen Wright quotes

** Please Note: I am incredibly busy this week. I will be by to see and comment on all participants photos this coming weekend. Thank you so much for being patient with me... you're good friends. 

:) 


Sometimes you are the Appendix... Sometimes you are the Sponge.



Do you ever feel like a sponge? Like you just absorb all the stuff that comes your way, with or without your permission? I only have enough room for just a certain amount of information, and I tend to store it away in it's proper memory folder, but then there sits all the stupid stuff... trivia, idiotic neighbors that actively work on robbing me of my last nerve, useless every day drama that invariably tends to stalk me... like I said... STUPID STUFF. Who invented the stupid, useless, dramatic, idiotic stuff? Personally, I am thinking GOD. Yep, it's pretty much GOD'S curse and/or GIFT to us.


Follow...



You see, all the stuff that comes at us, that might seem stupid and useless at first view, but might actually work like an appendix does for a doctor. Your appendix sits there your whole life, not doing much, but there is always the chance that one day it will spasm and or rupture, so some doctor, somewhere, will get the chance to practice his or her skills as a surgeon.


 My appendix ruptured when I was 7 years old, after a long evening of playing Monopoly with my sister, accompanied the unreasonable consumption of Planter's Salted Peanuts. Was it the the game of Monopoly? Was it spending time with my evil sister? Was it the unreasonable consumption of Planters Salted Peanuts? Or was it GOD giving someone, something to do?


Was I just the sponge?


Thoughts? Do you ever feel like a sponge? If so, Please, tell me of your own experience with being a sponge. 


Me:)
See ya tomorrow!

If you would like to join in with my project, please grab your camera and come along. Just post your photo, and come back here with a direct link back to it. There is NO daily subject, just post whatever you see that day, and share a little bit about why you decided to post that particular photo. 

JR Cline (Photo link for Day 5)
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/05/apadf6-5.html

JR Cline (Photo link for Day 6)
Here is my for this day. http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/05/apadf6-6.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 6~ Time

"To achieve greatness two things are needed, a plan, and not quite enough time."


~Leonard Bernstein

Feeling quiet. Not sad. Not mad. Not happy. Not tired. Not restless. Not content. Not Unwilling. Not Accessible. Not  distant.


Quiet.


Like a clock at 1:05 PM. 


~ Me (Hearing "La Viva Vida" by Coldplay)


Hey shutterbugs, grab your cameras and join me on my six month journey toward digital awareness. You don't have an assignment to follow, in fact I encourage you to set out on your photo quest each day for what's waiting to be seen. No preconceived notions. No expectations. Don't look for the photo... let it find you. Stay open... it will. I promise.

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 5~ Into The Blue

"Nobody can feel uncheered with a balloon."

~Winnie The Pooh

What is it about balloons? Why do they make me smile? I always feel really good in the presence of a balloon. Or is it the color blue? Blue makes me feel good also. Shrug. At the end of the day I guess it doesn't really matter. These blue balloons made me forget... for a little while. Or was it the helium that made me forget? I don't know... because... I forgot!


WINK.


~Me :)


This is day 5 of my little project of A Picture A Day For 6 Months. See, I had taken a brief break from blogging regularly, and this is my way of getting back into the swing of things. If you would like to join me, jump in any time. You don't have to follow any certain theme, just post whatever you see that day, and maybe include why it caught your eye. It's all good. If you do post a blog entry, come back here and leave a direct link back to it in the comment thread. I will include your link in the entry I post tomorrow. It's that easy.

Jr Cline
http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/05/apadf6-4.html

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 4~ Inconsiderate

"Being considerate of others will take your children further in life any collage degree"


~Marian Wright Edelman

Today's Photo of the Day comes with a Word of the Day... INCONSIDERATE. Simple, common, everyday, INCONSIDERATE. So, do I have your interest? Good, here's what happened...

On Saturday, Alan and I drove down to Castro Valley to attend the annual Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade. We attend every year, because it's a nice chance to revisit, and enjoy some sunny fun time in a nice community. We got there about 15 minutes before the parade was about to begin, set up our lawn chairs, and looked toward the start of the parade route.


A few minutes later, along came a cute family of four. A mom, dad and two young boys. They didn't have chairs, so they had the choice of either sitting on the curb next to us, or standing, to view the oncoming parade. The mom and dad chose to stand. And not just stand anywhere... they decided to stand directly in front of of Alan and I and the father of two that was seated to my direct left.


The family of INCONSIDERATES (Not A Word) continued to stand directly in our view for the remainder of the parade. The family turned toward us more than once, and chose to ignore the fact that they were blocking us. If they had simply sat down on the curb, they would have had an unobstructed view of the parade, as there was no one seating to the side of them for at least 50 feet. It was just them, making a conscience effort to block the view of those to their left, whoever it might be. It just so happened that it ended up being Alan and I and the father of two.


WTF?


Seriously?


Do they want their children to grow up with the same lack of manners they have?


And to make it all just a little bit worse... the female INCONSIDERATE talked on her cell phone for most of the parade, and the male INCONSIDERATE didn't take one single picture.


Like I said... WTF?


I promise tomorrow's Photo Of The Day will be much less GRRRRR. It's just the considerate thing to do!


~Me :)


If you would like to participate in my A Photo A Day For 6 Months project, jump right in! Post your photo, and come back here and leave me the direct link to it in the comment thread for today, and I will to your post in tomorrow's entry.


Kat
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/2012/05/dandelion.html