April 30, 2012

Les Miserables

Okay, soooo...


I went to see Les Miserables last Saturday.  And it was AMAZING!  I can't believe how awesome it was!  Truly deserving of the word epic.  : )

The only thing is... I don't know how many blog posts I want to do!  As we were driving home, I was thinking, 'Okay, I'll do one on the characters, one on the story, one on the cast, one on the sets, and one from at the end.'  I just don't know if that would bore you guys.

Would it?  How many blog posts should I do?

I can attempt to smash it all into one post, but I think I could do a good half dozen.

What do you guys think?

~Eowyn~

April 26, 2012

Guess what?!

So, guess what, y'all?!

Apparently, I'd been looking on, like, the London cast for Les Miserables - that's when I thought we had Hadley Fraser for our Javert.  Today, I clicked over to the US Tour cast to see how to spell Enjolras for a comment on a blog...

And guess what I found out?!

While we don't have Hadley Fraser as Javert (major bummer right there), our Javert is Andrew Varela!  He played the auctioneer in the first (and, thus far, only) production of Phantom of the Opera my sister and I saw.  However, since it was a matinee, the Phantom wasn't the Phantom - I guess he was taking a break or something.  (We were supposed to have Tim Martin-Gleeson.  Wouldn't that have been amazing?!)  So Andrew Varela played our Phantom.  And he was AMAZING!  I've been wanting to see him in something again and now I have the chance!

So, while we don't have Hadley Fraser, I'm as happy as I was before because we have Andrew Varela now.  Funny how that works....

And.... it's only two more days.  : )  I'm so excited, I'll bust!

On a completely different note....

My sisters were watching the 1986 version of Mansfield Park today and said that Anthony Dewhurst (Tony, my personal favorite League guy) was Tom Bertram.  They rewound it (cuz it was one of those old-fashioned VHS things... that we still own... odd, that!) and I almost screamed.  Well, I actually did scream.  "Oh, my WORD!  It's TONY!"  Then he said something and I screamed again.  : )

That's when you know you're a TSP fan.  Oh, and when Sir Percy comes up in your morning family devotions as an example for dependability (as opposed to inconsistency)....  Yup, happened just today.  : )

~Eowyn~

April 24, 2012

My Favorite Literary Heroes

Wow, what a post name!  : )

Okay, so it's Hero Week over at Anne-girl's blog, Scribblings of My Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard.  (Love that blog name!)  She's challenged us (and, boy, was it a challenge!) to make a list of our ten favorite literary heroes.  Coming up with ten took me all of five minutes.  Making the list?  An hour.

Why did it take me so long?  Well, to add my two cents to Anne-girl's amazing post, being The Hero in a novel does not make a guy character a hero.  Even if his name is George Knightley or Fitzwilliam Darcy or (dare I say it?) Percy Blakeney.  It's what a hero does that makes him a true hero.  We love a hero because of what he does, what he is, and what he believes - not because the author or director deemed him The Hero.  We love Sir Percy because he rescued innocent aristocrats from a terrible fate.  We love Mr. Knightley because he wasn't afraid of telling Emma what he thought.  We love... well, I'll leave that for my list.  (For more reasons why a hero needs to be a hero, read Anne-girl's post.)

Now, for my list....  I decided to be fair and put different heroes in each rank.  If I had my way, it'd just be Sir Percy in the entire thing as #1, #2, #3, and so on.  But... for the sake of... well, something, I decided to chose different heroes.  : )

Number One...
Sir Percy Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy


I mean, seriously - if a guy's got that great of a cravat and cape (and HAT!), he's got to be a great hero.  (Just kidding...)


Need I even put a quote or describe him?  Everyone who's anyone should know Sir Percy and how amazing he is.  Oh, well.  For those few that don't know how awesome he is, I'll put a quote.  (And for those who do know how awesome he is... the quote will make you know how awesome he is.)  : )


The Scarlet Pimpernel did not take it upon himself to punish the guilty; his care was solely of the helpless and of the innocent.  For this aim he risked his life every time that he set foot on French soil, for it he sacrificed his fortune, and even his personal happiness, and to it he devoted his entire existence. [...]  The Scarlet Pimpernel was a personality of whom an entire nation might be justly proud.
- El Dorado


"I am in a tight corner - tighter than ever I have been before; but I am not dead yet!"
- Sir Percy, El Dorado


"Percy was not the man to leave a comrade in the lurch!  He would not be the man whom we all love and admire, whose word we all obey, for whose sake we would gladly all of us give our life - he would not be that man if he did not brave even certain dangers in order to be of help to those who call on him."
- Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, El Dorado


If that doesn't give you even a glimpse of how awesome Sir Percy is (and why he's my number one), go read El Dorado.  (Well, go read The Scarlet Pimpernel, then read El Dorado.)


Number Two...
HA!  Just kidding.  Scared you, didn't I?!


My, ahem, REAL Number Two...
George Knightley from Emma by Jane Austen


Seriously, people, Mr. Knightley is one of the sweetest, kindest, most considerate heroes you'll ever come across.  He was not afraid to tell Emma what he thought.  He was one of her best friends and stayed by her for her entire life, through thick and thin.


Two of my favorite quotes from him:


"Really, Emma - it is better to have no wit at all then to apply it as you do!"


"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more!"


Two very different quotes... yet, that's why I like him so much!


Mr. Knightley is, in my opinion, the best Jane Austen hero.  Just sayin'.


Moving on.


Number Three...
Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen


Now, this Edward is a hero.  (Not that other Edward out there...)  Spoiler Alert!  After he promised to marry Lucy Steele, then found out that he was in love with Elinor Dashwood, he kept his promise to Lucy.  Even though he really loved Elinor.  Now, I'm sure that wouldn't have worked out for them, and it's really great (in a terrible way) that Lucy decided to be a total jerk and marry his older brother.  End Spoiler Alert


He's a true hero.


I can't find any quotes by this Edward (my personal favorite of the many adaptions), but I do love his first scene.  "Beating carpets?"  HA!


Number Four...


Mac Campbell from Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott


I can't get a picture of him because, well, there hasn't been a movie made yet.  (You guys can all cry now.)


Mac is my favorite of The Campbell Boys (there are seven of them).  From the very beginning of Eight Cousins, I knew he was my favorite... and I was rooting for him the entire time.  Yes, he's a little rough around the edges - at first - but he taught Rose so much about nature and poetry, to name a very few.


"What have you decided to be, Mac?" asked Rose, as they went up the avenue side by side.
"A man first, and a good one if possible; after that, what God pleases."
Something in the tone, as well as the words, made Rose look up quickly into Mac's face, to see a new expression there.  It was indescribable; but she felt as if she had often done when watching the mists part suddenly, giving glimpses of some mountaintop, shining serene and high against the blue.
"I think you will be something splendid; for you really look quite glorified, walking under this arch of yellow leaves with the sunshine on your face," she exclaimed, conscious of a sudden admiration never felt before; for Mac was the plainest of all the cousins.
"I don't know about that; but I have my dreams and aspirations, and some of them are pretty high ones.  Aim at the best, you know, and keep climbing if you want to get on," he said, looking at the asters with an inward sort of smile, as if he and they had some sweet secret between them.
- Rose in Bloom


Another one of my favorite chapters is 'Polishing Mac.'  I absolutely love that part!  "It's very easy to say 'come on;' but what the dickens do I do with my left leg while I'm turning and sliding with my right?"  HA!  Ooh, and after the Hopes' party.  "What did you do then?"  "Do!  I went off like a shot, and never stopped till I reached the Hopes-"  "You didn't walk all that way?" cried Rose.  "Bless you, no; I ran."


Okay, enough.  Before I start quoting entire chapters!


Number Five...

Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery


There really isn't a better example of a true hero!  Others have expounded far more and better than I on how great he is, and you'd better read that in order to get why I like him so much.


"Well, I won't change... that's the least I can promise you."
"'Wilt thou give up thy garter, oh fairest of the fair?' Anne, nobody talks that way!  And look at that sap Percival who sits around mooning the entire time. He never lets a girl get a word in edgewise. In real life she'd have pitched him."


"Anne, I've loved you as long as I can remember. I need you. Please say yes..."


The "Pitching and Mooning Scene" is my personal favorite.  : )


Number Six...
John Chivery from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


This guy is one of the most heroic guys I know, on the terms of heroines.  Spoiler Alert!  When he found out that Arthur loved Amy, and she loved him, he backed away and let Arthur propose to her, even after his previous attempt when Amy refused as kindly as she knew how.  End Spoiler Alert


"All that time I was breaking my heart over her, she was breaking hers over you."


"I'd throw myself over that precipice if I thought I'd give you a moment's happiness!"  (Or something like that; I can't find the actual quote)


Number Seven...

Arthur Clenam from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens


Yes, he's more of The Hero from Little Dorrit - well, he is The Hero - but this is just where I placed him in my list.  Anywhos, Arthur is such a hero!  He's a great guy because he stood up for the girl he loved in her wedding (to a guy he didn't like and I really didn't like), he was kind to Mr. Dorrit, even after Mr. Dorrit was so mean to him, and he was caring and loving towards his (evil) mother, even when she basically hated him!


"What a blind idiot you must have thought me."
Number Eight...


John Harmon from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens


(I can't find a picture and I'm too tired to try harder.  Look up how he looks yourself!  Hehehe...)


Now, John (slash Julius Hanford slash John Rokesmith) was a little bit of a creeper at first.  Whenever he'd just pop up, I'd be like, "Argh!  Creepy dude!"  When we first watched this movie about, oh, five years ago, I didn't like him.  I thought he was a weird stalker that wasn't very handsome.  By the end of the movie, my thoughts were "quite the opposite," to borrow a quote from one of my favorite literary heroines.  (But we're not talking about heroines!)


"You are wonderfully mistaken!"


"Since Miss Wilfer rejected me, I have never again urged my suit with a spoken syllable or look. But I have never changed in my devotion for her, except that it is deeper than it was and better founded."


And, my personal favorite...


"It's a wonder I don't twist your head off AND THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW!"


Number Nine...

John Thornton from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell


Wow... Mr. Thornton.  Now, he's another guy that I did not like in the beginning of the movie, but by the end, I thought, 'Hmm.  He's a pretty great guy!'   Mr. Thornton made my list because he taught Margaret Hale about how different life in the North was from where she was from - the South.  (The whole handshake scene...  Bad move, Margaret!)


"Miss Hale, I didn't just come here to thank you. I came... because... I think it... very likely... I know I've never found myself in this position before. It's... difficult to find the words. Miss Hale, my feelings for you... are very strong..."


"I spoke to you about my feelings because I love you; I had no thought for your reputation!"


And, finally...


Number Ten...
Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


Mr. Darcy made my list because he helped Elizabeth overcome her prejudice by having an awesome house.  (Just kidding!)  He did have a beautiful house, though...  : )


"I must tell you how ardently I admire and love you!"


Honorable Mentions (because what's a list without a few awesome runner-ups?!):
Ralph Percy from To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston
Traverse Rocke and Herbert Grayson from The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth
Ishmael Worth from Ishmael by E.D.E.N. Southworth
Declan Ross from Isle of Swords by Wayne Thomas Batson
Laurie from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Professor Bhaer from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Faramir and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Mr. Bingley from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wulf and Godwin D'Arcy from The Bretheren by H. Rider Haggard


I could go on... but I won't.  : )


All of these men are awesome heroes that deserve to be loved and looked up to!  They're all from amazing books (that were made into equally amazing movies!) and that is what makes them...


My Favorite Literary Heroes.


The End!
~Eowyn~

Randomness... Again!

Okay, so guess what, peoples?!

I was wrong about the whole Hadley-Fraser-as-Javert thing.

Well, I technically wasn't wrong...  He's still Javert, but at the Royal Theatre in, ahem, London.  I'm going to see it at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta.  So, while he is Javert, he's not "my" Javert.

Sad, no?

Sink me, I was mons'trous displeased when I found out!  (Hehehe - then a really big *facepalm* moment!  I was like, "Duh!  Silly old me...")  Talk about being bummed out!  : P

Anyway...

I'm still going to see Les Miserables, though.  And I'm still... so... excited!  I can hardly stand it!  This past weekend has just whooshed by, so I'm hoping the next three days will go by as fast as this past weekend has.  : )

Just thought I'd let you guys know that.  : D  Anywhos, I haven't heard the results from my piano competition yet, either.  Still waiting....  And waiting for this weekend....  *screams*

Okay, I need to go calm down now.
~Eowyn~

April 20, 2012

Don Lockwood and Kathy Selden

Time for another one of my Favorite Onscreen Couples post! : )

Don Lockwood and Kathy Selden
(Promotional picture I know.... I couldn't find a screencap where they were both looking at the camera!)

Don
: Which of my pictures have you seen?
Kathy: I don't remember. I saw one once.
Don: You saw one once?
Kathy: Yes, I think you were dueling and there was a girl - Lina Lamont. But I don't go to the movies much. If you've seen one you've seen them all.
Don: Thank you.
Kathy: Oh, no offense. Movies are entertaining enough for the masses but the personalities on the screen just don't impress me. I mean they don't talk, they don't act, the just make a lot of dumb show. Well, you know.... *demonstrates* Like that.
Don: You mean like what I do?
Kathy: Well, yes!

Film: Singin' in the Rain

Novel? No.
Time Period: Early 1920's
Status: In love. (Hopefully going to be married, but you can't tell by the end of the movie...)
How They Met: Don, persued by crazy fans, makes a dashing getaway and jumps into Kathy's car, scaring her.  : )

 

Don: What's your lofty mission in life that lets you sneer at my humble profession?
Kathy: I'm an actress...
Don: Oh...
Kathy: ...on the stage.
Don: Oh, on the stage, well I'd like to see you act, what are you in right now? I could brush up on my English, or bring along an interpreter, that is if they'd let in a *movie* actor.

 
Kathy: Are you sure it's all right? Being seen with me?
Don: You mean lofty star with humble player?
Kathy: Not exactly, but for lunch don't you usually tear a pheasant with Miss Lamont?
Don: Kathy, all the stories about Lina and me are sheer publicity.
Kathy: Oh? It certainly seems more than that. From all those columns in the newspapers and articles in the fan magazines...
Don: Oh, you read the fan magazines!
Kathy: I pick them up at the beauty parlor or the dentist's office, just like anybody.
Don: Really?
Kathy: Well... I buy four or five a month.
Don: Four or five...
Kathy: But anyway, to get back to the point, you and Miss Lamont do achieve a certain intimacy in all your pictures...
Don: Did you say all our pictures?
Kathy: I guess if I think about it I've seen eight or nine of them.
Don: You know I remember someone saying, "If you've seen one you've seen 'em all".
Kathy: I said some awful things that night, didn't I?
Don: No. I deserved them. But I must admit I was hurt by them. So hurt in fact that I haven't been able to think about anything but you ever since.




This is a movie I'd recommend if you like musicals. (Well, all except one scene where Don dances with another girl. We usually just fast-forward through the entire 'Broadway Melody' song.)

~Eowyn~

April 17, 2012

Yet Another Post On My Adorable Little Brother...

: ) I'm sorry... I just can't resist. He's too cute!

The other day, he started singing this:

Old McDonald's
Had a little farm
G.I., G.I., G.I., G.I., Joooooooooe!

He's started quoting Mulan, probably because my other brother and I watched it with some kids we were babysitting. Not the next day, he started grabbing our shirts and saying, "You took my victory away!!" And today, he pointed his sword at me and said, "Bow to me!" (Never fear, it was a plastic replica of Prince Caspian's sword!)

Also, he's started singing "Do, Re, Mi," which is from another one of his favorite movies. We're so proud! Raising that child right with The Sound of Music (what he calls Maria) and Singin' in the Rain!

(An older picture, but still a cute one!)

~Eowyn~

April 14, 2012

An Apology, A Few Reasons, and One VERY Excited Girl

Hello, all! Deary me, it's been nearly ten days since I last posted - the scandal! : ) I've been VERY busy.... And that's also why I won't be posting again for another week or so. I really can't say. I'll try to do that thing where you can write something and it'll post later, but that usually gets all messed up - Blogger usually puts in some weird spaces and stuff. : P Anyway.

So here's why I won't be posting. On Wednesday, a friend is flying in from Washington and staying until Saturday. Mom is taking her, me, and Arwen (guess that should be "Arwen and I...." Whatever!) to a very pretty, resort-y place called Barnsley Gardens on Thursday, so be expecting some beautiful pictures of ruins and flowers. : ) That's where Mom and Dad spent their last anniversary and Mom said she wanted to take me there to do a photo shoot because it was so pretty! (It even has a helicopter-landing place! How convenient! Hehehe...)

Then, on Friday, I'll be in a piano competition. I've advanced to State! Wahoo! I'm really nervous, though. (If anyone cares, I'm playing Sonata Hob. XVI:4 by Joseph Haydn and Flood-Time by Eric Thiman - two very different pieces!)

Then, on Monday, Arwen and I will be in a Spring orchestra concert. We play at a university not too far away and it's been really fun! A huge challenge, but nothing I can't handle - ha! Being the expert violinist I am. (NOT!)

Then, on the 28th.... Sheer happiness and joy. My favorite birthday present. *sigh* My dearest sweetest grandmother and grandfather got Arwen and I tickets to see Les Miserables at The Fox Theatre! *runs around screaming... again* Thus the reason I've been so excited lately.

So, the other day, I was SUPER excited - like, more than normal. Guess what I found out? I was randomly perusing the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Tour website (mainly to try to decide what I should buy - so many things to choose from and not nearly enough money!). I decided to look at the cast. Random, but I just thought, "Hey, why not?!"

Lo and behold, guess who is our Javert?!?!?!?! Hadley Fraser!!!!!

Okay, so, I realize that some of you probably don't know who that is.... I certainly didn't know or even care until a few weeks ago, when Arwen and I bought the DVD of the Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Performance at the O2. Hadley Fraser played Raoul. Loved his voice and portrayal from the first minute he started singing, "Can it be... can it be Christine? Bravo!"

You can hardly imagine my excitement. Deary me, I was ecstatic, to say the least. And my friend told me how to get his autograph. Yahoo!

Anywho, THEN, right after, I went on over to Miss Dashwood's blog, telling myself, "Come on, girl. Calm down. It's just an actor in a musical you adore. You'll live." Boy, you should have seen me when I saw this, which she posted on her blog. (I can't embed it because of what happened last time [the video was half cut off].) There went my patience! : )

Anyway, that's why I haven't posted, why I probably won't be posting, and why I'm excited. There you have it.

Cya!
~Eowyn~

EDIT: Hello again... Two things. : )

First off, a lot of people are doing that thing where you ask them any question you want and they'll post their answers in a big blog post later. I'd do that, but I think you guys know me too well. : ) Anyway, if you still want to, feel free to ask away!

Second, who answered in my poll "What's 'The Scarlet Pimpernel?'" (The horror!) Directly go to The Daydream, a blog about all things The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sir Percy. Do not pass GO!

April 5, 2012

Announcing...

So guess what?! I've been thinking of some of my favorite movies recently and wondering why they're my favorite. Duh! Because of the characters! Most importantly, because of the relationship between the hero and heroine. : )

Anyway, I've decided to do a blog post series on a few of my favorite onscreen couples. Well, more than a few. (I think this is going to be a long series.... lol!) I'm probably not going to do them all at once or even one after the other - even I could get tired of that! I don't know how long it's going to be... it really depends on when I stop remembering couples. : )

Please know that these are in NO particular order - I can't say that any one novel or movie is "my favorite" above all the others, so how can I possibly chose one couple?

Also, the couples are only from movies I'd recommend. (Well, let's hope that I wouldn't chose a couple that I say is one of my favorites, then tell you not to watch the movie!)

So, without further ado, my first couple...

Sir Percy Blakeney and Marguerite St Just

Marguerite: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Sir Percy.
Sir Percy: This beholder is enchanted.

Film: The Scarlet Pimpernel (specifically the 1982 version, which is, in my opinion, the best)
Novel? Yes. (Based on both the book of the same title and El Dorado)
Time period: Reign of terror, France, 1793
Status: Married
How they met: When Marguerite's brother, Armand, was in a "sticky situation," Sir Percy saved him and got Marguerite's thanks. She invited him to a party at their house. The rest, they say, is history.


Sir Percy: If I were to tell you I adore you, would you have me do so stintingly...?
Marguerite: Adore me?
Sir Percy: *takes her aside* Or would you have me declare it as I feel it – with all my heart?
Marguerite: But you can't be serious. You know nothing about me!
Sir Percy: Exactly so, which is why I yearn to know everything. You must tell me all about yourself, in every detail – but, oh, so slowly, so very slowly, so that it takes a very, very long time.
Marguerite: Well, I don't know if you're mad or-
Sir Percy: Desperately in love? Tis all the same.

Marguerite: Sometimes you're so elusive. Are you an actor, too, playing out some part in a strange charade?
Sir Percy: I've told you before, m'dear – the one thing you must never doubt is my sincerity.
Marguerite: I know behind that mask lies the true Percy Blakeney. That's a man I yearn to know.
Sir Percy: And so you shall, m'dear. All in good time.
Marguerite: How long is that?
Sir Percy: Marry me... and you have the rest of your life to find out.

Ooh, that was fun. : ) I'm going to enjoy this....

Would you guys like any more information on my couples? This is the first time I've done anything like this.

~Eowyn~

PS: I hear all the time about people reading my blog... but no one ever comments. If you don't mind, please comment below with your name (or psudenym, like me, lol) and how you found out about my blog. Thanks!