If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know that I absolutely LOVE black licorice candy! I guess that makes me a rare specimen because it would seem that only a handful of people in the world actually like it too! I’ll admit, it does taste pretty funky. I honestly can’t eat more than four pieces at a time. So why do I like it?
I love black licorice because it reminds of my childhood. One of my father’s favorite candies is Good & Plenty, which is essentially pink and white, candy-coated, black licorice. Every time my family and I piled into the car for a road trip to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, my father would always be sure to have a box of Good & Plenty handy and, of course, he’d always share. When I eat licorice, it feels just like going back to my little, 5-year-old self strapped in the backseat, looking out the passenger window with a handful of those pink and white candies melting in my hand. So thanks, Dad, for making me a black licorice fan!
NOTE: Consuming excessive black licorice can be bad for your health! I only eat Twizzlers licorice, which only uses small amounts of licorice extract.
Anyway, nostalgia aside, I finished watching the film, Les Miserables today! I’ve often heard stellar reviews of the novel by Victor Hugo (It was my high school history teacher’s favorite book!) and I’m sure we’ve all heard the song “I Dreamed a Dream,” a song from the musical version, at least once (Thanks, Susan Boyle!). However, I’ve always been wary of reading the book since it’s, like, THIS thick! *sticks thumb and and forefinger apart as far as they will go* So I thought I’d try to watch the movie first, just to see if it would be worth the 1,000,000+ pages of reading. My final verdict:
It was FANTASTIC! I watched the 1998 version with Liam Neeson as the main character, Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who seeks a peaceful life, but must constantly escape the clutches of the relentless police inspector, Javert. The film is on the longer side, a little over two hours, but it’s well worth it. As soon as I can find a copy of the book that divides the book into easy-to-swallow volumes, I’ll likely read it.
So, lovely readers, I ask:
Have you ever read/watched Les Miserables?
And, what was your favorite candy when you were growing up?
So I decided to take a peek at my widdle blog here and I was shocked to see my last post was on… JUNE 22ND! That’s, like, FOREVER ago! Anyway, I’m in a blogging kinda mood, so…
I wish I could say I’ve been hella busy, but homework and Internet has occupied most of my time. And when I say Internet, I mean that I’ve been on Netflix watching every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender online.
The whole series is neatly summarized by the narration at the beginning of every episode:
“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four Nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.”
Before the movie came out, I was vaguely aware of Avatar’s existence. I had seen a couple episodes before and liked ‘em, but I never bothered getting into it. But when I heard a live-action movie was gonna be made, I was super-excited! And they casted Dev Patel as Prince Zuko! How cool! I really liked him in Slumdog Millionaire and I thought it would be awesome to see him as a fire-bending villain. However, all my hopes were crushed when I saw the movie on opening day. The special effects and action sequences were spot-on, but those were the only good things about it. There was no character development and the plot made no sense. Also, the casting was really weird. For example, Prince Zuko, his dad, and his sister were all of Indian descent. But Zuko’s uncle was… Caucasian? I really had a hard time making myself believe the two characters were related by blood. Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with mixed-race families (I’m from one myself), but Zuko’s uncle really didn’t fit and neither did many of the other characters.
Anyway, I went home sad and disappointed and started watching the series via Netflix online to convince myself that it wasn’t the series that sucked, but Shyamalan’s poor rendition of it. Now I’m completely hooked and it scares me. Today while perusing Target with Jamie, I saw a Blue Spirit mask and seriously wanted it. It even came with the double-swords!
So, yeah. There’s my online confession of geekdom, but I’m sure you already figured that out anyway. ;D
NOTE: This post’s title is a creature in the Avatar world. Part moose, part saber-toothed tiger/lion. Coolest. Predator. Ever.
Okay. Got the blogging music playing. Let’s do this.
First, Project 365 is done for me. I haven’t taken any pictures during the past week. I just lost my interest in the whole project. My life runs on the same routine day-to-day, so finding new and exciting things for my photos was difficult. It doesn’t help that I’m not a “picture person” too. Some people love taking pictures, all the time. Others don’t. I belong in the latter group. I’m really bummed I didn’t follow through with it, but I’ve got other website project ideas in mind (i.e. a doodle/sketch blog)!
As you may have noticed, I absolutely love reading. This semester is a bit more laid back than my last, with oodles of free time between classes, so I’ve had a lot more time to read for fun.
Usually, when it comes to books, I’ll go through “phases.” Last summer it was fantasy, a few weeks ago it was travel, and now it’s mystery, particularly the novels of Agatha Christie! I’ve read some of her works in the past (The ABC Murders, Five Little Pigs) and now I’m hooked again! If you haven’t read any Agatha Christie novels, I highly suggest you do! Her novels are usually very short, therefore it doesn’t take very long to get to the good stuff. In the past two books I’ve read, a character kicked the bucket a couple chapters in, if not the first chapter. Also, Christie’s mysteries are suspenseful, yet simple enough for the reader to take notes and make his/her own guess about the murderer’s identity. I’ve just finished A Caribbean Mystery and now I’m on A Pocket Full of Rye. Afterwards, And Then There Were None. Yes!
So what brought on this sudden interest in Agatha Christie? Well, not too long ago, I caught the second half of a Miss Marple film, Murder, She Said, on one of those old movie channels. I just loved the idea of little, old lady solving murder cases! Here’s a YouTube trailer for the films 4:50 to Paddington and Murder, She Said (You gotta love the 60s music/cheesiness!):
Do you guys like mystery films/books? I’d love to hear about it! :D