Happy 14th Birthday

Happy Birthday Catherine!

Today marks the completion of the fourteen wonderful years she has been a part of our family!
We love you!

I had thought I might write something about some famous person who shared this birthday, but I couldn't really find anyone, so there goes that idea... flying out the window.

How about the book I just finished instead.
I don't really feel like a review, but maybe I could do a mini one.




bBj had me start this while I was out of town with her. I just finished it today. I am not a fast reader, but I also got busy with other things.
     Anyway, I have to say it was very interesting. I always wanted to find out what would become of the characters. I liked so many of them, though they are all unique and not the kinds you would expect to love, but maybe that was why I liked them. They could've been real people.
     This book is set in the 1940s in Germany. The main character is 9 year old Leisel who has been brought to Molching Germany to live with her foster family the Hubermanns. The Hubermanns are very poor and Leisel has practically nothing. She meets the different people from Himmel Street, the poorest part of the city where she lives, and friendships gradually form. Leisel is illiterate and life is hard, but she learns to appreciate the value of words in unexpected ways.
     The story is told from the most interesting narrator I could possibly imagine; death. Also, it is told slightly out of order, which usually I would not like, (or I don't think I would) but here it works well. There are times where later events are hinted at or even shared, but in such a way that doesn't make you want to put down the book. I think it was a good choice and an easy way to begin to let the reader in on what is coming. And I really liked the way death was portrayed. Very different.
     There are great word pictures and the writing style is colorful and unusual. The characters swear regularly, typically in German - with a helpful translation right to the side... 0_o (great... thanks!)
     I did like the different emotions the book deals with as I suspect it would be rather impossible not to have those emotions during that time of history, especially if you were in Leisel's shoes. One of the sub-stories, if you will, had an interesting take on the war and how it began - another neat and thought provoking aspect. A main theme: the value of words. The book left me with things to think about, and I always like it when literature does that... much better than mindless amusement.

I hope it does not bother you that I typically stop these reviews rather abruptly. Well, I don't want to give anything away and with that said, I shall abruptly end now and probably do so again some other time.

Oh and a welcome to my latest follower Maria Elisabeth from Miss Georgiana Darcy!

~ A Song of Joy

Snow White and the Huntsman (movie review)

Tuesday, I went to see this with two of my sisters.

I thought I might do a review on it, which is always hard after seeing it only once, but here goes.

     First of all, it was rather intense for a fairytale. That is not a bad thing, but overall the majority of the scenes were dark and it never really gave you a chance to sit and relax. There was one part where I found myself beginning to let down my guard, as in not constantly expecting something or someone to startle me, and it only took about one minute for something surprising to happen. So much for that... I don't really like suspense and I could NEVER do horror movies. :)  Also, there were several times I found the events too gross to watch. I am usually ok with violence if it is quick, but there were several times when it was drawn out and the viewer didn't know what to expect, but just that something bad and gross was about to happen. With that said, Ravenna the witch, was most definitely portrayed as evil. The movie did well in that respect. Good and evil were very clearly defined and the viewer knew which was which.
     Snow White, the classic story, really doesn't have a whole lot to it and was well suited to a hollywood makeover. They could take liberties with it and they did. I was glad that the story had more to it and kept the movie from dragging. I did kind of wonder about some things though. There were some rough edges. I felt that the movie should have answered some more questions, or made a bit more sense. It is definitely possible that I simply didn't catch everything, but I am usually pretty good about understanding what is going on and yet I sat in the theater thinking, "Right, yeah, how is that happening?" A quick example: everyone was terrified of the black/dark forest and they had to search to find even one person who had been there. They found the huntsman. Ok, that works for me, but then he goes off through the wood with Snow White and later, Ravenna's brother and his men just somehow mustered enough courage and wit to get through the whole forest by themselves. Huh? That wasn't very believable for me. Things like that kind of left me wondering. Little things can really make a movie, or unmake it, whichever. I found it somewhat lacking.  One more example of a rough edge: there was a place where a person transformed from looking like one character back into their original character, and it looked cheap and like I was watching a first draft of that part on a computer. With all that can be done today with technology, it should have been more realistic, in my opinion.
     I did not like the feminism in the movie. (I really never do...) I didn't like Snow White leading the army into battle, and a part of me wondered how she suddenly knew how to fight like a warrior. Of course there was also the feminism in Ravenna, but she was evil, so that made sense. If I were to compare the feminism here to the feminism found in lots of other movies it wasn't that bad, but I still don't like feminism. That simple.
      Some scenes, visually, were quite beautiful and I thought the acting was good. Characters were convincing. The music was good. Obviously! James Newton Howard... Since the majority of the movie was dark, so was the music, which meant less of the lush beautiful score. But still good.

     Overall, I'd say it was ok, but not great. There was quite a bit of violence for a fairytale and was obviously for older audiences. Fairly good in terms of acting and scenery/setting appearance. One very interesting element that I liked a great deal was the interpretation of fairies. I thought they looked unique and more folk-lore-ish. They kinda grow on you... or at least they did on me. My first thought was, "Do I like this or not?" I can't find a good picture of their faces or I'd post it. Sorry.

Well, I'd better end this soon.
So bye for now!

~ A Song of Joy
   

Hiking With Friends

 

And sisters... :)

Dedicated to Caleb, Caitlin, and Catherine

Ok, so a surprising number of people have no clue what all this stuff is! But I just couldn't stop thinking of y'all and wishing y'all were there to share it with me and bBj.

 So we got in line for this ride called Splash Mountain, and as we were standing there consuming our snacks, all of the sudden I heard music... probably the least expected kind.

(Imagine for a moment the music that goes with this quote.)

 Most people did not get it, but I was having a ball looking at the quotes and listening to the music.

 A shop outside

 The ride was like the plunge at SDC only before you got to the drop you saw all sorts of scenes from the movie. And you heard the characters say things and move a bit. You know, it was funny that bBj and I saw this thing at the foot of the drop that looked like thorns and we were like, hey that's weird, and then we found out that it really was The Briar Patch!!! We're so smart... (no comment)

The line was loooong and so we decided to take a pic as we waited... that's why there is some random person in the background. Oh, this is me and Lauren

And lastly, here is one quote I saw. I think it's actually a good reminder to us all.

We often try this, and it really doesn't work.

 

I guess that's a thought for the day.

I just wanna say that while I had an amazing time, 

I was ready to be home and am so glad to be back!

~ A Song of the South (I mean, of Joy!)

Another Movie and Even More Pics

"They seek 'em here,

They seek 'em there,

Those Frenchies seek 'em everywhere

Is he in heaven?

Or is he in hell (gasp from the ladies)

That elusive Pimpernel"

~ Sir Percy Blakeney

Yeah, that was from The Scarlet Pimpernel, but moving on...
The other night we saw
*drum roll please*

Wow!!! I HAVE to see it again! I know I'll get way more of it the second time,

plus I really wanna see it with my bro. who hasn't seen it yet. *sadness and tears*

"SUCH A GOOD MOVIE"

As to what we did yesterday,

I mean, you could NEVER guess where we were.

Here is a vague hint.

 -----

Got it, yet?

Well, since you are having trouble, I'll help you out...

DISNEYLAND!!!

 Me and bBj

We got all the way up to the front after about 45mins and then the ride shut down for repair or something.

We did, thankfully, get fast passes to it and rode it at the end of the day. I'm glad, because it was a roller coaster and I love roller coasters!

Daddy, you would have LOVED this!  I wish we could have stayed and listened to the whole thing, but we had a lot to cover in one afternoon. They played Disney melodies. They were really really good and they were having so much fun with all the jazz. So neat!

The Mark Twain

 Yes, obviously this was taking some concentration,

 but isn't it SO chute?

 

The Parade!

 The Aladdin Float and Company

 The Little Mermaid Float

Self explanatory... I hope!

 The Princess Float

I loved seeing the princesses... Is that weird?

Chimney Sweeps. Oh yeah!

 Marry Poppins!

 Me and bBj

 Isn't that cool? I finally got a good picture of a firework!

Cool end to the night... although not really the end at all.

We still had the car ride...

~ A Song of Joy

btw - Caitlin, that post for you is coming! Sometime!

Movies and Ribbons

So, we've been watching some movies in our spare time. (yea!)

However, I am not going to review them all because at the rate we are going that would take me and awful long time! Instead, I am just going to give you the list. Here goes, in order.

YAY!!! Gandalf when he was young!

 

This last one took us only about 7 hours to watch...

Ok, ok, you got me... we took a trip to Jo-Ann!

That's where we saw... Ribbons!

Actually, they also came from the movie.

From a creepy old lady.

 

I bought a pattern at Jo-Ann and looked at some yarn for a project I might start soon.

Lauren inspires me...

Did you know that she finished a shirt yesterday and immediately started another,

but even more...

SHE FINISHED THAT ONE BEFORE SHE WENT TO BED!

That's dedication.

 

I need to start a project so that my life is not useless...

Ok, yeah, well, I hope to for our ride home.

 

Another day...

: D

~ A Song of Joy

P.S. Now I'm listening to the Epic music of "The Dark Knight" oh yeah!

You are SO jealous!

Sunday, the Nameless Day

Oh and just a note about the first pic yesterday, the time was not important, but the size of the clock!

I took the pic later that day after we were all up and about!

Here are a couple more from the zoo.

Otter

Pandas

Polar Bear

Our Car!  It took us across the zoo in a matter of minutes. So cool.

Me and bBj enjoying the sights from the air! Loverly and quite peaceful. A great way to cap off our trip.

Fairly clear here... (:

It was at the end of the day which is why we look a little weird.

By the way the peacock is not part of the sign!

Yesterday, we went to church (met some more of their friends) and went to Lauren's violin recitals.
She did well... of course!

So there is my "Sunday" post that turned out to be mainly about Saturday!
Haha! I hope you enjoyed though!

~ A Song of Joy