Welcome to the new week!
I have nine days before I fly out to California, and ten days until I move in to the dorms! So of course I got the Ice Bucket Challenge today from one of my friends, and my panic about leaving has all but vanished. All in the normal course of things.
With that, I present: this week's interests...
This Week I'm...
Reading
Healing for a Broken World by Steve Monsma
Still, I know. I did finish To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, and it was fabulous. I'm in love with Peter Kavinsky. 9/10 for sure.
Watching
Teen Wolf
Always. I love this show so much. If you haven't started it yet, please do. For your own sake if nothing else.
The First Time
Starring Teen Wolf's own Dylan O'Brien, this very awkward and quirky rom-com is worth a watch (you know, as long as you don't mind moderately awkward conversations made extremely awkward). It had a cute ending, and Dylan O'Brien is always fabulous. 7/10
So You Think You Can Dance
This reality TV show has always been great, and this season is no exception. Ricky ubeda is the most talented dancer I've ever seen, and Zack Everhart is so talented and cute...honestly, I don't really care about the girls this year, because Zack and Ricky are so unbelievable. This Wednedsday we find out who is going to the finale, so check it out!
Side note: five days until Doctor Who. I'm just a tiny bit over-the-top excited for it, and hoping that the rumors of Jenna-Louise Coleman's imminent departure are false!
Listening to
"Love Runs Out" by OneRepublic
I love this song, especially since it was used for a group routine on So You Think You Can Dance. Can't get enough of it, though I'm sure the radio will do all it can to make me sick of it.
M83
You have probably heard their song "Midnight City" on some soundtrack or another (most notably in the movie Warm Bodies), or their song "Wait" on the TFiOS soundtrack, and I think this band deserves a mention. Some of their music is very weird--by weird, I mean unconventional and sometimes bizarre--but they have a unique ability to communicate emotions in their music. The way they use unusual sounds or clips of audio in their music is strange, granted, but affects me in ways I'm constantly surprised at. Though, like dubstep, you couldn't listen to them non stop, they're definitely worth checking out, if only for a new and unique experience.
8.18.2014
8.13.2014
The First Time (2012): A Review
I wanted to watch this movie because Dylan O'Brien was in it. That's my disclaimer.
First, I want to talk about Stuck in Love (2013). Stuck in Love is one of my favorite movies, and I love love love the romance between Louis and Sam. She is cynical and anti-love, and he is fascinated by her, and is a hopeless romantic. Slowly she becomes less cynical, as his unwavering love for her changes her. Beautiful, right? (Seriously, watch that movie. 10/10)
That's exactly Dave and Aubrey's relationship. Only not as good. Aubrey's anti-romance sentiment is almost irritating at times, and Dave, though adorable (and easily capable of winning anyone's heart), has little to no motivation to fall in love with Aubrey. The two actors, despite being an off-screen couple, don't seem to have a lot of chemistry, making me question repeatedly what he sees in her.
My favorite part of this movie? The side characters. Aubrey's jerk boyfriend, Dave's two best friends who have great chemistry. Dylan O'Brien is also great, as he always is.
I think--and I don't say this lightly--that it was just too much awkward. Too many weird conversations, uncomfortable silences...usually I love awkward, but there was just too much.
It was a decent ending/wake up call for Dave, but there was a lot of awkward and not-quite chemistry in the middle. (And my favorite song "Girls Like You" by The Naked and Famous was in it, so bonus points)
My rating: 6/10
8.12.2014
This Week's Interests
In the interest of sharing what I love with the rest of the world, I am beginning a weekly (don't hold me to that) update on what I'm interested in! This week I'm...
Reading...
Healing for a Broken World by Steve Monsma
...and...
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Healing is required reading for school, and to be honest...I'm having some trouble with it. It's interesting, but dry. Very dry. Jenny Han's book is my fun read. My mom devoured it in about 24 hours, and raves about it to anyone who will listen, so I'm giving it a shot.
Watching...
Movies: Anything I feel like
I've been re-watching lots and lots of movies in the last few days. I can't seem to decide on a new movie to watch, so I keep re-watching old ones. Though I did watch Lethal Weapon the other day, and it was pretty great.
TV: Teen Wolf
It's the middle of Season 4, and it's getting pretty interesting. The Benefactor's identity sometimes keeps me up at night, and I am pretty glad about the recent developments with "Stalia". Because Stydia. Enough said.
Listening to...
Slow Kids At Play
Dylan O'Brien recommended them on Twitter, so I started listening to them about thirty minutes ago. I really like them! They're a fun rock band that almost reminds me of Fall Out Boy. Almost. Fair warning, though, there is some strong language in their lyrics, so listeners beware.
Shatterproof
I'm still in love with this band and I get to see them live this Friday!! I'm unbelievably excited, in case you can't tell. Their acoustic videos of the songs "Sticks and Stones" and "October" are just to die for. Go ahead. Look them up. I dare you.
Those are my interests for this week! I am open to suggestions of stuff to check out, so as always, feel free to comment, or follow me on Twitter @vamp1reslayr.
About Time (2013): A Review
In keeping with my theme of trying to enjoy life to the fullest, I thought I'd publish a review of a movie I saw recently: About Time, starring Rachel McAdams, Domnhall Gleeson, and Bill Nighy. I know it came out a long time ago (around the time I first visited Westmont, actually) but I kept putting off seeing it. There were a couple of reasons for this, the primary one being that I thought it was going to be a cheesy love story that made me puke a little bit in my mouth. Spoiler Alert: I couldn't have been more wrong.
At first glance, it seems to be a kitschy movie about a twenty-something guy who discovers he can time travel, and uses his new-found powers to have sex with women multiple times over. This is all true, but it's also a whole lot more. After having several meets-cute with Mary (Rachel McAdams), Tim (Domnhall Gleeson) finally gets her to go out with him, beginning a whirlwind romance complicated by his inability to function in social situations, his sister's substance abuse, and his father's terminal illness.
I loved this movie from start to finish. It was extremely easy to relate to Tim, as awkward as he is. It was also great fun to yell at the TV when he made monumentally stupid decisions, then sigh in relief when he went back and fixed them. I confess, my favorite part of the movie was that it wasn't a romance. At least, not really. Though his and Mary's relationship had all the hallmarks of a great romantic comedy, it was Tim's relationship with his father (Bill Nighy) that seemed to be the point of the movie. Their devotion to one another, expressed in awkward ways, is the most memorable, and by far the most touching, part of the film.
Yet, as if the romantic-comedy/family drama wasn't perfect enough, there was an inspiring message at the end of it all. Despite being able to time travel and redo the same moments over and over again, Tim ultimately learns that the point of life isn't to keep trying, in the hopes of finding good in life--the point is to find the good in every single moment, the first time.
Rating: 9/10
Favorite Quote:
And in the end I think I've learned the final lesson from my travels in time, and I've even gone one step further than my father did. The truth is I now don't travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life. (Source: IMDb)
At first glance, it seems to be a kitschy movie about a twenty-something guy who discovers he can time travel, and uses his new-found powers to have sex with women multiple times over. This is all true, but it's also a whole lot more. After having several meets-cute with Mary (Rachel McAdams), Tim (Domnhall Gleeson) finally gets her to go out with him, beginning a whirlwind romance complicated by his inability to function in social situations, his sister's substance abuse, and his father's terminal illness.
I loved this movie from start to finish. It was extremely easy to relate to Tim, as awkward as he is. It was also great fun to yell at the TV when he made monumentally stupid decisions, then sigh in relief when he went back and fixed them. I confess, my favorite part of the movie was that it wasn't a romance. At least, not really. Though his and Mary's relationship had all the hallmarks of a great romantic comedy, it was Tim's relationship with his father (Bill Nighy) that seemed to be the point of the movie. Their devotion to one another, expressed in awkward ways, is the most memorable, and by far the most touching, part of the film.
Yet, as if the romantic-comedy/family drama wasn't perfect enough, there was an inspiring message at the end of it all. Despite being able to time travel and redo the same moments over and over again, Tim ultimately learns that the point of life isn't to keep trying, in the hopes of finding good in life--the point is to find the good in every single moment, the first time.
Rating: 9/10
Favorite Quote:
And in the end I think I've learned the final lesson from my travels in time, and I've even gone one step further than my father did. The truth is I now don't travel back at all, not even for the day. I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life. (Source: IMDb)
Inspiring Words of the Week
I'm going to be honest: I've had a bad day. One of those days where everything goes wrong, and it all gets exponentially worse with each new frustrating event. One of those days where you eat popcorn and chocolate for dinner (and talk yourself out of having a second soda).
Yet I keep reminding myself over and over of two things. First: God is good, and no matter how bad things seem to be, He's on the other side making it all work out for the best. Second, these words I found on Pinterest a few days ago:
She rolled over,
buried half her face
in her pillow,
and smiled
slightly.
It was then,
the overwhelming
realization washed over me
that there is
so much more
to life
than simply
surviving it.
As things seem to be delving into chaos all around me, and I'm caught in the whirlwind of moving, starting school, trying to transfer, and applying for scholarships, I feel like I've just been trying to survive. As a result, I have missed a lot of the good in my life. Sure, today was difficult, but what about His blessings? Sunshine, chocolate, forgiveness for every stupid decision I make, and Netflix.
My resolution for the month of August (remember monthly resolutions?) is to remember that there is more to life than just survival. Even when things are hectic and difficult, God has given me so many blessings to get me through it all--and I should stop to enjoy them.
Note: I know no author to which the above words can be ascribed. I take no credit for them, and recognize the author to be "anonymous". If you happen to know who the author is, let me know!
Yet I keep reminding myself over and over of two things. First: God is good, and no matter how bad things seem to be, He's on the other side making it all work out for the best. Second, these words I found on Pinterest a few days ago:
She rolled over,
buried half her face
in her pillow,
and smiled
slightly.
It was then,
the overwhelming
realization washed over me
that there is
so much more
to life
than simply
surviving it.
As things seem to be delving into chaos all around me, and I'm caught in the whirlwind of moving, starting school, trying to transfer, and applying for scholarships, I feel like I've just been trying to survive. As a result, I have missed a lot of the good in my life. Sure, today was difficult, but what about His blessings? Sunshine, chocolate, forgiveness for every stupid decision I make, and Netflix.
My resolution for the month of August (remember monthly resolutions?) is to remember that there is more to life than just survival. Even when things are hectic and difficult, God has given me so many blessings to get me through it all--and I should stop to enjoy them.
Note: I know no author to which the above words can be ascribed. I take no credit for them, and recognize the author to be "anonymous". If you happen to know who the author is, let me know!
8.04.2014
Throwback Monday
Yeah, I went there. I just wanted to revisit one of my favorite posts, Deep Thoughts Before 7, from about a year ago. There's a section I still really love. Here it is.
In class we were reading Descartes, where he decides to eliminate everything he believes to be true until he can't anymore, and thus find the one thing he can be certain of, and he starts it off by saying, "I've come to the perfect point in my life where I can start the careful and methodical process of completely doubting everything I believe and disassembling my entire life and existence." It always made me laugh, imagining that there could ever be a time for that. But I think that's a bit like what I'm doing now. I don't know if we can pick that time for ourselves--it seems to be sort of thrust upon us.
I think one of the worst things about being awake so early is every ten minutes I feel like I should be eating something. Like it's almost 7 now, and I've eaten a bowl and half of cereal, but now it feels like I should make toast, or be eating doughnuts (which we don't have) or waffles. Maybe eggs. It's like my body is continually confused by the daylight around me and the way my day is progressing. Like my life. Ooh, deep thoughts to have before 7 am. They're like the thoughts you have at 3 in the morning, but you can actually put some stock in them, because it's light outside and you can see clearly.
Something else I've been considering lately is that I never finish my cup of coffee in the morning (or at 7 pm). I always intend to finish it, and get so close, but I drink it slowly, and then I either have no time to finish it, or it gets cold, and I dislike microwaved coffee, so half of my coffee goes down the drain. What does that say about me? Maybe I'm going too deep for this early in the morning. I read into things too much: my coffee-drinking habits probably don't say a lot about my mental state or personality. It's like the coffee-drinking habits are a statement on society, like modern art. You have to look really close to see the resemblance, and at that point you wonder if there was any point to it in the first place. Society is the way it is, whether you understand the statement about it or not.
Yeah, I'm definitely going too deep.
In class we were reading Descartes, where he decides to eliminate everything he believes to be true until he can't anymore, and thus find the one thing he can be certain of, and he starts it off by saying, "I've come to the perfect point in my life where I can start the careful and methodical process of completely doubting everything I believe and disassembling my entire life and existence." It always made me laugh, imagining that there could ever be a time for that. But I think that's a bit like what I'm doing now. I don't know if we can pick that time for ourselves--it seems to be sort of thrust upon us.
I think one of the worst things about being awake so early is every ten minutes I feel like I should be eating something. Like it's almost 7 now, and I've eaten a bowl and half of cereal, but now it feels like I should make toast, or be eating doughnuts (which we don't have) or waffles. Maybe eggs. It's like my body is continually confused by the daylight around me and the way my day is progressing. Like my life. Ooh, deep thoughts to have before 7 am. They're like the thoughts you have at 3 in the morning, but you can actually put some stock in them, because it's light outside and you can see clearly.
Something else I've been considering lately is that I never finish my cup of coffee in the morning (or at 7 pm). I always intend to finish it, and get so close, but I drink it slowly, and then I either have no time to finish it, or it gets cold, and I dislike microwaved coffee, so half of my coffee goes down the drain. What does that say about me? Maybe I'm going too deep for this early in the morning. I read into things too much: my coffee-drinking habits probably don't say a lot about my mental state or personality. It's like the coffee-drinking habits are a statement on society, like modern art. You have to look really close to see the resemblance, and at that point you wonder if there was any point to it in the first place. Society is the way it is, whether you understand the statement about it or not.
Yeah, I'm definitely going too deep.
It's Good to Be Back
Hello again, fellow Internet-dwellers. It has been a while, hasn't it? This is my "first" post of 2014. I have a few drafts from this year that I have either not published or removed, because they were just bad, so this is the first post! It's all very exciting, isn't it?
Quick update on my life: I have graduated high school, leave for college in about three weeks, and my life has basically been taken up with scholarships, movies, work, and Teen Wolf. Yes, you read that correctly. In the last two weeks my mom, brother, honorary sister and I have binge-watched all 3.5 seasons of Teen Wolf. That's about 54 episodes, mind you. Impressive? Yes. Sad? Maybe. Now, before you judge me, I must inform you that it is a surprisingly good show. And this is coming from someone who (if you'll pardon my arrogance for two seconds) has good taste in TV shows.
The first season or two is very cheesy, and doesn't have the best writing or acting. Granted. Yet the show has evolved greatly, both in creativity and quality of writing, acting, and chemistry between the actors. It is just so much fun to watch, and Dylan O'Brien is a fabulously brilliant actor (keep an eye on that one; if his Twitter mentions are any indication, he's going to be a massive star one day). It doesn't hurt that everyone in the show is beautiful, either. So if you're looking for something to tide you over until Doctor Who (the 23rd!), I'd say give Teen Wolf a shot. It's free to watch on Amazon Prime Instant Video, and season 4 is currently airing.
Since it has been months since I've posted, I'll give you all a few more recommendations. Guardians of the Galaxy, in theaters, is brilliant. It's the funniest Marvel movie to date. Stuck In Love is one of my favorite movies of all time, and has a brilliant soundtrack. Masterpiece Mystery's Endeavour, which is a sort of spin-off of Inspector Lewis, and based on the Inspetor Morse novels by Colin Dexter, is well worth a watch, as well. It's like Sherlock, in that each episode is about an hour and a half long, but they're very smart, very entertaining, and oh-so-British. (Also, Sherlock Season 3. Can I get an "OHMYGOSH"?)
As far as music goes, I am loving The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack right now (also a brilliant movie). Alt-J and The Smiths are my new favorite artists. Alt-J is a sort of weird alternative electronic band (reminiscent of Sigur Ros, only not Icelandic) and The Smiths are like an emo 80s version of the Beatles.
My life mostly consists of dragging my feet on scholarships, waiting for the next episode of Teen Wolf, and looking forward to Doctor Who and school starting. My hope is to blog more frequently, and have more developed and structured content, since I have oh-so-many thoughts on oh-so-many things.
In the meantime, follow me on Twitter (@vamp1reslayr) for random thoughts and retweets from other, much cleverer, people. Toodles!
Quick update on my life: I have graduated high school, leave for college in about three weeks, and my life has basically been taken up with scholarships, movies, work, and Teen Wolf. Yes, you read that correctly. In the last two weeks my mom, brother, honorary sister and I have binge-watched all 3.5 seasons of Teen Wolf. That's about 54 episodes, mind you. Impressive? Yes. Sad? Maybe. Now, before you judge me, I must inform you that it is a surprisingly good show. And this is coming from someone who (if you'll pardon my arrogance for two seconds) has good taste in TV shows.
The first season or two is very cheesy, and doesn't have the best writing or acting. Granted. Yet the show has evolved greatly, both in creativity and quality of writing, acting, and chemistry between the actors. It is just so much fun to watch, and Dylan O'Brien is a fabulously brilliant actor (keep an eye on that one; if his Twitter mentions are any indication, he's going to be a massive star one day). It doesn't hurt that everyone in the show is beautiful, either. So if you're looking for something to tide you over until Doctor Who (the 23rd!), I'd say give Teen Wolf a shot. It's free to watch on Amazon Prime Instant Video, and season 4 is currently airing.
Since it has been months since I've posted, I'll give you all a few more recommendations. Guardians of the Galaxy, in theaters, is brilliant. It's the funniest Marvel movie to date. Stuck In Love is one of my favorite movies of all time, and has a brilliant soundtrack. Masterpiece Mystery's Endeavour, which is a sort of spin-off of Inspector Lewis, and based on the Inspetor Morse novels by Colin Dexter, is well worth a watch, as well. It's like Sherlock, in that each episode is about an hour and a half long, but they're very smart, very entertaining, and oh-so-British. (Also, Sherlock Season 3. Can I get an "OHMYGOSH"?)
As far as music goes, I am loving The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack right now (also a brilliant movie). Alt-J and The Smiths are my new favorite artists. Alt-J is a sort of weird alternative electronic band (reminiscent of Sigur Ros, only not Icelandic) and The Smiths are like an emo 80s version of the Beatles.
My life mostly consists of dragging my feet on scholarships, waiting for the next episode of Teen Wolf, and looking forward to Doctor Who and school starting. My hope is to blog more frequently, and have more developed and structured content, since I have oh-so-many thoughts on oh-so-many things.
In the meantime, follow me on Twitter (@vamp1reslayr) for random thoughts and retweets from other, much cleverer, people. Toodles!
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