The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug... A Movie Review

 

Hello once again my lovelies! Today I'm going to talk about the 2nd Hobbit movie since my mother, sister, and I just went to see it recently. So... here we go!

 

Overall I liked the movie. It dragged some for a while, and the amount of flitting from one scene to anther, and then back again was a tad excessive. However I must say the scenes with Smaug more than made up for these shortcomings. For anyone who likes dragons this is a movie you should watch, Smaug is just that awesome.

 

Fun fact also with this scene. In order to create all the gold coins and such they ended up using all of the gold paint that was in the country at the time (I think it was New Zealand?) and had to import more in order to finish it.

 

Anyway, let's talk about something other than Smaug the Magnificent for a moment. We shall talk about Tauriel, the she-elf portrayed in this movie. Now don't get me wrong, she's fun and spunky, but I hated what they did with her character. What did they do you ask? They put her in a love triangle between Legolas and Kili. Thing is Kili is a Dwarf, and Elves and Dwarves never really got along, and especially never thought of one another in a romantic light. So the love triangle didn't make sense. Not only that, it didn't actually add any substance to the plot. Thankfully it didn't take too much away either, but what's the point of putting something in a movie just so it's... there. I don't get it.

 

One thing I did find totally wicked though was the scene where Gandalf goes to meet the Necromancer knowing full well it's a trap. The neat thing about this scene is we get to see the eye of Sauron be born, and let me tell you it is so cool. I loved it. This scene wasn't in the original book, but felt as if it belonged if not in that book then in that world of books surely. Only downside is Gandalf is once again a prisoner. Poor guy.

 

If you pay attention you'll start to see a change in both Bilbo and Thorin. These aren't necessarily all for the better either. On the plus side we see Bilbo growing more confident in his abilities. He tries to defend the others when he can, and help them out of the binds they get themselves into. However, he also starts not being as truthful as he once was, and you can see the pull of the ring grow stronger. Thorin's change isn't good at all, which should give you an idea of what's to come. He pushes forward toward his goal, almost blindly so and without regard to the others in his party. He is willing to leave them behind, and even considers sacrificing Bilbo so long as he gets the Arkenstone. Mind you he doesn't in the end, but it doesn't look good for our little King going towards the 3rd movie.

 

All in all I think this movie was a good one. I personally liked the first one better, but this one did have more "wow factor". I plan on adding this one to our collection of DVDs, and would recommend it to any of you who are into fantasy or like the original Lord of the Rings movies. Be warned though, this movie is almost 3 hours long so if you aren't a person who can sit still that long then perhaps this one's not for you.

Current Music Obsessions

 

So today I've decided to let you all in on what music I've had stuck in my head lately. I'll post not only songs, but new artists/albums I've found. And here we go!

 

First off is the album The Unforgiving by Within Temptation. Now I've been a lover of Within Temptation for a while, but haven't kept up with all of the new music releases over the years. Not too long ago I stumbled across "In the Middle of the Night" off of the album and decided to take a look at the rest of the album. I found that I really liked the majority of the music on the album. My favorites are "Shot in the Dark", "Iron", and "Sinead". For those of you who don't know Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic rock/metal band. So if your interested go check them out.

 

Next up is a band called Amaranthe. They are a fusion of power metal, pop metal, and death metal. That last one really surprised me, as I have said in the past that I didn't like death metal and probably never would, and yet I stumbled across this band and couldn't not like them. I found them while surfing the side bar on Youtube. Every now and again I'll do so after first going to a song I know and then choosing the ones in the side bar that I don't know and taking a listen. I came across their song "Hunger" and found it annoying that I couldn't get it out of my head. So I decided it would be best to look the band up and listen to their albums. I like a good portion of their first album, but I love all of the songs on their second one. My favorite songs from this band are "Leave Everything Behind", and "The Nexus".

 

Next up are a few foreign songs. Now I'm not 100% on where they're from as they have characters in them that I can't place, but the names are in English so I can still tell you about them. I found these (again) in the side bar. I don't know how, but I keep coming across those little dancing videos of anime character models, and as a result several of them have gotten stuck in my head. However, they aren't dancing to the original songs, but vocoloid or synthesized versions of said songs. The songs that are currently stuck in my head are "Hybrid", "Cyber Thunder Cider", and "Under the Darkness".

 

Last one I'm stuck on is a Disney song. It's from The Lion King 2 and is titled "We are One". This song... it keeps following me and dragging me back into its spell. I don't exactly know why. But I recently found a BBC Sherlock video containing this song, and decided that enough was enough and put it on a playlist. Now I listen to it at least 3 times a day.

 

So that's it for my current music obsessions. Now go look these bands/albums/songs up and expand your horizons!

Book List and Review of 2013

 

Books!

 

That's right. Today I'm going to talk about what I've read this year. Mind you this list is not complete due to the fact that I can't remember everything I've read. Next year I'll keep a proper tab. Anyway, the list (not in order):

 

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Fire by Kristin Cashore

LOTR: Twin Towers by JR Tolkien

LOTR: Return of the King by JR Tolkien

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey

Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre

Spellbound by Blake Charlton

Urban Shaman by C.E. Murphy

Thunderbird Falls by C.E. Murphy

Coyote Dreams by C.E. Murphy

also...

Somewhere in between 100-200 different manga series, meaning the actual amount of manga books is way higher and somewhere around 1000

and...

at least 100 free original works/fanfiction of good quality.

 

So that's my list. The titled books are the ones we bought whereas the rest was found online. There might be another 5 books to add to the first part of my list, but since I'm not 100% on that I'll just leave them off.

 

So! Now that you have my list, what's next? Well I figure I can tell you what I thought of them! In order:

 

Sunshine... I did not like this one. I got it because the premise looked interesting and it was considered by many to be the best work by Robin McKinley. I was worried as I found her way of writing to be kind of boring in the past, but I figured I'd give it a shot. It didn't go well. It was slow and dragged on for a long time, only getting anywhere in the final third of the book. Mostly it was character introspection... and whining. I will say that it's a good character analysis book, but that was the only real positive I could pull from it. The main character was wishy-washy, going from borderline disgust of another character to vulgar lust, which came on so suddenly I got whiplash. I would not recommend this book.

 

Graceling and Fire I will do together since I feel the same way about both of these. They're fun. The pacing is great, and there wasn't a moment when I wasn't engaged. A fun, new take on having gifts in a more medieval setting. Gracling was the lighter of the two I feel, but both are fantastic. I have another part of the series, Bitterblue, to read and am looking forward to it.

 

LOTR: Twin Towers and Return of the King... hmm... I liked them. I found it laggy in some parts, and there were areas of unnecessary information, but altogether a wonderful fantasy.

 

The Stepsisters Scheme is another I liked, but it made me frustrated. The main character was one that I was constantly shouting at in my head to not do that! because she was too gosh darn nice. I liked the princesses saving the prince though. Role reversal has always been a fun subject for me to read. I'm currently reading the second book of this series, The Mermaid's Madness.

 

Beauty and the Werewolf is a part of a series where Lackey takes fairytales and spins them into something new. This book combined Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. It was a little slower than the other parts of this series, but a wonderful addition to it none the less. I recommend it and the rest of the series to anyone who enjoys fairytales and fantasy.

 

Ah... Bronze Gods... this one was neat. It was written by a husband and wife duo, and is a mystery. It was fun to be engulfed in a world so different from what I'm used to reading in fantasy. It had fantasy elements, certainly, but it was grittier than you usually see, which I enjoyed. The way the two main characters interact was great, and it ends in a way you don't expect (you'd think since it's mystery that'd be a given, but trust me it isn't). People who read fantasy or mystery are sure to get a kick out of this one.

 

Spellbound by Blake Charlton is the second book in a series. I was pleasantly surprised by this one as it surpassed book 1, a feat most books in the middle of a shorter series cannot accomplish. There are two narrators, and it reads a bit like a mystery novel even though it is definitely fantasy. The use of language in it is wonderful, and I'm not just talking about the way it was written either. Many people in this world are spell castors, and the main male character is dyslexic, which is so freaking interesting you have no idea! Also... there's a dragon in it. So read it.

 

I'll tackle the last three together since they're in the same series. First off, I love this series so far. So much so that the rest of it is on my Christmas list because I want the rest now! Anyway, this series deals with a Miss Walker who is a mechanic/cop that has to come to terms with the fact that she's a shaman. Urban Shaman introduces us to this concept, along with having the god of the hunt trying to break free into the "real" world. Miss Walker has to try and solve murders, deal with the supernatural, her powers, her boss, and somewhere in between get some sleep. Thankfully she has a nosy taxi driver, a cross-dressing cop friend, and wise-cracking coyote spirit guide to help her.

 

I know it sounds a little cliché, and believe me it is at times, but it's one of those series where there's so much fun in it that you don't really mind the clichés. For one thing the police work is more like how you'd see it on TV, but if you think about it if it was like real life then you'd be reading a lot about protocol, paperwork, and whatnot, and honestly where's the fun in that? Thunderbird Falls continues on with the whole "supernatural trying to take over" thing, but this time there's witches involved. While not as exciting as the first book in the series it still does perfectly fine on its own.

 

The third book takes a different turn, dealing with people getting stuck in their sleep with no way out. It was an interesting change of pace, and I really enjoyed it. This book did give me lots of feels, however, and made me want to read the next one the second I was finished with it. I love this series. It's witty, sarcastic, and just oodles and oodles of fun. At least it is for me. Hopefully it would be for you too.

 

So that's all the reviewing for today. I'm sure I could review some of my favorite manga I've read over the past year, but another time perhaps. I'll just let you mull over this bunch first.

 

Ta!

 

 

So It's The Holiday Season...

 

Now's the time of year most consider the holiday season. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Yule just to name a few. I personally celebrate both Christmas and Yule. Regardless of what you celebrate, or if you celebrate at all, I hope this time of year is happy for all of you.

 

I still have a little bit of shopping left to do, but not much. The rest of my family though, they've still got a lot more. I went a little overboard this year as I have more money this time around. I don't mind though. I like getting them things. My sister and I also plan on going to see the Hobbit part 2 in theatres, which will be awesome!

 

Other than that we have one Christmas party on the books. We'll be celebrating with my brother-in-law's family. It's sure to be interesting this year as my father and his wife are coming in from New York to visit. His take on the world is a lot different than theirs so it's sure to be fun watching.

 

I am a little nervous though. One of the family member's has taken an interest in seeing my art. I have to take pictures of it all and show it to him. I hope he likes them. I also hope that one day I will be more confident in my own abilities as a creative type.

 

I'm hoping we get snow soon. Not the kind that lingers just a bit, and then disappears entirely, but real snow. The kind that sticks and lasts long into the month. I don't like balmy winters. If I wanted those I'd head south.

 

Anyway, that's all for now. Until next week!

 

^-^

 

 

Time for Tea

 

Today I finished my goal of drinking tea everyday for six weeks straight so I decided to celebrate it with doing a blog post about tea. So here we go!

 

There are six different varieties of tea, however only four are known widespread. These four are white, green, oolong, and black. I've personally had three of these four, the exception being oolong. Of the remaining I'd say that green tea is by far my favorite followed a ways away by black, and then even farther by white.

 

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, the first being water. You can drink it hot, cold, plain, with milk, with sugar, with honey, with lemon, and so on. How it is prepared changes depending on where you are. I personally like it hot, and without adding anything more to it.

 

There are several ways to prepare tea, but the most common are to have the tea leaves loose, in an infuser, or (the least liked option) in a tea bag. Then you pour boiled water over the leaves and let them steep. Afterwards the tea leaves are usually removed, however this isn't always the case.

 

China is the world leader of tea production with nearly one-third of tea being produced there. India comes in second with about one-fourth. These two are the only double digit producers of tea as the next biggest producer is at 9.5 percent. So chances are if you're an avid tea drinker you've had tea leaves from one or both of the big tea countries.

 

So that's a little information about tea. Which kind is your favorite?

My Day Today

 

Well... today has been an interesting day. It started off with our cat deciding to be as loud and obnoxious as he possibly could. According to my mom he was causing mischief, which is why she kept putting him in my room. However, he didn't want to be there, and as a result whined like no tomorrow. The first time it happened he woke me up out of a dead sleep. The second time I was in that twilight stage. Unfortunately for me it seemed I was only going to have a few hours of sleep today so needless to say I was grumpy.

 

From there I spent some time with my mom, convinced her to call my sister, and see if she still wanted to do something today. She didn't, but that didn't stop us from going and doing things. First we got food. I had a club sandwich and French fries. It was delicious.

 

Next we went to the hair salon. All three of us got our hair and eyebrows done, however I had an interesting reaction I've never had before. When the woman was doing my eyebrows my adrenaline started pumping to the point that I was shaking. I had to forcibly relax myself for several minutes in order to get it to stop. Thankfully it didn't affect my haircut.

 

Once we were finished (my sister donated her hair!) we then went to the antique store. This place had tons of stuff, from furniture to old tools, even an antique gas mask! There were some really interesting things there, but it got a little weird for me when I heard someone call my name. It sounded like my little sister when she was trying to be obnoxious only there was more of a hiss to it. Then a few minutes later I heard the same voice again, but this time it said Jesus almost like a swear. So... yeah... that was pretty creepy.

 

I ended up buying a VHS of The Lion King since our old one mysteriously vanished. My sister bought a cast iron skillet and vintage jewelry for her to remake into new pieces. My mom bought several neat trinkets, some of which I cannot reveal as they are presents, and some lamps for our tables.

 

By that time we decided it was best to go home, and a good thing too because I wasn't firing on all cylinders. More like 2 of 5. I'm still there, though it keeps trying to deplete more. So I decided to make a blog post before my battery dies out.

 

So this was my day. Just figured I'd tell you. I'm going to go eat my ramen now and then go to bed.

 

Peace.

Painting Trees

I have just finished another painting. 

Ta da! Isn't it lovely? Sorry about the picture quality. My light is the absolute worst. It has a yellow-green hue which drastically yellows anything I take a picture of, and adds just a tint of green to make things look a little sickly. It's annoying, but I can't go in search of better light at this hour as everyone is sleeping, which I should be doing too, but... I'm not. I'm posting this. Because I can.

It's title is Dalmatian Trees because as I worked I noticed that the trees reminded me of that dog breed. I tried seeing if other names would fit once I was done, but nothing that came to mind felt right. So... Dalmatian Trees. 

I used the biggest of my home-stretched canvases, and was worried since it was a bigger canvas (14 x 20) that I would have a difficult time completing this project. Thankfully, I worried for nothing, and am happy with the way it turned out.

Though hopefully someday in the future I can obtain a camera that takes better pictures. I have a very nice camera, but unfortunately its shake function is very sensitive and I don't have stable enough hands for it. I have to take several pictures if I want a semi decent one. *sigh* Anyway, now I can read some more! I wasn't allowed to finish the book I'm reading until I painted (self imposed restriction), but now I am done and I can read it! w00t! I can also eat something as I am very hungry. So I'll go do that now. t00dles!