Happy Birthday Hannah!

This is a special birthday post in honor of my friend Hannah's 18th.

Hannah is a spunky, sweet, creative young woman who writes some of the best humor of anyone I've ever met! We met over at the FTN forum several years ago, and met in person at ReginaCon 2009.

(Below -- Hannah and I as Annamarie and Elizabeth Swann in a POTC/Princess Bride murder mystery)

On the forum we have a sort of very extended adopted family, in which Hannah is my grand-niece. She is known for going on crazy FBI missions and occasionally going back to her pirating roots.

In real life Hannah is full of laughter and fun and seemingly on a mission to make the world a happier place.

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

I'm so glad you're my friend and 'niece' and cannot wait until I have a chance to see you again.

Art, Writing and... Science???

If you're artistically minded (like me), chances are at some point in your school career you slammed your math book shut and wailed "but MOM, I'm never going to USE this stuff!"

Ha ha.

Fast forwards a few years and it is downright surprising how big of a role math and science can play in 'artsy' things.

Take, for instance, drawing. In order to be an accurate artist, one often has to employ mathematical rules of proportion. Then, if one wants to be able to accurately draw the human figure, it is necessary to have at least a working knowledge of anatomy. It's no fluke that portrayal of the human body became much more realistic during the Renaissance. Artists like Michelangelo and Da Vinci realized the importance of anatomy. However, at that time very little was known about the human body because study of cadavers were forbidden by law. Both of these artists carried out secret dissections by night to learn more about the internal structure of the human body, and their art clearly reflects this knowledge. (Read "The Agony and the Ecstasy" for an excellent fictional portrayal of this time in art history).

Then there is writing. A good writer learns as much about all aspects of the world as they can. One of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, writes masterful fiction precisely because he is a voracious reader of all manner of subjects and his knowledge therefore spans many fields. Lately I've been applying my knowledge of science and medicine (rudimentary, I assure you!) to two writing projects -- one a fan fic, the other my latest novel. I'm very quickly reaching my limits and wishing there was a simple way to glean more facts! (It helps, however, that my mother is a nurse.) Believe it or not, although I detested the last Psychology course I took and dropped it halfway through, I'm actually looking forwards to taking it again and applying it to my character development.

One thing that surprises people is the fact that, though I dislike math, I'm actually fairly good at simple addition, subtraction and multiplication, and can calculate these things fairly quickly in my head. Why? Because I have to use them (as well as simple algebra) in clothing design. Calculating yardages, measurements, etc all requires math. In fact, Math is such a staple in clothing design that the math course I took at my last college isn't advanced enough for the requirements of my Apparel Design degree! I am going to have to take something like "Finite Mathematics" or "Applied Calculus I." Oy vey.

Anyhow, this is all meant as an encouragement to persevere. The world really is more integrated than you might think, and those math and science classes just might have more practical application than you'd currently predict.

Tangled (FINALLY!)

Most of the time I don't mind being hard of hearing. Sure it makes some daily things (like making phone calls) difficult or impossible, but modern technology has bridged a lot of barriers so that I can for the most part function fairly normally.

However the one major lack of accessibility is the movie theatre. Although some theatres (notably AMC and Regal) are offering open or rear view captioning options, they are still limited by the price of equipment, existence of a large reliable audience, and access to the necessary captions by the studios.

So although "Tangled" was captioned in other states, it never got to a theatre near me (and that's from a woman who has been known to travel 40 minutes to reach a captioned version -- for a midnight opening!). Needless to say it got a bit old hearing everyone rave about what a wonderful film it was. I never doubted this -- I'd been following the project since the first promotional picture hit the internet several years ago and had always been thrilled that Disney was finally translating Rapunzel to film. And I vastly enjoyed seeing Zachari Levi (CHUCK!!!!) and Mandy Moore perform their duet at the Oscars.

Finally, it came out on DVD. I was thrilled and immediatly made plans to rent it from the Redbox. Except... this movie was apparently SO good that everyone else always managed to get to it first! I tried reserving it twice -- but was foiled each time, either by technology or slow internet. I even tried dashing in to snatch up a copy, only to find that it had disappeared (although the computer still registared it as checked in at that unit).

Finally I made my plight known on my facebook status and my neighbor immediately chimed in with her own difficulties in tracking down a copy. However, having four children meant that she could justify going ahead and buying a copy, which she graciously agreed to lend me.

Needless to say, I had very high expectations of the film.
They were not disappointed.

Tangled is, from first to last, wonderful. It has an engaging story that moves quickly, a fresh and interesting cast of what may be the best three-dimensional characters to appear in a Disney Animated film, and visuals that are absolutely breathtaking. Of especial note are of course Madam Gothel (who breaks much of villian tradition for a more sympathetic portrayal), Rapunzel (whose spunk, youthfulness and joy in the small things gives her an enchanting realisim without loosing the essence of Disney Princess), and Flynn (who carries more personality than nearly all previous Disney Princes, and also gains a special place in my heart as he was created as a homage to Errol Flynn's Robin Hood whom I adore).

Normally I don't post this many pictures on a review these days, but honestly, Tangled is such a masterpiece of art that I can't resist it. And the stills only capture a small part of the magic. The expressions and body movement are superb. The animators really outdid themselves this time, creating a film that rightly deserves to stand alongside classics like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin."

In fact, I only had two qualms with the entire film. One is that the dialogue faltered in a few places. This was especially disappointed as Disney's last princess film (The Princess and the Frog) blew me away by the solidity of its script. It's possible that this difference is only in my mind and is due to the different expectations I had going into the films, but I did watch "The Princess and the Frog" more than once and it held up to repeated viewing.

Tangled was also eclipsed by "The Princes and the Frog" in the music department. Neither film reaches the heights of "The Little Mermaid" or other Disney classics, but "The Princess and the Frog" does a much better job of delivering songs that are memorable and catchy. I think a part of this might be related to the fact that "The Princess and the Frog" delves heavily into the rich musical traditions of New Orleans, while "Tangled" stays mainly in the arena of modern pop.

That's not to say that "Tangled" doesn't deliver any memorable songs, for it does, however even then the magic still comes more from the visuals than the music itself. However it did create one of my favorite sequences in the movie, which was the floating lights scene pictured above. (Absolutely breathtaking. Can I have lights like that at my wedding? Please? Okay, so I have an obsession with pretty lights...)

Long story short, I love this film and look forwards to adding it to my collection of films when my budget allows.

A Melody of Scarves

I love scarves. They're a fairly inexpensive way to dress up any outfit, they can be found anywhere, they make great souvenirs and excellent gifts. I fell even more in love with them under the influence of Rose Brier (from Regina Doman's Fairy Tale Novels).

Today I thought I would share with you some fun photos of my scarf collection. A few favorites are AWOL, but most of them are on display for your viewing pleasure.

Below is last year's easter scarf. I dyed it at one of Regina Doman's dying parties. Ton of fun!

This scarf is a memento of a fun day at a State Fair. Some girl friends and I had a blast browsing around the world market and enjoyed Middle Eastern food and fun clothes.

Another international souvenir, I picked this scarf up at a street vendor's cart in Paris.

This one was selected for me by my brother and sister, as a gift when I couldn't join them for our annual Florida trip last year.

A rainbow in the spring.
As you can see, I need to add some greens and browns to the mix!

Ink and Fairydust - April 2011

It's here! The beautiful issue for April 2011. In this month's installment, Anne Shirley, Jo March and the rest of the inhabitants of Avonlea and Concord pay the offices of I&F a visit! Plus a look at life in Victorian times, book reviews, and more!

Read it all here:

http://issuu.com/inkandfairydust/docs/april_2011

Not your topic? Browse our back issues at www.inkandfairydust.com for more fun!

My personal contribution this month includes a peek behind the scenes of my last film, "Little Women."

Open publication - Free publishing - More anne shirley

The Temeraire Series

I am SO excited to finally be able to share this series with all of you! I'd been waiting until I'd read them all (or almost all, book #2 isn't owned by my library). However last night I finally finished and now I can make my report.

"His Majesty's Dragon" is, to put it simply, a fascinating blend of "Master and Commander" and Jane Austen + Dragons. It features an alternative universe where the Napoleanic wars are being fought with the assistance of dragons on both sides. Sea captain Will Laurence finds his vocation changing drastically when his ship captures a French transport carrying a dragon egg. The egg hatches while on board Laurence's ship, and the baby dragon, Temeraire, choses Laurence as his captain. Now Laurence must leave seafaring behind and journey north to take his place in the mysterious and sometimes infamous Dragon Corps.

Temeraire grows into a formidable fighter and soon he and Laurence find themselves at the forefront of the war -- and carried off into adventures that will lead them to the four corners of the globe. From England, to China, to Russia, to Africa and Australia, there's no limit to what horizon's they'll visit next.

I was blown away by the quality of the series. I'm not big on war stories, but dragons are fascinating, and Naomi Novik has envisioned an intriguing and delightful dragonic society. Most engrossing is Temeraire, who has more personality than most human characters in literature these days. He is polite yet passionate, fierce yet learned. I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what happened next. More than one night found me staying up well past midnight to further pursue the adventures of Laurence, Temeraire and their friends.

For books designated towards an adult audience, they are fairly clean. There is some rough language in a few places, but swear words are used very sparingly. This is a story about an honorable man, raised in an upper class home that thought highly of things like duty and manners. As such, we see the book through the eyes of a man of high moral standing. That doesn't mean Laurence never fails (in the Dragon Corps people rarely marry for reasons that are well explained in the books, however that doesn't mean there are never children conceived), however anything hinting at sexual matters is handled with pretty extreme delicacy (all things considered in this day and age), a fact which both surprised and pleased me.

While the books are good enough to stand purely on the merits of the story, they gain additional depth and my appreciation by their awareness and respect of real history. Characters like Nelson, Napoleon, George III and William Wilberforce all make appearances throughout the series.

Though the books deal primarily with masculine characters (appropriate, considering the social norms of the time), there are a few female characters, including some memorable dragons and a really adorable young ensign whom becomes almost an adopted daughter to Laurence.

Final bonus? The book series was optioned by Peter Jackson, director of "The Lord of the Rings." Which means there is a chance that we may see a Temeraire film adaptation or TV series at some point produced by this beloved director.

Yeah I've got a maid... her name is "The Dishwasher."

A hundred years ago most middle class families had some sort of hired help. Usually a woman or girl to help with the washing or cooking or cleaning. And the higher up you went, the more servants were to be found.

Nowadays? You might find a nanny or a once-a-week cleaning lady in some middle class families, but usually only in homes where both parents work.

I used to wonder about this. Middle class citizens are better off than ever, yet few of us could afford the hired help that people at our same comfort of living level would have easily afforded a hundred years ago. Then I came across the explanation via blog reading.

We do have servants. They're just not human.

Instead of hired help, we spend the money on dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, electric stoves, microwaves, washing machines, lawn mowers, sewing machines, premade meals, premade clothes... the list goes on.

So maybe we have to handle food a bit more than if we had hired help, but there is far less chance that we actually have to be the hired help. Instead other jobs have opened up. Instead of spending time struggling to survive, we can pursue other dreams.

Is this all a good thing? I sometimes think we might be better off going to a more basic level of existence, where growing one's own food was a normal activity.

However as someone who lives with a potentially debilitating disability, I am more than happy to stay in the technologically elite 21st century where hearing aids, texting and the internet allow me to, for the most part, function like most hearing people.

Plus, I think the dishwasher probably gets the dishes cleaner than most human washers would be able to.