Tuesday Topics: Favorite Characters

My friend, jenn at quirky pickings, and her friend, Lauren at Life.Love.Lauren, are hosting a weekly "Tuesday Topics" link-up.  I thought I'd jump in the game this week with "Eight Favorite Characters from Books/Movies".  Stop by Jenn's and/or Lauren's and have a look.  Or participate in future Tuesday Topics.

I know what y'all are thinking.  You think I picked book characters, right?  Well, I'm here to surprise you.  I picked movie characters.  Why?  Because I'm throwing this post together rather quickly and for some reason, the favorite movie characters solidified into a nice, little list much quicker than book characters would/could.

In no particular order:

Stephanie Zinone - Grease 2 - played by Michelle Pfeiffer...  Okay, when I said "in no particular order", I lied.  Stephanie Zinone is #1.  She is soooo much cooler than her predecessor lead female character in the original Grease, Sandy.  In the first Grease, Sandy had to change to get her guy.  In Grease 2, the guy had to change to win Stephanie's heart.  After all, she's tired of "being someone's chick". 

Penny Lane - Almost Famous - played by Kate Hudson...  She was sweet, yet strong; damaged, but not broken; a dreamer, a lover, a music fan; full of adventure and wanderlust; in love with a man she shouldn't be.  I could relate. 

Darrel "Darry" Curtis - The Outsiders - played by Patrick Swayze...  Folks that are fans of this movie probably love Pony Boy, or Johnny, or bad boy Dallas Winston.  And, a lot of folks that fall in love with Patrick Swayze did it during Dirty Dancing.  Not me.  I fell in love with Mr. Swayze as Darry, older brother to Soda Pop and Pony Boy, who quit school to start working and take care of his younger brothers when his beloved parents died in a car crash but could still lead a rumble when necessary.

Doc Holliday - Tombstone - played by Val Kilmer...  This is one of those movies that I can watch over, and over, and over again, and mostly it's because of Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday.  So many good lines, and his delivery is fan-freakin-tastic.

Christian - Moulin Rouge - played by Ewan McGregor... He's a writer and a dreamer; he's in love with a woman knowing that she has a less than stellar profession; he sings songs, writes plays, and has a "ridiculous obsession with love".

Ouiser Boudreaux - Steel Magnolias - played by Shirley MacLaine... One of the beauties of this near-perfect movie is that all of the cast and the characters are stellar.  Superb.  Irreplaceable.  But, I get more laughs and more love from watching the antics of Ouiser. 

Jenny - Forrest Gump - played by Robin Wright... I admit when I first brainstormed and wrote my list, the character of Forrest was listed.  He's a wonderful character.  So heart-warming.  But, as I think more about the movie, the character that is the driving force for me is Jenny.  She is so, so flawed...but we pretty much know that her childhood trauma messed her up, and she tried all she could do to escape the pain of her past.  I think the ugliness of what Jenny experiences, the pain she endures, and the hurt she causes creates such depth to the overall story. 

Sean Maguire - Good Will Hunting - played by Robin Williams...  First, applause to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for writing this character, and Robin Williams plays it brilliantly.  So real.  So genuine.  So many little bits of life lessons.  So much "good stuff".  This movie wouldn't resonate the way it does if this character hadn't been written and portrayed so perfectly.

Honorable mentions that almost made the cut:  Carl Lee Hailey from A Time to Kill, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, Bud or Sissy from Urban Cowboy, John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rayon from Dallas Buyers Club, John Creasy from Man on Fire

Do you agree on some?  Disagree on others?  Quickly, list your 8 favorite characters.  Or...create your own post and let me know.  I'd enjoy reading it.

Stuff and Things: the Emmys edition

I like awards shows, but I prefer to record them and fast forward through parts that are boring to me.  As I type this, I've yet to watch the Emmys, but I've read some articles and looked at pictures.  I'll share some "stuff and things". 

When I share my thoughts about fashion, I try to only share the positives.  There are plenty of places telling you about what looks were wrong or misses.  I like to share what I perceive are hits.  Sadly, there weren't many (any) looks that really WOW-ed me.

But.  I can't look past this.  Claire Danes has walked many red carpets.  I'm going to assume she has a seasoned stylist as well.  How in the world did this orange glow, bad fake tan happen? 

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If I was attending an awards show and had to sit for hours and hours, I'd choose a dress like this.  How comfortable does this look?  Once again, Tina Fey proving that she is smarter than most.

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Yes, these looks remind me a little of 1980s prom, and I'm sure that fashion gurus will disagree, but I think it is adorable that he wore a matching bow tie to Viola's dress.

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Speaking of fashion gurus, I adore this purple velvet jacket on Brad from E!'s Fashion Police.

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I can't decide if I love or hate this dress Kristen Bell is wearing.  It's fun and whimsical, and I like fun and whimsical.  What do you think?

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Hey, Tom Hiddleston.  How ya doin'? 

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Don't you just love Hollywood couples that seem like somewhat normal people who have fun together and enjoy each other?  That's my impression of Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy.

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My favorite picture from the Emmys.  Yes, he is a working actor on a popular comedy series, but he's still a kid.  Love this pic of Rico Rodriguez from Modern Family.

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Do you watch awards shows? 

Linking up with  Kristin & Joey

My personal recap of Grammys 2016

​I like to live tweet awards shows.  It helped me find my little blog sis, Kati Rose, (we realized yesterday was our one year anniversary as big/little sis because our bond formed over last year's Grammys).  I couldn't live tweet the Grammys this year (silly timezone differences).  But, I did take a look (from my work computer) at live tweets during the show.

 

Last night, I watched a delayed recording.  This is my personal opinion, my own recap, and my own thoughts about the Grammys 2016.  According to me...without reading other recaps (besides the live tweets yesterday)...I emailed these thoughts to Kati, then I thought "what the hell, I'll post it on the blog too."

 

 

Taylor Swift opens - I really don't want to hate on Taylor.  I'm happy for the success of someone who works hard, writes her own music, gets criticized and ridiculed (by some) and revered by others.  But.  She's NOT that great of a singer.  She's a performer.  A songwriter.  She's beautiful and stylish.  Not that great of a singer.  But I saw a lot of people compliment her singing.  Maybe, it's just me.  AND.  I don't like body shaming anyone.  But, I want to feed Taylor 10 cheeseburgers and 3 deep dish pizzas.

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LLCool J comes out on stage to host the show, and all I could do was stare in awe at his diamond encrusted "LL" brooch.  Does this man age?

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Now, I may get some things out of order from here.  I'm going off the cuff by memory.

There were tributes...and this is what I thought about those -

 

Lionel Richie was honoured with a Music Cares recognition.  It began with John Legend on the piano singing "Easy".  I kinda wish it would have stayed with John Legend.  A quality that he has and shares with Lionel is he makes it feel effortless.  More joined him to sing more of Lionel's songs.  Demi Lovato can sing.  She looked stunning.  But, I felt she was putting in a lot of effort to prove that she can sing.  Luke Bryan - well, I know he has a lot of country fans.  I appreciate that they were trying to mix up the genres to show that Lionel influenced many.  And, they had to work Meghan Trainor in because she won a grammy later.  Tyrese singing "Brick House" seemed to be the song the audience had the most fun dancing and singing along.  But, like I said, I kinda wish it would have just been a shorter medley with just John Legend performing...and then Lionel joining him.  Dave Grohl and his red solo cup dancing to "All Night Long" was indeed awesome.

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The much talked about tribute to David Bowie.  Here's where I wish they'd brought in the cross genres/cross generation of performers.  Giving it all to Lady Gaga...well, I didn't agree with that choice.  Her performances of "Fashion" and "Fame" were outstanding, and I liked the choice to look androgynous.  But, overall, I felt it was too much Gaga again trying too hard to prove she is an uber talent.  My opinion...Bowie's brilliance is that he crossed so-many-boundaries.  Gaga does too.  But, I wanted more.  I wanted performances from more artists that he influenced.  Nile Rodgers was a nice touch.

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BB King - brilliant.  So much musicianship on stage at once, and I think it didn't connect with the audience as well as it connected with me.  I want Bonnie Raitt's jacket.

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Glenn Frey - perfect for the man honored.  Get the current Eagles together, sing a song that is quintessential Glenn Frey Eagles, "Take It Easy".  Sing in perfect harmonies with perfect sound quality.  Only mishap was Jackson Browne and some lyrics, but I'll let that slide.  It's not his song. 

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Lemmy of Motorhead - Yes.  I'm biased.  I like rock music.  That is my music of choice.  Joe Perry is one of my all-time favourite guitarists.  Duff McKagan is one of my all-time favourite bassists.  Johnny Depp continues to surprise people with his talents and coolness.  I like Matt Sorum (the drummer).  Here's where rock fans may not agree with me, but Alice Cooper isn't my choice for this somewhat supergroup.  I don't know what their intentions are.  If they are just guys who enjoy getting together and jamming - fine.  But, if they want more mass appeal, they need a more appealing vocalist.  Alice Cooper is great at what he does - his shock rock extravaganza.  But, his vocals weren't great at this.  I think they only scanned the face of one audience member (Bruno Mars), and he was pretty blank-faced.

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More performances...

Kendrick Lamar was the one that had my tweeter feed going wild from someone calling it crap to others calling it brilliant.  So, you know, I've got two cents.  Actually, I've got more.  I've got ten cents.  Maybe even a quarter about this topic.

I feel like I need to admit that I am completely totally without-a-doubt out-of-touch with the rap world of today.  I am aware of artists that are having success.  But, I don't know their songs.  I don't know their stories.  I admit ignorance.  I wasn't always this way.  Rap has never been my top genre of choice.  But, when I was in junior high, high school, college, I owned a lot of the more popular rap albums (because that was a time we bought full albums/cassettes/cds; not just singles).  I owned and saw in concert Run DMC, LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys.  I owned NWA, Dr Dre, and Snoop Dogg.  I owned Houdini and Kool Moe Dee.  I owned and saw the more pop, than rap works of MC Hammer and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.  I even saw Public Enemy in concert.  They were looked at as highly protagonistic at the time.  So, I did own and see my share of rap music.

 

As I got older, my rap fandom fell away.  Call it age.  Tastes change.  My way of listening to music changed.  I just don't listen to current rap anymore.  So, that leads to Kendrick Lamar.  I am aware that he is popular and successful, but until this Grammy performance, I'd never heard a song of his in its entirety (although I think his performance consisted of a couple of his songs). 

First...did anyone else notice that he rapped with a feature artist coming in to sing a catchy pop chorus?  He didn't have any other rapper friends join him.  He rapped solid, straight, and I can't even imagine the vocal chords and stomach muscles that it takes to do that but these guys (and gals) don't get credit for that.  Next...the blend of a saxophone jazz player with spoken word with African tribal sounds with r&b and modern hip-hop music is a pretty magnificent way of blending his influences with his own artistry.  That's right I said artistry.  It seems to me, he freshly blends the old and new.  He is provocative.  He forced a reaction.  He is seemingly eloquent and articulate (although I admit that I didn't understand many of the lyrics, I imagine many of his fans do).  I applaud his performance.  Will I go out and buy his music?  No.  It's not my kind of music anymore.  But the high school girl in me who liked a little rap now and then would've probably bought it.

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Now...James Bay and Tori Kelly...pretty much everyone watching the Grammys on my twitter feed agreed that this was an amazing performance.  And, it was.  Because this is the kind of music I listen to, I will buy some Tori Kelly (I already own some James Bay.)  A beautiful blend of voices, guitars, and good-looking people (c'mon, I'm not going to lie.  It doesn't hurt.)  Performance of the night.

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Adele.  What happened with her production team?  The sound was terrible.  The lighting was terrible.  You know Adele was dropping some f-bombs after she got off the stage. 

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Bieber.  I didn't need his acoustic solo performance of "Love Yourself".  I like that song, but I'd rather it done like it was recorded.   A fun pop song.  If I'm going to talk about Bieber, I can't help myself, I have to talk about him on the red carpet with his little brother.  Stop the adorableness!

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I liked the inclusion of Hamilton and televising the Broadway Musical Award.  Maybe because I like Broadway musicals.

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Those Little Big Town folks sure can harmonize and "Girl Crush" has some clever lyrics.  Plus, I like how that one female member embraces her curls.

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I'm staring at the computer trying to remember any other performance...I guess that means they weren't memorable enough for this recap.  No disrespect.

 

I questioned why the Song of the Year and the Record of the Year weren't asked to perform.  (Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud" & Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars "Uptown Funk")  I mean, those are two BIG awards of the night/year, yet they are chosen to perform?

I was happy with the wins for Song of the Year (Thinking out Loud) and Record of the Year (Uptown Funk). 

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I applaud Taylor for using her win/platform to give a "classy" fuck you to Kanye douchebag West.  If you don't know the back story to this, get it somewhere else, because I'm not posting that douchebag's lyrics here.  Taylor said in her acceptance speech for album of the year: 

"I want to say to all the young women out there, there will be people along the way who will try to undercut your success," she said. "Or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.  But if you just focus on the work … you will look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there. That will be the greatest moment."

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I know, I know...we expect Beyoncé to look beautiful when she has her 30 seconds of screen time, but she did look incredibly beautiful.

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This sums up my feelings about the finale:

 

So......what did I miss?

 

Thursday Thoughts vol.1

Apparently, Beyoncé bought some shoes that cost $312,000, and some criticized her for it.  I'm sure if you compare Beyoncé's financial portfolio and mine, that would be like me buying a pair of shoes for $5...a drop in the bucket.  Yes, it is an exorbitant amount of money to spend on shoes, but she has an exorbitant amount of money in her bank.  What's the difference between $300k+ diamond-encrusted shoes and a $300k+ diamond-encrusted necklace?  I can assure you there are many wealthy people wearing jewels that cost that much.  Queen Bey is a philanthropic, charitable celeb.  I am certain that she has donated more than $300k+.

from The House of Borgezie

I must admit, I'm more sad than I should be over a celebrity break-up when it comes to the announced split of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale.  Gwen Stefani is one of those that gals who I want to be happy.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was because No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom was one of the soundtracks of my early twenties, and it was filled with lyrics about heartache and love lost.  Way before Taylor Swift become the queen of lyrical heartache and ex-boyfriend chatter, Gwen was doing it.  So, she hooked up with Gavin, who seemed like a naughty boy that the nice girl tamed.  They got married with Gwen in the most amazing wedding dress ever, and she gushed about marrying the third guy she ever kissed, and they had three adorable, ultra cool kids...they seemed like a celebrity couple that I cared about working out.  Alas, it didn't.  I'm sad.  But imagine the lyrical content Gwen has now.  (too soon?)

On the other hand, I could care less about Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and an alleged cheating scandal.  Call me heartless.

Remember a few weeks ago when there was a shark encounter in South Africa at a surfing competition?

That surfer is world champion Australian Mick Fanning.  I watched Australia's version of 60 Minutes Sunday night where he was interviewed the first time as he went back in the water.  It makes for a good story - he's a good lookin' guy who has been at the top of his game, the shark encounter happened on live tv, there were 9 (long) seconds that we couldn't see him after seeing the shark approach, he punched a great white shark...plus, his family lost his brother in a car accident years ago, and you could feel his mum's anxiety of those moments feeling like she could have lost her other son.  I might have got goosebumps...and a little teary. 

I know many bloggers make confessions on Wednesdays.  I've got one to share today...on a Thursday...I'm  a rebel like that.  If you read Constantly Seeking Wonder, you know that Kati is a massive One Direction fan.  I witnessed Kati's twitter excitement when 1D released a new song this week.  I confess that I watched One Direction's performance of their new song "Drag Me Down" on Good Morning America, and I liked it.

I like to share my thoughts, and I like to be random...so, a link-up that is a place for random Thursday Thoughts?  Sounds good to me!  Join in: