Yes, Sometimes The Movie is Better than the Book

As much as it pains me to say so, yes sometimes the movie is better than the book. Hollywood seems to love books, except for everything inside of them as I have noticed for example the Harry Potter series. But sometimes, when the stars are in an agreement, Mercury is not in retrograde and the directors happen to have a brain in their head (peers at Joss Whedon), the movie is done correctly.

With that being said, here are seven movies where the movie is better than the book.

1. The Princess Bride by William Golden
No wonder in the movie the grandfather waited until the child was sick to read him this story. Here is the book description: Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”

If only this was true. The story dragged and dragged and sometimes to a point with either too much detail that was not needed or too little detail that made you go"what?" I prefer books to movies as many as you know. In this case, I prefer the movie. I tried very hard to like this book. Very hard. And I honestly was able to make it through 100 pages which I give any book before throwing in the towel and considering it a lost cause. The writing was excellent, the humor quite dry and witty... but it wasn't what I'd thought I'd be reading. I picked it up thinking it would be a fun, action packed, fantasy adventure. What I read was the whining and moaning of a middle aged yuppie from the 80's interspersed with brief bursts of actual plot. Do not read. Stick with the movie.

2.R.I.P.D.by Peter Lenkov
Yes this is a graphic novel/comic book and usually the comic book is better than the movie especially in DC Comics sense but this book simply had too many questions and plot holes. Here is the book description just in case: Welcome to the Rest In Peace Department - the devoted, yet dead, officers of divine law enforcement "patrolling the deadbeat...reporting to one boss." Yep - THAT boss. Nick Cruz was gunned down in the line of duty at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he's traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at solving his own murder. Unfortunately, his search will take him to Hell and back - literally! Don't miss the post mortem mayhem, soon to be a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, and Kevin Bacon!

The movie, on the other hand, had a plot and action that was easy to follow as well as entertaining. It is a shame it bombed in the theater.

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I am talking just the first book, not the entire series as I have not read books two or three yet. The first book had this dragging feeling to it, the movie was more straight to the point of what was happening and going to happen next. You could feel what the characters feel in the movie, but for some strange reason I could not do that with the book. Granted the character of Katniss is an excellent role model for young women and it is great that this trilogy, much like the Twilight Saga, put a resurgence of reading among the young adult set but you can skip the book for this movie.


4. Jaws by Peter Benchley
I'd heard that the novel was a lot different than the iconic movie that I grew up with so of course I had to give it a try. I couldn't believe how totally unsympathetic and shallow the characters of Ellen Brody and Matt Hooper were. Good grief! Chief Brody came across as rather dim-witted. And Quint? Quite a dull character when compared with the one in the movie -- and, in my opinion, introduced way too late in the book. I found the Hooper-Ellen Brody affair completely gratuitous. I think it really detracted the novel, as did the antagonism between Chief Brody and Hooper. Thank goodness Speilberg had the good sense to leave that and lots of other ridiculous things (like the Mafia connection) out of the movie, and concentrate on the shark. Usually, as we are aware through my famous tag line, books are better than the movies based on them. In this case, though, quite the opposite is true. I really believe that if the movie had closely paralleled the book, it would have been a big flop.While reading, I started to wonder why the title was "Jaws." The shark seemed to be part of a minor sub-plot, overshadowed by Ellen Brody's whining, Matt Hooper's posturing as a leering know-it-all, lust, adultery, stupidity, and everyone wondering who the Mayor's "partners" were. I kept wondering where the shark was! If you love the movie, do not even bother reading this book.

5. Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
Time to admit something -- I am a sucker for a good memoir, especially ones dealing with drug addiction or the "working girl". When I first saw this book I was ecstatic and then I started to read it. I still do not know what all the fuss was about this book. I read it and forced myself to finish it despite the overwhelming dullness present in this book. Funny parts? One. Cruelty the author is subject to? Being forced to take pills. Maybe this book would be more interesting to a psychology student or such, but to an average reader, which I will admit I am not, it's a 160 page essay on mental illness. Boring, overinflated and melodramatic was how this book came through to me. When the film was released in 1999 I, like many others, went to see it. I didn't think there was anything compelling about the Susanna Kaysen character in the least. Other characters WERE compelling: Lisa, Torch and Valerie--but I think that what gave them their spark was a screenplay that had to be written by someone else, and talented actors. Susanna Kaysen was boring as hell. She very well could have offed herself and I wouldn't have cared, BECAUSE her character was not interesting. She was not any more interesting in the novel itself, and the novel really was a bore. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE. Therefore if you saw the movie and loved it, do not pick up this book.

6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Michell
This book falls into the category of neither the movie or book is better than the other, but not by much; the movie is still better than the book in this case. Another time to admit something-- Even though I am in love with all things Southern and my heart belongs in New Orleans and Atlanta, I still do not get all of the fuss over the movie Gone with the Wind. But, in an effort to be fair, I decided to read the book. I thought maybe it was something about the production that I didn't like. But, no, the book has many of the same problems. 1)It's endless for one, just like the movie. Over a thousand pages and a large bit of it is completely unnecessary. 2) Rhett - I don't care what anyone says, he wasn't handsome, he wasn't romantic, and there wasn't much to like about him. 3) Scarlett - I've never seen a more annoying female lead. And everyone says, "oh she grows up in the end! she stops being selfish!" She doesn't. 4) If you don't like the two main characters, what's the point? Needless to say, it was a waste of money for me. I guess this is one book you either love or hate, so I recommend that you check a volume out of the library and read a chapter or two.

7. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Just in case you do not know this book, here is the description: THE INSPIRATION FOR BLADERUNNER. . .Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding, even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time. By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . . They even built humans. Emigrées to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in. Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.

This book may have spawned Blade Runner, but in itself is on the weird side of Sci-Fi and had me constantly wondering what Dick was smoking as he wrote this story. It is a very poorly executed dystopian novel and it's all due to the soullessness of PKD's writing. The mass extinction of animals, the decay of all matter into "kibble," and the abandonment of Earth by a majority of humans to off-world colonies all underscore the bleakness of the future. Do not read. Just watch Blade Runner. To repeat, it was just a little too weird for my tastes. I'm more of a traditional Heinlein, Asimov, H.G Wells fan and I just didn't get it. I know it is a popular book, I just simply can not understand why. This was the only Philip K. Dick novel that I have read simply because of the spawning and inspiration to Blade Runner. Maybe someone can recommend a different one?

What do you think? What movie was better than the book?

Things I Love Thursday -- July 2013 Edition

Summer is in full swing and you know that means....

IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!

Here is what I have been in love with for the month of July.

--Setting a reading goal for the month of July.

--Being a volunteer for Major League Baseball All Star Summer.

--Despicable Me 2! Love me some minions! I need to get one of my own.
**This is not me guys. This is the awesome Meghan also known as Strawburry17. She is AMAZING and a total inspiration.***

--The fact that I can in a chair, bend forward, and kiss my knees. Thats right KISS MY KNEES. Have not had that ability in a long long time.

--This article from Veronica Varlow which rings very true: 3 Ways to Know if Someone is Great in Bed All Before the Dessert Arrives

--All of the support from my family and friends that I have received lately due to something that I should have done a long long time ago. You ladies and gents are the best!

--Receiving the New Beauty Test Tube for Summer and loving all of the products.

--That my favorite comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, will have its own documentary!:

--Having a friend of mine make this for me when the royal baby was born:

--Is it November yet?:

--Having the ability to still work a room even though I have not attended a mixer/mingling thing in a long long time.

--Feeling amazing and walking without my cane for the first time in MONTHS.

--This sandwich: Nine flavour combinations in one sandwich! Well I would have to change the strawberry jam to grape but still...awesome!

--The Netflix show Orange is the New Black. Truly amazing!

--Still enjoying dark brooding AJ Styles on TNA Wrestling.

What have you been in love with for the month of July?

Love Letter To My Body

My dearest friend:

It has been quite a long journey… since we have started. During our path together we have developed a new level of communication and trust that allows each other an amazing mutual echo and respect filled with lots of love and cooperation. I live my life through you. You have been with me through the best of times and worst of times. You have helped me on my journey through life; taking me to places that I have not seen before; laughing with other friends; having the gift of gab and exploration. Here are some of the things I thank you for.

I thank you for the way you allow me to experience all of the arts on this great planet of ours whether it be music, professional wrestling, comic conventions, book swaps, writing, teaching.
Thank you for the ability to walk without the use of a cane or a brace.
Thank you for the wonderful times that you allowed me to swim.
Thank you so much for your ability to enjoy food and easily digest it.
Thank you for allowing me amazing sexual abilities and pleasures with no effort.
Thank you for the wonderful way you experience nature, animals and children.
Thank you for the way you help me to share things with others.

I therefore promise to you to go on and take care of you with wonderful foods that I know you like, wonderful green teas, plentiful glasses of pomegranate blueberry juice, walking around parks and getting manicures and pedicures done. I also promise to surround you with good energy and good people.

I will always listen to you, to your guidance and to the signs you keep sending me – you are the best “intuition container” and I unconditionally love you.

Yours,
Danielle

(THIS WAS AN EXERCISE IN MY RADICAL SELF LOVE BOOTCAMP COURSE. Maybe you should do it too?)

Things I Love Thursday -- June 2013 Edition

6 months into 2013 and we have successfully survived the Rapture and the Apocalypze and all of the other urban legend type of things. It it is also the end of the month and you know what that means...

IT IS TIME FOR THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!!!

Here is what I am in love with for the month of June

--This article: 17 Ways to Tell You Have Been in Your Relationship Forever Some points are just very very true and on point.

--To officially be on summer vacation. This school/work year has been hell. It is nice to have a break.

--Pacifica Coconut Water cleansing wipes. Wow are these things good when you are in the heat and can't get your butt to the shower. Helped a lot this month and a great investment.

--Journey savory nutrition bars. Such a great snack.

--BeneFit Bo-ing! concealer. It helps cover up the dark puffy circleness under my eyeballs as well as the redness on my forehead quite well as most concealers I have tried do not.

--The book Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. It was so good I read it twice in one month and I do not do that. This book was paid it forward to a friend of mine.

--The Tangle Teezer Salon Elite detangling hairbrush. With having long mermaid hair I get lots of tangles and knots and this brush did the trick of getting them out. Plus it did not hurt!

--Excited for this video game to be released:

--Becoming a Sephora Very Important Beauty Insider. Going to reap those benefits!

--Becoming an Offical Sponsor plus a Prize Sponsor for Sugar Slam IV. Read all of the details here: Sugar Slam IV: Ready To Crumble

--This song:

--This video:

--The combination of aloe vera gel and moringa olefera oil (Thanks Natalie Slater from Bake and Destroy!) to clear up the red bumps and patchy,scaly, snakeskin like skin on my forehead.

--Being a guest on two wrestling radio podcasts on the same night. Thanks Angry Marks Network and Kayfabe Wrestling Radio!

--My favorite band Queensryche came out with a new album called Frequency Unknown and it is EXCELLENT. If you look at the album cover, Geoff Tate has a nice message to the band who tried to take Queensryche away from him. Listen to the first single on this new EP and tell me that Geoff isn't making a point:


What are you in love with this month?

How To Spot A Hipster

Hipsters.

You either love them, hate them, or are one.

As many of you are aware, I started to learn French last year and right now I am at the Advanced Beginner level. I can read, write, comprehend French well but when it comes to responding/speaking it still is hard for me. But that is not the point of this blog.

In my most recent class which ended last week, Advanced Beginner 202, there were a total of three "hipsters" in my class who either would not shut up, would make things harder than what needed to be, and thought to be so cool and so smart. At one point the professor in French even made fun of one of them. I would constantly call them "hipsters" and my brother would ask me "what is a hipster?" as well as other friends of mine who might not have heard the term. Well here it goes. Here are the signs that you have spotted or know a hipster.

HOW TO SPOT A HIPSTER as according to JoiseyDani

1. If the person is going on and on about vintage clothing stores, wears vintage clothing, shops at any of these stores: e American Apparel, H&M, ASOS, CobraSnake, and Urban Outfitters (uh oh, I buy accessories from Urban Outfitters....), or shops at independent label retailers, you might have a hipster on your hands.

2. If the person wears skinny jeans or skinny pants. (Uh oh...I do that too...) This just does not mean women, men have to wear skinny jeans too. Also hipster men tend to be just as skinny as hipster women. As an alternative, some hipster women might wear high waisted jeans also known as "mom jeans."

3. Wear glasses, even if you do not need them. The more ironic they are, the better. Shuttershades, oversized plastic frames, nerd type glasses, and if the hipster can afford them authentic wayfarers from Ray Ban.

4. Wear ironic shirts. For example: ironic tees, plaid shirts, cowboy shirts, and anything in gingham, plaid, checkers, paisley, vintage florals. Many hipsters sport tops with appliques, images of animals or forests, other images, characters from children's TV, and ironic sayings or even book covers.

5. Find and wear suitable, comfortable footwear. Most hipster shoes include cowboy boots, Converse (looks at my purple and black Converse hi-tops, great *rolls eyes), and a range of flats. If the hipster likes trainers, Classic Reeboks are the way to go. Put it this way, the less effort you put into your footwear, the more of a hipster you might be.

6. Work those accessories! I am talking large flower headbands, neon nail polish, pins, bright belts, bird necklaces, patterned and colorful leggings, etc. Don't forget your plugs, piercings, and random scars supposedly acquired through woodwork and other carpenter-like endeavors.
An hipster essential include a courier bag (not a backpack), preferably something from Freitag, that can fit your MacBook, iPhone, and vinyl LPs (never CDs) of your current favorite band.

7. Always mismatch and layer your clothes. The more mismatched the better. Again the "I can not be bothered" look is key.

8. Make sure you know the difference between essential grooming/personal hygiene and hitting a salon just to be turned into a carbon-copy, Hipsters are wellaware of how to pull off the greasy or just-out-of-bed look without any effort.

9. Keep your hair casual. Long unkempt hair, "bed head" is perfectly fine. Greasy hair is okay to some but not others.

10. Whatever is old, make it new again. This, of course, takes a mixture of frugality, respect for some of the past, and a desire to demonstrate that new things don't define you. Basically try to be as ironic and inconsistent as possible as that is the core of the hipster -- carry the latest Apple product in a 1940s doctor bag or an military issued satchel. Commonly known old things associated with hipsters include Parliament cigarettes (and a devil-may-care attitude about smoking laws), Pabst beer, grandparent's clothing (or thrift store finds), bicycles with fixed gears (often ridden to the night clubs), analog cameras, and recycling and reusing almost anything (ingenuity, common sense, and fun fall into this category.)

11.Reject consumerism/materialism. Hipsters are into "niche consumerism". If your purchase helps local retailers, the environment, the mom and pop retailer, and the craft sellers down the road, then it's hipster.

12.Go to where the hipsters roam. Hipsters tend to congregate in very urban settings and they're connected globally thanks to the Internet. In the USA, you'll tend to find hipsters in major metropolitan centers where "anything goes". Be where there are independent art galleries, movie houses, bands, and people. Think New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, and especially the Brooklyn, N.Y. suburb of Williamsburg (known as the unofficial hipster capital of the world.

13.Be educated. Aim to go to college, as hipsters tend to be well educated in such areas as liberal arts, graphic art, or math (great....another aspect that I fall into....) and science.

14.Most importantly, don't define yourself to others' (denial). One of the key elements of being hipster has been to avoid the label. Don't go around proclaiming your allegiance; to do so would be to start allying with those who like neatly tied-up boxes denoting who is what, when, and where.

15.As far as hipster entertainment, you read great books and poetry by people like Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg, and Norman Mailer. Any other books you think are great. Any books, period; reading books sets hipsters apart from a lot of people. Visit the political science (ack my Bachelors is in Political Science and English), anthropology, and sociology sections of the bookstores and local library frequently. Watch independent and foreign films, as well as attending independent theater productions, such as shows by Ann Liv Young. Watch Wes Anderson, Hal Hartley and Jim Jarmusch movies.Listen to newly emerging, independent music -- hipster artists include Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Belle & Sebastian, Electric President, Stray Kites, Jens Lekman, Neutral Milk Hotel, M83, Neon Indian, Neon Neon, Margot & The Nuclear So and Sos, and King Khan and the Shrines.

16.Hone your humor. Be ironic and sarcastic. When asked a question, refuse to answer directly; instead, obfuscate, ask a question in return, or just be plain sarcastic.

17.Some more hipster essentials: Scarves (to wear year-round),Vintage boots, Turntable, An old camera (polariod is suggested.), Fixed-gear bike, Your own garden, Fountain Pen, Any Apple product always updated, Instagram (remember to add a quote that is unrelated to the picture).

So I might have some hipster tendencies but I do not fall into the category. Do you?

Thanks to WikiHow for source material for this blog.

Things I Love Thursday -- May Edition

Wow is it May already? Flowers blooming, sun is shining, knees cracking and popping....that could mean it is time for a...


THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!

Here is what I am in love with for the month of May.

~~Ginger candy. Yes ginger candy. It is powerful, strong, sweet and very spicy. Plus it is considered an anti-inflammatory. Love.

~~This news article. Just wish I could re-animate my cousin Tommy: A Possible Cure for AIDS within months!

--Correcting NBC News anchor Scott Stanford while he was on the air via Twitter thus him retweeting what I said to him. Here are my tweets:
JoiseyDani ‏@JoiseyDani
Can someone please hit @scottstanford1 upside his head? ITS STAR WARS DAY NOT STAR TREK DAY YOU LUNKHEAD!

JoiseyDani ‏@JoiseyDani
@scottstanford1 Its Star WARS Day not Star Trek Day! Never in Trek history was "May the force be with you" uttered.

--SeaSnax in Classic Olive (Seaweed, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt) They were strangely addicting.

--Colgate Wisps. Perfect for when my teeth do not feel clean and I can not get to a sink with some toothpaste.

--Trader Joes' Ginger mints. Nummy!

--Grilled Salmon sushi from Whole Foods Market. (Wow it seems this month's TiLT is food related but that is okay.)

--This Math video. I am a Math geek. I am not ashamed to hide it!

--Applying to a be a vlogger on Geek and Sundry Vlogs. Wish me luck!

--Wearing a flower crown to work and not giving a care about the stares I received.

--Getting an awesome opportunity for the 2013 All Star Game at Citi Field which happens on July 16, 2013

--Nerdy Nummies on You Tube! I swear I will re-create some of her creations someday.


What are you in love with this month?

Things I Love Thursday -- April Edition

Is it just me or is 2013 just going by in the blink of any eye? I do not know if I like it or not. Granted it is create that we all survived the Mayan apocalypse, but I think time needs to slow down a little. But also the cliche goes "life moves pretty fast...if you do not stop and look around, you can miss it." With that said, here is what I am in love with for the month of April!

--Being interviewed for WWE Wrestlemania 29 for the Star Ledger! Here is the article, just in case you have not seen it on my Facebook or Twitter: Wrestlemania 29: Faces, heels, and fans converge at the big show

--Having suite level seats at Wrestlemania 29. I knew it was going to get cold at night as the original Giants Stadium was a wind tunnel. Well, Met Life Stadium was not any different. It was nice to duck inside for some warmth and hot chocolate.

--That Spring finally decided to show up!

--This video:

--Making vlogs. Granted I am no Jenna Marbles or Strawburry17 but it is fun! You can check out my latest vlogs here:

--Creating my new favorite drink at Argo which is Green Tea bubble tea with vanilla syrup and almond milk. So good!

--MTV's Awkward is back! This is the only show I watch on MTV. It is so good and a guilty pleasure.

--My purple and black Converse high top sneakers. With having RA, finding comfortable shoes is a MUST. So far the only shoes that are comfy on my feet are my Converse and I love it.

--My skeleton pajama jumpsuit from my friend Jacob Hugart! Thank you again! Here are some pictures of its awesomeness:







What are you in love with this month?