Things I Love Thursday -- October 2013 Edition

Two great things are happening today.

One it is HALLOWEEN!

Two it is time for THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY the monthly edition!

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

--The first episode of Cooking Hostile featuring Phil Anselmo:

--The Village Halloween Parade happening and that I could be a part of it.

--The makeup jobs I did for NYC Zombie Crawl. I am getting better and better at it every time I try. Thanks Doug Sakmann for the opportunity!

--Getting to do all of my activities on my Countdown to Halloween blog. It really put me in the spirit.

--My name in lights…sort of…for being a Kickstarter backer for the NYC Village Halloween Parade

--That my legs have kept on with my antics this month. From Blood Manor to NYC Zombie Crawl to NYC Village Halloween Parade, I am glad to say that I am feeling good.

--My students faces after they saw me all made in as a cat.

--My students appreciation for the goodie bags I gave them for Halloween. Sometimes stickers, games, and flashing necklaces go a long way.

--Keeping up with my Countdown to Halloween blog; even if I did not do everything on it. Perhaps a Countdown to Thanksgiving blog?

What are you in love with this month? I hope everyone had a great Halloween month like I did.

Countdown to Halloween!

My favorite holiday, besides my birthday, is Halloween. I am drawn to all things Halloween/Autumn -- vampires, zombies, werewolves, cheesy 80s horror movies, dressing up, anything pumpkin flavored or scented, sweater weather... Just love it! With that said I thought it would be cool to do a COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN activities list. Most of this stuff will be done by myself or with friends. Yes I know there are dates attached but I am using it more as a check off list.

October 1st: Watch the movie Frankenweenie. (Done!)
October 2nd: Watch the movie Paranorman.
October 3rd? Watch the movie Hotel Transylvania. (Done!)
October 4th: Watch the movie Nightmare Before Christmas. (Done!)
October 5th: Watch the German expressionist horror film Nosferatu.
October 6th: Collect four different colored leaves and tape to window at work. (Done! I thank my students for helping me out with this. Cutest question: Miss D'Adamo, is this one okay for the window?)
October 7th: Wear orange to work. (Done!)
October 8th: Watch the movie Hocus Pocus.
October 9th: Make a Halloween playlist for my iPod and friends/Funshine buddy at work. (Done!)
October 10th: Go to New York Comic Con at the Javits Center. (Done and scored lots of free books!)
October 11th: Watch the movie House on Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price.
October 12th: Watch the Universal classic horror movies Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
October 13th: Participate in the 7th Annual NYC Zombie Crawl. (Done! Here is the video: )
October 14th: Get candles with a cinnamon or pumpkin smell from Bath and Body Works for my room.(Done! Got cider doughnut and pumpkin caramel latte)
October 15th: Watch the movie Beetlejuice.
October 16th: Watch the movie Psycho (original Alfred Hitchcock version).
October 17th: Watch the cartoon Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (Done!)
October 18th: Go to see the new Carrie in theaters. (Done! Enjoyed it.)
October 19th: Visit a haunted house. (Going to Blood Manor this year!)(Done!)
October 20th: Go pick a pumpkin and take it home. Paint gold polka dots on it.
October 21st: Watch the movie The Craft
October 22nd: Get a beauty treatment that is pumpkin/fall inspired.
October 23rd: Get some Halloween inspired toys for my students. (Done!)
October 24th: Go to the October Book Club Geek Girl meeting. (Done! Lots of fun talking to women with similar interests of mine.)
October 25th: Attend Chiller Theatre in Parsippany, NJ (Done! It was a lot of fun.)
October 26th: Go to Gravesend Inn Haunted Hotel in Brooklyn, NY (Decided not to go. Maybe next year.)
October 27th: Read a scary spooky story.
October 28th: Watch the movie Teen Witch (Done!)
October 29th: Get a fall inspired color manicure. (Done!)
October 30th: Watch the movie The Lost Boys.
October 31st: HALLOWEEN!!! As long as it is happening and my legs are feeling up to it, I will be walking in the Village Halloween Parade again. Question is, what will I dress up as?

Things I Love -- September Edition

This month has had its ups and downs. Returning back to work, dealing with the anniversaries of the death of my dog Sweetums and my first cousin Sweetums, and still trying to get my RA into remission. But there were some happy moments this month and with that lets get this party started!

Here is what I loved for the month of September:

--A random stranger on 14th Street shouting at me "Work that strut girl!" Made me feel powerful and in charge.

--Someone took sidewalk chalk and drew an arrow and underneath it wrote TO HAPPINESS. Nice to see some P.M.A. in the hard knocked life city known as New York.

--The return of football! I am not the biggest fan but it is a fun sport to watch.

--This video has a great message. LIVE IN THE MOMENT people!

--This video is ME to a big ole capital T:

--Seeing a young cute couple holding hands when exiting the turnstiles and going up the stairs at the PATH station. I remember those young love kind of days. Brought a big smile to my face.

--Declaring my school year NO STRESS NO BULLSHIT. My health is much more important than stress and bullshit. I want to be healthy. End of story.

--This cover of Empire State of Mind by Halestorm. Thanks to Rich Concannon for sharing it:

--Going to The Sands hotel and casino in Bethelehem, PA and getting carded as I entered the casino. I must look that young or when in doubt...

--Taking care of the outdoor cats around my house by leaving out food and water in my backyard. Unfornuately due to allergies and my little old man dog Hudson the cats can not come inside but it is nice to take care of them.

--Having a friend of mine call out an African money scammer and posting it on YouTube. Watch it:

--That the chicken wings at Hu Kitchen have returned to the menu!

--The new song "Going to Hell" by The Pretty Reckless. Check it out:

--The cider doughnut scented candle from Bath and Body Works. Smells so good and is putting me in an Autumn state of mind...

--My nerdy bff Veronica and her husband/my fellow Nerd Herder Damian are in the midst of making a full length feature zombie film and I could not be any prouder that they are achieving their dreams. They released a short teaser. Go check it out:

--SWEATER WEATHER RETURNING! Love the brisk Autumn air and cozying it up under a soft cable knit sweater. So glad Summer is over.

--Getting excited for all things October! I have not been this excited in a long long time. I think it is due to my health/RA finally getting under control and I can start to be Dani again with some new twists.

--Changing bad habits when I had a rough week/hard week at work or in life. The old me would sit on her bed and gorge herself full of sweets and bad food. Now when I had a rough week I go swimming, do some laundry, light some candles, read, watch some television with a big mug of green tea. I felt so much better too.

What made you swoon and double over in love this month?

Things I Love -- August Edition

Wow is it the end of August already? Shoot does time fly. Granted August did move slower than usual which I like because of what the next month is but we will not talk about that month. End of the month means it is time for another...


THINGS I LOVE THURSDAY!!! Which is really Things I Love Sunday since this is published on a Sunday...I think I should just change the title to Things I Love.

Here are the things, videos, songs, whathaveyous, that I have loved this month:

--My face decided to go back to its teenage roots and break out like crazy this summer. I quickly learned that drugstore products are so much better than the brand name products at Sephora. I will still use makeup from Sephora but when it comes to facial cleaner and moisturizer, give me some Yes to Tomatoes Daily Pore Scrub, Formula 10.0.06 Best Face Forward daily facial cleanser, some aloe vera gel, Noxzema triple acne treatment pads (that sting like a bitch but work!)and Glysomed daily moisturizer. My face cleared up in a matter of two days. Thank you Duane Reade!

--Getting into a morning and evening facial washing routine to keep my acne from coming back like I mentioned above.

--Drinking 64oz of water a day. It really helped flush out my system of bad things and cleared up my skin.

--Becoming addicted to the blog Fashion of Fandoms and using it as inspiration for future cosplays.

--CM Punk's Grammar Slam on the Nerdist channel during You Tube Geek Week. If you have not seen it, look it up now!

--The television show The Exes on TVLand.

--This video. Damn girl work that twerk:

--I love Food Network and the television competition show Chopped. When Felicia Day made this for You Tube Geek Week, I squeeded like the little fangirl I am:

--Having another wrestling meme photo made for something I suggest my friends play with me during Monday Night Raw:

--This song:

--The spicy pecan seasoning my mom bought recently. I have put it on my eggs in the morning as well as sandwiches and salads and it is nummy!

--Green tea and thunderstorms after two brutal days of humidity.

--This photo. Look at the couple that is circled:

Post by Sheldon Cooper.

--This video was part of the Confidence Vitamins article by Alexandra Frazen, which all of you should read by the way, and it is truly brilliant:

--Walking into Bath and Body Works and smelling all of the fall candles. My favorite right now is the cider doughnut. Love me some fall inspiration items!

What are you so in love with for the month of August?

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?)