Lamar Cemetery - Part 1

Well, it looks like it's been a year since I've blogged here but I have been blogging over at Bronte's Attic Book Blog, in case you were wondering. To kick off a new year and a new commitment to blog here as well, I'm posting pictures from a new series I've been working on about old cemeteries. I know this is a popular subject, but little old south Texas cemeteries are rarely the subject. It's really part of a broader project I'm working on about the Corpus Christi area through a fantasy lens. More to come on that later. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this installment.

New Year's Eve 2013 was cold and misty, so spending it in an old cemetery seemed like the only proper way to spend such a day!

Mugs and muffins

How is it that drinking from a cute Anthropologie mug can make my husband's already fabulous cappuccinos taste so much better?!! (homemade blueberry muffin from Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook)

 

My inner boho

I am one of the few people that escaped the 80s unscathed by big bangs and crispy perms. It was easy really. I was a gypsy boho queen! My style icons were Jami Gertz in the Lost Boys and Lisa Bonet in anything. I loved Edie Brickel and the New Bohemians and attended the opening night of The Doors movie like I was going to see Jim Morrison live. (That might just be the result of deprivation brought on by a lame Corpus scene). I crushed on River Phoenix because what boho girl could resist, and Ian Astbury from The Cult...well...I'll keep that private. The fact is, all of these things are still awesome! I don't look back at those teen years in shame (well, maybe the glasses/braces combo), but with pride. Here is my tribute to my 80s icons.

Percey Bysshe Shelley says "Forget about it!"

I stumbled upon a weird little bit of information while reading The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein, and I can't seem to move past it. Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of the most quintessentially English of the Romantic poets and husband of Mary Shelley, has roots in Jersey! His great-grandfather came to America to make his fortune. He settled in New Jersey and had kids while here, including Percy Shelley's grandfather. Through the death of his older brothers, Percy Shelley's grandpa inherited the estate in England and moved to the motherland. Thank goodness for rampant illness and the misfortune of those older brothers! One cannot imagine such words as ''Death is the veil which those who live call life" being read in the voice of Tony Soprano.

Frankenweenie equals Frankentastic!

It has been far too long since I've blogged, but thankfully October rolled around to inspire my inner adorable goth. Let's talk Frankenweenie! This movie has Tim Burton doing what he does best, using his old live action short as the basis for this film, but I also see his first stop motion animation film, Vincent, in here as well. Take a peek...

The new Frankenweenie has the look, the story and the originality of all the best of Tim Burton. One could say it's expected, but one could also say that this is exactly what we want from him. We go to Jane Austen for regency romance and we go to Tim Burton to make our Edward Gorey fantasies come to life. Now if we can only get him to do Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

Read to Me, Mr. Darcy!

Could anything be more glorious than Colin Firth reading you a story? Thanks to the profound wisdom of the folks at audible.com, the fabulous Mr. Darcy will read to you Graham Green's classic, The End of the Affair for a mere $7.49. I've never had any interest in the story, but perhaps now it's time give it a try.

There are other audio books that have readers so perfectly matched to the book that the experience of listening to the story feels better than reading it yourself. I won't create a "top 10 list" because there are so many great ones that I cannot pick who would fit better at each number, but I will list 10 titles that I will add to in time.

1. Dress Your Family in Courderoy and Denim by written and read by David Sedaris - Really anything by David Sedaris is fabulous, but there is something magical about him reading his work that makes it funnier, particularly when you hear him reading live before an audience. His interaction with the crowd and their response to his work is priceless.
2. Neverwhere written and read by Neil Gaiman - Again, anything he reads is worth listening to. There is something so enchanting about his quintessentially English fairy tale tones and rhythm that pleasure could be derived from listening to him read a parking ticket.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird ready by Sissy Spacek - The absolute perfect voice for this book. No remakes please!
4. Lolita ready by Jeremy Irons - I don't think I need to say anything here except that you might need to listen to this in private.
5. On the Road read by Matt Dillon - Matt Dillon was the only reason why I finished this story. He was perfect and you felt like you were listening to Jack Kerouac himself telling you his story. But let's face it, Kerouac is a dick, at least from a woman's perspective. Perhaps because I'm in my 30's and not a 17 year old looking to break free of parental bonds, I just want to flip him off! But if you have any interest in this story, listening to it with Matt Dillon is the only way to make this medicine go down.
6. Sense and Sensibility read by Kate Winslet - This combination of reader and story is so perfect that anything else is just silly.
7. Othello read by a full cast including Ewan McGregor - If you have trouble swallowing Shakespeare, try a dash of Ewan and see if doesn't taste any better.
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society read by a full cast - This is a good book, but the pleasure of listening to this story read by the perfect cast makes this one that I want to listen to again.
9. Bob Dylan's Chronicles ready by Sean Penn - If you're going to have anyone read from Bob Dylan's diary, for the sake of all of us, make it Sean Penn.
10. Get in the Van written and read by Henry Rollins - Like David Sedaris and Neil Gaiman, no one other than Henry Rollins should ever read Henry Rollins' work aloud. The magic would simply be lost.

Hope you enjoy the list. Feel free to post your favorites as well!

Moonrise Kingdom

I got a chance to see Moonrise Kingdom on the 4th of July, which also happens to be my birthday. This film was my husband's suggestion, and I think there is something so sweet about the fact that he recommended this beautiful little love story on the first date we've able to have in a while. Wes Anderson has created the most visually perfect and original fairy tale of a story since Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. As usual, there are film shots designed to look like the set of a play or like Edward Hopper paintings, where actors are so reserved and introspective that it feels as though they are posing for Hopper's tranquil universe rather than acting. Oh, and it's funny too! The combination of elements completely universal and outlandish make for fantastic story telling that remind us of our first loves and what it's like to be young. This film also makes us wonder how Wes Anderson always manages to up his quirky factor. Hipsters will love this film and will most certainly use it for indie validation. But I don't care. This was an all around fun and beautiful treat and was the perfect way for me to end my birthday. Better than fireworks any day.