The Summer Shakespeare Movie Chat: Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing party over at Charlotte's place.  We are going to discuss different Shakespeare plays in film format due to a lack of living in areas without free Shakespeare in the Park. We have Shakespeare often ranging from free to extremely cheap here but I like to discuss. Much Ado is a terrific place to start too, it is unequivocally one of the most popular comedies.

First opinion right off the bat: this show is too funny to be in black and white. This version is trying to be artsy and the humor is lost. Okay, perhaps not lost entirely but certainly the black and while distracts. It just seems unnecessary. I'm not sure it serves the show. But Cari thinks it was a choice to expose the "black and white" opinions of the characters and if you want to go with that it makes the black and white easier to swallow.

Transposing Shakespeare. How original. Said no one ever. What makes Branagh's version SO strong is it isn't putting on airs or forcing situations that don't make sense. This doesn't necessarily make Whedon's version weak until you look at the basic plot of the entire story. Wishing Hero dead for not being a virgin makes sense in the Italian countryside. Less so in 2012. Especially in a world that talks about being virtuous an awful lot but in this version is pretty much all about the hookups.

Much Ado does lend itself well to transposition based on the majority of the script being in prose--therefore not every actor needs be Emma Thompson or Kenneth Branagh. Since so few are. The language didn't feel super forced out of any mouths, thank goodness. Little is as bad as badly spoken Shakespeare. Directors today are always looking for a way to make Shakespeare "more accessible" and I get that. At least, Whedon didn't try to modernize the language. Where 10 Things I Hate About You succeeded was that it was a somewhat vague adaptation with various Shakespearean references. I don't feel Whedon's version was inaccessible so mission accomplished there.

What the good year my lord, why are you thus out of measure sad? Conrad is a girl? I have a major personal life changing story that revolves around that line of Conrad's so it blew my mind when it came out of the mouth of Riki Lindhome. Nevermind the one role I know her from really was when she played a girl named Juliet on Gilmore Girls. But sure, make Don John and Conrade (because adding an e makes it feminine everyone knows that!) into a power seeking male and his female minion. Meh. Such a weak character anyhow that making her female just seemed odd.

The masquerade. Why are only half of them in masks? LOVE the "Sigh No More" around the piano as the soundtrack for the masquerade. THAT was one of those gems that makes adaptions worth it. What's with drunk Claudio in the pool and the alligator like stalking of Don John and crew? They must have liked the image as to make it the poster but it is strange.

Why is Margaret in a classic maid's uniform? Do people with maids really make them wear those? Was this a costume choice made to distinguish her character in a black and while world with little distinction elsewhere in costuming?

Benedick hiding behind a branch? Holy moly. Hilarious. Alexis Denisof was great on HIMYM. It's no wonder he can play comedic so well. That was a delightful gem.

Dogberry. Who doesn't love Dogberry and malapropisms? Though should we all call them Dogberryisms in all truthfulness because The Rivals wasn't written until much much later? Sorry for the tangent but it is a valid question. As it happens, Castle was fine but not as good as Michael Keaton. The flashlight bit was pretty good and the whole security team did commit to their roles.

Beatrice "If I were a Man" monologue was pretty darn strong here. I love me some Emma Thompson and when I first read Much Ado in ninth grade and then we watched the movie I pretty much wanted to be Emma Thompson as Beatrice. Back to my point here, Amy Acker is skilled with the language and while playing someone so iconic as Beatrice it would be a sad sad day to poorly cast her. Acker was just fine.

The Beatrice/Benedick struggling against each other when trying to get their love sonnets was great until they sank to the ground at the same time. You could see them thinking about how they were going to sit now and it ruined an otherwise lovely moment. I really respected the fact they were struggling and wound up intertwined into each other and just as I was about to say "good directing choice" I took it back.

My overall opinion is that Joss Whedon's version was not bad. I don't know that I'd run right out and buy it. (But since I have Netflix and Amazon Prime that would be stupid.) Of course I love the Branagh version more, but that version and I have a history and Branagh is pretty much a Shakespearean God, few in today's time can compare to him. So to put the two movies up against each other is like comparing beer to hard cider. Both have alcohol in them but they're uniquely different and it just depends what you're in the mood for.

Because QT Are My Only Outlet I Guess.

1. I Have Been Afflicted with Failure to Blog Syndrome. 

I don't know why. But because of this, you get Quick Takes! 

2. It's (Maybe) A Girl! 

If you missed the post on Tuesday we had our ultrasound where everything looks good and they think she is maybe a she. We have started referring to her as a girl now and using her name. I feel kind of like a conspiracy theorist on this: the whole time I've felt that it was a girl and that made me happy. But because we don't know for sure I am kind of guarding my heart a little bit. We haven't run right out to buy anything is all I'm saying. We did do a bit of online window shopping to discuss likes and dislikes in girl clothing trends. It is very nice to be halfway through at this point however! 

3. Last Day of School Around These Parts

I am prepared for the onslaught of children everywhere I go.
I am also excited we can go to the elementary school playground (6 houses away)  during the day now.
Summer is a good thing.
I give the stores 3 weeks before all the back to school stuff goes out!

4. Sadness

My FIL and Husband have an interesting relationship. Every time I think it's getting better something happens to get in the way. This time it is that he has failed to acknowledge in any way C's birthday. Honestly, they aren't big gift people so I wasn't expecting anything but maybe a card or a phone call.

I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because his birthday was on Memorial Day so with no mail and a holiday weekend I get it. But now it's Friday. And we haven't received anything. Not even a text message. I'm not even mad. I'm just sad for C who clearly isn't going to have a strong relationship with his Grandfather. 

5. Busy Bags, Thank You Cards and Play-Doh

C got 2 different Play-Doh sets for his birthday so there's been lots of that this week. Add to that writing thank you notes (I wrote/addressed/stuffed/stamped them and C colored on each of them.) and making Busy Bags and I feel especially crafty. Not that Play-Doh counts as a craft but it's messy and takes forethought.

I'm especially proud of my Busy Bag... stay tuned for a post on that!

6. Some Days You Just Need A Special Lunch

We ordered the dinner box from Pizza Hut today. It's a great special treat for us and there's enough leftover that Husband can have some too. We never order pizza for lunch but I was reminiscing about how on the last day of school in first grade we walked to Jonathan Hughes' house and had Pizza Hut. And I have been in a bit of a funk so... ordering lunch it was.

7. Seriously... I need to blog more

But I am out of things to say. Join up with Jen. 

It's A...

No really, you thought I was going to post it right away? So that the gender of the bundle bean would be revealed in the blog preview? Nope. No easy breezy scanning for you my friends. I'm going to actually have you click in to the blog to find out... 

So. Yesterday was C's birthday and it was great! It started with a trip to the grocery store to pick up his cake and a birthday doughnut. 

He even blew out the candles just great! We opened presents with the grandparents via Skype and had a fairly normalish day and his friends Mason and Owen came over for a bbq and fun. The boys played with the new toys before dinner, enjoyed their picnic-y food and cake then got to play with the water table and pool and they had a BLAST. It was the perfect, low-key, way to celebrate my C and Memorial Day. 

C was disappointed when they had to leave but he got to go to their house this morning while Husband and I headed out to for the big ultrasound. It's A... nother healthy baby. Baby was not cooperating one bit. 

The ultrasound tech poked and prodded and is tentatively saying GIRL but only at a 95%. I respect those odds and we will be referring to her as a she until further notice. 

But because she wasn't playing along quite as nicely as they wanted they weren't able to get one of the heart pictures they need so we're going in next month for another look. (And we will double check if there are certain parts or lack thereof at that time.) 

I should note here that she looked quite healthy and was measuring right on track and there is no reason to be concerned about her heart. We just need another look. Plus while 95% is an A in the GPA world, that missing 5% is in the back of my mind and I am glad we have another excuse to see her. 

Not a profile, but she is looking at you with both hands on the side of her head.
I'm not lying when I say our pictures aren't super great. 

And that's all the fun around here. C is 2. We're (tentatively) having a girl in October. And life is pretty great.

Two!!

A little flashback for you:

2012: Sometime in the early morning hours. 

2013: 1:20 AM

2014: 1:20 AM

My sweet baby. I cannot believe you're two! I want to save every moment. Even your crying hysterics because I treasure you and you always come around. And I get it, it is frustrating to not be able to climb furniture or eat only cookies. You are just the sweetest little boy. You are definitely a lover not a fighter. Even when someone takes a toy from you it's just no big deal, you move on. That doesn't always mean you let others have what you want though--you definitely take things sometimes too.

You know your schedule very well, it's so wonderful when you remind me it's time for lunch or rest.

You are my little water baby. You would spend literally all day playing with water if I would let you. You cry when bath time is over. You don't mind being drenched from the water table at the museum. You love showers! Whenever anyone takes a shower you yell "shower!" And then you'd better get to go in too or all heck will break loose. "Shower" also means flower and shadow but you always use them in the correct context so no one is confused.

Besides water your other favorites are cars, balls, books and bubbles. I could listen to you talk about bubbles all day long. "Bob-balls!!!" Your enthusiasm and joy radiates throughout your body. You still love Walruses! And anything that has to do with cookies. Listening to you sing "C is for Cookie" is one of my favorite things. Though I have a lot of favorite things, I have a major bias towards you. 

You are so smart. you have amazing comprehension skills and when you use your good listening ears we can accomplish an awful lot! I will admit I was nervous about your talking, it seemed like others were far more advanced but then one day you just got it. Now I understand what you're saying most of the time. My favorite is when you ask for juice. "Mo Ooch Peas" My heart just swells. 

It thrills me to no end that you're not a TV zombie. You can sit and watch some things some days but mostly you're on the move and maybe you'll watch when people sing. You just have stuff to do and toys to play with. You excel at free play though some of the more structured activities go pretty well too. I wish you'd stop eating the crayons but I'm certain you'll grow out of that eventually. 

There are so many things I could write about you. I am so excited to see you blossom into a big brother. I think you'll be a rock star. You are such a gentle guy with a good spirit and temperament. You've been taking Peirpont the garden gnome and letting him go down your slide. I imagine this time next year it will be more fun with a sibling. (With Mom or Dad's help of course.) We are very lucky that you are in our family! 

You're two years old. Time certainly has passed quickly. Happy Birthday little boy! May you have a blessed year full of learning, laughter and joy. 

7 QT: Naps, Weekend, Toys and A Tune

1. The New Normal

C is a scheduled sort of dude. We've just always had a semblance of a schedule. Always. It works for us. But lately something's changed, it ain't hard to define, my toddler's nap is shorter and I want to make it... oh I'm not Rick Springfield? Yeah. Okay. 

Anyway. He's been waking up too early. Like when the clock still has a 5 in front. That's no good. So we loped off an hour of the nap. It's been hard. The 3:00 hour is a force to be reckoned with as I wake the teenaged-nearly 2 year old who tells me "No Mama." When I ask if he's ready to wake up. He's a beast. And I am missing my last hour of nap as well. Sad. We'll adjust I'm sure. It's just tough messing up the schedule. It's working though. He slept until 6:45 this morning. 

2. 3 Day Weekend! 

Otherwise known as birthday weekend! Color me excited. We are keeping it very low key as I've said before. I would gather there will be a visit to the playground. And definitely grocery shopping tomorrow. Plus we'll have some favorite foods: spaghetti, strawberries and other good stuff. Gosh it's awesome that even with all the opinions 2 year olds have we still call 98% of the shots. Plus, you know 3 day weekend! And we're not traveling. We usually do so it'll be kind of weird. 

Oh and happy Memorial Day or whatever the appropriate greeting for Memorial Day is. 

3. My Day in the Baby Pool is Coming Soon

Not surprisingly, I picked C's birth date and birth stats for Pointy Bird. 

We'll see if I am right. The last baby pool I won was for my 4th grade teacher Mrs. Hovland so my record isn't so great. 

4. I Just Interupted My Post to Change A Diaper & Rotate Toys

The diaper nobody cares about. The toys, probably nobody cares about. But C has been asking for his bus for a few days now so I broke down and got it back into rotation. In all honesty, the once a week rotation has turned into a longer period of time rotation but I was kinda over the Duplos anyway so if he wants the bus he can have it. Besides, I can rotate the annoying VTech Turtle out on Monday after he opens some new stuff. 

5. VTech Toys are the Most Obnoxious

I know some people are all "I only buy wooden, handcrafted toys for my children" but let's say you aren't. Or for instance if you are shopping for a child in your life, or future life I implore you to JUST IGNORE THE VTECH. I'm waiting for the batteries to die in all of them. I don't hate the plastic toys because "overstimulating, not learning, not as sturdy" philosophy. I just don't subscribe to that at all. But the VTech toys make me want to claw my eyes out. Which of course means the kids like them just fine. Clearly. 

6. That Being Said... 

That being said, I stand by the Leapfrog Letter Factory. 

Both the DVD

And Phonics Bucket

 

I like to use them in tandem but certainly you wouldn't have to. The Letter Factor Phonics bucket is ALWAYS in our learning cupboard and is never rotated. I know that too much television rots the brains of toddlers and I get that. But the Leapfrog movie(s) are not annoying and educational at the same time. 

I wouldn't say that C is particularly advanced for his age at all, but the movie/bucket have taught him letter recognition and sounds. He can do: A, B, C, F, H, J, K, M, P, R and S. Both telling me what they "say" and the name of the letter. And this is both in our home, while looking at books and out in the world on signs or shirts or parking spaces. Funny enough, he does not sing the ABC song yet, but I think he's certainly on the right track even without it. 

So just saying if you did need to shop for a youngster in your life: VTech = No. Leapfrog = Okay!

7. Throwback (Not Thursday Anymore) Tuneage

Because before Miley partied in the U.S.A. her dad got us all singing along whether we liked country music or not. 

Have a great weekend and go visit Jen. 

The Death of Barnes and Noble

I am sure you've all heard about the impending doom of Barnes and Noble. My first reaction was probably not one that the good ole booksellers would appreciate. But it was met with a solid "Meh."

There is a time when this would have been completely untrue. No one loved Barnes and Noble like I did, even though their theater section was the most pitiful shelf in the store and they probably would have been better without it so as not to embarrass themselves.

And I absolutely see where the closing of the book stores leaves us as society. It's almost like saying that books aren't as important now. I disagree with that entirely and I love reading. I love it. I can see how the browsing culture of America would be lost without a book store to browse in.

It's just that I don't even remember the last time I was in a Barnes and Noble. Racking my brain which has a pretty decent memory I can recall going there last Christmas season. (Like Christmas 2012.) But I am certain I was there with my friend Kathryn and she made a purchase and I did not. OH! We went to one last summer in a town over and bought Polar Bear Polar Bear. Now this may be because my local B&N is located at our mall.

I am firm believer in the mall. I grew up in Minnesota. The MoA was a mere 10-15 minutes away depending on the lights on Hwy 13. I love a good mall. My local establishment is not a good mall. It is poorly laid out and truthfully there isn't a whole lot of interesting stores that draw me in. I do like Gymboree but I usually wait until we're visiting in Minnesota because... no tax on clothing. So location could have everything to do with it. I'm not sure.

It could be that my life has significantly changed from the girl who would kill hours looking at all the books on the shelves and coveting the many seasons of television on DVD. When Husband and I were dating we'd spend a lot of time browsing together and talking about books. I just don't have the time to go there and kill a lot of time. And I have never been a coffee drinker so I am even less likely to go and sit.

But it's not even about that or the death of books. It comes down to budget. It is cheaper to get a book on the Kindle. Sometimes by half! And I don't have to load up a toddler to get it. Perhaps that's lazy. Perhaps that is just what the "death of the books" group think of me and my generation but I am a LOVER of books. I just am out of room on my bookshelves x a million. I have boxes of unpacked books in my basement and that makes me sad because I love my book collections.

I was just thinking about where some of it will go when the third bedroom becomes a nursery. That's where my Trixie Beldens are and Cherry Ames and other old school series are currently stored. I don't want those going to the basement but I'm not sure where they're supposed to go!

So for me the Kindle makes sense. It's cheaper, it takes up less space and I don't lose anything by reading them on an electronic. I know the book people want me to miss holding a book but it's actually lovely not having the weight of a hard bound, new release and still being able to read a book the day it comes out.

There is something exhilarating about rushing out of a Barnes and Noble with your copy of Harry Potter to your brother waiting in a running car. (Because we always had a plan to get the heck out of there and read! Plus I was the crazy who camped out the day before for a wrist band so I could be one of the first in line to buy the books so my plan was brilliant actually.) But at this point in my life it is just as exhilarating to turn on my Kindle at 12:01 (Sometimes it goes with PST so it's 2:01) and there is the book you pre-ordered a long time ago.

And I do still browse. On Amazon. And I get books all the time that I never would have ordinarily picked up. Because with Amazon they recommend things I might like based on what I've read PLUS I get to read reviews others have left. I have never lived in a cute little town where my local bookseller would be able to recommend for me personally. In fact when I was younger I had read so much that when they would suggest something it was usually a reread for me. I do still visit our local library and utilize both the paper copies and electronic copies of books. But you all know that relying on a library for a new release is a moot point.

My greater point here is that I am certain that Barnes and Noble serves a purpose in the world, but just not in my world. I would be sad to lose that option definitely, I just do not utilize it enough for it to impact me on any great level.

I am exactly the kind of person the Barnes and Noble executives hate. And I am not going to apologize for that. But if the death of B&N actually comes, I will attend the funeral to pay my respects. 

The Big Ultrasound Is Coming

We are just seven short days from the exciting ultrasound. My OBGYN actually changed policies from 2011/2012 and I had an 8 week ultrasound this time around. But, you know that it's really just a cute little speck in a salt and pepper blob at that point. I am looking forward to making sure this little Bundle Bean (as we are lovingly call him/her currently) is growing well and healthy. (Or start a plan of action if not.) I'm also excited to learn the gender. We are definitely "find out the gender people."

I don't like it when people say to me "Don't you want to be surprised?" Because, my friends, I do not know the gender now. It is the exact same surprise at 20 weeks as it would be at 40 weeks. If you choose not to find out the gender prior to birth, more power to you! I am apparently too much of planner to wait. I like calling my babies by name before I've met them. But that's just where I fall!

When I was pregnant with C I wanted a little boy very very badly. So badly that I was concerned that I would be disappointed if it was a girl.  So I began convincing myself that it was a girl. I was certain. And I was okay with that. I honestly did not believe the ultrasound tech when she told me it was a boy.

So this time around I have no idea. No stinkin' clue. My gut would say girl but I have no reasoning to this. Who knows? My pregnancy has been different but not so drastically that I would say with certainty it must be a different gender. My mom thinks it's a boy. Husband has no clue as well.

We really have no preference. I would love a little girl. But I really love my little boy and would not be even remotely disappointed with another. Plus we already have the clothes for a boy. (Not that I wouldn't reuse some of the stuff for a girl because I would absolutely.) Most of our "baby gear" is mostly red or primary colors so that it would be non-gender specific so it really I wouldn't buy much either way.

Meh. I am excited to be able to name our baby and talk to him/her as a person and not an it. I don't know why but knowing gender and the name helps me immensely. But that's just me. Plus I think it will be much easier to explain to C about his little brother/sister and not the abstract "baby." But again, that's just what will work better for our family. He does know about the baby already but I think he tends to learn with more concrete information.

One of Husband's co-workers found out yesterday that she's having a boy. Funny enough she has a little girl who is only 4 days younger than C so it's kind of funny our seconds will be close in age as well. Her announcement is just getting me more excited to know! I can't wait! One week!