Cringe-worthy Movies I Love

There are some movies that are difficult to watch but I love them so much. Sometimes I have to cover my eyes or my ears or even walk out of the room.

Yet I will still watch them shamefully and gleefully cringing

First up: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Yup, I have both the DVD and the soundtrack.

I have read so many horrible reviews of this film. Including people IRL that think I'm weird for liking this.

The thing is, while it it not a great movie, it is fun.

I have no idea why the makers of this movie thought, Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees could act and be the "All American Band" since none of them were American.

To make amends for that, they just removed all the dialogue from everyone except the wonderful George Burns.

It creates an odd, almost silent movie, feel to the whole thing.

And watching the "actors" overact their facial expressions in lieu of speaking is hard to get used to.  

It is strange but the music is so worth it.

I don't really like the Beatles' music sung by the Beatles.

sorry...

My favorite song in this Is Sandy Farina's "Strawberry Fields Forever"

Also all the "villains" are great. Steve Martin, Aerosmith and Alice Cooper.

So worth watching even though its kind of a trippy movie

Gidget (1959)

(By unknown photographer (eBay) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

I saw this movie again on TMC this month and it was the film that got the whole "cringe-worthy movie" idea in my head.

Sandra Dee is perfect as the plucky wannabe surfer and perpetual tomboy, but I just feel so embarrassed for Gidget throughout most of the movie.

There are two moments though that make me have to change the channel or leave the room for a minute.

One is watching Cliff Robertson's The Big Kahuna dance

(its kinda funny though)

The other is anytime James Darren's Moondoggie sings.

James Darren's singing voice is great, but I cannot help but feel uncomfortable when he sings to Gidget

This is one of the main movies that helped to usher in the "Beach Movies" that paired Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.

Those are some of the greatest cringe-worthy movies of all time.

And because I am a major fan of the 1960's Batman series, I have to point out that Batgirl aka Yvonne Craig has a small part as one of Gidget's man hungry friends.
---------------------------------------------------
There are so many movies that I love that can be called cringe-worthy. 
I may make more posts in the future about them.

Are there any films that you like even though they are embarrassing or difficult to watch?

~Eris

Towel Day 2014

(I actually drew this...Inkscape is fun
Its does look a little pervy though, lol, Oh well)

It's Towel Day!

Every year on the 25th of May fans of Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy grab a towel and celebrate.

I have read the complete unabridged Hitchhiker's series many times.

It is a great, compelling series. The only thing is that every time I finish Mostly Harmless I get paranoid about the number 42.

Try reading the entire series and see how you react the first time "42" pops up in real life.

In honor of Towel Day I made some Marvin, the paranoid android, royal icing transfers.

I cannot draw a circle freehand to save my life so I used some round stickers on a piece of paper and drew Marvin's face on them to get an idea of what I wanted. I taped that down to a cutting board and then taped parchment paper on top.

I adapted a simple royal icing recipe using:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsp meringue powder

2 tbsps water

There was not enough water so I used a spray bottle to thin it out.

(I thinned mine out too much but it still worked)

Using a larger tip for the main icing I filled in where the circles were.

Didn't do the best job some of them were misshaped

I let the white dry in front of a fan for a few minutes so that the other colors would not sink in.

The taking a smaller tip I piped the outline of Marvin's eyes.

 Kinda has a ninja look going on

And to finish him up, taking the smallest tip, I filled in the eyes with green. 

Since I had some left over green and black it seemed only appropriate to add "Don't Panic"

--------------------------------------------

"In an infinite Universe anything can happen, even survival. Strange but true"

-Douglas Adams

Restaurant and the End of the Universe

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your towels and venture forth

Happy Towel Day!!!

~Eris

May's Loot Crate: ADVENTURE

My May Loot Crate came today!

Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box for the geeks and the gamers.

This month's theme is ADVENTURE.

On Loot Crate's social media sites they give hints to what will be in the crate each month.

When I saw that The Legend of Zelda  was included I was so excited. I love these games.

Other things hinted at this month included Adventure Time and Minecraft.

I don't play Minecraft or watch Adventure Time, so Zelda was my main reason to look forward to this month's crate.

I wasn't disappointed.

I received a "Describing The Legend" Link shirt.

Really, really love it.

And also in the area of Zelda, an 8-bit bottle opener. I think that's Link on it, or at least in the same gaming realm as early Zelda

This month's badge has the Hyrule shield on it too

My Adventure Time tin is Finn with a Jake figure inside

(Yes I had to look this up)

I haven't watched Adventure Time. That is not to say I may not like it if I did. Never thought I would like anime until I become obsessed with Attack on Titan.

The Minecraft hanger is "zombie"

Never played this game, but love zombies. It kinda works

In this crate I got a Loot Crate membership card. : )

The Friend Zone Soundtrack.

(Not sure who/what this is, but willing to listen to it anyway)

And finally some Stickers and Temporary tattoos.

(again not familiar with who/what these relate to)

---------------------------------------------------------------

All in all I would give this crate a 7/10

Just for the Link shirt alone 

If you are interested in getting you own subscription box check them out at LootCrate.

~Eris 

Friday Finds

I've decided to make Literary Friday a once a month thing instead of every Friday. There are two reasons, 1. I want to read the book I write about and timing has not been great to do that and 2. I just want to change it up a bit.

So.....

Friday Finds

A couple of things that I want to share

Netflix find of the week:

Human Traffic

(Not really sure where to find a legal to use picture for it)

It's about the club/rave scene of the 90's only this is in Cardiff .

I've seen a lot of films about the whole rave scene but either I was too young to know about it when it was happening or more than likely raves were not really going on where I live. Pity. It looks like fun. I would so wear all the shiny metallic clothes and dance with glow sticks without needing the drugs.

Yes there is drug use, most of which is not seen and really only alluded too, except the spliffs. 

The main character is played John Simm aka THE MASTER from Doctor Who.

Also if you watch closely you can find a young Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes of the Walking Dead) scattered throughout the movie. 

Yes its about drugs and clubs, but it's really a funny movie focused on a group of friends. 

Something I Found and I want:

FUNKO Catwoman

While I was wandering happily, but broke, at Barnes & Nobles I saw this. I am such a fan of the 1960's Batman Series so this just makes me Happy. I want it. It has to be Julie Newmar's Catwoman. My personal favorite.

Fun Find on Etsy

William Shakespeare Cookie Cutter

  This is so cute for a theatre nerd. BOETECH has quite a few amusing 3D printed cookie cutters including Sherlock and the Avengers. Apparently they can also make custom cutters. That could be a interesting gift : )

Youtube Find:

Exitmusic: Passage

I am sort of in love with this song right now. Her voice is so strange yet soothing. How did I not know about this band before?!?

~Eris

If any content belongs to you and you want credit or you would like it taken down please contact me. I tried to link everything back. Thank you. 

Mother's Day Weekend and Bad Gaming Habits Update

Mother's Day was last Sunday so I'm a little behind on this. 

On Saturday I made bath bombs with my mom. It is something we have been wanting to try and make for a while.

And for once we managed to get everything needed for one of our projects.

At first it seemed to be going smashing.

Then the first batch (pink) started to sweat from either the humidity or too much liquid in the mix. They felt like sticky sushi rice when I transferred them to a baking sheet. The second batch (blue) had not started to get as sticky when I popped them in the oven. 

The pink ones melted into what looked like raw hamburger patties. The blue ones worked out okay. We will get this right next time.

*The More You Know*

----------------------------------------------------------

 On Mother's Day legit we have video game day.

My mom likes to play video games but the only ones she can really play are Lego games.

So we played Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings.

We didn't get around to Pirates of the Caribbean this time.

And to finish the day we made steaks and baked potatoes with chocolate pudding pie for dessert.

When I say "we" I'll admit it was mostly mom. We both fear my cooking anything meat related. 

We really had a great weekend. Crafts, food and games. Hell yes!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now for a bad gaming habit update:

I have completed Epic Mickey (I got the good ending) and Kirby's Epic Yarn.

These are the games I must finish before I allow myself to play Alice: Madness Returns

1. Zelda: Twilight Princess. Love this game but I really cannot remember where I left off in this one.
2. Lego Batman 2. I began playing this with my mom but she oddly didn't like it. She hates driving in games
3. Super Mario Galaxy. I don't know how long it has been since I tried this one.
4. And Wii Super Mario Brother. I am at the main boss Browser and just can't seem to get past it. Let alone to the Cloud level.

I am not including the Lego games that I have not finished because, once again, I play those with my mom when she comes over. 

I have a lot of work to get through so I can play Alice.

Now I have to decide which game to play first... open to suggestions.

~Eris

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 3

The third Jane Austen book in the ascending order from least liked to most loved is Mansfield Park.

Fanny

She is such a weak and timid character. Yet she is observant and clever. She sees and understands more about what is going on around her than any of the other characters. Most of what is known about her is internalized and only the reader is privy to her thoughts and feelings.

She is a good girl who tries to the the right thing and no one seems to recognize it.

Here is where I will probably throw some people off. 

I don't think it would have been a bad match between her and Henry Crawford.

After he takes the time to observe and try and get to know her, he is more perceptive to the mistreatment she gets from many of the others.

Sure Henry Crawford is not a good guy, but for a time he seems capable of changing for the better.

Most of the characters are in the shade of gray concerning good and bad.

The only truly mean spirited ones are Mrs. Norris and Maria Bertram.

Some are oblivious to how they come across, for example Sir Thomas who appears gruff and standoffish but is really kind and caring. Others make mistakes and must either learn from them or adapt. 

Tom Bertram screws up, nearly dies, and becomes a better person for it. 

Mary Crawford panics over her brother's affair and says and does thing to disgust the man she wants to marry. He leaves her and she moves on.

Austen manages to make everything come out pretty close to even. The truly good get what they want and the truly bad get punished. And everyone in between finds their own balance.

----------------------------------------------------------------

About the television and movie adaptations

The 1999 film version really got a lot wrong.

The 2007 TV version wasn't too bad. And it has Billie Piper as Fanny so that's a plus.

The problem with adapting this book is that Fanny is a quiet, introverted character and putting that onto the screen is pretty impossible unless they use many voice overs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bad Gaming Habit Update:

I have almost finished Wii's Epic Mickey. That Shadow Blot boss was a real pain.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

   Next Week: Sense and Sensibility 

~Eris

My Alice Obsession

I love the Alice series. 

Alice in Wonderland  and Alice Through the Looking Glass

There is this appeal in the idea that walking through a mirror or falling down a rabbit hole could take a person into a fantastical world.

My love for this started with the Disney animated feature as well as the Disney live action TV show, Adventures in Wonderland.

To be perfectly honest, it was the television show that sold it for me. So perfectly 90's.

I believe I have seen every interpretation of these stories.

My two favorite are Alice Through the Looking Glass and Syfy's Alice

The first one has a grown up Kate Beckinsale as Alice and the story stays true the the second book. The second book is really my favorite of the two. It includes all the poems and the Chess game concept.

Syfy's Alice is a re-imaging of the story. It pulls from both books and adds to them. I liked how they took some of the well known characters and made them new. Alice and the Mad-Hatter especially. 

With all that said I didn't like the Tim Burton version. I really wanted to like it but something felt off about it. Kind of like it tried too hard.

Many years ago I bought the American McGee's Alice game for PC. It took me a few years after that to get a computer that it worked on. I love this game, I have not finished it and probably never will, but I love the visuals and feel to the game. So when the new version came out on Xbox360 I had to have it. I've had the Xbox a few months and finally got Alice: Madness Returns. I am so excited to play it but I am forcing myself to finish a few other games that I stopped in the middle of playing to get out of my bad gaming habit. I have a goal to get to this game and it will be all the better for waiting. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

As great as all of these versions are, the book still holds a special place for me. It is worth reading both of these stories. I have an old hardback copy that I think was once used to keep a table leg level because it has an indention right in the middle.

 Through the Looking Glass is filled with some great poems including the Jabbywoky.

My favorite poem, though, is A boat beneath a sunny sky.

~Eris

Geek Weekend FAIL

It's May the Fourth...Be With You!

Star Wars day and the day after Free Comic Book Day.

Basically what should be a Geektastic weekend.

I had planned on getting out yesterday to try and find a comic book store that participated in FCBD. I ended up at Barnes and Nobles first, hoping to score a few Game of Thrones mystery minis. I looked everywhere but none could be found.

I was feeling a little disappointed when I spied...

Doctor Who mystery minis!!!

Oh the happy feels!!

In the small Whovian area these two little boxes sat and I grabbed them up like Gollum.

After leaving B&N on a high note I set forth once again thinking of comics.

Then the freaking phone rang. I swear some people cannot allow others to have fun. Thus with a frown on my face and comic book-less I headed back home. 

I refused to let this affect my Star Wars day.

I spent the evening playing Star Wars wii and found a fun Star Wars related food idea online I wanted to try.

Today I went and got the ingredients to make Light-saber pretzels.

(Forgive the puzzle background. It took so long to finish that I dread taking it apart)

Fun and simple, right? Not when I attempt it.

A tip for anyone thinking of trying this: Melt the chocolate before adding the food coloring or else it because the consistency of play-doh.

My blue Jedi light-sabers were not to be. The red Sith ones came out okay after adding the color after the melting was complete. They did look a little pink though.

They kind of look like snacks at a baby shower.

Fail!

So my Geektastic weekend ended up "meh". 

But at least I got these...

Happy Star Wars Day!!!

~Eris

Literary Fixation: Jane Austen Part 2

My second installment of the riveting Literary Friday series is about Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

The reason this novel is so low on my list isn't because I dislike it, its because I cringe throughout most of the book.

The main character Catherine Morland is a sweet, earnest and oh so naive girl. She is easily manipulated at varies times. Her imagination gets her into trouble and she over corrects in ways that it is hard to read. Yet I like her and I feel bad for her most of the time.

On her adventure to Bath she meets two sets of siblings. The Thorpes and the Tilneys.

The Thorpes, Isabella and John, are manipulative and self-centered creatures. What starts out as a fast friendship between Isabella and Catherine becomes twisted once their brothers arrive. Both of the Thorpes are looking to marry higher up and they have focused on the Morland siblings. 

It is obvious to the reader that the Thorpes are not good people. Slowly Catherine gets the sense of that too. Mainly because of the comparison the the Tilneys.

Introduced first to Catherine is the wonderful Mr. Henry Tilney. 

He may be my favorite of the Austen main men.

He is charming, funny and kind.

So of course Catherine falls in love instantly.

Catherine then manages to strike up a friendship with Miss Tilney, Mr Tilney's kind and caring sister. 

There is of course hitches the the love affair between Mr. Tilney and Catherine. The Thorpes being the lesser evil here. Mr. Tilney's father really gets involved. He wants them together when he thinks she is rich and then throws her out of the house all alone when he finds out she isn't.

This book makes it very clear who the good and the bad characters are. The villains show themselves clearly even if it takes Catherine awhile to realize.

This was Jane Austen first novel.

You can tell that she was still trying to find her voice in the literary world. There are times throughout the book that the style of narrative changes. It is like breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the reader. After reading all of her books I notice it more than if it were my first Austen book.

Also she relies on the assumption that the reader has read, or at least heard about, the books her character Catherine and the others have read. I would like to read The Mysteries of Udolpho simply because I want to know what they were on about. 

This is still a great book despite not being her best.

Mr. Tilney alone is worth reading it for.

I picture Tom Hiddleston as Tilney for some reason ; )