Spring is Here!

Although you wouldn't know it with this cold, rainy weather!

But, I did manage to get out and get this week's picture of an Oklahoma Redbud, with it's lovely purply-red-pink blooms. I want some of these around my one-day home!

I especially love the drops of water still on it from an earlier rainstorm

How is spring where you are? What's your favorite part about spring?

LBD P&P Obsession

So, you may or may not know this, but my favorite book of all time is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I love Austen's wit, her flawed characters, the love that develops over time, the misunderstandings ... all that makes great drama!

I own the book (and all other Austen books, in my lovely Everyman's Library set), and read it at least once a year. I have also seen almost all of the movie/television adaptations (well, except for the 1940s one; I should correct that). My favorite has been the BBC/A&E version with Colin Firth (*swoon*) and Jennifer Ehle. I thought it was so faithful to the book. My only real qualm with it was that I didn't find that Wickham very attractive (and he's supposed to be, so ....). But, maybe that's just my person opinion.

SO, how is it, that it took me almost to the end of the Web series to discover this gem?

It was my darling husband that came across The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which is an modern-day adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, as told by Lizzie Bennet through her Vlog.

And I LOVE it!!!!!! Like, big, puffy hearts love it.

It's about to come to an end, so I'm actually glad I just barely found it. Means I could catch up with it only have to wait for a few more episodes to be released.

But, I have to tell you, the Lizzie & Darcy (played brilliantly by Ashley Clements and the swoon-worthy Daniel Gordh) in this version are giving Firth & Ehle a run for their money. Seriously!

I also love that they made it a multi-racial cast, and that the writing deepened some of the characters (like Darcy's sister) and even gave me some understanding to others (like Lydia).

I think it's hilarious how they interact off the show, through Twitters and appearances, as their characters. They were up for some Streamy awards, and showed up in character. Somewhat. So fun!

And the cast is HOT. Some beautiful people up in there!! Just look:

So, if you have some time to waste (or not, because, really, each episode is only a few minutes long), go check out this awesome web series!! GO. Now!

Oh, and FYI, there are some Vlogs that run concurrently at certain times during the series, namely Lydia's and Gigi's/Pemberly's that would be helpful if you watched, as well.

Nowadays, these are becoming more and more popular, and now that I've seen a few, I think I may take a time to look around for more. I find the writing is usually tight and concise (it has to be, these are only a few minutes long), and they have to engage the audience, or they will get dropped.

How about you? Do you watch any web series? Enjoyed them? Any recommendations?

Apples and Kindles

Weeks 10 and 11 of my Project 52 had me dealing with Apples and Kindles. Not quite what you think. ^_^

So, during and indoor picnic with my family, we played a round of Apples to Apples. Ever played it? It can be a lot of fun. And, I loved that this picture had the card that said "Zany" on it! Doesn't that describe this game (and families) perfectly?

 

And then, the week after had us getting our new Kindle Fire. We had a gift card to Sears and decided this would be the best bet for us. It is taking some getting used to, but overall, I think it was the best purchase we could have made (sans something practical, like tires).

 

Iceberg, Right Ahead!

This past week, Brian and I attended the Titanic Artifact Exhibition that's been touring the country. So it became my P52 for Week 9.

Overall, while I did enjoy the exhibit and found it very interesting, it made me a little sad. One, yes, for the poor people who had to go through this tragedy (and the hundreds that did not survive), but 2, sad for humanity's folly, selfishness, and arrogance!

There was a coal shortage at the time, but Titanic HAD to sail--it WAS the unsinkable ship, after all--in its grand debut. So, the company took coal from other ships, thus forcing many of those passengers to switch to the Titanic to be able to make their trip. Then, while they had the legal number of lifeboats required, it was only legal per the current ships out there. Titanic was larger than any of them. Therefore, not enough for the actual number of people on board. Then of course, there were the 3 warnings about ice/icebergs they received on their way. Not only were the warnings not heeded, the ship continued on at almost the fastest speed it could reach. And then, after the ship began to sink, the lifeboats left with very few people, and many didn't go and rescue anyone else left in the water.

If only they had ....

But, they didn't, and thus the tragedy occurred. So sad. But, we learned from it. But, isn't it sad that we only make great changes after things like this occur, instead of someone thinking ahead to the what-ifs?But then, we ARE only human.

I would say the most interesting part of the exhibit was that each person received a card, similar to a boarding pass that one might have received back then. It had the name of one of the passengers on the Titanic and a little bit of information about them. (What class they were in, and sometimes a room number, and a little bit of extra information, if it was available.) Then, toward the end of the exhibit, there's a wall with the names of all the passengers, and whether they survived or perished. And you can find out about your person.

My person was a Mrs. Kimball, wife of a wealthy businessman, staying in 1st class. She survived. (I don't think her husband did.) Brian's person was an engineer in 2nd class. He didn't survive.