2016 was my first year participating in a Goodreads Challenge. Determined, I originally planned on reading 12 books this year, one for each month. However, seeing that I probably wouldn't accomplish this amount, I shortened it to eight books this year. Baby steps.
I did manage to read some whole books, but at the end of the year I was still behind. However, I also dabbled and started some other books, so to me, as long as a still read something, it still counts regardless if I completed them or not. I'll probably consider them my 2017 books too when I actually finish some of them. :P
For a lot of the books I read, I use My Bibliofile: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers to record my thoughts along the process. My father gave me this for Christmas one year and it is one of the best gifts I have ever received! Some books I do not include in this because I want to save pages in it and want to dedicate my entries to books I know I am into and want to finish. I think I might use some of the notes I took in this so I can remember what I thought of these books better. :P
This was originally going to be a "Chatting with Stef" video, but I think I can articulate my thoughts on the matter better here.
So the 2017 Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, took place last night. Awards were given, political stances were taken, jokes were made (mostly at Donald Trump's expense), and everyone is talking about the mistake at the end.
However, there is something that nobody seems to be talking about nearly as much, but should. Although, it has gotten a lot of attention of Twitter and other comment sections.
The news is covering Gosling's facial expression to La La Land's loss and his sister Mandi, who he generously brought to join him, but this needs to be acknowledged so much more, which is why I am writing this blog post.
First of all, I can't stand jokes at award shows. It's like, shut up and just give out the awards. They're usually never that humorous and are all just ways to get people chattering. Then again, perhaps it depends on the jokes, but I digress.
One of the "jokes" was bringing a bunch of unsuspecting Hollywood tourists into the theater and parading them in front of the nominees. The tourists were understandably starstruck, taking photos and videos of their favorite actors and actresses before them as host Jimmy Kimmel guided them down the line and introduced them.
However, what struck me more was Ryan Gosling's reaction to all of this, which for me spoke volumes.
Ryan Gosling, who was up for La La Land and sat in the front row, was the ONLY celebrity to STAND UP and STAY STANDING to greet the lineup. Not only that, he seemed to have quick, lighthearted conversations with each member. I was actually appalled to see that the others didn't really follow suit. And not to change the subject, I heard that he also made a nice speech about his girlfriend Eva Mendes back at the Golden Globes.
The man is a Grade A class act and deserves to be commended.
At first I didn't notice this, but people have pointed out that he gave the first guy his box of candy (throughout the night they dropped candy from the ceiling) and may have even handed him his autograph. But all of this is beside the point. Gosling did what the rest of the celebrities would not.
Sure there were some guys who briefly stood up and took photos and Denzel Washington got up for that one couple, but that was more because the woman said that he was her favorite actor and Kimmel somewhat obligated him. I got the impression that Washington couldn't be bothered and neither could the rest of them. I'll even go as far as saying that they kinda looked borderline repulsed by the everyday people and couldn't wait for them to leave.
Then again, this was just my impression.
I could be over thinking this and overpraising the guy, but it holds true that Ryan Gosling was the only star to treat the tourists with respect as fellow human beings plainly by standing up to get on their level and connecting with them as opposed to gawking and giggling at the "hilarity" of it all. But then again, you can't really blame them for responding strangely like that. It can always be cool for fans to meet famous people and for famous people to meet fans, but this was just such an odd and cringeworthy way of doing it. Now, if the tourists were let into an after party and could freely mingle as equals, that might be another story.
It was as if both the tourists and the actors alike were on display. Okay, well maybe the actors were caught off guard and found the whole extravagancy just as awkward as I did, so they were put on the spot and too stunned and maybe even too shy and low key to respond right. Maybe they deal with fans on a daily basis and needed a break from it. Maybe they aren't supposed to interact with people on the fly to protect themselves. Some of them were friendly enough when hugging and shaking hands with their fans, which was the extent of their communications.
I also want to give all of the women the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps their feet were killing them because of their heels or they were restricted from movement in their outfits. As a woman who has worn such attire in the past, I can totally understand this.
This still doesn't excuse the fact that this looked more like an opportunity to mock the "lesser" common folk and their excitement than anything by tricking them to show up, which isn't necessarily the celebrities' fault. They clearly didn't plan for this to occur.
People are mostly commenting about how funny and/or awesome it was and how lucky these people were, but I did manage to find a few tweets and comments from the opposing side, and I agree with them. Here are two of them:
Parading the less fortunate in front of rich folks so they can laugh at them is highly fucked up #Oscars
I repeat that maybe I am overanalyzing this. Some say that it was nice of the Academy and Jimmy Kimmel to allow this and was a harmless surprise and Kimmel style prank. It was, after all, a once in a lifetime opportunity for the tourists to meet their favorite stars and certainly a night they will never forget. Maybe it was the best night of their lives! Many people will probably disagree with my opinions about this because the tourists themselves looked happy to be there and, like, they were at the Oscars and ran into so many stars at once! Some people wish that they were in their shoes and that this would happen to them.
Why, then, should I complain on their behalf? I don't speak for anybody else.
Perhaps they were also in on the joke? This definitely needs to be considered because they were going to be on the Oscars and maybe certain permissions needed to be verified, such as for being filmed. Some people might feel ashamed wearing street clothes to such a formal event in front of cameras and a bunch of celebrities who are all decked out for the Oscars, which again intensifies the idea of the rich and famous humiliating the common folk. They also most likely had to be fully surveyed for safety reasons before they stepped foot into that theater.
Plus, if they were serious Hollywood fans, how would they not know that the Oscars were being filmed at that location at that time? Isn't the Red Carpet outside also an obvious clue? Well, they did take them through the side door and not every Hollywood tourist has to be that knowledgeable about every single thing happening in the industry...
Maybe it's because I am a private person, but as I was watching this, sensing the uneasiness through the screen and wondering how I would respond to the situation, I thought to myself that I probably would have been annoyed by the spotlight and may not be alone. Furthermore, my desire to meet so many celebrities isn't that great.
The Hollywood elite need to remember that they were once just as ordinary as us and if it weren't for the people walking in, they wouldn't be sitting in those nice comfy chairs awaiting their award acceptances and distributions. People like us spend our well earned money, which is probably about 1/100,000,000 of what these celebrities make, on tickets to see these films because we appreciate this art and appreciate these performers producing that art. I hope to never change my perceptions about this and remain humble.
Ryan Gosling understands this, for instead of remaining in his chair like everyone else, he stood among the commoners. The least the rest could have done was rise from their seats along with him to recognize the people who have helped and continue to help them get into their current positions of success and stature. Not that they aren't grateful, but it would have been nice to see them take this extra step to show that gratitude and camaraderie between us and them. Then again, that could have dragged the uncomfortable segment out longer and they were already pressing on time.
Something tells me that if this happened at the Tony Awards, more of the performers would socialize with the entering fans. Theater people seem more inclusive and accepting.
Interestingly enough, I was never really that huge a fan of Ryan Gosling. Let me be clear that I never disliked him, but I also wasn't one of the many girls my age who gushed over his portrayal of Noah Calhoun in Nicholas Sparks's The Notebook (2004), which is how I first discovered him. If I had to choose a Ryan, I always chose Ryan Reynolds, another fellow decent human being in my opinion.
I truly enjoyed Gosling's performance in La La Land when Abby and I saw it back in late December (and shockingly didn't make a review vlog of it). Gosling was up Best Actor in a Leading Role, but lost to Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea.
He may not have received an award, but he certainly has received a new fan in me from his one simple act of kindness. Many claim it is because of his Canadian upbringing. Regardless of what it is, he certainly earned my respect last night.
Thank you, Ryan Gosling.
If you want to see what I am talking about throughout this piece, here is the video of it:
(But maybe the celebrities were in on it [too]. If so, their reactions were simply them acting! Hmm... If that's true, then they really are a pretty talented bunch and perhaps more talented than I thought because they managed to convince me enough to write a whole blog post criticizing them!)
I've been practically either sick or busy all month, so I haven't been able to devote more of my time to this blog, but I am finally delivering this post! The Bodyguard was a 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner about a pop singer who has a stalker, so her manager hires a bodyguard to protect her.
Now this story comes to audiences live in a stage production...but not quite. I say not quite because I read the synopsis of the movie on Wikipedia and it doesn't really match up. It has some similarities, but the musical adaptation is a total retelling and liberties are taken.
Written by Alexander Dinelaris, the show has played in London, Australia, Germany, Korea, and Toronto, all with different casts. Now it kicked off its U.S. debut and tour at Paper Mill Playhouse, starring Grammy Award winner Deborah Cox as Houston's character Rachel Marron and Judson Mills as Costner's character Frank Farmer. It premiered on November 25 and played until January 1.
Going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew about this story is that it was based on a movie starring Whitney Houston who sings "I Will Always Love You" at the end. I didn't know how well this would translate to a stage musical, so I was interested in seeing how it is done.
Lately, earlier this month, I have been watching a lot of "Glee" clips that have recently surfaced on YouTube and it got me thinking. The final episode of "Glee" aired on March 20, 2015 and "Hamilton: An American Musical" began previews on July 13, 2015 and debuted on Broadway on August 6, 2015. I am 100% confident that if "Glee" lasted just a little bit longer, they would have definitely covered songs from "Hamilton" given how popular that musical is and how "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy's new show "Scream Queens" keeps referencing it in its current second season. Plus, they've covered songs from other musicals before.
Thinking about this, they could probably dedicate a whole season or even the whole series to the music from "Hamilton" because the songs could cover a lot of what happens in the storylines. The only thing that is throwing me is context. Usually "Glee" incorporated songs into episodes that were relevant to the theme of the episode's plot and "Hamilton" discusses a lot of politics and history, which isn't usually involved in the TV show. However, I am going to try to cast as much of the songs from "Hamilton" as I see fit, such as which songs would work well in which "Glee" situation. Also, what's not to say that the "Glee" writers wouldn't have changed up some of the lyrics to make sense in context? We also have to keep in mind that "Glee" tended to shorten songs for timing purposes. I am also going to include the Finn Hudson character.
So here is what would happen if "Glee" had a "Hamilton" music themed episode. We could also say that this is the weekly assignment Will gives them. Let's say that maybe he asks them to look back at their time in glee club and instructs them to chose a song from "Hamilton" that represents their feelings during that period.
Oddly specific, but yeah.
What's funny about this too is that a "Hamilton" episode would require Will to rap a lot, which was a running gag on the show.
So here is a brief rundown of the episode "Glee-milton".
OMG, YOU GUYS!!! Did you hear??? "Arthur" is celebrating 20 years on the air and had its 20th season premiere on October 10, which makes this a perfect opportunity for my October 2016 blog post!!! Oh, what a wonderful kind of day! :D
My favorite TV show is a cartoon kids' show. I am 25 years old. LOL! I still drop everything and fangirl every time it comes on.
"Arthur" is a very innovative cartoon that premiered in 1996 based on children's books by Marc Brown about an anthropomorphic aardvark third grader named Arthur Read and his family and friends. The show is the second longest running animated show on TV, the first being "The Simpsons", (Added 11/13/16 At 3:30 AM.) the second longest running show on PBS Kids, the first being "Sesame Street" (End addition.), and the longest running children's animated show in the United States.
Take THAT, Spongebob! :P
I've always wanted to write a blog post about "Arthur" episodes, so I decided to go back down memory lane and talk about some of my favorites to celebrate the milestone. Now, this isn't going to be a countdown and a list of EVERY single one of my favorites in a particular order because there are WAY too many to sift through, but I will include my favorite episode of all time at the end. :) This will be a list of some of the show's most memorable moments for me that have influenced my development as a person or represent a certain aspect of myself.
I had to do some research and also search depths of my mind for some episodes that have stuck with me through life. This was totally difficult to narrow down, because the more I think about it the more I remember episodes that I feel deserve a spot on my list. As I was reaching back into my memories and looking up episodes, I remembered many episodes that I have enjoyed, some I have even forgotten until now, although too many for a blog post. These are the ones that have made the cut, at least for this discussion piece. This was actually one of my most fun times I've ever had researching for and writing a blog post. So much nostalgia! Enjoy, friends and fellow "Arthur" fans! :D
In honor of its 20th season premiere, I am currently writing a blog post about my favorite "Arthur" episodes of all time. As I am doing my research for that one, I also remembered plenty of episodes early on in the series that were especially unique and iconic for the series. When you think of "Arthur", you automatically think of these installments. I can't write a blog post honoring my favorite "Arthur" episodes without mentioning these guys, so here are some honorable mentions:
Okay so just in case you were wondering lol :P, "Paper Cup Reviews" Episodes 7, 8, and 9 are underway, and then after that we are taking a small break from them because we are trying to figure out what to do for our 10th episode. Abby and I filmed Episodes 8 and 9 and were brainstorming last night, so stay tuned! My apologies for not delivering Episode 7 considering my hiatus, but I will get that one to you soon! As you may know, we tend to make long videos, so therefore it is a lot for me to look through and edit, which is what takes me a long time to finally publish it. Because of this, we are considering some changes regarding the series.
Also, I hope to republish my blogs and vlogs on here and my YouTube channel soon, so I'm excited about that! I've been missing it, but at the same time I feel calmer being low key on those mediums and social media and am more productive when I'm not on them, so I'm wondering about how I plan on handling the future of my online presence. We'll see! :)
Your favorite blogger Stef Sears here. You may have wondered where all of my blog posts, videos, and social media went. Well, I need to take a break from the Internet until further notice. I'm too addicted to it. I'm just overwhelmed.
Don't worry. My blog posts and videos have not been deleted, but are merely in drafts and set to private. My social media accounts have just been briefly deactivated. I'll be back and pick and choose certain posts and videos to make public again, but I need to completely prioritize my life and get healthy again. I want to wipe my Internet existence clean for the time being. I need to simplify my life and maybe start from scratch. I will still be blogging and vlogging, but for now I will be on hiatus.
I love you all! Thank you so much for your readership, viewership, and support! :)
A few years ago my friend Janis and I were volunteering at our alma mater's Lacordaire Academy Annual Book Sale. During some of our down time, we sat on the gym stage together and reminisced about our high school years there.
"What is one word you would use to describe me?" I asked her.
After some thought, she responded, "Cautious. You think about things in-depth before you do them."
Thereafter this turned into a conversation about how I can get out of this and has actually stayed with me ever since, making me question how much of life I am actually living.
Lately I've been encouraging myself to do more things, especially with my writing. Although, I still am a little cautious with that as well.
The truth is, I agreed with her answer whole-heartedly and wasn't offended by it. I actually like the fact that I am cautious. It makes me consider every logical path before making a decision and jumping into things.
However, this cautiousness of mine could also be more of a curse than a blessing. Cautiousness allows over-thinking and procrastination to dominate.
A part of the reason why I question my writing profession is that I never feel like my work is at its complete best and good enough in my eyes or ready for the cruel outside world. Think about it this way. Sometimes sharing my written work and putting it in someone else's hands is metaphorically equivalent to me walking outside in the nude and giving people permission to judge and touch my exposed body.
Yeah. It's THAT intimidating. And I'm not the only writer who suffers from this.
Usually when I finally submit the piece and then others see it, everything turns out fine. I never really had an issue with my articles and usually my subjects are happy with them, so I don't know where this fear is coming from.
However, this article in particular is different. The following is a recount of me deliberating with myself concerning said article and then making peace with my decision.
