Yet Another Period Drama Blog: blog events

Showing posts with label blog events. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Scarlet Pimpernel Blog Party Tag

Really, what is a blog party without a tag, eh? Please feel free to copy these questions onto your own blog, and leave a comment below with the link to your answers. That way we can all see everyone's contribution!

1. The obvious question... how'd you get introduced to the Scarlet Pimpernel?

2. If you could meet any of the characters in real life, who would you choose and why? (you can use the obvious answer of Sir Percy if you really want to, but this is your chance to get creative. ;))

3. What are your top 3 favorite quotes from the books or movies? (yes, just three)

4. Who is your favorite supporting character in the books? (Percy and Marguerite are ineligible)

5. Which film versions have you seen and which do you like best?

6. What's your top-absolute-favorite scene in the first book? (if you've read it-- if not, what's your favorite scene in whichever movie you prefer?)

7. If you could dream-cast a new adaptation of the book (a period piece, that is) who would you choose to play the roles of Sir Percy, Marguerite and Chauvelin?

8. Do you think the Scarlet Pimpernel does his rescue work purely for "the love of sport," as the narrative would tell us (and as he would often claim) or does he have more noble motives that he won't admit? Explain your answer. Show your work.

9. Second to Chauvelin, who is the worst villain in the book series, and why?

10. What's your favorite novel in the series (if you've read more than one)? If not, which one are you most excited to read?

11. If you could change one thing about your favorite version of the movie, what would it be?

12. Lastly... how would you convince a skeptical friend to read/watch TSP? What is it that you love about it?

Don't forget to leave a comment below with your answers!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The Scarlet Pimpernel Blog Party: An Introduction

Welcome to the party, fellow humans! The blog party, that is. Online. The internet kind. Virtual, you know. There aren't actually refreshments or anything like that. Apologies.

This party, in case you weren't aware, is of purpose twofold. The first is that any excuse to have a blog party is generally a good one. The second is that I and several friends (quite a lot of people, actually) have been working hard for the last year and a half on a new film adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which will premiere one week from today, and a blog party focused on TSP and all things related might be an excellent way to get people excited. Because, y'know, shameless self-promotion and All That.

What is the Scarlet Pimpernel, exactly? If you're a newcomer to this blog or just a newcomer in general to that term I've been throwing around somewhat extravagantly, let's take just a moment to explain. (If you already know who and what the Scarlet Pimpernel is, and are a fan, take this moment as an enjoyable refresher course. If you already know and are NOT a fan... why are you reading this. :P Well, perhaps I can convince you. At any rate, please do stay and be comfortable.)

In 1903, a former Hungarian baroness (formerly a baroness, that is, not formerly Hungarian-- she stayed Hungarian all her life but had to leave her baronessy estate in Budapest because of peasant uprisings and the like) fallen on hard times wrote a play about a man who rescued French aristocrats from the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. Emma Magdolna Rosalia Maria Jozefa Borbala Orczy (that is a MOUTHFUL right there-- she usually went by "Emmuska") had published a few short stories before her play about this dude calling himself the "Scarlet Pimpernel," but had achieved little success. Overnight, however, the play became a hit, soon moved to London's famed West End, and in response to public demand, Baroness Orczy turned it into a novel. The Scarlet Pimpernel, published in 1905, became an immediate success and spawned both an entire series of books about the mysterious title character and a genre of literature, film and other media known as-- you might have heard of them-- "superheroes." (No, seriously. The idea of a masked crusader with a secret identity began with the Scarlet Pimpernel and carried over to Zorro and Batman and Superman and all those guys. Look it up.)

What happened next? Well, several movie adaptations, for starters. Of the two best-known, one was made in 1934 and is considered by old-movie buffs to be a true classic (starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon) and another was made in 1982, considered by most fans of TSP to be the best (hey, we're not biased) and stars Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour.

*insert le sigh*

(screencap by Ashley)

There have been a LOT of other movie and TV adaptations as well-- sixteen, if Wikipedia offers correct information-- along with several parodies, a Broadway musical and the aforementioned really extensive book series, and as of September 8th there will also be a modern-day web series adaptation. (I wish I could say that was my last plug. But, um, it's not and won't be and I don't believe in lying to you. :))

If you're interested in reading the first novel in the series, The Scarlet Pimpernel, you probably need look no further than your local library. It's a classic and there are a ton of different editions. You can also check out Blakeney Manor, the original Scarlet Pimpernel fan site, for e-texts of ALL the books! Librivox.org also has several free audio recordings of Scarlet Pimpernel books-- I highly recommend those read by Karen Savage, as she "does all the voices" and reads all the French stuff quite Frenchily. (I don't speak much French. Full disclosure. So I could be really wrong there. But it sounds pretty authentic to my limited experience.)

For more discussion of the Scarlet Pimpernel in general, you might want to visit The Day Dream, a Scarlet Pimpernel fan blog. Full disclosure again, I'm an author on that blog. :P It doesn't get a lot of buzz these days, as most of the authors have moved on to busier lives, but there are piles of archives to comb through if you're looking to learn more about this fandom.
ALSO. Do you know what else is cool? Well, lots of things, but the one I was going to tell you about is the fact that there have been several people in real life who were directly inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel to do some very dangerous rescue work during WWII. Raoul Wallenberg is perhaps the most famous (my friend Maribeth can tell you more about him than I can), but you might also care to look up Donald Caskie, Hugh O'Flaherty and Varian Fry. I think there have been others as well, but that's a start. The movie Pimpernel Smith, starring Leslie Howard (again...) tells the story, too, of a man who rescued inmates of German concentration camps (and was the film that inspired Raoul Wallenberg to do similar work in Hungary). Cool beans.

Okay, thus ends this very ramble-y post, and thus beginneth the blog party.

(Oh, and here is a preview for the pilot for Masked which is airing in one week. And no, I am not going to shut up about that.)

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

"I thought... a picnic." (In Other Words, a Blog Party)

Original illustration by Adelaide Rovirosa, commissioned for Masked (2015)

Masked premieres in less than two weeks. Which is why I've been so scarce around here of late. (Well, that and a few other things. More on that later.)

(If you haven't heard about Masked before this, it's a new literary web series based on The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. You can check out our website here, visit our IMDb page here, follow us on Twitter and Tumblr, or like our Facebook page. Oh, and we're also on Pinterest. Was that a sufficient social media dump? :P)

In light of this exciting news (I feel like I should have inserted a few more exclamation points in that opening sentence....), I thought it might be fun to have a Scarlet Pimpernel themed blog party in preparation for the premiere. The pilot episode of Masked will air on YouTube on September 8th, and beginning September 1st, I'll be hosting a myriad of fun stuff here on this blog! Watch out for trivia quizzes, movie reviews, production stills from the upcoming modern-day adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel (cough cough... this is all about shameless product placement) and even some interviews with the cast of said modern adaptation! And possibly a giveaway... one never knows...

If you're interested in participating, please grab the HTML code for the button below in the handy little box that's below THAT. Paste it on your blog in a post or on the sidebar to spread the word, and then check back here on September 1st for the party launch! See you then!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

MFL 50th Anniversary Watch-Along: The Recap

(That's MFL for My Fair Lady, not NFL. Never that. MFL definitely trumps that. Can I get an amen. *We* know how to better occupy our time. :P

Well, here we are again with our recap of this week's fabulous My Fair Lady 50th Anniversary watch-along! Whew, that's a mouthful. :P

On Wednesday evening, Melody and Amy convened at Amy's blog with Hayden, Ashley, Evie, Jess and Ally to watch and discuss the first act of My Fair Lady. (We called it the first half but really it's closer to the first three-fifths, as the show isn't divided evenly down the middle the way it should be.) Hayden sadly had to leave early, but the rest of us stayed around and nattered for 254 comments. (And made the discovery that Blogger has learned to make multiple pages in comments when we talk too much.) We were united in our disapproval of Eliza's father Alfred, rejoiced in the delights of the Rain in Spain, and made fun of Henry Higgins and his rudeness. Also we agreed that Freddy Eynsford-Hill, despite his nice singing voice (Prince Philip!) and his moderately nice face, is a dweeb and we hope Eliza didn't go for him. Naturally we fangirled over I Could Have Danced All Night. Because who doesn't. And wondered why on earth Higgins has so many servants. Because he's a bachelor with a medium-sized house.

Overall, the evening was quite a success. We experienced some technical difficulties and some people had to float in and out due to company and schoolwork, but we had a great deal of fun. (See the post and comments here.) And by the next evening, we were all ready to do Act 2 at Melody's blog.

Act 2 began with Melody, Evie, Ashley and Miss Jane Bennet-- Amy had a prior commitment and wasn't able to join the party right away, but then she did and everything became more wonderful. (If that line's still in the final polished product of this post, it's probably because Melody was too amused to take it out. Now Amy will be embarrassed, because it was supposed to be a joke but there are probably those who will take her seriously and think she's an uppity idiot.) Anyway, we temporarily shipped Higgins and Eliza as they danced together, enjoyed poking fun at the Queen of Transylvania, collectively muted Alfred's stupid bachelor party song, whooped and hurrahed over the gloriousness of Mrs. Higgins and her awesomeness, and campaigned for Melody to rewrite Higgins' misogynistic torch song as A Hymn to Her. (We will take donations at the end of the post to fuel this campaign.) Ashley also pointed out that Colonel Pickering is really not quite such a gentleman as he is often made out to be-- he talks a lot about Eliza behind her back and only really treats her as a lady in public or when it strikes his fancy.

And we sincerely hope, of course, that Eliza made Higgins get his own dashed slippers. Because, ya know. (And you can see the post and them comments-- THOSE comments-- here.)

On each of our blogs we had a little poll just to spice things up a bit, and here are the results.

On Amy's blog -
"Which is your favorite song from My Fair Lady?"

The winner (as predicted by Amy) was "I Could Have Danced All Night" with 7 votes (28%). It was anything but unanimous, though, and here were the other choices--

"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" - 5 votes (20%)

"On the Street Where You Live" - 4 votes (16%)

"Just You Wait" - 3 votes (12%)

"Without You" - 2 votes (8%)

"The Rain in Spain" - 2 votes (8%)

"Show Me" - 1 vote (4%)

On Melody's blog -

"Which of Eliza's dresses is your favorite?"

The winning dress was the green one worn during "The Rain in Spain" (and part of "I Could Have Danced All Night") with 9 votes (56%).
Others were:
Purple "Just You Wait" dress - 4 votes (25%)
Ascot Ensemble, Embassy Ballgown and the Pink/peach "Show Me" outfit each with 1 vote (6%).

Thank you to everybody who joined in and made the evening fun! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

My Fair Lady 50th Anniversary Watch-Along: So It Begins

Our watch-along begins at 8 PM sharp, Central Standard Time! I will be making the comments public and unmoderated at about 7:45 CST... hopefully no spam will creep in, haha. Please try and be here 15 minutes ahead of time so that we can all get set up and ready together. Also, please get your video ready and playing (and then pause it right at the beginning) so that when we start at 8:00, we won't be wading through ads or previews, but can all just start at the exact same point.

This will be the big Discussion Post, so I won't say much more, only direct you to the comment box. Oh, and please vote in the little poll I've got going over on the sidebar!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

"Will it rain, do you think?"

Don't forget, folks, that the 50th anniversary My Fair Lady watch-along starts here tomorrow night at 8 PM Central! If you plan to join us, please be here about 15 minutes early so we can all get set up and get acquainted and all that jazz. Melody and I are looking forward to it and we hope you are too. We've been spreading the word (and even inviting a fictional character or two... oh the joys of 21st-century transmedia!), so hopefully it will be a fun and lively gathering.

I'm killing two birds with one stone and using this post to announce that I'd Like to Share, the post link-up that I hosted for the past year and a half, has flown its last flight... or whatever it is that post series do. Fun as it was, I think it's run its course-- but you can go look at the page whenever you want to access old links and remember the posts that were nominated in days gone by! I have some new plans for this blog over the coming months, too... so don't go anywhere. :D

(I mean, you can go places. It's not like you have to keep this window open all the time. I just mean, don't leave and never come back. Although I guess you could do that if you really wanted. I'm not the boss of you. ...I'm gonna shut up now.)

Monday, September 9, 2013

Celebrate Musicals Week: The Details

(I have a feeling our party is going to be a lot less sedate... and hopefully less snarky...
than this scene, but I just love the picture so I had to use it.)

"There's no business like show business, like no business I know... everything about it is appealing..."

~Annie Get Your Gun

I've been wanting to host a musicals blog party since... mmmm, since I started this blog, actually. Which means almost two years. Which in blog years is like two decades or something. The reason it's taken me almost two years is that I was afraid not enough people would be interested. Yet after the overwhelming response and interest that came pouring in every time I posted about Les Miserables on here (and the delightful success of the Les Mis concert week that Petie and I hosted last summer), I began to think that perhaps there were, after all, enough musical theatre geeks out there to make such a party a success. So, voila, here we are. "Where do we go from here? This isn't where we expected to be..."

(Um, and I'm using this blog party as an excuse to stick as many random song lyrics into my posts as possible, and if you catch all the references, here's a high-five. If you don't get the references, my apologies for annoying you with all my random lyrics.)

So. Onward.

The idea behind this party is simple. It's a bit different from other parties I've hosted, but I think it's going to be fun. Basically, everybody gets to pick a musical of their choice and write about it for a whole week, and then at the end of the week we all link up our posts here and have a grand and glorious reading-of-everyone's-posts-and-having-fun-because-musicals-are-awesome. It's a four-step process, the way I see it. If you want to participate, you will need to...

1. Choose a blog button from the assortment below and display it somewhere on your blog (I recommend the sidebar.)

2. Choose a musical to focus on during the party week (which is September 23-28 in case you hadn't caught on to that yet). I'll tell you right now that I'm not doing Les Miserables. GASP. I'm not saying I've done Les Mis to death on here, because I haven't (shush), but I'd like to focus on another musical that's become one of my top favorites in recent months, so I'm going to be doing Phantom of the Opera. (Oh, and when you pick your musical, don't worry about doing the same one as someone else. There is a finite number of musicals out there, after all, and if two or more people choose the same one, big deal. It'll be fun to see their different takes on the same topic.)

3. Start writing your posts for the week now. You'll want to have them ready ahead of time so it isn't a mad scramble when party week arrives. (Trust me on this one.) I recommend that you write at least three posts about your chosen musical-- this isn't a requirement for participation, but it would be nice if everyone who participates does at least the minimum. Need ideas for posts? Some suggestions...

~a review of the stage version (if you've seen one)
~a review of the movie (if there is one, and you've seen it)
~a review of your favorite cast recording/soundtrack
~your dream cast, if you were to stage this musical
~an analysis of your favorite character(s) and why you love them
~a trivia quiz of your own invention, based on your musical
~comparisons of different versions of songs from your musical
~your favorite actors who have played in this musical, and why you love their performances

I will also be providing a tag to get the week kicked off, and you should feel free to write posts about anything else musical-related that strikes your fancy, in addition to the posts about your spotlighted musical.

(You probably WOULD understand. In fact, I hope you will, once you've
finished reading all the posts I have planned about it. But I found this picture
amusing-- ergo, I must share it.)

4. Tag all your posts with "Celebrate Musicals Week" so that when we have our link-up at the end of the party, you can simply provide the link to all your posts containing that tag. (For example, all of the posts on my blog that have to do with the Anne of Green Gables party I hosted last spring are tagged with "Anne of Green Gables week" and can be found at this address: http://miss-dashwood.blogspot.com/search/label/Anne%20of%20Green%20Gables%20Week.) This will save a lot of space and time and makes more sense (in my mind) than individually linking to each post. :D

Okay, I lied, there's a fifth step...

5. Have a blast! This is going to be so fun, I'm sure of it. "Anything can happen if you let it," and this blog party is going to be amazing. "I gotta feeling there's a miracle due, gotta come true, comin' for meeeee...."

See you there!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Do Not Forget

(bonus points to you if you read the title in a creepy Blandois voice)

Just wanted to remind everyone that this is the last week to submit your nominations for the September I'd Like to Share event! I'll be posting a list of the Best Posts in August (well, the ones that got nominated, anyway) on September first, and then if all goes well the floor will be open again to nominate a new post for the October link list. Feel free to second other people's nominations if you wish, but don't let that stop you from nominating a post of your own choosing. (And don't forget to let me know which category you think the post falls into-- Inspirational, Informative, Humorous, Just Plain Interesting or Miscellaneous. Posts that are not categorized by the nominator will ~~spend the night IN THE BOX~~ be put into Miscellaneous.) Go here for more details on the event, and here to nominate your favorite August post!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Period Dramas, Blog Parties and Valentines Gone Wrong

We strive towards a larger goal... those little games don't count at all!

The picture placed strategically above these words has nothing to do with this post. It simply informs the world that I have zero interest in football, a fact which you probably already knew, but I had to include that picture here because I burst out laughing every time I see it. (I am told that the Crows won the Super Bowl. Or maybe it was the Rooks. Some kind of large, flappy, ugly birds. Whatever.)

At any rate, today I shall be answering the lovely Miss Laurie's Period Drama Challenge tag questions. I signed up to participate in the PDC about a month ago, and the idea is simple: choose a certain number of period dramas to watch between January and July, and review each one. They don't have to be films you've never seen before, but they do have to be films you've never reviewed before. I chose to do 10 films, and though I haven't done any reviews yet (cough...) I'm participating in the tag because it looks fun.

1. What period dramas have you watched in January?

Jeeves and Wooster (season four), Lark Rise to Candleford (season one, almost done) and North and South (the whole thing).

2. Do you prefer period dramas peppered with humor or laced with dark emotions?

A combination of both. Humor is always good ("TAKE IT, EAT IT") but I like a bit of drama ~~now and again~~ pretty much all the time.

3. What was the first period drama miniseries (two episodes or longer) that you ever watched?

Pride and Prejudice (1995). I saw Anne of Green Gables long before that, but I'm not sure if that one really counts.

4. How many Jane Austen adaptations have you seen?

Nine. P&P95, Sense and Sensibility (both recent versions), Persuasion (both recent versions), Mansfield Park (1983), Northanger Abbey (2007), Emma (1996 Miramax) and Emma (2009 BBC). Oh, and I've seen the Wishbone episode "Pup Fiction" which is based on Northanger Abbey, but I don't suppose that counts.

5. What period drama, that you haven't seen before, are you most looking forward to seeing in the future?

Ivanhoe (1982). My sister and I are planning to watch it next Saturday... I haven't read the book yet, but she has, and I know the basic story, and-- forget all that. ANTHONY ANDREWS AND OLIVIA HUSSEY.
Ahem.

In other news...

Jessica is hosting a Literary Valentine contest over at her blog this week, and since I can't resist such things, I made a wee Les-Mis-themed entry. I thought about making a Jane Austen card, but decided that I had more opportunity for humor with Enjolras, so... here ya go.

Yes, well, the poor chap's not the romantic sort. (Kudos to people who can identify Patria.)

And to top it all off, Kellie is hosting her third annual Literary Heroine Blog Party! This will be my third year participating (the first year was when I had a private blog) and I'm quite excited. Do hop over to her blog and take a peek at the festivities from February 16-28!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Well, if this doesn't just take the giddy biscuit!

What ho, my friends! My esteemed sister the Anne-girl has ~~gone against Jeeves' better judgment and has worn a white evening jacket every night this week~~ decided to do a simply splendiferous and may I say inspired thingamajigger.

I've always wanted to go to one of those big writers' conferences-- well, okay, ever since Anne-girl told me of their existence, which was about three months ago. Relative terms, people, relative terms. But such a thing sounded positively top-notch, and I don't mind saying that I was quite yellow with longing to attend one of them. (People are green with jealousy--is there any good reason why they should not be yellow with longing?)

But I have no more reason to be yellow or any other color, for on October 22nd (a week from today! ONE MORE WEEK 'TIL REVOLUTION!) there will be a veritable explosion of activity over at Anne-girl's blog, Scribblings of My Pen. Because Anne-girl is hosting an online writers' conference and I don't think I'm going too far when I say that this kind of news just about takes the giddy biscuit!

There will be inspirational posts on a slew of different writing topics, there will be pep talks from Anne-girl's characters, there will be opportunities to swap your writing with fellow scribblers, there will be question-and-answer sessions with some of your favorite authors in the blogosphere (Anne's taking the questions now, by the way!) and plenty of rip-snorting fun. Besides which, Anne has ~~forcibly forced~~ kindly invited me to distribute the prizes after the headmistress makes her commencement speech, and though I'm trying to foist the job off on Gussie Fink-Nottle, the end result may be quite entertaining. So do come.

Oh, and don't forget to stop off here and pick up a button of your own-- let's spread the word, shall we?

P.S. To all of you who may think I've been watching too much Jeeves and Wooster lately-- I don't know what you're talking about. *dances off singing Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors*

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Blog parties and tags and more tags, oh my!

Kiri Liz over at Lianne Taimenlore is hosting a Disney blog party this week, and as part of the festivities she's shared these tag questions for her readers to fill out.

Which is your favorite Disney film and why?

My favorite Disney film is one that not many people have heard of, actually... it's the 1946 live-action-slash-animated feature So Dear to My Heart. I first saw this when I was about three, and it's remained a family favorite ever since. It's heartwarming and endearing and funny and old-fashioned (takes place in 1903!), it emphasizes good Christian values, it has memorable songs and it features a square dance scene! What's not to like? I really should review it on here sometime... *adds to lengthy list*

Which is the most annoying/worst Disney film and why?

The Shaggy Dog (1959). UGH. We rented this one because it starred Fred MacMurray and Tommy Kirk, two actors whose performances we'd enjoyed in the hilarious Absent-Minded Professor (1961). I'm not going to bother explaining what it's about-- if you're really curious, voila! Wikipedia! Have you ever heard of a shaggy dog story? It's the kind that you tell at sleepovers, at 1 AM when everyone's really, really tired and goofy. It goes on and on and on forever until finally it ends abruptly with a let-down ending. (If you still don't know what kind of joke I'm talking about, leave me a comment or shoot me an email and I'll enlighten you. You probably won't like me anymore afterwards, though, so I wouldn't advise it.) I do not think it is a coincidence that this film was named The Shaggy Dog.

What was the first Disney film you can remember watching?

Bambi, but just barely. My mom tells me I was two when I saw that. I think I watched Winnie the Pooh before then, though. Put it this way: I can't remember a time when I hadn't yet seen Pooh or Bambi.

What are some of your favorite quotes from Disney films?

Are you ready for this? (Thanks, Kiri, for making it "quotes" with an S...)

"Do not speak to me of [such and such] at this time." (Alpha, Up)
"But it's a TALKING DOG!" (Russell, Up)
"This is South America. It's like America. BUT SOUTH." (Ellie, Up)
"Only one of them ram lambs is gonna win. The rest is gonna lose. But no matter what happens, I want to see you come out of that ring like a Kincaid. Walkin' proud." (Granny, So Dear to My Heart)
"Oh great. Return of the Astro-Nut." (Hamm, Toy Story 3)
"Don't worry! I know about Buzz's Spanish mode!" (Jessie, Toy Story 3)
"What are you lookin' at, feathers?" (Mr. Potato Head, Toy Story 3)
"See that Lucifer gets his bahhhhhhhhhth." (Evil Stepmother, Cinderella)
"Ooh-OOOH-ooh. The CLAW." (Aliens, Toy Story 2 and 3)
"Madam, that is entirely beside the point!" (Mr. Banks, Mary Poppins)
"Hold my fin. HOLD MY FIN." (Marlin, Finding Nemo)
"They're called s'mores, Buzz." (Woody, Toy Story 2)
"That doesn't even rhyme." "Yeah, it does." (Carl and Russell, Up)

Ahem... yes... I enjoy quoting.

Which Disney character do you think you are most like?

Probably Marlin from Finding Nemo. Pathetic, I know, but I tend to be overprotective and paranoid just like him. "Hey! That snail was about to CHARGE!"

What is your favorite Disney film song?

I have to pick one??? All right, fine. Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins. That happens to have been Walt Disney's favorite, too, but that's not why I like it so much. :D

What is one Disney film you find yourself recommending over and over?

So Dear to My Heart (it's really sad how few people have seen it!).

What is one thing from any Disney film or films that really irks you?

The way they tend to butcher the book they adapt. Now, in some cases this actually works out (see SDtMH) but in a lot of cases it makes for a crummy story. Alice in Wonderland is just wacko. The Swiss Family Robinson is laughable. And do not speak to me of Johnny Tremain at this time.

Who is your favorite Disney heroine and why?

Hard call. I'm not really a big fan of any of the Disney princesses, to be honest... Belle is the only one with any real sense about her (I don't consider Mulan a princess and I know basically nothing of Pocahontas), but it seems that a lot of people choose Belle as a favorite and I like to be different. So I'll say Jessie from Toy Story. Oh, and I always really liked Wendy in Peter Pan...

Who is your favorite Disney hero and why?

Bert in Mary Poppins, I think. He's fun and entertaining and nice to everybody. I'm afraid I'm not that partial to most Disney heroes... the princes tend to be losers (well, with a name like Charming, what can you expect?) and though I really like a lot of the other guy characters (like Buzz in Toy Story or Pooh in Winnie the Pooh) I'm not sure they could really be called heroes. Wait, wait, I really do like the Beast in Beauty and the Beast before he became a prince. That sounds weird, yes, but you know what else is weird? His hair after the transformation. Ewwww.

Who is your favorite Disney sidekick and why?

I have to choose one? Hmmm... okay, Dug from Up. He's lovable, entertaining, loyal and always eager to help.

If you could spend a day in any Disney film, which one would you pick and why?

Probably Mary Poppins. Why? I grew up on that one and I'd feel right at home in it, I think. Plus, the clothes. Sighhhhh.

Choose any one Disney film character and place them in any Disney film (other than his or her own). How would the story be different?

Okay... so if you stuck Mr. Potato Head in Cinderella... wow, that'd be interesting. He'd make sarcastic remarks about pretty much everything (including Cinderella herself) and would probably get booted out of the stepmother's house in five minutes flat. Stepmother would probably sack Cinderella while she was at it, because she'd naturally blame poor Cinderella for the smart-mouthed tuber hanging around the kitchen, so Cinderella would be forced to earn her own living in the village. She'd end up marrying the friendly grocer and live happily ever after with a guy who actually has a personality. Score.

That's all for the Disney tag questions, but since I'm on a question-answering roll here, I'm going to respond to the questions Hayden tagged me with last week. Thanks Hayden!

Rules
1. Tag five others and write a line or two on why you like their blog.
2. If tagged post your five favourite words.
3. Make up five questions for the persons you tag, and answer the five the person who tagged you asked you.

Here's who I'm tagging:

1) Alexandra - her blog is just so fun to read, and I adore her writing style. Plus, she's an even bigger TSP fan than I am which is saying a lot. :D
2) Eowyn - I love getting a little peek into her life when reading her blog, and she has all the right opinions regarding Les Miserables. (Um, for the record, I DO like people who don't have the same ideas I do about Les Miz... not to give you the wrong idea or anything.)
3) Maria Elisabeth - Her blog was one of the first I started following. I love reading her thoughts about books and movies and anything Jane Austen!
4) Petie - Her blog is so well-written and put-together... I always feel a little bit of jealousy when I read one of her brilliant posts. ;)
5) Rachel - I've linked to her "this, that and the other thing" blog, but when I first got acquainted with her it was through reading her writing blog, The Inkpen Authoress-- a constant source of inspiration to me!

My five favorite words:

1. Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. It's a little Hawaiian fish, in case you didn't know, and it's pronounced "hoo-muh-hoo-muh-noo-kuh-noo-kuh-ah-puh-WAH-ah." Don't listen to Mrs. Potato Head on the Toy Story 3 short. She got it wrong.
2. Frippery. This is just so fun to say.
3. Facetious. I like to use this in place of "funny." It makes me sound Wise and Learned, which is always a good thing. :P
4. Triskaidekaphobia. I'm not in the least afraid of the number 13, but it's fun to say.
5. Syzygy. No vowels... it's just a weirdo. Which is probably why I like it. My grandfather taught me how to spell it when I was about five and it's stuck with me ever since.

Now for Hayden's questions:

1) What's one book character you think you should hate, but don't?

Oh, dear, I'm blanking on this one. Javert in Les Miserables? Well, I've never yet heard of anyone who actually DID hate Javert, despite his villainy... so maybe Charlie in Rose in Bloom. There's every reason why I should despise him, but I just can't. *sobs in corner*

2) What's the hardest thing you ever had to write?

Too many to pick from. Maybe my research paper in 11th grade?

3) Now a little Pride and Prejudice-ness: How many Bennets does it take to change a lightbulb?

All seven, naturally. Kitty to do the actual screwing in, Lydia to hold the ladder, Mary to make dire predictions about electrocution, Mrs. Bennet to fuss and fret about how the whole thing is frazzling her nerves, Lizzy to smirk over it all and hand extra lightbulbs after Kitty breaks each one, Jane to stand by the telephone ready to call 911 and Mr. Bennet to sit in his easy chair with his newspaper over his face (only present because his wife insisted).

4) What's your favorite type of flower?

Roses. Standard answer, I know, but they're so pretty and they smell so good.

5) What's your favorite period in history?

Either the American Civil War or the Tudor period in England. I also really like studying the World Wars, but that sounds rather morbid...

And now for my five questions:

1) What's the last book you checked out from the library?
2) You can have anything you like for dinner tonight-- budget, diet and what's-in-the-refrigerator don't enter into the equation. What'll it be?
3) What's your favorite joke? (And don't say "the one about the dog and the banana." Tell it to us!)
4) Which famous person (living or dead) would be the most colossal bore to meet? I'm trying to put a spin on the average "who would you like to spend a day with" question.
5) You have to pick just one-- Sense and Sensibility or Pride and Prejudice? Why?

If anyone else who didn't get tagged wants to fill out these questions, go for it! Consider yourself tagged as of now.

Monday, April 2, 2012

An Apology And An Announcement

Mr. Phillips: Let us not have tears; partings are a natural part of life... To ease the pain of this news, I have glad tidings. We shall adjourn early this afternoon, make our way to the Spurgeon farm, where Moody's parents have consented to host a celebration in honor of my departure.
Moody Spurgeon: Nobody told me.... eh, heh.
~Anne of Green Gables

First of all, I should like to apologize to all of you who were fooled by my April Fool's Day post yesterday. Obviously, the point of the post was to fool you and perhaps make you laugh, but I honestly never thought anyone was really going to take me seriously! "I am sorry to cause pain to anyone, but it was most unconsciously done, and I hope will be of short duration." However, I must say that I was quite touched by your expressions of regret at my "departure" and I assure you that I have no plans to stop blogging anytime in the near future. (And I might add that Melody, who I always thought was my friend, seems quite capable of getting on nicely without me, and that my Sister Dear appears to be planning a celebration in honor of my departure, and that Ally thinks I'm horrid and has already sustained two heart attacks. Ahem.)
Moving on... my sister Anne-girl is hosting a Hero Week at her blog, Scribblings Of My Pen, at the end of April! She's provided some lovely buttons to advertise the event, and since I couldn't decide which I liked best, I'm posting three of them here. :) Click on the buttons to go to her blog and read all about it!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sink Me, Miss Dorrit

I'm participating again in Miss Elizabeth Bennet's delightful Period Drama Advice Event. This time, the advice-seeking letter comes from one of my favorite period drama characters of all time. So I decided to reciprocate by writing an advice letter from another of my favorite characters... I only hope I did him justice. At least a little.

Dear Period Drama Advice Column,

I received a proposal from a dear friend of mine, John Chivery. I refused him because I do not love him. I am very fond of John, but I could never feel that way about him. I wish I could; it distresses me to see him unhappy, but I can’t love him — not in that way, not to be his wife. I would rather stay and look after my father than marry someone I do not love. I hope he will find a good wife one day because he deserves one. I am in love with another man, Arthur Clennam, but he is in love with someone else who I don’t know. And now because I refused John, everybody is unhappy or angry with me. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Amy Dorrit

My dear Miss Dorrit,

Asking me for advice, what? Sink me, I'm far too embarrassed... well, if you insist.

How very troubling this all sounds. 'Twould seem your friend Mr. Chivery is in some distress, and though you might at first be inclined to go to the rescue, I would not advise it. It sounds as though the man isn't even capable of tying his own cravat.

You will think now, Miss Dorrit, that I am not serious, but I tell you I am. Deadly serious. And if you think I don't know the meaning of love... well, you are wrong on that point. Quite wrong. You cannot marry a man you do not love, mademoiselle, and you will only set yourself up for unhappiness. No, no, it will not do. You must refuse this Mr. Chivery as kindly as you can; it is not fair to him if you cannot love him as he loves you. Or is, love, too, a crime these days?

I' faith, mademoiselle, I do wish I could see your face as you read this letter and the contrast between the beginning and the end. Let that be a lesson to you, Miss Dorrit. Never take anyone for granted.
You needn't ask for my identity-- I am a phantom, my lady. Nothing more than a phantom.

Yours sincerely,

They seek him here, they seek him there
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere
Is he in heaven? or is he in hell?
That demmed elusive Pimpernel!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Anne of Green Gables Week: Recap and Quiz Answers

Well, Anne of Green Gables Week has come to a close, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I learned quite a bit over the past few days--namely, that there are far more Anne fans out there than I once thought, that y'all are quite amazing (not that I didn't already know that) and lastly, that I shall never again try to host a blog party during the school year. *flops exhaustedly across keyboard* alkjdfljajijooijaw niojweraijrewoljr

(That was me flopping exhaustedly across the keyboard.)

This week at Yet Another Period Drama Blog, we had...
~Anne of Green Gables Tag Questions
~A review of Anne of Green Gables (1985)
~An AGG-novels quote quiz
~A character study of Anne Shirley
~A guest post about Road to Avonlea (by Melody of Regency Delight)
~A guest post about kindred spirits (by Anne-girl of Scribblings and Tappings)
~A character study defending Gilbert Blythe
~A comparison of AGG and Little Women
~A review of Anne of Avonlea (1975)
~A dream casting for a Rilla of Ingleside movie
(Whew!)

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Anne Week tag! I was quite surprised and delighted at the number of people who took the time to answer the questions, and I enjoyed reading each and every one. I've provided links below-- if you don't see yours, give a holler in the comments and I'll link up to you!

Bekah at Everyday Faith
Sarah Grace at Reliving a Legacy
Lorren at The Story Girl
Lit~Lass at Frigate to Utopia
Miss Laurie at Old-Fashioned Charm
Alexandra at Of Trims and Frills and Furbelows
Ella at The Door in the Air
Marcia at Enchanted Musings
Maria Elisabeth at Miss Georgiana Darcy
Hayden at Story Girl
Rachel at The Inkpen Authoress
Leanna at Adventures From an Adventurous Girl
"Victoria Wilcox" at The Society of Random People (VW is a fictional character in one of my sister's novels, FYI)
Hanne-col at Ain't We Got Fun
Eowyn at Inklings Press
Melody at Regency Delight
Rachel Olivia at Rose Petals and Faerie Dust
Jemimah C. at Beautiful Blank Pages

And I came across some other extremely lovely Anne-related posts in my blog-hopping this past week! I've linked to the posts I read below, and if you posted something about Anne that you don't see here, please do leave a URL in a comment so we can all enjoy your post.

Lessons Learned from Anne Shirley by Lorren
Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story- A Review by Alexandra
Anne Week! by Stephanie
Happy Pye Day! by Anne-girl
Anne and Gilbert - Or Random Gushing by Alexandra

And now for the results for the Quote Quiz... I am quite pleased to announce that Anne-girl (heehee, how fitting) is the winner, with 23 points! Congratulations, Anne-girl!

Here are the full quotes with full citations, for those of you who Want To Know:

"I suppose Whiskers-on-the-moon thought he might curry favour with me by praising the creature, little dreaming what my real sentiments towards it were, so he stuck out his pudgy hand and stroked [the cat's] back. 'What a nice cat,' he said. The nice cat flew at him and bit him."

~Susan Baker, Rilla of Ingleside

"If a person sorter sees eye to eye with you, and has pretty much the same ideas about things, and the same taste in jokes—why, then he belongs to the race that knows Joseph."

~Captain Jim, Anne's House of Dreams

"And I took the gum out of my mouth for the last hymn and stuck it on the back of the pew in front of me. Then I came away and forgot it. I went back to get it the next morning, but it was gone. I suppose Rod Warren swiped it. And it was a dandy chew."

~Jerry Meredith, Rainbow Valley

"You love it. Does that mean that you really love it? Or that you merely like the looks of it? The girls nowadays indulge in such exaggerated statements that one never can tell what they do mean. It wasn't so in my young days. Then a girl did not say she loved turnips, in just the same tone as she might have said she loved her mother or her Savior."

~Miss Patty, Anne of the Island

"She'd (Dora Keith is "she", by the way) behave just as well if there wasn't a soul to tell her what to do. She was born already brought up, so she doesn't need us; and I think that we always love best the people who need us."

~Anne Shirley, Anne of Avonlea

"My doll hath been tooken ill. I mutht put her to bed and thtay with her. Maybe it'th ammonia."

~Rilla Blythe, Anne of Ingleside

"There's an awful lot of things it's wrong to do. I never s'posed there was so many. I'm sorry it's wrong to tell whop... falsehoods, 'cause it's awful handy, but since it is I'm never going to tell any more. What are you going to do to me for telling them this time? I want to know."

~Davy Keith, Anne of Avonlea

"Would you believe it?--it took me half an hour to decide which hat to wear when I was coming here--here, to a graveyard! At first I inclined to my brown one with the feather; but as soon as I put it on I thought this pink one with the floppy brim would be more becoming. When I got it pinned in place I liked the brown one better. At last I put them close together on the bed, shut my eyes, and jabbed with a hat pin. The pin speared the pink one, so I put it on. It is becoming, isn't it? Tell me, what do you think of my looks?"

~Philippa Gordon, Anne of the Island

"I suppose you do not remember the time your mother spanked you either. I shall never, no never, forget it. She was up here one night with you when you were about three, and you and Walter were playing out in the kitchen yard with a kitten. I had a big puncheon of rainwater by the spout which I was reserving for making soap. And you and Walter began quarrelling over the kitten. Walter was at one side of the puncheon standing on a chair, holding the kitten, and you were standing on a chair at the other side. You leaned across that puncheon and grabbed the kitten and pulled. You were always a great hand for taking what you wanted without too much ceremony. Walter held on tight and the poor kitten yelled but you dragged Walter and the kitten half over and then you both lost your balance and tumbled into that puncheon, kitten and all. If I had not been on the spot you would both have been drowned. I flew to the rescue and hauled you all three out before much harm was done, and your mother, who had seen it all from the upstairs window, came down and picked you up, dripping as you were, and gave you a beautiful spanking. Ah, those were happy old days at Ingleside."

~Susan Baker, Rilla of Ingleside

10.

"I wouldn't give up altogether. I'd write a story once in a while, but I wouldn't pester editors with it. I'd write of people and places like I knew, and I'd make my characters talk everyday English; and I'd let the sun rise and set in the usual quiet way without much fuss over the fact."
~Mr. Harrison, Anne of Avonlea

11.

"Don't quote the Bible flippantly. You must excuse her, Miss Shirley. She just ain't used to getting married. Well, all I hope is the groom won't have a hunted look like so many of them do. I s'pose they do feel that way, but they needn't show it so plain."

~Aunt Mouser, Anne of Windy Poplars

12.

"I am not sorry that I came. I'm satisfied. I'll never write the poems I once dreamed of writing—but I've helped to make Canada safe for the poets of the future—for the workers of the future—ay, and the dreamers, too—for if no man dreams, there will be nothing for the workers to fulfil—the future, not of Canada only but of the world."

~Walter Blythe, Rilla of Ingleside

Thanks again, everyone. We'll have to do this again, sometime. After I graduate. :D

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Anne Week is almost here

Just wanted to remind you all that Anne of Green Gables Week is very nearly upon us! *rushes madly around in circles, squealing "NOT READY, NOT READY!"*

I made a miscalculation in my dates, and for that I am very sorry ("soary" in a Gilbert Blythe voice). Anne Week will not, in actual fact, begin until March 12th. I know all the buttons and blinkies and whatever say March 11th, but it is not so. I do apologize!

At any rate, I hope very much to see you all here on Monday, March 12th, when the fun begins. This week will include...

~a personality quiz
~a guest post from a blogger you know and love
~possibly another guest post from another blogger you know and love
~a quote quiz
~a dream cast
~a movie review
~another movie review
~lots of pictures and ramblings
~blatherings about favorite characters
~tons and tons of romantical, kindred-spirit fun!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mrs. Gibson Advises and Miss Dashwood Bah-Humbugs

I have here an entry for Miss Elizabeth Bennet's Period Drama Advice contest, but first I have a bit of bah-humbugging to do, so please bear with me. I had written out this post earlier in the week and this morning was just putting the finishing touches on it (and rather proud I was of the letter I'd written) and then Blogger. Ate. My. Post.

Read that and weep, fellow bloggers.

I'm sure you can all sympathize, because I know I'm not the only one who has suffered the loss of a slaved-over blog post to the greedy, slobbering jaws of Some Computer Server Belonging To Google. It is a solemn, sad thing to see a nicely laid out blog post suddenly chomped and eaten and then spit back in a sickening conglomeration of HTML code and meaningless strings of numbers, never to rise again. (This analogy is getting a bit disgusting and I really should stop now.)

All that simply goes to say that I really should write my posts on Word and then save them before posting them on Blogger. But I am usually in too much of a rush to do that, and I never take my own advice anyway. (Who was it who said he always advised people not to give advice? Was it Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest? I can't remember.)

Another reason for me to bah-humbug is that I missed my 100th post. That is, I missed marking the event. It was this one, my announcement about the Assembly Rooms. Incidentally, Melody's 100th post on Regency Delight was her announcement about the Assembly Rooms. (I guess two hundred-mark posts on the same topic are better than one, eh, Tween? How swellissimus!) So really it's not a humbug after all, though I should have liked to commemorate the occasion in some way.

Enough blathering. Here is my entry (rewritten, and alas, not quite the way I had it before) for the Period Drama Advice competition. Miss Elizabeth Bennet posted a letter seeking advice from Edward Ferrars of Sense and Sensibility, and I have written a reply from Mrs. Gibson of Wives and Daughters. (If you wish to know more about the Period Drama Advice event, click on the button below.)

Edward's Letter

Dear Period Drama Advice Column,

I find myself in a predicament. Four years ago, I became secretly engaged to a woman named Lucy Steele, the niece of my tutor in Exeter. I thought myself in love, but it was a foolish, idle inclination on my side. I have recently met my sister's sister-in-law, Elinor, and I like her a great deal. I find myself in love with her, but I cannot break my commitment to Lucy. If I were free, I would tell her that my heart is and always will be hers. Her friendship has been the most important of my life. My mother also wants me to marry the rich Miss Morton with 50,000 pounds: all I want, all I've ever wanted is the quiet of a private life, but my mother wants me distinguished.Do you think I am doing the right thing in keeping my promise to Lucy despite all of this?

Sincerely,
Edward Ferrars

Mrs. Gibson’s Response

My Dear Mr. Ferrars,

What a lovely, romantic note you have sent! It quite puts me in mind of my younger days, when half the young men in the local regiment were head over heels for me. I sometimes think it is a pity I was born when I was. I should have liked to belong to this generation.

Now, Mr. Ferrars, about your predicament. It is such a shame that your attentions have turned to another young lady—youth is so very fickle. My daughter Cynthia, for instance, is not very constant. But my dear sir, I am sure you will acknowledge that an engagement is an engagement. If you have given your promise to Miss Steele, you must fulfill your responsibility and marry her.

Perhaps your waning interest in Miss Steele is due to a lack of communication with that young lady? You might try calling at her house one of these days and visiting with the family. Only pray do not call before breakfast, as that sort of thing is quite inconvenient and unappreciated. But if you come bearing flowers, all will be forgiven.

One last thing, Mr. Ferrars—do not be swayed by urgings to marry Miss Morton, despite her 50,000 pounds. Riches are a great snare, you know.

Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Hyacinth Clare Gibson
Hollingford

Monday, February 27, 2012

Calling All Kindred Spirits

I absolutely love Anne of Green Gables. The character, the books, the movies, you name it and I'll be your friend forever. Anne Shirley is the quintessential literary heroine and, hands down, my favorite. Ever.

So it is with great excitement, a lot of thrills and a dash of romanticism that I announce the blog event I'm planning to host...

Anne of Green Gables Week, which will take place March 11-17, 2012. A six-day birthday party for the imaginative redhead in all of us, a literary blogging event for any and all kindred spirits who love Anne and love to laugh. (I hate coming up with taglines.)

When Anne tells Marilla about herself (the plain facts, not what she imagines about herself--sadly) she says that she was born in March in Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. When you do the math and add up everyone's ages in Rilla of Ingleside (the only Anne book with specific dates) you can deduce that Anne was born in March of 1866. However, we don't know exactly when in March her birthday falls. I have always held to the belief that it takes place smack in the middle of the month, which is why this party celebrating dear Anne Shirley's 146th (yipes) will take place from the 11th to the 17.

*in a loud whisper* "And... that also happens to be my birthday [week]. Just so ya know." (It's not a birthday party for me. But I didn't mind planning Anne's birthday to coincide with mine. :) And I'm not turning 146. You may guess how old I'm going to be, if you like.)

I do hope you'll all participate in this celebration of Anne's birthday! I've been planning this event ever since November, and tried hosting the Jane Austen Birthday Party back in December as a sort of dry run. I was quite inexperienced then (and of course am oh-so-experienced now... HA) but I hope that now I've learned at least a little bit more about hosting a blog event. There will be guest posts, there will be movie reviews, there will be character quizzes and a dream casting for a new movie and some totally off-the-wall tag questions, and it will all be very, very romantic. (And by the end of the week, I probably won't ever want to hear that word again, Jane Andrews.)

So if you're of the race that knows Joseph, I would love it if you'd put one of these buttons up on your blog to advertise the event... and I'd love it even more if you'd also come back to Yet Another Period Drama Blog on March 11th to join the fun!

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