Dancy Dance

Check out this video.

This makes me laugh. It seems like Elijah Wood has some extra time on his hands now that the Rings trilogy has ended.

That said, I have to give the guy some credit. To go from Frodo Baggins to this takes some guts.

Eternal Treasure?

So I realize it's been about 6 months since I blogged. And I'm pretty sure not very many people will even read this, however, I've missed blogging so I am going to try to take it up again. And having just finished Treasure Island by Robert Stevenson for my Children's Literature course, I thought it would form a great basis for a new post.

This was my first time reading Treasure Island, although I did see the Muppet's movie version many many years back, but it wasn't until I was about halfway through the book that I even remembered the story. The only thing I remember from the movie is Kermit the frog in a pirate hat. So apparently the story had little influence on me at that time, however reading it now sparked a few thoughts.

First of all, let me just say that I really enjoyed the book. I sat down yesterday and started it, and it took me about 5/6 hours to finish it over the course of yesterday and today. (There was a LOT of pirate lingo to wade through, but it was entertaining at least). I really was dreading reading it, because several of my friends absolutely hated it. What can I say, I guess I'm into the whole male coming-of-age adventure story. Haha.

In short, Jim, a young boy of about 16 is swept away on a pirate adventure to find gold with a crew of "baddies" and "goodies". He idols Long John, a pirate who turns out to be a mix of good and evil, who plans to betray the Dr. and captain of the ship with the crew in the form of a mutiny. Jim finds out about this by accident, and tells the "good guys" about it. Once they get to the island there is fighting, shooting, and lots of action, and Jim has a chance to mature and really become responsible, etc (the whole coming-of-age aspect really kicks in). In the end, the good guys win (of course) and sail home with the treasure.

The story to me is like a Victorian Pirate's of the Caribbean. Which of course, makes sense. Characters, themes, and even setting descriptions (the description of the cave where Ben Gunn stored the treasure matches the cave of Aztec gold in Pirates of the Caribbean almost to a T) made me think of Jack Sparrow and the crew. If you've read the book you'll understand what I'm talking about. Long John = Jack, Jim = Will Turner... even their relationship reminds me of Jack's manipulative behaviors on the young naive Will Turner (who just wants to free his girl, haha) in the first Pirates movie.

It also amused me that so many themes in old books like this one are seen today. Themes of good vs. evil are obvious, but also things like coming-of-age, betrayal, and gender stereotypes (for males, a coming-of-age requirement is often that of action while coming-of-age for girls is often seen as being passive, learning around the house, etc.) are seen time and time again, not just in similar genres like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Another observation I had while discussing in class today was that there were about 2 girls that raised their hands when asked if they liked the book (out of a class of about 40) while I'm pretty sure most of the boys in the class did. Why is it that often girls are not into these pirate stories and movies, while boys are? Is it simply because of the environment and expectations we place on boys and girls? Boys are allowed to like Pirates and Ninja Turtles, etc. while girls are expected to like Cinderella and Snow White? Or is it because the action is actually more appealing to boys? Personally I see the environment playing the biggest role... that said, I wasn't really raised to play sword fighting and shoot'em up games and yet I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, etc.

So really, I'm not coming to any real conclusions here just using the blog as an outlet for me to write some thoughts on the book - feel free to comment on any of my musings if you so desire. :)

If Everyone Cared

Okay, okay, so it's Nickelback, but I still think it's a good song. Go listen on YouTube. Our society is so materialistic and based solely on "me"....it definitely wouldn't hurt the world for a few more people to think this way.

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died

Is It Beneficial in the Long Run?

I've always sort of felt sorry for children like Connie Talbot (up and running Britain's Got Talent - takeoff of American Idol - star) and Dakota Fanning (I am Sam, War of the Worlds, Charlotte's Web).

Even though I'm in the Childhood and Social Institutions program at Kings, which talks quite a bit about "empowering" children, so to speak, I've always thought that children should keep some of their "innocence" (when they're not being little terrors). I mean, there are certain things children should experience, (IMO) and certain things they shouldn't. Is fame and fortune and working full time as an actor at the age of 5 one of them?

We have laws against child labour and regulations regarding child work, but for some reason, there don't seem to be many regulations re: children and movies. Hm... maybe that's because the producers can make money off them (another post, I'm sorry). I mean, Dakota Fanning has worked since she was 3, and has been conducting herself like an adult (not to mention taking adult roles in R rated movies) since she was like, 6. I'm not saying being mature and conducting yourself in a polite manner is a bad thing, but is it a good thing to lose some of the most foundational years of your life? Is there such a thing as growing up too fast?

Don't think I'm judging Dakota Fanning... (or should I say, Dakota's mother who would allow her daughter to star in rape scenes at the age of 10), I'm just more wondering about the wisdom in getting children into the celebrity business so early. I mean, you can see what happened to Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, ... the list is endless.

So my question is this: what do you think about child actors?

Also: Are child actors like Dakota Fanning allowed to watch the R rated movies they star in? Something to think about.

Retail

Sorry for the lengthy delay. With working 2 jobs (one being 40 hours a week) plus babysitting, I've been a tad busy. Not to mention I shouldn't talk about what goes on at TD (for privacy and customer courtesy reasons), so I haven't had much to post.

This comic is probably one of the best comics I've ever read. Okay, that's not true. But if you have worked in retail, you're going to understand where I'm coming from.

Note: click on the images to make them bigger (aka: legible)

Customer A: It's not about giving you a good deal. It's about us making money. Sorry to break it to you.
Customer B: It's first come first serve. And no, we don't save Christmas stuff in the back so we can sell it to you at half price on Boxing day. That's not how it works. Again, sorry to break it to you.
Customer C: I'm sorry, but we actually can't take the tills out and start counting until you're out of the store.

(Note: I used one of these on Saturday)

Hahaha... okay, okay... So it doesn't make any sense if you've never worked in retail. But if you have, it's definitely amusing... and SO true.

Vacation

Well, our family is off for a family vacation tomorrow so you won't be hearing from me for a little over a week. Once I get back, however, you'll get to hear all about how stressed I am about starting at TD/training! Haha. Happy blogging and talk to you all soon!

This and That

The London Free Press had an article on its front page on Saturday with the title: "Household income influences post secondary education enrollment" (or something to that effect). Um.. no kidding? I briefly looked at the article but had to laugh because the LFP made it sound as if this was a new discovery.

My inspiration for the Oddly Enough pieces has been sold for 19 billion.

The decomposed corpse of a German man was found alone in his bed after nearly seven years in Germany. How is that possible? Besides that... how sad is it? I feel sorry for the guy.

This is a good commercial. Wow. That's definitely amazing advertising for you.