The Lizzie Bennet Diaries #87 "An Understanding" : AKA: Shit Just Got Real....

Ok, new episode of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Clearly as I had a small break in my day I devoured it. First thought that comes to mind is, that I wonder if any of the throngs of fan girls (or boys, we're equal opportunist here) who felt the need to tell the Lydia, what a slut she was,  and how awful she was for interrupting the budding romance of Darcy and Lizzie, and berating her for "not listening" to them about George, feel about her calling them out on it?

Seriously though, she called them all out on it, and I have to wonder if seeing her reaction to it, and how it essentially broke her down, had any effect on them. In a world where these characters are so entrenched in technology, it is sometimes easy to forget that these are fictional characters, even so fictional or not the HATRED displayed against the youngest Bennet sister is some what appalling. Let's face it, in our own minds we have a very skewed perception of the world. "I would never allow myself to be manipulated by someone like that!" It's a far easier thing to say than do.

I said it before, and I'll say it again, this is the first time an interpretation of Pride & Prejudice that I have ever felt bad for Lydia. In every other telling of the story, I have seen her as nothing more than the bratty younger sister, who wants what she wants and will do whatever it s to get it, with no regard to who she may hurt in order to get it. Other Lydias have always had Kitty to pal around and be "silly"  with, making her far less isolated when Jane and Lizzie aren't around. I mean sure you could argue that The Lizzie Bennet Diaries'  Lydia has her own  Kitty,  a cat is hardly the same companionship that a sister is. In this particular version of the story Lydia truly is the odd man out, and it gravely effects her.

Also, George Wickham's abhorrent manipulation of poor Lydia is on shocking display in her videos leading up to the announcement of the website with the countdown to the sextape release. I mean come on, telling her "I love you" for the first time, while she was recording? But telling her she had to record a sextape with him to prove that she loved him as much as he loved her. I think I may be sick.

I will be the first to admit, I tend to get way too emotionally invested in the lives of fictional characters, which personally I don't see as a bad thing, so long as you can still separate the difference between fiction and reality, and right now my heart is breaking for poor Lydia. I can not even begin to imagine what she is going through, the man she loved, who she thought loved her, has betrayed her trust and decided to sell a sextape of the two of them, and cut off all communication with her. Then on top of all that she has the her "lovely" viewers/followers berating her on the Internet. Telling her she's "selfish", "being too dramatic"  that she is ruining her life as well as the lives of her sisters.

I'm honestly not sure how The Powers That Be over at The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are going to resolve the Lydia/Wickham drama. In the novel, Lydia's scandal is caused not by an impending sextape, but by her running away with Wickham, and so the logical fix to that situation is for him to marry her.  The idea of Lydia ending up even dating George after this, is in a word appalling. Honestly, I don't know how one goes about fixing something like this. I do, however, have faith that TPTD will come up with some clever way to resolve everything, maybe not all wrapped up in a neat little bow, but in a way that will satisfy.

AND I CAN NOT WAIT!

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: AKA: I've got a new Obession

Ok, so I realize I'm a little late to the party on this one...well not entirely...I remember watching the first video debuting on youtube and thinking it was cute and that I would totally watch it. But this is me, I inevitably got distracted and forgot about it...until the other day.

For those of you who are unaware, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries  is a modern retelling of the Jane Austin classic Pride & Predjudice, a book which I have loved for a majority of my life. My older sister's favorite author was Jane Austin, and even though my sister and I are two entirely different people, we do occasionally have similar tastes, especially when it comes to literature. I remember being in grade school and my sister and I watching the 6 hour BBC miniseries with Colin Firth...which as far as I am concerned is the most well done book adaptation I've ever seen. And I dare any woman out there to watch and NOT fall in love with Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Given that I knew that I would probably enjoy The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and so when I was reminded of their existence a few days back, I decided to take a look at them. I have now become completely engrossed on this new telling of this classic story. 

If you haven't seen them yet you can start with the first video here. Seriously go. Watch. Love. 

While the entire cast is fabulous and the writers have done an amazing job, I think perhaps the best part of the show is the way that it flushes out characters who are mearly glossed over in the original novel. It actually explains why Lydia "ran away" with the despicable Wickham. It's nice to finally get some sort of understanding about her. I actually felt bad for her, which is an emotion that Lydia Bennet has never inspired in me before. And the cause of her "ruining", which I won't spoil for you here, GO WATCH, is one that I did NOT see coming. 

My hatred for Wickham reached new levels while watching Lydia's vlog. It became easy to see how he seduced not only Lydia, but Lizzie and Gigi as well. It finally made sense how three different woman could fall prey to the same jackass. And speaking of fleshing out characters can we talk Mr. Collins? While the entire cast is bursting with talent, they hit the jackpot with Maxwell Glick who was able to take a traditionally disliked character and make him incredibly endearing. Mr. Collin, with his social awkwardness, nonstop speeches and constant praise of Catherine de Bourg, can easily be annoying and even border on slightly creepy. Yet somehow, Maxwell Glick has managed to make all Collins' shortcomings adorable, and well meaning, a perfect example being  in episode #54 where he tells Lizzie,  "...as you are my business partner's closest and dearest friend, You are forever welcome here [Collins & Collins], my work is my life so, you are both part of that now...". And with that line, we all fell just a little bit more in like with Ricky Collins. 

Also, and I am BLOWN AWAY by their virtual marketing. Not only do we get to see the story as told by Lizzie's vlogs but Lydia has also created her own vlog to fill us in on what is happening on her life when she and Lizzie are apart,  the Pemberly Instructional videos featuring Gigi and the "Darcy side" of the Lydia drama, even Charlotte's little sister Maria got in on the vloging act. On top of that we are treated to a Facebook page and the fact that pretty much every character we have seen on the blogs has their own twitter account where they interact not only with each other but with the fans who tweet at them.  Jane has a Pinterest and there of course is a tumblr. Honestly this all is proof that there are BRILLIANT ways to market your show, you just need to use it.

I can not begin to tell you how annoyed I get by good products/media who don't know how to properly market themselves. So seeing a fabulous show with amazing online marketing? Well that warms the cockles of my little heart. 

So seriously, especially for all of us who are hunkering down for Winter Storm Nemo, this is the perfect time to check out this awesome series if you haven't done so already. 

Hockey is Back!!! :AKA: And The Rangers Are Already Pissing People Off...

There are not enough words in the English language to declare my elation over the simple fact thta hockey has returned. I'm not even overly upset over the shortened schedule. In fact, truth be told, I'm even more excited by it. It means there is more ridding on each game, and multiple games being played every night. I realize this is probably hell on the players, but me? I'm practically jumping for joy. One of our Mail Room Guys at work, admitted to being a hockey fan and now unfortunately has to deal with me constantly talking hockey with him.

I have literally spent every night for the past 2 weeks frantically checking/rechecking game plays/scores on my phone. Thursday of last week, I worked late and spent a majority of my after hours screaming at my phone.

As I've mentioned before, you can read it here if you missed it, I am a hockey fan for life. Predominately an Islanders fan, meaning I'm used to disappointment, although thus far they're not totally tanking this season, and consequently I have an instilled disdain for The New York Rangers.

I don't even wanna discuss the fact that Taylor Pyatt has now joined the enemy. A moment of silence was held…

But that is beside the point. The point, in case you've yet to gleam it, is that I am an Avid hockey fan, who is also, and this may come as a shock, of the female persuasion. In layman's terms, I'm a hockey chick.

Side bar: some people find the term "chick" as slightly offensive, given what I'm about to discuss, however I much rather prefer it or hockey girl or hockey woman, and as this is my rant, I'm using it.

As some of you may know, this past Friday an article was posted upon The New York Rangers Official Fan Site. This "fan" written article, and I use the term loosely here, was entitled: "A Girls Guide to Watching The Rangers", and a link to this article was posted by the Rangers' official twitter account.

This was a mistake off EPIC proportions. The backlash on this "article" was so severe that it was removed from the sight in less than an hour and the tweet containing the link was also deleted.

Didn't get a chance to read it? Well fear my lovelies, for this is the internet age, and once something has been put on the Internet, it lives forever. To get a better look at it, you can click here to read the article in its entirety, as some wonderful person has typed it up for all to see.  Go ahead, take a look. I'll wait.

Photo Credit: Yahoosports

There you see how laughably offensive that was? First off the implication that a female's only interest in watching a sport is to please a man is down right insulting. The fact that this drivel was supposedly written by a woman make it even worse. And for the record The Boy and I raced out to buy tickets to the home opener in which such fever of which I've never felt for any sale.

Studying the roster? Really? How bout just watching some games? Take it from a chick who's team is CONSTANTLY changing, you watch the games you'll learn names. And while yes, learning the team members is important, remember watching a hockey game  is FUN, not a final exam.

The one paragraph that absolutely kills me though is the "You need to sense the tension at certain points in the game and let them do their jumping, screaming and cheering thing. You can tell if something huge has happened by their reaction, and if you're absolutely lost, wait for the replay. There's always a replay after a major play." Really? Let "them" do there screaming cheering thing? Ask any of the guys I've gone to games with and they'll tell you this chick is screaming, cheering, chanting, sometimes cussing, just a loud, if not louder than any of them.

I'll admit that I laughed out loud at this PR nightmare The Rangers managed create for themselves. And they did do it to themselves, for even if you argue it was a "fan" written article, someone of some sort of official capacity had to have approved it and/or at the very least, tweeted the link.

Is there a possibility that there is some bias to my opinion on all of this? Meh, I will admit to a bit of glee over the fact that it is The Rangers wading through the shit storm this has become, as opposed to another team, however, I would be offended regardless of which team (or teams fan base) were responsible for it.

Look, I get it, the Powers That Be in the sporting world, don't know how to market to the female half of the species.  And on a somewhat related note on the NHL (and sports league in general) Pink jerseys are only acceptable during Breast Cancer Awareness month, and even then, not really. Just because you make it pink, doesn't mean a woman is gonna automatically drool over it. And to those women wearing them to games? I fully admit to judging you. Also, on the subject of terrible marketing ideas, the "woman's" cut jerseys look awful, the long sleeves make it look oddly disproportional. Real fans still want "Real" jerseys, just better sizes please.

But lets be honest here, talking down to us, is NOT the way. It only pisses people off. How about making tickets more affordable for one? Or making the players a bigger part of the community, I know, I know I'm getting all nostalgic for the Islander glory days, but hear me out. I got hooked on this glorious sport when I was a child. The best way to experience is to watch it live. So let's get people, men, women and children excited to go watch a game.

Deception "Pilot" & "Nothing's Free, Little Girl": AKA: My First Impressions

Ok, I admit I'm a little slow on this one, it took me a bit of time to get on the Deception bandwagon, mostly because the show airs at 10pm on Mondays, which as we all know is Castle time so clearly that took priority. Never the less, while the boy was out last night, I came home to a glass of wine and the first two episodes of Deception. 

I fully admit that when I saw the script last pilot season, my first thought was that this was NBC trying to cash in on the success of ABC's Revenge, and maybe it is, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. The idea behind the show is that prominent socialite, Vivian Bowers is found dead, of an apparent accidental overdose. The FBI however, believes that she may have been murdered, by someone in her family. And so they bring in SFPD officer Joanna Locasto, who grew up in the Bowers home as her her mother worked for them, to go undercover and try and find the murderer.

The cast is a DREAM! Ok, well for me it is, as it is made up of actors who I thoroughly love and enjoy, which is the main reason I started to watch. I mean Victor Garber, come on, Titanic, Alias, the list goes on, that man radiates talent. Tate Donovan will forever be the voice of Hercules in my mind, regardless of whatever else he does.

Wes Brown. Yup that was the full sentence right there. I have such a crush on that man, I wanted to love him when he was on Hart of Dixie but lets face it, when it comes to that show, my heart belongs to Wade. Honestly though Wes Brown, is dreamy and I am already mildly in love with Julian. Even though they allude to the fact that he may have been the murderer, I am still a bit head over heels.

Ella Rae Peck as Mia is fabulously bitter and bitchy. You make recognize her from her guest stint as Lola on Gossip Girl, or from several guest spots on Tv, and a few small movie roles, but let me tell you this girl is amazingly talented. I am so happy she is now a series regular and will now be appearing weekly on my tv.

Even the smaller roles have been cast with awesome people I adore, David Gelles, Ken Leong (MILES!!!!! from Lost), Bree Williamson (best know as Jessica Brennan on One Life To Live), Mackenzie Leigh, and Jackie Stewart.

I do have to say though, with all the cast that I am in love with, I actually don't overly care for Meagan Good or Laz Alonso, which considering that they are supposed to be two MAJOR parts of the story may end up being a problem. However I don't hate them, I just am not nearly as excited by their characters as I am by some of the the others.

On a whole the first two episodes held my attention, and I am definitely looking forward to next weeks episode.

The Carrie Diaries: "Pilot": AKA: So It Begins

Ok, so yesterday I was chomping at the bit for everyone to watch the series premier of The Carrie Diaries on the CW, and now today I am prepared to render my verdict of it. For those of you who have not yet watched it, you may wish to go do so before continuing on...

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie Bradshaw. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Carrie_163.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It's important to note that this is not a direct prequel to HBO's Sex & The City, as right off the bat the Sex & The City fan tuning in will notice several facts that contradict what little back story we knew on the Grown Up Carrie's home life. First off she has a very loving father who is completely present, especially since it is revealed early on that Carrie's mother has just recently passed away. We also meet her rebellious little sister Dorrit. I kid you not, the girl's name is Dorrit, can we all take a mo-mo to feel bad for her?

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Freema Agyeman as Larissa. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Larissa_029.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Good...

Over all the show was pretty cute, I have to say it is nice to see a "teen soap" focused on finding oneself, as opposed to snagging the guy. This Carrie is on a quest to discover herself, she hasn't even decided that she wants to be a writer yet. Of course there is still a guy to be snagged, but Carrie has had her heart stolen by another man...Man-hattan.

Wardrobe NAILED the 80's style on Donna and the Jens.  Those three look FABULOUS. The perms, the neon, the tacky jewelery, perfection. And so far Larissa is also showing some fabulously tacky 80's fashion, can we say shoulder pads?

I know it's a small thing, but I LOVED the fact that Dorrit immediately changes into her mother's dress, after it is given to her. We see the scene where Carrie hands it to her, then in the next scene, where they are packing up her mother's things, you can see what she was wearing lying on the bed, and that she is now wearing her mother's green dress. It was a really sweet and touching detail.

THE CARRIE DIARIES Pictured: Brendan Dooling as Walt. Photo Credit: Nino Munoz/The CW. Image Number: CD1_Mondo_Walt_033.jpg. © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

 The Bad...

Wardrobe didn't do such a fabu job on the main group. Not only is Carrie lacking the crazy style which she was an icon for, which I am willing to buy on the fact that maybe she needed to grow into her style, but her style is not really eighty's esq. Sure you can argue maybe her style sense isn't as flashy yet, but something just wasn't right. Same with Maggie and Mouse.


I will admit, though I understand that her having just come back from her first adventure in "The City" was supposed to "empower" her I felt she was just a little too composed when dismissing Sebastian at that moment.  He was her first kiss, and only hours earlier she had been squealing over him with  Mouse. Big City empowerment or not that had to have stung.

The Carrie Diaries -- "Pilot" -- Pictured (L-R): AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie and Austin Butler as Sebastian -- Photo: Giovanni Rufino/The CW -- © 2012 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Just Was...

Um, is it just me or does Maggie hooking up with an older guy, a cop no less, seem a little skeevy? I mean do we think she's even 18 yet? You figure she's in the same grade as Carrie, who we know is 16 so she's more likely the same age or at most 17. Not only is she most likely under aged but her father is the chief of police, yeah, they threw that in during the not-actually-at-the-dance-dance-scene, so it would be fair to assume whoever this hot cop is knows exactly how old she is. Which makes the whole thing just seems a little wrong to me.  Plus in the book, please don't look at me like that I did it for research purposes I swear, she is hooking up with another guy in their grade, which to mean just makes more sense, and is slightly less creepy.

I find it hard to believe that Carrie, at 16 had no aspirations of being a writer. Ok, maybe she didn't yet know that she could be able to make a career of it, but she tells Larissa that she doesn't write, that her mother did in journals. Sorry, I'm not buying that. To have the kind of drive we know Carrie to have, Sex &The City version aside, there is no way that Carrie hasn't been writing stories all her life.

Also is it just me or did Carrie's voice overs sound like a combination of Lindsay Lohan ala Mean Girls/Emma Stone ala Easy A? Not so much what was said, but the inflections.

The show itself is nothing groundbreaking, but it is entertaining. I am excited to see how they are going to progress, without making the story too predictable. How deep into her double life will Carrie steep? Tune in next week for more Virginity & The Suburbs...

The Carrie Diaries Airs Tonight: AKA: Get Your Eighties On!

Happy Monday! Well, as happy as a Monday can be.  Tonight marks the season premier of The Carrie Diaries on the CW.  For those of you new to my musings I have been chomping at the bit for this show since the casting announcement of Brendan Dooling, silly musings can be revisited here. Throw in the addition of Freema Agyeman, hello Ms. Martha Jones, and I've been positively giddy.

I will fully admit to never having been a huge fan of Sex & The City, not because I have any dislike for it, I just don't have HBO and never really got into it. In actuality I've only seen a handful of episodes, so why then the excitement over The Carrie Diaries?

After all the series is meant as a prequel to the popular HBO series. It examines the life of Darling Carrie Bradshaw BEFORE she was a successful city dwelling columnist. This Carrie, played by the adorable AnnaSophia Robb, is still in high school, lives in the suburbs with her family, and still in possession of her V-card. Also, this is the 80's! Yes that's right, neon abounds!

The show itself is one of those cute coming of age stories. After all, haven't you always wondered what made Carrie, Carrie? So tune in tonight at 8pm and enjoy the ride.

The Holidays Are Near: AKA: Geeky Gifting Abounds

It's that time again. The Holidays are fast approaching, as I type this there are 24 days til Christmas Eve! I'm a huge fan of the holidays, mostly because everyone seems to be in a better mood and there's a hint of magic in the air. New York at Christmas is just fabulous, the decorations, the Holiday Markets that seem to magically spring up in every park, ice skating, the Rockefeller Christmas tree, Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, it's easy to get lost in the excitement of it all.

With the holiday season also comes the BIGGEST shopping season of the year. Now, personally I LOVE to shop for the holidays. I find it fun to hunt down the perfect gift for each of the important people in my life, in fact I'm one of those annoying people who shop all year for the perfect gifts.

But coming up with the right gift isn't always easy, so below I offer you my Geeky Gift Guide for the Holidays. It is but a small sampling of all the geeky goodness out there this year.

Clothing:
 

Tee Magnet
There are a TON of really awesome Geeky/pop culture available for one day only sites out there and Tee Magnet is awesome enough to collect them all in one place for you for easy reference.

 

Handpainted Ninja Turtles Bra

  ~ $40

Disclaimer, the seller has already stated that any new orders will not be fulfilled in time for Christmas, however I am including it because some things are worth the wait. This makes me giggle so hard, and it's not just turtles, there are plenty of other geek worthy options, Super Mario Brothers, Xbox, Star Wars, go see for yourselves.

Jewelry:

Doctor Who Blue Gallifreyan Symbols on Silver Cuff ~ $26

Seriously, this bracelet is just gorgeous, and what Doctor Who Fan wouldn't love sporting this on their wrist? Also the Seller makes one where you can personalize what it says. Imagine having their OWN  name written in the language of the Time Lords. Admit it, that is just Fantastic.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Mr Darcy's Proposal Blue Brass Cuff Bracelet ~ $40

Um...This has to be one of my all time favorite quotes. Any Jane Austen/Pride & Prejudice fan would be lucky to have this on her wrist. The seller also makes other jewelry with different quotes from the works of Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Shakespeare and other giants of the literary world.


 




Books/Comics:

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion: The TV Series, the Movies, the Comic Books and More: The Essential Guide to the Whedonverse  ~ $12.89

I'll admit, I haven't read it, but how cool does this look? A breakdown of the Whenonverse? Yes, please. Joss Whedon has created many a complex character/world in his time, and dissecting them all is just part of the fun.

 

 

 

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; City of Ashes; City of Glass; City of Fallen Angels; City of Lost Souls ~ $60.77

Confession: I am OBSESSED with this series, I DEVOURED it. Cassandra Clare is a FANTASTIC writer. The characters and worlds she creates are so vivid and entertaining that you can't help but be swept away into them. This link is for the whole series as of now, however you can always just by the first book in the series (City of Bones) and start them off slowly. Kindle and Paper back additions also available.

 

 

Random Geekery: 

Sherlock Mini Plush Dolls ~$28

To ease the pain of the LONG suffering Sherlock fan, and give them their very own adorable Sherlock and Watson to cuddle while they wait another year for their beloved show to return. You have to admit these guys are pretty damn cute.

 

 

 

 

 

Doctor Who Sonic Screwdriver Electric Toothbrush

~ $ 19.29

Ok, this is just epic. I'd brush my teeth like 30 times a day, just to use this beauty. Yes, I am that much of a dork. Seriously though, this is awesome.

 

 

 

 

Geeky Art: 

Cut it Out Art

~ Most range from $5 - $75

I absolutely LOVE these. I'm a big fan of pop culture art work and this line is really cool. There is literally something for everyone. You can find everything from Star Wars, to Twilight, to Harry Potter, to Breaking Bad, even Jimmy Hendricks. Seriously check them out.

 

 

 

 

 

The Art of Laurie B

~ Prints from $10 to $30 (depending on size) ~  Originals Price Avail upon request ~ Books from $3 to $20

 I first discovered Laurie B at NYCC 2011. I never actually saw her, she wasn't at her table when I walked by, but I grabbed one of her fliers and after seeing her website fell in love with her work. She covers all kinds of subjects but my faves by far are her gender benders (like the Female Han Solo to the right) and her Baby work, seriously Baby Magnito is adorbs.

Squire Sword The Standee People

~ $10

Speaking of NYCC, while I was at this years I came across these lovely little gems, I own the Doctor Horrible one, and I can not even begin to tell you how cute these little standees are. The store offers a plethora of options with categories like: Anime, Gaming, Comics, Television and Film there is sure to be something for everyone.