dark twists on disney

This morning, I was googling different Disney items - collectibles, jewelry, whatever happened to come up. As I was browsing the different websites, I came across one that said "Fallen Princesses" at the top. I was intrigued, so naturally I clicked on it. What I found was frightening, but so inspiring at the same time.

As much as I love Disney movies, I do sometimes think that these princesses are putting forth the wrong image to little girls who aspire to be just like Cinderella, Belle, or whoever their favorite princess might be.

I wanted to be Belle. I still wouldn't mind being her. But do I want to be shunned from my entire town because I like to read? Uh, no. Do I want to be harassed by the seemingly only eligible bachelor in town? Nobody wants to be badgered like Belle is by Gaston. And I certainly don't want to be the strangest girl in town because I'm not a blond bimbo who follows around men I'll never have.

I wouldn't mind ending up in a magical castle with the Beast that turns out to be the love of my life, but that's for a different day.

I just want to share some of these Fallen Princess photos. The photographer is Dina Goldstien and she began this project when her young daughters were starting to like Disney movies and the Disney Princesses. She had never really been introduced to many fairy tales as a young child, so she did some research on the more famous Disney fairy tales (Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, etc.) and found that the original fairy tales had darker sides to a lot of them. She created the Fallen Princesses project to demonstrate that these fairy tales give unrealistic ideals to little girls. Here are some pictures:

Photos from: http://www.fallenprincesses.com

words to live by

"here's to a long life and a merry one; a quick death and an easy one; a pretty girl and an honest one; a cold beer - and another one!" - irish toast

the trials and tribulations of... my hair.

My hair has been through a lot over the past couple of years. I'd like just to recap where it's been and the distress I put it through.

April 2007: My hair experienced its first dye job by yours truly. My hair was long - almost to my waist and just plain old brown. I dyed it a reddish-brown and it looked pretty good. I kept it that color until after my senior prom (my roots are pretty bad in those pictures but that was a long time ago, oh well)

May 2007: My hair experiences dye job number two: Darkest Brown. Still not too bad. I cut some of the length off but overall it stayed the same. However, this color did not stay in my hair for too long for some reason and only weeks later I had to do it again...and again...and again. I decided it was time for something more drastic.

August 2007: Instead of having a professional do this (which i recommend anyone else do), I dyed my own hair Midnight Black. Big mistake. I should have realized it was going to be a bad idea, but didn't really understand until I was pulling large clumps of hair out of my head while rinsing out the too-harsh black dye out of my hair. Now I had long, long, really, REALLY black hair. Major fail.

November/December 2007: My black hair looked pretty good while I had a nice tan going on. However, as the winter months came in, I was pale yet again and my black hair wasn't so flattering anymore. What do I do? I google ways to get black dye out of my hair and tried every method including washing my hair with dish soap. Finally, I resorted to this garbage called Color Oops. It got some of the black dye out and left my hair dry and helpless. Wah. So I cut it up to my shoulders and figured I would just wait it out.

June 2008: I decided I had enough of waiting for the black dye to grow and I was just going to cut the rest of it off. So I cut my hair to chin-length and was much happier.

December 2008: I was going to grow my hair long again, when I came across a picture in a magazine of a hairstyle called the "perfect pixie." I decided that is what I had to have. I brought it to my hairdresser and she chopped my hair off and I loved it. However, I was practically alone in that feeling.

January 2009-October 2009: I listen to my grandmother, my guy friends, and my dad tell me that my hair is too short. I hear my guy friends tell me I look like a lesbian, while my girl friends tell me I look like Rihanna. Finally, I am peer pressured and influenced enough by the boys to start to grow my hair out. My last haircut was in October 09.

December 2009: Convinced that long hair will bring the boys flocking, I invest in clip-in hair extensions. These are not cheap. I paid $80.00 for each package of hair extentions (and I had to get TWO), not to mention tip for my hair dresser. I had them put in on New Years Eve and took them out hours later because I do not look like me when my hair is to my elbows.

...and guess what? No flocking boys.

August 2010: Here I am. I went ten months without a haircut. I hated every second of it. It didn't look like me when I looked in the mirror and let's face it, no hair is so much easier. So last Thursday I ignored my mother, my father, my grandmother, and every boy I've ever talked to and had my hair chopped off to my pixie cut once again. Those few inches of hair felt like pounds of weight being lifted off my shoulders. So much better.

And! I can shower and do my hair in record time.

frank costello, tony soprano, vito corleone ... oh my!

I was not always interested in the mob and the mafia. For some reason, last year I became fascinated by organized crime and the secretive business of these mobsters (or gangsters, whatever you want to call them). I am intrigued by the strength of the "families" and the dedication to their business. It's a little sick and twisted, I know, but I also know that I can't be the only one who feels this way.

I think these feelings arose sometime last year when The Departed was playing on TV for days at a time on repeat. I had seen the film before and loved it, but I just kind of forgot about it after that one time. Then, years later, when it was playing all night and all weekend, I was hooked. The fact that these men were killing, stealing, and cheating didn't frighten me it made me want more. The intensity of the situation and the way that it was handled created the fascination that I still have today. I'm planning on writing my article on the Irish mob or Whitey Bulger simply because this is my favorite movie. I am so excited to find out what really went on.

After expressing my interest in organized crime to my parents, they suggested that I start watching The Sopranos. When it was actually on HBO, I was "too young" to watch it and missed out completely. I recently finished watching season three and I love the series. Tony Soprano runs that family like no other. Yes, he's sick in the head a little bit from all the crap he has to deal with (not to mention everyone whacking each other), but he's a good boss for the Soprano family. I also just love that he sleeps all day and does his business at night and his wife just cooks and shops and has a beautiful house because her husband is involved in the business. It's crazy but it's so awesome.

Tonight, I just finished watching The Godfather for the first time (I know, I know, a classic that I should have seen years ago). It was epic and I now understand why it is such a classic. The storyline, the actors and actresses, and the general topic were all too great for words. It was really long, but I was not upset about it. I wouldn't have minded if it was longer (good thing there are many more sequels to this movie) and it is now one of my new favorites.

In my perfect world, I'd be part of one of these "families," but for now I guess I'll just watch movies and shows about them and pretend.

top ten books

I have always loved to read. I have read more books than I can remember, but I feel like it's important to list off the books that I not only remember, but could probably retell the plot in detail.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Funny thing is, I would probably never have read this if it wasn't assigned for school and now I've read it several times and am going to be writing a senior thesis on it. Life is strange.

2. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Obsessed. The only time I put this book down was to sleep or drive. I dreamt about it, talked about it for weeks, and saw the movie the night it came out.

3. Beauty by Robin McKinley
I read this when I was in middle school and it is for young readers, but it is a different version of Beauty and the Beast that I found fascinating and read so many times that my copy of the book is falling apart.

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I had very little desire to read this book, but my mother recommended it to me so I gave it a shot. It was excellent. This book takes place in the era of racism in the South and the bold women characters were to die for.

5. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book took me a while to get through. The beginning was pretty slow and I almost gave up on it. However, once it picks up it is hard to remember why I would ever think of not finishing it. And who doesn't like the circus?

6. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
I know many people find this book to be lame or poorly written, but after I finished this book I was convinced that all of the happenings in it were real and that my whole sense of the Bible was just utterly destroyed. It took me a while to deal with the fact that it is in fact, fiction.

7. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The size of this book was daunting but once the plot sucked me in, I didn't ever want it to end. The emotional ups and downs of the characters were like a soap opera. Just a warning though: The movie really missed the mark.

8. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Alice Sebold can write. Her words created an entire Heaven where I felt I was running around with the novel's main character. I could picture every scene perfectly through her descriptions. The novel's plot is also pretty thrilling and keeps you wondering what's going to happen next.

9. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Yes, Dennis Lehane is my recent favorite author. Mystic River was thrilling and scary but in a much different way than Shutter Island. I enjoy that many of his novels take place right in Boston because it makes picturing the scenerios that much easier.

10. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A classic. When I read this book, I couldn't help but picture fabulous parties full of beautiful party dresses and men in tuxes. I had a crush on Gatsby and I don't think I'll ever quite get over it... even if he's a little nuts.

That's my list. Hope you take the time to read any of these books. You won't regret it.

NOTE: There were no Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, or Twilight books on this list. Overrated.

a tale as old as time

I have made it clear that I am not the romantic, lovey-dovey type girl. I don't enjoy romantic comedies and Nicholas Sparks novels make me gag. However, I was driving home from class the other day with my iPod on shuffle, sitting in the parking lot that is 93 North at 5pm, and a song from my favorite (and this time I'm not just throwing the phrase around) movie, Beauty and the Beast, began to play. My hand was ready on my iPod to immediately change the song, but I decided to let it play. As I listened to the song, I remembered why it is my favorite movie and how it also relates to my favorite novel (and topic of my senior thesis), Pride and Prejudice.

Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I saw in theaters. I was no more than two years old, but after that I was hooked. Belle became my favorite princess and she still is even if she rarely appears on Princess paraphernalia. As I got older, I no longer had a Beauty and the Beast themed bedroom (although several birthday parties held the theme even up to my sixteenth birthday) the story still held my attention. Belle was not a blonde, beautiful girl that the whole town wanted to marry. She liked to read and was actually an outcast. Although she was being pursued by the most handsome man in the town, she knew he was not right for her and ignored him with all her might.

We all know the story. Belle ends up living in a mysterious castle with a Beast in order to spare her father's life. He is under a spell and cannot be released from it unless a girl falls in love with him depsite his appearance. There is the famous ballroom scene with Belle and the Beast as they glide across the dance floor in her beautiful yellow ball gown to the movie's theme song. She finally realizes that she is in fact in love with the Beast despite her fear and saves his life just before he dies by confessing her love. It's a beautiful story. That part can't be denied. I am obsessed and have read many versions of the story in my twenty-one years.

Senior year of high school, I was assigned Pride and Prejudice for summer reading. I thought I was going to hate it. One of those boring classics. I was so wrong. I was addicted to Pride and Prejudice and realized it was because of its similarity to Beauty and the Beast. Elizabeth Bennett is Belle, the outcast in her family, always living in the shadow of her older, more beautiful sister. Mr. Darcy is the beast; misunderstood and hard to fall in love with because of his arrogance.

I became just as obsessed with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as I am with Belle and the Beast. The fact that the two stories were so alike quickly made me want to read the novel more than once, see the movie, and read any other books that had to do with Mr. Darcy. My bookshelves contain several books with the name "Mr. Darcy" in the title. Although I am not into the typical love stories, stories of unlikely couples and friendships blossoming into romance have a place in my heart. Maybe it's due to the fact that Beauty and the Beast was the first movie plotline engrained into my head, but I know for sure that it's a favorite that cannot be replaced.

Although Pride and Prejudice was written centuries before the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast was released, I think it is safe to say that this storyline is in fact a tale as old as time.

images:

http://www.fanboy.com/

www.flikr.com

"my daddy'th tho funny"

The title of this blog is a quote from a young version of me (with a terrible lisp) that my aunt always says to me. My dad likes to make jokes. And the more he is encouraged, the more jokes he makes. In turn, I like to laugh. And ever since I was a little girl, I have been laughing at my dad and encouraging him to keep on joking (even if my mother doesn't find the jokes too funny). After twenty-one years, I continue to laugh at the same, stupid jokes and occasionally some new material. I decided to dedicate this post to some of the funniest lines that I have heard over the years.

The classic one that comes right after my title quote is:
"my daddy'th tho funny he thaid do you want thome thereal with your milk?" Four year old me thought this was an extremely clever response when I poured a little too much milk in my cereal bowl.

Another classic that always appears right before a family vacation is:
"[insert vacation spot i.e. New Hampshire, Maine, Mexico] called. They said we can't come." This used to disappoint both my brother & me every time until we finally realized that places actually can't make phone calls.

Always said when one family member eats their meal faster than everyone else:
"Hey, can I have a bite of that?"

Now that I'm older the old material gets a chuckle out of me, but new material (especially if it takes me by surprise in the situation) can really get me laughing and it's hard for me to stop. Sometimes it's in a really inappropriate situation, but I can't help myself. Just a few examples for the crowd...

My parents and I are browsing through travel catalogs trying to plain their trip to Europe some time in the near future when I came across a trip through a few countries including Turkey...
"How about Turkey? Do you want to go there?" - Me
"What's in Turkey?" - Mom
"...Stuffing." - Dad
This may not seem too funny when read alone on the computer, but I didn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes. Afterwards, my dad said he thought anyone would come up with that response, but I sure as hell didn't think of it.

This one is really inappropriate. My entire family is sitting in church for my two cousins' first communions. The priest is talking to the children about what communion is and asks them what another word for "communion" is. The children all say in unision: "eucharist." My father turns to me and says:
"Eucharist? Isn't that the first baseman for the Red Sox?" and imitates Youkilis's batting stance.
That was it for me, I tried to hide my giggles because we were in church, but every time the word "eucharist" was brought up, my dad made the same face and I couldn't take it any more. My mother kept telling me to "shhhh!" but I couldn't.

The latest one that got me laughing actually was only a few days ago. I was on the way to Rockport with my family to spend the day and get some lunch. We were discussing getting an old-fashioned photo taken because we do every year. My mom was hesistant and didn't want to do it. My dad's response?
"Fine. Me, Erica & Jeremy will take one as the three muskateers. One for all and none for mom!"
Maybe it's because I don't have a quick wit, but I thought it was hilarious and laughed and encouraged once again.

I may be my dad's only fan, but at least I can say that I'm his number one fan.

i'm not typical

Friday night i was adventuring around Boston with some girlfriends just having a good time. I was introduced to a few of my friend's guy friends and we got to talking. We were talking about movies and he asked if I had seen Inception. I had and he brought up that Leonardo DiCaprio plays a similar role in Shutter Island. Now, what he didn't know was that I am completely obsessed with the book and the movie Shutter Island. I literally only stopped reading the book to sleep (which I couldn't even do because I was so worked up about the book) and saw the movie the night it came out. Needless to say, as soon as he brought it up I exclaimed, "that is my FAVORITE book... and movie! Besides The Departed." His response was "you're messed up." I was mildly offended, but of course asked why he thought that. He told me, "Girls' favorite movies are not supposed to be The Departed or Shutter Island, it should be something like The Notebook." I wanted to gag because I actually really dislike The Notebook and all Nicholas Sparks movies and books in general.

The point of my rant is: why are girls expected to enjoy all the lovey-dovey movies and romantic comedies? Honestly, I think that they are extremely unrealistic and just sometimes plain silly. How many times can a person watch the young beautiful girl fall in love with the man of her dreams after a few trials and obstacles? It gets pretty repetative after the fifth time. I will admit that I've read my fair share of Nicholas Sparks novels and I was intrigued for a short time, but they've lost their appeal and I'd much rather read something that's thrilling or even scary rather than yet another romance novel.

I thought that my obviously unnatural pick in movies would maybe be intriguing to a new person, but apparently it just came off as strange. To be clear, I'm really not strange I just don't enjoy feeling sorry for beautiful people who do eventually get what they want. I'd rather follow a crazy person through a seemingly haunted psych facility or watch members of the Irish mob shoot each other in Southie. Sorry if that's "messed up" in your opinion. I think it makes me stand out from the crowd.

retail ettiquette

I've spent the last two years of my life working in retail. After dealing with the many characters that come in and out of my place of employment, I have come up with five rules that should be accepted before shopping in my store:

1. I am an associate. I get paid minimum wage, and do NOT make the rules. I am not the one that decided you cannot take the unsensored jewelry into the fitting room with you or that you and your friends can't all cram into one dressing room and take pictures of each other. So please, make my life a little easier and just use some common sense.

2. I did not create the return policy and neither did my manager. The store I work at has a strict return policy that requires a reciept with any return and we only give back store credit. I know, it sucks. However, screaming at me and telling me how terrible it is is not going to get you your money back. So don't even bother.

3. You get what you pay for. My store prides itself on cheap prices and great sales. Do not expect these clothes to last forever. Bringing back a pair of leggings that you paid $5.50 for and got the second pair half off and telling me "I'm concerned about the quality of the clothes here" is not going to make me feel bad for you.... and you still won't get your money back.

4. I don't care if you shop here. A lot of times after a screaming match about the return policy or lack of a reciept, customers will make the ultimate threat: "Well, that's the last time I'll be shopping here!" Guess what? Your presence will not be missed and the company surely won't go under because you decide to shop elsewhere. Plenty of fifteen year old girls will still shop here.

5. I am not the maid. If you try seventeen shirts on in the fitting room, that's annoying. If you try seventeen shirts on and leave them inside-out and not on a hanger sprawled all across the fitting room, that pisses me off. My job sucks enough as it is having to pretend to be nice and friendly, I do not want to fix and hang up all of your clothes that you decided you didn't want. Not to mention you probably had me get some of those shirts down with the big pole.

After these five rules are accepted, I will kindly welcome you into my store and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful experience. Thank you and goodbye.

"this is my favorite song"

Apparently, I throw around the phrase "this is my favorite song!" a lot, with many different songs. Although I do become obsessed with songs for weeks at a time, I began to really think about what my favorite song is and why.

After contemplating (and looking at what song I've listened to most on my iPod) for quite some time, I decided that it has to be "Viva La Vida" by Coldplay. The song is fairly recent, only being released last year. Usually, I listen to a new song on repeat for a few weeks, learn all of the words, and then get pretty sick of it after a while. This song is different for me and I'm going to try and explain myself.

First of all, the beat and the orchestration of the music itself is totally mezmorizing to me. Popular music today (I will confess I'm an avid Kiss108 and Jamn945 listener) doesn't usually contain much actual "music" in the background. Coldplay songs in general prove that popular music can still be beautiful. Viva La Vida is no different.

The words to the song are also lovely. Compared to other songs on my Top 25 Most Played list such as "Got Money" by Lil Wayne and "Single Ladies" by Beyonce, the lyrics are a lot more appropriate and much more poetic.

The title "Viva La Vida" translates into "live the life." I think that that is reason enough for this to remain my favorite song.

Here is a dance I choreographed to this song for the UMB dance program:

Lyrics:

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep along
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead, long live the king"
One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jeruselem bells are ringing
Roman calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
A missionary in a foriegn field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you'd gone there was never,
Never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait for my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever wanna be king?

I hear Jeruselem bells are ringing
Roman calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
A missionary in a foriegn field
For some reason I can't explain
I know St. Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

and you think your family is crazy?

People have said to me "Oh, you'll never believe how loud and crazy my family is." Most do not compare to mine. My dad grew up with four sisters and one brother, creating a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins (ranging from age 31 to 6) for me. Not a single one of us is shy, and not a single one is quiet. When we all get together, it is a lot ot handle but it's always a good time and there's always a story to tell afterwards.

Summer of course brings bbqs and outdoor gatherings, and last weekend was one for the books. My whole family eating and drinking outside all day long. Things were getting loud and this is where my anecdote fits in (don't worry, video evidence will be provided). My 17 year old cousin is totally into music and in a band and so forth. He has long, flowing hair and gagued ears. My youngest aunt took one look at his ears and said "Hey, I bet we could blow bubbles through those holes." One thing led to another and led to this....

So next time you think your family is loud or crazy, think about this.