My Top 13 Favorite Movies

I’ve chose Top 13 because 13 has gotten a bad rap.  I, intended to prove that it really is a lucky number more lucky than 7 which is single digit and just dull.  So, 13 this is for you.

These lists are based on my personal taste.  You don’t have to agree, you don’t have to disagree.  I welcome your opinions but ask that you express your opinions with respect and give real reasons beyond, “I think your wrong,” “this film sucks,” or “lame,”  otherwise I won’t allow the comment to be posted.  Also, just because I post the comment doesn’t mean I agree or disagree.  

 13.  Dragonwyck

Tierney & Price

Dragonwyck is an almost obscure thriller starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price.  The movie is based off the novel written by Anya Seton (according to Wikipedia).  It’s set in 1844, Connecticut.  Miranda Wells (Tierney) is invited by a distant cousin, Nicholas Van Ryn (Price) to be the governess to his young daughter, Katrine.  It’s not long before Mrs. Van Ryn dies, leaving Nicholas to woe and marry Miranda.  When I was a kid I was loved watching Miranda and Nicholas dancing around the ballroom.  It didn’t matter that Nicholas turned out to be crazy I loved him.  Now that I’m older and more educated I can appreciate the historical and literary relevance.  Historically you get an idea of what the social class system and economic system were like.  This film also depicts the life of a Governess in 1844.  Miranda seems to be modeled after Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.   She is the stereo-type, Governess, she comes to teach, the lady of the house dies and the husband marries the Governess.  However, the twist is the suspicion and odd and frightening behavior of Nicholas that make this movie a thriller.  As a kid I loved watching this film with my mother when it came on the classic movie channel.  It took us years to find this film on DVD.  It was definitely worth the twenty dollars I spent to purchase it.         

12.  Pirate Radio

Movie Poster

Pirate Radio take places in 1960’s when Rock n’ Roll is banned from airwaves, however, Radio Rock, a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea defies the authorities playing music from Moody Blues, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Cream just to name a few.  While Kenneth Branagh works to shut down Radio Rock, Philip Seymour Hoffman, along with his fellow DJ’s, continue to entertain England.  I think the movie has a great balance between storyline, characters and music.  It’s definitely not a heavy movie; conflict is easily resolved and even when the ship and its crew are in peril you still know that everything will be okay.  Hoffman’s climatic scene is a little campy.  Pirate Radio never takes itself too seriously.

Bright Star!

So, I know it's been nearly two weeks since I posted a blog.  Last week was hectic and this week I'm recuperating from last week.

I turned in my last Final paper for my American Lit., class.  I am officially done taking classes.  It's a bittersweet situation but I'm trying not to dwell on it as I still have some work to do on my Thesis before I can officially graduate. 


I am working on a new blog but it's taking more time than I anticipated so hopefully that will be up soon. 


I'm leaving you with my favorite poem by John Keats, "Bright Star" written in 1819.

 Bright star!  would I were steadfast as thou art--

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,

And watching, with eternal lids, apart,

Like Nature's patient sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,

Or grazing on the new soft fallen mask

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--

No--yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,

Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever--or else swoon to death.

MiO

Mio-Sassy Gay Friend <~~~ click to watch video. 

So, the first time I saw this skit I couldn’t help but shake my head and agree, “Yes, indeed, Sassy Gay Friend you have become a sellout.” The skit was still humorous but by adding a blatant product placement it managed to lose some of its flair. Even the funny Facebook status admitting to being a sellout didn’t help. Also, “the New liquid water enchancer” line made me snicker. We already know water is a liquid, even when it’s frozen it’s still a liquid…a frozen liquid. Also, it’s really not enhancing the water. The water isn’t suddenly packed with extra vitamins and minerals. MiO just flavors the water.

All that being said I will be the first to admit I’m a hypocrite because right after I watched it and passed my judgment I started thinking about trying the stuff. For the most part, I don’t mind drinking plain H2O but in the area I live the water changes its flavor depending on the season. Which means the water can be a bit disgusting, even if it is filtered.

Now, I do drink bottled water from time to time but I’m also environmentally conscious so I tend to feel guilty when I see how many bottles I have to throw away (the recycling plant stopped recycling plastic. I don’t know why but they did).

Also, sometimes I just want to some flavor and I’m trying to cut back on my intake of coke which is my go to drug of choice. I figure if I drink more flavored water I can stave off my soda addiction. I have been known to drink Vitamin water but looking at the label I realize that the amount of calories and such isn’t too far from drinking a coke. So why not drink a damn coke?

I’m digressing…there are a lot of different products out there to help make water more pallitable to those who don’t like plain water and I’ve tried a handful of them. Most of them have Saccharin and dextrose (Sweet’n Low) or aspartame, dextrose and maltodextrin (Equal). Both of these are pretty bad for you and taste even worse, at least, in my opinion. The taste is really my biggest issue with them. It coats my tongue and makes everything I eat or drink seem chalking and disgusting.

A few weeks ago I noticed that my friend Steph had two flavors on her kitchen counter and I asked her about them. She said that they were good and didn’t leave a bad taste. So, while I was visiting my mother for the Easter holiday I decided to try MiO. I bought fruit punch flavor while I was at the grocery store with my mother.

This is what I found on the label:

Nutrition Facts Serv Size:
1/24 bottle (2 mL/about ½ tsp), Serving 24, Amount Per Serving: Calories 0, Total Fat 0g (0% DV), Sodium 0mg (0% DV), Total Carb 0g (0% DV), Sugars 0g, Protein 0g. Not a significant source of Fat Cal, Sat Fat, Trans Fat, Cholest, Fiber. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron. Precent Daily Vialues (DV) are based on 2,000 Calorie Diet.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Malic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, contains less than 2% of Natural flavor, sucralose and acesulfame potassium (sweeteners), Potassium citrate, Red 40, Potassium Sorbate (Perservative).

So after reading the label I did a quick search on suralose and acesulfame potassium and found that are what make up Splenda and Sweet One neither of which leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
I enlisted my mother to be an additional taste tester. I squirted some MiO into our glasses of what and we tried it. I really liked it. My mother complained that it tasted like very weak Kool-Aide which I’ve found is the case with a lot of water flavorings. The good thing about MiO is you can add as little or as much as you want. So in theory you could add enough to make the water taste more like Kool-aid than water.

I’ve only tried the Fruit Punch flavor of MiO but there are a couple other flavors as well. There’s Berry Pomegranate, Mango Peach, Peach Tea, Sweet Tea, and Strawberry Watermelon. I’m not really a mango or peach person so I probably won’t try those any time soon but I’m headed to the grocery store to grab some of the Berry Pomegranate.