Read It 1st

Once upon a time, a terrific movie came out. I liked it so much, that after the first time I saw it (a Saturday), I started reading the book it was based on. I saw the movie again the following Monday. The next day, I saw the movie a third time and finished the book. I was completely in love with both. Though the book was very different from the movie, it had helped me understand a lot more of what was going on in the film, which made the movie even more brilliant in my opinion.

The book and the movie were Jurassic Park.

*Cue the wonderful theme music to play in my head*

And a love of reading books to make more sense of the movies and form a deeper connection to the characters within was born. Pride and Prejudice, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Master and Commander, The Scarlet Pimpernel... and on and on. How I love these stories! And I love knowing the original story, especially when some have inspired multiple film adaptations! (As a side note: I would recommend any of the above books, if you're looking for something interesting and wonderful to read.)

(Notice I did not include Harry Potter in this list. Though I completely love this series, I loved it BEFORE the movies came out, so it doesn't really count in this context.)

As a huge fan of books, movies, and movies based on books, I was pretty excited when my brother, Guy Smiley, blogged about the Nerdfighters new Read It 1st campaign. The idea is, when a movie comes out that's based on a book, you read the book before you see the movie.

Easy enough, right? Especially if you already like to read, and are excited about what's coming out!

I know what you all are thinking: "Oh, Megan, the book is ALWAYS better than the movie." Well, I could argue that point *cough*Twilight*cough*, but I generally agree. This argument is beside the point.

The point is that sometimes the movie-going experience is enhanced by knowing about the characters, themes, and story ahead of time. The point is that I like the idea of reading the book first, instead of watching the movie and then catching up. The point is that reading, in general, is awesome. I am very excited about this idea!

I admit, I was one of those people who selected the "I'll read whatever I want, but I want to know what movies based on books are coming out" option. I did this because I have a TON of books already on my To-Read list on Goodreads. This does not mean that I won't be reading The Hobbit before that movie comes out next year (my last attempt to slog through it was unsuccessful; I'm hoping I'll like it more now since it's been fifteen years). It does mean I don't feel guilty for not reading The Help, although I really liked the film.

Are you up to the challenge? Do you like this idea at all? Are there any movies coming up that you're excited about, because you already love the book?


(Hey! I just noticed that I've already accomplished 100% of my Goodreads goal to read twenty books this year! Wonder how many more I can finish in the next three months...)

Happy reading!

Another Facebook fast

Last year I took about 10 days off from Facebook, for various reasons.

I've decided it's time to do it again.

Two months ago, it would have been because I was jealous of all the moms and kids and weddings and cool vacations.

Baby Blues by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

But, happily, I got over my "why not me?" pity-fest.

No, now I need a break because, since the changes Facebook made to the layout last week, I've been spending more time on there than ever. This in spite of the fact I find those changes seriously annoying. I have my friends all organized in little groups like "Extended Family", "Close Friends", and "Entertaining!".... but you can't add pages that you've "Liked" to those groups, so I still have to look at the main feed to see the latest news on Grey's Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Doesn't matter what else I'm doing on the computer, I check FB about every 10 minutes. And I don't like it. But I haven't been able to get myself to stop.

No doubt about it: I am addicted to Facebook.

I've been wanting to take a break for awhile, but there's always a reason not to: my play, my birthday, someone else's birthday, vacation photos, birth announcements, cast announcements, etc. So easy to make excuses not to stop. Finally decided to just DO it!

So, Sunday I posted a status update stating that I'd been taking a break for an indeterminate amount of time, e-mailed a few people I generally only communicate with on FB so they'd have my e-mail address, wrote down the dates and times of events that I plan to attend, and smiled at the replies from people who said they'd miss me.

Monday, I "deactivated" my account. I did this so I wouldn't receive any updates and no one could invite me to anything while I'm absent. I didn't really want to delete it and all of the associations I've made in the last couple of years. This is a happy medium.

It's only been two days and, pathetically, I already miss it. A lot. You know me, I miss the stories and pretending I know what's going on. But I'll stay strong. After all, I'll make an effort with the people I really want to keep in touch with (honestly, thank goodness for my friends' blogs--maybe I'll start commenting more), and much of what people post on FB isn't time-sensitive, or even important, anyway. I know most of what I post isn't very interesting

Oh dear, now I'm going to have to read the news to get my updates on world/local events. *Sigh* I can do it!

Hoping to stay off the FB for a couple of weeks, if not the entire month of October (wouldn't that be amazing?!) We'll see how it goes!

Love

Love is grown men wearing Hello Kitty party hats, because their also-grown-up daughter/sister asked for hats at her birthday party and those were the only hats her mom could find. They didn't complain or act embarrassed. In fact, they kept the hats on longer than the little nieces did.* (It's possible they forgot about them after awhile.)

I'm related to some terrific men. They'll never know how much I love them!

*My dad took some photos, but they're all on his camera, which means that my chances of ever seeing them is about 5%. But the memory is priceless!

Favorite moments from the Emmys

I know, I know, the Emmys were last Sunday, but I still want to share these few clips, 'cause they just make me happy.

• Ty Burrell's speech:

I love that he seems to be one of those actors who is just so humble and grateful to be there, and his personality totally shines through. So many people at the awards seemed to be robots, but not this guy!

• Parody of The Office:

A lot of my friends are fans of this show because they work in offices and the characters on this show remind them of their actual coworkers (think about it; I bet you could identify your office's own Dwight). I like this parody because it makes me wonder what I would say on camera. I bet I'd be boring... I don't have as much personality as Ty Burrell :P

• Presentation of the Best Actress in a Comedy:

This stunt was Amy Poehler's idea and I laughed through the entire thing. One blogger suggested that Amy and Tina Fey should write next year's Emmys. Oh, how I would LOVE for that to happen!

Happy Friday, folks!

I miss regular television

A few weeks ago, I somehow was left in charge of the television remote at my parents' house. I started flipping through the channels, and was thrilled to find a mini-marathon of Friends going on. So, I left it, hoping there wouldn't be anything too inappropriate, and the rest of the family (when they wandered through on their way to their various Sunday-evening activities) wouldn't mind.

Turned out, they played some of my favorite episodes. AND, my family not only didn't mind, but sat down and watched with me! Nothing better than my dad laughing his head off about the epic battle to prove the girls know the boys better than the boys know the girls!

"What was Monica's nickname when she was a field hockey goalie?"
"BIG FAT GOALIE!"
"That is correct!"

I felt pretty lucky that the episodes we watched were some of the less-naughty ones, and definitely some of my favorites, like The One with All the Thanksgivings, and The One with the Prom Video.

Ever since that day, watching with the family, I've missed having regular cable television in my house. I'm glad I have access to Hulu and Netflix, and that they enabled me to mostly catch up on Parks and Recreation and other stuff, but... especially now that the new Fall season has started and I can't watch most shows until the next day at the earliest, I miss being able to just flip through the channels. And having DVR was sooo convenient.

I don't miss the cable bill, though. So, for the most part, I'm happy with my choice to downsize. At least this way I watch slightly less 'cause the t.v. isn't just on all the time.

Aw, Friends. Thanks for reminding me why I enjoyed you so much! Good television isn't always easy to come by!

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Today was the official International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Sadly, I did not talk like a pirate today ... but SOMEday I will! (It's officially a goal.)

Meanwhile, I want to share my favorite, corny pirate joke:

What is a pirate's favorite letter?

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

You'd think it'd be "Arrrrr!" but, really, it's the "Sea!!!"

What? I told you it was corny!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, everyone!

I have no photos of myself dressed like a pirate.
 That's weird, right?