Well, we all know how much I love a good fanfiction or even just a clever take on a well-loved story, and this week I was introduced to my latest obsession: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries!
It's a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, filmed entirely in 3-6 minute video blogs. Lizzie starts the project for her graduate degree thesis, intending to chronicle her families lives for a certain number of weeks. It's fascinating to see they way they've updated the story. It's set in the United States (the girls live in a small town, and the big city is L.A. instead of London). The ball at Netherfield is now Bing Lee's birthday party, there are only three sisters -- Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia -- but the other two from the book are referenced, Jane is a low-level fashion designer trying to pay off student loans, and the way Lizzie reiterates previous conversations (affected by her and her friends dressing up and doing impersonations) is just hilarious.
I must say that the casting is PERFECT! When we finally meet Bing Lee, I can see why Jane likes him so much. And Mr. Collins is a hoot! Charlotte, Jane, Lydia, Caroline, Lizzie... they're all great. I hope we get to meet some of the others, too, like Mr. Darcy ;)
I'm about halfway through, and I cannot get enough! Lucky for me, Lizzie only has to film a few more videos until she finishes the story (I think the current one is #95), so I can just watch them all straight through! No waiting for me! It is a commitment to watch them straight through ; it's at least 7 hours total. I've been told that the ones in the 70s and 80s are the best. The way I'm going, I'll get to watch those tomorrow!
If you're curious about it, take a look at the first episode:
Also, because I can't get enough of Lydia (and want to high-five her every time Lizzie leaves her hanging), here's the first video in Lydia's own vlog, filmed while she is staying with her cousin Mary, and Jane and Lizzie are staying with the Lees.
(I love the multiple nods to The Lord of the Rings movies in the Baby-sitting episode.)
Oh, it looks like there are more than the original 7! I'll wait to watch them, 'cause I am guessing they relate to Lydia's later adventures, and I'm not there in the Lizzie videos yet.
Are you at all interested in watching this series? Do you have other "fanfiction-esque" series on your must-see or must-read list?
This weekend is going to be a bit crazy for me, and also fun. I hope the same for you!
Happy Friday, my friends!
Friday, March 15
Wednesday, March 13
We three keys unlock Megan's car
(Please tell me you sang my post title to the tune of "We Three Kings!")
I have had my car for nearly 12 years, and it wasn't new when I got it. In recent years, my key (#1) stopped opening the passenger-side door and trunk, but since it still worked in the driver-side door -- the door I use the most anyway -- I didn't stress too much about it. It was annoying, but not overly so.
However, about two weeks ago, the lock on the driver-side door started resisting. The key went in, but it took some effort to get it to turn!! It would take me five or more minutes to pry that #1 sideways and finally open the door. I'm sure more than one person thought I was breaking into the car -- one guy actually asked me outright, but since he was a friend-of-multiple-friends he was kind enough not to call the police.
I've been saving up money for home improvements and I didn't want to have to spend it on getting the stupid, hateful, stuck locks replaced >:( This whole situation was so frustrating!
When the problem first started, I was afraid that #1 would break in the lock. It didn't, but it didn't take very long before it looked like this:
Obviously, #1 wasn't very useful in this state.
So, I started using the spare key (#2), but it didn't seem to work much better. On the advice of another friend, I decided to make a few copies just in case #2 bent, too. That friend also mentioned that the copies would be cheaper if I bought templates without the black plastic covering the end (illustrated above). With that in mind, I decided to borrow the spare key from my parents' house (#3) so that maybe the lock-copying guy would assume #3 was the kind of key I wanted.
I gave #3 to the lock-copier... and we immediately discovered that his 3D holo-dealie couldn't recognize it OR #2. With difficulty, I refused to see this complication as a sign. The manual process worked fine, and the copier told me to test the copy to make sure it was okay (since the holo-dealie wouldn't recognize it). With trepidation, I put the copy from #3 in the lock... and it turned more easily than it had in weeks! I gleefully ran back into Home Depot and requested more!
I'm sure many of you have guessed by now that it was the key -- not the lock -- that had been my problem all this time. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Well, maybe I did, but since #1 was the original key -- the one that had seemingly worked fine for 12 years even when the locks seemed to fail -- I assumed it was the right one! We took a closer look at #2 and #3 side by side. #2 was copied from #1. It was obviously worn down; REALLY worn down. It makes a little more sense now why #1 would sometimes fall out of the ignition while I was driving. Wow.
I have had my car for nearly 12 years, and it wasn't new when I got it. In recent years, my key (#1) stopped opening the passenger-side door and trunk, but since it still worked in the driver-side door -- the door I use the most anyway -- I didn't stress too much about it. It was annoying, but not overly so.
However, about two weeks ago, the lock on the driver-side door started resisting. The key went in, but it took some effort to get it to turn!! It would take me five or more minutes to pry that #1 sideways and finally open the door. I'm sure more than one person thought I was breaking into the car -- one guy actually asked me outright, but since he was a friend-of-multiple-friends he was kind enough not to call the police.
I've been saving up money for home improvements and I didn't want to have to spend it on getting the stupid, hateful, stuck locks replaced >:( This whole situation was so frustrating!
When the problem first started, I was afraid that #1 would break in the lock. It didn't, but it didn't take very long before it looked like this:
So, I started using the spare key (#2), but it didn't seem to work much better. On the advice of another friend, I decided to make a few copies just in case #2 bent, too. That friend also mentioned that the copies would be cheaper if I bought templates without the black plastic covering the end (illustrated above). With that in mind, I decided to borrow the spare key from my parents' house (#3) so that maybe the lock-copying guy would assume #3 was the kind of key I wanted.
I gave #3 to the lock-copier... and we immediately discovered that his 3D holo-dealie couldn't recognize it OR #2. With difficulty, I refused to see this complication as a sign. The manual process worked fine, and the copier told me to test the copy to make sure it was okay (since the holo-dealie wouldn't recognize it). With trepidation, I put the copy from #3 in the lock... and it turned more easily than it had in weeks! I gleefully ran back into Home Depot and requested more!
I'm sure many of you have guessed by now that it was the key -- not the lock -- that had been my problem all this time. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Well, maybe I did, but since #1 was the original key -- the one that had seemingly worked fine for 12 years even when the locks seemed to fail -- I assumed it was the right one! We took a closer look at #2 and #3 side by side. #2 was copied from #1. It was obviously worn down; REALLY worn down. It makes a little more sense now why #1 would sometimes fall out of the ignition while I was driving. Wow.
It's pretty amazing to me that I chose to make the new copies from #3 -- one that had seen far less action and was intact -- before I even knew the key was the problem. I am so grateful for that tender mercy, and that I don't have to replace the locks on my car. The key I'm now using works brilliantly in all of the locks! ... Well, the driver-side still sticks a little and takes a minute to jimmy, but hopefully that resolves itself in the next few days.
Just goes to show that the simplest solution is probably the best one... at least in a situation like this! Next time I'll try the obvious correction instead of immediately assuming the complicated and expensive one.
Another crisis averted!
Just need to remember to give my parents' copy back to them :P
Just goes to show that the simplest solution is probably the best one... at least in a situation like this! Next time I'll try the obvious correction instead of immediately assuming the complicated and expensive one.
Another crisis averted!
Just need to remember to give my parents' copy back to them :P
Sunday, March 10
Neighbor notes
Having been away for much of the winter -- and the previous fall, summer and spring -- I forgot how noisy my downstairs neighbors are. I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as I try to take a nap or read or do anything that is easier when it's quiet, they immediately turn on the t.v., or their grandkids come over to play, or they start some home improvement project that involves a hammer or similar tool that results in a "banging" sound (keep it clean, kids). Oh, and someone snores at night in the bedroom below mine.
Pretty sure I don't hear absolutely everything, but it's amazing how clearly certain sounds bleed through the floor.
I honestly have no idea how much they hear of my activities. I assume that if I sing at full volume (like I did Monday evening) they can hear me. After all, I heard them sing "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" for a good 10 minutes earlier that same evening. Someone did call the police on me once, but I'm pretty sure those people moved out not long after.
Happily, I haven't had any trouble with my next-door neighbors for years. Woot!
I think that since I'm so rarely home during the day or evening, and even then don't often have people over, my neighbors probably have no idea how loud they are. Even so, I'm not inclined to complain. After all, it's their home, too, and I'm sure they aren't trying to be annoying. Plus, they have been kind enough to help me out a few times when I locked myself out of my condo and needed to use their phone, or that time the zipper on my dress got stuck at 11 p.m. I'd feel badly knocking on the door at 11, but judging by the noise, they were up anyway :-P And they thought the whole thing was hilarious! Such friendly people.
Feeling pretty lucky in my neighbors right now. They aren't bad enough to warrant complaints, and they don't complain about my stuff. Just letting them live and let live.
But if I ever find out who likes to cook the meals that smell up the stairwell, all bets are off!
(Not really. Some of it smells pretty good, but it is STRONG!)
Pretty sure I don't hear absolutely everything, but it's amazing how clearly certain sounds bleed through the floor.
I honestly have no idea how much they hear of my activities. I assume that if I sing at full volume (like I did Monday evening) they can hear me. After all, I heard them sing "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" for a good 10 minutes earlier that same evening. Someone did call the police on me once, but I'm pretty sure those people moved out not long after.
Happily, I haven't had any trouble with my next-door neighbors for years. Woot!
I think that since I'm so rarely home during the day or evening, and even then don't often have people over, my neighbors probably have no idea how loud they are. Even so, I'm not inclined to complain. After all, it's their home, too, and I'm sure they aren't trying to be annoying. Plus, they have been kind enough to help me out a few times when I locked myself out of my condo and needed to use their phone, or that time the zipper on my dress got stuck at 11 p.m. I'd feel badly knocking on the door at 11, but judging by the noise, they were up anyway :-P And they thought the whole thing was hilarious! Such friendly people.
Feeling pretty lucky in my neighbors right now. They aren't bad enough to warrant complaints, and they don't complain about my stuff. Just letting them live and let live.
But if I ever find out who likes to cook the meals that smell up the stairwell, all bets are off!
(Not really. Some of it smells pretty good, but it is STRONG!)
Friday, March 8
Uncle Drew
My brothers introduced me to this video and we laughed our heads off!
Don't underestimate the elderly. They know what they're doing ;)
Don't underestimate the elderly. They know what they're doing ;)
Monday, March 4
February happenings
At some point, I want to start printing a book of my blog for each year, like Rach does (since apparently I've given up on scrapbooking). I haven't quite taken the time to figure it out, yet. With that aim in mind, I want to keep records of some of my photos here.
And this list of 38 Things You Will Never Read Again in Your Life that I hope to read again sometime in my life.
I don't often think to take photos when I'm not in a play or on vacation, but here are a few non-Arsenic-related photos from January and February:
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| Rocking out to Disco Addiction with lead singers Keri and Amy January 26 |
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| One of the many massive snow storms in January -- this one was January 27 |
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| Seeing the touring company of Dreamgirls with Carrie and Liz February 5 |
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| The ducks returned briefly to the canal near my condo |
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| University of Utah gymnastics team v Stanford with Bridget and Justin February 23 |
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| Oscar party with co-host Todd February 24 |
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| The other Oscar party co-host, Liz |
Speaking of the Oscars, these interviews with Jennifer Lawrence crack me up!
Lastly, I don't want to lose this link to 50 Life Hacks to Simplify Your Life (you're welcome).
And this list of 38 Things You Will Never Read Again in Your Life that I hope to read again sometime in my life.
Happy Monday!
Friday, March 1
*updated* That's What Makes You Beautiful x 4
I save this video for rainy days. Five friends having a good time fooling around on a piano together... and a gorgeous song with a great message. Always cheers me up.
Here is the same song again. The teenage boys in it make me laugh and then miss my brothers (sorry, guys, but I'll always think of you as you were in junior high and high school)! I hope these young men never lose this sense of whimsy, sweetness, and bravery, and that they find young ladies who will appreciate them!
And if you care to listen to the song one more time, I suggest you go back and watch this version from the cast of Anything Goes. Why not?
Lastly, here is a version cobbled together from episodes of Downton Abbey, which prompted me (after a stunned silence) to respond, "Whaaaaaaaaa-?"
Lastly, here is a version cobbled together from episodes of Downton Abbey, which prompted me (after a stunned silence) to respond, "Whaaaaaaaaa-?"
Isn't it great how one song can inspire and entertain so many people in so many ways?
YOU are beautiful, my friends. Happy Friday!
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