Author: Emma Stapp

greetings, blog! this week, i’m going to be talking about one of my favorite shows of all time– “friday night lights”! this is a show that i always heard about growing up, as it was one of my family’s favorites, but i never gave it the time of day because i assumed that it would just be another cheesy 00s drama with no substance. that seems to be what many people think about this show–until they give it a chance. if you subscribe to that belief, as i once did, it is an honor to tell you that you are spectacularly wrong. while i expected to find a stereotypical sports drama, what i ultimately found was a masterpiece of media that tells genuine stories about family, heartache, and life in the south. without further ado, here are some reasons why you should check it out!

the cast

this show has some of my favorite actors of all time in some of their absolute best roles! connie britton is so amazing, and don’t even get me started on kyle chandler. one of my favorite things about fnl is how well-done the accents are. they don’t sound overdone or too dramatic, but they’re realistic texas drawls that only add to the show’s beauty and relatability.

the relationships

one of my favorite things about this show is how realistically it portrays relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial. the show does an excellent job with the mother-daughter dynamic, especially with my personal favorite character, tami. she’s excellent with her own daughter and also serves as a counselor for many young people in the town. also, the relationship between tami and coach taylor is often (and correctly) credited as one of the best, healthiest, and most realistic fictional marriages.  the show is honestly worth watching for their dynamic alone.

the music

the soundtrack for fnl is often highly regarded amongst fans of the show. it uses a blend of genres to create the perfect atmosphere for the show. whether it’s rap from texas artists, folk music, or classic rock, it all serves to create a feeling that matches the show’s vibe and emotion beautifully. i’ve found some of my favorite songs ever through this show, and of course, i’ll do a mini playlist to showcase some of those. ’til next week–clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose <3

friday night lights mini playlist:

devil town- bright eyes

the prairie song- gene loves jezebel

jesus christ- brand new

hometown glory- adele

to build a home- the cinematic orchestra

bonjour, y’all. this week, i’ll be writing about three of my favorite movies, and they all happen to be based on stories of true crime. i decided that since, like me, many people are fascinated by the psychology behind crimes, and there are lots of movies that showcase it masterfully, i’d do a list on it! for this list, it’ll be strictly fictionalized versions of the events– no documentaries. that would be a whole other can of worms, which i am not yet ready to open : )

heavenly creatures

oh, great heavens. if you’ve been around me at all for the past week or so, you’ve definitely heard me talking about this movie (or, at least, doing a horrendous new zealand accent). like i mentioned, i only discovered this movie a few days ago, and it’s one of my favorite recent discoveries! it’s based on an incredibly interesting case from the 1950s, in which two young girls became obsessed with each other, and when threatened with separation, chose to commit matricide. i was already vaguely aware of the case and had the movie on my watchlist, but i won’t lie–the thing that really got me to watch this movie was its cast. i was having a talk with someone about our favorite kate winslet roles (as one does), and he mentioned heavenly creatures, and said it was worth a watch. he was definitely right. kate, as always, is wonderful in her role, and melanie lynskey, as always, is a powerhouse of emotion. i am literally never not thinking about this film, and i would be more than happy to talk about it to literally anyone who will listen. please, if you enjoy true crime, or if you’re just sick of hearing me quote it without context– check this movie out!

boys don’t cry

this movie made me absolutely sob. it’s so gut-wrenching and beautifully made. it’s based on the life and tragic death of brandon teena, a young transgender man who was assaulted and killed at a young age. i’ve known about brandon’s case for a long time and have watched several documentaries and interviews regarding it, but this movie gave me such a new, necessary insight into it. i love this film because it doesn’t only show the tragedy of how brandon lost his life, but it also shows the kind, generous, adventurous person that he was. hilary swank most definitely deserved the oscar for this role. she plays him with such truth, and chloe sevigny is a perfect addition. if you are interested in true crime, look into brandon’s case, please. he should never, ever be forgotten, and awareness about his death and the issues surrounding it should be spread always.

i, tonya

this has been one of my favorites since i first watched it! i recently rewatched it with my family and was reminded of just how brilliant this film truly is. as someone who is fascinated by 90s culture and true crime, this movie was the perfect watch for me. it gives really interesting insight into the incident and paints tonya harding as an actual person rather than the villain she’s often made out to be. as always, margot robbie and sebastian stan are wonderful, and allison janney is always the perfect addition to pretty much anything. this movie is so complex and emotional, making you laugh one minute, cringe the next, and cry for the all-around terror of the incident. also, the soundtrack for this movie–10/10!

hey, all! i’m sitting in class with not much to do, and for whatever reason, i’m in the mood to write a blog! oddly enough, though, i couldn’t think of anything to write about. according to google, one of the easiest things to write about is yourself. at first, i didn’t want to do that because my poor readers already have to deal with my weekly shenanigans, so why would they want to know even more about me than they already have to? then, i decided to just go for it. so, without further ado, here are some silly, random, mildly humiliating facts about me that no one asked for : )

1. i have a phobia of nicolas cage

2. i never learned to ride a bike

3. i prefer bridget jones’s mark darcy to the real mr. darcy

4. i once almost fell out of a roller coaster to my certain death

5. i’m named after ross and rachel’s baby in “friends” (kinda)

6. i was hyperfixated on the titanic for much of my childhood (the 1997 film and the event itself)

7. i once placed 6th out of like 10,000 people in a “twin peaks” trivia contest

8. i had a phobia of the color yellow as a child

9. despite the fact that i hate the show “duck dynasty”, i have met uncle si multiple times (yes, he is really like that in person)

10. i once was thrown off a seesaw and nearly dislocated my hip

well, there it is. some silly, unnecessary, slightly embarrassing facts about me. i’m glad i decided to write this, as it was equally fun and challenging to think of the random things that make me who i am. hopefully, someday, that’ll be somebody i’m proud of. ’til then, guess i’ll continue list-making! now, i can’t leave you guys without a picture that has nothing to do with the content of this post. ’til next week, folks, enjoy this still from my favorite movie that gave me a good giggle <3

greetings, all. i come to you this week with a blog for which inspiration struck me super randomly. i was thinking about jane austen, as i often do, and admiring her heroes, as i often do. my mind drifted to colonel brandon and mr. darcy, and i thought of them fondly. this, of course, led me to think of the heroines– elinor, elizabeth, marianne, and emma, to name a few. i thought about how beautifully austen crafted their stories and how each character contributed to the endings of her stories.

these ruminations led me to think of something less pleasant– austen’s villains. the first to come to my mind was the one i believe to be the most lecherous and vile–willoughby from my personal favorite austen work, sense and sensibility. even typing his name makes me cringe. i have this visceral hatred for that character, and i found myself wondering why. at first, of course, i attributed it to my love for marianne dashwood and the wrong he had done to her. i’m supposed to hate him, i thought, he is, after all, a villain. however, my brain chose to do what it always does–linger on things of little or no importance. i started to question myself about this character of willoughby and why my disdain for him is so potent.

that’s when i realized it–i hate willoughby because i know willoughby. i know exactly the type of character he is and how his mind works. in fact, i know people like him in real life. i remember when i first read the book and saw the dramatic film depiction, i thought to myself, marianne is a fool! she’s losing her mind over this guy, and for what? i couldn’t wrap my head around what made her so heartbroken over a seemingly average guy. then, i remembered…i, too, have been “willoughbyd”. i, too, have put my hopes in poetry and dark hair and dreams, and it has caused me suffering, just as it did marianne.

it occured to me that at some point, nearly everyone has experienced some sort of heartache associated with a person who continually lets them down. nearly everyone has a willoughby in their life. that one person that you think the world of, defend always, and devote yourself to blindly. that person who deceives you, humiliates you, maybe even ruins you if you let them.

so, the jane austen method of overcoming this crushing disappointment? don’t let them. don’t let the willoughbys and wickhams of life ruin your hope for the future. instead, look forward to what is ahead. rather than being bogged down by the heartache of your past, learn from it, and move on wisely. maybe there will be a darcy or brandon or ferrars in your future. if not, you will still have the value of your experiences. as the brilliant elinor dashwood would say, “know your own happiness.”

’til next week, please enjoy this out-of-context sense and sensibility moment that made me chuckle <3

hello, everyone, and welcome to this week’s blog! this is a pretty neat one, as it’s my first collaboration with another literary! this post is the brain child of me and the wonderful locklyn! we decided that since we share a love of movies, we’d write about each other’s favorite actors and “rank” them. before i begin, though, i’d like to make a not that these ratings are based on vibes alone! this is not meant to be serious or harmful in any way! just silly literary/media gals doing what silly literary/media gals do <3

5. johnny depp

i love this man! he’s in tons of my favorite movies, from benny and joon to edward scissorhands. he dated my favorite person ever, winona ryder, and was close friends with river phoenix, whom i love dearly. johnny holds a special place in my heart for sure, so this rating is pretty simple for me.

then: winona ryder’s soulmate/10

now: deserves better/10

4. robert downey jr.

ahhhh, i adore rdj! he’s such an amazing actor and inspiring guy. it doesn’t hurt that he also happens to be incredibly good looking. though i always see him as iron man, his performance in less than zero is heartbreaking and definitely worth a watch if you enjoy ugly crying.

then: spare a hand in marriage?/10

now: again…spare a hand in marriage?/10

3. ryan phillippe 

to be honest, i’m not super familiar with this one. i recognize him mostly from cruel intentions, in which he’s utterly amazing; and, i trust locklyn’s taste, so i’m assuming he’s wonderful! also– he doesn’t age. like, at all. so, kudos to him for that.

then: i see why reese witherspoon likes you/10

now: fountain of youth/10

2. richard gere

i could talk about this man for HOURS. like, don’t test me. God really outdid Himself with this one. he’s, like, the best looking guy ever, and a good actor, too? save some for the rest of us, richard. or don’t. whatever you want is fine with me. this is an excellent example of my taste and locklyn’s being immaculate and matching <3

then: jealous of julia roberts/10

now: still jealous of julia roberts/10

1. christian slater

eeeeeeeeee time to talk about another one of my all-time favorites! the thing with this blog is that so many of my picks were the same as locklyn’s, so i did have to adjust a bit, and i ultimately decided to forgo putting christian on my list so i could just talk about him here! he’s been one of my favorite actors since i was a kid. i remember searching through every streaming service, looking for every movie he’s ever been in. look, i even watched an episode of phineas and ferb specifically because he had a small voice acting role. i was down bad. i still am, tbh. everything about this dude–the hair, the eyes, the voice. yeah. just…yeah.

then: lovelovelovelovelove/10

now: you should narrate audiobooks/10

hi, blog world! this week’s post is special because it celebrates one of the most important things in the world to me– my cat, jane! jane turned 3 on monday, and it’s hard to believe that my baby is growing so fast. if you know me at all, you may know that i am, at heart, an elderly cat woman. what better way to display that than to talk about my janie!

now, the first thing one must know about jane is that she goes by MANY names. jane, janie, smoochie, smooches, cat, the baby, meanie, and evil are just a few. however, her legal, God-given name is jane brenda scully. her name is extremely important and was crafted specifically for her. jane is her first name to honor jane austen, jane lane from daria, sweet jane by the velvet underground and jane from leonard cohen’s famous blue raincoat. brenda is after brenda walsh from 90210. she reminds me of her because they’re both beautiful and spoiled. her last name is scully, after dana scully, one of my favorite characters of all time. jane, like scully, is highly intelligent and skeptical.

enough about the name–let’s talk about sweet jane herself. she is easily the meanest cat i have ever met. her teeth are just as sharp as her wit, and she never hesitates to use either. however, she can be the most comforting creature on earth when she senses that something is wrong. her hobbies include knocking things over, biting ankles, and staring judgmentally. now, you may be wondering: emma, if the cat is so mean, why do you love her so much? that’s a fair question, but i don’t have a great answer for you. she is simply everything to me. and how could you not love that sweet face?!

hello, all. i may or may not have let the deadline creep up on me this week with my blog. i’ve been a bit stressed these past thirty or so weeks. so, this week, i give you an excerpt of a story i’m working on for intermediate short fiction class. it’s inspired by lorrie moore’s how, which is one of my favorite short stories. keep in mind that this story, much like its writer, is a work in progress 🙂

You will meet him at the video store. You’ll be renting a movie you’ve seen a thousand times, and he’ll be the clerk behind the desk. He will compliment your taste. That movie’s one of his favorites, too, and he’s never met anybody else who has seen it. It won an Oscar and is on every Top 100 Movies list, but you don’t tell him that. You will smile, and he will stare, captivated by finally finding someone who shares his interests. He will tell you more about the movie, how much he loves it, and you will agree, equally in wonder of him. If you squint and turn your head to just the right angle, he will almost look like a young De Niro. You will wonder where he has been all your life. He will tell you. He just moved to town and immediately took a job here, ecstatic to find a video store that hadn’t yet been shut down. You will tell him how you’ve been coming here for as long as you can remember, how it’s one of your favorite places in town. He will say that he hopes he’ll see you there again. He will. You’ll make sure of it. Just when you step out into the parking lot, you will hear him following you. He never got your name. You will tell him, and he will return the favor. He will tell you to have a good day, despite the fact that it is 9 p.m.

Spend the next few days thinking of him constantly. Homework, friends, even music will become obsolete. Your every waking moment will be spent dissecting the intentions behind each word he said, each snaggle-toothed grin he flashed. Remember the spark you felt when your hands touched. Ignore the fact that your hands only touched in a retail ritual. Your mother will ask you if there’s something wrong. Tell her no. How could anything be wrong when you’re in love? You will listen to Roberta Flack and dream of boys with dark circles around their eyes.

Thursday will swoop down to rescue you from your reverie. You will realize that you had missed him. That it has been a week since you met him. Since your life changed forever. You’ll wake up excited, knowing that you must return the movie today. That in doing so, you will see him. Shave beneath your arms. Put on extra mascara during Algebra and a spritz of your friend’s perfume during Biology. Daydream.

hello! i’m back this week with some actual content! over spring break, i rekindled my adoration for the genre of romantic comedy, and i decided that i’d like to share a few more of my favorites with you! a while back, i wrote about three of my favorites, and here are 2 more spoiler-free chats about my favorite rom-coms : )

sabrina (1995)

this. movie. this cheesy, corny, mundane, beautiful movie. i saw this movie on netflix (which it was taken off of. i will be suing for emotional damages. well, that was a joke. for…legal reasons.) on a day when i didn’t have much to do and decided to give it a watch. it seemed like something that i would like–romance, good music, harrison ford. i won’t even lie, the main reason i watched this is because i saw that harrison ford starred in it. gotta be one of the best looking guys ever, and talented, too. and julia ormond is utterly electric. her performance alone makes this movie worth watching. i wasn’t expecting much from it, but what i found was a charming, comforting piece of media that became super close to my heart. since i discovered this movie in late december, i have watched it AT LEAST once a week. and i never get tired of it. not sure if that says more about my hopeless romanticism or the nature of the film, but either way–sabrina is something truly special.

sense and sensibility (1995)

i could talk about this movie for hours, but i will spare you all that babbling and just say that this movie means more to me than i can express. honestly, this is probably more of a romantic drama than comedy, but it’s so full of emotion and does certainly have its comedic moments. any excuse to talk about this film is good for me. funnily enough, i discovered it about a fortnight ago (this movie makes me speak in regency english. sorry), and i have become attached to it quickly. it was always one of my mom’s favorite movies, but i never got around to watching it, and now that i have, i completely understand why she loves it so much. i don’t want to spoil anything, but i can confidently say that this is the absolute best jane austen adaptation i have ever seen. this film is SO perfectly casted that i could honestly dedicate an entire post to the cast itself. we’ve got kate winslet, dame emma thompson, hugh grant, and alan rickman, just to name a few of the immense talents, and each one captures the spirit of their character masterfully. the writing is spectacular, thanks to the lovely jane austen, and the screenplay by lead actress, dame emma thompson. the skill and passion it must take to adopt a novel into film and play one of its main characters is unbelievable, and thompson’s talent is unmatched. like i said, i could fill hours with my thoughts on this movie and would happily do so, but for this week, i’ll spare you.

p.s. being the nerd that i am, i have indeed created playlists dedicated to these movies. i won’t link them here, but i’ll stick to my tradition of mini-playlists : )

sabrina (1995) mini-playlist:

history of us- indigo girls

how can i remember?- michael dees

if you go away- dusty springfield

la vie en rose- edith piaf

my funny valentine- frank sinatra

sense and sensibility (1995) mini-playlist:

love’s recovery- indigo girls

trouble me- 10,000 maniacs

the first time ever i saw your face- roberta flack

right on time- brandi carlile

songbird- fleetwood mac

hey, blog. this week’s blog is extra special because this week is extra special for me. saturday marks my grandmother’s birthday… and a week later, march 19th, will mark the two year anniversary of her passing. for these reasons, spring is an incredibly bittersweet season for me. it’s unfathomable that i’ve spent two years on this earth without her. there is an irreparable hole in my heart that will remain until i see her again. but i also know that she would want me to rejoice in her memory during these times. my granny was never one to be fussed over. i know that if she were here with me now, she would say, “don’t be sad over me, bud. i ain’t studying that. you just worry about school, keepin’ your mama and daddy straight, and making sure your aunts don’t drive each other crazy.” she’d smile and take a swig from her styrofoam cup, and i’d be right at home again.

i apologize if this blog is a little all over the place, but this isn’t something that i talk about much. i’m not exactly known for the ease with which i express my feelings. but as i look around and see the seasons changing, i can’t help but think about the seasons of my life and the person who won’t be there to see me through them. my granny loved springtime. she loved the sun and the butterflies, and most of all, she loved fishing. she’d wear her monogrammed t-shirts and birkenstocks and go to the river every weekend. if the red clover was out, that meant the brim were biting, and she would get a twinkle in her eye. “don’t you wanna go with us, emmy-lou? bernie’ll fix us a steak and you can go tubin’!” she’d tell me. i’d give anything to go back in time and spend another weekend in that rickety shack on the tombigbee. with her. to see her smile, hear her laugh, smell her perfume. a simple blog post isn’t even enough to honor her, who she was and what she meant to me.nothing could ever be enough, but i’ll spend the whole rest of my life working to honor her memory the best i can. 

i love you, G. happy birthday.

hey, blog! i don’t know what this is, really. it’s essentially an excerpt from a morning pages exercise based on a conversation i recently had which made me question my views on guilt. this is it. yikes.

what do you do when someone you think of as family betrays you? maybe it isn’t really a betrayal. she doesn’t mean anything by it, and you know that. you have no right to be hurt by her friendship with an innocent person. but what do you do when that innocent person is an extension of the most disgusting creature on this earth? what do you do when the person who claims to love you also loves that which kills you? guilt by association is a nasty stigma, and the mind clings to it like a vice. but is that so wrong? there has to be a certain level of culpability for associating yourself with evil. evil by proxy? not necessarily. guilty of ignorance? absolutely. how should one confront the friend of the friend of their enemy? worse, how does one confront the family of the friend of the enemy? the family of the family of the enemy? and if that family (by the absolute simplest of definitions) is also your family? it’s a filthy cycle full of confused people who must choose a side. and if they don’t, the natural assumption is that they just don’t care.  lots of times, they don’t. if it doesn’t affect them and if the friendship benefits them, why care what feelings other people have? me, me, me. my, my, my. who cares if it hurts people who love me? who cares if they love me at all? it’s exhausting. explaining to adults why bad people are bad. why people who excuse bad behavior are bad. why they are one of those people. especially when it’s someone you love like your own family. it’s hard to see a monster through the eyes of a child, and even harder to recognize that monster as a friend.

here are some links to learn about and help with the crisis in ukraine:

https://www.peopleinneed.net/donate/once?amount=1000&accountId=7

https://redcross.org.ua/en/donate/

https://www.inquirer.com/philly-tips/ukraine-charities-donate.html