(and you probably do too)

AMELIA BEDELIA

I really hope you know Amelia Bedelia. My roommate didn’t and I was very sad. Amelia Bedelia is connotative with gullibility, upon being left in a house with a list of expressions and idioms she takes them all to be literal: she cuts up the towels when she hears “change them [out]”, ruins their furniture and the only reason she doesn’t get fired that day is she makes a delicious lemon meringue pie. I tried not to sound mocking because I truly do love this book, Amelia Bedelia is so witty and goofy.

And then of course came what I’d call “holiday specials” e.g. Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia; Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping, etc. etc. It’s just a trend of the medium, you’ve noticed, once people love “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” they’ll love “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” but what I find interesting is Amelia Bedelia didn’t just get picture books she also got chapter books.

An entire franchise of them!

These were published decades after the original book was released—like the Amelia Bedelia books were being published in the 60s, the one I had as a kid was written in 2013.

Also, I love this artstyle, look at her little outfit

(side note I was looking up more books for this blog and let me just say: Harry Potter is NOT a picture book.)

KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE

This one is for ME, okay? and it’s the only non-serialized one on this list. This little girl leaves her stuffed animal at the laundromat and she can’t talk yet so all she can do is babble the words closest to the sounds “Knuffle Bunny.” 🙁

It’s based on the writer’s real life family and did you know this was written by the guy who’s also written, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus?” I’m so upset no one remembers Knuffle Bunny. Let’s move on.

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE

What I brought it up and you expected me not to use it? Yeah, you’ve read it I bet. I believe it FAR greater than either of the other ones on this list but have you actually gone back? Because wow, it is cozy. Coziest book alive, as a seven year old shares some food with a mouse who trashes his house (but the book doesn’t rhyme?) Akin to most things on this list, there were obviously more books after it and you know what, I’ll go back on my word. Despite how like. Honestly sweet the original is, I remember the variations more fondly.

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake? If You Take a Mouse to the Movies?

If You Take a Mouse to School?

I’m sorry, If You Take A Mouse to School beats out the original by a MILE, no criticism accepted (I do not remember this book, so this could all be hearsay.)

PETE THE CAT

I loved this cat as a kid and I love the beat his little read-alouds were paired with. Do you remember read-alouds? Those went crazy. This cat went along with everything, his shoes are white, now they’re red, what does he say?

“I love my red shoes,

I love my red shoes,

I love my red shoes.”

Never bothered, never sad, just the coolest cat around. 10/10 Cat I don’t remember much of him but he took down the house in a single picture book.

 

 

 

… hey you know those “I am [historical figure]” books? They made one for ruth bater ginsberg

When I was younger, I didn’t have very many friends. My parents were also very busy people. We had a TV but I didn’t use it. I never really cared for watching TV. I still don’t. When I was five, my parents got my brother and I an xbox 360 for christmas. I also got an iPad. My brother, Thomas, was always on the xbox and would never let me play games with him. I never got a chance to use it. Instead of playing video games or watching TV, I went to the backyard and played with the dogs and a soccer ball. When we first moved to the Gulf Coast from Colorado in 2008, my mom built my brother and me a sandbox. If you were standing on the back porch looking at the yard, it was in the back right corner of the yard. Eventually my mom moved it to the back left corner of the yard as there was a giant oak tree in the neighbors yard that gave us a shaded area. She moved an entire pile of sand one wheelbarrow at a time. I remember watching her doing that while I was playing with the dogs. When the sandbox got moved, a hammock was put in going across the sand. I loved playing in the hammock and swinging back and forth in it. Whenever my mom got the chance, she’d bring me down the street to the park so I could play.

One of my favorite things to do, however, was look out the windows. We lived in a two story house and I’d always stand on the stairs in the middle and look out the window. I would stand there for hours watching the shadows of the leaves move and the birds building their nests. I’d watch as the squirrels searched for acorns and how bees would land on flowers. My favorite part about this was watching the shadows of the clouds on the ground slowly moving and how the shadows from the oak trees would slowly shift from one side to the other as the sun moved.

The stairwell window wasn’t the only one I looked out. I had two windows in my room that I loved to gaze out of. My bed was in front of one of them and I’d sit on my bed for hours staring out into the neighborhood. My dresser was in front of the other window and I’d climb on top of it to watch the cars drive by.

Another window I loved staring out of was the window in my bathroom. It overlooked the neighbors garden and pool. She had so many beautiful flowers blooming in the spring and summer. There were always bees buzzing around her backyard. I remember seeing the side of her house from that window. She had curtains on all of her windows that you couldn’t see through. The only thing you could see was a couch pressed against one window in the top right corner of her house. When it would rain I would look out at her garden and listen to the sound of the droplets pattering against the metal roof of her car port.

I loved looking out the windows so much because it was like time had stopped. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The only things you could hear were the birds singing and the occasional car driving by. To this day I still love looking out windows wherever I go. The only difference is nothing is ever as bright or as colorful as it was when I was younger.

Hello! Recently, a certain new live action came out, prompting me to instead binge watch the original animated series. There are a lot of thoughts I have on Avatar: The Last Airbender, but for this blog I’ve decided to create a tier list of my favorite creatures from the series!

1. Appa

Of course, the first on this list either has to be Appa or Momo. Though I love both very much, I ended up putting Appa in first place due to everything he does for the group. Aang’s sassy “Why don’t we all get on your back and you can fly us to the north pole?!” quote lives rent free in my head. Appa is also insanely adorable, and I love his character design! He reminds me of one of my dogs, too, in all honesty, and I say that very lovingly.

2. Momo

Momo my beloved! I love this silly little guy and all his iconic moments, plus, his theme rocks. I also love the thought of a bat lemur- the two combined work so well! Animal sidekick characters tend to be glossed over in my mind, but for some reason Momo didn’t fall subject to that. He fit in with the group from his first introduction, and it makes me happy that not all the creatures of the air nation are gone. May his adorable eyes stare into your soul.

3. Bosco

Bosco! I think a big part of why I love him is because he’s a bear. Just a bear, and the show plays off of that. The comedy surrounding him overall is a big part of why he’s on this list, I think. The way the earth king asks Bosco for his opinions and the way everyone treats this wild animal as royalty is ridiculous. Bosco is also very cute in the scenes he has.

 4. Shirshu

If not for the personalities and building of the previously mentioned, shirshus would be at the top of this list. First of all, the design is absolutely baller- I really love the droopy fur, star-nosed mole face, and the simple patterning. The stance of them also gives off such vibes in general- like they’re going to rip your face off. I also love the paralyzing tongue whip and the sheer monstrosity of their sense of smell. Can you imagine moving to the other side of the world after committing a crime, only for some huge, growling animal to burst down your door, knowing what you did? Amazingly terrifying!

5. Koala sheep

I need everyone to see koala sheep. Literally look at them. Look at their smushed faces, big noses, and fluffy ears. Look at their cottony wool. What is there not to love about them, apart from them being part koala and koalas being pretty horrible? Nothing! They’re adorable and act chill even when Aang screams into one like a pillow. I wish these dudes existed in reality.

 

I watched this movie over Spring Break with my cousin, I had been wanting to watch it for quite a while. Mainly because of it’s impressive reception as seen on Rotten Tomatoes with a tomato meter of 95% and an audience score of 82%.This leaves me in sort of an awkward place because I didn’t like it all too much. I promise I am not one of those people who dislikes everything people like to seem different in fact I am pretty skewed by others perception. 

Now by no means am I saying this was a bad movie. I thought the writing was phenomonal, and it told an amazing story about grief and how seeking temporary pleasure/relief from it can be a slippery slop. I thought the concept in itself was creative and fresh. But I fail to see how it was as revolutionary as people claim it to be. Though the writing was good I found myself losing interest as it failed to suprise me. There were multiple occasions where I was able to predict what was going to happen next. I found very few of the characters to be likeable. Over all I think it was a decent movie with great writing but it was just way too overhyped. 

Certain aspects about the plot left me with a lot of questions and not in the open ended way but more in the plot hole way. The ending as a whole left me unsatisfied though I didn’t see any other way for it to end. 

Another gripe I have about this movie is that I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable which usually wouldn’t be an issue for me in other movies but when I watch/read/play horror I find a strong aspect of me enjoying it is the feeling of being on the edge of my seat. And I found it hard to find this feeling watching this because of my apathetic feel towards the characters the stakes never felt high enough for me to really care all too much what happened. I do enjoy the not particularly happy ending though it was nice to see. 

Again by no means was this a bad movie but I just think it was way too overhyped in my opinion. I definitely reccomend thought because I can see how a lot of peope liked it. The acting was also amazing.

Hey guys today I have another short story/character dump for you guys. I just came up with these characters the other day and I think yall might like them or whatever I really wouldn’t care. So this was inspired by something I saw on pinterest.

 

Big Monster Bodyguard (Atlas) x Small “Evil” Witch(Cordelia)

 

-Atlas and Cordelia have been together since they were kids

-Atlas was assigned to protect Cordelia

-Cordelia is a very powerful witch

-Cordelia was taught witchcraft from her father 

-Both have been to jail at least four times since they turned 18

     

     After being locked up the fourth time Cordelia and Atlas decided that they don’t want anything to do with their old life. So, when they get out of their 15 months sentence, they move to a house outside the city and start a new life for themselves. While the two were enjoying their quite life in their small house they got a visit from some very unpleasant people. It was so old colleges who found where they were and were trying to get them to come back and help them with a small job, they got from someone.

     Cordelia didn’t want to help them but Atlas was starting to get a little restless so he decided to join them, but he wasn’t going to get involved. He wasn’t going to risk going back to jail and leave Cordelia alone like that.

     While on the job a group of good doers try to stop them. Atlas ends up getting hurt and almost caught but using a talisman Cordelia gave him he was able to get away and get back home to her.

     Cordelia doesn’t really like that much and tells him that she doesn’t want him to go out again, but Atlas told her that even though they agreed they would leave the old life behind he felt their lives now where to boring for him. Cordelia told him that she understood she didn’t really like the quite much either but at the same time she didn’t want to lose him either. Atlas agreed that he wouldn’t do any more jobs for their old group, but he will take one in the city. For a while this was good for them Atlas was working in the city and Cordelia started selling some of her options and other things to make money. One day Cordelia found out some surprising news and she was heading into town where Atlas worked to tell him and that when she found him helping out their old group with a robber.  The two ended up fighting over this when they got home and for a short while they took a break from one another but when Atlas was on a solo job he was caught and badly injured. When Cordelia got there, he coded at least three times before they got him stable. 

     When he came too, he told her that he was sorry that the job he was on was supposed to be his last one and that he was planning a surprise for her. Cordelia told him she didn’t care that she was just glad he woke up she told him that they got approved for adopting and that there was a cute little boy on his way to be in their family. After Atlas was cleared in the hospital, he was sent to prison for 4 years since the police charged him for murder and attempted murder. Cordelia cried as they took him away but when their little boy came after he got settled, she took him to meet Atlas. The little boy was 5 years old and was an absolute joy to Cordelia and Atlas.

                           

                                                How do you do Everyone! 

I really just couldn’t think of one solid thing to discuss for this blog so instead I’m going to talk about some random things that’s been on my mind lately and give some updates about things that I’ve probably talked about in former blogs. You’re most likely reading about Youtubers or books, or games, or all of the above today.   Enjoy! 

                                                        CoryxKenshin 

                                                                                                                           

This is a Youtuber that I started watching in the 7th grade after my friend had been trying to convince me to watch him for years. For those who may not know him, Cory is a Youtuber that mostly does horror gaming and horror stories. He’s mostly known for his horror short reaction series, Spooky Scary Sundays.  His fandom is the Samurais, and his channel is just really entertaining to me, so I’ve been watching him since the 7th grade, until recently before he took another one of his leaves.  Yes, he’s known for taking these long leaves, the last one being 10 months until he got his Diamond YouTube play button.  Now he’s been gone for 8 months, and I wonder where he has been.  Like, last I heard he was in Japan, I don’t know.  Point is (even though there isn’t really one) if anyone else watches him, did y’all unsubscribe?  Or are y’all still holding on?  

Final Destination: Bloodlines

This is a horror series which has given a lot of people fears.  It gave me the fear of escalators, roller coasters, driving behind trucks carrying logs on the road, and tanning beds.  Anyway, for those who haven’t watched the series; Final Destination is a movie franchise about a bunch of different groups of people who are dying in the most horrendous ways after cheating death.   It’s more gruesome than scary if anything, though I bring this up because after 14 years they are coming back with a new movie that doesn’t even stick to the theme. This is what I was talking about in my last blog; why are people adding movies after all these years.  Why are they fixing what was never broken?  The last movie had the perfect ending and plot twist, also the movies fit its decade, why are they trying to make it fit into the new decade.  They’re just trying to destroy it.  So, I just wanted to vent about that. 

 

                                                                                                                                        The HouseMaid 

 

 

 

Lately I’ve just been noticing how I haven’t really read a book of my own choice since I’ve been to MSA so during my free time I add books to my future summer book haul.  This was one of the books that have been on my Wishlist for a good moment.  The book The House Maid is by one of my favorite authors, Freida McFadden and it’s about a young Maid named Millie who goes to work for this rich woman, Nina Winchester and her family.   Millie has secrets and one of her biggest secrets being that she wants Nina’s life, and even though that’s big it seems that Nina Winchester’s secrets may be bigger.  Though Millie isn’t worried about it because they don’t know what she’s capable of.  

I’ve read a couple reviews about this book and so far, they’ve all been hyping it up as the best Psychological yet.  So, if any of you want to get out of a reading slump, you could check out this book too. 

 

The Elmwood Trail

I’ve talked about this game before in a blog last semester.  This is basically a Thriller and Mystery interactive game where you find a missing girl through her phone.  So, it’s narrated through text messages, the most realistic mobile apps, and some more stuff.  They even have a photo gallery, and the story plot is so good.   Anyway, I just got through playing the new update and y’all I think the detective I’m playing as is having their; “Am I the Bad Guy?”  moment.  

Like he neglects his wife and son and everything.  He over here has these weird obsessions and spoiler, there was a twist when he got this teenage boy into a coma because he was working with somebody, I don’t know who, to cover up leads that lead to Zoey (the girl missing).  
This game is so chaotic with this unreliable narrator.  Also, the puzzles aren’t easy but they’re not hard to the point that you want to give up.  Also, all three hints are free, and the third hint gives you the answer to solve the puzzles.  Point is (even though there isn’t really one) I’m ready for the next update because it’s supposed to be the last episode.  

That’s It.  Have a nice day. 

This week, I want to share some Oscar-worthy scenes, from movies/plays

In specific order. Some of these have a spoiler warning before hand. 

#3 -Stronger “I can’t!” 

also have a link to the scenes on YouTube. I would recommend watching them if you’re interested, I Don’t think the text can quite deliver the amount of emotion they put into each of these monologues. 

This scene is crazy. From start to finish. The movie overall is a must see and not to mention a true story. (minor spoiler alert) in this scene. Jake Gyllenhaal’s character is scared because he’s basically being told he’s going to be a father. 
But he had recently lost both his legs in an explosion, so he’s scared that he won’t be the father that his girlfriend expects him to be. 

#2 Manchester By The Sea “Please…”

(Trigger warning – attempted suicide.) 

Manchester by the sea is one of the best movies I think I have ever seen. The writing, characters, plot, and pace are all amazing. I’ve seen it at least three times.
This scene depicts the main character realizing he’s free to go after making a horrible mistake, and as if to try and justify that mistake, he takes matters into his own hands. It’s very emotional, and very strong. Every time I’ve showed someone the movie, they always cry.  This movie was nominated for 4 Oscars, and won two… Best original Screenplay, and best leading actor which were both extremely deserved. 

#1 – Prodigal Son –
“Someone Saw me…”

I dont even know where to start with this scene. Timothy Chalamet has genuine talent. The emotion and body language he expresses in this scene is unmatched. In the video, you can even tell that the audience recognized his talent. At first, when the teacher was talking, they were laughing. But once Timothy’s part came, everyone was quiet.  This scene talks about the double standard of respect. How authorities are often times demandant of it from the start, while those under them have to “earn it”. 

Anyways, those are the three Oscar Worthy scenes that I wanted to share. If you haven’t seen any of the movies (and one play), I would recommend watching all of them immediately.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of Camp Camp—compared to RWBY and Red vs Blue (if you’ve even heard of those two) it’s the less well-known of Rooster Teeth’s production, a now defunct indie production studio. If you have, maybe you saw it on YouTube at some point where it got most of its press (don’t look it up, it’s not there anymore)

The premise of the show is best described as a conman’s summer camp. A thousand years ago, in an attempt to make as much money as possible, Cameron Campbell set up a con where he could maximize profits and turn a regular summer camp into an everything camp. What ends up happening is a bunch of kids whose parents signed them up for entirely different camps (Science Camp, Magic Camp, Behavioral Correction Camp, etc.) all get jammed into a rinky dink summer camp where the only objective out of the day is to get to the end of the summer.

We follow Max, this cynical and jaded kid whose entire thing is making every day at camp as entertaining or as miserable as possible, along with his cheerful camp counselor David who’s never met a day he didn’t love.

A not bad premise for a series and it was critically acclaimed. Especially when it started picking up traction—Fourth season wrapped up with a longer episode lineup than any season before and a finale open for a fifth season. Then dead air. The next  season they were talking about doesn’t air and the company declared a period of “mass hiatus” for a number of its shows. Somewhere in there twenty million dollars is lost and the show is “TBA” for four years. If you were watching the show at the time, you wouldn’t be unrealistic to think the entire thing was canceled and call it good while it lasted.

Behind the scenes, Rooster Teeth would face a lot of controversy, budgeting difficulties, and layoffs. You wouldn’t know that if you were only there for one show but like ehhh semantics. But what’s really weird is despite all this, there WAS news.

Somewhere 2023, Rooster Teeth has its 20th year anniversary and four years after the series went dead, they premiere the closest thing to an actual official finale Camp Camp has had which they leave open-ended and THEN announce a fifth season a few days after.

Fifth season doesn’t air until March and I’ll be honest pessimistically, I’m like “alright yeah fifth season’s not coming.” five days after the first episode of the new season airs—the entire studio announces its shutting down. two days before I wrote this blog the series aired its last episode. the last episode wasn’t grandiose or a big send off and there was no major announcement except for a little card at the end of the last episode thanking you for watching the show.

and that’s the trashiest thing I’ve ever seen happen to an animated show!

 

My Top Five Timothee Chalamet Movies

Ok so I think there has been a weird coincidence, or maybe I just like Timothee Chalamet’s choices for casting calls but some of my favorite movies of all time either star or include Timothee even though I think only one or two of these movies would make it to my top ten list, but I thought that it was about time I probably make my own list so. Here we go.

 

(Quick PSA) this is not me ranking his performance, even though they’re all pretty good, but instead I am ranking the movie as a whole. Also, I have not seen Wonka or Dune Part two yet so those will be omitted for now. Also, I think I am just going to say TC instead of his full name because I think I am going to be saying it so much.

 

Honorable Mention- Interstellar

Even though Interstellar is a great movie, because TC was so young and his performance hadn’t grown into what it is today, I don’t think it makes a spot on my top five.

Number 5- Little Women

 

I think that for the most part, even though he doesn’t have a giant role in this movie, the small parts in which he is in it, his performance is so incredible. One of my favorite instances of his work in this film was his monologue when he was professing his love to Jo.

 

Number 4- Lady Bird

I really like it when TC has to be a jerk for one of his roles. I think his role in this film as Kyle was one that fit him really well. Kind of like the “pretentious piece of garbage” to put it bluntly, however he does it well, nevertheless.

 

Number 3-Dune

TC’s role as Paul in this film is indefinitely one of the biggest 180’s when it comes to his career in acting. When you think of action sci-fi movies, TC is never someone that comes to mind as a good protagonist, he has always come off as someone who is good in exclusively dramas, but he really surprised me with this, I implore you to watch it if you haven’t.

Number 2- Call me by your name.

I think that personally this movie as a whole paired with TC’s performance makes this one of my favorite movies of all time. The setting “northern Italy” and just the overall incredible scenery that the movie provides just makes these hands down one of the most beautiful films I have ever had the privilege of watching. To be honest this is pretty much on par with my number 1 choice, the only reason I put this one at second is that even though the movie is incredible I personally think that the book it is based off of is a bit better sooooo, yea. Nevertheless, I think that it is a movie you should watch, plus I need someone to talk to me about it so.

 

Number 1- Beautiful Boy

There aren’t many things that I can say when trying to talk about how incredible this film is. I think that it is one of the most incredible and accurate representations of drug addiction ever portrayed in media. It stars Steve Carrel and TC, the use of the passage of time in the film is incredible, and the fact it is based off of a true story never fails to amaze me.

Frogbloginning (Frog-blog-beginning) 

It is time…

…for a frog blog. It feels like it’s been a good bit since I’ve last written one, and there’s still so many frogs to share! However, before we get into specific frogs, I figured I’d share a fun frog fact! Unlike other animals, frogs can see color in the dark. It’s one thing to have night vision, but being able to see color in extreme darkness is insane! You can read more about it here, which is where I learned this.

Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus gouldii)

(Source)

LOOK AT THAT FACE. THAT SHAPE. An adorable specimen if I’ve ever seen one. As you may have guessed from the face, turtle frogs are a species of burrowing frog! Their methods of digging into soil face forward is what caused them to evolve their unique appearance. They also don’t hop, which I suspect may also be because of the whole burrowing thing. There are more frogs that don’t hop than you’d expect. Also, their main diet is termites!

Indian Bullfrog/Indus Valley Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus)

(Source)

“WHAT IS THAT?!” “Are those the same frog?!”

These are Indian bullfrogs, and the answer is yes! These beautiful babies have different appearances based on their respective sexes and seasons due to sexual dimorphism. When mating season comes around, male Indian bullfrogs adorn glamorous yellow coloration and purple/blue/they can’t decide(if you should live or die) vocal sacs! The yellow reminds of a dirty highlighter, but I say this as a loving basic observation. They look absolutely rad. The females remain the same brownish color all year, but they don’t need to impress- plus their eyes look as if they know all of your sins. These frogs also don’t stop growing their whole lives, and the females are typically larger than the males.

Horned Marsupial Frog (Gastrotheca cornuta)

(Source 1) (Source 2)

Oh boy; these guys are practically on their own level of frog-existence. They also look adorable with their angular little faces and goat shaped eyes! However, the truly amazing thing about these fellas is that they’re the only species of frog with actual, true teeth on its lower jaw. Not fleshy stumps, not almost-teeth-but-lacking-enamel-so-they’re-not-really-teeth, actual teeth. What’s even more is that this species straight up re-evolved said set of lower jaw teeth, kicking Dollo’s law of irreversibility in the face and giving way to discovering how many frogs have evolved, lost, and re-evolved teeth in the past. This isn’t even the end of ride, either. Female horned marsupial frogs carry their eggs in a pouch on their backs, and these eggs hatch as fully-formed frogs. They also don’t hop and make a ‘bop’ noise. I love them. Horribly, they’re endangered due to a myriad of human-related issues and chytridiomycosis disease, which affects frogs worldwide. 

Frogblogending (Frog-blog-ending)

I had a lot of fun writing this post! Then again, It’s hard to not have fun reading about these cool little guys while looking at pictures of them for research. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know the marsupial frog even existed until recently! This was a great opportunity to spend some time learning about it.