So, it’s no secret that a relationship with poetry, especially one between writer and poetry, is often a complicated thing. I’ve spoken with classmates who hate poetry at all times, who love it at all times, who read it vehemently and cannot write it to save their lives, who write it constantly but can never sit down and read any, and who only turn to the stanza when something in life is troubling them. Writers, as a rule of thumb, tend to have a not so simple relationship with poetry. Now, whether that’s because of the often highly emotional and sensitive nature of the content poetry is usually about, or some inner mechanism incompatibility between the writer’s brain and the rhythmic consistency of poetry, I’m not here to debate. What I’m here to touch on is my personal relationship with poetry. 

Of the above described architypes, I fall into more than one category. I’m the “write it constantly but can’t sit down and read it”, the “love it at all times”, and the “only turns to the stanza when something is troubling me”, to name a few. Frankly, my falling into multiple conflicting categories should come as no surprise to anyone who’s known me for any length of time. What may surprise some people, however, is the fact that I can’t just write poetry. As in, I cannot simply sit down and write a poem. I can brainstorm hundreds of ideas, but if my brain isn’t in this specific mood that I cannot even comprehend, not so much as a single line will come to me. 

Now, as elusive and unexplainable as that headspace may be, I’ve noticed some things about it. I have a playlist that can help me slip into it a little easier. There’s a difference in the way my brain works when I’m thinking that way, like normal thinking is sign language, and poetry thinking is flawlessly spoken words; they’re both thinking, but poetry thinking is so much more smooth and fluid. I can never think anything small in poetry thought, I’m always thinking about something grand. Even trying to write about something as simple as nature, I create this existential plot about the creation of humanity. 

And it’s this line of thinking, in all it’s wonders and splendor, that makes my relationship with poetry so estranged. As I put it in a short story, “It was a terrifying wonder to behold, as most wonderous things were.” I love being in that headspace, but it scares me. It’s so different, and it’s so much. I can never stay away from it, and I can never get to close to it. It’s quite the conflicting balance to walk. 

I want to know, though, what’s your relationship with poetry? Do you have any idea when I’m talking about when I say “poetry thinking”? I’m curious. But, still, I’m also done. Until next time, everyone! 

Sincerely, someone who’s chasing and running from his poetry mind.

Upon the death of one of my favorite people in the world, Betty White, I coped with my stress by baking. Now, this isn’t the first time I have baked to relieve my stress or anxiety, but that particular day was the first day I realized how therapeutic baking really is to me. After two batches of Coffee Cake Cookies and an Earl Grey tea cake, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. Even though my feet were tired from standing at the counter for so long, and my stomach was full from tasting my creations along the way, I was relieved to have made something. I was happy to be able to control something in a life where you can’t always choose what is thrown at you.

Anyways, I felt like maybe someone else could relate to this, so here I am writing another blog about all of my granny interests. Who knows? I may even turn this into a series, and drop a different one of my recipes each week! 

And no, the title isn’t misleading, banana bread does relate to this somehow. Banana bread was actually one of the first desserts I perfected when I started baking. I’ve probably changed this recipe more than 20 times, but now I think it is pretty good, so I thought I’d share it! 

Ingredients

• 2-4 very ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 sugar 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Mash bananas until smooth
• Add butter, eggs, and vanilla; mix 
• Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
• Add dry ingredient mixture slowly to the wet ingredients; mix well
• Pour into a buttered loaf pan
• Bake for 35-40 minutes
• Let cool, slice, and serve.

Hello and welcome back to my blog! Thank you for coming back, and today I really just wanted to try something new. If you’re a fan of Five Nights At Freddy’s (fnaf from now on), you would know that a new game just got released, and in celebration of me finishing the game, I just wanted to do a full timeline of the lore and maybe some theories on the way. Please consider that despite my heavy research my dates and details might be ordered wrong and you should feel welcome to correct me in the comments! Content warning as well, there are some pretty dark details here.

Pre-Details:

It all started with a man named William Afton, who seemed like a regular guy on the surface, but below that, he kinda has a thing for killing children. He has a wife and three children. A little girl with green eyes named Elizabeth and two sons named Evan and Michael. He is one-half of a brilliant duo. His partner is named Henry Emily and has a daughter named Charlotte. They came up with an idea. An idea that would change their lives forever.

Beginning of timeline:

1973: Henry and William created a diner with mascot suits created from spring-lock mechanisms. One bear(Fredbear) and one rabbit (spring bonnie.) Business for them was absolutely booming.

Year unestablished: Due to the Fredbear diner’s success, a sister location opened up for the franchise (no, not that one). This time they added some new characters to the roster, including Chica the chicken and Foxy the pirate fox. This is the establishment in the first game. It’s in this establishment where William Afton commits his first murder. Five children were having a birthday party at his pizzeria. To get straight to the point, he brought the kids to the back room of the pizzeria after messing with their minds and murdered them. Then he stuffed them into the animatronic suits. Dark, yeah, I know. This caused the establishment to close down, yet William never got caught. This gave him an idea to make different types of suits. Animatronic suits that would be perfect to fit children’s bodies.

Year unestablished: He then created Circus Baby, who you might know from the actual Sister Location game, with that idea in mind. She had blue eyes, orange hair and was styled after a clown. There was something different about her, though. She was built with a “scooper” inside her stomach which opens to grab and pull the children into her chest cavity. With Baby and other animatronics to come and a conversation with Henry about it, he was able to open a small restaurant on the side called “Afton’s Robotics.”

1983: William’s family would sometimes visit these locations as well. Specifically, William’s daughter Elizabeth was very fond of Circus Baby. William always told Elizabeth not to go near Baby because he knew that she would recognize Elizabeth as a child and was programmed to kill them when alone with them. Regardless of the warning, one day, while William was busy, Elizabeth found herself alone with Baby. A luring tactic Baby was programmed with was the ability to make ice cream, and that’s what she did. Elizabeth got closer to reach for the ice cream, and Baby took the moment and “scooped” Elizabeth into her chest cavity, ultimately killing her. This caused William to shut this restaurant down as well. Circus Baby’s eyes were now green, the color of Elizabeth’s eyes, not blue like her original design. In the game of Sister Location, we get a reciting of these events directly from Baby.

Thank you all for reading this week and keep your eye out for the rest of this series. We will pick back up where we left off in 1983. I believe this is gonna be a long series.

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! This week we’re gonna finish up our 90s movies series! Spoiler alert as always! 

5. She’s All That

We’re going to start with a much happier movie. Alright, so we begin the movie with Zach Siler. He’s one of the most popular guys in school, and every guy wants to be him. When his even more popular cheerleader girlfriend decides to break it off, his popularity declines sharply. Desperate to revive his fading reputation, he agrees to a dare of sorts presented to him by Dean Sampson. Now, to prove that he’s got what it takes, he has six weeks to gain the trust of nerdy outcast Laney Boggs and turn her into the school’s next prom queen.

4. The Truman Show

Our main character Truman is the star of a HIT reality TV show, but the twist is that he doesn’t even know it. His whole life is a sham, a live broadcast of Truman’s every move captured by hidden cameras. Though things get a little suspicious as the movie goes on, and Truman gradually discovers the truth. However, he must decide whether to act on it or to continue living in this place of paradise.

3. Sleeping With The Enemy

This one is a little darker and has subject matter dealing with domestic abuse. After our main character Laura fakes her death in order to flee from her violent husband, Martin, she adopts a new identity and starts dating another guy who is seemingly very lovely. Meanwhile, her abusive husband unearths evidence suggesting that she isn’t dead, and when her mother confirms this (he smothers her afterward), he tracks her to Iowa. He finds Laura and Ben and confronts them, forcing her to fight for her life once again. Let me just say that the soundtrack in this movie is fantastic. There’s one song in it that I could pick out so quickly. It just ups the intensity so much.

2. My Girl

I have a love-hate relationship with this movie. It makes me so sad, but then again, it’s such a good movie. Our main character in this film is 11-year old Vada Sultenfuss. She’s a bit different from other kids. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father operates a funeral service out of their home. Talk about morbid. The other kids think she’s a freak, and it certainly doesn’t help that her best friend, Thomas J. Sennett, is a boy. Vada is desperately in love with her English teacher, to make matters worse. I find it a little weird, but I guess she is only 11 and doesn’t have a mom to guide her. I’m not going to spoil the worst part but just know it’s there and to be prepared for it.

 

1. 10 Things I Hate About You

GAHHHHH, I could literally watch this movie over and over. The casting and then the story goes so well together. IT HAS HEATH LEDGER IN IT! Anyways, cough cough, um, our main protagonist is Kat Stratford. She’s beautiful, intelligent, and very cruel to most of her fellow teens. She does have a younger, more polite sister named Bianca. Unfortunately for her, their father put a very clever house rule down that says Bianca can’t date until Kat has a boyfriend (and we all know how easy that would be), so some of the other students devise a plan to get Kat to get a boyfriend. First, they struggle to find anyone that would put up with her, even for a lot of money, but they eventually find Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger). That’s as far as I will explain. This movie is just way too good to spoil.

Thank you all for reading this week! Have an amazing Christmas!

Helloooooo everyone and welcome back to another week of “Adele ranting about another random interest.” This week I have decided to take it upon myself to rant about my favorite show of all time. Seeing as there are other crime  junkies that will be reading this, I figured it would not be a waste of blogspace to fangirl for a little bit.

Synopsis :

The show “Bones’ follows the life of Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institution. Brennan, better known as “Bones” by her partner, Seeley Booth, helps the F.B.I solve murders by following evidence left on the skeletal remains of victims. The show follows the partnership/evolution of Temperance and Seeley’s relationship over a total of 12 seasons. 

(The show was inspired by the popular show X-Files!)=

Fan Favorite Characters: 

Temperance “Bones” Brennan: 

Dr. Brennan is my personal favorite character of all time. A word that many people use to describe Temperance is – awkward. Which, I cant lie, she is indeed, but she is the best type of awkward there is. She is a character that I have become so attached to over the years. The writers of the show actually confirmed before that Brennan was a character meant to be portrayed with less than superb social skills. Dr. Temperance Brennan bases all of her personal beliefs in science and is atheist, unlike her partner, Booth, who is catholic. One of my favorite things about her character development is that she never “sees the light” or changes her beliefs to better suit her partner. She is a character that always sticks to her personal morals and values, and I think that it is truly admirable. 

Agent Seeley Booth:

Agent Seeley Booth is a very classic character. He is a former Army Ranger, F.B.I., agent, religious man. Booth is such a strong character and is portrayed as such in the series. He is the more sarcastic comical counterpart to Bones, who doesn’t understand half of the jokes he makes. Booth is like Brennan in the sense that he sticks to his morals. He has very strong faith which is a major part of his character. Booth relies on his faith in parts of the show where he or Bones is in danger (which is almost every episode). Overall, Seeley Booth is such a warm and caring character, and his love for the people around him is shown throughout each episode. Although he commonly jokes in the series about the “Squint Squad”, which is what he calls the members of the Jeffersonian Lab, he shows his admiration for each of them throughout the seasons.

Angela Montenegro:

Angela, who is the Lab’s artist, is someone who recreates the faces of victims by use of their skeletal structure. Angela isn’t what you would normally expect from a lab like the Jeffersonian’s. She was originally a freelance artist who lived a rather “free” lifestyle. Throughout the series, Angela plays the role of Temperance Brennan’s best friend, and she often acts as the sort of “translator” for Dr. Brennan who often doesn’t pick up on jokes or innuendos. Angela’s role in the lab is what I would call the “Emotions” because she is the one who has a harder time with seeing deceased victims, whereas the others in the lab have more of a scientific outlook on the situation. One of my favorite things about Angela is that she refers to her friends as “Sweetie” when addressing them, which I think is such a sweet term of endearment.

Lance Sweets:

Lance Sweets was brought in during the third season as a psychologist assigned to Booth and Brennan after an incident caused the F.B.I. to force them to seek counseling. Lance plays the role of a sweet, witty guy. Sweets is often the provider of comic relief, as he is the target of the jokes by both Brennan and Booth because of his young age. Despite being only 22 when he was introduced in the show, Sweets held two doctorates at his young age. I am personally biased towards Sweets as my favorite character in the show because I think he is literally the “Sweet”est (get it? yeah… it was a bad joke). Anyways, throughout the series, Booth and Brennan take Sweets under their wing as a little brother figure in their lives. Literally the cutest thing ever.

hello! i’m back this week with another list of my favorite things, this time featuring a genre of media i have recently fallen in love with- adult animation! growing up with older cousins, it seemed as though family guy was constantly playing in the background of my childhood, only to be occasionally interrupted by the odd south park episode. as a kid, i always dismissed the genre, thinking it was mostly dumb and, well… kinda creepy. as far as i knew, cartoons were for kids, and the idea of making them with mature content seemed pointless and weird, and i always just kind of made fun of the shows. however, through my interest in pop culture history, i learned that the first cartoons were actually made with an older audience in mind. characters such as mickey mouse and betty boop were originally written to entertain adults in a new way with the development of animation as a new art form. as time moved on, the media was passed on to children, but there were a few creators who decided to stay true to animation’s origins and create cartoons for adults, and i have learned over time to appreciate the genre greatly. these are my top three favorites (as always) in no particular order!

bojack horseman

i had always heard about this show and its strange, depressing content. i never really had much of a desire to watch it, until one day, i randomly decided to press play when i was particularly bored. it was one of the best decisions i ever made. this show really surprised me with its brilliance. i genuinely am in awe of this shows ability to make the viewer feel such a broad span of emotions under the guise of silly animals and bright color schemes. bojack is so interesting because of its raw, piercingly accurate view on mental illness, addiction, and family dysfunction. while it deals with extremely dark topics super well, it’s also one of the funniest shows i have ever seen. the humor is dark and unique- the kind of jokes that you can’t stop laughing about, even when you think of it days later. i never thought that a cartoon about a horse would hold such a special place in my heart, but there’s something so incredibly special about this series. i feel so deeply for these characters, who are so well-written that i could honestly do an entire post about them alone.

daria

this show is the absolute epitome of teen angst and cynicism- which is what made me hesitant to watch it the first time. i feel like in the last several decades, there has just been so many stories about a too-smart-for-her-own-good teenage girl who learns to appreciate the world around her, and while i do appreciate many of those stories, i honestly assumed that this show would just be a cheap jab at young people’s pessimism. however, i did decide to watch it mainly because of its mtv origins and its 90s style, and i couldn’t be happier that i did. this show has sharp, quick humor that really appealed to me, making it not only one of my favorite cartoons but one of my favorite comedy series of all time. i relate so much to the characters on this show, and i always saw pieces of myself in them and their experiences. if you’ve never seen this show and you appreciate 90s and early 00s culture, or just want to watch a genuinely brilliant piece of animated media, i strongly encourage you to check this show out! (p.s. the theme song of this show- 10/10!!)

the simpsons

honestly, there isn’t much to be said about this show that it’s legacy can’t already speak for. it’s been on the air for decades and has imbedded itself in american pop culture in a hugely influential way. the characters are household names, and the animation style is often replicated and is widely recognized. this is another one that i grew up watching, and turning it on always brings me comfort and nostalgia. the show never fails to make me laugh with its ridiculous gags and goofy but lovable and relatable characters. this is a show that really means a lot to me, and i’m glad i was able to geek for a bit.

Ignoring the title and my usual lead in because I am simply entirely too excited to jump into this while it’s still fresh on my mind. So, I watched Cruella yesterday, the live action version with Emma Stone, to clarify, and I…

LOVE. IT. SO. MUCH. 

I could literally rant about this movie for actual hours and never get enough. This is a genuine “I could quite literally watch this every day for the rest of my life and never get enough of it” situations people. This is like, woah, my new favorite piece of cinema. 

Backstory: Orphaned by tragedy at a young age, Estella joins up with thieves Jasper and Horace for their lives, eventually landing herself a job with the woman of fashion herself, the Baroness. There, she discovers what really happened to her mother and resolves to tear the Baroness’s life apart, etc. etc. watch to find out, I can’t really explain much more without spoilers.

Okay, to get into it. First things first, the costuming in this movie is quite literally to die for (that’s a joke you’ll get if you’ve seen it). Egotistical maniac though she may be, the Baroness dresses in a way that is absolutely beyond this world, and Cruella’s outfits top hers every time, which makes them so incredible they can hardly be described. This will come off as slightly confusing and maybe even concerning to someone who hasn’t seen the movie, but I don’t care I have to say it. I would hands down destroy the globe if I got to wear that garbage dress she wore towards the middle of the movie. It is simply of an otherworldly beauty to me, as are each and every one of Cruella’s outfits, and that’s no exaggeration. 

Secondly, the acting. The Baroness was cast with the best possible actress of Emma Thompson. She plays the roll phenomenally, and it’s no easy one to play. She has these subtle little mannerisms that showcase the Baroness’s inner fear of losing her grip on her glamorous life of such high stakes, which is expert level acting. Then there’s Emma Stone playing Cruella, showcasing perfectly not only the switch back and forth between Estella and Cruella, but also the inevitable and permanent snap between the two, resulting in Cruella De Vil. It’s truly amazing to watch, and just that journey alone is one of the many reasons that necessitate the many rewatches I’ll be doing in my life. Not to mention the acting done by Joel Fry and Paul Walter Hauser as they showcase what Jasper and Horace must have felt when they saw their lifelong friend slipping away. Astounding acting, all around. 

Then there’s the actual plot itself. Not even touching on the many well executed and game changing plot twists, which I won’t disclose out of courtesy, the way with which the writers carry it out is just…wow. From Cruella’s perfectly planned strikes in her war with the Baroness, to the double agent deal that blossoms with Estella, to the internal struggle within Jasper and Horace as they watch Estella disappear, it’s all so amazingly done and I just love following this plot through all of it’s big reveals. It’s just so entertaining every time, even when I know what’s coming, and that’s the mark of good cinema writing. 

Lastly, there’s Artie. Oh, Artie… Honestly, Artie deserves an entire blog all on his own, (which I might actually do, don’t test me), but this one line will have to suffice in conveying my love for this fictional character: In response to Estella’s question of his somewhat eccentric fashion sense, “how does that look go on the streets?”, Artie replies, “Some abuse, and insults, of course. But I like to say normal is the cruelest insult of them all, and at least I never get that.” 

All in all, I absolutely adore this movie, and if you don’t go watch it as soon as physically possible, you are doing yourself a CRIMINAL disservice and I pity you. Seriously, though, please go watch it. I promise, it’ll be one of the best two hours you’ve ever spent. 

Until next time, folks.

Sincerely, someone with a newly reignited love for the fashion world. 

I haven’t done one of these blogs in a while, which means I have a lot of new music to talk about.

 

4:oo A.M~ Taeko Ohnuki

If you’ve been on TikTok for the past month, then you should be familiar with this song. I love that trend so much!!! But this song is actually a part of one of my most favorite genres ever, Japanese city pop. I think this era of music is like a hidden gem of some sorts. Not a lot of people are familiar with it which is such a shame. Now, the vocals in this song are ascending. I felt like I grew wings when the choir part came, and the instrumentals were out of this world. The saxophone added a totally different tone and it made seem jazzy in a sense. This song is extremely catchy, and I easily learned the chorus after a few listens. I don’t speak a lick of Japanese and I think that speaks volumes for this song. Overall, 10/10 would recommend to play on a loop.

Intimidated ~KAYTRANADA ft. H.E.R

If you don’t listen to KAYTRANADA, are you really listening to good music? This man is an absolute genius when it comes to producing beats and remixing favorites. He is like a god to me and I really look up to him producer wise. There isn’t one KAYTRANADA song that doesn’t slap. He has a way to get people moving and his songs just bring a sense of nostalgia that you wouldn’t expect of the bat. Now pair his funky beats to the angelic voice of H.E.R. This track is so good! It’s definitely going down in my top ten! 

Loretta~Ginger Root

I prefer to listen to the Japanese version of the song. I think it’s so beautiful to hear different languages in music and compared to the english version, I personally think it sounds much better. Now this is and indie pop track, but it sounds like Japanese city pop. I don’t know what it is about this song, but it just fills me with nostalgia. It kind of reminds me of the music they would play in the old Piggly Wiggly we used to have back home, or upbeat elevator music, but the elevator music that is actually good. I really like how they capture an old essence in a modern song, and I can’t get it out of my head. The animated video is so pretty to look at  as well as the actual video. I know a lot of time and money went into making that video, I think all of which came out of their own pockets. So, please go stream it on youtube and I’ll give you a frozen gogurt <3.

Illusion ~ Sumpa

So, I was just typing up a novel on NanoWrimo with my Ipad playing music on shuffle on youtube. One of the things I love the most is seeing people perform live. It’s nothing like hearing the recorded version and I really love raw music. Now, one of the youtube channels that does this is called A Colors Show, its where artist from all over the globe perform live in front of a colored back round. Another thing I love about this is when artist show up and such beautiful high fashion pieces, it’s really something to look at. Anyways, back to the story, so I’m just typing my life away, and suddenly I hear the smoothest voice that has ever grazed my ears. I immediately stopped typing and looked at my screen and there I discovered this wonderful song. So of course I’m just vibing along to the beat and the voice and I realize he’s singing in German! This song is such a beautiful piece and his voice was so filled with emotion that I automatically related to whatever he’s singing about, despite not knowing a word he’s saying. It’s one of the things I love the most about music, it’s something that ties the world together!

Si Yo Me Vuelvo a Enamorar ~Jennifer Peña

Dare I say, this is one of the best love songs ever?! Her voice is so unique and powerful, and I just love every second of it. She low key reminds me of Chanel from Cheetah Girls. Their voices are somewhat similar, but Jennifer just has a different aesthetic to her music. I really love this song. It is very easy to learn and follow along. I don’t know what it is about Hispanic instrumentals, but they have me in a chokehold. 

I Hate U ~ SZA

I was so happy when SZA released this song. I will never get tired of listening to CTRL, but as much as I love that album, I need new music. Now I know that she’s released two songs since then, but I think now it’s time for a new album. I love this song though. It’s a perfect song to scream your heart out to, even if you don’t hate anyone. This song was released just a few days after going viral on TikTok, which is great. We didn’t have to wait forever for it to release. However, I’m still waiting on her to drop T-shirt. 🙁

Honorable Mentions

Super Tuna- Seokjin from BTS

Lemonade- NCT127

Carefree- Mick Jenkins

OKRA- Tyler, The Creator

Hello everyone! Since you guys seemed to like my previous blog “My Top Ten Favorite 80s Movies” I figured I should just go ahead and do 90s too! I will be excluding horror movies since they would most likely take up a lot of this list. I’m going to try to focus on my favorites to watch and the ones that impacted me the most. Anyways, spoiler alert and lets dive in!

CONTENT WARNING: Some of these films are not the happiest nor do they touch on light subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.

 

10. Clueless

If you’re a movie lover you already know all about Clueless. Our main character is Cher (Alicia Silverstone.) She is shallow, rich and socially successful, though I find her kind of dumb. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other to help herself get better grades in their classes. Her reasoning was iffy but at least she did something?  Next, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai (Brittany Murphy) a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother (Paul Rudd) was right about how misguided she was — and falls for him.

9. American History X

Oh what a transition from Clueless to this… If you watched this movie I am honestly surprised. Our main character here is a neo-Nazi by the name of Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton.) The opening scene shows us how he ends up going to prison after killing two black youths who tried to steal his car. This is how I found out about curb stomping. Honestly, it was very hard for me to watch. Upon his release, Derek vows to change his ways in hopes to prevent his younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong) from following in his footsteps. I think its funny how their actors have the same first name. Anyways, as he struggles with his own deeply ingrained prejudices and things like that he watches their mother grow sicker, Derek wonders if his family can overcome a lifetime of hate. I definitely recommend this movie. It was so interesting for me to watch. It also impacted me a ton.

 

8. Boys Don’t Cry

Gah, this one is worse than American History X. Regardless of that this movie stands on its own for so many reasons. Our main character is a ftm transgender man named Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank.) He escapes his hometown under threat when his ex-girlfriend’s brother discovers that he was assigned female at birth. He did not like it at all and started trying to seriously hurt or kill Brandon. Brandon finally in the small town of Falls City, Nebraska, falls for Lana (Chloë Sevigny), an aspiring singer, and begins to plan for their future together without letting her know about his transition. This is where things get bad and I really had to close my eyes. Lana’s ex-convict friends, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendan Sexton III), learn Brandon’s secret and things change from friendly to violent very quickly. I cried so many times while watching this movie. It was so moving and so incredibly sad. 10/10.

 

7. The Parent Trap

Back to the lighter movies now. The Parent Trap was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid. I always wanted to go to the little summer camp where they met. Oh yeah, if you haven’t seen this movie its about twins named Annie and Hallie both played by Lindsey Lohan. They were separated at birth but now have found each other at this summer camp. The funny thing is that their divorced parents are living on opposite sides of the Atlantic, each with one child. After meeting at camp, the twins decide to swap lives so they could get to know their other parent. There’s a montage with a Beatles song behind it which is so fun. They give each other lessons on how to act like the other as well BUT PLOT TWIST, their father is getting engaged and they have to devise a plan to stop it and get their parents back together. 

 

6. Practical Magic

I know I said no horror, which is good because this isn’t a horror movie. I remember the first time I watched this movie. The whole atmosphere of the movie was just so interesting to me. It’s about two witches, Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), born into a magical family. The story goes on and Gillian the more promiscuous one leaves home and travels around the country going from man to man, but when one of Gillian’s boyfriends, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly (murdered by sally because he was a douche bag.) During some of the opening scenes of the movie young Sally casts a spell to create a man who doesn’t exist to fall in love with her. She does this after witnessing some dark parts of love which makes her want to never fall in love. After the murder the police start to investigate. Surprisingly we get detective Gary Hallet who looks exactly like the man Sally made a spell for when she was younger. The girls try to escape by using magic, but instead of resurrecting Jimmy, they get something much more dangerous.

 

Thank you all for reading this week and make sure to keep up with next week because I’ll be doing part two of this series! Feel free to comment your favorite 90s movies too! See ya!

Full disclosure, I have no blog for this week! For the first time literally this entire year, writer’s block and/or lack of planning has gotten me. Alas, even I was not immune. However, I do find it interesting that it was blogs that eventually broke me. I always assumed it would be playwriting, or perhaps a particularly difficult prose assignment, on the off chance, poetry I had no inspiration for. In all honesty, I had half a hopeful mind that writer’s block wouldn’t lay her ugly hands upon me until I hit essays in Comp. English. Looks as if that was a bit too ambitious for me, though. 

Luckily, I do have some sort of an idea. I want to talk about one of my two favorite authors, Rainbow Rowell. Rainbow Rowell is the genius behind one of my favorite books, Fangirl, and the Simon Snow series. Now, though her books may not be the most action packed things, I never read action books, anyway. But Rowell has this beautiful way of capturing moments, a way that makes me beyond envious as a prose writer and (hopefully) future novelist. 

In Rowell’s books, moments like that first kiss are so magical that the emotions are spilling off the page and into my chest. Moving into a college dorm is so well portrayed that the anxiety of the main character is leaking out into my own stomach. Homesickness is so potent that it’s floating up to nestle in my brain, and I don’t even have a home to miss. It’s something about the way that Rowell writes emotional moments that just strike directly on the heartstrings, and I think I’ve slightly unraveled why those moments hit my heartstrings so hard, in particular. 

It’s because I’m in love with those moments. And not just the book moments of slaying the villain or getting the guy or starting a new life; the real moments, my moments. The moments of sitting in the dark with my roommate, staring out of makeshift minecraft dorm windows and feeling infinite. The feeling of taking two of my new best friends to Jack’s for coffee and laughing so hard my sides ache. The feeling of sitting at a desk in a classroom I never thought I could love so much and watching in wonder as a story makes it’s way out of my head. The times when I watch movies from my childhood on a borrowed playstation from a school issues mattress that’s sitting on the floor. Ordering Domino’s and laughing while we have existential crisis on the red tables outside the Phoenix. Taking walks along the campus coated in fall foliage and feeling alive for the first time in far too long. 

It’s these moments, brought to me by my life at MSA, and reflected perfectly in Rowell’s amazing writing, that I live for. The moments that live for me. And I desperately hope that each and every one of you gets to experience one soon, because they’re something that is better than even Rowell can describe. 

Sincerely, someone who’s living for his Carry On moments.