Books

So, I wanted to just put this up for everyone who read chapter 22 of Come What May. Because, yes this book does exist.

You know what else is fun? Sticking pins in your eyes. 

And while we're on the subject of books, I thought I'd share this. So, I took this photo a month ago when I was in Melbourne. I had had about 4 hours sleep, and I was exhausted and killing time at the airport. From a distance, in my sleep deprived state, I saw this book and thought the title said 'Killing Frex'

I can think of many people who would actually read a book about the murder of Frex. LOL. Hmm... fanfic?

My Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Movies

This list was inspired because I have been watching a lot of Nostalgia Chick videos on YouTube lately (again... and showing them to my students), and she did her own list. That got me thinking what mine were. Basically I went through my DVDs and listed all the movies I own that... aren't necessarily good, but I enjoy watching. Even though when people see them or they come up in conversation I get strange looks and a "really?"

They're movies that most likely got bad reviews, and the acting or the writing or the plot (or all the above) might be awful and groan-inducing, but you love them anyway. 

Basically the list is structured with 10 being the movie I am least embarrassed to admit I own (and enjoy) and 1 being the most. You get it. Alright, here we go:

10. Any Jennifer Aniston movie

I love Jennifer Aniston. Rachel was my favourite character on FRIENDS, and I've seen the majority of movies she's done since (or during). And... some of them are not good. Friends with Money was... terrible. The Good Girl was kind of strange. I think her best movies have been Marley & Me, Just Go With It, and Bruce Almighty. (Also, He's Just Not That Into You, but I'll talk about that later). 

But most of her movies get bad reviews, or not great reviews. I liked Bounty Hunter, The Switch, The Break up. And the movies she did during FRIENDS, namely Picture Perfect and The Object of my affection. Basically, any staple Jennifer Aniston romantic-comedy, I enjoy.

Some of her latest movies (namely Wanderlust and We're the Millers) I found.... I don't know. I liked most of We're the Millers, but the part I laughed the most at was the bloopers at the end; when they were supposed to have a song come on the radio and all sing along, but someone put the FRIENDS theme song on and Jennifer didn't really know how to react, haha. But that good be because I'm just not really into that sex, drugs, violence, etc as comedy. Nor do I enjoy hearing the F-word in every other sentence. But that's just me, and overall I enjoyed the movie. 

And Wanderlust gets points with me for having Alan Alda in it (Yes, I love M*A*S*H). 

Jennifer Aniston isn't really seen as a bad thing, but a lot of her movies are seen as bad. But I love them.

9. Movies with multiple storylines

I'm talking movies like Love Actually, Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, He's Just Not that into you, and What to Expect When you're expecting.

Actually, the last one is kind of the exception. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. HJNTIY worked well because it worked the lessons and the rules of the source material into the movie. I expected WTEWYE to do the same, but it was really just a comedy about different pregnant women. And to be honest, it wasn't really that funny. 

My mum really hates Love Actually. She cannot understand why I like it. But that, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve have what appeals to me- mindless romantic fluff. And yeah, there's bits that are super cheesy and some storylines are not given enough screentime and you'd like to see more of them, but they are really good to watch when you want something sweet and happy. And I like how (especially in the latter two examples) the characters are linked and there's a few twists and connections that you work out just before they happen (or not at all). I still tear up every time I watch Valentine's Day and then Julia Roberts comes home to her son... 

He's Just Not That Into You has romance, drama and I think very realistic... speaking as a girl who's never actually been in a relationship.... ahem. Moving on. 

I also like these movies because they tend to have a lot of actors I like in them. Another exception to this rule is Movie 43, which I haven't seen but everyone says its awful and seems to be really rude. Which is a bummer, because I love so many of the cast.

8. Mamma Mia

So yeah, Pierce Bronson can't sing. Neither can Colin Firth. Or a few other cast members. And it's ABBA songs. But this is such a fun movie. Regardless of whether or not you've seen the stage show (I have not), it's a feel good movie that makes you just want to sing along with the songs. There's a reason I saw it three times in cinemas. 

I remember my sister watching this when it came out on DVD and she couldn't make it all the way through. She stopped, because "it's about nothing" (my sister is not really a musical fan, so I don't think that helped). But the number of people I know who despite the lack of musical talent of some cast members, or their dislike of ABBA or whatever, who still love this movie... I think that says a lot. It's a fun movie, and sometimes that's what you need.

7. Burlesque

When I first heard about this movie... usually when I'm deciding whether to see a movie, I go off two factors: the story, and the cast. 

So, looking at the cast for Burlesque, you have Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Cam Gigandet. Now, I love Stanley Tucci. Like, a lot. And in supporting roles you have people like Kristen Bell, Alan Cumming, Eric Dane and Peter Gallagher. All of whom I am also a fan of. But I can't really take Cam Gigandet seriously as a romantic interest because the two roles I know him from are Twilight (murdering vampire) and The OC (as the guy who went crazy and the murdered Marissa). But sure, let's cast him as a good guy. That works. 

And as for Cher and Christina... maybe I was just born in the wrong era, but I don't get the appeal of Cher. I kinda got the Christina thing, because I was a kid when she released 'Genie in a Bottle', even though I was more of a Britney girl. But I didn't really think she'd be able to lead a movie. 

And you know what? Sometimes, she can't. But the musical numbers, supporting cast and Stanley Tucci are awesome enough that it doesn't matter (have I mentioned I love Stanley Tucci?). It is a fun, enjoyable movie. Although I wish Alan Cumming had a bigger role.

6. Win a date with Tad Hamilton

The first time I saw this movie, I guessed how it would end about 15 minutes before the end. And it is corny and yeah, definitely unrealistic. But it is really sweet. And Topher Grace is that awkward kind of adorable, and I adore his character. This movie is funny, and sweet and... I mean, come on- that part about the 6 smiles? I melt. Because isn't that what girls want? To find a guy who notices our different smiles? That stuff about us that we didn't even know we did? 

And you know... Josh Duhamel isn't bad looking either. 

5. Did you hear about the Morgans?

I am not a Sarah Jessica Parker fan. That's just get that out of the way. However, I am a Hugh Grant fan. He has this dry delivery of his lines that appeals to my sense of humour. As does that bumbling, kind of awkwardness that he tends to play. 

This is not Hugh Grant's best movie. But Hugh Grant makes the movie better than average. I think most of the laughs come from him (I say most, because I do find their assistants funny).

This movie did not get good reviews. From memory, the most common complaint was that it dragged. And yes, it did, especially at the end. However, when I think about the movie (it's been a while since I watched it), I have good memories and feelings of it. Because what comes to mind is funny Hugh Grant moments.

4. Letters to Juliet

So, we have romance, Shakespeare and the reunion of soul mates. You also have a terrible fake British accent (Chris Egan, I'm looking at you) and a large dose of cheese. 

There are 2 things that really get me about this movie- 1. Amanda Seyfried's character... her fiancee is a jerk. At no point in the movie can I discern what the hell she sees in him. Maybe that's the point, so we don't care when she dumps him for Chris Egan. But seriously, he is so self-absorbed. 

And 2. The last line. Now, I've already admitted this movie is cheesy. But it holds it together. It's the good cheese. Until the last line. It's terrible. I saw this in cinemas, and my friends and I all agreed that the last line ruined the movie. Terrible writing. Every time I watch it, I can't help but say "Ugh".

UGH. Seriously. Just UGH.

3. Crossroads

Yep, the Britney Spears movie. This was the first M-rated movie I ever saw in cinemas. And it was before Britney went downhill, and had "Not a girl, not yet a woman." For girls my age, this was a hugely significant song to us. Yes, it is cheesy and the acting isn't great and there's a lot of issues with the movie. But it has some good things about it. Namely, the music. And it tries hard to make a message about friendship... from memory (again, it's been a while). 

It's predictable, and sometimes when it tries to be serious and dramatic, it just ends up feeling like a soap opera or ridiculous, but I think what redeems it slightly, is that coming of age theme. And it's nice to remember when Britney was a valid role model for young girls (and maybe guys too, I don't actually know). I think one of the flaws of the movie is that it tries to fit too many issues into it.

2. Danielle Steel movies

Hear me out. I was reading Danielle Steel books in primary school. Because I needed something harder to read, and that was mostly all my mum had in the house. Plus, she had a lot of the movies and watched them with us around, so she didn't have an issue with me reading them. And well... there's some good stories. They're a good mix of drama and romance, which I like (hello, have you read the stuff I write?). Sometimes they even help me or give me ideas for my own writing. 

The acting isn't that terrible (sometimes) and the stories are just.... there's something about them. Sometimes, when I just need something to watch that I don't need to think about. I can just watch it.

1. Twilight

Bad acting? Yes. Bad writing? Yes. Bad story? Yes. I admit, I quite enjoyed the books- until the movies came out. I saw 4 of the 5 movies in cinemas, because from a literary point of view, I'm interested by how they adapt books to film. (I boycotted Breaking Dawn Part 2 on principle because they didn't need to split the last book in two. They could have easily done it in one film). 

Actually, I'm not really sure if this counts as a guilty pleasure, because I don't get pleasure from it, and I haven't watched the movies or read the books in.... forever. It's more a series of movies that I'm not really sure why I own them... but I do.

But... I don't know. If it had been cast... better, maybe it wouldn't have been as bad. Because lets face it, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are a lot of the problems with the movies. Laying aside all the story issues, they are.  I wish I had something to say why I put this on this list, but... I can't think of anything. 

Come What May

I'm actually really nervous about this story. This (and the next one I'm writing) are the most nervous I've ever been about a story. The next one is just because it has topics that I'm sure will be very unpopular with Fiyeraba readers. To be honest, I'm even like "oh, I don't want this to happen", but it's such a good story and the idea came to me so clearly... I can't not write it.

I've been nervous about Come What May because... well, it's so different than anything I've ever written so far or anything that I've ever seen on the site.

I guess the main reasons I'm nervous, is because... this subject is a sensitive subject. To a lot of people. Including me, long-time readers (especially those who read Out of the Blue and Three Leaps Ahead) will know my grandfather died of cancer during the posting of that story.

I also spoke to a lot of people about the logistics of the story. Given that this is Oz, and Oz has magic... I wasn't sure. I figured there was no reason cancer couldn't exist in Oz- it's just bad cells. Oz doesn't change their biology. They're still human, still made of cells despite living in a land where magic exists. But we (me and a few select friends) decided that all that would change was the way cancer would be treated. I couldn't do chemo, because chemo didn't exist until the 1950s. So we did the Oz equivalent... with pretty much the same side effects. I don't believe that magic is a simple fix for every problem. Cancer? Do this spell/take this potion and you're all cured. I didn't want to do that.

I chose Hodgkin's Lymphoma for 2 reasons. One, it is the cancer I had the most knowledge of, being that 10 years ago in 2003, Delta Goodrem (Australia singer and one of my idols) was diagnosed with the cancer. She fought it and is now in remission. One of my mother's best friend has fought Hodgkin's lymphoma twice and survived both times. (The first time I was like 5 and I don't really remember it. The second time was a few years ago). And the second reason is that (according to the internet) lymphoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in young women. It's also (again, according to the internet) one of the most easily treatable cancers.

I had the idea in June 2012.

The number of ideas I get near midnight, usually when I'm trying to fall asleep is ridiculous.

OK, so I might be slightly vindictive... it's not that I get pleasure from your pain. Really. 

 So before and during the writing process, I did a lot of research, as I try and do with any topic I write about. I have 52 websites bookmarked in a folder. Websites, blogs, articles, anything I could find. And do you know what I found? The terminology on so many of these sites, or trying to find answers.... it's a good thing they have cancer forums where you can talk to other people going through it, because so many sites I found either don't have the information you want or have it written in complicated terminology.

Seriously, if I had been actually diagnosed with cancer and looking for information to explain it all to me, the forums or a really great doctor who could explain everything in layman's terms would be my best hope;  because the internet kinda sucks in that regard.

But there was something else I noticed. To try and get the full understanding of the experience of fighting cancer, I also read a lot of books, watched a lot of films and TV shows... basically anything I could find. And what I noticed is that every time in film or literature that a character had cancer, they were nearly always terminal and/or died. If you want a character to survive cancer, TV might be your best shot. Which I find quite ridiculous, actually.
Again, if you had cancer or had a family member or friend who did, it would just depress you and not give you any hope at all. I get that having the character be terminal or die adds is more dramatic, but is that the message you want to send?

I know how many people die of cancer each year, and it's this stuff that brings awareness... but just as many people survive cancer each year (OK, I don't know if its "just as many" but it is a lot. Maybe its more?).

I'm not going to claim I got everything 100% exactly right with the medical stuff, due to the first point I raised about how hard it was to get and understand some information. But I've tried really hard, and I've done a lot of research. The only thing I took a bit of liberty with was the time frame with the diagnosis and tests results, because in real life... that could take weeks or months. But at the same time, it's not instant or magic, it's probably more like how TV medical shows do it.

There were very few films/books/etc things I found where they had someone survive cancer. TV had a few instances, so TV execs can have the drama without actually losing a character.

I don't really know what my point is here, but I just wanted to let you know that I didn't write this story lightly, and I hope I've done it justice.

Works in Progress

Just thought I'd do a list of all the fics I have on my "To Do" list.

WICKED:

The Right Thing To Do: It's a matter of honour, of doing good. But sometimes, doing the 'right thing' hurts more than anything else. Especially when it comes to love.

Fiyero fell in love with Elphaba in that clearing with the Lion Cub. But afraid of his feelings and not wanting to hurt Galinda, he did nothing. But after graduation while spending the summer at Kiamo Ko, as everyone expects an engagement to be announced, Fiyero realises that he can’t live a lie. Then all hell breaks loose, and no one will escape being hurt. All in the name of doing the right thing. AU.

This is supposed to be my next fic, but I’m a little stuck right now.

The Ghost of Kiamo Ko:"Last night I dreamt I went to Kiamo Ko again."

While working as the companion to the Munchkinland Governor, Nessarose Thropp; Elphaba becomes acquainted with a wealthy Vinkun prince, Fiyero Tiggular, a reasonably young widower who is still mourning the loss of his wife, Samira. After a whirlwind romance, Elphaba and Fiyero marry and he takes her back to his beautiful Vinkun estate, Kiamo Ko. But the staff still worship the first Mrs Tiggular; and Elphaba knows Fiyero only married her out of pity. But most disturbing, is the shadow of Samira who still fills the castle and who haunts Elphaba’s every move. AU.

Inspired by the novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. There’s also a movie.

Don’t tell the Bride: When Galinda finds a competition in a magazine to win your dream wedding- on the condition every detail is planned solely by the groom- the girls think it’s funny, whereas the boys think it would be a piece of cake. So, an engaged Elphaba and Fiyero agree to enter and put that the theory to the test. What kind of wedding will Fiyero plan? (Also contemplating a Gloq edition of this fic). AU.

The Assignment: To try and get his students to understand that they, their actions and the way other people will remember them will shape future history; Dr Dillamond assigns his class an assignment for one lesson. To work in pairs and learn a bit more about one another. Shiz-era, musicalverse. Pre- Lion Cub.

Knocked Out: Intermission fic. Fiyeraba. That’s all I have right now.

Currently Untitled: After numerous requests, I've finally agreed to do some semblance of a mini-sequel, epilogue, one-shot to 40 Weeks. Still working on plot specifics and a title. 

The Vow: Not long after their wedding, Elphaba and Fiyero’s world is shattered when Elphaba suffers a head injury and lapses into a coma. When she awakens, her last memory of her husband is when a scandalacious prince arrives at Shiz, dancing through life. Can Fiyero make his wife fall in love with him- all over again?

Co-written with Team Wicked. Inspired by the movie of the same name.

HOUSE:

Learn to live without: Cameron had made plenty of sacrifices to become a doctor and in her life as a doctor. And most of the time, she didn’t mind. But occasionally, she couldn’t help but lament how different her life was from how she’d always pictured.

One-shot. It’s been a while since I wrote a House fic. Inspired by the song from the new musical If/Then, as sung by Idina Menzel.

NCIS:

Currently Untitled: Either a one-shot or series of one-shots as a sequel to Sitting on Top of the world, an insight into the joint Gibbs/DiNozzo household. Tony/Jemma, Gibbs/DiNozzo Father/Son. Again, still working on specifics. 

HARRY POTTER:

Repaying a debt: Best friends are always there when you need them. The thing is, when they risk their lives for 7 years to help you save the Wizarding World, you owe them. Big Time. As they are happy to remind you.

A series of (hopefully) funny one-shots about all the times Ron and Hermione use Voldemort to get Harry to do them a favour.

As Long as you’re mine: AU. Harry and Hermione’s friendship deepens in the summer before their 7^th year. With the war raging, Harry and Hermione keep their blossoming relationship a secret, except for a few select people. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not real. Or that they’re not going to make the most of every moment they have.

I haven’t touched this in a while... like 4 years. I should probably re-read and see if it’s any good. And also, no one is dead. Because I like it that way.

God Save My Soul: One shot. Inspired by the Idina Menzel song of the same name. Still working on specifics. 

All These Years

Here is the link where you can hear my friend's song which inspired this one-shot, All These Years. 

This is the link to her Facebook page, which I'm sure she'd be thrillified if you Liked it. If you want to buy a copy of her EP, just send her a message through Facebook.

And this is the image for Elphaba's wedding dress:

I just changed the ribbon to blue