Make Yourself At Home?

I was going through my Youtube bookmarks and came across this old video... 

it is still one of the best ones I've ever seen!

(Not So) Bleak House

You already know that I think Charles Dickens rocks... I would have loved to go people watching with him, so we could laugh at all the bizarre, unique characteristics of human kind that he was able to capture on paper so well. He is able to poke fun at our idiosyncrasies in a way that makes us laugh, and cry, and shudder (some of his people are kind of creepy).

I went through an obsession with Dickens the summer I was nineteen and read almost all of his well known and lesser known works. I tried reading Bleak House, but even I admit, Dickens wordiness bogged me down and I simply couldn't get the story line. I have learned, however, that most often, the books that are the hardest to read in the beginning are often the best of books by the end. So, I forced myself to read on. I'm glad I did, because it was just as entertaining as his other works, and even had the beautiful ending that one could hope for. 

Two years ago, when Mom had the flu, we were trying to keep her in bed, so we watched a lot of movies on my laptop. We had watched Little Dorrit when Julie had mono, and enjoyed that very much, so when we found the Bleak House series online we decided to give it a shot, too. It's 15 episodes long, so don't expect to watch it in one sitting (although you will find yourself wanting to). We thoroughly enjoyed it, and this year I bought Mom the DVD copy of it for her birthday. It was Dad's first time to watch it, and he was so engrossed, asking us for details (which we would not reveal), and groaning out "Yes! Finally!" when the wicked protagonist meets his end.

Feel intrigued? Someone has been most kind to combine and post the episodes on YouTube, so here are the links:

Episodes 1-5
Episodes 6-10
Episodes 11-15

There Lived A Hobbit

WOW. I finally saw it! What can I say? The word 'epic' gets thrown around in our society too much today, referring to anything from perfect timing to a slang term for awesome. The Hobbit is epic in the full sense of the word, as in the whole tale of man's morality and bravery set into a story that soaks into your heart and stays with you, like a banner that you see in battle and rally to. The magic of the book captured me as a child, and today the magic of the screen drew me in as an adult. I didn't want it to end... I wanted to step through that door into Middle Earth and never turn back. Breathtaking scenery, hilarious comebacks, and soaring courage that turns to tears. I had to keep myself from standing up in the theater and shouting them on, encouraging them to fight for their lives. (Also, all epic-ness aside, I'm going to be a fangirl here and say that three hours of the brilliant, handsome, talented Martin Freeman is almost more than I can handle! I smiled so hard my face hurt during the first half hour of the movie when the dwarves are making themselves at home in his hobbit hole. "It's crocheted!" Sorry, I digress...)

If you haven't seen it, you are missing one of the greatest pieces of cinematic beauty that I have yet seen. There is a piece of Bilbo in all of us, the quiet homebody who is called to step out of our comfort zone and fight for something we believe in. Tolkien's world is our world, just painted on a different canvas. His words shape your imagination and the creators of the movie bring those shapes to life. 

Are you looking for an adventure? Be prepared to join the readers, the followers, the dreamers. Sure, some of us are a little obsessive, and maybe it seems weird to have an overwhelming desire to have pointed ears or furry feet, but it is our way of saying we have signed on to our own quest. The minute we are born, we are given the task to find salvation from a burden - to each travel to our own brink of doom and despair and cast aside the evil weighing us down. It is a story of redemption.

"He may have lost the neighbour’s respect, but he gained – well, you will see whether he gained anything real in the end." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

In A Hole In The Ground...

So how many of you are going to the midnight premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey tonight?! Anybody dressing up?? If we didn't live in such a small town, I would totally be waiting in a long line, holding onto my movie ticket, dressed as an elf. As it is, I would prefer not to get my picture in the local paper as the only person who showed up with pointed ears and a cloak... I am also deferring my movie going experience until my birthday, which is in two weeks.

I started a Pinterest board called Take Me To Middle Earth, where I will be posting some of my favorite quotes from the book, and *ahem* possibly one or two pictures of Martin Freeman, who happens to be in my Top Five Favorite Actors of All Time list. 

If you go, please comment and tell me what you thought of it! Without any spoilers!

Dead As a Door Nail

"Marley was dead: to begin with.  There is no doubt whatever about that (...) Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind!  I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail.  I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade.  But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for.  You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail." ~ Charles Dickens

I have always received a certain humorous pleasure from this beginning passage of A Christmas Carol. The idea of Dickens, sitting down to begin writing a novel (little aware that it would still be a holiday classic some 169 years later), putting pen to paper, and writing 'dead as a door-nail'. He even goes into his own little apology as to the origin of the phrase, making him, to me, a timelessly relatable author. If you derive any joy from wordplay and bizarre, oddly-familiar characters, then read Dickens. Sure, he's wordy, but worth every word. 

Our family goal this month is to do something in the Christmas spirit every day: a movie, a fun activity, a special treat. Today, we picked a movie - the Muppet Christmas Carol. The movie is a classic in and of itself, and a yearly tradition in our house. Actually, the Muppets themselves have always had a sentimental place in our hearts. We grew up watching the movies, and when The Muppet Movie came out last year, we made a rare trip to the theater to see it. *I may or may not have cried when they sang Rainbow Connection at the end...*

A Muppet Christmas Carol is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. If you haven't seen it, please do! I promise you will laugh at least once or twice! Not only is it filled with witty dialogue, and the excellent acting persona of Michael Caine, but it also leaves you with a sense of cheerfulness, which is rare for most media you watch these days. 

(copyright, Disney)

One of my favorite quotes:

"Did I tell you that I am the ghost of Christmas present?
          "You did, yes."
"Come in, and know me better, man!"
          "You're a little absentminded, spirit."
"No! I'm a large absentminded spirit!"

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Join me as I will try to post our activities every day. What sort of traditions do you have? Favorites you love doing with your family during the holiday season? Please share in the comments!