What makes a great book... (work-in-progress, ALWAYS)

I will continue to re-write this until I am better able to articulate what I think.

Mini-rant:

A good book is a book that is difficult to read sometimes (& not because of vocabulary or grammar) that then rewards you at the end.

A great book makes you want to read it again, no matter how difficult it was.  And a fantastic book actually gets BETTER as you read it again.

To me, the worst type of book or story is one that makes me struggle through it, only to find disappointment and despair at the end of it.

Replace "book" with "story" or even "TV show" or "movie"...

And this is not necessary, but my own personal criteria is that I PREFER something that makes me feel GOOD and not BAD afterward.

Credit to Matt K's friend Matt H for saying something similar to this that I have tweaked for my own purpose:
If something makes me feel sad or something afterward, then I still consider it to be a "good" book (as in, well-constructed, definitely has merits, and perhaps meets its goal of affecting the reader) but I would vastly prefer to feel good; and to me, a GREAT book makes me feel a positive emotion--especially one such as HOPEFUL.  Triumphant is good, too.  :)

Musicals to watch : KEEP UPDATED!

Musicals to watch (already have):
-Show Boat (Howard Keel, Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson)  - not particularly looking forward to this one
-You'll Never Get Rich (Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, 1941)
-Call Me Madam (Donald O'Connor, George Sanders, ETHEL MERMAN, Vera-Ellen) -- should at least be entertaining...though I'm not really a huge fan of Ethel Merman (!)
-Holiday Inn (Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby) -- the OTHER Christmas musical?  I should at least see it, even if I will probably always be biased in favor of White Christmas over it
-Sweeney Todd


Musicals to re-watch:
-The Belle of New York (Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen) -- this was pretty bad, but some of the dances were good
- Mary Poppins -- it's been awhile

Re-watched recently:
-The Sound of Music --So...what to say about this one, that hasn't already been said?  Grandiose, but somehow...disappointing and a little disjointed.  The definitive version...but I want to see it live sometime.  It can't be as grandiose, but maybe it would be more cohesive?

-Anchors Aweigh (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Jose Iturbi)  Just as I remember...a little silly but maybe my 3rd or 4th favorite from Gene Kelly.  I think the songs and dances are better than in On the Town, actually.   Production values seemed very high; lovely colors.  Some of the songs are plot-related, some aren't.  Some have reasons for the characters to sing and/or dance, some don't.

-On the Town (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Vera-Ellen, Ann Miller, Betty Garrett, Jules Munshin)--not as great as I remember...probably my 5th favorite of Gene Kelly's, though I think it's considered his 2nd or 3rd best.  The ballet, while much easier to follow and less artistic than the one in An American in Paris....is kinda boring.  I still like it fine, but the replacement dancers, both keep the focus on the main couple...but they distract me from them a little, too.  It seemed a little cheap-looking, too, though that's probably not a fair criticism artistically or anything.  I haven't seen or listened to the original stage version so maybe some of the problems I have with this one comes from the adaptation from stage to screen, since some of the songs seem...silly, and a little random.  They're all plot or character-related though.

-An American in Paris (Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch) My 2nd favorite, originally more of a hit than Singin' in the Rain.  Although the ballet is long and a little weird, it's still interesting.  And the production values in this one must have been pretty high; definitely had a bigger budget.  Songs are better quality and most are integrated in to the plot, though a couple give a reason for the character to sing (because they are a nightclub act or pianist, etc.) 

-It's Always Fair Weather (Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Dan Dailey, Michael Kidd, Dolores Grey) Although maybe a little lower-quality, and lower-budget, and maybe looks a little cheap (and some cuts just couldn't be restored in the DVD release?) I think the plot on this one is good, and gets me a little bit.  The numbers are good, but mostly not GREAT.  Used a split-screen (partially for novelty value I think and not that well-done...not sure if that was just the technology at the time or if it was just not done well) and Gene Kelly's rollerblades (also more for novelty and maybe not for quality dancing--though I have to admit, some of it is pretty impressive.  Definitely still entertaining). My 3rd or 4th favorite (currently neck-and-neck with Anchors Aweigh.  This one wins plot-wise, but Anchors Aweigh has better quality dances and songs, IMHO).


List of musicals I need to get:
-Kismet (Howard Keel):  Only available in a set with other stuff I don't really want...?); Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Volume 3 (Hit the Deck/Deep in My Heart/Kismet/Nancy Goes to Rio/Two Weeks with Love/Broadway Melody of 1936/Broadway Melody of 1938/Born to Dance/Lady Be Good)
-Anything Goes (Frank Sinatra & Ethel Merman, recording of a TV thing?)
-You Were Never Lovelier (Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, 1942) -- maybe watch the other one with the two of them first
-High Society (Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly - Louis Armstrong)
-For Me & My Gal (Gene Kelly, Judy Garland)
-The King & I (Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner)
-The Pirate (Gene Kelly, Judy Garland)
-Summer Stock (Gene Kelly, Judy Garland)
-Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett...)
-Cover Girl (Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth)
-Camelot (Broadway version and Special Edition of Movie version)
-Cinderella (Have newest one with Brandy; need Julie Andrews TV version and Lesley Ann Warren versions)
-Finian's Rainbow
-Snoopy, Come Home
-Had a bunch at Barnes & Noble...
-Hairspray?
-A Star is Born?

Others to get
-The Rescuers Down Under
-Labyrinth?
-Alice in Wonderland?
-Bambi?
-Little Mermaid?
-Peter Pan?
-Lady & the Tramp?

Possible Future Topics--For my reference

Possible future topics

Old Vs. New: Jesus Christ Superstar

Must discuss BEFORE Joseph movie?
random close ups.
HS tapes--Kara C's dad did as good a job at least!

Song by song comparison

character: head to head


Bias: What I saw first, nostalgia

Other Old Vs New:
-Music Man
-Bye Bye Birdie
-Producers?
-Spamalot vs Monty Python the the Holy Grail----this one will be difficult to impossible. Not quite apples to oranges but something like...
-R&H Cinderellas (3! Julie Andrews, Lesley Ann Warren...Brandy.)


Best stage-to-screen adaptations
-Music Man (original)
-Joseph

-My Fair Lady?
-Rent?

-not sure: Kiss Me Kate...West Side Story?...

R&H: Oklahoma--so much cut from stage to screen. Hard to compare.
Sound of Music--scale! (same with JCS? Not quite...? nothing with which to compare Sound of Music movie)


Originally meant for screen
-Mary Poppins
-Singing in the Rain
-Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Beauty Giveaways List (Only the BEST! :))

A Blog Post for posting giveaways!  Very silly.

Joining Bloglovin'

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Comments on Numb3rs (TV show, 2005)

I think I agree with just about everything said in the first two comments of this thread:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433309/board/thread/189667747

Including that I think Liz is attractive (though I'm a straight female) and Robin seems a little dull as a character.  If they'd given her more time on the show, she/her relationship with Don might have been better.

I don't mind that they stretch some of the math until it breaks. :-p  I recognize that a lot of this is only possible in TV-world, but I generally like the characters and I think David Krumholtz does a good job of really sounding like he BELIEVES what he's saying and he makes me believe that his character is really that passionate about math.

I sympathize with the people who are annoyed by the relationships and just want to hear the math parts (however bogus--or maybe not-bogus, I'm no math expert--it is, they usually make it sound interesting and plausible); but since I like most of the characters, I don't mind a little relationship drama.  Sometimes it's annoying, sometimes it's good. Larry can be really funny, really annoying, or just weird.  The cast went through some changes (and people randomly disappear for an episode or two all the time.  They usually throw in 1 or 2 lines to explain their absence, which I appreciate, but it always feels a little odd when somebody is suddenly just gone.).

I miss Megan; she was a good character.  What happened to her actress?  I liked her relationship with Larry, after she left, his character changed (which is fine, and I guess somewhat realistic...actually he changed after his trip into space, which I suppose would also probably change a person significantly!)  Diane Farr doesn't seem like the most attractive woman in the world to me, and her voice is a little more nasal than is usual...but I really liked her; and her leaving the series seemed sort of abrupt, which makes me wonder if there was something else going on (her leaving for another show, a contract or salary dispute...?)

I also wish Millie (Mildred, played by Kathy Najimy) was in more episodes...I think she was only in 6, but even in those, she actually had an arc.  I started out hating her in her first episode, and loving her by her last episode.  I can understand why some people might not like her, but I loved her!  She is a little bitchy at first...and she points out a problem with Amita/Amita's sort of putting Charlie first...but a little unfair...

The constantly rotating cast is both a strength and a weakness of the show.

I kinda feel that the math starts to REALLY take a backseat around Season 5...they start having lots of fun with special effects.  I liked the little throwback to Season 1 (first episode?) with David explaining the sprinkler analogy in Season 5 Episode 21, "Disturbed".

After awhile, it seemed like the "explanations" were just token speeches and sometimes were unclear.  After the first season or two they just stop arguing with him about how or why or whether or not it will work, and instead they just listen to him talk, nod, and turn him loose.  Though they tried to show that the agents actually understood what he's doing by having Liz occasionally throw in comments that show she remembers something he said before, or in another episode.

Nunb3rs – warm & cool lighting

References to Ridley Scott? J/ Bladerunner – Season 3 Episode 8 Hardball (about 14 minutes in)

Ongoing “storyline”…a little disjointed; Characters in and out

Megan is good but disappears; she and Larry are good but Megan leaves show

Liz ok, Amita ok, first woman ok, Nikki? (black woman?) ok  Don’s lawyer girlfriend disappears and reappears all the time

Problem – Liz & Don?

Recurring characters

--LAPD Drug/gang guy?

--lawyer?

--psychiatrist

--psychic

--Bill Nye

--ME (Dexter lady)

--Charlie’s rival

--baseball genius kid

--Lou Diamond Philips sniper (Edgerton)

--The Fonz Henry Winkler?

 

Skincare Myths and Gimmicks

I really, REALLY hate the myth that your skin can "get used to" a product.  I do believe that you may gradually build up a tolerance to certain ingredients (over years) but I don't think it's going to just stop working after a few months.  So maybe in a few years, you may want to find a product with a higher concentration of ingredients that work well for you.
What I really think is that somebody in marketing made this up to increase sales.  Or lots of people at the counters made it up to "explain" why a product "stopped" working, to make more sales.  It's just a selling ploy.

I don't believe a "BB cream" is really anything more than a new name for a tinted moisturizer (usually with SPF)?  All of the ones I’ve seen claim to brighten, hydrate, protect, prime, etc…all of which is what a tinted moisturizer does as well.  It isn't that I want companies to stop producing them, or creating new products or TMs (especially since the ones I've seen have been generally pretty good) it just generally bothers me that they felt the need to call them “BB creams” instead of tinted moisturizer, to capitalize on the craze.  It feels like another marketing gimmick.  I suppose as long as it's a good product, I shouldn't care.
This is a comment I made on John Su's blog, The Triple Helix Liasion, as LadyIsla.  Sidenote, John's blog is incredible!:
Calling these products “BB Creams” is just creating another needless category of products, like Eye creams, Neck creams, etc. Some Western companies are bringing out their own versions of BB Creams now, and if they manage to make another good tinted moisturizer, that’s great; but I am pretty much fed up with the endless marketing ploys, just slapping new names on a slightly different product. I do admit, it is nice that the items that are named “BB Creams” do tend to include an SPF and moisturizer, but it’s still annoying to me.

Link:  http://thetriplehelixliaison.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/do-you-think-asian-brands-or-products-marketed-toward-the-asian-community-are-better-than-their-western-counterparts-v-0-10/